Category Archives: News

Andera Partners leads Amolyt Pharma’s $80 million Series B alongside Sectoral Asset Management

Andera Partners

Funds to be used to continue to advance AZP-3601 through clinical development for hypoparathyroidism while progressing AZP-3813 through IND-enabling activities in acromegaly and further expanding early-stage pipeline

With this $80 million Series B financing, Andera Partners is closing its second investment of the BioDiscovery 6 Fund.

Amolyt Pharma, a global company specialized in developing therapeutic peptides for rare endocrine and related diseases, today announced that the company has closed an $80 million Series B equity financing round. The financing was co-led by Sectoral Asset Management and Andera Partners, with participation from ATEM Capital and all investors from the company’s July 2019 Series A financing, including LSP, Novo Ventures, Kurma Partners, Mass General Brigham Ventures, Innobio 2 managed by Bpifrance, Orbimed, Pontifax, Turenne Capital and Credit Agricole Creation.

Amolyt plans to use the proceeds from the financing to advance its pipeline of potential therapeutics for rare endocrine and related diseases, including clinical development of AZP-3601 for hypoparathyroidism, pre-clinical development of AZP-3813 for acromegaly and ongoing research related to AZP-3404. In addition, the company continues to work to further expand its early-stage pipeline through both internal research and development activities and potential in-licensing opportunities.

“We are very pleased to expand our high-quality syndicate with the addition of these new North American and European investors, and we are highly appreciative of the continued support from our existing investors,” stated Thierry Abribat, Ph.D., founder, and chief executive officer of Amolyt Pharma. “This financing will give us the opportunity to further pursue our mission of building a leading rare endocrine and related disease company, and we will continue to work to introduce new and potentially life-changing therapeutics to patients globally.”

 

“We are very pleased to join Amolyt, which is led by a dynamic and experienced serial entrepreneur in the development of therapies targeting rare endocrinological and metabolic diseases. We are confident in the development of the lead product and in the team’s ability to create a high-quality pipeline to address major unmet medical needs in the field of endocrinology. The Life Sciences team is proud to co-lead this $80M round, which is a testimony to the dynamism of the sector in France and Europe, in collaboration with high quality investors and sector specialists,” said Raphaël Wisniewski, Partner at Andera Life Sciences.

 

The Series B financing follows several recent positive pipeline developments, including the following:

  • In September 2021, the company announced completion of the multiple ascending dose (MAD) portion of its Phase 1 trial of AZP-3601 for the potential treatment of hypoparathyroidism and will present the results on October 1st, 2021.
  • In September 2021, the company announced that it had exercised its option to globally license a portfolio of macrocyclic peptide growth hormone receptor antagonists (GHRA) under the terms of the research collaboration agreement with Peptidream it announced in December 2020. The identified, optimized drug candidate, AZP-3813, is being developed as a potential treatment for acromegaly to be used in combination with somatostatin analogues (SSAs) for patients who do not adequately respond to SSAs alone.
  • In May 2021, presented positive data from its Phase 1 trial of AZP-3601 for the potential treatment of hypoparathyroidism at ECE. Data from the single ascending dose (SAD) portion of the trial showed that AZP-3601 induced a long-acting serum calcium response following a single administration in healthy volunteers.

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FibrXL invests in dutch clean-tech start-up Healix

ActiveCapital

The Dutch clean-tech start-up Healix healix.eco has secured funds totalling over 10 million Euros in its seed financing round completed beginning of September. The funding follows Healix’ announcement earlier this year to build a factory in Maastricht, the Netherlands to shred, wash and reprocess used twines, ropes, nets, and other plastic fiber waste from farming and fishing into pristine circular polymers for the global manufacturing supply chain. The production facility is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2022. It has an annual capacity of 6.000 metric tons of polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE), saving almost 10.000 metrics tons of CO2 emissions per year.

One of the most pressing issues the technical textile industry is facing, is the damaging effect of plastic fiber waste on terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Healix aims to combat this plastic pollution, by transforming existing linear economies in the technical textile industry into sustainable circular economies.

The seed funding round was led by private equity firm Active Capital Company and facilitated by ABN AMRO Asset Based Finance and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (“RVO”). The investment involves commitments from industrial and high performance fiber supplier FibrXL and Tama, the market leader in crop baling solutions.

Marcel Alberts, founder of Healix and chief executive, says: “I am really happy to welcome our new investors and I am grateful for the support from ABN AMRO and the Dutch government. These investments enable us to proceed at full speed with the commissioning of our production facility and the recruitment of the skilled professionals needed to take our flagship project forward.”

Jeroen Drenth, CEO of FibrXL states “For us, this is much more than an investment. This is a pathway to change the environmental impact of the technical textile industry, as it provides a technology solution that makes fiber-to-fiber recycling possible. And most importantly: this is only the beginning!”

Claudio Moretti, Director Sales & Sustainability at ABN AMRO Asset Based Finance adds “We actively look to support businesses with a sustainable focus. Healix sets a great example with their circular ambitions and we are pleased to act as their financial wingman.”

