Category Archives: News

BGF invests £5 million in Northern Irish façade specialists, Clarke Group

BGF

BGF has invested £5 million in Clarke Group, a building façade specialist based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, to support its growth across the UK and Ireland.

Founded in 1996 by Michael Clarke, the family-owned business specialises in innovative design-led façade projects, providing an end-to-end service to blue-chip construction industry clients such as Berkeley, Morgan Sindall, and Balfour Beatty.

With a strong market reputation for producing high quality, sustainable products and cutting-edge designs for high-rise commercial and residential buildings, Clarke has recently experienced growth averaging 25% each year since 2018 and delivered revenue in 2022 of close to £30 million.

In June 2022, the business also opened a new high-spec head office and state of the art offsite manufacturing facility in Ballymena to support team expansion as it aims to become an industry leader in the coming years.

The investment from BGF will support a strong order book as Clarke continues to scale across the UK and Ireland.

BGF’s Talent Network has also introduced Adrian Ringrose, an experienced leader within the construction industry, to the business as Non-Executive Chair.

With increased regulation regarding the fire safety of high-rise buildings post-Grenfell, the demand for safe and sustainable façades and cladding has increased. Our market leading designs and sector-experienced team mean we’re fast becoming the partner of choice for top tier construction firms across the UK.

Eugene Clarke, managing director of Clarke

“It was important for us to find an investment partner that could provide not only capital, but also expertise at Board level to support the company as it scales. The access to BGF’s network has been invaluable and we’re also delighted to welcome Adrian to the team.”

BGF has now invested c.£65 million into Northern Irish businesses, making it one of the most significant investors in the region.

Chris Nixon, investor at BGF, added: “The UK façade market dynamics are extremely strong and double-digit sector growth will be underpinned in the long term by fire safety and ESG-related demand. When you combine this with Clarke’s track record of quality and excellence, its impressive customer base, and a focussed and experienced management team, we believe the business is perfectly primed to take further market share in the coming years. We’re delighted to be supporting the business at such a pivotal point in their growth journey.”

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Aurora Capital Partners Backed Grace Hill Acquires Edge2Learn and Ellis Partners in Management Solutions

Aurora Capital

GREENVILLE, S.C., Dec. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Grace Hill, an innovator of talent and customer management solutions for commercial and multi-family real estate, announced today that it has acquired Edge2Learn, an e-learning company providing training and policy management solutions in the multifamily industry, and Ellis Partners in Management Solutions (“Ellis”), a provider of mystery shopping and resident and employee survey solutions.  Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Edge2Learn and Ellis provide e-learning as well as policy, survey, mystery shopping and data-driven insights to help property owners and operators retain top talent and improve property operating and financial performance.  The companies have established a deep stable of industry leading content with over 600 online training courses that serve multi-family rental communities, including conventional, affordable, student and senior markets.  Together, the combined company will provide a next-generation employee and property intelligence platform that maximizes an employee’s potential and a company’s bottom line.

“Edge2Learn and Ellis share our commitment to developing best-in-class training, mystery shopping and management solutions to help leading real estate operators and owners increase property performance, reduce operating risk and grow and develop employees,” said Kendall Pretzer, CEO of Grace Hill.  “By bringing our resources together, we will create a clear leader in the industry, enabling us to further deliver on our mission to improve employee performance and development while delivering important insights to owners and operators.  I look forward to working with Joanna, Francis and the rest of the Edge2Learn and Ellis teams to continue advancing the innovative tools we offer the multi-family and commercial real estate industries.”

“Grace Hill, Edge2Learn and Ellis have established well-deserved reputations as leaders in real estate training and customer feedback,” said Joanna Ellis, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Edge2Learn and Ellis.  “We are excited to partner with the Grace Hill and Aurora teams to create a one-of-a-kind company that understands and continues to prioritize the needs of our combined customer base.”

“This combination will allow us to leverage the best of both companies,” added Francis Chow, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Edge2Learn and Ellis.  “Together, we will combine the best talent and integrated solutions to provide exceptional service to our customers with an expanded product portfolio, all while investing in new and innovative solutions to continue to address our customers’ most critical operating challenges.”

“We identified Grace Hill as a unique market leader with significant growth potential, and this is exactly the type of transformative transaction we look to execute early in our hold period,” said Rob Fraser, Partner at Aurora.  “The combination of these leading businesses and management teams will enhance long-standing customer relationships through a larger suite of scalable management and training solutions and deeper customer service capabilities, and we will invest aggressively to continue to be the innovation leader in the market.”

Since partnering with Aurora in May 2021, Grace Hill has enhanced its management team with the appointment of Kendall Pretzer as CEO in May 2021 and the addition of Charles Loop as Chief Financial Officer, Todd Harkness as Chief Revenue Officer, Rob Beauchamp as Chief Product Officer and Traci Johnson as Chief Marketing Officer.

Massumi + Consoli LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisors to Grace Hill.

