Category Archives: News

Altor continues backing H2 Green Steel

In the largest private placement in Europe this year, H2 Green Steel has raised €1.5 billion in equity from an investor group led by Altor, GIC, Hy24 and Just Climate. The round will finance the world’s first large-scale green steel plant and Europe’s first giga scale electrolyzer. 

 

The private placement is co-led by new investor Hy24, together with existing investors Altor, GIC and Just Climate. The transaction also includes a new investors AP2 and Temasek as well as a group of existing investors that continue to support H2 Green Steel with additional equity funding, including AMF, Cristina Stenbeck, Hitachi, IMAS Foundation, Kinnevik, Schaeffler, Vargas and Wallenberg asset management company FAM.

The proceeds will finance the construction and development of H2 Green Steel’s flagship large-scale green steel plant in Boden, Sweden. Groundworks have been ongoing on site in Boden since summer 2022, and through this transaction H2 Green Steel takes another big leap towards start of operations end of 2025.

The plant will deliver steel with up to 95 percent less CO2 compared to steel produced with traditional blast furnace technology. This is made possible by replacing coal in the production process with hydrogen, produced on-site with Europe’s largest electrolyzer, using electricity from renewable sources. Next-generation technology and digitalization, along with an unmatched approach to both circularity and recycling will make the steel plant the first of its kind.

“We are impressed by the achievements to date by H2 Green Steel and excited to take the role as one of the lead investors. We will significantly increase our engagement in H2 Green Steel in this next important phase when the company is set to build the world’s first large-scale green steel plant. Over Altor’s 20 years, partnering in large industrial transformations has been at our core. H2 Green Steel also fits perfectly next to Altor’s increasingly broad base of investments in the green transition space. We look forward to extending the partnership with management and support on the path to launch operations at the end of 2025”, says Klas Johansson, co-managing Partner at Altor.

“The caliber of investors that are backing us is impressive. Some of the most professional institutions, investors and industrial companies globally are part of this round and we are proud that they all share our commitment to sustainability as their true north. €1.5 billion is the largest private placement in Europe this year and the appetite to invest in us proves both our solid business case and the market demand for green steel,”, says Henrik Henriksson, CEO of H2 Green Steel.

Since launch in 2021, H2 Green Steel has raised more than €1.8 billion of equity in three financing rounds. The company closed its series A equity round of €86 million in May 2021 and announced the close of its series B1 round of €260 million in October 2022. On the debt side, H2 Green Steel announced in 2022 the structure for its debt financing of over €3.5 billion and renewed commitment letters in July 2023.

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, Trioworld, OX2, Vianode, Tibber, and Svea Solar. For more information visit www.altor.com

About H2 Green Steel

H2 Green Steel (H2GS AB) was founded in 2020 with the ambition to accelerate the decarbonization of the steel industry, using green hydrogen. Steel, which is one of the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitters, is the company’s first business vertical. The founder and largest shareholder of H2 Green Steel is Vargas, which is also co-founder and one of the larger shareholders in Swedish battery maker Northvolt. H2 Green Steel is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with its first green steel plant under development in Boden, northern Sweden. www.h2greensteel.com

Press contact

Tor Krusell

Head of Communications

tor.krusell@altor.com

+46 705 43 87 47

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Verisian secures £1M to accelerate drug time to market

Seedcamp

Despite significant technological innovation in computational biology and drug development over the past decades, it still takes 10-15 years to take a drug to market, with over 90% failure rate. One of the main bottlenecks lies in the long duration required for the analysis and submission of clinical trial data.

This is why we are excited to back Verisian, a UK-based startup on a mission to increase the rate at which human health improves by redefining clinical trial analysis and drug approvals. It aims to build out the largest medical code repository by parsing and virtualising study code from clinical trials.

Co-founded by experienced technologists Tomás Sabat Stöfsel (CEO, previously COO/Founding Team Member of Vaticle, the creators of the open source database TypeDB) and Henning Kuich (CTO, previously Senior Computational Scientist at Bayer Pharmaceuticals), the company is building products that empower researchers and regulators to analyze and monitor studies transparently in real-time, leading to improved and safer therapies for devastating diseases.


Tomas Sabat Stöfsel, CEO and co-founder of Verisian comments:

“It’s crazy that to this day, after clinical trials finish and the science is done, it still takes months to years before a drug is available to patients. We believe it should be immediate. That’s why we’re building the infrastructure and tools that change how we analyse clinical trials, leading to faster and better drug submissions in the pharmaceutical industry.”

Henning Kuich, CTO and co-founder, adds:

“Clinical trials are and will remain the bottleneck for advancing human health. They are expensive, take a long time, and are absolutely necessary. They alone ensure efficacy and safety of any health-related product. So the rate at which public health improves is directly correlated with the speed and quality of clinical trials and their analysis. This is what Verisian is all about: increasing the rate at which human health improves.”

Oliver Wirtz, Head of Analysis Standards & Reporting Quality, Bayer and a product development partner emphasises:

“The technology Verisian uses is new and revolutionary: parsing study code and leveraging that is exactly the right way to know what really happened in a study.”

