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Carlyle partners with Rabo Investments to invest in SurePay

Carlyle

Utrecht, Netherlands and London, UK – 3 June 2025 – Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (“CETP”), in partnership with Rabobank’s investment arm Rabo Investments, today announced a strategic growth investment in SurePay, a European leader in payment verification software.

Founded within Rabobank in 2016 and headquartered in the Netherlands, SurePay is a leading provider of payment verification technology solutions to financial institutions and corporates across Europe and the UK. The company reduces fraudulent and misdirected payments through its trusted real-time IBAN-name check, Confirmation-of-Payee (CoP), Verification-of-Payee (VOP), and Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) products, supporting 200+ banks and 750+ corporate customers. Once implemented, SurePay reduces impersonation scams by 81% and erroneous payments by 67% on average. To date, SurePay has processed more than 10 billion payment checks, playing a critical role in helping clients improve payment accuracy, prevent fraud, address continuously evolving regulatory and compliance demands, and optimise operational efficiencies.

With the backing of Carlyle and Rabo Investments, SurePay plans to further expand its suite of payment verification and fraud prevention solutions and broaden its geographic presence across Europe and beyond, with a continued focus on delivering highly reliable services to its blue-chip customers.

David-Jan Janse, CEO and co-founder of SurePay, said:
“We are thrilled to welcome Carlyle as a strategic partner for the next stage of our journey. The team is grateful to Connected Capital and Iris Capital for their partnership since 2021, and the valuable experience they have brought in scaling B2B SaaS businesses and supporting breakout technology ventures like ours. With Carlyle’s deep experience in financial infrastructure and enterprise software, they are the ideal partner to join Rabobank in supporting our ambition to strengthen our leadership across Europe and the UK, and expand into other international markets. This investment is a major milestone for our team and a strong validation of the platform we have built together with top-tier financial institutions and leading corporates around the world.”

Constantin Boye, who leads the European growth equity efforts within the CETP investment advisory team at Carlyle, said:
“SurePay is a mission-critical payment verification solutions provider with a powerful combination of proven technology and deep relationships across the European and UK banking ecosystem. The team has done an exceptional job building a platform that delivers real, measurable impact in reducing fraud and improving payment accuracy for both financial institutions and corporates. We are excited to partner with Rabo Investments in supporting SurePay as they continue to scale internationally and drive innovation in this increasingly important space.”

Carlyle is investing through its CETP V fund, a €3.2 billion vehicle focused on growth-stage technology businesses across Europe. The CETP team has extensive experience in scaling European financial technology and Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) software platforms, with notable investments including FRS Global, ITRS, Calastone, VWD, and Trema.

Floris Onvlee, Director at Rabo Investments, added:
“Since its founding within Rabobank, SurePay has been developed to meet the highest possible financial services quality standards with best-in-class platform reliability, scalability, and security. We believe that this bank-grade heritage, which underpins the many strengths of SurePay’s current offering, has enabled the team to execute with focus, ambition, and credibility to become a European leader in payment verification. Today, their solutions are used by many of the world’s largest financial institutions and corporates, delivering meaningful impact at enterprise scale. After a fruitful partnership with Connected Capital and Iris Capital, we are proud to continue on this growth journey with the SurePay team alongside Carlyle, supporting Rabobank’s corporate venture strategy to build a stronger and more secure financial ecosystem.”

 

About SurePay
SurePay is a leading provider of payment verification technology, headquartered in the Netherlands. The company originally pioneered the IBAN-name check solution in the Dutch market in 2017 and has since expanded across Europe and the UK with its real-time Verification-Of-Payee (VOP), Confirmation-of-Payee (CoP) and Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) solutions. SurePay serves more than 200 banks and 750 corporate customers and has processed more than 10 billion payment checks to date, playing a critical role in helping clients prevent fraud, improve payment accuracy, and meet continuously evolving compliance and regulatory demands.

