Archives

Away Resorts to further expand its footprint by acquiring Coppergreen Leisure Resorts

CVC Capital Partners

Leading UK holiday park operator Away Resorts today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Coppergreen Leisure Resorts (“Coppergreen”). This follows the acquisition of Aria Resorts announced in August 2021, and expands Away Resorts’ footprint to 27 locations across the UK.

Coppergreen has 370 lodges across four parks in Yorkshire, Scotland, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. Growth capital investor BGF exits as part of the deal, having backed Coppergreen in 2016. The acquisition will greatly complement Away Resorts’ existing portfolio, increasing its presence in the North of England and in Scotland, and growing the number of visitors the group welcomes every year to over 750,000.

Coppergreen is renowned for its quality accommodation and bespoke customer service, offering countryside retreats in attractive settings. It has been a front runner of sustainable and eco-friendly facilities having made significant investments in its estate to develop its parks to the highest specification and quality.

This acquisition follows a milestone year for Away Resorts, with the company welcoming guests in record numbers and receiving investment from CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII. Away Resorts continues to have a healthy pipeline of opportunities to further grow the estate, while continuing to invest in developing its offering.

Carl Castledine, CEO of Away Resorts, commented: “We are delighted to be welcoming Coppergreen to the Away Resorts family to support our ambition of forming the leading UK holiday park provider. Coppergreen’s prime locations and leadership in sustainability will further enhance our offer as we look to provide perfect holiday destinations for UK holiday makers.”

David Copley, CEO at Coppergreen Leisure Resorts, commented: “Away Resorts has a reputation for driving innovation across the industry and is the ideal owner for the business. We look forward to seeing what the team goes on to achieve in its next successful chapter.”

Categories: News

Tags:

Cinven to invest in Ufinet International

Cinven

Transaction underscores Cinven’s commitment to Ufinet, Ufinet’s continued growth prospects and the strength of Cinven’s strategic partnership with its co-shareholder Enel

International private equity firm Cinven today announces that the Seventh Cinven Fund has agreed to make a majority investment in Ufinet International (‘Ufinet’ or ‘the Group’), a leading fibre network operator headquartered in Spain and operating in Latin America, for an enterprise value of approximately €2.5 billion.

The transaction underscores Cinven’s commitment to Ufinet and builds on its successful track record of investing in the business through prior Cinven Funds. Enel, that has been a minority co-shareholder in Ufinet since 2018, will re-invest a minority stake in the Group.

Ufinet leases optical fibre infrastructure (‘dark fibre’ services) and provides transmission services (‘lit fibre’) which together comprise c. 90% of revenues. The business also provides other telecom infrastructure like Fibre to the Home (‘FTTH’) or small cells and associated value-added services.

Ufinet operates across 17 countries and more than 2,000 cities in Latin America including in Colombia, Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica, providing fibre infrastructure and transmission services to telecom operators. Ufinet was established as an independent business in June 2014, following its demerger from Gas Natural Fenosa, the Spanish utility provider, and today employs c.1,400 people across Spain and Latin America.

During Cinven’s ownership, Ufinet has demonstrated significant growth including:

  • Strong revenue and EBITDA growth increasing by c.500% and c.700% respectively;
  • Successful buy and build with the completion and integration of 9 value-accretive acquisitions including Nedetel in Ecuador, NB Telecom and Netell in Brazil, among others;
  • Consistent investment in network improvement and expansion, growing its fibre network by three times and maintaining network performance levels well above industry requirements; and
  • Job creation with the number of Ufinet employees growing by more than 1,400% from less than 100 employees to c. 1,400.

Cinven’s Iberia and TMT teams believe Ufinet is a compelling investment opportunity given its:

  • Strong structural growth drivers, given the significant increase in businesses transitioning to using high speed connectivity, driving further demand for fibre;
  • Operations in nascent markets with strong growth trajectories, underpinned by increased usage and penetration of fixed / mobile broadband and data centres;
  • Significant international expansion and buy and build opportunities, building on its strong track record of successful geographic and acquisitive growth;
  • Strong financial performance, with profits growing at nearly 30% per annum since 2018, including robust performance throughout COVID-19, demonstrating the resilience of the business model;
  • Significant ‘first mover’ advantage, given its well-invested and extensive fibre network; and
  • Industry-leading management team led by CEO, Iñigo Garcia del Cerro Prieto, who has successfully executed the growth strategy of the business since its independence from Gas Natural Fenosa.

