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KLAR Partners enters the Netherlands market as a growth partner to hallo, with the mission to build Europe’s leading SME-focused IT services provider.

Klar Partners

Funds advised by KLAR Partners Limited (“KLAR Partners” or “KLAR”) have signed an agreement to invest as a growth partner in hallo,. As a leading Dutch provider of mission-critical IT services for SMEs, the company is well-positioned for accelerated growth and, with support from KLAR, aspires to become the champion in the growing SME market in Europe. KLAR will invest alongside the present owners, Vortex Capital Partners and hallo’s management.

hallo,’s automated services platform provides small and medium-sized clients with a one-stop-shop for mission-critical IT services. Services include among others the Microsoft modern workplace, security, communication/UC, connectivity/SD-WAN and a growing practice in Dynamics CRM and Data Warehousing/Power BI. hallo, currently employs 350 people, with offices in The Netherlands, Spain and the Caribbean. In 2022, the company achieved sales of approximately EUR 70 million.

“This investment aligns perfectly with KLAR’s strategy to support companies providing mission-critical services in resilient and growing markets. The strong growth of hallo, in recent years has been impressive and clearly reflects the strength of the platform, as well as the culture of the company. We look forward to working with management and Vortex to support the company in further accelerating its growth, particularly its plans to expand across Europe”, commented Alex Kulikowski of KLAR Partners.

“This partnership marks the next strategically important step for hallo, and opens an exciting new chapter in our journey. The support of KLAR’s expertise and resources will enable us to accelerate our growth, both organically and through acquisitions. We believe in building a sustainable, culture-driven company for the long-term and this fits well with the values of the KLAR team. We look forward to working together in pursuit of our ambition to become a leading European player, empowering SMEs wherever we operate,” commented Barry Wissink, CEO at hallo,.

We are proud of hallo,’s exceptional growth trajectory and the leading position the company obtained in the Dutch market. With its scalable platform and strong focus on standardization and automation, hallo, is very well positioned to grow further inside and outside of the Netherlands. We are keen to take part in the next wave of growth as we believe that the new partnership with KLAR will enable international expansion and further value creation. We look forward to working with the management team and KLAR on hallo,‘s mission ‘to make IT work for you’”, commented Evert Jan de Groot of Vortex Capital Partners.

This transaction is conditional upon regulatory approvals from the relevant authorities.

For more information:

Fredrik Brynildsen
fb@klarpartners.com
Tel: +44 7388 439 890

Carl Johan Falkenberg
cj@klarpartners.com
+44 7918 941 391

About hallo,
hallo, is the trusted IT service partner for SMEs with a one-stop-shop offering of mission-critical managed IT services.

hallo,’s mission is to make IT services accessible for customers and their end-users in the best possible way, for maximum impact on productivity. In the fragmented landscape of IT service providers, the company aims to become the go-to brand for everyday IT service needs. With a digital customer journey including self-service tooling to simplify the complex IT service buying experience that SMEs typically experience. And with an enthusiastic and professional team of 350 IT service professionals (affectionately referred to as ‘digital energizers’) ready to help.

hallo, currently has offices in The Netherlands, Spain and the Caribbean. For more information please visit https://hallo.eu/.

About KLAR Partners
KLAR Partners is a European private equity firm focused on investments in companies operating in business services and industrial technology. The companies in which KLAR invests each have an annual turnover of approximately EUR 50-500m and are headquartered in the DACH, Nordics, and Benelux regions. With investment professionals located in London, Stockholm, Frankfurt, and Brussels, together with a broad international network in the industry, KLAR has a proven business model to support, develop, and grow companies. KLAR’s senior professionals have worked together for many years and have more than 50 years of combined investment experience in KLAR’s industry-specific and geographical focus area. KLAR Partners is a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment.

About Vortex Capital Partners
Vortex Capital Partners is a specialist investment firm with a focus on small and medium-sized tech companies with a high growth potential. Since 2012 Vortex invested in 22 platform companies with close to 30 add-on investments. The team combines years of M&A experience with deep technical expertise and first-hand operational experience to support ambitious entrepreneurs and management teams as an active partner in realizing their growth ambitions.

