Second strategic add-on acquisition for BMC Benelux in 2022
Strengthening of BMC´s market coverage in Belgium
Munich, November 25, 2022 – AURELIUS Equity Opportunities announces the second strategic add-on acquisition for BMC Benelux, a leading Belgian building materials merchant operating the two brands in the B2B sector (Youbuild and Mpro). BMC Benelux acquires the family-owned builders’ merchant Vandevoorde Bouwmaterialen NV.
The acquisition will enhance BMC Benelux´s customer service and better align the company with its supplier partners. Furthermore, Vandevoorde will contribute to the development of the BMC Benelux national network and expand the company´s footprint in the Belgium region of East and West Flanders. The site will be developed to a new hub for the Youbuild network. With approximately 90 % of Vandevoorde´s customers being B2B-professionals, the firm is well-positioned to support BMC Benelux’s growth strategy.
BMC Benelux is one of the top five players in a large market that remains highly fragmented. Operating two brand names: YouBuild and Mpro, BMC Benelux primarily targets small and medium-sized professional customers in the construction industry. The retail chain has a dense branch network throughout Belgium, a wide product range and excellent services, such as delivery, cutting and rental of specialty tools. BMC Benelux has been part of AURELIUS since October 2019.
Vandevoorde Bouwmaterialen is a building materials merchant based in Wortegem—Petegem. The company offers a site with approximately 19,000 m2, a showroom and four trucks.
On Friday, 25 November 2022, First Dutch completed the sale of its stake in Share Logistics to the French logistical organisation Groupe BBL.
Share Logistics is a large freight forwarder based in Barendrecht, the Netherlands, and offers a complete range of high-quality logistical services, mainly in air and sea freight. Founded in 1997, Groupe BBL is a European logistics service provider with a strong position in contract logistics, road transport, customs services and overseas transport. This is a strategic transaction for both parties to jointly serve their customers even more effectively.
The acquisition of Share Logistics contributes to Groupe BBL’s ambition to strengthen its Transatlantic network. Furthermore, by joining forces, Share Logistics adds new countries to BBL’s CARGO ‘Overseas Transport Network’, allowing it to expand its activities in the Euro-Mediterranean network further.
Groupe BBL hopes to strengthen its footprint and cargo network by acquiring Share Logistics. Christophe Besset, CEO of Groupe BBL, expressed his enthusiasm for the acquisition:
‘Share Logistics and Groupe BBL obviously share the same fundamentals: those of a client-driven midsize organisation passionate with complex and time-critical logistics solutions; those of a human-sized family business focused on employee’s expertise and engagement. We have a perfect match regarding the complementarity of the two companies. Share Logistics will add new countries to our BBL CARGO “Overseas Transport network”.’
First Dutch is proud that Share Logistics can realise its next growth phase together with Groupe BBL.
Adelis Equity Partners Fund II (“Adelis”) has divested its majority stake in Mobilhouse, a provider of temporary modular buildings for offices, schools, kindergartens and offices, to a consortium led by investment firm Kirk Kapital.
Following the acquisition by Adelis in 2019, Mobilhouse executed a successful roll-out of its modular space offering fuelled by, amongst other, ESG initiatives targeted towards public customers. In addition, the company has successfully shifted towards a 100% rental model.
In connection with the transaction, Steffen Thomsen, Senior Adviser at Adelis, will become the Chairman of the Board at Mobilhouse.
“Thanks to the strategic shift during recent years, Mobilhouse now has a solid and scalable business, with a strong management team. On behalf of Adelis, I would like to thank management and employees for their strong efforts these past years. At the same time, I am looking forward to continuing my involvement with management and the company, with a focus on further accelerating the growth of the business in the coming years” says Steffen Thomsen.
Benny Møller, CEO of Mobilhouse says: “The activity level at Mobilhouse has never been higher and I am grateful for the support we have received from Adelis and the board of directors over these past years. I am looking forward to working with the new ownership group to continue the development of our business”.
The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Adelis was advised by Carnegie and Kromann Reumert on the transaction.
