Ratos company Plantagen acquires Flyinge Plantshop

admin February 23, 2022

Plantagen has acquired Flyinge Plantshop, which is one of the leading nurseries in Sweden and renowned for its expertise, quality and service. The company’s sales, of which more than 50% derives from corporate customers, amounted to SEK 82m in 2021, with an EBITDA of SEK 12m. The acquisition broadens the product offering and customer base in Plantagen. Plantagen is now strengthening its position as the leading garden centre for private and corporate customers within the private and public sectors.

“Add-on acquisitions of this kind are entirely in line with Ratos’s strategy. Flyinge is a well-managed family company, where the focus is on quality and a long-term approach. The acquisition will lead to synergies and contribute to the continued development of Plantagen, primarily through the unique range and expansion toward corporate customers,” says Anders Slettengren, Chairman of the Board of Plantagen and President Business Area Consumer, Ratos.

The acquisition of Flyinge Plantshop is a step in Plantagen’s work to acquire locally and regionally attractive garden centres which, with genuine professional know-how and an attractive range, appeal to both private and corporate customers in the private and public sectors.

“Our vision is to be the Nordic region’s loveliest greenhouse. This entails offering inspiration, expertise and tools to succeed in a growing life. Our focus has been weighted toward private customers and going forward, we will increase our efforts to offer corporate customers and public administrations products and services. Over the past century, the Seger family has created a first-rate company and now we are looking forward to continuing to develop the business together,” says Nina Jönsson, CEO of Plantagen.

The former owner of Flyinge Plantshop for four generations, the Seger family, will remain a driving force in the business at Flyinge. Flyinge Plantshop will continue to operate under its own brand. Closing will take place on 1 March 2022.

For further information:
Anders Slettengren, Chairman of the Board of Plantagen and President Business Area Consumer, Ratos +46 72 589 89 00
Nina Jönsson, CEO, Plantagen, +46 72 077 44 20
Josefine Uppling, VP Communication, Ratos, +46 76 114 54 21

About Ratos
Ratos is a business group consisting of 13 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer and Industry. In total 2021, the companies have approximately SEK 35 billion in sales. Our business concept is to develop companies headquartered in the Nordics that are or can become market leaders. We enable independent 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.

Categories: News

Tags: Consumer brands

DIF Capital Partners acquires 80% stake in French waste-to-energy project Dombasle Énergie

admin February 23, 2022

DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of an 80% stake in Dombasle Énergie, a French greenfield waste-to-energy project, located in Dombasle-sur-Meurthe in the North-East of France. The investment is made through DIF Infrastructure VI, alongside Solvay (10%) and Veolia (10%).

The project comprises the replacement of three coal-fired boilers with a new boiler room equipped with two furnaces running on 350,000 tonnes per year of refuse-derived fuel (“RDF”) produced from various types of nonhazardous waste that cannot be recycled.

The EUR 225 million capex project is scheduled to become operational before the end of 2024 and will directly and indirectly employ over 1,000 people. The project will combust 344kt per annum and has a capacity of 181 MW thermal power and 17.5 MW electrical power from a steam turbine, which will be reused for the industrial process. As the first project of its kind in France, Dombasle Énergie will (i) cut the site’s carbon footprint by about 50% (240,000 tonnes of CO2 reduction) per year and (ii) create a new outlet for waste (primarily from the Grand Est and neighbouring regions) that was initially non-recyclable and which will now be transformed into green energy.

Gijs Voskuyl, Partner and head of DIF’s core infra investment strategies: “With increasing pressure on landfill capacity and concerted community efforts to reduce landfill levels, waste-to-energy represents a significant opportunity for the generation of affordable green power across the globe. We are delighted to partner with Solvay as well as Veolia in this ambitious project which will significantly reduce Solvay’s carbon footprint as well as reuse 350,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste, of which otherwise the majority would have been landfilled. Renewable energy investments are an essential part of DIF’s investment mandate, evidencing the company’s desire to positively contribute to a more sustainable future”.

The project secured long term non-recourse debt financing from Credit Agricole Leasing & Factoring’s subsidiary Unifergie and Bpifrance. Dombasle Énergie also benefited from the support of the Grand Est region and French environmental authority ADEME, as well as other private partners.