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Cathay Health Increases its Stake in TISSIUM with €50M Series D

Cathay Capital

New financing to support TISSIUM’s commercial launch and platform extension

 

Paris, (France), May 23, 2023 – Today, Cathay Health announced its participation in the €50M Series D round of TISSIUM, a privately-owned medtech company developing biomorphic programmable polymers for tissue reconstruction. The investor syndicate brings new investors such as Fonds Stratégique des Transitions, managed by ISALT as well as Merieux Developpement, and includes historical investors such as Credit Mutuel Innovation and Sofinnova Partners.

Cathay Health reinvested over pro rata in this round of financing, based on the progress the company has made to get into clinical studies, its corporate development and its advancing commercial plans as well as its vision for further developing its product pipeline.

This latest funding round coincides with the achievement of important milestones for TISSIUM, notably its on-going first-in-human study on its first nerve repair product, COAPTIUM Connect, in Australia and the preparation of the commercialisation of its first products in nerve and hernia repair. The financing will allow TISSIUM to continue to execute on its development plan, funding the company for the commercialisation of its first products in nerve and hernia repair and fueling the extension of its pipeline of products and its platform.

TISSIUM will continue to pursue rapid international expansion, leveraging in-house production and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, as well as entering partnerships in certain verticals. In parallel, it will broaden its platform with more specialized products in the existing verticals (nerve, herna and cardiovascular) while also extending to other verticals in new therapeutic areas.

Christophe Bancel, CEO of TISSIUM, said: “With the closing of our Series D financing round, TISSIUM is well-positioned to finance the commercialization of its first products. This funding significantly bolsters our ability to move with speed towards our goal of enhancing tissue reconstruction for patients. We look forward to continuing our work to bring innovation in the space and develop products that make a difference in patients’ lives.”

Hongjie Hu, Managing Partner at Cathay Health, added: “Since leading TISSIUM’s 2021 Series C, we’ve been continuously impressed with the team and the company’s strong progress in developing multiple clinical programs off the TISSIUM biopolymer technology platform. We continue to believe that TISSIUM is creating the future of tissue reconstruction and are proud to continue supporting the company’s clinical and commercial growth of its expandable platform that can be applied toward driving better outcomes in multiple, large therapeutic areas.”

 

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About TISSIUM

TISSIUM, a privately-owned MedTech company based in Paris, France and Boston, USA, is dedicated to the development and commercialization of products derived from its unique biopolymer platform. The company’s products will address multiple unmet clinical needs, including atraumatic tissue repair and reconstruction.

TISSIUM is developing a portfolio of products that leverage its proprietary family of fully biosynthetic, biomorphic, and programmable polymers, which are the foundation of the company’s technology platform. Currently, the Company has a pipeline of seven products across three verticals, including sutureless nerve repair, hernia repair and cardiovascular sealants. Each product is designed to enhance the tissue reconstruction process in a unique way. In addition, the company develops complementary delivery and activation devices for enhanced performance and usability of its products.

TISSIUM’s technology is based on world-class research and intellectual property from the laboratories of Professor Robert Langer (MIT) and Professor Jeffrey M. Karp (Brigham and Women’s Hospital), who co-founded the company in 2013.

For more information, please visit: www.TISSIUM.com

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @TISSIUMtech.

​​About Cathay Health

Cathay Health, affiliated to Cathay Capital, is a tech bio fund investing at the convergence of healthcare, life sciences and technology. As a multi-stage venture and growth fund, it backs convergence medicine companies across Europe, North America and Asia whose tech-enabled solutions catalyze groundbreaking advances in medicine. From the world’s leading life sciences and technology hubs, including San Francisco, New York, London, Cambridge, Paris, and Basel, Cathay Health aims to partner with future leaders in the data-driven medicine era to transform human health and care in all its dimensions.

For more information, please visit us on the web or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @CathayHealth.

