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KKR To Acquire Remaining 37% Of Global Atlantic For $2.7 Billion In All-Cash Transaction

KKR

Closer Coordination and Alignment Expected to Further Accelerate Growth of Both KKR and Global Atlantic

KKR Announces Other Strategic Initiatives to Benefit Shareholders

KKR and Global Atlantic to Host a Conference Call at 10:00 a.m. EST

NEW YORK & HAMILTON, Bermuda–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR) and Global Atlantic Financial Group LLC (“Global Atlantic” or “GA”) today announced a definitive agreement under which KKR will acquire the remaining 37% stake of leading insurance company Global Atlantic, increasing KKR’s ownership to 100%.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231129605147/en/

Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, Co-Chief Executive Officers of KKR, stated: “The strategic partnership we envisioned three years ago has exceeded our expectations. It has been transformative for both businesses and a great cultural fit that has enabled us to contribute to Global Atlantic’s continued strong performance and success, while also being a key driver of growth for KKR. We expect the new ownership structure will foster even closer collaboration, allowing us to fully leverage our complementary strengths and grow faster together.”

Since 2021, KKR has served as Global Atlantic’s asset manager, offering access to its global investment and origination capabilities for the benefit of GA’s policyholders. Global Atlantic’s assets under management have grown significantly, up from $72 billion in 2020 to $158 billion today. As Global Atlantic has grown, it has benefited from the scale of KKR’s asset management businesses in meeting GA’s investment needs while maintaining a focus on risk management and continuing to deliver market-leading returns. The strategic partnership has proven to be both an important source of capital for Global Atlantic and a driver of international growth, with Global Atlantic leveraging KKR’s global reach to establish new business relationships in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.

At the same time, Global Atlantic has been a source of financial success for KKR and a key element of KKR’s growing real estate credit and asset-based financing businesses, both of which manage assets that are particularly well suited for insurance company balance sheets.

“We are taking this step because we have demonstrated, over the last three years, that we are stronger together. Being part of KKR has strengthened our position as a leading insurance company and enhanced our ability to deliver compelling solutions for our clients. Moving from a diverse group of shareholders to a single one with KKR clarifies our objectives and allows us to think―and invest―longer term,” said Allan Levine, Chief Executive Officer of Global Atlantic. “Although we hope to unlock further value by taking this step in our capital structure, neither our client-first approach nor our investment and risk management framework will change, and the day-to-day experience of our clients and colleagues will feel very much the same as it does today.”

After closing, Global Atlantic will continue to be led by its management team and operate under the Global Atlantic brand.

Transaction Details

Under the terms of the agreement, KKR will pay Global Atlantic’s minority shareholders an amount in cash equal to 1.0x Global Atlantic’s book value with certain adjustments. The total cash purchase price is currently estimated to be approximately $2.7 billion. Global Atlantic management is expected to exchange a majority of its Global Atlantic equity interests for KKR equity. KKR will fund the transaction from its balance sheet, which had $23 billion of cash and investments as of September 30, 2023.

The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, is subject to customary closing conditions.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP acted as legal advisors to KKR and Global Atlantic, respectively. Barclays provided a fairness opinion for Global Atlantic.

Strategic Initiatives

KKR also announced a series of other Strategic Initiatives that are contingent on the closing of the Global Atlantic transaction. These include:

  • Creating a new business segment, Strategic Holdings. The new segment will principally be comprised of KKR’s Core Private Equity balance sheet holdings. Core Private Equity has scaled into a business with $35 billion of assets under management, including $6.5 billion of assets on KKR’s balance sheet. Given the maturation and strong performance of these companies, KKR expects to begin receiving more recurring cash dividends from this segment of the balance sheet.
  • Modifying its compensation structure to be more success based. KKR will draw a greater share of compensation from carried interest instead of fee related earnings. The adjustment is expected to result in enhanced shareholder value by delivering more of the firm’s recurring revenues to shareholders.
  • Introducing a new reporting framework. KKR will report a new key metric, Total Operating Earnings, which will be comprised of Fee Related Earnings, Strategic Holdings and Insurance Operating Earnings. KKR expects Total Operating Earnings will highlight the growth of its more recurring earnings streams.

KKR expects the Strategic Initiatives, combined with the expanded ownership of Global Atlantic, to be accretive to all of its per share earnings metrics.

Bae and Nuttall added: “We remain focused on performing through cycles for the millions of clients and policyholders counting on us — with a business model that allows us to compound earnings and value for the very long term while retaining our culture. Today’s announcements are in service of that vision — more fully establishing three avenues for long term sustained growth, further increasing our optimism about the path ahead.”

