Category Archives: News

SunPower Secures $550M Loan Purchase Commitment From KKR

KKR

RICHMOND, Calif., May 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR), a leading residential solar technology and energy services provider, and KKR (NYSE: KKR), a leading global investment firm, today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which credit funds and accounts managed by KKR will commit to purchasing $550 million of solar energy loans made to SunPower customers.  This transaction, which is subject to customary post-closing conditions, will support SunPower Financial’s continued ability to offer attractive loan options to its customers.

“With the closing of this transaction, we have raised sufficient capital year-to-date to fund a total of $1 billion of incremental solar loans for SunPower’s customers.  As demand continues to rise, we expect this additional capital will power our loan bookings volume into 2024 and enable SunPower to increase access to the benefits of solar for more homeowners” said Guthrie Dundas, interim CFO of SunPower.

“Residential solar is a key area of focus for our Asset-Based Finance business,” said Avi Korn, Managing Director at KKR. “We look forward to supporting one of the industry’s leading platforms to provide solar and energy services through this transaction.”

SunPower launched SunPower Financial™ in 2021 to help make switching to solar even easier. With SunPower Financial, SunPower offers a seamless solution for purchasing solar and other home energy services through a single provider, including design, sales, installation, warranty and financing. In 2022, SunPower’s loan business grew 99% year-over-year.

About SunPower  
SunPower is a leading solar and energy services provider in North America. SunPower offers solar + storage solutions designed and warranted by one company that give customers control over electricity consumption and resiliency during power outages while providing cost savings. For more information, visit www.sunpower.com.

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.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding expected business plans, customer financing offerings and capabilities, expected demand and our ability to meet it, and cost savings. These forward-looking statements are based on our current assumptions, expectations, and beliefs and involve substantial risks and uncertainties that may cause results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, regulatory changes and the availability of economic incentives promoting use of solar energy and fluctuations or declines in the performance of our solar panels and other products and solutions. A detailed discussion of these factors and other risks that affect our business is included in filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from time to time, including our most recent report on Form 10-K, particularly under the heading “Risk Factors.” Copies of these filings are available online from the SEC or on the SEC Filings section of our Investor Relations website at investors.sunpowercorp.com. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information currently available to us, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.

SOURCE SunPower Corp.

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KKR to Acquire CoolIT Systems

KKR

Investment to Support Company’s Growth as Demand for Energy-Efficient Data Center Cooling Grows

CALGARY, Alberta & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, and CoolIT Systems (“CoolIT” or the “Company”), a leading provider of scalable liquid cooling solutions for the world’s most demanding computing environments, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which KKR will acquire CoolIT. The investment will support the Company’s ability to scale and serve its global customers across the data center market, including the enterprise, high-performance computing, and cloud service provider segments as well as in desktop computing.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230502006157/en/

Founded in 2001, CoolIT designs, engineers and manufactures advanced liquid cooling solutions for the data center and desktop markets. CoolIT’s patented Split-Flow Direct Liquid Cooling technology is designed to improve equipment reliability and lifespan, decrease operating cost, lower energy demand and carbon emissions, reduce water consumption and allow for higher server density than legacy air-cooling methods.

“Our business has evolved tremendously over the past few years and today we are proud to be one of the most trusted providers of liquid cooling solutions to the global data center market,” said Steve Walton, Chief Executive Officer of CoolIT. “KKR shares our perspective on the significant opportunity ahead for liquid cooling. Having access to KKR’s expertise, capital and resources will put us in an even better position to keep scaling, innovating and delivering for our customers.”

Kyle Matter, Managing Director and Head of KKR’s Global Impact team in North America, said, “Increasing data and computing needs are on a collision course with sustainability considerations – the data center industry is expected to consume 8% of the world’s energy by 2030.1 As a firm, we have committed more than $17 billion to digital infrastructure since 2011 and deeply appreciate the mission critical role that it plays in enabling our economy. We also recognize that as a society, we are grappling with the enormous energy usage and related environmental impacts that are only expected to accelerate with the rise of AI and other high performance applications. We believe that liquid cooling has a critical role to play in helping to reduce the emissions footprint of our digital economy and we are thrilled to back CoolIT, a leader in this space.”

Evan Kaufman, Director at KKR, added, “By combining our manufacturing and decarbonization expertise with CoolIT’s track record of product innovation, we expect to further scale its best-in-class direct liquid cooling solution to meet the anticipated demand for higher density, more energy efficient data centers. Importantly, we look forward to working with Steve and the entire CoolIT management team to invest additional capital and resources into expanding its cooling solutions across new applications, customers and end markets.”

As part of this transaction, CoolIT will expand its equity ownership program to make all employees owners of the Company. This strategy is based on the belief that employee engagement is a key driver in building stronger companies. Since 2011, KKR portfolio companies have awarded billions of dollars of total equity value to over 50,000 non-management employees across nearly 30 companies.

KKR is investing in CoolIT through its Global Impact strategy, which is focused on identifying and investing behind opportunities where financial performance and societal impact are intrinsically aligned. Specifically, the strategy focuses on investing in companies that contribute measurable progress toward one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”). CoolIT directly supports SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and 13 (Climate Action).

