GTCR Announces Strategic Investment in Senske Services

GTCR Executes the Leaders Strategy™ to Support Growth and Expansion of Leading Lawn Care and Pest Control Platform
CHICAGO, IL — December 16, 2022

GTCR, a leading private equity firm, announced today that it has made a strategic investment in Senske Services (“Senske” or the “Company”).

Founded in 1947 and based in Kennewick, WA, Senske Services is a leading regional provider of recurring subscription-based residential lawn care, pest control, and other home services. The Company serves over 80,000 residential and commercial customers across 16 branches in Washington, Utah, Idaho, and Colorado.

In executing the Leaders Strategy™ GTCR is partnering with Casey Taylor and Nathan Hurst, former CEOs of the Americas region for route-based commercial water filtration business Waterlogic, to invest in Senske. At Waterlogic, Messrs. Taylor and Hurst built a consolidation platform, completing over 60 acquisitions in the last five years while building a fully-integrated national brand. Messrs. Taylor and Hurst are joining Senske as Co-CEOs and succeed owner Chris Senske who has led the Company since 1974. Mr. Senske will remain a substantial shareholder of the Company and remain on the board of directors.

Senske Services will serve as the platform for a broader national expansion in the residential lawn care and pest control industries. As part of the transaction, GTCR has committed significant capital to fund acquisitions and organic growth opportunities.

“Chris and the Senske team have built a tremendous business that is well-positioned to serve as the platform for further investment in a growing sector,” said GTCR Principal, Tom Ehrhart. “The entire Senske organization should be proud of the business they have built. We look forward to Casey and Nate working with the Company and its employees to continue providing exceptional customer service while expanding into new geographies and service offerings nationally.”

“We are excited to partner with GTCR and look forward to continuing to provide Senske’s customers with exceptional service,” said Messrs. Taylor and Hurst. “GTCR brings significant resources and experience in building companies and together we expect to grow Senske into a leading national lawn care and pest control company.”

David Donnini, Managing Director and Head of Business & Consumer Services at GTCR, added: “Through their exceptional customer service and commitment to integrity, Senske has grown to become one of the leading lawn care and pest control companies in the U.S. We are thrilled to be partnering with Casey and Nate, as well as Senske, at this exciting time in the Company’s evolution.”

Solomon Partners served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor to GTCR. LR Tullius served as exclusive financial advisor to Senske Services and Gravis Law served as legal advisor to Senske.

About GTCR
Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm that pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. GTCR is focused on investing in transformative growth in companies in the Business & Consumer Services, Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare and Technology, Media & Telecommunications sectors. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $24 billion in over 270 companies, and the firm currently manages over $26 billion in equity capital. GTCR is based in Chicago with offices in New York and West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

About Senske Services
Founded in 1947, Senske Services is a market-leading, multi-state home services company focused on growing organically and through mergers and acquisitions in the Western United States. The Senske family of brands includes Senske Pest Control, Senske Lawn and Tree Care, Senske Grounds Maintenance, Fit Turf, and Christmas Décor by Senske. Senske is actively exploring expansion opportunities; for companies interested in selling their lawn care or pest control business, contact Jordan Cano at 214.497.7245 or visit www.senske.com.

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Dynasty Financial Partners Closes Minority Private Capital Raise to Fuel the Growth of Its Offering to Clients

Abry Partners logo

SAINT PETERSURG, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dynasty Financial Partners (“Dynasty”) today announced the company has closed a minority private capital raise, adding Abry Partners (“Abry”) and The Charles Schwab Corporation (“Schwab”) as new minority investors. Several of Dynasty’s existing investors and directors of the board have invested additional capital alongside Abry and Schwab in the round. Additionally, several firms in the Dynasty Network have invested in Dynasty as part of an ‘equity swap’ program that has been launched concurrent with the round.

“We are excited to be able to deploy this growth capital on behalf of our clients in newly expanded ways. We will look to revisit the public markets when the timing is right for our business.”

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Dynasty’s Network of clients own and operate independent RIAs that leverage Dynasty’s integrated technology, services and business solutions, robust turnkey asset management program (TAMP), and capital solutions. This integrated platform model provides synthetic scale that allows Dynasty-powered RIAs to be independent but not alone.

Dynasty intends to use some of this capital to make meaningful investments in technology and technology integrations, the addition of services to its Core Services offering, the further buildout of its TAMP and investment solutions offering, and the addition of intellectual capital and key talent. The company also plans to invest in the growth of Dynasty Capital Strategies, making further equity investments in its network of clients and making capital available for inorganic growth. The company will also explore select opportunities for corporate development and M&A that would accelerate growth, add capabilities, and increase margin in various areas of the business. A portion of the investment round will be used to fund secondary transactions to provide liquidity to long-time shareholders and founders of Dynasty.

As previously announced in September of this year, Dynasty closed a $50 million credit facility from RBC Capital Markets, UMB Bank, J.P. Morgan, Citibank, and Goldman Sachs Bank that provides access to additional growth capital.

Concurrent with this capital raise, Dynasty has executed minority equity investments in many of its RIA clients. Most of these clients received Dynasty equity in exchange for their equity in a ‘swap’ transaction. As a result, the Dynasty Network stands stronger and more aligned than ever, with many members of the network having an equity interest in the success of Dynasty and the Network.

“After evaluating the state of the public markets, our board decided to have a handful of conversations with potential private investors. Having been afforded the luxuries of optionality and time, there were two requirements that were atop my list as we went through the process – partnership and alignment,” said Dynasty’s President and CEO, Shirl Penney. “I am delighted to say that several firms viewed the process in the same light and am excited to welcome Abry and Schwab to sit alongside our already extremely supportive group of investors. I also want to thank both our legacy investors and new board members that have also invested in the round; their unwavering support is inspiring. Lastly, I want to welcome many of our RIA partners as investors in Dynasty and appreciate their commitment to the partnership, our community, and to growing together.”

“On behalf of Dynasty’s Board of Directors, I welcome Abry and Schwab as minority investors and look forward to the fresh perspective, industry experience, and institutional expertise that Abry will add to the boardroom. Similar to Envestnet’s strategic investment in Dynasty in 2020, we welcome Schwab’s minority investment in Dynasty to further align our commitment to the independent wealth management space,” said Dynasty’s Chairman, Harvey Golub. “We are excited to be able to deploy this growth capital on behalf of our clients in newly expanded ways. We will look to revisit the public markets when the timing is right for our business.”

Given the equity capital raise, Dynasty will file a request to withdraw its Registration Statement on Form S-1, initially filed with the SEC on January 19, 2022 and subsequently amended.

Abry Partners is a Boston-based private equity firm with an over 30-year track record of sector-focused investments, having completed more than $90 billion of leveraged transactions. Abry has deep experience within financial services and the wealth management sector, including recent successful investments in Beacon Pointe and Millennium Trust Company. James Scola, Partner, and Michael Cummings, Principal, led the transaction for Abry. As part of the minority investment, James Scola will be joining Dynasty’s board.

“When looking at the RIA space and the growing ecosystem around it, Dynasty was one of the select brands we had been following for some time. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to invest in the leading wealth technology and integrated services platform in the RIA space and are looking forward to putting all of Abry’s resources behind the growth of the firm and its clients,” said James Scola, Partner at Abry.

Schwab serves as the custodian for over half of the $72 billion in assets under advisement in the Dynasty Network. Schwab and Dynasty have long brought complementary strengths to their joint clients with Schwab’s expertise in the independent advisor ecosystem and Dynasty’s leading technology and services platform for independent business-owner advisors.

“As advocates for independent advisors, we are thrilled to invest in a firm that shares our values of empowering advisors with the technology, tools, and resources they need to build even stronger businesses. We could not be more excited for the ongoing growth that is occurring in the RIA ecosystem and are proud to be leaders in the space,” said Bernie Clark, Head of Schwab Advisor Services.

Dynasty will continue to grow its relationships with other strategic partners in the space, including the other major custodians serving the RIA ecosystem.

“At a time when many businesses in the space are forced to hunker down and play defense, dragged down by leverage and rising interest rates, Dynasty is positioned to charge onto the offensive with fresh, friendly capital, a fortress balance sheet, and favorable margins. Despite market volatility, the ‘Era of Independence’ continues to experience tailwinds as Dynasty positions to invest and continue executing on behalf of its clients and investors,” added Justin Weinkle, Dynasty’s CFO.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as exclusive legal advisor to Dynasty on the transaction.

About Abry Partners

Abry is one of the most experienced and successful sector-focused private equity investment firms in North America. Since its founding in 1989, the firm has completed over $90 billion of leveraged transactions and other private equity or preferred equity placements. Currently, the firm manages over $5 billion of capital across its active funds. For more information on Abry, please visit www.abry.com.

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) is a leading provider of financial services, with 33.6 million active brokerage accounts, 2.3 million corporate retirement plan participants, 1.7 million banking accounts, and $7.32 trillion in client assets as of November 30, 2022. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiaries, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., TD Ameritrade, Inc., and TD Ameritrade Clearing, Inc., (members SIPC, https://www.sipc.org), and their affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; referrals to independent, fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through Schwab Advisor Services. Its primary banking subsidiary, Charles Schwab Bank, SSB (member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender), provides banking and lending services and products. More information is available at https://www.aboutschwab.com. TD Ameritrade, Inc. and TD Ameritrade Clearing, Inc. are separate but affiliated companies and subsidiaries of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation. TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation. TD Ameritrade is a trademark jointly owned by TD Ameritrade IP Company, Inc. and The Toronto-Dominion Bank.

About Dynasty

Dynasty is a provider of technology-enabled wealth management solutions and business services for financial advisory firms primarily focused on serving high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients. Dynasty provides access to a comprehensive platform of software and technology tools, business services and holistic investment management capabilities through an open-architecture platform delivered via a suite of proprietary and third-party technologies. Dynasty’s technology, tools and services provide advisory firms the supported independence to launch their business, scale their operations and grow their firms — both organically and inorganically — while also allowing them to be more focused on and better equipped to serve their clients. Dynasty’s platform and offering have won multiple awards in recent years.

For more than a decade, Dynasty has championed the benefits of independent wealth management for high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients and has contributed to the movement of assets from traditional brokerage channels to the independent channels of wealth management. As Dynasty is becoming a recognized industry leader, Dynasty has differentiated itself by developing competitive strengths, including a deep understanding of and strong relationship with its clients, a comprehensive offering of services and technology-enabled solutions, the ability to leverage its size and breadth to invest, the flexibility and seamlessness enabled by a modular technology solution, the entrepreneurial culture and experienced and committed management team. Dynasty is committed to continually growing its business by facilitating existing advisory firm clients’ growth, onboarding new clients, increasing the clients’ use of its broader capabilities, launching additional solutions, and carrying out complementary acquisitions.

For more information, please visit our Website.

Also visit Dynasty on LinkedInTwitterInstagram, and YouTube.

Contacts

Sally Cates
sallycates@dynastyfinancialpartners.com
646-704-4500

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KREST Purchases Multifamily Portfolio in Japan

KKR

NEW YORK & TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that KKR Real Estate Select Trust Inc. (“KREST” or the “Fund”) has completed the purchase of a portfolio of 39 newly built multifamily properties in Tokyo, Japan (the “Portfolio”).

“Japan is the world’s second-largest real estate market and an important priority for KREST as we continue to construct a broad and resilient portfolio of high-quality properties across the globe.i This transaction exemplifies KREST’s flexible geographic mandate, which widens our aperture for potential investments and enables us to pursue attractive opportunities in varied market environments. The sourcing of this investment was made possible by KKR’s deep local presence in Japan,” said Billy Butcher, Chief Executive Officer of KREST and Chief Operating Officer of KKR’s global real estate business.

The Portfolio was delivered in 2022 by a premier Japanese developer. The properties were master-leased to a leading Japanese residential property manager with a contractual 100% occupancy rate, providing KREST with anticipated stable and dependable cashflows. The 39 newly built multifamily properties feature modern designs and are situated in 15 popular residential submarkets with convenient access to local train stations and Tokyo’s large transportation hubs.

“Tokyo’s residential sector is prized by investors for its exceptional strength and stability, which makes this multifamily portfolio a suitable fit for KREST’s focus on stabilized income-producing real estate with long-term asset appreciation potential,” said Kensuke Kudo, a Director on KKR’s real estate team in Japan. “Urbanization is a significant demographic trend in Japan, and combined with Tokyo’s aging supply of residential properties, these newly built properties are poised to be highly sought-after by renters. We are grateful to the seller and our local partners for working with us to deliver this investment for KREST.”

The investment is part of KREST’s stabilized real estate investment strategy – one of the Fund’s three primary strategies – which focuses on thematically driven, income-generating real estate. KREST’s other focus areas include prime single tenant real estate and private real estate debt.

KKR has been investing in Japan across asset classes with a dedicated local team since 2006. In 2022, KKR strengthened its presence in the market and deepened its real estate capabilities by completing the purchase of KJR Management, a leading real estate asset manager which oversees two Japanese REITs. Japan is a key part of KKR’s global real estate strategy. KKR’s global real estate team manages approximately US$64 billion in assets as of September 30, 2022, and has dedicated investment professionals in 16 offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific.

About KREST
KKR Real Estate Select Trust Inc. (“KREST”) is a continuously offered, registered closed-end fund that thematically invests in high quality, stabilized, income-oriented commercial real estate equity and debt. The fund is open to all investors with daily subscriptions and its primary investment objective is to provide attractive current income, with a secondary objective of long-term capital appreciation. KREST is managed by KKR Registered Advisor LLC, an affiliate of KKR & Co. Inc., and utilizes the experience and reach of KKR’s global real estate team and the resources available through the KKR platform. For additional information about KREST, please visit its website at www.krest.reit.

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.

____________________
i Japan is the second largest real estate market in the world according the MSCI Real Estate Market Size Report 2021/2022

Media
KKR Americas
Miles Radcliffe-Trenner
+1 212-750-8300
Media@kkr.com

KKR Asia Pacific
Anita Davis
+852 3602 7335
Anita.Davis@kkr.com

Source: KKR & Co. Inc.

Categories: News

Hormel foods announces minority investment in GarudaFood

CVC Capital Partners

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a Fortune500 global branded food company, today announced it has acquired a minority stake in PT Garudafood Putra Putri Jaya Tbk (“Garudafood”), one of the largest food and beverage companies in Indonesia.

“This strategic investment enhances our partnership with Garudafood, which has been instrumental in helping us expand our business into Indonesia and Southeast Asia,” said Jim Snee, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer at Hormel Foods.”Garudafood is a market leader, with strong and reputable brands, local expertise and a best-in-class distribution network. We look forward to accelerating our presence in these high-growth geographies and the snacking and entertaining category as we further leverage the strengths and capabilities of both companies.”

Garudafood’s branded portfolio includes many leading snacking products, such as Garuda peanut snacks, Gery biscuits and confectionary products, and Chocolatos wafer sticks.

Quotes

This has been a successful partnership between the Soenjoto family, the strong management team at Garudafood and CVC.

Andy Purwohardono Partner, CVC

“We are very excited to continue expanding and strengthening our partnership with Hormel Foods to grow Garudafood’s business together in Indonesia,” said Hardianto Atmadja, president director of PT Garudafood Putra Putri Jaya Tbk. “Hormel Foods has more than 130 years of company history, so there are many things that we can learn from them. We also find that there are similarities in our company cultures and values, which are very important for a long-term partnership. There are some potential synergies and growth opportunities that we have identified, such as combining the strengths and expertise of Hormel Foods with our presence and local market knowledge.”

“This has been a successful partnership between the Soenjoto family, the strong management team at Garudafood and CVC,” said Andy Purwohardono, partner at CVC, which sold a significant portion of the shares acquired by Hormel Foods. “I would like to congratulate the leadership team for building resilience and growing the business profitably during the pandemic, as well as continuing its track record of launching new innovative products. Hormel Foods is the perfect partner for Garudafood, and I wish them a great success for the future.”

Hormel Foods purchased approximately 29% of the shares of Garudafood from CVC and other shareholders. The transaction closed during Indonesia Stock Exchange trading hours on Dec.15, 2022.

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Hexagon invests 100 MUSD in autonomous and sustainable manufacturing through Divergent

Hexagon AB, a global leader in digital reality solutions combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies, today announced a 100 MUSD investment in Divergent Technologies Inc., a pioneer of green manufacturing technologies with the first modular digital factory for the automotive industry.

Divergent has developed an alternative production process to traditional vehicle manufacturing called DAPS® (Divergent Adaptive Production System) that addresses economic and environmental challenges head-on. DAPS is a fully integrated software and hardware solution, creating a complete modular digital factory for complex structures. The patented process combines AI-optimised generative design software, additive manufacturing (3D printing) and automated assembly to build lightweight automotive parts and frames.

The design software optimises the weight, strength and cost of vehicle models. Parts are 3D printed and assembled autonomously, reducing manufacturing time and human intervention. Regardless of the design, part manufacturing and assembly can be carried out using the same hardware infrastructure, enabling quick design iterations or seamless switches between different vehicle models without downtime. The design-agnostic process is less energy- and resource-intensive, delivers more efficient structures faster and achieves weight reductions between 20% and 70% leading to dramatic improvements in vehicle efficiency.

“Manufacturing a car’s parts has a much greater impact on the environment than the car’s exhaust emissions, which is why new manufacturing concepts will win,” says Hexagon President and CEO Ola Rollén. “We must find ways to empower car makers with more efficient and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes that minimise material usage and total system cost. Incremental steps are simply not enough to save the planet.”

“In my keynote speech at HxGN LIVE Global 2022, I delivered a message of hope for a sustainable future by naming the culprit aloud: all of us,” continued Rollén. “While the steep climb in emissions over the last 30 years happened on our watch, none of us want to go down in history as the CO2 Generation – the one that polluted and warmed this planet. For that reason, Hexagon continues to invest in disruptive and unconventional technologies that make giant leaps forward. We are the perfect partner to ensure quality is delivered throughout this new, innovative manufacturing process. Together, Hexagon and Divergent will deliver the smart manufacturing concepts of the 21st Century.”

“We are humbled and honoured to be partnering with Hexagon” said Kevin Czinger, Divergent’s Founder and CEO. “Having their vote of confidence in what we’ve built and our vision for the future of manufacturing brings new energy and enthusiasm to our team.”

“This significant investment will allow us to accelerate our plans to build a global network of DAPS factories, each serving multiple OEM clients,” said Lukas Czinger, Divergent’s SVP of Operations and Czinger Vehicles Co-Founder. “We look forward to a long-term relationship with Hexagon as Divergent and Czinger Vehicles scale.”

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Torrance, California, USA, Divergent transforms car manufacturers into agile, design-driven organisations free from capex constraints. A tier-one supplier, its proprietary end-to-end solution is widely applicable to any structure-based, discrete manufacturing process and has already proven to meet the most demanding automotive and aerospace applications.

Protected by more than 500 patents, Divergent’s digital, modular, flexible, and automated production solution produces significantly fewer lifecycle emissions than traditional manufacturing. The company not only leads the automotive industry in breaking down capital, geographic, and environmental barriers, but it also has its own portfolio of hypercars, Czinger Vehicles, which produces the fastest production vehicle in the world – the 21C. Learn more about Divergent at www.divergent3d.com.

Note: A portion of Hexagon’s investment of up to 100 MUSD is subject to certain regulatory approvals.

For further information, please contact:
Anton Heikenström, Investor Relations and Business Analyst, Hexagon AB, +46 8 601 26 26, ir@hexagon.com
Kristin Christensen, Chief Marketing Officer, Hexagon AB, +1 404 554 0972, media@hexagon.com

Hexagon is a global leader in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, quality and safety across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, public sector, and mobility applications.

Our technologies are shaping production and people related ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous – ensuring a scalable, sustainable future.

Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 23,000 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 4.3bn EUR. Learn more at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB

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Ratos Company Aibel wins contract for the construction of unmanned platform on the Norwegian continental shelf

Ratos

Aibel has been awarded a contract by Aker BP for constructing the Munin platform (formerly Krafla) in the Yggdrasil area. The contract has a value of around NOK 7 billion.

The contract is an EPChc contract where Aibel is responsible for engineering, procurement and construction connected with delivering an unmanned process platform, also known as an UPP.

The project will be based on Aibel’s FEED (Front-End Engineering and Design) for Krafla UPP, now Munin, which was awarded in 2021. Key priorities for the project have been safety in design, minimal maintenance requirements and simplification of systems and functions on the platform using high-reliability equipment, automation, and digitalisation, applying a so-called “design to operate” philosophy.

Munin will be the first process platform on the Norwegian continental shelf designed from start for ordinary operation without a crew.

“We will soon close a fantastic year for Aibel. In times of geopolitical unrest and following energy crisis, Aibel contributes to secure energy supply in our part of the world. That, together with the fact that the order book continues to contain many contracts within renewables, means that we are very proud owners today,” says Christian Johansson Gebauer, member of the board of Aibel and President, Business Area Construction & Services, Ratos.

Project management, procurement and engineering services will mainly be carried out at Aibel’s Oslo office, with peak staffing of around 300 people. Construction will take place at Aibel’s yards in Haugesund, Norway and Thailand.

“We are proud and honored to enter into a partnership with Aker BP. With this contract award, we are once again consolidating our position as a leading supplier within critical infrastructure. We really look forward to delivering on the UPP concept, which we have developed together with Equinor, and being among the pioneers of future platform solutions,” says Aibel’s President and CEO, Mads Andersen.

The development of the Yggdrasil area is subject to approval by the Norwegian Parliament (the Storting).

For further questions, please contact:
Josefine Uppling, VP Communication, Ratos, +46 76 114 54 21

About Ratos
Ratos is a business group consisting of 16 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer and Industry. In total 2021, the companies have approximately SEK 28 billion in net sales. Our business concept is to own and develop companies that are or can become market leaders. We have a distinct corporate culture and strategy – everything we do is based on our core values: Simplicity, Speed in execution and It’s All About People. We enable independent companies to excel by being part of something larger. People, leadership, culture and values are key focus areas.

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Observe Medical signs exclusivity agreement with Ferrari L. to negotiate acquisition of production facility

Reiten

Ferrari L. has been active in producing and supplying single-use medical devices since 1960 and manufactures various products, including urology sets and catheters. The production facility delivers products to companies worldwide and generated annual revenues of around EUR 2.7 million in the financial year 2021.

The contemplated acquisition of this production facility is, if completed, expected to improve Observe Medical’s value chain control and minimize risks associated with the production of the Company’s products. Additionally, the potential acquisition is expected to significantly reduce the Company’s cost of goods (cogs) for existing and new products. A reduction in cogs would be driven by centralized in-house production, which would lead to an uplift in gross margin.

This production facility is highly complementary to Observe Medical’s current operations, as it has the capacity to produce existing products, Observe Medical’s current portfolio of products and the Unometer™ range of urine measurement products. It would also enable Observe Medical to initiate the development and production of new products.

“Looking back at the recent exclusivity agreement to acquire the Unometer™ range of urine measurement products, the potential acquisition of Ferrari L. is expected to significantly strengthen our growing medtech platform. With access to hundreds of distributors worldwide and production capabilities, these agreements support our growth strategy and demonstrate our ability to execute. Assuming completion of these transactions we will be ideally placed to become a leading urine measurement system provider with production capabilities,” said Rune Nystad, CEO of Observe Medical.

With an exclusivity agreement in place, Observe Medical will aim to close the final acquisition agreement for Ferrari L. in the first quarter of 2023. The completion of the acquisition of Ferrari L. is amongst other conditional upon agreement between the parties on a final transaction agreement and completion of such agreement. Consequently, no assurance can at this stage be given that the acquisition of Ferrari L. is completed.

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Apollo Funds Provide $200 Million to WEC Energy Group Renewable Portfolio

Apollo Financing Supports WEC Energy’s Renewables Strategy

NEW YORK and MILWAUKEE, Dec. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Apollo (NYSE: APO) and WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) today announced that certain Apollo-managed funds (the “Apollo Funds”) have purchased approximately $200 million of senior secured notes of WEC Infrastructure Wind Holding II LLC (“Wind Holding”) in a private placement. Wind Holding, a wholly owned subsidiary of WEC Energy Group, owns the Tatanka Ridge and Jayhawk wind farms, which together provide 340 megawatts of renewable power generation and are fully contracted under long-term PPAs with high-quality offtakers.

Shawn Robinson, Partner and Co-Head of Private Fixed Income at Apollo, said, “We are pleased to provide an investment grade private capital solution to a WEC Energy affiliate on behalf of our clients. This high-quality investment supports significant renewable wind energy generation, and we expect to continue growing our relationship with WEC’s clean energy affiliates.”

Wind Holding is part of WEC Energy Group’s nonutility energy infrastructure business, which has agreements in place for majority ownership interests in wind and solar generating facilities that are capable of producing more than 1,700 megawatts of energy. These projects support WEC Energy Group’s aggressive environmental goals and commitment to building a bright, sustainable future that is affordable, reliable and clean.

For Apollo, the transaction aligns with its cross-platform collaborative approach and focus on private fixed income assets suitable for a broad range of clients. The investment also underscores Apollo’s commitment to driving a more sustainable future, including by funding renewable and energy transition assets and companies.

MUFG served as financial advisor to WEC Energy Group on the transaction. “This is MUFG’s second project finance engagement with WEC, and we look forward to continuing our partnership in support of WEC’s effort to build out its portfolio of renewable-energy projects,” said Fred Zelaya, Managing Director of Project Finance with MUFG.

About Apollo
Apollo is a global, high-growth alternative asset manager. In the asset management business, Apollo seeks to provide its clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade to private equity with a focus on three business strategies: yield, hybrid, and equity. For more than three decades, Apollo’s investing expertise across its fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of its clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, Apollo’s retirement services business, it specializes in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Apollo’s patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns its clients, businesses it invests in, its team members, and the communities it impacts, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of September 30, 2022, Apollo had approximately $523 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.

About WEC Energy Group
WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC), based in Milwaukee, is one of the nation’s premier energy companies, serving 4.6 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.

The company’s principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy Resources. Another major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants. In addition, WEC Infrastructure LLC owns a growing fleet of renewable generation facilities in the Midwest.

WEC Energy Group (wecenergygroup.com) is a Fortune 500 company and a component of the S&P 500. The company has approximately 38,000 stockholders of record, 7,000 employees and more than $40 billion of assets.

