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Vow ASA and Betula Energy aim for biocarbon production in Bamble in Norway

Reiten

Vow and Betula Energy have entered into an agreement whereby Vow will supply technology and equipment to produce biocarbon to a new plant that Betula Energy will establish in Bamble, a municipality in South-East Norway. At this location, Betula Energy, which is the new name of former entity BioGren AS, will establish bioenergy and biocarbon production from forest wood mass in the form of pellets, biocarbon and bio-oils.

Demand for biocarbon in the Nordic region is expected to increase significantly in the next few years. Large, international industrial groups are undergoing a significant green transformation to achieve their goals of significant reductions in the use of fossil coal by 2030. Biocarbon has qualities that enable it to replace fossil coal as a reducing agent in the metallurgical industry.

“Technology and solutions from Vow will play a key role in this change. We are in the process of showing not only the Norwegian, but also the international industry, that we have technological solutions that accelerate the green energy transition,” says Henrik Badin, CEO of Vow ASA.

The plant in Bamble will be the second in Norway where Vow’s technology is used in this way. At Follum near Hønefoss, Vow’s wholly owned subsidiary Vow Industries plans to build a similar plant. Here, wood waste from the forest industry and recycled wood from the construction industry will be converted into CO2-neutral energy in the form of biocarbon for the metallurgical industry, gas for district heating, and bio-oils for the petrochemical industry, Badin continues.

Synergies in the production of bioenergy are important

Betula Energy will produce homogeneous wood particles as a raw material and feedstock for one production line for biocarbon for the metallurgical industry, and one production line for wood pellets as a replacement for fossil coal in thermal power plants. With such configuration, synergies can be achieved by using the syngas from biocarbon production to dry wood particles for both production lines. Betula Energy will handle reception, cutting, drying, and pelleting for both production lines. This provides economies of scale.

“At the Betula Energy’s facility, detailed control of production is planned through all stages to ensure the desired and consistent quality of the products. The choice of Vow’s technology is consistent with this principle and will ensure the quality of the biocarbon produced, says Gisle Hegstad, general manager of Betula Energy.

Vow will supply the process equipment for the biocarbon production, and orders will be placed by Betula Energy once they have secured financing planned within 2021. For Vow, this order may result in the delivery of process equipment worth up to NOK 200 million.

Market with great potential

Today, the metallurgical industry in Norway consumes annually close to one million tonnes of fossil based reducing agents. This corresponds to around seven percent of the nation’s CO2 emissions. In the Nordic countries, this consumption is four-five times greater.

The market for biocarbon is already large and growing. The first construction phase for Betula Energy will be able to produce 15,000 tonnes of green and climate-neutral biocarbon, and corresponding volumes of bio-oils.

ow ASA

 

Giving waste value and enabler of a circular economy

Vow’s world leading solutions convert biomass and waste into valuable resources and generate clean energy for a wide range of industries. Cruise ships on every ocean have Vow’s technology inside which processes waste and purifies wastewater. Fish farmers are adopting similar solutions, and public utilities and industries use the company’s solutions for sludge processing, waste management and biogas production on land. Vow’s ambitions go further than this. With their advanced technologies and solutions, they turn waste into biogenetic fuels to help decarbonize industry and convert plastic waste into fuel, clean energy and high-value pyro carbon.

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HAL confirms that an Ipo of COOLBLUE is being considered

Hal Holding

 

HAL confirms that an initial public offering (IPO) of Coolblue shares on Euronext Amsterdam is currently being considered. At this stage, it is expected that the IPO may take place in 2021, depending, among other things, on conditions in the financial markets.
HAL currently has a 49% interest in Coolblue. For 2020, Coolblue reported revenues of approximately € 2 billion and an EBITDA of € 114 million (unaudited).

HAL Holding N.V.
February 11, 2021 08h05
This press release contains inside information relating to
HAL Trust within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU
Market Abuse Regulation.

This announcement is for information purposes only, does not purport to be full or complete and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction, including the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa or Japan. No reliance may be placed by any person for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness or completeness.

This announcement does not contain, constitute, or form part of, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities in the United States. Any securities mentioned herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold within the United States absent registration or pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. There is no intention to register any securities in the United States or to make a public offering of any securities in the United States.

The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and therefore persons in such jurisdictions into which they are released, published or distributed, should inform themselves about, and observe, such restrictions.
This announcement is not an advertisement and does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation (EU) No. 2017/1129 (as amended) and does not constitute an offer to acquire securities. If any offer to acquire securities will be made, any investor should make his investment, solely on the basis of information that will be contained in a prospectus to be made generally available in connection with such an offer. When made generally available, copies of a prospectus may be obtained at no cost from Coolblue or through the website of Coolblue. The information in this announcement is subject to change.

