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Cegeka and data specialist Solver Sweden join forces

GIMV

03/02/2022 – 10:00 | Portfolio

European IT company Cegeka acquires a majority stake in the data specialist Solver Sweden AB. This strategic partnership with Solver Sweden represents an important step for Cegeka in their expansion into Scandinavia. Solver Sweden has three offices in Sweden, with headquarters in Stockholm and a staff of 25 employees. Solver Sweden has been an established player in the Swedish business intelligence and data engineering market for over 15 years. No financial details of the partnership will be disclosed. The acquisition doesn’t include the Global Solver operations.

Data is playing an increasingly important role
The partnership with the company Solver Sweden is part of Cegeka’s strategy to respond to the ever-growing demand for data and AI partners. “Now more than ever, companies are looking for guidance from experts with experience in data and AI. There is a lot of growth potential in Europe, and especially in Scandinavia. Solver Sweden offer this kind of expertise, and their team in Stockholm and the offices in Gälve and Falun have plenty of data experience to draw on,” says Kristel Demotte, Global VP Data Solutions at Cegeka. Solver Sweden has also been rewarded by Microsoft as a Gold Partner for Data Analytics.

Data is the most valuable asset an organisation can have to achieve growth in today’s business environment. With drivers such as 5G and the cloud, the importance of data can only continue to grow. “I truly believe that companies whose thoughts and actions are driven by data have an edge over the competition – they can offer their customers a more individual and efficient service and can generate new revenue and optimise operational costs”, Kristel says.

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Bold Announces $55M Series B Investment to Drive Continued Transformation of Colombia’s Digital Payments Ecosystem

General Atlantic

Growth investment from Tiger Global Management and General Atlantic to support Company in expansion of product suite, geographic reach, and team

February 3, 2022

Bold, a financial technology company enabling financial access to electronic payments in Colombia, today announced a $55M Series B investment led by Tiger Global Management, a leading investment firm, with participation from General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, and Endeavor Catalyst. Existing investors Piton Capital, GFC, InQLab, Kingsway Capital, Solid Ventures, Grupo Auteco, Amador and Condor Inverlink also participated in the round. Bold plans to leverage the new funds to expand its product and service offering into adjacent financial services for merchants, including working capital financing, lending, deposit accounts, debit and credit cards, as well as to accelerate geographic expansion and hire new talent.

Bold is an emerging independent merchant-acquirer with the mission of promoting financial inclusion by expanding the digital payments ecosystem in Colombia. Bold serves small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), allowing merchants to enroll in just five minutes – versus an average of 15 days with legacy banks – and providing low-cost payment terminals that enable businesses to accept link payments and other local payment methods, with no monthly point-of-sale fees. Merchants supported by Bold have seen sales grow approximately 25% on average simply by enabling digital payments.

Bold was founded in 2019 by José Vélez, Ana María Sandoval, Enríque Ramírez, Jorge Ulloa, and Sergio Vergara. Vélez is the former co-founder and CEO of PayU Latam, a leading online and cross-border payments technology platform. Since its inception, Bold has scaled to more than 380 employees and generated strong traction with merchants, reaching over 100,000 acquired merchants in this time frame. In Colombia, where cash still represents more than 80% of transaction volume, versus 35% in Brazil and 30% in the United States, Bold is laying critical groundwork for small businesses to begin expanding their customer bases and entering the next generation of payments.

José Vélez, Co-Founder and CEO of Bold, said, “Colombia is at an inflection point in the transition from a cash to a digital payments economy. At Bold, we are passionate about unlocking the growth potential of small business by providing easy to use and affordable financial services, and we see a unique opportunity to accelerate the change to digital payments for the benefit of merchants and consumers alike. We look forward to the support of both Tiger and General Atlantic as we focus on growth and deepening the value that we provide to our customers.”

