Sound United LLC, parent company to Denon, Polk Audio, Marantz, Definitive Technology, Classé, and Boston Acoustics, today announced that it has finalized the acquisition of Bowers & Wilkins, a leading designer and manufacturer of luxury home audio speakers, headphones, custom installation products, wireless speakers, and branded audio systems in the automotive and television markets.
“Acquiring Bowers & Wilkins combines its industry-leading acoustic design, engineering and manufacturing expertise in the premium category with Sound United’s scale, technical acumen and consumer reach to ensure Bowers & Wilkins thrives moving forward,” said Kevin Duffy, CEO at Sound United. “Sound United has a strong track record of enthusiastically protecting each of its brands’ unique identities and core competencies, and our approach with Bowers & Wilkins will be no different. In fact, we believe the entire portfolio stands to benefit from the addition of Bowers & Wilkins, which in turn translates into exciting new products, technologies and opportunities for our consumers, distributors, dealers, and all audio enthusiasts around the world.”
Geoff Edwards will ensure continuity by becoming President of the Bowers & Wilkins brand at Sound United. The acquisition includes all worldwide third-party distribution and licensing agreements under which Bowers & Wilkins premium audio products are currently sold. Investing in additional brands enables Sound United to better innovate across product categories, feature sets, technology partners, and consumer segments. As part of the acquisition, Sound United is eager to support the development of new Bowers & Wilkins products to support the brand’s position in the premium acoustic home audio market.
“This acquisition represents a new era for Bowers & Wilkins and offers a fresh opportunity to focus on what we do best, building the industry’s finest loudspeakers,” said Geoff Edwards, CEO of Bowers & Wilkins. “We’re looking forward to combining our organizations and becoming a part of the industry’s strongest portfolio of premium audio brands.”
Sound United is a portfolio company of Boston-based private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners, LLC. Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Bowers & Wilkins.
About Sound United
Sound United was founded in 2012 with a simple mission – to bring joy to the world through sound. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest portfolio audio companies and home to several legendary audio brands—Denon®, Marantz®, Polk Audio, Classé, Definitive Technology, HEOS, and Boston Acoustics®. Each brand boasts its own philosophy and unique approach to bringing home entertainment to life.
With centuries of collective experience, Sound United oversees the design and manufacture of a diverse array of premium audio products, including loudspeakers, sound bars, AV receivers, wireless speakers, amplifiers, turntables, and headphones. We create distinct and memorable listening experiences for a wide range of consumers in more than 130 countries. For more information on Sound United and our mission, please visit www.soundunited.com.
About Bowers & Wilkins
Bowers & Wilkins, founded in the U.K. in 1966, has been at the forefront of high-performance audio technology for more than 50 years. Bowers & Wilkins designs and manufactures precision home speakers, headphones, custom installation and performance car audio products that set new standards for innovation and sound quality, earning countless awards and accolades from the world’s leading recording studios and musicians. Bowers & Wilkins’ reputation is based on the unwavering pursuit of the best possible sound and an unsurpassable music listening experience. Learn more at www.bowerswilkins.com.
DURHAM, N.C., Oct. 9, 2020 /CNW/ – Espresso Capital announced today that it has provided North Carolina based data software provider Zaloni™ with a $6 million credit facility. The company will use the funds to further expand its sales team, make additional investments in its innovative DataOps software platform, Arena™, and drive revenue growth.
“We’ve found a true partner in Espresso,” said Zaloni CEO Susan Cook. “They’ve given us the flexibility we need to continue to grow our business in a challenging macroeconomic environment. Espresso’s investment will enable us to execute our plan, continue to improve our platform, and accelerate our go-to-market strategy by making strategic investments in sales and marketing.”
“Espresso’s flexible, non-dilutive facility gives us the opportunity to build on the momentum from the launch of Zaloni’s new Arena™ platform, moves us further toward profitability, and boosts our growth trajectory,” Cook continued.
“Zaloni is a fantastic company with a massive addressable market,” said Espresso Executive Director, Steven Michau. “Between the quality of their leadership team, the value that their platform delivers, and the tailwinds they’re seeing, we see a very bright future ahead for them and are excited to be able to help support their growth.”
