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Cooper Consumer Health announces the appointment of Bart Meermans as CEO and the acquisition of Lashilé Beauty

CVC Capital Partners

The acquisition of Cooper Consumer Health by CVC Capital Partners Fund VII is completed

Cooper Consumer Health (“Cooper”) a leading European independent over-the-counter drug manufacturer and distributor, is pleased to announce the appointment of Bart Meermans as its new Chief Executive Officer and the agreement to acquire French consumer health food supplement business, Lashilé Beauty.

Bart Meermans has a wealth of industry experience having spent the last ten years at Reckitt Benckiser in a number of roles, most recently as Senior Vice President responsible for leading the company’s health businesses in Africa, Middle East, Turkey and Pakistan. Under his leadership the regions completed a significant digital transformation, which tripled online sales. Prior to this, Bart spent fifteen years in managerial roles at Omega Pharma and Procter & Gamble. Bart will succeed Bauke Rouwers, who will step down from his current CEO role, effective immediately.

Cooper has also agreed to acquire French nutraceutical company Lashilé Beauty, the market-leader in the fast-growing gummy dietary supplement category in France. The business fits well the bolt-on strategy of Cooper, with a complementary product portfolio with attractive underlying growth, a scalable business model that can be rolled-out internationally, and strong online and digital marketing know-how.

Yvan Vindevogel, Chairman of Cooper, added: “We are thrilled to be bringing Bart on board. His wealth of experience in the sector will be central to helping us accelerate Cooper’s ambitious growth plans. I also want to thank Bauke for his dedication in building the company during an extraordinary period over the last two years. We are tremendously excited about the future and in particular about our new partnership with Lashilé Beauty, a partnership which will be highly complementary to both businesses, helping us provide our customers with more ways to look after their health and wellbeing.”

Bart Meermans, incoming CEO of Cooper, said: “I am delighted to join the Cooper team and I look forward to working with my new colleagues as we embark on the journey of becoming a leading European Healthcare company. I believe that providing self-care, by empowering people to take better care of their health, is meaningful and inspirational, and equally unlocking a significant runway for growth.”

On the acquisition of Cooper, CVC partnered with Vemedia founder Yvan Vindevogel, specialised healthcare fund Avista Capital Partners, the management team, and Charterhouse which made a significant reinvestment in the company. The Lashilé Beauty founders will also become shareholders in Cooper. The entry into exclusive negotiations was initially announced earlier this year and the new shareholders are excited to support the company’s organic and acquisitive growth plans.

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Ardian and Prelios SGR sign a lease agreement for the property in Via di Villa Emiliani 10, Rome

Ardian

09 NOVEMBER 2021 REAL ESTATE  ITALY, MILAN

The 3,200 sqm building in the exclusive Parioli district will host the new offices of a leading company operating in the telecommunications sector, from March 2022

Milan, 9 November 2021 – Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, and Prelios SGR, announced that they have signed a lease agreement with a leading multinational company operating in the telecommunications sector for its new Italian headquarters in Rome.

The property in Via di Villa Emiliani 10 in Rome, owned by AREEF Sunshine, a real estate investment fund wholly owned by Ardian and managed by Prelios SGR, will host the new Italian headquarters of the telecom company from March 2022.

An independent building surrounded by an exclusive courtyard and located in the Parioli district, the property is one of the most prestigious and elegant in Rome. It also has excellent accessibility with the provision of multiple car and motorbike parking spaces..

It is currently undergoing renovation work by designers Scandurra Studio Architettura, and will embody the distinctive features of the area – characterized by modern, flexible and versatile office spaces that guarantee the well-being of the occupants.

The building is 3,200 square metres across seven floors. In addition to office space, the building has panoramic terraces with excellent views of the ancient city and an exclusive garden with direct access from the basement. The building has been refurbished with sustainability and efficiency in mind and is LEED certified.

