Monthly Archives: November 2019

Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Completes Acquisition of Bellagio Real Estate from MGM Resorts International for $4.25 Billion in Sale-Leaseback Transaction

Blackstone

November 18, 2019 – New York and Las Vegas – Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (“BREIT”) and MGM Resorts International (“MGM Resorts”) (NYSE: MGM) today announced the closing of the previously announced 95%/5% BREIT-led joint venture with MGM Resorts to acquire the real estate assets of the Bellagio for $4.25 billion in a sale-leaseback transaction.

As part of the transaction, MGM Resorts has leased the property from the joint venture and continues to manage, operate and be responsible for all aspects of the property on a day-to-day basis.

The transaction was announced on October 15, 2019.

Advisors
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP served as legal counsel to MGM Resorts and PJT Partners and J.P. Morgan served as financial advisors to MGM Resorts. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co served as financial advisors to BREIT. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to BREIT.

Morgan Stanley & Co, J.P. Morgan, and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. served as BREIT’s financing advisors.

About Blackstone Real Estate
Blackstone is a global leader in real estate investing. Blackstone’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has $157 billion of investor capital under management. Blackstone is one of the largest property owners in the world, owning and operating assets across every major geography and sector, including logistics, multifamily and single family housing, office, hospitality and retail. Our opportunistic funds seek to acquire undermanaged, well-located assets across the world. Blackstone’s Core+ strategy invests in substantially stabilized real estate globally through regional open-ended funds focused on high-quality assets, and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (BREIT), a non-listed REIT that invests in U.S. income-generating assets. Blackstone Real Estate also operates one of the leading global real estate debt businesses, providing comprehensive financing solutions across the capital structure and risk spectrum, including management of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT).

About MGM Resorts International
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and retail offerings. MGM Resorts creates immersive, iconic experiences through its suite of Las Vegas-inspired brands. The MGM Resorts portfolio encompasses 30 unique hotel offerings including some of the most recognizable resort brands in the industry. Expanding throughout the U.S. and around the world, the company in 2018 opened MGM Springfield in Massachusetts, MGM COTAI in Macau, and the first Bellagio-branded hotel in Shanghai. The 81,000 global employees of MGM Resorts are proud of their company for being recognized as one of FORTUNE® Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies®. For more information visit us at www.mgmresorts.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this press release constitutes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology or the negatives thereof. These may include BREIT’s or MGM Resorts’ financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements about plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, and statements regarding future performance. Such forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and there are or may be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements. BREIT and MGM Resorts believe such factors include the continuation of operations at the Bellagio under the new arrangement. BREIT and MGM Resorts believe these factors also include but are not limited to those described under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in their respective prospectuses and annual reports for the most recent fiscal year, and any such updated factors included in their periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this press release (or BREIT’s or MGM Resorts’ prospectuses and other filings). Except as otherwise required by federal securities laws, neither BREIT nor MGM Resorts undertakes an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Contacts

Blackstone
Jennifer Friedman
Jennifer.Friedman@blackstone.com
(212) 583-5122

MGM Resorts
Brian Ahern
media@mgmresorts.com

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Rabo Frontier Ventures partners with Northzone’s Fund IX

Rabo Frontier Ventures

Rabo Frontier Ventures (“RFV”) has committed to Northzone’s brand new venture fund (Northzone IX). Northzone Ventures (“Northzone” or the “Firm”) is a leading European technology investment firm and has been investing in technology companies for 23 years. Northzone has a pan-European focus and operates from its bases in the UK and the Nordics.

Northzone’s investment team is widely regarded as being highly experienced with privileged access to some of the world’s best entrepreneurs. Northzone has a history of strong performance with many successful deals and exits such as Spotify, iZettle and Avito.

Northzone

Northzone is an early stage venture capital fund, founded in 1996. It is one of the most experienced venture capital funds in Europe, and operates from its offices in Stockholm, London and Oslo. The firm also has a New York presence, and makes investments in select verticals in the US.

