Category Archives: News

KKR Expands Focus on Climate Investing with Key Appointments to Global Infrastructure Team

KKR

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that Charlie Gailliot has joined the firm as a co-head for the firm’s global climate strategy, rounding out a leadership team focused on climate-related investments as part of KKR’s infrastructure platform. Gailliot, who is based in New York, joins global climate co-head Emmanuel Lagarrigue, also based in New York, and Neil Arora, who leads the strategy in Asia and is based in Singapore.

“Since the launch of the KKR infrastructure platform 15 years ago, we have invested billions into renewable energy and climate solutions,” said Raj Agrawal, Partner, Head of Global Infrastructure. “However, transitioning to a low-carbon economy at the pace and scale needed requires trillions of dollars in investment, and we are still seeing a significant gap in climate funding. By forming a dedicated climate leadership team – leveraging Charlie, Emmanuel and Neil’s decades of expertise – we can sharpen our focus on the deployment and scaling of net-zero solutions and accelerate the transition of higher-emitting assets.”

Gailliot joins KKR after 20 years as a private markets investor at Goldman Sachs, where he most recently served as a Partner and head of the Energy Transition and the Diversified Industrials investment teams. Prior to joining KKR, Lagarrigue was an executive committee member at Schneider Electric, where he led the transformation of the company into a leader in energy management infrastructure, industrial software and sustainability services. Arora joined KKR from Macquarie where he was the head of the firm’s Green Investment Group for Asia-Pacific, with a focus on renewable energy asset development.

KKR has committed more than $40 billion to sustainability-focused investments, including $30+ billion to climate and environmental sustainability investments since 2010. Examples of the firm’s investments in the energy transition to date include multiple renewables-focused partnerships with NextEra Energy, a leading generator of energy from the wind and sun; Virescent Infrastructure, a renewable energy platform in India; and Viridor, a UK-based waste-to-energy company, among several others.

KKR first established its Global Infrastructure strategy in 2008 and has since been a leading global infrastructure investor with a team of more than 115 executives including approximately 90 investment professionals and an additional 25 dedicated value creation resources. The business is also supported by KKR’s centers of excellence, including, among others, KKR’s Sustainability Expert Advisory Council (SEAC), the KKR Global Institute, and KKR’s public affairs team of 30+ professionals globally helping with stakeholder management, sustainability, regulatory and public policy. The firm currently manages more than $54 billion in infrastructure and energy assets and has made over 75 infrastructure investments across a range of sub-sectors and geographies.

About Neil Arora

Neil Arora (Singapore) joined KKR in 2022 as a Partner on the Infrastructure team. Prior to KKR, Mr. Arora held a number of senior roles across multiple markets during his more than twenty-year career at Macquarie. Most recently, he was head of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group for Asia-Pacific leading a pan-Asia team with a focus on renewable energy asset development. Previously, Mr. Arora was head of the infrastructure and energy (IEG) group for Asia, a member of the investment committee of IEG and a member of Macquarie Capital’s global management committee. In 2011, Mr. Arora established a global energy logistics business in Singapore and completed principal transactions in the midstream energy space across Europe, Asia and Australia. He also previously headed up Macquarie Capital in the Middle East and spent four years as Head of Infrastructure for Asia in Singapore. Mr. Arora holds a BSc (Hons) in Actuarial Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

About Charlie Gailliot

Charlie Gailliot (New York) joined KKR in 2023 as a Partner and Global Co-Head of KKR Climate within the firm’s Infrastructure business. Previously, he was a Partner at Goldman Sachs, where he spent 20 years as a private markets investor in the Merchant Banking Division and subsequently the Asset Management Division. Most recently, Charlie was responsible for both the Energy Transition team and the Diversified Industrials team in New York. He was a member of the Investment Committees for Corporate Equity, Infrastructure, and Climate. He also served at various times as a member of the Sustainability Committee, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and the Physical Commodity Review Committee. Earlier in his career, he spent two years in Goldman’s Hong Kong office working on investments across Asia. Mr. Gailliot holds a degree in Economics with a certificate in Finance from Princeton University.