Rodolfo Petrosino, Senior Managing Director for Southern Europe of Ardian Real Estate commented: “This project confirms Ardian Real Estate’s commitment to the highest international standards in terms of efficiency and environmental sustainability. A building designed for the future, it will guarantee maximum comfort for the occupants and their well-being. The signing of the lease agreement shows how rewarding this approach is.”

Patrick Del Bigio, CEO of Prelios SGR, said: “The enhancement activity carried out on the property in Via di Villa Emiliani once again highlights Prelios SGR’s strong track record in the real estate market in Rome. It also confirms how a strategy based on the repositioning of a building according to international best practices in terms of architecture and environmental sustainability can attract top-level international tenants in Rome. We believe that the real estate market in Rome will continue to grow in line with the wider real estate cycle, offering further important opportunities.”

AREEF Sunshine was advised by GVA Redilco.

 

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$120bn 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 800 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 1,200 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

www.ardian.com

 

ABOUT PRELIOS SGR

Prelios SGR is a company in the Prelios Group and one of Italy’s largest asset managers. It is active in the promotion, creation and management of alternative real estate investment and credit funds, advisory and separate account management, for leading Italian and international institutional investors. Prelios SGR is a pioneer in the innovation of investment products, in terms of asset classes and typologies, in part through the management of one of the first externally managed SICAFs, and of the largest UTP fund in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. Prelios SGR has developed advanced standards and control systems in terms of governance, risk management and transparency, while maintaining operating flexibility. The company is also committed to promoting sustainability, as reflected in its adherence, since 2019, to the UN PRI – Principles for Responsible Investment and, since 2020, to the GRESB.

www.prelios.com

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN

HEADLAND

ardian@headlandconsultancy.com+44 207 3435 7469

PRELIOS

pressoffice@prelios.com+39 02 6281.4176/4826

IMAGE BUILDING

prelios@imagebuilding.it+390289011300

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BSK IMMOBILIER opnes its capital to ACTIVA CAPITAL

Activa Capital

Activa Capital announces an investment in the digital network of real estate agents BSK Immobilier. On the occasion of this transaction, Activa Capital takes a minority stake alongside Lionel Pelletier, majority shareholder and President of BSK Immobilier.

Founded in 2010 in Toulouse (Southern France) with the ambition to offer an alternative model of real estate intermediation, BSK Immobilier is a digital platform offering a complete range of services and tools with high added value for real estate agents. Since its creation, the company has recorded remarkable organic growth to become one of the key players in the digital real estate networks in France, with over 1,400 active agents and a volume of 4,000 transactions per year. BSK Immobilier generated approximately €30 million in revenues for the fiscal year ending September 2021.

Driven by a fast-growing market segment and a differentiating value proposition, BSK Immobilier intends to continue its double-digit organic growth and reach more than €100m in revenues in the medium term.
While preserving the family DNA of the company, this operation will allow BSK Immobilier to continue its ambitious development, notably through the structuring of the head office teams, the reinforcement of the training program for agents, the development of network animation actions, the continuation of digital investments and the deployment of differentiating technological tools. The group thus wishes to consolidate its leadership on the French market and gradually roll out its offer internationally.

Activa Capital, which specializes in supporting SMEs in primary transactions, will bring to BSK Immobilier its know-how in structuring fast-growing digital companies. With this investment, Activa Capital announces the 3rd investment of its latest vehicle, Activa Capital Fund IV.
Lionel Pelletier, President of BSK Immobilier, said: “We are delighted to welcome Activa Capital, which fully shares our strategic vision. This partnership will enable us to continue our investments, particularly in digital technology and the development of differentiating technological tools for our agents. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our real estate agents who have placed their trust in us and who contribute to the success of BSK Immobilier through their professionalism and commitment.”

Alexandre Masson and Christophe Parier, Managing Partners at Activa Capital, added: “BSK Immobilier is a leading player in its market and has a very significant development potential. This is a unique investment opportunity that lies at the heart of our expertise: supporting primary operations alongside talented entrepreneurs. We are very proud to have the opportunity to participate in this new phase of BSK Immobilier’s growth alongside Lionel Pelletier, its founder, with whom we share the same entrepreneurial DNA.”
The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.