“Despite the fact that small and medium sized businesses are the engine of the Colombian economy, they haven’t had the opportunity to access electronic payments because they are constantly overlooked by established banks. Bold offers small merchants a much-needed opportunity to access digital payments,” commented John Curtius, Partner at Tiger Global Management. “What stands out at Bold is their mission to help small and medium businesses succeed by creating great products which are affordable and easy to use. We are happy to support Bold´s plans to scale and expand its financial services.”

“Bold is a dynamic player with the opportunity to lead the shift towards innovative payments solutions that leverage consumers’ increased access to credit and meet the heightened demand for electronic payments for millions in Colombia, a region that is ripe for innovation,” continued Luiz Ribeiro, Managing Director at General Atlantic. “The platform plays a unique role as the gateway for small merchants in Colombia to begin accepting digital payments, and we are proud to back José and the seasoned management team at Bold as they scale.”

About Bold

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Bogotá, Bold is a leading independent merchant acquirer and one of the largest and fastest-growing fintech companies in Colombia. The company’s mission is to help entrepreneurs and their businesses prosper by providing simple, secure and affordable financial tools. With its innovative POS terminal and free app, Bold currently empowers more than 100,000 merchants across Colombia to grow their businesses by accepting a wide variety of payment methods. For more information, visit the website: https://www.bold.co/

About Tiger Global

Tiger Global Management is a leading global technology investment firm with over $90 billion under management. The firm focuses on private and public companies in the software, internet, and financial technology sectors. Since 2001, Tiger Global has invested in hundreds of companies across more than 30 countries, including investments ranging from Series A to pre-IPO. The firm aims to partner with dynamic entrepreneurs operating market-leading companies in its core focus areas.

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 445 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic currently has over $86 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of September 30, 2021, and more than 215 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Stamford. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

Media Contacts

Emily Japlon & Casey Gunkel
General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com

Sergio Vergara
Bold sergio@bold.co

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Rhetores opens its capital to Activa Capital and Partners with Cap Fidelis

Activa Capital

Activa Capital announces an investment in the wealth management firm Rhétorès Finance. On the occasion of this transaction, Activa Capital enables the simultaneous acquisition of the wealth management firm Cap Fidelis. The founders of Rhétorès Finance, Stéphane Rudzinski and Grégory Soudjoukdjian, remain majority shareholders. Activa Capital becomes the first financial minority shareholder of the firm and Thierry Rocq, founder of Cap Fidelis, reinvests with his family in the newly established group. This operation enables all employees to become shareholders with the implementation of the capital gains redistribution contract established by the PACTE law.

Founded in 2011 in Paris by Stéphane Rudzinski and Grégory Soudjoukdjian, Rhétorès Finance is a fast-growing financial advisory (FA) business. The company has grown by focusing its strategy on high level wealth engineering services, a diversified product offering including private equity, and continuous investments in the regulatory structuring of the company.
Founded in 1992 in Lille by Thierry Rocq, Cap Fidelis is a leading player in wealth management in northern France. The company, managed by Thierry Rocq and his daughter Camille Rocq, has grown organically since its foundation mainly with business leaders and families.
The newly created group aims to pursue its strong growth and capitalize on its recent geographic expansion. It has also planned to accelerate technological investments in the service of customers, suppliers, and internal operations. With the support of Activa Capital, Rhétorès also has the ambition to complete new acquisitions in a FA market which is currently going through a consolidation phase.
Stéphane Rudzinski and Grégory Soudjoukdjian, respectively Chairman and General Manager of Rhétorès Finance, have declared: « We are delighted to welcome Activa Capital, which shares our growth ambition for Rhétorès and made possible our new strategic relationship with Cap Fidelis and our partnership with the Rocq family. This step is key to our development. »
Thierry Rocq: « We are very pleased to become a part of Stéphane and Grégory’s project. This is the new step we wanted to accelerate the development of Cap Fidelis while keeping our family-run business identity. »