 

Media Contacts
Carlyle

Nicholas Brown
nicholas.brown@carlyle.com
+44 7471037002

 

SurePay

Ramon Verweij
ramon@surepay.eu
+31 623833068

 

Rabo Investments

Hugo Nutbey
hugo.nutbey@rabobank.nl
+31 887263463

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KKR Provides $600 Million Financing to Indian Conglomerate Manipal Group

KKR

Transaction marks KKR’s latest and largest credit investment in India

MUMBAI, India–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, and Manipal Education and Medical Group (“MEMG” or “Manipal Group”), a major diversified conglomerate in India, today announced a $600-million financing arranged by KKR Capital Markets and anchored by KKR’s private credit and insurance platforms to the Manipal Group. The investment will enable the Manipal Group to accelerate its corporate expansion and growth objectives by providing flexible, structured capital matched to its long-term strategic needs.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250601919977/en/

The Manipal Group is a leading conglomerate in India with various institutions and major businesses across the healthcare, education, and health insurance sectors, including Manipal Health Enterprises, one of India’s top multispecialty hospitals chains in India.

KKR’s Asia Pacific Credit platform seeks to provide, among other private credit strategies, bespoke solutions to high-quality companies, entrepreneurs, promoters and sponsors that harness the strength of KKR’s private markets investment capabilities and its expertise as one of the largest alternative credit managers globally.

Gaurav Trehan, Co-Head of KKR Asia Pacific and Head of Asia Private Equity, KKR said, “We are pleased to deepen our relationship with the Manipal Group and Dr Ranjan Pai, who have established one of India’s pre-eminent and homegrown businesses, as they continue to deliver on their long-term vision. The Manipal Group has built a strong reputation over the decades as one of India’s healthcare and education leaders, and we look forward to supporting and contributing to their continued success.”

Dr. Ranjan Pai, Chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group, said, “We are proud to welcome KKR as a strategic partner as we continue to build on Manipal’s legacy in healthcare and education. KKR’s longstanding India focus and flexible capital approach, as well as alignment with our long-term vision, present a strong fit for us.”

Diane Raposio, Partner and Head of Asia Credit and Markets at KKR, added, “This transaction underscores the strength of our global credit platform and our ability to provide strategic, scaled capital solutions to leading businesses. India is a priority market for our credit strategy, and we look to build on this momentum to be a partner of choice to more high-quality companies like Manipal on their growth ambitions.”

KKR is making its investment from its Asia Pacific Credit strategy and insurance platform. Since 2019, KKR has committed more than $8 billion across around 60 credit investments under its Asia Pacific Credit strategy, accounting for a total transaction volume of more than $21 billion.

Additional details of the transaction are not disclosed.

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 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. For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit Global Atlantic Financial Group’s website at www.globalatlantic.com.

About Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG)

Founded in 1953 by Padma Shri Dr TMA Pai, MEMG has evolved into a diversified conglomerate, with a strong presence in healthcare, education and health insurance in India and globally. MEMG’s operations touch the lives of over 20 million people annually with Manipal Hospitals scaling up to become the largest tertiary network in India. MEMG’s flagship University, Manipal Academy of Higher Education has been recognized as an Institute of Eminence by the Government of India. Claypond Capital, the family office of Dr. Pai and the investing arm of MEMG has been one of the more prolific investing family offices in India in the last 18 months. Their marquee investments include Aakash, BPL Medical, BlueStone, Easy Home Finance, First Cry, Finnable, InCred Finance, NSE, Panacea Medical, PharmEasy, Purpple, Recykal, SSI Innovations and Zepto.

Media Contacts

For KKR Asia Pacific
Wei Jun Ong
+65 6922 5813
WeiJun.Ong@kkr.com

For Manipal Group
Shyam Powar
+91 98804 75000
Shyam.Powar@claypondcapital.com

Source: KKR

 

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EQT Real Estate acquires a five-building logistics portfolio across three locations in Southern France

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  • Acquisition of five logistics assets totaling approximately 148,000 square meters
  • Let to nine tenants, this highly reversionary portfolio has a weighted average remaining lease term to break of less than two years
  • With this transaction, EQT Real Estate will meaningfully increase its exposure to the core Southeast and Southwest France logistics markets

EQT Real Estate is pleased to announce that EQT Exeter Logistics Value Fund IV has acquired a best-in-class logistics portfolio of five warehouses.

The portfolio of big-box assets totals approximately 148,000 square meters and are located in the key Southern France submarkets of Avignon and Toulouse. The warehouses’ respective locations offer proximate access to core population centres via key motorways, including the A20 and the A7 which provide connectivity to Marseille and Lyon.