Commenting on the transaction, Jorge Quemada, Partner at Cinven, said:

“Ufinet has significant long term strategic ambitions to expand and further internationalise its business, given the strong market dynamics driving the increased use of fibre. Cinven has successfully invested in Ufinet before – as well as in telecom providers in other markets, including Ziggo, Numéricable and MasMovil in the Netherlands, France and Spain, respectively. The Cinven team understands the telecom industry extremely well and, combined with the regional expertise of the Cinven Iberia team, continues to see compelling growth opportunities for Ufinet through a combination of market expansion, organic growth and further buy and build.

Cinven is delighted to continue its strategic partnership with Enel in support of Ufinet’s next phase of growth. In addition, the Cinven team is excited to back the first-class management team, led by Iñigo Garcia del Cerro Prieto, who has already executed a highly successful growth strategy for Ufinet over the past seven years.”

Iñigo Garcia del Cerro Prieto, CEO of Ufinet, added:

“We have had the privilege of working alongside Cinven and Enel since 2014 and 2018 respectively. With the renewal of their partnership, Ufinet strengthens its commitment to grow and expand the business, capitalising on the experience and scale of its shareholders to consolidate and increase its presence in the markets where it operates.

The transaction reinforces Ufinet’s long-term vision, enabling the Company to expand its footprint and become the largest neutral operator of telecommunications infrastructure in Latin America.”

Cinven’s previous successful investments in telecoms have included Ziggo, the leading cable operator in the Netherlands; Numéricable, the French cable operator, both successfully realised following significant buy and build strategies; and MasMovil, one of the largest telecoms operators in Spain which successfully acquired Euskaltel in 2021.

The transaction will be subject to certain regulatory approvals.

Advisers to Cinven on the transaction included Natixis (M&A), Deloitte (tax), Altman Solon (commercial due diligence), KPMG (financial due diligence) and Freshfields (legal).

Categories: News

Tags:

Ardian sells SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions, a leading provider of eye laser systems, to Adagia Partners

Ardian

Frankfurt am Main/Kleinostheim, December 21, 2021 – Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, has reached an agreement to sell its majority stake in SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions GmbH (“SCHWIND”) – one of the world’s leading specialists in laser systems for the treatment of vision defects and corneal diseases – to the private equity company Adagia Partners.

Through its partnership with Ardian, SCHWIND’s management team, led by CEO Rolf Schwind, was strengthened with the appointment of COO Domenic von Planta and CFO Dirk Rosenlöcher and will continue to manage the business in the future. The parties have agreed not to disclose details of the transaction.

Founded in 1958, the company develops, produces and distributes an extensive and highly sophisticated range of products. These include diagnostic tools and state-of-the-art laser systems for the treatment of vision defects and corneal diseases, as well as corresponding software solutions and services.

Worldwide, more than 1,300 SCHWIND laser systems are currently installed in ophthalmology practices, eye clinics, laser centers and university hospitals in over 100 countries. SCHWIND laser systems are used in LASIK, LASEK, PRK, TransPRK and Femto-LASIK eye surgery as well as in minimally invasive lenticle extraction. The combination of innovative technology and intelligent device design ensures maximum precision and safety in refractive corneal surgery. SCHWIND offers clients a one-step solution for the entire course of treatment, through an approach that encompasses the digital networking of diagnostic tools and eye laser system, as well as other supplementary services.

“SCHWIND is recognized as the most technologically advanced company in the sector. With Ardian as our partner, we have been able to successfully expand our unique specialization in the market. Investment in research and development to create the world’s most innovative and precise laser systems for refractive corneal has helped substantially strengthen our product portfolio and tap into new application areas. Our products in the growing market for ophthalmology stand for the highest quality and absolute reliability. We would like to thank the Ardian team as well as the new partner Adagia Partners for their excellent cooperation over the past five years.” Rolf Schwind, CEO of SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions GmbH