Advisors on the transaction included De Pardieu Brocas Maffei (legal) and H3P (financial) for the sponsors. The lenders were advised by Herbert Smith Freehills (legal), SETEC (technical) and Marsh (insurance). Other advisors included Sigée Finance (model audit), Willkie Farr & Gallagher (tax audit) and ESTER (hedging).

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent investment manager, with more than €9.8 billion in assets under management across nine closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australasia through two complementary strategies:

Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure VI is the latest vintage, target, equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and (renewable) energy projects.
DIF CIF funds target equity investments in small to mid-sized economic infrastructure assets in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 180 professionals, based in ten offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit www.dif.eu.

More information:

Jorda Zuurendonk, Marketing & Communication Manager

j.zuurendonk@dif.eu

Categories: News

Tags: Energy infrastructure

EQT Infrastructure to acquire Stockland Retirement Living, one of the largest providers of senior living communities in Australia

admin February 22, 2022

EQT Infrastructure acquires Stockland Retirement Living, a leading provider of community living and support for over 10,000 senior Australians
Stockland Retirement Living will benefit from EQT’s significant experience in the healthcare space globally as the demand for high-quality retirement living and aged care services is expected to grow in Australia over the coming years
EQT Infrastructure is committed to investing in Stockland Retirement Living’s continued growth, broadened service offering, and further strengthening its digital backbone

EQT is pleased to announce that EQT Infrastructure V fund (“EQT Infrastructure”) has agreed to acquire Stockland Retirement Living (the “Company”) from Stockland Group, one of Australia’s largest diversified property management operators. The transaction valued Stockland Retirement Living at AUD 987 million.

Stockland Retirement Living is one of the largest providers of retirement living in Australia, with over 10,000 residents in 58 villages across Australia’s eastern seaboard, and a pipeline of 1,300 new units to be developed in attractive retirement locations.

Demand for high-quality retirement living in Australia has demonstrated consistent strong growth over recent years, underpinned by Australia’s aging population and the increased value placed on the sense of security and community offered by retirement villages. As demand for retirement living increases, it is also expected that the growing requirement for higher levels of care services within retirement villages will continue.

EQT has a well-established track record in the aged care sector, globally as well as within Australia and New Zealand. EQT will focus on leveraging this experience and its global network of industry advisors to support Stockland’s Retirement Living portfolio in growing its footprint, increasing the range of services provided to its residents, and investing in technology and digital initiatives to further improve the Company’s offering.

Tarun Gupta, CEO of Stockland Group said “I am delighted that we have found a strong Retirement Living owner and operator to acquire Stockland’s Retirement Living platform. EQT is a purpose-led organisation with a well-established track record in healthcare, aged care and retirement living. We are confident that EQT will be the right custodian for the residents and employees, and are well placed to support the continued growth of the high quality Retirement Living platform.”

“We have an accomplished and dedicated team in our Retirement Living business, who will transfer to EQT at completion of the transaction. They continue to be focused on providing the best possible care and resident experience across the portfolio.”

“The announcement today does not impact on any of the arrangements with our residents. It will be business as usual for our residents, noting on completion they will have a new partner with significant experience in running industry leading retirement living villages.”

Ken Wong, EQT’s Head of Asia Pacific, Infrastructure said, “Stockland Retirement Living is a clear leader in the Australian retirement living space and we are excited about partnering with the company and supporting its ability to continue to develop and operate high-quality retirement villages. With an aging Australian population and increased focus on enabling Australians to age in place, we are excited to have the opportunity to use our significant global experience in the aged care sector to enhance the range of services provided to current and future residents of Stockland’s villages.”

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals, including the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board. It is expected to close in late Q2 2022.

EQT Infrastructure was advised by Goldman Sachs and King & Wood Mallesons.