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August Equity are delighted to announce significant investment in StarTraq

August Equity

August Equity has invested alongside management in StarTraq – a leading compliance software business providing solutions for offence processing, licensing & permitting. August will provide funding to enable the business to scale internationally and enter new adjacent markets.

Headquartered in Oxfordshire, UK, StarTraq is the market leader in offence processing software. It has long standing relationships with police and local authorities in the UK, and a growing international footprint. It provides cloud solutions that automate back-office processes including the processing of traffic violations, permit offences, permit applications, and environmental offences. Billy Kennedy, who joined the business in 2011, will continue to lead StarTraq. Allan Freinkel, who founded the business in 2002, will stay on and support as a Non-Executive Director. Industry veteran Gordon Wilson will be joining the board as Chair, who was CEO of software business Advanced Computer Software since 2015 and has recently moved to Chair.

The team, supported by August, intend to invest in the continued organic growth of the business supported by targeted M&A into new geographies and adjacent end markets. StarTraq represents a strong adjacency to previous August Equity investments in compliance-driven tech and cloud software businesses, such as Agilio, Amtivo, OneTouch and Wax Digital.

The team at August was led by Mehul (Mickey) Patel and Greg Walsh with support from Sam Hardy, Bethany Shiers, Ollie Reynolds and Matt Benstead.

David Lonsdale, Managing Partner at August Equity, commented:

“StarTraq represents an attractive platform investment for August and is aligned with our focus on primary buyouts of B2B software and services businesses in compliance driven end markets.”

Mickey Patel, Partner at August Equity, commented:

“We are delighted to be backing the StarTraq team, an exciting cloud software platform investment for us to scale and build an international software business with a focus on traffic, offence management and adjacent software solutions.”

Gordon Wilson, Chair at StarTraq, commented:

“I am pleased to be working with August and the StarTraq team as I embark on my plural career. The plan to grow StarTraq organically and acquisitively has many similarities to businesses I have grown in the past and I look forward to supporting the management team as they grow.”

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ABN AMRO Ventures invests in ThreatFabric

Abn Amro Ventures

ABN AMRO Ventures, the corporate venture fund of ABN AMRO, has invested in the EUR 11.5m Seed round of ThreatFabric, an Online Fraud Detection solution that helps ABN AABN AMRO Ventures, the corporate venture fund of ABN AMRO, has invested in the EUR 11.5m Seed round of ThreatFabric, an Online Fraud Detection solution that helps ABN AMRO protect its clients from the growing fraud and malware epidemic.MRO protect its clients from the growing fraud and malware epidemic.

The battle against online fraud has become a lot more complex with continuous data breaches and the availability of AI driven tools. In 2022 alone, criminals in the Netherlands caused €62.5 million in damage through payment fraud, including bank helpdesk fraud and phishing, which is 25% higher than two years earlier according to the 

Dutch Banking Association

. Banks and e-commerce platforms are continuously searching for accurate warning systems before payments are made.

ABN AMRO Ventures invested in ThreatFabric because online fraud does not show any signs of slowing down, with the bank’s clients as the most vulnerable part of the chain. ThreatFabric’s software can positively contribute to this fraud epidemic by helping their clients – banks and financial institutions – protect their end-users from fraud and malware by using different protection layers, such as on-device malware detection and behavioural analytics.

This EUR 11.5m Seed round is co-led by ABN AMRO Ventures and Motive Ventures, alongside 10xFounders and 14Peaks capital. The capital will be used to increase ThreatFabric’s international expansion and extend its fraud detection layers with behavioural based detection. This consists of the fraudster’s footprint with advanced AI models that include continuous threat modelling of attack paths inside online signup and payment journeys.

Han Sahin, CEO at ThreatFabric: “The ever-changing online fraud threat landscape can proactively be protected by including AI driven threat modelling in behavioural based defence layers. Fraudster also have a strong need which is strongly reflected in their digital footprint. This Seed Round with investment capital from ABN AMRO Ventures, Motive Ventures, and participation from 10xFounders and 14Peaks capital will be used for further expansion and to extend our Fraud Risk Suite platform focused on new proactive fraud controls. For example, with behaviour-based location intelligence and behavioural biometrics that use advanced AI models that forecast potential fraudsters online footprint inside payment journeys”.