About Grace Hill
Grace Hill provides technology-enabled performance solutions that help owners and operators of real estate properties increase property performance, reduce operating risk and grow top talent. Its industry-leading solutions covering policy, training, assessment, survey, and data-driven insights are bolstered by years of real estate experience, in-depth service-level expertise and outstanding customer support. Today, more than 500,000 real estate professionals from more than 1,700 companies rely on talent performance solutions from Grace Hill. Visit us at gracehill.com or on LinkedIn.

About Edge2Learn
Edge2Learn is an e-learning company whose focus is the Property Management Industry and specializes in property management training and policy management solutions. With almost 40 years of industry experience and a commitment to increase multifamily performance, Edge2Learn is passionate about delivering education, assessment, and policies that maximizes benefits for both companies and employees. Edge2Learn program engages learners and prepares them to deliver a superior customer experience. Also, in turn, it improves operating performance and reduces corporate liability risks and overall employee turnover.

About Ellis
Established in 1984 to evaluate customer service and performance of onsite leasing professionals through comprehensive mystery shopping reports, Ellis has become the nation’s leading apartment mystery shopping company.  The growing demand to further understand and improve lead conversion encouraged the company to expand into resident retention services in 2011, introducing multiple touchpoint resident survey programs that allow clients to understand their customer’s journey through customer feedback.  In conjunction with its survey platform, Ellis offers employee surveys that provide insight into the level of engagement with and loyalty to your organization and help you better understand your employees’ personal goals for career growth.

About Aurora Capital Partners
Aurora Capital Partners is a leading private equity firm focused principally on control investments in middle-market companies with leading market positions, stable industry dynamics, attractive business model characteristics and actionable opportunities for growth in partnership with management. Aurora provides unique resources to its portfolio companies through its Strategy & Operations Program and its team of experienced operating advisors. Aurora’s investors include leading public and corporate pension funds, endowments and foundations active in private equity investing. For more information about Aurora Capital Partners, visit: www.auroracap.com.

Media Contacts
Grace Hill
LinnellTaylor Marketing
Darcey Leach
(303) 682-5005
darcey@linnelltaylor.com

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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Arcus agrees to acquire SDC SpaceNet DataCenter

Arcus

London, United Kingdom 6 December 2022 – Arcus Infrastructure Partners LLP (“Arcus”) announces that Arcus European Infrastructure Fund 3 SCSp (“AEIF3” or the “Fund”) has agreed to acquire SDC SpaceNet DataCenter GmbH & Co, KG (“SDC”), one of Europe’s most modern data centres, from SpaceNet AG.

SDC, located in Kirchheim, Munich, owns a modern, high specification data centre which has been built to an extremely resilient design, and is certified to the EN50600 VK4 standard, the highest availability standard.

Arcus is focused on ensuring that its investments have a positive ESG impact. The acquisition of SDC fits well into its long-term sustainable investment strategy thanks to SDC’s market leading energy efficiency characteristics and 100% of its energy being renewably sourced.

SpaceNet AG is a full-service internet provider which has been supplying the German market for around 30 years. SpaceNet will continue to be a long-term customer of SDC, which will house the IT servers and equipment of SpaceNet’s business customers.

Arcus is pursuing a regional edge co-location platform strategy focused on serving tier two German cities and selected adjacent European countries on an opportunistic basis. Arcus identified SDC as a target investment for AEIF3 via a detailed market screening and outreach process and entered into bilateral discussions with SpaceNet AG which culminated in the acquisition agreement being announced today.

John Shea, Arcus Partner, who led the transaction, said: “We have evaluated numerous data centre businesses across Germany and Europe over the past few years. SDC stood out as a very suitable first acquisition for our data centre aggregation strategy due to its great location, high-specification design, market leading energy efficiency characteristics, high quality anchor customers, and development potential. We look forward to our partnership with the SpaceNet team going forward as we work on delivering the next phase of growth for this business and our broader platform strategy.”

Michael Emmer, COO of SpaceNet AG, said: “Arcus is a partner we very much see eye to eye with, which was important to us in the sale context as well as with a view to our future long-term partnership. The development of SDC fulfilled our ambition to create a data centre with the highest availability, physical security and the most energy-efficient characteristics possible. On this basis we have the fullest confidence in SDC to house both our servers and those of our valued customers.”

 

Commenting on the acquisition, Ian Harding, Managing Partner at Arcus said: “We are really pleased to announce our agreement to acquire SDC by our third fund, AEIF3. Data centres are essential infrastructure to support the growth in demand for data processing services and business continuity solutions and we are delighted to be making our first acquisition in this space. We look forward to working with SDC and expanding into this sector further.”

 

“Our decision to sell SDC to Arcus was the logical consequence of continuing to focus strategically on our core competencies as an internet provider. Basically, nothing changes for our customers,” says Sebastian von Bomhard, Managing Director of SDC and member of the SpaceNet Board of Directors. “The on-site team will remain the same. A smooth continuation of data centre services for all SpaceNet customers is ensured by a long-term lease agreement.”

 

The transaction is expected to complete in Q1 2023.

 

Arcus was advised by Noerr (Legal), Arup (Technical adviser) BDO (Financial and tax adviser), and AON (Insurance).

 

SpaceNet was advised by Poellath (Legal).