The properties feature Grade A technical specifications, including eaves heights averaging over ten meters, as well as ample loading and maneuvering features. The portfolio benefits from a strong, global diversified tenant base and is well-suited to meet the growing needs of today’s modern logistics users.

This acquisition strengthens EQT Real Estate’s exposure to core Southern France submarkets, which are structurally undersupplied and continue to experience resilient demand. These are highly desirable occupier markets benefiting from the excellent connectivity which supports supply chains along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.

John Toukatly, Partner, Chief Investment Officer, European Logistics at EQT Real Estate, said: “We are excited to add these top-tier logistics properties to our portfolio. Situated in supply-constrained markets, these assets are highly attractive to a wide range of major big-box tenants and are well aligned with EQT Real Estate’s strategy of acquiring modern, high-potential logistics properties in underserved areas across Europe. With our operational and asset management capabilities, we intend to further enhance the value of this high-quality portfolio.”

EQT Real Estate was advised by PwC (financial and tax), Gide and GMH Notaires (legal and notarial), CBRE (commercial), Tauw (environmental), AMF (ICPE and PM) and Gleeds (technical and ESG).

Contact
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com

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About EQT Real Estate
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 273 billion in total assets under management (EUR 142 billion in fee-generating assets under management) as of 31 March 2025, divided into two business segments: Private Capital and Real Assets. EQT supports its global portfolio companies and assets in achieving sustainable growth, operational excellence, and market leadership. Within EQT’s Real Assets segment, EQT Real Estate acquires, develops, leases, and manages logistics and residential properties in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. EQT Real Estate owns and operates over 2,500 properties and 540 million square feet, with over 440 experienced professionals across 50 locations globally.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT Real Estate on LinkedIn

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CapMan appoints James O’Neill as Managing Director to its Fund Investor Relations team to serve its growing and internationalising investor base

Capman

CapMan appoints James O’Neill as Managing Director to its Fund Investor Relations team to serve its growing and internationalising investor base

CapMan is pleased to announce the appointment of James O’Neill as Managing Director, Real Estate to its Fund Investor Relations team. This strategic recruitment underscores CapMan’s commitment to expanding its investor relations and fundraising capabilities and driving growth in the international private real asset sector.

CapMan Real Estate has over the past years demonstrated remarkable growth in its Nordic real estate product offerings, ranging today from value-add funds to open-ended income-oriented funds investing in residential, hotel, and public sector real estate. Since 2013, its Nordic strategies have successfully raised over EUR 3.6 billion from a global institutional investor base. This achievement highlights CapMan Real Estate’s ability to attract international capital and deliver exceptional value to its investors.

James O’Neill brings over 20 years of experience in international real asset fundraising and business development as he joins CapMan. He has previously held key positions as Executive Director and Head of Equity Placement UK at CBRE Capital Advisors and as Head of International Distribution at Legal & General Investment Management, Real Assets.

“We are thrilled to welcome James O’Neill to our team at a time, when real assets already account for three quarters of CapMan’s EUR 6.4 billion asset under management,” says Mari Simula, Head of Fund Investor Relations at CapMan.

“O’Neill’s expertise, global institutional investor network, and deep understanding of private market dynamics will be instrumental in advancing our fundraising initiatives and achieving our strategic objectives,” adds Mika Matikainen, Managing Partner of CapMan Real Estate.

In his new role, O’Neill will be responsible for developing and executing fundraising strategies, identifying potential investors, and managing investor relations primarily for CapMan’s real estate funds.

“I am excited to join CapMan and contribute to its successful and growing real assets product offering,” says O’Neill.

“CapMan has a unique position across private markets in the Nordics, and I look forward to working with the team to continue developing our investment strategies and deepening relationships with our investors,” he continues.

This appointment supports CapMan’s objective to increase its assets under management to EUR 10 billion during the ongoing strategy period.

