Category Archives: News

Anaplan Announces Agreement to Acquire Fluence Technologies

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Integrating Fluence will enhance market-leading connected planning solution by adding best-in-class financial consolidation capabilities to the Anaplan cloud platform

MIAMI, FL—Today, Anaplan, a market-leading platform for connected planning that enables better business decision-making, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Fluence Technologies, a leading cloud native solution leveraged by enterprises across the globe for financial close, consolidation, disclosure management and reporting.  The acquisition is expected to close in early May.  More specifically, the integration of Fluence into the Anaplan platform will provide:

  • Consolidations – Out-of-the box software for financial consolidation. Quick to roll out and easy for the finance team to operate, with intuitive workflow automation, consolidation models with built-in intercompany eliminations, account reconciliation, cash flow management and the use of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Power BI for financial and management reporting.
  • Disclosure Management – Designed for evolving reporting demands, enabling finance teams with complete control (no IT required), with familiar Office authoring and publishing in Word and PowerPoint with document setup in minutes.
  • Excel Reporting – Insightful, interactive reports on company-wide metrics for any business audience in Excel (i.e. a data-connected Excel add-in for enterprise reporting needs), with over 30 built-in connectors to report on real-time metrics.

Anaplan is the leader in finance planning, transforming how FP&A organizations across the globe enable real-time scenario analysis.   With the addition of consolidation and disclosure management, Anaplan is strengthening its leadership position and enabling organizations to make better decisions faster.  Through seamlessly integrating consolidation with connected planning on a unified platform, finance organizations can reduce system and process complexity, lower costs and improve compliance by navigating statutory audits to GAAP requirements, down to the local entity level.  Moreover, such local entity granularity enhances the robustness of Anaplan’s scenario analysis capability, which is already a distinctive capability of the platform.

“As a chief financial officer, I know the value of merging financial consolidation with cross functional connected planning on a unified platform.  By connecting consolidated actuals to forecasts on a unified connected planning platform, critical financial workstreams including local country/region accountability, transfer pricing studies, tax planning, local cash balance management among others are accelerated with increased fidelity”, said Hemant Kapadia, Anaplan CFO.

“Traditional planning is yesterday’s paradigm,” said Charlie Gottdiener, CEO of Anaplan.  “Today’s model is real-time financial and operational decision-making, and the unification of financial consolidation and connected planning on a common platform facilitates the agility needed to address the collapsing decision cycles associated with planning and scenario analysis.  The same finance team that utilizes the power of Anaplan to dynamically plan their business in real-time will now be able to leverage a familiar, user-friendly UX and UI to control and execute consolidation and disclosure management, and in the process reduce automation costs, accelerate time to decision-making, improve compliance posture and optimize finance capacity for higher-value work.”

After closing, the integration of Fluence into the Anaplan platform, along with accelerated innovation targeting the office of the CFO, will be led by two financial consolidation industry pioneers, Adam Thier, Anaplan Chief Product and Technology Officer and Hervé Capo, Vice President of Product at Fluence, “A key tenet of both companies’ software development philosophy is that the user interface should be simple, but powerful, intuitive and easy to use – our Excel add-in, FluenceXL is a great example of this principle.  It is this software tenet that will guide the integration of Fluence into the Anaplan platform, extending the benefits of Anaplan’s market-leading finance planning solution to financial consolidation”, said Michael Morrison, CEO at Fluence.

About Anaplan

Anaplan provides a market-leading platform for connected business planning that enables better decision-making.  By dynamically connecting financial, strategic, and operational plans in real time, Anaplan’s connected planning platform facilitates the agility needed to address the accelerated decision cycles associated with planning and scenario analysis. Anaplan helps more than 2,400 market-leading customers in over 50 countries navigate their daily planning and decision-making challenges with confidence.   To learn more, visit www.anaplan.com.

Read the release on the Anaplan website here.

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Raptor Technologies Expands Behavioral Threat Management Capabilities with Acquisition of SIGMA Threat Management Associates

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Thomabravo

Dr. Marisa Randazzo to Join Raptor to Lead Threat Assessment Services and Training

HOUSTON—Raptor Technologies (Raptor), the U.S. leader in school safety software, announced today an agreement with Ontic, a software provider delivering Connected Intelligence that unifies how security professionals manage physical threats, mitigate risks and strengthen businesses, for the strategic acquisition of SIGMA Threat Management Associates (SIGMA), a renowned leader in threat assessment and violence prevention services.

This acquisition marks a significant milestone in Raptor’s commitment to providing comprehensive safety solutions for schools and communities. By incorporating SIGMA’s expertise in threat assessment and violence prevention with StudentSafe, Raptor’s cutting-edge threat management software, Raptor aims to further enhance its ability to safeguard students, staff and school environments.

 

“Raptor’s mission is to empower schools to create safer environments for learning,” said Gray Hall, CEO of Raptor Technologies. “Adding SIGMA Threat Assessment training to the Raptor portfolio of safety products and services is our next step in expanding our capabilities as we assist schools in embracing a broader perspective on safety for their students, staff and communities.”

