Category Archives: News

EQT Private Equity exits In.Corp Global to TA Associates

eqt
  • EQT Private Equity exits its stake in In.Corp Global, a leading pan Southeast Asia & India corporate services provider, to TA Associates
  • Under EQT Private Equity’s tenure, In.Corp, has grown from a Singapore business to a regional player with geographical footprint across seven countries, launched new services to provide full end-to-end service offerings and developed an industry leading technology platform at the core of its business to drive workflow automation
  • During EQT Private Equity’s ownership, In.Corp has experienced substantial revenue and EBITDA growth, while the employee base increased by more than five times

EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Mid Market fund (“EQT Private Equity”) has completed the sale of its stake in In.Corp Global (“the Company” or “In.Corp”) to TA Associates.

Headquartered in Singapore, In.Corp provides end-to-end corporate services such as corporate secretarial, share registry, outsourced accounting and tax services in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong and India.

During EQT Private Equity’s ownership, In.Corp expanded its geographical presence from one to seven countries, grew its client base substantially to include more large and multinational corporations. Moreover, the Company enhanced its service offering and organizational capabilities to provide end-to-end corporate services support to its clients with its employee base increasing by more than five times.

In.Corp also developed an industry leading technology platform which enables workflow automation, resulting in higher employee productivity and market leading profitability. Today, In.Corp is a leading pan Southeast Asia & India corporate services provider with over 500 employees, servicing more than 12,000 clients across international SMEs and multinational corporations.

Brian Chang, Partner and Investment Advisor, Head of Southeast Asia at EQT Partners, said “We are pleased to have found a good partner for In.Corp for what we believe will be an exciting next phase of its journey. In.Corp has transformed significantly into a regional leader in the Asian corporate services industry in the last five years and we are proud of the accomplishments achieved alongside a very entrepreneurial and professional management team and board. We thank Atin, the management team, all employees and the board for their vision and dedication, and we are confident that In.Corp will continue to be successful under its new ownership.”

Atin Bhutani, CEO of In.Corp, said “We want to thank EQT and the entire team for the trust, dedication and guidance over the last five years. EQT has been a great partner and instrumental in In.Corp’s journey so far and also in finding the right partner for us for the next phase of growth and transformation. I will personally also cherish the friendships that we have built over these years.”

Contact
APAC media inquiries: KEKST CNC, daniel.delre@kekstcnc.com, +852 9212 3105
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 67 billion in assets under management across 26 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas with total sales of approximately EUR 29 billion and more than 175,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram

About In.Corp Global
Based in Singapore, In.Corp is the leading provider of professional corporate solutions for businesses with presence in seven markets across Asia. In.Corp specializes in a full range of professional services for companies planning to establish a hub or headquarters in Asia, including incorporation, corporate secretarial & compliance, share registry, accounting, taxation, human resources, corporate recovery and other business advisory services.

More info: www.incorp.asia

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Plantasjen has reopened all stores

Ratos

Plantasjen has reopened all stores in Norway. From mid-March up to 38 stores have been closed, due to Corona restrictions. This means that all Plantasjen’s stores in the Nordic region now are open.

“It is satisfying that all stores on our markets are now open as we enter our most important sales period of the year. I am extremely impressed by the way our employees have handled the uncertainty during this period. One example is the launch of our e-commerce. Our online sales have accelerated quickly during this period. The effort done by the whole team is great, and we will of course handle the reopening in a responsible way and in line with authority recommendations,” says Nina Jönsson, CEO of Plantasjen.

 

For further information, please contact:
Nina Jönsson, CEO of Plantasjen
+46 (0)720 774 420

Anders Slettengren, Head of business area Consumer at Ratos
+46 (0)725 898 900

 

About Ratos:
Ratos is a business group consisting of 12 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer and Industry. In total 2020, the companies have approximately SEK 34 billion in sales. Our business concept is to develop companies headquartered in the Nordics that are or can become market leaders. We enable independent companies to excel by being part of something larger. People, leadership, culture and values are key focus areas for Ratos. Everything we do is based on Ratos’s core values: Simplicity, Speed in Execution and It’s All About People.

