Category Archives: News

Kinnevik Invests USD 100 Million in Spring Health, a Leading Global Mental Health Solution

Kinnevik

Kinnevik AB (publ) (“Kinnevik”) today announced that it is investing USD 100m in Spring Health, a leading global mental health solution.

Spring Health helps employers modernise their behavioral health benefits with the most comprehensive solution for employee mental well-being. The company was founded by April Koh and Dr Adam Chekroud in New York with the vision to build a world where guessing has no place in mental healthcare. All too often, patients must undergo a trial-and-error approach to finding effective and efficient mental healthcare. Spring Health is building the data infrastructure to make more precise decisions when it comes to provider matching and the creation of personalized care plans. Recent data has revealed that this approach delivers best-in-class outcomes in half the time as others in the industry. Spring Health provides a single point of contact for any type of support — from digital exercises to employee assistance program (EAP) services, to coaching, therapy, or medication — leading to faster outcomes, higher engagement, and healthier, happier employees and their families. Today, Spring Health serves over 150 companies, from start-ups to multinational Fortune 500 corporations.

Georgi Ganev, CEO of Kinnevik commented: “We are incredibly excited to support Spring Health and its founders April and Adam in this next chapter. We believe Spring Health’s distinct and innovative approach to mental healthcare will set a new standard in the space and establish the company as a long-term market leader. The investment builds on our continued momentum in US and global healthcare innovation.”

Kinnevik led the USD 190m round with an investment of USD 100m for a 5 percent stake joined by new investor The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian Life) and along with existing investors including Tiger Global and Northzone. Spring Health’s total capital raised is to date is USD 300 million. The latest round brings the company’s valuation to USD 2 billion, on the heels of approximately 6x revenue growth over the past year.

For further information, visit www.kinnevik.com or contact:

Torun Litzén, Director Investor Relations
Phone +46 (0)70 762 00 50
Email press@kinnevik.com

Kinnevik’s ambition is to be Europe’s leading listed growth investor, and we back the best digital companies for a reimagined everyday and to deliver significant returns. We understand complex and fast-changing consumer behaviours, and have a strong and expanding portfolio in healthtech, consumer services, foodtech and fintech. As a long-term investor, we strongly believe that investing in sustainable business models and diverse teams will bring the greatest returns for shareholders. We back our companies at every stage of their journey and invest in Europe, with a focus on the Nordics, and in the US. Kinnevik was founded in 1936 by the Stenbeck, Klingspor and von Horn families. Kinnevik’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s list for large cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B.

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Healthcare innovator SDB Group unveils three new software acquisitions

Main Capital Partners

The Hague, 16 September 2021 – Healthcare innovator SDB Group acquires three Dutch software companies with the support of software investor Main Capital Partners. With the acquisitions of CPM4Care and Infent, which were signed in July and September, SDB Group takes a leading position as a provider of Business Intelligence (BI) solutions for the healthcare industry. In addition, with the acquisition of KindPlanner, SDB Group positions itself strategically in the childcare market. The expansion of SDB Group is in line with its ambition to become the market leader in software solutions for the Dutch healthcare and welfare sector. COO Vincent van Staalduinen: ‘We want to unburden the healthcare professional with innovative software, which is best-of-breed and best-of-suite.’ 

SDB Group offers a total package of cloud-based solutions for the healthcare sector, including software for HR, planning, payroll, electronic client records (ECD), e-learning and business intelligence (BI). SDB Group, which is 45 years old, strongly believes in the importance of data science to improve the healthcare sector. To this end, Reports, a provider of data analytics software, was acquired in 2019. Woerden-based CPM4Care strengthens SDB Group’s BI arsenal with various tools to improve the business performance of healthcare institutions, such as a healthcare dashboard and a budget planning tool. The Nieuwegein-based company Infent is specialised in BI-solutions for disabled care, elderly care and revalidation care, and is strong in forecasting, KPI tooling and master-data management.

Market leader in Business Intelligence for healthcare

‘By combining the strengths of these companies, we not only take a leading position in BI, but we also build on our big data and data science strategy’, explains Vincent van Staalduinen, COO of SDB Group. Jeroen van Ree, co-founder of Infent, shares this vision. ‘Together with SDB Group and CPM4Care we can develop more innovative BI-solutions for healthcare. With this, we are taking a meaningful step towards data-driven healthcare delivery.’ Marcel Brockhoff, Director of CPM4Care, emphasizes the added value for healthcare institutions. ‘The combination of CPM4Care, SDB Group and Infent allows us to help healthcare institutions even better in fulfilling the requirements in terms of reporting and make valuable healthcare data accessible.’

SDB Group positions itself in the childcare market

With the acquisition of KindPlanner, SDB Group strengthens its position within the welfare market. With the arrival of KindPlanner, SDB Group is the only player in the market that can offer a complete, integrated and user-friendly software solution to childcare companies. KindPlanner CEO Vincent van Nimwegen: ‘SDB Group had everything KindPlanner didn’t, and vice versa: they have software for payroll and business intelligence, we offer child planning and invoicing software and a portal to communicate with parents, which over 100 childcare companies are already using.’