SIGMA brings decades of experience in threat assessment, behavioral threat management and violence prevention to Raptor. SIGMA threat assessment experts have worked with schools, businesses and organizations across the country to assess threats, develop prevention strategies and train stakeholders on threat awareness and response.

“We are excited to join Raptor to advance our shared mission of making schools safer,” said Marisa Randazzo, Ph.D., co-founder of SIGMA. “By combining our expertise in threat assessment and violence prevention with Raptor’s innovative software solutions, we can provide schools with comprehensive, proactive approaches to reducing threats.”

As part of the acquisition, SIGMA will operate as part of Raptor Technologies, with Dr. Marisa Randazzo serving as Executive Director of Threat Assessment. Prior to joining Raptor, Dr. Randazzo served as Executive Director of Threat Management at Ontic and was the former Chief Research Psychologist with the U.S. Secret Service, where she served for over a decade. Additionally, she currently serves as the Director of Threat Assessment at Georgetown University.

“Ontic, Raptor and SIGMA all share the mission of keeping people safe,” said Lukas Quanstrom, CEO and co-founder of Ontic. “We will continue to champion the threat assessment methodology and software for our corporate clients at Ontic. We look forward to seeing the impact SIGMA will have on school safety as they join a leader like Raptor.”

About Raptor Technologies
Founded in 2002, Raptor has partnered with over 60,000 schools in 55 countries, including over 5,300 K-12 US school districts, to provide integrated visitor, volunteer, attendance, dismissal, emergency management, and safeguarding software and services covering the complete spectrum of school and student safety. To learn more about Raptor Technologies, visit www.raptortech.com.

About Ontic
Ontic makes software that corporate and government security professionals use to proactively manage threats, mitigate risks, and make businesses stronger. Built by security and software professionals, the Ontic Platform connects and unifies critical data, business processes, and collaborators in one place, consolidating security intelligence and operations. We call this Connected Intelligence. Ontic serves corporate security teams across key functions, including intelligence, investigations, GSOC, executive protection, and security operations. For more information, please visit ontic.co or follow us on X or LinkedIn.

Read the release on the Raptor website here.

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T-Mobile and EQT Announce Joint Venture to Acquire Lumos and Build Out the Un-carrier’s First Fiber Footprint

eqt

T-Mobile’s scalable broadband and wireless growth engine combined with EQT’s infrastructure expertise will leverage Lumos’ fiber platform to deliver broadband services to more Americans 

BELLEVUE, Wash. & NEW YORK, NY, April 25, 2024,  — T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS), America’s 5G leader and fastest growing broadband provider, and EQT, a purpose-driven global investment organization, today announced they have entered into a joint venture (JV) with EQT’s Infrastructure VI fund (EQT) that will acquire fiber-to-the-home platform Lumos from EQT’s predecessor fund EQT Infrastructure III.

The JV will bring T-Mobile’s retail, marketing, brand and customer experience strengths together with EQT’s fiber infrastructure investment expertise. Together they will acquire Lumos’ scalable fiber network build capabilities to deliver best-in-class high-speed fiber internet connectivity to customers across the U.S. without access to fiber today. After the transaction closes, Lumos, which currently reaches 320,000 households over 7,500 route miles with fiber optic internet and home wi-fi service in the Mid-Atlantic, will transition to a wholesale model with T-Mobile as the anchor tenant owning customer relationships and leveraging its brand to attract new subscribers. The JV will focus on market identification and selection, network engineering and design, network deployment, and customer installation.

“As the demand for reliable, low-latency connectivity rapidly increases, this deal is a scalable strategy for T-Mobile to take a significant step forward in expanding on our broadband success and continue shaking up competition in this space to bring even more value and choice to consumers,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “Together with EQT and Lumos, T-Mobile is building on our position as the fastest growing broadband provider in the country in a value-accretive way that complements our sustained growth leadership in wireless. Customers – homes and businesses – who get the fast, affordable, and reliable internet they need will be the real winners.”

T-Mobile provides a unique value proposition and much-needed reliable connectivity to homes and businesses across the country through its 5G Internet, a fixed wireless internet service on its 5G network that is available to more than 50 million households and businesses nationwide and serves over 5 million customers, as well as T-Mobile Fiber, which has launched in parts of 16 U.S. markets. Those launches have shown consumer demand for broadband that T-Mobile cannot meet through its fallow capacity fixed wireless product alone, and many customers want the speed and reliability that only fiber can provide.

Jan Vesely, Partner within EQT’s Infrastructure Advisory Team said, “We are proud to have partnered with Lumos over the past six years to rapidly scale the company and roll out fiber to underserved markets, and we look forward to continuing to leverage EQT’s considerable digital infrastructure and fiber expertise to support the significant fiber buildout ambitions of T-Mobile and the JV. This new effort will build critical fiber broadband infrastructure that will enable remote work, education, and healthcare use cases across the country. We have worked with T-Mobile as a customer across many of our existing digital infrastructure investments and are delighted to build on that relationship and partner with T-Mobile on this opportunity to roll out fiber to underserved Americans.”