For more information, please contact:

Mari Simula, Head of Fund Investor Relations, CapMan, mari.simula@capman.com

Mika Matikainen, Managing Partner, CapMan Real Estate, mika.matikainen@capman.com

About CapMan

CapMan is a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value creation and €6.4 billion in assets under management. As one of the private equity pioneers in the Nordics we have developed hundreds of companies and assets creating significant value for over three decades. Our objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors by enabling change across our portfolio companies. An example of this is greenhouse gas reduction targets that we have set under the Science Based Targets initiative in line with the 1.5°C scenario and our commitment to net-zero GHG emissions by 2040. We have a broad presence in the unlisted market through our local and specialised teams. Our investment strategies cover real estate and infrastructure assets, natural capital and minority and majority investments in portfolio companies. We also provide wealth management solutions. Altogether, CapMan employs around 200 professionals in Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London and Luxembourg. We are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since 2001. www.capman.com

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bluebird bio Announces Completion of Acquisition by Carlyle and SK Capital

Carlyle

New management, led by David Meek, is committed to rapidly scaling access to lifechanging gene therapies

Significant capital commitment from Carlyle and SK Capital will enable bluebird to grow and accelerate patient access

bluebird will focus on expanding manufacturing capacity and improving the treatment experience for patients and providers

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — June 2, 2025 — bluebird bio (NASDAQ: BLUE) (“bluebird”), a pioneer in gene therapies for severe genetic diseases, today announced the completion of its sale to funds managed by global investment firms Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) and SK Capital Partners, LP (“SK Capital”). With the closing of the transaction, bluebird’s common stock has ceased trading and will no longer be publicly listed. Carlyle and SK Capital have provided significant primary capital to support and scale bluebird’s commercial delivery of gene therapies for patients with sickle cell disease, β-thalassemia, and cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy.

David Meek, who became Chief Executive Officer of bluebird at close, said, “Today marks the beginning of a new era for bluebird as its go-forward financial backing and leadership team will better enable all stakeholders to realize the full potential of our revolutionary therapies. Historically, bluebird has excelled as a scientific innovator and should be very proud of the many achievements it has delivered to patients. Our vision is to further that legacy of scientific excellence while improving the commercial execution of our approved products to rapidly expand access to lifechanging gene therapies.”

“We are excited to back bluebird in partnership with SK Capital. We believe providing bluebird the necessary funding along with the new leadership team will help bluebird realize its full potential,” said Joe Bress, Carlyle Partner and Global Co-Head of Healthcare. Bali Muralidhar, Co-Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer & COO of Abingworth, Carlyle’s life sciences investment franchise, added, “There is an incredible opportunity to bring bluebird’s groundbreaking therapies to more patients in need, and we look forward to advancing bluebird in its mission.”

“SK Capital looks forward to partnering with David and his team as well as Carlyle to scale bluebird’s pioneering gene therapies that can make a lifechanging difference for patients around the world,” said Aaron Davenport, Managing Director at SK Capital, adding, “We believe our deep collective experience in manufacturing and commercializing therapies can help drive the next chapter of bluebird’s growth.”

Incoming Team Bolsters Commercial Gene Therapy Experience 

The company’s momentum is reinforced by a deeply experienced management team, led by CEO David Meek. David brings more than 30 years of leadership in life sciences, including as CEO of Mirati Therapeutics and Ipsen. David is joined by Tom Klima as Chief Commercial & Operating Officer, Debasish Roychowdhury, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer, Wendy DiCicco as Chief Financial Officer, and Ellen Forest as Chief People Officer. Additional details are available at https://www.bluebirdbio.com/about-us/leadership.

From Scientific Breakthroughs to Delivery at Scale

With the transaction now closed, bluebird is prioritizing expanding its manufacturing infrastructure, streamlining the patient journey, supporting treatment centers, and strengthening its payer partnerships. The acquisition provides the strategic and financial backing needed to meet rising demand and drive commercial and operational excellence across the organization.

“bluebird has demonstrated what’s possible through effective gene therapy,” David added. “Now we will build the ecosystem to ensure every patient who needs these therapies can access them.”

About bluebird bio

bluebird bio is a commercial-stage biotherapeutics company focused on developing and delivering gene therapies for severe genetic diseases. With more than a decade of scientific leadership in gene therapy and three FDA-approved therapies for sickle cell disease, β-thalassemia, and cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, the company is committed to ensuring access, reliability, and patient-centered care. bluebird is headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts.