About Emmanuel Lagarrigue

Emmanuel Lagarrigue (New York) joined KKR in 2022 and is a Partner and Global Co-Head of KKR Climate within the firm’s Infrastructure business. Mr. Lagarrigue has a wealth of experience in sustainability, the energy transition and the transformation of large businesses. Prior to joining KKR, he was one of the founding partners of BeyondNetZero, a General Atlantic fund, focusing on growth equity opportunities in decarbonization technologies. Previously, Mr. Lagarrigue was an executive committee member at Schneider Electric, holding the positions of Chief Strategy, Chief Sustainability and Chief Innovation Officer. He also held several P&L and general management positions in Europe, South America, Asia and the United States over 20 years at the company. Mr. Lagarrigue serves on the Board of JBT Corporation and is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Menorca Preservation, an NGO dedicated to environmental causes in the Balearic Islands.

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 and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Liidia Liuksila
212-750-8300
media@kkr.com

Source: KKR

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TPG Rise Climate Forms Strategic Partnership with KKR as New Majority Shareholder in A-Gas

KKR

LONDON, UK; SAN FRANCISCO, USA – August 17, 2023 – A-Gas, the global leader in the supply and lifecycle management of refrigerant gases, today announced that its owners, including majority owner KKR, have entered into a definitive agreement to sell a majority stake in the company to TPG Rise Climate, the dedicated climate investing strategy of TPG’s global impact investing platform, TPG Rise. KKR will remain a significant minority shareholder in the business, continuing to work in collaboration with TPG Rise Climate and the A-Gas Leadership Team. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We are thrilled to be taking the next step of our sustainability journey, and to be further scaling our Lifecycle Refrigerant Management operations, with the backing of TPG Rise Climate,” said Jack Govers, Chief Executive Officer of the A-Gas Group. “We have a long history of being at the forefront of refrigerant gas recovery and reclamation, effectively lowering potential emissions to the atmosphere, and this investment from TPG is validation of our growth strategy and the quality of our products and services. We look forward to building on our success by executing a number of organic and inorganic growth initiatives.”

“We are also grateful for the value that KKR has delivered to our business. KKR’s support, funding, and global platform have enabled us to significantly accelerate our growth into new markets and geographies, while also developing new sustainability-driven capabilities, and building our market leadership. I am delighted that our people and our customers will continue to benefit from their support,” Govers added.

For over 30 years, through its first-class recovery and reclamation processes, A-Gas has been at the forefront of capturing refrigerant gas for future re-use or safe destruction, creating a closed-loop system that prevents its harmful release to the atmosphere. The company’s proprietary gas separation and recovery technology effectively abated approximately 8 million metric tonnes of CO2e in 2022, the equivalent to removing over 1.6 million cars from the roads for a year.

Over the past three decades, A-Gas has extended its market leadership into new growth verticals such as on-site Rapid Recovery of refrigerant gas, the safe destruction of legacy gases, and the generation of carbon credits. The company has also continued to significantly expand its global presence during KKR’s investment period, entering new markets across Europe, such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy, while substantially scaling the company’s operations in the US, entering Canada with the construction of a new refrigerant recovery and reclamation facility in Ontario, as well as expanding in Asia through the acquisition of a Japanese refrigerant reclamation and destruction company. Since KKR’s acquisition, which was made through KKR European Fund IV in 2017, A-Gas has grown revenue by 14% and EBITDA by 18% on average annually.

“Our investment in A-Gas is a thematic play on the increasing importance of establishing circular economies in critical industries. A-Gas’ highly differentiated gas recovery and reclamation technology closes the loop in the refrigerant gas lifecycle and thereby prevents the common venting of used refrigerant gases into the atmosphere at their end-of-life, which can have a Global Warming Potential that is several thousand times higher than that of emitting CO2,” said Joerg Metzner, Business Unit Partner at TPG Rise Climate. “A-Gas will play a leading role towards a more sustainable and circular refrigerant gas value chain globally as demand for refrigerants continues to grow and regulatory scrutiny and enforcement increase.”

Mattia Caprioli, Co-Head of European Private Equity at KKR, commented: “A-Gas plays a critical role in the circular economy for refrigerant gases, and in supporting environmental targets to fight climate change and global warming. We have been proud to work with Jack Govers and the A-Gas team over the past years, building market-leading capabilities for the recovery and reclamation of used gases, and positioning the business to benefit from future growth in gas reclamation and destruction opportunities globally. We believe the addition of TPG Rise Climate’s market expertise, particularly in the US carbon credit market, is a great fit for the future, and we look forward to working alongside Joerg, Jack and their respective teams to continue to build on A-Gas’s unique proposition globally.”