Claire Springett, Statistical Programmer, AstraZeneca, another product development partner adds:

“Verisian is exactly what the pharmaceutical industry has been waiting for, easy traceability of programs and CDISC mappings which will streamline clinical trials for the future.”

On why we invested in Verisian, our partner Tom Wilson comments:

“Even with huge advancements in the space and innovations across the value chain, it still takes too long to bring drugs to market. One of the primary bottlenecks is around clinical trials and managing the huge amounts of data required to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals. We see huge potential for Verisian’s platform to  improve the speed, clarity, and reliability of clinical data reporting and in so doing accelerate the time it takes to get drugs to market. Tomas and Henning are the perfect founders to be building this with their ideal combination of relevant startup, technical and domain experience and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to partner with them to lead this first round of funding”

We are excited to lead Verisian’s first funding round, alongside Superseed, Recode Health, Magnetic, and angel investors Paul Forster, Will Neale, Endre Sagi, Naud van der Ven, Loic Veillard Garoz, and Sudhamma Lee. With the fresh funding the company is planning to grow their engineering team; build a first version of their “builder”, to enable pharma to program studies ready for submission; and establish and grow their initial design partnerships with tier-1 pharmaceuticals.

For more information, visit verisian.com.

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H2 Green Steel raises €1.5 billion in equity to build the world’s first green steel plant

GIC

Stockholm, September 7, 2023 – In the largest private placement in Europe this year, H2 Green Steel has raised about €1.5 billion in equity from an investor group led by Altor, GIC, Hy24 and Just Climate. The round will finance the world’s first large-scale green steel plant and Europe’s first giga-scale electrolyzer.

The private placement is co-led by new investor Hy24, together with existing investors Altor, GIC and Just Climate. The transaction also includes new investors Andra AP – fonden and Temasek as well as a group of existing investors that continue to support H2 Green Steel with additional equity funding, including AMF, Cristina Stenbeck, Hitachi Energy, IMAS Foundation, Kinnevik, Schaeffler, Vargas and Wallenberg Investments holding company FAM.

The proceeds will finance the construction and development of H2 Green Steel’s flagship large-scale green steel plant in Boden, Sweden. Groundworks have been ongoing on the site in Boden since summer 2022, and through this transaction H2 Green Steel takes another big leap towards start of operations end of 2025.

The plant will deliver steel with up to 95 percent less CO2 emissions compared to steel produced with traditional blast furnace technology. This is made possible by replacing coal in the production process with hydrogen, produced on-site with Europe’s largest electrolyzer, using electricity from renewable sources. Next-generation technology and digitalization, along with an unmatched approach to both circularity and recycling, will make the steel plant the first of its kind.

“The caliber of investors that are backing us is impressive. Some of the most professional institutions, investors and industrial companies globally are part of this round and we are proud that they all share our commitment to sustainability as their true north. €1.5 billion is the largest private placement in Europe this year and the appetite to invest in us proves both our solid business case and the market demand for green steel”, says Henrik Henriksson, CEO of H2 Green Steel.

“This marks the start of industrial scale decarbonization of basic materials production. The sector will require substantial investments over the coming decades to enable our customers to produce green end products and, thereby meet their climate targets. We hope this financing will contribute towards accelerating the much needed, broad participation of capital markets in the transformation of hard-to-abate industries”, says Otto Gernandt, CFO of H2 Green Steel.

Since launch in 2021, H2 Green Steel has raised more than €1.8 billion of equity in three financing rounds. The company closed its series A equity round of €86 million in May 2021 and announced the close of its series B1 round of €260 million in October 2022. On the debt side, H2 Green Steel announced in 2022 the structure for its debt financing of over €3.5 billion and renewed commitment letters in July 2023.

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc acted as sole financial advisor to H2 Green Steel in the private placement.

Comments from investors:

“We are impressed by the achievements to date by H2 Green Steel and excited to take the role as one of the lead investors. We will significantly increase our engagement in H2 Green Steel in this next important phase when the company is set to build the world’s first large-scale green steel plant. Over Altor’s 20 years, partnering in large industrial transformations has been at our core. H2 Green Steel also fits perfectly next to Altor’s increasingly broad base of investments in the green transition space. We look forward to extending the partnership with management and support on the path to launch operations at the end of 2025”, says Klas Johansson, co-managing Partner at Altor.

“Since our first round of investment, H2 Green Steel has made significant progress in building the world’s first green steel plant. We will continue to support management as they work towards this first-of-its-kind project in the hard to abate industry. As a long-term investor, we are committed to providing capital to develop solutions that help decarbonize the real economy”, says Choo Yong Cheen, Chief Investment Officer of Private Equity at GIC.

”H2 Green Steel Boden is the most advanced large-scale, green industrial project in the world. It is a trailblazer in decarbonization of hard-to-abate industrial sectors like steel. The investment by Hy24’s clean hydrogen infrastructure fund will support the H2 Green Steel’s ambition to materially reshape steel markets, providing a green alternative to its off-takers and partners. This is part of Hy24’s commitment to help industry get to net zero”, says Pierre-Etienne Franc, CEO of Hy24.

