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Centessa Pharmaceuticals Launches with $250 Million Series A Financing and Unveils a New Kind of Pharmaceutical R&D Model

Merger of 10 Privately Held Biotech Companies with Highly Validated Programs Led by Industry Leading Teams to Operate Under Centessa Umbrella

Company Founded by Medicxi with Financing Led by General Atlantic, and Co-led by Vida Ventures and Janus Henderson Investors

Saurabh Saha, M.D., Ph.D., Former Senior Vice President, R&D, and Global Head of Translational Medicine at Bristol Myers Squibb Appointed as Chief Executive Officer

Moncef Slaoui, Ph.D., Former Chief Scientific Advisor of Operation Warp Speed, Former Chairman of R&D at GlaxoSmithKline, Partner at Medicxi, Appointed as Chief Scientific Officer, Advisor

February 16, 2021

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (“Centessa”) launched today as a novel asset-centric pharmaceutical company designed and built to advance a portfolio of highly validated programs. Our asset-centric R&D model applied at scale has assembled assets led by specialized teams committed to accelerate development and reshape the traditional drug development process. The company was founded by Medicxi and raised $250 million in an oversubscribed Series A financing led by General Atlantic and co-led by Vida Ventures and Janus Henderson Investors. Additional blue-chip investors participated in the financing, including Boxer Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Wellington Management Company, BVF Partners L.P., EcoR1 Capital, Franklin Templeton, Logos Capital, Samsara BioCapital, LifeSci Venture Partners and an undisclosed U.S.-based, healthcare-focused fund.

In conjunction with its launch, Centessa has completed the merger of 10 private biotech companies (“Centessa Subsidiaries”) that will each continue to develop its assets with oversight from the Centessa management team. Each Centessa Subsidiary team is asset-focused, in that it prosecutes a single program or biological pathway, with leadership provided by subject matter experts who are given a high degree of autonomy to advance each program. With a singular focus on advancing superior science, combined with proprietary capabilities, including structure-based drug discovery and design, the subsidiary teams enable Centessa to potentially develop and deliver impactful medicines to patients.

“The vision of Centessa is to build a pharmaceutical company with a unique operational framework that aims to reduce some of the key R&D inefficiencies that classical pharmaceutical companies face because of structural constraints,” said Francesco De Rubertis, Ph.D., co-founder and Partner at Medicxi and Chairman of the Centessa Pharmaceuticals Board of Directors. “Our operations will be driven by an asset-centric approach, whereby each Centessa Subsidiary is solely focused on the execution of its programs with oversight from the highly experienced Centessa management team. The ambition of applying asset centricity at scale is to be able to deliver life altering medicines to patients with improved efficiency by boosting R&D productivity.”

Our Approach

Centessa brings together 10 companies from Medicxi’s portfolio with 15 high conviction programs led by experienced teams. Each Centessa Subsidiary is led by industry leaders and subject matter experts with deep experience directly related to key biological pathways that underpin the programs being advanced. These entrepreneurs who have catalyzed the creation of subsidiary companies will continue to advance novel science within the Centessa enterprise.

The Centessa Subsidiaries are comprised of ApcinteX, Capella BioScience, Janpix, LockBody, Morphogen-IX, Orexia Therapeutics, Palladio Biosciences, PearlRiver Bio, Pega-One, and Z Factor. The current Centessa Pharmaceuticals portfolio consists of four clinical stage programs, including two that are in late-stage clinical development, and more than 10 additional programs spanning diseases with high unmet need across oncology, hematology, immunology, inflammation, neuroscience and rare diseases.

“With this first-of-its kind model, we are bringing together programs with robust genetic and biological validation under one new pharmaceutical company that provides centralized resources to enable and empower asset-focused teams to advance highly impactful programs for patients,” said Saurabh Saha, M.D., Ph.D., Centessa’s Chief Executive Officer. “This approach encourages an environment where scientific teams are incentivized to maintain an unwavering focus on advancing medicines to key go/no-go inflection points based on data-driven decisions.”

