Wireless Logic, a global leading IoT connectivity platform provider, has further expanded its presence in Europe with the acquisition of Com4, a Norwegian MVNO with a focus on IoT and M2M communication. The latest in a line of back-to-back acquisitions for the UK company, Com4 will bring added mobile capability and expertise, while also strengthening the Wireless Logic’s presence in the Nordic region.
Headquartered in Oslo, Com4 was founded in 2011 and today employs a team of 18 professionals with a wealth of experience across applications from smart metering to the industrial IoT. Co-founders Henning Solberg (COO) and Raymond Berntsen (Sales Manager) remain a critical part of the management team.
Com4 is one of the few operators in Norway with its own dedicated core network and M2M platform, making it fully equipped to deliver advanced mobile communication services to the professional market. Over the course of the past decade, the company has established itself as a pioneering business, utilising eSIM and NB-IoT/LTE-M cellular based “low-power” network technologies.
Stein André Larner, CEO of Com4, comments: “Our core focus is mobile data communication in every link of the chain, from design to delivery and support. This means that our customers’ communication needs and challenges are met with understanding and competence throughout our entire value chain. With the support of the Wireless Logic group, we are confident that we will be able to enhance our offering further.”
The acquisition was completed on 15th Jan 2021. Larner, as well as Solberg, Berntsen and the whole Com4 team, will continue to fulfil their roles at Com4 post-acquisition.
Oliver Tucker, CEO at Wireless Logic, says: “By welcoming such a talented team to our ever-expanding business, we are able to bolster expertise and boost capabilities, paving the way for sustained business expansion in 2021. We’ll be working closely with Com4 to ensure that they are able to continue their growth path, whilst leveraging the advantages of being part of the Wireless Logic group.”
Caring Brands International (“CBI”), a portfolio company of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (“LLCP”), announced today that it has completed the acquisition of its Interim HealthCare home health and hospice franchises in San Diego (the “San Diego Franchise”). The addition of the San Diego Franchise expands CBI’s branch footprint and marks the first acquisition within the Interim HealthCare network domestically.The acquisition of the San Diego Franchise is the third completed by CBI in the last six months, continuing the Company’s strong momentum:
In June 2020, CBI acquired its Bluebird Care Master Franchise in the Republic of Ireland, adding direct franchising rights in the Republic of Ireland and 26 franchise locations operating under CBI’s UK brand, Bluebird Care.
In November 2020, CBI acquired the Northern Suburbs of Sydney franchise operation of Just Better Care, CBI’s Australian brand.
Founded in 1966, CBI is the largest franchisor of home healthcare services globally and produces approximately $1.1 billion of annual systemwide sales across over 550 global locations. CBI offers franchises under three brands: Interim HealthCare (United States), Bluebird Care (United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland) and Just Better Care (Australia). CBI’s branches and franchisees offer individuals a full continuum of care at home including skilled nursing, assistance with daily living activities and end-of-life hospice care.
Jennifer Sheets, CEO and President of CBI, commented on the most recent acquisition, “We are delighted to add the exceptional operations of the San Diego Franchises to our branch portfolio and look forward to driving the highest level of quality and satisfaction for our patients.”
Matthew Frankel, Managing Partner of LLCP, stated, “The three recent acquisitions demonstrate our continued support of the CBI investment and reflects the Company’s significant growth potential. We remain focused on building value for the benefit of CBI’s franchise owners, patients, employees and investors.”
CBI is a portfolio company of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners Fund V, L.P.
LAVAL, QC and MARBURG, Germany, Jan. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ – Nexelis, a portfolio company of Ampersand Capital Partners, and a leading provider of advanced assay development and laboratory testing services in the infectious, oncologic, and metabolic diseases fields, has signed an asset purchase agreement with GSK to acquire its GCLP-certified clinical bioanalytical laboratory located in Marburg, Germany.
The Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) team in Marburg, consisting of approximately 80 scientists and analysts, will be transferred to Nexelis. The CLS team in Marburg will continue to keep a strong relationship with GSK and support the development of future GSK vaccine candidates through a 5-year strategic collaborative agreement.