“Lumos takes great pride in our achievements, as we have successfully delivered fiber to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, marking a significant acceleration in our growth. Our commitment to enhancing customers’ lives through the development of a network prepared for the demands of tomorrow remains steadfast,” Brian Stading, CEO of Lumos. “With the support of our private equity partner, EQT, and leveraging the strength of the T-Mobile brand and unrivaled customer experience, Lumos is set to expedite our network expansion. This joint venture will amplify our ability to change lives through the transformative power of fiber optic internet.”

The transaction is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. At closing, T-Mobile is expected to invest approximately $950 million in the JV to acquire a 50% equity stake and all existing fiber customers, with the funds invested by T-Mobile being used by Lumos for future fiber builds. The next capital contribution by T-Mobile out of an additional commitment of approximately $500 million is anticipated between 2027 and 2028. These combined investments are expected to allow Lumos to reach 3.5 million homes passed by the end of 2028. T-Mobile continues to expect to complete its remaining authorization for share repurchases and dividends in 2024.

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

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains certain forward-looking statements concerning T-Mobile and the proposed transaction with EQT to acquire regional fiber company Lumos. All statements other than statements of fact, including information concerning future results, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “could” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction, including anticipated future financial and operating results, T-Mobile’s and the joint venture’s objectives, expectations and intentions, the accounting treatment of the proposed transaction, and the expected timing of completion of the proposed transaction. There are several factors which could cause actual plans and results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the failure to satisfy any of the conditions to the proposed transaction on a timely basis or at all; the occurrence of events that may give rise to a right of one or both of the parties to terminate the definitive agreements; adverse effects on the market price of T-Mobile’s common stock and on T-Mobile’s operating results because of a failure to complete the proposed transaction in the anticipated timeframe or at all; negative effects of the pendency or consummation of the proposed transaction on the market price of T-Mobile’s common stock and on T-Mobile’s operating results; the risk of litigation or regulatory actions; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in T-Mobile’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, including in the sections thereof captioned “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K and Form 10-Q, all of which are filed with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov and www.t-mobile.com. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions, which are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, persons reading this communication are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. T-Mobile assumes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this communication (whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise), except as required by applicable law. References to our and the SEC’s website are inactive textual references only. Information contained on our and the SEC’s website is not incorporated by reference in this communication and should not be considered to be a part of this communication.

Legal Disclaimer

The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security, and may not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or solicitation. Any offer or solicitation in respect of EQT Infrastructure VI will be made only through a confidential private placement memorandum and related documents which will be furnished to qualified investors on a confidential basis in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The information contained herein is not for publication or distribution to persons in the United States of America. Any securities referred to 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 without registration thereunder or pursuant to an available exemption therefrom. Any offering of securities to be made in the United States would have to be made by means of an offering document that would be obtainable from the issuer or its agents and would contain detailed information about the issuer of the securities and its management, as well as financial information. The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration.

Advisors 

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is serving as T-Mobile’s exclusive financial adviser for the transaction.The Bank Street Group and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP were exclusive advisors to Lumos and EQT Infrastructure III for the transaction.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC advised EQT Infrastructure VI for the transaction.

T-Mobile US, Inc. Media Relations
MediaRelations@t-mobile.com

T-Mobile Investor Relations Contact
investor.relations@t-mobile.com
https://investor.t-mobile.com

EQT Press Office
press@eqtpartners.com

About T-Mobile

T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) is America’s supercharged Un-carrier, delivering an advanced 4G LTE and transformative nationwide 5G network that will offer reliable connectivity for all. T-Mobile’s customers benefit from its unmatched combination of value and quality, unwavering obsession with offering them the best possible service experience and undisputable drive for disruption that creates competition and innovation in wireless and beyond. Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile provides services through its subsidiaries and operates its flagship brands, T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile and Sprint. For more information please visit: https://www.t-mobile.com

About EQT

EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 242 billion in total assets under management (EUR 132 billion in fee-generating assets under management), within two business segments – Private Capital and Real Assets. EQT owns portfolio companies and assets in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas and supports them in achieving sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership. More info: www.eqtgroup.com. Follow EQT on LinkedIn, X, YouTube and Instagram.

About Lumos

Lumos provides 100% Fiber Optic Internet, whole-Home Wi-Fi, voice and streaming services, to more than 300,000 homes and businesses across Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. We believe that the possibilities of tomorrow cannot be built on the infrastructure of yesterday. That’s why we’re building a 100% Fiber Optic network from the ground up for families, businesses, and communities, backed by local, expert customer service. An Internet built for that most hopeful of all things – the future. Because whatever the future holds, we make it faster. Learn more at www.LumosFiber.com

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European value-for-money optical platform nexeye to be acquired by KKR from 3i, accelerating its strategic growth ambitions

3I
  • KKR’s investment enables nexeye to accelerate further its ambitions to expand its optical and hearing care services within existing and new markets, with a continued focus on customer service, product quality and innovation.
  • Under 3i’s ownership, nexeye has pursued a strategy focused on market expansion and championing a value-for-money offering for customers.

Gorinchem (NL) / London (UK), 25 April 2024 – nexeye (the “Company” or “Group”) today announced that a definitive agreement has been signed whereby investment funds and accounts managed by KKR agreed to acquire the Company from investment firm 3i Group plc.

