Archives

Nordic Capital and Sampo become the largest shareholders in Norwegian Finans Holding

Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital Fund IX (“Nordic Capital”) and Sampo plc (“Sampo”) have together signed an agreement to acquire 17.47% of the shares in Norwegian Finans Holding ASA (“NOFI”) from Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA for a total value of NOK 2,218 mn (EUR 223 mn). Nordic Capital and Sampo have great sector expertise in financial services and have joined forces to realise an attractive investment opportunity and support NOFI’s further development as committed and active owners.

Established in 2007 and operating from a centralised platform in Oslo, NOFI is a fully digital bank that provides simple and competitive products to the retail customer market with a strong offering in personal loans, credit cards and savings. NOFI has more than 1.6 million customers and 84 employees based in Norway. NOFI was listed on Oslo Børs in 2016 and currently has a market capitalisation of approximately NOK 11 bn (based on the last price paid for the NOFI share on August 16, 2019).

Nordic Capital1) is one of the longest established and most active private equity investors in the Nordic region, investing in three core sectors comprising Healthcare, Technology & Payments and Financial Services. Nordic Capital has a strong track record from investments in the financial services sector, including Intrum, Nordax, Nordnet and Resurs Bank.

“Nordic Capital and Sampo have extensive experience and a strong track record in the financial services sector in the Nordic region and sees NOFI as an interesting company with strong growth potential. We look forward to becoming committed shareholders and support the company to become a leading pan-European financial institution, together with Norwegian Air Shuttle and their customer loyalty program, Norwegian Reward”, says Christian Frick, Partner and Head of Financial Services, Nordic Capital Advisors.

Completion of the acquisition will occur in two tranches, 9.97% with expected settlement on or around August 26, 2019, and the remaining 7.50%, which is subject to approval by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority, will be acquired once regulatory approval has been obtained. Nordic Capital and Sampo expect to hold around 64% and 36%, respectively, of the joint shareholding.

Press contact

Katarina Janerud, Communications Manager
Nordic Capital Advisors
Tel: +46 8 440 50 50
e-mail: katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com

 

1) Nordic Capital refers to Nordic Capital Fund IX and any, or all, of its predecessor and/or successor funds or vehicles depending on the context.

 

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a proven track record. Core sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services and in addition, Industrial Goods & Services and Consumer. Key investment regions are the Nordics, Northern Europe and globally for Healthcare. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested EUR 14 billion in over 100 investments. The most recent fund is Nordic Capital Fund IX with EUR 4.3 billion in committed capital, principally provided by international institutional investors such as pension funds. The Nordic Capital Funds and vehicles are based in Jersey. They are advised by several advisory entities, which are based in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the UK and the US, any or all of which is referred to as the “Nordic Capital Advisors”. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com

Categories: News

Tags:

The Carlyle Group and Safestore Form Joint Venture to Enter Dutch Self-Storage Market

Carlyle

London, UK, 19 August 2019, Safestore (FTSE250: SAFE) and global investment firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced the formation of a joint venture to acquire M3 Self Storage (M3).  M3 currently has six stores in prime locations in Amsterdam and Haarlem totalling c. 25,700 sqm (c. 277,000 sq ft) of lettable space.

The Dutch self-storage market is the fourth largest in Europe with 303 stores and 9.6m sq ft of lettable space. In addition to the initial acquisition, the joint venture intends to expand its platform by investing in further development and acquisition opportunities.

The Carlyle Group will have an 80% shareholding in the joint venture via funds from Carlyle Europe Realty (CER), a €540 million pan-European real estate fund.  Safestore will contribute the balance of the initial equity investment in the joint venture.  [Additional financial terms were not disclosed.

Marc-Antoine Bouyer, Managing Director, Carlyle Europe Realty, said: “This joint venture combines the extensive global and regional insights, and investing experience of the Carlyle Europe Realty team, along with the specialist industry knowledge of the Safestore team, to create a flexible and scalable platform to explore opportunities in the self-storage market. We are pleased to have a recognised industry leader as our partner.”

Frederic Vecchioli, Chief Executive Officer of Safestore said: “Since 2016, Safestore has successfully invested or committed c. £180m in 38 stores, acquisitions and new developments in its core markets of the UK and Paris.