* * *
Deal participants
BSK Immobilier: Lionel Pelletier
Activa Capital: Alexandre Masson, Christophe Parier, David Quatrepoint, Elliot Thiéblin, Julie Perouzel

Vendors
M&A Advisor – Natixis Partners (Thomas Laroque, Alexandre Amirault, Elvire Sidos)
Financial Advisor – Natixis Partners (Virginie Gasnier)
Financial Due Diligence Advisor – Next! Financial Advisors (Hervé Krissi, Laura Guérin, Baptiste Doche)
Corporate Lawyer – Volt Associés (Emmanuel Vergnaud, Clément Carol)
Legal & Tax Advisor – Volt Associés (Stéphane Letranchant, Gontran Souweine)

Buyers
Financial Due Diligence: Oderis (Thomas Claverie, Norian Lebrot, Andoni Balaguer)
Strategic Due Diligence: CMI Stratégies (Nicolas Kandel, Simon Bolboc, Nicola Virgata)
Social, Fiscal & Legal Due Diligence: EY Société d’Avocats (Jean-Philippe Barbé, Jean-Christophe Sabourin, Anne-Elisabeth Combes)
Corporate Lawyer: Hogan Lovells (Stéphane Huten, Ali Chegra, Florian Tranchecoste)

About BSK Immobilier
BSK Immobilier is one of the leading real estate agent networks in France. Created in 2011 by Lionel Pelletier, this digital platform offers its agents a complete range of services and tools with high added value. In strong growth, the network counts in 2021 more than 1,400 active agents and a turnover of about €30m.
> More information https://bskimmobilier.com/

About Activa Capital
Activa Capital is a French independent private equity firm, owned by its partners, characterized by a proactive build-up strategy. It currently manages more than €300 million on behalf of institutional investors by investing in French SMEs and ETIs with high growth potential and an enterprise value of between €20 and €100 million. Activa Capital assists them to accelerate their development and international presence.
> To find out more about Activa Capital, visit activacapital.com

Press contacts
Alexandre Masson Christophe Parier Christelle Piatto
Managing Partner Managing Partner Communications Manager
+33 1 43 12 50 12 +33 1 43 12 50 12 +33 1 43 12 50 12
alexandre.masson@activacapital.com christophe.parier@activacapital.com christelle.piatto@activacapital.com

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Finnforel to invest EUR 45 million in new production facilities and build first selective breeding centre for rainbow trout in Finland

Tesi

Finnish technology company Finnforel has become one of the world’s leading ecological fish farms since it was founded in 2017. With the EUR 45 million investment programme today announced, the company channels funds to the expansion of the existing plant in Varkaus, Finland, building of a new breeding centre in Hollola and planning of new international operations.

Finnforel finances these investments totalling EUR 45 million through a EUR 34 million share issue, EUR 4.5 million from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and EUR 6 million in loans from banks. The share issue will make significant Finnish and international institutional investors shareholders in Finnforel. These include Ahlström Invest, Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd), the European Investment Bank (European Fund for Strategic Investment), The Good Investors (Ireland/France) and other European family enterprises.

“In addition to being one of the largest greenhouse emission sources globally, food production is also the single largest producer of nutrient discharges in Finland. At Tesi, we want to invest in companies that solve these kinds of sustainability issues. When fish are farmed with water recirculation technology, the production of one type of animal protein becomes more ecological, with lesser carbon footprint. Finland is one of the forerunner countries in water recirculation technology, and Finnforel is a prime example of a sector-specific, deep knowhow. We are happy to invest in what could be a next significant export industry in Finland,” explains Miiikka Salminen, Investment Manager at Tesi.

The company’s products are currently sold in more than a thousand grocery stores in Finland under the Saimaan Tuore brand. Finnforel achieved a significant breakthrough in November 2020, when its million-kilo production plant in Varkaus achieved maximum capacity level for premium fish farming. Tesi made the invesment from its circular economy investment programme.