Christophe Parier and Alexandre Masson, Managing Partners of Activa Capital, add: « Over the past few years, we have been looking with interest at the financial advisory market, particularly the consolidation phase that is underway. This operation is at the heart of our know-how: a primary buyout alongside the founders and the use of our expertise to carry out a first external growth operation. Today we are proud to establish a double partnership relationship with Stéphane and Grégory who lead the project and the Rocq family who reinvests at our side. ».
* * *
Participants
Rhétorès Finance : Stéphane Rudzinski, Grégory Soudjoukdjian
Cap Fidelis : Thierry Rocq, Véronique Rocq, Camille Rocq
Activa Capital : Christophe Parier, Alexandre Masson, Frédéric Singer, Camille Emin
Apera Capital : Franklin Henrot, Salim Lemseffer, Maxime Communier

Advisors
M&A: New Co CF (Jean-Louis Duverney, Alexandre Gebelin, Jeeshan Mohamad, Thibauld Hamaide)
Financial Due Diligence: Eight Advisory (Emmanuel Riou, Arthur Lantier)
Strategic Due Diligence: CMI Stratégies (Simon Colboc)
Legal Corporate Advisory: Moncey Avocats (Guillaume Giuliani, Alexandre Bankowski, Alix Auclair), Degroux Brugère (Augustin Fleytoux, Justine Ricaud), Walter Garance (Isabelle Avril)
Legal Financing Advisory: Moncey Avocats (David Malamed, Jonathan Devillard), De Pardieu (Sébastien Boullier de Branche)

Media Contacts
Activa Capital :
Alexandre Masson Christophe Parier
Managing Partner Managing Partner
+33 1 43 12 50 12 +33 1 43 12 50 12
alexandre.masson@activacapital.com christophe.parier@activacapital.com

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Housinganywhere acquires majority stake in Sudapart and consolidate European Leaderschip

Isai

  • HousingAnywhere acquired a majority stake in Studapart, the number one French student accommodation platform

  • The 5th acquisition in 2 years demonstrates HousingAnywhere’s commitment to creating a more transparent and sustainable rental ecosystem across Europe

  • Studapart will accelerate its pathway to continued growth with its founders and entire team committed to the combined business

  • The combined European business expects to match 100,000 tenants with vacant rental properties in 2022, entirely online

HousingAnywhere acquires a majority share in Studapart and forges ahead as Europe’s largest end-to-end rental accommodation marketplace. Together with its organic growth, this acquisition demonstrates HousingAnywhere’s commitment to driving the residential rental market to achieve its Triple A (Availability, Affordability, Accessibility) rating by creating the most technologically advanced marketplace. After acquiring market leaders in Germany, Italy, Iceland, the Netherlands, and now France, this 5th acquisition in 2 years consolidates HousingAnywhere’s #1 position in Europe by size and impact.

“Studapart is the #1 rental marketplace in France, a market known to be fragmented and culturally bound with language barriers and complex regulations,” says Djordy Seelmann, CEO of HousingAnywhere. “Studapart is technologically far ahead of its French competitors and has excellent traction in the student room segment with significant scope for growth, both in France and internationally. We are excited to acquire a majority stake in Studapart and welcome its team as our long-term partners. Our shared purpose, culture, matching vision and ambition will expand our positive footprint in Europe’s rental accommodation market.”

HousingAnywhere projects 2022 to be a record-breaking year

The combined European business expects to match 100,000 tenants with vacant rental properties, recording €500 million in rent transactions and €25 million in revenues. The group expects to welcome 30 million unique visitors to its websites, who can choose amongst 200,000 properties available for rent. In addition, HousingAnywhere welcomes Studapart’s founders and its team of 45 experts, with a plan to bring the total combined team size to 300 by the end of 2022.

Studapart’s team will remain based in Paris, France and continue its current focus on the French market while collaborating with HousingAnywhere to introduce their innovative product portfolio on a European scale, including their white-label platform for universities and a rent guarantee.