Citi acted as financial advisor to TPG in relation to the transaction. Goldman Sachs International acted as financial advisor to A-Gas and KKR, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as KKR’s legal advisor.

The transaction marks a full exit for minority investor, LDC, following a successful 12-year strategic partnership.

 

— ends —

 

About A-Gas Group

A‑Gas is the world leader in the supply and lifecycle management of refrigerants and associated products and services. Through our first-class recovery, reclamation, and repurposing processes, we capture refrigerants and fire protection gases for future re-use or destruction, preventing their harmful release into the atmosphere.

For over 30 years, A-Gas has supported our clients and partners on their environmental journey by supplying lower global warming gases and actively increasing the circularity of the industries we serve, building a sustainable future.

For more information, please visit www.agas.com.

 

About TPG Rise Climate

TPG Rise Climate is the dedicated climate investing strategy of TPG’s $18 billion global impact investing platform TPG Rise. TPG Rise Climate pursues climate-related investments that benefit from the diverse skills of TPG’s investing professionals, the strategic relationships developed across TPG’s existing portfolio of climate-focused companies, and a global network of executives and advisors. The fund takes a broad-based sector approach to investment types, from growth equity to value-added infrastructure, and focuses on climate solutions in the following thematic areas: clean electrons, clean molecules and materials, and negative emissions. Jim Coulter, TPG Founding Partner and Executive Chairman, serves as Managing Partner of TPG Rise Climate. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson serves as TPG Rise Climate’s Executive Chairman.

For more information, please visit www.therisefund.com/tpgriseclimate

 

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 and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

 

Media Contacts:

 

A-Gas Group
Ken Logan
+44 7495 485356
ken.logan@agas.com

 

TPG
US
Ari Cohen
+1 415-743-1550
media@tpg.com

Europe
Michael Russell or Daniel Oliver
tpg@greenbrookadvisory.com

 

KKR
Annabel Arthur
+44 7554 919 491
annabel.arthur@kkr.com

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Altor has acquired a further 3.8% of the outstanding shares in FLSmidth & Co. A/S

We are pleased to announce that we, Altor Fund Manager AB (“Altor”), on August 16th 2023 have indirectly acquired a further 2.2 million shares in FLSmidth & Co. A/S (“FLSmidth”), corresponding to 3.8% of the shares outstanding. Combined with existing holdings, Altor now owns 14.9% of the outstanding shares and voting rights of FLSmidth.

“Since our initial investment in FLSmidth earlier this year, our positive view on the company has only been strengthened. We remain excited about the strategic direction of the company and the attractive long-term, green transition demand drivers supporting it, and we are impressed by the capable management team and their ability to execute on the strategic plans. The company is a great match for us, we share the same beliefs in what can and needs to be done in terms of decarbonization – an area in which we are active across many industries.” says Daniel Reimann, Principal at Altor.

Altor controls, through Altor Fund V (No.1) AB and Altor Fund V (No. 2) AB, the subsidiary, Altor Invest 7 AS, who is the direct holder of shares in FLSmidth.

Disclaimer

The purchase has not included an offer, whether directly or indirectly, in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Africa, Hong Kong or Australia, unless otherwise indicated, or in any other jurisdiction where such offer pursuant to legislation and regulations in such relevant jurisdictions would be prohibited by applicable law. This announcement is intended for the sole purpose of providing information. Persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. This announcement does not constitute an investment recommendation.

About Altor

Since inception, the family of Altor funds has raised more than EUR 10 billion in total commitments. The funds have invested in just south of 100 companies. The investments have been made in medium-sized predominantly Nordic and DACH companies with the aim to create value through growth initiatives and operational improvements. Among current and past investments are H2 Green Steel, Norican, Wrist Ship Supply, Multi-Wing, OX2, Vianode, Tibber, and Svea Solar. For more information visit www.altor.com

About FLSmidth

FLSmidth provides sustainable productivity to the global mining and cement industries. The company delivers market-leading technology, products and service solutions that enable its customers to improve performance, drive down costs and reduce environmental impact. MissionZero is the company’s sustainability ambition towards zero emissions in mining and cement by 2030. FLSmidth works within fully validated Science-Based Targets, its commitment to keep global warming below 1.5°C and to becoming carbon neutral in its own operations by 2030. For more information visit www.flsmidth.com