Read more:

Press release by Finnforel (pdf) 9.11.2021

Additional information:

Miikka Salminen, Investment Manager, Growth and Industrial Investments, Tesi
+358 40 535 4758
miikka.salminen@tesi.fi

 

Finnforel Ltd is a family business which utilises water recirculation in fish faming  and specialises in related genetics and technology. At the moment in Finland, the company has plants in Varkaus, Hollola and Joroinen. www.finnforel.com

Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a state-owned investment company that wants to raise Finland to the front ranks of transformative 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 2.1 billion euros. www.tesi.fi | @TesiFII

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IK Partners to acquire Truesec

IK Partners

IK Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK IX Fund has signed an agreement to acquire Truesec Group AB (“Truesec” or “Group”) from Sobro, alongside management and employees who will be reinvesting. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Founded in 2005 by Marcus Murray and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Truesec is the leading independent cybersecurity service provider in Sweden. Its purpose is to prevent and reduce impact from cyberattacks, making a true difference to today’s connected society. This purpose, coupled with its strong culture and diverse opportunities, ensures that Truesec successfully attracts the best talent in the cybersecurity industry. At present, the Group employs approximately 180 individuals.

The Group has a loyal and diverse customer base comprising of predominantly enterprise clients who are spread out across various industries. It is the most natural and preferred cybersecurity partner to many organisations due to its broad range of competencies, highly skilled experts and long-standing customer relationships.

Since inception, the Group has enjoyed a continuous growth in revenues, strengthened its market-leading position as an independent cybersecurity service provider, been able to recruit the top cybersecurity experts and evolved from a nascent challenger to a best-in-class end-to-end cybersecurity partner. The next phase of the journey will focus on continuing to recruit the best talent within the cybersecurity industry, continuing to be the preferred cybersecurity partner to both Swedish and international companies and developing new and relevant services and capabilities while growing the Truesec position internationally. The Group will continue to be led by CEO Anna Averud and her team.

Anna Averud, CEO of Truesec, said: “We firmly believe that a partnership between Truesec and IK will form a solid basis for capturing value creation opportunities across several dimensions, specifically helping us to further solidify the Group’s market position in the Nordics as well as expand its presence outside current core markets.”

Marcus Murray, Founder of Truesec, said: “We’re delighted to have IK’s trust and support as we mark the beginning of Truesec’s journey to become an international leader in cybersecurity. The demand for our expertise and capabilities to prevent breach and minimise the impact from cybercrime has never been greater. With IK’s support, we are confident that we will become a stronger partner to our clients and be able to expand our international footprint to create world-class solutions to meet the global challenge of defending against cybercrime today and tomorrow.”

Alireza Etemad, Partner at IK Partners and Advisor to the IK IX Fund, said: “At IK, we pride ourselves on being ‘People-First Private Equity because it’s amazing what happens when you put people first. We discover new ways to grow together, better ways to build on success and we see possibilities everywhere. We feel that this ethos, together with our core values, aligns well with those of Truesec’s. The Group is a real success story and has experienced tremendous growth in a very short time. With plenty of opportunities to further expand, coupled with a very experienced management team, we look forward to a strong partnership with them and look forward to supercharging the next phase of their growth journey.”

David Stenlund Sager, Partner at Sobro, commented: “We are proud to have supported Truesec for the past three years as it has accelerated its growth and strengthened its position as the leading pure-play cybersecurity services provider in Sweden. It has been a pleasure working with the team and we wish both management and IK all the very best for the future.”

Completion of the transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approvals.