“Our historical markets are growing rapidly, and our ambition is to extend our innovative business model throughout Europe,” says Alexandre Ducoeur, co-founder and CEO of Studapart. “HousingAnywhere was by far the best partner to join the forces and accelerate our growth. Our combined business holds undisputed European #1 position in this increasingly competitive market and will allow us to move forward with further innovation to create the best rental experience for our customers.”

About Studapart
In 2014, Studapart was founded by Alexandre Ducoeur and Amaury Roland with a mission to redesign rent experience. Today, Studapart is the #1 student rental marketplace in France, with 5 million unique visitors per year and 107,000+ properties available for rent with an average rental period of 9 to 12 months. With innovative products and services such as a rent guarantee and white-label platform for universities, Studapart recently joined HousingAnywhere and became a part of the European number one mid-to-longer term residential rental platform. The Paris-based innovative start-up currently employs 45 people.

About HousingAnywhere
HousingAnywhere is Europe’s largest rental accommodation marketplace. After acquiring a majority stake in Studapart, the combined business now represents 20 million+ yearly unique visitors, 160,000+ properties available for rent and 65,000+ tenants finding their new homes in Europe, based on 2021 performance. Young professionals and students looking to rent a home are matched with accommodation providers, ranging from private real estate owners to large-scale property managers. Through its advanced platform, tenants book for longer stays and typically rent accommodation for 3 to 12 months. The Rotterdam-based technology scale-up currently employs 185 people.

Press inquiries
Yoony Kim – Head of Public Policy and Communications
press@housinganywhere.com

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The Gantrex Group a company supported by Argos Wityu acquires ABS Consultor

argos wityu

In so doing, the Gantrex Group expands its Port Crane Services offer.

Nivelles (Belgium), 1 February 2022 – The Gantrex Group, through its Spanish subsidiary Gantrex Spain S.A., has signed a Share Purchase Agreement in which it has acquired 100% of the shares of Bravo Silva Consultoría Técnica, S.L., also known as “ABS Consultor”, for an undisclosed amount.

With this transaction Gantrex takes the first step executing its new “Gantrex 4.0” strategic plan, in which management aims to create a more intimate customer relation through addition of mechanical services and new digital solutions, and by doing so increase global revenue in line with our ambitions.

In recent years both Gantrex and ABS have developed a new global service activity focused on repair and modification of trolley rail systems on container handling cranes. In executing these projects, port customers often asked Gantrex to go beyond its traditional scope and include a wider range of mechanical services. The acquisition of ABS will allow the scope of services to be expanded and provide a more complete offering to customers in the region. In addition, the Company expects to leverage its global presence of regional inventories to further develop sales of a variety of crane parts.

Antonio Bravo Silva, ABS Managing Director, “In a first contact, I recognized the business synergy and the potential to be part of the Gantrex Group would have. To sell the Company was a difficult decision, because we created a consolidated company, with great professional team, offering diversified services and products for all types of port cranes, keeping our customers loyal in this difficult-to-reach sector. Now we close one stage, result of sacrifice, hard work and perseverance to face this new future with even more optimism and enthusiasm to continue growing within this great organization”

Alberto Beraza, Gantrex VP SW-Europe & Latin America, “For Gantrex in addition to measuring the potential of the operation, it was and is being a learning process in certain aspects, the markets of both companies are parallel, but not the same. Concepts such as designing or adapting spare parts to the needs of each crane is a very interesting line to be easily exported to the Worldwide Port Market. As planned in “Gantrex 4.0”, Port Crane Business opens very interesting doors for the coming years”

Maarten Impens, Gantrex Group CEO, “In discussing with Antonio and his team, we immediately recognized a company which shares the same values in terms of Quality, Innovation and Business Ethics as we do at Gantrex. Our customers in the port industry are increasingly asking to expand our mechanical service offering beyond traditional crane rail solutions, and with the integration of ABS into the Gantrex Group we will be able to provide them a more complete answer. This is an exciting first step in the execution of our new strategic growth plan and we look forward to growing the business alongside Antonio and his team.”