Press contact

Tor Krusell

Head of Communications

tor.krusell@altor.com

+46 705 43 87 47

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GIC and Barzel Properties Complete R$1.2 Billion Acquisition of Nine Carrefour Brazil Group Assets

GIC

SAO PAULO, August 17, 2023 – GIC, a global institutional investor, in partnership with Barzel Properties, a leading real estate management and development firm, has completed the acquisition of five distribution centers and four retail stores through a sale-leaseback contract with Carrefour Brazil Group in a transaction valued at approximately R$1.2 billion.

The transaction is supported by a 20-year renewable lease contract with Carrefour Brazil Group, a leading Brazilian retail and private employer. Under this contract, Barzel Properties will ensure a stable, long-term revenue stream through a rental agreement, adjusted annually for inflation.

“We are thrilled to complete the acquisition of nine of Carrefour Brazil Group’s assets alongside our strategic partner, Barzel Properties,” said Lee Kok Sun, Chief Investment Officer of Real Estate, GIC. “GIC is confident in the portfolio’s long-term potential in Brazil, which is underscored by the stores’ strong operational performance and warehouses’ strategic locations in major logistics markets.”

“Despite uncertainties in the global macroeconomic environment, this transaction serves as a testament to GIC’s confidence in top-tier assets backed by robust companies with good credit ratings,” said Adam Gallistel, Head of Americas Real Estate, GIC. “In Brazil, we have been continuously exploring sale-leaseback opportunities underpinned by long-term contracts and companies with solid and growing operations, such as Carrefour Brazil Group.”

“We are immensely pleased to strengthen our partnership with GIC through this exceptionally promising transaction,” said Nessim Daniel Sarfati, CEO of Barzel Properties. “The strategic locations of these assets combined with Carrefour Brazil Group’s robust operational track record and the 20-year lease contract will provide a stable and reliable rent income stream. We have high confidence in the future potential of the acquired assets.”

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Leading European industrial temperature control equipment rental specialist Coolworld to be sold by Gimv to Arcus European Infrastructure Fund 3, the third fund of Arcus Infrastructure Partners

GIMV

16/08/2023 – 07:28 | Portfolio

Building on its strong organic growth, Coolworld Investments B.V. (“Coolworld” or the “Company”), a market-leading specialist in mission-critical temperature control asset rental solutions, will be acquired by Arcus European Infrastructure Fund 3 (“AEIF3”), the third fund of Arcus Infrastructure Partners (“Arcus”). As part of the transaction, Gimv will sell its majority shareholding in the Company.

Arcus has significant value-add investing experience in European infrastructure and, specifically, asset leasing and cold chain businesses. This will help to support Coolworld’s management in further accelerating growth and focusing on long-term, sustainable value creation. The current management team will continue to lead the business through this next phase of growth and reinvest in the Company alongside AEIF3.

Coolworld offers a wide range of temperature control asset rental solutions, including process cooling, climate control, modular cold storage and industrial heating. The Company is a key industrial partner to its customers, providing mission-critical assets to enable and ensure process and product integrity, and support companies in complying with operational and regulatory requirements.

Over three decades of organic growth, the Company has built a market-leading position as a pureplay temperature control rental specialist, reflected in the number of long-term relationships it serves with blue chip customers across the food, pharmaceutical, chemical, logistics and other sectors.

Coolworld’s comprehensive customer offering is enabled by its high-quality range of temperature control assets, including industrial chillers, climate control units, mobile cold rooms, its network of depots in key regions of Northwest Europe, deep in-house expertise and a full-service solutions offering. Coolworld supports its customers across the full spectrum of requirements, from temporary emergency and downtime capacity to long-term leasing solutions.

Coolworld currently operates in six European countries and serves its customers through local depots to ensure high responsiveness and to minimise its carbon footprint. The Company’s focus on sustainability will continue to be a priority in this next growth phase, through significant further investment in the asset fleet, an increasing range of sustainable solutions and partnerships with customers and suppliers to drive decarbonising innovation.

In 2019, Gimv invested in Coolworld through its Sustainable Cities platform alongside the founders and management team. At the time of investment, Coolworld already had a strong position in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland and served a diversified customer base. With Gimv’s guidance, Coolworld achieved impressive organic growth through key strategic decisions, including further investments in a more sustainable fleet, build-out of the organisation and IT architecture, and further strengthening Coolworld’s local presence across Europe.

Ruud van Mierlo, CEO of Coolworld, noted: “Coolworld has delivered very strong growth over recent years and we have positioned ourselves as one of the leading temperature control asset rental companies in the market. Together with Gimv as our main shareholder, we were able to make substantial investments in our rental fleet and the organisation to keep up with the demands of our customers. With Arcus on board as our new majority shareholder, we will be able to enter the next phase of development in our company. Further growth, further professionalisation and access to more financing to support the growth of our company as a pan-European leader.”

Jordan Cott, Partner at Arcus Infrastructure Partners commented: “As part of our broader industrial infrastructure sector strategy, Coolworld stands out as a market-leading pureplay specialist in the temperature control asset leasing space. The Company has a well invested asset fleet, top-tier management team, long-term operating relationships and excellent market reputation, with decades of track record in providing its mission-critical asset rental solutions to growing and resilient end markets in Europe. It is an excellent fit within AEIF3’s infrastructure investment strategy, and a business where we can leverage our significant experience in value-add asset leasing as well as cold chain infrastructure. We look forward to working closely with Coolworld’s excellent management team to deliver the next phase of growth for the Company.”

Rombout Poos, Partner Sustainable Cities at Gimv, added: “Under the leadership of Ruud van Mierlo and his team, Coolworld has experienced very strong growth in recent years as a solutions provider for the numerous climate challenges we all face today. With Arcus as a new shareholder, Coolworld will be able to further expand its position as a pan-European player.”

Over the entire holding period Gimv realizes a return in excess of the long-term portfolio return target. No further financial details will be disclosed.

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Carlyle to sell Assala Energy to Maurel & Prom

Carlyle
  • Over the course of its ownership, Carlyle has worked with the Assala management team to support the company’s growth and rejuvenate its assets, investing in operations, infrastructure and M&A
  • Under Carlyle’s ownership, Assala increased its net production by approximately 30% to 45 kbbl/d and its reserves life from five to eight years

Libreville, Gabon – Global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) today announced that it has agreed to sell Assala Energy (“Assala”), an upstream oil exploration and production company operating in Gabon, to Etablissements Maurel & Prom SA (“M&P”), an oil and gas exploration and production company listed on Euronext.

Carlyle invested in Assala in 2017 through Carlyle International Energy Partners, a private equity fund that invests in energy opportunities in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia. During its period of ownership and in partnership with the Assala management team, Assala has become a successful stand-alone company, adding reserves, upgrading production facilities and infrastructure, and executing strategic M&A.

Thanks to significant investment (in excess of $1.3 billion over the Carlyle investment period) and operational excellence, Assala has been transformed into one of the leading independent exploration and production companies in West Africa. Since Carlyle’s acquisition, Assala has increased net production by c. 30% to approximately 45 kbbl/d and, based on current production, has extended reserve life from five to eight years at the end of 2022, with a reserves replacement ratio of over 160% over the investment period. Assala also resumed exploration activity in 2020 to support the company’s longer-term growth.

Carlyle and the Assala management team have worked closely together to accelerate the decarbonization of the company. Since 2020, Assala has reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by approximately 20%, primarily through methane leak detection and prevention, gas re-injection, the reduction of flaring and the shutting in of wells with excessive gas production.

David Roux, CEO of Assala, said: “We want to thank Carlyle for its financial and strategic support throughout Assala’s growth journey, from the initial carve out from Shell in 2017 to the successes of higher production and reserves growth, which were delivered to best practice and international ESG standards by our exceptional team. We also want to thank the Government of Gabon for the support it provided throughout this intensive investment and redevelopment period. We are proud of our accomplishments so far and look forward to our business’s next stage of growth. The combination with M&P will create a great platform, with its business anchored in Gabon and a continued focus on creating value for its employees, local communities, governments and shareholders.”

Bob Maguire, Co-Head of Carlyle International Energy Partners, said: “We are proud to have worked alongside David and his team in the transformation of Assala over the past six years. By investing in the company’s facilities and infrastructure to increase production and reserve life — while at the same time decarbonizing its operations — Carlyle has helped Assala become a responsible operator, employer and partner and has enabled it to contribute significantly to the sustainable economic future of Gabon’s energy industry.”

Guido Funes Nova, Co-Head of Carlyle International Energy Partners, said: “Our investment in Assala is a great example of how Carlyle works in partnership with management teams to deliver long-term value from mature assets for the benefit of our investors as well as the local economy and communities, while reducing emissions intensity. Assala is now one of the most efficient and skilled operators of mature onshore assets in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a long runway for future sustainable value creation.”

Citi acted as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins as legal advisor to Carlyle on this transaction.

—

About Assala 

Assala is an oil and gas exploration and production company, with operations in Gabon. Assala’s business model is to invest in mid-life and mature assets, improving operational efficiency and production levels, while responsibly extending field life cycles through reserves replacement and in compliance with international best practice Environment, Social and Governance standards. In line with Assala’s Values and corporate culture, the company is committed to contributing to the national and local economies of its host countries, while complying with its international obligations on transparency.

About Carlyle

Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across its business and conducts its operations through three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Global Investment Solutions. With $385 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2023, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,200 people in 29 offices across five continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

Media contacts

Carlyle:
Charlie Bristow
charlie.bristow@carlyle.com
+44 7384 513 568

Assala Energy:
Caroline Sourt
+34 (0) 638 976 262
caroline.sourt@assalaenergy.com

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£1.1mn follow-on investment in legaltech leader Legatics as part of £4mn round

Gresham House

Gresham House Ventures makes £1.1mn follow-on investment in legaltech leader Legatics as part of £4mn investment round led by FINTOP Capital.

Designed by lawyers seeking to streamline the sector’s legacy working methods, Legatics enables deal teams to collaborate on and close deals in an interactive online environment.

Since its launch in 2015, the platform has been adopted by many of the world’s top global law firms, including Allen & Overy, Dentons and Shearman & Sterling, and has been deployed in more than 60 countries.

The Gresham House Ventures team initially invested £3 million in Legatics in 2021, investing on behalf of the Mobeus VCTs, which supported the business’ rapid expansion and the development of Legatics 2, a second-generation platform which will incorporate enhanced AI functionality. This additional investment will be used to bring new features and functionality to Legatics 2, and accelerate expansion plans for the US market, where the legal sector has not yet adopted digitisation to its full potential.

The deal was led by Joe Krancki and Mark Stroud, with Stroud also joining Legatics’ board, where he brings valuable experience working with legaltech businesses, as part of the investment. The investment came as part of a £4 million fundraising round led by legal tech specialist FINTOP Capital. Gresham House was advised by Marriott Harrison on the transaction.

The investment continues a busy period of dealmaking for Gresham House Ventures, which closed a £3.1 million investment into digital health platform provider Mable Therapy earlier in August.

This followed a £3.5 million investment into Dayrize, a £4.65 million investment into Connect Earth, a £4 million investment into Cognassist, and a further investment into eating disorder clinic, Orri.

Joe Krancki, Investment Director at Gresham House Ventures says:

“The Legatics team has revolutionised the sector, removing legacy hurdles to help countless leading law firms and professionals quickly adapt to the changing demands of the legal market. With the rollout of Legatics 2 further cementing its position as the go-to legaltech vendor in the UK, we are pleased to be providing additional investment at this exciting time. We have been impressed with Legatics’ continued growth in recent years, and we look forward to working closely with the business over the coming years to support its ongoing expansion into the US market.”

Anthony Seale, CEO at Legatics says:

“The Gresham House Ventures team’s previous investment in Legatics has played a significant role in supporting our recent growth, enabling the business to more than double its customer base in two years and accelerate its product offering with the launch of Legatics 2. This follow-on investment validates the significant opportunity to embed our platform into the US legal market – one that is crying out for streamlined solutions like Legatics to modernise legal transactions.”

 

 

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DIF’s portfolio company ruhrfibre signs EUR 120m senior debt financing

DIF

DIF Capital Partners (via its DIF CIF III fund) is pleased to announce that its portfolio company ruhrfibre has closed on a senior debt financing in support of the buildout of a large-scale fibre network in Essen (Germany), targeting around 150,000 households.

DIF announced its investment in ruhrfibre in November 2022, alongside project developer metrofibre and the City of Essen. The project is a game changer to the city in the industrial Ruhr-area in terms of its economic advancement and will accelerate Essen’s development into a smart city.

The financing package comprises senior loans totalling EUR 120m that are provided by a club of senior lenders comprising ING, Kommunalkredit Austria and SEB. There is a further uncommitted accordion facility of EUR 40m to expand the financing. The facilities are structured as a green loan with a dedicated green use of proceed for the financing of climate friendly broadband technology, and as such underpin DIF’s strong commitment to promote sustainable infrastructure.

The successful financing provides further momentum to ruhrfibre’s significant progress in bringing fibre to Essen: In June, ruhrfibre started the construction work in the first two roll-out areas in Essen. “With full financing, the project is now significantly picking up speed”, says Christopher Rautenberg, Managing Director at metrofibre and ruhrfibre. “New roll-out areas will follow in the next few months to meet our goal of connecting 150,000 households, businesses, and public institutions to the fiber-optic network.”  DIF and ruhrfibre were advised by ING, Hogan Lovells, Arthur D. Little and Riskbridge. The lenders were advised by White & Case.

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is an independent infrastructure fund manager, with ca. EUR 17 billion of AUM. DIF was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in managing mid-market investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia.

DIF follows two strategies: its traditional DIF funds invest in lower risk mid-sized infrastructure projects and companies in the energy transition (incl. renewables) and utilities sector, as well as PPPs and concessions. The firm’s CIF funds invest in small to mid-sized companies that will thrive in the new economy. These companies are typically active in the digital, energy transition and sustainable transportation sector.

With a team of over 225 professionals in 11 offices, DIF Capital Partners offers a unique market approach combining global presence with the benefits of strong local networks and investment capabilities. DIF is located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto.

For more information, please visit www.dif.eu

Contact DIF Capital Partners: press@dif.eu

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Bergman Clinics opens a new clinic in Rijswijk with a focus on eye care

NPM Capital

Bergman Clinics has opened a new focus clinic in Rijswijk. The new location offers the best possible eye care as a result of our ultimately modern complex with advanced equipment and facilities. The care provided here can be fully reimbursed by your health insurer, providing this is medically indicated and following a referral by your GP.

The opening of this modern, state-of-the-art location has enabled Bergman Clinics to respond to a growing demand for top quality, client-focussed treatments for plannable medical care. The specialisation Bergman Clinics is known for allows for very efficient working methods. This subsequently reduces access times and means more clients can be seen at an earlier stage.

The new location offers specialist treatments for a variety of eye diseases and conditions, including cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration. Clients can rely on a multidisciplinary approach, whereby experienced ophthalmologists work together with optometrists to realise the best possible care results. Cataract surgery is by far the most common procedure. Bergman Clinics | Rijswijk is expected to be able to help around 4000 clients get rid of their cataract problems every year.

The focus clinic has a brand new class 2 operating room at its disposal, especially designed for ophthalmic operations. The clinic also boasts twelve optimally equipped consulting rooms, allowing us to assist a large number of clients.

Dr Flora Berkhout is an Ophthalmologist at Bergman Clinics. She is very enthusiastic about the new focus clinic: “It’s hugely beneficial to form part of such a large ophthalmic organisation. We have gained an incredible amount of experience with eye care and how to organise this as optimally as possible in our other Bergman Clinics locations. I have personally worked at several Bergman Clinics locations: Ede, Den Bosch and Amsterdam. We can individually adopt each and every one of these best practices. Plus it’s certainly also going to be a very nice location. Fantastic for both our clients and our employees. Setting up this focus clinic together with the team is going to be a very exciting challenge to rise to!” according to Dr Berkhout.

Expansion of several care programmes later on this year
The new focus clinic will also be introducing other specialisms later on this year, in addition to ophthalmic care, including Skin & Vessels (dermatology & proctology), Woman (gynaecology) and ENT (ear, nose and throat). This will allow Bergman Clinics to offer an extensive care programme, making sure clients in Rijswijk and the surrounding area have access to top quality medical treatments in a variety of different areas.

 

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IBM Completes Acquisition of Apptio Inc.

Vista Equity

With close of transaction, immediate synergies to be driven with IBM’s IT Automation Portfolio

ARMONK, N.Y., Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it has completed its acquisition of Apptio Inc. after receiving all required regulatory approvals. The acquisition gives clients the ability to derive additional value through the powerful combination of Apptio and IBM.