IK Partners
Maitland/AMO
James McFarlane
+44 (0) 7584 142665
jmcfarlane@maitland.co.uk / ik-maitland@maitland.co.uk

IK Partners

IK Partners (“IK”) is a European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €14 billion of capital and invested in over 155 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikpartners.com

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Truesec

Truesec (“the Group”) is a highly-regarded cybersecurity company focusing on protecting organisations and the society against cyber threats. Since the start in 2005, the Group’s various expert teams have delivered top-class solutions to customers in the private and public sector, in Sweden and globally. For more information, visit www.truesec.com

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Gilde Healthcare portfolio company Noema Pharma expands its Board of Directors with the appointments of Catherine Mou…

GIlde Healthcare
November 9, 2021
Utrecht, The Netherlands & Basel, Switzerland
Utrecht, The Netherlands & Basel, Switzerland, November 9, 2021 – Noema Pharma, a Swiss-based clinical stage company targeting orphan central nervous system (CNS) diseases, today announces the appointment of Catherine Moukheibir and Ilise Lombardo as independent members of the company’s Board of Directors. Ms. Moukheibir has extensive experience in finance, capital markets and life sciences, having held a number of senior executive and board-level positions in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. Dr Lombardo, MD is currently Chief Medical Officer at Kriya Therapeutics and has previously led clinical development and medical affairs programs with a focus on diseases of the nervous system. 

“I am very pleased to welcome Catherine and Ilise to the board of Noema Pharma. They are joining us at a pivotal time, while we are making significant progress in our clinical, structural and financial development,” said Luigi Costa, Chief Executive Officer of Noema Pharma. “Catherine and Ilise are highly respected executives in innovative life sciences companies with exceptional track records. Their considerable experience and knowledge will make them invaluable members of our board. We look forward to their advice, which will strengthen our Company’s leadership and support its mission to positively impact the lives of patients, as well as continuing to create shareholder value.”

The two new appointments further expand the Company’s board and follow the recent appointment of Jeffrey Jonas MD as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Ms. Moukheibir and Dr. Lombardo join current board members Darren Carroll from Polaris Partners, Antoine Papiernik from Sofinnova Partners and Arthur Franken from Gilde Healthcare.

“I am thrilled to be part of Noema’s effort to develop groundbreaking therapies for the most debilitating symptoms in orphan conditions of the brain and central nervous system,” said Catherine Moukheibir, Board Member of Noema Pharma. “Last year’s successful Series A funding round has put the company in a strong financial position to advance its clinical mission and the company’s development to the next stage.”

“I am delighted to be joining Noema Pharma’s board and I’m looking forward to working with Noema’s dedicated and talented executive team,” said Ilise Lombardo MD, Board Member of Noema Pharma. “It is an exciting time for the Company, as it has recently initiated its first clinical trial in patients with Tourette syndrome and is planning to start two additional trials in the near future. These product candidates have the potential to offer new solutions for patients with debilitating conditions and I am thrilled to share my input into the various development efforts.”

About Catherine Moukheibir
Catherine Moukheibir currently serves on the Board of Directors at DNA Script, Asceneuron, Biotalys, CMR Surgical, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and Orphazyme. She has previously held board memberships at Kymab, GenKyoTex, Cerenis, Zealand, Ablynx and Creabilis. Ms. Moukheibir was Chair and CEO of MedDay Pharmaceuticals and has also held senior executive positions at Innate Pharma, Movetis, and Zeltia Group. Before moving into the life sciences industry, Ms. Moukheibir worked in investment banking. She received an MBA and a Masters in Economics from Yale University.

About Ilise Lombardo
Ilise Lombardo is Chief Medical Officer at gene therapy company Kriya Therapeutics, where she leads the clinical and medical departments advancing a pipeline of gene therapy candidates across multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to joining Kriya, Dr. Lombardo was co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of epilepsy-focused company Arvelle Therapeutics. She has also held senior roles in clinical and medical development at Axovant Sciences, Forum Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer. She has a medical degree from Yale University, an M.Phil from the University of Cambridge and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University.

About Noema Pharma
Noema Pharma (www.noemapharma.com) is a Swiss-based company targeting orphan neurological disorders characterized by imbalanced neuronal networks. The company is developing four mid-clinical-stage therapeutic products in-licensed from Roche and with strong safety packages. Lead product NOE-101, an mGluR5 inhibitor, is Phase 2b-ready for two indications: persistent seizures in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) and severe pain in Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN). NOE-105, a PDE10A inhibitor, is currently in Phase 2a investigated in patients with Tourette Syndrome. The Company is undertaking validation studies in undisclosed indications for two additional clinical-stage assets, NOE-109, an mGluR2/3 inhibitor, and NOE-115, a triple re-uptake inhibitor. Noema Pharma was founded with the leading venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners. Investors include Polaris Partners, Gilde Healthcare, Invus and Biomed Partners.