Northzone has raised 9 funds to date, and including the latest fund, the firm has raised a total of €1.5 billion. Over the past 2 decades, Northzone has invested in over 150 companies, including seminal names in European tech such as Spotify, iZettle, Klarna, Avito, Trustpilot, lastminute.com, Stepstone, Zopa and others.

Northzone’s focus is on disruptive technology companies and the fund makes investments across Europe and the US East Coast. The latest fund, Norhthzone IX, will back strong-minded entrepreneurs building category leading businesses in both the consumer and enterprise segments. The fund will invest at Series A and B stage, with selective seed bets also a part of the strategy.

“Northzone is a great partner and our commitment to their fund will give a good first indication of the fund of funds (FoF) strategy that we follow. This year we started with our early stage FoF strategy in order to generate relevant deal flow for our direct fund and to institutionalise existing relations with top performing VC funds. Our commitment in Northzone’s brand new venture fund marks the start of the execution of this strategy. Part of our strategy is also to leverage knowledge of Rabobank and to make it accessible for Northzone and its portfolio companies. Herewith creating a platform in order to add value to our VC partners and their portfolio companies”

Jeroen van Doornik, Partner RFV

Rabo Frontier Ventures

RFV is a €150 million investment fund of Rabobank, focusing globally on innovative Fintech and Agtech companies. RFV aims to invest directly in the early growth stage (series B) of companies that are disrupting or influencing the current business of Rabobank and invest indirect in leading general tech funds.

 

 

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Andera Partners sponsors the management-led buyout of Auxiga Group from IK Investment Partners to foster international expansion

ik-investment-partners

Alongside key executives, Winch Capital 4, an investment fund managed by Andera Partners, has reached an agreement to take over Auxiga Group from the IK Small Cap I Fund, advised by IK Investment Partners. The transaction will allow the management team to increase its ownership share. Auxiga Group is the undisputed leader of inventory pledge and floor check services in France and in Belgium.

Auxiga Group was founded in Belgium in 1919 and has been active in France since 1975. The group provides inventory pledge services to financial institutions and corporate borrowers wishing to leverage part of their inventory to gain access to a wider array of financing solutions. The group is the undisputed market leader in France and Belgium and operates through three subsidiaries: Auxiga, Sofigarant and Eurogage, the latter of which was acquired in January 2019. Auxiga Group recently began its international expansion by launching a subsidiary in the Netherlands where it aims to export its asset inspection and floor check expertise to support its international clients, typically captive automotive manufacturer banks.

Auxiga Group was acquired by the IK Small Cap I Fund in 2015. With IK’s active support, the group successfully completed the consolidation of the French market and initiated its international expansion. This next step with Andera Partners marks the beginning of a new expansion phase for the Group with the aim of:

  • Further spreading the use of inventory pledge solutions in France;
  • Widening the group’s expertise to include complementary services for financial institutions;
  • Supporting the Auxiga’s expansion abroad with the aim of building an international player capable of handling major projects on a European level;
  • Achieving this international expansion through targeted build-up acquisitions, some of which have already been identified.

The management team, led by CEO Arben Bora, has taken this opportunity to increase its ownership of the company.

A unitranche debt facility will be provided by Barings to complete the financing of the acquisition.

Closing is expected by the end of 2019.

Auxiga Group is the 7th investment of Winch Capital 4, Andera Partners’ investment fund dedicated to growing mid-market SMEs.

Pierre Gallix and Arnaud Bosc, Partners at IK Investment Partners and Advisors to the IK Small Cap I Fund: “We are proud of the journey accomplished with the management team. Thanks to the Eurogage acquisition, Auxiga Group is now the clear leader in inventory pledge in France and is ready to embark upon the next chapter of growth. We wish Andera and the management team all the best to realise their ambitions.”

Arben Bora, CEO of Auxiga Group: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank IK for all of their support the past years which has enabled Auxiga to strengthen its market position. It is with great pleasure that we take this step forward as we welcome Andera Partners at our side. We are now stepping into a new expansion phase which should lead us to new frontiers, both by building a presence in new geographies and by broadening our expertise.”