“SCHWIND enjoys a worldwide reputation for cutting-edge technology in eye surgery. We are proud to have made a contribution to the successful development of the company in recent years and to have played a part in laying the foundation for a successful future with the addition of the ATOS Femtosecond laser to the product portfolio. We would like to thank the management team led by CEO Rolf Schwind and COO Domenic von Planta for the cooperation. Together with the extended leadership team and the employees of SCHWIND, management have steadily and systematically developed the company with innovative technology solutions and strengthened their global leadership position in refractive corneal surgery. We wish the company and its employees all the best for the future.” Dirk Wittneben, Managing Director & Head of Expansion Germany at Ardian

With Ardian as a partner, the company has invested significantly in research and development since 2016, and Ardian has supported the company with experienced sector experts. As a result, the product range, which previously consisted of various excimer lasers and diagnostic devices, could be expanded with a specially developed intelligent femtosecond laser system (ATOS). Femtosecond lasers enable state-of-the-art surgical methods on the eye to improve vision, such as minimally invasive lenticle extraction or flap creation as part of FemtoLASIK. For each operation with a femtosecond laser, high-quality consumables developed by SCHWIND (patient interfaces) are used, which physically connect the laser device to the patient’s eye. As a result, SCHWIND was able to expand its core business of developing and marketing eye laser and diagnostic systems with additional recurring revenues through patient interfaces for ATOS femtosecond laser treatments. In addition to the successful core business with excimer laser systems and diagnostic devices, the entry into the market segment of femtosecond lasers represents a key step in continuing the strong organic growth and the successful corporate development of SCHWIND.

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$120bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base.
Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.
Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 800 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of more than 1,200 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

www.ardian.com

ABOUT SCHWIND

SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions is one of the technological leaders in the global market for refractive and therapeutic corneal surgery. The family business develops, produces and markets a comprehensive, highly developed product portfolio for the treatment of vision defects and corneal diseases. With the SCHWIND AMARIS Excimer Laser product family and the SCHWIND ATOS femtosecond laser, the company covers the most important all-laser procedures of modern refractive surgery from a single source: the touch free TransPRK/SmartSurfACE surface treatment, intrastromal FemtoLASIK and minimally invasive SCHWIND SmartSight lenticle extraction of the new generation. Eye surgeons in more than 100 countries treat their patients with SCHWIND technologies.

www.eye-tech-solutions.com

ABOUT ADAGIA PARTNERS

Adagia Partners is a pan-European mid-market private equity firm with offices in Frankfurt and Paris. The firm was created and is owned by its Partners. The team is made of 15 professionals with international and operational background. The firm is delivering performance for all stakeholders by fostering entrepreneurship and humanism.
Adagia Capital Europe, the €750m investment vehicle currently in fund raising, will be deployed in Midcap companies in France, Germany, Benelux, Switzerland and Austria. The fund has an industry specialist approach and focusses on Healthcare, Business Services and Tech Industries.
The fund backs entrepreneurs in the implementation of their growth strategies, build-up and Tech-Digital approach.

List of participants

  • Ardian Team: Dirk Wittneben, Yannic Metzger, Marlon Sandvoss
    • M&A Advisory: Macquarie Capital (Florian Geiger, Dr. Fabian Trübenbach)
    • Commercial: L.E.K. Consulting (Tobias Koesters)
    • Legal: White & Case (Dr. Stefan Koch, Tomislav Vrabec)
    • Financial: PwC (Peter Gröninger)
    • Tax: Taxess (Gerald Thomas, Richard Schäfer)

MEDIA CONTACTS

ARDIAN

CHARLES BARKER

ardian@charlesbarker.de

Peter Steiner

+49 69 79409027

Tobias Eberle

+49 69 79409024

Categories: News

Tags:

ALTOR and TRITON to divest majority stake in OPTIGROUP to FSN

Altor

On December 21, Altor Fund II (“Altor”) and Triton Fund II (Triton) announced that they have agreed to divest the majority of its current holding in OptiGroup to a holdco controlled by FSN Capital VI (FSN). Altor, Triton and RoosGruppen will retain a minority holding in the company.

Headquartered in Mölndal, Sweden, OptiGroup has developed into a leading European business-to-business distributor of business essentials. OptiGroup provides solutions and products within facility, safety, foodservice, industrial packaging, paper and business supplies. OptiGroup’s companies support more than 90,000 customers in 16 countries across Europe.

