H.I.G. Capital Announces the Sale of Kondor

HIG Capital

LONDON – July 13, 2018 – H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm with more than €20 billion of equity capital under management, announced today that one of its affiliates has sold Kondor Limited, a specialist provider of category management solutions for audio and mobile accessory products into the retail and mobile network channels in the UK and Europe, to DCC Technology (which principally trades under the Exertis brand), part of DCC plc, the leading international sales, marketing and support services group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Dorset, England, Kondor distributes audio and mobile accessory products to a broad range of e-tail, retail and mobile operator customers. H.I.G. invested in Kondor in 2014, and has since overseen a full reorganisation of the business. H.I.G. worked in partnership with Kondor to professionalise back office systems, develop Kondor’s access to market data, optimise the company’s product range, improve stock management and fulfilment, and grow the headcount of the business from 188 to around 250 employees. A new CEO, Beatrice Lafon, was appointed in 2017.

Carl Harring, Managing Director at H.I.G. Capital, commented on the transaction: “The consumer electronics accessories market has grown over recent years and is set for further expansion. We have enjoyed working with the Kondor team and, following intensive efforts to re-focus the business on its core product offering, it is now best positioned for future growth, both domestically and internationally.”

Beatrice Lafon, Chief Executive Office at Kondor, commented: “I would like to thank H.I.G. for their support in the expansion of Kondor. Their assistance in improving internal operations and refining our customer base leaves us in a market-leading position, with the potential for significant organic and inorganic growth. With the financial backing of DCC, and the combined benefits of working with the European retail divisions at Exertis, we will be in a strong position to continue to grow and develop the range of bespoke services we offer to our partners.”

Donal Murphy, Chief Executive of DCC plc, commented: “The acquisition of Kondor is in line with DCC Technology’s strategy to expand its service offering to both our suppliers and customers. Increasingly DCC Technology’s partners are seeking full category management solutions, as well as data driven insights into product performance, and the acquisition of Kondor will further enhance our service offering.”

About Kondor
Kondor is a market maker connecting over 100 brands to over 250 customers with a dominance in Mobile and Consumer Electronics Accessories. Kondor operates in all major channels, creating partnerships across brands, retailers and territories, on line and off line, thanks to its insights, speed-to-market, sector and product expertise.

What makes Kondor stand out is its ability to create value for all its partners through a complete range of in-house bespoke services: Category Management, Advanced eCommerce Solutions, Marketing Agency, R&D and Sourcing, IT Capability, Logistics & Warehousing.

Kondor is the Master Distributor for Samsung, represents three of the top five best-performing case brands in the UK, and owns multiple category-leading and award-winning own brands covering Audio, Imaging, Protection and Power.

Its state-of-the-art 120,000 sq ft warehouse holds over 34,000 pick locations, turns over 100,000 units per day, and as many as 90% of all the products Kondor distributes are customised in some way.

Kondor’s vision is to be the ultimate sales and distribution partner, trusted by its partners globally for its insights, its innovation, its pace, its network and its results. Kondor is The Smart Choice.

About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with over €20 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/ value-added approach:

  1. H.I.G.’s. equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalisations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
  2. H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
  3. H.I.G.’s real assets funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of €28 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

About DCC Technology
DCC Technology, is a leading route-to-market and supply chain partner for global technology brands.

DCC Technology, which principally trades under the Exertis brand, provides a broad range of consumer and business technology products and services to customers across the consumer, B2B and enterprise markets. It operates in 13 countries with its principal operations in the UK, Ireland France, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates. It also has operations in Poland, China, the US, Germany, Spain and Norway.

About DCC plc
DCC is a leading international sales, marketing and support services group with a clear focus on performance and growth. It operates through four divisions: LPG, Retail & Oil, Healthcare and Technology.

DCC is an ambitious and entrepreneurial business operating in 15 countries, supplying products and services used by millions of people every day throughout Europe. Building strong routes to market, driving for results, focusing on cash conversion and generating superior sustainable returns on capital employed enable the Group to reinvest in its business, creating value for its stakeholders.

