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Cromology amends its banking terms, with the approval of nearly all of its lenders.

Wendel

Cromology amends its banking terms

Wendel is pleased to announce that Cromology, one of Europe’s leaders in decorative paints, has executed a bank amendment approved by nearly all of its lenders.

Cromology has amended the terms and conditions of its bank loans with a covenant reset. In so doing it has increased its financial flexibility and taken the steps necessary to pursue its plans for growth and development. As part of the transaction, Cromology has also increased drawdown capacity under its lines of credit by a total of €20 million. The cost of Cromology’s debt will remain the same.

This transaction will make a positive contribution to long-term value creation at Cromology, which is majority-owned (87.3%) by Wendel.

 

 

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Partners Group to provide over 1,700 residential apartments in Greater Stockholm, Sweden

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has agreed on behalf of its clients to develop over 1,700 residential apartments in the Greater Stockholm area in a joint venture with SSM, a leading Stockholm-based residential developer. The total value of the completed properties is expected to be in excess of EUR 700 million.

The project comprises three separate residential developments, Tellus Towers, Järla Station and Metronomen, all located within a 15-minute train ride from central Stockholm. The developments seek to provide small, but fully-functional residential units at an affordable price. Tellus Towers will be the largest of the three projects and will include two high-rise residential towers, a hotel, retail space and a preschool over a total floor area of 57,000 square meters. At 78 stories, the taller of the two towers is expected to be among the highest residential buildings in Northern Europe. Completion of the three developments is anticipated between 2019 and 2021.

Stuart Keith, Vice President, Private Real Estate Europe, Partners Group, states: “Stockholm is one of Europe’s fastest growing cities in terms of population growth. However, housing supply has not kept up with demand and there is a substantial shortfall of residential units across the city. With this project, we are catering to a fundamental market need and look forward to adding a substantial amount of efficient, modern and affordable housing to the city’s real estate market.”

Mike Bryant, Managing Director, Co-Head Private Real Estate, Partners Group, adds: “In Europe, the residential segment continues to be one of our key focus areas for investment, supported by demographic shifts and continued urbanization. To address rising population densities and higher rents and land prices, cities like London, Frankfurt, Berlin and Stockholm are moving towards the adoption of smaller, more efficient forms of housing. This development project fits squarely within this trend.”

 

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Ratos AB: Daniel Spasic leaves his position as CEO of TFS

Ratos

Ratos AB: Daniel Spasic leaves his position as CEO of TFS

Daniel Spasic has chosen to leave his position as CEO of Ratos’s subsidiary TFS, an international Contract Research Organisation (CRO), which conducts clinical trials for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medtech companies. James Utterback has been appointed acting CEO until a permanent CEO has been recruited.

In recent years, TFS has focused on therapeutic expertise, internationalisation, organisation and service offerings. Daniel Spasic, founder of TFS and the company’s CEO since 1996, has been an important contributor to this strategic focus. Daniel has now chosen to leave the company and James Utterback, an advisor to the Board of Directors of TFS with extensive experience in the pharmaceuticals industry, has been appointed acting CEO as of 14 August. The recruitment process to find a permanent replacement has begun.

 

“As the founder of TFS and for his 20 years as CEO, Daniel has applied his industry expertise to successfully build and develop TFS into an international clinical contract research company. Under Daniel’s leadership, TFS has positioned itself as a company with a focus on small and medium life science customers. Now, at a natural point in time, when TFS is taking the next step on its growth journey, with a clear set of goals and a well-defined strategy, Daniel has chosen to leave his position as CEO of the company,” says Mikael Norlander, Senior Investment Director at Ratos and company executive for TFS. 

 

Daniel will remain as a key owner of TFS, with 40% of the shares.

 

Ratos became a part-owner of TFS in 2015. On behalf of its customers, the company now conducts clinical trials in more than 40 countries and works with a broad international customer base of leading research companies. The company has approximately 750 employees and professional fee revenues for the rolling 12 months at 31 March 2017 amounted to EUR 60.6m and EBITA was
EUR 6.5m.

