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CVC Fund VIII to invest in Business Integration Partners

CVC Capital Partners

Majority stake in BIP to be acquired from Apax Partners for an undisclosed sum

BIP, one of Europe’s leading consulting companies, announced today that CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII (“CVC”) has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in BIP from Apax Partners, the French private equity firm, for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Following completion of the transaction, CVC will become the new majority shareholder of BIP, while BIP Chairman Nino Lo Bianco, CEOs Carlo Capè and Fabio Troiani and other equity partners will continue as shareholders and in their management roles.

CVC Capital Partners is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately US$118 billion of assets under management. CVC Funds are invested in over 90 companies worldwide, which have combined annual sales of approximately US$100 billion and employ more than 450,000 people.

BIP, founded in Italy in 2003, is a leading multinational consulting firm employing with presence in 13 countries, employing more than 3,500 people world-wide, with a turnover of 315 million euros in 2020 (an increase of 31% compared to 2019).

“We are thrilled to welcome CVC as our new Partner”, said Nino Lo Bianco, Carlo Capè and Fabio Troiani, founders at the helm of the Group since 2003. “This partnership opens a new phase for our Group, allowing us to work on further ambitious international growth objectives and to strengthen our excellence in the digital transformation sector.

“We also want to thank Apax Partners, for the support provided to us in the exceptional journey made in recent years”.

“The growth trajectory enjoyed by BIP in the past few years is testament to the quality of the services it delivers and the relationship of partnership it has been able to create with its loyal customers”, said Andrea Ferrante, Senior Managing Director at CVC. “We have been impressed by this remarkable group of professionals and are very much looking forward to helping them execute their ambitious international plans in the future.”

Giampiero Mazza, Managing Partner at CVC added: “We are incredibly proud to have been chosen by the partners among a large group of reputable contenders as their companion in the next phase of BIP’s development. BIP has a distinctive value proposition and a deep pool of talent that can be scaled globally. We cannot wait to embark on this exciting journey with Nino, Carlo, Fabio and all the equity partners.”

BIP was advised by Equita, Rothschild, Allen & Overy, Lodovico Bianchi Di Giulio, BonelliErede, PWC and AON.

CVC was advised by BNP Paribas, Latham & Watkins, Facchini Rossi Michelutti, PWC and Bain & Company.

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ICG announces the acquisition of Australian real estate debt investor Newground Capital Partners

ntermediate Capital Group (ICG), the global alternative asset manager, announces it has acquired Newground Capital Partners (Newground) an Australian real estate debt investor.

Newground is an arranger, investor, and manager of real estate financing solutions in the Australian mid-market, investing across the capital structure, with offices in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. The team of seven led by Daniel Erez has closed 30+ transactions, deployed more than A$200m of capital and currently manages investments on behalf of over 100 clients, largely Australian-based.

Trading as ICG-Newground, the business will leverage the strength of ICG’s balance sheet and its institutional LP base to underwrite loans of $30m – $200m offering more flexible terms and gearing to owners of value-add, stabilised and construction assets. The business will launch an institutionally focused fund in Q3 of this year to capitalise on the growing interest in real estate debt amongst Australian investors.

Commenting on the transaction, Martin Wheeler, Co-Head of ICG’s real estate business, said “We are excited about the acquisition of Newground, which is a further positive step in the growth of ICG’s real estate strategy and footprint in Australia. We are looking forward to working with such an entrepreneurial management team to realise the attractive opportunities in the Australian real estate market.”

Martin added “Dan and the Newground team share our investment philosophy and the deal builds upon our track record of hiring and retaining the best talent and helping them develop and grow a leading franchise.”

Daniel Erez who joins as Head of Real Estate Australia and New Zealand said, “The Newground team is delighted to be joining ICG. We are looking forward to combining our deep experience of investing in Australian real estate, and benefitting from ICG’s breadth of, experience, rigorous investment culture and its institutional investment management infrastructure”.

Greg Fendler, Managing Director and Head of Institutional Clients, Australia and New Zealand said, “The acquisition of Newground is a natural extension of ICG’s differentiated real estate platform and enhances our offering to local clients and potential investors. It’s been a pleasure to work with Dan and Martin on this transaction and I look forward to building a successful real estate business in Australia and New Zealand together.”

-Ends-

 

For further details please contact:

Olivia Montgomery

Corporate Communications
Tel: +44 (0)203 545 1543
Mobile: +44 (0)7812 045188
Email: olivia.montgomery@icgam.com

About ICG

ICG provides capital to help companies grow. We are a global alternative asset manager with over 30 years’ history, managing €47.2bn of assets in private debt, credit, and equity, principally in closed-end funds.

We develop long-term relationships with our business partners to deliver value for shareholders, clients, and employees, and use our position of influence to benefit the environment and society. We operate across four strategic asset classes: corporate, capital market, real asset, and secondary investments. In addition to growing existing strategies, we innovate and pioneer new strategies where the market opportunity exists.

ICG’s real estate division has over €4.9bn of private debt and private equity assets under management in its core strategies of Senior Debt, Partnership Capital (providing whole loans, mezzanine, and preferred equity), Residential Development Finance and Sale and Leaseback.

ICG is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: ICP).

Further details are available at: www.icgam.com. You can follow ICG on LinkedIn.

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AURELIUS successfully completes acquisition of HÜPPE GmbH from Masco

Aurelius Capital
  • Acquisition of a leading European producer of shower enclosures, shower trays, wall panels and bathroom accessories
  • Firmly established market position and strong order backlog provides solid platform for organic development in a stable and growing market

Munich / London, June 1, 2021 – AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN: DE000A0JK2A8) successfully completed the acquisition of HÜPPE GmbH from Masco Corporation as of May 31, 2021.

HÜPPE is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of shower enclosures, shower trays, wall panels and bathroom accessories. The company currently employs around 470 people at two production sites in Germany and Turkey, as well as six European sales entities. In 2020, HÜPPE generated sales of roughly EUR 70 million, about the same as in the previous year. The good performance despite the corona pandemic reflects the trend of end consumers upgrading their bathrooms and the increasing replacement of bathtubs with more sustainable and barrier-free shower areas. HÜPPE stands for innovation, quality and customer service and is ideally positioned to benefit from these trends.

Together with the management team, AURELIUS plans to drive growth beyond the existing product portfolio and customer base. In addition, AURELIUS will contribute operational know-how to achieve a more sustainable positioning of the group by implementing efficiencies in the purchasing and manufacturing process. This will create the basis for future growth via add-on-acquisitions.

“Hüppe is a successful company in a steadily growing market. We will generate further organic growth on the basis of a well-filled order backlog, including recently acquired projects. Add-on acquisitions in the European core market will provide additional impetus. We look forward to working with the team on the ground,” said Matthias Täubl, CEO of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA.

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Neo4j Announces $325 Million Series F Investment, the Largest in Database History

DTCP

Eurazeo Leads Series F Round, Raising the Company’s Valuation to Over $2 Billion

SAN MATEO, Calif. – June 17, 2021 – Neo4jⓇ, the leader in graph technology, announced today a Series F funding round as part of a $325 million investment led by Eurazeo (RF:PA) with participation from GV (formerly Google Ventures). Today’s transaction represents the largest investment in a private database company and raises Neo4j’s valuation to over $2 billion.

Existing investors One Peak (an investor since 2018), Creandum (an investor since 2014), and Greenbridge Partners (an investor since 2016), as well as new investors DTCP and Lightrock, also participated.

Emil Eifrem, Neo4j’s CEO and Co-Founder, characterized the news as an inflection point in the broader database market and welcomed investment partners Eurazeo, GV, DTCP, and Lightrock.

“Databases constitute the largest single market in enterprise software, with growth centered in new generations of databases that address today’s data challenges in unprecedented ways,” said Eifrem. “This is a magical time in databases, presenting an opportunity for a handful of generational companies to emerge as leaders in the broader landscape. Neo4j is one of these companies, and today’s record-breaking transaction in the database space demonstrates that our new and existing investors share this belief.”

According to Gartner, “By 2025, graph technologies will be used in 80% of data and analytics innovations, up from 10% in 2021, facilitating rapid decision making across the enterprise.” Source: Gartner, Top Trends in Data and Analytics for 2021, Rita Sallam et al., 16 Feb 2021.

Trusted by more than 800 enterprise customers, including Adobe, AstraZeneca, eBay,  Levi Strauss & Co., UBS, Volvo Cars, and Walmart, Neo4j is the world’s most widely deployed graph database.

Used by more than 75% of the Fortune 100, Neo4j’s graph data platform enables mission-critical workloads for the world’s largest connected data applications.

Neo4j’s market leadership is accelerating along several axes. Today’s funding fuels the company’s product innovation to provide graph technology that far exceeds the most demanding customer requirements across data science, machine learning, cloud deployment, and real-time performance.

The company plans to use the investment to accelerate along three primary dimensions:

  • Cloud portfolio – Delivering a portfolio of multi-cloud services that can serve individual developers all the way through to the largest global enterprises, offering unmatched flexibility, agility, and performance at any scale.
  • Graph data science – Powering a new era of intelligent applications with enhanced machine learning models to unlock otherwise unattainable predictions based on relationships.
  • Market reach – Expanding Neo4j’s global footprint, and growing the company’s ecosystem of complementary technologies and expert service providers, in order to deliver complete solutions and accelerate customer success.

Nathalie Kornhoff-Brüls is a Managing Director in the growth team of Eurazeo and has been appointed to the Neo4j Board of Directors.

“It is clear that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected, from multi-level global supply chains to ubiquitous automation of processes. It is also clear that businesses who are unable to digitize, analyze, and visualize this interconnectedness will be left behind,” said Kornhoff-Brüls. “We chose to invest in Neo4j because it is shaping the future of how data and analytics will need to be implemented in the enterprise and beyond. The company’s technology leadership, global developer community, and world-class customer base – combined with an ever-expanding global ecosystem – uniquely position Neo4j to continue to define and lead the graph database category. We couldn’t be prouder to have been chosen as a partner by Emil and his team, and look forward to leveraging Eurazeo’s global platform for the company’s journey ahead.”

General Partners Erik Nordlander and Tom Hulme welcomed Neo4j to the GV portfolio, in a blog post titled Neo4j: A Quest to Make Better Sense of Data.

“Tom Hulme and I are excited to welcome the team to the portfolio, joining other database companies that are building the future of the enterprise. Neo4j has been steadfast in its vision, and I admire Emil’s grit and tireless dedication over the years to build and evangelize graph databases,” said Erik Nordlander, General Partner at GV.

As the graph category creator, Neo4j has built a global community of hundreds and thousands of highly skilled application developers and data scientists around its technology ecosystem. These practitioners are building wide-ranging applications, unable to be served by relational or other NoSQL databases, which require digitizing connections in data at scale. Examples include determining the price of an airline ticket in real time, exposing complex criminal networks responsible for cyber attacks, and money laundering activity.
Neo4j is recognized as a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Graph Data Platforms, Q4 2020. Of the 12 graph data platform providers cited, Neo4j achieved the highest scores in the current offering and strategy categories.

 

For more information about what Neo4j’s funding announcement means to its customers, the developer community, and the database industry, view Emil Eifrem’s blog post, Neo4j Raises the Largest Funding Round in Database History.

 

About Neo4j

Neo4j is the leader in graph database technology. As the world’s most widely deployed graph database, we help global brands – including Comcast, NASA, UBS, and Volvo Cars – to reveal and predict how people, processes, and systems are interrelated. Using this relationships-first approach, applications built with Neo4j tackle connected data challenges such as analytics and artificial intelligence, fraud detection, real-time recommendations, and knowledge graphs. Find out more at neo4j.com.

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DIF Capital Partners invests in 108 MW onshore wind project portfolio in Poland

DIF

DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”) is pleased to announce that DIF Infrastructure Fund VI has acquired 100% of four onshore wind projects in Poland, with a total capacity of 108 MW. DIF acquired the projects from German wind project developer Sabowind. As the projects are ready to build, DIF will invest throughout the construction of the projects.

The wind projects, which will be equipped with 54 Vestas V100 / V90 turbines, will be constructed under a turbine supply agreement by Vestas and under a tailored EPC contract by Sabowind. The projects are located across Poland. Construction commenced upon closing of the transaction and the projects are expected to become operational by Q3 2022 (two projects) and Q1 2023 (two projects). Once commissioned, Sabowind will be responsible for the technical and commercial management. The projects benefit from contracts-for-difference with the Polish state, providing fixed price tariffs for the power offtake for a period of 15 years.

The total production is estimated to be c. 300 GWh per year, which is the equivalent to the annual power consumption of around 75,000 households; thereby avoiding around c. 100,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year from fossil fuels. The projects will support Poland’s energy transition by expanding the country’s renewable energy capacity and reducing dependency on power production from fossil fuels.

Christopher Mansfield, Partner at DIF Capital Partners, said: “DIF is delighted to enter into its second onshore wind transaction in the Polish renewables market and to support Poland’s ongoing energy transition. The projects fit well within the investment strategy of DIF Infrastructure Fund VI and with the earlier acquired Polish projects form an attractive wind portfolio with a total capacity of 171 MW, which is expected to be fully operational within the next 24 months. The transaction once again underlines DIF’s strong position in and commitment to the renewable energy market.”

DIF was advised by DNB (financial), Allen & Overy (legal), PwC (tax and accounting) and DNV (technical).

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent fund manager, with €9.0 billion of assets under management across nine closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF Capital Partners invests in greenfield and operational infrastructure assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas and Australasia through two complementary strategies:

  • Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure Fund 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 and transportation sectors.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 160 professionals, based in nine offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto. For further information please visit www.dif.eu

Contact: Allard Ruijs, Partner; a.ruijs@dif.eu.

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EQT Growth leads investment in Bought By Many, a leading European pet insurance provider

eqt
  • EQT Growth invests in Bought By Many, a leading digital-first provider of pet insurance across the UK, Sweden and the US, as part of its USD 350 million Series D round
  • Bought By Many benefits from secular tailwinds such as increasing “pet humanization” and rising number of pets, while global penetration of pet insurance remains low
  • EQT Growth will support Bought By Many in its accelerated expansion into new geographies, while it also continues to invest in product innovation. Following the investment, Carolina Brochado, Partner in EQT Growth’s advisory team, will join Bought by Many’s board

EQT is pleased to announce that EQT Growth has invested in Bought By Many Ltd (”Bought By Many” or the ”Company”), a leading pet insurance provider. The investment is made through EQT AB’s balance sheet and is part of Bought By Many’s USD 350 million Series D round, which gives the Company a pre-money valuation of over USD 2 billion.

Bought By Many was established in 2012 in London, UK, by CEO Steven Mendel and CTO Guy Farley, with the vision to provide a fairer, more transparent and digital-first insurance experience. It launched exclusively into pet insurance in 2017 and now reaches millions of pet owners across Europe and the US. Over the past few years, Bought By Many has emerged as one of the leading pet insurers in Europe and today covers almost half a million pets globally, including in the US, where it launched earlier in 2021. The Company has doubled gross written premium (GWP) for three consecutive years to more than USD 220 million in the past twelve months, thanks to its customer-centric, digital-first approach that enables better pricing and user experiences.

The pet insurance industry has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years, driven by strong secular tailwinds such as growing pet ownership and pets increasingly being considered as core family members by their owners. Nonetheless, pet insurance penetration is low in markets such as the UK and US, at approximately 25 percent and 2 percent respectively. As a result, while scientific advances are enabling more sophisticated veterinary treatments, many pets are unable to access improved care.

EQT has a long background in the pet industry and its experience from developing IVC Evidensia (the largest veterinary clinic network in Europe) and Musti Group (the largest pet care specialist in the Nordics, listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since 2020) makes EQT a unique partner for Bought By Many to its accelerate growth. In addition, EQT Growth will be able to leverage its global advisory network and extensive local presence in the US and all major European countries to support Bought By Many’s international expansion. Following the investment, Carolina Brochado, Partner in EQT Growth’s advisory team, will join the Company’s board.

Carolina Brochado, Partner in EQT Growth’s advisory team, said, “Bought By Many’s digital-first approach is unrivalled in pet insurance, a market that is large and underpenetrated in most European countries and the US. It benefits from secular tailwinds such as the humanisation of pets and higher spend on pet care, and is also uniquely positioned to benefit as global digitalization continues to gather pace. In less than five years, Steven and the team have built Bought By Many to be one of Europe’s leading insurtechs and we’re delighted to be working with the Company to further accelerate its growth and continue to improve the lives of pets.”

Steven Mendel, CEO and Co-founder at Bought By Many, said, “Our mission is to make the world a better place for pet parents. By creating unique policies, dramatically improving customer experience, and working closely with vets, we have made it possible for pets to be healthier and for them to enjoy longer, happier lives with their owners. We have hit several exciting milestones over the last four years, including our expansion into Sweden and the US, but most importantly we have gained the trust of hundreds of thousands of happy customers. With the support of EQT Growth and existing investors, we are now poised to reach millions more pet parents, as we continue to develop an enhanced pet health offering that takes care of every angle.”

Contact
Finn McLaughlan, +44 771 534 1608, finn.mclaughlan@eqtpartners.com
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization focused on active ownership strategies. With a Nordic heritage and a global mindset, EQT has a track record of almost three decades of delivering consistent and attractive returns across multiple geographies, sectors and strategies. Uniquely, EQT is the only large private markets firm in the world with investment strategies covering all phases of a business’ development, from start-up to maturity. Including Exeter, EQT today has more than EUR 67 billion in assets under management across 26 active funds within two business segments – Private Capital and Real Assets.

With its roots in the Wallenberg family’s entrepreneurial mindset and philosophy of long-term ownership, EQT is guided by a set of strong values and a distinct corporate culture. EQT manages and advises funds and vehicles that invest across the world with the mission to future-proof companies, generate attractive returns and make a positive impact with everything EQT does.

The EQT AB Group comprises EQT AB (publ) and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, which include general partners and fund managers of EQT funds as well as entities advising EQT funds. EQT has offices in 24 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas and has more than 975 employees.

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

About EQT Growth
EQT Growth explores thematic growth opportunities at the point companies are ready to scale, investing in a range of technology and technology-enabled businesses.

Follow EQT Growth on Medium, LinkedIn and Twitter

About Many Group Ltd
Many Group, the parent company behind the pet insurance brands Bought By Many in the UK and ManyPets in Sweden and the US, is making the world a better place for pets and their parents. 

Founded in 2012, Many Group Ltd launched its market-leading pet health offering in 2017. It offers advanced easy-to-access pet health insurance and preventive wellness services, delivered through convenient subscription-driven technology, seamless experiences – all with a human connection.

More info: www.boughtbymany.com

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The Carlyle Group to provide €400m in debt financing for Infront Group

Carlyle

London, UK; Zug, Switzerland – Global investment firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced that its Global Credit platform has agreed to provide a debt financing package of €400 million for Infront Group (“Infront”), a leading sports marketing company based in Switzerland.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Zug, Infront is one of the world’s largest sports marketing companies, offering a broad range of services including Media Rights, Sponsorship Rights, Media Production and Digital Solutions. Infront intends to use the funds to refinance its existing debt and to support its expansion plans.

Soenke Ziebell, Vice President Finance & Chief Financial Officer of Infront, said: “With its industry expertise and global reach, we are confident Carlyle is the right financial and strategic partner to support the continued growth of Infront. Our new capital structure will allow Infront to capitalise on a number of strategic initiatives and consolidate our leadership position in key sports and innovative products.”

Taj Sidhu, Head of Carlyle’s European Credit Opportunities advisory team, said: “Carlyle’s global team and flexible capital were critical to our ability to identify and underwrite the entire financing for Infront, one of the most established and highly-regarded sports marketing companies in the world. This investment is a direct result of Carlyle’s sector expertise and thematic focus on media, entertainment and content.”

Nicola Falcinelli, Managing Director in Carlyle’s Global Credit platform, said: “We are delighted to partner with Infront and provide a flexible credit solution to support their growth ambitions. The global sports market is expected to enjoy strong growth, and Infront is well-positioned to benefit from this given its unique portfolio of premium content rights, long-term partnerships with the world’s largest sports organisations, and a diversified offering and customer base.”

The debt financing package for Infront was led by Carlyle’s Credit Opportunities platform, part of Carlyle’s $59 billion Global Credit segment, which regularly pursues investments in privately negotiated capital solutions primarily for upper middle market borrowers, including both private equity sponsored and family or entrepreneur-owned companies.

ENDS

Media Contacts:

The Carlyle Group
EMEA:  Andrew Kenny / andrew.kenny@carlyle.com / +44 7816 176120
USA: Christa Zipf / christa.zipf@carlyle.com / +1-347-621-8967

Infront
Jörg Polzer / joerg.polzer@infrontsports.com / +41 79 47 50 429

About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $260 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2021, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,800 people in 29 offices across five continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow The Carlyle Group on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

About Infront
Connecting fans and consumers to the greatest sports events, Infront, a Wanda Sports Group company, offers everything an event or commercial partner needs to be successful. With a team of around 1,000 experts working from 44 offices across 17 countries around the world, Infront is equipped to tackle any challenge – be it innovative digital solutions, world-class event operations, international media rights distribution, sponsorship sales and activations or cutting-edge media production. Headquartered in Switzerland, Infront is passionate and #AllAboutSports. @infrontsports www.infront.sport.

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Accenture Federal Services to Acquire Novetta and Bring More Advanced AI, Cyber, and Cloud Capabilities to Client Missions

Carlyle

ARLINGTON, Va.; June 1, 2021- Accenture Federal Services (AFS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture (NYSE: ACN), has entered into an agreement to acquire Novetta, an advanced analytics company serving U.S. federal organizations that are pushing the limits of what’s possible with machine learning, cyber, and cloud engineering.

In fast-changing, high-risk environments, technology advancements and the explosive growth in data challenge traditional ways of operating. Novetta applies insights and disruptive technologies to transform how defense, intelligence, and law enforcement organizations can use data to better meet their mission and empower their workforce.

“Novetta will bring expanded capabilities, broad client relationships, and unique assets that complement our work in the national security sector and add greater scale to our digital capabilities,” said Accenture Federal Services CEO, John Goodman. “By joining forces, we will help clients in all government sectors become leaders in using sophisticated analytics and emerging technologies to solve problems in new ways and transform how they meet their missions.”

Novetta’s 1,300 employees—which include software developers, data scientists, and specialists in AI, machine learning, cyber, cloud, and information exploitation—will join Accenture Federal Services’ over 10,500 employees. Together, they will deliver the next generation of programs to change and improve how the federal government works in the digital domain and be more innovative, agile, and secure.

“I am extremely excited about joining Accenture Federal Services,” said Novetta President and CEO, Tiffanny Gates. “Because of our deep commitment to our staff and customers, it was critical to find the right fit, and AFS is an ideal home. They will provide new growth opportunities for our people, enable expanded capabilities for our customers, and allow us to accelerate our growth trajectory. I couldn’t be more proud of the outcome and I look forward to our future together.” 

The completion of the acquisition from the global investment firm The Carlyle Group Inc. is subject to regulatory review and other customary closing conditions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Accenture Federal Services

Accenture Federal Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP, is a U.S. company with headquarter offices in Arlington, Virginia. Accenture’s federal business has served every cabinet-level department and 30 of the largest federal organizations. Accenture Federal Services transforms bold ideas into breakthrough outcomes for clients at defense, intelligence, public safety, civilian and military health organizations. Learn more at www.accenturefederal.com.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services—all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 537,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners, and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $260 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2021, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,800 people in 29 offices across five continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow The Carlyle Group on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Many of the following risks, uncertainties and other factors identified below are, and will be, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: Accenture and Novetta will not be able to close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all, which is dependent on the parties’ ability to satisfy certain closing conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture’s results of operations have been significantly adversely affected and could in the future be materially adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; Accenture’s results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture’s business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company’s services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company’s results of operations; if Accenture is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company’s business, the utilization rate of the company’s professionals and the company’s results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture could face legal, reputational and financial risks if the company fails to protect client and/or company data from security incidents or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; Accenture’s profitability could materially suffer if the company is unable to obtain favorable pricing for its services and solutions, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; changes in Accenture’s level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company’s effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; as a result of Accenture’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue to expand in its key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; Accenture’s business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; Accenture’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key alliance partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company’s results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture’s services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture’s results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; Accenture might be unable to access additional capital on favorable terms or at all and if the company raises equity capital, it may dilute its shareholders’ ownership interest in the company; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.

# # #

Contact: 

Donna Savarese
Accenture Federal Services
donna.savarese@accenturefederal.com
+1 314 401 8114

Brittany Berliner
The Carlyle Group
brittany.berliner@carlyle.com
+1 (212) 813 4839

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Silver Lake Announces Strategic Investment in Exact

Silverlake

Menlo Park, USA and London, United Kingdom, 1 June 2021 – Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing, today
announced that it has agreed to make a minority investment in Exact, a leading provider of business and accounting software in
the Benelux region. This investment will be in partnership with the management team, led by CEO Paul Ramakers, and the
company’s existing investor, KKR, which will remain the majority shareholder.
Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Delft, the Netherlands, Exact’s innovative software solutions today help more than 9,900
accountants manage the finances of small and mid-size enterprises and provide over 550,000 small businesses with high valueadd
solutions in the cloud. Exact’s mid-market enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) solutions are also used by over 16,000 midsized
firms, with a choice of cloud or on-premise deployment. The company’s integrated software suite includes Financial
Management, Logistics, CRM, HR, and Payroll. Since the acquisition by KKR in 2019, Exact has experienced rapid growth
and has expanded its market leadership.

Jean-Pierre Saad, Partner and Head of EMEA Technology at KKR, Daniel Knottenbelt, Partner and Head of Benelux at KKR
and Tomas Kubica, Director Technology Private Equity at KKR, said: “We are delighted to welcome Silver Lake as an investor
alongside us in Exact, one of the leading European SaaS businesses. We have seen tremendous growth in recent years under the
leadership of Paul Ramakers and the entire team. The company continues to be a leading platform to provide accounting and
business software in the Benelux region and beyond, notably with its flagship SaaS product Exact Online, and we believe that
Silver Lake’s relevant experience will further contribute to the growth and ambitious expansion strategy of Exact.”

Christian Lucas, Co-Head of Silver Lake EMEA, said: “Exact fits very naturally into Silver Lake’s strategy of investing in high
growth, innovative and world leading technology companies. Paul and the Exact team have achieved a strong growth trajectory,
and we have been impressed by the high quality of their best-in-class SaaS solutions. We are excited to partner with the
management team and KKR, one of the world’s leading technology and software investors, to contribute to the next stage of
Exact’s development towards achieving its full long-term potential.”

Paul Ramakers, CEO of Exact, said: “We are proud of what Exact has already achieved with the strong support of the KKR
team. Together, with our outstanding team and business partners, we have built a successful business, with a strong track record
of supporting both accountancy firms and small and mid-size businesses in Benelux. As we enter the next exciting stage of our
growth story, we look forward to leveraging Silver Lake’s software domain expertise and extensive industry network.”
The transaction is anticipated to close in the third quarter subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. Further
terms of the investment are not being disclosed at this time.

About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and capital markets and insurance solutions.
KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing
world-class people and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that
invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries
offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to
KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information
about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About Silver Lake
Silver Lake is a leading global technology investment firm, with more than $83 billion in combined assets under management
and committed capital and a team of professionals based in North America, Europe, and Asia. Silver Lake’s portfolio companies
collectively generate more than $196 billion of revenue annually and employ more than 448,000 people globally. For more
information about Silver Lake and its portfolio, please visit Silver Lake’s website at silverlake.com.

About Exact
Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Delft, the Netherlands, Exact’s innovative solutions today help over 9,900 accountants
manage the finances of over 550,000 small businesses in the cloud. Exact’s mid-market enterprise resource planning (“ERP”)
solutions are also used by over 16,000 mid-sized firms, with a choice of cloud or on-premise deployment. The company’s
integrated software suite includes Financial Management, Logistics, CRM, HR, and Payroll. Exact employs 1,850 people. For
more information on Exact, please visit exact.com.

Contacts:
KKR Silver Lake
Alastair Elwen / Nidaa Lone Jennifer Stroud
KKR@fgh.com SilverLakeMedia@Edelman.com
+44 (0)207 251 3801 +1-646-565-1792

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Equistone-backed Wealth at Work Announces Investment from Aquiline Capital Partners

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Equistone
01 Jun 2021

Wealth at Work Group Limited (“Wealth at Work”), a UK-based specialist provider of workplace financial education, guidance and regulated financial advice for individuals, is pleased to announce that it has agreed an investment from Aquiline Capital Partners (“Aquiline”), a private investment firm based in New York and London with $6.4 billion in assets under management.

Wealth at Work’s management team, which continues to be led by CEO, David Cassidy, will retain a significant equity stake. Equistone Partners Europe Limited (“Equistone”) will retain a minority stake in the company alongside Aquiline and management.

Wealth at Work, which employs approximately 250 people, works with over 450 private and public sector employers including Marks & Spencer, BT, Experian and the NHS, delivering financial wellbeing programmes and retirement services.

Since its 2015 management buyout backed by Equistone , Wealth at Work has continued to achieve rapid growth to meet the significant demand for its services, which are now offered to over a million employees across the organisations with which it partners. The technology-driven service is uniquely tailored to each client’s requirements through a complete suite of services ranging from seminars and digital tools such as the Financial Healthcheck through to virtual or telephone guidance services and regulated financial advice.

David Cassidy, Chief Executive Officer of Wealth at Work, said: “This investment will allow us to continue to grow and meet the rapidly increasing demand for our services which are used by a number of the largest companies and organisations in the UK. I very much look forward to working with Aquiline whose deep understanding of the UK and US retirement market and track record of supporting technology-driven growth will help us further develop our offering to clients, deliver innovation and set new standards of best practice. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Equistone for the support they have provided so far, and we look forward to continuing our work with them as we take our business to the next chapter.”

Jeff Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aquiline, said: “Individuals are facing increasingly complex and important financial decisions as they plan for retirement, which Wealth at Work helps them navigate. We believe that David and his team have built a platform that can deliver high-quality, personalised financial guidance and advice to a growing number of workplace savers across the UK in a highly scalable and technology-enabled manner. We are excited about partnering with them in the next phase of their journey.”

Dominic Geer, Senior Partner at Equistone, said: “We are delighted that, after five years of working closely with David and his team at Wealth at Work, the company is in a strong position to explore exciting new opportunities. Wealth at Work has grown significantly since 2015, and through investment in organic and acquisitive growth has emerged as a clear market leader. Equistone has a successful track record of investing in financial services businesses in the UK and internationally and we look forward to remaining involved in this next phase of the company’s development.”

Closing of the investment is subject to the parties obtaining relevant regulatory approval.

Evercore provided corporate finance advice and Herbert Smith Freehills provided legal advice to Aquiline. Due diligence was performed by Oliver Wyman (commercial), Deloitte (financial and tax), West Monroe (technology) and Howden (insurance).

Deloitte’s Manchester and London-based Financial Services teams provided corporate finance advice and Travers Smith provided legal advice to Wealth at Work in relation to the transaction.

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