This announcement may include statements, including HAL Holding N.V.’s (the “Company”) financial and operational medium-term objectives that are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements”. These forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes”, “estimates”, “plans”, “projects”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “intends”, “may”, “will” or “should” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. Any forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Company’s business, results of operations, financial position, liquidity, prospects, growth or strategies. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.

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EQT Private Equity invests in CYE, an Israel-based global cybersecurity leader

eqt
  • EQT Private Equity makes a USD ~100 million growth investment in CYE, an Israel-based leader in cybersecurity and cyber optimization solutions
  • CYE helps companies reclaim control of their cybersecurity by mimicking real-world attacks on their digital infrastructure, developing optimized risk prioritization and mitigation plans – making today’s societies and digital environments a safer place
  • EQT will leverage its global network and expertise in scaling software and cybersecurity companies to accelerate CYE’s go-to market and product investments, geographical expansion and assist in consolidating the fragmented cybersecurity ecosystem

EQT is pleased to announce that EQT Private Equity, via its EQT Mid Market Europe fund, has agreed to make a ~USD 100 million growth investment in CYESEC (”CYE” or “the Company”). CYE’s founder and CEO Reuven Aronashvili will retain a significant share in the Company and will continue to lead the Company’s growth journey together with his management team building on its unique track record of growth and innovation. The investment, which marks EQT Private Equity’s first investment in Israel, will support CYE’s growth plans and help accelerate its go-to-market and product investments.

Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel and with offices in Europe and the US, CYE serves as trusted advisor to medium-sized and Fortune 500 companies around the globe, as well as to both EQT and numerous EQT portfolio companies. Since its foundation in 2012, CYE offers an automated and continuous approach to cyber assessments, geared towards an optimized mitigation plan. CYE supports its clients in building a more robust cybersecurity posture with cutting-edge AI and machine learning technology, coupled with professional services from world-leading cybersecurity experts – a combination which is unique in the market.

The world of cybersecurity threats is changing rapidly with attacks growing in complexity, sophistication and frequency. This trend has accelerated since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as more people are working from home which has increased the number of potential attack vectors. The resulting surge in security breaches led to a substantial increase in financial and reputational damages caused.

Today’s cybersecurity environment is defined by highly skilled hackers who are able to circumvent the most sophisticated systems, making continuous penetration testing a prerequisite for a robust cybersecurity risk posture. As digital infrastructure continues its transition to the cloud and gains complexity, the importance of penetration testing will only increase going forward, placing CYE in an excellent position to capture significant market growth.

CYE is a highly purpose-driven organization with a mission to make today’s societies and digital environments a safer place. EQT aims to reinforce CYE’s societal contribution by helping to grow its global customer base, accelerate go-to-market investments, invest in product extensions across critical cybersecurity verticals, and drive consolidation of the fragmented cybersecurity space. Today, both EQT and numerous portfolio companies, as well as other blue-chip customers, rely on CYE’s products.

Florian Funk, Partner at EQT Partners, said: “The backing of CYE marks EQT’s first deal in Israel, which is a highly attractive market for technology investments, and a country in which EQT intends to increase its activity going forward. We have followed CYE’s development closely over the last years and we are truly impressed with the company Reuven and his team have built to date. Their approach of pairing AI-based technology, services and world-class cyber expertise is unique in the marketplace and well-positioned for continued accelerated growth. We are proud to support CYE with both capital and competence as this investment aligns perfectly with EQT’s thematic investment focus and ambition to back high growth companies by partnering with world class management teams. We are excited to embark on this journey of building a global cybersecurity champion jointly”.

Reuven Aronashvili, CEO of CYE, said: “As hackers increasingly deliver devastating attacks, causing millions of dollars in lost revenue and productivity, CEOs of companies around the world have come to understand that accurately assessing cyber risk begins with them. We are well past the point where companies can limit cyber threats to one department. Today’s attacks can hit the core of any business, essentially crippling the company. At CYE, we are laser-focused on building a company that fundamentally changes the way companies and organizations approach cybersecurity, enabling them to accurately assess the most urgent threats to their business. As we continue to build on this foundation, we are thrilled to welcome EQT as our new partner and are very excited to kickstart CYE’s next phase of expansion and innovation and look forward to working together to make today’s organizations safer”.

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals and is expected to close in February 2021.

Contac
Florian Funk, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Private Equity, +49 89 2554 9908
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 84 billion in raised capital and over EUR 52 billion in assets under management across 17 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America with total sales of more than EUR 27 billion and approximately 159,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

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

About CYE
CYE brings a fact-based approach to organizational cyber defense, managing real business risks and optimizing the cybersecurity investment. CYE serves as a trusted advisor to medium-sized and Fortune 500 companies in multiple industries around the world.