Maarten Meijssen - Argos Wityu

Maarten Meijssen, Argos Wityu Partner, “The acquisition by Gantrex of ABS is perfectly in line with the group’s strategy to develop its port crane services. Thanks to their overlapping client portfolios this is a highly value enhancing partnership for Gantrex, ABS and their clients.”

Argos Wityu team: Maarten Meijssen, Arne Louwagie

Advisers
Buy side
LEGAL & TAX: Garrigues (Laura Muñoz, Alexandra Beltran, Marcos Modrego)
FINANCIAL: Deloitte (Oscar Arroyo Revilla, Victoria Trueba)

Sell side
LEGAL, FINANCIAL & TAX: Altalex Asesores (Eduardo Castaño, Carlos Izuel)

Argos Wityu

Coralie Cornet
Head of Communications
ccc@argos.fund
+33 6 14 38 33 37

Gantrex

Maarten Impens
Gantrex Group CEO
maarten.impens@gantrex.com
+32 67 888 030

About Argos Wityu / www.argos.wityu.fund
Argos Wityu is an independent European investment fund that supports companies in the transfer of business ownership. It has assisted more than 80 entrepreneurs, focusing its investment strategy on complex transactions with emphasis on transformation, growth, and close collaboration with management teams. Argos Wityu seeks to acquire majority interests and invest between €10m and €100m with each transaction. With more than €1bn under management and 30 years of experience, Argos Wityu operates from offices in Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Luxembourg, Milan and Paris.

About Gantrex / www.gantrex.com
Founded in 1971, having its corporate headquarters in Belgium and regional offices in USA, Canada, Germany, Spain, China, Singapore, India and the UAE, Gantrex is the global market leader in production, distribution, installation and maintenance of high-quality crane rail solutions. Its products are used in many different applications and end-markets including ports, shipyards, steel mills, aluminium smelters, railway depots and heavy industries. The group realizes a turnover of ~€90m and employs approximately 350 people globally in 20 countries. In October 2015, Gantrex was acquired by Argos Wityu, a pan-European investment fund with offices in Paris, Milan, Brussels, Frankfurt and Geneva.

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Arsenal Acquires ATP Group from Bregal Unternehmerkapital

Arsenal Capital Partners

New York, NY and Luxembourg- Bregal Unternehmerkapital (“BU”) announced the sale of ATP Group (“ATP“), a leading manufacturer of water-based adhesive tapes, to Arsenal Capital Partners (“Arsenal”). The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

ATP, headquartered in Wollerau, Switzerland, with production sites in Bad Kreuzburg (Germany), Philadelphia (USA), and Ipswich (United Kingdom), employs approximately 460 staff and has its own R&D capabilities to develop single- and double-sided high-performing industrial adhesive tapes, tailored individually to specific customer requirements. The products are manufactured on state-of-the-art coating machines and utilized by customers in a broad range of medical, mobility, construction, electronics, industrial, and graphics applications. Furthermore, being water-based, ATP’s high-quality adhesive tapes are also considerably more environmentally friendly than other adhesive solutions.

“We appreciate the hands-on support that Bregal Unternehmerkapital has provided us during our partnership,” said Daniel Heini, President and Chief Executive Officer of ATP. “Our commitment to environmentally friendly solutions provides a long-term growth opportunity for ATP. We are excited to partner with Arsenal to continue our global expansion and become the partner of choice of specialty water-based tapes to our international customer base.”

Felix Werdin, a Partner of BU, added, “We appreciate the continuous development of ATP by Daniel Heini and the entire ATP management team into the leading water-based adhesive tapes manufacturer. We are proud to have supported the team to accelerate the company’s overseas expansion over the past years, and we are convinced that ATP is well positioned for the next stage of its impressive growth trajectory with its new partner Arsenal.”