With this transaction EQT Infrastructure V is expected to be 70 – 75 percent invested (including closed and/or signed investments, announced public offers, if applicable, and less any expected syndication) and subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Contact
Australian media inquiries: Roger Newby, roger@domestiqueconsulting.com.au, 61 401 278 906
International media inquiries: EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com , +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 73.4 billion in assets under management across 28 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas with total sales of approximately EUR 29 billion and more than 175,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

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

About Stockland
About Stockland: Stockland (ASX: SGP) was founded in 1952 and has grown to become Australia’s largest diversified property group – owning, developing and managing a large portfolio of shopping centres, residential communities, retirement living villages, office and industrial assets. Stockland is consistently recognised by the S&P Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) as a global real estate leader, demonstrating world leadership across the areas of corporate governance, stakeholder engagement, climate strategy, social integration and regeneration and corporate citizenship. Stockland has been identified as a global leader for its actions and strategies in response to climate change and has been awarded a position on the Climate A List by CDP and recognised as the Regional Sector Leader for Diversified Property Companies on the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB). Stockland has also been recognised as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the Australian Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).

More info: www.stockland.com.au

Categories: News

Tags: infrastructure Real estate

Nordstjernan acquires Finnish diagnostics company Aidian

admin February 22, 2022

Nordstjernan has signed an agreement to acquire the Finnish in-vitro diagnostics company Aidian from funds that are managed by the Nordic private equity firm Axcel. Aidian is a leading global player in the growing market for point-of-care diagnostics. The company develops, manufactures and sells instruments and tests that are used in such fields as primary care to provide quick and accurate test results. Aidian’s offering of tests addresses several global health problems such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), diabetes and colorectal cancer. Aidian has tests that are intended to reduce unnecessary prescriptions of antibiotics, which is a driver behind the growing threat from AMR and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Aidian was established in 1974 as a subsidiary of Orion, a Finnish pharmaceuticals company. In addition to its headquarters in Espoo, Finland, Aidian has a local presence in another twelve countries and a global presence via distributors in over 60 export markets. The company has over 250 employees and reported sales of approximately EUR 100 million in 2021.

“We are very pleased to have been able to make this investment. Aidian has a strong product offering as well as a leading position in the global market for point-of-care diagnostics, and the company’s instruments and tests help to address several global health challenges. We are impressed by the work that Axcel has done to establish Aidian as a leading player in the field of point-of-care diagnostics and we look forward to continuing to develop Aidian and supporting the company and its management over the long-term in its important efforts concerning many central health issues,” says Nordstjernan’s CEO Peter Hofvenstam.

“We now very much look forward to joining Nordstjernan, an organization well known for its professional and long-term development of businesses within healthcare and other industries,” says Aidian’s CEO Juho Himberg.

Nordstjernan has worked for some time to expand its investment focus in the healthcare sector, which after the acquisition of Aidian will consist of five holdings that represent over 25 per cent of Nordstjernan’s net asset value.

Completion of the transaction is expected in Q1 2022.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the conditions of the transaction.

Peter Hofvenstam
President and CEO
Nordstjernan AB

Questions will be answered by:

Peter Hofvenstam, CEO, Nordstjernan
E-mail: peter.hofvenstam@nordstjernan.se

Stefan Stern, Head of Communications, Nordstjernan
Telephone: +46 70 636 74 17
E-mail: stefan.stern@nordstjernan.se

Nordstjernan is a family-controlled investment company whose business concept is to be an active owner that creates long-term value growth. More information about Nordstjernan can be found on www.nordstjernan.se.

Aidian is a Finnish company in the field of in-vitro diagnostics. Aidian is headquartered in Espoo, Finland, and has global sales via a local presence and distributors. More information on Aidian can be found at www.aidian.eu.

Categories: News

Tags: Pharmacie

Why We Invested in Grata

admin February 22, 2022

We’re pleased to announce that Craft Ventures is leading the
$25 million Series A round for Grata, the leading private company intelligence engine. I’ve gotten to know co-founders Andrew and Nevin over the last two years and am excited to join them on the Board of Directors.

When we first met Grata, they were a scrappy team that was bootstrapping a solution to a problem they suffered from in their previous jobs in private equity and management consulting: the opacity of information available about companies in the middle market. This is an often overlooked but meaningful segment of the market. The middle market is bigger than most people realize and a lot of groups care about it: corporates, private equity funds, bankers, hedge funds, family offices, to name a few. And yet — no other data providers focus on the middle market because it’s hard: millions of companies, high volume of changes and little information readily accessible.