Zaloni™ was introduced to Espresso through existing investor Baird Capital. “Part of the value that we bring to our portfolio companies is connecting them to the right players in the ecosystem to help them build their businesses,” noted Jim Pavlik, Partner at Baird Capital. “We’re excited that our introduction to Espresso led to this partnership with Zaloni and provides Susan and her team with additional growth capital to continue to expand their business.”
Cook has been thrilled with the outcome. “Espresso has been tremendous to work with,” she said. “They have a true appreciation for how companies like ours do business and structured a deal that worked. Not only that, there weren’t any surprises along the way. They’re rational, straightforward, and follow through with agreed terms, which resulted in a seamless process. We’ve been thoroughly impressed and are delighted to have them as a strategic partner as we scale our business.”
About Zaloni
At Zaloni™, we believe in the unrealized power of data. Our DataOps software platform, Arena, streamlines data pipelines through an active catalog, automated controls, and self-service consumption to reduce IT costs and accelerate analytics. We work with the world’s leading companies, delivering exceptional data governance built on an extensible, machine-learning platform that both improves and safeguards enterprises’ data assets. To find out more visit http://www.zaloni.com.
About Baird Capital
Baird Capital makes venture capital, growth equity and private equity investments in strategically targeted sectors around the world. Having invested in more than 310 companies over its history, Baird Capital partners with entrepreneurs and, leveraging its executive networks, strives to build exceptional companies. Baird Capital provides operational support to its portfolio companies through teams on the ground in the United States, Europe and Asia, a proactive portfolio operations team and a deep network of relationships, which together strive to deliver enhanced shareholder value. Baird Capital is the direct private investment arm of Robert W. Baird & Co. For more information, please visit www.BairdCapital.com.
About Espresso Capital
Espresso empowers companies with innovative venture debt solutions. Since 2009, we’ve helped more than 270 technology companies and their investors accelerate growth, extend runway, and increase strategic flexibility with non-dilutive capital. Learn more at www.espressocapital.com.
SOURCE Espresso Capital
For further information: Kevin Cain, kcain@espressocaptial.com
Paris, 09 October 2020 –
Eurazeo Capital has entered into exclusive discussions with IK Investment Partners, RAISE Investissement and the management team to invest in Questel, a major worldwide technology player in the area of intellectual property management. Questel develops both SaaS solutions and added-value services focused on patents, designs and trademarks.
Discussions are currently underway with potential co-investors. The financial details will be disclosed following these discussions.
About Eurazeo
• Eurazeo is a leading global investment company, with a diversified portfolio of €18,5 billion in assets under management, including €12,9 billion from third parties, invested in over 430 companies. With its considerable private equity, real estate and private debt expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its nearly 300 professionals and by offering in-depth sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term.
• Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, London, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Madrid.
• Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.
• ISIN : FR0000121121 – Bloomberg : RF FP – Reuters : EURA.PA
EURAZEO CONTACTS
PRESS CONTACT
PIERRE BERNARDIN
HEAD OF INVESTOR RELATIONS
mail : pbernardin@eurazeo.com
Tél : +33 (0)1 44 15 16 76
VIRGINIE CHRISTNACHT
HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS
mail: vchristnacht@eurazeo.com
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 15 76 44
MAITLAND/amo
DAVID STURKEN
mail: dsturken@maitland.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 7990 595 913
Apidos XXXIV will increase CVC Credit Partners Global CLO issuance in 2020 to over $1.6 billion
CVC Credit Partners is pleased to announce that it has priced Apidos XXXIV, a collateralised loan obligation fund totalling $402.5 million. This is the second CLO fund CVC Credit has priced in the last month, following the pricing of Cordatus XVIII in late September. Together these funds total c.$850 million of new issuance and will increase CVC Credit’s global CLO funds raised in 2020 to c.$1.6 billion. Pro forma for both funds CVC Credit’s global CLO assets under management now stand at approximately $17 billion.
Arranged by Deutsche Bank, Apidos XXXIV is CVC Credit’s second new-issue CLO to price in the US in 2020 and will increase US CLO AUM to approximately $10 billion. As with previous Apidos CLOs, the fund is primarily comprised of broadly syndicated First Lien Senior Secured Loans.
