Monthly Archives: September 2019

Fortino Capital Partners and LRM invest in FoodDESK, a Belgian data and software provider for allergen management and food safety

Fortino Capital

Antwerpen – Fortino Capital Partners and LRM invest in FoodDESK, a data and software company focused on allergen and food safety management. This new funding round will help the company to support growth in Belgium and generate international traction.

FoodDESK, founded in 2015, helps hospitals, nursery homes, restaurants, butchers and bakeries comply with food regulations (notably allergens, HACCP). FoodDESK helps its customers to digitalize these mandatory processes, while giving them access to its unique, and proprietary enriched food and allergen database, which is the cornerstone of its value proposition to help its customers providing safe and healthy food to their end-consumers.

Strict food regulation and increased demand for more transparency drive the need for solutions like FoodDESK to manage allergen and food safety, as the amount of people with food allergies are soaring. Not providing the right information can have dramatic consequences to those end consumers. Many companies still use inefficient methods such as Excel and papers to manage their food safety processes. The solution of FoodDESK allows customers to comply and become more efficient in managing food safety, while also providing them with access to a unique, comprehensive and enriched food-, nutrients- and allergen database. While there are several food databases available in the market, FoodDESK’s unique approach, with its team of dieticians combined with artificial intelligence, provides access to an enriched and always up-to-date food database, where mistakes in technical input files from food suppliers are corrected and missing information is completed.

Today, FoodDESK is active in Belgium and the Netherlands, already deploying its solution in more than 750 organizations, such as AZ Sint Jan, Imelda Ziekenhuis, UZ Leuven (?), LSG Sky Chefs, ISS Catering Services. With the support of Fortino Capital and LRM, FoodDESK will focus on building out its position in Benelux, while also setting its first steps elsewhere in Europe.

Tammo Van Leeuwen from FoodDESK concludes: “If you know that up to 5-10% of the population is affected by a food allergy, allergen management and food safety is a challenge for many organisations. We provide our customers with the appropriate tools and to manage food safety in their organizations in the best way possible. With the support of Fortino and LRM, we will be able to grow in our core markets and start internationalization beyond Benelux”

Renaat Berckmoes at Fortino Capital, explains: “FoodDESK is solving a problem in a unique way for many stakeholders in food sector, making a tedious process more efficient, while helping to enhance food safety. We look forward working together with FoodDESK and LRM to expand to grow the company into a market leader in Western-Europe”

Kathleen Vandersmissen / Dries Evens at LRM, seconds “Last year, LRM already assisted FoodDESK financially through a loan. Now we also make capital available: “The combination of the food and allergen database and the innovative tools that FoodDESK’s customers have access to, provides all the health and food industry stakeholders with a wealth of information that is crucial,” said Katleen Vandersmissen, Head of Health & Care at LRM. “The regulations are becoming stricter and the customer or patient is demanding more and more transparency and clarity. We therefore see a lot of potential for FoodDESK in Belgium and abroad in this growing market.”

About FoodDESK: 

FoodDESK is a data and software company founded in 2015 by Carl Beniest and Lambaerts Sel. FoodDESK provides data and software to comply with food regulation and they ensure end-consumer has all relevant allergen information at hand. FoodDESK has more than 750 customers located in Belgium and in The Netherlands. For more information: www.FoodDESK.be

About Fortino Capital Partners:

Fortino Capital Partners is an investment company that was founded in 2013 and is led by Duco Sickinghe, Renaat Berckmoes and Matthias Vandepitte. Fortino Capital invests in remarkable companies of today and tomorrow and actively helps companies capture opportunities. They accelerate businesses and turn ambition into growth. The company manages a venture capital fund of EUR 80 million and a digital growth fund of EUR 200 million, both with focus on software and digital transformation. Fortino Capital’s investment portfolio includes MobileXpense, Maxxton, Dobco Medical Systems, LetsBuild, Teamleader, and Bloomon among others. For more information, visit www.fortinocapital.com.