 

 

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IK Investment Partners to sell Hansen Protection to Survitec Group

ik-investment-partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK VII Fund has sold its stake in Hansen Protection AS (“Hansen Protection” or “the Company”) to Survitec Group Ltd (“Survitec”). Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Hansen Protection, with headquarters in Moss, Norway has over 140 years of experience in design and production of textile products safeguarding people, property and the environment. The Company is a leading European supplier of immersion suits and protective rainwear used in harsh environments and cold water areas, as well as a leading Scandinavian supplier of coated textile products for leisure, marine and niche applications. Trusted by defence, marine, energy, agricultural and emergency response clients for decades, Hansen Protection has a reputation for the provision of outstanding lifesaving products that conform to the most stringent safety standards.

Since partnering with IK in 2013, Hansen Protection has reformed its strategy in the rental and personal protection businesses to also service the growing offshore wind segment though its heliports in Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, as well as expanding its protective rainwear offering to the wider European market. Through leveraging IK’s operational expertise, the Company has also re-focused on bespoke provision for the energy sector, whilst continuing to win prestigious contracts outfitting European navies, coastguards as well as search and rescue teams.

Terje Gorm Hansen, CEO of Hansen Protection, commented: “It has been our privilege to have partnered with IK, an organisation that shares our Nordic roots and drive for excellence. With their support, we have strengthened our product range and service standards to better serve those that rely on us through the most challenging conditions.”

Christopher Masek, Chief Executive Officer of IK Investment Partners and advisor to the IK VII Fund, said: “With its committed team dedicated to delivering world-class equipment that is trusted and reliable, Hansen Protection has a rich history and an exciting future ahead of it. Together with Survitec, they will continue to provide lifesaving solutions to those working in essential industries and roles.”

Ron Krisanda, Executive Chairman of Survitec Group, said: “The combined portfolios from Survitec and Hansen Protection will offer greater value to our customers by providing one single supplier for Survival Technology. This acquisition reinforces our position as the global leader in the provision of personal protection wear, including suits, lifejackets, and rainwear, across the Marine, Energy, Defence and Aerospace sectors.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Investment Partners
Maitland/AMO
James McFarlane
Phone: +44 (0) 7584 142 665
Email: jmcfarlane@maitland.co.uk

About Hansen Protection

Hansen Protection AS is a high-tech company that develops, designs and manufactures both standard and tailor-made hi-tech textile products for various sectors. The company has over 140 years of experience in manufacturing protective clothing and life jackets for seafarers, and has been designing, developing and making rescue and survival suits for the North Sea Oil Industry since 1976. In addition, the company has activities within canopies and interior fittings for leisure boats, as well as products for agricultural applications and the health sector. For more information, visit www.hansenprotection.no

About IK Investment Partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €14 billion of capital and invested in over 145 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit: www.ikinvest.com

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Gimv increases its interest in German GPNZ to further support and develop the dental platform in its growth ambitions

05/05/2021 – 07:30 | Portfolio

Gimv has increased its interest in GPNZ (Gesellschaft für Praxisnachfolge in der Zahnmedizin), a fast-growing, high-quality dental platform in Germany. In addition to a significant capital increase into the company, Gimv has acquired the shares of co-investors Cannonball® and co-founder Marcus Geier. The founder and CEO of GPNZ Roman Wachtel also participated in the capital increase. The additional resources will be used to conclude further partnerships and to continue the group’s dynamic growth path. 

The dentistry group GPNZ (Gesellschaft für Praxisnachfolge in der Zahnmedizin, Munich, – www.gpnz.de) was launched in late 2018 with the aim of becoming a leading high-quality dental chain in Germany through buy and build. In collaboration with the co-investors and the current management, GPNZ has established itself as a fast growing dental platform, having assembled a group of high quality dental practices and supported them with tailor-made development plans, backed by a strong team at the Munich headquarters as well as effective regional support.

Acquisition of high quality and successful dental practices with best-in-class dentists and staff is an essential part of GPNZ’s consolidation strategy in a large but highly fragmented market, bringing benefits for dentists, staff and patients. Dentists reduce time spent on administrative, HR, marketing or commercial tasks and can focus on their medical role. They also gain flexibility in working hours and reduce their entrepreneurial risk. Staff is supported in terms of marketing, recruiting, and invoicing. Patients benefit from a wider range of professional medical services under one roof and convenience, either through additional specialisations, greater capacity or extended opening hours. Patient satisfaction and ensuring top quartile medical quality as a minimum standard in each practice are key priorities for GPNZ.

