Category Archives: News

Blackstone Charitable Foundation Commits $5 Million To Five New Colleges in Florida, Including New Historically Black College and University and Hispanic Serving Institutions

Blackstone

December 8, 2022, New York & Miami – The Blackstone Charitable Foundation today announced that it has committed $5 million over three years to expand LaunchPad, its entrepreneurial skills-building program to help students launch successful companies and careers, at five new colleges, including one Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and three Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). The partnership is part of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation’s broader $40 million commitment to expand LaunchPad to higher-ed institutions that have a majority underrepresented population or are serving under-resourced communities. LaunchPad’s expansion is being celebrated today at an event hosted by Miami Dade College and Florida International University, with attendance from Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Miami Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, among other elected officials.

Blackstone LaunchPad has supported University of Central Florida for the past decade, delivering entrepreneurial skill-building programs to help their students launch successful companies and careers. As part of Blackstone’s broader commitment to Florida, Blackstone LaunchPad recently partnered with Miami Dade College, Florida International University, Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Florida Atlantic University to expand its signature program. Blackstone LaunchPad looks forward to advancing career and economic mobility in Florida by equipping students with skills, resources and opportunities to succeed.

“We are thrilled to welcome this new group of Florida LaunchPad schools into our network and community,” said Maura Pally, Executive Director of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. “Blackstone continues to be committed to Florida and to connecting students with professional networks and opportunities to help them build successful companies and careers.”

These valuable partnerships are part of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation’s effort to provide entrepreneurship skills-building opportunities to a diverse set of students. Blackstone believes entrepreneurial skills make candidates more attractive to potential hires as they provide a lifelong learning mentality, creative and critical thinking capabilities, and an ability to build social capital.

For students at these colleges, LaunchPad provides students with entrepreneurial skills-building content and programs for success in any career path they choose to pursue. Additionally, students will be able to participate in national programming such as pitch competitions and fellowships where they can build lasting professional relationships.

“Miami’s growing entrepreneurial and tech ecosystem calls for transformational investment in the home-grown talent who will fuel that growth,” said Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega. “Miami Dade College has a long track-record of enabling entrepreneurship in this community through The Idea Center and this partnership with Blackstone LaunchPad will allow us to further expand our entrepreneurial skills-building across the College. We look forward to having MDC scale its ability to support even more aspiring young entrepreneurs in the years to come. We know they become the backbone of this community.”

“We are extremely grateful to the Blackstone Charitable Foundation for providing us with this opportunity to expand the entrepreneurship programs at FIU,” said William Hardin, Dean of FIU School of Business. “This grant will enable us to strengthen our commitment to providing our students with the tools they need to assess new enterprise opportunities and start new ventures.”

The 2021 initiative to expand Blackstone LaunchPad to higher-ed institutions with majority underrepresented or under-resourced students has brought the program to 22 Hispanic Serving Institutions, 7 HBCUs and 4 community colleges, demonstrating continued dedication to increasing diversity among student entrepreneurs and the development of key skills for career mobility.

About Blackstone Charitable Foundation
The Blackstone Charitable Foundation has led Blackstone’s philanthropic initiatives since 2007. We are driven by the firm’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and providing access to opportunity in the communities in which we live and work. Blackstone LaunchPad helps college students learn entrepreneurial skills for success to build thriving companies and careers, with an increasing commitment to schools that have a majority diverse student population or engage with underrepresented communities. BX Connects engages Blackstone’s global employee base to partner with non-profits, supporting their missions through volunteer opportunities, fundraising, board service and other charitable activities.

Media
Emilie Stanton
Emilie.stanton@blackstone.com
347-331-9196

Categories: News

Concord Prices $1.8 Billion ABS to Finance Corporate Growth Strategy

Apollo

Apollo Structured and Anchored ABS as Long-term Financing Partner

NASHVILLE AND NEW YORK – December 8, 2022 – Concord, a global leader in music publishing, recorded music and theatrical rights licensing, has successfully priced $1.8 billion of senior notes secured by a significant portion of its highly diversified catalogue of sound recordings and songs. It is the largest asset-backed securitization offering of music rights in the industry to date in terms of both size of issuance and number of assets (over one million copyrights). Apollo (NYSE: APO), through its Capital Solutions business, structured the ABS transaction and formed an investor syndicate led by Apollo-managed funds. JP Morgan served as a co-structuring agent of the transaction. Proceeds from the issuance will be reinvested to support Concord’s continued growth in 2023 and beyond.