About Arcus

Arcus Infrastructure Partners LLP is an independent fund manager focused solely on long-term investments in European infrastructure. Arcus invests on behalf of institutional investors through discretionary funds and special co-investment vehicles and, through its subsidiaries, currently manages investments with an aggregate enterprise value in excess of EUR 19bn (as of 30 September 2022). Arcus targets mid-market, value-add infrastructure investments, with a particular focus on businesses in the digital, transport, logistics & industrials, and energy sectors.

www.arcusip.com

About SpaceNet AG

With its more than 120 employees, SpaceNet supports IT managers and managing directors in building up a strong corporate IT operation, keeping it running and developing digital opportunities. In doing so, it offers managed IT services, support and management for non-standard applications, 24×7 services, personal consulting and secure cloud services.

SpaceNet operates its cloud and IT services in three redundant high-security data centres in Munich. SpaceNet is certified according to the ISO 27001 security standard and works according to ITIL. The Munich-based company has placed great emphasis on training for 20 years and was awarded the 2019 Training Company Certificate by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

SpaceNet serves around 1,200 customers such as Antenne Bayern and the Munich Transport and Tariff Association (MVV). The SpaceNet family of companies includes SDC and brück IT GmbH, a systems house specializing in services and software for lawyers. The Munich-based company is one of the Internet pioneers in the industry and was founded in 1993 by current CEO Sebastian von Bomhard, who now runs it together with Michael Emmer.https://www.space.net/

Arcus Media Contacts:

Debbie JohnstonE: debbie@sprengthomson.com

T: +44 7532 183811

 Callum SprengE: callum@sprengthomson.com

T: +44 7803 970103

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KKR to acquire Clinisupplies to accelerate growth and help build a leading international chronic care medical devices platform

KKR

KKR to support organic and inorganic growth to enhance Clinisupplies’ leadership position in collecting devices and expand its broader chronic care portfolio

Claus Bjerre, KKR Senior Advisor and former Chief Executive Officer of Atos Medical AB, to serve as Chairman of Clinisupplies’ Board of Directors

LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, announced today that KKR has agreed to acquire Clinisupplies, a market leader in continence care products in the UK, from Healthium. Clinisupplies’ management team will continue to hold a minority position. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Clinisupplies is a UK-based manufacturer and distributor of continence care products, including urinary collecting devices and catheters. Clinisupplies’ products are supplied to hospitals and pharmacies, while also available for delivery to patients directly through its home delivery services – “Clinidirect.” Clinisupplies is headquartered in Watford, London, and employs over 400 employees.

Claus Bjerre, KKR Senior Advisor and former Chief Executive Officer of Atos Medical AB and former President, North America, of Coloplast, will serve as Chairman of Clinisupplies’ Board of Directors, where he will draw on his extensive sector experience and help guide the group on its future growth. In addition to leveraging KKR’s broader advisor and expert network, industry veteran Douglas Le Fort, who brings over 20 years of senior executive leadership experience, including as an Executive Committee Member at ConvaTec Group, will also join the Board of Directors.

Paul Cook, CEO of Clinisupplies, commented: “We are thrilled to form this strategic partnership with KKR, and to be welcoming Claus and Douglas to our Board. This transaction presents a pivotal growth opportunity for the business, and to be able to leverage their collective skills and expertise will be invaluable as we position the business for the future. With KKR’s global network and market knowledge, and with this strong suite of industry advisors, we will be able to expand into new products and geographies, helping to support more and more people and bringing us one step closer to our goal of becoming an international leader in the chronic care market.”

Claus Bjerre, KKR Senior Advisor, commented: “Clinisupplies has an industry leading track record as a fully integrated provider of continence care solutions to clinics and patients across the UK. Its business model covers the entire value chain, from R&D and manufacturing to direct-to-patient sales and distribution, allowing the group to continuously understand and address the evolving needs of patients, clinicians, and caregivers alike. I look forward to collaborating with Clinisupplies’ outstanding management team in pursuing its ambitious growth plans.”

Kugan Sathiyanandarajah, Managing Director and Head of Europe for KKR Health Care Strategic Growth, said: “Clinisupplies is a proven market leader in collecting devices in the UK with a differentiated business model. This investment is another example of our Health Care Strategic Growth platform strategy in collaboration with proven operators in a thematic area we have been following for some time. We are delighted to be bringing together an exceptional management team led by Paul with a highly experienced advisory suite led by Claus.”

KKR is investing in Clinisupplies through KKR Health Care Strategic Growth Fund II, a $4.0 billion fund focused on investing in high-growth health care companies. KKR has a long track record of supporting health care companies globally, having invested approximately $17 billion in the sector since 2004.

KKR was advised by Houlihan Lokey (financial advisor), Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP (legal counsel), PWC (financial & tax) and BCG (commercial).

— ends —

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.

About Clinisupplies

Clinisupplies is a leading UK-based manufacturer and supplier of medical appliances specialising in continence products for managing acute and chronic conditions. The company also offers a portfolio of bandages and garments for the treatment of wounds and chronic skin conditions. Employing over 400 people in the UK, China and India, Clinisupplies supplies its products to the NHS and delivers direct to patients’ homes through Clinidirect, its dispensing appliance contractor.