Cordatus XVIII is a €382.5 million European focused CLO, also arranged by Deutsche Bank. It is CVC Credit’s second European CLO priced in 2020, following Cordatus XVII in June. European CLO AUM now stands at $7 billion.
Kevin O’Meara, Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at CVC Credit Partners, said: “To price two deals in the US during such a volatile year displays the disciplined and targeted approach of the platform. We are pleased with our asset ramp for Apidos XXXIV and the recent improving market conditions created a window to price our liabilities at an attractive financing rate.”
Gretchen Bergstresser, Global Head of Performing Credit at CVC Credit Partners, commented: “This is our fourth new CLO issuance globally in 2020 – a good result, particularly for a year as challenging as 2020. Thanks to the cohesion of our US and European teams we were able to run broadly concurrent processes for Apidos XXXIV and Cordatus XVIII, enabling various operational synergies to boost the speed and efficiency of both pricings.”
Investment Values Leading Employee Benefits and Retirement Advisor at $2.65 Billion and Positions OneDigital for Continued Rapid Growth
New York, NY – October 8, 2020 – New Mountain Capital (“New Mountain”) today announced it has agreed to sell a majority stake in OneDigital, a leading U.S. provider of employee benefits insurance brokerage and retirement consulting services, to Onex Corporation (“Onex”) (TSX: ONEX) and its affiliated funds (the “Onex Group”). New Mountain and OneDigital employees will roll a significant portion of their existing investments into the transaction. Founded in 2000, OneDigital is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and has more than 2,000 employees in over 100 offices across the United States.
“OneDigital has established a leading national insurance brokerage and a customer- and employee-centric culture which drives business performance,” said Todd Clegg, an Onex Managing Director. “The company has a very impressive management team led by Adam Bruckman and is well positioned to grow both organically and by continuing its track record of successful acquisitions. We are thrilled to partner with Adam, the rest of the OneDigital team and New Mountain.”
“Our world-class employees and investment in holistic health, wealth and HR solutions have allowed us to continually grow our market position by providing our clients with a level of value that is unparalleled in the market,” commented Mr. Bruckman, President and Chief Executive Officer of OneDigital. “We look forward to our next phase of growth in partnership with Onex and New Mountain.”
“OneDigital’s more than four-fold growth in enterprise value since 2017 demonstrates New Mountain’s commitment to partnership and business-building through organic growth and acquisitions. With the support of Onex, who has deep industry expertise and an aligned long-term investment philosophy, we expect the company to have similar successes going forward,” said Robert Mulcare, Managing Director of New Mountain.
The transaction values OneDigital at $2.65 billion. The new equity investment of approximately $960 million will be made by the Onex Group, including Onex Partners V. Upon closing, the Onex Group and employees of OneDigital will own approximately 83% of the company. The transaction is anticipated to close by the end of 2020 subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.
About New Mountain Capital
New Mountain Capital is a New York-based investment firm that emphasizes business building and growth, rather than debt, as it pursues long-term capital appreciation. The firm currently manages private equity, public equity, and credit funds with over $25 billion in assets under management. New Mountain seeks out what it believes to be the highest quality growth leaders in carefully selected industry sectors and then works intensively with management to build the value of these companies. For more information on New Mountain Capital, please visit www.newmountaincapital.com.
About Onex
Founded in 1984, Onex invests and manages capital on behalf of its shareholders, institutional investors and high net worth clients from around the world. Onex’ platforms include: Onex Partners, private equity funds focused on larger opportunities in North America and Europe; ONCAP, private equity funds focused on middle market and smaller opportunities in North America; Onex Credit, which manages primarily non-investment grade debt through collateralized loan obligations, senior loan strategies and other private credit strategies; and Gluskin Sheff’s wealth management services including its actively managed public equity and public credit funds. In total, Onex has approximately $35.6 billion of assets under management, of which approximately $6.6 billion is its own shareholder capital. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and London, Onex and its experienced management teams are collectively the largest investors across Onex’ platforms.
The Onex Partners and ONCAP businesses have assets of $45 billion, generate annual revenues of $25 billion and employ approximately 165,000 people worldwide. Onex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX. For more information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com. Onex’ security filings can also be accessed at www.sedar.com.