“Concord has reached a new milestone in its own evolution and for the broader global industry in pricing the largest music ABS transaction in history,” said Bob Valentine, President of Concord. “I’m proud to help lead a company partnered with the astonishing depth and breadth of artistic talent that the works financed by this securitization represent. I’m also extraordinarily thankful that a significant number of blue-chip financial institutions have taken note of our success to date and chosen to participate in our future. As we continue to better position Concord as a bellwether in the industry, our focus remains the same: to elevate the voices of artists and musicians using the global, independent platform that we have been assembling for years. We are grateful to our financing partners at Apollo and JP Morgan who helped us develop a long-term capital solution that reflects the strength of the portfolio we have built to date and further validates our active management strategy.”

Concord’s transaction reflects the growing value of music copyrights and increased interest from financial institutions in music royalties as a long-term, annuity-like asset class. The music industry is experiencing a period of sustained expansion, fueled by exponential growth in the global streaming market, new marketing platforms, increased collector demand for vinyl records and, with the integration of new technologies, diversified platforms for music commercialization. These combined factors benefit both legacy catalogues and new releases while driving artist and songwriter revenue.

Concord’s new 5-year facility is backed by an actively managed catalogue of more than 1 million unique music assets spanning a wide-range of genres, including over 300 GRAMMY Award winners and more than 400 recordings with Gold, Platinum, Multi-Platinum and Diamond Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifications. The catalogue is valued at more than $4 billion, resulting in an approximate 44% loan-to-value ratio for the offering and the notes are rated A+ by KBRA.

Apollo Partner and Head of Asset-Backed Finance Bret Leas said, “Concord’s experienced management team continues to build a world-renowned catalogue of assets with diversification and cash flow characteristics well suited for asset-based lending. We are pleased to provide a tailored, flexible structured solution that supports their continued growth.”

Apollo Capital Solutions’ Paul Sipio added, “This transaction leverages the scale of our investment platform alongside our growing Capital Solutions business to originate, anchor and syndicate a comprehensive financing solution. Having known the Concord Board and management team for many years, we are pleased to support their future success.”

Concord continues to grow as a major force in the music industry. Works in the securitization catalogue alone include songs and recordings by Phil Collins, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Daft Punk, Miles Davis, Danny Elfman, Evanescence, The Fania All-Stars, John Fogerty, Genesis, Imagine Dragons, Isaac Hayes, James Taylor, Jewel, Joan Sebastian, Nine Inch Nails, Pink Floyd, Cyndi Lauper, Little Richard, Nikki Six, Otis Redding, R.E.M., Rodgers & Hammerstein, Pete Seeger, Taking Back Sunday, Ryan Tedder, The Traveling Wilburys, The Vince Guaraldi Trio, Hans Zimmer and hundreds more.

FTI served as the valuation agent on the transaction and KBRA provided ratings services. DLA Piper served as legal counsel to Concord, and King & Spalding LLP as legal counsel to Apollo affiliates. Reed Smith and Greenberg Traurig serviced as special counsel with respect to music assets for Concord and for Apollo affiliates, respectively.

###

ABOUT CONCORD
Concord is the independent, worldwide leader in the development, management and acquisition of sound recordings, music publishing, theatrical performance rights and narrative content. Headquartered in Nashville with additional offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin, Melbourne and Miami, Concord also has staff in Auckland, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. The Company’s catalog consists of more than 1 million songs, composed works, plays, musicals and active recordings which are licensed in virtually every country and territory worldwide.

CONCORD LABEL GROUP is comprised of seven active labels across many musical genres: Fantasy Records, Fearless Records, Loma Vista Recordings, Rounder Records, Easy Eye Sound, Concord Records and Concord Jazz.

The company’s historical labels are managed by its Craft Recordings team, and include such storied imprints as Fania, Independiente, Milestone, Musart, Nitro, Pablo, Prestige, Riverside, Savoy, Specialty, Stax, Telarc, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay, Victory and Wind-up. Concord’s master recording portfolio contains more than 275,000 active song recordings and includes no less than 300 GRAMMY® winners (representing over 6.6% of all the GRAMMYs® ever awarded) and over 400 Gold, Platinum, multi-Platinum and Diamond RIAA certifications across 215 titles.

Concord is also home to the #1 kids’ music brand, KIDZ BOP. Now in its 20th year, the global hit music franchise has sold 22.5 million albums, generated 8 billion streams, and continues to reach kids and families with new music, videos, consumer products and live tours.

CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING represents more than 600,000 copyrighted works by the world’s most celebrated songwriters, composers and lyricists. Spanning nearly two centuries of song, through a vast array of genres and territories, Concord Music Publishing also supports a diverse group of contemporary creators producing important and popular new songs and musical works. Concord Music Publishing is home to the world’s leading classical music publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, and operates exclusive joint ventures with top pop music publisher, Pulse Music Group and Hillary Lindsey’s Hang Your Hat Music.

CONCORD THEATRICALS is the world’s most significant theatrical company, comprising the catalogs of R&H Theatricals, Samuel French, Tams-Witmark and The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, plus dozens of new signings each year. Our unparalleled roster includes the work of Irving Berlin, Agatha Christie, George & Ira Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, Lorraine Hansberry, Kander & Ebb, Ken Ludwig, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dominique Morisseau, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thornton Wilder and August Wilson. We are the only firm providing truly comprehensive services to the creators and producers of plays and musicals, including theatrical licensing, music publishing, script publishing, cast recording and first-class production.

CONCORD ORIGINALS is Concord’s narrative content creation division. The team develops and produces stories anchored by Concord’s artists, music and theatrical works. Concord Originals takes a proactive, narrative-driven approach to each project and partners with A-list storytellers to produce premium content for screen and beyond. The division’s slate is comprised of feature films, series, documentaries and podcasts, including remakes and re-imaginings of properties from Concord’s iconic portfolio.

Concord is a private company funded by long-term institutional capital and members of Concord’s management team. At the forefront of intellectual property valuation, acquisition and utilization, the Concord investment underscores the partners’ belief in the lasting and appreciating global value of superior original creative content.

About Apollo
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade to private equity with a focus on three investing strategies: yield, hybrid, and equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of September 30, 2022, Apollo had approximately $523 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.

Contact Information

Noah Gunn
Global Head of Investor Relations
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0540
IR@apollo.com

Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822 0491

Communications@apollo.com

Categories: News

Tags:

Partners Group to acquire Sunsure Energy, a leading renewable energy platform in India

Partners Group

Mumbai, India; 8 December 2022

  • Partners Group will invest up to USD 400 million to transform Sunsure into a next-generation independent power producer
  • Sunsure will help businesses in India meet their decarbonization targets
  • The Platform targets 3 GW of capacity from Partners Group’s equity commitment

Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, has, on behalf of its clients, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Sunsure Energy (“Sunsure” or “the Platform”), a leading renewable energy and decarbonization solutions platform in India. Partners Group will invest up to USD 400 million in the Platform.

Founded in 2015, Sunsure has historically built solar plants for Commercial & Industrial (“C&I”) customers and third-party renewable power producers in India. Under Partners Group’s ownership, Sunsure will be transformed into a next-generation independent power producer that will build and own utility-scale solar, wind, solar-wind hybrid, and battery storage renewable energy projects. The Platform is targeting over 3 GW of operational capacity and will be focused on selling power directly to C&I customers through long-term Power Purchase Agreements (“PPAs”). The Platform also plans to help customers meet decarbonization and energy cost reduction targets by expanding the scope of existing client relationships to provide additional value-added services, such as energy-as-a-service and carbon credit management. India is the third largest electricity market in the world, with C&I customers consuming over 50% of the power generated in the country. This consumption is expected to continue rising in line with India’s real GDP growth. The vast majority of this power demand today is sourced from non-renewable sources.

Partners Group, which has extensive experience in the renewable energy and decarbonization sectors, will work closely with the Sunsure founding team and management on achieving the Platform’s vision and delivering value creation initiatives.

Luv Parikh, Managing Director, Private Infrastructure Asia, Partners Group, says: “Sunsure is a transformational, next-generation infrastructure investment opportunity in India’s growing renewable energy sector, which has been a thematic focus area at Partners Group for many years. We intend to help companies operating in India meet decarbonization goals and assist in the country’s overall energy transition. Through this investment, we will support Sunsure in executing on its pipeline of renewable projects and assist them in offering new services to C&I customers. We look forward to working with the team.”

Shashank Sharma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sunsure Energy, comments: “At Sunsure, we are looking to bridge the gap between the availability of significant solar and wind energy resources in India and the production of solar and wind power. Since inception, we have delivered solar power to C&I clients across multiple industries in 16 states. We believe Sunsure’s transition into an independent power producer is the best way to ensure more businesses benefit from low-cost solar and wind power in the future. Partners Group’s extensive experience in the renewables and decarbonization sectors across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, as well as its financial resources, make the firm an ideal partner for the Sunsure platform.”