Mobilhouse is a leading Danish provider of temporary modular buildings for offices, schools, kindergartens, offices and building sites to private and public customers across Denmark. The business was founded in 1961 and has a build strong ESG focus and offering during recent years – Mobilhouse was for example one of the first provider of Swan ecolabelled buildings in the Nordics. Mobilhouse is headquartered in Fredericia. For more information, please visitwww.mobilhouse.dk.
About Adelis Equity Partners
Adelis is a growth partner for well-positioned, Nordic companies. Adelis partners with management and/or owners to build businesses in growth segments and with strong market positions. Since raising its first fund in 2013, Adelis has been one of the most active investors in the Nordic middle-market, making 36 platform investments and more than 160 add-on acquisitions. Adelis today manages approximately €2.5 billion in capital. For more information, please visit www.adelisequity.com.
We are delighted to share that Adara portfolio company, Openbravo, is joining DL Software, a leading France-based group of vertical software providers, as part of its ambitious path to internationalize its business footprint.
Founded in 2001 in Pamplona, Spain, Openbravo helps brands and retailers looking to accelerate their unified commerce strategy and increase the agility of their operations. The fully-modular platform integrates online and offline channels, provides intelligent order management, real-time views of customers and inventory, and a complete store solution to deliver more personalized experiences.
Openbravo’s all-in-one cloud-based solution is used by international companies such as Decathlon, Flunch, Norauto, Sharaf DG, BUT, Toys ‘R’ Us Iberia, and Zôdio – reaching over 50 countries and more than 10,000 back office users and 40,000 customer touchpoints, such as point of sale and self-service terminals, kiosks, and others.
The acquisition is part of DL Software’s pan-European growth strategy to position itself as an international specialist in multi-sector vertical software.
“We are extremely excited to become part of a larger company ready to help us accelerate on our growth strategy. DL Software has an excellent reputation, and this acquisition represents an important recognition of our solutions, the team, and our achievements to date,” said Marco de Vries, CEO of Openbravo.
“This will help us take our business to the next level and that will benefit our existing and future employees, customers, and partners. I would also like to thank, in the name of all our employees, our previous shareholders Amadeus Capital, Adara Ventures and SODENA, for their fantastic support and guidance over the past years.”
We wish the entire Openbravo team the best as they start this new chapter!
Industrifonden invested in Occto already in January 2021 and today we are happy to announce our continued support and investment in the company. This €4.6 million round was led by Amsterdam based Newion, with continued participation from Munich based 42CAP and Industrifonden.
Occto is an Experience Data Platform built to fast forward the way companies create relevant customer experiences, everywhere. With Occtoo the user can easily unify all experience data such as customer, product, transactional, behavioral and content – and make it accessible in real time in any frontend of choice. Occto was founded in 2019 and their solution has become especially popular among upper mid-market and enterprise sized retailers with a need to support their omnichannel sales strategy such as Cartier, Intersport and Nordic Nest. The new funding will be used to accelerate expansion, grow the partner network and product development.
Niclas Mollin, CEO & Co-founder, Occtoo, said: “The relevance of our product is even stronger in this unstable market, companies need to focus on creating a relevant customer experience using the resources they already have and with less risk. We help them do that.”
Tomas Bie, Investment Director, Industrifonden, said: ”We are especially impressed by the fact that Occtoo can implement a new digital experience for a digital marketing department in days, whereas it today can take months to get hold of the data needed. We’ve been following Occto for a couple of years now and can see that the customers are adapting their platform beyond expectation. We are happy to continue supporting the team on their mission to create relevant customer experiences.”
CVC Credit is pleased to announce that it has provided the debt facilities to support TPG’s acquisition of DOC Generici, one of the leading suppliers of generic pharmaceuticals in Italy.
Founded in 1996, DOC Generici is a leading generic pharmaceutical company based in Milan, Italy. The company combines experience with specialisation to market a broad and expanding product portfolio with a strong presence in cardiovascular, GI, and neurological treatments. DOC Generici targets both doctors and pharmacies as routes to market, as well as end-users and wholesalers with a sales and marketing force consisting of more than 200 people.
Our aim is always to partner with top-quality sponsors and successful businesses, with stable revenue streams and strong cashflow generation, and DOC Generici is an excellent example of such a company
Andrew DaviesPartner and Co-Head of Private Credit at CVC Credit
Simone Zacchi, Managing Director at CVC Credit, commented: “DOC Generici is well-positioned with a strong brand operating strategy and a broad and diverse product portfolio, and we are excited to support TPG’s ambitions to enhance their leadership position further in the growing Italian generic pharmaceuticals market.”
Andrew Davies, Partner and Co-Head of Private Credit at CVC Credit added: “We are delighted that, thanks to our relationship with the sponsor, we were approached by TPG to participate in this transaction. Our aim is always to partner with top-quality sponsors and successful businesses, with stable revenue streams and strong cashflow generation, and DOC Generici is an excellent example of such a company.”
Eurazeo is delighted to announce that the Eurazeo Transition Infrastructure Fund (ETIF or the Fund) has reached first close with €210million commitments from EIF and a range of institutional investors.
The European Investment Fund has made a cornerstone investment of €75 million. The agreement is supported by the InvestEU program.
As of today, the fund has a portfolio of 3 investments in 3 sectors across 3 European countries.
With the first close of the Fund, Eurazeo strengthens its commitment to climate change mitigation and decarbonization across the transition infrastructure asset class.
As the world transitions towards a more sustainable and resilient low carbon future, the objective of the Fund is to invest in transition infrastructure, including the energy transition, the digital transition, clean transport, and circular economy. The fund is classified as an Article 9 fund under the European Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
The European Investment Fund has made a cornerstone investment of €75 million, using resources from the European Investment Bank and InvestEU, which helps generate additional funding in key European priorities such as the green transition. In addition to Eurazeo’s commitment of €100m, several institutional investors have made commitments to the Fund.
ETIF has already allocated substantial capital to a portfolio of three sustainable infrastructure companies.
The Fund has been seeded with 3 investments. These 3 portfolio companies, headquartered in 3 different European countries, operate in 3 different sub-sectors: Ikaros Solar (Belgian rooftop solar developer), Resource (joint venture to develop a plastic waste sorting plant in Denmark) and Electra (French headquartered electric vehicle charging point operator).
Alain Godard, managing director, European Investment Fund:
“Contributing to the EU’s green transition is a priority for the EIF. We are therefore very glad to be doing our part and investing in a fund that will make real, tangible and meaningful steps in the direction of meeting the EU’s climate targets. Investing in climate funds is a key priority for EIF, and with the support of the new InvestEU programme, we are further strengthening our contribution to the EIB Group climate action agenda.”
Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy:
“Developing the transition infrastructure needed to decarbonise our economies will require significant and sustained investment. InvestEU is an innovative and powerful tool that is helping to harness this investment. I am delighted that, with this agreement, InvestEU is channelling the finance needed to accelerate the deployment of a new green economy.”
“Climate change is pushing global warming to an unprecedented high; primarily because of carbon emissions from human activity. By taking a holistic approach across the transition infrastructure space, the Eurazeo Transition Infrastructure Fund will accelerate the deployment of capital to support the continued decarbonization of our societies, helping Europe achieve energy sovereignty and a sustainable future. We would like to thank the EIF for their trust and renewed confidence in Eurazeo’s teams, as well as our other investors who have committed to invest sustainably through ETIF. With them, we believe we are well positioned to deliver on ETIF’s ambition.”
IoThink’s innovative IoT platform will create new opportunities for Wireless Logic customers to control connected devices, monitor fleets and analyse data
Wireless Logic, the leading global IoT connectivity platform provider has acquired IoThink Solutions for an undisclosed sum. IoThink is an international software as service vendor, which provides tools for customers to quickly and easily build their own bespoke IoT solution. This agreement marks the latest step in Wireless Logic’s business expansion following the acquisitions of Mobius Networks and Jola in July.
Formed in 2016 and headquartered in France, IoThink is on a mission to simplify IoT. Its core offering is the Kheiron IoT Suite, which provides users with the required tools to quickly and easily build their own IoT platform. The fully customisable solution offers low-code development, over 750 pre-integrated devices, digital twin capabilities and templates for multiple use cases. In addition, Kheiron facilitates the management of information flows from different sources and allows integrators to interconnect with their own internal solutions under a single data format. Kheiron can adapt to different use cases to meet demand across different vertical sectors – from smart cities, buildings and industry, to retail and utilities.
Julien Dalmasso, Co-founder and CEO at IoThink Solutions commented: “Joining one of the world’s largest IoT Connectivity providers is a natural fit and a logical next step for us. Wireless Logic is a heavyweight in the IoT industry, as evidenced by its recent global momentum, partnerships and overall market success. Introducing our IoT enablement solution to Wireless Logic’s extensive customer base presents a huge opportunity. This milestone is testament to the hard work and dedication of the amazing team at IoThink. We are all very excited at the prospect of what we can achieve as part of the group.”
Joining one of the world’s largest IoT Connectivity providers is a natural fit and a logical next step for us. Wireless Logic is a heavyweight in the IoT industry, as evidenced by its recent global momentum, partnerships and overall market success.
Jeremy Mirouf, Co-founder and CTO at IoThink Solutions commented: “We are delighted to be joining the Wireless Logic Group. This will enable us to accelerate the development of our IoT enablement capabilities for our 1,000+ customers across the globe, as well as introducing our own capabilities to Wireless Logic customers. Innovation is at our core, and we are passionate about delivering scalable, cost effective and user-friendly software solutions to simplify IoT. I am thrilled that Wireless Logic’s reliable and secure connectivity solutions will now be available to IoThink customers. This will provide our joint customer base with a horizontal ‘one-stop-shop’ to help speed up and simplify global IoT deployments.”
We are delighted to be joining the Wireless Logic Group. This will enable us to accelerate the development of our IoT enablement capabilities for our 1,000+ customers across the globe, as well as introducing our own capabilities to Wireless Logic customers.
Jeremy Mirouf, Co-founder and CTO, IoThink Solutions
Marc Niccolini, Managing Director, Group Revenue (CRO) at Wireless Logic commented: “This acquisition will expand Wireless Logic’s position into an adjacent part of the value chain. With the talented IoThink team onboard, our customers will be able to take charge and accelerate their IoT deployments through the low-code development, templates, and large device library available on the Kheiron IoT Suite. Similarly, our connectivity solutions will be a valuable addition to Kheiron, helping customers to decrease complexity and time to market. We look forward to working closely with the talented and innovative IoThink team.”
This acquisition will expand Wireless Logic’s position into an adjacent part of the value chain. With the talented IoThink team onboard, our customers will be able to take charge and accelerate their IoT deployments through the low-code development, templates, and large device library available on the Kheiron IoT Suite.
Marc Niccolini, Managing Director, Group Revenue (CRO), Wireless Logic
Oliver Tucker, CEO of Wireless Logic commented: “There are great synergies between Wireless Logic and IoThink Solutions, and this is an exciting acquisition for us, as it extends our reach to an adjacent part of the value chain. As IoT scales, the tools and solutions that IoThink offers are increasingly important to optimise any IoT project for maximum efficiency, and we are excited to bring these capabilities to our customers as they accelerate their own deployments. Similarly, our connectivity solutions will be a valuable addition to the Kheiron IoT Suite, helping customers decrease complexity and time to market. We look forward to working closely with the talented and innovative IoThink team.”
There are great synergies between Wireless Logic and IoThink Solutions, and this an exciting acquisition for us, as it extends our reach to an adjacent part of the value chain.
The construction company SSEA, which is part of SSEA Group, has signed an agreement to build a new police building in Borlänge. The agreement is a collaboration contract and includes project development and production.
The police building will be built at the Gymnasium 2 property in Borlänge. The finished premises will comprise 20,000 square metres, and the building will be customised according to the Swedish Police Authority’s need and requirements. The project is divided into two phases and is being carried out in a partnership between SSEA, Hemsö and the Swedish Police Authority. Project development and preparations for production will be completed in Phase 1, while Phase 2 will focus on contract completion.
“The construction companies in the Ratos family are building a sustainable society. This includes being a world leader when it comes to building in wood – and being trusted to build society’s most important properties. As the owner, we’re pleased with this development and would like to congratulate SSEA on an impressive collaboration contract with the Swedish Police Authority and Hemsö,” says Christian Johansson Gebauer, Chairman of the Board of SSEA Group and President Business Area Construction & Services, Ratos.
“We’re proud of the trust placed in us to work with organisations like the Swedish Police Authority and Hemsö. Our partnering model is attractive when procuring this kind of project. Building Borlänge’s new police building is an important step for SSEA’s development in the region,” says Christian Wieland, CEO of SSEA and SSEA Group.
About SSEA
SSEA is part of the Ratos-owned construction group SSEA Group. SSEA has solid expertise in carrying out large and technically complex collaboration/partnering projects. The company is also a world-leading general contractor within wood buildings. SSEA carries out construction projects for customers in the private and public sectors across Sweden. The head office is in Stockholm, with regional offices in Malmö and Luleå.
About SSEA Group
SSEA Group is a Swedish construction group, with operations throughout the country. The Group’s operations focus on collaboration/partnering projects in which the customer’s most important priorities are high on the agenda. The Group has two subsidiaries: Vestia and SSEA. SSEA Group has approximately 200 employees, 60 projects in ten cities and a Satisfied Customer Index (SCI) of 96%.
For more information and media, please contact:
Josefine Uppling, VP Communication, Ratos, +46 76 114 54 21
About Ratos Ratos is a business group consisting of 16 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer and Industry. In total 2021, the companies have approximately SEK 28 billion in net sales. Our business concept is to own and develop companies that are or can become market leaders. We have a distinct corporate culture and strategy – everything we do is based on our core values: Simplicity, Speed in execution and It’s All About People. We enable independent companies to excel by being part of something larger. People, leadership, culture and values are key focus areas.
London — November 23, 2021 — Espresso Capital announced today that it has provided London-based Moteefe, the ecommerce platform providing infrastructure, customization, and global fulfillment for retailers of all sizes, with an £8 million credit facility. The company will use the capital to further enhance its platform and make strategic investments in its sales and marketing.
“With this non-dilutive financing from Espresso, we’re able to accelerate our efforts to expand our offerings, bringing best-in-class, print-on-demand enterprise solutions to market,” says Mathijs Eefting, CEO of Moteefe. “The next generation of our platform will be more agile and API led, enabling a variety of new expansion opportunities.”
Moteefe has developed a unique fully integrated supply chain platform leveraging leading on-demand suppliers worldwide to provide a wide variety of customized products. On-demand ecommerce has seen tremendous growth in recent years, with larger retailers becoming increasingly interested in the space. Moteefe’s end-to-end ecommerce platform enables anyone to set up an online store or offer customized products on their own site in minutes.
“We’re pleased to be able to provide Moteefe with the capital they need to accelerate their efforts to bring a leading enterprise print-on-demand solution to market,” says Espresso Managing Director Will Hutchins. “Mathijs and his team have a differentiated platform, are well-placed to capitalize on prevailing market trends toward customization and sustainability, and are backed by leading investors.”
“Working with Espresso is about more than just accessing capital,” notes Eefting. “In a very short period of time, we’ve developed strong relationships with the team there. It already feels like we’ve added a true partner to the business.”
Moteefe’s existing investors include BGF, Force Over Mass Capital, and Gresham House.
About Moteefe
Moteefe, founded in 2015, enables brands and retailers of all sizes to offer unique and personalised merchandisable products within minutes. It is the only technology enabled end-to-end e-commerce solution to manage the entire production and fulfilment of high quality, on demand, customised products globally. Every order is produced and routed as close to the end-consumer as possible for cost and carbon reduction. With offices in London, Lisbon and Hanoi, and 20 fulfilment partners around the world, Moteefe is a Deloitte Technology Fast 50 and Technology Fast 500 EMEA company.
About Espresso Capital
Espresso empowers companies with innovative venture debt solutions. Since 2009, we’ve helped more than 300 technology companies and their investors accelerate growth, extend runway, and increase strategic flexibility with non-dilutive capital. Learn more at espressocapital.com.
Media contact
Kevin Cain
Head of Marketing, Espresso Capital
kcain@espressocapital.com