About OneDigital
OneDigital is the leading strategic advisory firm in the U.S. and has consistently led from the front as a workplace ally for 20 years. OneDigital’s unique ability to converge health, wealth and human resources into a hub of services and business guidance has empowered companies to create workplaces that attract and retain talent while fueling innovation and company growth. As employee healthcare, wellness and workplace benefits continue to shift, companies of all sizes have relied on OneDigital’s exceptional advisory teams for counsel and its adjacent services, including employee benefits, holistic HR services, retirement and wealth management, employee wellbeing and pharmacy consulting. Headquartered in Atlanta, OneDigital’s more than 100 offices and 2,000 business strategists serve the needs of over 50,000 employers across the United States.
OneDigital has been named to the Inc. 5000 List of America’s fastest-growing companies every year since 2007, one of only 12 companies to do so. Currently listed as 18th on Business Insurance’s list of 100 Largest U.S. Brokers, OneDigital’s deep analytic abilities and experienced advisors deliver insights that reduce business risk and improve plan design and performance. For more information, visit www.onedigital.com.
oktober 8, 2020
Bonnier Ventures, the venture capital arm of family owned holding company Bonnier Group, today announced that it has invested SEK 45 million in Winningtemp – a fast growing HR SaaS scaleup from Gothenburg, Sweden. The investment was part of a SEK 157 million (USD 17.6 million) Series B financing co-led by Bonnier Ventures and UK based investor Frog Capital. Existing investors also participated in the round.
The investment comes on the back of an exciting year for Bonnier Ventures in which the venture capital arm’s annual investment mandate was doubled to some SEK 200 million (USD 22.6 million). The expanded mandate was decided after several years of strong portfolio performance and new funds becoming available from the Bonnier Group’s divestment of Bonnier Broadcasting last year.
Bonnier Ventures will continue on its proven path of taking active minority shareholdings in fast growing technology companies across the early growth stages. With the expanded mandate, the investment arm will now also be able to target later stage companies as well as continue to support companies in the portfolio into later stages in their growth journeys.
Ulrika Saxon, CEO of Bonnier Ventures commented: “We’re very excited to partner with Winningtemp and to support them in growing their employee satisfaction and performance platform outside of the Nordics. This investment ticks a lot of boxes of what we look for: An innovative product within a growing macro area, strong founders, a sound business on a scalability path, and a clear
fit for us to help with growth capital and expertise to accelerate their international expansion from a solid Nordic base. ”
Bonnier Ventures is the venture capital arm of family owned Bonnier Group. Bonnier Ventures targets significant minority shareholdings in technology businesses in the early stages of scaling up, typically making initial investments around SEK 20-60 million (USD 2-6 million). Bonnier Ventures works closely with their portfolio companies and provides active support as they scale up.
The portfolio currently includes 16 companies such as Acast, Natural Cycles,Doktor.se and Resolution Games.
For further information, please contact:
Ulrika.saxon@bonnier.se or victor.bodin@bonnier.se
Or visit www.bonnierventures.com
Winningtemp’s AI-driven platform enables organisations to visualise employee development and gain insights that enhance engagement and mental well-being while minimising stress and staff turnover. The company currently holds 60 employees across four offices in Gothenburg, Stockholm, Oslo and London. More than 100 000 users in over 20 countries engage daily with the platform.
The customer list includes more than 550 companies.
For further information, please contact:
Pierre Lindmark, CEO and founder Winningtemp
E-mail: pierre@winningtemp.com
Or visit www.winningtemp.com
The transaction forms part of the development of Ratos into a group of companies with a focus on profitable growth.
Ratos AB (“Ratos”) has signed an agreement to sell its entire 70% holding in Bisnode AB (“Bisnode”), excluding the business operations in Belgium, to Bisnode’s partner Dun & Bradstreet for an approximate enterprise value of SEK 7,200m, corresponding to an EV/EBITA multiple of 13,8x and an approximate equity value of SEK 3,900m. In addition, Ratos will receive a dividend from Bisnode during the fourth quarter 2020 amounting to SEK 175m. 75% of the equity value comprises a cash consideration, and 25% of shares in Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc., corresponding to approximately 1% of shares outstanding. Bonnier is also selling its 30% stake in Bisnode to Dun & Bradstreet. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approval and is expected to close by early 2021.