Hugo Bongers, Managing Director at ABN AMRO Ventures: “The fraud issue is large and complex problem, that is only expected to get bigger in the future, as technologies like AI further develop. As a long-standing partner of ThreatFabric, ABN AMRO Bank has seen ThreatFabric’s profound understanding of the fraud issue and the high-quality solution the company offers. ABN AMRO Ventures is proud to support the co-founders Han and Yorick, and the entire ThreatFabric team in their next stage of growth and their mission to combat fraud and malware.”

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GTCR Closes $11.5 Billion Fund XIV

Fund to Support Management in Executing Upon Growth and Transformation
CHICAGO, IL — May 23, 2023

GTCR, a leading private equity firm, today announced the closing of GTCR Fund XIV (“Fund XIV” or the “Fund”), with aggregate commitments of $11.5 billion. The Fund, which had an initial target of $9.25 billion, reached its hard cap. The Fund includes total limited partner commitments of $11.0 billion and a commitment from GTCR of approximately $500 million. The predecessor fund, GTCR Fund XIII, was raised and initiated in 2020 with aggregate commitments of approximately $7.9 billion.

The Fund received strong support from limited partners in prior GTCR funds, many of whom have invested with the firm for decades, as well as several new investors. The diverse Fund XIV investor base includes leading global endowments and foundations, public and corporate pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions and private wealth.

Consistent with GTCR’s investment approach, The Leaders Strategy™, Fund XIV will expand the firm’s capacity to partner with exceptional management leaders who have strong track records of value creation to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies in its core industry domains of Healthcare, Technology, Media & Telecom, Business & Consumer Services and Financial Services & Technology. GTCR’s investment approach emphasizes transformational growth to build better businesses with a long-term orientation.

On behalf of the firm, Dean Mihas and Collin Roche, Co-CEOs of GTCR, commented:

“We appreciate tremendously the support from our limited partners. That support is invaluable to us in working with our management partners to build great businesses through transformational growth and add-on acquisitions. This committed equity capital of Fund XIV positions GTCR and its investment teams with the resources to invest through periods of uncertainty and varied economic conditions.

For over four decades, GTCR’s approach has been to build deep domain expertise and broad executive relationships in our core industries. This approach enables us to partner with and support high caliber, experienced management leaders in pursuing opportunities for transformation, including corporate carve-outs, transformational mergers and growth through acquisition strategies. We also continue to build GTCR’s organization, growing our team, increasing our sourcing efforts and enhancing our ability to support management teams as they grow their businesses. We believe that our differentiated strategy, our high-quality and experienced team, and our committed capital resources position us to capitalize on unique opportunities in the current environment.”

“We are grateful for the confidence that GTCR’s limited partners have demonstrated in our team and in our strategy. We are focused on providing consistent, outstanding returns for our investors across economic environments, with a continued focus on alignment and transparency,” stated Jodi Rubenstein, Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations.

Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor to GTCR.

About GTCR
Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm that pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. GTCR is focused on investing in transformative growth in companies in the Business & Consumer Services, Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare and Technology, Media & Telecommunications sectors. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $24 billion in over 270 companies, and the firm currently manages more than $35 billion in equity capital. GTCR is based in Chicago with offices in New York and West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

GTCR Contacts

Investor Relations
Jodi Rubenstein
312.382.2202
jodi.rubenstein@gtcr.com

Media Relations
Andrew Johnson
212.835.7042
andrew.johnson@gtcr.com

Category: | Press Releases | Recent News

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ARCH Venture Partners Announces Appointment of Jami Rubin as Venture Partner

Arch Venture Partners

CHICAGO — ARCH Venture Partners today announced the appointment of life sciences industry veteran Jami Rubin as Venture Partner.

“ARCH is committed to building an extraordinary team in support of our portfolio companies and we are extremely pleased that Jami has joined us,” said ARCH Co-founder and Managing Director Robert Nelsen. “She is an exceptional and recognized talent in guiding corporate strategy and transactions, with deep insight from her decades of experience as an analyst, investment banker, CFO, and board member.”