About Healix

Healix is a Dutch clean-tech start-up that brakes the plastic wave by creating a circular future for plastic fiber waste. We transform used ropes, twines, nets, and other technical textiles into pristine circular polymers for the global manufacturing chain. More info on healix.eco

About FibrXL

FibrXL, a portfolio company of Active Capital Company, is a convertor and distributor of High Performance Fibers, such as Dyneema®, Twaron®, Technora®, Vectran® and Zylon® and leading distributor of industrial yarns such as Polyester, Polyamide and Viscose in Europe, Africa and the Americas. More info on fibrxl.com

About ABN AMRO Asset Based Finance

ABN AMRO Lease together with ABN AMRO Commercial Finance are trading names of ABN AMRO Asset Based Finance N.V. Together they are a leading provider of cross-border asset-based lending and leasing finance solutions, operating in the UK, Netherlands, France and Germany. More info on abnamrolease.com

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Nordic Capital and Avista Capital Partners to sell Acino, a leader in advanced drug delivery technologies, to ADQ

  • Ownership period defined by Acino’s transformation and growth to become leading provider of trusted and innovative pharmaceuticals in emerging markets.

Leading healthcare investors Nordic Capital (through Nordic Capital CV1) and Avista Capital Partners (“Avista Capital”) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to sell Acino (“Acino” or “the Company”), a Swiss pharmaceutical company headquartered in Zurich with a global platform that promotes affordable healthcare in key emerging markets through contract manufacturing and out-licensing.  The acquirer, ADQ is one of the region’s largest holding companies with a broad portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy.

Nordic Capital and Avista Capital Partners to sell Acino, a leader in advanced drug delivery technologies, to ADQ Image

In partnership, Avista Capital and Nordic Capital acquired Acino in 2013 via a take-private transaction from the Swiss stock exchange (SIX: ACIN).  Since that time, both investors supported Acino’s long-term growth strategy and transformed the business to become a high-growth emerging markets- focused pharmaceuticals platform with significant market presence in the Middle East, Ukraine, Russia, and South Africa. Since the 2013 investment, Acino has executed a number of strategically-important acquisitions, including PharmaStart (Ukraine), Litha Healthcare (South Africa), and the acquisition of a portfolio of select over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription pharmaceutical assets from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, which expanded Acino’s global footprint and addressable therapeutic areas.

Thomas Vetander, Partner, Nordic Capital Advisors, said, “During the ownership period, Acino executed on key growth initiatives and made significant investments to drive both organic and acquisitive growth.  This includes the acquisition of Takeda’s primary care portfolio in key emerging markets, which has positioned Acino for the next phase of its development. We thank the Acino team for their dedication during these years. It’s now time for the Company to take the next step forward together with ADQ to aim for even further growth and expansion”.

Thompson Dean, co-CEO and Managing Partner of Avista Capital, said, “We are incredibly proud that our partnership with Acino strengthened its business and expanded its client base, capabilities, and geographic footprint. During the period of our investment, Acino brought to market many innovative products that are making a real difference in the lives of patients in emerging markets around the world. We know Steffen Saltofte and his team are well-positioned to capture the significant opportunities in front of them, and we wish Acino the best as they embark on this next chapter with ADQ.”

Steffen Saltofte, CEO of Acino, concluded, “On behalf of the entire Acino team, I would like to thank Avista Capital and Nordic Capital for their partnership and invaluable contributions to our company. As owners, they have been instrumental in supporting us and fully focused on seizing the opportunities available to Acino. We look forward to building on our momentum and continuing our strong growth with our new partners at ADQ.”

Fahad Al Qassim, Executive Director, Healthcare & Pharma at ADQ, commented: “We are creating a strong platform to fortify the UAE’s position as a regional hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing, commercialisation and distribution in select growth-leading markets. Our aim for ADQ’s healthcare and pharma cluster is to ensure access to affordable, essential medicines and advance new, innovative treatments that help improve people’s lives. We thank Nordic Capital and Avista Capital for their collaboration and contributions to Acino’s success. We look forward to working with Acino’s leadership team to deliver an even greater level of growth, innovation and ambition across ADQ’s pharma value chain.”

The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. It is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

 

Media contacts:

Nordic Capital

Katarina Janerud, Communications Manager
Nordic Capital Advisors
Tel: +46 8 440 50 50
e-mail: katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com

 

Avista Capital Parters

Daniel Yunger or Jon Morgan
Kekst CNC
e-mail: daniel.yunger@kekstcnc.com / jonathan.morgan@kekstcnc.com

ADQ

media@adq.ae

 

About Acino

Acino is a Swiss pharmaceutical company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland with a clear focus on selected markets in the Middle East, Africa, Russia, the CIS Region, and Latin America. The company is backed by Nordic Capital and Avista Capital Partners. Acino delivers quality pharmaceuticals to promote affordable healthcare in these emerging markets and leverage its high-quality pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities and network to supply leading companies through contract manufacturing and out-licensing. For more information, please visit www.acino.swiss.

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Focus sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services, and selectively, Industrial & Business Services. Key regions are Europe and globally for Healthcare and Technology & Payments investments. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested more than EUR 19 billion in over 120 investments. The most recent entities are Nordic Capital X with EUR 6.1 billion in committed capital and Nordic Capital Evolution with EUR 1.2 billion in committed capital, principally provided by international institutional investors such as pension funds. Nordic Capital Advisors have local offices in Sweden, the UK, the US, Germany, Denmark, Finland and Norway. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com.

“Nordic Capital” refers to, depending on the context, any, or all, Nordic Capital branded entities, vehicles, structures and associated entities. The general partners and/or delegated portfolio managers of Nordic Capital’s entities and vehicles are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities, any or all of which are referred to as “Nordic Capital Advisors”.

About Avista

Founded in 2005, Avista Capital is a leading New York-based private equity firm with nearly $8 billion invested in 40 growth-oriented healthcare businesses globally. Avista partners with businesses that feature strong management teams, stable cash flows and robust growth prospects – investing in the medical devices and technologies, pharmaceuticals, outsourced pharmaceutical services, healthcare technology, healthcare distribution, and consumer-driven healthcare sectors. Avista’s Operating Executives and Advisors are an integral part of the team, providing strategic insight, operational oversight and senior counsel, which helps drive growth and performance, while fostering sustainable businesses and creating long-term value for all stakeholders. For more information, visit www.avistacap.com.

About ADQ

Established in Abu Dhabi in 2018, ADQ is one of the region’s largest holding companies with direct and indirect investments in more than 90 companies locally and internationally. Both an asset owner and investor, ADQ’s broad portfolio of major enterprises span key sectors of a diversified economy, including energy and utilities, food and agriculture, healthcare and pharma, and mobility and logistics, amongst others. As a strategic partner of Abu Dhabi’s government, ADQ is committed to accelerating the transformation of the emirate into a globally competitive and knowledge-based economy.

For more information, visit adq.ae or write to media@adq.ae. You can also follow ADQ on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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NPM Capital acquires stake in high-tech greenhouse constructor KUBO

NPM Capital

Investment company NPM Capital has acquired a minority share in KUBO, a leading developer of high-tech greenhouses for horticulture. With NPM’s support, the Dutch family owned company aims to further develop its global leadership in state-of-the-art greenhouse concepts.

KUBO has been active in the greenhouse industry for over 75 years. The company serves growers of fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers with high-tech greenhouses, including software support and services including training, data analysis, management and operational support. The company, with approximately 150 employees, has branches in Monster (the Netherlands), Montreal (Canada) and Shanghai (China). With a turnover of roughly €200 million and projects realised in 45 countries, including Canada, United States, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Oman, KUBO is a pioneer in its industry. The family owned company, founded in 1945, was awarded the number one position in the Hillenraad100: an annual ranking of the hundred most prominent businesses in the knowledge- and capital-intensive Dutch (greenhouse) horticultural industry cluster.

According to Wouter Kuiper, KUBO’s CEO and the third generation in the family business, further international expansion of his greenhouse company offers an enormous opportunity. “We can see that the scale at which our clients operate is getting larger and larger, and the greenhouses are not only getting bigger, but also increasingly technologically complex. In addition, a growing number of investors that are entering the market lack horticultural expertise themselves and look for turn-key solutions. With NPM Capital, we’ll have an investor on board with a long-term investment horizon, a very clear vision on our sector, and with the means and know-how to help shape our international expansion. Together, we can further professionalise our organisation, open new branches and attract the best talent. NPM can also provide support for future acquisitions. We are ready to take this leap together. In the end, it is our ambition to strengthen our leading position in the global market,” Kuiper said.

Rapidly growing demand

The decision to join forces with a long-term investor also makes sense, given that the international market for greenhouse cultivation will continue to grow rapidly the coming decades. Kuiper: “That growth will likely be around 10% per year. On every global continent, there is a rapidly growing demand for high-quality and locally produced products that are grown safely and efficiently under ideal climatological conditions, using limited energy, water and pesticides. We can do all those things at once in our high-tech greenhouses.”

Rutger Ruigrok, Managing Director of NPM Capital, is very excited about NPM’s opportunity to invest in KUBO. “We are already deeply involved in the food and agricultural supply chain, and as part of our investment focus ‘Feeding the World’, we have also been following developments in the greenhouse industry for years. KUBO is without a doubt one of the leading players in terms of technology and innovation. Given the company’s strong position as a value chain  orchestrator and its deep ties with the Dutch horticulture ecosystem, KUBO is the ideal platform for further development of high-tech greenhouses. We are also impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit and qualities of Wouter and his team. By now, we have also learned that there is a good cultural fit between KUBO and NPM. For that reason, we are looking forward to a long-term collaboration to support the jewel of the Dutch knowledge-intensive manufacturing industry in realising their ambitions.”

Advisors
NPM was advised by PWC (M&A, financial, tax), Nauta Dutilh (legal), Strategy& (commercial), MJ Hudson (ESG) and Hillenraad Partners (industry advisor). KUBO was advised by Yeald (M&A and strategic advisor) and JB Law (legal).