“We are proud of what OptiGroup has become after 14 years of hard work with transformative acquisitions, divestments and operational efficiency. Today OptiGroup is a leading diversified distributor of business essentials and we believe the company will continue to grow within its core segments. We have greatly enjoyed working with a very dedicated and entrepreneurial management team as well as with Triton and RoosGruppen to support the company on this transformative journey. We are happy to pass the baton to FSN who we believe are very well positioned to take the company to the next level and are excited to retain a minority ownership” says Bengt Maunsbach, Partner at Altor.

”OptiGroup as it looks today is the product of many years of hard work to reposition the company to become a Nordic B2B distribution champion within business essentials. We believe it is now ready to take the next step, under FSN’s ownership, to continue and accelerate this journey towards becoming a pan-European champion supported by strong underlying market growth and a clear add-on agenda. We have enjoyed working together with the management team and now look forward to continue supporting the company as minority shareholders together with our existing partners Altor and RoosGruppen” says Sebastian Lapinski, Investment Advisory Professional at Triton.

OptiGroup’s current management team will continue to lead the company on this next leg of the journey.

“We are very proud of the transformation achieved during the partnership with Altor, Triton and RoosGruppen. The industry has gone through very turbulent times and our ability to always think and act long-term has put us in the great position we are in today. The commitment from our owners have been essential and we are excited about the plans going forward with FSN and very happy that Altor, Triton and Roos-gruppen will continue to be shareholders” says Søren Gaardboe, CEO of OptiGroup.

The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction, which remains subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Jefferies and Carnegie acted as financial advisers on the transaction.

For more information, please contact:
Tor Krusell, Head of Communications at Altor, tor.krusell@altor.com, +46 705 43 87 47

About Altor
Since inception, the family of Altor funds has raised some EUR 8.3 billion in total commitments. The funds have invested in excess of EUR 5 billion in more than 75 companies. The investments have been made in medium sized predominantly Nordic companies with the aim to create value through growth initiatives and operational improvements. Among current and past investments are Oceans Apart, Rossignol, Norican Group, PIAB and Gunnebo. For more information visit www.altor.com.

Author: Katarina Karlsson
Date: 2021.12.21
Categories: News

Categories: News

Tags:

Stella Kotipalvelut Ltd acquired by Finnish health services provider 9Lives

Tesi

Finnish 9Lives, specialised in demanding mobile health services, acquires Stella Kotipalvelut Ltd. The personnel of Stella, the company having seen strong growth in recent years, continues to work under 9Lives. By 2025, 9Lives aims to become the Northern-European leading provider of mobile, local social and healthcare services.

The fusion will be finalised during 2022. Stella is owned by Intera Fund II Ky, Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd), Posti Group Ltd as well as the management. Tesi made the initial investment in the company in 2014, to support the good conditions for growth and social impact the company had in social and healthcare services sector.

Read more:

Press release by Stella Kotipalvelut Ltd 20.12.2021 (in Finnish)

More information:

Miikka Salminen, Investment Manager, Tesi
miikka.salminen@tesi.fi
+358 40 535 4758

 

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 private co-investors, to create new success stories. Our investments under management total 2.1 billion euros. www.tesi.fi | @TesiFII

Categories: News

Tags:

Partners Group to acquire atNorth, the largest data center operator in Iceland

Partners Group

Baar-Zug, Switzerland; 21 December 2021

  • atNorth is a leading data center platform providing renewable-only, power efficient, and cost-optimized data center hosting services to its clients
  • The acquisition lies at the intersection of global Digitization and Decarbonization themes and supports a hands-on, platform-based value creation strategy
  • Partners Group aims to transform atNorth into a major pan-Nordic provider of sustainable and efficient data center solutions

Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, has agreed, on behalf of its clients, to acquire atNorth (or “the Company”), the largest data center operator in Iceland, from its existing shareholder group. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

atNorth is a leading data center platform in the Nordics with two locations in Iceland that have a total committed power capacity of c. 83MW and a c. 11MW site under construction in Stockholm, Sweden which will start operations in February 2022. The Company’s data centers are supplied entirely by renewable power and utilize local climate conditions and heat recovery systems to provide extremely power efficient facilities. atNorth serves around 100 clients across its High Performance Compute (HPC), Enterprise, and Blockchain customer segments, including local and international blue-chip companies.