Conference Call Information and Additional Details

KKR is holding a conference call to discuss the Global Atlantic transaction and Strategic Initiatives on November 29 at 10:00 a.m. EST. Allan Levine, Chief Executive Officer of Global Atlantic, will join the call. The conference call may be accessed through the Investor Relations section of KKR’s website at ir.kkr.com or by dialing 1-877-407-0312 (U.S.) or 1-201-389-0899 (non-U.S.); a pass code is not required. Supplemental materials that will be discussed during the call will be available at the same website location.

A replay of the webcast will be available on KKR’s website approximately one hour after completion of the broadcast.

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 Global Atlantic

Global Atlantic Financial Group is a leading insurance company meeting the retirement and life insurance needs of individuals and institutions. With a strong financial foundation and risk and investment management expertise, the company delivers tailored solutions to create more secure financial futures. The company’s performance has been driven by its culture and core values focused on integrity, teamwork, and the importance of building long-term client relationships. Global Atlantic is a majority-owned subsidiary of KKR, a leading global investment firm. Through its relationship, the company leverages KKR’s investment capabilities, scale and access to capital markets to enhance the value it offers clients.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, estimates, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts, including but not limited to the statements with respect to: the transaction (including the estimated total cash purchase price) to acquire all outstanding shares of Global Atlantic; operation of Global Atlantic following the closing of the transaction; expansion and growth opportunities and other synergies resulting from the transaction; the availability of cash on hand or liquidity from KKR’s investment portfolio to fund the transaction; and expected timing of closing. The forward-looking statements are based on KKR’s beliefs, assumptions and expectations, taking into account all information currently available to it. These beliefs, assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to KKR or are within its control. If a change occurs, KKR’s business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, including but not limited to dividends, reported earnings, and capital structure may vary materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to vary from the forward-looking statements: failure to realize the anticipated benefits within the expected timeframes from the planned transaction with Global Atlantic; unforeseen liabilities or integration and other costs of the Global Atlantic transaction and timing related thereto; availability and cost of financing to fund the transaction; changes in Global Atlantic’s business; any delays or difficulties in receiving regulatory approvals; failure to complete the transaction; distraction of management or other diversion of resources within each company caused by the transaction; retention of key Global Atlantic employees; Global Atlantic’s ability to maintain business relationships following the transaction; the volatility of the capital markets; failure to realize the benefits of or changes in KKR’s or Global Atlantic’s business strategies; availability, terms and deployment of capital; availability of qualified personnel and expense of recruiting and retaining such personnel; changes in the asset management or insurance industry, interest rates, credit spreads, currency exchange rates or the general economy; underperformance of KKR’s or Global Atlantic’s investments and decreased ability to raise funds; changes in Global Atlantic policyholders’ behavior; any disruption in servicing Global Atlantic’s insurance policies; the use of estimates and risk management in Global Atlantic’s business; and the degree and nature of KKR’s and Global Atlantic’s competition. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. KKR does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date on which such statements were made except as required by law. In addition, KKR’s business strategy is focused on the long term and financial results are subject to significant volatility.

Additional information about factors affecting KKR is available in KKR & Co. Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on February 27, 2023, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for subsequent quarters and other filings with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov.

Past performance is not indicative or a guarantee of future performance. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.

Investors:

Craig Larson
1-877-610-4910 (U.S.) / 212-230-9410
investor-relations@kkr.com

Media:

Kristi Huller
212-750-8300
media@kkr.com

Source: KKR & Co. Inc.

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Torqx Capital Partners declares offer for Beter Bed Holding unconditional; 95.14% of Shares now tendered or committed

Torqx Capital

Torqx declares the public offer on Beter Bed Holding unconditional per 29 November 2023; in total 95.14% of the Shares are offered or committed, of which 44.33% of the shares are irrevocably committed by the co-investors.

Settlement of the Offer will take place on Friday 1 December 2023. Payment of the Offer Price for each Tendered and Delivered Share shall be made on the same date. Shares which are not tendered yet can be tendered during the Post-Acceptance Period, commencing on 30 November 2023 and ending on 6 December 2023.

Information about the offer and how you can tender your shares can be found at:  www.beterbedholding.com/public-offer/.

