Monthly Archives: June 2019

EQT to sell AutoStore

eqt

  • EQT to sell AutoStore, the leading global provider of warehouse automation systems, to THL Partners and other co-investors
  • During EQT’s ownership, AutoStore has expanded its geographical presence, broadened its addressable market through new R&D innovations (including launch of the Black Line) and empowered some of the world’s largest warehouses with state-of-the-art automation solutions
  • Since acquired by EQT, AutoStore has experienced exponential growth, with quadrupled revenues, a 4.5 EBITDA increase and a doubling of the employee base

The EQT VII fund (“EQT” or “EQT VII”) has entered into an agreement to sell AutoStore (“the Company”) to THL Partners L.P. (or “THL Partners”). EQT VII will reinvest in AutoStore and continues as minority owner, holding an approximate 10 percent stake in the Company.

Headquartered in Nedre Vats, Norway, AutoStore is an automated cubic warehouse systems pioneer. The Company’s cubic solution has automated more than 350 warehouses in 28 countries around the globe. AutoStore’s technology increases logistic efficiency significantly and consequently cater for consumers’ rapid-growing demand for speedy delivery of goods. AutoStore’s solutions represent a competitive advantage for leading retail companies, such as Puma, Best-Buy and Boozt.

Following a “cross-pollination initiative” to identify key investment themes across EQT’s core sectors, Warehouse Automation was identified as an attractive thematic investment opportunity in the Industrial Technology sector. AutoStore first appeared on EQT’s radar in 2011 through the previous portfolio company XXL, a leading Nordic sports retail chain, which utilized AutoStore’s storage solutions as one of its tools to disrupt the Nordic sports retail market. After following the Company closely for years, EQT acquired AutoStore in January 2017.

Together with the management team, the board of directors and two advisory boards, EQT has supported AutoStore’s accelerated growth journey. Under EQT’s tenure, revenues have quadrupled, EBITDA has increased by 4.5 and the employee base, including the R&D department, has more than doubled.

Enabled by substantial step-up in R&D investments, AutoStore launched the “Black Line” series in 2019, a new product family of retrieval robots generating up to 140 percent higher throughput compared to its predecessors. By introducing the Black Line and catering for even more high-speed application, AutoStore expects to broaden the addressable market by 40 percent. Furthermore, the R&D pipeline looks promising with multiple new launches expected over the coming years.

Karl Johan Lier, CEO and President of AutoStore, said: “The AutoStore and EQT partnership has been excellent. EQT has played a critical role from A to Z and has actively supported us in overperforming the Company’s ambitious targets set in 2016. We look forward to continuing our growth journey with our new partner THL Partners and are happy that EQT has rolled over some of its proceeds”.

Anders Misund, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VII, concluded: “EQT has been proud to support AutoStore’s mission to become one of the leading logistic technology providers globally. We are highly impressed by the innovation spirit and R&D efficiency in AutoStore and the result-oriented culture. Management has done an outstanding job in accelerating growth and solidifying its global presence in the Automated Storage and Retrieval System market and EQT is happy to remain invested in the coming years”.

The transaction is subject to customary approvals and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2019.

Contact
Anders Misund, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VII fund, +47 232 37 555
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a leading investment firm with more than EUR 61 billion in raised capital across 29 funds and around EUR 40 billion in assets under management. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 21 billion and approximately 127,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About AutosStore
AutoStore, founded in 1996, is a robot technology company that invented and continues to pioneer Cube Storage Automation; the densest storage solution in existence. Our focus is to marry software and hardware with human abilities to create the future of warehousing. The company is global with more than 350 systems in 28 countries in a wide range of industries. All sales are distributed, designed, installed and serviced by a network of qualified system integrators we call partners. Our headquarters is in Nedre Vats, Norway, and with offices in US, UK, Germany and France.