Both parties agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction that still is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

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Kinnevik Invests USD 100 Million in Spring Health, a Leading Global Mental Health Solution

Kinnevik

Kinnevik AB (publ) (“Kinnevik”) today announced that it is investing USD 100m in Spring Health, a leading global mental health solution.

Spring Health helps employers modernise their behavioral health benefits with the most comprehensive solution for employee mental well-being. The company was founded by April Koh and Dr Adam Chekroud in New York with the vision to build a world where guessing has no place in mental healthcare. All too often, patients must undergo a trial-and-error approach to finding effective and efficient mental healthcare. Spring Health is building the data infrastructure to make more precise decisions when it comes to provider matching and the creation of personalized care plans. Recent data has revealed that this approach delivers best-in-class outcomes in half the time as others in the industry. Spring Health provides a single point of contact for any type of support — from digital exercises to employee assistance program (EAP) services, to coaching, therapy, or medication — leading to faster outcomes, higher engagement, and healthier, happier employees and their families. Today, Spring Health serves over 150 companies, from start-ups to multinational Fortune 500 corporations.

Georgi Ganev, CEO of Kinnevik commented: “We are incredibly excited to support Spring Health and its founders April and Adam in this next chapter. We believe Spring Health’s distinct and innovative approach to mental healthcare will set a new standard in the space and establish the company as a long-term market leader. The investment builds on our continued momentum in US and global healthcare innovation.”

Kinnevik led the USD 190m round with an investment of USD 100m for a 5 percent stake joined by new investor The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian Life) and along with existing investors including Tiger Global and Northzone. Spring Health’s total capital raised is to date is USD 300 million. The latest round brings the company’s valuation to USD 2 billion, on the heels of approximately 6x revenue growth over the past year.

For further information, visit www.kinnevik.com or contact:

Torun Litzén, Director Investor Relations
Phone +46 (0)70 762 00 50
Email press@kinnevik.com

Kinnevik’s ambition is to be Europe’s leading listed growth investor, and we back the best digital companies for a reimagined everyday and to deliver significant returns. We understand complex and fast-changing consumer behaviours, and have a strong and expanding portfolio in healthtech, consumer services, foodtech and fintech. As a long-term investor, we strongly believe that investing in sustainable business models and diverse teams will bring the greatest returns for shareholders. We back our companies at every stage of their journey and invest in Europe, with a focus on the Nordics, and in the US. Kinnevik was founded in 1936 by the Stenbeck, Klingspor and von Horn families. Kinnevik’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s list for large cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B.

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Healthcare innovator SDB Group unveils three new software acquisitions

Main Capital Partners

The Hague, 16 September 2021 – Healthcare innovator SDB Group acquires three Dutch software companies with the support of software investor Main Capital Partners. With the acquisitions of CPM4Care and Infent, which were signed in July and September, SDB Group takes a leading position as a provider of Business Intelligence (BI) solutions for the healthcare industry. In addition, with the acquisition of KindPlanner, SDB Group positions itself strategically in the childcare market. The expansion of SDB Group is in line with its ambition to become the market leader in software solutions for the Dutch healthcare and welfare sector. COO Vincent van Staalduinen: ‘We want to unburden the healthcare professional with innovative software, which is best-of-breed and best-of-suite.’ 

SDB Group offers a total package of cloud-based solutions for the healthcare sector, including software for HR, planning, payroll, electronic client records (ECD), e-learning and business intelligence (BI). SDB Group, which is 45 years old, strongly believes in the importance of data science to improve the healthcare sector. To this end, Reports, a provider of data analytics software, was acquired in 2019. Woerden-based CPM4Care strengthens SDB Group’s BI arsenal with various tools to improve the business performance of healthcare institutions, such as a healthcare dashboard and a budget planning tool. The Nieuwegein-based company Infent is specialised in BI-solutions for disabled care, elderly care and revalidation care, and is strong in forecasting, KPI tooling and master-data management.

Market leader in Business Intelligence for healthcare

‘By combining the strengths of these companies, we not only take a leading position in BI, but we also build on our big data and data science strategy’, explains Vincent van Staalduinen, COO of SDB Group. Jeroen van Ree, co-founder of Infent, shares this vision. ‘Together with SDB Group and CPM4Care we can develop more innovative BI-solutions for healthcare. With this, we are taking a meaningful step towards data-driven healthcare delivery.’ Marcel Brockhoff, Director of CPM4Care, emphasizes the added value for healthcare institutions. ‘The combination of CPM4Care, SDB Group and Infent allows us to help healthcare institutions even better in fulfilling the requirements in terms of reporting and make valuable healthcare data accessible.’

SDB Group positions itself in the childcare market

With the acquisition of KindPlanner, SDB Group strengthens its position within the welfare market. With the arrival of KindPlanner, SDB Group is the only player in the market that can offer a complete, integrated and user-friendly software solution to childcare companies. KindPlanner CEO Vincent van Nimwegen: ‘SDB Group had everything KindPlanner didn’t, and vice versa: they have software for payroll and business intelligence, we offer child planning and invoicing software and a portal to communicate with parents, which over 100 childcare companies are already using.’

Unburdening care professionals

SDB Group has set itself the goal of innovating the conservative healthcare sector and making it more efficient. ‘This requires deep knowledge about healthcare, which we have. With the support of Main Capital we also have the capital to grow’, says COO Vincent van Staalduinen. SDB Group aspires a best-of-breed and best-of-suite approach: the best specialized software solutions, which are seamlessly integrated. No fragmentation of services or switching between separate programs, but a time-saving total solution. The ultimate goal? ‘Care professionals are relieved of their administrative burden with innovative software, and the time saved is spent where it is needed most: on the client’, says Van Staalduinen.  

About SDB Group

SDB Group develops and supplies specialist ICT solutions for the healthcare sector. In 2018, software investor Main Capital acquired a majority stake in the company, which was then known as SDB Ayton. Since then, SDB Group has made four acquisitions, aimed at obtaining the widest possible range of software services. The first acquisition was Cormel (ECD software), followed by Reports (data analytics for the healthcare sector), The Competence Group and CSS Breda (e-learning for the healthcare sector). In 2021, KindPlanner, CPM4Care and Infent were added. Turnover tripled as a result of this buy-and-build strategy. The number of employees grew from 70 in 2018 to 220 after the latest acquisition.

About Main Capital Partners

Main Capital Partners is a leading software investor in the Benelux, Dach and the Nordics. Main has almost 20 years of experience in strengthening software companies and works closely together with management teams of its portfolio companies as a strategic partner, in order to realize sustainable growth and build excellent software groups. Main counts over 40 employees and has offices in The Hague, Stockholm and Düsseldorf. In September 2021 Main has over 1 billion euros under management and invested in more than 120 software companies. These companies create jobs for approximately 5,000 employees.

________________________________________

For more information, please contact:  

Sonja Hartgring (Manager Marketing & Communications)
+31 (0) 6 24 22 71 06
sonja@main.nl

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Trackunit and ZTR come together to connect construction

HG Capital

LONDON, ON, MINNEAPOLIS, MN and AALBORG, DK – September 15, 2021 – Trackunit and the Industrial IoT division of ZTR are uniting to better serve the growing demands of the construction industry. Putting customer needs first, the two telematics leaders are combining their considerable resources to accelerate innovation and drive digital transformation — with collaboration and service at the centre of their strategy.

“We see the industry at a pivotal tipping point when it comes to digitalization of their business and equipment – and customers are looking for a trusted partner.”

Soeren Brogaard, CEO of Trackunit

“By combining ZTR IIoT and Trackunit resources and offerings, we’re better equipped to serve the needs of the customers now and in the future.”

Sam Hassan, President & CEO of ZTR

Strengthening our core focus
As a combined entity, Trackunit and the ZTR IIoT division will extend their core focus to accelerate the digital journey in construction, Hassan continues.

“By coming together with Trackunit, we will be able to operate on a global scale to provide an expanded offering to our customers with greater efficiency and depth,” he says.

“Together, we are strengthening our core focus on enabling the ecosystem of construction. By combining our businesses, we’re elevating our technology and increasing the value customers will be able to extract from their data”, adds Soeren Brogaard.

Over the past few years, the realm of IoT and telematics possibilities has evolved from simple track and trace technology into highly actionable insights that create massive value for the stakeholders of the construction industry.

After the transaction closes the combined entity of Trackunit and ZTR will specialize in creating offerings that enhance utilization, increase fleet availability, improve safety and reduce equipment loss as major value drivers. In addition, both companies will help customers in collecting data and translating it into actionable insights – enabling customers to build smarter and more resilient machines. Furthermore, the combined entity is dedicated to helping improve daily operations for customers with increased operator safety, machine health and business optimizations.

“Our promise to the industry is based on collaboration. With a purpose as determined and noble as eliminating downtime, we know that working with our customers to apply new digital tools, is absolutely necessary. We make ourselves useful and strive to solve real problems, building everything for scale, while showing compassion for our customers, partners, competitors, and the industry at large”, says Soeren Brogaard.

Best of both worlds
At their cores, both Trackunit and ZTR are in business to build solutions that propel the construction industry forward. Trackunit recently attracted a strategic investment from Hg, a leading global software and services investor, to accelerate the company expansion, while ZTR has been transforming its business, and predicts growth through rising demand. Both Trackunit and ZTR have recently taken their first steps into, and secured traction in, the APAC region. Both businesses are ready to start the next chapter – one company focused on uniting the industry and shape it to become the most useful industry for the world. In essence, the timing couldn’t be better.

“We’re focused on delivering our existing customer commitments and creating a smooth integration. This is all about bringing people, competence, and great technology together to create a bigger impact”, says Soeren Brogaard.

A shift in the market
The construction industry is growing rapidly. It is experiencing accelerated investment in IoT capabilities with construction now one of the top five industries for investment growth. As a result, data proliferation is expected to grow exponentially as penetration of connected equipment continues beyond 2025 and machine-level data grows. Given these developments, Trackunit and ZTR IIoT are teaming up to better help their customers meet the changes that come with increasing digitalization of the construction industry.

“ZTR and Trackunit together represent an incredible next step that will enable us to become a truly global player to better serve our customers. I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and take an active part in the executive team. I look forward to venturing out on this shared mission – one in which I have no doubt Soeren Brogaard will capably lead”, says Sam Hassan.

About Trackunit ApS
Trackunit is the leading SaaS-based IoT solution and machine insights provider to the global construction equipment industry. Trackunit collects and analyzes machine data in real-time to deliver actionable, proactive and predictive information, empowering customers with data-driven foresight.

Trackunit promises to lead the technology engagement to help eliminate downtime. The ambition of this mission is not only to recover from budget and schedule overruns, but also to re-establish the reputation of the industry for innovation and leadership.

From operator safety and machine health to business optimization, Trackunit’s industry-leading telematics software, hardware and fleet management services benefit the everyday operations of the customers worldwide. Trackunit services its customers directly from its headquarters in Denmark, Chicago, IL and Singapore, as well as through subsidiaries in Sweden, Norway, France, Holland, Germany, UK, Australia and Japan. Visit trackunit.com to learn more

About ZTR
ZTR is a global technology company that develops solutions for the compact construction industry. Known as a pioneer in the development industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the telematics provider delivers products and services that allow companies to remotely monitor and manage mobile as well as fixed assets.

Leading the industry in response to the need for richer machine data, greater uptime, and better insights, ZTR has designed new solutions that help Rental Companies, OEMs and end-users work together to operate smarter and easier. By listening and collaborating with its customers, ZTR takes on big industry challenges and opens pathways toward the continued digitalization of the construction sector.

ZTR Telematics Solutions easily integrate with industrial machinery and the business systems customers use every day so they can use the data to make decisions and react in real-time. With more than 450,000 telematics-enabled assets under contract, ZTR integrates with 150+ industrial Original Equipment Manufacturers, and many top rental houses worldwide.

The Rail division of ZTR will continue to operate independently. There will be no impact to its organization structure, customers or business operations as a result of this announcement. For more information visit www.ztr.com

Media contacts

Trackunit Aps
Laerke Ullerup
Chief Marketing Officer

Gasværksvej 24, 4.sal,
DK-9000 Aalborg

Tel: +45 53703033
LUL@trackunit.com

ZTR
Colleen Burghardt
Marketing Communications Manager

Industrial IoT Division
955 Green Valley Road
London, Ontario Canada
N6N 1E4

Tel: 1-519-452-1233 Ext.337
cburghardt@ztr.com

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BDC to acquire Achilles

Bridgepoint

Achilles, a global leader and partner of choice for supply chain risk and performance management, today announces an agreement to be acquired by Bridgepoint, the international private assets fund management group.

The acquisition marks a new chapter for Achilles. Despite the recent global turmoil and uncertainty, Achilles has continued to partner with customers, build new value, bring new products to market and add new customers to the portfolio.

Over the past decade supply chain risk management has increased in complexity due to numerous environmental, social, and economic drivers. Issues such as sustainability, modern slavery and equality, diversity and inclusion, as well the increased risk of sophisticated cyber-attacks have changed the way in which supply chains need to be managed: Achilles’ solutions enable customers to mitigate risk and make informed business decisions for their supply chains.

Partnering with Bridgepoint will give Achilles access to the capital and expertise to significantly expand the solution set, both organically and through M&A, delivering new capabilities around key focus areas like ESG, CSR, EDI, Health and Safety, and supply chain mapping, all of which are critical customer needs.

Matt Legg, Director of Bridgepoint Development Capital, said: “Supply chains across the world are under increased pressure and scrutiny, creating opportunities for those companies who are able to provide data-driven solutions to ensure more sustainable and ethical solutions. Achilles, with its global platform, breadth of risk coverage, in-house audit capabilities, and depth of data validation provides a compelling proposition to its customers. We look forward to working with the Achilles management team and have already identified multiple avenues to drive value creation in a sector which is growing due to increasing supply chain complexity and corporate focus on supply chain risk and ESG.”

Jay Katzen, CEO of Achilles, commented: “I am delighted Bridgepoint will be working with the team at Achilles for the next chapter in our story. Our teams have built a great rapport, and we have a shared vision about both the opportunity and goal to expand our solutions, helping our customers drive a more sustainable future.

I believe this is a pivotal moment, not just for my colleagues and I at Achilles, but for our customers and partners as well. With this in mind, I’d like to thank Hg and Achilles’ Chairman Craig Rodgerson, for their support in driving success for Achilles.

With over 30 years’ experience, sector leading technology and extremely engaged employees, Achilles is uniquely well placed to take advantage of the opportunities that evolve as the world looks to make supply chains more sustainable, efficient and ethical. Achilles creates opportunity and provides the sector leading insight that enables better, value added decision making for our customers, from the smallest micro business to FTSE 100 companies. It is this strength of purpose and range of strategic opportunity that the team at Bridgepoint recognise and value – I’m excited about all that the future holds for Achilles and our customers.”

The investment in Achilles was made by the Bridgepoint Development Capital fund IV. Bridgepoint was advised on the transaction by: Raymond James (M&A), Ropes & Gray (Legal), GCA Altium (Debt), McKinsey (Commercial), BDO (Financial & Tax) and Intechnica (Technology). Hg and Achilles were advised by Baird (M&A) and Barclays (M&A).

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Matillion Raises $150M Series E Funding at $1.5B Valuation

Latest funding follows accelerated growth as Matillion platform fuels cloud analytics, AI and machine learning in large global enterprises

September 15, 2021

Matillion, a leading cloud data integration platform, today announced $150M in Series E funding, led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, with participation from Battery Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. This funding marks Matillion’s second triple-digit round of 2021, bringing the total amount raised to $310M at a valuation of $1.5B.

The average enterprise uses more than 1,080 different data sources in its analytics program. Even as cloud data platforms such as Snowflake, Amazon Redshift, and Databricks become central to modern data architectures, enterprises struggle to collect, synchronize and transform their data for analytics, AI and ML programs. Traditional and other methods are primitive and slow, relying heavily on hand-coding and placing the burden of enterprise data preparation on a few workers. This creates information gaps within the organization and limits critical insights. Matillion unlocks the data supply chain, accelerating time to value by delivering a data operating system that integrates and manages data at scale. This allows enterprise data teams to work together to source, enrich and share data, enabling the rapid and data-led decision-making required to compete and win in today’s digital economy.

“Enterprises need to effectively close information gaps by rapidly transforming operational data into analytics-ready datasets that fuel business intelligence, AI, and ML innovation,” said Matthew Scullion, CEO of Matillion. “With Matillion, large organizations are empowered with a data operating system that is purpose-built for the enterprise, enabling a broad spectrum of data users — from data scientists and engineers to marketers and business analysts — to make data useful.”

Coming off of its Series D round in February, Matillion has delivered accelerated growth in 2021, including recognition by Snowflake as its FY2021 Technology Partner of the Year for Data Integration and by Databricks for an ISV Innovation Award, as well as the launch of its new product, Matillion ETL for Delta Lake on Databricks. The company also earned the Great Place to Work Certification, with 94% of its UK employees and 91% of its U.S. employees stating that Matillion is a great place to work.

“As organizations look for ways to harness data to make better business decisions, the market for cloud data integration and transformation is expanding,” said Chris Caulkin, Managing Director and Head of Technology for EMEA at General Atlantic. “We believe that Matillion’s low-code ETL platform simplifies the process of constructing data pipelines and preparing data for analysis, enabling citizen data scientists and data engineers alike to play a valuable role in extracting data-based insights. We look forward to supporting the team through its next phase of growth and expansion.”

Hundreds of large enterprises including Western Union, FOX, Sony, Slack, National Grid, Peet’s Coffee and Cisco use Matillion’s cloud-native, low-code/no-code solutions to transform raw data into an analytics-ready asset, ready to power business intelligence, visualization, artificial intelligence, and machine learning projects.

“Global data teams are being tasked to support digital transformation journeys within their organizations and look to low-code, cloud native solutions to accelerate the delivery of business results,” said Frederick Wright, US Director, UK Senior Manager, Enterprise Architect – Integration & Analytics at National Grid. “Matillion enables enterprises like ours to increase our usage of analytics and drive greater understanding within our business.”

For further data transformation industry updates and perspectives, follow Matillion on Twitter @Matillion and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/matillion-limited/. Learn more about the success Matillion customers have achieved at https://www.matillion.com/resources/case-studies/.

About Matillion

Matillion makes the world’s data useful with an easy-to-use cloud-native data integration and transformation platform. Optimized for modern enterprise data teams, only Matillion is built on native integrations to cloud data platforms such as Snowflake, Delta Lake on Databricks, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, and Microsoft Azure Synapse to enable new levels of efficiency and productivity across any organization. Learn how Matillion delivers rapid returns on cloud investments for global enterprise customers at www.matillion.com.

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 400 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic currently has over $65 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2021 and more than 175 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Stamford. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

Media Contacts

Mary Armstrong & Emily Japlon
General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com

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Trackunit and ZTR come together to connect construction

HG Capital

LONDON, ON, MINNEAPOLIS, MN and AALBORG, DK – September 15, 2021 – Trackunit and the Industrial IoT division of ZTR are uniting to better serve the growing demands of the construction industry. Putting customer needs first, the two telematics leaders are combining their considerable resources to accelerate innovation and drive digital transformation — with collaboration and service at the centre of their strategy.

“We see the industry at a pivotal tipping point when it comes to digitalization of their business and equipment – and customers are looking for a trusted partner.”

Soeren Brogaard, CEO of Trackunit

“By combining ZTR IIoT and Trackunit resources and offerings, we’re better equipped to serve the needs of the customers now and in the future.”