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

About CoolIT Systems

CoolIT Systems specializes in scalable liquid cooling solutions for the world’s most demanding computing environments. In the enterprise data center and high performance computing markets, CoolIT partners with global leaders in OEM server design to develop efficient and reliable liquid cooling solutions for their own leading-edge products. In the desktop enthusiast market, CoolIT provides unparalleled performance for a range of gaming systems. Through its modular, Direct Liquid Cooling technology, Rack DLC™, CoolIT enables dramatic increases in rack densities, component performance and power efficiencies. Together, CoolIT and its partners are leading the way for widespread adoption of advanced cooling technology. For additional information on CoolIT Systems, please visit CoolIT’s website at www.coolitsystems.com and on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/coolit-systems-inc-.

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.

________________________________
1 “On Global Electricity Usage of Communication Technology: Trends to 2030,” Challenges, 2015.

Media:
For CoolIT:
Brandon Peterson, SVP Product and Caroline Penrose, Director, Business Development
403-235-4895
media@coolitsystems.com

For KKR:
Julia Kosygina and Emily Cummings
212-750-8300
media@kkr.com

Source: KKR

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Woven Capital, Nvidia back Foretellix’s autonomous vehicle validation tech

83North logo

Foretellix

Startups working on driverless cars fully may no longer attract the kind of nine-figure acquisition or funding offers that were prevalent just a few years ago. But there are still pockets within the broader automated vehicle technology sector that have captured the interest and investment of strategic investors.

“We’re looking for solutions that can integrate into our own tool stack,” Betty Bryant, a principal at Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth fund, told TechCrunch. “So a company that can provide a menu of options or just provide a specific piece of the stack, instead of a full stack company,” which Bryant says is “not really an attractive model or solution for OEMs anymore.”

One such company Woven has strategically invested in is Foretellix, an Israeli startup that gives other companies the tools to verify  autonomous vehicle technology at any level. This capability, says Bryant, is essential for safety validation so that companies can actually commercialize and scale everything from Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to Level 4 autonomous technology.

(According to the Society of Automobile Engineers, Level 2 systems automate two primary functions — maintaining speed and distance on a highway and keeping the vehicle in lane — and still have a human driver in the loop at all times. Level 4 systems mean the vehicle can handle all aspects of driving in certain conditions without human intervention.)

Woven Capital, alongside Nvidia and Artofin VC, participated in the first closing of Foretellix’s $43 million Series C, which was led by 83North.

Ziv Binyamini, CEO at Foretellix, said the company will use the funds to continue to invest in the deep technology needed to verify autonomy while hiring sales teams to help the company expand across more geographies. Foretellix already has around 150 employees spread across Israel, California, Detroit, Germany, Sweden, China and Japan.

“We need to beef it up because demand is growing significantly,” Binyamini told TechCrunch.

At a high level, Foretellix’s offerings can be boiled down to two core technologies: Scenario generation and big data analytics.

Every company building autonomous vehicle technology tests their systems in simulation against various scenarios geared toward finding edge cases. Foretellix’s technology automatically generates “an unlimited number of variations of scenarios” that companies can use, according to Binyamini.

“We also complement that core technology with libraries of what we call content,” he said. “Libraries of scenarios, libraries of KPIs. So if you’re developing ADAS, we have libraries for all the dysfunctions like automatic emergency braking, for example. For each such dysfunction, we also have a library of all the relevant scenarios and associated KPIs or metrics.”

Once a company tests a system, either virtually against generated scenarios or physically on real roads, they then have to analyze the results, which is the second core technology Foretellix offers.

Some of Foretellix’s biggest customers are Daimler Trucks and Volvo Group, both of which are building autonomous trucks. The company also works closely with Nvidia by integrating into its Drive SIM platform, Nvidia’s end-to-end simulation platform. Last September, Nvidia said Drive SIM got a new suite of AI tools to help test and develop self-driving vehicles.

“Nvidia is an infrastructure provider for the whole economy, from the hardware to the software to the simulator to a full software stack,” said Binyamini. “Our solution is complementary to their offering because in the end, to build a full-blown autonomous system, you need to validate it. It’s one of the biggest, probably the biggest remaining challenge, to get autonomy to commercial, scalable deployment.”

In a similar vein, Bryant said Woven by Toyota (formerly Woven Planet) is partnering with Foretellix because the startup’s solution complements Woven’s technology in-house. The mobility technology subsidiary is working on both ADAS and L4 technology, according to Bryant.

“Foretellix has found an interesting niche area in the simulation space,” said Bryant. “Foretellix is not a simulation company, but it’s supporting simulation work. And I find that other players might be trying to work on building robust verification technology, but no one has quite the focus and depth of technology that Foretellix does.”

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Altano Group expands its activities into the USA

Ufenau

Dear Investors, Pfäffikon SZ, April 2023

Partners and Friends of Ufenau Capital Partners and the Altano Group,
We are delighted to announce that the Altano Group has acquired Avanti Equine Veterinary Partners (“Avanti”).
Avanti is the leading – exclusively specialized in equine medicine – clinic group in the United States. Founded in 2017 with a focus on sustainable veterinary medicine, the group expanded its footprint from the east- to west coast over the past 5 years.