More info: www.autostoresystem.com

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DIF opens office in Santiago (Chile)

DIF

Schiphol, 19 June 2019 – DIF is pleased to announce that it has opened an office in Santiago, Chile. From Santiago DIF will target Latin America with an initial focus predominantly on Chile and Uruguay.

The office will be headed by Daniel Aninat, who is hired as a Managing Director. Daniel came from Scotiabank, where he was heading the Chilean corporate banking division. Before that he was head of project and acquisition finance for Santander in Chile. Daniel has a broad experience in the Latin American infrastructure and power sectors. Furthermore Luis Hinojosa, Senior Director in DIF’s Madrid office, will relocate to Santiago. Luis is with DIF since 2015 and has a broad infrastructure experience, including in different Latin American countries.

Wim Blaasse, Managing Partner at DIF: “Latin America is a large and fast growing infrastructure market, in which we see several interesting investment opportunities across all our target sectors. We are delighted with this next step for DIF and further expand our global office network to nine offices, enabling us to better source and manage projects locally, as well as continue to construct diversified portfolios.”

About DIF
DIF is an independent infrastructure fund manager, with €5.6 billion of assets under management across seven closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in greenfield and brownfield infrastructure assets globally through two complementary strategies:

  • DIF Infrastructure V targets equity investments in public-private partnerships (PPP/PFI/P3), concessions, regulated assets and renewable energy projects with long-term contracted or regulated income streams that generate stable and predictable cash flows;
  • DIF Core Infrastructure Fund I targets equity investments in small to mid-sized infrastructure assets in the energy, transportation and telecom sectors with mid-term contracted income streams that generate stable and predictable cash flows.

DIF has a team of over 125 professionals, based in nine offices located in Schiphol (the Netherlands), Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto. Please visit www.dif.eu for further information.

Contact: Allard Ruijs, Partner, a.ruijs@dif.eu

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EQT acquires Acumatica – a US-based ‘cloud-native’ ERP software vendor – in connection with its existing IFS investment

eqt

  • EQT acquires Acumatica, a fast-growing US-based provider of modern, flexible, cloud-based ERP software systems
  • Acumatica is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the opportunity created from the ERP market’s shift to cloud-based software, thanks to its customer-centric product proposition and a highly-scalable indirect distribution model
  • Acumatica to become sister company of existing EQT VII portfolio company IFS, the leading ERP software vendor
  • EQT will support Acumatica’s continued growth journey by leveraging its TMT and software expertise, global platform and cross-pollination opportunities with IFS

The EQT VII fund (“EQT” or “EQT VII”) has entered into agreements to acquire Acumatica (or “the Company”) from its founders, management and other minority investors. Existing shareholders and management will re-invest significantly into the Company, while EQT will have majority ownership.

Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, US, Acumatica is a fast-growing software as a service (“SaaS”) company, serving customers with true cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) solutions. Through its ERP platform, Acumatica helps customers streamline and automate processes, manage and control inventory in real-time and increase productivity. The Company’s software is delivered via the cloud and is accessible from any location, on any device.

The acquisition was made through the same EQT VII holding company, which currently owns leading ERP software vendor, IFS. Going forward, Acumatica and IFS will operate as sister companies, serving the market with complementary cloud ERP solutions. Acumatica will focus on small to medium sized businesses while IFS will continue to focus on larger enterprise customers.

The two companies are expected to benefit from cross-pollination of R&D capabilities and a synergistic geographic and end-market footprint. At the same time, Acumatica will continue to operate as an independent company, led by CEO Jon Roskill, with a focus on accelerating its strong growth momentum, customer satisfaction and channel-only go-to-market strategy.

Johannes Reichel, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT VII, commented: “Acumatica perfectly fits EQT’s thematic investment approach and will strongly benefit from EQT’s long experience in developing companies in the software sector. The transaction also forges a strategic relationship between Acumatica and IFS – two of the fastest-growing ERP vendors globally. These two companies are best-in-class challengers and together they are well-positioned to serve the entire ERP market, from small and medium, all the way to large enterprises, on a global scale. EQT is very excited to back Jon and the greater leadership team at Acumatica.”