Safestore has developed a multi-country highly scalable platform with a leading marketing and operational expertise in self-storage. The acquisition of M3 represents an excellent platform for entry into the attractive Dutch self-storage market and we expect that our joint venture with Carlyle Europe Realty will enable us to target additional selected development and acquisition opportunities.

We look forward to working with Carlyle, and to developing a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”

 

*****

 

Press Enquiries:

The Carlyle Group:

Catherine Armstrong

Tel: +44 (0) 207 894 1632

Email: catherine.armstrong@carlyle.com

 

Safestore:

Instinctif Partners       

Guy Scarborough/Catherine Wickman           020 7457 2020

Safestore Holdings plc            020 8732 1500

 

About The Carlyle Group:

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across four business segments: Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $223 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2019, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,775 people in 33 offices across six continents.

Web: www.carlyle.com

Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/OneCarlyle

Tweets: http://www.twitter.com/onecarlyle

Podcasts: http://www.carlyle.com/about-carlyle/market-commentary

 

About Safestore:

•           Safestore is the UK’s largest self-storage group with 146 stores at 30 April 2019, comprising 119 wholly owned stores in the UK (including 67 in London and the South East with the remainder in key metropolitan areas such as Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol) and 27 wholly owned stores in the Paris region.

•           Safestore operates more self-storage sites inside the M25 and in central Paris than any competitor providing more proximity to customers in the wealthiest and densest UK and French markets.

•           Safestore was founded in the UK in 1998. It acquired the French business “Une Pièce en Plus” (“UPP”) in 2004 which was founded in 1998 by the current Safestore Group CEO Frederic Vecchioli.

•           Safestore has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2007. It entered the FTSE 250 index in October 2015.

•           The Group provides storage to around 64,000 personal and business customers.

•           As at 30 April 2019, Safestore had a maximum lettable area (“MLA”) of 6.37 million sq ft (excluding the expansion pipeline stores) of which 4.65 million sq ft was occupied.

•           Safestore employs around 650 people in the UK and France.     

 

 

Categories: News

Tags:

Oakly Captial acquires Seven Miles

Oakley

Oakley Capital (“Oakley”) is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Seven Miles GmbH (“Seven Miles”), a leading consumer technology company in the gift voucher and B2B gift card sector, partnering with its founders, Tom Schröder and Valentin Schütt.

Since it was established in Germany in 2014, Seven Miles has grown rapidly to become one of the leading physical and digital gift card networks in the DACH region, allowing consumers to purchase gift cards that can be used with more than 500 leading brands in the majority of German retailers. In 2019, Seven Miles expects to sell gift solutions in excess of €100 million. The market for multi-brand gift cards in Germany is expected to grow at over 15% in the coming years, as consumers increasingly value the convenience and flexibility that make gift cards an attractive present for many occasions.

We look forward to working with Oakley Capital. The Oakley team has a deep understanding of the sector and our business model and is a truly entrepreneurial partner who will help to accelerate the growth of our platform in the coming years.
Tom Schröder
Co-Founder, Seven Miles

Seven Miles offers a diverse range of gift card and employee incentive subscription products to both consumers and businesses. Operating under the brands ‘Wunschgutschein’, ‘WishCard’, ‘SteuersparCard’ and others, Seven Miles multi-brand gift vouchers can be redeemed at a wide variety of retailers, online, mobile, and in store. In total, its platform connects more than 500 leading brands to the majority of German retailers, covering more than 60,000 points of sale. Seven Miles also provides a range of B2B gifting solutions to corporate partners. This service, which is a fast-growing segment of the German employee incentive market, allows companies to thank, engage and reward employees with gift cards.

The investment in Seven Miles continues Oakley’s successful track record of backing founder managers in consumer technology platforms and in the DACH region. Oakley will support the current management team to create a sustainable digital platform and continue its strong growth and leadership in product innovation. This transaction further demonstrates Oakley’s ability to leverage its network, both to source opportunities and provide highly relevant expertise for its portfolio companies.

Peter Dubens, Managing Partner of Oakley Capital, commented:
“We are delighted to be partnering with Tom and Valentin. Seven Miles exhibits many of the characteristics Oakley looks for in a deal – a founder-led, high-growth business with a leading position in its niche market, and we look forward to the opportunity we have to build and develop the digital platform together.”

Valentin Schütt, Co-Founder of Seven Miles, commented:
“We founded Seven Miles five years ago. Together with Oakley, using their expertise in the digital consumer space, we want to establish Seven Miles as the market leader in the gift voucher solution space and continue to strengthen Wunschgutschein and WishCard as leading consumer brands.”