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Constantia Flexibles sells its Labels business to Multi-Color for an enterprise value of €1.15 billion

Wendel

Wendel welcomes today’s announcement by Constantia Flexibles, one of the world’s leaders in flexible packaging, that it has signed an agreement to sell its Labels business to Multi-Color Corporation, for an enterprise value of approximatley €1.15 billion(1.3 billion USD). Subject to customary regulatory approvals, the sale transaction is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2017. The majority of the transaction is payable in cash, while Constantia Flexibles will hold a 16.6 % equity holding in Multi-Color, thereby becoming its largest shareholder.

This value-creating transaction will give Constantia Flexibles additional resources to bolster its growth strategy in the flexible packaging market, where it is a leader in segments such as confectionery foils, die-cut lidding, alu-container systems and pharmafoil. Moreover, in becoming the largest shareholder of a company bringing together Constantia’s and Multi-Color’s labels businesses, Constantia Flexibles will retain an exposure to the growth of this market.

Frédéric Lemoine, Chairman of Wendel’s Executive Board and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Constantia Flexibles, said, “I am very pleased with this excellent transaction, which will give Constantia Flexibles additional resources to pursue its growth and development in flexible packaging in the coming years.

Since 2015, Wendel has supported Constantia Flexibles in its international growth and development. During this time, Constantia has, in particular, acquired five companies in Europe and emerging markets. Today’s strategic transaction will enable Constantia Flexibles to focus on flexible packaging and step up its investments in innovation and growth through further value-creating acquisitions that will give it exposure to new markets and new initiatives that will generate organic growth.”

Alexander Baumgartner, CEO of Constantia Flexibles, said, “Following a detailed strategy review, we decided that our top-performing Labels division would be better suited with another partner, which will support its ongoing growth story. At the same time, Constantia Flexibles will participate in the future success story of Multi-Color as its largest shareholder. Constantia Flexibles will use proceeds from the transaction to deleverage its balance sheet and enable further acquisitions in the dynamic and consolidating flexible packaging industry. We will also focus on innovative products and services, as well as new technologies to strengthen our existing Food and Pharma divisions.”

Constantia Labels is a global supplier of labels to the beverage, food and home & personal care industries (HPC). The Labels division achieved sales of €605 million in 2016, compared with Constantia Flexibles’ total sales of €2.1 billion in the same year.

Established in 1916, Multi-Color is one of the largest label companies in the world, serving some of the most prominent brands in the following market segments: healthcare, HPC, food & beverage, consumer durables and wine & spirits. Following completion of the transaction, Multi-Color is expected to achieve pro forma sales of ca. 1.6 billion USD and EBITDA of ca. 300 Million USD.

This transaction will make a positive contribution to long-termvalue creation at Constantia Flexibles, which is 60.5% owned by Wendel, its majority shareholder.

 

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CapMan Nordic Real Estate exits mixed residential & retail properties in Copenhagen

CapMan Nordic Real Estate fund has sold eleven properties along Amagerbrogade, a well-known high street in Copenhagen, to a Swedish residential property company Akelius. CapMan acquired the properties in 2013 and 2014.

The properties comprise lettable space of 15,022 sqm, of which 70 % is residential and 30 % retail. The properties were the second investment of the CapMan Nordic Real Estate fund.

“We are very pleased to complete another successful exit from our Nordic Fund. We have executed the business plan of upgrading the properties; reducing the retail vacancy, and increasing the Net Operating Income by 140 % over a 4-year period,” comments Torsten Bjerregaard, Managing Partner at CapMan Real Estate.

The transaction was done in co-operation with Keystone Investment Management and with legal advice from Plesner. RED was the broker on the transaction.

CapMan Nordic Real Estate fund acquires mainly office, retail and residential properties located in established submarkets of major Nordic cities. The fund was established in 2013 with €273 million of equity. This exit is the 9th the fund has completed.

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DIF announces the sale of the DIF Infrastructure II portfolio to APG

DIF

DIF announces the sale of the DIF Infrastructure II portfolio to APG

13 July 2017 – DIF is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to sell the entire portfolio of assets held by its 2008-vintage DIF Infrastructure II fund (“DIF II” or “Fund”) to APG Asset Management N.V., acting on behalf of pension fund ABP (“APG”). The transaction comprises 48 PPP / PFI and renewable energy assets across Continental Europe and the UK.

DIF II was launched in October 2008 with a 10-year life to invest in infrastructure projects that offer long-term stable cash flows and an attractive return. The Fund reached a final closing in July 2010, with €572 million of committed capital and made 58 investments; of which 10 investments have already been realized. The remaining portfolio includes investments in hospitals, schools, government accommodation, roads, solar and wind projects.

With the end of the Fund’s term in 2018, DIF considered the potential alternatives for realising the portfolio and ultimately concluded that value would be maximised by launching a process for the sale of the portfolio as a whole or in parts, if preferred by bidders. The bidding process also enabled institutional investors to bid for a share in the portfolio and to elect for an optional agreement with DIF to continue to manage the portfolio. This transaction structure also allowed DIF Infrastructure III (“DIF III”) to sell its cross-shareholdings in 12 of the portfolio assets. DIF mandated Campbell Lutyens and Loyens & Loeff as financial and legal advisors, respectively.

Following a competitive bidding process, APG was selected as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of the whole portfolio of DIF II and the cross-shareholdings of DIF III. As part of its bid, APG requested DIF to continue to manage the portfolio through a new investment vehicle, with a term of 25 years.

Wim Blaasse, Managing Partner of DIF said: “We are very pleased to have agreed this transaction with APG. It generates an excellent result for the DIF II investors, well above the Fund’s target return at inception, and will allow the Fund to be fully realised within its contractual life. The successful exit is a strong endorsement of DIF’s strategy and approach, as well as the commitment of the DIF team”

Immanuel Rubin, Partner at Campbell Lutyens said: “This is one of the largest infrastructure portfolio transactions in over five years, following a trend of high-quality managers using portfolio transactions to successfully exit their holdings.”

The transaction, which is subject to EC anti-trust approval, is expected to close in Q3 2017.

About DIF

DIF is an independent and specialist fund management company, managing funds of approximately €4.2 billion across seven closed-end investment funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in the global infrastructure market through two differentiated and complementary strategies.

The majority of DIF’s funds target PPP / PFI / P3, regulated infrastructure assets and renewable energy projects in Europe, North America and Australasia.

DIF CIF I targets small to mid-sized infrastructure assets in the telecom infrastructure, rail, energy and utility sectors that generate stable and predictable cash flows that are contracted over the mid-term with highly rated entities. The fund targets both greenfield and operational projects in Europe, North America and Australasia.

DIF has offices in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Luxembourg, Madrid, Toronto and Sydney.

About APG Asset Management N.V.

APG Group (“APG”) carries out collective pension schemes for participants in a broad range of sectors including in education, government, energy and utility companies, construction sectors and housing corporations. APG manages pension assets of in total €452 billion (May 2017) on behalf of pension funds for these sectors. APG works for over 40,000 employers and provides for the income of around 4.5 million participants. APG administers over 30% of all collective pension schemes in the Netherlands and has offices in Heerlen, Amsterdam, New York and Hong Kong.

On behalf of its clients (all of which are Dutch pension funds) APG Asset Management N.V. – a 100% subsidiary of APG Group – and its predecessors have been an active infrastructure investor since 2004, investing in excess of €10 billion to date, both through infrastructure funds as well as co-investments and direct investments with a long term investment horizon. The current portfolio encompasses almost 50 investments.

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Ardian arranges senior debt to finance Castik’s carve-out acquisition of Wolters Kluwer Transport Services

London, July 13th 2017 – Ardian, the independent private investment company, today announced the arrangement of a Senior Debt financing facility to finance Castik Capital’s carve-out acquisition of Wolters Kluwer Transport Services (“WKTS”), a leading European-focused provider of logistics management cloud-based software platforms. The financing marks the beginning of Ardian Private Debt’s Senior Debt direct lending capabilities.

WKTS was founded in 1985 under the name Teleroute, primarily offering Freight Exchange (“FX”) solutions. The Company was acquired by the Wolters Kluwer Group in 1989, which led an expansion of its product portfolio to include Transportation Management Software (“TMS”) solutions, whilst also driving strong business growth both organically and through selective M&A. Under the ownership of the Wolters Kluwer Group, WKTS has significantly expanded its geographical presence throughout Europe, and has recently expanded internationally into the US, China, and Latin America. The company currently serves more than 100,000 users across 80 countries.

WKTS primarily focuses on end-customers transporting large volumes of low value goods, where both shippers and carriers benefit significantly from managing transport volumes through web-based platforms. Within the broader market, WKTS is focused on cloud-based platforms, covering ‘matching’ through its FX platform, and ‘logistics management networks’ through its TMS platform.

ABOUT WKTS

WKTS, founded in 1985 and headquartered in Brussels, provides its customers with “on demand” Transportation Management Software and Services, equally catering for all transport and logistics professionals. With over 100,000 users across 80 countries, and through the breadth of their service offerings, WKTS is one of the few providers able to address the needs of the entire logistics supply chain via carriers, freight forwarders, logistics providers, and shippers.

www.wktransportservices.com

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian, founded in 1996 and led by Dominique Senequier, is an independent private investment company with assets of US$62 billion managed or advised in Europe, North America and Asia. The company, which is majority-owned by its employees, keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and delivers investment performance to its global investors while fuelling growth in economies across the world. Ardian’s investment process embodies three values: excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship.

Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 460 employees working through twelve offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore and Zurich. The company offers its 580 investors a diversified choice of funds covering the full range of asset classes, including Ardian Funds of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary), Ardian Private Debt, Ardian North America Direct Buyout, Direct Funds (Ardian Mid Cap Buyout, Ardian Expansion, Ardian Growth, Ardian Co-Investment), Ardian Infrastructure, Ardian Real Estate and customized mandate solutions with Ardian Mandates.

www.ardian.com

ABOUT CASTIK

Castik Capital, founded in 2014, is based in Luxembourg and focuses on identifying and developing investment opportunities across Europe. The advisor to Castik Capital is Castik Capital Partners GmbH, based in Munich. The professionals of Castik Capital and Castik Capital Partners have worked together for many years and collectively the partners have more than 100 years of relevant experience in private equity, industry, consulting, and banking.

Funds managed by Castik Capital aim to deliver superior returns through a flexible, focused, and long-term approach to investing and value creation.

Castik Capital is currently investing out of its first fund which has a volume of €1 billion.

www.castik.lu

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EQT VII acquires health technology company Certara for USD 850 million

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  • EQT VII acquires Certara, the global leader in model-informed (in silico) drug development and regulatory science, focused on optimizing drug development and improving health outcomes
  • Certara’s solutions help to inform and accelerate drug development and regulatory approval processes, while addressing the key efficacy, safety, productivity and commercial challenges facing the biopharma industry
  • EQT VII to support Certara’s growth trajectory by leveraging EQT’s operational and financial resources, including its global network of industrial advisors and deep expertise within the healthcare and pharmaceutical services sectors

Princeton, NJ and New York, NY, July 11, 2017 – The EQT VII fund (“EQT VII”) today announced that it has agreed to acquire Certara (the “Company”), the leading provider of technology-driven decision support solutions for drug development, for an enterprise value of USD 850 million. The Company is being acquired from Arsenal Capital Partners. As part of the transaction, Arsenal Capital Partners will retain a minority ownership stake in Certara, with the Company’s current management team, led by Edmundo Muniz, MD, PhD, continuing to lead the organization, building on a multi-year track record of both organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

Certara is the leading provider of model-informed drug development technology and services, as well as a best-in-class provider of regulatory science, writing, and submission management software and services. Certara’s solutions help inform the drug development and regulatory approval process and address the key efficacy, safety, productivity and commercial challenges facing the biopharma industry. The Company serves 1,200 commercial companies, 250 academic institutions and numerous regulatory agencies, across 60 countries. Certara is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey with over 500 employees globally, including key operations and senior management in Northern Europe.