About Gilde Healthcare
Gilde Healthcare is a specialized healthcare investor with $1.8 billion under management across two fund strategies: Venture&Growth and Private Equity. The firm operates out of offices in Utrecht (The Netherlands), Frankfurt (Germany) and Cambridge (United States). Gilde Healthcare Venture&Growth invests in innovative companies active in (Bio)pharmaceuticals, Healthtech and Medtech. The portfolio of the Venture&Growth fund is balanced with fast growing life science companies from Europe and North America. For more information, please visit: www.gildehealthcare.com.

Contacts

Noema Pharma
Luigi Costa
Chief Executive Officer
info@noemapharma.com

Investors
LifeSci Advisors – Guillaume van Renterghem
gvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com
+41 (0) 76 735 01 31

Media
LifeSci Advisors – Bernhard Schmid
bschmid@lifesciadvisors.com
+41 (0) 44 447 12 21

 

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Adams Street Partners Expands With New Office in Austin, Texas

Adams Street

CHICAGO/AUSTIN, November 8, 2021 – Adams Street Partners, LLC, a private markets investment management firm with more than $49 billion of assets under management, today announced that it has opened a new office in Austin, Texas — a significant geographic hub for venture capital, private equity, entrepreneurs, and technology talent.

Jeff Diehl, Managing Partner and Head of Investments at Adams Street, said, “Austin has become a vibrant entrepreneurial hub and it serves as a base-camp for many of America’s fastest-growing companies. Austin also possesses a deep and growing pool of skilled technology, venture capital, and private equity talent. We are excited about our new office bringing us closer to this innovative and dynamic ecosystem.”

Adams Street focuses on investing in private companies and fund managers who operate in sectors experiencing dislocation, change, and growth. The firm has developed a global investment platform that combines knowledge, data, and local relationships to create differentiated private market investment opportunities for institutional investors around the world. The firm also helps inspired entrepreneurs build lasting companies. Adams Street’s Growth Equity Team has more than 150 years of collective investment and operational experience to help entrepreneurs and CEOs scale their companies.

Austin will be Adams Street’s fifth location in the US and 11th globally. The firm has additional offices in Beijing, Boston, Chicago, London, Menlo Park, Munich, New York, Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo.

About Adams Street Partners

Adams Street Partners is a global private markets investment manager with investments in more than 30 countries across five continents. The firm is 100% employee-owned and has more than $49 billion in assets under management. Adams Street strives to generate actionable investment insights across market cycles by drawing on nearly 50 years of private markets experience, proprietary intelligence, and trusted relationships. Adams Street has offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, London, Menlo Park, Munich, New York, Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo. Visit www.adamsstreetpartners.com

Media Inquiries:
Rich Myers / Rachel Goun
Profile Advisors
+1 347 343 2999
adamsstreet@profileadvisors.com

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EQT’s AI platform Motherbrain pushes the boundaries of the private markets with novel algorithm for better decision making

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eqt

EQT is proud to announce that an academic paper authored by the data science team at EQT Motherbrain has been accepted for publication by the 2021 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing (EMNLP), acknowledged as one of the best Natural Language Processing (NLP) academic conferences in the world of AI. The paper originated from the work of developing one of the many advanced deep learning models used by the Motherbrain platform.

Motherbrain is EQT’s proprietary investment platform driven by diversified big data and cutting-edge algorithms. EQT uses Motherbrain across the EQT platform to source deals and to help investment teams make better informed investment decisions. One of many analytical scenarios that Motherbrain helps tackle is defining the similarity between companies, which can be useful in tasks such as competitor mapping.