Clinisupplies is focused on developing products which are simple and discreet to use. Its product development team works with clinicians and patients to develop a strong product pipeline to be manufactured at its CE, ISO, US FDA approved facilities.

Please visit www.clinisupplies.co.uk for further information.

Media
FGS Global
Alastair Elwen / Sophia Johnston
Telephone: +44 20 7251 3801
Email: KKR-Lon@FGSGlobal.com

Source: KKR

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HEXPOL’s acquisition of the shares in McCann Plastics, an American specialist in thermoplastic compounding, is completed

HEXPOL has completed the previously announced acquisition of the shares in McCann Plastics LLC from the McCann family. The company is specialized in niche thermoplastic compounds, with special focus on roto molding applications.

The acquisition is fully in line with HEXPOL’s M&A strategy of acquisitions within polymer compounds. Furthermore, the acquisition complements our current operations in the US and strengthens our market position.

“The acquisition of McCann is fully in line with our growth strategy with acquisitions within polymer compounds and strengthens our market position in the US. We welcome all employees of McCann to the HEXPOL Group”

Georg Brunstam, CEO HEXPOL Group

“I am convinced that McCann Plastics with HEXPOL as owner will become even stronger. It will give the company and the employees more resources to grow with new markets and customers while at the same time, improve the production efficiency even further”

Michael McCann

During the last few years, McCann has invested substantially in capacity and technology to enable the company’s further growth and to meet the increased demand of its products.

“McCann has a strong position within its market niche that complements and widens our customer offer. The company is well invested with high competence in specialized thermoplastic compounds. We are looking forward to continued growth with McCann being part of HEXPOL”

Jan Wikström, President HEXPOL Thermoplastic Compounding

McCann has during the last 12 months delivered sales of some 72 MUSD with a profitability level just below that of the HEXPOL Group. McCann has operations in two locations in Ohio, USA with some 100 employees in total. The main end customer segments are general industry, agriculture and the fast growth segment of specialized cooling boxes.

The acquisition price amounts to 120 MUSD on a cash and debt free basis and is funded by a combination of cash and existing bank facilities. All regulatory approvals and contractual terms for the transaction have been met and the acquisition has been completed. The business will be consolidated from 1 December.

For more information, please contact:

Peter Rosén, Deputy CEO and CFO
+46 (0)40 25 46 60
HEXPOL is a world-leading polymers group with strong global positions in advanced polymer compounds (Compounding), gaskets for plate heat exchangers (Gaskets), and plastic and rubber materials for truck and castor wheel applications (Wheels). Customers are primarily systems suppliers to the global automotive and engineering industry, construction industry, the energy, oil and gas sector, medical equipment manufacturers and OEM manufacturers of plate heat exchangers and forklifts. The Group is organised in two business areas, HEXPOL Compounding and HEXPOL Engineered Products. The HEXPOL Group’s sales in 2021 amounted to 16,005 MSEK. The HEXPOL Group has approximately 5,100 employees in fourteen countries. Further information is available at www.hexpol.com.

This report has been prepared both in Swedish and English. In case of any divergence in the content of the two versions, the Swedish version shall have precedence.

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HEXPOL

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Argos Wityu sells Juratoys to Maped

argos wityu

Argos Wityu, an independent European investment fund, has agreed to sell Juratoys, a designer and distributor of toys and games (Janod, Kaloo and Liliputiens brands) to the family-owned Maped group, a leader in school, writing, colouring and office supplies.

Argos Wityu orchestrated the spin-off and carve-out of the 50-year-old French group Juratoys in 2018. Leader in the educational and wooden toys segment, with strong, well-known brands, Juratoys has achieved rapid growth in its business. The company has nearly 170 employees, who generate annual turnover of more than €80m, vs a little more than €50m in 2018. The company’s growth and development has been articulated around several important principles embedded in its strategy:

  • Strengthened product design and development oriented towards early childhood learning;
  • Permanent commitment to an environmental policy to foster progress and preserve the world in which the next generation will come of age;
  • Rapid international expansion, which has increased the portion of sales outside France to almost half the total;
  • Digitalisation of the company’s activities in marketing and in the company’s relationships with its distributors and end-customers;
  • Acquisitions, such as the merger with the Belgian company Lilliputiens in 2020.

Through its concerted environmental efforts, Juratoys has: 

  • Reduced its consumption of plastic by 5.3 tonnes p.a. by eliminating packaging;
  • Organised the planting of 4,500 trees every year, including 1,500 in France, with Kinomé, a reforestation initiative, and ONF, the French national forestry office, in an effort to be both educational and inclusive;
  • Focused on using FSC wood and cardboard as well as packing materials derived from recycled plastic bottles.

Read about all of the group’s ESG commitments here: www.jouez-engage.fr

The merger of Juratoys and Maped is right in line with the two companies’ mission to support children as they grow and define themselves at every stage in their lives.

The merger will enable the two companies to benefit from their numerous complementary features, combining academic and pleasurable learning. Maped’s international distribution network as well as its industrial expertise will boost growth at Juratoys.

