Partners Group to acquire significant equity stake in Telepass, a European leader in electronic toll collection

Partners Group

Baar-Zug, Switzerland; 17 October 2020

Partners Group to acquire significant equity stake in Telepass, a European leader in electronic toll collection

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has, on behalf of its clients, agreed to acquire a significant equity stake in Telepass S.p.A (“Telepass” or “the Company”), a leading electronic toll collection (“ETC”) services provider in Europe. Following the acquisition, Partners Group will become joint owner of Telepass with its current investor Atlantia, a global leader in the transport sector. The transaction values Telepass at an enterprise value of over EUR 2 billion.

Telepass is a leading European provider of electronic tolling services to approximately 7 million clients, with a strong asset base of more than 12 million active payment devices. The infrastructure services business processes around EUR 7 billion in annual transactions across 14 European countries, servicing over 105,000 kilometers of motorway network. Telepass complements its core ETC services with other transport-related services, such as digital mobility payments, for example for fuel, parking, taxis, car and bike sharing services, as well as personal mobility insurance services. Telepass’ core ETC business has long-term stable cash flows underpinned by high retention rates, with an average customer life of around eight years, and a fixed subscription fee model with low correlation to GDP fluctuations. This, combined with the growth potential of its mobility payment and insurance services, offers a unique opportunity for Partners Group to implement an operational value creation strategy in a resilient sector.

Following the transaction, Partners Group and Atlantia will work closely with Telepass management on a number of strategic value creation initiatives to accelerate the business’ existing growth trajectory, build scale across Europe and establish a leading pan-European platform for customer-centric mobility services. Key areas of focus will be further penetration and consolidation of the European ETC market through organic and acquisitive growth; strengthening the “one-stop mobility payment” solution for B2C and B2B customers; scaling mobility insurance coverage across Europe; and working alongside Atlantia and key municipalities to foster Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives to optimize urban transport, reducing congestion and CO2 emissions.

Gabriele Benedetto, Chief Executive Officer, Telepass, states: “We welcome Partners Group to the Telepass team. The firm’s excellent operational capabilities and history of supporting companies to grow their geographical footprint, expand service areas, and advance technologically will help us to build on our strong presence throughout Europe and drive our inorganic growth strategy. This acquisition is happening at a key point in Telepass’ growth and we look forward to benefiting from the size and strength of Partners Group’s platform, as well as the team’s responsible ownership approach.”

Livio Fenati, Senior Member of Management, Private Infrastructure Europe, Partners Group, says: “This is a compelling opportunity to support an outstanding, non-cyclical asset with a strong brand in the attractive, high-growth transport sector identified by our Thematic Sourcing approach. The Company is uniquely positioned to benefit from the growing electronic payment sector as the global transition to non-cash payments continues, as well as the significant opportunities to expand the asset base via inorganic and acquisitive growth in its core ETC business. Partners Group’s global platform and strong asset management capabilities make Telepass an excellent fit for our transformational investing strategy.”

Shreya Malik, Member of Management, Private Infrastructure Europe, Partners Group, adds: “We are looking forward to working actively with Atlantia and Telepass’ management team to expand into adjacent ETC markets, develop a more diversified customer base, and accelerate the growth of its already high-quality and resilient platform. In addition, Partners Group will work closely with Atlantia on key ESG focus areas for the asset, bringing the expertise we have gained from implementing sustainable measures across our global portfolio, and the emphasis we place on stakeholder prosperity, to this investment. We are excited to bring Partners Group’s experience in the sector to actively support Telepass’ next phase of growth.”

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Equistone to sell ROTH GRUPPE to Patrimonium

Equistone

Funds advised by Equistone Partners Europe (“Equistone”) have agreed the sale of their majority stake in ROTH GRUPPE AG, a leading Swiss provider of structural fire protection, technical insulation and coating solutions, to a fund advised by Patrimonium Private Equity Advisors AG (“Patrimonium”). The financial terms of the transaction are undisclosed.

Founded in 2001 and with 450 employees today, ROTH GRUPPE, based in Gerlafingen, Switzerland, is a leading regional specialist provider of passive fire protection and insulation solutions, as well as related services for the construction sector. Its portfolio includes consulting, planning, installation and long-term maintenance services for major infrastructure projects as well as public and private buildings. ROTH’s customers comprise an established and extensive network of general and construction contractors, installers, architects and companies specialising in construction and building services engineering, as well as industrial and retail companies.

Equistone acquired a majority share in ROTH GRUPPE in September 2016 and has driven the organic and strategic growth of the Swiss technology leader in recent years through a total of three add-on acquisitions. With the acquisition by Patrimonium, the aim is to leverage new market synergies and create long-term growth opportunities. The operational structure of the company will remain unchanged.

Dirk Schekerka, David Zahnd and Roman E. Hegglin led the transaction on behalf of Equistone. Equistone was advised by ZETRA International (M&A) and Baker McKenzie (Legal).

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EQT Infrastructure V to co-invest in Deutsche Glasfaser

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eqt

EQT Infrastructure V has signed an agreement to co-invest alongside EQT Infrastructure IV in Deutsche Glasfaser (“the Company”). Post the closing of the transaction, EQT Infrastructure V will hold a 12 percent stake in the Company.

After the acquisition of inexio late last year and of Deutsche Glasfaser (closed in May 2020), EQT Infrastructure IV combined the two companies into the new Deutsche Glasfaser Group. Following the merger of the two companies, additional growth and development opportunities have been identified. EQT Infrastructure V’s participation will help to capture these opportunities and secure support for the new Deutsche Glasfaser Group’s full potential plan.

Deutsche Glasfaser Group will continue to execute, and accelerate, the strategy announced in connection with the closing of the acquisition in May 2020. In short, the strategy includes growth of the Company by pursuing a large-scale deployment of “fiber-to-the-home” internet access in rural Germany.

The closing of the transaction is expected in Q4 2020. With the acquisition of a stake in Deutsche Glasfaser, EQT Infrastructure V is expected to be 10-15 percent invested based on its target fund size, and EQT Infrastructure IV is expected to be 80-85 percent invested.

Contact
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com

About EQT
EQT is a differentiated global investment organization with more than EUR 62 billion in raised capital and around EUR 40 billion in assets under management across 20 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America with total sales of more than EUR 27 billion and approximately 159,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

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

About Deutsche Glasfaser
Deutsche Glasfaser was founded in 2011 and has since then been pioneering “fiber-to-the-home” roll-out in rural areas in Germany. Today the Company is Germany‘s leading “fiber-to-the-home” platform with a best-in-class roll-out machine, providing its fiber-based broadband to more than 1 million homes passed and employing more than 1,100 FTE.

More info: www.deutsche-glasfaser.de

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Vow ASA and Tinfos AS has entered into a cooperation agreement

Reiten

16th October, 2020

Vow ASA and Tinfos AS has entered into a cooperation agreement to distribute Vow’s onshore ‘Plastic to Electricity’ solution in selected countries and markets, starting with Indonesia.

Vow offers a wide range of technologies and solutions which converts different waste materials into valuable raw materials and clean energy. These days, handling of plastic waste is a particularly relevant topic in the company’s dialogue with customers.

The solution which will be offered in Indonesia is mobile and container based. It basically converts plastic waste to electricity through pyrolysis. The solution will replace diesel in local power production. Similar container based units are already in use as part of a pilot project at the municipal waste company Lindum’s facilities outside Drammen, Norway, and at Vow’s own facility at Vernon, France.

“We are looking forward to working with Tinfos AS and deliver such ground-breaking technology and solutions to a significant problem in many communities. The main objective is to solve local plastic waste problems to prevent this entering our oceans, at the same time to generate energy. This means that we give plastic waste an economic value for the local communities and an incentive to solve the problem. We expect that the cooperation agreement will result in delivery of several such units in the course of the coming years,” says Henrik Badin, CEO of Vow ASA.

Tinfos AS is one of Norway’s oldest companies and among the first in the world to generate renewable energy in form of electricity from hydro power. Today, the company is involved in development and operation of run-of-river hydro power stations in Norway and abroad. Outside Norway, Tinfos AS is particularly engaged in Indonesia where the company has operated since 2009, and in Western Balkan.

“For a long period of time, Tinfos AS has witnessed with grave concern how lack of solutions for collection and handling of plastic has led to significant damage to the environment, both on shore and in the sea around Indonesia,” says Øyvind Frydenberg, CEO in Tinfos AS.

Frydenberg further adds; “By using Vow’s solutions for ‘Plastic to Electricity’, Tinfos AS wishes to contribute to solving this challenge, and at the same time provide meaningful jobs for local waste collectors in Indonesia.”

Tinfos AS sees strong synergies between the company’s ongoing activities related to development and operation of run-of-river powerplants in Indonesia and Vow’s solutions. Indonesia comprises around 17 000 islands with a complex logistics, which makes Vow’s ‘plug-and-play’ solutions particularly relevant.

For further information, please see company press release

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Unlocking the power of data-driven marketing

Gp Bullhound

New York, 15 October 2020

GP Bullhound acted as exclusive financial advisor to digital marketing firm Linkmedia 360 (“Linkmedia”), on its sale to GlynnDevins.

Linkmedia, founded in 2004 and based in the Cleveland, Ohio area, is a data-driven, digital marketing company that leverages data science initiatives in digital channels to ultimately support sales growth with a framework revolving around analytics, insights and action.

The acquisition strengthens GlynnDevins’ digital offering and improves its portfolio of products and services that effectively support sales and lead generation for its clients. Linkmedia Managing Partners David Wolf and Chad Luckie will serve roles on GlynnDevins leadership team. Linkmedia will maintain its office location in Independence, OH and will now be branded as Linkmedia 360 – a GlynnDevins company.

“We have long-admired GlynnDevins’ success,” said Wolf. “Combining our strengths ensures our current and future clients will continue to receive top of line marketing execution and the best value and ROI around their marketing spend.”

“We have built a reputation based on data science and marketing experience that has proven to be successful in advancing our clients’ sales and business goals. Joining GlynnDevins is a tremendous opportunity to continue to accelerate our clients’ successes with data-driven marketing solutions.” said Luckie.

Wolf went on to say, “With their extensive expertise and network in the sector, GP Bullhound has been a great advisory partner for us. They lock-stepped with us through the entire process and their team went above and beyond throughout the engagement.”

Adam Birnbaum, Director at GP Bullhound, stated: “We are delighted to have helped Linkmedia find its ideal strategic partner in GlynnDevins. The combination creates a leader in digital marketing, and we look forward to observing their continued growth and success.”

This transaction is further testament to GP Bullhound’s expertise in the digital services sector, with 20 deals completed in the last 24 months in the sector alone, having previously advised on the merger of Orca Pacific with MightyHive, the acquisition of Jellyfish by Fimalac, the acquisition of Dudnyk by Fishawack and the acquisition of Eruptr by HIG, among many others.

Enquiries

For enquiries, please contact:

Adam Birnbaum, Director

adam.birnbaum@gpbullhound.com

About GP Bullhound

GP Bullhound is a leading technology advisory and investment firm, providing transaction advice and capital to the world’s best entrepreneurs and founders. Founded in 1999, the firm today has offices in London, San Francisco, Stockholm, Berlin, Manchester, Paris, Hong Kong, Madrid and New York. For more information, please visit www.gpbullhound.com.

 

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Koyeb raised €1.4M first round to support your serverless journey

Isai

Original blog post

Koyeb simplifies serverless application deployment and data-processing with a unified experience for containers, functions, and ready-to-use integrations. Koyeb is designed for the cloud-native world with native continuous deployment and GitHub integration, all combined with the ability to use the Cloud and API providers of your choice.

We’ve seen massive interest in the Koyeb technology from engineers and companies wanting to spend less time operating complex infrastructures and streamline the development of new features.

At a time where data is everywhere, Koyeb provides strong primitives for data-processing and realtime event-driven processing capabilities to build reactive, data-driven, applications.

We’re happy to provide 1000 hours of compute, 1TB of storage, and 5TB of bandwidth per month for free until the end of the year! Get your account now!

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Frog named VC & Growth House of the Year for second year running

Frog Capital

15th October 2020 by Frog

We’re delighted to announce that we have come away with the “Venture & Growth Capital House of the Year” award at Unquote’s British Private Equity Awards for the second consecutive year.

The award ceremony was held as a virtual event and recognises the contribution of private equity to the growth of British business every year. We were in good company in the growth category, with Foresight and YFM Equity Partners also nominated.

According to Unquote, a leading European private equity specialist and the company behind the awards, our win was awarded for consistently maintaining high standards of work for the whole year, including fundraising.

Unquote says: “The judges and public voters were impressed by Frog Capital’s achievements over the judging period. The firm secured a first close for its new fund, Frog European Growth II (FEG II), with a target of €150m. Frog also finalised two investments, first with Amazon analytics software company, Sellics, which wrapped up FEG I, and secondly with health and safety software business SHE Software, kicking off the investment period for FEG II.

“Frog also completed two strong exits: EDITED was sold to Wavecrest while Skimlinks was exited to strategic trade buyer Connexity (with the deal completing during the Covid-19 crisis). Frog’s remaining portfolio has also performed well through Covid-19, with no companies requiring emergency funding, six out of eight companies continuing to grow in 2020, and 85% either profitable or funded to profitability.”

You can learn more about the award announcement here.

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Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Inc. Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering

Frazier Helathcare partners

| Source: Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (“Tarsus”) a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutic candidates to address large market opportunities initially in ophthalmic conditions, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 5,500,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $16.00 per share, for gross proceeds of $88.0 million, before underwriting discounts, commissions, and offering expenses payable by Tarsus. In addition, Tarsus has granted the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase up to 825,000 additional shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. All shares are being offered and sold by Tarsus.

Tarsus’ common stock is expected to begin trading on The Nasdaq Global Select Market on October 16, 2020 under the symbol “TARS.” The offering is expected to close on or about October 20, 2020, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

BofA Securities, Jefferies and Raymond James are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. LifeSci Capital and Ladenburg Thalmann are acting as co-managers for the offering.

A registration statement relating to the offering of these securities was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on October 15, 2020. Copies of the registration statement can be accessed by visiting the SEC website at www.sec.gov. The securities referred to in this release are to be offered only by means of a prospectus. A preliminary prospectus describing the terms of the offering has been filed with the SEC and forms a part of the effective registration statement. When available, a copy of the final prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from BofA Securities, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attn: Prospectus Department, or by email at dg.prospectus_requests@bofa.com; Jefferies at 1-877-821-7388 or by email at prospectus_department@jefferies.com; and Raymond James at 1-800-248-8863 or by email at prospectus@raymondjames.com.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction.

About Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutic candidates to address large market opportunities, initially in ophthalmic conditions, where there are limited treatment alternatives. It is advancing its pipeline to address several diseases across therapeutic categories including eye care, dermatology, and other diseases with high, unmet needs. Its lead product candidate, TP-03, is a novel therapeutic in Phase 2b/3 that is being developed for the treatment of Demodex blepharitis.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements.” These statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the expected trading commencement and closing dates. The words, without limitation, “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will” or “would” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these or similar identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties related to market conditions and the completion of the public offering on the anticipated terms of the offering or at all, and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of the preliminary prospectus that forms a part of the effective registration statement filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on the current expectations of Tarsus’ management team and speak only as of the date hereof, and Tarsus specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Media Contact:
Allison Howell
Pascale Communications, LLC
allison@pascalecommunications.com

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The Future of Repetitive, Physically Demanding and Dangerous Work: DCVC Co-leads Investment in Agility Robotics

Data Collective

By Kelly Chen and Matt Ocko 10.15.20

It’s difficult to imagine a time when humans labored over what is now done by washing machines, looms, tractors, and excavators. These tedious and physically demanding activities were the early low hanging fruit of automation that allowed society to scale, creating, not destroying jobs in the last 140 years, and vastly improving quality of life.

We’re now at another transformative moment as we see the side effects of an accelerating population shift; our able-bodied working age group is massively shrinking as a percentage of the population. Yet, even as this demographic shrinks, in many critical industries like e-commerce or logistics, hard manual labor is still critical and in growing demand.

This work is repetitive, physically demanding or even dangerous, and the part of the population carrying its burden is rapidly disappearing (see below). Nearly every week, we see news reports scattered with references to accident and injury rates in warehousing facilities that should have us alarmed about the nature of this work.

Additionally, due to the physically-intensive nature of these roles, it’s incredibly difficult to keep humans engaged in them long term. Logistics executives have long cited high labor turnover and cyclical temporary worker needs as their biggest pain points. Agility Robotics is tackling this “last mile” of difficult automation problems, focusing on repetitive, physically demanding, and dangerous work.

Source: https://www.economist.com/news/2014/11/13/the-world-reshaped

Agility Robotics combines two decades of research and development with one of the most impressive robotics teams globally. The team has built a programmable, bipedal, humanoid robot (read: robot with two arms and legs) that can unload, inspect, carry, and deliver items across a variety of uncontrolled indoor and outdoor terrains – things that come easily to humans but not to date for robots.

Existing robotic solutions in the $1.6T logistics industry tend to be narrowly focused, expensive, and often cannot navigate human terrain. Agility’s robots come in a “drop in” configuration for existing facilities and as an easily scalable solution. Importantly, in working closely with partners and experts on the frontlines of today’s logistics sector, the team has already demonstrated that it can technologically solve many of the logistics market’s largest problems – and pragmatically and economically.

At DCVC, we don’t back seemingly impressive ‘science projects’ that lack robust, real world applications. Instead, we focus on companies that channel their ingenuity, creativity and effort into solving urgent problems impacting both huge industries and our society at large.

When we met founders Damion and Jonathan, we immediately recognized that Agility’s robot was purpose-built for actual – not theoretical – industry. The team has spent years working with and understanding the needs of Agility’s partners and customers, and have built up industry expertise we think is second to none. This practical diligence is already paying dividends, with Agility having struck up a partnership with Ford to develop a last-mile logistics solution that combines Ford’s autonomous vehicle technology and Agility’s bipedal robot Digit.

Since we’ve gotten to know the Agility team, it’s clear they have put an incredible amount of thought into creating a solution which can eliminate the burden on human workers while providing real-world reliability, safety and cost-effectiveness. DCVC is thrilled to join the weighty mission at Agility, co-leading a $20m round alongside previous investor Playground Global.

To view the robot in action, visit Agility Robotics’ YouTube channel.

Bowmark wins Mid-Market Buyout House of the Year

Bowmark

Bowmark is honoured to have received the Unquote British Private Equity Award for Mid-Market Buyout House of the Year 2020.

The awards recognise the role of private equity in generating outstanding returns for investors while fostering growth in the UK economy. The winners were selected by Unquote readers and industry stakeholders.

Unquote commented: “Bowmark delivered strong investment performance over the judging period, with the companies in its two current funds delivering profit growth of over 15% in the year to June 2020.”

Charles Ind, Bowmark managing partner, said: “In what has been a challenging year for everyone, we are incredibly grateful to our colleagues in the industry for selecting Bowmark for this award. We are delighted that the outstanding work of our portfolio companies has been recognised, and our team will endeavour to maintain its high standards of delivery for our investors.”

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