Jon Roskill, CEO of Acumatica, said: “This move provides exceptional validation of Acumatica’s market execution and growth in the last several years. Greater investment from EQT will unlock new opportunities for us to better serve our customers and secure a stronger future for Acumatica. To compound this potential, is the access to, and collaboration with, ERP industry leader and fellow EQT portfolio company, IFS.”

Darren Roos, CEO of IFS, said: “I am excited about the enormous potential the IFS and Acumatica businesses have being part of the same portfolio. Our ability to add value to each other’s customers and partners will accelerate value creation across both companies. I am a huge admirer of what Jon has achieved and look forward to being part of the next chapter of Acumatica’s story.”

Serguei Beloussov, CEO of Acronis, Founder and Chairman of Acumatica said: “Acumatica has built one of the leading cloud platforms in the world since we founded the business in 2006, testament to the founding team’s expertise in building cloud platforms, as also reflected by the success of Acronis‘ Cyber Protection platform. EQT’s investment will allow Acumatica to focus on achieving its goal to become the global market leader in the cloud ERP market and continue to accelerate its xRP platform development to better support to its current and future ISVs and OEMs.”

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The proposed transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Jefferies acted as financial advisor and Kirkland and Ellis LLP acted as legal advisors to EQT VII. GCA acted as financial advisor to Acumatica and Willkie Farr & Gallagher as legal counsel.

Contacts
Johannes Reichel, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT VII, +49 89 25 54 990; EQT Press office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a leading investment firm with more than EUR 61 billion in raised capital across 29 funds and around EUR 40 billion in assets under management. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 21 billion and approximately 127,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About Acumatica
Acumatica Cloud ERP provides the best business management solution for transforming your company to thrive in the new digital economy. Built on a future-proof platform with open architecture for rapid integrations, scalability, and ease of use, Acumatica delivers unparalleled value to more than 5,000 small and midmarket organizations through our team of 275 worldwide employees and 300 channel partners.

More info: www.acumatica.com

About IFS
IFS™ develops and delivers enterprise software for customers around the world who manufacture and distribute goods, maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations. The industry expertise of our people and solutions, together with commitment to our customers, has made us a recognized leader and the most recommended supplier in our sector. Our team of 3,500 employees supports more than 10,000 customers worldwide from a network of local offices and through our growing ecosystem of partners.

More info: www.IFSworld.com

Follow us on Twitter: @ifsworld

 

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Altor invests in XXL

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Altor

XXL ASA (“XXL” or the “Company”) has agreed to sell its 3,096,274 XXL shares (2.23% of the outstanding shares in the Company) held in treasury (the “Treasury Shares”) to Altor Invest 5 AS and Altor Invest 6 AS at a price of NOK 25.00 per share. Altor Invest 5 AS and Altor Invest 6 AS are indirect subsidiaries of Altor Fund IV, a fund in the Altor family of funds (together referred to as “Altor”).

The Company’s sale of Treasury Shares will yield total proceeds to XXL in the amount of NOK 77.4 million and contribute to a strengthened liquidity situation for the Company.

In addition to acquiring the Treasury Shares, Altor has on 19 June 2019 acquired 7,100,000 shares from existing XXL shareholders. Together with the 6,900,000 shares already owned by Altor, Altor will own 14,000,000 shares (10.06%) excluding the Treasury Shares and 17,096,274 shares (12.29%) including the Treasury Shares, and has requested a representative on the Board of Directors of the Company.