This is the fifth acquisition by Nexelis in the last three years after Pacific Biomarkers, Seattle, WA; PAIRimmune, Laval, QC; ImmunXperts, Gosselies, BE; and AIT Bioscience, Indianapolis, IN. The transaction with GSK enables Nexelis to expand its global footprint as well as its immunology-centric assay development and high-throughput clinical testing capacities.
Benoit Bouche, Nexelis CEO commented “We are thrilled to welcome on board new colleagues with a legacy of over 20 years under Novartis and GSK leadership in clinical laboratory activities supporting the development of vaccines against viral and bacterial diseases. We believe that this transaction is a determining step in the establishment of Nexelis as an unrivaled global vaccine player.”
Emmanuel Hanon, Head of GSK Vaccines R&D added “Strategic outsourcing will optimize GSK’s footprint and increase our agility so that we can continue to accelerate the development of the candidate vaccines in our pipeline. Based on the previous successful transfer of other laboratory activities to Nexelis, we are confident that this will be a great fit due to the quality and agility of the Nexelis organization.”
The transaction with GSK will be effective at the end of January 2021. Nexelis intends to quickly expand the Marburg site, initiating collaborations with other vaccine development companies as well as with the company’s other North American and European sites.
Nexelis expects to add new clinical testing platforms in Marburg that will be fully bridged with Laval platforms, develop synergies with its early development stage ImmunXperts branch in Belgium and leverage existing talents in fields such as biostatistics to form a broad-based, end-to-end service offering in bacteriology, virology, and oncology.
About Nexelis
With an unrivaled expertise in immunology, 5 operating sites in North America and Europe, and a translational offer of services covering the needs of the pharmaceutical industry from the lead selection stage to late clinical stage, Nexelis is a leading provider of assay development and advanced laboratory testing services in the infectious diseases, metabolic diseases, and oncology fields. Our versatile team of scientists, working with our state of the art technology platforms, were instrumental in the development, qualification, validation, and large-scale sample testing of assays that supported the FDA filing of almost 100 new molecular entities, including blockbuster vaccines and biologics, anti-viral drugs, immunotherapy, gene and cell therapy products. Additional information about Nexelis is available at www.nexelis.com.
About Ampersand Capital Partners
Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with more than $2 billion of assets under management dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston, MA and Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ampersand leverages a unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm’s core healthcare sectors. Additional information about Ampersand is available at ampersandcapital.com.
Swemac Innovation AB (“Swemac”), a developer of innovative solutions for fracture treatment and joint replacement with a focus on hips and upper extremities, welcomes Priveq Investment (“Priveq”) as new minority owner to support the company in its accelerated growth strategy. The Hansson family will continue as majority owners in the company.
Swemac was founded in 1985 as a spin-off from Saab Combitech, from which the Hansson family acquired the medical implant division in 1997. Since the foundation, Swemac has grown within a unique and innovative environment, where new products continuously have been developed. Swemac has exhibited strong growth and profitability historically, and by partnering with Priveq the intention is to accelerate growth even further.
Today Swemac has an extensive product portfolio that are protected by several patents. The products are marketed in Scandinavia and Japan as well as numerous international markets. The group currently has approximately 80 employees with its head office in Linköping and a turnover of around SEK 240m.
“We are highly impressed of Swemac’s innovative spirit and commitment to deliver qualitative products that add value to clients and health care professionals. Swemac’s position is a strong foundation for continued expansion and we are looking forward to be working with the owners and management on this journey going forward”, says Senai Ayob, Partner and Investment manager at Priveq.
“Over the years, Swemac has developed into a strong and broad supplier of products and services to the orthopaedic sector. Our product portfolio is highly innovative and with Priveq as a partner, we will be able to accelerate our growth further, both in terms of new product launches but also in terms of entering new markets. The experience and competence found in Priveq appeals to me“, says Martin Sjögren, CEO at Swemac.
Martin Sjögren, CEO Swemac Innovation AB
+46 70 915 16 95
martin.sjogren@swemac.com
About Swemac We strive continuously to provide the market with innovative and practical solutions for fracture treatment and joint replacement to benefit patients and health care professionals. Swemac has evolved over the years within a highly innovative environment where quality has always been critical to development and production. This strong tradition of innovation and high quality remains a core characteristic and guiding compass for Swemac today. The products are currently sold via Swemac’s own sales organization in Scandinavia and through distributors on international markets. Also 3rd party brands within trauma treatment and medical imaging are distributed by Swemac in Scandinavia. The company is headquartered in Linköping and has ca 80 employees.