Headquartered in Dublin, employing approximately 11,000 people, DCC’s four divisions are:

  1. DCC LPG – a leading LPG sales and marketing business with operations in Europe, Asia and the US and a developing business in the retailing of natural gas and electricity;
  2. DCC Retail & Oil – a leader in the sales, marketing and retailing of transport and commercial fuels, heating oils and related products and services in Europe;
  3. DCC Healthcare – a leading healthcare business, providing products and services to healthcare providers and health and beauty brand owners; and
  4. DCC Technology – a leading European sales, marketing and services partner for global technology brands.

DCC plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100. In its financial year ended 31 March 2018, DCC generated revenue of £14.3 billion and operating profit of £383.4 million.

* Based on total capital commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.

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Francisco Partners Announces Strategic Minority Investment by Blackstone and Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Franciso Partners

San Francisco – Francisco Partners, a leading technology-focused private equity firm, announced that Blackstone’s (NYSE: BX) Strategic Capital Group and Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Petershill program (“Petershill”) (NYSE: GS) have acquired a minority stake in Francisco Partners. The investment provides Francisco Partners with balance-sheet capital to continue to develop its strong platform while increasing commitments to its own funds, strengthening its alignment with limited partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Dipanjan “DJ” Deb, Co-founder and CEO of Francisco Partners, said, “Since our inception, we have always prided ourselves on the strength of our relationships. We have the opportunity to work with great management teams who create solutions across all sectors of technology. We have incredible limited partners and now we are proud to bring on two strategic partners in Blackstone and Goldman Sachs to help us continue to grow our platform so that we can build on the success of the past 20 years. We are excited about the opportunities ahead of us and welcome the resources and expertise that these firms bring to FP.”

Scott Soussa, Head of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management’s Strategic Capital Group which specializes in acquiring long-term interests in alternative managers, said, “Francisco Partners is driven by a talented investing team with deep industry expertise. For nearly two decades, the team has stood out as a leading partner to businesses in the technology sector and we, alongside Petershill, are proud to support their continued growth.”

Robert Hamilton Kelly, Managing Director in the AIMS Group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said, “We look to partner with differentiated businesses with their best years ahead of them, and we believe Francisco Partners is a perfect example of such a firm. They have a well-deserved reputation for thoughtful investment and strategic operational execution across the technology space.”

Michael Brandmeyer, co-CIO of the AIMS Group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said “The Francisco Partners team is impressive and we appreciate the commitment and continuity of the organization. We, together with Blackstone, look forward to supporting the firm’s development and believe in its continued success.”

Evercore served as financial advisor to Francisco Partners. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Francisco Partners, Simpson Thacher served as legal counsel to Blackstone and Fried Frank served as legal counsel to Goldman Sachs.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global private equity firm that specializes in investments in technology and technology-enabled services businesses. Since its launch over 18 years ago, Francisco Partners has raised over $14 billion in capital and invested in more than 200 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. The firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

About Blackstone Alternative Asset Management

Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM®), Blackstone’s Hedge Fund Solutions platform, is the world’s largest discretionary investor in hedge funds, with approximately $79 billion in assets under management. BAAM manages a diversified set of businesses including a customized solutions business, a special situations platform, a hedge fund seeding business, an open-ended mutual fund platform and a business that purchases stakes in established alternative asset managers. In all of BAAM’s business lines, it carefully selects and partners with fund managers across a variety of asset classes and strategies to create solutions for its investors. Through its sharp focus on clients’ goals, a rigorous due-diligence process and access to Blackstone’s global insights, BAAM strives to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns across market cycles while preserving capital during stressed market environments.

About the Goldman Sachs Asset Management AIMS Group

The Alternative Investments & Manager Selection (AIMS) Group provides investors with investment and advisory solutions across leading private equity funds, hedge fund managers, real estate managers, public equity strategies and fixed income strategies. Institutional and individual investors access these opportunities through new fund commitments, multi-manager programs, strategic partnerships, secondary-market investments, co-investments, management-company stakes, and seed-capital investments. The Petershill Strategies are a part of the AIMS Group, which manages over $200 billion, providing manager diligence, portfolio construction, risk management, and liquidity solutions to investors around the world.

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Addington Capital and ICG-Longbow form first joint venture to acquire £45 million Bonsai portfolio

ICG

Addington Capital, the property investment and asset management company has acquired the five property “Bonsai” portfolio for £45 million with debt and equity funding provided by ICG-Longbow, Intermediate Capital Group’s real estate business. The mixed use portfolio of high yielding residential, office and retail properties has been acquired from EPISO3, an opportunity fund advised by Tristan Capital Partners.

The portfolio consists of:

  • 120,000 sq ft of office and residential property at Headingley, Leeds
  • 50,000 sq ft of retail and residential at Elm Park, Hornchurch, Essex
  • 32,000 sq ft of retail/potential residential at South Woodham Ferrers, Essex
  • 44,000 sq ft of offices at Carew House in Wallingford
  • 118,500 sq ft Union Square shopping centre, Torquay

Martin Roberts of Addington Capital, said, “We have acquired these properties for the development and asset management opportunities that they offer, underpinned by the current strong cash flow. We intend to work these properties further to provide returns to our investors and are delighted to be working with ICG-Longbow in our first transaction together.

Addington’s founders have just launched ADDLiving, a residential property management and letting platform.

Martin added: “The fact that on exit, half of the value of the portfolio will be in residential property reflects our push into this market place.”

Matthew Main, Director of ICG-Longbow said, “This investment is in line with our strategy of funding properties or portfolios with value-add potential, especially where underpinned by an existing cash flow and/ or in a supply constrained sector such as residential. We are pleased to be partnering with Addington, who bring a long track record of identifying and realising such opportunities in both commercial and residential properties.”

For further details please contact:

ICG-Longbow,
Olivia Montgomery
+44 203 201 7508

Maitland,
Rebecca Mitchell
+44 207 379 5151

About ICG-Longbow

ICG-Longbow is the trading name of Intermediate Capital Group PLC’s (“ICG”) real estate business, and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. ICG-Longbow is an active lender across all real estate in the UK with over €3.6bn in the real assets strategy. ICG has €28.7bn of assets under management globally (as at 31 March, 2018); are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: ICP), and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Intermediate Capital Group, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICG and is registered as an investment adviser under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Please visit: http://www.icgam.com

About Addington Capital

Addington Capital was set up in 2010 by Martin Roberts and Matthew Allen as an independent asset management and investment business. Addington has an established platform in the office, retail and residential sectors and acts as an operating partner, working closely with its partners to create value through active asset management.

Please visit: http://www.addingtoncapital.com

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Francisco Partners Announces Strategic Minority Investment by Blackstone and Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Blackstone

San Francisco, July 13, 2018 – Francisco Partners, a leading technology-focused private equity firm, announced that Blackstone’s (NYSE: BX) Strategic Capital Group and Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Petershill program (“Petershill”) (NYSE: GS) have acquired a minority stake in Francisco Partners. The investment provides Francisco Partners with balance-sheet capital to continue to develop its strong platform while increasing commitments to its own funds, strengthening its alignment with limited partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Dipanjan “DJ” Deb, Co-founder and CEO of Francisco Partners, said, “Since our inception, we have always prided ourselves on the strength of our relationships.  We have the opportunity to work with great management teams who create solutions across all sectors of technology.  We have incredible limited partners and now we are proud to bring on two strategic partners in Blackstone and Goldman Sachs to help us continue to grow our platform so that we can build on the success of the past 20 years.  We are excited about the opportunities ahead of us and welcome the resources and expertise that these firms bring to FP.”

Scott Soussa, Head of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management’s Strategic Capital Group which specializes in acquiring long-term interests in alternative managers, said, “Francisco Partners is driven by a talented investing team with deep industry expertise. For nearly two decades, the team has stood out as a leading partner to businesses in the technology sector and we, alongside Petershill, are proud to support their continued growth.”

Robert Hamilton Kelly, Managing Director in the AIMS Group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said, “We look to partner with differentiated businesses with their best years ahead of them, and we believe Francisco Partners is a perfect example of such a firm. They have a well-deserved reputation for thoughtful investment and strategic operational execution across the technology space.”

Michael Brandmeyer, co-CIO of the AIMS Group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said “The Francisco Partners team is impressive and we appreciate the commitment and continuity of the organization.  We, together with Blackstone, look forward to supporting the firm’s development and believe in its continued success.”

Evercore served as financial advisor to Francisco Partners. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Francisco Partners, Simpson Thacher served as legal counsel to Blackstone and Fried Frank served as legal counsel to Goldman Sachs.