About LRM:

LRM is an investment company based in Hasselt that develops and stimulates economic growth in Limburg. They provide a solid foundation, allowing companies and projects, which create jobs in Limburg, to grow. LRM is investing in varied companies from startups to growing SME’s and larger companies. The company is mainly focused on ICT, technology, Health & Care, Smart Manufacturing and Sustainability. LRM has currently 268 companies in its portfolio. For more information: www.lrm.be

Categories: News

Tags:

Amira Oueld-El Hachemi joins Activa Capital

Activa Capital

Activa Capital, the French private equity firm, announces the recruitment of Amira Oueld-El Hachemi as Finance Department Analyst. This appointment is in line with Activa Capital’s development strategy, which aims to strengthen its Finance Department. Amira will manage the Activa Capital funds under the direction of Alexandre Chollet, Chief Finance Officer. Amira is a graduate of SKEMA Business School. She joins Activa Capital after prior experience at Essling Capital and Weinberg Capital Partners.

About Activa Capital

Activa Capital is an independent private equity company, owned by its partners, characterized by a proactive strategy of supporting growth (organic and external). It currently manages more than €500 million on behalf of institutional investors by investing in French SMEs and Mid-Caps with high growth potential and an enterprise value ranging between €20 million and €100 million. Activa Capital supports its portfolio companies to accelerate their development and international presence, often through active build-up programs.

To learn more about Activa Capital, visit activa capital.com

Press contacts

Alexandre Masson                                           Christophe Parier                                Christelle Piatto

Partner                                                             Partner                                                Communications Manager

+33 1 43 12 50 12                                           +33 1 43 12 50 12                               +33 1 43 12 50 12 alexandre.masson@activacapital.com             christophe.parier@activacapital.com  christelle.piatto@activacapital.com

Categories: People

Participation in Solex

Anders Invest

September 9, 2019

|

Anders Invest

Anders Invest has acquired a controlling interest in Solex Thermal Science Inc together with its co-shareholders in Mosman. Solex, located in Calgary, Canada, like Mosman, is active in the production and sale of indirect heat exchangers for bulk solids. The expertise of Solex and Mosman are combined so that they can achieve optimum performance for their customers.

 

Solex is a global leader  in the development and sale of indirect heat exchangers for bulk solids. In addition to the application in sugar, oilseeds, and fertilizer production processes, Solex has developed heat exchangers for a wide range of other production processes, for example for coffee beans, foundry sand, and energy storage media.. The company has a great deal of expertise in the field of product development and  has a globally active sales force.

 

In its more than 25 years of existence, Solex has maintained its position as a  market leader in the field of bulk solids heat exchangers. Due to the increasing attention for energy consumption of the production processes and the desired high quality and consistency of product output, indirect heat exchangers are being used in more and more production processes. In recent years, Solex has invested heavily in the development of its technology for applications in a wide variety of bulk materials.

 

Solex and Mosman will join forces to provide optimum solutions for their customers. The locations in Calgary Canada and Haaksbergen Netherlands will remain active and the combination of capacity will enable Solex and Mosman to better serve their customers with products and services. As a result of the combination of the businesses, production of the heat exchangers will be concentrated at the Mosman facility in Haaksbergen and the expectation is that this production location will be expanded.

Categories: News

Tags:

Active Capital Companyand management invest in Technobis Group

ActiveCapital

Leading high-tech sensing specialist partners with hands-on investor to scale-up and commercialize unique proprietary technologyAlkmaar,

9 September2019– Technobis Group is an industrial holding based in Alkmaar, the Netherlands and is active in the development and production of high-tech measurement equipment and components. Active Capital Company (ACC) invests in Technobis to scale-up the group and enable the accelerated roll-out of its integrated photonics solutions.

Technobis develops and produces measurement equipment like crystallization systems, in order to very precisely measure the solubility properties for drug development by pharmaceutical companies and other life sciences customers. In addition, Technobis develops and manufactures turn-key medical equipment for leading European medical technology and industrial groups. Lastly, the company is the world-leader in integrated photonic sensing equipment,leveraging proprietary technology to provide sensing solutions to a range of industries such as Aerospace, Medical, Mobility and Energy markets worldwide.

Integrated photonic sensing is a fast developing technology,substituting conventional sensing technologies with factor 10,000xin frequency &resolution (accuracy) and at least ten time less weight, with very low power usage. The European Union has classified the Photonics sector as one of the key-enabling technologies and the Dutch government has included this in the HighTech Systems &Materials top-sector. Technobis is a prominent partner of Photon Delta; a Dutch public-private partnership with the aim of strengthening the ecosystem of integrated photonics. www.photondelta.eu

Together with Pim Kat (founder and former CEO of Technobis) and management,Active Capital Company is proud to announce that Parties have come to an agreement whereby Active Capital Company acquires a majority stake in Technobis Group, while management further(re)-invests in the company.This is the first investment withACC’snew fund.

Management & shareholders

As part of the transaction Mr. Daan Koppen de Neve has recently been appointed CEO of Technobis Group, thereby allowing Pim Kat tofully focus on the technological developments as the newCTO of the group. Pim Kat comments: “Together with the team at Technobis we look forward to partnering with Active Capital Company and Daan Kopp en de Neve and welcome their active support in realizing our strategic plan at an accelerated pace”. Mels Huige, Partner at Active Capital Company, comments: “We are impressed with Technobis Group’s unique technological know-how and proprietary technology developed in the course of the last decades”.

About Technobis

Technobis Group consists of three business units.Technobis System Supplier (TSS)is specialized in carrying out complete product development projects, going from an idea to a successful turn-key product, prototype or series product for medical, life-science and high-tech industries.Technobis Crystallization Systems(TCS)is a leading technology provider for solid-state research, process development and formulation. Integrated Photonic Sensing (IPS)is specialized in the research, development, engineering and production of Integrated Photonic Sensing modules and systems. The company develops and supplie sfibre optic sensing systems and applications based on its proprietary integrated photonics technology. In addition IPS is a solution provider for PIC (Photonic Integrated Circuits) evaluation & packaging by supplying dedicated and mid-range volume packaging services.

For further information about Technobis Group please visit www.technobis.com

About Active Capital Company

Active Capital Company is an independent hands-on private equity fund focused on small-and medium sized enterprises in the Netherlands and Germany. ACC invests in production companies, equipment manufacturers and technical wholesalers/distributors with revenues between € 10mand € 100m. Through a highly entrepreneurial and active approach, ACC maximizes the long-term value of its investments by supporting management in the hands-on execution of value enhancing projects. ACC currently invests from its new fund IVwhich will see its final close at the hard cap of € 85m, raised from both institutional investors and entrepreneurs.For further information about Active Capital Company please visit www.activecapitalcompany.com Note for the editors, not for publication:

For further information, please contact

Mels Huige at Huige@activecapitalcompany.com or +31625094978.

Categories: News

Tags:

One of A Kind Technologies expands with KOAT to accelerate Agriculture growth strategy

GIMV

09/09/2019 – 16:50 | Portfolio

2019.08.29 – One of A Kind Technologies (OOAKT) acquires KOAT B.V., an international machine- and system supplier of internal transport and material handling systems in the greenhouse horticulture.

KOAT (http://koat.nl) was founded in 1992 as ‘Koppens Ontwikkeling en Aanvoer Techniek’. The last decade the company has further developed and grown under the direction and ownership of Managing Director, Kees van Dam. KOAT develops, delivers and integrates production processing lines and internal transport systems for the horticulture greenhouse market worldwide. It has a vast experience in automating the material handling of freshly harvested crops and vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

One of A Kind Technologies is a high-tech scale-up in Eindhoven, The Netherlands focused on Computer Vision & Robotics in its markets Agriculture, Food and Pharma. With its Crux Agribotics brand (http://cruxagribotics.com) it develops and delivers compelling and innovative robotics towards the agriculture and horticulture markets. Together with KOAT it developed the SortiPack® system which integrates Automated Grading, Sorting and Packing of Tomatoes and other crops enabling growers to scale up productivity with less dependence on human labor.

Both companies see the increasing demand for automation within the agriculture market world-wide. Increasing labor scarcity, cost and demands for flexible harvesting, packing and handling including track and tracing functionality to ensure food safety are key drivers for the companies’ growth strategies.