Unburdening care professionals

SDB Group has set itself the goal of innovating the conservative healthcare sector and making it more efficient. ‘This requires deep knowledge about healthcare, which we have. With the support of Main Capital we also have the capital to grow’, says COO Vincent van Staalduinen. SDB Group aspires a best-of-breed and best-of-suite approach: the best specialized software solutions, which are seamlessly integrated. No fragmentation of services or switching between separate programs, but a time-saving total solution. The ultimate goal? ‘Care professionals are relieved of their administrative burden with innovative software, and the time saved is spent where it is needed most: on the client’, says Van Staalduinen.  

About SDB Group

SDB Group develops and supplies specialist ICT solutions for the healthcare sector. In 2018, software investor Main Capital acquired a majority stake in the company, which was then known as SDB Ayton. Since then, SDB Group has made four acquisitions, aimed at obtaining the widest possible range of software services. The first acquisition was Cormel (ECD software), followed by Reports (data analytics for the healthcare sector), The Competence Group and CSS Breda (e-learning for the healthcare sector). In 2021, KindPlanner, CPM4Care and Infent were added. Turnover tripled as a result of this buy-and-build strategy. The number of employees grew from 70 in 2018 to 220 after the latest acquisition.

About Main Capital Partners

Main Capital Partners is a leading software investor in the Benelux, Dach and the Nordics. Main has almost 20 years of experience in strengthening software companies and works closely together with management teams of its portfolio companies as a strategic partner, in order to realize sustainable growth and build excellent software groups. Main counts over 40 employees and has offices in The Hague, Stockholm and Düsseldorf. In September 2021 Main has over 1 billion euros under management and invested in more than 120 software companies. These companies create jobs for approximately 5,000 employees.

________________________________________

For more information, please contact:  

Sonja Hartgring (Manager Marketing & Communications)
+31 (0) 6 24 22 71 06
sonja@main.nl

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Trackunit and ZTR come together to connect construction

HG Capital

LONDON, ON, MINNEAPOLIS, MN and AALBORG, DK – September 15, 2021 – Trackunit and the Industrial IoT division of ZTR are uniting to better serve the growing demands of the construction industry. Putting customer needs first, the two telematics leaders are combining their considerable resources to accelerate innovation and drive digital transformation — with collaboration and service at the centre of their strategy.

“We see the industry at a pivotal tipping point when it comes to digitalization of their business and equipment – and customers are looking for a trusted partner.”

Soeren Brogaard, CEO of Trackunit

“By combining ZTR IIoT and Trackunit resources and offerings, we’re better equipped to serve the needs of the customers now and in the future.”

Sam Hassan, President & CEO of ZTR

Strengthening our core focus
As a combined entity, Trackunit and the ZTR IIoT division will extend their core focus to accelerate the digital journey in construction, Hassan continues.

“By coming together with Trackunit, we will be able to operate on a global scale to provide an expanded offering to our customers with greater efficiency and depth,” he says.

“Together, we are strengthening our core focus on enabling the ecosystem of construction. By combining our businesses, we’re elevating our technology and increasing the value customers will be able to extract from their data”, adds Soeren Brogaard.

Over the past few years, the realm of IoT and telematics possibilities has evolved from simple track and trace technology into highly actionable insights that create massive value for the stakeholders of the construction industry.

After the transaction closes the combined entity of Trackunit and ZTR will specialize in creating offerings that enhance utilization, increase fleet availability, improve safety and reduce equipment loss as major value drivers. In addition, both companies will help customers in collecting data and translating it into actionable insights – enabling customers to build smarter and more resilient machines. Furthermore, the combined entity is dedicated to helping improve daily operations for customers with increased operator safety, machine health and business optimizations.

“Our promise to the industry is based on collaboration. With a purpose as determined and noble as eliminating downtime, we know that working with our customers to apply new digital tools, is absolutely necessary. We make ourselves useful and strive to solve real problems, building everything for scale, while showing compassion for our customers, partners, competitors, and the industry at large”, says Soeren Brogaard.

Best of both worlds
At their cores, both Trackunit and ZTR are in business to build solutions that propel the construction industry forward. Trackunit recently attracted a strategic investment from Hg, a leading global software and services investor, to accelerate the company expansion, while ZTR has been transforming its business, and predicts growth through rising demand. Both Trackunit and ZTR have recently taken their first steps into, and secured traction in, the APAC region. Both businesses are ready to start the next chapter – one company focused on uniting the industry and shape it to become the most useful industry for the world. In essence, the timing couldn’t be better.

“We’re focused on delivering our existing customer commitments and creating a smooth integration. This is all about bringing people, competence, and great technology together to create a bigger impact”, says Soeren Brogaard.

A shift in the market
The construction industry is growing rapidly. It is experiencing accelerated investment in IoT capabilities with construction now one of the top five industries for investment growth. As a result, data proliferation is expected to grow exponentially as penetration of connected equipment continues beyond 2025 and machine-level data grows. Given these developments, Trackunit and ZTR IIoT are teaming up to better help their customers meet the changes that come with increasing digitalization of the construction industry.

“ZTR and Trackunit together represent an incredible next step that will enable us to become a truly global player to better serve our customers. I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and take an active part in the executive team. I look forward to venturing out on this shared mission – one in which I have no doubt Soeren Brogaard will capably lead”, says Sam Hassan.

About Trackunit ApS
Trackunit is the leading SaaS-based IoT solution and machine insights provider to the global construction equipment industry. Trackunit collects and analyzes machine data in real-time to deliver actionable, proactive and predictive information, empowering customers with data-driven foresight.

Trackunit promises to lead the technology engagement to help eliminate downtime. The ambition of this mission is not only to recover from budget and schedule overruns, but also to re-establish the reputation of the industry for innovation and leadership.

From operator safety and machine health to business optimization, Trackunit’s industry-leading telematics software, hardware and fleet management services benefit the everyday operations of the customers worldwide. Trackunit services its customers directly from its headquarters in Denmark, Chicago, IL and Singapore, as well as through subsidiaries in Sweden, Norway, France, Holland, Germany, UK, Australia and Japan. Visit trackunit.com to learn more

About ZTR
ZTR is a global technology company that develops solutions for the compact construction industry. Known as a pioneer in the development industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the telematics provider delivers products and services that allow companies to remotely monitor and manage mobile as well as fixed assets.

Leading the industry in response to the need for richer machine data, greater uptime, and better insights, ZTR has designed new solutions that help Rental Companies, OEMs and end-users work together to operate smarter and easier. By listening and collaborating with its customers, ZTR takes on big industry challenges and opens pathways toward the continued digitalization of the construction sector.

ZTR Telematics Solutions easily integrate with industrial machinery and the business systems customers use every day so they can use the data to make decisions and react in real-time. With more than 450,000 telematics-enabled assets under contract, ZTR integrates with 150+ industrial Original Equipment Manufacturers, and many top rental houses worldwide.

The Rail division of ZTR will continue to operate independently. There will be no impact to its organization structure, customers or business operations as a result of this announcement. For more information visit www.ztr.com

Media contacts

Trackunit Aps
Laerke Ullerup
Chief Marketing Officer

Gasværksvej 24, 4.sal,
DK-9000 Aalborg

Tel: +45 53703033
LUL@trackunit.com

ZTR
Colleen Burghardt
Marketing Communications Manager

Industrial IoT Division
955 Green Valley Road
London, Ontario Canada
N6N 1E4

Tel: 1-519-452-1233 Ext.337
cburghardt@ztr.com

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BDC to acquire Achilles

Bridgepoint

Achilles, a global leader and partner of choice for supply chain risk and performance management, today announces an agreement to be acquired by Bridgepoint, the international private assets fund management group.

The acquisition marks a new chapter for Achilles. Despite the recent global turmoil and uncertainty, Achilles has continued to partner with customers, build new value, bring new products to market and add new customers to the portfolio.

Over the past decade supply chain risk management has increased in complexity due to numerous environmental, social, and economic drivers. Issues such as sustainability, modern slavery and equality, diversity and inclusion, as well the increased risk of sophisticated cyber-attacks have changed the way in which supply chains need to be managed: Achilles’ solutions enable customers to mitigate risk and make informed business decisions for their supply chains.

Partnering with Bridgepoint will give Achilles access to the capital and expertise to significantly expand the solution set, both organically and through M&A, delivering new capabilities around key focus areas like ESG, CSR, EDI, Health and Safety, and supply chain mapping, all of which are critical customer needs.

Matt Legg, Director of Bridgepoint Development Capital, said: “Supply chains across the world are under increased pressure and scrutiny, creating opportunities for those companies who are able to provide data-driven solutions to ensure more sustainable and ethical solutions. Achilles, with its global platform, breadth of risk coverage, in-house audit capabilities, and depth of data validation provides a compelling proposition to its customers. We look forward to working with the Achilles management team and have already identified multiple avenues to drive value creation in a sector which is growing due to increasing supply chain complexity and corporate focus on supply chain risk and ESG.”

Jay Katzen, CEO of Achilles, commented: “I am delighted Bridgepoint will be working with the team at Achilles for the next chapter in our story. Our teams have built a great rapport, and we have a shared vision about both the opportunity and goal to expand our solutions, helping our customers drive a more sustainable future.

I believe this is a pivotal moment, not just for my colleagues and I at Achilles, but for our customers and partners as well. With this in mind, I’d like to thank Hg and Achilles’ Chairman Craig Rodgerson, for their support in driving success for Achilles.

With over 30 years’ experience, sector leading technology and extremely engaged employees, Achilles is uniquely well placed to take advantage of the opportunities that evolve as the world looks to make supply chains more sustainable, efficient and ethical. Achilles creates opportunity and provides the sector leading insight that enables better, value added decision making for our customers, from the smallest micro business to FTSE 100 companies. It is this strength of purpose and range of strategic opportunity that the team at Bridgepoint recognise and value – I’m excited about all that the future holds for Achilles and our customers.”