About Francisco Partners
Francisco Partners is a leading global private equity firm that specializes in investments in technology and technology-enabled services businesses. Since its launch over 18 years ago, Francisco Partners has raised over $14 billion in capital and invested in more than 200 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. The firm invests in opportunities its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

About Blackstone Alternative Asset Management
Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM®), Blackstone’s Hedge Fund Solutions platform, is the world’s largest discretionary investor in hedge funds, with approximately $79 billion in assets under management. BAAM manages a diversified set of businesses including a customized solutions business, a special situations platform, a hedge fund seeding business, an open-ended mutual fund platform and a business that purchases stakes in established alternative asset managers. In all of BAAM’s business lines, it carefully selects and partners with fund managers across a variety of asset classes and strategies to create solutions for its investors. Through its sharp focus on clients’ goals, a rigorous due-diligence process and access to Blackstone’s global insights, BAAM strives to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns across market cycles while preserving capital during stressed market environments.

About the Goldman Sachs Asset Management AIMS Group
The Alternative Investments & Manager Selection (AIMS) Group provides investors with investment and advisory solutions across leading private equity funds, hedge fund managers, real estate managers, public equity strategies and fixed income strategies. Institutional and individual investors access these opportunities through new fund commitments, multi-manager programs, strategic partnerships, secondary-market investments, co-investments, management-company stakes, and seed-capital investments. The Petershill Strategies are a part of the AIMS Group, which manages over $200 billion, providing manager diligence, portfolio construction, risk management, and liquidity solutions to investors around the world.

Contacts
Francisco Partners
John Moore
+1 (215) 657-4971
john.moore@zenogroup.com 

Blackstone
Paula Chirhart
+1 (212) 583-5263
paula.chirhart@blackstone.com

Goldman Sachs
Patrick Scanlan
+1 (212) 902-5400

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Forbion exceeds target with EUR 270 million first close of its fourth life sciences VC fund

Forbion

Investment focus will be on new drugs and technologies that will truly impact the future of medicine

Naarden, The Netherlands, and Munich, Germany, 11 July 2018 – Forbion, a leading European life science venture capital firm, has today announced the first close of its fourth flagship fund Forbion IV, at EUR 270 million, exceeding the EUR 250 million target size.

Forbion IV, like its predecessor fund, Forbion III, will primarily focus on EU and the UK (together c. 80% of investment), with the remainder of the fund targeting opportunities in North America.

Building on the successful Forbion III strategy, Forbion’s latest fund will have an even sharper focus on biotech. Forbion will also look to build on its proven ability to curate, initiate and transform investment ideas into standalone, high-return businesses, built around exciting new science, proven teams or assets sourced externally from Pharma. It will thus build a portfolio of approximately 15 companies, of which ten will be existing “growth” opportunities and five will be new companies (co-)founded by Forbion, so-called “build” opportunities.

The fourth fund will target substantial initial stakes of 20-50%, looking to take lead positions and work alongside entrepreneurial management teams to deliver exceptional returns as shown by Forbion’s highly successful third Fund (2015 vintage), which has already delivered three exits with several more in the making, including one near-term IPO.

Forbion has assembled a highly specialized and experienced team to manage the Fund, led by Sander Slootweg, Geert-Jan Mulder and Martien van Osch. The investment team are in turn supported by a high caliber group of operating partners, venture partners and advisers which affords Forbion exceptional reach and depth into its chosen markets.

A strong pipeline of investment opportunities has already been identified and the first close will facilitate Forbion’s discussion on these deals.

Forbion is targeting Autumn 2018 for the final close of Forbion IV.

Commenting, Sander Slootweg, Managing Partner, said:
“We have received exceptional support from both new and existing investors to reach the EUR 270 million first close. This is testament to the unrivalled experience and track record Forbion has built over many years of investing in European life sciences opportunities.

“The success of our first close not only reflects Forbion’s consistent delivery of upper quartile returns but also its clear vision and proprietary methodology for identifying new prospects. We continue to see the opportunities for superior returns, in part due to the ongoing undersupply of capital for European development-stage life sciences investment and its non-cyclical nature.

“Forbion will continue to benefit from its deep European and US/Canadian network and from its fundamental commercial understanding of the political, legal, regulatory and cultural dynamics at work across Europe; these factors contribute to our standing as an investor of choice in the European life sciences.