In the period from 2010 to 2015 XXL was partly owned by EQT. In this period XXL developed strongly, gaining market leadership in Nordic sports retail, including a strong position online, together with solid financial results. XXL has accordingly good experience with PE owners, and believes Altor will fuel the Company with competence in the next phase. Altor is a market leading Nordic PE fund and a long-term investor focused on investing in and developing medium sized companies, with extensive retail and consumer goods experience, strong industrial network and portfolio companies with both similar characteristics as well as potential partnerships with XXL. The Board of Directors is of the view that Altor’s involvement with the Company will contribute to strengthening XXL’s business model as Altor is recognized as a long term value creator with an active ownership model, and that increased involvement from Altor will be in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders.

Chairman of the Board of Directors in XXL, Øivind Tidemandsen, is supportive of the transaction and to have Altor as a large shareholder in the Company. Dolphin Management AS, controlled by Øivind Tidemandsen, has therefore today sold 2,400,000 shares in XXL at a price of NOK 25.00 to Altor. Following this transaction, Dolphin Management AS owns 31,650,000 shares in XXL (22.75%) and will remain a large shareholder in the Company.

The Treasury Shares have been acquired by the Company pursuant to a board authorization granted by the general meeting under which treasury shares may only be used in conjunction with the share incentive scheme for the Company’s employees or cancelled in connection with a reduction of the share capital of the Company. A different use of the Treasury Shares will need an approval from the general meeting, and the sale of the Treasury Shares to Altor is therefore subject to approval by the Company’s general meeting. The Board of Directors will in due course call for an extraordinary general meeting with the agenda of approving the sales of the Treasury Shares as well as electing a representative of Altor as a member of the Board of Directors in XXL. Shareholders representing in the excess of 50% of the outstanding shares have confirmed that they will vote in favour of such resolutions.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

For more information, please contact:
Tor Krusell, head of Communications Altor, +46705438747

About XXL ASA
XXL is a leading sports retailer with stores and e-commerce in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Austria. It is the largest among the major sports retailers in the Nordics and the fastest growing among the major sports retail chains in the World. XXL pursues a broad customer appeal, offering a one stop shop experience with a wide range of products for sports, hunting, skiing, biking and other outdoor activities. XXL’s concept is to have the largest stores with the best prices and the widest assortment of products, focusing on branded goods.

About Altor
Since inception, the family of Altor funds has raised some EUR 8.3 billion in total commitments. The funds have invested in excess of EUR 4.2 billion in more than 60 companies. The investments have been made in medium sized predominantly Nordic companies with the aim to create value through growth initiatives and operational improvements. Among current and past investments are Dustin, Byggmax, Navico, Infotheek, Orchid, Wrist Ship Supply, Sbanken, Rossignol, Helly Hansen, SATS and Carnegie Investment Bank. For more information visit www.altor.com.

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Fortino Capital Partners invests in Declaree, the innovative Dutch challenger in expense management

Fortino Capital

Fortino Capital Partners expands its portfolio of Travel & Expense management companies with its investment in Declaree, the innovative Dutch challenger.  Besides the acquisition of MobileXpense in Belgium and eBuilder Travel in Sweden, it is the third investment of Fortino Capital in the market of expense management.

Declaree was founded in 2014 by Bas Janssen, Bart Jochems and Jasper Spoor with the ambition of simplifying and facilitating paper-based and cumbersome expense management processes. Since then, Declaree has 20 employees and 750 clients mainly located in the Netherlands and Germany. In the Netherlands and Belgium, Declaree serves large customers such as KLM, Hunter Douglas, Schiphol and KPMG, as well as many small and medium-sized companies. For Germany, it is about companies such as Lemonaid, Suitepad and Lufthansa Group Business Services.
Expense management is a challenge for many organisations. Many companies still use inefficient methods for these processes. Thanks to Declaree’s mobile and web application, they are capable of reducing the time spent on the internal management of expenses by almost 75 per cent, while also getting more grip on the expenses itself by increased transparency.
Fortino Capital Partners started its growth journey in travel & expense management by investing in MobileXpense in Belgium and eBuilder Travel in Sweden. These two players mainly focus on multinational and governmental organisations that need to comply with many different and often complex rules in all countries active in.
Matthias Vandepitte, partner at Fortino Capital, explains: “Declaree offers a genuinely innovative solution which has already served hundreds of companies of all sizes. We are really impressed by what the team of Bas, Bart and Jasper have built over the past years, and we see enormous potential for the future. That is why we are particularly proud of being able to support the internationalisation of Declaree in Europe with our expertise and investment. We look forward working together on our joint growth aspirations.”
Bas Janssen from Declaree concludes: “The past five years, we have heavily invested in developing our product and scaling in the Netherlands and Germany. To realize the next step in our growth we have searched for a strategic investor with knowledge and experience in international expansion. We are convinced to have found the right strategic partner in Fortino Capital.”