The investment in Achilles was made by the Bridgepoint Development Capital fund IV. Bridgepoint was advised on the transaction by: Raymond James (M&A), Ropes & Gray (Legal), GCA Altium (Debt), McKinsey (Commercial), BDO (Financial & Tax) and Intechnica (Technology). Hg and Achilles were advised by Baird (M&A) and Barclays (M&A).

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Matillion Raises $150M Series E Funding at $1.5B Valuation

General Atlantic

Latest funding follows accelerated growth as Matillion platform fuels cloud analytics, AI and machine learning in large global enterprises

September 15, 2021

Matillion, a leading cloud data integration platform, today announced $150M in Series E funding, led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, with participation from Battery Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. This funding marks Matillion’s second triple-digit round of 2021, bringing the total amount raised to $310M at a valuation of $1.5B.

The average enterprise uses more than 1,080 different data sources in its analytics program. Even as cloud data platforms such as Snowflake, Amazon Redshift, and Databricks become central to modern data architectures, enterprises struggle to collect, synchronize and transform their data for analytics, AI and ML programs. Traditional and other methods are primitive and slow, relying heavily on hand-coding and placing the burden of enterprise data preparation on a few workers. This creates information gaps within the organization and limits critical insights. Matillion unlocks the data supply chain, accelerating time to value by delivering a data operating system that integrates and manages data at scale. This allows enterprise data teams to work together to source, enrich and share data, enabling the rapid and data-led decision-making required to compete and win in today’s digital economy.

“Enterprises need to effectively close information gaps by rapidly transforming operational data into analytics-ready datasets that fuel business intelligence, AI, and ML innovation,” said Matthew Scullion, CEO of Matillion. “With Matillion, large organizations are empowered with a data operating system that is purpose-built for the enterprise, enabling a broad spectrum of data users — from data scientists and engineers to marketers and business analysts — to make data useful.”

Coming off of its Series D round in February, Matillion has delivered accelerated growth in 2021, including recognition by Snowflake as its FY2021 Technology Partner of the Year for Data Integration and by Databricks for an ISV Innovation Award, as well as the launch of its new product, Matillion ETL for Delta Lake on Databricks. The company also earned the Great Place to Work Certification, with 94% of its UK employees and 91% of its U.S. employees stating that Matillion is a great place to work.

“As organizations look for ways to harness data to make better business decisions, the market for cloud data integration and transformation is expanding,” said Chris Caulkin, Managing Director and Head of Technology for EMEA at General Atlantic. “We believe that Matillion’s low-code ETL platform simplifies the process of constructing data pipelines and preparing data for analysis, enabling citizen data scientists and data engineers alike to play a valuable role in extracting data-based insights. We look forward to supporting the team through its next phase of growth and expansion.”

Hundreds of large enterprises including Western Union, FOX, Sony, Slack, National Grid, Peet’s Coffee and Cisco use Matillion’s cloud-native, low-code/no-code solutions to transform raw data into an analytics-ready asset, ready to power business intelligence, visualization, artificial intelligence, and machine learning projects.

“Global data teams are being tasked to support digital transformation journeys within their organizations and look to low-code, cloud native solutions to accelerate the delivery of business results,” said Frederick Wright, US Director, UK Senior Manager, Enterprise Architect – Integration & Analytics at National Grid. “Matillion enables enterprises like ours to increase our usage of analytics and drive greater understanding within our business.”

For further data transformation industry updates and perspectives, follow Matillion on Twitter @Matillion and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/matillion-limited/. Learn more about the success Matillion customers have achieved at https://www.matillion.com/resources/case-studies/.

About Matillion

Matillion makes the world’s data useful with an easy-to-use cloud-native data integration and transformation platform. Optimized for modern enterprise data teams, only Matillion is built on native integrations to cloud data platforms such as Snowflake, Delta Lake on Databricks, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, and Microsoft Azure Synapse to enable new levels of efficiency and productivity across any organization. Learn how Matillion delivers rapid returns on cloud investments for global enterprise customers at www.matillion.com.

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 400 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic currently has over $65 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2021 and more than 175 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Stamford. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

Media Contacts

Mary Armstrong & Emily Japlon
General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com

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Trackunit and ZTR come together to connect construction

HG Capital

LONDON, ON, MINNEAPOLIS, MN and AALBORG, DK – September 15, 2021 – Trackunit and the Industrial IoT division of ZTR are uniting to better serve the growing demands of the construction industry. Putting customer needs first, the two telematics leaders are combining their considerable resources to accelerate innovation and drive digital transformation — with collaboration and service at the centre of their strategy.

“We see the industry at a pivotal tipping point when it comes to digitalization of their business and equipment – and customers are looking for a trusted partner.”

Soeren Brogaard, CEO of Trackunit

“By combining ZTR IIoT and Trackunit resources and offerings, we’re better equipped to serve the needs of the customers now and in the future.”

Sam Hassan, President & CEO of ZTR

Strengthening our core focus
As a combined entity, Trackunit and the ZTR IIoT division will extend their core focus to accelerate the digital journey in construction, Hassan continues.

“By coming together with Trackunit, we will be able to operate on a global scale to provide an expanded offering to our customers with greater efficiency and depth,” he says.

“Together, we are strengthening our core focus on enabling the ecosystem of construction. By combining our businesses, we’re elevating our technology and increasing the value customers will be able to extract from their data”, adds Soeren Brogaard.

Over the past few years, the realm of IoT and telematics possibilities has evolved from simple track and trace technology into highly actionable insights that create massive value for the stakeholders of the construction industry.

After the transaction closes the combined entity of Trackunit and ZTR will specialize in creating offerings that enhance utilization, increase fleet availability, improve safety and reduce equipment loss as major value drivers. In addition, both companies will help customers in collecting data and translating it into actionable insights – enabling customers to build smarter and more resilient machines. Furthermore, the combined entity is dedicated to helping improve daily operations for customers with increased operator safety, machine health and business optimizations.

“Our promise to the industry is based on collaboration. With a purpose as determined and noble as eliminating downtime, we know that working with our customers to apply new digital tools, is absolutely necessary. We make ourselves useful and strive to solve real problems, building everything for scale, while showing compassion for our customers, partners, competitors, and the industry at large”, says Soeren Brogaard.

Best of both worlds
At their cores, both Trackunit and ZTR are in business to build solutions that propel the construction industry forward. Trackunit recently attracted a strategic investment from Hg, a leading global software and services investor, to accelerate the company expansion, while ZTR has been transforming its business, and predicts growth through rising demand. Both Trackunit and ZTR have recently taken their first steps into, and secured traction in, the APAC region. Both businesses are ready to start the next chapter – one company focused on uniting the industry and shape it to become the most useful industry for the world. In essence, the timing couldn’t be better.

“We’re focused on delivering our existing customer commitments and creating a smooth integration. This is all about bringing people, competence, and great technology together to create a bigger impact”, says Soeren Brogaard.

A shift in the market
The construction industry is growing rapidly. It is experiencing accelerated investment in IoT capabilities with construction now one of the top five industries for investment growth. As a result, data proliferation is expected to grow exponentially as penetration of connected equipment continues beyond 2025 and machine-level data grows. Given these developments, Trackunit and ZTR IIoT are teaming up to better help their customers meet the changes that come with increasing digitalization of the construction industry.

“ZTR and Trackunit together represent an incredible next step that will enable us to become a truly global player to better serve our customers. I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and take an active part in the executive team. I look forward to venturing out on this shared mission – one in which I have no doubt Soeren Brogaard will capably lead”, says Sam Hassan.

About Trackunit ApS
Trackunit is the leading SaaS-based IoT solution and machine insights provider to the global construction equipment industry. Trackunit collects and analyzes machine data in real-time to deliver actionable, proactive and predictive information, empowering customers with data-driven foresight.

Trackunit promises to lead the technology engagement to help eliminate downtime. The ambition of this mission is not only to recover from budget and schedule overruns, but also to re-establish the reputation of the industry for innovation and leadership.

From operator safety and machine health to business optimization, Trackunit’s industry-leading telematics software, hardware and fleet management services benefit the everyday operations of the customers worldwide. Trackunit services its customers directly from its headquarters in Denmark, Chicago, IL and Singapore, as well as through subsidiaries in Sweden, Norway, France, Holland, Germany, UK, Australia and Japan. Visit trackunit.com to learn more

About ZTR
ZTR is a global technology company that develops solutions for the compact construction industry. Known as a pioneer in the development industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the telematics provider delivers products and services that allow companies to remotely monitor and manage mobile as well as fixed assets.

Leading the industry in response to the need for richer machine data, greater uptime, and better insights, ZTR has designed new solutions that help Rental Companies, OEMs and end-users work together to operate smarter and easier. By listening and collaborating with its customers, ZTR takes on big industry challenges and opens pathways toward the continued digitalization of the construction sector.

ZTR Telematics Solutions easily integrate with industrial machinery and the business systems customers use every day so they can use the data to make decisions and react in real-time. With more than 450,000 telematics-enabled assets under contract, ZTR integrates with 150+ industrial Original Equipment Manufacturers, and many top rental houses worldwide.

The Rail division of ZTR will continue to operate independently. There will be no impact to its organization structure, customers or business operations as a result of this announcement. For more information visit www.ztr.com

Media contacts

Trackunit Aps
Laerke Ullerup
Chief Marketing Officer

Gasværksvej 24, 4.sal,
DK-9000 Aalborg

Tel: +45 53703033
LUL@trackunit.com

ZTR
Colleen Burghardt
Marketing Communications Manager

Industrial IoT Division
955 Green Valley Road
London, Ontario Canada
N6N 1E4

Tel: 1-519-452-1233 Ext.337
cburghardt@ztr.com

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GNIST to become part of Norlandia Preschools

Altor

Norlandia Preschools AS (“Norlandia”) has signed an agreement to purchase the Norwegian preschool chain Gnist Barnehager AS (“Gnist”) from the founders of the chain and Altor Fund IV (“Altor”).

Gnist is a private Norwegian preschool chain with a strong pedagogical platform, with a particular focus on a systematic approach to operations, supported by good practices. This ensures high and consistent quality in all Gnist preschools, with a focus on the child’s individual needs and close cooperation with highly satisfied parents.

Gnist Kindergartens currently owns 17 kindergartens in Møre og Romsdal, Trøndelag, Vestland and Viken.

“We are pleased that the Gnist will be part of our organization,” says Kristin Voldsnes, division director for Norlandia. “The competence and commitment that is clear among the employees bodes well for a continued, high-quality daycare operation”, Voldsnes continues. She adds: “We look forward to welcoming all Gnist employees to a community where we seek to continue the good work at Gnist, as well as further develop the daycare offer for the benefit of children, parents and employees.”

“I am sure that with the professional foundation and long-term approach that has been a hallmark of Norlandia; children, employees and parents will find that this transition will be characterized by continuity and stability,” says Lill Nyseter Kortgaard, CEO of Gnist.

Maria Tallaksen, partner in Altor added: “Gnist offers a great experience for 1,800 children and their parents around Norway. It has been a privilege to work with management and Kjersti and Bjørn Grønmyr to further develop this company. As part of Norlandia, Gnist will become part of an even larger professional pedagogical environment to further develop the service offer.”

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory requirements and approvals.

For more information, please contact:
Kristin Voldsnes, Division Director Norlandia, Tel +47 416 92 791
Tor Krusell, Head of Communications, Altor, Tel +46 8 512 516 01, Mobile +46 705 43 87 47

About Altor
Since inception, the family of Altor funds has raised some EUR 8.3 billion in total commitments. The funds have invested in excess of EUR 5 billion in more than 75 companies. The investments have been made in medium sized predominantly Nordic companies with the aim to create value through growth initiatives and operational improvements. Among current and past investments are OX2, Sonion, PIAB, Ålö, Dynapac, Gunnebo, and Norican Group.

Author: Katarina Karlsson
Date: 2021.09.15
Categories: News

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Trackunit and ZTR come together to connect construction

HG Capital

LONDON, ON, MINNEAPOLIS, MN and AALBORG, DK – September 15, 2021 – Trackunit and the Industrial IoT division of ZTR are uniting to better serve the growing demands of the construction industry. Putting customer needs first, the two telematics leaders are combining their considerable resources to accelerate innovation and drive digital transformation — with collaboration and service at the centre of their strategy.

“We see the industry at a pivotal tipping point when it comes to digitalization of their business and equipment – and customers are looking for a trusted partner.”

Soeren Brogaard, CEO of Trackunit

“By combining ZTR IIoT and Trackunit resources and offerings, we’re better equipped to serve the needs of the customers now and in the future.”

Sam Hassan, President & CEO of ZTR

Strengthening our core focus
As a combined entity, Trackunit and the ZTR IIoT division will extend their core focus to accelerate the digital journey in construction, Hassan continues.

“By coming together with Trackunit, we will be able to operate on a global scale to provide an expanded offering to our customers with greater efficiency and depth,” he says.

“Together, we are strengthening our core focus on enabling the ecosystem of construction. By combining our businesses, we’re elevating our technology and increasing the value customers will be able to extract from their data”, adds Soeren Brogaard.

Over the past few years, the realm of IoT and telematics possibilities has evolved from simple track and trace technology into highly actionable insights that create massive value for the stakeholders of the construction industry.

After the transaction closes the combined entity of Trackunit and ZTR will specialize in creating offerings that enhance utilization, increase fleet availability, improve safety and reduce equipment loss as major value drivers. In addition, both companies will help customers in collecting data and translating it into actionable insights – enabling customers to build smarter and more resilient machines. Furthermore, the combined entity is dedicated to helping improve daily operations for customers with increased operator safety, machine health and business optimizations.

“Our promise to the industry is based on collaboration. With a purpose as determined and noble as eliminating downtime, we know that working with our customers to apply new digital tools, is absolutely necessary. We make ourselves useful and strive to solve real problems, building everything for scale, while showing compassion for our customers, partners, competitors, and the industry at large”, says Soeren Brogaard.

Best of both worlds
At their cores, both Trackunit and ZTR are in business to build solutions that propel the construction industry forward. Trackunit recently attracted a strategic investment from Hg, a leading global software and services investor, to accelerate the company expansion, while ZTR has been transforming its business, and predicts growth through rising demand. Both Trackunit and ZTR have recently taken their first steps into, and secured traction in, the APAC region. Both businesses are ready to start the next chapter – one company focused on uniting the industry and shape it to become the most useful industry for the world. In essence, the timing couldn’t be better.

“We’re focused on delivering our existing customer commitments and creating a smooth integration. This is all about bringing people, competence, and great technology together to create a bigger impact”, says Soeren Brogaard.

A shift in the market
The construction industry is growing rapidly. It is experiencing accelerated investment in IoT capabilities with construction now one of the top five industries for investment growth. As a result, data proliferation is expected to grow exponentially as penetration of connected equipment continues beyond 2025 and machine-level data grows. Given these developments, Trackunit and ZTR IIoT are teaming up to better help their customers meet the changes that come with increasing digitalization of the construction industry.

“ZTR and Trackunit together represent an incredible next step that will enable us to become a truly global player to better serve our customers. I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and take an active part in the executive team. I look forward to venturing out on this shared mission – one in which I have no doubt Soeren Brogaard will capably lead”, says Sam Hassan.

About Trackunit ApS
Trackunit is the leading SaaS-based IoT solution and machine insights provider to the global construction equipment industry. Trackunit collects and analyzes machine data in real-time to deliver actionable, proactive and predictive information, empowering customers with data-driven foresight.

Trackunit promises to lead the technology engagement to help eliminate downtime. The ambition of this mission is not only to recover from budget and schedule overruns, but also to re-establish the reputation of the industry for innovation and leadership.

From operator safety and machine health to business optimization, Trackunit’s industry-leading telematics software, hardware and fleet management services benefit the everyday operations of the customers worldwide. Trackunit services its customers directly from its headquarters in Denmark, Chicago, IL and Singapore, as well as through subsidiaries in Sweden, Norway, France, Holland, Germany, UK, Australia and Japan. Visit trackunit.com to learn more

About ZTR
ZTR is a global technology company that develops solutions for the compact construction industry. Known as a pioneer in the development industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the telematics provider delivers products and services that allow companies to remotely monitor and manage mobile as well as fixed assets.

Leading the industry in response to the need for richer machine data, greater uptime, and better insights, ZTR has designed new solutions that help Rental Companies, OEMs and end-users work together to operate smarter and easier. By listening and collaborating with its customers, ZTR takes on big industry challenges and opens pathways toward the continued digitalization of the construction sector.

ZTR Telematics Solutions easily integrate with industrial machinery and the business systems customers use every day so they can use the data to make decisions and react in real-time. With more than 450,000 telematics-enabled assets under contract, ZTR integrates with 150+ industrial Original Equipment Manufacturers, and many top rental houses worldwide.

The Rail division of ZTR will continue to operate independently. There will be no impact to its organization structure, customers or business operations as a result of this announcement. For more information visit www.ztr.com

Media contacts

Trackunit Aps
Laerke Ullerup
Chief Marketing Officer

Gasværksvej 24, 4.sal,
DK-9000 Aalborg

Tel: +45 53703033
LUL@trackunit.com

ZTR
Colleen Burghardt
Marketing Communications Manager

Industrial IoT Division
955 Green Valley Road
London, Ontario Canada
N6N 1E4

Tel: 1-519-452-1233 Ext.337
cburghardt@ztr.com

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HHAeXchange and healthcare investor Cressey & Company welcome strategic investment from software investor, Hg, to accelerate continued growth as the leading homecare management solution provider

HG Capital

Partnership builds on HHAeXchange’s exponential growth and enhances its ability to scale its best-in-class enterprise management and homecare workflow solutions.

New York, New York, USA & London, United Kingdom. 14 September 2021: HHAeXchange (“HHAX” or the “Company”), the leading provider of homecare management solutions for payers, providers, and state Medicaid agencies, announced today that it has secured a new investment from Hg, a leading global investor in software and services.

Cressey & Company LP (“Cressey”), a leading healthcare-focused private investment firm which first partnered with HHAX in 2018, will continue to be a significant investor in HHAX. Both investors will share joint governance of the business.

“We are proud to welcome Hg to the team for this next chapter of HHAeXchange’s continued success. With Hg’s track record of growing technology businesses and Cressey’s specialist background in the healthcare space, HHAeXchange is incredibly well-positioned to enhance our solution suite and expand our reach to meet the growing demand for home and community-based services.”

Greg Strobel, CEO of HHAeXchange

Founded in 2008, HHAX offers a comprehensive software as a service (SaaS) platform to its customers that improves patient outcomes, drives operational efficiency and increases compliance across the homecare ecosystem. Its solutions are delivered through subscription-based enterprise and mobile tools and facilitate over 125 million annual visits for 650,000 caregivers across more than 44 states. Today, HHAX has global offices across North America, Europe, and Asia.

“HHAX provides a best-in-class SaaS platform to the homecare industry, with a vital mission to enable high-quality care in home and community-based settings. We’re excited to partner with a stellar team at both HHAX and Cressey to advance the Company’s mission and support its continued growth.”

Nick Crowne, Principal at Hg

“Hg has a strong focus on healthcare technology, with HHAX being our sixth current healthcare technology business across Europe and North America and our second investment in the sector in just the last few weeks, meaning Hg will have invested well over $1.5bn in the sector globally. We look forward to bringing this experience to the table and are delighted to partner with Greg, as well as the entire HHAX and Cressey teams.”

David Issott, Partner at Hg

“We are thrilled to welcome Hg as our and HHAX’s new partner, as the Company continues executing on its strategic plan and strengthening its leadership position in the homecare sector,”

Dave Rogero, Partner at Cressey

The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. William Blair & Company advised HHAX and Cressey on the transaction. Lincoln International LLC were advisers to Hg.