Ludovic Martin, Chairman and CEO of Juratoys, said, “The years we have spent alongside Argos have been fruitful and enriching.  We have the feeling Argos has always listened to us and supported us. We have been able to take advantage of Argos’s expertise and that of its other companies. We carried out several strategic projects such as digitalising the company and developing our international sales. We grew significantly and intelligently with the acquisition of Lilliputiens in 2020. Together we made strong ESG commitments on all fronts. A new chapter in the life of Juratoys is now opening, as it joins a leading company in a related and very complementary market to that of toys and games. Our geographical and cultural proximity will be an advantage for our development. Together we will continue to create opportunities for children and their parents to experience and share happy moments, both in France and abroad.”

Romain Lacroix, Chairman and CEO of Maped, added, “Acquiring Juratoys and its longstanding brands Janod, Kaloo and Lilliputiens gives Maped’s diversification strategy the boost it needs to pursue the new group’s targets. We are pleased to take part in building a large French group that aims to distribute school supplies and educational, sustainable and fun toys and games to accompany children throughout the world in every aspect of their learning.”

Gilles Lorang, Managing Partner Argos Wityu concluded, “The management of Juratoys has done a remarkable job managing both rapid organic growth and the integration of Lilliputiens, while continuing to carry out ground-breaking, strategic and transformative ESG initiatives. We are confident that the merger with Maped will enable Juratoys to continue its expansion. We would like to thank the management team for their pleasant and efficient collaboration, and we wish them all the best in the years to come.”

Argos Wityu team: Gilles Lorang, Mario Giannattasio, Pierre Cassignol

Seller’s financial advisers: Clearwater international (Philippe Guezenec, Marie Cassola, Valentine Mevel, Matthias Krimmel)
Seller’s legal advisers: McDermott Will & Emery (Bertrand Delafaye, Herschel Guez, Alexandre Adande)
Seller’s financial due diligence: KPMG (Olivier Boumendil, Benoit Luscan, Adrien Bes)
Buyer’s financial advisers: Natixis Partners (Jean-Noel Combasson, Driss Mernissi)
Seller’s tax advisers: Arsene Taxand (Franck Chaminade, Valentine Roulin)
Buyer’s legal advisers: Delsol Avocats (Emmanuel Kaeppelin, Caroline Da Lage, Raphaël Ory)
Management advisers: Facchin Avocats (Cyril Facchin)

Argos Wityu

Coralie Cornet
Head of Communications
ccc@argos.fund
+33 (0)6 14 38 33 37

Juratoys

Stéphanie Barthoulot
Head of Communications & ESG
stephanie.barthoulot@juratoys.com
+33 6 80 27 29 40

About Argos Wityu / www.argos.wityu.fund
One firm, two strategies.
Argos Wityu is an independent European private equity group that supports the growth of mid-sized businesses and backs their management teams.
With more than €1.4bn assets under management, over 30 years of experience and more than 90 businesses assisted, Argos Wityu operates from offices in Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Luxembourg, Milan and Paris. The group seeks to acquire majority stakes and invests between €10m and €100m in each investment of its two strategies:
• The Midmarket fund helps companies implement ownership transitions to accelerate growth
• The Climate Action fund aims at shaping European sustainable leaders by making their “Grey to Green” transition

About Juratoys / janod.com / kaloo.com / lilliputiens.be
Juratoys has been designing and distributing toys and games for 50 years. Its Janod and Kaloo brands, acquired in 2011, and Lilliputiens, acquired in 2020, are recognised for their design, the quality of their materials and their educational values, which contribute to early childhood development and learning. The company is also the exclusive distributor in France and Belgium of certain international toy brands, such as Ty. Juratoys manages more than 1,400 products under its three proprietary brands and places great emphasis on innovation, designing more than 350 new products every year. The company has 170 employees and generates annual turnover of more than €80 million. The company is present in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and China.

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Cinven Fund 6 to sell group.ONE

Cinven

International private equity firm, Cinven, today announces that the Sixth Cinven Fund has agreed to sell group.ONE (‘the Group’), a leading European provider of online presence solutions via mass hosting and business software products to small-and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’) and small-office home-offices (‘SOHOs’) through brands including one.com, Hostnet and WP Media. Financial details of the transaction are not disclosed.

Headquartered in Sweden, group.ONE operates across a number of European countries and has strong positions in the Nordic and Benelux mass hosting markets, where it provides mission-critical subscription services to c. 1.6 million customers. The company has more than 650 employees.

The Sixth Cinven Fund acquired group.ONE (formerly one.com) in February 2019. Building on Cinven’s experience through its successful investment in Host Europe Group (“HEG”), a European provider of hosting and domain services, Cinven identified group.ONE as a high-quality business with potential for both strong organic growth as well as attractive buy and build opportunities. Leveraging Cinven’s TMT expertise and network, Cinven built a strong relationship with the group’s founder, Jacob Nordestgaard Jensen, ultimately becoming the preferred partner for the next phase of the company’s growth.