Categories: News

Tags:

FPE Capital appoints two new investment team appointments as it builds team to further support UK lower mid-market investment focus

FPE Capital

FPE Capital LLP is delighted to announce the appointments of Harriet Hunt and Ben Cole as Investment Managers. These are the third and fourth new investment team hires by FPE Capital following the final close of its latest fund, FPE Fund II.

Harriet joins FPE Capital from PwC, where she was a member of the firm’s M&A Advisory team. She has passed all three levels of exams of the CFA designation. and has worked on a number of private equity led lower mid market transactions at PwC.

Ben joins FPE from Skillcapital, a global executive search and advisory firm dedicated to private equity. Ben spent almost four years as a member of the firm’s TMT practice, finding CEOs, CFOs and Chairs for mid and large cap portfolio companies, and advising investors and management teams around transaction processes. He brings a strong network of relationships with senior executives from both public and private companies across Europe and the US. His sector experience fits extremely well with FPE’s strength in technology enabled business services. Prior to joining Skillcapital he worked at the expert network, AlphaSights.

These appointments mark a further step in the development of the FPE Capital investment team as it continues its focus on the lower end of the UK mid-market. Harriet will strengthen the firm’s investment capabilities and Ben will focus on widening the firm’s investment origination activity among its differentiated network of individual investors from the business community, together with the wider intermediary community.

Recent investments made by FPE Capital from its Fund II include TNP, a provider of cloud based software solutions, and IWSR, the leading global alcohol data provider.

David Barbour, Managing Partner at FPE Capital, commented:

“We are delighted to have recruited Harriet and Ben – two impressive professionals who have been attracted by the opportunity at FPE Capital to work in the lower mid-market and to partner with ambitious high growth UK businesses. Their recruitment marks a further important step change in the FPE team on the back of our spin out and closing of FPE Fund II.”

Categories: People

Presidio, Inc. Announces Definitive Agreement to be Acquired by BC Partners

Aug. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Presidio, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSDO) (together with its subsidiaries, “Presidio” or the “Company”), a leading North American IT solutions provider delivering Digital Infrastructure, Cloud and Security solutions to create agile, secure infrastructure platforms for commercial and public sector customers, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by funds advised by BC Partners, a leading international investment firm, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.1 billion, including Presidio’s net debt.

Under the terms of the agreement, Presidio stockholders will receive $16.00 in cash for each share of Presidio common stock they own. The purchase price represents a premium of 21.3% over Presidio’s closing stock price of $13.19 on August 13, 2019, and a premium of 18.3% over the Company’s 60-day volume-weighted average share price leading up to this announcement. The Presidio Board of Directors unanimously approved the agreement with BC Partners and recommends that Presidio stockholders vote in favor of the transaction.

“We believe this transaction will provide immediate and substantial value to Presidio stockholders, while providing us with a partner that can add strategic and operational expertise to our business, with a focus on executing our long-term strategy,” commented Bob Cagnazzi, Chief Executive Officer of Presidio.

“Over the last several years, Presidio has become the leader in designing, developing, deploying and managing agile secure IT infrastructures that drive real business value for thousands of commercial and public sector entities across the United States,” said Fahim Ahmed, lead deal Partner of BC Partners. “We look forward to supporting the Company in its next phase of growth.”

“Presidio fits squarely with our key investment priorities. Its markets benefit from secular growth, as IT systems and networks have become increasingly complex. It is well positioned as a leader in a fragmented industry, offering scope for further expansion. We’re excited to partner with Bob and his team to support the future growth of the business,” said Raymond Svider, Partner and Chairman of BC Partners.

TRANSACTION DETAILS

Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Presidio common stock, expiration or early termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, and other required regulatory approvals, including approval from CFIUS. AP VIII Aegis Holdings, L.P., an affiliate of investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC, which owns approximately 42% of the outstanding shares of Presidio common stock, has entered into a voting agreement with BC Partners, pursuant to which it has agreed, among other things, to vote its shares of Presidio common stock in favor of the merger, and against any competing transaction, so long as, among other things, the Presidio board continues to recommend that Presidio stockholders vote in favor of the merger.

Presidio expects to continue to pay its regular quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share, during the pendency of the transaction.