No other data providers focus on the middle market because it’s hard: millions of companies, high volume of changes, and little information readily accessible.

Before Grata, dealmakers would turn to Google to manually search for companies. And since the results were noisy, teams of analysts would go website by website to discover and decipher company credentials. Databases such as Dun & Bradstreet with their broad categories and stale information didn’t address their needs. What’s more, private company data is dominated by companies who had a transaction event: Pitchbook and Crunchbase report on public and private company funding news. But who covers the middle market companies who are bootstrapped or outside of the tech ecosystem and media spotlight? They account for 50% of US GDP.

Who covers the middle market companies who are bootstrapped or outside of the tech ecosystem and media spotlight? They account for 50% of US GDP.

Grata has created a highly automated technology system that ingests this thorny problem and produces an easy to access, new source of truth for all dealmakers that care about the middle market. It uses proprietary machine learning and web crawling practices to read contextual information on the web and understand how a company describes its business. The Covid pandemic thrust many businesses online out of necessity, helped by a new economy of no-code website builders, which makes Grata’s sourcing practice even more potent. Its automated way of collecting and interpreting data is scalable and supported by their team of highly technical data scientists and engineers.

That scrappy team I met two years ago now has millions in revenue, and is growing 20% month-over-month driven by the value they bring to the dealmakers they serve. Please welcome us in congratulating the Grata team. They’re hiring! You can see their jobs page here.

Categories: News

Tags: Data

Acumera acquires leading Edge Computing provider Reliant with support from an affiliate of Peak Rock Capital

admin February 22, 2022 No Comments

Acquisition to accelerate both companies’ growth, advancing technology and market positions in the US and abroad.

Austin, Texas – February 22, 2022 – Acumera, a leading provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for network operation, visualization, and security services, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Reliant, a leading provider of edge computing solutions for retail, hospitality, health care and convenience store enterprises.

Reliant’s edge computing platform is deployed by leading global brands to support innovative, future-forward customer experiences from walk-in / walk-out shopping to contactless payments, AI-driven restaurant kitchens, and more. Reliant Platform is a hardware and cloud-agnostic solution that centralizes, automates, and controls the delivery and management of applications and systems at the network’s edge, bringing data and applications closer to the end user. Reliant Platform converges new and legacy systems into an integrated, scalable solution that provides reliability and resiliency for key workloads.

Bill Morrow, CEO of Acumera, said, “Reliant represents an opportunity to invest in and leverage a strong, growing edge computing platform, as we continue to expand our technology/services offerings and product portfolio. Reliant’s edge computing solutions are a perfect complement to our network operation, visualization and security services. We look forward to partnering with Reliant’s impressive team and leveraging their integrated and scalable solution that converges new and legacy systems.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to be part of the Acumera team,” said Richard Newman cofounder and CTO of Reliant. “The combination of our two businesses makes Acumera the clear leader in edge computing in retail and hospitality, and will enable us to bring the benefits of Reliant Platform to new markets and verticals and continue to drive innovation with our existing clients.”

The transaction was completed with a strategic growth investment from an affiliate of Peak Rock Capital (“Peak Rock”), a leading middle-market private investment firm. The relationship with Peak Rock enables Acumera and Reliant to continue expanding their edge computing technology offerings and customer service capabilities, while also positioning the combined company for accelerated strategic growth.

Learn more at acumera.com or contact Acumera at 512-687-7400.

About Reliant

Reliant is a leading provider of edge computing for retail, hospitality and c-store enterprises. Reliant Platform, Reliant’s edge computing solution, centralizes, automates, and controls the delivery and management of applications and systems, bringing data and solutions to the network’s edge. Reliant’s best-in-class industry knowledge combined with technical expertise delivers winning edge solutions for the business and IT alike. Reliant provides implementation and consulting services around applications, payments, PCI security, IoT applications, interactive technologies, POS, mobile, and converged and cloud infrastructures. Learn more at reliant.io.