François-Xavier Mauron and Laurent Tourtois, Partners at Andera Partners: “We are delighted to back Arben Bora and his team as the company enters into a new phase of ambitious growth. Auxiga Group possesses all the qualities we look for in an investment opportunity: an ambitious and outstanding management team willing to engage in an international change of scale project, a company holding a rare expertise strongly valued by its clients, and a resilient underlying market yet with considerable growth potential.”

PARTICIPANTS
Andera Partners (Winch Capital): François-Xavier Mauron, Laurent Tourtois, Arthur Milliard, Etienne Rossignol
Commercial due-diligence: Accenture Strategy (Sébastien Amichi, Ravi-François Thillier, Romain Le Guen, Antoine Ringeard)
Financial due-diligence: Oderis Consulting (Aurélien Vion, Lan Chau, Clément Tastet)
Legal Advisor and legal & fiscal due-diligence: VOLT Associés (Emmanuel Vergnaud, Stéphane Letranchant, François-Joseph Brix, Lucille Pothet, Guilhem de Courson)
Labour due-diligence: Céline Donat & Associés (Céline Donat)
M&A Advisor: Natixis Partners (Jean-Baptiste Marchand, Benjamin Giner, Louis-Martin Dufay, François Bracchi)

Barings: Alice Foucault, Benjamin Gillet, Pauline Lloret

Auxiga Group: Arben Bora, Sébastien Vincent, Frédéric Trastour
Legal Advisor: STC Partners (Delphine Bariani)

IK Investment Partners: Pierre Gallix, Arnaud Bosc, Caroline Le Hen
M&A Advisor: Ekapartners (Eric Toulemonde, Marc-Aurèle Taverna, Paul Caillaud)
Legal Advisor: Agilys Avocats (Baptiste Bellone, Chloé Journel, Carole Thain-Navarro)
Financial Vendor Assistance: Alvarez & Marsal (Frédéric Steiner, Camille Peyre, Bilal Baou)

PRESS RELATIONS

ANDERA PARTNERS
NICOLAS DELSERT, Head of Communications
+33 1 85 73 52 88 / n.delsert@anderapartners.com

JEAN-PHILIPPE MOCCI
Ulysse Communication
+33 1 81 70 96 33 / jpmocci@ulysse-communication.com

BRUNO ARABIAN
Ulysse Communication
+33 1 81 70 96 30 / barabian@ulysse-communication.com

IK INVESTMENT PARTNERS
PIERRE GALLIX, PARTNER
ARNAUD BOSC, PARTNER
+33 1 44 43 06 60

MIKAELA MUREKIAN, DIRECTOR COMMUNICATIONS & ESG
+44 77 87 573 566 / mikaela.murekian@ikinvest.com

ABOUT ANDERA PARTNERS
Created in 2001 as part of the Edmond de Rothschild Group, Andera Partners is a leader in investments in unlisted companies in France and internationally. It manages nearly €2.3 billion in investments in life sciences (BioDiscovery), growth and buyout capital (Winch Capital in mid-caps and Cabestan Capital in small-caps) and sponsorless mezzanine debt (ActoMezz).

Andera Partners is 100% owned by its teams and places service to entrepreneurs and respect for partners at the heart of its concerns. The company is also a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), which encourage the adoption of best environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.

Based in Paris, Andera Partners is an AMF-approved asset management company that employs 67 people, 44 of whom are investment professionals. It is structured as a partnership and managed by a board of 10 partners.

Thanks to the performance of its funds, the diversity of its services and its organisational model, Andera Partners stands apart from other companies in its markets, where it is recognised as a major player. www.anderapartners.com

ABOUT IK INVESTMENT PARTNERS
IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Nordics, DACH region, France, and Benelux. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €10 billion of capital and invested in over 125 European companies. IK funds support companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com

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Hellman & Friedman purchases Partners Group’s minority equity stake in Action

3I

3i Group plc (“3i”) yesterday announced that it is facilitating a transaction that will provide liquidity to limited partners in EuroFund V,who need to exit as the fund comes to the end of its life,through a sale of their interest in Action to new 3i-managed entities backed by existing investors in EuroFund V, new investors and by 3i.