About Carlyle

Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across its business and conducts its operations through three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Carlyle AlpInvest. With $453 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2025, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies, and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,300 people in 29 offices across four continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on X @OneCarlyle and LinkedIn at The Carlyle Group.

About SK Capital

SK Capital is a transformational private investment firm with a disciplined focus on the life sciences, specialty materials, and ingredients sectors. The firm seeks to build resilient, sustainable, and growing businesses that create substantial long-term value. SK Capital aims to utilize its industry, operating, and investment experience to identify opportunities to transform businesses into higher performing organizations with improved strategic positioning, growth, and profitability, as well as lower operating risk. SK Capital currently has approximately $10 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2024. For more information, please visit www.skcapitalpartners.com.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on historical performance and current expectations and projections about bluebird’s future goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond bluebird’s control and could cause bluebird’s future goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect bluebird bio’s business, particularly those identified in the risk factors discussion in bluebird bio’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as updated by its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the SEC. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the risk that the efficacy and safety results from bluebird’s prior and ongoing clinical trials will not continue or be seen in the commercial context; the risk that there is not sufficient patient demand or payer reimbursement to support continued commercialization of bluebird’s products; the risk of insertional oncogenic or other safety events associated with lentiviral vector, drug product, or myeloablation, including the risk of hematologic malignancy; and the risk that bluebird’s products will not be successfully commercialized. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law, bluebird bio undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

Contacts: 

 

Bluebird

Courtney O’Leary 

+1 (978) 621-7347

coleary@bluebirdbio.com

 

Carlyle

Brittany Berliner
+1 (212) 813-4839
brittany.berliner@carlyle.com

 

SK Capital

Ben Dillon

+1 (646) 278-1353 
bdillon@skcapitalpartners.com

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Carlyle partners with Rabo Investments to Invest in SurePay

Rabo Investments

Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (“CETP”), in partnership with Rabo Investments, announced a strategic growth investment in SurePay, a European leader in payment verification software. Following an earlier successful growth trajectory together with Connected Capital and Iris Capital, CETP and Rabo Investments now join forces to further expand SurePay’s suite of payment verification and fraud prevention solutions and geographical expansion.  

 Founded within Rabobank in 2016 and headquartered in the Netherlands, SurePay is a leading provider of payment verification technology solutions to financial institutions and corporates across Europe and the UK. The company reduces fraudulent and misdirected payments through its trusted real-time IBAN-name check, Confirmation-of-Payee (CoP), Verification-of-Payee (VoP), and Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) products, supporting 200+ banks and 750+ corporate customers.  

 David-Jan Janse, CEO and co-founder of SurePay: 

“We are thrilled to welcome Carlyle as a strategic partner for the next stage of our journey. With Carlyle’s deep experience in financial infrastructure and enterprise software, they are the ideal partner to join Rabo Investments in supporting our ambition to strengthen our leadership across Europe and the UK, and expand into other international markets. This investment is a major milestone for our team and a strong validation of the platform we have built together with top-tier financial institutions and leading corporates around the world.” 

 More about SurePay: Home • SurePay 

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CDTI Innovation’s SICC Innvierte Invests in Next Technology Ventures II to Drive Innovative Solutions for Critical Energy Transition Challenges

Axon

With this investment, CDTI Innovation reaffirms its commitment to promoting projects that empower national companies to lead international markets, create high-quality employment, and enhance their competitiveness through advanced technology.

CDTI Innovation, through its Innvierte initiative, has invested 15 million euros in Next Technology Ventures II (NTV II), managed by Axon Partners Group. This investment aims to promote the development of high technology (‘Deeptech’) in SMEs within the climate sector (generation and smart grids, smart buildings and distributed energy, transport and mobility, industry, and circular economy), primarily targeting early-stage companies.

Next Technology Ventures II:

Driving Technological Innovation in Early-Stage Climate Solutions With a total size exceeding 60 million euros, NTV II began building its portfolio in 2023. Targeting between twenty and thirty investee companies, the fund has already made its first twelve investments in companies developing solutions to global challenges such as industrial decarbonisation (Build to Zero), green hydrogen production and carbon capture (Parallel Carbon), renewable energies and grid flexibility (Hepta, Phelas, or Novatron), and the circular economy (Nextmol).