To solve this problem, the Motherbrain team proposed a novel method – PAUSE: Positive and Annealed Unlabeled Sentence Embedding, which generates numerical representations from company descriptions enabling a measurement of closeness between any two companies. The model turns out to be best-in-class at defining similarity without relying heavily on pre-existing annotations by investment professionals, as other high performing models do.

Victor Engelsson, Partner within EQT Growth’s Advisory Team, commented, “EQT Growth invests in companies at the scale-up stage and uses Motherbrain and underlying novel algorithms like PAUSE to assess and make faster and more substantiated decisions. Being data driven and having access to the best market intelligence is truly one of EQT’s competitive advantages.”

High performing deep learning models have not been easily applicable in the private capital domain as they require a large amount of annotated data. The Motherbrain team is constantly moving the needle when it comes to applying advanced analytics in the private capital sector, and PAUSE will facilitate that adoption by mitigating the reliance on heavily annotated data. With this work, the Motherbrain team is also proud to contribute to the academic community with a creative method born out of a real industrial use case.

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More than 80 percent of shareholders support the takeover offer by Zorro Bidco for zooplus – delisting offer for remaining shares announced

Acceptance rate at the end of the initial acceptance period of takeover offer by Zorro Bidco at approximately 82 percent

Zorro Bidco announces delisting offer for zooplus at a cash consideration of EUR 480 per zooplus share

zooplus and Zorro Bidco believe that a delisting will support the company’s focus on longer term objectives

8 November 2021 – London & Munich –Hellman & Friedman LLC (“Hellman & Friedman” or “H&F”) and the EQT IX fund (“EQT Private Equity”) today announced the result of the voluntary public takeover offer (the “Increased Offer”) by Zorro Bidco S.à r.l. (“Zorro Bidco”), a holding company controlled by funds advised by H&F, for the shares (ISIN: DE0005111702) of zooplus AG (“zooplus” or the “Company”). In this context, Zorro Bidco announced its intention to launch a public delisting tender offer (the “Delisting Offer”) for all remaining outstanding shares of zooplus. The Delisting Offer price will amount to EUR 480 per zooplus share, thus corresponding to the cash consideration of the Increased Offer.

At the expiry of the initial acceptance period, i.e. at midnight (CET) on 3 November 2021, the Increased Offer has been accepted for approximately 82 percent of the total share capital of zooplus, including the irrevocable tender commitments concluded for approximately 17 percent of the share capital. All offer conditions of the Increased Offer, including reaching the minimum acceptance threshold, were fulfilled by the end of the initial acceptance period. The Increased Offer will therefore be consummated. The statutory two-week additional acceptance period for the Increased Offer will commence on 9 November 2021 and end at midnight (CET) on 22 November 2021.

On 13 August 2021, Zorro Bidco and zooplus entered into an Investment Agreement to create a long-term Strategic Partnership. Thereby, zooplus has agreed in principle to support the intention to pursue a delisting of the Company following the closing of the voluntary public tender offer. Zorro Bidco strongly believes that as a privately held company zooplus would be better positioned to focus on longer term objectives as it will no longer be subject to short-term public market sentiments and the regulatory requirements of a listed company. As the vast majority of zooplus shareholders supported the takeover offer, Zorro Bidco has now decided in favour of the Delisting Offer.

On 25 October 2021, Hellman & Friedman and EQT Private Equity announced a partnership to finance Zorro Bidco’s Increased Offer for all outstanding shares of zooplus at a cash consideration of EUR 480 per zooplus share. The partnership between Hellman & Friedman and EQT Private Equity includes the financing of the Delisting Offer. In a further step, EQT Private Equity intends, subject to required regulatory approvals and other conditions, to become a jointly controlling partner with equal governance rights in a parent of Zorro Bidco following settlement of the Increased Offer.

The offer document for the Delisting Offer containing the detailed terms and other information relating to the Delisting Offer, respectively, will be published following permission by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) at www.hf-offer.com.