This transaction values Action at an enterprise value of €10.25 billion and is expected to close in January 2020.Since that announcement,Partners Group,on behalf of its clients,has announced that it has agreed to sell its minority equity stak ein Action to Hellman & Friedman, in a separate transactionat the same valuation.

-Ends-

For further information, contact:3i Group plc Silvia Santoro

Investor enquiries Kathryn van der Kroft

Media enquiries

Tel: +44 20 7975 3258 Email: silvia.santoro@3i.com Tel: +44 20 7975 3021 Email: kathryn.vanderkroft@3i.com

Notes to editors:

About 3i Group3i is a leading international investment manager focused on mid-market private equity and infrastructure. Its core investment markets are northern Europe and North America. For further information, please visit: www.3i.com.

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Earlier success fuels oversubscription: Lifeline Ventures raises EUR 130 million for a new fund

Tesi

Investments in funds – 15.11.2019

Venture capital firm Lifeline Ventures has raised EUR 130 million for a new fund, an amount that sets a new record for fundraising in Finland. The company invests in Finnish technology companies in all their development stages: from first-round investments in the angel or seed stage through to large-scale, follow-on investments in later-stage financing rounds. Lifeline Ventures also invests in funds; including insurance funds Ilmarinen, Varma and Elo, state-owned investment company Tesi and FoF Growth III fund, Nordea Life Assurance and Taaleri Kasvurahastot.

The Lifeline Ventures IV fund will invest in some 40 companies over the next five years. An angel or seed investment from the fund will range from EUR 200,000 to EUR 2 million in size. Lifeline is well-known for its connection with early-stage technology and software companies. The company’s most successful earlier investments include those in Supercell, Applifier and Nonstop Games, while the company’s current investments include those in Wolt, Oura, Sulapac and ICEYE. Recently, Lifeline has focused more on science-based companies operating in sectors such as optics, virtual reality and materials technology.

“In 2012, in its first year of operation, our fund proved to be exceptionally successful. In a global comparison of our peers for that year, we easily ranked in the top quartile in terms of gains,” says Lifeline’s partner Samuli Leppänen.

Last year Finnish startups raised a record EUR 480 million in total. Lifeline estimates that its portfolio companies account for some 30% of this capital.

A number of investments in Finland’s venture capital market are starting to mature and to launch financing rounds that are tens of millions of euros in size. Financing rounds of this size mostly require international investors, and almost all such rounds consist of numerous investors.

“We want to be the first investor in a startup. Our most successful investments have mainly been those in which we were an angel investor. This new, much larger, fund allows us to extend our horizon in portfolio companies’ development. The landscape has changed drastically: the level of startups has risen sharply, and the best of early-stage companies are also able to recruit the most skilled talent,” points out Timo Ahopelto, well-known co-founder of Lifeline.

“It’s great to see a fund raised in Finland of a size that enables investing in the best crop of early-stage portfolio companies through their later-stage financing rounds also. The fund is managed by an experienced player with strong international networks. That, in itself, attracts international investors to Finnish companies, especially in larger-scale financing rounds,” says Tesi’s Investment Director Riitta Jääskeläinen.

For further information:

Lifeline Ventures

Timo Ahopelto, timo@lifelineventures.com

Samuli Leppänen, samuli@lifelineventures.com

Team photo: Kai Backman, Timo Ahopelto, Samuli Leppänen, Petteri Koponen and Juha Lindfors.

Lifeline Ventures is a Finland-based, early-stage venture capital firm that invests widely in sectors ranging from biotech to mobile gaming. Lifeline Ventures founded is first fund in 2012. The company’s head office is located in Helsinki, Finland.  So far, Lifeline Ventures has invested in over 70 companies in Finland, including Aiven, Oura, Varjo, Sulapac, Dispelix, Smartly.io, Swappie, Altum Technologies, Solar Foods, Iceye and Wolt. www.lifelineventures.com

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Partners Group to sell stake in Action, Europe’s leading non-food discount retailer, to Hellman & Friedman

Partners Group

 

Baar-Zug, Switzerland; 25 November 2019

Partners Group to exit Covage, a leading open-access fiber infrastructure platform in France

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has, on behalf of its clients, entered into exclusive negotiations with a consortium led by Altice, and including Allianz Capital Partners, AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets, acting on behalf of its clients, and OMERS Infrastructure, to sell its 50% stake in Covage (“Covage” or “the Company”). The transaction gives Covage an equity value of EUR 1 billion.