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Ampersand Completes Growth Equity Investment in N2 Biomedical

Bedford, MA – June 18, 2019 – N2 Biomedical, a leading provider of coating and surface treatment solutions to the medical device industry, announced today the majority recapitalization of the company by Ampersand Capital Partners. As part of the transaction N2 also announced the appointment of Randall Sword, an executive with 30 years of experience in the medical device sector, as President and CEO. Mr. Sword has served in executive leadership positions at multiple leading medical device manufacturing companies, including as CEO of AdvancedCath.

Since its founding in 2013, N2 has processed millions of medical devices utilized in orthopedic, cardiovascular, and other procedures. The company’s proprietary processes are utilized in a variety of critical settings to improve material characteristics including lubricity, infection resistance, biocompatibility and tissue integration, and wear and corrosion resistance.

Mr. Sword commented, “I am very pleased to join a company with such unique technologies and a history of developing innovative coating and surface modification solutions for the medical device industry. With the support of an experienced and successful medical device investor in Ampersand, we look forward to further enhancing the high level of service and innovation customers have come to expect from N2.”

Trevor Wahlbrink, a Partner at Ampersand added, “N2 is an excellent fit with Ampersand’s investment strategy in the medical device industry, in which we target industry leaders with differentiated manufacturing technologies that address the critical needs of patients and global medical device OEMs. We are very excited to partner with Randall and the rest of the N2 management team to continue the company’s growth trajectory and support the expansion of N2’s service offering in this rapidly evolving industry.”

N2 co-founders Mark Little and Eric Tobin remain shareholders in the company. Mr. Little will remain on the Board of Directors, and Mr. Tobin will remain in his current position as the company’s Chief Operating Officer.

About N2 Biomedical

Established in 2013, N2 provides coating and surface treatment development and application services for implantable and other medical devices utilized in orthopedic, cardiovascular, and other healthcare end-markets. N2 is ISO-13485 certified, FDA GMP-compliant, and operates in a 30,000 square foot facility with laboratory, manufacturing, and cleanroom space to service all customer and regulatory requirements. The company leverages its proprietary processes and equipment to provide customized solutions that enhance the characteristics of various materials in critical applications, including lubricity, infection resistance, biocompatibility and tissue integration, and wear and corrosion resistance. Additional information about N2 Biomedical is available at N2bio.com.

About Ampersand Capital Partners

Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston, MA and Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ampersand leverages a unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of its core healthcare sectors, including Avista Pharma Solutions, Brammer Bio, Confluent Medical, Genewiz, Genoptix, Talecris Biotherapeutics, and Viracor-IBT Laboratories. Additional information about Ampersand is available at ampersandcapital.com.

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Bure has acquired shares in Mentice AB

Bure

2019-06-18 13:00

Bure Equity AB (publ) (“Bure”) has, in connection with the IPO of Mentice AB (“Ovzon”), acquired 2,448,000 shares corresponding to 10.1 percent of the total number of shares and votes in the company for SEK 120 million. Mentice was listed today, 18 June 2019, on Nasdaq First North Premier Stockholm.

Bure Equity AB (publ)


For more information contact:

Henrik Blomquist, CEO
Tel. +46 (0)8-614 00 20

The information was submitted for publication at 13:00 CET on 18 June 2019.