Centessa will have the flexibility to deploy capital by adhering to a “follow-the-data” philosophy and will support each Centessa Subsidiary with centralized capabilities that enable advancement of its respective programs. These include manufacturing, regulatory and operational support to enable and expedite scientific prosecution of programs by subsidiary teams. Each team is uniquely incentivized to expeditiously interrogate key scientific hypotheses.

Moncef Slaoui, Ph.D, Chief Scientific Officer, Advisor of Centessa added, “In creating Centessa, we have strategically assembled our subsidiary portfolio to include programs with strong biological validation, mechanistic diversification, and teams with proprietary capabilities and insights. This high quality portfolio aims to deliver enhanced diversification, reduced risk and asymmetric upside with a view to withstanding the inherent low probability of success associated with drug development.”

Meet the Team

The Centessa Pharmaceuticals management team consists of biotech and pharmaceutical industry leaders who oversee decisions related to capital allocation, development plans and strategic transactions in partnership with the Centessa Subsidiaries.

Saurabh Saha, M.D., Ph.D., former Senior Vice President, R&D, and Global Head of translational medicine at Bristol Myers Squibb has been appointed as the company’s Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. In addition, Moncef Slaoui, Ph.D., former Chief Scientific Advisor of Operation Warp Speed, former Chairman of R&D at GlaxoSmithKline, and Partner at Medicxi, has been appointed as Chief Scientific Officer, Advisor.

The Centessa Board of Directors includes Francesco De Rubertis, Ph.D., Medicxi, who will serve as the company’s Chairman; Aaron Kantoff, Medicxi; Brett Zbar, M.D., General Atlantic; and Arjun Goyal, M.D., M.Phil., Vida Ventures.

“We believe Centessa represents a unique opportunity in our sector,” said Brett Zbar, M.D., Managing Director and Global Head of life sciences at General Atlantic. “The high-quality science and entrepreneurial drive within each of the Centessa Subsidiaries, combined with this deeply experienced leadership team, has the potential to bring important medicines to patients with speed and efficiency.”

“Centessa’s bold vision and unique operating model are supported by compelling clinical programs, strong data and a stellar team,” said Arjun Goyal, M.D., M.Phil., Co-Founder and Managing Director at Vida Ventures. “We believe Centessa’s approach can ultimately lead to impactful medicines that will benefit patients globally.”

ABOUT THE CENTESSA SUBSIDIARIES

ApcinteX

ApcinteX is developing SerpinPC, a specific inhibitor of the anticoagulant protease activated protein C (APC), for the treatment for hemophilia A and hemophilia B, with or without inhibitors.

Capella BioScience

Capella Bioscience is developing CBS001, a neutralizing therapeutic monoclonal antibody to the inflammatory membrane form of LIGHT (known as TNFSF14), for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Capella BioScience is also developing CBS004, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody to blood dendritic cell antigen 2 (BDCA2), for the treatment of lupus erythematosus (systemic and cutaneous) and systemic sclerosis.

Janpix

Janpix is developing a novel class of selective dual-STAT3/5 small molecule monovalent degraders for the treatment of various hematological malignancies, including leukemias and lymphomas.

LockBody

LockBody is pioneering a platform technology to develop LockBody CD47 (LB1) and LockBody CD3 (LB2) for optimal targeting of solid tumors by the innate immune system.

Morphogen-IX

Morphogen-IX is developing MGX292, a protein-engineered variant of human bone morphogenetic protein-9 (BMP9), for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Orexia Therapeutics

Orexia Therapeutics is developing oral and intranasal orexin receptor agonists using structure-based drug design approaches. These agonists target the treatment of narcolepsy type 1, where they have the potential to directly address the underlying pathology of orexin neuron loss, as well as other neurological disorders characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness.

Palladio

Palladio is developing lixivaptan, an oral non-peptide, new chemical agent that works by selectively suppressing the activity of the hormone vasopressin at the V2 receptor, as a treatment for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease with the goal of slowing the progression of kidney function decline and avoiding the liver safety issues associated with tolvaptan.