For further information, see also the press release about the offer being declared unconditional:

Link to press release

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Breakthrough Energy Catalyst announces $75 million equity commitment in Infinium’s eFuels facility

Breakthrough Energy

The first-of-a-kind commercial-scale Power-to-Liquids eFuels facility is expected to be the largest in North America

Breakthrough Energy Catalyst announced its first project equity investment today in the form of a $75 million equity commitment to Infinium’s Project Roadrunner, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions. Project Roadrunner will convert waste carbon dioxide (CO2) and renewable power into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other low-carbon fuels. This first-of-a-kind commercial-scale Power-to-Liquids (PtL) eFuels facility is expected to be the largest PtL eFuels project in North America once operational.

Breakthrough Energy Catalyst funds and invests in first-of-a-kind projects that support the deployment of emerging climate technologies and sustainable aviation fuel is one of Catalyst’s five areas of priority investment. The aviation industry accounts for approximately 2–3% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) annually and faces unique challenges when it comes to reducing emissions. Sustainable aviation fuels offer a critical tool to decarbonize aviation with existing aircraft currently in use around the world. Project Roadrunner will primarily produce Infinium eSAF, a sustainable aviation fuel with the potential to significantly reduce the lifecycle GHG emissions associated with air travel by around 90 percent.

At the core of Catalyst’s work is also uniting companies with stakeholders including investors, offtakers, and governments to enable the funding and build out of first-of-a-kind, commercial-scale projects. With Project Roadrunner, Catalyst and Infinium are bringing together key Catalyst partners in American Airlines and Citi as offtakers to tackle aviation emissions together.

The Catalyst and Infinium announcement includes two groundbreaking agreements with those partners that provide models for effective climate action. First, American and Infinium have agreed to a long-term, firm fuel offtake agreement that will enable further investment in Project Roadrunner. The Catalyst team worked to develop this agreement alongside the American and Infinium teams. Second, American and Citi have separately agreed to transfer the associated emission reductions to Citi to support the scaling of this innovative technology and help reduce a portion of Citi’s Scope 3 emissions from employee travel. These agreements provide one model for how airlines can use offtake agreements to help promising new SAF technologies attract investment dollars.

Mario Fernandez, Head of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, said, “This project is a landmark achievement for the development of sustainable aviation fuels and the offtake agreement provides a model for the entire aviation industry on how to effect change and support the scale-up of capital-intensive projects.”

Read the full joint press release here.

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Ardian enters into agreement with Ferrovial to acquire a 15% stake in Heathrow

Ardian

This statement should be read in conjunction with Ferrovial’s statement issued November 28th 2023: https://newsroom.ferrovial.com/en/press_releases/ferrovial-announces-agreement-to-sell-stake-heathrow/

Ardian today announces that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 15% stake in FGP TopCo (TopCo), the holding company of Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd, from Ferrovial S.A.

Under the terms of the agreement, infrastructure funds managed and advised by Ardian will acquire 15% while Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will acquire 10% of TopCo concurrently from Ferrovial through separate vehicles.

The UK is a core market for Ardian, which has a 17-year track record of successful infrastructure investments in the country. This investment in Europe’s leading airport and Britain’s aviation hub builds on Ardian’s expertise in aviation, including previous investments in London Luton Airport and significant stakes in six Italian Airports. Heathrow is a strategic asset for the UK economy and plays a key role enhancing global connectivity. It fits with Ardian’s strategy of investing in significant infrastructure in its core markets.

Ardian actively supports its assets to accelerate their transformation by leveraging data and new technologies to reduce emissions, creating new, more sustainable revenue sources, becoming more independent and resilient to external shocks, and improving their impact on both local and global environments. Through Air Carbon, an in-house pioneering solution that supports airports in their sustainability strategy towards net-zero by monitoring their carbon emissions and running simulations on decarbonization trajectories, Ardian aims to accelerate the decarbonization of the whole sector.

The transaction is subject to complying with ROFO and full tag-along rights which may be exercised by the other FGP Topco shareholders pursuant to the Shareholders’ Agreement and the Articles of Association of the company. In addition, completion of the acquisition under the agreement is subject to satisfaction of applicable regulatory conditions.