Headquartered in Gorinchem, the Netherlands, nexeye is a leading European provider of value-for-money eye care operating under the Hans Anders, eyes + more and Direkt Optik labels. The Group, its labels and its 3,500 employees together provide affordable, high-quality eye and hearing care to customers across 719 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Sweden. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Under 3i’s ownership, nexeye expanded into new markets, most notably with the acquisition of eyes + more in 2019, to enhance accessibility and affordability of essential eye and hearing care. Going forward, nexeye will be uniquely positioned to play a key role in addressing long-term trends driving increasing incidence of vision correction concerns, capitalizing on KKR’s extensive sector experience, global platform and successful track record in the industry.

Bart van den Nieuwenhof, CEO of nexeye, said: “I would like to thank 3i for a true partnership under which we successfully created a leading omnichannel optical platform. We strengthened and developed our organization, modernized and opened stores and realized a step change in omnichannel and digital innovation. Now, we are thrilled to continue this growth path together with KKR. We share a vision to establish nexeye as the leader in the European value-for-money optical sector, with a focus on customer service, product quality and innovation. I look forward to our partnership.”

Boris Kawohl, Partner, Consumer sector head at 3i, said: “We are proud of the transformation from Hans Anders at the time of our investment in 2017 to nexeye now. The best value-for-money offering with good quality products and services has been central to all our efforts. As a result, sales and EBITDA have doubled during 3i’s ownership period. We believe nexeye is now ready for the next international growth phase. We thank Bart and the whole nexeye team and wish them all the best going forward.”

Felix Gernburd, Partner at KKR, said: “We believe nexeye offers a differentiated value proposition for consumers. We are excited to invest in nexeye and to support its management team and employees in their continued ambitions to expand the Company’s footprint and offer the best quality eye and hearing care at affordable prices to consumers.”

Simon Bouchard, Director at KKR, continued: “KKR’s extensive experience and global track record of success in the optical sector underscores our commitment to investing in this important industry. We are confident that our investment in nexeye will best position the Company to capture future growth opportunities and establish it as the leader in the European value-for-money optical and hearing care sector in the long term.”

KKR is making its investment in nexeye primarily through its European Fund VI, an $8 billion fund that invests in the growth of leading businesses by providing access to KKR’s extensive network and business building resources.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Jefferies LLC and UBS Investment Bank are acting as financial advisors and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor for KKR. Harris Williams and ING Corporate Finance are acting as financial advisors and Clifford Chance LLP is serving as legal advisor for 3i.

-ENDS-

About nexeye

Nexeye is currently active in five European countries with the eyes + more, Hans Anders and Direkt Optik chains. eyes + more operates with 283 stores in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium, focusing on affordable, fashionable eye wear and is one of the fastest-growing optical chains in Europe. Hans Anders, founded in 1982, is a leading value-for-money chain in the Netherlands and Belgium with 402 stores offering eye and hearing care. Direkt Optik has 34 optical stores across Sweden, is known for its 3 for 1 offer and highly appreciated for the expertise of the qualified opticians in its stores. In total, nexeye and labels employ more than 3,500 people.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com. For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit Global Atlantic Financial Group’s website at www.globalatlantic.com.

About 3i Group

3i is a leading international investment manager focused on mid-market Private Equity and Infrastructure. Its core investment markets are northern Europe and North America. For further information, please visit www.3i.com.

Download this press release   

Media enquiries

nexeye
Edwin van Wijk

KKR
Frank Jansen

3i Group
Elmley de la Cour

Tel: +31 (0)6 234 802 17
Email: evanwijk@valueatstake.nl

Tel: +31 6 21542369
Email: frank.jansen@fgsglobal.com

Tel: +44 7514 312 439
Email: elmley.delacour@3i.com

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European Value-For-Money Optical Platform Nexeye To Be Acquired By KKR From 3i, Accelerating Its Strategic Growth Ambitions

KKR
  • KKR’s investment enables nexeye to accelerate further its ambitions to expand its optical and hearing care services within existing and new markets, with a continued focus on customer service, product quality and innovation.
  • Under 3i’s ownership, nexeye has pursued a strategy focused on market expansion and championing a value-for-money offering for customers.

Gorinchem (NL) / London (UK), 25 April 2024 – nexeye (the “Company” or “Group”) today announced that a definitive agreement has been signed whereby investment funds and accounts managed by KKR agreed to acquire the Company from investment firm 3i Group plc.

Headquartered in Gorinchem, the Netherlands, nexeye is a leading European provider of value-for- money eye care operating under the Hans Anders, eyes + more and Direkt Optik labels. The Group, its labels and its 3,500 employees together provide affordable, high-quality eye and hearing care to customers across 719 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Sweden. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Under 3i’s ownership, nexeye expanded into new markets, most notably with the acquisition of eyes + more in 2019, to enhance accessibility and affordability of essential eye and hearing care. Going forward, nexeye will be uniquely positioned to play a key role in addressing long-term trends driving increasing incidence of vision correction concerns, capitalizing on KKR’s extensive sector experience, global platform and successful track record in the industry.