Roy Seroussi, an Investment Partner of Arsenal, commented, “We see a significant unmet need for environmentally friendly tapes across technically demanding end markets, and ATP is at the forefront of this substitution trend. Together with Daniel and ATP’s management team, Arsenal intends to accelerate the company’s global growth strategy through innovation, manufacturing extensions, and acquisitions.”

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Bregal Unternehmerkapital and ATP. Houlihan Lokey served as a financial advisor to Arsenal.

About ATP Group
Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Wollerau, Switzerland, ATP is the leading developer, manufacturer, and supplier of all types of specialized, single-sided and double-sided water based adhesive tapes. ATP’s business model is driven by developing customized and bespoke products for its customers. The company has a well-established global distribution network and serves customers across 60+ countries worldwide. ATP pioneered water-based adhesive tape technology, which is significantly more environmentally friendly. For more information, visit www.atp-ag.com.

About Bregal Unternehmerkapital
BU is part of a family-owned business that has grown over several generations. The BU funds invest in mid-sized companies in the DACH region and Northern Italy across a wide range of sectors with a focus on market leaders and “hidden champions” with strong management teams and outbreak potential. With patient capital, entrepreneurial expertise and a partnership approach, our team works closely with entrepreneurs to develop, internationalize, and digitalize portfolio companies, and to help them generate sustainable value on a responsible basis.

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MariaDB announces intentions to list on New York Stock Exchange via SPAC and a EUR 92 million Series D round

Tesi

Maria DB, known for the open-source database software it develops and provides, has announced it intends to list on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) by merging with Angel Pond Holdings, a listing method also referred as a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company). By doing so, MariaDB becomes the first Finnish company to list on the NYSE through SPAC.

MariaDB also announced it has raised a EUR 92 million Series D funding round wherein the buyer Angel Pond and some of the existing investors invested.

“The foundation for Tesi’s investment was the professional team, the strong technology knowhow and the global and ambitious growth story the company possesses. During the journey there have been several challenges and adversities, but we have always found the right solutions together with the management, board members and investors”, comments the announcements Keith Bonnici, Investment Director at Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment).

Tesi first invested in the company in 2012.

Read more:

Further information:

Keith Bonnici, Investment Director, Tesi
+358 40 1799 584
keith.bonnici@tesi.fi

Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a state-owned investment company that wants to raise Finland to the front ranks of transformative economic growth by investing in funds and directly in companies. We invest profitably and responsibly, hand-in-hand with co-investors, to create the world’s new success stories. Our investments under management total 2.1 billion euros. www.tesi.fi | @TesiFII

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PlayOn! Sports Announces Strategic Investment from KKR

KKR

New Strategic Partnership Alongside Founding Shareholder Panoramic Ventures to Accelerate Growth and Expansion of Leading High School Sports Media Company

ATLANTA & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– PlayOn! Sports (“PlayOn” or the “Company”), a leading high school sports media and technology company, and KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which KKR will make a significant investment in PlayOn, alongside PlayOn’s existing shareholder, Panoramic Ventures. The investment will support the Company’s growth as it continues to focus on building exceptional products and experiences for state associations, high schools, high school athletes and their fans across the country. Financial terms were not disclosed.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220201005320/en/

Founded in 2008, PlayOn is best known for operating the NFHS Network, which provides live and on-demand content for millions of high school sporting events across more than 27 sports and other high school activities in all 50 states and Washington, DC. The NFHS Network is a joint venture with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and its member state associations.

In addition to helping fans and families watch their favorite teams wherever and whenever they want, the platform directly supports student athletics by providing a new revenue stream to participating high schools and state associations. The Company currently partners directly with almost 8,000 high schools across the U.S.