Accelerating digitization, rising levels of IT outsourcing, new remote working trends, and continued innovation of cloud-based applications have increased demand for data processing capacity and highlighted the essential nature of data centers. The Nordic data center market is forecasted to grow at a 22.5% CAGR between 2021 and 2025[1].

Partners Group’s vision is to transform atNorth into a leading pan-Nordic provider of sustainable and efficient data center solutions. The firm will work with management on a transformational value creation plan that will include constructing new sites, growing the contract portfolio, building a connectivity ecosystem, and institutionalizing internal processes.

Esther Peiner, Managing Director, Private Infrastructure Europe, Partners Group, says: “This opportunity to build next generation infrastructure across the Nordics lies at the intersection of our Digitization and Decarbonization giga themes. Emerging technologies, such as machine learning, AI, and 5G, will likely drive exponential growth in the data center infrastructure required to power and run such applications. Meanwhile, there is rising demand from businesses for green IT solutions. We have conviction in atNorth’s growth potential and look forward to working with CEO Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson and deputy CEO Eva Guðbjörnsdóttir on our transformational value creation plan.”

Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, Chief Executive Officer, atNorth, comments: “atNorth’s mission has been to be a leading Nordic provider of green colocation data center services and high-performance computing solutions by leveraging our experience building both cost and power efficient colocation data centers. As we have established our data center operations in both Iceland and Sweden, we are now looking to accelerate our expansion. We believe Partners Group is the perfect fit to start the next phase of our journey, given the firm’s extensive experience in digital infrastructure, operational expertise, and financial resources.”

Ismail Afara, Private Infrastructure Europe, Partners Group, adds: “atNorth benefits from a profitable, cash generative asset base and is a strong candidate for our platform expansion strategy. Demand for data center capacity across the Nordics is rising at high double-digit annual growth rates, which provides significant development opportunities. We are excited to partner with the management team on atNorth’s next chapter.”

atNorth marks Partners Group’s fourth digital infrastructure investment in 2021, with the firm committing approximately USD 4 billion across the Digitization theme since inception.

Categories: News

Mentha Capital invests in international visual content solution provider Bright River

Mentha Capital
21 December 2021
Mentha has entered into a partnership with Bright River, a rapidly growing international visual content solutions provider for many of the world’s leading ecommerce platforms and retailers. Bright River is a Dutch company with a worldwide footprint with offices in Haarlem, New York, Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Chennai (India). Goal of the partnership with Mentha is to accelerate growth and expand activities of the company to new regions and customers worldwide.

In the past year global ecommerce sales jumped to 26.7 trillion and the industry is ramping up for more. This also means there’s a growing need from ecommerce and retail organizations for high quality visual content that provide the best possible shopping experience. With its own technology, 750 employees in offices across three continents and a strong track record, Bright River is perfectly positioned to benefit from this.

Mentha chose to take a stake in Bright River because of the company’s proprietary technology and advanced tech-enabled services model that deliver tangible value for leading ecommerce platforms and retailers like Harrods, Coolblue and Yoox. In a rapidly growing and fragmented market Bright River has the ideal platform to pursue accelerated autonomous and acquisitive growth, both in existing and new industries. As an active shareholder in internationally expanding tech-enabled service companies like previously Destiny and now InSites Consulting and Rapid Circle, Mentha Capital can deploy its extensive knowledge and experience in both operational and strategic areas. Bright River can also count on Mentha’s in-depth expertise in ‘buy-and-build’, which allows the organization to further expand through acquisitions in addition to organic growth.

David Jonkers, CEO of Bright River: “’Having Mentha Capital as a key shareholder is a game changing opportunity for Bright River. They understand and share our vision of the ever growing importance of visual product content in e-commerce, and bring a wealth of experience in the execution of ambitious growth goals. We are thrilled to get started.”

Increase efficiency in visual content production

The right visual product content creates rich, engaging online shopping experiences that help convert customers from browsing to purchasing. Bright River helps clients to drastically increase efficiency in visual content production processes, and decrease the ‘time-to-web’ for products to be published online. Computer Vision-based AI, among other technologies, powers their industry-leading workflow and editing automation, giving their image- and video editing, as well as 3D modeling and CGI rendering services, a decisive edge over their competition.

Edo Pfennings, partner at Mentha: “We are very enthusiastic about this partnership. With its own technology Bright River has built a strong position in a rapidly growing and dynamic market. The management team has big ambitions to scale and accelerate its growth through acquisitions and move into new industries, something that Mentha is well equipped to help with.”

Categories: News

Tags:

BMG and KKR acquire music interests of rock icons ZZ TOP

BERLIN & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

Global music company BMG and global investment firm KKR today announced that they have acquired the entire music interests of American rock icons ZZ Top.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211221005092/en/

Credit: Ross HalfinCredit: Ross Halfin

The transaction marks the latest significant music rights deal the two companies have struck together since announcing in March 2021 that they would join forces in the fast-growing market for music IP.

The ZZ Top agreement includes a buyout of the band’s publishing catalogue and their income from recorded royalties and performance royalties. Previously, BMG served as co-publisher and administrator of ZZ Top’s publishing catalog.

In 1971, Billy Gibbons (guitar, vocals), Dusty Hill (bass, keys, vocals), and Frank Beard (drums) released their debut album ZZ Top’s First Album. They would go on to release a total of 15 albums throughout the course of their 50 year career including the commercial breakthrough Tres Hombres (1973), Platinum-certified Degüello (1979), Gold-certified El Loco (1981), smash-hit Diamond-certified Eliminator (1983), 5x Platinum-certified Afterburner (1985), and the Platinum-certified Recycler (1990) and Antenna (1994).

Selling over 50 million albums worldwide, ZZ Top have earned four Gold, three Platinum, two multiple-Platinum album certifications, and one Diamond album. Known for their distinctive look and unabashed blues-rock inspired sound, the success of the group was driven by six #1 Rock singles and eight Top 40 hits including rock music staples ‘La Grange,’ ‘Tush,’ ‘Cheap Sunglasses,’ ‘Gimme All Your Lovin,’’ ‘Legs,’ ‘Got Me Under Pressure,’ and ‘Sharp Dressed Man,’ among many others.

In 2004, the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and their recently released documentary That Little Ol’ Band From Texas received a nomination for Best Music Film at the 2021 Grammy Awards.

ZZ Top manager Carl Stubner of Shelter Music Group said, “We are proud to continue working with and expand our long-standing relationship with BMG. This new deal ensures ZZ Top’s remarkable legacy will endure for generations to come.”

BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said, “This deal is a testament to the success, staying power and continuing musical relevance of ZZ Top, but also to the power of our partnership with KKR. This agreement furthers our vision of providing artists and songwriters not just a financial exit, but also a vehicle committed to respecting and treasuring their artistry.”

Jenny Box, Partner at KKR, said, “We are excited to invest in ZZ Top’s iconic music and we look forward to collaborating with BMG and ZZ Top to further amplify the reach of their catalogue.”

KKR is investing in the catalogue through its private credit investment funds and vehicles and will own its interest in the music through its recently launched Chord Music Partners platform. Latham & Watkins LLP served as advisor to KKR on the transaction.

About BMG
Founded in 2008, BMG is both record label and music publisher in one, the first new global player in the music business of the streaming age. Named in 2020 one of the world’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company, BMG’s pitch is unique – a relentless focus on fairness and transparency and service to its artist and songwriter clients. BMG’s 19 offices across 12 core music markets now represent over 3m songs and recordings, and thousands of artists and songwriters attracted by its fresh approach which now includes production music, film and books as well as music publishing and recordings. BMG is owned by international media, services and education company Bertelsmann, whose other content businesses include the broadcaster RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House and the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr. With its multi-platform perspective, integrated technology platform and commitment to help artists maximize their income, BMG aims to be the best company in music to do business with. www.bmg.com

About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and 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.

For BMG:
Global: Steve Redmond steve.redmond@bmg.com
US: Paki Newell paki.newell@bmg.com

For KKR:
Cara Major or Miles Radcliffe-Trenner
media@kkr.com

Source: KKR

Categories: News

Tags:

Unily to Supercharge Digital Employee Experience With Significant Growth Investment From CVC Growth Funds

Unily (or the “Company”), a world-leading employee experience platform provider, today announces it has attracted a significant growth investment from CVC Growth Funds (“CVC Growth”), the high-growth, technology-focused strategy of one of the leading global private equity firms, CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”), with significant participation from management and existing investors Silversmith Capital Partners (“Silversmith”) and Farview Equity Partners (“Farview”).

Post-investment, CVC Growth will hold a majority stake in the Company and will work with the existing investors to support the incumbent management team on their growth strategy. The partnership with CVC Growth will further strengthen Unily’s position as a world-leading employee experience platform, accelerate product development, expand its footprint with existing customers, and scale its go-to-market organization to continue acquiring new customers. CVC Growth’s investment comes two years after the initial investment from Silversmith and Farview.

Founded in 2005, Unily is the creator of an award-winning employee experience platform used by enterprises to improve communication, collaboration, and productivity amongst their employees. Unily’s sophisticated cloud-native SaaS platform offers customers scalability, a rich feature set and deep integrations with other mission-critical enterprise systems. The Company employs 250 people globally across North America, Europe, and Asia. In 2021, Unily became the first platform to receive four Nielsen Norman Group Best Intranet awards in a single year.

Unily continues to experience rapid growth across its global customer base driven by enterprises seeking out best-in-class software to replace old legacy custom-built platforms. Today, more than 300 enterprises and roughly 3.5 million of their employees rely on Unily’s employee experience platform. The Company’s portfolio of Fortune 500 clients spans a large range of industries and includes high-profile brands.

Unily recently announced the launch of a ground-breaking new engagement automation module at its annual employee experience conference Unite 21 in front of a global audience which included 75% of the Fortune 100. Engagement automation brings marketing automation features to enterprise internal communications, utilizing the latest advancements in AI technology to support the delivery of hyper-personalized workplace experiences.

Will Saville, Co-Founder and CEO of Unily, said: “CVC is one of the largest and most well recognized private equity firms in the world. Seeing their passion for our category and desire to back a leader in the employee experience space made the decision to partner with them extremely easy. My team and I are incredibly excited for the next stage of our journey together.”

Sebastian Künne, Managing Director at CVC Growth, commented: “Engaging employees in their increasingly hybrid and digital workplaces has never been more important than it is today. We see this as a trend that is only going in one direction, with more and more businesses and leaders looking to improve employee communication, collaboration and productivity in a rapidly changing digital world. We have followed Unily for several years as part of our long-standing efforts in human capital management software and look forward to working closely with Will and his team, as well as Silversmith and Farview, to unlock the business’s full potential.”

Going forward, Unily will continue to be a privately-held, independent company, led by its existing leadership team and with ongoing dedication to delivering superior services to its customers.

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2022. For product demos, images, videos, or to speak with a Unily spokesperson, please email: marketing@unily.com.

Arma Partners served as financial advisors and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom served as legal advisors to Unily’s management and institutional shareholders. Shea & Company served as financial advisors and White & Case served as legal advisors to CVC Growth. Sixth Street provided debt financing to support the transaction.

About Unily

Founded in 2005, Unily is the creator of an award-winning employee experience platform used by enterprises to improve communication, collaboration, and productivity amongst their employees. Unily’s sophisticated cloud-native SaaS platform offers customers scalability, a rich feature set and deep integrations with other mission-critical enterprise systems. The Company employs 250 people globally across North America, Europe, and Asia. Its portfolio of Fortune 500 clients spans a large range of industries and includes high-profile brands. In 2021, Unily became the first platform to receive four Nielsen Norman Group Best Intranet awards in a single year. For further information about Unily please visit: www.unily.com. Follow Unily on LinkedIn here.

About CVC Capital Partners

CVC is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm with a network of 25 offices throughout Europe, Asia and the US, with approximately US$125 billion of assets under management. Since its founding in 1981, CVC has secured commitments in excess of US$165 billion from some of the world’s leading institutional investors across its private equity and credit strategies. Funds managed or advised by CVC are invested in more than 100 companies worldwide, which have combined annual sales of over US$100 billion and employ more than 450,000 people. For further information about CVC please visit: www.cvc.com. Follow CVC on LinkedIn here.