Working closely with group.ONE’s management team, Cinven has driven a comprehensive Value Creation Plan that has transformed the business from a traditional hosting and domain provider into a one-stop-shop for online presence solutions for SMEs. Key growth initiatives have included:

  • Driving new subscriber growth: building on group.ONE’s leading brands, a series of commercial initiatives have been implemented to drive continued subscriber growth, further supported by the ongoing digitalisation of SMEs;
  • Expanding the product offering: group.ONE’s offering has been expanded, with a full suite of new hosting and software products developed in-house leveraging group.ONE’s strong technology ‘DNA’ and intellectual property;
  • Extensive focus on data analytics to drive customer acquisition, engagement and retention: group.ONE’s data analytics capabilities have been significantly enhanced, facilitating an improved marketing and user engagement approach, resulting in more efficient new subscription conversion and improved existing customer retention; and
  • Successfully executing a buy and build strategy: In line with Cinven’s plan of using the original one.com business as a consolidation platform in the fragmented European online presence market, group.ONE has made strong progress on its buy and build strategy, completing 10 add-on acquisitions under Cinven’s ownership.

As a result of the above and other initiatives, group.ONE has performed very strongly under the Sixth Cinven Fund’s ownership; EBITDA has more than trebled over the past four years. The business has proven resilient through the COVID-19 pandemic, benefiting from the shift to online and increased digitalisation among SMEs, as well as during the more recent economic and geopolitical uncertainty thanks to its recurring subscription model, its large and highly diversified customer base, and the mission-critical nature and low absolute cost of its offerings.

Stuart McAlpine, Managing Partner at Cinven, said:

“group.ONE was initially identified as an attractive opportunity by Cinven’s TMT team, leveraging its extensive experience in the web hosting and domain sub-sector through the successful Fifth Cinven Fund investment in HEG. This experience and expertise enabled the Cinven team to work closely with group.ONE’s management to accelerate organic growth and pursue targeted add-on acquisitions. group.ONE has performed very well under Cinven’s ownership; it is a great company, that is well positioned for further growth in the future.”

Stephan Wolfram, CEO of group.ONE, commented:

“group.ONE has achieved significant growth over the last four years. Working in partnership with Cinven enabled us to boost organic growth and to invest in our products and services for the benefit of our customers. Cinven has assisted group.ONE to evaluate M&A opportunities, completing ten acquisitions since Cinven’s investment in 2019 as part of its value accretive buy and build strategy,  helping to consolidate the fragmented market and expanding our geographical footprint and SaaS offering. We look forward to the next chapter of group.ONE’s growth journey.”

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory and antitrust approvals.

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Cinven and Ontario Teachers’ to invest in the combination of group.ONE and dogado group

Cinven

The combination of group.ONE and dogado group will create a diversified pan-European champion in the web hosting and domains market, with one-stop-shop solutions to support SMEs with their online presence and success.

International private equity firm, Cinven, today announces that the Seventh Cinven Fund, in partnership with leading global investor Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (“Ontario Teachers’”), has agreed to acquire and combine group.ONE and dogado group (“dogado”). The combination of group.ONE and dogado will create a leading pan-European one-stop-shop provider of online presence solutions for small- and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) and small-office home-offices (“SOHOs”) including domain, web hosting, cloud hosting, business software and digital marketing services. Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed.

group.ONE is a leading European provider of online presence solutions via mass hosting and software products to c. 1.6 million customers through brands including one.com, Hostnet and WP Media. Headquartered in Sweden, group.ONE operates across a number of European countries and has strong positions in the Nordic and Benelux mass hosting markets. The company has more than 650 employees.

dogado is a leading provider of online presence solutions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (the “DACH” region), offering mass and cloud hosting and digital marketing services to more than 380,000 customers through brands including dogado, Metanet and Herold. Headquartered in Germany, the company employs more than 500 people.

Cinven and Ontario Teachers’ believe the combination of group.ONE and dogado represents an attractive investment opportunity based on a number of factors, including:

  • Strong financial performance: group.ONE and dogado have strong financial track records. Both businesses have proven resilient through challenging macro environments, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the more recent economic and geopolitical uncertainty, thanks to their recurring subscription models, their large and highly diversified customer bases, and the mission-critical nature and low absolute cost of their offerings;
  • Structurally growing, resilient end-markets: The Nordic, Benelux and DACH online presence markets are expected to continue to experience growth over the next decade, driven by continued digitalisation across SMEs and a shift to higher value-add products that can help customers succeed in the broad and increasingly complex online ecosystem;
  • Highly complementary businesses that are well positioned in their respective end-markets: The combination of group.ONE and dogado will create a leading pan-European player, with strong positions in the Nordic, Benelux and DACH regions. In addition, group.ONE and dogado benefit from complementary product offerings and capabilities, such that the combined group can become a leading one-stop-shop provider of online presence solutions;
  • Experienced management teams: Both group.ONE and dogado are led by strong management teams with long-standing experience in the web hosting and domains sector. The combined group will benefit from the cumulative experience and complementary skills of the two teams; and
  • Extensive M&A pipeline in a fragmented but consolidating market: Both businesses have a strong track record of successfully identifying, executing and integrating add-on acquisitions. The combined group would represent a leading consolidation platform in the fragmented European hosting market.