 

 

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EVRY and Tieto joining forces to create a leading Nordic digital services company

Apax

18 June 2019

Fornebu/ Espoo, 18 June 2019: EVRY and Tieto have today announced a merger agreement to create the most competitive digital services and software company in the Nordics.

With combined revenue of close to EUR 3 billion and 24 000 professionals, the combined company will be well-positioned to create digital advantage for Nordic enterprises and society. The transaction will be highly complementary from a geographical, offering and customer perspective. The combined company will be named TietoEVRY and it will serve thousands of enterprise and public sector customers in more than 90 countries.

Tieto and EVRY have rich and complementary capabilities in areas of digital consulting, industry software, advanced cloud and infrastructure services.  The combination brings especially strong value proposition with advanced Fintech solutions for the global Financial Services industry. Furthermore, the combined company will have comprehensive solutions for healthcare and welfare as well as the public sector in the Nordics, well positioned for the extensive national reforms ahead.

With more than 5 000 digital consultants with deep customer knowledge in the Nordics and around 10 000 globally, the new company is set to accelerate its customers digital transformation. The new company will be a leading employer in digital services and software in the Nordics.

A strong presence in Norway, Sweden and Finland together with global delivery centers, provide a good foundation for future growth; Fintech solutions, industry specific software and product development services form the spearheads for further international expansion. With the combined capacity to invest in new services and capabilities, the combination is well positioned to drive innovation.

“This combination announced today will create a company well positioned to be a leading provider of digital transformation across the Nordics for the benefit of our customers, employees, shareholders and the society. With continued investments in our people, latest technologies such as robotics, cloud and artificial intelligence, the combination will be a truly competitive digital partner for our customers. We have a strong foundation based on Nordic values with utmost respect for every individual and focus on life-long learning. I believe we will create exciting opportunities for professional and personal growth for employees in both companies – and a strong value proposition for our customers. I foresee a very exciting journey ahead,” says Kimmo Alkio, President and CEO of Tieto.

“EVRY has during the last years taken important steps and become a preferred partner for digital transformation to our customers. The two companies, EVRY and Tieto, share a strong Nordic values promoting openness, trust and diversity. I believe that the new company will attract the right competence, customers and partners,” says Per Hove, CEO of EVRY.

Thomas Franzén will be proposed to the shareholder meetings to be the Chairman of the Board of Directors and following the completion of the merger, Kimmo Alkio will be Chief Executive Officer of the combined company. Per Hove will continue in his role as CEO of EVRY until the closing of the transaction and work closely with Tieto CEO Kimmo Alkio in the integration of the companies.

The new company will have its headquarters in Espoo, Finland.  The corporate and management functions will be distributed across Oslo, Stockholm and Espoo.

Following completion of the merger the shares in the combined company will continue to be listed on the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki and Nasdaq Stockholm. In addition, an application for listing on Oslo Stock Exchange will be made.

The transaction is subject to approval by the shareholders. It is expected that the merger will be completed during the fourth quarter of 2019, or during the first quarter of 2020 at the latest.

Read also the Stock Exchange Release: https://www.tieto.com/globalassets/files/investor-relations/2019/tietoevry-stock-exchange-release.pdf

Further information

EVRY

Investors:
Henrik Schibler, CFO, tel +47 4001 0303, henrik.schibler (at) evry.com

Media:
Unni Strømstad, EVP Communications & Marketing, tel +47 9775 3453, unni.stromstad@evry.com,

Tieto

Investors:
Tomi Hyryläinen, CFO, tel. +358 50 555 0363, tomi.hyrylainen (at) tieto.com

Media:
Kia Haring, Head of Global Communications and Corporate Responsibility, +358 40 765 3700

About EVRY
EVRY is a leading Nordic tech and consulting company. Together with our customers and an ecosystem of the best global digital experts, we shape the future today by applying new technologies to improve end user experiences, and the performance of people, processes and systems.