“This is a good deal for Ratos, which also means that we release capital and can increase the pace of our business plan with the aim of investing in organic growth and margin growth in the existing portfolio as well as add-on and potential new acquisitions. The sale is an important step in the transformation of Ratos into a company group with a focus on profitable growth”, says Jonas Wiström, President and CEO of Ratos.
Bisnode has undergone a successful development process over the past four years with a focus on an improved customer offering, stability and profitability. During that time, the operating margin has doubled from 7% to 14% for a rolling 12-month period. Future growth aimed at reaching a leading position will require Bisnode’s participation in the ongoing consolidation of an increasingly global data and analytics market, benefitting from Dun & Bradstreet’s global scale, expertise and market leading solutions.
“Ratos’s transformation into a focused company group is based on the premise that we will own companies that are, or can become, market leaders. In Bisnode’s case, we do not have the possibility to invest in the creation of a market-leading position in the market for data and analysis on our own. We would prefer to participate in the consolidation together with a global leading partner that can realise major synergies with Bisnode, which we are enabling via this transaction. It also feels satisfying to have found a good solution considering the interdependence that Bisnode has had to Dun & Bradstreet since 2003 as a reseller”, says Jonas Wiström.
Dun & Bradstreet is a leader in the industry for data and analysis and their modern Finance and Risk Solutions and Sales and Marketing Solutions account for an increasing share of Bisnode’s sales and currently amounts to approximately 33%. The companies have had a close cooperation for two decades and complement each other well geographically. Bisnode holds a strong position in Northern and Central Europe, while Dun & Bradstreet is a market leader in the US and holds a leading position in several international markets including a strong position in the United Kingdom. The merger will make Bisnode a natural platform for Dun & Bradstreet in Northern and Central Europe, while creating opportunities for achieving economies of scale in such areas as sales, product development, data sources and analytics.
Other financial information
After the closing date, Ratos’s ownership in Dun & Bradstreet will be approximately 1%, corresponding to approximately SEK 1,000m based on Dun & Bradstreet’s volume weighted average closing price over the past 20 trading days until 6 October 2020.
The enterprise value of Bisnode’s Belgian operations is SEK 42m, but this has not been included in the transaction since the company differs sharply from Bisnode’s other operations and does not offer synergy opportunities for Dun & Bradstreet. Ratos intends to divest the business separately.
Ratos continued development towards a group of companies with a focus on profitable growth
Over the past two years, Ratos has been focused on stabilising the Group and increasing the profitability of its companies. At 30 June 2020, EBITA on a rolling 12-month basis was SEK 1,573m (SEK 829m). In the first half of 2020, 11 of 12 companies in the company group showed improved earnings.
Ratos’s management believes that there is scope for improving profitability and organic growth within the company group. Several companies have achieved stability and a level of profitability that also enables growth through acquisitions. The sale of Bisnode will create the financial conditions for implementing the add-on and potential new acquisitions that form part of the plan for the continued development of Ratos.
—-
Press and video/teleconference
At 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, 8 October, Jonas Wiström (President and CEO) will hold a press and video/teleconference. The press conference will be held at Ratos’s head office (Drottninggatan 2, Stockholm, Sweden). Only pre-registered participants may participate in person. Participation can be registered by sending an e-mail to anna.ringberg@ratos.com. Please note that the number of places are limited due to Covid-19.
To participate in the video/teleconference, call +443333009263 or +18338230589 or follow this link https://tv.streamfabriken.com/2020-10-08-press-conference. The presentation material is available on Ratos’s website: www.ratos.com.
In connection with the press and telephone conference, Stephen C. Daffron, President Dun & Bradstreet, will present his view on the transaction and be available for questions.
This is information that Ratos AB is required to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out below, on 8 October 2020 at 05.45 a.m. CEST.
For further information, please contact:
Jonas Wiström, CEO Ratos, +46 70 868 40 50
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR and Press, +46 70 868 40 50, helene.gustafsson@ratos.com
About Ratos:
Ratos is a business group consisting of 12 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer & Technology and Industry. In total, the companies have SEK 38 billion in sales and EBITA of SEK 1.8 billion. Our business concept is to develop mid-sized companies headquartered in the Nordics that are or can become market leaders. We enable independent mid-sized companies to excel by being part of something larger. People, leadership, culture and values are key focus areas for Ratos. Everything we do is based on Ratos’s core values: Simplicity, Speed in Execution and It’s All About People.
About Bisnode
Bisnode is a leading European data and analytic company. The company helps organisations to find and manage customers throughout the customer’s life cycle. With Bisnode’s Smart Data approach, companies can increase their revenue and minimise their losses. Bisnode is Dun & Bradstreet’s largest strategic alliance partner. The Group has its head office in Stockholm, and 2,100 employees in 19 countries. At 30 June 2020, sales on a rolling 12-month basis amounted to SEK 3,754m and EBITA was SEK 522m. 1/3 of revenue is derived from the company’s strategic partner Dun & Bradstreet.
About Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet, a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics, enables companies around the world to improve their business performance. Dun & Bradstreet’s Data Cloud fuels solutions and delivers insights that empower customers to accelerate revenue, lower cost, mitigate risk, and transform their businesses. Since 1841, companies of every size have relied on Dun & Bradstreet to help them manage risk and reveal opportunity.
IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap II Fund has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in You Sure Investments B.V. (“You Sure” or “the Company”) from Synergia Capital Partners (“Synergia”). The transaction is subject to AFM clearance. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.
You Sure is a leading Dutch insurance distribution platform, providing insurance to small businesses and individuals. Operating mainly in the Property and Casualty (“P&C”) segment, You Sure acts both as an insurance broker and a Managing General Agent (“MGA”), and currently serves over 60,000 customers.
Headquartered in Ridderkerk, You Sure employs over 130 people across seven offices in the Netherlands. The Company was founded in 2011 by Ger Knikman and Joep van den Eijkel, who have been active in the insurance industry for over 30 and 40 years, respectively, and have worked together since 2005. You Sure partnered with Synergia in March 2019 and following the sale to IK, the co-founders will be reinvesting in the business to support further growth.
The Company has significantly expanded its footprint over the last nine years through strategic acquisitions, a strong customer focus and its effective IT platform. To date, 35 insurance portfolios have been acquired and integrated into You Sure’s proprietary platform, which the Company plans to continue with IK’s support.
The transaction represents the 11th investment from IK’s €550 million Small Cap II Fund.
Ger Knikman, CEO of You Sure commented: “We have thoroughly enjoyed working with Synergia, and with their support we have achieved our three-year plan in just 18 months. As we embark on the next stage of our growth, we are delighted to partner with IK. With their established presence in the Netherlands and track record of delivering long-term value, we look forward to proceeding with our strategic pipeline of acquisitions while delivering strong organic growth.”
Sander van Vreumingen, Partner at IK and advisor to the IK Small Cap II Fund, said: “You Sure is a strong insurance platform that has shown impressive growth under the leadership of Ger and Joep. We are attracted by the Company’s focus on quality and customers’ relationships driven by its proprietary digital platform. With the sector about to embark on a phase of consolidation, we are excited to partner with You Sure and help the business grow further and deliver even more for its customers.”
Leo Schenk, Managing Director at Synergia, commented: “We have had a fantastic journey with You Sure over the last 18 months and sincerely enjoyed working with Ger, Joep and the team. With a strong platform, ambitious growth strategy and their knowledge of the insurance business, they have a strong future ahead of them with IK.”