More info: www.cyesec.com

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Data ecosystems pioneer OpenOcean raises €92M fund for data solutions and software

Tesi

10 February, London: OpenOcean, the pioneering investor in data solutions and software, has today announced a €92M raise for its third main venture fund. The new fund will look to invest in Europe’s most exciting and disruptive data businesses that are resolving digitalisation bottlenecks and building the future data economy. LPs in the new fund include European Investment Fund, Tesi, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company, KRR III, further institutions, major family offices, and Oxford University’s Corpus Christi College.

Fund 2020 is OpenOcean’s third main institutional fund, following €45M and €80M funds in 2011 and 2015 respectively. A final close of €130M is targeted for H1 2021. The fund will invest primarily at the Series A level with initial investments of €3M to €5M, across OpenOcean’s core target areas of artificial intelligence, application-driven data infrastructure, intelligent automation, and open source. The modern explosion of data has presented a significant opportunity at the infrastructure level to enable the potential of next-generation software to be realised.

OpenOcean’s team has a long and storied entrepreneurial history, with Michael “Monty” Widenius, Ralf Wahlsten, Patrik Backman, and Tom Henriksson building and investing in MySQL and MariaDB. MySQL, which is part of the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL and Python/PHP) that helped shape today’s internet, was the first commercially successful open source project and one of the first technology unicorns from Europe.

Since it was established in 2011, OpenOcean has continued to pioneer cutting-edge technologies at the forefront of the data economy. It was one of the first VCs in Europe to invest in Big Data analytics software (Import.io, RapidMiner), identity management (TrueCaller), automation (Supermetrics, AppGyver) and DevOps (Bitrise).

To accelerate its investments in AI, data/cloud infrastructure, and new frontiers like quantum computing, OpenOcean has appointed Ekaterina Almasque as General Partner. At OpenOcean, she has already led investments in IQM (superconducting quantum machines) and Sunrise.io (multi-cloud hyper-converged infrastructure) and is leading the London team and operations for the firm.

Ekaterina Almasque, General Partner at OpenOcean, said: “The next five years will be critical for digital infrastructure, as breakthrough technologies are currently being constrained by the capabilities of the stack. Enabling this next level of infrastructure innovation is crucial to realising digitisation projects across the economy and will determine what the internet of the future looks like. We’re excited by the potential of world-leading businesses being built across Europe and are looking forward to supporting the next generation of software leaders.”

Nicholas Melhuish, Bursar at Oxford University’s Corpus Christi College, and David Bloch, Chair of its Endowment Investment Committee, commented: “As part of our endowment allocation to alternative investments, Corpus Christi College is pleased to partner with OpenOcean in its pursuit of high investment returns while backing innovative, world-changing businesses in the global data economy. We were impressed with OpenOcean’s history as founders and investors, its commitment to limited partners, and the team’s record of success identifying extraordinary early-stage companies and helping them scale faster and farther. OpenOcean’s focus on mass data management, application-driven data infrastructure, and platform enablers for digitalization will be rewarding in the long-term. We also believe OpenOcean’s focus on mass data management, application-driven data infrastructure, and platform enablers for digitalization will be rewarding in the years to come. We look forward to a mutually successful collaboration.”

Before joining OpenOcean, Almasque was a Managing Director at Samsung Catalyst Fund in Europe, where she successfully led investments in strategic and cutting-edge technologies, such as Graphcore’s processor for Artificial Intelligence, Mapillary’s layer for rapid mapping and AIMotive’s autonomous driving stack. She brings years of hands-on experience in building and scaling businesses globally, strategic thinking, and technology thought-leadership.

Tom Henriksson, General Partner at OpenOcean, said: “We’re thrilled to have welcomed Ekaterina as a General Partner to the OpenOcean family as we launched this new fund. She brings an immense amount of expertise to the team and exemplifies the way we want to support our founders. Fund 2020 is an important step for OpenOcean, with prestigious LPs trusting our approach and our knowledge, and believing in our ability to identify the very best data solutions and infrastructure technologies in Europe.”

About OpenOcean:

OpenOcean is the pioneering venture capital investor in data solutions and software. It has a long entrepreneurial history, led by the founders of several category-defining businesses, including MySQL and MariaDB. Since its foundation in 2011, OpenOcean has continued to pioneer cutting-edge technologies at the forefront of the data economy. It typically leads or co-leads Series A funding rounds in European start-ups that are removing barriers to digitalisation or enabling the potential of next-generation technologies to be realised.