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $156bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,470 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks, family offices and private institutional investors worldwide. Ardian’s main shareholding group is its employees and we place great emphasis on developing our people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our 1,050+ employees, spread across 19 offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility.
Through its direct infrastructure investment activities, Ardian has significant experience in owning and operating European airports. In the UK, Ardian was a 49% shareholder of London Luton Airport from 2013 until 2018. During Ardian’s period of ownership, a significant redevelopment of the terminal, transport links and infrastructure was successfully completed in close cooperation with Luton Borough Council. In Italy, Ardian is an indirect shareholder of Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa, Naples and Turin airports alongside their regions and municipalities.
At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last.

ardian.com

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN

LIZ MORLEY

liz.morley@5654.co.uk+44 (0) 7798683108

BEN THORNTON

ben.thornton@5654.co.uk+44 (0) 7793056329

Categories: News

Waterland sells majority stake in Netrics

Waterland

Zurich – Waterland Private Equity (“Waterland”) is selling its majority stake in Netrics, Switzerland’s leading modern workplace and cloud service provider, to Bregal Unternehmerkapital. The strategic focus on digitizing companies using state-of-the-art technologies will continue under the new ownership structure. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the year; financial details will not be disclosed.

Over the past years, Waterland has supported Netrics in its strategic orientation to become the leading partner for the digitalization of companies using cloud and modern workplace technologies. In collaboration with the founders, Waterland initiated the merger of Tineo, nexellent and Netrics as well as the subsequent buy-and-build strategy with the acquisitions of BlueStone Consulting and PageUp. Today, Netrics is a leading player in the Swiss market with over 140 experts and more than 600 customers. The management team will continue to build on this strategy in the new ownership structure and drive it further.

“Waterland was the best possible partner for our strategic realignment,” emphasizes Netrics CEO Pascal Kocher. “Now it’s ‘mission accomplished‘. We are continuing to drive the Group and our strategy forward and want to consistently implement our further development as a leading partner for digital transformation, always at eye-level with our customers.”

Gregor Hengst, Managing Partner at Waterland, says: “Every business is becoming a digital business, and complexity is constantly increasing. This calls for highly professional enablers like Netrics, with whose founders and management team we have developed this shared vision from the beginning. Today, Netrics is ideally positioned to exploit the huge potential in the digital transformation market.” Philippe Moser, Principal at Waterland, emphasizes: “Thanks to the excellent collaboration with the entrepreneurs and the determined implementation of the buy-and-build strategy in the joint partnership, we were able to establish the leading player in the Swiss market.”

About Waterland

Waterland is an independent private equity investment company that supports entrepreneurs in achieving their growth targets. With substantial financial support and industry expertise, Waterland enables its portfolio companies to accelerate growth both organically and through acquisitions. Waterland has offices in the Netherlands (Bussum), Belgium (Antwerp), France (Paris), Germany (Hamburg, Munich), Poland (Warsaw), the UK (London, Manchester), Ireland (Dublin), Denmark (Copenhagen), Norway (Oslo), Spain (Barcelona) and Switzerland (Zurich). It currently manages around fourteen billion euros in equity capital.

Waterland has consistently achieved above-average performance with its investments since it was founded in 1999. The company is ranked fourth globally in the HEC/Dow Jones Private Equity Performance Ranking 2022 and seventh among global private equity firms in the Preqin Consistent Performers in Global Private Equity & Venture Capital Report 2022.

Media contact

Kurt Rossi, Farner Consulting, kurt.rossi@farner.ch

 

About Netrics:

As a partner for digital transformation, Netrics focuses on the topics of cloud and modern workplace. Netrics enables modern, location-independent and secure working through the targeted use of future-oriented technologies and with consideration of the human aspects, thus creating great experiences for employees and customers. The Netrics Group is active throughout German-speaking Switzerland with around 140 experts and a local presence in Bern, Biel/Bienne, Thun and Zurich. Since December 2022, the Netrics Group has also been offering comprehensive consulting services in the areas of collaboration, process digitalization, digital skills development and change management with AliceBlue AG from Basel.

 

Netrics is ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, ISO 9001 and ISO 20000 certified. In addition, Netrics services are audited in accordance with the ISAE 3402 Type 2 standard.

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KKR Acquires Potter Global Technologies

KKR

All Employees to Become Owners in the Company

ST LOUIS, Mo. & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that investment funds managed by KKR have acquired Potter Global Technologies (“Potter” or the “Company”), a leading manufacturer of fire and life safety equipment, from Gryphon Investors. KKR plans to support the Company in its continued growth organically and through add-on acquisitions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Potter is a trusted global provider of fire safety and emergency communication equipment used by thousands of customers across diverse end markets including education, multi-family, industrial, and healthcare. Potter’s leading products are used for monitoring fire safety systems, detecting fires and other life-threatening events, and notifying and communicating with building occupants and first responders to ensure safe and efficient evacuations and responses.