About Peak Rock Capital

Peak Rock Capital is a leading middle-market private investment firm that makes equity and debt investments in companies in North America and Europe. Peak Rock’s equity investment platform focuses on opportunities where it can support senior management to drive rapid growth and performance improvement, with expertise in corporate carve-outs and partnering with families and founders seeking first-time institutional capital. Peak Rock’s credit platform invests across capital structures, with a broad mandate to provide flexible, tailored capital solutions to middle-market and growth-oriented businesses. Peak Rock’s real estate platform makes equity and debt investments in small to mid-sized real estate assets in attractive, growing geographies. For further information about Peak Rock Capital, please visit www.peakrockcapital.com.

About Acumera

Acumera is the leading supplier of network operation, visualization, and security services via orchestration of business, networking, and security workloads. Acumera secures entire networks, point-of-sale (POS) systems, and IoT devices and safeguards data, maximizes uptime, provides device visibility, and simplifies compliance for convenience store, healthcare, restaurant, retail, unmanned parking and other businesses. Acumera’s robust, scalable platform provides a full suite of containerized edge computing workloads for security, monitoring, management, analytics, loyalty programs, and more. Acumera is listed on the Visa and Mastercard Global Registries of PCI compliant service providers. Learn more at acumera.com.

Acumera, AcuVigil, AcuLink and the Acumera logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Acumera Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Categories: News

KKR to Acquire Majority Stake in Refresco

admin February 22, 2022

Rotterdam, The Netherlands and New York – February 22, 2022 – Refresco Group B.V. (“Refresco” or “the Company”), one of the largest independent beverage contract manufacturers in the world, and KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that KKR has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Refresco, with Refresco’s existing investors, PAI Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (“BCI”), maintaining a significant minority position. Terms of the transaction, which is subject to closing conditions, were not disclosed.

Founded in 1999, Refresco is a global independent beverage solutions provider for retailers and branded beverage companies with pan-regional coverage in Europe and North America through its network of bottling, warehousing, logistics and other operational assets. The Company’s production platform includes over 70 majority-owned manufacturing sites in Europe, the U.S., Canada and Mexico, providing customers with close proximity and a reliable service across geographies. Refresco has built long-standing relationships with its customers by partnering to support material planning, procurement, manufacturing, warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution.

KKR will support Refresco as it expands its global and strategically located footprint to better serve existing and new customers through a range of formats and channels. The Company will build on its ability to manufacture high quality products that meet the growing demand for sustainable beverage solutions, with a focus on sustainable sourcing, responsible production and environmentally friendly operations.

“We are very pleased to welcome KKR, one of the world’s most prominent investment firms, as our new majority owner. We are proud that PAI and BCI will continue as shareholders, which is a testament to our successful value creation,” said Hans Roelofs, CEO of Refresco. “To support further growth, we have explored the various alternatives available to us and believe that the investment by KKR is an incredibly positive development for the Company. Like our existing shareholders, KKR is supportive of our strategy and will bring operational expertise, access to capital and a well-established network to support us in our growth, innovation and M&A strategy. Our focus of growing alongside our customers, combined with expanding into new categories and geographies, remains unchanged. I look forward to this new chapter, and for all our employees and customers to capitalize on the opportunities ahead of us.”

“Refresco has established itself as an industry leader supporting the global beverage industry with a blue-chip global customer base, an experienced and highly regarded management team, and an impressive network of assets that provides compelling value to customers. The Company also has a strong commitment to sustainability, which is an important differentiator for its customers,” said James Cunningham, Partner at KKR. “We look forward to leveraging our operational expertise from across the KKR platform to support the Company’s continued growth and further advance the sustainability of its value chain.”

“We are proud to have been instrumental in Refresco’s growth since we initiated our investment with BCI in 2018,” said Frédéric Stévenin, a Managing Partner of PAI Partners. “We are even more excited about the prospect of continuing to stay a part of Refresco’s strong growth trajectory alongside KKR. We are convinced of Refresco’s unique value-add capabilities, its growth initiatives and a proven M&A track record, and we look forward to the next phase of this journey.”