Apollo Contacts
Noah Gunn
Global Head of Investor Relations
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0540
IR@apollo.com

Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0491
Communications@apollo.com

WEC Energy Group Contacts
Beth Straka
Senior Vice President – Investor Relations
and Corporate Communications
414-221-4639
Beth.Straka@wecenergygroup.com

Brendan Conway
Director Media Relations
414-221-3728
Brendan.Conway@wecenergygroup.com

MUFG Contact

Assaf Kedem
Vice President, Corporate Communications
(212) 782-4926
akedem@us.mufg.jp


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Source: Apollo Global Management, Inc.

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Consortium led by Capital A acquires Hampden Insurance Group in the Netherlands

Capital-A

On the 9th of December, a group of investors led by Capital A acquired Hampden Insurance Group B.V. (HIG) from Hampden Holdings Ltd. Maas Lloyd, a non-life insurance company, falls under the Hampden Insurance Group. With this acquisition, Maas Lloyd strengthens its position as a nationwide insurance company with a focus on MGA’s and run-off business. The CEO of Maas Lloyd, Elbert-jan Offereins, said the following: “The acquisition of HIG by the consortium fits perfectly with our long-term (growth) ambitions. By bundling our forces, we can strengthen our position in the market and serve our clients in a better manner going forward. Through this acquisition, Maas Lloyd fall back into Dutch hands, which is the first time since its inception in 1984”. The investors of the consortium have acquired 100% of the outstanding shares of HIG. The name Hampden Insurance Group shall be changed to Halcyon Insurance Group going forward and shall remain active as a holding company for Maas Lloyd and other daughter companies.

The consortium is led by Capital A, an investment company active in the Netherlands. Friso Janmaat, the managing partner of Capital A, said the following on the transaction: “Acquiring an insurance company has been on our wish list for a long time. We believe in the strategy that HIG has and trust that they can expand their current activities in the Dutch non-life insurance market with our help.”

HIG will continue to operate with the same workforce, which means that no changes will take place with regards to the main points of contact for business.

Maas Lloyd

N.V. Schadeverzekeringsmaatschappij Maas Lloyd is a non-life insurance company that has been offering run-off services since 2002 and started up business as an active commercial insurer since 2019. Maas Lloyd does so focused on SME companies and private individuals, mainly through MGA’s.

Capital A

Capital A is one of the most established private equity investors in the Netherlands, with a focus on investing in fast (both autonomous and acquisitive) growing companies. Originally started at ABN AMRO in the 1980’s as an investment fund focused on SMEs, Capital A continued independently in 2018 with support from investors such as ABN AMRO, Five Arrows, Alpinvest, Bregal, LGT, entrepreneurs of former portfolio companies and the Capital A team itself. From offices in Amsterdam and Antwerp, Capital A manages approximately EUR 1 billion in assets under management and has a portfolio of more than 30 growth companies that are predominantly active in Europe.

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Inflexion announces Partnership Capital minority investment in YER

Inflexion

Inflexion is pleased to announce it has agreed to make a minority investment into YER, a leading Netherlands-based specialist secondment and recruiting agency. The investment is Inflexion’s second in the Netherlands in the last 12 months following its investment into e-bike component manufacturer enviolo in March 2022. The investment is being made by Inflexion’s dedicated minority investment fund, Partnership Capital II.

Founded in 1987, YER offers high scarcity talent in undersupplied fields such as engineering, IT, public sector and finance to a range of specialist end market verticals. The business has over 950 clients including ASML, Bosch, DAF, KLM, VDL and Rabobank, and operates internationally from nine local offices in the Netherlands, four in the USA and one in Belgium. Inflexion has deep experience in this sector following investments in FDM, K2 Partnering Solutions, Red Commerce, Sparta and Calco.

Working closely with the founder of YER, Jaap Kooijman, and the management team led by CEO Johan Overgaauw, Inflexion will support the growth of the business by further developing existing and new customer relationships and through continued international expansion, both organically as well as through selective M&A.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in Q1 2023. 

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