Additional information:

Ballou PR
openocean@balloupr.com
+44 (0) 20 3983 8306

Riitta Jääskeläinen
Investment Director, Fund investments, Tesi
+358 50 309 2733
riitta.jaaskelainen@tesi.fi

Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a Finnish state-owned investment company that wants to raise Finland to the front ranks of renewing economic growth by investing in funds and directly in companies. We invest profitably and responsibly, hand-in-hand with co-investors, to create the world’s new success stories. Our investments under management total 1.6 billion euros. Ambition for ownership and success – tesi.fi | @TesiFII

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Allianz X invests 34.5 million euros in Canadian fintech Purpose Financial

AllianzX
  • Purpose Financial offers a digital asset management platform for private clients, independent financial advisors, and SME lending
  • Allianz and Purpose plan joint development and distribution of retirement and investment products in focus
  • Canada is an important growth market for Allianz

Munich, February 8th, 2021 – Allianz X, the digital investment unit of Allianz, has acquired a stake in the Canadian fintech company Purpose Financial. In a dedicated financing round, Allianz X invested in newly issued shares for the equivalent of EUR 34.5 million, making it the second-largest external shareholder. Allianz X will also have a seat on Purpose Financial’s Board of Directors. The transaction is subject to the approval of the regulatory authorities.

Purpose Financial was founded in 2013 and has since established three successful lines of business: Purpose Investments, a digital asset management service for private clients and institutions, currently with approximately CAD 10 billion in assets under management; Purpose Advisor Solutions, a technology and service platform for independent financial advisors, currently servicing approximately CAD 2 billion in assets; and Thinking Capital, a digital lending and fintech platform for SME companies, which has originated over CAD 1 billion in loans in collaboration with major banks and other partners.

Allianz X’s investment will help Purpose Financial build out its infrastructure for further growth and continue to expand its product offering. In addition, the investment is a first step towards a deeper strategic collaboration between Purpose Financial and Allianz.

“Purpose Financial is a disruptor in the Canadian financial services landscape, having established a unique position in its market, particularly with its digital platform for financial advisors. The company is also well positioned for further growth in asset management and SME lending. We see various opportunities to capitalize on joint business opportunities going forward, for example in developing and distributing retirement solutions and investment products”, said Alexander De Kegel, Deal & Project Manager at Allianz X.

Allianz X invested last year in Wealthsimple, a fast-growing robo advisor also based in Canada. The Canadian wealth management market is estimated to be worth CAD 4 trillion dollars. Currently, the market is dominated by banks, but strong growth is emerging from independent financial advisors and other non-bank platforms.

“Given the current macroeconomic challenges and the growing importance of providing joint Life Insurance and Asset Management solutions, this partnership is a significant opportunity for Allianz and Purpose Financial to leverage each other’s expertise in financial services and digital technology,” said Cameron Jovanovic, Global Head of Retirement and Wealth Propositions of Allianz SE. “Retirement is a strategic growth pillar for Allianz, and we recognize the importance of creating holistic, digitally-enabled solutions for our customers. We see the partnership with Purpose Financial as a step forward in developing the innovative capabilities necessary to tackle the broad set of opportunities and challenges in the retirement sector, both in Canada and around the world,” he added.

“We are excited to welcome Allianz X as an investor and partner in our business alongside our existing investors OMERS and TorQuest,” said Som Seif, Chief Executive Officer of Purpose Financial. “Our business has grown exponentially since founding in 2013 and we are still in the early stages of our journey to innovating within the financial services industry. This partnership will provide us with additional resources and expertise to accelerate our growth and continue to drive innovation across the financial services sector on behalf of consumers.”

Media contacts:

Allianz X

Sebastian Köhnlechner

koehnlechner@asset-communication.de

Purpose Financial

Keera Hart

Keera.hart@kaiserpartners.com

ABOUT ALLIANZ X

Allianz X is the digital investment unit of the Allianz Group. Allianz X invests in and partners with digital frontrunners in the ecosystems relevant to insurance. Allianz X is one of the pillars of Allianz’s digital transformation strategy, and provides an interface between Allianz entities and the wider digital ecosystem.

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Battery Tech Innovator E-Magy Raises € 5 Million In Funding Round Led By SHIFT Invest

Shift Invest

The funds will be used to scale the production of E-magy’s proprietary nano-porous silicon and to accelerate qualification programs with electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturers. E-magy will expand the team and prepare for the construction of a new facility in the Netherlands with production planned for 2023. The use of E-magy’s specialty silicon in EV battery anodes increases energy density of battery cells by 40%, enabling longer-range EVs and lower-cost compact cars.

Dutch battery tech scale-up E-magy has secured an additional € 5 million of funding. SHIFT Invest, an impact venture capital fund that invests in circular technologies, smart food & ag-tech, bio-based innovations and smart materials, has led the funding round with participation of existing investors including PDENH. The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy has committed an innovation credit to accelerate the development of E-magy’s unique technology.