“For over 125 years, the Potter brand has stood for safety and reliability in the face of potentially life-threatening risks to the thousands of people and institutions around the world who entrust their fire and life safety to Potter. We have been impressed by the Company’s history of innovation and commitment to provide its customers with high-quality, easy-to-use systems supported by incredible customer service,” said Brandon Brahm, Partner at KKR and Co-Head of KKR’s Ascendant strategy. “We look forward to collaborating with Gerry Connolly, the leadership team, and all of the employees at Potter as we embark on this new era in the Company’s growth and develop new ways to serve our customers and protect lives.”

“Potter’s growth is a testament to the performance of our talented team and to our reputation as a leader in the fire and life safety industry. Our mission to protect people, buildings, and critical infrastructure across the globe underpins everything we do, and we are excited to continue furthering this mission with KKR. We are aligned on Potter’s potential and look forward to continue serving our customers through accelerated new product innovation, superior customer service, and an expanded reach domestically and internationally. Implementing KKR’s equity ownership philosophy, which will make every employee an owner, will be instrumental in achieving our potential and we are looking forward to the exciting growth that all employees together will drive as co-owners in Potter,” said Gerry Connolly, CEO of Potter.

KKR will support Potter in implementing a broad-based employee ownership program to allow all of its employees to have the opportunity to participate in the benefits of ownership of the Company. This strategy is based on the belief that employee engagement is a key driver in building stronger companies. Since 2011, KKR portfolio companies have awarded billions of dollars of total equity value to over 60,000 non-management employees across more than 35 portfolio companies.

Potter is the latest investment for KKR’s Ascendant Strategy, which invests in middle market businesses in North America as part of KKR’s Americas Private Equity platform. Other investments in the Ascendant strategy include Alchemer, 123Dentist, Industrial Physics and a commitment to fund a new executive-led platform designed to acquire and build businesses in the Testing, Inspection, and Certification industry.

Baird and Baker McKenzie served as advisors to KKR.

About Potter:

Potter Global Technologies is the leading independent designer and manufacturer of life safety and emergency communication solutions. Through its various business brands, Potter provides fire suppression, alarm and communications systems, mass notification systems, first responder RF radio communications, and advanced power products. The company motto is “We Save Lives” and their employees appreciate the role they play and value working for a company that is making a difference through protecting people, property and critical infrastructure. Their mission is to make buildings and people safer from fire, natural disasters, and acts of violence. Throughout their longstanding 125-year history of developing industry leading technology, Potter has earned a reputation for best-in-class product quality and customer service. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, with sales, engineering, and manufacturing centers in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Discover more about Potter Global Technologies at www.potterglobaltech.com.

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.

For Potter:
Eric Lauver
ericl@pottersignal.com

For KKR:
Julia Kosygina or Emily Cummings
(212) 750-8300
media@kkr.com

Source: KKR

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BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth to acquire a majority stake in HRBrain, a fast-growing HR software provider in Japan

eqt

HRBrain is a fast-growing HR software provider in Japan, helping companies manage and engage with talent more effectively through a diversified suite of cloud products

As Japan continues to face talent shortages and increasing regulatory requirements for disclosure of human capital metrics, the demand for solutions to support talent management and employee engagement is growing rapidly

BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth will support HRBrain’s continued growth by expanding the customer base and support ongoing development of new modules to further enhance its integrated service offering

EQT is pleased to announce that the BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth Fund (“BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth”) has agreed to acquire a majority stake in HRBrain (the “Company”), from existing shareholders. The Company’s founder, Hiroki Hori, will remain as a significant minority shareholder and continue as CEO.

HRBrain was established in 2016 to offer software solutions aimed at simplifying and streamlining companies’ performance evaluation processes. Today, the Company’s HR solutions have grown to include comprehensive talent management, employee experience and organization assessment, labor management, AI ChatBot, 360 Reviews, and more. HRBrain is headquartered in Tokyo and has more than 150 employees.

As Japan continues to face talent shortages and increasing regulatory requirements for disclosure of human capital metrics, the demand for solutions to support talent management and employee engagement has been growing rapidly. With an intuitive UI/UX design, flexible module selections, and strong customer support and consulting services, HRBrain has developed a highly diversified customer base, helping more than 2,500 companies in total engage with talent more effectively. Moreover, the Company has best-in-class customer satisfaction and strong retention, particularly from their core target segment of mid to large sized enterprises, with more than 60 percent in annual recurring revenue growth.

EQT has extensive experience developing strong software businesses on a global scale, with more than 15 software investments globally and over USD 10 billion of equity invested since 2018. BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth will leverage the firm’s in-house software and digitalization capabilities and global network of industry experts to support HRBrain in its next phase of growth.