The parties expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2019. Upon completion of the transaction, Presidio will become a privately held company, and its common stock will no longer be listed on the NASDAQ stock market.

Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, Presidio’s Board and advisors may actively initiate, solicit and consider alternative acquisition proposals during a 40-day “go shop” period starting from the date of the definitive agreement. Presidio will have the right to terminate the merger agreement to accept a superior proposal subject to the terms and conditions of the merger agreement. There can be no assurances that this process will result in a superior proposal, and Presidio does not intend to disclose developments with respect to this solicitation process unless and until Presidio’s Board makes a determination requiring further disclosure.

Fully committed debt financing for the transaction will be provided by Citi, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and RBC Capital Markets. LionTree Advisors is acting as financial advisor to Presidio, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as its legal counsel. Citi, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and RBC Capital Markets are acting as financial advisors and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal counsel to BC Partners.

ABOUT PRESIDIO
Presidio is a leading North American IT solutions provider focused on Digital Infrastructure, Cloud and Security solutions to create agile, secure infrastructure platforms for commercial and public sector customers. We deliver this technology expertise through a full life cycle model of professional, managed, and support services including strategy, consulting, implementation and design. By taking the time to deeply understand how our clients define success, we help them harness technology advances, simplify IT complexity and optimize their environments today while enabling future applications, user experiences, and revenue models. As of June 30, 2018, we serve approximately 8,000 middle-market, large, and government organizations across a diverse range of industries. Approximately 2,900 Presidio professionals, including more than 1,600 technical engineers, are based in 60+ offices across the United States in a unique, local delivery model combined with the national scale of a $2.8 billion dollar industry leader. We are passionate about driving results for our clients and delivering the highest quality of service in the industry.

ABOUT BC PARTNERS
BC Partners is a leading international investment firm with over €22 billion of assets under management in private equity, private credit and real estate. Established in 1986, BC Partners has played an active role in developing the European buy-out market for three decades. Today, BC Partners executives operate across markets as an integrated team through the firm’s offices in North America and Europe. Since inception, BC Partners Private Equity has completed 111 private equity investments in companies with a total enterprise value of €135 billion and is currently investing its tenth private equity fund. For more information, please visit www.bcpartners.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections and other applicable laws. Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. However, such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “will,” “would,” “estimate,” “expect,” “believe,” “target,” “indicative,” “preliminary,” or “potential.” Forward-looking statements in this communication may include, without limitation: statements about the potential benefits of the proposed acquisition, anticipated growth rates, Presidio’s plans, objectives, expectations, and the anticipated timing of closing the acquisition. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related to the satisfaction of the conditions to closing the acquisition (including the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals) in the anticipated timeframe or at all, obtaining the requisite approval of the stockholders of Presidio; risks related to the debt financing arrangements; disruption from the transaction making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; significant transaction costs; unknown liabilities; the risk of litigation and/or regulatory actions related to the proposed acquisition; other business effects, including the effects of industry, market, economic, political or regulatory conditions; future exchange and interest rates; changes in tax and other laws, regulations, rates and policies; future business combinations or disposals; competitive developments; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in Presidio’s filings with the SEC, including the “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statements Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” sections of Presidio’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequently filed Form 10-Qs. The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly revisions to any “forward-looking statement,” including, without limitation, outlook, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this presentation, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Investors should not assume that any lack of update to a previously issued “forward-looking statement” constitutes a reaffirmation of that statement. Continued reliance on “forward-looking statements” is at investors’ own risk.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRANSACTION AND WHERE TO FIND IT
In connection with the proposed transaction between the Company and BC Partners, the Company will file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a preliminary Proxy Statement of the Company (the “Proxy Statement”). The Company plans to mail to its shareholders the definitive Proxy Statement in connection with the transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF THE COMPANY ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANY, BC Partners, THE TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the Proxy Statement and other documents (when available) filed with the SEC by the Company through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the documents filed with the SEC by the Company in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at investors.presidio.com or by contacting the Company’s Investor Relations at investors@presidio.com or by calling 866-232-3762.

PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION
Presidio and certain of its directors, executive officers and employees may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of the shareholders of the Company in connection with the transaction, including a description of their respective direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is included in the Proxy Statement described above filed with the SEC. Additional information regarding the Company’s directors and executive officers is also included in the Company’s proxy statement for its 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on October 2, 2018, or its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2018, which was filed with the SEC on September 6, 2018. These documents are available free of charge as described above.
Source: Presidio, Inc.