Eric Liu, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VII said: “We are deeply impressed by what the Certara management team has accomplished over the last few years. Today, Certara is the global leader in an exciting and rapidly developing market, uniquely positioned to transform the field of drug development. Under Edmundo’s leadership the Company has assembled a strong and visionary management team and a highly-talented scientific staff, while fostering a mission-driven culture and accelerating growth. We are excited to support the development of Certara through continued investment in next generation technology, further international expansion and complementary acquisitions.”

“We are excited to team up with EQT as we look toward Certara’s next phase of growth,” said Edmundo Muniz, MD, PhD and CEO of Certara. “This new strategic partnership with EQT will enable us to strengthen our core offerings as well as to capitalize on transformative next-phase growth opportunities. We are looking forward to a great partnership that will benefit our customers, our employees, and our industry.”

Centerview Partners is serving as financial advisor and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as legal advisor to EQT VII. Jefferies LLC is serving as lead financial advisor and William Blair & Company as co-advisor to Certara. DLA Piper and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP are serving as legal advisors to Certara.

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Viking Venture exits EcoOnline at 10 times the investment

Viking Venture exits EcoOnline at 10 times the investment

Viking Venture, the Norwegian B2B software specialist, is happy to announce its divestiture of chemical management software provider EcoOnline AS to Summa Equity. After developing the company into a rapidly growing undisputed market leader in the Nordics, Viking Venture exits at 10 times the investment in 2.5 years. Viking Venture reinvests parts of the proceeds in EcoOnline to facilitate further growth in the Nordics and to establish a leading position in Europe. 

EcoOnline is sold to Summa Equities, a leading Nordic private equity firm, in an all cash transaction valuing EcoOnline at NOK 355 million. Viking Venture owned 64% of EcoOnline prior to the transaction.

– The sale of EcoOnline is a highly successful exit, yielding 10 times return on our investment in only 2.5 years, says Erik Hagen, managing partner of Viking Venture and the former chairman of the board of EcoOnline.

– With Summa Equity as a strong partner we will continue the rapid growth in our existing markets and are ready to expand into Europe, says Jostein Vik, partner of Viking Venture and former board member of EcoOnline. – We want to take part in the continued value creation and are reinvesting a substantial sum together with management”.

Summa will own 69% of the shares after the transaction while Viking Venture retains 23%. The remaining 8% is owned by management and employees.

 

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Herkules IV acquires Beckmann AS

Herkules Fund IV has entered into an agreement with the Beckmann family and management to acquire Beckmann AS, Norway’s leading provider of school backpacks. Beckmann is known for its unique value, functional and ergonomic design offering.
Herkules Fund IV has entered into an agreement to acquire the majority of the shares of Beckmann AS. The Beckmann family will together with the management re-invest and receive a minority stake in the company. Closing of the transaction is expected to take place in August 2017.

Founded in 1947, Beckmann is a leading provider of school backpacks with products sold in Scandinavia, Europe and Asia. Beckmann has an 80% market share in the primary school backpack market in Norway, and has been growing internationally in recent years. The company is headquartered in Kristiansand, Norway, and had net sales of NOK 81.2 million and an EBITDA of NOK 15.5 million in 2016.

“I believe Herkules will be able to grow the company in a way that we will not be able to achieve on our own. Herkules’ level of professionalism and competence coupled with their experience from Asia and China is unparalleled to our”, says Jan Olav Beckmann, the majority owner.

“The brand has an exceptionally strong position in the Norwegian market and is growing 30% annually. We believe there is great potential to accelerate growth and achieve further international success together with the Beckmann family,” says Sverre Flåskjer, Managing Partner at Herkules Capital.

For further information about Beckmann AS, please visit www.beckmann.no

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