“I am thrilled to join the ARCH team as a Venture Partner. I have always been impressed with ARCH’s track record of identifying cutting edge technologies and forming transformational companies. I look forward to putting my decades of experience to work as a member of the ARCH team,” said Rubin.

Rubin has spent more than 30 years in the biopharma industry, as a long-time biopharma analyst, investment banker, board member and executive operator. Most recently, she was CFO of EQRx where she led the December 2021 public offering process, raising $1.35 billion in total capital, guided key strategic decision-making, and built a world class finance organization. She is a former partner at Goldman Sachs where she was ranked as a top pharmaceutical analyst and partner at PJT Partners. Over the course of her career, she played a key role in significant corporate transactions, including spinouts and M&A, with leading pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Abbott, AbbVie, Eli Lilly, and Mylan. Rubin serves as an Independent Board member and Audit Chair of Relay Therapeutics and holds a B.A. in history from Vassar College.

About ARCH Venture Partners
ARCH Venture Partners creates and invests in ground-breaking life science and technology companies. The firm is a recognized leader in commercializing technologies developed at academic institutions, corporate research groups and national laboratories. ARCH invests primarily in companies it co-founds with leading scientists and entrepreneurs, bringing innovations in life sciences and physical sciences to market.
For more information, visit www.archventure.com.

Contact:
Morgan Warners
FGS Global
Morgan.Warners@fgsglobal.com

Categories: People

Dutch Bakery combines with coolback to create 3i-backed European Bakery Group

3I

3i Group plc (“3i”) today announces that Dutch Bakery, a leading bakery group specialised in home bake-off bread and snack products, has agreed to combine with coolback, a leading German bakery group specialised in bake-off bread, to create European Bakery Group, a pan-European bakery platform.

3i invested in Dutch Bakery in October 2021, to drive the company’s international growth strategy in the fragmented European private label market for bake-off bread and snack products, whilst supporting Dutch Bakery in continued investments in its home markets. Since 3i’s investment, Dutch Bakery has significantly strengthened its product capabilities with the acquisition of Trade Factory, a speciality producer of bapao buns and gua bao, and GoodLife Foods Deurne, a speciality producer of sausage rolls.

coolback is an established industrial bakery group operating three state-of-the-art bakeries in Germany. The company produces and sells private label, frozen and ambient bake-off bread products to customers active in food retail and foodservice across Germany, the Nordics and Poland.

By combining Dutch Bakery and coolback, the newly created European Bakery Group will benefit from a complementary product assortment and customer base across Europe. The combination will enable European Bakery Group to capitalise on its capabilities to offer an innovative, high-quality and comprehensive product assortment to its customers, which is produced sustainably and with natural ingredients at its core.

Dr. Markus Schirmer and Jürgen Fleige, Co-CEOs of coolback, said: “We are very happy to be joining forces with the team at European Bakery Group. Together, we will be able to reach new markets, capitalise on the growth opportunities within Germany and benefit from the size and scale of the combined platform.”

Raoul Vorage, CEO, European Bakery Group, said: “coolback is a high-quality and innovative company with a strong and highly experienced team. We look forward to partner with coolback and continue to further build on the international growth strategy of European Bakery Group.”

Bastiaan Peer, Partner, 3i, said: “Combining coolback and the Dutch Bakery business is at the core of our original investment thesis to drive an international growth strategy in the fragmented European private label market for bake-off bread and snack products. In European Bakery Group we have created a strong pan-European platform, which is well-positioned to capitalise on further organic as well as inorganic growth opportunities.”

-Ends-

Download this press release    

 

For further information, please 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

 

About 3i Group

3i 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

About Dutch Bakery

Dutch Bakery has a leading position in the market for bake-off bread and bread-based snacks with a comprehensive product portfolio. The company was founded in 1936 and operates bakeries in Alkmaar, Budel, Eindhoven, Rijen, Tilburg and Waalwijk. The company specialises in home bake-off (bread) products, including (mini) baguettes, kaiser rolls, croissants, bapao buns, sausage rolls, multi-layered cake and pastry with sausage filling. The products of Dutch Bakery are primarily sold to major food retailers, both in the Netherlands and abroad.