Jacob Nordestgaard Jensen, founder and non-executive director of Group.ONE, who has remained a significant minority shareholder in the company, is reinvesting alongside Cinven and Ontario Teachers’ in the new transaction for a significant minority stake in the combined group. Senior managers from both group.ONE and dogado are also reinvesting materially in the business.

Thomas Railhac, Partner at Cinven, said:

“group.ONE has performed very strongly under Cinven’s ownership since its original investment in the business in 2019 and we are delighted to be continuing to support group.ONE’s growth strategy through this transaction. The combination of group.ONE and dogado will create a leading pan-European player in the online presence market, with significant opportunity for further growth, both organically and through buy and build. This is a sector we know well through Cinven’s successful investments in HEG and one.com.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with Ontario Teachers’ in this transaction. They are a committed, long-term investor and we look forward to working closely together with them and the combined group’s management team.”

Jean-Charles Douin, Senior Managing Director, Private Capital for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Ontario Teachers’ added:

“We are pleased to be partnering with Cinven to acquire group.ONE and dogado group. Both businesses are highly regarded in their markets and provide critical services to their SME customers, enabling them to maintain a vital online presence.”

“We see the combined business as a great fit for our European Private Capital portfolio given group.ONE and dogado’s leading positions in their respective markets and resilient subscription-based business models. We have a strong, long-standing relationship with Cinven and look forward to working together with them and management to support the company in the next stage of its growth.”

Daniel Hagemeier, CEO of dogado group commented:

“Today’s announcement marks an exciting new chapter in our company’s history. By bringing together the highly complementary businesses of group.ONE and dogado, we will create a new European market leader in the web hosting and domain market, with a unique and enhanced offering.”

“We are excited about the partnership with Cinven and Ontario Teachers’, who share our long-term vision for the business and will enable us to further expand our operations to best serve the growing needs of our clients. We look forward to working with the group.ONE team as we enter the next phase of growth.”

Stephan Wolfram, CEO of group.ONE, added:

“I have worked closely with the Cinven team since 2019, Cinven is now re-investing in our business, alongside Ontario Teachers’ in order to enable us to continue our strong growth trajectory.”

“That investment and the addition of dogado group, means that the combined group will be able to leverage its size and scale to significantly increase our growth opportunities across the Nordic, Benelux and DACH regions. We look forward to working with the dogado team in that journey.”

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory and antitrust approvals.

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Ardian becomes first European-rooted partner to support Ownership Works

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, announces being Ownership Works’ first European-rooted partner. This partnership will allow Ardian to support and extend the impact of its existing practice of profit sharing and implementing other value sharing schemes in its portfolio companies.

Ardian has been practicing profit sharing for nearly 15 years as part of its sustainability vision and organized its first distribution in 2008, following the creation of an internal charter detailing principles of shared value. Ardian’s commitment to profit sharing and other value sharing schemes is based on the belief that if we are to successfully transform the performance of portfolio companies, active participation from everyone will be necessary. Since then, Ardian has distributed a portion of capital gains at exit to more than 31,000 employees at 40 portfolio companies and assets through its Buyout, Expansion, and Infrastructure investments, representing between one to six months’ salary for each employee. Ardian’s Buyout and Expansion teams also recently committed to expand value sharing schemes to 100% of portfolio companies.

Ownership Works is a new US-based non-profit organization that partners with companies and investors to provide all employees with the opportunity to build wealth at work. This partnership with Ownership Works, established from shared values and common vision, will allow Ardian to go beyond actions implemented to date through its promotion of a shared ownership program to at least three companies by late 2024. The program will incorporate several features, including a broad-based equity plan that aims to provide all full-time employees with a pathway for sharing in the equity upside, an employee financial education program, and an employee engagement program.

“We are very proud to partner with Ownership Works and to implement shared ownership schemes in our portfolio. At Ardian, we believe that everyone who has contributed to a successful investment should be rewarded for their contribution. From Ardian’s perspective as a private investment house, we see our commitment to reward employees of portfolio companies as an important element of our license to operate. We are convinced Ownership Works will soon become a major movement in the private equity industry and we are proud to be its first European partner.” Thibault Basquin, Deputy Head of Buyout, Ardian

“This is another step in our commitment to implement value sharing within our portfolio companies. We are honored to be the first European partner of Ownership Works. Value sharing helps us to deliver positive social outcomes in line with our sustainability commitments and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 10, which seeks to reduce inequality. This shared ownership program will allow us to reward our portfolio company employees, recognize their work and daily efforts, and express Ardian’s culture and values.” Candice Brenet, Head of Sustainability and Managing Director, Ardian

“We admire Ardian’s leadership and existing efforts to create more equity for workers and are grateful to them as early champions of the shared ownership model in the European market. We know they will be critical partners to Ownership Works in helping us evolve our thinking and approach.” Peter Stavros, Founder and Chairman, Ownership Works; Co-Head of Us Private Equity, KKR

“We’re thrilled to have Ardian as our first European-rooted partner and with the natural alignment between the Ownership Works mission and Ardian’s existing efforts to share value with workers We look forward to leveraging this new partnership as a learning ground from which to explore expanding our consortium of partners outside the US. “ Anna-Lisa Miller, Executive Director, Ownership Works