Bart van den Nieuwenhof, CEO of nexeye, said: “I would like to thank 3i for a true partnership under which we successfully created a leading omnichannel optical platform. We strengthened and developed our organization, modernized and opened stores and realized a step change in omnichannel and digital innovation. Now, we are thrilled to continue this growth path together with KKR. We share a vision to establish nexeye as the leader in the European value-for-money optical sector, with a focus on customer service, product quality and innovation. I look forward to our partnership.”

Boris Kawohl, Partner, Consumer sector head at 3i, said: “We are proud of the transformation from Hans Anders at the time of our investment in 2017 to nexeye now. The best value-for-money offering with good quality products and services has been central to all our efforts. As a result, sales and EBITDA have doubled during 3i’s ownership period. We believe nexeye is now ready for the next international growth phase. We thank Bart and the whole nexeye team and wish them all the best going forward.”

Felix Gernburd, Partner at KKR, said: “We believe nexeye offers a differentiated value proposition for consumers. We are excited to invest in nexeye and to support its management team and employees in their continued ambitions to expand the Company’s footprint and offer the best quality eye and hearing care at affordable prices to consumers.”

Simon Bouchard, Director at KKR, continued: “KKR’s extensive experience and global track record of success in the optical sector underscores our commitment to investing in this important industry. We are confident that our investment in nexeye will best position the Company to capture future growth opportunities and establish it as the leader in the European value-for-money optical and hearing care sector in the long term.”

KKR is making its investment in nexeye primarily through its European Fund VI, an $8 billion fund that invests in the growth of leading businesses by providing access to KKR’s extensive network and business building resources.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Jefferies LLC and UBS Investment Bank are acting as financial advisors and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor for KKR. Harris Williams and ING Corporate Finance are acting as financial advisors and Clifford Chance LLP is serving as legal advisor for 3i.

About Nexeye

Nexeye is currently active in five European countries with the eyes + more, Hans Anders and Direkt Optik chains. eyes + more operates with 283 stores in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium, focusing on affordable, fashionable eye wear and is one of the fastest-growing optical chains in Europe. Hans Anders, founded in 1982, is a leading value-for-money chain in the Netherlands and Belgium with 402 stores offering eye and hearing care. Direkt Optik has 34 optical stores across Sweden, is known for its 3 for 1 offer and highly appreciated for the expertise of the qualified opticians in its stores. In total, nexeye and labels employ more than 3,500 people.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global

Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com. For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit Global Atlantic Financial Group’s website at www.globalatlantic.com.

About 3i Group

3i is a leading international investment manager focused on mid-market Private Equity and Infrastructure. Its core investment markets are northern Europe and North America. For further information, please visit www.3i.com.

Media Enquiries
Nexeye

Edwin van Wijk
Tel: +31 (0)6 234 802 17
Email: evanwijk@valueatstake.nl

KKR

Frank Jansen
Tel: +31 6 21542369
Email: frank.jansen@fgsglobal.com

3i Group

Elmley de la Cour
Tel: +44 7514 312 439
Email: elmley.delacour@3i.com

 

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AnaCap signs agreement to acquire majority stake in Yard Reaas, a leading investment services provider and property management platform

Anacap

AnaCap, a market-leading private equity investor specialised in partnering with founders and entrepreneurial management teams, across services, technology and software within the European financial ecosystem, today announces that it has signed an agreement for the acquisition of a majority stake in Yard Reaas, a leading independent platform providing investment, property management and valuation services for institutional investors and banks.

Headquartered in Milan and with offices in Rome, Paris and London, Yard Reaas has more than 30 years of experience, providing end-to-end investment services and property management solutions to a diversified customer base composed of local and international institutional investors and banks. Over the past three years it has monitored investments worth €1.5 billion, performed assets valuations in excess of €30 billion as well as managing a real estate portfolio worth over €13 billion on behalf of first-class institutions.

Yard Reaas is led by CEO Emanuele Bellani, alongside a highly entrepreneurial founding management team formed by Paolo Datti and Paolo Perrella, which will continue to drive growth for the platform under AnaCap ownership in Italy and internationally.

The company is well positioned as a leading platform for investors and financial institutions with a successful inorganic strategy track record of six acquisitions (including the recently announced Tecnit@lia acquisition in January 2024). Yard Reaas is particularly attractive to businesses looking for a prospective partner which can provide high-quality services for both prime and distressed assets across all asset classes, as well as those with an ESG focus.

This transaction will enable the Yard Reaas leadership team to significantly accelerate its international expansion strategy in Southern Europe as it seeks to execute a strong pipeline of acquisitions, in pursuit of becoming a leading consolidation platform in its sector across Italy, Spain and France respectively.

AnaCap’s extensive track record in technology investment will help accelerate Yard Reaas ambitious plan to become the leading tech-enabled service provider for its market. This will include the advanced use of technology, data, and analytics to offer a vast range of innovative solutions to clients such as Automated Valuation Models (“AVM”) and automated ESG ratings that align with the recent European ‘Green Homes’ directive, as well as optimising its internal processes.

Buyside advice was provided by Vitale & Co and Allen & Overy. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

Alberto Sainaghi, Managing Director at AnaCap, commented:

“We are thrilled to partner with Emanuele and the Yard Reaas leadership team as we seek to build upon their impressive achievements in recent years and their excellent market reputation. Moving forward, AnaCap’s vision is for Yard Reaas to become the leading tech-enabled provider in Southern Europe for the sector, serving customers across multiple geographies and asset classes.”

Nassim Cherchali, Co-Managing Partner at AnaCap, added:

“AnaCap continue to find attractive opportunities in core European markets through a deep understanding of local markets, sector specialism and lower mid-market focus. AnaCap’s acquisition of Yard Reaas is another example of how we partner with founders and ambitious management teams to support and accelerate their growth ambitions. We look forward to working closely with all the team at Yard Reaas and are excited for them to join the AnaCap platform.”

Emanuele Bellani, CEO at Yard Reaas, concluded:

“It became clear to us very quickly that AnaCap would be a perfect partner as we target significant growth in scale and offering of services. Their vast experience in executing build-up strategies, their deep understanding of tech-enabled business growth and their DNA in supporting highly entrepreneurial management teams will help us immeasurably in achieving our ambitious goal: consolidating our leadership in Italy, as well as expanding our geographical presence in other countries via strategic acquisitions using technology as the key differentiating aspect in the market.”

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CapMan Buyout exits Havator to BMS Stangeland

Capman

CapMan Buyout exits Havator to BMS Stangeland

Funds managed by CapMan Buyout have agreed to sell Havator Group Oy, a Nordic leader in lifting, special transport and heavy haulage services, to a joint venture owned by the Danish–Norwegian crane operator BMS Group A/S and Stangeland Gruppen AS.

CapMan invested in Havator in 2010 and has since focused on growing the company’s business and position on the Nordic market. Today, the company is a Nordic leader in lifting, special transport and heavy haulage services with a turnover of approximately EUR 100 million and nearly 500 employees.

“I want to thank the leadership and personnel at Havator for the excellent cooperation throughout the years. I am glad the company’s new owners provide such an excellent strategic fit and believe them to enable exciting growth opportunities,” says Anders Björkell, Partner at CapMan Buyout.

“A Nordic consolidation is something our industry has been expecting. The new set-up will allow Havator to leverage an even stronger and broader service offering to its clients and also offer more uniform services to clients operating on a Nordic scale. Joining a pan-Nordic company will also offer our personnel an even more international outlook towards the future, combined with growing opportunities to develop competencies and careers. I am also pleased that our new owner is a true industrial player,” says Hannu Leinonen, CEO of Havator.

“We have always looked at Havator as a great and highly respected crane colleague in the Nordics. We have for quite some years followed Havator closely, so we are very happy that the time was now right to join forces. Havator is – as Stangeland and BMS – a mature company with aligned values and a very loyal and competent workforce. We are therefore looking forward to welcoming the Havator-employees to our crane-family,” says Jens Enggaard, CEO of BMS.

As part of the transaction, the joint venture BMS Stangeland A/S acquires the entire capital stock of Havator from the CapMan Buyout IX Fund and Havator’s other current owners. The closing of the transaction is expected during the spring 2024 and is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

For more information, please contact:

Anders Björkell, Partner, CapMan Buyout, +358 40 537 7566

Hannu Leinonen, CEO, Havator, +358 40 588 7804

About CapMan

CapMan is a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value creation and over €5 billion in assets under management. As one of the private equity pioneers in the Nordics we have developed hundreds of companies and assets creating significant value for over three decades. Our objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors by enabling change across our portfolio companies. An example of this is greenhouse gas reduction targets that we have set under the Science Based Targets initiative in line with the 1.5°C scenario and our commitment to net-zero GHG emissions by 2040. We have a broad presence in the unlisted market through our local and specialised teams. Our investment strategies cover real estate and infrastructure assets, natural capital and minority and majority investments in portfolio companies. We also provide wealth management solutions. Our service business includes procurement services. Altogether, CapMan employs around 200 professionals in Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London and Luxembourg. We are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since 2001. www.capman.com

Havator

Havator, established in Finland in 1956, is the Nordic leader in lifting, special transport and heavy haulage services. We operate in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Estonia. Our goal is to be at the forefront of development, to be a leader in developing the operations’ safety and efficiency, without forgetting the industry’s traditions. Havator Group Oy has a turnover of approximately EUR 100 million and employs approximately 500 people. Read more: havator.com

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Main Capital Partners announces its largest strategic exit to date with acquisition of Enovation by Legrand after successful partnership

Main Capital Partners

Legrand is a French publicly listed specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures and digital care solutions, dedicated to supporting technological, societal and environmental change around the globe. Under Main’s stewardship, Enovation expanded its market-leading position in the healthcare industry and successfully became one of the few healthcare software providers to cover a wide spectrum of the connected care ecosystem with a presence in Northwestern Europe. This strategic exit represents yet another successful exit for Main in one of its core product-markets and marks Main’s largest exit in its history.

In 2018, Main Capital Partners made its strategic investment in Enovation and started its collaboration with the management team of Enovation. During its cooperation with Main, Enovation transformed its profile significantly from a secure communication and information exchange vendor in the Dutch healthcare market, to a leading European connected care and eHealth platform provider focused on digital care and collaboration throughout the entire patient journey, currently employing around 300 FTE.