For further information, please visit: www.dutchbakery.nl

About coolback

coolback was founded in 1999 and is based in the Berlin area, with its headquarters in Nuthe-Urstromtal, Germany. The company is a producer and seller of private label frozen, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), bio and gluten-free bake-off goods to customers across food retail and foodservice. coolback employs more than 600 full-time employees across three facilities in Hoppegarten, Jänickendorf and Luckenwalde, Germany, which together produce more than 1.2 billion baked goods per year. The company produces a variety of product configurations primarily consisting of frozen and ambient bake-off goods including (specialty) rolls and artisan products, mixes as well as (filled) baguettes.

For further information, please visit: www.coolback.de

Regulatory information

This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.

Categories: News

CapMan Growth exits Coronaria, continues as investor in Silmäasema

Capman

apMan Growth press release
19 May 2023 at 14:30 PM EEST

CapMan Growth exits Coronaria, continues as investor in Silmäasema

The ownership of Coronaria, one of the largest healthcare industry companies in Finland, is restructured. CapMan Growth and Tesi exit Coronaria while Cor Group, together with the company’s leadership and key persons, increase their ownership of the company to over 80%. As part of the restructuring, CapMan Growth invests in Silmäasema together with Elo, Ilmarinen, Konstsamfundet and key persons, as part of an investment round of around €40 million. Coronaria remains the largest owner of Silmäasema with an ownership of about 80%.

CapMan Growth has together with Coronaria’s main owner Cor Group and Mandatum Asset Management (MAM) agreed on an arrangement in which Cor Group increases its ownership in Coronaria. As CapMan Growth exits the company, the ownership share of products managed by the MAM Growth Equity team (MAM GE) also increases. As a result of this arrangement, Cor Group together with the company’s leadership and key persons, own about 82% of the company, while the ownership share of products managed by MAM GE remains around 18%.

”I am very grateful that I have had the opportunity to develop and build this wonderful company for so many years, while at the same time learning from unique entrepreneurs. At this point, I would especially like to thank Teppo Lindén, Ulla Näpänkangas, Marika Heikkala and Jari-Pekka Kelhä, and all the rest of Silmäasema’s and Coronaria’s management for their amazing work in an environment challenged by a public social and welfare renewal, covid-19, inflation and a war in Europe,” comments Antti Kummu, Managing Partner at CapMan Growth.

”I want to thank CapMan and Antti Kummu for providing us with resources to grow into one of the largest healthcare operators in the country, as well as the market leader in eye health. During CapMan’s ownership period our turnover has more than tripled from 117 million to 358 million. At the same time our personnel have grown from about 1,200 to 4,200 people”, comments Teppo Lindén, CEO at Coronaria.

CapMan Growth Equity Fund 2017 Ky fund is in carry and will have seven remaining assets following this exit.

Silmäasema’s ownership base broadens

Connected to this the CapMan Growth Equity II -fund has made an investment in Silmäasema as part of an investment round of about 40 million euros, which was also joined by Finnish institutional investors Elo, Ilmarinen and Konstsamfundet and key persons.

Coronaria continues as the main owner of Silmäasema with an ownership share of approximately 80% after the investment. The ownership share of investors and key persons in Silmäasema is about 20% after the investment. Following the investment, Antti Kummu will continue as a member of the company’s Board of Directors, together with Timo Larjomaa who will join as a new member.

Silmäasema is a subsidiary of Coronaria and the leading eye health operator in Finland, offering all services related to eye health and optical retail as a one-stop-shop. In a few years, the company has visibly strengthened its market position in Finland and reached a market leading position.

”As the Chair of the Board at Silmäasema I have been closely involved in the company’s development for over three years. I am very impressed with the company’s unique concept, leadership, and know-how. During this time the company has almost doubled in size and grown into a market leader in all its operating segments. This is a good base on which to build future growth,” comments Antti Kummu.