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world leading private investment house, managing or advising $140bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,400 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks and family offices worldwide. Ardian is majority-owned by its employees and places great emphasis on developing its people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our 990+ employees, spread across 15 offices in Europe, the Americas and Asia, are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility.
At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last.

ardian.com

ABOUT OWNERSHIP WORKS

Founded in 2021, Ownership Works is a new nonprofit organization that partners with companies and investors to provide all employees with the opportunity to build wealth at work. Through partnerships, network-building, education, data, and storytelling, we’re inspiring a groundswell of interest among business leaders and investors to provide all employees with the opportunity to participate in the value they help create. Ownership Works brings together an unprecedented consortium of corporations, foundations, investors, labor advocates and pension funds that recognize the power of employee ownership to unlock new levels of success for companies while creating a pathway to wealth creation for workers. Through movement building and hands-on guidance, Ownership Works envisions a future in which broad-based employee ownership is the new norm at work. At scale, we believe employee ownership can help millions of lower-income workers build savings and wealth, often for the first time, at businesses that are more dynamic, resilient, and successful.

ownershipworks.org

Press contacts

ARDIAN

NEIBART GROUP RACHELLE GAYNOR

rgaynor@neibartgroup.com +1 631 278 2046

OWNERSHIP WORKS

TARA RYAN

tryan@ownershipworks.org +1 646 460 1079

Categories: News

Antin to invest in OpticalTel, a leading fiber broadband provider in Florida

Antin

The investment will support OpticalTel’s accelerated growth

New York, Paris, London

Antin Infrastructure Partners and OpticalTel today jointly announced that Antin has acquired a majority interest in OpticalTel, a leading fiber broadband provider in Florida. OpticalTel is Antin’s sixth investment through its mid cap fund.

Founded in 2004 by Mario Bustamante, OpticalTel is a fast-growing provider of essential high-speed internet and telecommunication services, with a focus on residential bulk contracts to customers located in homeowners and condo-owners associations. Antin’s investment will support the next chapter of OpticalTel’s growth as it deepens its customer relationships in existing markets and further expands its geographic footprint throughout the region, while continuing to deliver exceptional service to its valued customers.

Mr. Bustamante will retain an ownership stake in OpticalTel and remain on the board of directors. Luis Rodriguez, CEO and President, will continue to lead the company with the support of its long-tenured management team. As an experienced fiber investor, Antin will leverage its expertise to support OpticalTel’s business plan.

Kevin Genieser, Senior Partner at Antin, stated: “We see this partnership with the OpticalTel team as an immense growth opportunity. Fiber is at the core of modern infrastructure, providing mission-critical, low-latency bandwidth services to a customer base that has increasing demand for data. We believe OpticalTel is very well-positioned to meet this need in the fast-growing Florida market.”

Luis Rodriguez, CEO and President of OpticalTel, commented: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Antin as we enter the next chapter of OpticalTel’s journey. The strength of our relationships in the region speaks to our ability to deliver best-in-class technology and connectivity to our customers. With Antin’s support, we are excited to scale and continue executing at the highest level for those we serve.”

Mario Bustamante, Founder of OpticalTel, added: “Since founding OpticalTel 18 years ago, I have sought to provide essential connectivity services to those in my community. I am grateful to all those that helped build OpticalTel over the years and for Antin’s commitment to support the team going forward.”

Lazard and RBC Capital Markets served as financial advisors to OpticalTel while Latham & Watkins served as legal advisor. TD Securities served as financial advisor to Antin while Greenberg Traurig served as legal advisor. Citizens (administrative agent), CIT (a division of First Citizens Bank) and TD Securities acted as lead arrangers on the debt financing.

The transaction is expected to close in early 2023, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

 

About OpticalTel

Founded in 2004 and based in Coral Gables, Florida, OpticalTel is a regional fiber broadband provider serving large areas of South and Central Florida. OpticalTel offers a wide range of products and services, including high-speed internet, cloud-based video, and digital telephony services. OpticalTel serves a variety of communities including homeowners and condo-owners associations, student housing and assisted living facilities.

 

About Antin Infrastructure Partners

Antin Infrastructure Partners is a leading private equity firm focused on infrastructure. With over €29 billion in assets under management across its Flagship, Mid Cap and NextGen investment strategies, Antin targets investments in the energy and environment, digital, transport and social infrastructure sectors. With offices in Paris, London, New York, Singapore and Luxembourg, Antin employs over 190 professionals dedicated to growing, improving and transforming infrastructure businesses while delivering long-term value to portfolio companies and investors. Majority owned by its partners, Antin is listed on Euronext Paris (Ticker: ANTIN – ISIN: FR0014005AL0).

 

Media Contacts

Antin Infrastructure Partners

Nicolle Graugnard, Communication Director

Email: nicolle.graugnard@antin-ip.com

 

Ludmilla Binet, Head of Shareholder Relations

Email: ludmilla.binet@antin-ip.com

 

Brunswick

Email: antinip@brunswickgroup.com

Tristan Roquet Montegon +33 (0) 6 37 00 52 57

Gabriel Jabès +33 (0) 6 40 87 08 14

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