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KLAR Partners enters the Netherlands market as a growth partner to hallo, with the mission to build Europe’s leading SME-focused IT services provider.

Klar Partners

Funds advised by KLAR Partners Limited (“KLAR Partners” or “KLAR”) have signed an agreement to invest as a growth partner in hallo,. As a leading Dutch provider of mission-critical IT services for SMEs, the company is well-positioned for accelerated growth and, with support from KLAR, aspires to become the champion in the growing SME market in Europe. KLAR will invest alongside the present owners, Vortex Capital Partners and hallo’s management.

hallo,’s automated services platform provides small and medium-sized clients with a one-stop-shop for mission-critical IT services. Services include among others the Microsoft modern workplace, security, communication/UC, connectivity/SD-WAN and a growing practice in Dynamics CRM and Data Warehousing/Power BI. hallo, currently employs 350 people, with offices in The Netherlands, Spain and the Caribbean. In 2022, the company achieved sales of approximately EUR 70 million.

“This investment aligns perfectly with KLAR’s strategy to support companies providing mission-critical services in resilient and growing markets. The strong growth of hallo, in recent years has been impressive and clearly reflects the strength of the platform, as well as the culture of the company. We look forward to working with management and Vortex to support the company in further accelerating its growth, particularly its plans to expand across Europe”, commented Alex Kulikowski of KLAR Partners.

“This partnership marks the next strategically important step for hallo, and opens an exciting new chapter in our journey. The support of KLAR’s expertise and resources will enable us to accelerate our growth, both organically and through acquisitions. We believe in building a sustainable, culture-driven company for the long-term and this fits well with the values of the KLAR team. We look forward to working together in pursuit of our ambition to become a leading European player, empowering SMEs wherever we operate,” commented Barry Wissink, CEO at hallo,.

We are proud of hallo,’s exceptional growth trajectory and the leading position the company obtained in the Dutch market. With its scalable platform and strong focus on standardization and automation, hallo, is very well positioned to grow further inside and outside of the Netherlands. We are keen to take part in the next wave of growth as we believe that the new partnership with KLAR will enable international expansion and further value creation. We look forward to working with the management team and KLAR on hallo,‘s mission ‘to make IT work for you’”, commented Evert Jan de Groot of Vortex Capital Partners.

This transaction is conditional upon regulatory approvals from the relevant authorities.

For more information:

Fredrik Brynildsen
fb@klarpartners.com
Tel: +44 7388 439 890

Carl Johan Falkenberg
cj@klarpartners.com
+44 7918 941 391

About hallo,
hallo, is the trusted IT service partner for SMEs with a one-stop-shop offering of mission-critical managed IT services.

hallo,’s mission is to make IT services accessible for customers and their end-users in the best possible way, for maximum impact on productivity. In the fragmented landscape of IT service providers, the company aims to become the go-to brand for everyday IT service needs. With a digital customer journey including self-service tooling to simplify the complex IT service buying experience that SMEs typically experience. And with an enthusiastic and professional team of 350 IT service professionals (affectionately referred to as ‘digital energizers’) ready to help.

hallo, currently has offices in The Netherlands, Spain and the Caribbean. For more information please visit https://hallo.eu/.

About KLAR Partners
KLAR Partners is a European private equity firm focused on investments in companies operating in business services and industrial technology. The companies in which KLAR invests each have an annual turnover of approximately EUR 50-500m and are headquartered in the DACH, Nordics, and Benelux regions. With investment professionals located in London, Stockholm, Frankfurt, and Brussels, together with a broad international network in the industry, KLAR has a proven business model to support, develop, and grow companies. KLAR’s senior professionals have worked together for many years and have more than 50 years of combined investment experience in KLAR’s industry-specific and geographical focus area. KLAR Partners is a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment.

About Vortex Capital Partners
Vortex Capital Partners is a specialist investment firm with a focus on small and medium-sized tech companies with a high growth potential. Since 2012 Vortex invested in 22 platform companies with close to 30 add-on investments. The team combines years of M&A experience with deep technical expertise and first-hand operational experience to support ambitious entrepreneurs and management teams as an active partner in realizing their growth ambitions.