PearlRiver Bio

PearlRiver Bio is developing ​potent and selective oral exon20 insertion mutation inhibitors intended to have ​minimal activity on wild-type EGFR and optimal pharmacokinetic properties, ​for the treatment of EGFR exon 20 insertion (with potential to target and treat Her2 exon 20 insertions) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PearlRiver Bio is also developing oral inhibitors targeting C797S-mutant EGFR and undisclosed next generation EGFR inhibitors for NSCLC.

PegaOne

PegaOne is developing imgatuzumab, a humanized, non-fucosylated, anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody for the treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and other solid tumor indications.

Z Factor

Z Factor is developing ZF874, a small molecule chemical chaperone intended to rescue folding of the Z variant of alpha-1-antitrypsin, increasing serum levels of active protein and reducing accumulation in the liver, for the treatment of alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency.

ABOUT CENTESSA

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Limited is a next-generation biopharmaceutical company that aims to reshape the traditional drug development process. The company applies an asset-centric R&D model at scale to advance a portfolio of highly validated programs led by industry leading teams. Each program is developed by an Centessa Subsidiary and supported by a centralized infrastructure and the Centessa management team. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, visit www.centessa.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements we make in this press release may include statements that are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which are usually identified by the use of words such as “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “plans,” “projects,” “seeks,” and variations of such words or similar expressions. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act and are making this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions. These forward-looking statements, including statements relating to expectations, plans and prospects regarding the clinical development plans and timing, clinical trial designs, clinical and therapeutic potential, and strategy for any of our programs reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, the success of clinical trials, regulatory filings, and approvals. These forward-looking statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of Centessa’s management team as of the date of this release and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Furthermore, Centessa operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment in which new risks emerge from time to time. Except as required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Media Contacts

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

Dan Budwick
1AB dan@1abmedia.com

Mary Clark & Shabnam Bashir
Optimum Strategic Communications centessa@optimumcomms.com

Marcus Veith
VEITHing Spirit +41 79 20 75 111 marcus@vspirit.ch

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Teneo extends global presence with acquisition of Deloitte’s UK Restructuring Services Business

CVC Capital Partners

Teneo, the global CEO advisory firm, today announced a major expansion of its international consulting capabilities with an agreement to acquire the Restructuring Services business of Deloitte UK. Teneo is a portfolio company of funds advised by CVC Capital Partners, who are making an incremental equity investment as part of this transformational transaction.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, further extends the range of market-leading advisory services that Teneo provides to business leaders, their boards, companies and a wide range of institutions around the world.

The Restructuring Services business of Deloitte UK, comprising more than 250 people including 27 partners, will add specialist expertise in distressed restructuring and insolvency to Teneo’s existing advisory capabilities in management consulting, risk, strategic communications, public affairs, investor relations, capital advice, talent and executive search. As a result, Teneo’s total headcount will increase to more than 1,100 employees.

The team joining Teneo represents one of the most comprehensive offerings of any distressed restructuring business in the UK and Europe, and will continue to focus on identifying the causes of underperformance, working collaboratively with key stakeholders to develop the best strategy for recovery and support implementation of the optimal solution.

Declan Kelly, Chairman and CEO of Teneo, said: “We are delighted to welcome Deloitte’s UK restructuring team to Teneo as we strengthen our worldwide consulting capabilities. The combination of the UK’s best distressed restructuring specialists with our existing advisory expertise will reinforce and extend Teneo’s position as the world’s leading CEO advisory firm. Teneo intends to use this acquisition to build a global restructuring practice leveraging our existing capabilities in the United States as well as through further M&A and organic growth.”

Daniel Butters, Head of Deloitte’s UK Restructuring Services business, will become Head of Restructuring for Teneo, a new business segment that will provide a wide range of services to help clients navigate periods of financial and operational underperformance or stress. This will draw on the proven capabilities of the team, which is structured across three primary service lines including corporate advisory, creditor advisory and insolvency. Together with his senior Leadership Team of Rob Harding and Ian Wormleighton, who have together with Daniel led the sale process, and the support of their 24 fellow partners, the group is excited to take the business to the next level with Teneo.

“We are very excited to join Teneo and believe that this is the perfect home for our partners and people,” said Butters. “Declan and the Teneo team share our vision to build the leading global restructuring firm. We have growth plans to scale our existing market leading business, clear support from our clients for our strategy and we believe that Teneo gives us the right platform to deliver this vision.”

Richard Houston, Senior Partner and Chief Executive at Deloitte UK, added: “We’re thrilled with this outcome. Our overriding priority throughout this process has been to ensure the stability and future success of the business as well as the individual progression and development of its talented partners and people. The deal announced today offers an exciting opportunity for that, and we wish Dan and the team every success for their future journey.”

Following completion of the transaction, terms of which are not being disclosed, Teneo’s UK presence will increase to more than 600 staff in multiple advisory disciplines serving many of Britain’s largest companies and institutions. The Teneo Restructuring team will operate from a network of London and regional offices, reflecting its existing national footprint.

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HLD Europe enters exclusive discussions with Ardian to acquire Photonis

Ardian

16 February 2021 Ardian France, Paris

HLD Europe has entered exclusive discussions with Ardian, for the acquisition of Photonis, a leader in the design and production of image intensification tubes and scientific detection systems. Photonis management will reinvest alongside HLD Europe.
The completion of the transaction is subject to the consultation of employee representative bodies and the approval of relevant administrations.

Photonis is a hightech company with 80 years of experience in the design and manufacture of electro-optical components and high-precision sensors. Photonis is particularly well known for manufacturing image intensification tubes for night vision goggles and widely used by international armed forces across the globe. It is a world leader within this field, and the only European player. With a turnover of approximately 150 million euros for 2020 and a workforce of nearly 1,000 employees, Photonis is present in more than 50 countries and has production sites in France, the Netherlands and the United States. With the support of its new shareholder, Photonis will be able to continue its development and growth by continuing its pursuit of technological innovation. and development of new applications both organically and through acquisitions.

Jérôme Cerisier, CEO of Photonis: “I am very happy to start a new stage of development for Photonis alongside our new shareholder. Together, we have the ambition to develop the company into a very high value-added technology provider. We will continue to innovate in order to offer high-end solutions tailored to our customers’ detection and imaging needs but also benefit from a faster access to new customers in the fields of Defense, Industrial Control and Life Sciences. For all the employees who have been working for several years for the renewal of Photonis, it is the culmination of a long process and a new impetus that allows us to live the Passion, the Entrepreneurial Will and the Team spirit, the Trust and the Respect that animate us! I would like to thank Ardian for their support during the past years, and for their support to the development of Photonis Technology. “

Philippe Poletti, CEO of Ardian France and Daniel Setton, Managing Director in the Buyout activity: “We are delighted to have been part of the growth journey and that through Ardian’s support, Photonis has put R&D and industrial excellence at the heart of its strategy, allowing the group to diversify while positioning itself at the forefront of innovation. Today, we are proud of the path we have taken and are certain that Photonis has all the assets to succeed in its new phase of development. We would like to thank Jérôme Cerisier and the team at Photonis for the partnership over the last ten years and wish them all the best.”

Jean-Bernard Lafonta, Founding Partner of HLD Europe and Jean-Hubert Vial, Partner:  “HLD is an investment group that supports the development of high-performing companies without time limitation on its investment horizon. We think that this specificity has been a key factor in the choice of the new shareholder of Photonis: it allows to realize the company’s development plan and keep investing in technology. We are delighted to have the opportunity to support the development project of Photonis led by Jérôme Cerisier and his team. With the entrepreneurial spirit that drives HLD, we are convinced that we will be able to achieve Photonis’ ambitions.”

 

About Photonis

Photonis is a high-tech company with more than 80 years of experience in the innovation, development, manufacturing and sale of equipment in the field of photo detection and imaging. Located in France, the Netherlands, and the United States, the company has a turnover of approximately 150 million euros and employs nearly 1,000 people.
Thanks to its relentless investment in technology, innovation at the core of its DNA, and the work of its specialized teams, Photonis is proud to have the most widely deployed night vision tube among the world armed forces as well as having detectors installed in laboratories in the entire world.
A global leader in night vision, mass spectrographs and space missions, Photonis provides detection and imaging solutions to its customers: power tubes, digital cameras, neutron & gamma detectors, scientific detectors as well as intensifier tubes. Photonis addresses complex issues in demanding environments for critical applications such as defense, surveillance and security, medical, scientific detection and imaging, nuclear, space exploration, industrial control…

Visit the Website

 

About HLD Europe

Created in 2010, HLD has experienced remarkable growth in the investment capital sector. The investment holding company now has 13 companies in France and Europe with an average growth of 10% (including Tessi, Kiloutou, Coyote, MVG or TSG), representing combined revenue of almost €2.5 billion and 24,000 employees. True to the wishes of its shareholders, which include many European entrepreneurs, including the Decaux, Dentressangle and Claude Bébéar families, HLD invests without any time constraints. This has enabled strong ties to be forged with portfolio company management, and HLD to support the long-term development of companies in Europe and internationally.

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 around 1,000 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
Follow Ardian on Twitter @Ardian

Press contact

DGM Conseil

Thomas de Climens

+33 6 14 50 15 84

Quentin HUA

+33 6 28 63 27 29

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CELLINK AB to Acquire GINOLIS OY – Major exit for Verso Fund II

Verso Capital

CELLINK AB (publ) has entered into an agreement with the shareholders of Ginolis Oy to acquire all shares
for a purchase price on cash- and debt-free basis of 70M euros (the “Acquisition”).

Ginolis Oy is a leading provider of robot-based automation solutions used world-wide to manufacture a
variety of medical disposables and point-of-care tests such as Covid-19 tests. Ginolis was established in
Finland in 2010. Fund II Ky became the largest shareholder of the company in 2017 through a combination
of share purchases and a significant investment into the company. During our ownership period Ginolis’
revenue grew from €3M in 2017 to €18M in 2020, with significant further business growth estimated for
the years to come. Today Ginolis is a multi-national company with approximately 100 employees in Finland,
Estonia, UK, China and the United States, and has customers in Europe, North America and China.

“We are pleased to announce this successful exit from a major investment in our second fund” says Anssi
Kariola, Managing Partner for Verso Capital and chairman of the board for Ginolis. “Working together with
the management team, we set very ambitious growth targets in 2017, and managed to reach our financial
target levels despite the challenges created by the global pandemic. Ginolis is a great example of how
extensive know-how from one industrial sector can be leveraged to build a unique offering for another
industrial segment.”

Teijo Fabritius, founder and CEO of Ginolis comments: “It has been great to work together with the Verso
Capital Team. Together we were able to solve many challenges with good teamwork.”
Innovestor Ventures and Finnvera were earlier stage investors in Ginolis and continued to support the
company’s growth as co-investors to this exit.

Bryan, Garnier & Co acted as the financial adviser and Avance Attorneys as the legal adviser to Ginolis and
its shareholders.

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EURAZEO launches its Smart City II Venture Fund to help cities accelerate their transition and enhance their resilience against crisis

Eurazeo

Paris, February 11, 2021 – After the success of its Smart City I Venture fund, Eurazeo has announced the initial closing of its Smart City II Venture fund at €80 million to invest in the most promising energy, mobility proptech and logistics start-up worldwide.
This first round of fundraising has brought together top-tier investors including longstanding partners of Smart City II Venture Fund as well as new partners in Europe and Asia: French, German and Asian groups (carmaker Stellantis, electric utilities EDF and Mainova, public transportation operator RATP, energy major Total, logistics champion Duisport and Thaï real estate developer Sansiri), institutional investors as PRO BTP and family offices.

The success of this round of fundraising reflects the strategy adopted by the Smart City Venture team which, through its Smart City I Venture Fund, has already made nearly 25 investments spanning not only Europe but also thanks to the Group’s international presence, Asia and North America. Most of these portfolio investments have already demonstrated their international growth potential. This is the case, for example, for the Spanish last-mile logistics specialist Glovo, the American leader in charging networks for electric vehicles, Volta Charging, and the Chinese pioneer of autonomous mobility, Weride.

The Smart City Venture team invests into innovative digital companies which are supporting rapid transformation of cities for the benefit of their residents: work from home, shared mobility, electric mobility, food delivery and the renewable energy transition. The public health crisis has massively accelerated and amplified these changes in all major cities. Positioned at the intersection of digital technologies and the renewable energy transition, Eurazeo Smart City II is one of Europe’s most prominent funds supporting progress in energy, mobility, proptech, logistics and Industry 4.0 – all core components of a green recovery.

Matthieu Bonamy, Partner at Idinvest Partners, a subsidiary of Eurazeo, shares:
“We are proud of the trust given by our investors. The Smart City Venture strategy aims to select and support the future global leaders in each of their sectors thanks to an expertise in our investments themes and a selectivity rate at the level of the best generalist funds. The fund benefit is also extra-financial as we support entrepreneurs who take decisive action to reduce carbon emissions and enable the development of more inclusive and resilient cities. This is crucial today as cities consume 78% of the world’s energy and produce more than 60% of the world’s greenhouse gases. »

About Eurazeo
• Eurazeo is a leading global investment company, with a diversified portfolio of €18.8 billion in assets under management, including €13.3 billion from third parties, invested in over 430 companies. With its considerable private equity, real estate and private debt expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its nearly 300 professionals and by offering in-depth sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term.

• Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, London, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Madrid.
• Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.
• ISIN : FR0000121121 – Bloomberg : RF FP – Reuters : EURA.PA
EURAZEO

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CVC backs leading healthcare IT solutions provider System C

CVC Capital Partners

CVC backs leading healthcare IT solutions provider System C

11 Feb 2021

CVC Capital Partners today announced that CVC Fund VII has completed an investment in System C Healthcare and its partner company Graphnet Health.

System C provides vertical software solutions for hospitals, social care, immunisation management and population health that help to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care.

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Funds advised by Apax to acquire Herjavec Group

Apax

11 February 2021

London, UK February 11, 2021– Funds advised by Apax Partners (the “Apax Funds”) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake of Herjavec Group (HG), an award-winning global Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) and cyber operations leader. Founder & CEO, Robert Herjavec, will remain as a significant stakeholder and the firm’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The financial terms of the transaction (which is subject to applicable regulatory approvals) were not disclosed.

Founded in 2003, Herjavec Group has been recognised as one of the world’s most innovative cybersecurity companies with the sole mission of protecting enterprises globally from evolving cyber threats. Earning accolades from industry analysts including Gartner, Forrester, IDC and MSSP Alert, Herjavec Group has developed a reputation globally for attracting top security talent, and continuously advancing its cyber services which include Cybersecurity Advisory Services, Architecture & Implementation of best of breed technologies, Identity & Access Management, 24/7 Managed Security Services, Threat Management and Incident Response.

The Apax Funds, in partnership with HG’s management team, will look to build on the company’s impressive growth rate by accelerating international expansion efforts, augmenting HG’s talented team with additional threat & identity resources, and further advancing the “HG Identity” and “HG SOAR” proprietary platforms. The Apax Tech team have a deep understanding of the cyber security market through the Apax Funds’ prior investments in Sophos, a world-leader in the space and Coalfire, a cybersecurity advisory business which was acquired by the Apax Funds in 2019.

Robert Herjavec, Founder & CEO of Herjavec Group, said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome the Apax Partners team to Herjavec Group. Over the past seventeen years, HG has remained steadfast in our mission to make enterprises around the world more secure. We have succeeded in that effort by developing an industry-leading 24/7 Managed Security Services practice, by advancing our proprietary IP, by diversifying our offerings to include Advisory, Managed Detection & Response, Identity and Incident Response services, and by hiring what I fundamentally believe is the very best team in the world.  This acquisition and the growth funding that results is a testament to our entire team, and to our loyal customer base who has entrusted us with their mission critical assets. I am excited for this next phase in our growth trajectory as we continue to earn their trust by expanding our localized support models, deepening our Managed Security Services offerings and furthering our platform development to drive incremental automation, efficiency and security ROI.”