About CVC Growth Partners

Launched in 2014, CVC Growth Partners is the growth-oriented middle-market technology investment arm of CVC Capital Partners. CVC Growth Partners primarily targets equity investments between $50 million and $250 million in North America and Europe and manages over US$2.5 billion in assets across two dedicated funds. For further information about CVC Growth Partners please visit: www.cvc.com/growth.

About Silversmith Capital Partners

Founded in 2015, Silversmith Capital Partners is a Boston-based growth equity firm with $2.0 billion of capital under management. Silversmith’s mission is to partner with and support the best entrepreneurs in growing, profitable technology and healthcare companies. Representative investments include ActiveCampaign, Appfire, Centauri Health Solutions, DistroKid, impact.com, Iodine Software, LifeStance Health, Panalgo, Unily, Upperline Health, Validity, and Webflow. The partners have served on the boards of numerous successful growth companies including ABILITY Network, Archer Technologies, Dealer.com, Liazon, Liberty Dialysis, MedHOK, Passport Health, SurveyMonkey, and Wrike. For more information about Silversmith, please visit www.silversmith.com.

About Farview Equity Partners

Farview Equity Partners specialises in investing in growth-oriented enterprise technology companies in Europe. Founded in 2019, Farview’s mission is to empower European enterprise and financial technology companies to grow beyond their current horizons. Farview invests exclusively in SaaS; technology-enabled information and business services; and financial technology companies. The firm makes both minority and control investments that range from €15 to €50 million. In addition to capital, Farview delivers the entire firm to every portfolio company, leveraging its deep network, extensive resources and pattern recognition of past successes to help drive differentiated outcomes. For more information, visit: www.farviewequity.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

CD&R Appoints Jon Selib, former Pfizer Policy & Public Affairs Leader, as Global External Affairs Leader

Clayton Dubilier Rice

Jon Selib Headshot
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
New York

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice today announced the appointment of Jon Selib, former Senior Vice President of Global Policy & Public Affairs at Pfizer, as Managing Director and Global External Affairs Leader. In his new role, which will take effect in March 2022, Mr. Selib will lead CD&R’s engagement with key external stakeholders, including media, government, and trade associations, and work with CD&R portfolio companies on initiatives to improve communications and public affairs outreach.

“Jon is a highly respected external affairs leader, having advised large multinational corporations and financial sponsors on public positioning, as well as navigating a host of complex and high-profile negotiations in government over his career,” said Nate Sleeper, CD&R’s Chief Executive Officer. “We believe our firm and portfolio companies will benefit from his deep experience and strategic counsel as they confront an ever more competitive and sophisticated landscape.”

“CD&R has a well-earned reputation for delivering results for its external partners, creating jobs, and benefitting the communities where it operates and invests,” said Mr. Selib. “I am thrilled to be joining a team at CD&R that is committed to integrity and growing businesses in a socially responsible manner.”

At Pfizer, Mr. Selib led a global team of professionals focused on reputation, public affairs and policy initiatives with governments and other key external stakeholders while serving as a top advisor to the CEO and other Pfizer executives during the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and oral anti-viral treatment. Prior to joining Pfizer, he was a Partner at Hakluyt & Company, a London based commercial strategy firm, leading their consulting work with US corporate and financial sponsor clients spanning a broad range of industries. Before entering the private sector, Jon spent 12 years in the United States Senate, his latter role as Chief of Staff to Senator Max Baucus, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.  As Chief of Staff, Jon managed political and stakeholder engagement for the Affordable Care Act and was closely involved in the development of broader healthcare, tax, international trade, and economic policy. Previously he served as the Senator’s Legislative Director and Counsel, and as a Tax and Investigative Counsel on the Senate Finance Committee.

Mr. Selib is President of the board of Ramapo for Children, a charitable organization dedicated to helping children with social, emotional, and learning needs, and holds a B.A. with honors from Trinity College (CT) and a J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law.

About Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is a private investment firm with a strategy predicated on building stronger, more profitable businesses. Since inception, CD&R has managed the investment of approximately $40 billion in more than 100 companies with an aggregate transaction value of more than $175 billion. The Firm has offices in New York and London. For more information, please visit www.cdr-inc.com.

Categories: People