‘This milestone step will accelerate our capacity as leading Vision & Robotics player within the Agricultural domain’ says Alex E. Kind, CEO of One of A Kind Technologies. ‘With SortiPack® and our Robotics roadmap of end-to-end handling from harvest to packing, we are one of the frontrunners to enable new possibilities within the food processing and crop handling value chains. With KOAT joining our group, we can leverage our mutual IP, customer base and systems, providing additional value and perspective to our customers, partners and employees. We will continue to invest in R&D and local sales and service presence in key markets. Now the first SortiPack® systems have been sold successfully, we will also engage and contract designated partners and agents for specific geographical markets to ensure worldwide delivery’.

With the expansion of KOAT, the One of A Kind Technologies group comprises of 125 engineers and technicians active to deliver its technology worldwide.

“I am very satisfied, that particularly One of A Kind Technologies, being an innovative and leading high-tech company, sees the potential of KOAT. I am convinced that the future growth of KOAT is secured through this step and that KOAT will contribute to the group’s results immediately”, says Kees van Dam, former owner of KOAT.  Kees will remain in his position as Director of KOAT and will ensure, together with OOAKT Management, that the company’s strategy for the coming years will be realized.

No further details will be disclosed.

Categories: News

Tags:

EnerSys to acquire NorthStar from Altor

Altor

EnerSys (NYSE: ENS), the global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications, has entered into an agreement to acquire N Holding AB, the parent company of NorthStar, from Altor Fund II. Headquartered in Stockholm with production in Springfield, Missouri, NorthStar designs, manufactures and distributes industrial premium batteries for the Telecom and Transportation segments.

“In line with our previously disclosed strategy to increase sales of premium products we are pleased to announce the acquisition of NorthStar, which will enable EnerSys to dramatically accelerate our production capacity expansion for TPPL batteries” said David M. Shaffer, President and Chief Executive Officer of EnerSys.

NorthStar was founded in 2000 and was acquired by Altor in 2007, as the “industrial start-up” at that time wanted a partner to expand its offering, client base and target markets to grow and move away from dependencies. Transformations like that takes time and much has been accomplished today. It is another testament to the ownership philosophy of Altor – to partner with great entrepreneurs and to take the next step of the journey in every aspect.

“NorthStar is another fine example of our longer ownership horizon. Starting twelve years ago when NorthStar had one product, one major customer and one production plant. Today, NorthStar is transformed with a broadened product offering, launched the industry’s first IoT connected battery, expanded telecom client base and expanded into the transportation vertical, with a strong blue-chip customer base” Claes Ekström at Altor comments. “We believe EnerSys is an excellent new owner for this great company”.

Altor was advised by DC Advisory (M&A) and Wigge & Partners (Legal).

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

About Altor
Since inception, the family of Altor funds has raised some EUR 8.3 billion in total commitments. The funds have invested 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.

About EnerSys®
EnerSys, the global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications, manufactures and distributes reserve power and motive power batteries, battery chargers, power equipment, battery accessories and outdoor equipment enclosure solutions to customers worldwide. Motive power batteries and chargers are utilized in electric forklift trucks and other commercial electric powered vehicles. Reserve power batteries are used in the telecommunication and utility industries, uninterruptible power supplies, and numerous applications requiring stored energy solutions including medical, aerospace and defense systems. With the recent Alpha acquisition, EnerSys provides highly integrated power solutions and services to broadband, telecom, renewable and industrial customers. Outdoor equipment enclosure products are utilized in the telecommunication, cable, utility and transportation industries, and by government and defense customers. The company also provides aftermarket and customer support services to its customers in over 100 countries through its sales and manufacturing locations around the world. More information regarding EnerSys can be found at www.enersys.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

Navamedic Q2 2019 – growth continues and separate listing of Medtech division

Reiten

The growth continues for Navamedic and the company reported revenues of NOK 47.2 million in the second quarter of 2019, up 4.4% from the same period in 2018. The demerger and separate listing of the Medtech division has been approved and is expected to be completed in the beginning of November 2019. The demerger is expected to provide a platform for accelerated growth in both Pharma and Medtech.