Tetsuro Onitsuka, Partner within EQT Japan’s advisory team, commented, “HRBrain is one of the top players in Japan’s Talent Management space, which is backed by strong tailwinds from socially significant issues like a shrinking labor force, a growing shift towards job-based hiring, and a regulatory push to visualize and disclose human capital. We see great potential for further expansion of the company’s impressive product and service offerings, and we look forward to leveraging EQT’s experience in technology and software to support President Hiroki Hori and his employees as we work together to accelerate HRBrain’s organic and inorganic growth.”

Hiroki Hori, CEO of HRBrain, commented, “HRBrain promotes solutions in the HR domain mainly for Japanese companies through SaaS-type software and consulting services. We are pleased to have formed a strong partnership with EQT and work to realize our mission. Together, we will continue to provide unique products that are indispensable to diverse workplaces and solving complex issues in the HR field.”

The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2023.

BPEA EQT was advised by SMBC Nikko, Nishimura & Asahi (legal), and KPMG (financial, tax and ESG). The Company was advised by UBS and Shiomizaka (legal).

Contact
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com

The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security, and may not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or solicitation. Any offer or solicitation in respect of the BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth fund will be made only through a confidential private placement memorandum and related documents which will be furnished to qualified investors on a confidential basis in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The information contained herein is not for publication or distribution to persons in the United States of America. Any securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold without registration thereunder or pursuant to an available exemption therefrom. Any offering of securities to be made in the United States would have to be made by means of an offering document that would be obtainable from the issuer or its agents and would contain detailed information about the issuer of the securities and its management, as well as financial information. The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration.

About

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 232 billion in total assets under management (EUR 128 billion in fee-generating assets under management), within two business segments – Private Capital and Real Assets. EQT owns portfolio companies and assets in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas and supports them in achieving sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on LinkedIn, X, YouTube and Instagram

About HRBrain
HRBrain is a one-stop cloud-based platform consisting of seven services for streamlining HR operations and centrally managing and utilizing HR data – the company’s flagship HRBrain Talent Management service, as well as Organizational Diagnostic Survey, Pulse Survey, Personnel Evaluation, 360-degree Review, Labor Management, and AI ChatBot for internal use. HRBrain will continue to expand its services in ways that can further contribute to ESG management, the development of human capital, and digital transformation (DX) in the HR space.

More info: www.hrbrain.co.j

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Ardian acquires leading data center platform Verne Global from Digital 9

Ardian

Ardian’s investment will support Verne Global’s management team to deliver an ambitious and sustainable expansion plan across the Nordics
• Ardian will commit significant capital to grow the Verne Global platform while allowing its management team to leverage Ardian’s strong renewables know-how
• Ardian demonstrated again its strong expertise in digital infrastructure with investments across the value chain

Ardian, a world leading private investment house, has signed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of Verne Global, a leading data center platform diversified across the UK and Nordics, from Digital 9 Infrastructure plc (D9).

This acquisition builds on Ardian’s deep expertise in investing and managing assets across the digital infrastructure value chain. Ardian will support the company’s strong management team, led by CEO Dominic Ward, to deliver an ambitious expansion plan in the Nordics, one of the fastest growing regions for data centers supported by low-carbon energy and international connectivity.

Founded in 2012, Verne Global’s Northern European data center platform has experienced significant growth and now includes five data center campuses in London, Iceland and Finland. It provides highly specialised data center services for organisations running high-performance computing (HPC) workloads, notably AI, machine learning and Large Language Models (LLM).

Sustainability is at the heart of the company’s mission to help customers cost-effectively scale their digital infrastructure while reducing their carbon footprint. The majority of its data centers are powered by renewable energy.

Closing of the transaction is subject to the receipt of merger control and foreign direct investment clearance which is expected by the end of Q1 2024.
“Verne Global has pioneered a sustainable approach to data centre management, using renewable energy and re-purposing existing sites to minimise its environmental impact. Ardian’s investment will support the strong management team at Verne Global to deliver an ambitious plan for its next stage of growth. With Ardian’s support, Verne is well positioned to capitalise on global digitalisation trends such as the accelerating use of AI and machine learning.” Gonzague Boutry, William Briggs & Pauline Thomson, Infrastructure team, Ardian

“Verne Global continues Ardian’s strategy of investing in a balanced portfolio of infrastructure with scope for growth and attractive returns. This transaction further illustrates the capability of the Infrastructure team at Ardian to invest in large digital infrastructure assets in Europe. We look forward to working with the management team to deliver on the significant potential of the Verne Global platform.” Juan Angoitia Grijalba & Benoît Gaillochet, Co-Heads of Infrastructure Europe, Ardian