 

Media Contacts:

HHAeXchange

Kaitlin Olcott

(631)-938-1479 x 5542

kolcott@hhaexchange.com

 

Cressey & Company

Chuck Dohrenwend / Will Braun

Abernathy MacGregor

212-371-5999

cod@abmac.com / whb@abmac.com

 

Hg

Tom Eckersley

Tom.Eckersley@hgcapital.com

+44 208 148 5401

Alex Yankus and Harry Mayfield (Brunswick, USA)

+1 917 818 5204

 

About HHAeXchange

Founded in 2008, HHAeXchange is the leading technology platform for homecare and self-direction program management. Developed specifically for Medicaid home and community-based services, the HHAeXchange platform connects state agencies, managed care payers, providers, and caregivers through its intuitive web-based platform, enabling unparalleled communication, transparency, efficiency, and compliance. For more information, visit hhaexchange.com.

 

About Cressey & Company LP

Based in Chicago, IL and Nashville, TN, Cressey & Company LP is a private investment firm focused on building leading healthcare services and information technology businesses. With a history spanning nearly 40 years, the Cressey & Company team is one of the most experienced and successful in the healthcare private equity field. For more information, visit cresseyco.com.

About Hg

Hg is a leading investor in software and services, focused on backing businesses that change how we all do business. Deep technology expertise, complemented by vertical application specialization and dedicated operational support, provides a compelling proposition to management teams looking to scale their businesses. Hg has funds under management of over $37 billion, with an investment team of over 140 professionals, plus a portfolio team of more than 35 operators, providing practical support to help our businesses to realise their growth ambitions. Based in London, Munich and New York, Hg has a portfolio of over 35 software and technology businesses, worth around $70 billion aggregate enterprise value, with over 55,000 employees globally, growing at over 20% per year. Visit www.hgcapital.com for more information.

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MERIT Completes $20 Million Series A Funding Round Led By L Catterton’s Growth Fund

LCatterton

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — MERIT, the minimalist beauty brand led by CEO Katherine Power, is announcing a $20 million Series A funding round led by the Growth Fund of L Catterton, the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm. Marcy Venture Partners and Sonoma Brands also participated in the round. The transaction underscores strong investor confidence in MERIT’s success and consumer interest in the simplification of beauty routines, and the investment will accelerate MERIT’s rapid expansion into an omni-channel, cross-category beauty brand.

MERIT launched as a minimalist beauty line in January 2021 with a “five-minute morning” color cosmetics assortment. Since then, the brand has experienced exponential growth, driving an innovative direct-to-consumer strategy alongside aggressive retail expansion, including into Sephora U.S., Sephora Canada, and Sephora at Kohl’s.

The brand has challenged conventional beauty marketing and product formulation since its inception, pioneering a curated routine focused on ease of use and a holistic approach to clean and responsible luxury at an accessible price point that encourages brand loyalty through repeat purchase. With this funding round, MERIT will continue to grow its color cosmetics collection and expand into new categories. Additionally, L Catterton Vice President Courtney Nelson is joining MERIT’s Board of Directors.

“Our customer is a discerning individual who is selective about the brands and products they welcome into their life. At MERIT, we aim to serve our consumer in many aspects of their beauty and self-care routines,” says MERIT founder and CEO Katherine Power. “Our team is looking forward to collaborating with L Catterton and our other partners as we leverage their collective expertise scaling consumer brands to support the development of new products within and beyond clean color.”

This is Power’s fourth digitally native and data-informed brand serving millennial consumers. She previously founded media property Who What Wear, skincare brand Versed, and co-founded the natural wine label Avaline alongside Cameron Diaz.

MERIT has demonstrated an impressive track record in the beauty industry since its launch, and L Catterton looks forward to supporting the Company as it capitalizes on the growing color cosmetics category, expands into additional key growth categories, and becomes a defining example of a true modern lifestyle brand.

L Catterton has significant experience investing globally in the beauty and personal care category. Current and past investments include TULA, IL MAKIAGE, Function of Beauty, The Honest Company, Intercos, Marubi, Elemis, and many others.

About MERIT

MERIT is the antidote to the oversaturated world of beauty — well-edited essentials that have earned a place on your vanity. By taking a holistic approach to responsible luxury, MERIT creates products that are safe for the body, skin and planet. We simplify what it means to get ready.

For more information visit meritbeauty.com and @MERIT on social media.

About L Catterton

With approximately $30 billion of equity capital across its fund strategies and 17 offices around the world, L Catterton is the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm. L Catterton’s team of nearly 200 investment and operating professionals partners with management teams around the world to implement strategic plans to foster growth, leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad partnership network. Since 1989, the firm has made over 250 investments in leading consumer brands. For more information about L Catterton, please visit lcatterton.com.

Contacts:

MERIT
Allison Dent
Sunshine Sachs
merit@sunshinesachs.com

L Catterton
Andi Rose / Haley Salas
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
+1 212-355-4449

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