Supported by Main, Enovation significantly grew its software businesses, both organically as well as through eight selective strategic add-on acquisitions that broadened the company’s product portfolio and expanded its addressable market. Main’s CEO Charly Zwemstra has served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board during Main’s investment period, in which, Enovation’s revenues nearly tripled and the international footprint improved significantly from a primary focus on the Dutch market to activities in almost 20 countries. Enovation is well positioned to further capitalize on these achievements in the coming years, contributing further to digitizing the healthcare sector throughout Europe. This step of joining Legrand, enables Enovation to leverage their joint expertise and knowledge in order to continue on Enovation’s mission to contribute to an efficient healthcare system, making good care accessible to everyone, everywhere, at all times.

Jeroen van Rijswijk, CEO of Enovation, comments on the combination with Legrand: “During our successful partnership with Main over the past six years, Enovation was able to substantially improve its international profile and market position. Main moreover helped us to create further value in healthcare by enhancing the care experiences of patients across the European healthcare industry. This new chapter marks a wonderful next step for Enovation and we are excited to join Legrand and serve our clients even better, as we now have access to a lot of new expertise as well as great international execution power.”

Benoît Coquart, Legrand’s Chief Executive Officer, adds: “We are very pleased to announce this investment in areas that are at the heart of buoyant trends and as such, of our growth acceleration strategy. We are also excited to work with the teams of these industry-leading companies.”

Sjoerd Aarts, Partner & Head of Benelux at Main Capital, concludes: “We supported in expanding Enovation’s product proposition and increasing its international footprint across North-Western Europe, transforming Enovation’s profile into a market-leading software player in healthcare. This successful partnership within one of our core product-markets once more underlines the added value of our highly specialized investment strategy, and culminated in a milestone exit for Main. We congratulate Enovation on this new chapter, joining Legrand.”

This successful partnership within one of our core product-markets once more underlines the added value of our highly specialized investment strategy, and culminated in a milestone exit for Main.”

– Sjoerd Aarts, Partner & Head of Benelux at Main Capital Partners

About

Enovation

For more than 40 years, Enovation has been bringing technology and healthcare together. By facilitating digital cooperation and connections between people, we make the care of today and the future possible. This is how we contribute to the sustainable healthcare system of the future, in which the human experience remains at the center. Thanks to our platform, healthcare providers can focus on what is most important: time and attention for people. Our software supports digital care and collaboration throughout the patient journey. From early detection to remote monitoring and everything in between, our platform facilitates integrated care – at every step.

Legrand

Legrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for commercial, industrial and residential markets makes it a benchmark for customers worldwide. The Group harnesses technological and societal trends with lasting impacts on buildings with the purpose of improving life by transforming the spaces where people live, work and meet with electrical, digital infrastructures and connected solutions that are simple, innovative and sustainable. Drawing on an approach that involves all teams and stakeholders, Legrand is pursuing its strategy of profitable and responsible growth driven by acquisitions and innovation, with a steady flow of new offerings—including products with enhanced value in use (faster expanding segments: datacenters, connected offerings and energy efficiency programs). Legrand reported sales of €8.3 billion in 2022. The company is listed on Euronext Paris and is notably a component stock of the CAC 40, CAC 40 ESG and CAC SBT 1.5 indexes. (code ISIN FR0010307819).

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Coupa and Bottomline Partner to Optimize and Streamline Payments

Thomabravo

Coupa Pay customers can now pay suppliers via Premium ACH on Bottomline’s Paymode-X Business Payments Network

LAS VEGAS, NV and Portsmouth, NH—Coupa, the margin multiplier company, and Bottomline, a global leader in business payments, announced a strategic partnership to simplify digital payment processes for businesses. Coupa can now connect to Paymode-X, Bottomline’s business payments network that offers Premium ACH, to automate payments from buyers to suppliers.

Coupa Pay offers a single platform for managing all business payments across different countries and currencies. By utilizing the Premium ACH offering, customers will further optimize their payment stack, enhance payment security, receive more payment rebates, and improve their overall source-to-pay experience. Premium ACH is a powerful extension of the Coupa platform and requires no data or technology integration, or additional storage.

Leveraging the Paymode-X network’s leading fraud prevention capabilities, Coupa Pay will be able to offer enhanced security for payments made to suppliers who prefer to accept Premium ACH as a payment method.

With Premium ACH, suppliers receive enhanced data and reconciliation information, as well as rich reporting, and can lower their cost of payment acceptance. Providing this important data and reconciliation, Premium ACH helps strengthen relationships between payers and their suppliers.

“We are delighted to partner with a leader in source-to-pay (S2P) to modernize and fully digitize payment processes between buyers and suppliers. By integrating Paymode-X with Coupa Pay, payments are simplified for buyers and suppliers,” said Jeff Feuerstein, SVP Commercial & Payment Product Management, Paymode-X at Bottomline. “Coupa customers can unlock more value by paying suppliers using Premium ACH, which continues to drive increased value for members of the Paymode-X network.”