“When we established Just Climate it was to invest into the hard-to-abate areas of industry that produce some of the highest levels of carbon emissions. Decarbonizing steel production is a critical piece of this industrial decarbonization process, and we are pleased to be part of the lead investor group that has today announced its support for the business”, says Shaun Kingsbury CBE, Chief Investment Officer of Just Climate.

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Ardian announces the sale of its stake in Mobius Group to Groupe Saretec

Ardian

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, announces that it has sold its stake in Mobius Group, a tech-enabled mobility and fleet management operator headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

Founded in 2014 by José Piñera, Mobius is a pioneer fleet management, car repair, appraisals, and mechanical warranties player. The company leverages a set of proprietary technological solutions to help customers to digitalize their processes.

With more than €40 million in sales, Mobius is the leading Iberian platform for fleet managers assisting top tier renting and rent-a-car international players as well as major Spanish financial institutions and insurance companies.

Since the Ardian’s Growth team took a stake in the company in 2018, Mobius has more than doubled its revenues and completed 4 acquisitions enabling the company to both diversify its product offering and enlarge the customer base. Mobius has also strengthened its technological expertise by investing in and commercializing new software tools.

“The Ardian’s Growth team has supported us in our development both in terms of new product deployment and build-up plan. Since their investment, they helped us challenge our strategy to scale the company and strengthen our technological positioning. “ José Piñera, Founder and CEO of Mobius Group

“Congratulations to José and the whole Mobius team. It has been very exciting to work alongside them in these years.  Mobius is a great example of Ardian growth’s playbook: identify the leading companies in Europe and help them accelerate the growth via product and geographical expansion as well as build-up strategy.“ Romain Chiudini, Managing Director Growth, Ardian

PARTICIPANTS

  • MOBIUS

    • MOBIUS: JOSÉ PIÑERA, FERNANDO PÉREZ GRANERO
    • M&A ADVISOR: ARCANO
    • LEGAL ADVISOR: GOMÉZ-ACEBO & POMBO ABOGADOS

  • ARDIAN

    • ARDIAN: ROMAIN CHIUDINI, NICCOLÒ SALIGARI
    • LEGAL ADVISOR: MCDERMOTT, WILL & EMERY (DIANA HUND)

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $150bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,470 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks, family offices and private institutional investors worldwide. Ardian’s main shareholding group is its employees and we place great emphasis on developing its people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our 1,050+ employees, spread across 16 offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility.
At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last.

ardian.com

ABOUT MOBIUS

Founded in 2014 by José Piñera and headquartered in Madrid, Mobius is the leading Iberian player in the supervision of maintenance, repair and appraisal services for fleet managers.
With more than 250 experts and a large network of garages across Spain, the company offers an end-to-end platform allowing process digitalization, data management and cost optimization.

grupomobius.com

PRESS CONTACT

ARDIAN

HEADLAND

ardian@headlandconsultancy.com

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Maria Nila Announces Partnership with L Catterton to Accelerate Growth and International Expansion

LCatterton
GREENWICH, Conn and STOCKHOLM, Sweden – September 6, 2023 – Maria Nila, the Swedish sustainable professional hair care brand, today announced their partnership with L Catterton, a leading global consumer-focused investment firm.

With an impressive growth in recent years, Maria Nila’s 100 % vegan, climate compensated and award-winning hair care products have expanded to all corners of Europe and U.S in just five years. By partnering with L Catterton, Maria Nila aims to accelerate this growth even further by expanding the brand, product portfolio and sales channels on a global level. The European fund of L Catterton has acquired a significant minority stake in the Company and Marcus Wikström, the son of Maria Nila’s founders, will continue to lead the Company and remain as CEO.

“At Maria Nila, we have always been driven by a single purpose – to provide the world with professional beauty in a friendly, curious, and honest way – and to do this responsibly and sustainably. As the second generation of a family-owned business, I am incredibly excited to partner with a firm who shares our commitment to these core values” said Marcus Wikström, CEO of Maria Nila. “This partnership will allow us to accelerate the development of our product portfolio and brand and expand even further across key European and U.S. markets. With L Catterton’s successful track record of supporting founder-led and family businesses, we are confident that we’ve found the right partner”.

As a leading global consumer-focused investment firm, L Catterton has significant experience investing globally in beauty and fashion brands. Current and past investments in the space include, GANNI, Elemis, The Honest Company, bliss, Etro, Beauty Industry Group and TULA, among many others. This partnership will allow Maria Nila to leverage L Catterton’s deep investment expertise, category knowledge, consumer insights, and strategic relationships in the beauty sector.

“Maria Nila represents a compelling opportunity to partner with a truly sustainable and vegan brand in the beauty space,” said Luigi Feola, a Managing Partner in L Catterton’s Europe Fund. “As the #1 professional haircare brand in Sweden with a strong consumer following, the growth potential for Maria Nila is significant. We believe there is meaningful whitespace to accelerate global expansion and increase share in underpenetrated categories by leveraging the brand’s successful go-to-market strategy and differentiated brand proposition. We look forward to partnering with the entire Maria Nila team to support the Company’s growth and build on the brand’s authentic values, which strongly resonate with stylists and consumers alike.”

To follow the journey, please visit www.marianila.com and www.Lcatterton.com.

About Maria Nila
Maria Nila was founded in 1999 in a garage in the South of Sweden by Ann and Ulf Wikström, who had a vision to create professional haircare products that were friendly to the planet and to animals. With its own production plant located in Sweden, the Company provides an extensive line of certified cruelty-free and 100% vegan products of haircare, styling, and treatments and, ensures that sustainability is at the heart of every process, from product formulation to fulfilment. The brand is widely recognized for its formula performance and unique designs, which has been rewarded with several international beauty and consumer awards.

About L Catterton
L Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused investment firm, managing approximately $34 billion of equity capital across 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.

Media Contacts
Maria Nila
Hedda Mirow
Marketing Director
hedda.mirow@marianila.com
+46 733 76 55 95

L Catterton
Julie Hamilton
Managing Director, Firm Communications
media@lcatterton.com
203.742.5185

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NextGen Healthcare Enters into Definitive Agreement to Be Acquired by Thoma Bravo

Thomabravo

NextGen Healthcare Shareholders to Receive $23.95 Per Share in Cash, a 46.4% Premium to Unaffected Stock Price

Transaction to Accelerate NextGen Healthcare’s Growth and Innovation as the Trusted Advisor to Healthcare Providers

REMOTE-FIRST COMPANY/NEW YORK—NextGen Healthcare, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXGN) (“NextGen Healthcare” or the “Company”), a leading provider of innovative, cloud-based healthcare technology solutions, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Thoma Bravo, a leading software investment firm. Upon completion of the transaction, NextGen Healthcare will become a privately held company.

Under the terms of the agreement, NextGen Healthcare shareholders will receive $23.95 per share in cash. The per share purchase price represents a 46.4% premium to the Company’s unaffected closing stock price on August 22 (the last trading day prior to published market speculation regarding a potential transaction involving the Company) and a 39.2% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price for the period ending September 1.

“Under the terms of the agreement, NextGen Healthcare shareholders will receive significant immediate cash value for their shares. In addition, with Thoma Bravo as a partner, the Company will benefit from increased capital, expertise and strategic flexibility to accelerate the Company’s leadership in providing healthcare technology solutions,” said David Sides, President and Chief Executive Officer of NextGen Healthcare. “Thoma Bravo has a 20+ year record of investing in premier companies in the software and technology sectors. We look forward to joining forces to deliver on our mission of Better Healthcare Outcomes for All.”

Jeffrey H. Margolis, Chair of the NextGen Healthcare Board of Directors, added, “The agreement with Thoma Bravo validates NextGen Healthcare’s substantial strength and follows interest in the Company by many parties. It is the result of a deliberate process to maximize shareholder value and best position NextGen Healthcare for continued growth and success. The agreement delivers significant cash value to our shareholders and creates exciting opportunities for NextGen Healthcare’s employees and clients.”

“NextGen Healthcare’s mission-critical EMR software and surround solutions are the backbone of ambulatory practices across the United States,” said A.J. Rohde, a Senior Partner at Thoma Bravo. “We are so proud to be working with NextGen Healthcare in its next phase as a private company and look forward to continued product innovation to better support NextGen Healthcare’s thousands of highly-valued customers.”

“We have followed NextGen Healthcare’s impressive business transformation for many years and are excited to apply Thoma Bravo’s strategic and operational expertise to drive continued growth and innovation,” said Peter Hernandez, a Vice President at Thoma Bravo. “We look forward to partnering with the NextGen Healthcare team to further accelerate product investments to better support the increasingly complex needs of ambulatory providers and ultimately improve patient outcomes.”

Transaction Details

The transaction, which was approved unanimously by the NextGen Healthcare Board of Directors, is expected to close in the fourth calendar quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by NextGen Healthcare shareholders and the receipt of required regulatory approvals. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition.

Upon completion of the transaction, NextGen Healthcare’s common stock will no longer be listed on any public stock exchange.

Advisors

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor to NextGen Healthcare, and Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal advisor.

William Blair & Company is acting as financial advisor to Thoma Bravo, and Goodwin Procter LLP is acting as legal advisor.

About NextGen Healthcare, Inc.

NextGen Healthcare, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXGN) is a leading provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions. We are reimagining ambulatory healthcare with award-winning solutions that enable high-performing practices to create healthier communities. We partner with medical, behavioral and oral health providers in their journey toward whole person health and value-based care. Our highly integrated, intelligent and interoperable solutions go beyond EHR and Practice Management to increase clinical quality and productivity, enrich the patient experience and drive superior financial performance. We are on a quest to achieve better healthcare outcomes for all. Learn more at nextgen.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Thoma Bravo

Thoma Bravo is one of the largest software investors in the world, with more than US$131 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2023. Through its private equity, growth equity and credit strategies, the firm invests in growth-oriented, innovative companies operating in the software and technology sectors. Leveraging Thoma Bravo’s deep sector expertise and strategic and operational capabilities, the firm collaborates with its portfolio companies to implement operating best practices and drive growth initiatives. Over the past 20 years, the firm has acquired or invested in more than 440 companies representing over US$250 billion in enterprise value (including control and non-control investments). The firm has offices in Chicago, London, Miami, New York and San Francisco. For more information, visit Thoma Bravo’s website at thomabravo.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the consummation of the proposed merger between the Company and affiliates of Thoma Bravo (the “Merger”). These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the ability of the parties to consummate the proposed Merger and the possibility that various closing conditions for the proposed Merger may not be satisfied or waived, and the ability to realize the benefits expected from the proposed Merger. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law. For additional information regarding forward-looking statements, please refer to discussions under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation” and elsewhere in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Company’s SEC filings are available on the Investor Relations section of our website at https://investor.nextgen.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking statements: (i) the proposed Merger may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, including the risk that any required regulatory approvals are not obtained, are delayed or are subject to unanticipated conditions that could adversely affect the Company or the expected benefits of the proposed Merger or that the approval of the Company’s stockholders is not obtained; (ii) the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed Merger; (iii) the possibility that competing offers or acquisition proposals for the Company will be made; (iv) the possibility that any or all of the various conditions to the consummation of the proposed Merger may not be satisfied or waived, including the failure to receive any required regulatory approvals from any applicable governmental entities (or any conditions, limitations or restrictions placed on such approvals); (v) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the proposed Merger, including in circumstances which would require the Company to pay a termination fee or other expenses; (vi) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the proposed Merger on the Company’s ability to retain and hire key personnel, or its operating results and business generally; (vii) significant transaction costs associated with the Merger; (viii) potential litigation relating to the Merger; (ix) the risk that disruptions from the Merger will harm the Company’s business, including current plans and operations; (x) legislative, regulatory and economic developments affecting the Company’s business; and (xi) general economic and market developments and conditions; (xii) the evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which the Company operates; and (xiii) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the Merger that could affect the Company’s financial performance.

Additional Information

This press release may be deemed solicitation material in respect of the proposed acquisition of the Company. A special stockholder meeting will be announced soon to obtain stockholder approval in connection with the proposed Merger. The Company expects to file with the SEC a proxy statement and other relevant documents in connection with the proposed Merger. Investors of the Company are urged to read the definitive proxy statement and other relevant materials carefully and in their entirety when they become available because they will contain important information about the Company and the proposed Merger. Investors may obtain a free copy of these materials (when they are available) and other documents filed by the Company with the SEC at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and at the Company’s website at https://www.nextgen.com.

Participants in the Solicitation

The Company and its directors, executive officers and certain other members of management and employees may be deemed to be participants in soliciting proxies from its stockholders in connection with the proposed Merger. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be considered to be participants in the solicitation of the Company’s stockholders in connection with the proposed Merger will be set forth in the Company’s definitive proxy statement for its special stockholder meeting. Additional information regarding these individuals and any direct or indirect interests they may have in the proposed Merger will be set forth in the definitive proxy statement when and if it is filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed Merger.

Read the release on the Business Wire website here.

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Bridgepoint adds $20bn infrastructure strategy, as ECP joins platform to build €57bn global alternatives asset manager

Bridgepoint
  • Combined platform will strengthen position as one of the world’s leading private asset growth investors focused on the middle market, spanning private equity, infrastructure and credit with offices across Europe, North America and Asia.
  • Upfront enterprise value of £835 million, comprising 235 million of newly issued Bridgepoint shares, £233 million of cash, and £179 million of ECP’s existing debt.
  • Exceptional ECP leadership and investment team to continue running the ECP business, investing its funds independently under its current brand and delivering strong returns for the enlarged group by continuing the strategy responsible for ECP’s track record to date.

 

Bridgepoint Group plc (LSE: BPT) has taken a decisive step forward in becoming a more diversified alternative asset manager with the addition of Energy Capital Partners (ECP), a leading North American infrastructure investor with an over two-decade-long track record. ECP, which has raised over $30bn of capital since inception in 2005, including more recently in the fast-growing energy transition sector, has a market-leading position in the highly sought-after power generation, renewables, battery storage, environmental infrastructure and sustainability sectors. It operates across North America in an expanding subsegment of infrastructure investing which stands to be a key contributor to and beneficiary of the global decarbonisation effort with forecasted investment in the space expected to reach $1.9 trillion per annum through 2050, creating significant investment tailwinds and multiple potential growth avenues.

ECP and its highly experienced management team add a significant third pillar to the Bridgepoint business and accelerate Bridgepoint’s stated strategy of scaling through both product and geographic diversification. The distinct ECP infrastructure business will continue to operate under its existing brand and be led by its current management and investment team. The strategy will sit alongside Bridgepoint’s private equity and credit businesses and offer LPs more comprehensive immersion across the middle market. Doug Kimmelman, ECP’s Senior Partner and Founder, will continue to lead the infrastructure platform and ECP leadership will join Bridgepoint’s executive team bringing new sector, management and transaction experience to seek to drive further growth.

The transaction will be immediately accretive to Bridgepoint’s shareholders and continue to be accretive over time by diversifying and enhancing Bridgepoint’s earnings profile and profit margins.

The transaction will accelerate ECP and Bridgepoint’s respective growth ambitions in Europe and North America, building upon Bridgepoint’s 24-year history and ECP’s 18-year history and opening exciting new avenues for expansion given the complementary and largely non-overlapping investment strategies and geographic footprints. The combination will also provide opportunities to enhance both organisations’ current operations in different sectors of the credit market. The enlarged group will benefit from new collective strengths and synergies leveraging Bridgepoint’s deep European office network and connections which are likely to create further opportunities for ECP to grow its presence in Europe, capitalising on the continent’s energy transition. Equally, ECP’s well-recognised North American brand, extensive market knowledge and depth of relationships will benefit Bridgepoint.

Commenting on the transaction, William Jackson, Chairman, Bridgepoint said:

“Joining forces with ECP is an important powerful next step in Bridgepoint’s strategic objective of building a globally-scaled, diversified platform in middle-market private assets investing. The transaction accelerates our scale, leadership and strategic development, enhances the quality of the Group’s earnings and margin profile, and provides greater diversification and earnings growth potential for shareholders.

We have a high bar for strategic M&A, and ECP is one of the few platforms we have identified which clearly surpasses it, both from a strategic and financial perspective.

As well as the compelling financial rationale for the transaction, Bridgepoint will benefit from the investing expertise of the ECP team, while, at the same time, there are significant opportunities for both of us to work together on initiatives such as adding adjacent strategies and expanding geographically.”

Doug Kimmelman, Senior Partner and Founder, ECP, said:

“The opportunity to join forces with Bridgepoint is uniquely attractive. Our businesses are not only highly complementary – without any overlapping or conflicting investment strategies – but our firms importantly share a culture of collaboration, integrity and investment excellence making this a highly compelling opportunity for our investors and our employees alike.

We are very fortunate to have access now to a public equity currency to support our growth, while broadening the ownership of ECP across our firm, allowing us to continue attracting and retaining the very best team, especially in a period of heightened interest in the energy transition. All of us at ECP are excited about the combination and the support that this partnership will provide. 

We look forward to working closely with the Bridgepoint team to further enhance our ability to serve our respective clients and grow our firm in a sustainable fashion well into the future.”

Raoul Hughes, Bridgepoint’s Group Managing Partner, said:

“We have enjoyed interacting extensively with ECP over the last year as we have been jointly evaluating a transaction. We have found our cultures and approaches to business to be aligned and we are attracted to ECP’s leading infrastructure position across the rapidly expanding energy transition theme. Together we will offer more diverse revenue streams and greater growth opportunities with accelerating earnings expectations and a broader product mix to offer to our combined LP relationships. We expect ECP to continue on its successful growth path, with new and accelerated opportunities for growth, and the ECP team, under its continuing leadership under Doug and team, will bring an invaluable experience to the Group.”

The transaction, which is expected to close within four to six months, will be funded with units in a new limited partnership exchangeable for Bridgepoint shares and Bridgepoint’s existing balance sheet resources, and will see ECP’s senior management and many of its employees becoming significant shareholders in the company. A share ownership program will be instituted across ECP’s employee base and will be designed in a similar way to the existing structures established at Bridgepoint at the time of its IPO. As a result, ECP partners will collectively become one of Bridgepoint’s largest shareholders, holding 19% of Bridgepoint’s shares pre-earn out and up to 25% assuming full earn-out, ensuring strong alignment with the future success of the platform and in driving shareholder returns. Equity awards being made available to ECP employees will also incentivise future generations of ECP colleagues.

The historic growth of both firms has benefited from the minority investment positions from the funds managed by Blue Owl (formerly Dyal Capital Partners) and as part of this transaction, Blue Owl will convert its share of ECP fee related earnings into Bridgepoint equity, thereby remaining a shareholder in the enlarged group. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank will retain its minority interest in ECP’s fee related earnings as the desire remains for both firms to partner in the important Japanese market.

J.P. Morgan Cazenove and Morgan Stanley served as lead financial advisors to Bridgepoint, BNP Paribas acted as joint financial adviser and joint corporate broker to Bridgepoint, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel. Campbell Lutyens served as financial and strategic advisor and Bain & Co served as commercial advisor to Bridgepoint.

BofA Securities served as exclusive financial advisor to ECP, and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel.

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Zig and Cegeka Real Estate Solutions join forces for Dutch real estate sector

Main Capital Partners

Backed by Main, Zig and Cegeka Real Estate Solutions (“CRES”) are joining forces and will continue under the name Zig.

Zig and Cegeka Real Estate Solutions (“CRES”), both leading software providers in the Dutch real estate sector, are joining forces and will continue under the name Zig. By doing so, the unified company becomes a unique player, offering its clients a wide variety of software solutions. After the acquisition of CRES, Zig will have over 225 customers and 300 employees. Anton Vreugdenhil will lead the new organization as CEO together with Gerbert Kooij as CCO. This strategic combination is backed by Main Capital Partners (“Main”).

 

Customer value is at the core

Gerbert Kooij, CEO of Zig, comments:  “Housing corporations and commercial property managers regularly experience limitations in their software environment that hinder process innovation, result in high costs and prevent optimal service delivery to tenants. Therefore, Zig and CRES have joined forces and decided to help customers solve their challenges by bringing the full product offering under one roof and jointly developing it. “By merging, both companies can achieve a better integrated product offering for customers. This enables them to achieve their organizational goals faster, such as strengthening tenant relationships, organizing business processes more efficiently and more data-driven,”

 

Complementary and innovative

Anton Vreugdenhil, CEO of CRES, adds: “and CRES provides complementary solutions to the real estate industry. Zig is the market leader in customer software (CRM) and CRES in enterprise software (ERP). In addition, both parties provide data analysis and information assurance (BI) solutions. The combination results in a company that can support its customers in all core processes around supply, leasing, acquisition and development, maintenance and sale of real estate. “By combining our solutions, knowledge and scale, we can accelerate and sustain innovation. The real estate industry is all about the synergy between tenants, property and finance. The best solutions combined with seamless product integration make working with our software easier and improve tenant services,”

 

Growth ambition

Pieter van Bodegraven, Senior Partner at Main concludes: “The broader PropTech market is a key focus area at Main. The partnership between Zig and CRES unites two leading players. The acquisition marks the third strategic acquisition since we partnered with Zig in late 2021. The move strengthens the foundation of the company; therefore, we look with great confidence towards the future to further fulfill our growth ambitions in the PropTech sector.”

The move strengthens the foundation of the company; therefore, we look with great confidence towards the future to further fulfill our growth ambitions in the PropTech sector.

– Pieter van Bodegraven, Senior Partner at Main Capital Partners

About

Zig

Since its founding in 2001, Zig has become a leader in the residential and commercial real estate industry. Zig provides its software to a broad customer base of over 160 organizations.Examples of customers include De Alliantie, Rochdale, Sociale Verhuurders Haaglanden, DUWO, Mooiland, Klik voor Wonen, Thuis in Limburg, Elkien, Bouwinvest and A.S.R. The company has approximately 125 employees.

CRES

CRES has been part of the Cegeka Group, an international ICT service provider, since 2006. In recent years CRES has fully migrated the Dynamics 365-based ERP solution Dynamics Empire to SaaS (Microsoft Public Cloud) and expanded its market position to over 85 housing associations and commercial property managers, which collectively manage nearly 1 million homes. CRES customers include Woonwenz, WonenBreburg, DeltaWonen and Mooiland.

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Koios raises Pre-Seed funding to enable leaders and organisations to manage and develop their talent with voice-driven psychometric insights

Seedcamp

To thrive in the current uncertain macroeconomic environment paired with unprecedented technological advancement, organisations of all sizes and across industries, are required to work more efficiently with leaner teams. Now, probably more than ever, it is essential to invest in workforce development and optimisation, to strengthen the employer and employee relationship, boost employee engagement, and ensure a successful long-term collaboration.

This is why we are excited to back Koios, a UK-based voice-driven AI platform set to drastically reduce cost and friction in the personality and management insights market, empowering human understanding between employers and employees. What makes this partnership even more remarkable is that the company was co-founded by our alumnus Alex Lewis, who in his role as Head of Talent, led our talent initiatives and supported our portfolio companies from 2021 until earlier this year.

On a mission to fundamentally improve the way that organisations work with their talent, Koios leverages proprietary voice-driven AI algorithms, to provide low friction and cost-efficient personality insights, thus enabling managers and teams to work together more effectively. Aiming to provide talent leaders and organisations with bespoke ways to communicate, motivate and develop each employee, the company is developing and applying state-of-the-art audio deep learning models using original data collection with an emphasis on a conscientious and ethical approach. To ensure the inclusivity of all people, regardless of race, gender, or geographical origin, Koios acquires original training data.

Started in 2020 by Alex, alongside his friend Tom Sherwood, Koios is rooted in the first-hand pain of lacking tech solutions to support managers and teams the founders have experienced as talent leaders themselves.

Alex Lewis, COO comments:

“In our roles at Spotify, and Seedcamp respectively, Tom and I had been helping companies across the Big Tech, start-up, and the scale-up world for years and one of the biggest buzzwords and blockers to hiring at the time was “culture fit”, which we despised as it had connotations of an individual having to “fit in” rather than a company enabling the success of each employee. As managers and leaders, we’d been through personality assessments over the years and we recognised that there were some useful insights in the more “robust” assessments, and questioned why there wasn’t greater adoption across the industry below leadership level (93% of the market wasn’t being served). After speaking with industry leaders, they made it clear that if friction from self-assessment could be removed and a more cost-effective model be put in place, then there was a great opportunity for mass adoption. 

