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TA Associates Makes a $100 Million Strategic Investment in Appfire to Partner With Silversmith Capital Partners to Accelerate Company’s Growth

TA associates

Leader in Atlassian Ecosystem Secures Growth Stage Financing to Support Continued Expansion and Accelerate the Broad Adoption of its Digital Transformation Apps

BOSTON, MA – Appfire, a leading provider of apps that help teams solve modern challenges with digital solutions, today announced that it has received a $100 million investment from TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm. With this investment, Appfire intends to continue its leadership within the Atlassian ecosystem with more than 85 purpose-built products on the Atlassian Marketplace and over 110,000 active installations worldwide.

TA’s investment in Appfire comes on the heels of a $49 million strategic investment from Silversmith Capital Partners in May 2020. Since Silversmith’s investment, Appfire has made six acquisitions within the Atlassian ecosystem—Artemis, Beecom, Bolo, Botron, Innovalog and Navarambh—significantly expanding the company’s footprint.

“TA’s commitment to growth and innovation aligns with our passion for helping teams everywhere drive efficiency and productivity,” said Randall Ward, CEO of Appfire. “We believe this investment is a testament to Appfire’s outstanding team and a clear validation of our vision, strategy and execution. We are excited to continue our partnership with Silversmith and welcome TA as a strategic growth partner.”

Founded in 2005 as a professional services company, Appfire was one of the first Atlassian partners and transitioned to a product company in 2013. The Appfire team has developed domain expertise in creating, launching and distributing apps through the Atlassian Marketplace. The company’s growing portfolio of apps empowers teams worldwide with workflow automation, business intelligence, publishing and administrative tools, at companies, including Google, Amazon and Starbucks.

“We are thrilled to complete this strategic investment in Appfire and to support Randall and his team in the next stage of the company’s evolution,” said Michael Libert, a principal at TA Associates, and Hythem El-Nazer, a managing director at TA Associates. “We look forward to working closely with the Appfire and Silversmith teams in driving organic growth, leveraging the company’s robust M&A platform and supporting Atlassian’s goal of having best-of-breed products.”

“Since our investment a year ago, Appfire’s exceptional team, unique culture and strong products have helped leading companies around the world navigate an accelerated need for digital-first, cloud-native solutions. Customers leverage Appfire’s workflow automation, data integration, administration and reporting apps to do their best work,” said Sri Rao, general partner, Silversmith Capital Partners. “We are thrilled to partner with Hythem, Michael and the TA team as Appfire enters an exciting next phase of evolution.”

As part of the investment, Michael Libert and Hythem El-Nazer of TA have joined Appfire’s Board of Directors.

“Appfire is a great example of the incredible innovation occurring in the Atlassian marketplace and how our ecosystem can provide customers with the tools and technologies they need to unleash the potential of every team,” said Martin Musierowicz, head of channel, Atlassian. “Appfire continues to deliver great capabilities for our customers, and we’re excited to support their continued growth.”

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Appfire and TA Associates. Baird served as the exclusive financial advisor to Appfire.

About Appfire
Appfire is an award-winning Atlassian Platinum Marketplace Partner and has been a global authority in the Atlassian ecosystem for more than 15 years. Appfire’s popular Artemis, Beecom, Bob Swift, Bolo, Botron, Feed Three, Innovalog and Wittified product brands comprise the largest portfolio of apps on the Atlassian Marketplace with 85+ purpose-built products and over 110,000 active installations worldwide. Learn more at www.appfire.com.

About TA Associates
TA is a leading global growth private equity firm. Focused on targeted sectors within five industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services – the firm invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth, and has invested in more than 500 companies around the world. Investing as either a majority or minority investor, TA employs a long-term approach, utilizing its strategic resources to help management teams build lasting value in high quality growth companies. TA has raised $33.5 billion in capital since its founding in 1968 and is committing to new investments at the pace of over $3 billion per year. The firm’s more than 100 investment professionals are based in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA can be found at www.ta.com.