“Businesses today are all striving to deliver greater results with more efficiency. This partnership with Coupa and Bottomline optimizes payment processes and drives business results at scale. By automating the entire payment lifecycle through Bottomline’s secure payments network, businesses also benefit from stronger supplier relationships by improving payment timeliness and providing better data visibility,” said Bill Wardwell, General Manager of Coupa Pay and Treasury.

The partnership is the first launched through Bottomline’s network-as-a-service solution, announced last October. The new offering opens the Paymode-X network’s 550,000+ authenticated suppliers and the network’s proprietary Premium ACH payment type to Coupa Pay customers. Coupa Pay with Paymode-X will be generally available in May.

About Bottomline
Bottomline helps businesses transform the way they pay and get paid. A global leader in business payments and cash management, Bottomline’s secure, comprehensive solutions modernize payments for businesses and financial institutions globally. With over 30 years of experience, moving more than $10 trillion in payments annually, Bottomline is committed to driving impactful results for customers by reimagining business payments and delivering solutions that add to the bottom line. Bottomline is a portfolio company of Thoma Bravo, one of the largest software private equity firms in the world, with more than $130 billion in assets under management. For more information, visit www.bottomline.com. Bottomline and the Bottomline logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Bottomline Technologies, Inc.

About Coupa
Coupa® makes margins multiply through its community-generated AI and industry leading total spend management platform for businesses large and small. Coupa AI is informed by trillions of dollars of direct and indirect spend data across a global network of 10M+ buyers and suppliers. We empower you with the ability to predict, prescribe, and automate smarter, more profitable business decisions to improve operating margins. Coupa is the margin multiplier company™. Learn more at coupa.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X (Twitter).

Read the release on the Coupa website here and on the Bottomline website here.

 

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NEFFA | New Fashion Factory secures Seed funding, spearheaded by the Capricorn Industrial Biotech Fund

Capricorn

Dutch biotech innovator NEFFA (New Fashion Factory) proudly announces the successful closure of its seed funding round, signalling a significant milestone in its mission to revolutionize the fashion and interior industries through the use of innovative automated, seamless 3D manufacturing technology powered by circular lab-grown materials, including the revolutionary mushroom-based MYCOTEX.

Founded by Aniela Hoitink, NEFFA has attracted a prestigious consortium of investors, each bringing not only essential funding but also a wealth of industry expertise and influential connections, having extensive experience in biotechnology and fashion. This achievement also reaffirms the trust of NEFFA’s current investors, who share the vision of a brighter future for sustainable technology and materials.

The seed funding round was spearheaded by the Dutch Industrial Biotech Seed Fund (part of the Capricorn Industrial Biotech Fund) and is managed by the Cleantech Team of Capricorn Partners. Collaborating alongside are two of NEFFA’s existing institutional investors: the DOEN Foundation and ROM Utrecht Region. The final partner in this stellar consortium is PDS Ventures, a fashion-centric fund committed to fostering a sustainable value chain within the fashion industry.

Nicoline van Enter, Co-founder of NEFFA, underscores the alignment between the company’s mission and its investors:

  • NEFFA offers a holistic solution to the sustainability challenges faced by the fashion and interior industries. These sectors grapple not only with material concerns but also supply chain complexities. Our goal is to enable local, on-demand production with customization options and a robust end-of-life system. Having spent considerable time in the fashion industry ourselves, Aniela and I appreciate the multifaceted nature of these issues. Hence, our approach encompasses a full spectrum, from a digital 3D design system to lab-grown natural materials that can be home-composted, and a zero-waste robotic production line.”

NEFFA’s commitment to translating vision into action is evident through its partnership with German machine producer DESMA. Together, they have already conducted successful tests on a pioneering robotic production cell, leveraging technologies commonly found in current manufacturing processes. This strategic move ensures that NEFFA’s innovative system is primed for scalability. The newly secured capital will drive the development of this production line to pilot scale, while simultaneously enhancing the quality and versatility of NEFFA’s materials.

Aniela Hoitink highlights one of NEFFA’s unique advantages:

  • Distinguishing us from most competitors, we employ liquid biomass, enabling us to construct products in 3D. In the past year, our biochemistry lab has unearthed several promising material compositions previously unexplored, endowing our materials with unparalleled versatility and tactile qualities. The infusion of new funding will allow us to further refine and patent these groundbreaking innovations.”

The investment in NEFFA marks the first investment for the Dutch Industrial Biotech Seed Fund. As an early-stage Article 9 Fund, it invests in young ventures that use the power of industrial biotech to solve sustainability challenges.

Damien van der Bijl, Investment Director at Capricorn Partners:

  • We truly believe in the holistic approach of NEFFA to tackle the big sustainability challenges of the fashion industry, by offering a fully sustainable material, as well as reductions in waste and water usage. On top of that, the NEFFA method offers designers a whole new universe of possibilities in shapes, textures, and functionality. We really look forward to the exciting products that designers and brands will create with NEFFA!”.

NEFFA’s successful seed funding round not only marks a significant step forward for the company but also reaffirms the growing momentum of sustainable solutions within the fashion and interior industries. As NEFFA continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible, the global community can look forward to a more sustainable, customizable, and environmentally conscious future.

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