Additionally, these companies are advancing enabling technologies based on IoT (Energiot or Wsense), new materials (Jolt), and even Quantum Computing applied to energy (Quilimanjaro).

The fund is managed by Axon Partners Group, which, since 2019, has maintained a dedicated investment strategy focused exclusively on the climate technology and energy transition ecosystem. While global in scope, Axon’s strategy prioritises Spain and Southern Europe.

Innvierte:

Promoting Business Innovation Through Venture Capital, Innvierte is a programme that fosters business innovation by supporting venture capital investments in technology-driven or innovative companies. Implemented through the closed-end collective investment entity Innvierte Economía Sostenible SICC S.M.E., S.A., this initiative operates under the supervision of the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), with CDTI Innovation as its sole shareholder.

To date, CDTI Innovation has committed 2,183 million euros in 57 investment vehicles that have invested in over 602 companies. It has directly committed 632 million euros to 188 companies through its co-investment line.

Innvierte is part of the Spanish Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy 2021-2027, approved by the Council of Ministers in September 2020. This strategy outlines the objectives, reforms, and measures to be implemented across the R&D&I sector to drive its growth and impact, forming a key pillar in the government’s R&D&I policy for the coming years.

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Altor divests all shares in XXL

27 May 2025. Altor Fund IV (“Altor”) has today accepted the mandatory offer from Frasers Group Plc for XXL ASA (“XXL” or the “Company”) and thereby sold 23,491,568 A shares and 17,051,037 B shares in XXL ASA, representing all its shares and votes in the Company, at a price of NOK 10 per share. Following these transactions, Altor will own no shares in XXL. Altor has supported XXL since they partnered in 2019.

“Given the current situation and the increasing short-term challenges, Altor has decided to accept Frasers Group’s offer, in line with the Board’s new recommendation. As we now hand over to Frasers Group, we believe XXL will benefit from their industry experience and benefit from being part of a larger group” said Øistein Widding, Partner and Head of Norway.

Andreas Källström Säfweräng, Partner and Head of the Consumer Sector continued: “XXL’s management team and dedicated employees are working hard every day to build a stronger company, and Altor believes they’ll succeed in getting back to profitable growth. That said, there are still real challenges ahead short-term. We see this as the right time for Frasers Group to guide the next chapter.”

About Altor

Since inception, the family of Altor funds has raised more than EUR 12 billion in total commitments. The funds have invested in just south of 100 companies. The investments have been made in medium-sized predominantly Nordic and DACH companies with the aim to create value through growth initiatives and operational improvements. Among current and past investments are Helly Hansen, Meltwater, CCM Hockey, and Toteme.

Press contact

Karin Åström

Head of Communications

karin.astrom@altor.com

+46 707 64 86 59

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Smart Communications Announces Acquisition of Joisto

AKKR Logo

Powerful Cloud Archival Capabilities Expand Smart Communications’ Market-Leading Conversation Cloud™ Platform

London and New York – Smart Communications™, the leading cloud-based platform for enterprise customer communications, today announces it has acquired Joisto, a cloud data archive company. As a result, customers will now have the ability to seamlessly store, manage and retrieve digital records and documents, while meeting the stringent requirements for data retention that govern regulated industries worldwide.

“We’re delighted to incorporate Joisto’s deep expertise in cloud archival into Smart Communications,” said Leigh Segall, CEO of Smart Communications. “Our leading Conversation Cloud Platform already enables our customers to manage sophisticated customer conversations at tremendous scale. With the addition of Joisto, we will extend these capabilities to meet an increasing need for regulatory-compliant and readily accessible storage of these conversations in the cloud. Together we will support customers worldwide as they continue their journey to modernize and transform customer conversations.”

Joisto’s cloud-based archive solution is built to seamlessly connect to a wide range of core solutions across corporate ecosystems using a comprehensive set of APIs. This enables customers to store, manage, and retrieve documents, irrespective of their source. With powerful data-ingestion capabilities and a modern, scalable, cloud architecture, Joisto easily meets customer requirements to store large volumes of documents, while enabling access from any location. Built with industry regulations and retention rules in mind, Joisto supports compliance with GDPR while driving enhanced document integrity, document authorization and user validation.

“Joisto is thrilled to join forces with Smart Communications,” commented Joisto CEO, Tommi Hänninen. “We deeply understand the importance of archival in regulated industries and we are especially proud to partner with an organization that is equally passionate about providing industry-leading capabilities through a modern, cloud-based architecture. The combination of Smart Communications and Joisto represents an exciting step forward for both companies and our customers.”

The acquisition comes alongside a period of sustained, rapid growth for Smart Communications, as the company has consolidated its leadership position in the cloud CCM (Customer Communications Management) and IXM (Interaction Experience Management) sectors and earned recognition for its strength among today’s leading healthcare, financial services, insurance, and government organizations. In addition, analyst firms including IDC, Aspire, Aragon, Datos, and Celent have once again ranked Smart Communications as a strategic leader and highlighted the company’s vision, cloud strategy, and product innovation.

As Smart Communications extends capabilities across the Conversation Cloud with this acquisition, the company will continue to integrate and partner with leading platform vendors worldwide to make ongoing customer conversations – and archival – seamless for the enterprises we serve.

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IK Partners to invest in Kestrel Capital

IK Partners

IK Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap III (“IK SC III”) Fund has signed an agreement to invest in Kestrel Capital (“Kestrel” or “the Company”), a fast-growing, independent Irish wealth manager. IK is investing alongside the current owners of Kestrel, who will all continue to develop and manage the business going forward. IK is investing from its dedicated pool of Development Capital, with this transaction representing IK’s first platform investment in Ireland. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed and completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Kestrel is an investment management and financial planning firm, offering bespoke services to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, corporations, charities, foundations and retirement plans. The Company was founded in 2015 and its highly skilled team is led by John Crowe, Danny McGinley and Kenny Hope. Together, they have a combined experience of more than 70 years in wealth management and they will continue to apply all this knowledge and experience to the benefit of Kestrel’s clients.

Kestrel has built a strong reputation for delivering long-term wealth preservation and accumulation strategies to a loyal and rapidly growing client base. Its business model is built around three main pillars: bespoke advice; disciplined portfolio construction; and rigorous oversight. As one of only a few independent MiFID regulated wealth managers in Ireland, the Company is able to provide discretionary portfolio management services, tailored to the specific needs of each client.

Since inception, Kestrel has increased its assets under management to over €1bn and is well positioned to continue its impressive growth, due to the Company’s differentiated offering, its well-established track record and the backdrop of increasing wealth generation in Ireland.

In partnership with IK, Kestrel plans to: continue providing high-quality advice to its growing client base; broaden its service offering; and invest in its operations to uphold high service standards. The Company will also accelerate growth by developing its existing team, attracting new senior wealth managers and making selective complementary acquisitions in a highly fragmented market.

John Crowe, Founder and CEO of Kestrel, said: “This investment from IK marks an important milestone in the development of Kestrel as we seek to further strengthen our position in the Irish Wealth Management sector. With the expertise and experience brought by the IK team, we will be able to capitalise on the market opportunity and pursue a growth strategy in an industry that is poised for consolidation.”

Simon May, Partner at IK and Advisor to the IK SC III Fund, added: “We have been very impressed with Kestrel’s achievements since inception. Its rapid growth is a real testament to the hard work and tireless efforts of John and his team to build a high-quality, client-centric business. We look forward to supporting John, Danny, Kenny and their team in the next chapter of Kestrel’s development, utilising the expertise of the wider IK platform and our experience with similar wealth management businesses.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Partners
Vidya Verlkumar
Phone: +44 (0)7787 558 193
vidya.verlkumar@ikpartners.com

H/Advisors Maitland
Vikki Kosmalska
Phone: +44 (0) 7754 943 601
vikki.kosmalska@h-advisors.global

 

About Kestrel Capital

Kestrel Capital is an independent, employee-owned Investment Advisory and Management firm, supporting high-net-worth individuals, family offices, corporations, charities, foundations and retirement plans. Kestrel Capital provides access to global financial markets via world class international trading platforms. For more information, visit kestrel.ie

About IK Partners

IK Partners (“IK”) is a European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics, UK and Ireland. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €19 billion of capital and invested in over 200 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit ikpartners.com

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