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Cathay Health Increases its Stake in TISSIUM with €50M Series D

Cathay Capital

New financing to support TISSIUM’s commercial launch and platform extension

 

Paris, (France), May 23, 2023 – Today, Cathay Health announced its participation in the €50M Series D round of TISSIUM, a privately-owned medtech company developing biomorphic programmable polymers for tissue reconstruction. The investor syndicate brings new investors such as Fonds Stratégique des Transitions, managed by ISALT as well as Merieux Developpement, and includes historical investors such as Credit Mutuel Innovation and Sofinnova Partners.

Cathay Health reinvested over pro rata in this round of financing, based on the progress the company has made to get into clinical studies, its corporate development and its advancing commercial plans as well as its vision for further developing its product pipeline.

This latest funding round coincides with the achievement of important milestones for TISSIUM, notably its on-going first-in-human study on its first nerve repair product, COAPTIUM Connect, in Australia and the preparation of the commercialisation of its first products in nerve and hernia repair. The financing will allow TISSIUM to continue to execute on its development plan, funding the company for the commercialisation of its first products in nerve and hernia repair and fueling the extension of its pipeline of products and its platform.

TISSIUM will continue to pursue rapid international expansion, leveraging in-house production and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, as well as entering partnerships in certain verticals. In parallel, it will broaden its platform with more specialized products in the existing verticals (nerve, herna and cardiovascular) while also extending to other verticals in new therapeutic areas.

Christophe Bancel, CEO of TISSIUM, said: “With the closing of our Series D financing round, TISSIUM is well-positioned to finance the commercialization of its first products. This funding significantly bolsters our ability to move with speed towards our goal of enhancing tissue reconstruction for patients. We look forward to continuing our work to bring innovation in the space and develop products that make a difference in patients’ lives.”

Hongjie Hu, Managing Partner at Cathay Health, added: “Since leading TISSIUM’s 2021 Series C, we’ve been continuously impressed with the team and the company’s strong progress in developing multiple clinical programs off the TISSIUM biopolymer technology platform. We continue to believe that TISSIUM is creating the future of tissue reconstruction and are proud to continue supporting the company’s clinical and commercial growth of its expandable platform that can be applied toward driving better outcomes in multiple, large therapeutic areas.”

 

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About TISSIUM

TISSIUM, a privately-owned MedTech company based in Paris, France and Boston, USA, is dedicated to the development and commercialization of products derived from its unique biopolymer platform. The company’s products will address multiple unmet clinical needs, including atraumatic tissue repair and reconstruction.

TISSIUM is developing a portfolio of products that leverage its proprietary family of fully biosynthetic, biomorphic, and programmable polymers, which are the foundation of the company’s technology platform. Currently, the Company has a pipeline of seven products across three verticals, including sutureless nerve repair, hernia repair and cardiovascular sealants. Each product is designed to enhance the tissue reconstruction process in a unique way. In addition, the company develops complementary delivery and activation devices for enhanced performance and usability of its products.

TISSIUM’s technology is based on world-class research and intellectual property from the laboratories of Professor Robert Langer (MIT) and Professor Jeffrey M. Karp (Brigham and Women’s Hospital), who co-founded the company in 2013.

For more information, please visit: www.TISSIUM.com

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @TISSIUMtech.

​​About Cathay Health

Cathay Health, affiliated to Cathay Capital, is a tech bio fund investing at the convergence of healthcare, life sciences and technology. As a multi-stage venture and growth fund, it backs convergence medicine companies across Europe, North America and Asia whose tech-enabled solutions catalyze groundbreaking advances in medicine. From the world’s leading life sciences and technology hubs, including San Francisco, New York, London, Cambridge, Paris, and Basel, Cathay Health aims to partner with future leaders in the data-driven medicine era to transform human health and care in all its dimensions.

For more information, please visit us on the web or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @CathayHealth.

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August Equity are delighted to announce significant investment in StarTraq

August Equity

August Equity has invested alongside management in StarTraq – a leading compliance software business providing solutions for offence processing, licensing & permitting. August will provide funding to enable the business to scale internationally and enter new adjacent markets.

Headquartered in Oxfordshire, UK, StarTraq is the market leader in offence processing software. It has long standing relationships with police and local authorities in the UK, and a growing international footprint. It provides cloud solutions that automate back-office processes including the processing of traffic violations, permit offences, permit applications, and environmental offences. Billy Kennedy, who joined the business in 2011, will continue to lead StarTraq. Allan Freinkel, who founded the business in 2002, will stay on and support as a Non-Executive Director. Industry veteran Gordon Wilson will be joining the board as Chair, who was CEO of software business Advanced Computer Software since 2015 and has recently moved to Chair.