Navamedic reported revenues of NOK 47.2 million in the second quarter of 2019, up from NOK 45.2 million in the corresponding quarter last year. The gross margin was 34.4% (34.9% in Q2 2018). The EBITDA came in at NOK 0.9 million (MNOK 5.6 in Q2 2018), mainly due to project costs related to the demerger of Medtech and increased focus on business development.

In the first half of 2019, revenues increased to NOK 92.7 million (MNOK 87.8 in Q1 2018), while EBITDA came in at NOK 1.4 million (MNOK 2.7 in Q1 2018).

“We have initiated the implementation of the new growth strategy and see a great potential in leveraging Navamedic’s highly scalable pharma market access platform. In the second quarter of 2019, we continued to deliver growth driven by the strong momentum in our Obesity and Medical Nutrition product categories. We are looking forward to continue to drive growth in our current product portfolio, in addition to introducing new products and explore the arising M&A opportunities,” says Kathrine Gamborg Andreassen, CEO of Navamedic.

Gamborg Andreassen further adds; “As we continued to build on our core business to provide a highly efficient market access platform for pharma companies, we also proposed a key strategic decision to the Extraordinary General Meeting: demerger and separate listing of the Medtech division, to provide a platform for accelerated growth in both Pharma and Medtech.”

The Extraordinary General Meeting of Navamedic approved the plan for demerger and separate listing of the Medtech division. The Medtech divison is commercialising Sippi®, a new system for digital, wireless, urine measurement, in global markets. The proprietary Sippi® technology represents significant long -term revenue opportunities for Navamedic.

“Urine measurement is the last entrenchment of manual measurement at the intensive care units. Today, urine measurement is binding healthcare personnel’s time and resources, resulting in stress and mistakes, and ultimately hospital acquired infections. As the next generation digital, wireless, urine measurement and infection prevention system, Sippi® is approaching attractive markets with a unique product which meets a significant medical need. We see significant long -term global market opportunities for the proprietary Sippi® product family ahead,” says Gamborg Andreassen, CEO of Navamedic.

See 2H 2019 report at the company webpage http://www.navamedic.com/globalassets/investor-relations/presentations/quaterly-presentations/q2-2019-presentation.pdf

Categories: News

Tags:

Scanship acquires ETIA

Reiten

On the 28th of August, Scanship Holding acquired the French environmental technology company ETIA Ecotechnologies. With this acquisition, Scanship broadens their technology portfolio and strengthens their access to landbased markets. Combined the companies have the ambition to create a market leading supplier in the waste-to-energy market.

Scanship and ETIA will jointly target all markets where pyrolysis can be deployed to convert organic waste, biomass, plastic and polymers into energy, fuels, biogenic materials or molecules for the purpose of decarbonizing energy, capturing carbon, valorising waste and creating end-of-waste solutions.

“Over the past years, we have built on Scanship’s position as the preferred supplier of waste management and wastewater purification solutions for cruise ships, we have moved into aquaculture and now most recently, also will deliver our first full-scale land-based solution. We have proven our ability to integrate advanced technology in commercially attractive solutions and profitable deliveries. The acquisition of ETIA is a logical next step. With the broader technology portfolio of ETIA, we will now expand of offering of land-based solutions,” says Henrik Badin, CEO of Scanship Holding.

He further adds: “ETIA is European technology leader to valorise biomass residues and waste into renewable products, chemicals and fossil free energy through pyrolysis solutions. ETIA’s proven solutions for turning waste into valuable green products and climate friendly energy fit well with our ambitions to become a leading player in the circular economy, both at sea and on land,” says Henrik Badin, CEO of Scanship Holding.

“Circular economy has been a key motivating factor for ETIA since the company’s inception in 1989. Like Scanship on marine applications, we have developed on-land compact solutions that capture valuable resources, prevent pollution and produce energy. Climate change and environmental issues must be addressed both on a global and local level, and our solutions can be adapted for both municipal and industrial applications. Scanship and ETIA share the same vision for the future, and we are impressed by Scanship’s proven skills and competences for system deliveries. By joining forces, we are making our combined offering even stronger,” says Dr. Olivier Lepez, Co-Founder and CEO of ETIA.