“We are pleased to welcome KKR as a new investor who shares our passion for high school sports and supports our vision for building the leader in high school sports media and technology,” said David Rudolph, founder and CEO of PlayOn. “KKR’s deep experience in building leading consumer technology and digital media businesses, along with our continued partnership with Panoramic Ventures, will be invaluable as we look for opportunities to make high school sports even more accessible to new fans and communities across the country. Our extensive relationships with the NFHS, state associations, and high schools will always be central to everything we do, and we will continue to remain focused on our long-term goal of streaming every high school event in the country.”

“PlayOn is empowering high school athletic programs and providing fans and families new ways to watch the games that matter most to them,” said Ted Oberwager, Partner at KKR. “We are inspired by PlayOn’s mission, and we are excited to join forces with Panoramic Ventures, the NFHS, and the talented PlayOn management team to continue to deliver best-in-class solutions for a rapidly growing and highly passionate audience.”

“We are excited to bring KKR on as a strategic investment partner to help fuel PlayOn’s next stage of growth,” said Mark Buffington, Managing Partner at Panoramic Ventures. “David and I have long believed that we are just scratching the surface with the opportunities that lie ahead of us. KKR’s investment allows us to create more products and extend more value to all the stakeholders we serve in the NFHS ecosystem.”

KKR is making its investment in PlayOn through its North American private equity strategy. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to PlayOn and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP served as legal counsel to the Company. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to KKR.

About PlayOn! Sports
PlayOn! Sports was founded in 2008 with the purpose of honoring and celebrating the achievements of high school students, parents, coaches, and teachers in every community across the country. It is the nation’s leading high school sports media company and streams more live sports events than any other company in the world. PlayOn is in its ninth year of operating the NFHS Network, a joint venture with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and its member state associations. PlayOn is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the NFHS Network, which delivers live and on demand high school events at www.NFHSnetwork.com and related apps. For additional information about PlayOn! Sports, please visit www.playonsports.com or follow PlayOn! Sports on LinkedIn.

About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About Panoramic Ventures
Panoramic Ventures (formerly BIP Capital) is a venture capital firm based in Atlanta that takes a “wider-view” approach to investing by targeting the Southeast and Midwest and placing a focus on diverse founders and university startups. Panoramic opens new doors for overlooked founders, giving more entrepreneurs access to capital to build leading tech companies. For more information, visit www.panoramic.vc or follow Panoramic Ventures on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Twitter @panoramicvc.

Media:
For PlayOn! Sports:
Jessica Phillips
404-671-9529
media@playonsports.com

For KKR:
Cara Major or Julia Kosygina
212-750-8300
media@kkr.com

For Panoramic Ventures:
Kathy Berardi
678-644-4122
media@panoramic.vc

Source: KKR

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Latour acquires Telesteps AB

Latour logo
2022-02-01 14:45

Investment AB Latour has, through its fully owned subsidiary Hultafors Group AB, acquired 100 per cent of the shares in Telesteps AB (“Telesteps”) from Heim Holding AB.

Telesteps is a leading manufacturer of telescopic ladders for professional end users. The company is located in Tranås, Sweden, with distribution on a global basis. Net sales amounts to about SEK 87 m in 2021 with a profitability well in line with Hultafors Group’s.

”We have been interested in acquiring Telesteps for a long time as we see their product portfolio of telescopic ladders as an excellent complement to our existing offering within ladders under our brand Wibe Ladders. We are impressed by their strong market reputation and innovation capabilities and look forward to developing and growing the business further together”, says Torbjörn Eriksson, President Hardware Europe in Hultafors Group.

“Together with Hultafors Group I see a huge potential to accelerate our growth and continue the international expansion journey, so it was a natural choice to proceed with Hultafors Group as a long-term owner”, says Peter Heim, CEO for Telesteps.

As an effect of the acquisition the net debt of the Latour Group increases with around SEK 90 m.