Rohan Haldea, Partner at Apax Partners, said: “Under Robert’s leadership, HG has grown into an impressive business, providing critical cybersecurity solutions with a special focus on customer service. In an increasingly complex cybersecurity and IT market, where we are seeing ever more sophisticated cyber-crime, HG is a trusted partner that relieves the burden from internal enterprise security teams. We are excited to partner with Robert and team as we look to drive the business forward, investing in continued product innovation and growth acceleration while maintaining the company’s number one priority:  customer centricity.”

Dentons US LLP is serving as legal counsel to Herjavec Group and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to Apax. Momentum Cyber is serving as financial advisor to Herjavec Group in connection with the transaction.  UBS Investment Bank and Stifel are serving as financial advisors to Apax.

About Herjavec Group

Robert Herjavec founded Herjavec Group in 2003 to provide cybersecurity products and services to enterprise organizations. HG has been recognized as one of the world’s most innovative cybersecurity operations leaders, and excels in complex, multi-technology environments. Herjavec Group’s service expertise includes Advisory Services, Technology Architecture & Implementation, Identity Services, Managed Security Services, Threat Management, and Incident Response. Herjavec Group has offices and Security Operations Centers across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and India. For more information, visit HerjavecGroup.com or contact a security specialist at: info@herjavecgroup.com.

About Apax Partners LLP 

Apax Partners LLP (“Apax Partners”) is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of more than $60 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For further information about Apax Partners, please visit www.apax.com.

Apax Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

Media Contacts:  

For Herjavec Group
Erin McLean/ +1-647-535-3126/ emclean@herjavecgroup.com
Kristin Glover/ +1- 416-844-9591/ kglover@herjavecgroup.com

For Apax Partners
Katarina Sallerfors / +44 20 7666 6526 / Katarina.Sallerfors@apax.com
Luke Charalambous / +44 20 7872 6494 / Luke.Charalambous@apax.com
Matthew Goodman / James Madsen, Greenbrook | +44 20 7952 2000 | apax@greenbrookpr.com

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Espresso Capital extends $4.5 million credit facility to Boston-based VillagePlan

espresso capital

Boston — February 11, 2021 — Espresso Capital announced today that it has provided Boston-based healthcare technology company VillagePlan with a $4.5 million credit facility. VillagePlan, the leading provider of technology-enabled expert caregiver support services, will use the funds to further invest in key AI and natural language processing technology and engagement tools. It will also expand its rapid growth in the employee benefits, insurance benefits, and financial services markets.

“This investment fuels our growth at a time when demand for expert caregiver support has never been greater,” said Evan Falchuk, CEO of VillagePlan. “We carefully considered many partners for this investment and chose Espresso Capital because of their attractive cost of capital and creative approach as well as the high quality of their team.”

VillagePlan’s engagement tools, expert care managers, and leading technology and analytics platform provide families with extraordinary help at a time of need, while also improving the quality and cost of care for their loved ones.

“It has been clear from the beginning of the financing process that Evan and the team understand how to position the company for future growth — their past successes are further proof of that.” says Espresso’s Steven Michau. “VillagePlan’s offering addresses a large segment of the population that will continue to grow. Layering technology onto a service-heavy model will allow them to scale while also maintaining the personal relationships that are so important to succeeding in this space.”

VillagePlan entered 2021 poised for significant expansion and is currently building on its existing partnerships with employers such as Microsoft, insurers such as MetLife, and health care organizations such as Providence Health Systems.

About VillagePlan
VillagePlan is the leading provider of technology-enabled expert services to help families care for aging loved ones. Led by former senior executives of Boston-based Best Doctors, Inc., VillagePlan’s scalable platform improves people’s lives while reducing the cost of care for consumers, insurers, employers and others. At a time when millions of people around the world face the challenge of caring for an aging loved one, VillagePlan is here to help with clinical and non-clinical support, data analytics and risk prevention tools that make a real difference for families and their loved ones.

About Espresso Capital
Espresso empowers companies with innovative venture debt solutions. Since 2009, we’ve helped more than 280 technology companies and their investors accelerate growth, extend runway, and increase strategic flexibility with non-dilutive capital. Learn more at www.espressocapital.com.

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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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