Covage is a leading open-access fiber infrastructure platform with a national footprint across low-, medium-, and high-density areas in France. The Company operates 45 local networks, complemented by a fully-owned national fiber backbone of 9,000 km. Covage’s awarded perimeter includes 2.4 million homes and 21,000 existing connected businesses. Its connections are built and operated under the support of France’s national rural broadband access program, a key social ESG initiative to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban regions.

The sale of Partners Group’s 50% stake in Covage would be the final divestment from Partners Group’s acquisition of Axia NetMedia Corporation, on behalf of its clients, in a public-to-private transaction that resulted in its delisting from the Toronto stock exchange in July 2016. It follows the divestment of the Canadian operations of Axia NetMedia, which were sold to BCE Inc (Bell Canada) in 2018. The sale of Covage is subject to customary regulatory clearances and is expected to take place during the first half of 2020.

Esther Peiner, Managing Director, Private Infrastructure Europe, Partners Group, comments: “We are very proud of our contribution to the strong growth Covage has experienced over our holding period. Consistent with our platform expansion strategy, significant capital investments from the shareholders have enabled Covage to deliver a material increase in high bandwidth connectivity nationwide and establish itself as a leading provider in the French communication infrastructure market. Partners Group, through the Covage board, worked with CEO Pascal Rialland and his team to successfully institutionalize the fiber roll-out and commercialization framework of the Company, thus demonstrating the considerable value that can be added through entrepreneurial governance.”

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ONCAP Partners with Enertech; Tower Arch Capital Completes Successful Investment

Onex

Toronto, Ontario, Salt Lake City, Utah and New Braunfels, Texas, November 14, 2019 –ONCAP announced today it has partnered with the management team of Enertech Holdings LLC (“Enertech”) to acquire the company from Tower Arch Capital LLC (“Tower Arch Capital”).

Enertech is a leading provider of wireless infrastructure services to telecommunications carriers and tower owners throughout the Southern, Central and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States. The company goes to market under three regional brands: (i) Enertech Resources,(ii) EasTex Tower, and (iii) Legacy Telecom, all of which provide network densification, structural modifications, technology upgrades, and repairs and maintenance services. Headquartered in New Braunfels, Texas, Enertech employs more than 470 people across 14 facilities located throughout the United States.

“Enertech is a market leader due to a relentless focus on exceptional customer service, employee safety and technical expertise,” said Edmund Kim, a Managing Director with ONCAP. “We arethrilled to partner with Eric Chase and the Enertech management team to continue to grow the business through acquisitions and organic growth.”

“Right from the onset of this process, the ONCAP team brought speed, incredible know-how and a keen eye for the details. We couldn’t imagine a better fit for both Enertech and the wireless industry,” remarked Eric Chase, Chief Executive Officer of Enertech. “We’ve been truly blessed to work with Dave Parkin, Ryan Stratton and the entire Tower Arch Capital family over the years. Their support and partnership has been a key factor in enabling Enertech to reach this next step in our journey.”“Enertech has been an excellent partner. Dave Parkin and I have enjoyed working with Eric Chase, Justin Jones, Jim Miller and Jim Tracy, while delivering exceptional returns to our investors,” said Ryan Stratton, a Partner at Tower Arch Capital. “The company is well-positioned for continued success and we believe ONCAP will be a great partner for Enertech.” The investment was made by ONCAP IV, Onex Corporation’s (TSX: ONEX) $1.1 billion fund. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

About ONCAP

ONCAP is the mid-market private equity platform of Onex. In partnership with operating company management teams, ONCAP invests in and builds value in North American headquartered small and medium-sized businesses that are market leaders and possess meaningful growth potential. For more information on ONCAP, visit www.oncap.com. Founded in 1984, Onex invests and manages capital on behalf of its shareholders, institutional investors and high net worth clients from around the world. Onex’ platforms include: Onex Partners, private equity funds focused on larger opportunities in North America and Europe; ONCAP, private equity funds focused on middle market and smaller opportunities in North America; Onex Credit, which manages primarily non-investment grade debt through collateralized loan obligations, private debt and other credit strategies; and Gluskin Sheff’s actively managed public equity and public credit funds. In total Onex has approximately $38 billion of assets under management, of which approximately $7.0 billion is its own shareholder capital. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and London, Onex and its experienced management teams are collectively the largest investors across Onex’ platforms. Onex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX.

For more information on Onex, visit www.onex.com.

About Enertech

Enertech Holdings’ companies provide turnkey services in the wireless infrastructure services space, including macro towers, small cell, DAS, microwave, structural engineering, utility towers, technology upgrades, civil services, tower modifications, generator services, and project management. The company is headquartered in New Braunfels, Texas.

For more information about Enertech, please visit https://enertechholdings.com.

About Tower Arch Capital

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, Tower Arch Capital is a lower-middle market private equity fund. Tower Arch focuses on partnering with and growing high-quality family and entrepreneur-owned companies to deliver long-term value for their management teams and investors. Tower Arch brings operational, consulting, and financial expertise to small companies to give them the tools they need to achieve their full potential. Target investments include control positions in entrepreneur and family-owned businesses with revenue between $20 million and $150 million or EBITDA between $5 million and $25 million. For more information, please visit www.towerarch.com.

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EQT closes second Ventures fund, securing commitments totaling EUR 660 million

  • One of Europe’s largest VC funds, bringing EQT Ventures’ total capital raised to just over EUR 1.2 billion
  • Data-driven approach with Motherbrain continues to transform VC investment process
  • Team of founders and operators ensures hands-on support for bold, ambitious European and US founders

EQT today announced the successful closing of EQT Ventures II (or the “Fund”), securing commitments totaling EUR 660 million, of which approximately EUR 620 million are fee paying, just 3.5 years after EQT Ventures I launched. The Fund is one of the largest European venture capital (“VC”) funds and demand from both existing and new investors was strong.

EQT Ventures II will build on the multi-stage strategy of its predecessor fund EQT Ventures I, which secured commitments totaling EUR 566 million in 2016, investing in the next generation of ambitious founders and building global winners out of Europe. In addition to partnering early on with bold European founders (typically at Series A and B funding rounds), the Fund will continue to bridge the US and Europe, providing support and capital for US founders (typically at Series B and C rounds) keen to scale into Europe. Motherbrain, EQT’s proprietary in-house developed artificial intelligence system that helps source attractive investments, will also remain central to the Fund’s strategy.

Born inside the EQT Ventures advisory team and spun out to its own dedicated team in 2016, Motherbrain is managed as a start-up inside EQT. Keeping track of millions of companies every day, Motherbrain enables the EQT Ventures advisory team to assess companies faster, improve assessment accuracy and spend more time on the right companies earlier. The self-learning platform is involved in prioritizing and evaluating all potential investments and deeply integrated throughout the sourcing process. Five EQT Ventures’ portfolio companies have been sourced by Motherbrain so far – Peakon, Handshake, AnyDesk, Warducks and Standard Cognition.

The EQT Ventures advisory team, consisting of former founders and entrepreneurs from companies such as Spotify, King, Booking.com, Lithium, Huddle and Hotels.com, supports portfolio companies in a wide range of disciplines. These include product, marketing and communications, engineering, analytics, user experience, international expansion, sales, partnerships and finance.

With advisory teams in Stockholm, London, San Francisco, Amsterdam and Berlin, EQT Ventures’ “local-with-locals” approach and hands-on support for founders started to produce strong results early on. Just 2.5 years after its launch, the EQT Ventures I fund had its first exit when it sold its stake in mobile games company Small Giant Games to leading social games developer Zynga Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNGA) in a deal valued at USD 700 million.

Hjalmar Winbladh, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to the EQT Ventures funds, commented: “Building a global success story requires more than just capital. It requires grit, ambition, teamwork and support from people who have experienced the start-up journey firsthand. Being a large multi-stage investor, the EQT Ventures advisory team supports and coaches entrepreneurs on their journeys so they can scale and deliver long-term sustainable growth. Europe has never lacked ambition, talent or innovation but compared with the US, European start-ups have often struggled to access the capital they needed to grow from bright ideas into proven businesses. With this fund, EQT Ventures wants to continue to close this funding gap and its size is clear evidence of the growing confidence in European tech, which is punching above its weight. The team is looking forward to partnering with more of the boldest founders in Europe and the US.”

Christian Sinding, CEO and Managing Partner of EQT Partners, added: “Digital innovation is reshaping industries by disrupting existing business and operating models. This presents an opportunity for businesses and entrepreneurs keen to transform every sector imaginable. With the EQT Ventures advisory team’s deep experience of founding and supporting start-ups, they are ideally positioned to support the next wave of founders and this is evident in the superb performance of the first fund. We are proud of what the team has achieved so far and looking forward to the next stage of EQT Ventures’ journey.”

EQT Ventures II is backed by a global blue-chip investor base consisting of, among others, pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, foundations and family offices. Backing from new and existing investors from Europe, the US and Asia, highlights the growing confidence in European tech start-ups and talent.

Recent additions to EQT Ventures’ portfolio include Einride (USD 25 million Series A), BEAT81 (EUR 6.4 million Series A) and Standard Cognition (USD 35 million Series B).

EQT Ventures’ dedicated investment advisory team will continue to leverage the global network of EQT’s advisors and global platform, as well as the proven governance model and growth-focused approach to drive performance.

The fundraising for the Fund has now closed. Accordingly, the foregoing should in no way be treated as any form of offer or solicitation to subscribe for or make any commitments for or in respect of any securities or other interests or to engage in any other transaction.

Contact
Lucy Wimmer, Communications Partner, EQT Ventures, lucy@eqtventures.com, +44 7551 289 177
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT Ventures
EQT Ventures is a multi-stage VC fund that partners with the most ambitious and boldest founders in Europe and the US. The fund is based in Luxembourg and has investment advisors stationed in Stockholm, Amsterdam, London, San Francisco and Berlin. Fuelled by some of Europe’s most experienced company builders and scalers, EQT Ventures helps the next generation of entrepreneurs with the capital and hands on support needed to build global winners.

More info: www.eqtventures.com
Follow EQT Ventures on Twitter and LinkedIn

About EQT
EQT is a differentiated global investment organization with more than EUR 62 billion in raised capital and around EUR 41 billion in assets under management across 20 active funds. 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.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on Twitter and LinkedIn

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SheerID raises $64 million to accelerate growth in identity marketing

Substantial minority investment from CVC Growth Partners allows SheerID to expand platform across multiple geographies; builds on growth momentum

SheerID, the industry leader in the burgeoning identity marketing space, today announced the close of a $64 million equity round led by CVC Growth Partners (“CVC Growth”). CVC Growth will join SheerID’s board alongside Centana Growth Partners and Voyager Capital, which led SheerID’s earlier financing rounds in 2017 and 2015, respectively.

The new funding comes on the heels of 450% revenue growth over the last three years, achieving the rank of 243 in this year’s Deloitte and Touche Fast 500. Over the last year, SheerID has expanded its customer base to include more than 200 customers across a diverse range of Fortune 2000 B2C brands such as Target, Amazon, Lowe’s, Comcast, Google, T-Mobile and Urban Outfitters. Brands use the SheerID Identity Marketing Platform to identify and acquire consumer tribes like students, teachers, or the military with personalised offers backed by instant verification via 9,000 authoritative data sources.

“Our exponential growth is driven by major shifts in personalisation, privacy, and performance marketing. Marketers are struggling to capture the attention of consumers who want more control over their personal data and less uninvited marketing from brands,” said Jake Weatherly, CEO of SheerID. “Our platform allows brands to create offers that honour and recognise an entire consumer tribe, increasing trust and word-of-mouth, and decreasing customer acquisition costs.”