Göteborg, 1 February 2022

INVESTMENT AB LATOUR (PUBL)
Johan Hjertonsson, CEO

For further information, please contact:
Martin Knobloch, CEO Hultafors Group, +46 722 148 946
Jens Eriksson, CFO Hultafors Group AB, +46 702 114 601
Fredrika Ekman, Investment Director, Investment AB Latour, +46 72 584 93 43

Hultafors Group is one of Europe’s largest companies to supply workwear, footwear, head protection, hand tools and ladders for professional users. The products are developed, manufactured and marketed as their own brands, which are available through leading distributors in almost 70 countries worldwide, with emphasis on Europe and North America. Hultafors Group has more than 1,600 employees and an annual turnover of ca SEK 5.5 billion on a R12 basis (September 2021).

Investment AB Latour is a mixed investment company consisting primarily of a wholly-owned industrial operations and an investment portfolio of listing holdings in which Latour is the principal owner or one of the principal owners. The investment portfolio consists of ten substantial holdings with a market value of about SEK 83 billion. The wholly-owned industrial operations has an annual turnover of SEK 17 billion.

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Cinven to acquire life insurer International Financial Group Limited

Cinven

Cinven, the international private equity firm, today announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire International Financial Group Limited (‘IFGL’), a leading life insurance provider of cross-border, long-term savings products for internationally mobile clients. IFGL has £19 billion of assets under administration and operates through three principal brands: RL360, Ardan International and Friends Provident International. Financial details of the transaction are not disclosed.

IFGL was established in October 2013 to support the management buyout of RL360 from Royal London Group. Since then, IFGL has demonstrated a consistent track record of profitable growth, including through its buy-and-build strategy, having acquired Clerical Medical International in 2015, Ardan International in 2016 and Friends Provident International Limited from Aviva in 2020.

Headquartered in the Isle of Man, IFGL has a global footprint and employs more than 550 people. It provides insurance-wrapped investment solutions to an international client base and focuses on enabling individuals to meet their long-term savings objectives. IFGL’s products are distributed by independent financial advisers around the world.

Cinven believes that IFGL is an attractive investment opportunity based on:

  • Its high quality, cash and capital-generative business model, that delivers predictable long-term profits, with significant downside protection;
  • Its proven financial track record of consistent and profitable growth, including a robust performance through the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • A leading market position, underpinned by an established and well-respected new business franchise that is well diversified geographically;
  • Its successful M&A track record, with further buy-and-build potential;
  • The significant opportunity to widen its product offering to a broader range of international clients;
  • Its clear strategy to continue using technology to drive sales and optimise IFGL’s operating model; and
  • An exceptional management and leadership team led by CEO, David Kneeshaw.

IFGL represents the third investment from Cinven’s long-term Financial Services-focused strategy.

Luigi Sbrozzi, Partner at Cinven, commented:

“Cinven is delighted to be investing in IFGL. IFGL is an established insurer with a strong market position. It has a large back book, which sits alongside an established new business franchise that is well diversified geographically. The Cinven team knows the market well through its previous life insurance investments, including Guardian in the UK and Viridium in Germany, and has a strong track record of working with companies in the sector to achieve strong growth, in particular, through buy-and-build as well as further product development and internationalisation.”

David Kneeshaw, Group, CEO, IFGL, said:

“This investment by Cinven will accelerate the Group’s ambitious plans for growth. Cinven shares our vision for the future and we are now ideally placed to expand significantly through both organic and new market growth and through further M&A activity. We now look ahead to what will be a hugely exciting new period for IFGL.”

The investment in IFGL builds on Cinven’s strong Financial Services franchise in Europe. Notably, Cinven Funds currently own several investments in the insurance sector, including: Compre, a specialist global consolidator of closed books of non-life insurance policies; Miller, a leading specialist insurance and reinsurance broker; and Viridium, a German specialist consolidator of closed life insurance books. Cinven Funds also own investments in other segments of the European Financial Services sector, including True Potential, NewDay and Premium Credit. Previous investments in the European insurance sector include Guardian Financial Services in the UK and other financial services investments by Cinven Funds include Partnership Assurance and Avolon.

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