MADRID – January 20, 2021 – H.I.G. Capital, (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm with over €35 billion of equity capital under management, and the Royo family have entered into an agreement to sell the bathroom furniture division of RG International Bathroom (“RGIB or the “Company”) to Roca Sanitario, S.A. The Royo family will retain a minority stake in the division. Both H.I.G. and the Royo family will continue as shareholders of the shower tray business of RGIB, operating under the Fiora brand.
H.I.G. partnered with the Royo family in December 2016 and has achieved a number of important milestones, including:
Developing a new factory and brand in Poland (Maximus) that contributed to strengthening the leading position that RGIB already had in the Polish market under the Elita brand
Entering new segments, channels and countries; one of the most relevant achievements was the entry into the DIY channel in Germany where RGIB is now a leading player
Consolidating RGIB’s leading position in Spain and France, where the group has grown its distribution network to more than 5,000 points of sale
Launching Amizuva, an exclusive brand that targets the online channel
Increasing RGIB´s revenues by over 50%
The Royo family and H.I.G. will retain ownership of Fiora and will continue to strengthen the Company’s innovation, design and product development capabilities in order to consolidate Flora’s leading position in the European premium shower trays segment. The shareholders will also focus on further expanding Fiora’s international footprint beyond the 30 countries where it is currently present through its widespread distribution network and its customer service team.
Raul Royo, CEO of RGIB, stated: “We would like to thank H.I.G.for their support over the past four years, which has allowed us to strengthen our leading position in Europe. The agreement with Roca, a global leader in the bathroom sector, will help us enhance our state-of-the-art business, with almost 150 years of combined experience in the sector between the two families.”
Jaime Bergel, Managing Director of H.I.G. Spain commented: “We are very pleased with the success of this investment, which proves our capabilities in the Spanish market. Together with the Royo family, we have positioned RGIB as one of the leading companies in the bathroom sector in Europe, and we will continue supporting Fiora to consolidate its leadership in the European market.”
The deal is subject to approval by antitrust authorities in some European markets.
About RGIB RG International Bathroom, founded more than 45 years ago by Pascual Royo, is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of bathroom products, mainly focused on furniture and resin shower trays. The group has factories in Valencia, Nájera and Poland and operates on five continents under the brands Royo, Elita, Maximus and Fiora. RGIB has an annual turnover of more than €110 million and employs more than 1,000 professionals.
About Roca Group Roca Sanitario is dedicated to the design, production and marketing of bathroom products, as well as ceramic floor and wall tiles for architecture, construction and interior design. The family-owned Spanish group is the market leader in Europe, Latin America, India and Russia. It also has a strong presence in China and the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Africa. It is the international leader in the field.
About H.I.G. Capital H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with over €35 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Bogotá, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:
H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.
Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of €27 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.
* Based on total commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.
Cambridge (United Kingdom) and Utrecht (the Netherlands) – Acacia Pharma Group plc (EURONEXT: ACPH), a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel products to improve the care of patients undergoing serious medical treatments such as surgery, invasive procedures, or chemotherapy, announces that it has been awarded BEL Small Company of the Year 2020 by Euronext Brussels at its annual New Year’s Ceremony held virtually last night. This is the second consecutive year that Acacia Pharma has won this award.
“We are delighted to be recognized again with this award. 2020 has been a very successful year for Acacia Pharma, having gained approval for two new products in the US: BARHEMSYS®, a new antiemetic for surgical patients to treat post-operative nausea & vomiting, and BYFAVO™, a rapid acting and reversible sedative for patients requiring moderate sedation to undergo short medical procedures. We launched BARHEMSYS in August and are in the very final stages of the launch process for BYFAVO, which we expect to complete imminently,” commented Mike Bolinder, CEO of Acacia Pharma.
Mr. Bolinder added: “Looking to the future, our strategy is to drive the sales of both products in the US through our own organization and we believe we are well positioned for success. This potential success has been recognized in the recent initiation of coverage of the company by the healthcare analysts at Jefferies, who included Acacia Pharma as one of their top European biopharma/biotech investment ideas for 2021. We are pleased with the progress we have been able to make during the last year, especially given the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic during the same period.”