The Sunsure founding team includes Shashank Sharma, Shantanu Faugaat, Manish Mehta, Kartikeya N. Sharma, and Tarunveer Singh.

Bharath Rajagopalan, Member of Management, Private Infrastructure Asia, Partners Group, adds: “Sunsure is well-positioned to achieve positive stakeholder impact over the long term by helping businesses reduce their carbon emissions. There is also a strong economic rationale for India’s C&I customers to purchase renewable power directly from independent producers such as Sunsure. The government’s far-sighted and favorable renewable energy policy, as well as India’s resilient economic growth, are additional tailwinds that attracted us to Sunsure and the Indian renewable energy space.”

Partners Group’s Private Infrastructure business has USD 21 billion in assets under management and has made over 130 investments in 18 countries globally.

Categories: News

Tags:

BGF backs Environmental Essentials for future growth

BGF

BGF has committed a further £2.4 million to support Environmental Essentials’ buy-and-build growth strategy.

Environmental Essentials, one of the UK’s leading asbestos service providers, has secured follow-on investment from BGF to support the acquisition of Adams Environmental.

Adams Environmental, which specialises in the listed building and education sectors, servicing high-profile buildings such as the National History Museum and Imperial College London, is the company’s first acquisition.

Based in Stoke-on-Trent and operating from four offices throughout the UK, including Stoke-on-Trent, Glasgow, Crawley, and London, the business provides asbestos management, training and surveying to businesses, local authorities and public sector organisations. Clients include the Houses of Parliament, tier one construction companies, NHS Trusts, high street food retailers and pub operators. Richard Powner and James Riley co-founded the business in 2004.

We’re delighted to welcome Adams Environmental into the Environmental Essentials fold. This marks a significant step forward in our growth ambitions, on the back of a strong trading period throughout the Covid pandemic, and is another positive milestone on our investment journey with BGF, which has had a considerable impact on our business since 2015.

Richard Powner, Co-founder Environmental Essentials

“Asbestos management has been a core part of our business since we launched 18 years ago. However, we believe that there is significant potential to expand our offering, not just geographically but also by diversifying into complementary areas, including water hygiene and fire risk management. This will not only strengthen our proposition, but provide clients with a ‘one-stop-shop’ for key compliance services.”

It signals the start of an exciting growth phase for Environmental Essentials, as it looks to expand its geographical footprint and diversify its service offering. The additional equity funding has been committed to support future acquisitions. It takes BGF’s total investment in Environmental Essentials to £5.7 million.

Alex Sleeth, who joined the board of Directors back in early 2020 and has a wealth of experience in ‘buy and build’ within the sector, commented: “This is a really exciting time for the business, as we look to broaden our compliance service offering and complement our existing services in Asbestos and Health & Safety Training for our high-profile customers. With additional funding secured we are confident in our ability to deliver a comprehensive growth strategy for our clients, staff and shareholders.”

BGF investor, Jon Earl, added: “Since 2004, Richard and James have built up a strong reputation in asbestos management. The acquisition of Adams Environmental enables them to strengthen their position in important markets, such as listed buildings and education. Through an exciting buy and build strategy, the team will also be able to broaden their compliance offering to customers, with the additional funding strengthening their commitment to investing in proprietary technology, as well as training and development.”

Categories: News

Tags:

Certara Announces the Completion of Arsenal Capital Partners’ Investment and the Appointment of David Spaight to the Board of Directors

Arsenal Capital Partners

Arsenal closed the previously announced $449M stock purchase from funds controlled by EQT Private Equity

Princeton, N.J.- Certara, Inc. (Nasdaq: CERT) today announced that Arsenal Capital Partners (“Arsenal”), a private equity firm specializing in investing in and building transformational healthcare companies, closed its previously announced $449 million new investment in Certara. David Spaight, an Operating Partner at Arsenal, has been appointed to Certara’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Stephen McLean, a Senior Partner at Arsenal, will continue to serve on Certara’s Board of Directors.

As previously announced, in a separate agreement with the company, Arsenal has agreed to a two-year lock-up prohibiting any sale of the newly purchased shares without company authorization, reflecting Arsenal’s commitment to being a long-term shareholder. Arsenal previously held a majority stake in the company through 2017 and has held a minority stake since Certara’s initial public offering in 2020.

“We are pleased with Arsenal’s continued support and confidence in Certara and welcome David Spaight to the Board of Directors,” said William F. Feehery, Chief Executive Officer of Certara. “David’s deep industry experience and expertise will be valuable to Certara as we continue to grow our impact on the global biopharmaceutical industry.”

Prior to joining Arsenal in 2016, Mr. Spaight served as the Chairman and CEO of WIL Research Laboratories, a leading pre-clinical CRO acquired by Charles River Laboratories, and, before that, as President of MDS Pharma Services, a global CRO serving all phases of pharmaceutical research and development. Mr. Spaight has also held senior leadership positions in Fisher Scientific and PerkinElmer.

“I am pleased to join Certara’s Board of Directors and bring my industry experience to a company that is transforming traditional drug discovery and development with biosimulation,” said Mr. Spaight. “I look forward to working with the Certara leadership team and Board of Directors to advance the company’s next phase of growth.”

In connection with the sale of the remaining Certara shares held by
funds controlled by EQT Private Equity, Eric Liu and Ethan Waxman have stepped down from the Board of Directors, effective immediately.

About Certara

Certara accelerates medicines using proprietary biosimulation software, technology, and services to transform traditional drug discovery and development. Its clients include more than 2,000 biopharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and regulatory agencies across 62 countries.

Investor Relations Contact:
David Deuchler
Gilmartin Group
ir@certara.com

Media Contact:
Daniel Yunger
Kekst CNC
daniel.yunger@kekstcnc.com

Jackie Schofield
Prosek Partners
Pro-Arsenal@prosek.com

Categories: News People

Tags:

Regional Rail expands its network in the Midwest via the acquisition of several short-line freight railroads

3I
3i-backed Regional Rail, a leading owner and operator of short-line freight railroads across North America, has agreed to acquire Agracel Rail Holdings’ three railroads, the Effingham Railroad Company, South Point & Ohio Railroad, and Illinois Western Railroad Company, which are located in the Midwest region of the United States. The portfolio serves an attractive set of industrial customers across a variety of end-markets, including chemicals, aggregates, and lumber.In October, Regional Rail also commenced freight rail operations at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor via its new Burns Harbor Railroad LLC subsidiary, which represented its first operation in the Midwest.

Al Sauer, President and CEO, Regional Rail, commented:

“We are excited to partner with the existing teams at the Effingham Railroad Company, South Point & Ohio Railroad, and Illinois Western Railroad Company to grow our operations in the Midwest, and look forward to building on the companies’ track records of providing a high quality service to their customers.”

Rob Collins, Managing Partner and Head of North American Infrastructure, 3i, commented:

“This is another great example of Regional Rail’s philosophy of partnering with strong local operators to help grow their business over the long term. We believe that these assets have incredible potential and look forward to continuing to support Regional Rail.”

Dean Bingham, CEO, Agracel, commented:

“We are proud of the work that has gone into establishing and building these railroads over many years and believe that Regional Rail is the right partner to support the local management teams well into the future.”

Charlie Barenfanger, President, the Effingham Railroad Company and Illinois Western Railroad Company, commented:

“We look forward to the continuity of excellent service to our existing customers at the Effingham and Illinois Western Railroads, while expanding opportunities under the leadership of Regional Rail.”

Since partnering in July 2019, 3i and Regional Rail will have more than tripled the number of railroads under Regional Rail’s control, growing to thirteen freight railroad operations located across North America. The company provides freight transportation, car storage, and transloading services across the United States and western Canada. In addition to freight services, Regional Rail provides railroad crossing signal design, construction, inspection, and maintenance services to a diverse base of short-line and industrial customers in 20 U.S. states via the company’s Diamondback Signal subsidiary.

-Ends-

Download this press release    

 

For further information, please contact:

3i Group plc

 

Silvia Santoro

Investor enquiries

 

Kathryn van der Kroft

Media enquiries

  

 

Tel: +44 20 7975 3258

Email: silvia.santoro@3i.com

 

Tel: +44 20 7975 3021

Email: kathryn.vanderkroft@3i.com

 

About 3i Group

3i is a leading international investment manager focused on mid-market infrastructure and private equity, with core investment markets in North America and Europe. For further information, please visit: www.3i.com.

 

About Regional Rail LLC

Regional Rail LLC is a freight transportation holding company headquartered in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The company provides freight rail transportation, car storage, and transloading services across the U.S. and western Canada, in addition to railroad crossing signal design, construction, inspection, and maintenance services via the company’s Diamondback Signal subsidiary. For further information, please visit: www.regional-rail.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

Blume Ventures closes its Fourth Fund at upwards of $250 million to back visionary tech founders

Blume ventures

Blume Ventures, India’s leading homegrown venture fund has announced the close of its Fund IV at over $250million bringing the firm’s AUM to over $600 million. Blume focuses on early-stage, innovative technology-led startups. Blume backs entrepreneurs either building to solve large impactful Indian problems or taking the best of Indian innovation to global markets. The diverse mandate extends from edtech, fintech, health, commerce and consumer internet in the former to robotics and AI to SaaS and enterprise software in the latter category.  These themes have been consistent through Blume’s 12 years of existence.

Blume has received emphatic support from all its previous supporters. Blume’s Fund IV investors include some of India’s finest family offices, global family offices, sovereign wealth funds (India and overseas), and emerging market Fund of Funds. The oversubscription on the $200 million target and the support from both existing and new investors is a testament to the track record that continues to grow stronger.

Blume Fund IV will be managed by its 15+ member investment team led by Sajith Pai, Arpit Agarwal, Ashish Fafadia, Sanjay Nath and Karthik Reddy. Investing in 30-35 companies across different technology verticals, Blume will discover and nurture another generation of industry-defining companies built in this cycle.

 Blume was established in 2010 by Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath.  Blume is now over 35 professionals strong (outside of Constellation Blu and Metamorph, our two sister concerns), the leadership team has grown to 10, and they collectively grow and mentor a roster of young emerging stars on the team.

Sanjay Nath added, “We are grateful to our anchor supporters and new believers who have emphatically backed Blume IV. Whether building domestically or for global markets, the best founders and LPs would like to work with a Fund that can be considered world-class, which has spurred us to keep institutionalizing and bolstering our platform, team and capabilities. Thanks to an increasing reality of IPO and M&A exits, there is a resurgence of 2x founders and operators, as well as higher quality first-time founders. We’re excited for Blume to become the preferred seed partner of choice for both categories.”

Some key milestones:

  • Launched as a “Superangel” fund in 2011, Blume raised $20 million in Fund I and invested in over 60 startups, pioneering the idea of home-grown micro VCs, with domestic investor participation playing an important role in each of its funds. The first fund vintage has many winners that are incredibly stable after a decade of persistence. These include Purplle, Grey Orange, Turtlemint, Carbon Clean, Exotel, Cashify, Zopper, Webengage, and IDfy.

  • Blume raised successor Funds in 2015-16 and 2018-19, growing to a $60 million Fund II and a $102 million Fund III, maturing into a fund with increased reserves to deploy into the best breakout companies. The Blume stars born from the 2015 to 2020 era are Unacademy, Slice, Spinny, dunzo, Classplus, Servify, Lambdatest, Koo, Locus, Healthifyme, smallcase, Euler, Jai Kisan and Pixxel, amongst others.

The strength of the platform makes Blume an ideal partner in the founders’ journey, bringing value far beyond the capital in the bank. Some of these platform value additions are powered by Capital and Market Networks teams, the depth of reserves between its own funds and its diverse set of vibrant LPs, and the platform partners in Constellation (finance and legal) and MetaMorph (talent).

Blume is also a market leader in emerging market segments where technology shapes new business models or disrupts older ones. It has dozens of category creators or category winners in its portfolio across its three fund portfolios: Grey Orange and Carbon Clean in deep tech; Slice, Turtlemint and Smallcase in Fintech; Exotel and Lambdatest in Software; Unacademy and Classplus in Edtech; Purplle and dunzo in commerce; Healthifyme, BeatO and Tricog in Healthtech; Euler, Yulu and BatterySmart in EV Mobility.

Blume manages Continuity funds in addition to the above funds. These include secondary funds (Fund I winners), opportunity funds (Fund I and II winners) and SPVs.

Shivkumar Ganesan, CEO and co-founder of Exotel, endorses this full stack and deeper approach from Blume in their journey. “Blume has been a great partner for us. They were the first ones to bet on us and continued to do so through thick and thin! Without their support, I cannot imagine Exotel to have become the company it is today.”

Manish Taneja, CEO and co-founder of Purplle, exemplifies what is now a classic Blume relationship. “My relationship with Blume Ventures dates back to 2010-11, when Karthik and Sanjay were raising their first fund. Blume invested in Purplle in 2013 and has been a strong partner for us ever since. Ashish (our Board Member from Blume), has been on our Board since 2013 and has played a key role in guiding us, helping us with Board dynamics and also introducing us to key future investors. Blume is truly a founder’s first VC and Blume’s partners are best in class. I wish Blume a lot of success and I also wish more firms get access to Blume’s capital.”

Categories: News

Tags:

3d investors becomes majority shareholder of in-lite, Dutch market leader in outdoor lighting

3D Investors

Along with founder and CEO Jürgen van Dijk and the in-lite management team, 3d investors is going to help in-lite to grow further internationally in the coming years by taking a majority shareholding in the business. The management team will remain operationally active and financially connected to the company. Thanks to this investment, in-lite can take the next big steps in realising its international growth ambitions and strengthening its market position in the US and Canada. With this shareholding, 3d investors is further strengthening its position in the Dutch market.

in-lite, based in Gorinchem, designs, produces and sells cutting-edge, low-voltage outdoor lighting. It focuses primarily on mid-range and high-end gardens, for which the lighting can be bought and installed through garden professionals. in-lite lighting is used in a number of luxury projects including Kontiki Beach Resort Curaçao and Hotel & Spa du Castellet, various acclaimed restaurants in the Netherlands and abroad, and the most exclusive private gardens. The company is the Dutch market leader in its segment, exports to Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia, and has built up strong market positioning in the United States and Canada. Outdoor lighting is a growth market, with a growth rate forecast of 5 to 10% per year.

Rapid growth thanks to focus and continuous development and innovation

in-lite was established in 1999 and has grown rapidly in a short space of time, thanks to its continuous investment in the design and development of new products. What is unique about in-lite’s products is that they work on a low voltage. This makes them modular, safe for people and animals, and easy for any garden professional to install.

Jürgen van Dijk, founder and CEO of in-lite: “With this investment from 3d investors, we can strengthen our capital and further grow in-lite internationally. Our ambition is to become the number-one brand in outdoor lighting in Western Europe and North America. At in-lite, we believe that every garden should be beautifully lit, as that is what really creates the magic. Thanks to the expertise of 3d investors, we will get on board experienced “business builders” and entrepreneurs. They will help us build on our current foundations and accelerate our growth. I am also delighted that, in conjunction with my team and 3d investors, I can keep building our wonderful company over the coming years.”

De Tijd: “The Netherlands: takeover country of choice for Belgian businesses”

In recent years there has been a clear upwards trend in Belgian businesses investing in and taking over Dutch firms. The Netherlands is the takeover country of choice for Belgian businesses according to a recent headline in Belgian newspaper De Tijd. This is the third Dutch business that 3d investors has invested in, thereby confirming its ambitions in the Dutch market.

Hans Swinnen, Partner at 3d investors: “After Care Cosmetics and DSIT, in-lite is the third Dutch company that we are currently investing in. This investment complements our participation in Jati & Kebon, a leading outdoor furniture manufacturer. Through these two companies, we cover a great deal of the outdoor lighting and furniture market. The customer-orientation, focus and entrepreneurship of Jürgen van Dijk and his team played an important role in our decision, and perfectly match with the entrepreneurial, family-business values of 3d investors. The partnership with in-lite seamlessly aligns with our passion to grow strong businesses to the next level internationally.”

Categories: News

Tags:

Balance Point Announces Follow-On Investment in Shift Paradigm

Balance Point Capital
Westport, CT, December 6, 2022 – Balance Point Capital Advisors, LLC (“Balance Point”), in conjunction with its affiliated fund Balance Point Capital Partners II, L.P, is pleased to announce a follow-on investment in Shift Paradigm (the “Company”). Balance Point invested debt capital in support of Shift Paradigm’s acquisition of Ergo, a world-class email marketing company based in New York City. Growth Catalyst Partners (“GCP”), a middle market private equity firm and majority owner of Shift Paradigm, led the transaction. The combination deepens the Company’s email and customer journey capabilities, supporting Shift Paradigm’s mission of accelerating value creation through digital transformations that shift how companies grow and engage with customers.
“The Ergo transaction meaningfully expands our talented team and expertise in channel, campaign and customer engagement, AI and digital transformation,” said Liz Ross, CEO of Shift Paradigm. “Our growing platform is able to provide enhanced best-in-class services to our clients while continuing our promise to deliver innovative and transformative digital strategies with exceptional execution. Balance Point’s support and shared vision was instrumental to completing this transaction and driving our continued growth trajectory.”
Ergo, founded in 2004 and based in New York, NY, is a leading provider of innovative tools to help businesses connect with their customers. Ergo makes advanced personalization at scale simple, right inside its customer’s ESPs. Marketers can now leverage a myriad of data to auto-generate millions of individual HTML-based dynamic content email modules for a truly personalized 1:1 CX.
Justin Kaplan, Partner at Balance Point said, “We are pleased to continue our partnership with the Shift Paradigm and GCP teams, and we’re excited to welcome the Ergo team to the platform. The combination of these two businesses adds to the momentum that Liz and her team have built in the business. We are very enthusiastic about the outlook for Shift Paradigm heading into 2023.”
About Shift Paradigm
Shift Paradigm unleashes the power of insights, enabled by data fluidity and creative go-to-market strategies to accelerate revenue and drive market growth. With 200+ employees in North America, Shift Paradigm is aligning sales and marketing in organizations around the world, digitally transforming customer experiences in the B2B and B2C spaces. For more information, please visit https://www.shiftparadigm.com.
About Balance Point
Balance Point is an alternative investment manager focused on the lower middle market. With approximately $1.7 billion in assets under management, Balance Point invests debt and equity capital in select lower middle market companies across a variety of investment vehicles. Balance Point takes a long-term, partnership approach to investing and is committed to building lasting relationships with its partners, management teams and intermediaries. Balance Point is a registered investment adviser. Further information is available at www.balancepointcapital.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

Nordstjernan to forge new partnership with OBOS in the construction company NCC

Nordstjernan

The Norwegian company OBOS, a leading property developer in Norway that is also growing rapidly in the Swedish market, is to acquire 6.5 percent of the capital and 23.1 percent of the votes in NCC from Nordstjernan. OBOS possesses broad and in-depth industry know-how of the entire value chain, both as a residential developer and as the principal owner of the listed construction companies Veidekke and AF-Gruppen.

 

“We are very pleased about the opportunity to acquire this shareholding in NCC, which is one of the leading construction companies in the Nordic region, and we are looking forward to assuming an active role in developing the company together with Nordstjernan, the company’s Board of Directors and management,” says Daniel Kjørberg Siraj, CEO of OBOS.

 

“We look forward to having OBOS as a partner that is an expert in the sector. As an active owner, Nordstjernan has positive experiences of working in various forms of partnership. This year alone, we have, for example, invested in the diagnostics company Aidian and entered a partnership with the Norwegian holding company Ferd. The transaction with OBOS is similar to this model. NCC’s Board of Directors and management do a great job, and we believe in the company. As a continued active owner of NCC, we see that considerable long-term value creation remains,” says Peter Hofvenstam, CEO of Nordstjernan.

 

The transaction consists of 5 million Class A shares and 2 million Class B shares, with a purchase consideration amounting to SEK 772.5 million, corresponding to a volume-weighted price per share of about SEK 110. Following the transaction, Nordstjernan’s ownership amounts to about 5.0 million Class A shares and 4.7 million Class B shares, corresponding to 8.9 percent of capital and 24.3 percent of votes.

 

“For the last number of years, Nordstjernan has been undergoing a strategic transformation. This year alone, we have invested SEK 3 billion in new companies such as engcon, Norva24 and Aidian. From investing almost exclusively in a single sector – construction – we now have active investments in five sectors,” concludes Peter Hofvenstam.

 

Peter Hofvenstam

President and CEO

Nordstjernan AB

 

Questions will be answered by:

 

Stefan Stern, Head of Communications, Nordstjernan

Telephone: +46 70 636 74 17

E-mail: stefan.stern@nordstjernan.se

 

 

Nordstjernan is a family-controlled investment company whose business concept is to be an active owner that creates long-term value growth. More information about Nordstjernan can be found on www.nordstjernan.se.

 

At the start of Nordstjernan’s modern history in 1999, the only company in which it owned a stake was NCC. Since then, the portfolio has been diversified through returns, value creation and investments based on the sole company owned at that time.

 

Since 2020, Nordstjernan has developed a new sector-based strategy with long-term active investments in high-quality companies in sectors with sustainable competitive advantages and strong structural market trends. Less than one-fifth of Nordstjernan’s net asset value is currently comprised of holdings in the Construction & Real estate sector. Instead, the Health sector accounts for about one-third of the portfolio and the Industry & Trade sector accounts for more than two-fifths. The majority of the net asset value is currently derived from privately owned companies. The business consists of both listed and unlisted portfolio companies as well as corporate credits. More mature companies have also been supplemented with investments in smaller growth companies.

Categories: News

Tags: