Category Archives: News

Fivetran Announces $125 Million in New Financing from Vista Credit Partners

Vista Equity

Investment will be used to accelerate enterprise growth, global go-to-market strategy and fuel platform innovation

OAKLAND, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fivetran, a global leader in automated data movement, today announced $125 million in financing from Vista Credit Partners, a subsidiary of Vista Equity Partners and strategic credit and financing partner focused on the enterprise software, data and technology markets. The investment will be used to support Fivetran’s continued innovation and enterprise growth, bolstering its leadership position in the automated data movement market.

“In today’s macroeconomic climate, many of the most successful companies are data companies. From making revenue-impacting decisions to driving operational efficiencies, enterprises rely on data to run their business. Data availability across an organization cannot be something in question. Access must be as simple and as reliable as electricity,” said George Fraser, CEO at Fivetran. “Fivetran’s automated data movement platform helps enterprises connect to all of their data – whether on prem or in the cloud – with 99.9% guaranteed uptime. The financing will allow us to accelerate R&D and expand our automated data movement platform as we continue to scale globally.”

This past year, Fivetran has demonstrated significant momentum and continued growth. Company milestones include:

Fivetran also continued to add new product functionalities in the last year. Key updates include the introduction of Fivetran’s Metadata API which simplifies data governance for enterprises by automating the tracking of data in-flight. In addition, the company introduced new enterprise-grade capabilities including: support for Amazon S3 with Apache Iceberg which makes data lakes more effective and accessible for all users across the organization; High-Volume Agent (HVA) Connectors, AWS Gov Cloud support and private deployment – setting the industry standard with options for all deployment types for secure, real-time and high-volume database replication; and Lite connectors, which allow Fivetran to connect to virtually any SaaS application.

“Fivetran is an ideal partner for Vista Credit Partners as a founder-led, scaled and growing category leader providing mission-critical solutions to modern businesses,” said David Flannery, President at Vista Credit Partners. “We are pleased to provide non-dilutive credit solutions and operational support to George and the entire team as they continue to innovate and help more companies become data-driven.”

About Fivetran

Fivetran automates data movement out of, into and across cloud data platforms. We automate the most time-consuming parts of the ELT process from extracts to schema drift handling to transformations, so data engineers can focus on higher-impact projects with total pipeline peace of mind. With 99.9% uptime and self-healing pipelines, Fivetran enables hundreds of leading brands across the globe, including Autodesk, Conagra Brands, JetBlue, Lionsgate, Morgan Stanley and Ziff Davis, to accelerate data-driven decisions and drive business growth. Fivetran is headquartered in Oakland, California, with offices around the world. For more info, visit fivetran.com.

About Vista Credit Partners

Vista Credit Partners (VCP) is the credit-investing arm of Vista Equity Partners and is a strategic investor and financing partner focused on the growing enterprise software, data and technology market. VCP employs a highly disciplined approach to credit investing while maintaining flexibility to pursue investments offering the best relative value and investing across the capital structure. As of December 31, 2022, VCP has grown to over $6.8 billion of assets under management. Since formation in 2013 and as of March 31, 2023, VCP has deployed over $10.4 billion. For more information, please visit www.vistacreditpartners.com.

Vista Credit Partners offers solutions tailored to strategic objectives with growth-friendly terms and long-term investment horizons across both the private and broadly syndicated markets, sourcing deals directly from founder-led companies, through sponsor relationships, and from its deep network of experts, advisors and other intermediaries to support growth and unlock value through creative capital solutions and operational partnership. Vista Credit Partners has completed more than 495 software and technology transactions since inception.

Contacts

Fivetran Media Contact:
Ross Perich
press@fivetran.com

Vista Credit Partners Media Contact:
Brian W. Steel
media@vistaequitypartners.com
(212) 804-9170

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KKR to Present at the Bernstein 39th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2023

KKR

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR) announced today that Joseph Y. Bae, Co-Chief Executive Officer, will present at the Bernstein 39th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2023 on Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 8:00 AM ET.

A live webcast of the presentation will be available on the Investor Center section of KKR’s website at https://ir.kkr.com/events-presentations/. For those unable to listen to the live webcast, a replay will be available on the website shortly after the event.

Any questions regarding the webcast may be addressed to KKR’s Investor Relations team at investor-relations@kkr.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.

Investor Relations:
Craig Larson
+1 (877) 610-4910 (U.S.) / +1 (212) 230-9410
investor-relations@kkr.com

Media:
Miles Radcliffe-Trenner or Julia Kosygina
+ 1 (212) 750-8300
media@kkr.com

Source: KKR & Co. Inc.

Categories: News

GTreasury secures investment from Hg to accelerate growth as a global Treasury Management Software platform

HG Capital

GTreasury secures investment from Hg to accelerate growth as a global Treasury Management Software platform.

Chicago, Ill. – May 18, 2023: GTreasury, a treasury, payments, and risk management software provider, today announces that it has secured a majority investment from Hg, a leading investor in global software and services companies. As part of the transaction, the GTreasury management team and former majority owner, Mainsail Partners, will continue as investors in the business.

Based in Chicago, Illinois, GTreasury is a global leader in treasury management systems (TMS) for organizations worldwide. GTreasury’s SaaS solutions assist treasury departments to effectively manage liquidity needs, payment execution, bank relationships, FX hedging, and auditing and compliance requirements. GTreasury provides these practitioners with real-time insight and access into their global liquidity needs, serving over 700 customers across 30 industries in over 160 countries.

Renaat Ver Eecke, CEO of GTreasury, said: “This is a great moment for the team at GTreasury as it will support further product development and geographic expansion, helping us to continue innovating and bringing new products and features to an ever-growing customer base. Hg’s global software specialization and deep knowledge in this area will help accelerate this strategy significantly.”

Hg’s investment and support will enable GTreasury to continue its rapid growth as a highly strategic platform in the TMS segment, with scope to drive further operational improvements, invest in more product development, and continue its global expansion plans—including Asia Pacific regions and in Europe, where Hg has a deep network and 30-year heritage. Hg has invested around $9 billion in the wider tax and accounting software segment across Europe and North America over the last 19 years, with an increasing focus on software serving the ‘Office of the CFO’.

Ben Meyer, Partner at Hg, said: “Renaat leads an impressive team in a high-quality business, providing a leading solution in what is a fast-growing segment. We are excited to partner with Renaat and his team, and to work together with Mainsail, to support them in further scaling GTreasury as a TMS industry champion.”

Louis Kinsella, Director at Hg, said: “TMS software is becoming an increasingly critical segment within the office of the CFO, with companies continuing to focus on their cash and liquidity visibility and needs. This is a really long-term trend, and we’re delighted to be backing a great businesses and team which is at the forefront of this sector.”

“Partnering with Renaat and the rest of the GTreasury team over the past five years to build a leading treasury management platform has been very rewarding,” said Vinay Kashyap, Partner at Mainsail Partners.  “We believe the company is well positioned and are excited to continue our partnership along with management and the team at Hg.”

Terms of the transaction are not disclosed. Hg was advised by William Blair & Company, Skadden & Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, EY and McKinsey. GTreasury and Mainsail were advised by Guggenheim Securities and Wilson Sonsini.

For further information, please contact:

GTreasury:
Bret Clement (Clement | Peterson)
+1 (303) 229-2271

Hg:
Tom Eckersley
+44 (0)208 148 5401

Harry Mayfield (Brunswick, USA)
+1 917 818 5204
HG@brunswickgroup.com

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ProService Welcomes Silver Lake as New Investment Partner

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Silverlake

Positions Leading Bundled HR Solutions Provider to Drive the Next Chapter of Growth and Innovation in Partnership with Global Leader in Technology Investing

HONOLULU & MENLO PARK, Calif. – ProService, a leading provider of bundled HR solutions, today announced that Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing, has partnered with the ProService management team and employee owners to invest in and drive the company’s next chapter of innovation and growth.

ProService offers critical HR services including payroll, benefits, insurance, compliance, administrative and risk management services on a fully bundled basis. More than 3,000 employers, with over 70,000 employees, partner with ProService to reduce their employment costs, compete for and retain the best talent, and ensure compliance in complex regulatory environments.

ProService excels at serving employers in specific markets where it is challenging to manage the costs and complexities of HR, payroll, and benefits. In addition to Hawai’i, ProService offers bundled HR solutions to employers in Las Vegas, NV; Denver, CO; and the senior care and disability services market through its AdvanStaff HR, Obsidian HR, and ProCare business units, respectively. These businesses are each experiencing strong growth by providing excellent service and bundled offerings that lower costs and save time for employers and employees. ProService plans to aggressively invest in its technology and insurance offerings to bring more value to clients, and will grow where employers face challenges managing the rising costs and complexities of employment.

Silver Lake brings deep technology and industry expertise to support ProService in accelerating the company’s technology strategy and execution capabilities, driving the further enhancement of ProService’s solutions and services.

“We can imagine no better partner than Silver Lake as we continue to pursue our purpose of making it easier to be an employer in the markets we serve,” said Ben Godsey, President and CEO of ProService. “The Silver Lake team is an amazing complement to ProService, bringing its excellence in product development and tech management to our HR and service expertise.”

“ProService has truly mastered solving for employers’ needs, with comprehensive solutions for each local market,” said Lee Wittlinger, Managing Director at Silver Lake. “Silver Lake is incredibly excited to partner with the ProService team and utilize our technology expertise and business scaling experience to help better serve the company’s current and future employer and employee partners.”

“On behalf of our entire team, we are grateful to FFL Partners for their support and partnership over the past six years, and for how they have worked with us to pass the equity investment baton to Silver Lake,” concluded Godsey. “The sequential investments from these two firms validate our client-focused business model, and they are instrumental in making good on our promise that ProService’s success is shared by our clients, our employees, and the markets we serve. As we look ahead, our ‘Clients are Partners’ core value has never been more front and center, and we look forward to accelerating our innovation to better support employers in the local markets we serve. The best is yet to come!”

About ProService

ProService provides bundled HR solutions that make it easier for employers to succeed. We provide local HR services for time-consuming and complex HR tasks and help employers manage HR and employee benefits and costs. These bundled solutions include configured HR technology, payroll, scheduling, HR consultations, health benefits management, administrative & risk management, workers’ compensation, 401(k), and regulatory compliance. ProService’s family of companies serve over 3,000 businesses representing over 70,000 employees in Hawaii, Las Vegas, NV, Denver, CO, and the senior care and disability services markets through ProService Hawaii, AdvanStaff HR, Obsidian HR, and ProCare, respectively. ProService is accredited by the Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC).

About Silver Lake

Silver Lake is a global technology investment firm, with more than $95 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia. Silver Lake’s portfolio companies collectively generate more than $282 billion of revenue annually and employ approximately 713,000 people globally.

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Investcorp acquires leading Chinese renewable energy critical components manufacturer Shandong Jianuo Electronics Co. Ltd.

Investcorp

17 May 2023

Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, announced that it has completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Shandong Jianuo Electronics Co. Ltd. (“Jianuo”). Operating out of the Shandong Province and China’s Greater Bay Area, Jianuo is a leading provider of specialty premium components used in fast-growing high-end applications such as electric vehicles power management, battery charging infrastructure, solar and wind power generation, and 5G base station infrastructure.

Jianuo is well-positioned to benefit from the domestic and international drive for energy transition, decarbonization and increasing automation. It has become a highly regarded Research and Development and advanced manufacturing partner to a wide group of global providers of alternative energy solutions including in the US, Europe and Japan.

The acquisition represents a continuation of Investcorp’s strategy of investing in and scaling category-leading growth companies with deep engineering and technology know-how, particularly those with a strong sustainability mission.

Commenting on the acquisition, Hazem Ben-Gacem, Co-CEO of Investcorp, said: “The shift to a low-carbon economy will create entirely new industries and value chains within the next five to 15 years, and Jianuo is right at the heart of that evolving trend. This acquisition reflects our strategy of investing in innovative and growing mid-sized companies and offering investors high-quality alternative investment opportunities in future-focused industries that are key to the global energy transition efforts. This acquisition marks our first control buyout in China. Investcorp is pleased to partner with Jianuo and to leverage our long-standing global expertise in elevating family-run businesses into institutionally managed global players.”

Duncan Zheng, Head of Private Equity China at Investcorp, added: “We look forward to partnering with Jianuo’s founders, management and over 400 employees as we embark on the next phase of Jianuo’s growth journey. Jianuo is well-positioned to expand and deepen its strong relationships with leading global renewable energy players through its extensive R&D capabilities and proprietary manufacturing know-how in producing innovative specialty components.”

Wang Chuanli and Wang Chuanwei, Jianuo’s Co-Founders, said: “We are pleased to partner with Investcorp as we bring our family business into its next stage of corporate evolution. We remain committed to Jianuo and look forward to expanding its operations into new markets. Through Investcorp’s global platform, we will be able to better serve our existing and new customers in leading the alternative energy transition.”

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TidalSense completes major rebrand and raises £7.5m for innovative medical device

BGF

Healthtech company TidalSense, formerly Cambridge Respiratory Innovations (CRI), has closed a £7.5 million funding round. 

The round was led by BGF and Downing, with the capital going towards building out TidalSense’s diagnostics business further, and targeting the primary care and diagnostics provider market in the UK.

BGF has backed TidalSense since 2020 and is continuing to support its growth following this latest investment, which has also seen the business complete a major rebrand and change of name.

The Cambridge-based company has created a handheld medical device (N-Tidal) that detects changes in lung function sensitively, and enables quicker, more accurate and automated diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with asthma to follow.

COPD and asthma currently affect 1/10 of the world’s population—a figure that is rising steadily. It is one of the costliest conditions within healthcare systems, with the majority of costs associated with hospitalisations due to patient exacerbations in the later stages of disease. Early detection and diagnosis have the potential to slow the trajectory of the disease and, globally, the COPD and asthma diagnostics and monitoring market is estimated to be worth $8.2 billion per year.

Dr Ameera Patel, CEO of TidalSense, commented: “COPD is the third leading cause of death in the world and prevalence of respiratory diseases is rising. But the current clinical pathway for COPD diagnostics is stuck in the 1800s, and is ineffective, inefficient and expensive. In England alone, the NHS estimates that a third of people with hospital admissions from COPD have not been diagnosed, by which point their disease has progressed, their quality of life has deteriorated, and the cost to the healthcare system has ballooned.

Quick, reliable and accurate diagnostics have the potential to slash waiting lists and slow the trajectory of respiratory diseases. That’s why we’ve developed N-Tidal, which will enable earlier, accurate detection of COPD and will result in better patient outcomes and reduced costs for healthcare environments in the long-term.

Dr Ameera Patel, CEO, TidalSense

Tim Rea, head of early stage at BGF, commented: “As investors, we are focused on supporting transformational innovation. We have evaluated a broad range of propositions that involve the application of machine learning and are excited by the opportunities in the healthcare sector where we see scope to apply new tools to unmet needs.”

“The number of people living with respiratory diseases, particularly COPD and asthma, is rising globally, yet diagnosis and management are poor and expensive. The current standard of care leads to increased hospitalisations and deaths, and puts additional burden onto already stretched healthcare systems. TidalSense’s solution is a prime example of where advanced machine learning techniques can be applied to deliver faster diagnostics, greater efficiencies and better patient outcomes.”

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KKR Prices ¥61,500,000,000 of Senior Notes

KKR

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR & Co. Inc. (“KKR”) (NYSE: KKR) today announced that it has priced an offering of ¥44,700,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 1.428% Senior Notes due 2028 (the “2028 notes”), ¥1,800,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 1.614% Senior Notes due 2030 (the “2030 notes”), ¥1,500,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 1.939% Senior Notes due 2033 (the “2033 notes”), ¥3,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 2.312% Senior Notes due 2038 (the “2038 notes”), ¥4,500,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 2.574% Senior Notes due 2043 (the “2043 notes”) and ¥6,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 2.747% Senior Notes due 2053 (the “2053 notes” and, together with the 2028 notes, the 2030 notes, the 2033 notes, the 2038 notes and the 2043 notes, the “notes”) issued by KKR Group Finance Co.XI LLC, its indirect subsidiary. The notes are to be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by KKR & Co. Inc. and KKR Group Partnership L.P.

KKR intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the notes for general corporate purposes.

The notes will be offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers in the United States pursuant to Rule 144A and outside the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

The notes have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state laws.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase the notes or any other securities, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This press release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135c under the Securities Act.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, pertaining to KKR. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, estimates, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “outlook,” “believe,” “think,” “expect,” “potential,” “continue,” “may,” “should,” “seek,” “approximately,” “predict,” “intend,” “will,” “plan,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” the negative version of these words, other comparable words or other statements that do not relate strictly to historical or factual matters. These forward-looking statements are based on KKR’s beliefs, assumptions and expectations, but these beliefs, assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to KKR or within its control. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events or results may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements. We believe these factors include those in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2023, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These factors should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in our periodic filings. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. KKR does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date of this press release except as required by law.

Investor Relations:
Craig Larson
Tel: +1 (877) 610-4910 (U.S.) / +1 (212) 230-9410
investor-relations@kkr.com

Media:
Kristi Huller, Miles Radcliffe-Trenner or Julia Kosygina
Tel: + 1 (212) 750-8300
media@kkr.com

Source: KKR & Co. Inc.

Categories: News

Oakley Capital extends IU Group partnership with continuation vehicle

Oakley

Oakley Capital (“Oakley”) is pleased to announce it has raised a continuation fund to extend its partnership with IU Group (“IU” or “the Group”), the largest and fastest growing university in Germany and a global leader in education technology. Oakley’s continuation fund, backed by investors including TPG GP Solutions, HarbourVest Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Glendower Capital and Pantheon, is acquiring the business alongside Oakley Capital Fund V from Oakley Capital Fund III (“Fund III”). The business has performed significantly ahead of its original investment case and Fund III will realise a gross return of 85% IRR on its exit subject to completion.

IU is a digital disruptor in the very large and structurally growing higher education market, providing high quality, flexible and affordable online learning to adults and high school leavers.

IU Group
Fund III first invested in IU Group in 2017.

The transaction

The transaction extends Oakley’s successful partnership with IU Group and its senior management which began with its investment back in 2017. Oakley’s continued ownership and control of IU in combination with the leadership team running the business will ensure the long-term delivery of the Group’s vision to democratise education globally.

IU is a digital disruptor in the very large and structurally growing higher education market, providing high quality, flexible and affordable online learning to adults and high school leavers. The Group was an early adopter of artificial intelligence, successfully leveraging AI tools including early ‘natural language processing’ to scale its offering, and improve learning delivery and engagement with students. IU has the highest form of state accreditation in Germany and recently added separate U.K. and Canadian accreditations to its portfolio.

Oakley’s investment

Oakley has supported IU with investment in talent acquisition by leveraging its network to broaden the Group’s management team, as well as investing in student outcomes and marketing excellence. Significant investment in technology has enhanced IU’s IT delivery platform, enabling it to accelerate and scale every step in the value chain, from content creation to marketing and learning delivery. The Group has also hired more professors and opened new campuses to support blended teaching.

These investments have helped deliver strong student outcomes and increased enrolments. Student numbers have grown from 15,000 in 2017 to over 100,000 today. IU’s unique, digital platform now offers 350 accredited bachelor and master courses, representing the largest portfolio of degree programmes worldwide. IU has achieved an industry leading Net Promoter Score of 50+ and best-in-class student retention and outcomes.

Quote Sven Schütt

We are pleased to continue our partnership with Oakley which will help us drive the next phase of growth and continue our vision to democratise education across the globe. We are excited by the tremendous opportunity to further scale our business in our core markets as well as internationally.

Sven Schütt

CEO — IU Group

IU are democratising higher education by making it accessible to all:

Non-academic backgrounds

70% of IU students come from non-academic backgrounds.

Scholarships

The Group offers thousands of scholarships every year to students from disadvantaged backgrounds and developing countries.

B Corp

In keeping with its commitment to ESG, the business is working towards becoming a B Corp company.

IU Group is now on track to deliver c.€500 million in revenues in 2023. Oakley’s renewed partnership with IU will drive the next phase of the Group’s growth, with continued growth in existing markets, accelerated internationalisation driven by organic growth and acquisitions in key geographies. IU already offers more than 70 English language accredited bachelor’s and master’s degrees and will expand the portfolio over the next phase.

IU is also leveraging the power of Artificial Intelligence as the first global university to deploy an AI-powered teaching assistant across all its English programmes in order to enhance the individual learning journey for students.

Lazard acted as sole financial advisor to Oakley Capital in connection with the transaction.

Quote Peter Dubens

Sven and his team have redefined modern university education. They have consistently delivered on their ambitious targets, improved student outcomes, innovating with AI driven delivery, and expanding into new verticals and geographies. We are excited to continue to support IU as the Group accelerates its international growth.

Peter Dubens

Managing Partner — Oakley Capital

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Portfolio reaches a record level in a challenging economic environment

GIMV

Topic: Results publication

CEO Koen Dejonckheere:

2022 represented for our companies yet another period of severe turbulence and necessity to realign in terms of supply, energy, inflation, skilled teams, interest rates, financing and economic demand. Once more, they demonstrated their robustness and vitality by posting strong revenue growth (+24% for the second year in a row) and maintaining profitability (-1.7%). Our confidence in their solid foundations, strong entrepreneurship, and the perseverance of their management and staff has been confirmed. Although the first half of 2022 was difficult, effective pricing policies and cost management translated into a recovery in the second half of the year. During this period, the solid performance of our companies supported a positive portfolio result, with the platform portfolio return thus remaining positive on a year-on-year basis.

We continued our intensive investment activity in the past year, resulting in a record investment amount of EUR 261 million. We not only welcomed nine new companies to our portfolio, but the growth momentum through buy-and-build also continued to accelerate with no fewer than 36 acquisitions by our companies. As a result, the overall investment portfolio could reach a record level of over EUR 1.5 billion, an important source of sustainable value creation in the coming years. Combined with our solid balance sheet, this means we can confirm our dividend of EUR 2.60 per share for the past financial year.

Chair Hilde Laga adds:

Gimv is committed to integrate sustainability into the dialogue with our portfolio companies to ensure they are – and remain – future-proof. They can count on Gimv to guide them in achieving their sustainability goals. Gimv’s inclusion in the BEL ESG index is a public recognition of our sustainability vision and ESG efforts.

The results for the 2022–23 financial year relate to consolidated figures for the period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

Key elements

Results

  • Sustained strong revenue growth at portfolio companies in 2022 (+24%) and maintained profitability (-1.7%) despite strong inflationary pressure on costs (e.g. energy, commodities and salaries).
  • Although the first half of 2022 was difficult, effective pricing policies and cost management and lower working capital requirements translated into a positive portfolio result (EUR +50 million) in the second half of the year. The return on the platform portfolio remained positive for the full financial year (EUR +4.7 million or +0.4%; the total portfolio result was EUR -1.2 million).
  • Net result (group share): EUR -59.5 million (or EUR -2.20 per share)

Investments / Exits

  • A record investment level of EUR 260.6 million, spread across nine new holdings and a growing number of additional investments in our portfolio companies with 36 add-on acquisitions in the past 2022–23 financial year as part of a continued intensive buy-and-build strategy.
  • Total proceeds from divestments: EUR 175 million, with a total realised money multiple of 1.8x compared to the invested amount.

Balance sheet and portfolio

  • Sustained high investment rhythm and a record number of acquisitions made by portfolio companies ensured continued growth of the investment portfolio by 5.1% to a new record level of EUR 1,523 million (invested in 59 companies).
  • Available liquidity on the balance sheet increased from the end of the first half of the 2022–23 financial year to EUR 194.4 million (EUR 350 million financed by LT bonds). Gimv also has EUR 200 million of undrawn credit lines at banks.

Equity

  • Value of equity (group share): EUR 1,312 million (or EUR 48.20 per share compared to EUR 50.40 per share (excluding dividends) as at the end of March 2022).

Dividend

  • Proposal to maintain the dividend of EUR 2.60 gross (EUR 1.82 net) per share for the 2022–23 financial year, subject to general meeting approval on 28 June 2023.

Payment in principle through an optional dividend, which will allow Gimv, as appropriate, to strengthen its cash position with a view to continued portfolio growth.

 

Read the full document

Gimv

Karel Oomsstraat 37, 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium

www.gimv.com

Categories: News

GPR Announces Series A Funding on Back of Customer Traction

RHapsody
·3 min read

SOMERVILLE, Mass., May 18, 2023–(BUSINESS WIRE)–GPR, the world’s only provider of Ground Positioning Radar™, today announced it has secured an undisclosed amount of Series A funding led by top technology investor Rhapsody Venture Partners.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230518005231/en/

As the world’s most reliable vehicle positioning system, GPR allows vehicles to determine their precise location with centimeter-level accuracy, no matter how challenging road conditions become. (Photo: Business Wire)

GPR’s technology enables precise – centimeter level – vehicle localization in all visibility circumstances. Precise localization is an unresolved issue for vehicles in limited visibility environments such as snow, heavy rain and fog, and in unstructured environments such as mining sites, sidewalks, ports, tarmacs, etc. Currently, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) sensors are complimented with cameras and Lidar systems to overcome the GPS limitations, but these systems rely on clear above ground visibility. GPR is unique in its approach to look underground, scanning the ground below the road and creating a 3-D map of the road’s unique subsurface signatures. This map then allows reliable and precise localization, no matter the aboveground visibility conditions.

“Over the past months, we’ve seen an exciting influx of customer demand for our solution,” said Moran David, Chief Executive Officer of GPR. “Customers from all sectors are recognizing that the past approach to localization produces too many blackouts. There’s always been a great deal of curiosity for our solution and the recent completion of our MVP has now unlocked a swath of customer projects. Securing this Series-A allows GPR to serve its lighthouse customers and meet demand through the commercialization and industrialization of our technology. We are planning to be on thousands of vehicles in 2024.”

“GPR is fundamental to create safe advanced driving systems,” said Carsten Boers, Managing Partner at Rhapsody Venture Partners. “You can’t have reliable self-driving without knowing your precise location. The market was betting that localization would solve itself with enough computation of miles, but that bet is lost. The complexity of above ground data, paired with imperfect visibility conditions in the real world make the past approach not reliable enough. We’re excited about the potential for GPR’s first commercial deployment and for it eventually to become a safety standard.”

About GPR
Founded in 2017, GPR, formerly known as WaveSense, is pioneering the highest-performing localization solution for autonomous capabilities through its Ground Positioning Radar™. As the world’s most reliable vehicle positioning system, GPR allows vehicles to determine their precise location with centimeter-level accuracy, no matter how challenging road conditions become. Whether on-road in conditions such as unmarked roads, poor weather, urban canyons, off-road, or even underground, vehicles fitted with Ground Positioning Radar™ deliver a more robust, higher quality assisted, and autonomous driving experience that other sensors can’t. GPR works closely with OEMs and Tier 1 partners to help vehicles safely navigate where current ADAS sensors, including lidar and camera-based systems, fall short. For more information, visit www.GPR.com.

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Contacts

Kathryn Blackwell +1(248)210-8310
kathrynblackwell@yahoo.com

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