About Silversmith Capital Partners
Founded in 2015, Silversmith Capital Partners is a Boston-based growth equity firm with $2.0 billion of capital under management. Silversmith’s mission is to partner with and support the best entrepreneurs in growing, profitable technology and healthcare companies. Representative investments include ActiveCampaign, Appfire, Centauri Health Solutions, DistroKid, Impact, LifeStance Health, MediQuant, Panalgo, Unily, Validity, and Webflow. The partners have over 75 years of collective investing experience and have served on the boards of numerous successful growth companies including ABILITY Network, Archer Technologies, Dealer.com, Liazon, Liberty Dialysis, MedHOK, Passport Health, SurveyMonkey, and Wrike. For more information about Silversmith, please visit www.silversmith.com.

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Norkart becomes a Ferd company

Ferd

Ferd is acquiring the total share capital of Norkart, a market leader in municipal technology, mapping and real estate information. Norkart’s digital solutions and unique data platform help improve the quality and efficiency of the services that over 330 Norwegian municipalities offer their residents, and provide operationally critical information to the public sector and business and industry.

Photo: Norkart

“We feel both humble and proud that Ferd was chosen to be part of the further development of Norkart. It is a company that we have followed for a number of years, and we have invested significant resources in understanding the market and the company’s position and potential. We are impressed by the expertise, products and customer relationships that the company has built up, and not least by its people and unique culture”, explains Krisztina Horvath, Investment Professional at Ferd Capital.

“Norkart is a company that helps make society smarter, better and more efficient using digitalisation and data. It is therefore a good fit with Ferd’s vision of creating enduring value and leaving clear footprints, and also with our strategy of strengthening Ferd’s focus on technology”, adds Gustav Martinsen, also an Investment Professional at Ferd Capital.

Gustav Martinsen explains that Norkart started out in 1961 as a pioneer in digital map production and has since built up unique expertise in maps and municipal engineering technology, as well as a significant database of map and real estate information, which is the basis for its current products and services.

“The company now has Norway’s most complete data warehouse for geographical information. By digitalising municipalities and work processes between the private and municipal sectors, Norkart helps improve municipal services and community resource usage, and it also contributes to significant value creation by providing high-quality information on which to base decisions to a wide spectrum of private sector customers, primarily the real estate and construction industry, but also insurance companies needing to carry out risk assessments”, he explains.

Krisztina Horvath emphasises that Norkart’s markets are growing strongly as a result of digitalisation and the desire to make greater use of data, and that a number of Norkart’s competitors have consolidated their businesses in recent times.

“As the company’s largest shareholder, the Algerøy family took the initiative of finding a new owner last autumn. Its aim was to put Norkart in a position to lead the way in this consolidation and to strengthen the company’s market position”, she explains – and adds that there was much interest among Norwegian as well as international investors in owning the company.

“Ferd won out in the face of stiff competition following an exciting process with a real marathon finish’, explains Sven Henrik Andresen, another Ferd Capital Investment Professional and a member of the team responsible for the acquisition, which also included Are Dragesund and Rikke Reinemo, both of whom are Investment Professionals and Co-Heads of Ferd Capital.

Sven Henrik Andresen adds that Ferd is now looking forward to investing further in people, technology and the development of innovative solutions:

“Ferd will contribute financial muscle and commercial expertise in order to strengthen Norkart in its work to identify new avenues for growth, both organic and through acquisitions, when the opportunity arises”, he comments.

Norkart has 190 employees and reported revenue of NOK 338 million in 2020 following growth of nearly 13% on average for the last five years. Over this same period its underlying earnings have doubled. The company has offices in Sandvika, Lillehammer, Bergen, Trondheim and Kristiansand.

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Blackstone Hires Scott Bommer as Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management’s (BAAM) new Horizon Platform

Blackstone

Will also play a key role supporting BAAM’s existing investment teams and pursuing strategic initiatives 

New York, March 15, 2021 – Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced that Scott Bommer has joined the firm as the Chief Investment Officer of the new Blackstone Horizon platform, an initiative being launched by Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM).

Blackstone Horizon is a new investment business that targets strong absolute returns by investing in and forming strategic partnerships with high-performing investment managers. The platform will employ a thematic approach to capitalize on powerful secular growth trends globally.

Mr. Bommer will also work closely with BAAM senior management on asset allocation, risk-management, stakes/seeding investing and other strategic initiatives.

Jon Gray, Blackstone President & COO, said: “This is another key hire for BAAM. Scott is a seasoned investor with a record of delivering strong returns for investors while maintaining downside protection. His experience and breadth of relationships will open new opportunities as we further expand our hedge fund business.”