With more than 190 employees, including over 50 vets, Avanti is an ideal strategic fit for the Altano Group to roll out its philosophy globally. “As an international pioneer for modern & sustainable veterinary medicine, Altano stands for professionalism, welfare and outstanding medical quality. These basic principles match the one’s of Avanti: practicing veterinary medicine with integrity and transparency, and serving both patients and clients with excellence.”- Lisa Floyd, COO Avanti.
With the acquisition of Avanti, the Altano Group aims to become the leading equine clinic group, serving more than 100’000 clients in 7 countries globally.
Dieter Scheiff, Managing Partner at Ufenau, views Avanti as “the best, scalable platform and the ideal basis for Altano’s market entry into the United States. We see a strong continued potential for future organic growth and further Add-On acquisitions in the US-market, which is why this lighthouse investment is such an important step both for Altano and Ufenau. Together, Altano and Avanti will form a neverseen knowledge sharing platform to accelerate research and promote sustainable medical progress in the field of equine medicine.”
Dr. Victor Baltus, CEO Altano Group, adds that “together with the current Avanti team, Altano wants to expand the local market presence, invest into the clinics and staff and further enhance specialization across the group. We always remain true to our promise: animal health and welfare our priority! Without the help of Ufenau, this expansion of the Altano Group outside Europe would not have been possible. ”
Your Ufenau Team

About the Altano Group
In 2017, the Altano Group was found, as part of the management buyout of the highly renowned clinic “Tierärztliches Kompetenzzentrum Karthaus”, which served as the platform to enter the highly regulated and fragmented market. Today, the Altano Group comprises of more than 50 clinics and practices throughout Europe and the USA. Driven by its entrepreneurial management and more than 1’500 employees, the Altano Group offers the full spectrum of veterinary services, to a diversified customer base of >100’000 clients with >150’000 animals treated per year. Altano stands for the highest medical standards, a sustainable business model, excellent customer service and the employer.

About Ufenau Capital Partners
Ufenau Capital Partners is a privately-owned Swiss Investor Group headquartered at Lake Zurich which advises private and institutional investors with their investments in private equity. Ufenau Capital Partners is focused on investments in service companies in German-speaking Europe, Iberia and the Benelux region and invests in Education & Lifestyle, Business Services, Healthcare, IT Services and Financial Services sectors. Since 2011, Ufenau invested in over 300 service companies in Europe. Through a renowned group of experienced Industry Partners (owners, CEOs, CFOs), Ufenau has an active value-adding investment approach at eye-level with entrepreneurs and managers. Ufenau raised its seventh flagship fund with a volume of EUR 1.0bn and advises capital of EUR 2.5bn.
Altano Group expands its activities into the USA

Ufenau Capital Partners AG
Huobstrasse 3
CH 8808 Pfäffikon, Schwyz
www.
ucp .ch

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Innovad to acquire Herbonis to strengthen natural specialty feed ingredients portfolio

IK Partners

Antwerp – Innovad®, a leading provider of animal nutrition and health solutions, is pleased to an- nounce that it is acquiring all the shares of Herbonis a Swiss-based company and its affiliates, including Wyreside in the UK. The acquisition aims to strengthen Innovad’s portfolio of natural speciality feed ingredients and align with its strategy of expanding into primary ingredients. Herbonis is recognised as a leader in a niche market and Panbonis, a product containing the plant-based source of the metabolic active form of Vitamin D, represents a unique and highly technical product with proven health benefits in poultry, swine and dairy. From its inception, Innovad has been formulating its products with plant- based ingredients and this acquisition will strengthen its position — adding capacity and knowledge to support the growth in its botanicals, nutraceuticals product portfolio.

Ben Letor, Innovad CEO: “We view Herbonis as a high quality and recognised leader operating in a niche market. Herbonis has an impressive track record, dedicated team, independent mindset, and outstanding know-how on botanicals. Herbonis Group highly scientific and plant-based proposition matches perfectly with Innovad’s strong strategic commitment to becoming the centre of excellence and knowledge in phytogenic and plant-based products. Natural solutions represent a megatrend in our industry to address sustainability objectives as well as consumer demand, provided that such plant-based alternatives are well-researched, well-documented, cost-effective and with the lowest carbon footprint.”

Raetus Boehlen, Herbonis CEO: “Having deep understanding of bioactive plants with proprietary analytical tools, Herbonis has succeeded in bringing to the market an effective 100% plant-based technology. Panbonis has demonstrated its performance and return through its strong customer base & partnership. Many publications and outstanding scientific dossier evidence its unique mode of action. Being able to include Panbonis as part of Innovad’s broader product portfolio will allow Herbonis to tap into new entry points with a broader customer base. It was essential for the owners of Herbonis to hand the company to a group that would continue to invest, support and recognise the value of Herbonis and its team.”

Massimo Neri, Innovad Director Europe: “We are highly motivated to combine Herbonis with Innovad. We believe that Innovad’s strong sales organisation, well-established European footprint and global commercial network perfectly fits with our strategy of delivering the Panbonis brand more directly to end users. With a presence in 75 countries, we expect Innovad’s platform to help accelerate brand awareness and market access for Herbonis’s products. Together, we can create a strong portfolio of innovative and sustainable solutions which will support animal health and welfare.”

Remko Hilhorst, Managing Partner at IK Partners and Advisor to the IK IX Fund: “In today’s volatile environment, it is exciting to be adding Herbonis to Innovad’s product portfolio as we continue to work with the management team to unleash its plan for further sustainable growth. We hope this will help establish the Innovad Group as a global primary producer and leader focused on botanicals, biomonitoring programmes and specialised in feed solutions.“

About Innovad

Innovad is a leading provider of animal nutrition and health solutions. The company offers a wide range of innovative and sustainable solutions to the livestock industry. Its patented, innovative Myco-marker® biomonitoring programme is truly a game changer in the industry. Innovad services integrators, producers, nutritionists, veterinarians, feed companies with a focused range of on farm water soluble and in-feed solutions. www.innovad-global.com

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About Herbonis

Herbonis is a company specialising in plant-based bioactive molecules, the leader in the niche vita- min D3 market with its product Panbonis, which offers a powerful natural source of the metabolic active form of Vitamin D. With a focus on sustainability and natural ingredients, Herbonis is commit- ted to providing innovative solutions to the animal feed industry. www.herbonis.com

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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

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KKR Acquires Namsan Green Building

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KKR

SEOUL, South Korea–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced the signing of definitive agreements under which funds managed by KKR will acquire Namsan Green Building, a quality office building in Seoul’s Central Business District (“CBD”) through collective investment vehicles established under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act of Korea.

Completed in 1994, Namsan Green Building is a 57,574-square-meter office building in Seoul that is centrally located near major transportation networks, including Seoul Station that connects to all the major cities in Korea, and the Seoul Station Bus Transit serving the Greater Seoul area. Today, the building operates as the headquarters of SK Broadband, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, Korea’s largest wireless carrier1 and the telecommunications arm of SK Group, one of the country’s largest conglomerates.

This acquisition takes place at a time when office market fundamentals are robust and demand for office space continues to rise strongly in the face of a resilient labor market and limited office space in Korea.

David Cheong, Managing Director, Real Estate at KKR, said, “Our investment in Namsan Green Building provides us with a unique opportunity to acquire a high-quality asset in a strategic location and add value by leveraging our real estate expertise to enhance its offerings for today’s modern office demands. We remain confident in the long-term prospects of Korea’s office real estate market, where future supply is extremely limited and demand for office space continues to be resilient, and look forward to helping the country meet its office space needs.”

KKR is making its investment primarily from Asia Real Estate Partners, KKR’s Asia-dedicated value-add and opportunistic real estate fund. Namsan Green Building is KKR’s latest real estate investment in South Korea, and adds to past office investments in the country and across Asia including Namsan Square, an office tower located in Seoul’s CBD, K Twin Towers, a premium commercial property in Seoul’s CBD, Centerfield, a prime office complex in Seoul’s Gangnam Business District, Twenty Anson, a prime-grade office building in Singapore’s CBD, and office assets across Japan. Globally, KKR’s real estate team manages approximately US$65 billion in assets as of December 31, 2022. The transaction is expected to be completed in May 2023.

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.

1 Statista (2022). Market share of mobile phone service providers based on user numbers in South Korea in 2022

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

Source: KKR

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OpSec Group, a Global Leader in Brand Protection Solutions, to Go Public on Nasdaq Through Proposed Business Combination with Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I

Investcorp

26 Apr 2023

OpSec Group, a global leader in brand protection solutions and intellectual property (IP) management, and Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I (Nasdaq: IVCB) (“Investcorp Europe”), a special purpose acquisition company, today announced they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement that would result in OpSec Group becoming a public company. Upon closing of the proposed business combination, the newly combined company will operate as OpSec Group.

Company Overview

OpSec Group is a global leader in the management and protection of brands and intellectual property. It helps enterprises optimize, monetize, and protect the value of their identities, ideas, and assets through a range of technology-enabled services, products and solutions. Approximately 5,000 of the world’s most recognized brands across media and technology, sports and apparel, and consumer and industrial products, as well as governments and financial institutions, trust OpSec to help realize the value and ensure the integrity of their physical and digital IP and brand portfolios, from trademarks and technology to products and content. OpSec is currently a portfolio company managed by Investcorp Technology Partners, which is an affiliate of Investcorp Europe’s sponsor, and after the proposed business combination a fund managed by a member within Investcorp Europe’s parent company, Investcorp Holdings B.S.C. (c), will continue to hold a controlling economic and voting interest.

On April 18, 2023, OpSec Group acquired Zacco, a leading intellectual property management and protection company, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Bringing with it both a significant heritage and a pioneering approach to IP, Zacco has focused on helping customers build and maintain their brand ideas, identity, and technology within a conventional IP framework. OpSec Group will combine the respective strengths of the two businesses to help customers maximize the value of their IP portfolios, take advantage of new opportunities, and counter vulnerabilities and threats that these may bring.

For the combined OpSec Group, which includes Zacco, pro-forma fiscal 2023 revenue is expected to be approximately $218 million. As a percentage of total, 95% of OpSec’s total revenue is reoccurring and based on established contractual relationships. OpSec Group has a strong track record in client service and quality with approximately 90% retention annually across a base of more than 5,000 customers. In combination with these strong revenue dynamics, EBITDA margins have expanded from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2023.

Over the company’s multi-decade history, OpSec Group has grown into a market leader in brand protection and IP management, through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. OpSec operates across six principal market segments including:

  1. IP portfolio management includes advisory and managed services across the IP lifecycle, from undertaking IP portfolio audits, strategies, and registrations, to related IP and digital services such as validations, renewals, monitoring, and digital asset management.
  2. Brand solutions includes licensing, merchandising, brand enhancement, and product traceability. It typically combines physical products, such as security labels or apparel trim, with software that underpins licensing programs and supply chain or channel compliance.
  3. Online brand protection includes technology enabled services to detect and enforce against trademark infringements, notably counterfeit selling and imitation of brand identity, and damage to reputation that can result from fraudulent impersonation of brands.
  4. Online media protection includes technology enabled services to detect and enforce against online infringements of copyrighted digital media, in particular video and music.
  5. Transaction cards includes high security authentication features for payment cards, which are specified by the owners of global payment networks and applied by the card issuers.
  6. Government solutions includes indirect taxation schemes for controlled products, such as alcohol and tobacco, as well as government issued identity and other official documents.

“OpSec Group was founded with the mission to become a leader in brand protection and enhancement,” said Dr. Selva Selvaratnam, CEO of OpSec Group. “Our aim is to bring innovation to the way in which enterprises create and safeguard the significant intangible value that is embodied in their brands and products. With the global value of counterfeiting and piracy estimated at $2.8 trillion in 2022, the threat posed by the imitators, content pirates, and fraudsters is profound, and looks set to increase further given continued growth in e-commerce, online content, and social media. Creating, nurturing, and protecting intellectual property and brand identities in this environment has unquestionably become one of the defining priorities for leading enterprises. We are thrilled to partner with Investcorp Europe to expand our presence in this arena and take advantage of the growth opportunity ahead.”

At OpSec Group, materials scientists, optical engineers, and product designers work alongside IP professionals, investigators, online analysts, and software engineers. Its global team of approximately 1,300 people work to ensure the integrity of brands and their IP around the world, operating from secure production facilities, design labs, service hubs, and a security operations center. Innovation is at the heart of OpSec Group, with a strong emphasis on engineering talent and a roadmap of compelling new products, services, and solutions.

“All of us at Investcorp Europe are incredibly excited to be partnering with OpSec Group on this transaction. Selva and the impressive OpSec Group leadership team have deep expertise across all aspects of IP and brand optimization, monetization and protection,” said Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith C.B.E., CEO of Investcorp Europe. “They have built a solid offering that safeguards some of the world’s most iconic brands, and I believe that OpSec Group is very well positioned to deliver long-term value for all stakeholders.”

“Our objective since founding Investcorp Europe has been to both identify and assist a company in its transition to the public markets and perhaps more importantly to introduce a differentiated opportunity that Investcorp Europe believes would be compelling and attractive to our shareholders,” said Hazem Ben-Gacem, Chairman of Investcorp Europe and also a Co-CEO at Investcorp Holdings B.S.C. (c). “We believe the OpSec Group represents a great opportunity to invest in a truly global, category defining leader in the brand protection and enhancement fields, and that the structure of this transaction will position this business to have the opportunity to execute on an even broader scale.”

OpSec Group Investment Highlights

  • A leading global provider in IP/brand optimization, monetization, and protection with a complete end-to-end offering.
  • Large, fast growing addressable markets, benefitting from a number of macro trends driving increased spend in IP/brand.
  • Innovation-driven, with solutions enhanced by proprietary technology and modern software platforms.
  • Exceptional caliber of customer base, representing approximately two-thirds of the world’s Interbrand 100 Best Global Brands.
  • Strong management team with decades of experience and successful track record of M&A and integration.
  • Significant runway for growth through continued expansion into existing/adjacent markets and capabilities, including through M&A.
  • Compelling financials underpinned by highly reoccurring revenue base and strong growth and profitability.

Transaction Summary

The pro forma enterprise value of the combined company is approximately $426 million. This transaction is supported by a $50 million backstop by the sponsor of Investcorp Europe, with up to $199 million in gross transaction proceeds available subject to redemptions by Investcorp Europe shareholders. Any incremental proceeds to be held on balance sheet, with current investors rolling 96% of their pro forma ownership.

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of OpSec Group and Investcorp Europe, including a special committee of the board of directors of Investcorp Europe formed for the purpose of evaluating the transaction, is subject to approval by Investcorp Europe shareholders and other customary closing conditions, including the receipt of certain regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second half of 2023.

Additional information about the proposed transaction, including a copy of the business combination agreement and investor presentation, will be provided in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by Investcorp Europe with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and will be available at www.sec.gov. OpSec Holdings, a newly formed exempted company incorporated with limited liability in the Cayman Islands (“OpSec Holdings”), will be the surviving public company following the consummation of the business combination, and will file a registration statement (which will contain a proxy statement and prospectus) with the SEC in connection with the transaction.

Advisors
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“Citigroup”) is acting as capital markets advisor and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (“CS”) is serving as financial and capital markets advisor to Investcorp Europe, while Shearman & Sterling LLP is acting as legal counsel to Investcorp Europe. Proskauer Rose LLP is acting as legal counsel to OpSec Group and OpSec Holdings. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal counsel to Citigroup and CS.

Investor Conference Call Information
OpSec Group and Investcorp Europe leadership will host a joint investor conference call to discuss the proposed transaction today, April 26, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. ET. A webcast of the prepared remarks, as well as an associated investor presentation, can be accessed on OpSec Group investor relations website at https://www.opsecsecurity.com/investors.

About Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I
Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I is a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses in Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, or Northern Europe and, opportunistically, in Turkey and businesses focusing on business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology sectors. Investcorp Europe is led by Chairman Hazem Ben-Gacem, Vice-Chairman Peter McKellar, CEO Baroness Ruby McGregor Smith, CBE, CIO Alptekin Diler and CFO Craig Sinfield-Hain. Investcorp Europe’s initial public offering was in December 2021 and its Class A common stock is listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol IVCB.

About OpSec Group
OpSec Group is a world leader in the optimization, monetization, and protection of brands and intellectual property. OpSec Group traces its origins back over multiple decades and is proud to serve many of the world’s leading brand owners, licensors, and media rights owners, as well as governments and financial institutions. As an innovator and pioneer in IP and brand protection, OpSec Group addresses brand value and vulnerability across both physical and digital domains. OpSec Group brings together multiple disciplines, from IP management and security design to software development, to ensure that solutions are brand-led, practical, and effective.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes, and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of Investcorp Europe, OpSec Group and OpSec Holdings may contain statements that are not historical facts but are forward looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under applicable securities laws, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” ”could,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “target,” “goal,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “forecast,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding projections, estimates and forecasts of revenue and other financial and performance metrics and projections of market opportunity and expectations, the expected cash proceeds from the transaction, the ability to complete the business combination due to the failure to obtain approval from Investcorp Europe’s shareholders or satisfy other closing conditions in the business combination agreement, the occurrence of any event that could give rise to the termination of the business combination agreement, the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the business combination, the amount of redemption requests made by Investcorp Europe’s public shareholders, the estimated implied equity value of the combined company, OpSec Group’s ability to effectively compete in its industry, OpSec Group’s ability to scale and grow its business, the cash position of the combined company following closing and the timing of the closing of the business combination. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described in Investcorp Europe’s final prospectus, filed with the SEC on December 17, 2021 (the “Investcorp Europe Final Prospectus”), and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, in each case, under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other documents of OpSec Holdings or Investcorp Europe filed, or to be filed, including the proxy statement/prospectus, with the SEC. There may be additional risks that Investcorp Europe, OpSec Group and OpSec Holdings presently do not know or that they currently believe are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Investcorp Europe’s, OpSec Group’s and OpSec Holdings’ expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Investcorp Europe, OpSec Group and OpSec Holdings anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause their assessments to change. However, while Investcorp Europe, OpSec Group and OpSec Holdings may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Investcorp Europe, OpSec Group and OpSec Holdings specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Investcorp Europe’s, OpSec Group’s and OpSec Holdings’ assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.

Additional Information and Where to Find It
This communication is for informational purposes only and not intended to and does not constitute an offer to subscribe for, buy or sell, the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for, buy or sell or an invitation to subscribe for, buy or sell any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to or in connection with the proposed transaction or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and otherwise in accordance with applicable law.
In connection with the proposed transaction, OpSec Holdings intends to file with the SEC a registration statement on Form F-4, which will include a preliminary proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents, which will be both the proxy statement to be distributed to Investcorp Europe’s shareholders in connection with Investcorp Europe’s solicitation of proxies for the vote by Investcorp Europe’s shareholders with respect to the proposed business combination and other matters as may be described in the registration statement, as well as the prospectus relating to the offer and sale of the securities of OpSec Holdings to be issued in connection with the business combination. SHAREHOLDERS OF INVESTCORP EUROPE ARE URGED TO READ THE PROSPECTUS/PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO AND ANY DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE THEREIN) AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION THAT OPSEC HOLDINGS AND INVESTCORP EUROPE WILL FILE WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND THE PARTIES TO THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Shareholders and investors will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement and other relevant materials (when they become available) and other documents filed by OpSec Holdings and Investcorp Europe at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the proxy statement/prospectus (when they become available) and the filings that will be incorporated by reference therein may also be obtained, without charge, on Investcorp Europe’s website at www.investcorpspac.com or by directing a request to: Investcorp Europe Holdings Acquisition Corporation, Century Yard, Cricket Square, Elgin Avenue, P.O. Box 1111, George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands KY1-1102, Attention: Chief Executive Officer.

Participants in the Solicitation
Each of Investcorp Europe, OpSec Group and OpSec Holdings and their respective directors, executive officers and certain employees, may be deemed, under SEC rules, to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding Investcorp Europe’s directors and executive officers is available in Investcorp Europe’s final prospectus dated December 17, 2021 relating to its initial public offering and in Investcorp Europe’s subsequent filings with the SEC. Other information regarding OpSec Group and OpSec Holdings and the other 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/prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC (when they become available). These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above.

Categories: News

Virta closes €85M funding to increase EVs’ impact on energy flexibility markets and accelerate growth in Europe and Asia-Pacific

Helen Ventures

Finland-based Virta Ltd, a global leader of the fast-growing Electric Vehicle charging platforms industry*, has secured new €85M growth funding. The funding round is among the biggest in the sector during recent years. The sum consists of €65M equity investment from Virta’s existing investors, led by the private equity firm, Jolt Capital, and co-invested by Future Energy Ventures backed by E.ON., Helen Ventures, Vertex Growth Fund, Finnish Industry Investment, Lahti Energy, Vantaa Energy, and Kotka Energy. 20 million euros will be received from Business Finland, which offers innovation funding for companies and research organizations.

Over 1 000 professional EV charging businesses in 35 countries run their EV charging services on Virta platform. Together, these charging network operators constitute one of the biggest public networks in Europe. Including roaming, the network enables EV drivers with access to over 350,000 charging points.

“The EV charging platform is mission critical for companies building global charging services. Our strong financial position enables us to secure the best growth capabilities for our partners,” says Virta CEO, Jussi Palola.

Virta and the EV charging industry are heading to the era of green hypergrowth

Virta’s growth has continuously surpassed the industry average, and in 2022, Virta Group’s annual revenue grew 112% to €39M (preliminary figures). As a result, Virta was ranked on the Financial Times 1000 Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies list for the fourth time in a row in 2023. With the fresh funding, Virta aims to grow its charging transactions by more than fivefold in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region by 2025.

Time to unlock hundreds of billions in energy sector savings with the help of EV’s

EVs are big batteries on wheels, and by 2030, Virta estimates they will represent up to 90% of the total battery storage capacity in Europe. Connecting this battery capacity to the energy system and adjusting EV charging consumption in real-time (demand-side flexibility) are seen as one of the biggest enablers for the world to successfully multiply the share of renewable energy production, lower the cost of electricity for consumers, and increase the energy system resilience.

According to a recent Smarten report**, full scale implementation of demand-side flexibility, including EV charging, will save up to €254.4B in grid infrastructure and peak power plant investments between 2023 and 2030, and 300 million tonnes in GHG emissions by 2030. In total, full deployment of demand-side flexibility could lead to a potential cost reduction for consumers of more than €71B per year on electric consumption by 2030.

“Today, Virta has one of the leading platform patent portfolios with focus on energy technologies such as vehicle-to-grid (V2G), autonomous vehicle charging, and operating complex billion-scale network operations. With the new funding, we are now ready to take the global lead in making EVs an integral part of energy flexibility markets,” says Palola. In the process, the Virta platform capacity is estimated to grow from the current ca. 2,000 MW to 12,000-15,000 MW, the size of 10 large nuclear power plants, by the end of 2025.

The funding round’s lead investor, Jolt Capital’s CEO Jean Schmitt, summarises the expectations and potential from the investor point-of-view: “Our strategy is to fund European growth deep-tech companies looking for a worldwide leadership. Virta has demonstrated a rare ability to combine hypergrowth, technology leadership and mature operations, enabling sustainable profitable scalability. We believe that Virta is now in pole position to win the race to platform market leadership in one of the fastest growing global industry sectors, ie EV charging and energy flexibility.”

“We continue to be impressed with the track record of Virta and the continued forward momentum in financial performance after a decade of supporting the team”, continues Mikael Myllymäki, Vice President and Head of Helen Ventures. “This latest funding round puts Virta in a great position to further capitalize on their proven platform as the EV market continues to grow. This includes Virta’s role as a key enabler in demand-side flexibility, which is a large theme in the energy transition.”

* Estimated number of charging points in Europe in 2025 compared to 2021 +475% from 0,4 million to 2,3 million and to 7,9 million in 2030. Sources: ACEA, ICCT, IEA, BNEF, DNV 2030 estimates.
** Demand-side flexibility in the EU: Quantification of benefits in 2030, September 2022, Smart Energy Europe and DNV.

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Aurora Capital Partners Provides Growth Capital to Impact Environmental Group, a Leading Provider of Products and Services to the Waste Management Industry

Aurora Capital

LOS ANGELES, April 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Aurora Capital Partners (“Aurora”), a leading middle-market private equity firm, today announced that it has partnered with Impact Environmental Group (“IEG” or the “Company”), a best-in-class provider of products and services to the global waste and recycling industry.

Founded in 1999, IEG is a premier global environmental products and services business with operating locations strategically positioned across the US and Europe. IEG’s combination of product breadth, service levels, and geographic reach are unique across the environmental services sector, and its focus on repair and replacement parts helps reduce overall customer spend. IEG management, led by Brian Beth, and Aurora are excited to continue expanding the product and services portfolio through both organic initiatives and strategic add-on acquisitions.

“Aurora’s successful track record working with management teams within the environmental services industry makes them the ideal partner for IEG as we enter the next stage of growth,” said Brian Beth, CEO of IEG. “Their capital support will allow us to unlock further opportunities and capitalize on the tailwinds in the industry. We pride ourselves on playing an important role across the environmental services landscape and are excited to partner with Aurora to better deliver products, services, and sustainability solutions to the industry.”

“We continue to see attractive opportunities within the environmental services sector, driven by stable demand drivers as well as an increasing focus towards sustainability. IEG has established itself as a leading service platform in the space,” said Andrew Wilson, Partner at Aurora. “Brian and the IEG team share our commitment to quality products and exceptional customer service, delivering parts and solutions quickly and seamlessly across its large customer base. We look forward to supporting their continued growth.”

The transaction marks the ninth investment from Aurora Equity Partners VI, which was activated in September 2020, and another investment by Aurora within the environmental services space. Other representative environmental services investments include VLS Environmental Solutions, Sharps Compliance and Curtis Bay Medical Waste Services.

About Impact Environmental Group
Founded in 1999, Impact Environmental Group has grown into a global environmental products and services business, providing a comprehensive suite of new and replacement products for waste containers, collection and compaction equipment, and waste transportation equipment. IEG companies include Impact, Roll-Tech, Midland Chutes, Northern Extrusion, United Compaction Services, Deroche Canvas, Container Components (US), UK-based Egbert Taylor and Container Components (Europe). IEG is headquartered in Elgin, Illinois with facilities located across the US and Europe. For more information, visit www.iegna.com or on LinkedIn.