The team, supported by August, intend to invest in the continued organic growth of the business supported by targeted M&A into new geographies and adjacent end markets. StarTraq represents a strong adjacency to previous August Equity investments in compliance-driven tech and cloud software businesses, such as Agilio, Amtivo, OneTouch and Wax Digital.

The team at August was led by Mehul (Mickey) Patel and Greg Walsh with support from Sam Hardy, Bethany Shiers, Ollie Reynolds and Matt Benstead.

David Lonsdale, Managing Partner at August Equity, commented:

“StarTraq represents an attractive platform investment for August and is aligned with our focus on primary buyouts of B2B software and services businesses in compliance driven end markets.”

Mickey Patel, Partner at August Equity, commented:

“We are delighted to be backing the StarTraq team, an exciting cloud software platform investment for us to scale and build an international software business with a focus on traffic, offence management and adjacent software solutions.”

Gordon Wilson, Chair at StarTraq, commented:

“I am pleased to be working with August and the StarTraq team as I embark on my plural career. The plan to grow StarTraq organically and acquisitively has many similarities to businesses I have grown in the past and I look forward to supporting the management team as they grow.”

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ABN AMRO Ventures invests in ThreatFabric

Abn Amro Ventures

ABN AMRO Ventures, the corporate venture fund of ABN AMRO, has invested in the EUR 11.5m Seed round of ThreatFabric, an Online Fraud Detection solution that helps ABN AABN AMRO Ventures, the corporate venture fund of ABN AMRO, has invested in the EUR 11.5m Seed round of ThreatFabric, an Online Fraud Detection solution that helps ABN AMRO protect its clients from the growing fraud and malware epidemic.MRO protect its clients from the growing fraud and malware epidemic.

The battle against online fraud has become a lot more complex with continuous data breaches and the availability of AI driven tools. In 2022 alone, criminals in the Netherlands caused €62.5 million in damage through payment fraud, including bank helpdesk fraud and phishing, which is 25% higher than two years earlier according to the 

Dutch Banking Association

. Banks and e-commerce platforms are continuously searching for accurate warning systems before payments are made.

ABN AMRO Ventures invested in ThreatFabric because online fraud does not show any signs of slowing down, with the bank’s clients as the most vulnerable part of the chain. ThreatFabric’s software can positively contribute to this fraud epidemic by helping their clients – banks and financial institutions – protect their end-users from fraud and malware by using different protection layers, such as on-device malware detection and behavioural analytics.

This EUR 11.5m Seed round is co-led by ABN AMRO Ventures and Motive Ventures, alongside 10xFounders and 14Peaks capital. The capital will be used to increase ThreatFabric’s international expansion and extend its fraud detection layers with behavioural based detection. This consists of the fraudster’s footprint with advanced AI models that include continuous threat modelling of attack paths inside online signup and payment journeys.

Han Sahin, CEO at ThreatFabric: “The ever-changing online fraud threat landscape can proactively be protected by including AI driven threat modelling in behavioural based defence layers. Fraudster also have a strong need which is strongly reflected in their digital footprint. This Seed Round with investment capital from ABN AMRO Ventures, Motive Ventures, and participation from 10xFounders and 14Peaks capital will be used for further expansion and to extend our Fraud Risk Suite platform focused on new proactive fraud controls. For example, with behaviour-based location intelligence and behavioural biometrics that use advanced AI models that forecast potential fraudsters online footprint inside payment journeys”.

Hugo Bongers, Managing Director at ABN AMRO Ventures: “The fraud issue is large and complex problem, that is only expected to get bigger in the future, as technologies like AI further develop. As a long-standing partner of ThreatFabric, ABN AMRO Bank has seen ThreatFabric’s profound understanding of the fraud issue and the high-quality solution the company offers. ABN AMRO Ventures is proud to support the co-founders Han and Yorick, and the entire ThreatFabric team in their next stage of growth and their mission to combat fraud and malware.”

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BGF successfully exits waste management company RiverRidge

BGF

BGF has announced a successful exit of its investment in RiverRidge, Northern Ireland’s largest fully integrated waste management company.

Founded in 2011, RiverRidge started out as a small skip hire and landfill business and has since grown into Northern Ireland’s premier waste management, recycling and energy from waste company. Under the direction of CEO Brett Ross, the company now serves seven local authorities across the province and over 5,500 commercial clients, providing collection services and the treatment and disposal of over 400,000 tonnes of waste each year.

BGF partnered with RiverRidge in 2016, introducing experienced waste sector director Jim Meredith as non-executive chairman, to accelerate the growth of the business. BGF’s investment has helped the company to expand its operations across Northern Ireland (both organically and via acquisition), develop state-of-the-art recycling infrastructure, and build out the top tier management team.

Revenues have increased by 40% since 2016, and RiverRidge now employs 280 staff, across five sites in Belfast, Mallusk, Coleraine, Portadown and Derry/Londonderry. The company is also a minority stakeholder in Northern Ireland’s only energy from waste plant.

Cube Infrastructure Managers and Equitix Investment Management have jointly completed the acquisition of a majority stake in the business and now plan to pursue further growth, through delivering a pipeline of development opportunities, further improving treatment options in the Northern Irish market.

Graham Clarke, Investor at BGF, said: “It is fantastic to see RiverRidge attracting this significant investment to deliver the next phase of its ambitious growth plans. Over the past six years, we have developed a strong relationship with Brett and his team. It is therefore extremely pleasing that, following this investment, the company is well positioned for the next phase of its growth journey.”

“This is BGF’s second material exit in Northern Ireland in recent months, delivering another strong return of over 2x MM against BGF’s minority investment, and again underlines the quality of business and management teams that exist in the province. BGF is extremely proud to have played a part in supporting Brett and his team through a period of significant growth, and we wish them the best of luck as they continue to expand RiverRidge in Northern Ireland and beyond.”

RiverRidge has grown from humble beginnings in 2011 to a company in 2023 which is at the forefront of waste treatment technology. We have been true to the vision and values of the group over this period and believe that today’s announcement is an endorsement of the hard work from our team as well as the strategy chosen to revolutionise the sector. BGF and Jim have been with us every step of the way during the past six years, and I’d like to thank them for their guidance and support during a period of significant growth.

Brett Ross, CEO, RiverRidge

Saket Trivedi, Partner of Cube Infrastructure Managers, said: “The investment in RiverRidge Holdings represents a unique opportunity for Cube to acquire an essential infrastructure asset in a new geographic location, with the embedded opportunity to pivot towards the generation of renewable energy from waste. We are excited to be able to enter this journey with Equitix as our long-term partner, which will be instrumental in providing valuable expertise for the future growth of the company.”

Hugh Crossley, CEO of Equitix, added: “Equitix has known and had excellent collaboration with RiverRidge for near to 10 years. We have a huge respect for the management team and are very pleased to extend this relationship by acquiring a stake in the company. This also allows us to proudly increase our commitment and presence to Northern Ireland.”

“With the RiverRidge management team and our partners, Cube, we expect to invest in and effectively grow the business over the coming years. This important investment aligns with our strategic vision of working in partnership to help reduce the impact of waste on climate change, avoid unnecessary landfill disposal, and provide sustainable energy to the communities which our assets serve.”

Cube and Equitix have been advised by Eversheds Sutherland and PwC, while RiverRidge Holdings Limited and BGF have been advised by Carson McDowell, A&L Goodbody and KPMG.

BGF has invested in seven companies from Northern Ireland to date: Braidwater, RiverRidge, Audit Comply, Uform, Bob & Berts, Mzuri Group and Clarke Group.

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GTCR Closes $11.5 Billion Fund XIV

Fund to Support Management in Executing Upon Growth and Transformation
CHICAGO, IL — May 23, 2023

GTCR, a leading private equity firm, today announced the closing of GTCR Fund XIV (“Fund XIV” or the “Fund”), with aggregate commitments of $11.5 billion. The Fund, which had an initial target of $9.25 billion, reached its hard cap. The Fund includes total limited partner commitments of $11.0 billion and a commitment from GTCR of approximately $500 million. The predecessor fund, GTCR Fund XIII, was raised and initiated in 2020 with aggregate commitments of approximately $7.9 billion.

The Fund received strong support from limited partners in prior GTCR funds, many of whom have invested with the firm for decades, as well as several new investors. The diverse Fund XIV investor base includes leading global endowments and foundations, public and corporate pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions and private wealth.

Consistent with GTCR’s investment approach, The Leaders Strategy™, Fund XIV will expand the firm’s capacity to partner with exceptional management leaders who have strong track records of value creation to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies in its core industry domains of Healthcare, Technology, Media & Telecom, Business & Consumer Services and Financial Services & Technology. GTCR’s investment approach emphasizes transformational growth to build better businesses with a long-term orientation.

On behalf of the firm, Dean Mihas and Collin Roche, Co-CEOs of GTCR, commented:

“We appreciate tremendously the support from our limited partners. That support is invaluable to us in working with our management partners to build great businesses through transformational growth and add-on acquisitions. This committed equity capital of Fund XIV positions GTCR and its investment teams with the resources to invest through periods of uncertainty and varied economic conditions.

For over four decades, GTCR’s approach has been to build deep domain expertise and broad executive relationships in our core industries. This approach enables us to partner with and support high caliber, experienced management leaders in pursuing opportunities for transformation, including corporate carve-outs, transformational mergers and growth through acquisition strategies. We also continue to build GTCR’s organization, growing our team, increasing our sourcing efforts and enhancing our ability to support management teams as they grow their businesses. We believe that our differentiated strategy, our high-quality and experienced team, and our committed capital resources position us to capitalize on unique opportunities in the current environment.”

“We are grateful for the confidence that GTCR’s limited partners have demonstrated in our team and in our strategy. We are focused on providing consistent, outstanding returns for our investors across economic environments, with a continued focus on alignment and transparency,” stated Jodi Rubenstein, Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations.

Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor to GTCR.

About GTCR
Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm that pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. GTCR is focused on investing in transformative growth in companies in the Business & Consumer Services, Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare and Technology, Media & Telecommunications sectors. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $24 billion in over 270 companies, and the firm currently manages more than $35 billion in equity capital. GTCR is based in Chicago with offices in New York and West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

GTCR Contacts

Investor Relations
Jodi Rubenstein
312.382.2202
jodi.rubenstein@gtcr.com

Media Relations
Andrew Johnson
212.835.7042
andrew.johnson@gtcr.com

Category: | Press Releases | Recent News

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Dutch Bakery combines with coolback to create 3i-backed European Bakery Group

3I

3i Group plc (“3i”) today announces that Dutch Bakery, a leading bakery group specialised in home bake-off bread and snack products, has agreed to combine with coolback, a leading German bakery group specialised in bake-off bread, to create European Bakery Group, a pan-European bakery platform.

3i invested in Dutch Bakery in October 2021, to drive the company’s international growth strategy in the fragmented European private label market for bake-off bread and snack products, whilst supporting Dutch Bakery in continued investments in its home markets. Since 3i’s investment, Dutch Bakery has significantly strengthened its product capabilities with the acquisition of Trade Factory, a speciality producer of bapao buns and gua bao, and GoodLife Foods Deurne, a speciality producer of sausage rolls.

coolback is an established industrial bakery group operating three state-of-the-art bakeries in Germany. The company produces and sells private label, frozen and ambient bake-off bread products to customers active in food retail and foodservice across Germany, the Nordics and Poland.

By combining Dutch Bakery and coolback, the newly created European Bakery Group will benefit from a complementary product assortment and customer base across Europe. The combination will enable European Bakery Group to capitalise on its capabilities to offer an innovative, high-quality and comprehensive product assortment to its customers, which is produced sustainably and with natural ingredients at its core.

Dr. Markus Schirmer and Jürgen Fleige, Co-CEOs of coolback, said: “We are very happy to be joining forces with the team at European Bakery Group. Together, we will be able to reach new markets, capitalise on the growth opportunities within Germany and benefit from the size and scale of the combined platform.”

Raoul Vorage, CEO, European Bakery Group, said: “coolback is a high-quality and innovative company with a strong and highly experienced team. We look forward to partner with coolback and continue to further build on the international growth strategy of European Bakery Group.”

Bastiaan Peer, Partner, 3i, said: “Combining coolback and the Dutch Bakery business is at the core of our original investment thesis to drive an international growth strategy in the fragmented European private label market for bake-off bread and snack products. In European Bakery Group we have created a strong pan-European platform, which is well-positioned to capitalise on further organic as well as inorganic growth opportunities.”

-Ends-

Download this press release    

 

For further information, please contact:

3i Group plc

 

Silvia Santoro

Investor enquiries

 

Kathryn van der Kroft

Media enquiries

  

 

Tel: +44 20 7975 3258

Email: silvia.santoro@3i.com

 

Tel: +44 20 7975 3021

Email: kathryn.vanderkroft@3i.com

 

About 3i Group

3i is a leading international investment manager focused on mid-market Private Equity and Infrastructure. Its core investment markets are northern Europe and North America.

For further information, please visit: www.3i.com

About Dutch Bakery

Dutch Bakery has a leading position in the market for bake-off bread and bread-based snacks with a comprehensive product portfolio. The company was founded in 1936 and operates bakeries in Alkmaar, Budel, Eindhoven, Rijen, Tilburg and Waalwijk. The company specialises in home bake-off (bread) products, including (mini) baguettes, kaiser rolls, croissants, bapao buns, sausage rolls, multi-layered cake and pastry with sausage filling. The products of Dutch Bakery are primarily sold to major food retailers, both in the Netherlands and abroad.

For further information, please visit: www.dutchbakery.nl

About coolback

coolback was founded in 1999 and is based in the Berlin area, with its headquarters in Nuthe-Urstromtal, Germany. The company is a producer and seller of private label frozen, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), bio and gluten-free bake-off goods to customers across food retail and foodservice. coolback employs more than 600 full-time employees across three facilities in Hoppegarten, Jänickendorf and Luckenwalde, Germany, which together produce more than 1.2 billion baked goods per year. The company produces a variety of product configurations primarily consisting of frozen and ambient bake-off goods including (specialty) rolls and artisan products, mixes as well as (filled) baguettes.

For further information, please visit: www.coolback.de

Regulatory information

This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.

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Investor Berk Partners Private Equity takes stake in Rolflex Nederland B.V.

Berk Partners

Amsterdam, 22 MAY 2023 – Investment fund Berk Partners on 17 May 2023 acquired a substantial stake in Gendringen-based company Rolflex Nederland B.V. Rolflex is the inventor of the compact, folding commercial door. This unique industrial door without ceiling tracks fits everywhere – even where other sectional doors do not – is low-maintenance, high-quality, durable and aesthetically very representative. The unique industrial door is developed and produced entirely in the Netherlands. Worldwide installation and maintenance are facilitated with an extensive dealer network.

Rolflex supplies the Compact door in various colours and finishes. The door can be further extended with (semi)transparent panels, a wicket door, remote control and more

Activity

Rolflex is the manufacturer and supplier of specialist, high-end commercial doors. Development and production is done in-house. Rolflex is fully dedicated to the Compact door. This is a folding door based on multiple customisable and customisable panels, which fold upwards when the door is opened instead of being slid or rolled over rails on the ceiling. The main advantage of this is that ceiling space is saved and the service door can be fitted better into existing situations. Folding also allows the service door to be fitted with, among other things, a wicket door and the option of installing the door on the outside of the room. Rolflex is the inventor of this type of folding door and has been the technological leader in this field for more than 25 years.

Sales of Compact doors outside the Netherlands are largely through an extensive international network of over 450 dealers. These dealers install and maintain the Compact door at end customers. Within the Netherlands, installation and maintenance of doors is carried out by Rolflex itself.

Transaction

The transaction is a management buy-out/ pre-exit. On 17 May 2023, Berk Partners Growth Fund and managing director Maarten Coerman joined as shareholders. Coerman, together with the existing management team, forms the driving force behind Rolflex. Together, they will focus on further expanding Rolflex in the coming years.

Coerman foresees interesting growth opportunities. “With Berk Partners’ involvement, we can further expand internationally, professionalise and Berk Partners’ networks will also become available to Rolflex,” Coerman said.

“The collaboration with Berk Partners is a conscious choice,” said Frank Govaert (partner at Berk Partners). “This partnership offers Rolflex the opportunity to grow further through increased focus on innovation and commerce, where Berk Partners will support to further shape growth. Berk Partners has gained a lot of experience with growing companies in the past.

In this respect, Rolflex fits well with our investment policy. Rolflex operates in an attractive niche market and occupies a leading position there with a distinctive product. The incumbent management also has a very good track record when it comes to international growth.”

 

About Rolflex Nederland B.V.

For more information: Maarten Coerman (m.coerman@rolflex.com) and www.rolflex.com

 

About Berk Partners private equity

Berk Partners is an independent investment company founded in 1992. Over the past thirty years, it has invested in dozens of successful mid-sized Dutch companies. Berk Partners originates from Berk Holding, the investment vehicle of Mr Ben Pon founded in the 1970s. After several successful investments made by him, third parties also joined. In the past, Berk Partners invested in, among others, Koninklijke Joh. de Kuyper & Zn. (spirits), (portion) packaging company W. van Oordt & Co, games company Jumbo and Life & Mobility (wheelchair manufacturer).

 

The current Berk Partners fund is the fifth fund in succession and has fund assets of almost €50 million. Based on past experience, the fund has a preference for investments in the Food Industry, Innovative Manufacturing and Healthcare Suppliers sectors. As a committed shareholder, Berk Partners adds value by providing not only capital but also knowledge, a network, entrepreneurship and active support.

Nine participations have now been realised in the Berk Partners Growth Fund, in addition to Rolflex these are:

  • Theha B.V., producer of coconut bread and coconut cubes;
  • Molenmaker Techniek B.V., producer of hydraulic drive systems for bridges and locks, among others (divested in 2021);
  • Rivièra Product Decorations B.V., active in applying sleeves (printed film) to various types of packaging;
  • Aarts Packaging B.V., producer of plastic packaging for the cosmetics industry in particular based on injection moulding (divested in 2023);
  • Technotape Holding B.V., producer and trader of a wide range of products for personalisation through sublimation;
  • HSU Groep B.V., supplier of services relating to the preparation and cleaning of public transport rolling stock, buses and trains;
  • Royal Taste Company Holding B.V., producer of high-quality coffee beans for personalised blends; and
  • P.B.S. Holding B.V., producer of raised floors for special applications.

 

ESG policy

Berk Partners gives ESG considerations an important place in the selection of investment propositions and the management of its holdings. ESG stands for ‘Environmental, Social & Governance’ and means that factors such as energy consumption, climate, resource availability, health, safety and good corporate governance are explicitly taken into account when choosing to invest in a company.

 

For more information:

Berk Partners Groei Fonds B.V.

Frank Govaert (govaert@berkpartners.nl or 020 2619 350).

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Sastrify, the Next Generation Platform for Buying and Managing SaaS Subscriptions, Raises $32 Million Series B

Endeit

COLOGNE/NEW YORK — Sastrify, the next generation platform for buying and managing SaaS subscriptions, today announced it has raised a $32 million Series B financing round led by Endeit Capital, with participation from Simon Capital and previous investors HV Capital, FirstMark Capital, and TriplePoint Capital. The company will use the additional funds to scale the global team focused on the United States and Europe and further accelerate product development to support mid-market and enterprise customers.  Sastrify has been a strong force in Europe since first launching in mid-2020, growing more than 400% in the past year fueled by a focus on clear return on investment for its customers.

SaaS sprawl continues to post a significant risk to companies worldwide. According to industry research, more than $200 billion and 3.9 billion working hours will be wasted on software buying in 2023, while one in five companies will have experienced a cyber event related to shadow IT. According to Sastrify data, the typical company overspends by more than thirty percent on their SaaS costs and wastes more than 400 hours per year on managing their SaaS contracts.

The Sastrify platform allows users to centralize, visualize, and automate their entire SaaS procurement journey. Sastrify powers SaaS procurement for fast-growing companies like sennder, OnRunning, Babbel, and Pleo and is positioned to continue to expand its services in the US, already serving US customers such as Capchase, a non-dilutive financing provider to SaaS companies.

The fundraising coincides with Sastrify’s expansion of its core product offerings to provide automated Usage Analytics as well as the launch of the Sastrify Marketplace, which includes flexible payment and financing options. Sastrify and Capchase also recently announced a partnership to provide flexible financing for SaaS licences.

With the launch of Sastrify’s exclusive pre-negotiated commercial offerings via their Marketplace, teams can find and evaluate tools, streamline their procurement processes, optimize their SaaS stacks, and make insights-driven decisions. With Sastrify’s expanded Usage Analytics, companies benefit from having full transparency into their SaaS stack—visibility which in turn allows them to eliminate unnecessary or bad-fit tools and discover better alternatives.

“We’ve built a platform that enables procurement, finance, and IT teams to fully optimize all aspects of their software procurement,” said Sastrify CEO and co-founder Sven Lackinger. “Our hundreds of customers around the world have validated our platform as the comprehensive SaaS procurement solution. We’re positioned to grow our team, and continue to work with companies to focus and accelerate their efforts to reduce their risk, save hours per week, and save up to seven figures on their SaaS costs.”

“As a result of the rise of SaaS Solutions, accelerated Digital Transformation due to Covid and the current global economic climate, scalable SaaS management has become table stakes for running a successful company. We believe Sastrify’s platform is very well positioned to capitalize on this trend,” said Philipp Schroeder, partner at Endeit Capital.