Categories: News

Tags:

Partners Group commits to second unitranche investment in Asia with financing of Gong Cha Group

Partners Group

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has committed a unitranche debt financing to Gong Cha Group (“Gong Cha” or “the Company”), a leading global provider of premium quality bubble and milk tea, on behalf of its clients. The transaction, which also includes a significant equity kicker, supports the strategic growth investment in Gong Cha by the private equity firm TA Associates.

Founded in 2006 in Southern Taiwan, Gong Cha offers consumers a variety of seasonal and specialty tea-based drinks. Its main offering is Taiwanese-style bubble tea, a sweet milk tea infused with tapioca pearls. Primarily utilizing a franchise model, Gong Cha reaches consumers through a variety of retail store formats, with more than 1,000 outlets in 17 countries across the globe, including Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Mexico, Australia, Canada, the UK and the US.

Partners Group’s investment in Gong Cha follows an earlier investment on behalf of its clients into the unitranche debt of AGS Health, a provider of clinical documentation and revenue-cycle management solutions to healthcare providers. Together with transactions in Australia, Partners Group has invested more than USD 600 million in unitranche investments over the last two years across the Asia-Pacific region.

Edward Tong, Senior Vice President, Head Private Debt Asia, Partners Group, comments: “Gong Cha is one of the world’s most recognized bubble tea brands, albeit one with its roots firmly in Asia. It is well positioned to benefit from the steady growth of the tea market globally and we are excited to partner with TA Associates to support its further expansion.”

Bill Berry, Partner, Head Private Debt, Partners Group, adds: “The private debt business at Partners Group has shown itself to be an innovative lender with a track record of breaking new ground. We have taken the unitranche product out of Australia and into Asia, and believe there is scope to provide these tailored financing solutions while maintaining a high degree of credit selectivity.”

Categories: News

Tags:

Partners Group to acquire 50% stake in Latin American power generation platform, EnfraGen

Partners Group

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in EnfraGen, LLC (“EnfraGen” or “the Company”), a leading developer, owner and operator of specialized power generation assets in Latin America, on behalf of its clients. Glenfarne Group (“Glenfarne”), the US-based industrial owner and operator that founded EnfraGen, will retain the remaining 50% of the business. Part of Partners Group’s capital injection will fund EnfraGen’s expansion into Colombia with the acquisition of Termoflores, the country’s second largest back-up power generation asset and one of its largest combined cycle gas turbine assets.

Formed in 2015, EnfraGen specializes in providing back-up power for grid stability and baseload renewable power generation in investment grade countries in Latin America through its existing businesses, Prime Energía and Fontus. Prime Energía focuses on grid stability with a portfolio comprising eight thermal back-up power generation assets in Chile and the newly acquired Termoflores asset in Colombia. Fontus focuses on baseload renewable assets with an expanding portfolio of solar assets and three hydropower assets. Including the Termoflores acquisition, EnfraGen will have 1.4GW in total power generation capacity across its platform, plus an executable growth pipeline.

Following the investment, Partners Group and Glenfarne will work closely with EnfraGen’s management team, led by Brendan Duval, EnfraGen CEO and Founding Partner of Glenfarne, to drive forward a number of strategic value creation and growth initiatives. Key areas of focus will include the ongoing development of the Fontus assets in Chile, Colombia, and Panama; executing on the construction of the existing greenfield portfolio; and further expanding the platform via strategic acquisitions in target markets.

Brendan Duval, CEO of EnfraGen, states: “We are pleased to work with Partners Group to pursue our shared vision for EnfraGen as a preeminent power platform focused on grid stability and value-added renewable assets across investment grade Latin America. We see a robust pipeline of opportunities to further build EnfraGen’s portfolio, and look forward to combining Glenfarne’s and Partners Group’s expertise and innovation to achieve this vision.”

Edward Diffendal, Managing Director, Private Infrastructure Americas, Partners Group, adds: “Latin America has experienced a rapid expansion of renewable energy sources, creating an increased need for grid stability. EnfraGen operates in a particularly attractive segment of this market, which benefits from structural renewable tailwinds and receives stable cash flows under long-term established capacity contracts. Back-up power generators such as EnfraGen play a critical role in reducing load imbalance in Latin America, and EnfraGen also provides reliable renewable energy to local communities.”

Categories: News

Tags: