Category Archives: News

KKR Completes Acquisition of Hitachi Transport System

KKR

TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Global investment firm KKR announced today that KKR has completed KKR’s acquisition of Hitachi Transport System Ltd. (“HTS” or the “Company”). KKR holds the shares of HTS through HTSK Co., Ltd. (“HTSK”), a special purpose entity which owns 100% of the shares with voting rights in HTS, and through HTSK Holdings Co., Ltd. (“HTSK Holdings”), a 100% parent and holding company of HTSK. KKR will work in strategic partnership with Hitachi Ltd. (“Hitachi”), which owns 10% of the shares with voting rights in HTSK Holdings and KKR owns the remaining 90% of the shares with voting rights.

HTSK acquired 100% of the shares with voting rights in HTS through a cash tender offer, the results of which were announced on November 30, 2022, a share consolidation that became effective on February 28, 2023, and a buyback by HTS of the shares held by Hitachi on March 1, 2023.

HTS will be renamed LOGISTEED, Ltd. (“LOGISTEED”) from April 1, 2023, a name that combines LOGISTICS with Exceed, Proceed, Succeed, and Speed, which represents the Company’s determination to grow its business into new areas beyond logistics. Also from April 1, 2023, HTSK Holdings and HTSK will change their names to LOGISTEED Holdings, Ltd., and LOGISTEED Group, Ltd., respectively.

LOGISTEED will build on HTS’ leading position in the third-party logistics (“3PL”) business in Japan. The Company provides supply chain solutions for customers who outsource logistics functions such as logistics system integration, inventory and order control, logistics center operations, factory logistics, and transportation and delivery services. It has a strong domestic 3PL business as well as an international business which includes a forwarding business and related 3PL business.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

KKR Media
Anita Davis
+852 3602 7335
Anita.Davis@kkr.com

Wei Jun Ong
+65 6922 5813
WeiJun.Ong@kkr.com

FGS Global (for KKR Japan)
Samuel Brustad
+81 70 3853 3284
Samuel.Brustad@fgsglobal.com

Source: KKR

Categories: News

EQT Active Core Infrastructure announces first investment to acquire Radius Global Infrastructure

eqt
  • Radius owns and acquires critical digital infrastructure properties globally
  • Transaction highlights EQT’s active ownership approach by acquiring an attractive, stable core infrastructure asset portfolio within a growing platform targeting a substantial market opportunity
  • EQT Active Core Infrastructure and PSP Investments to further accelerate Radius’ growth and future success

EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Active Core Infrastructure fund (“EQT Active Core Infrastructure”) together with Public Sector Pension Investment Board (“PSP”) has agreed to acquire Radius Global Infrastructure (“Radius” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:RADI). Under the terms of the agreement, Radius shareholders will receive $15.00 per share in cash in a transaction valued at a total enterprise value of approximately $3.0 billion.

Radius owns and acquires critical digital infrastructure, including ground, tower, rooftop and in-building cell sites, in over 20 countries across North and South America, Europe, and Australia. Radius’ portfolio of approximately 9,000 leases across nearly 7,000 sites serves more than 200 customers. The Company achieved $157.6 million in Annualized In-Place Rents as of the end of 2022.

We believe Radius is well positioned to benefit from the market’s growing need for critical digital infrastructure, accelerated by growing global mobile network data traffic, 5G densification of cell networks, IoT and new technologies. Radius’ sites serve as a critical element for cell tower and telecom companies and the Company is poised to benefit from these tailwinds while generating value for stakeholders within the value chain.

EQT and PSP will support the Company’s expansion efforts by leveraging their global scale and significant experience with digital infrastructure assets to expand Radius’ portfolio, including to new markets. Radius will be the first investment signed by EQT Active Core Infrastructure.

Alex Greenbaum, Partner within EQT Active Core Infrastructure’s Advisory Team, said, “Radius is one of the market leaders in the aggregation of digital infrastructure sites and we believe it will benefit from long-term tailwinds supported by growing demand for data. This acquisition aligns directly with EQT Active Core Infrastructure’s investment criteria and thematic approach to investing – Radius’ strong cash flows, sticky customer base, geographically diverse portfolio and inflation protection make the Company a strong fit for the fund. We look forward to partnering with the entire Radius team as they continue their strong growth trajectory.”

Bill Berkman, CEO of Radius, said, “This transaction is both an exciting next step for Radius and a great outcome for shareholders as it provides compelling value. We are excited to partner with EQT for the next phase of growth. EQT’s global presence and hands-on approach will enable Radius to accelerate origination activity and further invest in both geographic expansion and adjacent asset opportunities. With EQT and PSP’s support, we will continue to be a strong and collaborative partner for our tenants as we continue to grow Radius as the premier global aggregator and owner of digital infrastructure-oriented real property assets. I want to thank the incredible Radius team for their commitment and success in building the platform we have today.”

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, subject to customary conditions and approvals, as well as certain other conditions related to Radius’ indebtedness and available cash. The agreement to acquire Radius is the first transaction signed by EQT Active Core Infrastructure, which means that the fund has started charging management fees (which, in this fund, are based on net invested capital).

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial advisor and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as legal advisor to EQT Active Core Infrastructure. Evercore served as financial advisor and Weil, Gotshall & Manges LLP as legal advisor to PSP Investments.

Contact
US inquiries:
Stephanie Greengarten, +1 646 687 6810, stephanie.greengarten@eqtpartners.com

International inquiries:
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security, and may not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or solicitation. Any offer or solicitation in respect of EQT Future will be made only through a confidential private placement memorandum and related documents which will be furnished to qualified investors on a confidential basis in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The information contained herein is not for publication or distribution to persons in the United States of America. Any securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold without registration thereunder or pursuant to an available exemption therefrom. Any offering of securities to be made in the United States would have to be made by means of an offering document that would be obtainable from the issuer or its agents and would contain detailed information about the issuer of the securities and its management, as well as financial information. The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or constitute a solicitation of any vote or approval.

In connection with the proposed transaction, Radius will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a proxy statement on Schedule 14A. Promptly after filing its definitive proxy statement with the SEC, Radius intends to mail the definitive proxy statement and a proxy card to each shareholder entitled to vote at the special meeting relating to the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF RADIUS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ALL AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement and other documents containing important information about the Company once such documents are filed with the SEC, through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. The proxy statement and other documents (when available) can also be obtained free of charge from Radius by directing a request to Radius’ Investor Relations at investorrelations@radiusglobal.com or by calling 1-484-278-2667.

PARTICIPANTS IN SOLICITATION

Radius and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Radius’ shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of Radius is set forth in Radius’ SEC filings and on Radius’ website. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the proxy statement and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND DISCLAIMERS

Certain matters discussed in this press release, including the attachments, contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) that are subject to risks and uncertainties. For these statements, EQT claims the protections of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in such Sections. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of Radius’ business, financial condition, liquidity, capital expenditures, results of operations, plans and objectives, macroeconomic conditions and EQT’s proposed transaction with Radius and PSP. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “outlook,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “may”, “will,” or similar expressions, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology.

Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and are based on beliefs, assumptions and expectations based upon Radius’ historical performance and on Radius’ current plans, estimates and expectations in light of information available to Radius. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Except as required by law EQT is not obligated to, and does not intend to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and assumptions relating to Radius’ operations, financial results, financial condition, business, prospects, growth strategy and liquidity. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.

Certain important factors could cause Radius’ actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements are summarized below. Other factors besides those summarized could also adversely affect Radius. Radius operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risks and uncertainties or how they may affect Radius. In addition, Radius cannot assess the impact of each factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

Important other factors that could cause Radius’ actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: EQT’s proposed transaction with Radius and PSP may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, including the risk that any required antitrust and foreign direct investment approvals are not obtained, are delayed or are subject to unanticipated conditions that could adversely affect Radius’ or the expected benefits of the proposed transaction or that the approval of Radius’ shareholders is not obtained; the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction; the possibility that any or all of the various conditions to the consummation of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied or waived, including the failure to receive any required antitrust and foreign direct investment approvals from any applicable governmental entities (or any conditions, limitations or restrictions placed on such approvals) and to satisfy conditions related to there being no event of default under certain of Radius’ existing debt facilities and Radius having a specified minimum cash balance at closing; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the proposed transaction, including in circumstances that would require Radius to pay a termination fee or other expenses; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the proposed transaction on Radius’ ability to retain and hire key personnel, Radius’ ability to maintain the relationships with its customers, suppliers and others with whom it does business, or its operating results and business generally; risks related to diverting management’s attention from Radius’ ongoing business operations; the risk that shareholder litigation in connection with the proposed transaction may result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; the extent that wireless carriers (mobile network operators, or “MNOs”) or tower companies consolidate their operations, exit the wireless communications business or share site infrastructure to a significant degree; the extent that new technologies reduce demand for wireless infrastructure; competition for assets; whether the tenant leases for the wireless communication tower, antennae or other digital communications infrastructure located on Radius’ real property interests are renewed with similar rates or at all; the extent of unexpected lease cancellations, given that most of the tenant leases associated with Radius’ assets may be terminated upon limited notice by the MNO or tower company and unexpected lease cancellations could materially impact cash flow from operations; economic, political, cultural, and regulatory risks and other risks to Radius’ operations outside the U.S., including risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and local inflation rates; the effect of the Electronic Communications Code in the United Kingdom, which may limit the amount of lease income Radius generates in the United Kingdom; the extent that Radius continues to grow at an accelerated rate, which may prevent Radius from achieving profitability or positive cash flow at a company level (as determined in accordance with GAAP) for the foreseeable future, particularly given Radius’ history of net losses and negative net cash flow; the fact that Radius has incurred a significant amount of debt and may in the future incur additional indebtedness; the extent that the terms of Radius’ debt agreements limit its flexibility in operating its business; and the other factors, risks and uncertainties described in Radius’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and in its subsequent filings under the Exchange Act.

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 113 billion in assets under management within two business segments – Private Capital and Real Assets. EQT owns portfolio companies and assets in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas and supports them in achieving sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

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

About PSP Investments
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) is one of Canada’s largest pension investment managers with $230.5 billion of net assets under management as at March 31, 2022. It manages a diversified global portfolio composed of investments in capital markets, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources and credit investments. Established in 1999, PSP Investments manages and invests amounts transferred to it by the Government of Canada for the pension plans of the federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. Headquartered in Ottawa, PSP Investments has its principal business office in Montréal and offices in New York, London and Hong Kong.

For more information, visit www.investpsp.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

About Radius Global Infrastructure
Radius Global Infrastructure, Inc., through its various subsidiaries, is a multinational owner and acquiror of triple net rental streams and real properties leased to wireless operators, wired operators, wireless tower companies, and other digital infrastructure operators as part of their infrastructure required to deliver a wide range of services.

More info: www.radiusglobal.com/

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Reward Gateway acquires Fond – Castic Capital

Castik Capital

Acquisition strengthens HR tech leader’s offering in global employee engagement.

Reward Gateway, a global HR technology and employee engagement company, today announced they have acquired Fond, a leading U.S. provider of employee recognition, rewards and perks. This follows Abry Partners’ and Castik Capital’s recent acquisitions of Reward Gateway, Xexec and MoveSpring.

Nick Burns, CEO of Reward Gateway said:
“With continued investment and support from Abry Partners and Castik Capital, we are thrilled to welcome Fond to Reward Gateway. We remain laser focused on advancing the employee experiences that drive engagement, wellbeing and performance. Fond is a welcome addition to our mission to make the world a better place to work.”

Taro Fukuyama, CEO of Fond, said:
“Fond has been on an incredible journey since 2012 when we first started helping companies build places where employees love to work. Joining Reward Gateway and Xexec under the Abry Partners and Castik Capital umbrella is an incredible opportunity to further advance our mission on a global scale.”

About Fond

Fond is a U.S. rewards and recognition platform that helps companies build a happier workforce with an easy-to-use, simplified solution. Our software offers a customizable employee recognition program with monetary and non-monetary rewards that’s fully scalable for your organization. Enterprise customers include Salesforce, Weight Watchers, and MAPCO.

About Reward Gateway

Reward Gateway helps companies engage, motivate and retain people – every day, all over the world. Partnering with over 4,000 companies in 23 countries, we empower more than 6.5 million employees to connect, appreciate and support one another to make the world a better place to work. Our unified employee engagement hub provides the best of recognition, reward, wellbeing, surveys, benefits and discounts that support talent acquisition, retention and values-driven growth. Clients include American Express, Unilever, Samsung, IBM, McDonald’s and more.

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Clearlake and Motive-backed software platform BETANXT expands capabilities, growth opportunities with acquisition of Mediant Communications

Clearlake

Transaction builds on firm’s end-to-end wealth solutions software platform, adds investor communications and proxy solutions

 

New York, NY – March 1, 2023 – BetaNXT, a provider of wealth management infrastructure software with real-time data capabilities and an enhanced advisor experience, today announced that certain affiliates of BetaNXT have acquired Mediant Communications (“Mediant”), a provider of investor communications technology and technology-enabled solutions to banks, brokers, corporations, funds, and investment managers. The acquisition augments BetaNXT’s suite of wealth management solutions, expanding BetaNXT into investor communications through Mediant’s digital-forward communications capabilities, industry experience and reliability.

 

“Adding Mediant to the BetaNXT platform enhances our ability to be a trusted partner for companies looking to integrate communications into their wealth management platforms. We are now able to offer an additional functionality that will benefit our clients and allow their operations to be more connected,” said Stephen C. Daffron, BetaNXT Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

 

Backed by Clearlake Capital and Motive Partners, BetaNXT brings together proven wealth management solutions – Beta, Maxit, and now Mediant – into a single, integrated platform. The BetaNXT approach to improving the advisor experience combines intelligent, user-centric technology with notable industry perspective, and a robust partner network. With an operating history of over 40 years, the firm supports more than 50 million retail accounts, has more than $6 trillion of assets on the platform, and processes more than 35 million securities-related transactions daily.

 

“BetaNXT’s culture, vision, and client base made the combination an intriguing opportunity for Mediant’s next phase of growth. We look forward to working alongside the BetaNXT team to grow our combined company together and better serve our clients,” stated Arthur Rosenzweig, Mediant Communications CEO.

 

BetaNXT will incorporate Mediant’s technology to digitize and incorporate the investor communications process into its broader suite of software solutions, which includes real-time data capabilities, cost basis and tax reporting solutions, and front, middle and back-office applications. The integration will result in a more complete, holistic solution for wealth management firms, allowing for additional cost savings and a more streamlined communications process that will benefit investors.

 

“We are focused on providing critical data connections for our clients, with visibility into the source and destination of all data that flows through our wealth solutions,” said Tim Rutka,

President of Beta by BetaNXT.  “Incorporating Mediant’s capabilities will provide tremendous value to our mutual client networks.”

 

BetaNXT was advised by Sidley Austin LLP. Mediant was advised by Ardea Partners LP and Morgan, Lewis & Bocklus LLP.

 

 

About BetaNXT

BetaNXT powers the future of connected wealth management infrastructure software, leveraging real-time data capabilities to enhance the wealth advisor experience. Combining industry expertise with the power of our proven Beta, Maxit, and Mediant businesses, we are focused on solving our customers most demanding integration challenges with flexible, efficient, connected solutions that anticipate their changing needs. Our comprehensive approach reduces enterprise cost, streamlines operations processes, increases advisor productivity, and enhances the investor experience. Together with BetaNXT, wealth management firms are transforming their platforms into differentiating assets that enable enterprise scale and stimulate commercial growth. For more information visit www.betanxt.com.

 

About Mediant Communications

Mediant, an Argentum Portfolio Company, delivers investor communications solutions to banks, brokers, corporate issuers, and funds. Our solutions are driven by leading technology and strict compliance with industry regulations, which allows clients to balance innovation with requirements. We enable banks and brokers to effectively manage all potential touchpoints within the investor communications lifecycle—from proxy statements and prospectuses to voluntary corporate actions. We provide corporate issuers with turnkey proxy processing, and we empower mutual funds, REITs and insurance companies with a full-service, end-to-end proxy solution.

 

 

About Clearlake

Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is an investment firm founded in 2006 operating integrated businesses across private equity, credit, and other related strategies. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with management teams by providing patient, long-term capital to businesses that can benefit from Clearlake’s operational improvement approach, O.P.S.®. The firm’s core target sectors are technology, industrials, and consumer. Clearlake currently has over $70 billion of assets under management, and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 400 investments. The firm is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA with affiliates in Dallas, TX, London, UK and Dublin, Ireland. More information is available at www.clearlake.com and on Twitter @Clearlake.

 

About Motive

Motive Partners is a specialist private equity firm with offices in New York City and London, focusing on growth equity and buyout investments in technology-enabled financial and business services companies based in North America and Europe and serving five primary subsectors: Banking & Payments, Capital Markets, Data & Analytics, Investment Management and Insurance. Motive Partners brings differentiated expertise, connectivity, and capabilities to create long-term value in financial technology companies through its integrated I-O-I approach, combining Investors, Operators and Innovators as it seeks to create value within the portfolio. More information on Motive Partners can be found at www.motivepartners.com.

 

 

U.S. Media Relations

For news media only, contact:

For BetaNXT

 

Laura Barger                                                                         Justin Meise                                     

BetaNXT                                                                                 Buttonwood Communications Group

+1 646-706-5802                                                                    +1-914-319-0339

laura.barger@betanxt.com                                                     jmeise@buttonwoodpr.com

 

 

For Mediant

 

Robin Brown                                                                      Dana Taormina Cleary

Mediant                                                                                   JConnelly

+1-917-697-2122                                                                    +1-973-647-4626

rbrown@mediant.com                                                            dtaormina@jconnelly.com

 

 

For Clearlake

 

Jennifer Hurson

Clearlake Capital Group Media Contact – Lambert

+1 845-507-0571

jhurson@lambert.com

 

 

For Motive Partners

 

Sam Tidswell-Norrish

Motive Partners

+44 7855 910178

sam@motivepartners.com

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amasol eyes further growth with FIELDS Group

Fields Group

Munich, 01st March 2023 – FIELDS Group is pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority interest in the amasol Group (“amasol”), as per 28th February 2023. amasol is a leading IT Managed Service Provider in the DACH region specializing in Observability and Service Level Management of mission-critical IT infrastructure. The aim of the partnership is to further accelerate the already initiated internationalization and to grow amasol into a leading provider in Europe.

“We are delighted to have found a partner in FIELDS Group that shares our vision of modern IT management,” says Frank Jahn, Managing Director (CSO) at amasol. “With FIELDS, we now want to take what we have achieved so far to a new level by e.g. further internationalizing our business in order to serve our existing and new customers even better.”

“Together with FIELDS, we have prioritized three goals,” said Stefan Deml, Managing Director (CTO) of amasol. “First, we will continue to expand customized services together with our proven software partners. Observability as a managed service – both on premise and in the cloud. In addition, we will accelerate the successful marketing of “Service Level Management, made by amasol” – our proprietary development. Thirdly, we want to meet the internationalization of our customers even better in the future in organizational terms,” explains Stefan Deml.

“From the beginning of the discussions, we were intrigued by amasol’s achievements to date and reputation,” says Rutger Alberink, Partner at FIELDS. “We look forward to supporting the staff and management team in growing amasol into the leading Managed Service Provider for Observability in Europe.”

André Reitz, Investment Manager at FIELDS, adds: “We are particularly looking forward to realizing even greater added value for customers together with the existing management in the future while at the same time creating an attractive environment and growth opportunities for new talents.”

About amasol

amasol GmbH with offices in Munich, Vienna & Delhi was founded in 1999 and is specialized in Observability, Application Performance Monitoring, Artificial Intelligent Operations (AIOps) und Service Level Agreement (SLA) Management. The company has 80 employees and services middle & large companies in amongst others the automotive, finance, insurance, healthcare and telecom industries – half of the DAX companies and well-known IT service providers are among their customers. The company has built up strategic partnerships with companies like Broadcom, Dynatrace, LogicMonitor, Riverbed and Splunk.

www.amasol.de

About FIELDS Group

FIELDS Group is an entrepreneurial hands-on investor focused on developing companies with potential. FIELDS Group invests in companies with headquarters in Benelux and the DACH region and realizes true transformations with its team.

www.fields.nl

Contact for press:

Rutger Alberink, FIELDS Group: +31 6 11490914, r.alberink@fields.nl

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Responda Group acquires Personlig Svarsservice AB and strengthens its customer service offering

IK Partners

Responda Group, a leading Swedish supplier of customer service, announced today that they have signed an agreement to acquire Personlig svarsservice AB and are thus further strengthening its offering towards the small to medium-sized enterprise segment. The acquisition is part of Responda Group’s strategy to expand its offering and further strengthen its capacity as the leading provider of outsourced customer service.
– “We are very pleased to welcome Personlig svarsservice as part of Responda Group. This acquisition is a part of our growth journey, as it will further strengthen our customer service offerings to small and medium sized clients” says Joakim Ögren, CEO Responda Group.
– “We are very happy that Personlig svarsservice is becoming part of Responda Group. They share our commitment and focus on providing excellent customer service. As a part of Responda Group, the business will be able to grow further to reach new levels” says Richard Ahnell and Niklas Berg owners and founders of Personlig svarsservice AB.

About Responda Group

Responda Group is a leading Swedish customer service provider. Our 250 employees handle more than 20 000 customer contacts daily – for more than 2,500 clients. Our passion is to provide value-added customer experiences and strengthen relations through innovative, effective, and qualitative customer service. Responda Group was founded in 1992 and has a yearly turnover of about 120 MSEK with good profitability. The company has operations in Stockholm, Eskilstuna, Kalix and Haparanda. For more information, visit www.respondagroup.se

About Personlig svarsservice AB

Personlig svarsservice offers increased availability for businesses with telephone services, webchat and appointment booking services. Our ambition is to always be at the forefront in customer service solutions and professional interactions for our clients. By increasing the availability of telephone and web services, we increase their level of customer service and the profitability of their operations. The business segment answering services were launched in 2004 and was at that point a part of the sister company GCM. In 2013 Personlig svarsservice was founded as an individual company. The company is today located in Stockholm (Bromma/Mariehäll). For more information visit www.personligsvarsservice.se

Categories: News

Bridgepoint takes majority stake in Equativ

Bridgepoint

Bridgepoint has acquired a majority stake in Equativ, the leading independent ad platform, who it will support in developing the only independent advertising alternative to GAFAM, supporting the Open Web.

Following record growth in 2022, Equativ reached net recurring revenues of $100 million, achieving year-on-year organic growth of 30% and tripling its revenues over the past three years. This partnership with Bridgepoint will accelerate Equativ’s mission: to help publishers and advertisers thrive in an open, independent Web and compete with the dominant – but increasingly vulnerable – walled gardens.

Equativ will benefit from Bridgepoint’s expertise in fast-growing tech companies and extended financial capabilities to amplify its growth across core markets (particularly the United States, which already represents 40% of revenues). Thus, Equativ will keep building its expanding tech stack and strongly accelerate both its organic and external growth strategies. The goal is to create one of the top three Supply Side Platforms (SSP) worldwide.

Founded initially as Smart AdServer, the company expanded as an SSP and continued to grow its vertically-integrated solutions with the acquisitions of LiquidM and DynAdmic, as well as investment in Nowtilus – all leading up to the rebrand of the company as Equativ in 2022. The company is now a global and complete adserver, SSP, and media buying solutions providing a simpler, more transparent, and more efficient advertising journey. Equativ fulfills the promise of advertising technology by harmonizing market interests to benefit industry professionals while respecting consumers.

In 2023, Equativ will continue to innovate, streamlining digital media processes and powering advancements that bolster addressable advertising’s impact. Key among the company’s priorities are maintaining and reinforcing the company’s growth in the CTV and video market – which will reach more than $40 billion in revenues in the US in 2025* – as well as enabling greater data activation in the retail media space.

Arnaud Créput, CEO and Founder of Equativ comments: “After three consecutive years of strong growth, our partnership with Bridgepoint is a key milestone in Equativ’s history as the digital advertising industry continues to rapidly transform. Our vertically integrated platform is now uniquely positioned to offer publishers and advertisers around the world the ability to execute advertising transactions directly and efficiently, without intermediaries, in a brand-safe and transparent environment. This new chapter with Bridgepoint validates our strategy and positioning and will help to provide additional resources to accelerate our investments and achieve our ambitions.”

Olivier Nemsguern, Head of Bridgepoint Development Capital France comments: “Even amid global economic instability, Equativ’s consistent success demonstrates the considerable and accelerating need for independent technology. We have been especially impressed by its emphasis on fuelling mutual gains for all sides of ad trading and providing greater flexibility, which are becoming crucial market priorities as advertisers, agencies and publishers look to optimize returns and revenues. In that perspective, we look forward to working with the Management as we are convinced that we can bring a lot to Equativ through our international platform, our expertise in buy-and-build and our understanding of the adtech universe. Offering an alternative route to efficient advertising outside of walled gardens, Equativ is aligned with what global markets want and need in this fast-paced industry.”

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Investcorp Raises Over $1.2 Billion for Inaugural North America Private Equity Fund

Investcorp

Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, today announced the final closing of Investcorp North American Private Equity Fund I, L.P. (“Fund I” or “the Fund”), which focuses on control buy-out investments in middle market services businesses in North America. Fund I closed at over $1.2 billion in capital commitments from blue-chip institutional investors, including pension plans, family offices, private wealth funds and an insurance company across North America, Europe and the Gulf region.

Fund I currently has a strong portfolio of seven investments in companies across the strategy’s core business services verticals, which align with the team’s deep domain knowledge and expertise. The investment strategy is focused on family- and founder-owned business across six subsectors including: tech-enabled, knowledge & professional, data & information, supply chain, industry and specialty consumer services. Investcorp targets companies that demonstrate resilience while also being well-positioned for market growth through multiple value creation levers.

“We have a long and established history of investing in North America mid-market services companies, and we look forward to continuing to broaden and deepen our institutional investor base as this strategy continues to scale,” said Mohammed Alardhi, Executive Chairman, Investcorp. “We are grateful for the trust that our institutional investors have placed in us during this time of greater uncertainty and a more challenging capital raising environment.”

“We are extremely thankful for the support we received from institutional investors in Fund I and remain highly focused on executing our strategy to identify and capitalize on consistent, high quality investment opportunities in this and future funds. We are excited about the potential growth and value creation opportunities presented by Fund I’s existing portfolio companies and our robust pipeline of potential new investments,” added Dave Tayeh, Head of Private Equity, North America.

“We are delighted for our North American PE team reaching this important milestone and look forward to continuing our long history of forging strong partnerships with our investors and delivering quality investment opportunities as our capital base continues to grow and diversify,” said Laura Coquis, Global Head of Institutional Capital Raising.

Investcorp’s North America Private Equity group has been investing in North American mid-market businesses for over 40 years and has completed approximately 70 transactions, deploying more than $22 billion in transaction value since inception.

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IK Partners to invest in Responda Group

IK Partners

IK Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap III Fund has signed an agreement to invest in Responda Group (“the Group”), a leading provider of business process outsourcing (“BPO”) services to small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) in Sweden. IK is investing from its dedicated pool of Development Capital and is acquiring its stake from the founding management team who will be reinvesting alongside IK. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Responda AB was founded in 2008 by Joakim Ögren and Magnus Johannessen and later became Responda Group as a result of the acquisition of Kalix Tele24 in 2021. Both companies have an established track record in the industry and its core offering is centred around managing organisations’ customer service through an omnichannel approach consisting of phone, email, online chat and social media.

The Group has 250 employees who are spread across four offices and serve a diversified customer base of approximately 2,500 companies within the private and public sectors. Under the existing management team, the Group has gone from strength to strength and with the support of IK, it hopes to: further broaden its offering for existing customers; continue gaining market share in the SME segment through an enhanced go-to-market strategy; and drive consolidation in the market via strategic add-ons.

Joakim Ögren, Co-Founder and CEO of Responda Group, said: “We strongly feel that a partnership between Responda Group and IK Partners will help us further develop and achieve growth through the pursuit of a successful M&A strategy. Since inception, we have made considerable progress in our field and are proud to have become an industry-leading service provider trusted by highly successful companies in Sweden. We look forward to working with the team at IK and are excited to see where this partnership will take us.”

Carl Jakobsson, Director at IK Partners and Advisor to the IK Small Cap III Fund, said: “Responda Group is Sweden’s market leader in the inbound contact centre services market for SMEs and has great potential for future growth. We are well-positioned to help Responda Group deliver a targeted buy-and-build strategy and to use our extensive network in the Nordic region to support any future geographic expansion. We have been impressed by the Group’s journey to date and look forward to working with the team at Responda Group to help them realise their ambitions.”
Completion of the transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approvals.