We are close to our customers and represent a Nordic mindset on responsibility, quality and security.

We leverage our Nordicness to do business in more than 18 countries. EVRY is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange. Our 8 800 employees are passionate about creating digital advantage and shaping the future – today.

About Tieto
Tieto aims to capture the significant opportunities of the data-driven world and turn them into lifelong value for people, business and society. We aim to be customers’ first choice for business renewal by combining our software and services capabilities with a strong drive for co-innovation and ecosystems.

Headquartered in Finland, Tieto has around 15 000 experts in close to 20 countries. Tieto’s turnover is approximately EUR 1.6 billion and shares listed on NASDAQ in Helsinki and Stockholm. www.tieto.com

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InfraRed backed Statera Energy enters into strategic partnership with Statkraft to faciliate low carbon transition in the UK

InfraRed Capital Partners

InfraRed Capital Partners (“InfraRed”) is pleased to announce that Statera Energy (“Statera”), the UK’s leading developer, owner and operator of flexible infrastructure, has entered into a 15-year strategic partnership with Statkraft to realise a 1 GW portfolio of utility scale flexible generation and energy storage projects.

Statera Energy will provide one of the UK’s largest battery facilities to store renewable energy at times of excess production. Statera will also deliver high efficiency gas reciprocating engines to flexibly generate electricity at times of under-production or peak demand. The assets will complement Statkraft’s 3.8 GW UK renewable generation portfolio, contributing to a reduction in conventional, less flexible, fossil fuel generation and carbon emissions in the UK’s electricity system.

Statera, backed by global investment manager InfraRed Capital Partners, will continue to develop, build, own and operate its flexible gas generation and energy storage portfolio throughout the partnership. As new assets come online, they will be integrated into Statkraft’s virtual power plant and advanced trading platform.  Statkraft will provide market optimisation, trading and risk management services to the assets.

Statkraft, strives to be a leading route-market-services provider to ensure a secure, renewable and cost-efficient electricity system of the future. Flexible power generation will continue to form an essential part of enabling the viability of renewables in the coming decades, at the lowest cost to consumers.

Duncan Dale, head of Statkraft’s markets business in UK, said:

“Statkraft recognises the importance of flexible power generation for the provision of secure energy supply in the years to come until multi-day mass energy storage becomes economically viable. It is vital that any new generation capacity is highly efficient and ultra-flexible, like Statera’s.

We have partnered with Statera because of their project development approach and relentless optimisation of the project design and operations. Everything about these projects suggests that new efficiencies can be made, which means lower carbon emissions and lower costs to the consumer. The energy market and the UK’s transition to a low carbon future should benefit greatly from unlocking this potential.”

Tom Vernon, Managing Director of Statera Energy, said:

“Statera is excited to be able to continue to deliver best-in-class energy storage and highly flexible and efficient gas generation to the renewable energy market in the UK. We intend to do our part to support security of supply and facilitate the low carbon transition enabling a more renewable future.

We have partnered with Statkraft because of its industry-leading trading capabilities and innovative approach to the future energy market. The UK generation mix and electricity market design will continue to evolve rapidly in the coming years, becoming increasingly volatile and challenging to trade. Statkraft will optimise the increasing dependence that its renewable portfolio has on flexible generation and storage, to help balance the electricity system using Statera’s assets for the next 15 years.”

Enquiries

Tulchan Communications
+44 (0) 20 7353 4200
Sheebani Chothani

More Information

About InfraRed Capital Partners 

InfraRed Capital Partners is a global investment manager focused on infrastructure and real estate. It operates worldwide from offices in Sydney, London, Hong Kong, New York, Seoul and Mexico City. With around 150 professionals it manages US$12bn of equity capital in multiple private and listed funds, primarily for institutional investors across the globe. InfraRed Capital Partners is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority.

InfraRed Capital Partners has been investing in the Infrastructure market for over 20 years and is an expert in the development, financing and management of infrastructure projects from their conception, design and construction into their operating phases.