Joe Dowling, Blackstone Global Co-Head of BAAM, said: “Scott is a proven investor who has extensive experience in the public and late-stage private markets. We have known each other for more than 25 years and have collaborated on numerous investment opportunities. I look forward to working alongside him.”

John McCormick, Blackstone Global Co-Head of BAAM, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Scott to BAAM to lead cutting edge investment initiatives across the business with a focus on the Horizon platform. Scott’s hire reflects our innovative mentality and our desire to access the most exciting investment opportunities for our investors.”

Scott Bommer, Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone’s Horizon platform, said: “I am thrilled to lead this new initiative for Blackstone. The scale of BAAM’s platform and flexibility of this new mandate positions the platform exceptionally well to be the investment partner of choice for managers. I look forward to working alongside Joe, John and the talented team at BAAM to build out this new business.”

Mr. Bommer was the founder of SAB Capital Management (“SAB”), where he served as CEO and worked for 17 years from 1999 to 2015. He previously worked as a Portfolio Manager at Siegler, Collery & Co., an Associate at McKinsey & Company and an Analyst at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Bommer lives in New York City with his family and has been a Director of the Robin Hood Foundation for the last 15 years. Mr. Bommer received an M.B.A from Harvard Business School. He also earned a B.A. with distinction in Quantitative Economics from Stanford University.

He joins Blackstone after managing his family office where he focused on late-stage growth investing.

About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $619 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

Contact
Paula Chirhart
+1-347-463-5453
paula.chirhart@blackstone.com

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Charterhouse Capital Partners enters into exclusive negotiations for the sale of Cooper to CVC Capital Partners Fund VII and reinvestment in its next stage of growth

CVC Capital Partners

Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP (“Charterhouse”), one of the longest established private equity firms operating in Europe, announces today that it has entered into exclusive negotiations for the sale of a majority stake in Cooper Consumer Health (“Cooper” or “the Company”), a leading European independent over-the-counter (“OTC”) drug manufacturer and distributor, to CVC Fund VII. The transaction is subject to workers’ council information and consultation and to the approval of relevant regulatory authorities.

Cooper, which is headquartered in Paris, was acquired by Charterhouse in 2016 and since that time has been transformed from a local French champion into a pan-European pure-play OTC platform that manufactures and distributes a diversified portfolio of branded and basic products on an international basis. Under Charterhouse’s ownership, the company has more than doubled in size through a combination of organic growth initiatives and targeted M&A activity to consolidate the sector and revenues are now close to €500M. This included the strategic acquisition and integration of international consumer health company Vemedia, a large OTC branded product portfolio from Sanofi, alongside nine other successfully integrated add-ons to add further complementary brands.

Cooper’s large, international platform has a direct presence in seven European markets and over 30 export markets. It has a wide-ranging and complementary portfolio of branded products, including OTC medicines, dietary supplements and medical devices, positioning Cooper as a “one stop shop” for its customers, which include pharmacies, wholesalers and drugstores. The Company is well-placed for further international expansion and organic growth.

As part of the transaction, Charterhouse would make a significant reinvestment in Cooper and continue to support the growth and international expansion of the business alongside CVC, which has partnered with Vemedia founder Yvan Vindevogel and specialised healthcare fund Avista Capital Partners, and the management team.

Vincent Pautet, Partner at Charterhouse, said: “This is another milestone investment for Charterhouse, which once again demonstrates its expertise in transforming strong local businesses into truly European leaders. It has been a pleasure working with Cooper’s world-class management team to create the leading independent OTC platform in Europe. The Company has built an excellent position in a growing, highly attractive market and we look forward to continuing to support its expansion.”

Michael Lavrysen and Victor Blanchard, Senior Managing Directors at CVC Capital Partners, added: “Having admired and closely followed Cooper’s progress for many years, we are delighted to now have the opportunity to team up with its strong management team, as well as our new partners Charterhouse, Avista Capital Partners and Yvan Vindevogel. Their knowledge of the Company and experience the sector will be invaluable in realising our shared vision for the development and long-term growth of the business.”

Yvan Vindevogel, CEO of Damier, added: “I’ve been working together with CVC in the Consumer Healthcare space, as well as with Charterhouse and Avista Capital Partners, for quite a while now. This new enlarged team will be able to create a true Consumer Health powerhouse and accelerate the already impressive growth of the Company.”