About IK Partners
IK Partners (“IK”) is a European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €14 billion of capital and invested in over 170 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikpartners.com

About Responda Group
Founded in 2008 in Stockholm, Responda Group is a provider of customer service for Swedish companies. Its range of services includes everything from temporary telephone fitting to overall responsibility for switchboard and customer service. Its services are fully adapted to the customer’s needs and allows the customer to focus on their core business and be confident in the knowledge that the company is represented in an exemplary way. High quality and customer-friendly partnerships are central to the strategy of the business. https://respondagroup.se/

For further questions, please contact:
IK Partners
Vidya Verlkumar Phone: +44 (0) 7787 558 193 vidya.verlkumar@ikpartners.com

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PhonePe raises growth funds at a $12 billion valuation, led by General Atlantic

  • Funding is expected to enable next wave of growth for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and build digital financial services for Indians at scale
  • Announcement follows PhonePe’s recent separation from Flipkart and change of domicile to India

Bengaluru, India and New York, NY – January 19, 2023 – PhonePe, one of India’s largest fintech platforms, today announced it has raised $350 million in funding from General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. Marquee Global and Indian investors are also participating in the round. The investment marks the first tranche of an up to $1 billion total fundraise that commenced in January 2023. The fundraise follows PhonePe’s recently announced change of domicile to India and full separation from Flipkart.

PhonePe plans to deploy the new funds to make significant investments in infrastructure, including the development of data centers and help build financial services offerings at scale in the country. The company also plans to invest in new businesses, including Insurance, Wealth Management, and Lending. The fundraise is expected to support PhonePe as it seeks to turbo-charge the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India, including UPI lite and Credit on UPI to enable greater financial inclusion for Indians.

Founded in December 2015, PhonePe has become a home-grown success story, with the company’s significant expansion powered by India’s emerging digital ecosystem. By building products and offerings tailored for the Indian market, PhonePe today has over 400 million registered users, meaning that more than one in four Indians are on PhonePe. The company has also successfully digitized over 35 million offline merchants spread across Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities and beyond, covering 99% of pin codes in the country.

“I would like to thank General Atlantic and all our existing and new investors for the trust they have placed in us. PhonePe is proud to help lead India’s country-wide digitization efforts and believes that this powerful public-private collaboration has made the Indian digital ecosystem a global exemplar. We are an Indian company, built by Indians, and our latest fundraise will help us further accelerate the Government of India’s vision of digital financial inclusion for all,” said Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO at PhonePe. “We look forward to delivering the next phase of our growth by investing in new business verticals like Insurance, Wealth Management and Lending, while also facilitating the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India.’’

“Sameer, Rahul and the PhonePe management team have pursued a clear mission to drive payments digitalization and significantly broaden access to financial tools for the people of India. They remain focused on driving adoption of inclusive products developed on the open API based ‘India stack.’ This vision is aligned with General Atlantic’s longstanding commitment to backing high-growth businesses focused on inclusion and empowerment,” said Shantanu Rastogi, Managing Director and Head of India at General Atlantic. “We are excited to partner with the PhonePe team to help enable the next generation of digital innovation in India.”

PhonePe also recently announced a full separation from the Flipkart Group. After a partial separation from Flipkart in December 2020, a number of Flipkart shareholders, led by Walmart, acquired shares in the recent separation. This move will allow both companies to chart their own growth paths, build their businesses independently, and help unlock and maximize enterprise value for shareholders of the two companies.

About PhonePe

PhonePe was founded in December 2015, and has emerged as India’s largest payments app, enabling digital inclusion for consumers and merchants alike. With 43.5 crore (435+ Million) registered users, one in four Indians are now on PhonePe. The company has also successfully digitized ~3.5 crore (~35 Million) offline merchants spread across Tier 2,3,4 and beyond, covering 99% pin codes in the country. PhonePe is also the leader in Bharat Bill Pay System (BBPS), processing over 45% of the transactions on the BBPS platform. PhonePe forayed into financial services in 2017, providing users with safe and convenient investing options on its platform. Since then, the company has introduced several Mutual Funds and Insurance products that offer every Indian an equal opportunity to unlock the flow of money and access to services. PhonePe was recently recognized as the Most Trusted Brand for Digital Payments as per the Brand Trust Report 2022 by Trust Research Advisory (TRA).

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 445 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 $73 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of September 30, 2022, and more than 215 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Stamford and Tel Aviv. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

 

Media Contacts

Priya Patankar
PhonePe +91 9886675772 priya.patankar@phonepe.com

Emily Japlon & Gurion Kastenberg
General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com

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