Despite the Covid pandemic, GPNZ has maintained strong momentum, with a further nine practices coming on board or having signed in the last 15 months. The company is led by an experienced management team with expertise in various healthcare fields (compliance, dentistry, marketing, hospital management, etc.) to fully support the organic growth of the practices. Long-term mutual goal alignment is ensured by management’s co-investment into GPNZ.

In the transaction announced today, co-founders Cannonball® and Marcus Geier, both having played instrumental roles in the first phase of establishing GPNZ, will sell their shares to Gimv. Gimv and CEO Roman Wachtel are committed to a further capital contribution to the company.

Philipp v. Hammerstein, Partner at Gimv, comments: “We are very pleased with the development of the group since the start of our journey back in 2018. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Cannonball®  and Marcus Geier for their invaluable contributions in establishing the company to where we stand today. We are excited about further prospects and committed to further supporting the team and developing the group going forward.”

Dominik F. Hesse, Managing Partner at Cannonball®, adds: “We are proud of having co-founded this success story and contributed significantly to building the company being both part of the management team and financial investor. It is now the right moment for us to hand over the baton. We would like to thank Gimv and the management team for this partnership and wish them all the best for the future development of GPNZ.”

Roman Wachtel, CEO of GPNZ sums up: “We are grateful for the further commitment, as well as the ongoing reliable support, deep sector knowledge and buy and build experience contributed by Gimv. We are looking forward to the future and remain fully committed to continue GPNZ’s successful path as a leading dental platform where patients experience the highest medical standards.”

This acquisition further underpins Gimv’s position as one of the most active European investors in the healthcare industry and its ambition to positively contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of good health and well-being. Gimv currently has 23 participations in companies in the healthcare and life sciences sector. The Gimv portfolio also includes several clinic and practice groups, as well as medical technology and biotech companies.

No further financial details on this transaction are being published.

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Verizon Media to be Acquired by Apollo Funds

Apollo Global

Transaction Expected to Accelerate Growth of the Internet and Digital Media Leader

Verizon to Maintain Minority Stake in the New Company to be Known as Yahoo

NEW YORK, May 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE: APO) (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “Apollo”) today announced that funds managed by affiliates of Apollo (the “Apollo Funds”) entered into an agreement to acquire Verizon Media for $5 billion. Verizon will retain a 10% stake in the company, which will be known as Yahoo at close of the transaction and continue to be led by CEO Guru Gowrappan.

One of the world’s premier global technology and media companies, Verizon Media is comprised of iconic brands such as Yahoo and AOL, as well as leading ad tech and media platform businesses. The corporate carveout will allow Verizon Media to aggressively pursue growth areas and stands to benefit its employees, advertisers, publishing partners and nearly 900 million monthly active users worldwide.

“We are excited to be joining forces with Apollo,” said Guru Gowrappan, CEO, Verizon Media. “The past two quarters of double-digit growth have demonstrated our ability to transform our media ecosystem. With Apollo’s sector expertise and strategic insight, Yahoo will be well positioned to capitalize on market opportunities, media and transaction experience and continue to grow our full stack digital advertising platform. This transition will help to accelerate our growth for the long- term success of the company.”

“We are thrilled to help unlock the tremendous potential of Yahoo and its unparalleled collection of brands,” said Reed Rayman, Private Equity Partner at Apollo. “We have enormous respect and admiration for the great work and progress that the entire organization has made over the last several years, and we look forward to working with Guru, his talented team, and our partners at Verizon to accelerate Yahoo’s growth in its next chapter.”

“We are big believers in the growth prospects of Yahoo and the macro tailwinds driving growth in digital media, advertising technology and consumer internet platforms,” said David Sambur, Senior Partner and Co-Head of Private Equity at Apollo. “Apollo has a long track record of investing in technology and media companies and we look forward to drawing on that experience to help Yahoo continue to thrive.”

“Verizon Media has done an incredible job turning the business around over the past two and a half years and the growth potential is enormous,” said Hans Vestberg, CEO, Verizon. “The next iteration requires full investment and the right resources. During the strategic review process, Apollo delivered the strongest vision and strategy for the next phase of Verizon Media. I have full confidence that Yahoo will take off in its new home.”

Verizon Media reported strong, diversified year-over-year revenue growth the past two quarters, driven by innovative ad offerings, consumer ecommerce, subscriptions, betting and strategic partnerships. Yahoo, one of the best recognized digital media brands in the world and the fourth most visited internet property globally, continues to evolve as a key destination for finance and news among Gen Z. This was most recently marked by Yahoo News becoming the fastest growing news organization on TikTok.

Under the terms of the agreement, Verizon will receive $4.25 billion in cash, preferred interests of $750 million and retain a 10% stake in Verizon Media. The transaction includes the assets of Verizon Media, including its brands and businesses. The transaction is subject to satisfaction of certain closing conditions and expected to close in the second half of 2021.

Goldman Sachs served as lead financial advisor to Verizon in the transaction. Evercore also served as financial advisor to Verizon. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP are serving as legal counsel to Verizon.

LionTree served as lead financial advisor to and will invest alongside the Apollo Funds, bringing its global strategic relationships to Yahoo as the company continues to accelerate growth and pursue strategic investments in key verticals and product areas.

RBC Capital Markets also served as financial advisor to the Apollo Funds in connection with the transaction, alongside Barclays, BMO Capital Markets Corp., Deutsche Bank and Mizuho Securities USA LLC; all are also providing financing for the transaction. Mizuho Securities USA LLC also served as lead structuring advisor to the Apollo Funds. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Apollo Funds.

About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology, communications, information and entertainment products and services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $128.3 billion in 2020. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.

About Apollo

Apollo is a leading global investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo, among others. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $455 billion as of December 31, 2020 in credit, private equity and real assets funds. For more information about Apollo, please visit www.apollo.com.

About Verizon Media

Verizon Media, a division of Verizon Communications, Inc., houses a trusted media ecosystem of premium brands like Yahoo, TechCrunch and Engadget to help people stay informed and entertained, communicate and transact, while creating new ways for advertisers and media partners to connect. From XR experiences to advertising and content technology, Verizon Media is an incubator of innovation and is revolutionizing the next generation of content creation in a 5G world.

VERIZON’S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at verizon.com/news. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

Media contact:
Allison Butler
Corporate Communications
Verizon Media
(202) 669- 9887
allison.butler@verizonmedia.com

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

Kim Ancin
+ 1 908-801-0500
kimberly.ancin@verizon.com

Investor Contact
Peter Mintzberg
Head of Investor Relations
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0528
APOInvestorRelations@apollo.com

 

Primary Logo

Source: Verizon Sourcing LLC

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EURAZEO COMPLETES ITS INVESTMENT IN ULTRA PREMIUM DIRECT

Eurazeo

Eurazeo has completed its majority investment in Ultra Premium Direct, alongside co-founders Sophie and Matthieu Wincker and Eutopia, existing minority shareholder via Otium Consumer, which would reinvest in the transaction via its new fund.

As a leading player in the French premium pet food market, Ultra Premium Direct aims at democratizing premium pet food, distributing its products directly through its own website and subscription service, at an attractive price point. Focused on improving pet health and well-being Ultra Premium Direct develops high protein products in collaboration with veterinarian nutritionists in its owned industrial and R&D plant in Agen, South of France.

Eurazeo will invest 68 million euros to hold a majority stake in the company. It will represent Eurazeo’s Brands team second investment in Europe after the acquisition of Swedish brand Axel Arigato in November 2020.

ABOUT EURAZEO
Eurazeo is a leading global investment group, with a diversified portfolio of €21.8 billion in Assets Under Management, including €15.0 billion from third parties, invested in 450 companies. With its considerable private equity, private debt and real assets expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its nearly 300 professionals and by offering deep sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term.
Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, London, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Madrid.
Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.
ISIN: FR0000121121 – Bloomberg: RF FP – Reuters: EURA.PA

EURAZEO CONTACTS
Virginie Christnacht
HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS vchristnacht@eurazeo.com
+33 (0)1 44 15 76 44
Pierre Bernardin
HEAD OF INVESTOR RELATIONS pbernardin@eurazeo.com
+33 (0)1 44 15 16 76

PRESS CONTACT
DAVID STURKEN
MAITLAND/AMO dsturken@maitland.co.uk+44 (0)7990 595 913

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CVC Credit supports H.I.G. Capital’s acquisition of KPMG’s UK Restructuring business

CVC Capital Partners

Debt facilities will support company, now known as Interpath Advisory, in its growth and transition to independence

CVC Credit is pleased to announce that it has provided senior debt facilities to support H.I.G. Capital’s (“H.I.G.”) acquisition of KPMG’s UK restructuring business, a leading provider of insolvency, financial restructuring and turnaround services in the UK and globally. The business which has been renamed Interpath Advisory (“Interpath”), will use CVC Credit’s investment to fund its transition to an independent business and strengthen its existing capabilities as it continues to grow its advisory offering in the UK and beyond.

Interpath is a leading multidisciplinary practice of over 40 managing directors and more than 525 staff located across the full breadth of the UK. The group advises companies, lenders, equity holders and a wide range of other stakeholders including Government, regulators and pension trustees to navigate through the issues associated with economic disruption and overcome financial and operational challenges.

Neale Broadhead, Partner at CVC Credit, said: “We were pleased to support H.I.G. in their acquisition of Interpath and to provide continuing support to the management team as they embark upon the next stage of their growth at a time when their services will be in great demand.”

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Icario Partners with CVC to fuel next phase of growth

CVC Capital Partners

Global private equity firm brings world-class resources and support to Icario’s current and future customers

Icario, the healthcare industry’s leading health action company, is pleased to announce that CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”), a leading global private equity firm, has acquired a majority interest in the company through the CVC Growth Partners II fund. The investment will be used to fuel Icario’s next phase of growth; financial terms were not disclosed.

The news comes at an exciting time for Icario, which rebranded earlier this year following the merger of market leaders Revel and NovuHealth. CVC will help Icario accelerate its business roadmap as it continues to build innovative solutions for its customers, which include many of the most trusted health plans in the United States.

“With CVC’s support, Icario is ideally positioned to bring our mission to more people through our shared vision for the business,” said Steve Wigginton, CEO of Icario. “We have been fortunate to benefit from the insight and leadership of our founders and early investors, and we look forward to our next chapter led by a team and a firm with a strong reputation for taking organizations to the next level.”

“Icario’s proprietary technology, data science, and behavioral insights drive highly valuable actions,” said Aaron Dupuis, partner at CVC Growth Partners. “We have followed the Icario story for some time as part of our long-standing efforts in member engagement, and we look forward to working with the Icario team to accelerate initiatives to bring even more member engagement innovation to Icario’s impressive customer base of more than 50 leading healthcare payers.”

“Engaging consumers in their health has never been more important than it is today,” said Fazle Husain, Partner and Head of U.S. Healthcare at CVC. “We see significant tailwinds for Icario as plans increasingly focus on coordinating member communications to drive member satisfaction, better health outcomes and lower cost of care.”

Icario is a health action company whose solutions seek to deeply understand people by leveraging behavioral and data sciences in order to move them to take action for better health. The early founders of the company recognized the gap between consumer engagement in other industries — travel, retail, and financial services — and identified an opportunity to do the same for healthcare through personalized, multi-channel communications that connect all people to health.

“We are thrilled to welcome the CVC team as Icario’s capital partner,” said Tom Wicka, co-founder of NovuHealth and chairman of Icario. “We have a shared vision for using technology and data to drive consumer behaviors that empower health plans’ quality, assessment, and health action strategies to drive better health outcomes.”

Icario was recently featured on the 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals: Midwest list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the Midwest. For more information on Icario and its health action capabilities, visit https://icariohealth.com.

TripleTree, LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to Icario for this transaction. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

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Acronis, the global leader in cyber protection, receives more than $250M investment at a $2.5B valuation

CVC Capital Partners

Funding to accelerate growth, expand its portfolio of cyber protection products, and enable service providers to serve their clients better

Acronis, the global leader in cyber protection, is pleased to announce that it has received more than $250 million funding round from CVC Capital Partners VII and other investors. Acronis will use the funds to further accelerate growth by expanding its unique portfolio of natively integrated cyber protection products. A significant portion of the investment will also be used to further enhance Acronis’ go-to-market initiatives by expanding its broad partner network – most notably managed service providers (MSPs) – to help them better serve the cyber protection needs of their clients. The investment values the company at more than $2.5 billion.

“Acronis’ talented management and R&D teams have invested significant resources developing an innovative cloud-native ‘MSP in a box’ solution, with integrated backup, disaster recovery, cybersecurity, remote management, and workflow tools,” said Leif Lindbäck, Senior Managing Director of CVC Capital Partners. “Acronis provides mission-critical solutions to more than 10,000 MSPs and half a million small and medium businesses. CVC has a strong track record in cybersecurity and partnering up with successful entrepreneurs, and we are looking forward to teaming up with Serguei Beloussov and the Acronis team to accelerate the company’s growth.”