The annual New Year’s Ceremony recognizes the best performing companies on Euronext Brussels. The BEL Small Company of the Year is awarded to a company that has demonstrated the highest relative increase in market capitalization, within the BEL Small index in 2020. The award was announced by the CEO of Euronext Brussels, Vincent Van Dessel, in the presence of Vincent Van Peteghem, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
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Contacts
Acacia Pharma Group plc
Mike Bolinder, CEO
Gary Gemignani, CFO
+44 1223 919760 / +1 317 505 1280 IR@acaciapharma.com
Acacia Pharma is a hospital pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new products aimed at improving the care of patients undergoing significant treatments such as surgery, other invasive procedures, or cancer chemotherapy. The Company has identified important and commercially attractive unmet needs in these areas that its product portfolio aims to address.
Acacia Pharma’s first product, BARHEMSYS® (amisulpride injection) is available in the US for the management of postoperative nausea & vomiting (PONV).
BYFAVO™ (remimazolam) for injection, a very rapid onset/offset IV benzodiazepine sedative is approved in the US for use during invasive medical procedures in adults lasting 30 minutes or less, such as colonoscopy and bronchoscopy. BYFAVO is in-licensed from Paion UK Limited for the US market.
APD403 (intravenous and oral amisulpride), a selective dopamine antagonist for chemotherapy induced nausea & vomiting (CINV) has successfully completed one proof-of-concept and one Phase 2 dose-ranging study in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy.
Acacia Pharma has its US headquarters in Indianapolis, IN and its R&D operations are centred in Cambridge, UK. The Company is listed on the Euronext Brussels exchange under the ISIN code GB00BYWF9Y76 and ticker symbol ACPH. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.acaciapharma.com.
About Gilde Healthcare
Gilde Healthcare is a specialized healthcare investor managing over $1.5 billion across two fund strategies: Venture & Growth and Private Equity.
Gilde Healthcare Venture & Growth invests in fast growing companies active in digital health, MedTech and therapeutics. The Venture & Growth companies are based in Europe and North America.
Gilde Healthcare Private Equity participates in profitable European lower mid-market healthcare companies with a prime focus on the Benelux and DACH region. The Private Equity fund targets healthcare providers, suppliers of medical products and service providers in the healthcare market.
This announcement includes forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations and projections about future events. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “plan”, “will”, “should”, “could” and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company and its subsidiaries and investments, including, among other things, the development of its business, trends in its operating industry, and future capital expenditures and acquisitions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. Any forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Group’s business, results of operations, financial position, prospects, growth or strategies and the industry in which it operates. Save as required by law or applicable regulation, the Company and its affiliates expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.
On Monday, February 8 2021, Ratos will publish the Year-End report for 2020. The report will be published at approximately 07.00 CET. The date has been changed from the previously communicated date, February 11, as a result of the date for the 2021 Annual General Meeting being brought forward to March 10, 2021.
At 09.00 CET on February 8, a telephone conference will be held, participant connection: UK: +44 333 300 9031, SE: +46 8 505 583 50, US: +1 833 526 83 47. The telephone conference will be webcasted live at www.ratos.com where presentation material will be available as soon as the report is released.
The telephone conference will be recorded and available at www.ratos.com.
For further information, please contact:
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR- and Press, +46 70 868 40 50, helene.gustafsson@ratos.com
About Ratos: Ratos is a business group consisting of 11 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer & Technology and Industry. In total, the companies have SEK 34 billion in sales and EBITA of SEK 1.3 billion. Our business concept is to develop mid-sized companies headquartered in the Nordics that are or can become market leaders. We enable independent mid-sized companies to excel by being part of something larger. People, leadership, culture and values are key focus areas for Ratos. Everything we do is based on Ratos’s core values: Simplicity, Speed in Execution and It’s All About People.
Toronto, January 20, 2021 – Onex Corporation (TSX: ONEX) will release its results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2020 on February 26, 2021. A live broadcast of Onex’ webcast to discuss the results will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET on February 26, 2021.
A link to the live webcast and the 90-day on-line replay will be available at www.onex.com/events-and-presentations.
About Onex
Founded in 1984, Onex invests and manages capital on behalf of its shareholders, institutional investors and high net worth clients from around the world. Onex’ platforms include: Onex Partners, private equity funds focused on larger opportunities in North America and Europe; ONCAP, private equity funds focused on middle market and smaller opportunities in North America; Onex Credit, which manages primarily non-investment grade debt through collateralized loan obligations, senior loan strategies and other private credit strategies; and Gluskin Sheff’s wealth management services including its actively managed public equity and public credit funds. In total, as of September 30, 2020, Onex has approximately $36.6 billion of assets under management, of which approximately $6.7 billion is its own shareholder capital. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and London, Onex and its experienced management teams are collectively the largest investors across Onex’ platforms.
The Onex Partners and ONCAP businesses have assets of $36 billion, generate annual revenues of $22 billion and employ approximately 149,000 people worldwide. Onex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX. For more information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com. Onex’ security filings can also be accessed at www.sedar.com.
For further information:
Jill Homenuk
Managing Director, Shareholder Relations and Communications
Tel: +1 416.362.7711
Montagu to acquire majority position in ITRS Group from TA Associates
Montagu, today announces it has agreed to acquire a majority position in ITRS Group (“ITRS”), a leading global provider of real-time monitoring and analytics software from TA Associates (“TA”), who will remain a minority holder alongside Montagu and Management. Completion is expected next month, subject to customary closing requirements. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ITRS’ software portfolio supports the “always on” enterprise, ensuring operational resilience for businesses operating in environments where technology failure means business failure. Headquartered in London, the company has established itself as an innovative and trusted partner, and today has over 3,000 clients across the globe, including nine out of the ten Tier 1 investment banks. In addition, its recent acquisition of Uptrends, a Netherlands-based website and web performance monitoring solution, has further strengthened ITRS’ product suite.
Since its establishment in 1997, ITRS has transformed from a European, single product solution to the capital markets industry, to today providing a comprehensive product suite to customers across a range of industries, including capital markets, telecommunications and healthcare. This has been achieved through impressive organic growth and M&A activity, and Montagu intends to work with the management team and leverage its experience, network and resources to continue to drive growth and further expansion.
Guy Warren, CEO of ITRS, said: “We are delighted to welcome Montagu into ITRS Group. Under TA Associates’ ownership, we have broadened our product suite and significantly expanded our customer base, and we thank them for their continued support. The Montagu team have shown a strong understanding of our business and its potential, and share our ambitions, and we are excited to partner with them for the next stage of growth.”
Christoph Leitner-Dietmaier, Director at Montagu, said: “It is a privilege for Montagu to back Guy and his leadership team, and we look forward to partnering with TA on this investment in ITRS. We are truly impressed by the leading position ITRS has established and are excited to support their vision of becoming the single pane of glass for IT monitoring for the enterprise customer.”
Morgan Seigler, Managing Director at TA, said: “We have greatly enjoyed partnering with Guy and the entire team at ITRS over the last four years to help drive the company’s growth and expansion. We look forward to collaborating with the ITRS team and Montagu to continue this successful journey.”
The sellers were advised by Jefferies International and Travers Smith LLP. Montagu was advised by Arma Partners and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Kinnevik AB (publ) (“Kinnevik”) today announced that the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Henrik Poulsen, has informed the Nomination Committee that he will not be available for re-election at the Annual General Meeting in 2021.
The Chairman of the Nomination Committee, Anders Oscarsson, commented:
“On behalf of the shareholders I would like to thank Henrik for his dedicated work in the Kinnevik board. The nomination committee looks forward to presenting its full proposal of the new board well ahead of the Annual General Meeting.”
Kinnevik is an industry focused investment company with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our purpose is to make people’s lives better by providing more and better choice. In partnership with talented founders and management teams we build challenger businesses that use disruptive technology to address material, everyday consumer needs. As active owners, we believe in delivering both shareholder and social value by building long-term sustainable businesses that contribute positively to society. We invest in Europe, with a focus on the Nordics, the US, and selectively in other markets. Kinnevik was founded in 1936 by the Stenbeck, Klingspor and von Horn families. Kinnevik’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s list for large cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B.