“As an institutional investor with a long-term perspective, supporting strong management teams and market leading companies is core to our private equity program. We are in full agreement with Frédéric’s comments and are very happy to continue this partnership with management, PAI and KKR,” said Julian Remedios, Senior Managing Director, Private Equity, BCI.

KKR is making this investment primarily through its Global Infrastructure strategy, which was established in 2008. Since that time, KKR has been one of the most active infrastructure investors around the world with a team of more than 70 dedicated investment professionals. The firm currently oversees approximately $40 billion in infrastructure assets and has made over 60 infrastructure investments across a range of sub-sectors and geographies.

Categories: News

Tags: Consumer brands

KKR to acquire majority stake in Refresco

admin February 22, 2022

February 22, 2022

Investment to grow critical infrastructure of leading global beverage solutions provider

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

Refresco Group B.V. (“Refresco” or “the Company”), one of the largest independent beverage contract manufacturers in the world, and KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that KKR has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Refresco, with Refresco’s existing investors, PAI Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (“BCI”), maintaining a significant minority position. Terms of the transaction, which is subject to closing conditions, were not disclosed.

“We are proud to have been instrumental in Refresco’s growth since we initiated our investment with BCI in 2018,” said Frédéric Stévenin, Managing Partner of PAI Partners. “We are even more excited about the prospect of continuing to stay a part of Refresco’s strong growth trajectory alongside KKR. We are convinced of Refresco’s unique value-add capabilities, its growth initiatives and a proven M&A track record, and we look forward to the next phase of this journey.”

About Refresco

Refresco is the global independent beverage solutions provider for retailers and A-brands with production in Europe and North America. Refresco offers an extensive range of product and packaging combinations. Focused on innovation, Refresco continuously searches for new and alternative ways to improve the quality of its products and packaging combinations in line with consumer and customer demand, environmental responsibilities and market demand. Refresco is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and has more than 10,000 employees. www.refresco.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 and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About PAI Partners

PAI Partners is a pre-eminent private equity firm, investing in market-leading companies across the globe. It has significant experience in the food and beverage space and is currently invested in Tropicana Brands Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of premium juice brands, Froneri, the world’s #2 ice cream manufacturer, and Ecotone, a leader in healthy and sustainable food. It manages over €17 billion of dedicated buyout funds and, since 1994, has completed 89 investments in 11 countries, representing over €65 billion in transaction value. PAI has built an outstanding track record through partnering with ambitious management teams where its unique perspective, unrivalled sector experience and long-term vision enable companies to pursue their full potential – and push beyond. Learn more about the PAI story, the team and their approach at: www.paipartners.com.

About BCI

With C$199.6 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2021, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is one of Canada’s largest institutional investors. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, BCI is a long-term investor that invests across a range of asset classes: fixed income; public equities; private equity; infrastructure; renewable resources; real estate; and commercial mortgages. BCI’s clients include public sector pension plans, insurance, and special purpose funds. BCI’s private equity

program, with C$20.7 billion of assets under management, has a well-diversified portfolio comprised of direct and fund investments. The team brings industry expertise with more than 40 investment professionals investing across financial and business services, healthcare, industrials, consumer, and TMT sectors. For more information about BCI, please visit www.bci.ca.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220222005726/en/

Media Contacts
Refresco
Refresco Corporate Communications
+31 10 440 5119
communications@refresco.com

KKR: US
Cara Major or Miles Radcliffe-Trenner
+1 212-750-8300
media@kkr.com

KKR: EMEA
Alastair Elwen / Sophia Johnston
Finsbury Glover Hering
+44 20 7251 3801
KKR_LON@finsbury.com

KKR: Netherlands
Corina Holla
Meines Holla
+31 6 12 75 40 36
corinaholla@meinesholla.nl

PAI: US
Brian Ruby/Chris Gillick
ICR
+1 646 277 1298
pai@icrinc.com

PAI: EMEA
James Madsen/Fanni Bodri
Greenbrook Communications
+44 20 7952 2000
pai@greenbrookpr.com

BCI
Gwen-Ann Chittenden
Vice President, Corporate Stakeholder Engagement, BCI
+1 778 410 7310
media@bci.ca