About Aurora Capital Partners
Aurora Capital Partners is a leading Los Angeles-based private equity firm with $5 billion in assets under management. Founded in 1991, the firm invests in middle-market companies with leading market positions, stable industry dynamics, attractive business model characteristics and actionable opportunities for growth in partnership with management. For more information about Aurora Capital Partners, visit: www.auroracap.com.

Media Contacts

Aurora Capital Partners
ASC Advisors
Taylor Ingraham / Harriet Hartman
203-992-1230
tingraham@ascadvisors.com / hhartman@ascadvisors.com

SOURCE Aurora Capital Partners

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Benchmark Gensuite® Receives Minority Growth Investment from Vista Equity Partners

Vista Equity

Established category leader accepts first external capital to take advantage of growing demand for unified EHS, Sustainability and ESG reporting capabilities

Benchmark Gensuite is a unique investment opportunity as a founder-led business that’s never required external capital to establish or maintain category leadership”

— Rachel Arnold, Vista Equity Partners, Senior Managing Director

CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES, April 25, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Benchmark Gensuite (the “Company”), a leading software platform that helps companies unify and digitally transform their EHS, Sustainability, and ESG Reporting programs, today announced a minority growth investment from Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled businesses. The minority investment, the Company’s first external capital since inception, will be used to accelerate growth and take advantage of increased market demand for unified EHS, Sustainability, ESG reporting, Quality, Operational Risk, Stewardship, and Supply Chain Risk capabilities.

“Since our founding, our ethos has been rooted in collaborative partnerships with our customers and delivering a product with fast ROI, excellent service, and continuous innovation. The opportunistic investment from Vista will enable us to accelerate product development, deepen our existing partnerships and bring the power of our platform to new customers,” said R. Mukund, Founder and CEO of Benchmark Gensuite. “With Vista, we’ve chosen a partner who is strongly aligned with our customer-focused values and has a shared commitment to innovation.”

Benchmark Gensuite was founded on the philosophy that technology can help companies power safer, compliant, and more sustainable operations worldwide. The Company’s heritage is built on its two-decade long market-leading digital EHS management platform, with quick-to-launch, best-practice workflows, intuitive functionality, turnkey configuration, and seamlessly integrated advanced technologies, including AI and IoT.

More recently, the Company expanded its offering to help organizations address emerging, global reporting standards and requirements related to climate risk, value chain sustainability, and circular economy. The Company now supports over 400 customers globally, including approximately 20% of the Fortune 500, and over three million users across 35 industries with a single, unified, organically-developed digital platform covering EHS, Sustainability, Quality, Product Stewardship, Supply Chain, Operational Risk, and ESG Reporting.

The investment in Benchmark Gensuite was made by Vista’s Endeavor Fund, which provides growth capital and strategic support to market-leading, high-growth enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled companies that have achieved at least $10 million in recurring revenue. Endeavor partnerships focus on growth, market strategy, talent, and customer success – building enduring businesses designed to scale. Founders and management teams benefit from the expertise and support of Vista and its global ecosystem to deliver unparalleled value to their customers, unlock the potential of their employees, and accelerate market leadership. Abhay Puskoor, Senior Vice President at Vista, will join Benchmark Gensuite’s Board of Directors effective immediately.

“Benchmark Gensuite is a unique investment opportunity as a founder-led business that’s never required external capital to establish or maintain category leadership,” said Rachel Arnold, Co-Head of Vista’s Endeavor Fund and Senior Managing Director. “This is a testament to the vision, expert talent, and commitment to satisfying its customers’ ever-evolving regulatory compliance needs through continuous innovation. We look forward to partnering with Mukund and the entire Benchmark Gensuite team as they look to capitalize on the accelerating market opportunity.”

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL served as legal advisor to Benchmark Gensuite and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Vista. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.

About Benchmark Gensuite®
Benchmark Gensuite® enables companies to implement robust, cross-functional digital systems for EHS, Sustainability, and ESG Reporting through a unified digital platform—locally, globally and across diverse operating profiles. With intuitive, best-practice-based process functionality, flexible configurations, and powerful extensions, the Benchmark Gensuite® platform has helped companies worldwide manage their EHS, Sustainability; Quality; Operational Risk and Compliance; Product Stewardship, and Supply Chain Risks for over two decades; and now organically integrated with cutting-edge ESG disclosure reporting and management solutions. Join over 3 million users that trust Benchmark Gensuite® with their software system needs and benefit from rapid deployment and adoption, immediate return on investment (ROI), service excellence, and collaborative innovation. Follow Benchmark Gensuite on LinkedIn, @Benchmark-Gensuite, and on Twitter, @Bmrk_Gensuite

About Vista Equity Partners
Vista is a leading global investment firm with more than $96 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022. The firm exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, permanent capital, credit and public equity strategies, bringing an approach that prioritizes creating enduring market value for the benefit of its global ecosystem of investors, companies, customers and employees. Vista’s investments are anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a broader path to prosperity. Further information is available at vistaequitypartners.com. Follow Vista on LinkedIn, @Vista Equity Partners, and on Twitter, @Vista_Equity.

Jen Redden
Benchmark Gensuite
+1 513-207-1320
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