IBM Apptio
IBM Apptio

Technology is a competitive differentiator for today’s enterprises. Organizations are accelerating their IT investments, spreading workloads and applications across public and private clouds, using multiple service providers. As a result, their expenses are increasing, and they need simplified, integrated, and automated solutions to optimize their IT spend, improve operations, and drive greater financial returns.

 

Today’s close brings together the industry-leading solutions of Apptio’s FinOps offerings, including ApptioOne, Cloudability and Targetprocess, and IBM’s automation portfolio of Turbonomic, AIOps and Instana to give clients a “virtual command center” for managing, optimizing and automating technology spending decisions.

With AI and foundation models top of mind for clients and partners, IBM will also augment its watsonx AI and data platform with Apptio’s $450 billion in anonymized IT spend data, unlocking new innovation, insight and value.

“The combination of Apptio products and IBM’s IT automation portfolio will give businesses a 360-degree technology management platform they can use to optimize and automate decisions across their IT landscapes,” said Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President, Software and Chief Commercial Officer, IBM. “We are bringing together market-leading and best-in-class solutions to continue to reshape IT from a cost center to a true competitive advantage, powered by automation and AI.”

Starting immediately, clients can leverage the early integration between Apptio and IBM through their Cloudability and Turbonomic offerings. This is an important first step as IBM looks to drive significant synergy across several key growth areas, including automation, Red Hat, IBM Consulting, and IBM’s broader AI portfolio.

Cloudability gives organizations the data, insights and recommendations needed to understand and eliminate waste from their cloud spend, while Turbonomic generates trustworthy optimization decisions that can be automated to unlock true cloud elasticity, getting rid of overprovisioning to protect performance. Together, these products can give clients full coverage for the “Inform,” “Optimize” and “Operate” stages of the FinOps Framework, providing what they need to control cloud spend without slowing innovation or negatively impacting operational performance.

Cloudability can ingest Turbonomic executed and proposed actions to provide a shared, single view across services that helps stakeholders understand the impact that has been, and can be, achieved by bringing these two leading IT automation offerings together.

Clients are already seeing the benefits of these solutions. With Cloudability, organizations can reduce cloud costs by 30% or more1 while allocating 100% of cloud program costs2 and increasing reservation coverage to over 90%3. With Turbonomic, they can improve cloud investments by 33% and get 30% of engineering time back.4

The close of the Apptio acquisition is one of a series of investments in IT Automation by IBM over the last three years to help solve the problems facing today’s IT and business leaders. In 2020, IBM launched its IT Automation portfolio when it announced its AIOps offerings that used AI and automation to help enterprises self-detect, diagnose and respond to IT anomalies in real time. Later that year, IBM acquired Instana, recognizing that modern applications and operations required real-time observability. Then, in 2021, IBM acquired Turbonomic which has specialized in helping clients optimize for application performance at the lowest cost with automation. Now, with the acquisition of Apptio, IBM will provide real-time data and actionable insights for leaders to make smarter spending decisions and realize value faster as they transform their operations.

Apptio is an established, growing, and profitable technology business management and FinOps leader with over 1,500 clients, serving more than half of the Fortune 100.

IBM previously announced a definitive agreement to acquire Apptio from Vista Equity Partners on June 26, 2023.

“Our journey with Apptio is a testament to Vista’s ability to create consistent outcomes that drive value for our stakeholders,” said Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. “We are proud of our continued momentum, even amidst these challenged market conditions, and look forward to seeing how Apptio’s technology will bolster IBM’s IT automation and AI capabilities in the years ahead. It’s been an honor to partner with a visionary founder like Sunny and we wish the entire Apptio team the best in the next phase of their growth with IBM.”

About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

Press Contact:

Tim Davidson, 914-844-7847
tfdavids@us.ibm.com

1 https://www.apptio.com/case-study/the-national-rural-electric-cooperative-association-reduces-infrastructure-costs-by-30/
2 https://www.apptio.com/case-study/unlocking-the-business-value-of-it-transformation-with-coles-and-cloudability/
3 https://www.apptio.com/case-study/how-koch-business-solutions-became-finops-center-enterprise/
4 https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/JEWOV1BM

SOURCE IBM

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