Acronis Cyber Protect is the first unified cybersecurity and data protection solution that is natively integrated, so service providers can operate these critical functions through a single pane of glass, delivering comprehensive cyber protection at a lower cost.

“With this additional funding, we will accelerate the development of our product portfolio and invest more in our partners’ success,” said Serguei “SB” Beloussov, founder and CEO of Acronis. “Our goal is to develop market-leading technology and help our partners grow their profits, while providing the best protection for their clients.”

Acronis will continue to invest in staff resources, expanding its global sales, partner account management and partner success teams, and hiring new technical talent for its research and development centers in Bulgaria, Israel, and Singapore, as well as Switzerland and the United States.

Focus on partners

Focusing on its growing partner network is critical to the company’s strategy for rapid growth. In February, the company launched the #CyberFit Partner Program to support the development of cloud-focused resellers and service providers. In March, Acronis made available a new version of Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud – enabling partners to deliver comprehensive cyber protection for all workloads for little to no upfront cost. In April, Acronis introduced a new partner portal, providing easy access to content, tools, and training for partners. With the new funding, Acronis will expand the support for cloud partners – providing them with additional sales and marketing resources, faster and localized technical support, dedicated partner success managers, and local data centers in 111 locations worldwide.

Phil Goodwin, Research Director, Cloud Data Management for Protection for IDC, notes that the investment from CVC will add to the momentum behind cyber protection. “Acronis has been at the forefront of the cyber protection movement, establishing itself as a pioneer in solutions that unify advanced cybersecurity with innovative data protection. By continuing to expand their technical capabilities and partner network, the value they bring to the market will only increase.”

Service providers who are interested in learning more about how they can benefit from Acronis’ partner-focused approach are encouraged to visit https://www.acronis.com/en-us/partners/

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CVC Capital Partners and CDPQ jointly agree the acquisition of a majority stake in BlueFocus International agencies

The deal will provide investment in human, relationship and financial capital to advance the growth strategy of We Are Social, fuseproject and Vision7 International

CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”), a leading global private equity and investment advisory firm, and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“CDPQ”), a global investment group, have reached an agreement with BlueFocus Intelligent Communication Group for CVC Capital Partners Asia V and CDPQ to acquire a majority stake in its international group of agencies, managed under its subsidiary, BlueFocus International. This comprises its three main agency groups: We Are Social, fuseproject, Vision7 International which includes Cossette, Cossette Media, Eleven and Citizen Relations, among others.

This agreement will create a digital-first, technology-enabled global advertising and marketing services group of companies. This partnership will provide the new group with the capital to invest in its growth strategy, focused on market expansion, building its next generation of tech and data capabilities and expanding its talent base. The new entity has more than 2,500 employees, across 12 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

CVC’s and CDPQ’s global network and partnerships will provide the group with access to key strategic human and relationship capital, which will be important for its expansion plans.

“Our partnership with CVC and CDPQ, will allow us to advance our expansion and transformation strategy,” said Brett Marchand, Vision7 International’s President and CEO, who will lead the new combined entity as its new CEO. “This investment in geographic and capabilities expansion and next generation technology and data offering will provide leading-edge services for our clients and unparalleled development opportunities to our talented people all around the world.”

CVC is well positioned to support this strategy, given its experience gained through the successful expansion of international business services providers such as Alix Partners, Teneo and TMF Group. “CVC is impressed by the opportunity for accelerated growth,” said Scott Chen, Managing Director at CVC Capital Partners. “We couldn’t pass up the unique opportunity to invest in this group of leading, tech-enabled agencies and we look forward to working with their talented management teams to take each of the businesses to the next level.”

“CDPQ is very proud to take part in this transaction that will enable the creation of a new global communications and marketing group,” said Kim Thomassin, Executive Vice-President and Head of Investments in Québec and Stewardship Investing. “This investment aligns with our goal to support companies in their growth and globalization and will allow the company to carry out its ambitious development plan focusing on expanding in certain international markets.”

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, is expected to be finalized in Q3 2021. No further terms are being disclosed. PJT Partners acted as the exclusive financial advisor to BlueFocus Intelligent Communications Group and RBC Capital Markets acted as the financial advisor to BlueFocus International subsidiaries. White & Case and McCarthy Tetrault LLP acted as legal advisors to CVC, Fasken acted as legal advisor for CDPQ and Norton Rose Fulbright acted as legal advisor to BlueFocus International subsidiaries.

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