”Silmäasema continues strong growth in the eye health market. New investors strengthen the company’s ownership structure and enable investing in growth also going forward. We also receive new know-how to develop the company. The change in ownership structure will not change our operative activities, shares Teppo Lindén.

For more information, please contact:
Antti Kummu, Managing Partner, CapMan Growth, +358 50 432 4486

About Coronaria

Coronaria on is one of the most significant healthcare companies in Finland, offering versatile ophthalmological and optical services, specialized healthcare, oral healthcare, and rehabilitation services on a national level. In rehabilitation and therapy services, Coronaria is Finlands leading operator. Coronarias subsidiary Silmäasema is a market leader in eye health. Coronaria is part of the Finnish health and welfare group, Cor Group. In 2022 Coronarias turnover was 358 million euros and the company had about 4,200 employees.

About Silmäasema

Silmäasema is the largest eye health and optical retail operator in Finland. We see the whole picture, from meeting and treating our patients to Finnish eye health as a whole. Silmäasema’s over one thousand experts in eye health, treat close to a million clients a year. Silmäasema has nearly 150 optical stores and ophthalmologist centres, 18 private eye hospitals and seven providers of public eye health services across the country. Silmäasemas turnover in 2022 was 203 million euros and the company had about 1,000 employees.

About CapMan

CapMan is a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value creation. As one of the private equity pioneers in the Nordics we have built value in unlisted businesses, real estate, and infrastructure for over three decades. With €5.1 billion in assets under management, our objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors. We have set greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Science Based Targets initiative in line with the 1.5°C scenario. We have a broad presence in the unlisted market through our local and specialised teams. Our investment strategies cover minority and majority investments in portfolio companies and real estate, and infrastructure assets. We also provide wealth management solutions. Our service business consists of procurement services. Altogether, CapMan employs approximately 180 professionals in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London and Luxembourg. We are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since 2001. Learn more at www.capman.com.

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Portfolio reaches a record level in a challenging economic environment

GIMV

Topic: Results publication

CEO Koen Dejonckheere:

2022 represented for our companies yet another period of severe turbulence and necessity to realign in terms of supply, energy, inflation, skilled teams, interest rates, financing and economic demand. Once more, they demonstrated their robustness and vitality by posting strong revenue growth (+24% for the second year in a row) and maintaining profitability (-1.7%). Our confidence in their solid foundations, strong entrepreneurship, and the perseverance of their management and staff has been confirmed. Although the first half of 2022 was difficult, effective pricing policies and cost management translated into a recovery in the second half of the year. During this period, the solid performance of our companies supported a positive portfolio result, with the platform portfolio return thus remaining positive on a year-on-year basis.

We continued our intensive investment activity in the past year, resulting in a record investment amount of EUR 261 million. We not only welcomed nine new companies to our portfolio, but the growth momentum through buy-and-build also continued to accelerate with no fewer than 36 acquisitions by our companies. As a result, the overall investment portfolio could reach a record level of over EUR 1.5 billion, an important source of sustainable value creation in the coming years. Combined with our solid balance sheet, this means we can confirm our dividend of EUR 2.60 per share for the past financial year.

Chair Hilde Laga adds:

Gimv is committed to integrate sustainability into the dialogue with our portfolio companies to ensure they are – and remain – future-proof. They can count on Gimv to guide them in achieving their sustainability goals. Gimv’s inclusion in the BEL ESG index is a public recognition of our sustainability vision and ESG efforts.

The results for the 2022–23 financial year relate to consolidated figures for the period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

Key elements

Results

  • Sustained strong revenue growth at portfolio companies in 2022 (+24%) and maintained profitability (-1.7%) despite strong inflationary pressure on costs (e.g. energy, commodities and salaries).
  • Although the first half of 2022 was difficult, effective pricing policies and cost management and lower working capital requirements translated into a positive portfolio result (EUR +50 million) in the second half of the year. The return on the platform portfolio remained positive for the full financial year (EUR +4.7 million or +0.4%; the total portfolio result was EUR -1.2 million).
  • Net result (group share): EUR -59.5 million (or EUR -2.20 per share)

Investments / Exits

  • A record investment level of EUR 260.6 million, spread across nine new holdings and a growing number of additional investments in our portfolio companies with 36 add-on acquisitions in the past 2022–23 financial year as part of a continued intensive buy-and-build strategy.
  • Total proceeds from divestments: EUR 175 million, with a total realised money multiple of 1.8x compared to the invested amount.

Balance sheet and portfolio

  • Sustained high investment rhythm and a record number of acquisitions made by portfolio companies ensured continued growth of the investment portfolio by 5.1% to a new record level of EUR 1,523 million (invested in 59 companies).
  • Available liquidity on the balance sheet increased from the end of the first half of the 2022–23 financial year to EUR 194.4 million (EUR 350 million financed by LT bonds). Gimv also has EUR 200 million of undrawn credit lines at banks.

Equity

  • Value of equity (group share): EUR 1,312 million (or EUR 48.20 per share compared to EUR 50.40 per share (excluding dividends) as at the end of March 2022).

Dividend

  • Proposal to maintain the dividend of EUR 2.60 gross (EUR 1.82 net) per share for the 2022–23 financial year, subject to general meeting approval on 28 June 2023.

Payment in principle through an optional dividend, which will allow Gimv, as appropriate, to strengthen its cash position with a view to continued portfolio growth.

 

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Gimv

Karel Oomsstraat 37, 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium

www.gimv.com

Categories: News

Ardian signs agreement to sell ASR Wind to Naturgy

Ardian

The sold portfolio includes 12 wind farms with an installed capacity of 422 MW, spread throughout Spain.
• The portfolio also includes a hybrid photovoltaic farm of 435 MW developed by AGR-AM, a renewable asset manager operating exclusively for Ardian in Spain and Latin America.
• The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of July, subject to Naturgy receiving approval from relevant authorities.

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, has agreed to sell ASR Wind, a portfolio of 12 wind farms, to Naturgy, the Spanish renewable energy group. The wind farms are in different regions across Spain. Commissioned between 2005 and 2012, the farms have an installed capacity of 422 MW.

Ardian has used the ASR Wind platform to manage other renewable energy projects in Spain and Italy, totaling 1GW, which were excluded from this transaction.

Ardian acquired 95% of the ASR Wind portfolio in 2019, representing the first investment of its fifth-generation fund, Ardian Infrastructure Fund V. The remaining percentage is held by Exus Management Partners, which will also exit the company’s ownership following the transaction.

“This transaction marks a milestone moment for Ardian’s Infrastructure strategy. Our team is now a pioneer in Spain in developing wind-solar hybrid systems, optimizing their production capacity and improving their industrial value. The attractiveness of this type of asset has also been demonstrated by the strong interest it has received in the market. Furthermore, we will continue to develop our remaining 1GW portfolio with AGR-AM and continue to create value.” Juan Angoitia, Co-Head of Infrastructure Europe, Ardian

The closing of the transaction is scheduled for the end of July, once Naturgy has completed the competition procedures required by the authorities.

Commitment to Spain

Alongside the management of wind farms, the company is driving several other value-creating initiatives, including the hybridization of wind assets with solar photovoltaic power generation systems led by AGR-AM, the renewable asset manager dedicated exclusively to Ardian’s portfolio in Spain and Latin America.

The hybridization of wind assets with solar photovoltaic production systems is particularly noteworthy. The 435 MW of hybrid photovoltaic farms included in the sale are currently being developed as part of a pioneering project in Spain, maximizing the quality of connection points and stabilizing the energy production of the assets once hybridized.

Participants

  • ARDIAN

    • Financial advisors: Santander CIB and BBVA CIB
    • Legal advisor: Clifford Chance

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $150bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,400 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks, family offices and private institutional investors worldwide. Ardian is majority-owned by its employees and places great emphasis on developing its people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our 1,050+ employees, spread across 16 offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility.
At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last

ardian.com

Press contact

ARDIAN

HEADLAND

ardian@headlandconsultancy.com  

 

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