The Rise of Identity Marketing

In a recent report from WBR Insights, 80% of marketers felt more pressure to meet customer acquisition and revenue goals than they did the year prior, citing brand differentiation as well as the current privacy climate as their top two concerns. This is why B2C marketers across a number of industries are turning to identity marketing, a new form of personalisation focused on winning over consumer tribes that align with the brand’s promise.

“Gen Z is the future of streaming media. We knew our growth potential with this audience was vast and our personalised offer to students has taken off,” said Cheri Davies, Senior Director of Acquisition Marketing for Comcast. “Partnering with SheerID has given us a powerful new way to capture and retain our ideal customer segment.”

These consumer tribes share important aspects of their identity, such as their life stage, occupation, and affiliations. They are socially connected and readily share information with each other, like special product offers and brand experiences, that are exclusively provided by brands to their group. This has the double-benefit of increasing marketing reach while decreasing customer acquisition costs, often producing ROAS (return on ad spend) results of 25:1 or higher.

“The most effective marketing does more than convert an audience, it provides a service they value,” said Lauryn Nwankpa, Head of Social Impact for Headspace. “With SheerID, we can create unique offers for students and teachers that support them and move them to spread the word, which benefits the entire educational community and our business. Our identity marketing campaigns generate a powerful ripple effect that’s hard to match.”

Use of New Funds

In addition to bringing on new customers, SheerID has expanded to include 120 employees, and will continue to grow in various areas of the business including marketing, sales, and engineering. This will allow SheerID to expand its platform so companies in all geographies can engage an even broader range of consumer tribes related to occupation, interests, causes, and affiliations worldwide.

“We are incredibly excited to partner with the SheerID team in their next phase of growth,” said Jason Glass, Senior Managing Director at CVC Growth Partners. “As part of our long-standing efforts in fraud prevention and commerce enablement software, we identified SheerID as the industry leader in identity marketing and identity attribute verification.” Doug Behrman, Director at CVC Growth Partners, added, “SheerID’s track record and growth has been very impressive, and the company stands to benefit from powerful secular trends across privacy regulation, personalisation, and eCommerce. We are proud to partner with a team that provides meaningful value not only to their customers, but to groups like students, first responders, and military veterans.” Jason Glass and Doug Behrman will join SheerID’s board of directors.

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CVC Capital Partners closes second Growth Fund with commitments of $1.6 billion

Second above-target fundraise for CVC’s Growth platform following the previous $1 billion raised for Fund I in 2016

CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”), one of the world’s largest private equity and investment advisory firms, is pleased to announce the closing of CVC Growth Partners Fund II (“Fund II”). Fund II will continue the same investment strategy as its predecessor fund, investing in high-growth, mid-market companies in the software and technology-enabled business services sectors.

Fund II exceeded its $1 billion target and, including a sidecar co-investment vehicle, has secured commitments of $1.6 billion. Fund II enjoys a diverse global investor base, spread across North America, Europe, the Middle-East and Asia.

CVC’s Growth Partners platform invests primarily in North America and Europe, focusing on a variety of sectors including software, SaaS, managed services, cloud computing, mobility, payments, security, financial technology, healthcare information technology and other tech-enabled business services. The target equity investment size is $50 million to $250 million.

John Clark, Managing Partner and Head of the CVC Growth Partners team, said: “We are grateful to our existing global investor base, who have strongly supported Fund II, and to our new investors, for helping us to secure $1.6 billion for CVC’s second Growth Fund raise.

“As part of CVC’s global network we enjoy access to a broad and deep pipeline of exciting investment opportunities. The companies we partner with often operate in competitive markets and face significant challenges on their journey to success. That is where we come in; we collaborate with their management teams to help them overcome obstacles to growth, and to successfully execute their strategy, so that they can become leaders in their field.”

Recent investments by CVC Growth Partners Fund I include: SheerID, a leading identity marketing solution provider, based in Portland, Oregon, US; ironSource, a global market leader in the high-growth mobile advertising and mobile gaming technology markets headquartered in Tel Aviv; and Vitech, a leading provider of cloud-based financial administration solutions based in New York.

 

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