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Blackstone Real Estate Completes Acquisition of Premier Lab Office Portfolio from Brookfield Fund

Blackstone

New York, March 12, 2021 – Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced that Blackstone Property Partners Life Sciences (“BPP Life Sciences”) has completed its previously announced acquisition of a best‐in‐class, 2.3 million square foot portfolio of lab office buildings from a Brookfield Asset Management real estate fund for $3.4 billion. BPP Life Sciences is Blackstone Real Estate’s long-term, perpetual capital, core+ return life sciences strategy. BPP Life Sciences owns BioMed Realty, Blackstone’s life science real estate portfolio company.

Concurrent with close, Blackstone executed upon the sale of two life sciences assets affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine to Ventas, Inc. Pro forma for the sale, 97% of the portfolio is concentrated in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Two thirds of BioMed Realty’s platform, which has an enterprise value of approximately $20 billion, is concentrated in the Boston/Cambridge market, one of the fastest growing lab office submarkets in the country due to its adjacency to world-leading academic institutions and the largest cluster of pharmaceutical companies in the U.S.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Wells Fargo Securities LLC served as financial advisors to Blackstone, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal advisor. Eastdil Secured served as lead financial advisor to Brookfield, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as legal advisor. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. also provided financial advisory services to Brookfield in connection with the transaction.

The transaction was announced on December 14, 2020.

About Blackstone Real Estate
Blackstone is a global leader in real estate investing. Blackstone’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has $187 billion of investor capital under management. Blackstone is one of the largest property owners in the world, owning and operating assets across every major geography and sector, including logistics, multifamily and single-family housing, office, hospitality and retail. Our opportunistic funds seek to acquire undermanaged, well-located assets across the world. Blackstone’s Core+ strategy invests in substantially stabilized real estate globally through regional open-ended funds focused on high-quality assets and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (BREIT), a non-listed REIT that invests in U.S. income-generating assets. Blackstone Real Estate also operates one of the leading global real estate debt businesses, providing comprehensive financing solutions across the capital structure and risk spectrum, including management of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT).

Contact
Ilana Mouritzen
Ilana.Mouritzen@Blackstone.com
Tel: (212) 583-5776

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Epidemic Sound brings in EQT Growth and Blackstone Growth to support its next phase of development

eqt
  • EQT Growth and funds managed by Blackstone Growth invest USD 450 million in Epidemic Sound, the market leading platform for restriction-free music, in a transaction valuing the company at USD 1.4 billion
  • EQT Growth will, together with Epidemic Sound’s other shareholders, support international expansion in both existing and new markets, and accelerate customer acquisition as well as investments in the core user experience
  • EQT Mid Market Europe, which invested in Epidemic Sound in 2017, remains committed to long-term growth and continues to back the Company alongside the other investors

Epidemic Sound (“the Company”), the market leading platform for restriction-free music, announces an expanded partnership to support its next phase of development. The aggregated new investment from EQT Growth, made through EQT AB’s balance sheet, and funds managed by Blackstone Growth (“BXG”), totals USD 450 million and values Epidemic Sound at approximately USD 1.4 billion.

EQT Mid Market Europe acquired 40 percent in Epidemic Sound in 2017 and is now partially exiting its stake but will remain invested as a testimony to its belief for continued value creation and strong growth. With the new commitment from its Growth strategy, EQT continues to be the largest shareholder in Epidemic Sound.

Online content production is growing exponentially around the globe and is largely driven by the surge in user-generated content on social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. By 2022, online videos are expected to make up more than 82 percent of all consumer internet traffic, which is more than 15 times higher than in 20171 ­– and these videos will require music. One of the biggest challenges for content creators today is to secure global and platform agnostic music rights, as traditional licensing processes can be complex and require separate agreements in each country of use.

Founded in Stockholm, Sweden, Epidemic Sound serves the global “online creator economy” through its subscription service that gives access to a unique library of 32,000 high-quality tracks. The Company collaborates with music creators to produce music that soundtracks everything from online videos to TV and film productions. Since its establishment in 2009, Epidemic Sound has become a pioneer within restriction-free music as it provides full-spectrum rights on all platforms, in any country, for unlimited time, and with no reporting needs. Today, Epidemic Sound’s music is soundtracking the internet, featuring in 1.5 billion daily YouTube views and more than 10 million daily streams across music streaming platforms.

The expanded partnership with EQT Growth and BXG will continue to build on Epidemic Sound’s current growth trajectory and will support international expansion in both existing and new markets. Additionally, both parties will support the Company with accelerated customer acquisition and investments in the core user experience.

Victor Englesson, Partner and Investment Advisor at EQT Partners, commented, “Epidemic Sound taps into numerous thematic macro trends, such as the democratization of how user-generated content is produced and consumed digitally, largely driven by the increased prevalence of video communication in our society and the growing online creator economy. Epidemic Sound will continue to cement its market leading position with a unique value proposition to storytellers and EQT is proud to have supported CEO Oscar Höglund and his team over the past three years. As the company now enters its next phase of growth, EQT is happy to renew its commitment to Epidemic Sound and join forces with BXG to continue empowering storytellers and content creators around the world with high-quality, restriction-free music.”

Oscar Höglund, Co-founder and CEO of Epidemic Sound, commented, “We’re in the privileged position where our music is the soundtrack to our generation’s greatest achievement. We know what the internet sounds like and through data, we can see the trends emerging among content creators as they use our tracks to bring their stories to life. We’re thrilled to partner with EQT Growth and BXG to continue scaling how we use this data to grow our global network of creators and empower them all to thrive through new products, new music and new insights.”

The transaction closed on 10 March 2021.

1Source: Cisco

SEB Corporate Finance (financial) and Goldman Sachs (financial) and White & Case (legal) acted as sell-side advisors. EQT Growth was advised by PwC (financial & tax) and DLA Piper (legal).

Contact
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with close to three decades of consistent investment performance across multiple geographies, sectors, and strategies. EQT has raised more than EUR 84 billion since inception and has as of 31 December 2020 more than EUR 52 billion in assets under management across 17 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 17 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America with more than 700 employees.

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

About Epidemic Sound
Epidemic Sound, the market leading platform for restriction-free music, is headquartered in Stockholm, heard around the globe and on a mission to soundtrack the world. 

The company has democratized access to music for storytellers. Its innovative digital rights model paves the way for creators – everyone from YouTubers to small businesses to the world’s largest brands – to use ‘restriction-free music’ to take their content to the next level, whilst simultaneously supporting the musicians it works with both financially and creatively. 

The company was co-founded in 2009 and has offices in six major cities across the globe: Stockholm, New York, Los Angeles, Seoul, Hamburg and Amsterdam. Epidemic is backed by Creandum, EQT Mid Market and Atwater Capital and its Chairperson is Vania Schlogel, Managing Partner & Founder at Atwater Capital.

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Triton acquires ACRE

Triton

London (United Kingdom) / Dallas (United States), March 11th 2021. Funds advised by Triton (“Triton”) acquired ACRE, a leading end-to-end security solutions provider based in Dallas/USA and Dublin/Ireland. Triton will invest alongside the current management team of ACRE. ACRE’s previous majority investor, LLR Partners, who has partnered with the company since 2013, will exit the business.  The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

ACRE is a global leader in the delivery of security systems for access control and intrusion detection as well as innovative video solutions with a communication networking and intelligent appliance portfolio. The software and solutions provided by ACRE’s family of companies (Vanderbilt, Open Options, RS2 Technologies, ComNet and Razberi) help secure the highest valued assets of large and small customers operating in the private and public sectors. Triton will bring industry expertise and additional capital to support ACRE’s continued innovation and proven buy & build strategy.

Peder Prahl, Director of the General Partner for the Triton funds, said: “We look forward to actively supporting the management and employees of ACRE as a stable owner by investing in the growth and development of the company. Our industry expertise and international network will further strengthen ACRE’s position as a leading global provider of intelligent electronic security solutions.”

Joseph Grillo, ACRE’s CEO, stated:  “As we reach our next stage of growth and strive to hit new milestones, we are pleased to welcome Triton as the partner to help us expand our presence and capabilities organically and via new acquisitions. This partnership will allow us to continue to invest in innovation and bring our market-leading solutions to customers.”

“ACRE operates in the structurally growing, fragmented and resilient electronic security market, with an attractive product portfolio and strong market position in the geographies it operates in. We look forward to partnering with Joe and the team as ACRE embarks on the next phase of its journey” adds Sachin Jivanji, Investment Advisory Professional and advisor to the Triton Funds.

About ACRE

ACRE is a global leader in the delivery of integrated technologies and services. Since its formation in 2012, ACRE has played an instrumental role in the development and implementation of security technology initiatives on a global scale.  Its’ Vanderbilt, RS2, Open Options, ComNet, and Razberi brands deliver advanced solutions to thousands of customers around the world. Today, ACRE employs approximately 325 employees in more than 25 countries.

For more information, visit www.acre-co.com.

About Triton

Since its establishment in 1997, Triton has sponsored nine funds, focusing on businesses in the industrial, business services, consumer and health sectors. The Triton funds invest in and support the positive development of medium-sized businesses with a strong European heritage.

Triton seeks to contribute to the building of better businesses for the longer term. Triton and its executives wish to be agents of positive change towards sustainable operational improvements and growth.

The 47 companies currently in Triton’s portfolio have combined sales of around €18,4 billion and around 101,400 employees.

For further information: www.triton-partners.com

Press Contacts

Triton
Marcus Brans
Phone: +49 69 921 02204
ACRE
Kim M Loy
Phone: +1 559 321 1824

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Ardian acquires a stake in Kapten & Son, a leading german brand for accessories and lifestyle products

Ardian

10 March 2021 Growth Germany

Paris/Cologne/Frankfurt, March 10, 2021 – Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, today announces a minority investment in Kapten & Son, a German brand specializing in the online retail sale of lifestyle and fashion accessories. This minority stake acquisition through one of its Ardian Growth funds marks the first investment in Germany by Ardian Growth and it will enable the team to support Kapten & Son’s founders in their European ambitions.

Founded in 2014, by Johannes Theobald, Artjem Weissbeck, and Fabian Deventer, Kapten & Son has established itself as a leading name in the German fashion and lifestyle accessories market and begun its expansion in Europe. Over the past two years, Kapten & Son has increased its turnover to over 50 million Euro, fueled by the quality of its products, its Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) strategy and its extensive expertise across marketing and data analysis.

Ardian Growth will support the founders as a strategic partner to build and grow the business. The team at Ardian Growth boasts a strong track record in this space, substantiated by experience gathered across the e-commerce market. In addition, Ardian will support the internationalization by leveraging its global network and its expertise in targeted build-up strategy.

Johannes Theobald, co-founder, stated: “We are proud to have been able to create a leading brand in Germany thanks to the quality of our products and the knowledge we have of our customers’ expectations. We now want to accelerate and expand in Europe.”
Fabian Deventer, co-founder, added: “Products are one of the strengths of Kapten & Son. Our marketing expertise, combined with our knowledge of customers’ expectations thanks to our data analysis tools, are elements that clearly differentiate our model.”

Artjem Weissbeck, co-founder, commented: “We were not just looking for a financing but for a true strategic partner who could understand our growth challenges and the specificities of online sales and help us make potential acquisitions. Ardian convinced us on these three aspects and their pan-European reach.”
Laurent Foata, Managing Director and Head of Ardian Growth commented: “Currently, we invest in France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and in Benelux and we have demonstrated track record of our ability to help companies meet their aims and objectives. For us, Germany represents a target market in which we aim to continue investing. We are pleased to take this first step with a company as dynamic as Kapten & Son.”
Romain Chiudini, Director at Ardian Growth, continues: “We recognized in Kapten & Son, and moreover in management team, all the qualities we search in fast growing companies in Digital market. Their value of entrepreneurship, innovation and ambition are similar to ours. Kapten & Son is now sized to build its position as a leading player in the new e-commerce generation, which is considered to be a particularly buoyant sector.”

ABOUT KAPTEN & SON

Kapten & Son was founded in 2014 and is today one of the fastest growing fashion and accessories companies in Europe. Thanks to high-quality products, a strong DTC approach and bundled marketing expertise, Kapten & Son has developed into an expanding company at a rapid pace.
Today, the product portfolio includes accessories, suitcases, backpacks, eyewear and watches, which are sold in over 30 countries via the Kapten & Son online store, as well as six Kapten & Son retail flagship stores and exclusive boutique partners. More than 150 employees work at the headquarters in Cologne and in the retail stores on the further expansion of the company.

Visit the website

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$110bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base.
Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.
Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 700 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of more than 1,000 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
Follow @Ardian on Twitter

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

  • Ardian Growth

    • Laurent Foata, Romain Chiudini, Olivier Roy

  • Kapten & Son

    • M&A advisors Kapten & Son: GCA Altium (Tobias Schultheiss, Martin Rezaie, Pascal Haas, Neil Schmodde)
    • Legal advisors Kapten & Son: Gütt Olk Feldhaus (Sebastian Olk, Isabelle Vrancken, Dominik Forstner)
    • Legal advisor Ardian: McDermott Will & Emery (Diana Hund, Emmanuelle Turek, Germar Enders, Matthias Weingut, Antoine Vergnat, Côme de Saint Vincent, Nina Siewert)
    • Financial advisor Ardian: Deloitte (Egon Sachsalber, Tanya Fehr, Axel Kroniger, Elisabeth Comes)
    • Strategic advisor Ardian: Singulier (Rémi Pesseguier, Kitson Symes, Sam Yu-Hsun Lin, Dan Strauss, Michael Ymélé, Ghita Fizazi, Alexandre Moog and Pavlo Konotop)

Press CONTACTS

Kapten & Son

JULIKA WILLMS

press@kapten-son.com +49 151 744 716 83 / +49 221 588 335 71

Ardian – Headland

GREGOR RIEMANN

griemann@headlandconsultancy.co.uk +44 (0)7920 802627

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Allianz X invests USD 75 million in fintech WeLab

AllianzX
  • WeLab has close to 50 million private and business clients in key growth markets for Allianz: Hong Kong and China
  • Allianz X investment to enable business expansion and tech platform development
  • Beginning of WeLab-Allianz partnership on insurance and investment products: WeLab Bank and AllianzGI plan strategic cooperation on digital wealth management solutions

Munich/Hong Kong, March 8, 2021

Allianz X, the digital investment unit of Allianz, is participating in the Series C financing round of Hong Kong-based fintech WeLab with an investment of USD 75 million, thus adding another promising company to its existing portfolio of Asian growth companies.

Allianz X’s investment will be instrumental in financing WeLab’s further expansion and, in particular, enabling the ongoing development of its technological platform. Allianz X’s commitment also marks the start of a deeper strategic cooperation between Allianz and WeLab. Within the framework of this cooperation, both partners plan to jointly develop digital products and solutions for wealth management, among other things. The geographical starting point of the cooperation is Hong Kong. A later expansion to the rest of the Greater Bay Area with its 72 million total inhabitants is planned, potentially also to Indonesia and the Southeast Asian markets at a later stage.

Since its founding in 2013, WeLab has established itself as one of the leading digital financial service providers in Asia. Its services include digital banking services and loans for private customers, a digital lending platform to connect lenders and borrowers, as well as a number of technology-driven services to support financial institutions in their lending processes. WeLab currently operates in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Indonesia. In total, WeLab has close to 50 million retail customers and 600 corporate customers. Based in Hong Kong, the company operates WeLab Bank, one of the first fully-licensed digital banks in Asia, which received its licence in early 2019. WeLab operates with a high-performance technology platform based on many innovations developed in-house – such as a proprietary risk management system based on Artificial Intelligence and a patented privacy computing solution that ensures the secure transfer of sensitive data.

In line with Allianz’s growth strategy in Asia, Allianz X has already made several investments in the region. These include investments in telemedicine company Halodoc; 99.co, Southeast Asia’s fastest growing digital real estate brokerage; and GoJek, a digital company that offers a wide range of services on its platform, from taxi rides to food delivery and mobile payments. BIMA, a digital insurance provider in emerging and developing markets, is another Allianz X portfolio company with extensive business in Asia. The fintech WeLab will further strengthen this portfolio.

Nazim Cetin, CEO of Allianz X: “In a relatively short amount of time, WeLab has built up a powerful platform for digital financial services and achieved excellent access to private and business customers in Asia, a region of strategic importance for Allianz. WeLab’s high-performance technology platform, in particular, makes it a unique fintech in the Asian markets. The investment in WeLab is a promising one for Allianz both economically and strategically. Together with our partners within Allianz, we look forward to leveraging our strategic partnership with WeLab and the business potential in the region.”