With the addition of Martin Lukac, as Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist, Koios developed its proprietary technology to understand personality using voice. Designed as an enablement tool, Talent/Recruiting/HR teams can easily run the Koios app inviting existing employees to partake or sit over existing candidate interview processes. A minimum of 90 seconds is required to provide a bespoke set of personality and management insights from a candidate or employee’s voice to ensure their success in their role.

Lewis adds: “Not only can we provide existing workforce analysis, we will be able to run Koios over the top of an interview process at the click of a button and provide insights from 90 seconds, without the need to change the process or for the candidate or employee to do anything other than consent, of course. We are very conscious to eliminate as much of the bias as possible in the algorithms/models, so we spend a lot of time manually gathering and curating our training data to ensure that our tool serves everyone, regardless of their demographic — be it gender, ethnic background, or accent — so we can provide fair and inclusive insights to be used to lead, manage and develop employees, categorically not to assess their suitability for a role.”

On why we backed Koios, our Managing Partner Carlos Espinal MBE, emphasises: “Koios brings much-needed innovation in the talent development industry, particularly in the tech sector. Having worked closely together with Alex in his previous role as Seedcamp’s Head of Talent, I’ve admired his dedication and passion for nurturing talent across our portfolio and empowering them to thrive. Leveraging voice-driven AI, the platform helps find a better fit between employers and employees, thus facilitating a successful and productive, long-term collaboration. We couldn’t be more excited to back such an exceptional team on their mission to enable employees to reach their full potential and leaders and organisations to develop their workforce effectively.”

We are thrilled to lead Koios’s $550k Pre-Seed funding round, alongside Evolvient Capital and industry angels. With the new funding, Koios aims to prepare its go-live and continue investing in inclusive training data and developing the platform. Talent leaders and organisations can get early access to the platform on the company’s website getkoios.ai.

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CVC acquires leading infrastructure manager DIF

CVC Capital Partners

This strategic acquisition provides CVC with a leading infrastructure platform, directly adjacent and highly complementary to its existing private equity, secondary and credit strategies. In addition, this acquisition accelerates the growth of DIF, which will continue to operate under the DIF brand and retain independence over its operations and investment decisions.

CVC, a leading global private markets manager focused on private equity, secondaries and credit is acquiring a majority stake in leading infrastructure manager, DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”), and providing a commitment to acquire the remaining shares over time. This combination creates a global private markets manager with seven complementary strategies and approximately €177 billion* of total assets under management.

DIF is headquartered in Amsterdam with €16 billion of assets under management, a team of over 225 professionals across 11 offices and operating two different investment strategies – the Core / Build-to-Core funds and the Core-plus funds. DIF was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in mid-market infrastructure investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia. The tie-up with CVC will help accelerate growth, as DIF continues to deepen and widen both its investment capabilities, its geographic reach and its global investor base. DIF will continue to be led by its current CEO and Partners and it will continue to operate under the DIF brand.

Commenting on the transaction, CVC Chair and Co-Founder, Rolly van Rappard said: “Expanding into infrastructure is a logical next step for us, given the long-term secular growth trends in infrastructure and its adjacency to our existing strategies. We have known the DIF team for several years, and we are delighted to partner with one of the top pure-play global infrastructure managers, with an impressive track record of performance and growth.”

Quotes

Expanding into infrastructure is a logical next step for us, given the long-term secular growth trends in infrastructure and its adjacency to our existing strategies. We are delighted to partner with DIF, one of the top pure-play global infrastructure managers, with an impressive track record of performance and growth.

Rolly van Rappard CVC Chair and Co-Founder

Rob Lucas, Managing Partner at CVC added: “We are excited to join forces with DIF, a top-performing global infrastructure manager. DIF’s business model and culture is deeply aligned with our local model, and our new infrastructure platform will prove highly complementary to our leading private equity, secondary and credit strategies. We are pleased to welcome Wim, the DIF Partners and the entire DIF team to the CVC group and together, we look forward to being a global leader in infrastructure.”

Wim Blaasse, CEO and Managing Partner at DIF said: “We are delighted to be teaming up with CVC, which is a natural step in the evolution of DIF and, together with my Partners, I look forward to leading DIF in this next phase of growth. We have known the CVC team for many years, we have been very impressed by everything they have built and we are excited about becoming part of the CVC group. This transaction enables us to benefit from CVC’s global platform, scale and investor relationships, and to double down on important infrastructure sectors like Energy Transition and Digitalisation while retaining independence over our investment decisions.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other consents and is expected to close in Q4 2023 or Q1 2024. The Dutch works council of DIF has been informed and positively advised on the transaction. Advisers to CVC in this transaction included JPMorgan. DIF’s advisers included, among others, Morgan Stanley & Co. Plc, Loyens & Loeff, PwC and De Brauw.

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