-Ends-

For further information, please contact:

For H&F
Regina Frauen
Phone: +49 160 8855105
Email: regina.frauen@fgh.com

Christian Falkowski
Phone: +49 171 8679950
Email: christian.falkowski@fgh.com

For EQT
Isabel Henninger
Phone: +49 174 940 9955
Email: eqt-offer@kekstcnc.com

Finn McLaughlan
Phone: +44 77 1534 1608
Email: eqt-offer@kekstcnc.com

Important note:

This announcement is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell shares of zooplus AG.

The Increased Offer by Zorro Bidco as well as its definite terms and conditions and further provisions concerning the Increased Offer are published in the according offer document, the publication of which has been approved by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin), as well as in the amendment of the Increased Offer and further publications by Zorro Bidco pursuant to the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act (Wertpapiererwerbs- und Übernahmegesetz) relating to the Increased Offer. Investors and holders of shares in zooplus AG are strongly advised to read the offer document for the Increased Offer and the amendment documentation for the Increased Offer and all other relevant documents regarding such public takeover offer since they contain important information.

The Delisting Offer as well as its definite terms and conditions and further provisions concerning the Delisting Offer will be published in the offer document for the Delisting Offer following permission by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) to publish such offer document. The Delisting Offer has not yet commenced. Investors and holders of shares in zooplus AG are strongly advised to thoroughly read the offer document and all other relevant documents regarding the Delisting Offer, when they become available, as they will contain important information.

The Increased Offer and the Delisting Offer are, or will be, respectively, published exclusively under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, in particular according to the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act (Wertpapiererwerbs- und Übernahmegesetz) and certain applicable provisions of securities laws of the United States of America. Any contract that is concluded on the basis of the Increased Offer or the Delisting Offer, respectively, will be exclusively governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany and is to be interpreted in accordance with such laws.

About

About Hellman & Friedman
Hellman & Friedman is a preeminent global private equity firm with a distinctive investment approach focused on large-scale equity investments in high quality growth businesses. H&F seeks to partner with world-class management teams where its deep sector expertise, long-term orientation and collaborative partnership approach enable companies to flourish. H&F targets outstanding businesses in select sectors including software & technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer & retail, and other business services. The firm is currently investing its tenth fund, with over $24 billion of committed capital, and has over $80 billion in assets under management and committed capital. Learn more about H&F’s defining investment philosophy and approach to sustainable outcomes at www.hf.com.

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 70 billion in assets under management across 27 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas with total sales of approximately EUR 29 billion and more than 175,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership. More info: www.eqtgroup.com.

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CVC Credit supports Bridgepoint’s investment in ACT

CVC Capital Partners

CVC Credit is pleased to announce that it has provided debt facilities to support Bridgepoint’s acquisition of a minority stake in ACT, the market-leading environmental products provider. CVC Credit will support the acquisition through its Capital Solutions Strategy, which focuses on providing primary junior capital to medium and large European and US companies.

Founded in 2009, ACT is the world’s leading provider of market-based sustainability solutions. Its expert teams in Amsterdam, Shanghai, New York and Paris deliver tailor-made solutions to help their clients reduce their carbon footprints and accelerate their climate action activities. ACT offers more than 80 products across high-impact climate projects, green electricity markets, energy efficiency, renewable fuels, emission allowances, and carbon offsets.

John Empson, Partner and Co-Head of Private Credit at CVC Credit, commented: “ACT is a leader in specialised markets for environmental products that is enjoying significant macro tailwinds. Its strong offering and network give ACT an outstanding growth opportunity and CVC is delighted to have been selected to provide the financing and partner with Bridgepoint and the management team.”

Olivier van Riet Paap, Head of Bridgepoint’s investment activities in the Benelux region, said: “The market in which ACT operates is forecast to grow rapidly driven by the need to change pace on climate change, increasing regulation, market complexity, and a growing voluntary corporate buy-in to addressing these matters. ACT is an exciting opportunity to back a true ESG-led innovator and leader in its field and to help it expand market share and pursue international growth in its core markets.”

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