Simon Loong, Founder & Group CEO of WeLab: “We are thrilled to welcome Allianz as an investor and strategic partner to the WeLab Group. This is a natural partnership where we see a lot of synergies between the whole WeLab Group and Allianz as a leading insurer and asset manager, particularly as we share a focus on delivering advanced technology solutions to customers in Asia. Today, we announce both the new round of funding and a strategic partnership in wealthtech and financial services with WeLab Bank. We look forward to expanding WeLab’s geographical presence and bringing our technology into these new markets with Allianz. We will be expediting our hiring this year, aiming to add around 100 hires, as investing in people and culture will be key to support future growth.”

Desmond Ng, Head of Asia Pacific at Allianz Global Investors: “Asia is home to some of the most dynamic wealth management and banking markets of the world. Hong Kong, in particular, is a significant market for us. With the second-highest bank deposits per capita in the world, it is a very attractive wealth management market. The potential strategic cooperation with WeLab presents an exciting opportunity for Allianz Global Investors as an integral part of our growth strategy in Asia.”

Media contacts:

Allianz X

Gregor Wills

+49.89.3800-61313

gregor.wills@allianz.com

 

WeLab

WeLab Communications Team

+852.6214-4734

pr@welab.co

 

AllianzGI Asia-Pacific

Kimsten Law

+852.6506-8370

kimsten.law@allianzgi.com

ABOUT ALLIANZ X

Allianz X invests in digital frontrunners in ecosystems relevant to insurance and wealth management. As one of the pillars of Allianz Group’s digital transformation strategy, Allianz X provides an interface between Allianz Operating Entities and the broader digital ecosystem, enabling collaborative partnerships in insurtech, fintech, and beyond.

For more information, please visit: https://www.allianzx.com.

Allianz-X_Press-Release_Allianz-X-invests-USD-75-million-in-fintech-WeLab

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ALTOR FORMS NOD AND ACQUIRES STRING FURNITURE AND PHOTOWALL – THERESE HILLMAN NAMED CEO AND SUSANNA CAMPBELL CHAIRMAN

Altor

ltor has invested in Photowall and String Furniture, to build the foundation for Network of Design (NOD), a network of design companies with strong brands. NOD will be led by the former CEO of NetEnt, Therese Hillman.
NOD will gather companies well positioned for the ongoing shift to online sales in the consumer industry. The company will help the brands take the next step in their international growth journey.
“By establishing NOD we have started our work in forming the leading network for ambitious entrepreneurs in the affordable luxury design space” says Andreas Källström, Partner at Altor. “NOD will have a dedicated management team that will help the group companies deliver on their strategies and bring in additional companies in the partnership. As an owner Altor will also support the team with capital, expertise and experience both in value creation and acquisitions”.

“I feel excited about what NOD is and what it can become. We will bring together a unique set of design brands undergoing rapid growth. We partner with the founders, who continue to be co-owners, and create a design ecosystem where NOD supports in all aspects of their journey”, says Therese Hillman, CEO of the newly established NOD.
The current NOD Group had a turnover in 2020 surpassing 500 MSEK with a strong growth momentum. Photowall is headquartered in Stockholm and offers a wide range of custom wallpapers and prints through its own production facilities since 2006. String Furniture is headquartered in Malmö and offers shelving and storage solutions including Nils and Kajsa Strinning’s iconic design “String”.
“We are thrilled to join NOD and together build a leading design powerhouse. We are convinced that in an ecosystem with other design brands, being able to share expertise, capabilities, and plan together, NOD will lift the potential of each partner company. Together we will revolutionize the industry”, says Pär Josefsson, co-founder of String Furniture.
NOD has appointed a seasoned Board representing collective experience ranging from design to e-commerce to support the group on its growth journey. Susanna Campbell, former CEO of Ratos and active board professional with deep E-Commerce experience, will be Chair of the Board. In addition, Mirkku Kullberg, CEO of Glasshouse Helsinki and former CEO of Artek, Paul Fischbein, active e-commerce entrepreneur, former CEO of Qliro Group and founder of tretti.se, and Magnus Dimert, e-commerce advisor and former CEO of Adlibris, will join the board.

For more information, please contact:
Tor Krusell, Head of Communications at Altor +46 705 43 87 47

Author: Katarina Karlsson
Date: 2021.03.10
Categories: News

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