Source: KKR

Categories: News

Tags: Consumer brands

FSN Capital and Verdane agree investment in Active Brands to support new phase of growth

admin February 21, 2022

Oslo, February 21, 2022

Verdane, the European specialist growth equity investor, and FSN Capital, the Northern European private equity firm, have announced an agreement to invest in Active Brands, a fast-growing house of premium outdoor sports apparel and equipment brands headquartered in Oslo, Norway. The investment will strengthen Active Brands’ leadership position in the outdoor industry and support continued international expansion and M&A. As part of the transaction, FSN Capital, which first partnered with Active Brands in 2017, will remain invested in the Company, while Verdane will become a new significant minority shareholder. The transaction is subject to approval from relevant authorities.

Founded in 2009, Active Brands is a house of brands focused on the premium outdoor sports apparel and equipment market segments. It has evolved from a Norwegian brand incubator to an international brand accelerator, having strengthened its operations and expanded distribution outside its Norwegian home market during its initial growth journey with FSN Capital. The Company had sales of more than 1.35 billion NOK in 2021. Active Brands’ portfolio includes Norway-based brands such as Kari Traa, Sweet Protection, Johaug, Dæhlie, Bula, Åsnes and Vossatassar. With Verdane and FSN Capital as partners, Active Brands is expected to continue on its highly attractive organic growth path, which will now be further complemented by the Company’s strategic M&A ambitions.

FSN Capital and Verdane will seek to drive an active ownership agenda, working closely with CEO Christophe Merkel, who joined Active Brands from Nike in March 2021 to further internationalise and digitalise the business. The Company will benefit from the support of Verdane’s digital growth expertise, including its in-house operational expert team Elevate, which will help accelerate the company’s e-commerce growth and strengthen related back-end digital capabilities.

Eskil Koffeld, Principal at FSN Capital, commented: “Active Brands is now equipped for a significant acceleration in its development, with a continued push into international markets and an accelerated shift toward digital channels. With Verdane’s growth focus and digital consumer experience, Verdane is seen as an ideal partner to FSN VI to contribute to the next growth phase of Active Brands. FSN Capital VI looks forward to a successful collaboration together with CEO Christophe Merkel and his team.”

Hanna Eiderbrant, Principal at Verdane, commented: “We are excited to embark on this growth journey with the teams at Active Brands and FSN, and look forward to contributing with digital growth expertise, internationalisation experience, and local networks across Europe. Together with FSN, Active Brands has positioned itself as a leading, sustainable brand accelerator for outdoor sports brands globally, and we are pleased to now join the next stage of this exciting transformation.”

Christophe Merkel, CEO of Active Brands, commented: “With the active ownership and support from Verdane and FSN Capital, we are confident we can further accelerate the fantastic growth journey we have experienced so far across all our brands, always at the service of an active lifestyle in the outdoors for professional and everyday athletes around the world.”

Verdane will invest through Verdane Edda II, alongside FSN Capital VI. Verdane’s role as a third party investing together with FSN Capital VI and existing shareholders was key to enabling a robust valuation process, as FSN Capital IV exits its holdings in the company. FSN Capital VI will be the majority shareholder in the company, while Verdane Edda II will have a significant minority holding.

About Active Brands

Active Brands is a fast-growing house of premium sports apparel and equipment brands. Through our brands, we inspire an active lifestyle in the outdoors for professional and everyday athletes. The brand portfolio consists currently of Kari Traa, Dæhlie, Sweet Protection, Johaug, Bula, Åsnes and Vossatassar. Founded in 2009, Active Brands has evolved from a Norwegian brand incubation platform to a global brand accelerator with a strong international footprint.

About FSN Capital

Established in 1999, FSN Capital Partners is a leading Northern European private equity firm and investment advisor to the FSN Capital Funds, with €4 billion under management. FSN Capital Funds make control investments in growth-oriented Northern European companies, to support further growth and to transform companies into more sustainable, competitive, international, and profitable entities. Our ethos, “We are decent people making a decent return in a decent way” defines our core values. We are committed to being responsible investors and having a positive environmental and social impact across our portfolio.  FSN Capital Partners has a team of 68 across Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen and Munich, in addition to 9 executive advisors with extensive industry experience. Learn more about FSN Capital on: www.fsncapital.com

About Verdane

Verdane is a specialist growth equity investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable European businesses to help them reach the next stage of international growth. Based on a belief in the transformative power of private equity, we work with all our portfolio companies to be part of the solution to global challenges for both people and the planet. Verdane can invest as a minority or majority investor, either in single companies or through portfolios of companies, and looks to deploy behind three core themes; the Digital Consumer, Software Everywhere and Sustainable Society. Verdane funds hold €3.6bn in total commitments and have made over 135 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane’s team of over 90 investment professionals and operating experts, based out of Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled and sustainable businesses in Europe. More info: www.verdane.com

For more information, please contact the following persons at FSN Capital Partners (investment advisor to the FSN Capital Funds):

Eskil Koffeld, Principal
ek@fsncapital.com 

Morten Welo, Partner & COO/IR
mw@fsncapital.com 

Categories: News

Tags: Consumer brands

FSN Capital has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Seriline

admin February 18, 2022

FSN Capital has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Seriline, a Swedish provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Seriline is a fast-growing provider of physical access management solutions, such as physical credentials, card readers, and online identity management systems. The company is owned by the senior management team, Freddie and Pierre Parrman, who will retain a sizable stake in the company. Seriline has 29 FTEs and had SEK 84m in sales in 2021.

Seriline is expected to be the initial platform for a buy-and-build strategy to create a Nordic cybersecurity leader within IAM, with the company having a pipeline of potential M&A targets in the fragmented market. Today, Seriline has a broad and long-term customer base, including large blue-chip corporations, as well as universities, hospitals, and other public sector institutions. For many, cybersecurity concerns and growing GDPR requirements are driving a focus on physical IAM processes and solutions.

Erik Nelson, Partner at FSN Capital Partners, commented: “Physical security is a critical element of cybersecurity. As our world becomes more digital, physical and digital security are converging, with Identity and Access Management at the core. Seriline helps customers ensure that the right people can access the right places at the right time. We have been very impressed with the management team and look forward to working with them to build a Northern European cybersecurity leader that contributes to making the world safer and more secure.”

Simon Larsson, Investment Director at FSN Capital Partners, commented: “Seriline has a strong position in the rapidly growing Identity and Access Management space where it is well-positioned to drive further consolidation in the market. We are very excited to partner up with Freddie Parrman and his experienced team to build a challenger in the European cybersecurity market.”

Freddie Parrman, CEO at Seriline, commented: “We are super excited to have FSNC as our partner in the journey that we have in front of us. To have this strong partnership will be crucial in the next stage of rapid growth for Seriline. To be an early mover in this market is an advantage that will help us create value and continue to lead the way in serving the evolving security needs of our customers.”

FSN Capital was advised by Applied Value, Bain & Company, KPMG, Frank Partners, Vinge and Marsh.

About Seriline
Seriline was founded in 1990 and is a Swedish-owned company with a focus on identity and access management. By combining the latest technology with many years of experience, Seriline offers proprietary software, online solutions, hardware and services that simplify the flow to creating user-friendly processes for confidentiality and integrity management of identities.

About FSN Capital
Established in 1999, FSN Capital Partners is a leading Northern European private equity firm and investment advisor to the FSN Capital Funds, with €4 billion under management. FSN Capital Funds make control investments in growth-oriented Northern European companies, to support further growth and to transform companies into more sustainable, competitive, international, and profitable entities. Our ethos, “We are decent people making a decent return in a decent way” defines our core values. We are committed to being responsible investors and having a positive environmental and social impact across our portfolio.  FSN Capital Partners has a team of 68 across Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen and Munich, in addition to 9 executive advisors with extensive industry experience. Learn more about FSN Capital on: www.fsncapital.com

For more information please contact the following persons at FSN Capital Partners (investment advisor to the FSN Capital Funds):

Erik Nelson, Partner
en@fsncapital.com

Simon Larsson, Investment Director
sl@fsncapital.com

Morten Welo, Partner & COO/IR
mw@fsncapital.com

Categories: News

Tags: Information technology

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FSN Capital has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Seriline