Media Inquiries

Investor Relations Contact:
Ed Yuen
866-232-3762
investors@presidio.com

Media Relations Contact:
Catherine Johnson
626-818-9287
Pro-bcpartners@prosek.com

Categories: News

Tags:

IRIS Software Group enters definitive agreement to acquire FMP Global

HG Capital

IRIS Software Group, is today announcing it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire FMP Global, from Tenzing, the UK lower mid-market investor. FMP is a leading provider of payroll and HR services to international and UK based Small and Medium sized Enterprises.

Set to be the largest acquisition by IRIS to date, FMP Global is closely aligned with the Group’s mission to be the most trusted provider of mission critical software and services. In the UK, US and internationally, FMP supports over 1,750 businesses in 135 countries, providing international HR consultancy, outsourced global payroll services, and international money transfers.

Please find the full press release here.

Kevin Dady, CEO of IRIS Software Group says, “As part of our acquisition strategy, we continue to identify opportunities to expand both domestically and internationally where we can apply our expertise in compliance-driven software. Bringing FMP into the Group is transformative, expanding IRIS’ footprint into the US and other international markets, while also further strengthening our position in the UK payroll and HR sectors.

“Domestically we are seeing an increased demand for fully or partially outsourced payroll management solutions and internationally, we are seeing a growing payroll requirement for businesses of all sizes. IRIS’ heritage, combined with its marketing reach, investment in cloud technology and sector expertise will help propel FMP Global to the next phase of its growth.”

Categories: News

Tags:

IRIS Software Group enters definitive agreement to acquire FMP Global

HG Capital

IRIS Software Group is today announcing it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire FMP Global, from Tenzing, the UK lower mid-market investor. FMP is a leading provider of payroll and HR services to international and UK based Small and Medium sized Enterprises.

Set to be the largest acquisition by IRIS to date, FMP Global is closely aligned with the Group’s mission to be the most trusted provider of mission critical software and services. In the UK, US and internationally, FMP supports over 1,750 businesses in 135 countries, providing international HR consultancy, outsourced global payroll services, and international money transfers.

Please find the full press release here.

Kevin Dady, CEO of IRIS Software Group says, “As part of our acquisition strategy, we continue to identify opportunities to expand both domestically and internationally where we can apply our expertise in compliance-driven software. Bringing FMP into the Group is transformative, expanding IRIS’ footprint into the US and other international markets, while also further strengthening our position in the UK payroll and HR sectors.

“Domestically we are seeing an increased demand for fully or partially outsourced payroll management solutions and internationally, we are seeing a growing payroll requirement for businesses of all sizes. IRIS’ heritage, combined with its marketing reach, investment in cloud technology and sector expertise will help propel FMP Global to the next phase of its growth.”

Categories: News

Graphite Capital acquires Horizon Care and Education

Graphite

 

In August 2019, Graphite Capital led the management buy-out of Horizon Care and Education, a leading provider of specialist care for children and adolescents. Horizon provides care for young people with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (“SEMH”) needs, managing 47 residential homes, fourteen day schools and a range of supported living accommodation across England. The company is split into three divisions: Residential, Education and Transitional Services.

Categories: News

Tags:

Graphite Capital acquires global conference specialist Hanson Wade

Graphite

Graphite Capital, aleading UK mid-market private equity specialist,has backed the management buy-out of Hanson Wade, the market-leading conference organiser and provider of information services,focused primarily on the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Hanson Wade’s management team is led by Tom Richardson, who has overseen a period of rapid expansion since being appointed chief executive in 2015. Between 2016 and 2018, the company’s portfolio of events almost doubled to 108 and its revenues increased by 117% to £22.6 million.

Hanson Wade is based in London, but generates the overwhelming majority of its revenues in the United States, where the addressable market is estimated at over $700 million. The global market for conferences is highly fragmented and growing strongly, providing Hanson Wade with scope to expand both organically and through acquisitions.Sarah McCaldin, who founded the business in 2008, and her family have reinvested in the company and Sarah will remain on the board as a non-executive director.

Hanson Wade has three conference divisions: pharma and biotech, which generates approximately three-quarters of revenues;construction and engineering;and human resources. The business benefits from high repeat bookings from both sponsors and delegates.The company also owns a fast-growing scientific data business, Beacon, which provides subscribers with access to a powerful database covering clinical trials and other research data in niche sectors of the bio-pharma industry.

Tom Richardson said: ‘We have been impressed by Graphite’s track record of growing innovative businesses, its understanding of the industry and its partnership approach to 22 working with management teams. Graphite shares our vision for the future and its expertise will be invaluable as we further expand the business internationally.’

Graphite partner Humphrey Baker commented: ‘The Hanson Wade management team has developed a differentiated model that enables the business to identify and respond to trends within its target markets,expanding the range of conferences it produces to gain first-mover advantage in attractive new niches. We also see strong potential in Beacon, which is proving a highly attractive data source for the scientific community. We look forward to working with Tom and his team to grow the business in the coming years.’Mike Tilbury, Head of New Investment at Graphite,Tony Saade and Liam McGivern also worked on the transaction.

Crescent Capital Group and HSBC provided the debt finance for the transaction.

Categories: News

Tags:

Novacap completed its largest acquisition at US $889 million

Cdpq

Nuvei, one of Novacap’s portfolio companies, executes SafeCharge’s acquisition for US $889 million
Novacap, one of Canada’s leading private equity firms, is proud to announce that its portfolio company Nuvei, a Montreal-based payment technology company, has completed the acquisition of SafeCharge International Group Limited for US $889 million. SafeCharge provides global omni-channel payments services from card acquiring and issuing to payment processing and checkout, all underpinned by advanced risk management solutions. Its fully featured proprietary payment platform connects directly to all major payment card schemes including Visa, Mastercard, American Express and UnionPay International, as well as over 150 local payment methods.The acquisition creates a global leading payment solutions provider with significant scale, able to service clients of any size across the world. Montreal, Quebec, will become the worldwide headquarters for the combined organization.Novacap played a critical role in this transformative and complex acquisition, which saw SafeCharge being privatized from the AIM stock exchange in London at a valuation of US $889 million. Nuvei’s acquisition of SafeCharge was done with great support from Novacap and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).

The acquisition is highly strategic and complementary to both businesses, aimed at accelerating the growth of the combined organization. “By marrying SafeCharge’s market-leading technology and Nuvei’s established distribution channels in the US and Canada, Nuvei will now be able to deliver fully-supported payment solutions to its clients and distribution networks, regardless of size, vertical or geography,” said David Lewin, Partner at Novacap (TMT).

“I would like to thank our partner Philip Fayer for being the driving force behind this acquisition, while continuing to successfully excute on Nuvei’s strong growth potential, as well as CDPQ, our partner in Nuvei, for their constant support. I am very happy to say that Safeharge is the largest acquisition in Novacap’s 38 year history making Nuvei another Novacap platform that is a leader in its industry with headquarters in Montreal” added Pascal Tremblay, Novacap’s President and Managing Partner (TMT).

“Without Novacap and CDPQ, Nuvei would not have been able to complete this acquisition,. I am very proud to have them as my partners” stated Philip Fayer, Nuvei’s Chairman and CEO.

ABOUT NUVEI

Nuvei is the first-ever community of payment experts. They provide fully-supported payment solutions designed to promote and advance our partners’ success. Nuvei works with ISOs, ISVs, payment facilitators, developers, and eCommerce platforms, supporting them with the technology, expertise, and customer service they need to stand out. Backed by their full-service, globally connected platform, their vision is to build a network in which all partners can truly thrive. Nuvei’s goal is to create bigger and better payment opportunities for all, paving the way to great partnerships. Learn more at  www.nuvei.com

ABOUT NOVACAP

Founded in 1981, Novacap is a leading Canadian private equity firm with $3.2 billion of assets under management. Its distinct investment approach, based on deep operational expertise and an active partnership with entrepreneurs, has helped accelerate growth and create long-term value for its numerous portfolio companies. With an experienced management team and substantial financial resources, Novacap is well positioned to continue building world-class businesses. Backed by leading global institutional investors, Novacap’s deals typically include leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, add-on acquisitions, IPOs, and privatizations. Over the last 38 years, Novacap has invested in more than 90 companies and completed more than 130 add-on acquisitions. The company has offices in Toronto, Ontario and Brossard, Quebec. For more information, please visit  www.novacap.ca.

ABOUT CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at June 30, 2019, it held CAD 326.7 billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

Categories: News

Tags: