Category Archives: News

CapMan Infra invests in Danish data centre colocation provider Fuzion

Capman

CapMan Infra invests in Danish data centre colocation provider Fuzion

CapMan Infra invests in Fuzion, a Danish data centre colocation provider. The deal follows CapMan Infra’s acquisition of Serverius in May 2023 to establish a northern European data centre platform. Fuzion’s current co-owner and CEO Christian Holm Christensen will re-invest in the wider platform and continue in his position as Fuzion’s CEO.

Fuzion is a leading Danish operator of data centres focused on small and medium enterprise clients. The company, established in 2001, offers colocation services supplying space, cooling, electricity, and security for customers. Fuzion currently operates four data centres in the Jutland region and is expanding to a new location in Copenhagen.

This is CapMan Infra’s second investment in a newly established northern European data centre platform providing European-wide connectivity. With data centres positioned in key data centre markets and its strong customer focus, Fuzion will be a valuable addition to the platform, and CapMan sees opportunities in delivering substantial synergies on commercial, technical, and financial aspects, as well as in continuing to support a sustainable transition across operations.

“We are happy to welcome Fuzion to our Northern European data centre platform as it complements our recent investment in Serverius well. We are also very glad to have Christian Holm Christensen co-invest alongside us, showing his strong commitment in delivering on the growth that we see for Fuzion in this market. Christian and his team has positioned Fuzion well for continued growth in Denmark, and Fuzion represents a great fit to our wider northern European platform,” says Harri Halonen, Partner at CapMan Infra.

“I am excited to continue the growth journey with Fuzion and join the wider data centre platform being established by CapMan Infra. I look forward to not only grow Fuzion, which I have great expectations for, but to also build the wider platform, which I see as ideally positioned to target a highly promising market segment at the right time”, says Christian Holm Christensen, owner, and CEO at Fuzion.

The acquisition is CapMan Nordic Infrastructure II fund’s fourth investment, following Skarta Energy, Napier and Serverius.

CapMan Infra was advised by PwC Corporate Finance (M&A), and Horten and Linklaters (legal).

For more information, please contact:

Harri Halonen, Partner, CapMan Infra, tel. +46 768 71 0062

About CapMan Infra

CapMan Infra invests in energy, transportation and digital infrastructure assets generating predictable cash flows. CapMan Infra is a dedicated and active owner seeking to drive operational improvements and offers tailored solutions to local infrastructure asset owners and partners in the Nordic countries. The team of twelve infrastructure professionals is based in Helsinki and Stockholm. CapMan Infra has two funds, one established in 2018 and one in 2022. In addition to the fund, the team also manages two investment mandates.

CapMan Infra is part of CapMan Group, a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value creation and over €5 billion in assets under management. CapMan’s objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors. We have set greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Science Based Targets initiative in line with the 1.5°C scenario. We have a broad presence in the unlisted market through our local and specialised teams. Our investment strategies cover minority and majority investments in portfolio companies and real estate, and infrastructure assets. We also provide wealth management solutions. Our service business includes procurement services. Altogether, CapMan employs approximately 190 professionals in Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London and Luxembourg. We are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since 2001. www.capman.com

About Fuzion

Since 2001, Fuzion has been a leading colocation provider in Skanderborg, Viby J., Aarhus, Randers and Copenhagen. Today, the company serves over 100 customers, both domestic and international. Fuzion’s vision is to make the data centre market greener and more flexible to support the need for green and secure solutions for critical infrastructure such as private and public Cloud, IOT, online apps, internet and much more – now and in the future.

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CapMan Real Estate’s Red Warehouse is completed, welcoming BCG Denmark into their new distinctive office space

Capman

CapMan Real Estate’s Red Warehouse is completed, welcoming BCG Denmark into their new distinctive office space

CapMan Real Estate has finalised the rebuild of Red Warehouse, transforming the 140-year-old building from warehouse and workshop to modern distinctive office space. The buildings sole tenant, Boston Consulting Group Denmark (BCG), who has been a vital partner throughout the rebuild, started their move-in process on 1st September.

The finalized space plays homage to the building’s history, showcasing state-of-the-art interior design which successfully combines the qualities of the original building from 1883 and merges them with new design solutions that ensure a unique design. The office space covers 6,000 sqm over three floors in addition to a basement space of 4,600 sqm which was converted to hold a gym as well as well as a large TED-like audience presentation room. The building is topped off by a 700m2 rooftop terrace and bar with space to do outside sport with views across the city.

The project has been in progress since 2019, and all details of the house are exclusively designed, featuring numerous artistic elements such as the central staircase. The house, in general, has been completed with a high level of fit-out.

”From the start, we knew this project was going to be a special. Performing such a comprehensive renovation in a historical building like this, holds huge opportunities but also its challenges. The results we see today are a direct result of a tight collaboration between professionals who all played an important part in this. I especially want to thank Steen Niebling from SN Consult, Mikkel Westfall, Natasja Cornelius and team at Act Architects, Ulrik Larsen from REVCO, and SWECO, and BCG for working with us on this memorable project”, says Peter Gill, Partner, Head of CapMan Real Estate Denmark.

“We are thrilled to move into our new premises. The results speak for themselves. Our objective was to establish a unique domicile for our valued employees to give them the best circumstances to excel. Throughout this project, in collaboration with CapMan, SN Consult, Act Architects, BRIQ, REVCO, and SWECO, we have devised solutions that we firmly believe will significantly enhance and elevate the office experience for our employees. The Red Warehouse stands as our new inspiring office that fosters a vibrant community where we solve the biggest problems,” shares Ulrik Sanders, Managing Director & Senior Partner at BCG.

CapMan Nordic Real Estate II fund acquired Red Warehouse in 2019. In 2022 the fund signed BCG on a long-term lease for the refurbished office and sold the asset to German family-owned THI Investments in a forward purchase, where construction was agreed to continue with takeover later in 2023.

CapMan Real Estate manages approximately €4.2 billion in real estate assets and the Real Estate Team comprises over 65 real estate professionals located in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and London.

For more information, please contact:

Peter Gill, Partner, Head of CapMan Real Estate Denmark, +45 20 43 55 63

About CapMan

CapMan is a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value creation. As one of the private equity pioneers in the Nordics we have built value in unlisted businesses, real estate, and infrastructure for over three decades. With €5.1 billion in assets under management, our objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors. We have set greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Science Based Targets initiative in line with the 1.5°C scenario. We have a broad presence in the unlisted market through our local and specialised teams. Our investment strategies cover minority and majority investments in portfolio companies and real estate, and infrastructure assets. We also provide wealth management solutions. Our service business consists of procurement services. Altogether, CapMan employs approximately 180 professionals in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London and Luxembourg. We are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since 2001. Learn more at www.capman.com.

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Butternut Box announces £280m investment from General Atlantic and L Catterton to feed more dogs across Europe

LCatterton

September 04, 2023, LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Butternut Box, the UK-based fresh dog food company known for its innovative approach to pet food, today announced it has raised £280m in its latest fundraising round from new investor General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm. Existing investor L Catterton, a leading global consumer-focused investment firm, also participated in the round, helping to further the brand’s presence in Europe and continue its mission to deliver fresh, tasty, and healthy meals to dogs around the world. The transaction’s closing is subject to customary regulatory conditions, but is expected to occur in Q4 2023.

Butternut Box is Europe’s largest fresh dog food brand, feeding dogs in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and most recently Poland following its April 2023 acquisition of PsiBufet, one of the leading fresh dog food companies in Central and Eastern Europe. Since its inception in 2016, Butternut Box has grown rapidly, raising over £100m to date including investments from L Catterton, White Star Capital, Five Seasons Ventures, Passion Capital, Literacy Capital, Claret Capital, and HSBC.

This latest investment will be used to build on this momentum, underscoring Butternut Box’s mission to deliver health and happiness to dogs and their humans. Butternut Box plans to use this funding to accelerate the Company’s leadership position across the Fresh category in the pet food space through further European expansion, including the development of a new European manufacturing facility. The planned facility will be the second of its kind for Butternut Box after Rudie’s Kitchen, a fully integrated manufacturing and fulfilment facility that opened in March 2021, giving the Company complete visibility and control over its emissions production. This further underlines the Company’s commitment to creating a positive impact across all areas of its business, as evidenced by receiving B Corp accreditation in September 2022.

Kevin Glynn, co-founder of Butternut Box, said: “We are delighted to now partner with General Atlantic, who is an incredible investor and shares our long-term vision of developing the category of Fresh pet food across Europe. It is also fantastic to receive further support from our long-standing partner, L Catterton who we’ve been proud to work with for several years now and who also believes in the power of Fresh and that we are only really at the starting line. Most notably we are incredibly excited by what this investment will unlock for our customers (dogs and humans) in the years to come as we are nothing without them.”

“We’re thrilled about the ways in which this investment will allow us to continue to live out our mission,” added David Nolan, co-founder of Butternut Box. “Everyone here is driven by a uniting purpose to deliver health and happiness to all dogs, everywhere. This investment will help us take the next leap forward in doing just that.”

“We are very excited to partner with Kevin and David who have reimagined Fresh pet food through Butternut Box’s diversified product portfolio and mission-driven brand,” said Melis Kahya Akar, Managing Director and Head of Consumer for EMEA at General Atlantic. “There is an immense opportunity set across the Fresh pet food category in EMEA, and we believe Butternut Box is well positioned to leverage its digitally enabled business model to meet this growing demand. We look forward to utilising our pet expertise and technology capabilities to support the Company through its next chapter of growth.”

“Since partnering with Kevin, David, and the team three years ago, Butternut Box has expanded its leadership in the growing Fresh pet food space in the UK and Europe and has built a loyal following among pets and humans alike,” said Howard Steyn, a Partner at L Catterton. “While we have long had conviction in the UK Fresh category after investing behind this concept in the U.S., we’ve been particularly impressed by how Butternut Box continues to innovate and deliver such compelling value to its customers. We look forward to leveraging our global experience in the pet category to support the brand’s next phase of growth.”

Butternut Box is dedicated to serving only the highest quality, freshly–prepared meals for dogs, delivered straight to customers’ doors. With a core meals range of 12 fresh recipes, plus a growing selection of treats, chews and supplements, Butternut Box is delivering a fresh take on dog food.

Butternut Box was advised by Harris Williams and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor and Freshfields served as legal advisor to General Atlantic. PwC served as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins served as legal advisor to L Catterton.

About Butternut Box

Butternut Box is a fresh dog food company founded by two friends, Kev & Dave. The two started the company after seeing the benefits that home-cooked food had on Dave’s poorly rescue dog, Rudie. Butternut’s mission is to deliver health and happiness to dogs and their humans all over the world. For more information, visit www.butternutbox.com.

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 500 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic has more than $77 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of June 30, 2023, and more than 220 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, Munich, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Stamford and Tel Aviv. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit: www.generalatlantic.com.

About L Catterton

L Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused investment firm, managing approximately $34 billion of equity capital and three multi-product platforms: private equity, credit, and real estate. Leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad network of strategic relationships, L Catterton’s team of more than 200 investment and operating professionals across 17 offices partners with management teams to drive differentiated value creation across its portfolio. Founded in 1989, the firm has made over 250 investments in some of the world’s most iconic consumer brands. For more information about L Catterton, please visit www.lcatterton.com.

Contacts
Butternut Box
Tom Lansdowne
tom@butternutbox.com

General Atlantic
Liz McBain
media@generalatlantic.com

L Catterton
Julie Hamilton
media@lcatterton.com
203.742.5185

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Bizzdesign expands Enterprise Architecture value proposition through acquisition of Edifit

Main Capital Partners

Bizzdesign, backed by Main Capital Partners, announces the acquisition of Edifit, an enterprise architecture software and consulting services provider.

Today, Bizzdesign announces the acquisition of Edifit, an enterprise architecture software and consulting services provider. Edifit marks the first step in the international buy-and-build strategy of Bizzdesign since its management teamed up with the strategic software investor Main Capital Partners. 

This strategic move aims to accelerate time-to-value and increase business impact for Bizzdesign’s customers, leveraging Edifit’s proven software suite and expert consulting capabilities. As a longstanding partner in Bizzdesign’s global partner and channel network, Edifit has consistently delivered high-impact business value to Bizzdesign customers. The seamless integration of Edifit’s software product suite with the Bizzdesign platform has been in high demand, offering enhanced control over governance and content publishing.

Edifit will become part of an enterprise architecture industry leader as Bizzdesign has repeatedly been used by analysts, including being named a 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant Leader for Enterprise Architecture Tools for the seventh consecutive time.

Eddie Walker, Chief Executive Officer of Edifit, expressed his enthusiasm: “Joining Bizzdesign, a recognized leader in enterprise architecture, marks an exciting milestone for Edifit. By aligning our expertise with Bizzdesign’s leadership, we can collectively provide unparalleled solutions and services to our customers. We’re thrilled to be part of this journey with Bizzdesign.””We’re excited to welcome Edifit to the Bizzdesign family,” said Nick

Reed, Chief Strategy Officer at Bizzdesign. “This acquisition opens new avenues for Bizzdesign’s growth, innovation, and customer success. With their exceptional product suite and consulting services, we’re expanding our offerings and can now deliver even greater value and innovation to our customers.”

Pieter van Bodegraven, Senior Partner at Main Capital Partners and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bizzdesign, concludes: “We strongly believe in bringing passionate entrepreneurs together to accelerate innovation for the benefit of their clients. Over the past 20 years, this has been a key value creation driver in the successful organic and buy-and-build growth strategies we have executed together with our business partners. Through the combination of Bizzdesign and Edifit, we will be able to leverage on the combined skills and expertise of both organizations, resulting in an even greater added value for the existing and new customers of the group. Finally, this combination results in a strong foundation for additional international expansion.”

Over the past 20 years, this has been a key value creation driver in the successful organic and buy-and-build growth strategies we have executed together with our business partners.

– Pieter van Bodegraven, Senior Partner at Main Capital Partners and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bizzdesign

About

Bizzdesign

Founded in 2000, Bizzdesign is the trusted global SaaS Enterprise Architecture platform and is recognized as a leader by major analyst firms. We help the world’s leading public and private organizations ensure the success of investment prioritization, transformation initiatives, and risk management. Bizzdesign helps architects and executives see a full multi-dimensional picture, find and design the right path and confidently execute their targeted future. Success should not be a matter of hope. It should be by design.

Edifit

Headquartered in Coventry (UK) and founded in 2012, Edifit offers a range of consulting, resourcing and accelerator services to enhance and augment the customer’s internal capability, including EA strategy & roadmaps, portfolio planning and solution architecture services. Next to its range of services, Edifit offers various proprietary add-in software products on top of the Bizzdesign platform.

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AI-powered automation software AskUI raises €4.3 million in seed funding

Seedcamp

While automation has become ubiquitous all across business sectors, the innovation and customisation potential is massive. The new wave of AI technologies unlocks new opportunities for more user-friendly, powerful, and flexible solutions to cater to specific customer needs.

This is why we are excited to partner up with Jonas Menesklou (CEO) and Dominik Klotz (CTO), founders of AskUI, as they set out to build the next era of process automation by leveraging the power of AI. The Germany-based company merges the power and flexibility of advanced AI models with the beauty of Large Language Models and user-friendly experiences of a combined no-code and code approach.

On a mission to democratise and redefine process automation, AskUI aims to introduce a new era of automated digital solutions that are not just intuitive and visually appealing but also robust, adaptable, and user-friendly.

AskUI’s founders emphasise:

“By leveraging the power of words to automate any process, we intend to create a digital world where automation is for everyone, everywhere.

Creating an automation engine that serves all industries is an enormous undertaking. We have been working intensively on developing the cornerstone features that form the basis of process automation. But we’re not just checking boxes; we’re dissecting every aspect of automation and reimagining it into an exceptional experience. From system controls and UI comprehension to data scraping, we’re creating world-class, frictionless experiences.”

On why we backed AskUI, our Partner Sia Houchangnia comments:

“The opportunity around enterprise workflow automation is massive, and it’s a theme we’ve been actively investing in at Seedcamp. The technology that AskUI has developed over the past 2 years has the potential to change the game in this space. By combining the latest advancements in computer vision and LLM, they’ve developed features that truly reimagine the entire automation experience. We are delighted to back Jonas, Dominik, and the whole AskUI team alongside a great group of co-investors.”

We are excited to participate in AskUI’s €4.3 million seed funding round, led by Eurazeo, alongside 468 Capital, LEA Partners, APX, and existing angels Carsten Thoma and Christian Stiebner. With the new funding, the company plans to advance product development, release their first prompt-to-automation model, and amplify their go-to-market activities.

AskUI is also planning to grow the team and is currently looking for talented engineers and AI researchers.

For more information, visit askui.com.

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Trustly, backed by Nordic Capital, joins forces with SlimPay to revolutionise the recurring payments experience

Nordic Capital

Trustly, a global payment method, announces that it is joining forces with SlimPay, a European leader in recurring payments, to set a new standard in recurring payments for merchants and consumers across Europe and the UK. SlimPay’s platform combined with Trustly’s proprietary technology will together bring a new, exceptional payment experience to the region.

Trustly’s acquisition of SlimPay will facilitate error-free payment registration, better conversion and flexibility, enabling consumers to pay bills, subscribe to a service or opt for flexible payment plans. The product synergy will create an intuitive payment process for consumers leveraging the best of Trustly’s Account-to-Account (A2A) technology and SlimPay SEPA direct-debit capabilities.

In 2022, Direct Debits totaling over EUR 10 trillion were collected across Europe, with 80% of these transactions ocurring in markets where Trustly and SlimPay have combined operations. The combination will add to Trustly’s existing modern Direct Debit capability in the UK and Sweden and provide a comprehensive pan-European recururring payment service. Trustly and SlimPay will together improve the payments process for merchants and consumers in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), including Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

The acquisition of SlimPay comes shortly after the successful launch of Trustly Azura, a revolutionary new technology and data engine that will improve the payments experience for merchants and consumers through personalisation and data optimisation. By adding SlimPay’s recurring payments and sophisticated data interface to its offering, Trustly expects to further accelerate the roll-out of Azura.

Johan Tjärnberg, Group CEO of Trustly, comments: “We are thrilled that SlimPay is joining Trustly. SlimPay’s SEPA solution for modern Direct Debit in combination with the optimised experience of Trustly Azura will together be able to revolutionise the recurring payment experience and create a new industry standard. The addition of SlimPay is fully in-line with Trustly’s strategy to offer a unique 360 degrees embedded experience across all types of digital payments.“

Jerome Traisnel, CEO of SlimPay, adds: “Together with Trustly, we will bring a new, streamlined payment experience to the European recurring payments space, creating an unrivalled network of merchants and consumers across the entire repeat payment economy. We look forward to working with Trustly to build an innovative and comprehensive platform across Europe.”

SlimPay, founded in 2010, is a European leader in recurring payments, offering digital payment solutions through innovative technologies to merchants and consumers across utility, financial services, and retail sectors. SlimPay is an authorised payment institution under ACPR supervision.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. The parties have agreed to not disclose any financial details.

For more information, please contact:
Carlos Cancino
Communications Director, Trustly
tel: +46 70-216 77 85
e-mail: press@trustly.com

About Trustly
Founded in 2008, Trustly is a global leader in Open Banking Payments. Our digital account-to-account platform redefines the speed, simplicity and security of payments, linking some of the world’s most prominent merchants with consumers directly from their online banking accounts. Trustly can handle the entire payment journey, setting us apart from the competition and enabling us to offer an attractive alternative to the traditional card networks at a lower cost. Read more at www.trustly.com

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Measurlabs seeks to become a sector leader in Europe with a seed round of EUR 2.5 million

Tesi

Measurlabs is a laboratory analysis and testing service provider that helps R&D professionals get the tests they need easily in one place. The recent EUR 2.5 million growth funding will enable the company to scale services in the UK and other European countries and to develop new features to further automate its logistics and purchasing platform. The seed round was led by VentureFriends and joined by existing investors Lifeline Ventures, Tesi, and Curus.

“We are proud to continue supporting Measurlabs on their growth journey. Measurlabs’ unique service and extensive expertise bring significant value to customers by streamlining the high-friction industry of outsourced testing services. In fast-growing sectors like semiconductors and other novel materials the availability of high-quality analytical services is crucial in making product development processes seamless and bringing new products to the market rapidly. We are excited to continue alongside Measurlabs in their mission to support these companies”, comments Tuomas Rekonen, Investment Manager at Tesi.

Tesi first invested in the company in 2022. The investment was made from the Venture Bridge programme that was closed for initial investments in March the same year.

Read more:

 

Additional information:

Tuomas Rekonen, Investment Manager, Venture Capital Investments
tuomas.rekonen@tesi.fi
+358 40 7540 660

 

Tesi wants to raise Finland to the forefront of transformative economic growth. We develop the market, and work for the success of Finnish growth companies. We invest in private equity and venture capital funds, and also directly in growth companies. We provide long-running support, market insights, patient capital, and skilled ownership. tesi.fi | Twitter | LinkedIn | Newsletter

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Projective Group grows its team to over 1100 financial industry experts and further strengthens its service offering with the acquisition of Finance Club

GIMV
  • Projective Group’s team grows to over 1100 financial industry specialists, positioning the company as a leading, end-to-end consultancy firm for financial services in Europe.
  • Complementary with Talent service offering of Projective Group and other offerings in Data, Transformation, Risk & Compliance, and Payments.
  • Latest acquisition aligns with Projective Group’s core DNA and is the latest milestone of the buy-and-build strategy of the group.

1 September 2023, Brussels – In a significant move, financial services consulting company Projective Group has successfully acquired Finance Club, a respected Dutch Staffing & Talent organisation. This strategic acquisition catapults Projective Group’s team to an impressive count of over 1100 financial industry experts across Europe, affirming its unparalleled stronghold in the region’s financial services sector.
Founded in 2015 by Stijn van den Borne and Michiel Van Brussel, Finance Club is a young organisation driven by the ambition to become the best-in-class Staffing & Talent provider to the Dutch financial industry. Their expertise encompasses various domains such as Compliance (KYC & AML), Finance, Banking, Risk & Audit, PMO, and Data & Analytics. In a period of less than 8 years, the company has evolved to a team of 400+ professionals that are deployed at the tier 1 banks in the Netherlands.

Stefan Dierckx, CEO Projective Group said: “The addition of Finance Club to our group, signifies a strategic move towards our mission of becoming the premier partner for financial institutions across Europe. In addition to their expertise, they bring along a team of 400 specialists, augmenting our team to over 1100 professionals, all possessing a unique expertise in the financial industry. This level of expertise sets us apart and is nearly unmatched in the field.”

“From our initial discussions, it became clear that there was a strong synergy between our clients and expertise. This presented us with a chance to enhance the value we provide to our clients and create new paths for growth and opportunities both for Finance Club and Projective Group employees. This merger into the group embodies the idea, in every sense, that the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts.” – Stijn van den Borne, co-founder Finance Club.

Finance Club’s services seamlessly complement Projective Group’s existing Talent offering (Exellys) which is currently offered in Belgium, The Netherlands, and The United Kingdom. Furthermore, by blending Finance Club’s strengths in Staffing & Talent with Projective Group’s Talent and in-depth consulting expertise, they will be able to take on more responsibility, serve their clients even more effectively and generate durable outcomes as a complete solutions provider.

Michiel van Brussel, co-founder of Finance Club said: “We were ready for the next step in our journey, searching for an exciting new challenge that would
propel us forward not only within Dutch borders but also on an international scale. When Projective Group approached us, it was immediately evident that our offering, culture, aspirations, and outlook for the future were closely aligned. We’re very excited for what lies ahead.”

Through this recent acquisition, Projective Group solidifies its position as a driving force for change and excellence in the financial industry. This development also foreshadows further impactful initiatives on the horizon.

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Bridgepoint acquires Ports Group, a tech-enabled provider of IP management and brand protection solutions

Bridgepoint
  • Ports Group serves long-standing customer relationships built on a reputation for high-quality service and an attractive full-service offering.
  • The company has delivered impressive financial performance, achieving 27% revenue growth since 2018.
  • Bridgepoint will support Ports Group in its next phase of growth, with a focus on international expansion, continued service and product expansion, as well as leveraging M&A opportunities.

 

Bridgepoint has today announced that Bridgepoint Development Capital IV (“BDC” IV), a fund focused on investing in mid-market growth businesses, has agreed to make a majority investment in Ports Group, a leading provider of IP management and brand protection, headquartered in Sweden.

As part of the transaction, Priveq, a Swedish private equity firm, will sell its stake in Ports Group, where management and key employees within the group will reinvest alongside Bridgepoint. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Ports Group operates a ‘one-stop-shop’, tech-enabled brand protection platform, delivering vital IP solutions across domain management, trademark management and web security. Their client base spans across SMEs to major enterprises.

Bridgepoint estimates that the global Domain and IP protection market is valued at some €6bn, with an annual growth rate of 6%. This growth is driven by increasing awareness of the value of IP assets and as the market shifts from traditional legal services to tech-enabled solutions.

Ports Group is well-positioned to capitalise on this large and growing market. On the back of a strong technology platform, full-service offering, loyal customer base and strong track record of financial performance, the company is expected to continue to deliver long-term revenue growth and set the standard with industry-leading offerings and service delivery.

The partnership builds on Bridgepoint’s growing track record and expertise within tech-enabled services, with other recent investments including LanguageWire, a leading language service provider and Achilles, a supply chain risk management provider.

Magdalena Bonde, CEO at Ports Group said:

“We are excited to have Bridgepoint on board as our new majority shareholder. We are confident that they will be a strong partner for Ports Group as we embark on our ambitious growth and development journey going forward. In a short period of time, Ports Group has established a European footprint, offering strong capabilities to serve clients on an international stage. We are pleased to have attracted Bridgepoint, who believes in our unique model, our strategic direction and our team.”

Johan Dahlfors, Partner and Head of the Nordics at BDC said:

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Ports Group, a distinguished leader in IP management and brand protection in the Nordic region with a growing footprint across Europe. Their broad service offering, tech-driven approach and platform addresses an underserved demand in the market. This means they are well-positioned which for long-term growth and potential consolidation opportunities in a fragmented market. With an ambitious vision for expansion across products and geographies and a strong international team, Ports Group is poised to reshape the landscape for digital brand protection and further its reputation as a leader.”

The transaction closed on 30 August 2023. It marks the twelfth platform investment by BDC IV and its second in the Nordics.

Ports Group was advised by EY Corporate Finance and Setterwalls Advokatbyrå.

Bridgepoint was advised by Lincoln International (Financial Adviser), Vinge (Legal Adviser), Alvarez & Marsal (Financial, Tax Due Diligence and Tax Structuring), EY-Parthenon (Commercial and Technology Due Diligence), Anthesis Group (ESG Due Diligence) and Marsh (Insurance Due Diligence).

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Balance Point Announces its Follow-On Investment in Concord Servicing

Balance Point Capital
Westport, CT, August 30, 2023 – Balance Point Capital Advisors, LLC (“Balance Point”), in conjunction with its affiliated fund, Balance Point Capital Partners V, L.P., is pleased to announce its follow-on investment in Concord Servicing Corporation (“Concord”, “the Company”), a portfolio company of Inverness Graham Investments (“IGI”). Balance Point provided a creative, flexible financing solution that facilitated Concord’s acquisition of Equiant.
Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ, Concord is a full-scope loan servicer delivering innovative, flexible, and scalable portfolio servicing and SaaS solutions to meet the demands of loan originators and capital providers across multiple asset classes including home improvement, solar, energy efficiency, and vacation ownership.
Based in Chandler, Arizona, Equiant is a loan servicer in the vacation ownership market with a $1.5 billion loan portfolio including more than 175,000 individual consumer loans. Equiant offers software solutions and servicing expertise for loan account receivables, billing, collateral document management, backup servicing, securitizations, debt recovery and disaster recovery.
“Balance Point is excited to continue its partnership with IGI and the Company.  Both Concord and Equiant are established industry leaders, and the combined platform will benefit from increased scale and operational synergy,” said Balance Point Partner Adam Sauerteig.
Jason Alexander, CEO of Concord, said “Balance Point’s understanding and support of our business have been essential as we have continued to pursue our growth objectives, and their creative capital structuring was instrumental to completing this transaction. We are very pleased to continue our partnership with Balance Point.”
About Balance Point
Balance Point is an alternative investment manager focused on the lower middle market. With approximately $2.1 billion in total capital commitments, 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 advisor. Further information is available at www.balancepointcapital.com.

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