Battery Tech Innovator E-Magy Raises € 5 Million In Funding Round Led By SHIFT Invest

The fresh capital injection enables E-magy to increase production at its fully operational pilot production line for nano-porous silicon and accelerate qualification programs with automakers and battery manufacturers. The company will also use the funds to expand the team and make preparations for a new facility in the Netherlands which will boost annual capacity to thousands of tons per year. E-magy plans to start production at the new facility in 2023.

Casper Peeters, co-founder and CEO: “The additional funding comes at an exciting time when we are scaling up production capacity of our proprietary nano-porous silicon and are advancing with automakers and battery manufacturers to improve battery cell performance. Nano-porous silicon is the solution to the urgent need for high-energy batteries, enabling affordable and efficient electric vehicles for everybody. E-magy is set to power millions of electric vehicles.”

Bram Ledeboer, partner at SHIFT Invest: “We are pleased to support the E-magy team to become a leading supplier to the EV battery industry. Innovation plays a crucial role in rebalancing the world we live in and E-magy is well positioned to create significant impact by boosting the performance of batteries at lower costs.”

The technology

E-magy processes silicon in a unique, cost-effective and scalable way to make ‘nano-sponge’ particles which form the basis of non-swelling, high-capacity silicon anodes of lithium-ion batteries. E-magy’s nano-porous silicon improves the energy density and shortens the charge time of batteries allowing for an extended range at lower costs and leading to more compact models than today’s high-end vehicles. Silicon is abundantly available and environmentally benign.

The opportunity

As almost all global automakers focus on the production of new series of all-electric and plug-in EVs, the demand for batteries is rising exponentially. E-magy offers a highly scalable, next generation battery material that can provide automakers with a clear competitive edge. Moreover, E-magy’s technology platform allows for use in various other devices such as e-bikes and scooters, drones, computers and handheld devices, medical devices and electric energy storage systems for balancing of (renewable) energy supply and demand.

About E-magy
E-magy (www.e-magy.com) designs and manufactures nano-porous silicon material for advanced lithium-ion batteries. E-magy works with partners throughout the global automotive supply chain. The people behind E-magy have 20+ years of silicon crystallisation experience and are based in Broek op Langedijk, The Netherlands. E-magy empowers tomorrow’s batteries today.

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Jüsto Announces USD $65 Million Investment Led by General Atlantic, Marking Largest Series A Raised in Latin America

Growth capital to fuel Jüsto’s expansion into a leading online grocer across Mexico and Latin America

February 9, 2021

Jüsto (or “the Company”), a leading online grocer in Mexico, today announced it has raised a USD $65 million Series A investment led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, with participation from existing investors including Foundation Capital and Mountain Nazca. The growth investment marks the largest Series A round raised in Latin America[1] and will support Jüsto’s future strategic initiatives, including the expansion of the Company’s geographic footprint across Mexico and Latin America, the enhancement of its last-mile logistics infrastructure, marketing initiatives, and additional working capital needs.

Jüsto was founded in 2019 by CEO Ricardo Weder as one of Mexico’s first vertically-integrated, online grocery platforms with no physical store presence. Over the past 18 months, Jüsto has developed into an emerging leader in the transformation of the digitally-enabled online grocery experience, powered by its cutting-edge technology and seamless purchasing platform. The business experienced significant acceleration over the course of 2020, with 16x revenue growth and positive traction across user retention, frequency, and average order value.

With this growth investment, Jüsto will focus on accelerating its next phase of growth as it aims to disrupt the existing grocery ecosystem in Latin America, a market that represents a USD $325 billion opportunity. Jüsto, which translates to “fair” in Spanish, is committed to providing high-quality products, fair practices, and new distribution avenues to suppliers, as well as competitive prices, lower transaction costs, and improved convenience to consumers by eliminating intermediaries in the supply chain.

“Our mission at Jüsto is to become Latin America’s favorite supermarket within the next decade. We strongly believe that this vision, combined with our expertise in technology, logistics, and customer service, will lead to an even more seamless, more affordable online shopping experience for our consumers,” said Ricardo Weder, Founder & CEO, Jüsto. “We are beyond thrilled to take our vision to the next level alongside General Atlantic and look forward to harnessing the firm’s global resources and expertise in consumer businesses and technological enablement to aid Jüsto in meeting the rapidly-growing demand for our services.”

Mr. Weder brings strategic and digital expertise, having previously served as President of Cabify, a leading ride-hailing platform in Spain and Latin America, where he led its operations and expansion efforts. Mr. Weder has prioritized fostering a socially and environmentally responsible culture at Jüsto, as demonstrated by the Company’s efforts to develop fair trade agreements with its suppliers; leverage AI to forecast demand, create efficiencies, and reduce food waste at its micro-fulfillment centers; and reduce single-use plastic from packaging. Jüsto also contributes to its communities by offering a high-quality, broad offering of products from both large consumer products companies, as well as from smaller local producers – helping to strengthen the economic activity of rural and semi-rural communities – at competitive and fair prices.

“Mexico is at an inflection point in its transition to a digital economy, and we see Jüsto as leading the way in the high-growth online grocery space with its technology-centric, mission-driven approach,” said Luis Cervantes, Managing Director and Head of Mexico City, General Atlantic. “Under Ricardo’s leadership, we believe Jüsto is positioned for significant expansion as it disrupts and transforms the legacy grocery value chain.”

“In the time since its establishment, the Jüsto model has quickly resonated with consumers, who are looking for new ways to buy groceries digitally, as well as with suppliers, who are seeking more direct engagement within the ecosystem,” added Martin Escobari, Co-President, Managing Director and Head of Latin America, General Atlantic. “We look forward to leveraging our deep expertise in helping businesses scale across Latin America in support of Jüsto’s next chapter of growth.”

As part of the transaction, Luis Cervantes and Zeev Thepris, Vice President at General Atlantic, will join Justo’s Board of Directors. Jüsto marks General Atlantic’s fifth investment in Mexico since 2014, when it first entered the country. Since then, General Atlantic has invested nearly USD $1 billion in high-growth Mexican companies.

Since its inception in 2019, Jüsto has raised more than USD $100 million, including a $27 million Seed Round last year led by Foundation Capital, alongside Mountain Nazca and with participation from FEMSA Ventures, S7V, Elevar Equity, Bimbo Ventures, Quiet Capital, Sweet Capital, H2O Capital, and SV LatAm Capital, among others.

Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

[1] Source: Pitchbook. Includes Series A raised in Latin America in the past decade (January 2011 to January 2021) by a technology company.

Media Contacts

Mary Armstrong & Emily Japlon
General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com

Manolo Fernandez
Jüsto manolo@justo.mx

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IVC Evidensia expands partnership to drive next phase of accelerating growth

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eqt

 

  • Europe’s largest veterinary care provider welcomes additional investment and renewed long-term commitment from largest shareholder EQT Private Equity
  • New minority investment from technology leader Silver Lake validates success to date and compelling opportunities ahead
  • The expanded partnership is expected to accelerate continued growth and further broaden IVC’s digitalization and innovation capabilities

IVC Evidensia (“IVC” or “the Company”), Europe’s largest veterinary care provider, announces an expanded partnership among its shareholders to support IVC in driving its next phase of accelerating growth. The aggregated new investment from the expanded partnership transaction totals €3.5 billion and values IVC at an enterprise value of approximately €12.3 billion.

Headquartered in Bristol, UK, IVC is a leading veterinary services provider with a network of more than 1,500 clinics and hospitals and approximately 22,000 employees across Europe. Founded in 2011, IVC operates a decentralized model promoting innovation and clinical freedom balanced with integrated support functions such as procurement, veterinary advisors and clinical boards. With the purpose of providing the world’s best veterinary services by caring for pets and people, IVC is leading the way in bringing new standards to animal care and staff wellbeing in the sector globally.

IVC was acquired by EQT Private Equity in December 2016, through its EQT VII fund, and in May 2017 the Company merged with Evidensia, a Swedish veterinary group acquired by EQT Private Equity in 2014. Since then, IVC Evidensia has transformed into the leading European veterinary services provider through accelerated organic growth and a large number of strategic add-on acquisitions. EQT has supported IVC through hiring a new leadership team around CEO, Steve Clarke, and Chairperson, Kate Swann, and revenue has more than tripled since the merger.

As part of its long-term commitment to IVC, EQT Private Equity is making a substantial investment through its EQT IX fund, and with the transaction EQT VII is partially exiting its stake but will remain invested in the Company. As its largest shareholder, EQT Private Equity’s new investment is a validation of the successful partnership and continued potential for substantial growth in IVC.

Silver Lake, a leading global technology investment firm, is making a new substantial minority investment in IVC to help further unlock growth from digital and technology opportunities. Silver Lake has strong expertise and relationships in technology and plans to support IVC as it digitalises its business and develops cutting edge digital products and solutions.

Nestlé, which joined EQT Private Equity in 2019 as a minority investor and strategic partner, is also increasing its minority stake in IVC as part of this transaction. IVC will continue to operate as an independent business and this partnership will allow the Company to leverage Nestlé Purina PetCare’s leading expertise in pet health, pet nutrition and scientific innovation, while Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA benefits from unique insights into veterinary care which help to improve and deliver advanced pet food solutions and first-class pet care services.

Steve Clarke, CEO of IVC Evidensia, said: “This expanded partnership underscores and reflects our vision for what great veterinary care can be.  We are very pleased about the strong renewed commitment from our largest shareholder EQT Private Equity, who has built this company and set the foundation for its sustained growth, and Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA, with whom we have a powerful partnership combining unique insights across pet nutrition and veterinary care. We believe that we can accelerate our growth through various digital opportunities and are excited to welcome Silver Lake to the shareholder group, who together with EQT, will support us with expanding our digital products and solutions. The totality of this new partnership is exciting and we look forward to together building a digital ecosystem around IVC.”

Per Franzén, Partner and Investment Advisor to EQT Private Equity, said: “We have seen tremendous growth over the past several years and the additional investments will help to fuel IVC’s continued innovation in veterinary care and cement its leadership position in Europe. EQT Private Equity is delighted to both welcome Silver Lake as an investor and continue with the strong support from IVC’s existing partner, Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA.”

Simon Patterson, Managing Director of Silver Lake and Co-Head of EMEA, said: “IVC is a strong, well-managed business investing effectively in digital technology to create better outcomes for customers and clinicians. We are excited to partner with the existing investors and the highly talented management team to help the company accelerate the implementation of its digital strategy and build a world-class direct-to-consumer platform for pet care.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. It is expected to close in Q2 2021 at the latest. Goldman Sachs and Jefferies acted as financial advisors to the sellside. J.P. Morgan and Numis acted as financial advisors to Silver Lake.

With this transaction, EQT IX is expected to be 35-40 percent invested (including closed and/or signed investments, announced public offers, if applicable, and less any expected syndication) based on its target fund size, and subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Contacts

For IVC Evidensia:
Fiona Micallef-Eynaud, Brunswick Group, IVCEvidensia@brunswickgroup.com, + 44 207 404 5959

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

For Silver Lake:
Jess Gill, Edelman Smithfield, jess.gill@edelmansmithfield.com, +44 (0)7980 684 247

For Nestlé:
Christoph Meier, mediarelations@nestle.com, +41 21 924 2200

About IVC
IVC is the largest and most diversified vet services platform in Europe with more than 1,500 clinics and hospitals across 12 countries. IVC employs approximately 22,000 people, including over 6000 veterinarians.

More info: www.ivc.group

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 84 billion in raised capital and over EUR 52 billion in assets under management across 17 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America with total sales of more than EUR 27 billion and approximately 159,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

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

About Silver Lake
Silver Lake is a global technology investment firm, with approximately $75 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 of investments collectively generates more than $180 billion of revenue annually and employs more than 400,000 people globally. For more information about Silver Lake and its portfolio, please visit www.silverlake.com.

About Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA
Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA (Europe, Middle East, and North Africa) believes that pets and people are better together and is committed to helping pets live longer, happier and healthier lives through proper nutrition and care. For over 120 years, Purina has been one of the pioneers in providing nutritious and palatable products made to the highest standards of quality and safety. Purina’s passion for pets goes beyond the advancement of pet nutrition, and in 2016, Purina PetCare Europe launched the 10 Purina in Society commitments to have a positive impact on pets and society, including promoting pet adoption, pets in the workplace and helping to reduce the risk of pet obesity. The Purina portfolio includes many of the best-known and best-loved pet foods including Purina FELIX®, Purina FRISKIES®, Purina BENEFUL®, Purina BEYOND®, Purina FIDO®, Purina ONE®, Purina GOURMET®, Purina PRO PLAN® and Purina BAKERS®.  

A premiere global manufacturer of pet products, Nestlé Purina PetCare is part of Swiss-based Nestlé S.A., a global leader in nutrition, health and wellness. 

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Bain Capital Private Equity and Cinven enter into definitive agreements to acquire Lonza Specialty Ingredients

Cinven

Today, Bain Capital Private Equity (“Bain Capital”) and Cinven (together “the consortium”) have entered into definitive agreements to acquire Lonza Specialty Ingredients (“LSI”), a division of Lonza AG, for a total enterprise value of CHF 4.2 billion.

LSI is a world-leading provider of specialty chemicals for microbial control solutions, used to eliminate or control harmful and unwanted micro-organisms. LSI’s products are critical ingredients in disinfectants, preservatives, sanitisers, personal care products, as well as coatings and other industrial uses. The business also produces a range of other specialty chemicals, centred around its unique production facility in Switzerland.

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, LSI has approximately 2,800 employees, 11 R&D centres and 17 manufacturing sites across the world. The business serves circa 5,300 customers across a wide range of end-markets.

LSI is a strong company, which presents an attractive investment opportunity for a number of reasons:

  • LSI provides a range of differentiated specialty chemical products, underpinned by strong R&D capabilities, regulatory and IP protections, and a highly qualified and dedicated workforce;
  • The microbial control solutions market benefits from structural growth due to favourable penetration trends, supportive regulatory dynamics, and the growing need to protect society from harmful micro-organisms;
  • The business serves a diversified set of attractive end-markets, with a particularly strong presence in the Professional Hygiene and Home & Personal Care segments;
  • The business enjoys leading positions in North America and Europe, with longstanding customer relationships and extensive regulatory expertise.

The strategy of the consortium is to:

  • Enhance the R&D capabilities of LSI to continue to develop innovative chemistries to control the spread of microbes (such as viruses and bacteria) in a sustainable and responsible manner;
  • Build deeper customer relationships through customised application development in a complex regulatory environment, and to provide an even greater range of microbial control formulations;
  • Consolidate the microbial control solutions market through buy-and-build opportunities in the sector, which remains fragmented;
  • Invest further in the world-class production facility in Visp, Switzerland, to enhance its unique technical capabilities and high quality specialty chemicals portfolio.

Pontus Pettersson, Partner at Cinven, commented:

“Cinven and Bain Capital are delighted to invest in LSI, as a global leader in a specialty chemicals category that serves a critical need for society, across a broad range of end-markets.”

“LSI enjoys a strong market position globally, underpinned by deep customer relationships, a continuous track record of innovation and product development, and extensive regulatory capabilities.”

David Danon, Managing Director at Bain Capital added:

“LSI has multiple attractive growth opportunities as the leading global player in the growing market for microbial control. Our strategy is to reinforce the company’s market position, to accelerate growth through further investment in R&D and innovation, and to use LSI as a platform for further industry consolidation, in line with Bain Capital’s and Cinven’s strategies in other sectors.”

The consortium is committed to growing businesses responsibly, and recognises the importance of the environmental, regulatory and stakeholder responsibilities of LSI. Both Bain Capital and Cinven have a strong track record of growing industrial companies in Europe and North America, as well as successfully carving out businesses in an efficient, seamless manner for all stakeholders. The consortium intends to collaborate closely with Lonza AG going forward (notably at the Visp site), as well as with employee representative bodies in Switzerland and across the group, and to become the employer of choice in this sector.

The transaction is expected to close in H2 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

Advisors to the consortium include: Kirkland & Ellis, Freshfields, Lenz & Staehelin (legal); Ernst & Young (financial, tax); Boston Consulting Group (commercial); Alvarez & Marsal (operations); ERM (environment, regulation); Nexant (technical); The Valence Group of Piper Sandler, Opus Corporate Finance, Trumont (M&A).

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STERIS Announces Sale of Pharmaceutical Testing Laboratories to CCR Group

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Fields Group

STERIS is pleased to announce it has agreed to sell the pharmaceutical testing services business of Synergy Health Utrecht B.V., a STERIS Company, to CCR Group, an integrated contract research organization, part of FIELDS Group.

The transaction includes the chemical testing laboratory in Utrecht and the microbiological testing for pharmaceuticals in Ede the Netherlands. STERIS will continue to operate the laboratory in Ede with a focus on medical device testing. The acquisition is completed by FIELDS’ contract research organization (CRO) platform, CCR Group. As part of the agreement, CCR Group will carve-out the company from STERIS and move the laboratories to a new state-of-the-art laboratory facility in the Netherlands.

“I am pleased we found a very good new owner for the business in CCR Group, which was of paramount importance to STERIS. I am looking forward to growing our relationship going forward,” said Mark Botting, STERIS Director of Global Laboratories.

“With the acquisition of Synergy Health Utrecht B.V., the CCR Group strategically expands its portfolio into the field of chemical and microbiological analytics. As part of our growth plan, we expect to acquire more CROs in adjacent areas in the near future,” said Matthias Stuckmann, responsible manager for CCR Group.

About STERIS

STERIS’s MISSION IS TO HELP OUR CUSTOMERS CREATE A HEALTHIER AND SAFER WORLD by providing innovative healthcare and life science product and service solutions around the globe. For more information, visit www.steris-ast.com

About CCR Group

CCR Group is a European CRO with laboratory sites in Germany and the Netherlands offering a comprehensive set of integrated services to predominantly the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Through its subsidiary ICCR-Roßdorf (www.iccr-rossdorf.de), the group currently offers expertise into preclinical safety testing with focus on cell and molecular science assays according to GLP, GMP and DIN EN ISO 17025.

About FIELDS Group

FIELDS Group is an entrepreneurial and hands-on investor with offices in Amsterdam and Munich. With its in-house operational taskforce, FIELDS Group is directly involved with the development of the group companies. It has a strong track record in successfully carving-out companies from large (listed) corporations.

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