“We are absolutely delighted to become part of the Ardian platform, which has a team with deep expertise in digital infrastructure that will help accelerate our ambitious expansion plans across the Nordics. Verne aims to deliver sustainable data center solutions that enable organisations to cost-effectively scale their digital infrastructure while reducing their environmental impact. We are hugely excited to be working with Ardian and believe that we have the perfect partner to help power our future. “ Dominic Ward, CEO, Verne Global

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $156bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,470 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks, family offices and private institutional investors worldwide. Ardian’s main shareholding group is its employees and we place great emphasis on developing its people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our 1,050+ employees, spread across 19 offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility.
At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last.

ardian.com

PRESS CONTACT

ARDIAN

HEADLAND

ardian@headlandconsultancy.com

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Eurazeo and Efeso Partners have signed an agreement to welcome Towerbrook Capital Partners as a reference shareholder in Efeso Management Consultants

Eurazeo

Eurazeo Small-mid buyout1 strategy , together with the Partners of EFESO announce today they have signed an agreement with TowerBrook Capital Partners to become a reference shareholder in EFESO Management Consultants, a leading international consulting pure player in operations strategy and performance improvement. Eurazeo has been supporting the company as a majority shareholder since 2019 and will be reinvesting through its successor fund, as part of a co-control framework with TowerBrook Capital Partners. The EFESO Partners will consolidate their shareholding in the company, with over 65 Partners substantially reinvesting their proceeds. Additionally, there are plans to open the capital pool to more than 100 Principals and Managers. The transaction remains notably subject to applicable regulatory approvals.

Under the terms of this agreement, EFESO Management Consultants would be valued at approximately €450 million. Eurazeo’s invested capital would yield a cash-on-cash multiple of approximately three times and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 24%. Upon closing of this transaction, approximately €90m would be returned to Eurazeo balance sheet net of reinvestment.

Active in 70 countries, EFESO works side-by-side with its clients – from global premier brands to mid-sized organizations, privately-owned growing businesses, and Private Equity – to accelerate their transformation and future-proof their operations, relying both on its consulting services and the group’s one-stop-shop operational excellence SaaS platform, Solvace.

Over the last five years, EFESO has tripled in size, generating over €200m in revenue in 2023. The group has reinforced its leading position across operations strategy and performance improvement, while simultaneously pursuing its international expansion, achieving strong organic growth accelerated by a proven buy & build strategy. These have allowed EFESO to reach critical mass in the DACH and US markets, while reinforcing its positions in key industries as well as Private Equity. EFESO has also significantly strengthened its capabilities in product costing, innovation to industrialization, value engineering and decarbonation.

EFESO Management Consultants’ teams, Eurazeo and TowerBrook share the ambition of further amplifying the group’s international growth, capitalising on its pure player positioning and its growing blue chip client base. Its position as a leading international pure player aims to continue to attract the best talents in the industrial operations world.

This new chapter will aim to further boost the growth of Solvace, EFESO’s fast expanding SAAS scale-up that brings digital power to Operational Excellence.

EFESO will be able to leverage TowerBrook and Eurazeo’s extensive global networks, as well as TowerBrook’s deep sectoral expertise in capital light service providers such as management consultants, technology, network operators, distribution, and outsourcing companies. Eurazeo will be investing approximately €115 million in equity in this new transaction, and more than €290m together with TowerBrook and EFESO Partners.

 

Bruno Machiels, co-CEO of EFESO Management Consultants, declared:

“EFESO grew substantially thanks to the quality of our talents reinforced by new outstanding teams. Our current performance shows that clients value more and more the tangible results we realise and anchor together with them, exploiting our deep expertise. We welcome TowerBrook and Eurazeo as strong partners to continue our growth journey.”

 

Luca Lecchi, co-CEO of EFESO Management Consultants, declared:

“During the last years our passionate consultants (including many new talents and teams) have significantly increased the breadth and the depth of our capabilities to better serve our customers. Together with our current and new financial partners we are excited to further strengthen our position of leading international pure player in operations strategy and performance improvement covering major industrial sectors.”

 

Jean Rollier and Fahd Elkadiri, Managing Directors, TowerBrook Capital Partners, declared:

“We are proud to be investing in EFESO and partnering with Eurazeo and the management team. EFESO’s expertise, its strong positioning in its core markets and the quality of its people and management team were the main factors influencing our investment decision. We are confident there continue to be important growth opportunities for the company, and we very much look forward to supporting the business in its next phase of growth with the full contribution of our global TowerBrook eco-system.”