Sam Hassan, President & CEO of ZTR

Strengthening our core focus
As a combined entity, Trackunit and the ZTR IIoT division will extend their core focus to accelerate the digital journey in construction, Hassan continues.

“By coming together with Trackunit, we will be able to operate on a global scale to provide an expanded offering to our customers with greater efficiency and depth,” he says.

“Together, we are strengthening our core focus on enabling the ecosystem of construction. By combining our businesses, we’re elevating our technology and increasing the value customers will be able to extract from their data”, adds Soeren Brogaard.

Over the past few years, the realm of IoT and telematics possibilities has evolved from simple track and trace technology into highly actionable insights that create massive value for the stakeholders of the construction industry.

After the transaction closes the combined entity of Trackunit and ZTR will specialize in creating offerings that enhance utilization, increase fleet availability, improve safety and reduce equipment loss as major value drivers. In addition, both companies will help customers in collecting data and translating it into actionable insights – enabling customers to build smarter and more resilient machines. Furthermore, the combined entity is dedicated to helping improve daily operations for customers with increased operator safety, machine health and business optimizations.

“Our promise to the industry is based on collaboration. With a purpose as determined and noble as eliminating downtime, we know that working with our customers to apply new digital tools, is absolutely necessary. We make ourselves useful and strive to solve real problems, building everything for scale, while showing compassion for our customers, partners, competitors, and the industry at large”, says Soeren Brogaard.

Best of both worlds
At their cores, both Trackunit and ZTR are in business to build solutions that propel the construction industry forward. Trackunit recently attracted a strategic investment from Hg, a leading global software and services investor, to accelerate the company expansion, while ZTR has been transforming its business, and predicts growth through rising demand. Both Trackunit and ZTR have recently taken their first steps into, and secured traction in, the APAC region. Both businesses are ready to start the next chapter – one company focused on uniting the industry and shape it to become the most useful industry for the world. In essence, the timing couldn’t be better.

“We’re focused on delivering our existing customer commitments and creating a smooth integration. This is all about bringing people, competence, and great technology together to create a bigger impact”, says Soeren Brogaard.

A shift in the market
The construction industry is growing rapidly. It is experiencing accelerated investment in IoT capabilities with construction now one of the top five industries for investment growth. As a result, data proliferation is expected to grow exponentially as penetration of connected equipment continues beyond 2025 and machine-level data grows. Given these developments, Trackunit and ZTR IIoT are teaming up to better help their customers meet the changes that come with increasing digitalization of the construction industry.

“ZTR and Trackunit together represent an incredible next step that will enable us to become a truly global player to better serve our customers. I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and take an active part in the executive team. I look forward to venturing out on this shared mission – one in which I have no doubt Soeren Brogaard will capably lead”, says Sam Hassan.

About Trackunit ApS
Trackunit is the leading SaaS-based IoT solution and machine insights provider to the global construction equipment industry. Trackunit collects and analyzes machine data in real-time to deliver actionable, proactive and predictive information, empowering customers with data-driven foresight.

Trackunit promises to lead the technology engagement to help eliminate downtime. The ambition of this mission is not only to recover from budget and schedule overruns, but also to re-establish the reputation of the industry for innovation and leadership.

From operator safety and machine health to business optimization, Trackunit’s industry-leading telematics software, hardware and fleet management services benefit the everyday operations of the customers worldwide. Trackunit services its customers directly from its headquarters in Denmark, Chicago, IL and Singapore, as well as through subsidiaries in Sweden, Norway, France, Holland, Germany, UK, Australia and Japan. Visit trackunit.com to learn more

About ZTR
ZTR is a global technology company that develops solutions for the compact construction industry. Known as a pioneer in the development industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the telematics provider delivers products and services that allow companies to remotely monitor and manage mobile as well as fixed assets.

Leading the industry in response to the need for richer machine data, greater uptime, and better insights, ZTR has designed new solutions that help Rental Companies, OEMs and end-users work together to operate smarter and easier. By listening and collaborating with its customers, ZTR takes on big industry challenges and opens pathways toward the continued digitalization of the construction sector.

ZTR Telematics Solutions easily integrate with industrial machinery and the business systems customers use every day so they can use the data to make decisions and react in real-time. With more than 450,000 telematics-enabled assets under contract, ZTR integrates with 150+ industrial Original Equipment Manufacturers, and many top rental houses worldwide.

The Rail division of ZTR will continue to operate independently. There will be no impact to its organization structure, customers or business operations as a result of this announcement. For more information visit www.ztr.com

Media contacts

Trackunit Aps
Laerke Ullerup
Chief Marketing Officer

Gasværksvej 24, 4.sal,
DK-9000 Aalborg

Tel: +45 53703033
LUL@trackunit.com

ZTR
Colleen Burghardt
Marketing Communications Manager

Industrial IoT Division
955 Green Valley Road
London, Ontario Canada
N6N 1E4

Tel: 1-519-452-1233 Ext.337
cburghardt@ztr.com

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