For further questions, please contact:
Maitland/AMO
James McFarlane
T: +44 (0) 20 7379 5151
jmcfarlane@maitland.co.uk
IK Investment Partners
Nastasja Vojvodic
T: +44 (0) 20 7304 4300
nastasja.vojvodic@ikinvest.com
About IK Investment Partners
IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €13 billion of capital and invested in over 135 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com
About IK Small Cap II
The €550 million IK Small Cap II Fund (“IK Small Cap II” or “the Fund”) closed in 2018 and invests in growing businesses across IK’s four core sectors: Business Services, Consumer/Food, Engineered Products and Healthcare. Dedicated investment teams in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Hamburg, London, Paris and Stockholm look to support businesses with an Enterprise Value of between c. €30 million and c. €100 million across the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com/IK-Funds/ik-small-cap-ii-fund
Founded in 2003 near Aix-en-Provence, Syclef is a leading French company specializing in the installation and maintenance of industrial and commercial refrigeration systems. Today, Syclef employs a workforce of nearly 800 people, following both significant organic and external growth in recent years. Since 2015, Syclef has accelerated its buy-and-build strategy with the acquisition of 15 companies. Together with Ardian, the group intends to continue this ambitious consolidation process in a market still very fragmented.
Syclef’s customer base, which is primarily composed of large and medium-size food retailers as well as companies in the food & beverage industry, relies on Syclef to manage its complex and critical refrigeration systems. The group has a direct sales approach which enables it to customize its offer and provide a bespoke service to its customers. Syclef operates a decentralized organization structure with a network of 30 independent companies throughout the country.
The group’s commercial strategy is supported by a focus on environmentally friendly innovation such as natural refrigeration fluids. This is part of its overall objective of reducing its customers’ energy consumption and environmental impact.
Marie Arnaud Battandier, Managing Director within the Ardian Expansion team, said: “Syclef’s management team has done a stellar job to put it in leadership position in the French market. In the coming years, we want to further catalyze the company’s growth by taking advantage of its expert positioning, its local strategy and its approach towards environmentally friendly innovation in this growing market.”
Hervé Lohéac, Chairman of Syclef, added: “We are very proud of the progress we have made with Latour Capital, which has allowed us to structure our external growth strategy over the last five years. Now, we are pleased to continue our journey with Ardian at our side, forming a partnership that will provide us with the right tools to further grow and develop both organically and externally. Our decentralized organization model and employee ownership are both key factors of our success, thanks to the involvement of our colleagues. This dynamism, combined with our ambitious training policy ensure our reactivity, our high maintenance standards and our ability to deliver high quality services to our clients.”
Philippe Leoni and Maxime Gutton, Partners at Latour Capital concluded: “We want to express our heartfelt thanks to the Syclef team. We are thrilled to have supported the strong development and transformation of the group with, among others, the introduction of a new senior management team and the structuration of support functions. This new organization allowed the group to triple its size in five years thanks to the acceleration of organic growth and the implementation of an active external growth strategy, with 15 acquisitions.”
Founded in 2003, Syclef is a French leader in the installation and maintenance of refrigeration systems. The group is specialized in medium and large refrigeration installations, in industrial refrigeration (logistics platforms, storage warehouses, food processing…), commercial refrigeration (supermarkets, convenience stores…) and air conditioning. The group benefits from a key player position in the energy transition through the use of innovative “eco-responsible” technologies such as natural refrigerant fluids.
Ardian is one of the world’s leading private equity firms with $100 billion under management and/or advisory in Europe, America and Asia. The company, which is majority owned by its employees, has always placed entrepreneurship at the heart of its approach and offers its international investors top-tier performance.
Through its commitment to sharing the value created with all stakeholders, Ardian participates in the growth of companies and economies around the world.
Based on its values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian benefits from an international network of 700 employees in 15 offices in Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), North America (New York, San Francisco), South America (Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). The company manages the funds of 1,000 clients through its five investment pillars: Funds of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
Latour Capital is a French independent management company with a strong entrepreneurial and operational culture. With €1.5 billion under management and 20 investment professionals, the company is an active investor, involved alongside the management teams of its portfolio companies. The firm invests primarily in companies displaying a strong growth potential in France and abroad.
ARDIAN
LATOUR CAPITAL
PRESS CONTACTS
ARDIAN – Headland
Gregor Riemann
griemann@headlandconsultancy.com +44 (0)7920 802 627
Since 2016, Nevion has enjoyed a positive development with expanded gross margins, key new product launches, and success with several new strategic customers in both Europe, North America and Asia. The transaction is expected to close in early October 2020. Nevion was the last portfolio company remaining in Fund II and the process to liquidate the fund will commence in due course.
Read Sony’s full press release here.