InfraRed Capital Partners was the lead sponsor responsible for the development and execution of this complex and unique transaction for Curtin University.

InfraRed Capital Partners implements best-in-class practices to underpin asset management and investment decisions, promotes ethical behaviour and has established community engagement initiatives to support good causes in the wider community. InfraRed Capital Partners is a signatory of the Principles of Responsible Investment.

Further details can be found on InfraRed’s website, www.ircp.com.

 

About Statera Energy

Statera Energy is the UK’s leading developer, owner and operator of battery storage projects. It has been operating two of the UK’s largest batteries (c.100MW) from 2017, with a further 600MW of projects consented and ready for  construction. In addition, Statera Energy is pioneering highly flexible, highly efficient, gas reciprocating engines.  These fast-action power plants enable the UK to continue to grow its renewable energy portfolio, protecting the National Grid against the intermittent and unpredictable nature of weather dependent energy sources. In 2016 the company commissioned a 50MW flexible gas-fired power generation plant and has since secured consents for a further 200MW of projects which are ready for construction. Beyond this the company is actively developing a large pipeline of transmission and distribution connected projects at strategic locations in the UK. Statera Energy is majority owned by Infrared Capital Partners.

Further details can be found on Statera Energy’s website, www.stateraenergy.co.uk

 

About Statkraft

Statkraft is a leading company in hydropower internationally and Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy. The Group produces hydropower, wind power, solar power, gas-fired power and supplies district heating. Statkraft is a global company in energy market operations. Statkraft has 3,600 employees in more than 16 countries.

In the UK Statkraft develops, owns and operates renewable production facilities and is also involved in the trading, origination and optimisation of energy from own projects and those of third parties using our sophisticated and in-house developed Virtual Power Plant technology.

As a leading provider of Power Purchase Agreements for renewable and flexible generators and energy storage facilities, Statkraft has facilitated over 6 GW of new-build assets for third parties

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Axcel invests in Phase One

Axcel

Axcel has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Phase One, a leading technology business specialising in high-end digital imaging software and equipment. The existing management team will reinvest alongside Axcel and continue to own a significant stake in the company.

In recent years, Phase One has been successfully transformed into a market-leading imaging technology company through its two divisions:

  • Software Imaging Systems (SIS), which provides market-leading raw image-processing software to photographers and enterprises under the Capture One brand; and
  • Image Capture Solutions (ICS), which supplies ultra-high-end, medium-format camera systems for industrial applications and specialty photography.

Today, the majority of growth and profitability comes from sales of software solutions, where the company has managed to grow by ~40% p.a. in revenue in the last four years and also expects significant growth in 2019. The company is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has operations in Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan and the US.

“We’re very happy that we’ve been able to find a new owner in Axcel, which has significant experience of developing technology businesses,” says CEO Henrik Håkonsson. “We see a significant opportunity to grow and further strengthen our position in the coming years. I’m convinced that, together with Axcel, we can take Phase One to the next level.”

Christian Bamberger Bro, who is responsible for the investment at Axcel, is pleased with the transaction:

“Phase One has built its position on deep technical expertise and an innovative product portfolio, and we’re impressed by what the management team has achieved over the last few years. We look forward to applying our experience of growing software businesses and to partnering with the management in their pursuit of further growth.”

Asbjørn Hyldgaard, a partner at Axcel, adds:

”Phase One is an exciting investment opportunity for Axcel where we can utilise our track record within a number of sectors, namely technology, industrial and consumer. There are many ways in which we can create value in Phase One in the years to come.”

Phase One is being acquired from Silverfleet Capital and its management. The parties have agreed not to disclose any financial terms. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Phase One is the eighth investment in Axcel V.

Axcel has been advised by Deloitte Corporate Finance, Deloitte Transaction Services, Bain & Company, Moalem Weitemeyer Bendtsen and Ropes & Gray.

 

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