“We welcome our new investors and look forward to executing on our robust pipeline of opportunities and delivering continued outperformance.”

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Anders Invest acquires De Waal Staal

Anders Invest

June 20, 2018 | Anders Invest

On June 15th, Anders Invest has finalized its 12th acquistion by the takeover of 95% of the shares of De Waal Staal from Deurne (NL). The shares have been bought from the son in law of the founder of the company. The remaining shares are taken over by the new director Sieger Volkers, the former CEO of M&G, worldmarketleader in gasflue pipes for heating systems and a manufacturer of ventilation products.  

De Waal Staal (website) is marketleader in the Netherlands and top 3 player in Europe in the field of mounting systems and flanges for metal airducts. The customers are mainly airductmanufacturers and installers for larger buildings. De Waal Staal is able to produce large part of the products on their own machinery in their production facility in Deurne (NL). They produce millions of meters every year. The company has a long and stable history, and is know by their quality and customer focus, this has resulted in a very stable and growing client base in the last 45 years. 

Due to increasing attention for airtightness, healthy indoor climates and fire protection in buildings the company sees many opportunities to increase their international position.

 

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Cinven to acquire Envirotainer

Cinven

Investment in global temperature-controlled air freight market

International private equity firm, Cinven, today announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire Envirotainer (‘the Group’), a leading global provider of temperature-controlled air cargo containers, for an undisclosed consideration.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Envirotainer designs, manufactures and leases active temperature-controlled containers used primarily for air freighting biopharma products, transporting up to two millions doses of medicine per day.  The Group serves c. 600 customers worldwide, including many of the blue-chip global biopharma companies. With c. 300 employees, Envirotainer operates from regional centres in Stockholm, Frankfurt, Dallas and Singapore, with a portfolio of more than 5,500 leased containers globally.  The Group developed and marketed the first container with an active temperature control system in 1995 and since then has significantly invested in technology and its container fleet.

Cinven’s Business Services, Healthcare and Nordic teams identified Envirotainer as an attractive investment opportunity given:

  • Market leadership: Envirotainer is a clear market leader with the most innovative product offering, consistent service delivery, and global delivery capability;
  • Attractive market: the rise in biopharma sales for a broad range of clinical treatments, in combination with tightening regulatory requirements for transporting these products is driving strong growth in Envirotainer’s markets;
  • Global growth opportunity: Cinven will support Envirotainer’s global growth by developing its technology and expanding its container fleet and global service network.

Pontus Pettersson, Partner at Cinven, said:

“Envirotainer shares several common characteristics with Cinven’s highly successful investments including the provision of a critical service – temperature-controlled containers for the transportation of highly regulated and valuable biopharma products – in a growing market, with high barriers to entry.  

“Cinven has achieved strong growth for the many healthcare companies in which it has invested that span medical devices, pharmaceuticals, CROs and, specifically in Sweden, Phadia. Building on our pharmaceutical experience, we are delighted to be backing another strong management team, led by Michael Berg, and investing in the future growth of this exciting business.”

Ben Osnabrug, Senior Principal at Cinven, added:

“Within Business Services, Cinven looks to acquire companies that demonstrate structural growth, cash generation and defensibility in certain sub-sectors.  Envirotainer has a strong business model with excellent growth prospects and shares key characteristics with many of Cinven’s successful Business Services investments, in particular, including Tinsa and Hotelbeds, and previous investments in CPA Global and Amadeus. These companies provide mission-critical services to a diverse customer base in growing market niches, and benefit from long-term recurring revenue streams.” 

Michael Berg, CEO of Envirotainer, commented:

“Envirotainer is well positioned to capture significant growth from the biopharma market.   New ‘blockbuster’ drugs are being developed given the rising population with access to high end medicine and higher incomes; as well as a rise in chronic diseases. In addition, it is still necessary for pharma companies to supply vaccines, insulin and blood products, where biopharma demand is most strongly growing outside of key manufacturing centres in Europe and the US and these products therefore need to be transported via highly regulated and controlled air freight.

“We are particularly pleased to partner with the team at Cinven given their unique combination of healthcare expertise and track record of supporting the growth of Nordic companies.”

Envirotainer is the 10th investment from the Sixth Cinven Fund. The transaction follows Cinven’s most recent Business Services investments in JLA, the critical asset supply and services business for laundry, catering and heating in the UK (June 2018); Tinsa, a provider of property valuation, analysis and real estate advisory (Aug 2016); and Hotelbeds, a global business to business bedbank (Sept 2016); as well as previous investments in CPA Global, the IP management software and services provider; and Amadeus, the provider of technology solutions to the travel industry.

Cinven also has a long and proven track record of successfully investing in market leading growth companies serving the pharma and life sciences industry through its investments in CeramTec, the manufacturer of high performance ceramics for application in the medical and industrial end-markets; and Sebia and Phadia – both in-vitro diagnostics companies. In the Nordic region, Cinven has previously invested successfully in Visma, a leading software and business process outsourcing services business; Phadia and Ahlsell, a leading distributor of building products.

The completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Advisors on the transaction included: Citigroup and SEB (M&A); Roland Berger (commercial); FTI Consulting (financial); Clifford Chance and Vinge (legal); Deloitte (tax); and Aon (insurance).

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Alpega expands its product portfolio with 4flow vista®, a leading transport planning and optimization software

Castik Capital

Alpega Group’s inet is strengthening its product offering with the integrated transport planning and optimization software 4flow vista®. With the acquisition of the rights to 4flow vista’s planning software, inet is now offering a seamlessly integrated TMS (“Transport Management System”) including planning, tendering, execution and highly developed analytics capabilities. Customers will benefit from higher visibility and flexibility, more automated processes and logistics cost savings of 20%+. Customers comprise mid-sized to large enterprises, some of which have saved more than €100m p.a. in logistics costs.

inet and 4flow are cooperating since 2003. Headquartered in Berlin, 4flow optimizes mid- and long term transportation requirements and networks, evaluating the best transport modalities, network structures and routes. The combination of inet products and 4flow vista® has already been deployed at various key customers such as Magna, Lear, Agco, Volvo and Robert Bosch. inet and 4flow plan to continue their joint product development in the future.

Following the acquisition of procurement software TenderEasy earlier in the year, the 4flow vista® addition allows Alpega to deliver an end-to-end solution to its global customers across different industries.

Alpega was formed in 2017 as a leading global logistics software company that offers end-to-end solutions covering all transport needs, including TMS solutions and freight exchanges and offering its customers the largest network of carriers in Europe. Key products comprise:

  • inet – TMS solution for complex, multi-modal global transportation networks including unique dynamic optimization capabilities
  • TenderEasy – Freight procurement solution that allows its customers to run tenders across verticals and geographies
  • Transwide – Modular TMS solution for shippers, logistics service providers and carriers to manage the end-to-end execution of transports
  • TAS-tms – Modular TMS solution that enables carriers and freight forwarders to manage the entire transport process
  • Teleroute, Bursa and 123cargo – Pan-European freight exchanges that connect to more than 50,000 carriers to offer and allocate shipments and trucks

About Castik Capital
Castik Capital S.à r.l. (“Castik Capital”) manages investments in private equity. Castik Capital is a European multi-strategy investment manager, acquiring significant ownership positions in European private and public companies, where long-term value can be generated through active partnerships with management teams.
Castik Capital has an investment horizon of up to ten years – longer than most other private equity funds. This enables Castik Capital to focus resources on its portfolio companies and ensure sustainable, long-term value creation.

Founded in 2014, Castik Capital is based in Luxembourg and focuses on identifying and developing investment opportunities across Europe. Investments are made by the Luxembourg-based fund, EPIC I SLP, the first fund managed by Castik Capital, which had its final close at EUR 1bn in July 2015.

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The Carlyle Group Names Minoru Koshibe as Senior Advisor

Carlyle

Industry Veteran Brings Abundant Insights and Broad Network to Support Investments and Portfolio Management

Tokyo, Japan, July 12, 2018 – Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced that Minoru Koshibe, former Executive Vice President of Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., has been appointed as a Senior Advisor to Carlyle Japan advisory team.

Mr. Koshibe will advise the Carlyle team on the business environment and key trends in sectors such as the chemicals industry. He will also support the management teams of Carlyle’s portfolio companies regarding corporate governance, operations, branding and growth strategies.

Carlyle currently has a global team of more than 40 Operating Executives, Senior Advisors and Operating Advisors with an average of more than 30 years’ experience as executives and leaders at top-tier companies. They support Carlyle’s sourcing and value creation activities across a broad range of industries. In Japan, Carlyle now has five Senior Advisors with the addition of Mr. Koshibe. Others are Mr. Tamotsu Adachi, former Co-Representative of Carlyle Japan and current Representative Director, President and CEO of Benesse Holdings, Inc.; Mr. Yukio Kubota, former President of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan, Inc.; Mr. Yasuo Nishiguchi, former President and CEO of Kyocera Corporation; and Mr. Yutaka Nishimura, former President and Regional CEO of Richemont Japan Ltd.

Kazuhiro Yamada, Managing Director and Representative of Carlyle Japan LLC, said, “I would like to sincerely welcome Mr. Koshibe to our team. During his 40-year career at Mitsui Chemicals and its predecessor, Mitsui Toatsu, Mr. Koshibe has developed significant expertise spanning from on-the-field manufacturing/production to research and process development, and extending to corporate planning, sales and business development (M&A and partnerships/alliances). With his appointment, the Carlyle team in Japan will have a strong team of five Senior Advisors, helping us to source new deals and create even more value in the companies we invest in.”

Mr. Koshibe said, “I am honored to be part of Carlyle’s Senior Advisor team. I look forward to working closely with the Carlyle Japan team to achieve further success by leveraging my experience and industry knowledge. I also hope to support the value creation of Carlyle’s portfolio companies, and hence contribute to the revitalization of the overall Japanese economy.”

Mr. Koshibe joined Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals Co., Ltd. (currently Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.) in 1978 and held positions including Corporate Planning, Executive Officer, and Planning and Development Director for the Material Business Department, and Managing Executive Officer. In 2013, he was appointed Representative Director and Executive Vice President.

Mr. Koshibe has engaged in numerous domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, helping to expand Mitsui Chemical’s businesses especially in the fields of healthcare and agrichemicals, and adding new products such as electronic glasses. He led the establishment of the company’s mid-term business plan and business portfolio restructuring, including new business partnerships, delistings and demergers. Currently, Mr. Koshibe serves as Senior Councilor for Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., Executive Advisor for Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and Consultant for LOTTE Corporation. He is also actively involved in a variety of industrial organizations, serving as, for instance, the Director for “Kokuryoku Baizou Juku” (a General Incorporated Association), Advisor for “Furusato TV” (a Nonprofit Organization), Representative Facilitator for Thomson Reuters Salon, and Supporter of Monozukuri Nadeshiko.

Mr. Koshibe earned his B.A. and M.A. from Osaka University’s School of Science.

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Ardian Real Estate acquires an office complex on Avenue de la Grande Armée in Paris

Ardian

Paris, July 11, 2018 – Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, announces today the completion of the acquisition of an office complex at 46-48 Avenue de la Grande Armée, in Paris. This transaction is in line with Ardian Real Estate’s strategy of investing in real-estate assets with a strong potential for value creation.

The 8,120 square metre post-Haussmann style complex comprises two interconnected buildings of six and eight floors. The property will be refurbished to prime standards through an ambitious program to optimize the working and tenant service areas, in accordance with key environmental certifications. The complex is very well located in the axis between the Central Business District and La Défense, adjacent to the Argentine metro station (line 1).

The building is also located on the edge of Porte Maillot, an area where numerous redevelopment projects are set to be unveiled in the coming years. Transport infrastructure is also being developed there, notably with the construction of line E of the Grand Paris Express rail network and Tramway T3, whose Porte Maillot stop will open in 2022.

This transaction follows the acquisition of Lagardère’s headquarters in Levallois in 2017. In 2018, Ardian Real Estate acquired the historic Europe 1 radio station’s headquarters Rue François 1er and another building, Place Rio de Janeiro, both in the 8th arrondissement.

 

LIST OF PARTIES INVOLVED

Investment manager/ Purchaser: Ardian
Purchaser’s advisors: Victoires Notaires, Linklaters, De Pardieu, Arsène-Taxand, JLL, Orféo
Architect: Franklin Azzi
Seller’s advisors: BlueBird Immobilier

 

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$71bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base.
Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.
Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 500 employees working from fourteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo). It manages funds on behalf of around 700 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
Follow Ardian on Twitter @Ardian

 

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