“FirstMark invests in companies like Airbnb, Pinterest, and Shopify that can transform massive markets with technology. Sastrify’s accelerated growth and compelling product/market fit with global customers has cemented our belief in the company’s position to be the #1 global SaaS procurement solution,” said Adam Nelson, Managing Director, FirstMark.

For more information, visit Sastrify.com

About Sastrify

Sastrify is a digital procurement platform for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products. Founded in 2020 by serial entrepreneurs Maximilian Messing and Sven Lackinger, Sastrify helps companies get the best deals when buying and renewing SaaS subscriptions. The Sastrify platform enables procurement, tech, and finance teams to work together seamlessly, benefitting from best in class buying processes, partnerships with leading SaaS vendors, and an ever-growing database of price benchmarks. Backed by Endeit, FirstMark, and HV Capital, Sastrify supports hundreds of clients globally, including OnRunning, Pleo, and Capchase.

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Silver Lake to Make €600M Strategic Investment in TeamSystem

Silverlake

MILAN & LONDON – TeamSystem, a leading provider of business software solutions to companies and accountants in Italy and Spain, announced today that Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a €600 million minority stake in the company from Hellman & Friedman (H&F). H&F will remain the majority shareholder in TeamSystem following close of the transaction.

This strategic investment from Silver Lake marks a significant milestone for the Company as it continues to drive the digital transformation of businesses and their accountants in Italy and Spain. TeamSystem’s innovative software platform – with solutions ranging from core business applications to financial technology and AI tools – has revolutionized business processes, empowering clients to streamline operations, drive efficiency and accelerate growth. Since the time of H&F’s initial investment in TeamSystem in 2016, the number of customers served by the company has grown from 200 thousand to approximately 1.8 million today.

Commenting on the investment, Federico Leproux, CEO of TeamSystem, said: “We are pleased to welcome Silver Lake as a strategic partner. We believe this partnership will unlock even greater potential for TeamSystem as the company continues to expand its product offering to help digitise the Italian and Spanish economies – and beyond. We are also delighted to continue our partnership with Hellman & Friedman, which has been our trusted partner for over seven years.”

Christian Lucas, Co-Head of EMEA at Silver Lake, said: “We are excited to partner with TeamSystem as it continues to transform the Italian software industry. Management’s strong commitment to technological leadership, customer-centric approach, and drive for best-in-class innovation are qualities we value highly and have invested behind consistently in support of cloud software leaders across Europe, making TeamSystem an ideal fit for Silver Lake. We look forward to working closely with Federico and the full team in partnership with Hellman & Friedman to drive further growth and deliver exceptional value to its customers.”

Blake Kleinman, Partner at Hellman & Friedman, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Silver Lake as an investor in TeamSystem as we set our sights on the next phase of growth for the business. We have been impressed by TeamSystem’s performance since our initial investment in 2016. Federico Leproux and his team have done an outstanding job to strengthen TeamSystem’s offering and more than triple the company’s revenues. Our investment in TeamSystem which started over seven years ago is a great example of H&F’s approach to long-term value creation. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Federico and his outstanding management team.”

The transaction is expected to close around end of the year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Evercore acted as financial adviser to H&F and TeamSystem.

About TeamSystem

TeamSystem is an Italian technology company with market-leading digital solutions enabling companies and professionals to run their businesses. The Group – which has a 40-year track record – reported a turnover of approximately €700 million in 2022. TeamSystem serves 1.8 million customers through proprietary Cloud platforms. For more information, visit www.teamsystem.com.

About Silver Lake

Silver Lake is a global technology investment firm, with more than $95 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia. Silver Lake’s portfolio companies collectively generate more than $282 billion of revenue annually and employ approximately 713,000 people globally.

About Hellman & Friedman

Hellman & Friedman is a preeminent global private equity firm with a distinctive investment approach focused on a limited number of large-scale equity investments in high quality growth businesses. H&F seeks to partner with world-class management teams where its deep sector expertise, long-term orientation and collaborative partnership approach enable companies to flourish. H&F targets outstanding businesses in select sectors including software & technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer & retail, and other business services.

Since its founding in 1984, H&F has invested in over 100 companies. The firm is currently investing its tenth fund, with $24.4 billion of committed capital, and has over $85 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022. Learn more about H&F’s defining investment philosophy and approach to sustainable outcomes at www.hf.com.

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