 

Pierre Meignen, Managing Director – Small-mid buyout, at Eurazeo said:

“We are proud of the strong partnership we have created with EFESO’s management team over the last four years, and we are thrilled to renew this collaboration while welcoming TowerBrook onboard. We see significant opportunities for the group in the coming years, in Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific. We believe EFESO perfectly fits the strategy of Eurazeo PME-IV.”

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1 – Part of the Eurazeo Mid Cap company

Information – Individual investors

Eurazeo Investment Manager (EIM) and Eurazeo Mid Cap (EMC) are merging to form Eurazeo Global Investor (EGI)

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Oribi Group and Bouwpas join forces in strategic combination

Main Capital Partners

Oribi Group strengthens its market position as an Identity & Access Management software provider through the strategic acquisition of Bouwpas.

By joining forces with Bouwpas, Oribi will be able to offer a broader range of solutions regarding access control on construction sites, thus strengthening its position in the construction sector, one of the group’s strategic end-markets.

Bouwpas specializes in solutions for registration, access management, onboarding and compliance, responding to safe and fair working on construction sites. Since partnering with software investor Main Capital Partners in 2021, Bouwpas is the Oribi Group’s fourth add-on acquisition.

Bouwpas, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Haarlem, offers a digital platform for labor registration and access control on construction sites. The company has a strong market position within the Dutch construction industry and currently serves a total of more than 70 main contractors as well as numerous subcontractors. With many integrations and partnerships, Bouwpas enables its customers to comply with increasing laws and regulations by means of ID, certificate and access control, among other things. Bouwpas makes the construction site a fairer and safer place, while simultaneously reducing administrative workload and overhead costs.

Leading IAM specialist

Bouwpas’ extensive compliance and access control knowledge and capabilities align seamlessly with Oribi’s existing offering of scalable identity and access management solutions. The combination increases Oribi’s market position in the construction industry where identity and access management has become even more essential in recent years due to increasing security measures and the importance of compliance and data protection.

Earlier this year, Oribi already joined forces with Certwell, a specialist in certificate management in sectors such as construction, energy and logistics. Oribi Group customers are now provided with an even more attractive product offering through the complementary solutions of Oribi and Bouwpas that result in a one-stop shop in identity and access management.

Ivo van Deudekom, Investment Director at Main: “Due to increasing requirements regarding security and compliance, the identity and access management market has been growing strongly for years. We see many opportunities for Bouwpas as part of the Oribi Group to further grow into an even bigger household name within the construction industry. There are also concrete growth opportunities in adjacent markets where there is also a huge demand for access control & compliance solutions driven by laws & regulations, such as infrastructure but also healthcare, for example. Finally, we see commercial growth opportunities in the combination of Bouwpas and Certwell, the company Oribi added to the group earlier this year.”

Daan Verkaik, co-founder at Bouwpas: “Bouwpas has now attained a strong market position within the construction sector, but we are not there yet. We still see vast opportunities for the entire construction sector to become compliant with our scalable solution. We also see great opportunities to expand further, both internationally and in other adjacent sectors. By partnering with Oribi and with Main’s involvement, we can achieve this ambition faster.”

Henk de Kort, CEO at Oribi: “The combination between Oribi and Bouwpas is another milestone in our growth and expands our position as a leading provider of identity and access management solutions. We are very excited about the collaboration with the Bouwpas team, with whom we will be working in the coming years. We can’t wait to better serve our customers’ needs for identity and access management solutions.”

We see many opportunities for Bouwpas as part of the Oribi Group to further grow into an even bigger household name within the construction industry.

– Ivo van Deudekom, Investment Director at Main

About

Oribi Group

The Oribi Group offers modern solutions that allow identities of, for example, visitors, customers and employees to be securely and efficiently verified and the corresponding authorizations then managed. With offices in Oisterwijk and Houten, Oribi has over 50 employees serving a total of more than 500 customers. About half of these are municipalities, but Oribi also serves customers in multiple sectors including the flex industry, education, construction and healthcare.

Bouwpas

Bouwpas was founded in 2014 and is based in Haarlem. The company offers a digital platform ‘Bouwpas’ for labor registration and access control on construction sites, which enables contractors to easily comply with laws and regulations. The Bouwpas software works in three domains (fair, safe and access) and is currently offered to more than 70 main contractors within the construction industry.

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