Category Archives: News

Cybersecurity Penetration Testing Leader NetSPI Secures $90 Million in Growth Funding Led by KKR

KKR

May 12, 2021

Investment to Fuel Innovation and Growth, Including Global Expansion and Product Innovation

MINNEAPOLIS, May 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — NetSPI, the leader in enterprise penetration testing and attack surface management, today announced it has raised $90 million in growth funding led by KKR, with participation from Ten Eleven Ventures. The investment will be used to further accelerate NetSPI’s rapid growth by expanding the company’s cybersecurity and client experience teams, investing in product innovation, and deepening operations across U.S. and international markets.

“The reality is that cyber security attacks today are inevitable and put organizations at grave risk,” said NetSPI President and Chief Executive Officer Aaron Shilts. “At NetSPI, we strive to stay one step ahead of hackers, breaches, and bad actors by focusing on prevention-based security techniques. Rooted in the founding tenets of the company, our goals are purposely aggressive to help our clients adapt to the constantly evolving threat landscape.”

Since its founding, NetSPI has focused and customized its services to help companies proactively defend themselves from cyberattacks through a robust and innovative technology platform, ensuring computer systems and networks thoroughly identify and address security vulnerabilities in an efficient and comprehensive manner. At a time when cybersecurity spending is expected to exceed $200 billion per year by 2024, according to a recent Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) report, more companies are preparing to fend off sophisticated cyber-attacks and avoid reputational and business risks.

“Our clients rely on us to help secure their ever-evolving attack surface by leveraging our expertise in cloud, red team, application, and network security,” continued Shilts. “This investment from KKR and Ten Eleven Ventures allows NetSPI to better meet this demand while simultaneously fueling growth and innovation as a leader in the booming cybersecurity market. With our investors’ support, NetSPI will continue to transform the industry with a focus on attack surface management, enterprise security testing, and vulnerability management.”

“NetSPI has built a differentiated suite of tech-enabled services that are not only enhancing cybersecurity for complex global enterprises across a wide range of industries but are simultaneously disrupting the traditional penetration testing market in order for these enterprises to security test at scale,” said Ben Pederson, Principal at KKR. “We are excited to invest in NetSPI’s growth as they build and deliver these critically important offensive security solutions.”

Jake Heller, Head of KKR’s Technology Growth team in the Americas, added: “Aaron and his team have a deep appreciation for the needs of their customers and the increasing demand for best-in-class, tech-enabled cybersecurity systems, which we have witnessed firsthand throughout KKR’s global portfolio of companies who rightfully and consistently identify cybersecurity among their top IT priorities.”

KKR is investing in NetSPI through its Next Generation Technology Growth Fund II. Together with Ten Eleven Ventures, KKR has invested in market-leading cybersecurity companies including Darktrace, KnowBe4, Ping Identity, Cylance, ForgeRock, and ReliaQuest.

“Penetration testing is a critical component of any enterprise’s security program and will continue to be an important part of compliance and regulatory requirements in the future,” said Mark Hatfield, General Partner, Ten Eleven Ventures. “With its deep expertise and automated platform, NetSPI has developed an incredibly effective and efficient approach to penetration testing and attack surface management. We’re thrilled to partner with this exceptional team and look forward to drawing on our cybersecurity expertise to help NetSPI bring its technology to more companies across the globe.”

After spending its first several years as a bootstrapped, profitable business, in 2017 NetSPI partnered with Sunstone Partners, who has been instrumental to the company’s growth post-investment. Gus Alberelli, Managing Director of Sunstone Partners, said: “We’re incredibly fortunate to partner with NetSPI’s team and proud of the company’s extraordinary growth stemming from its technology-enabled penetration testing team. We are excited for KKR and Ten Eleven Ventures to join Sunstone Partners in supporting NetSPI’s growth journey.”

The investment is the latest transaction in a period of accelerated growth for NetSPI. Most recently, NetSPI acquired Silent Break Security and incorporated its proprietary Adversary Simulation and Red Team Toolkit software into the company’s offensive cyber security and attack surface management offerings. In 2020, NetSPI launched Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) powered by its Resolve™ platform. Upcoming additions of risk scoring, vulnerability intelligence, breach and attack simulation, and more will continue to differentiate NetSPI’s technology offerings.

Goodwin Procter LLP advised NetSPI on the transaction and Latham & Watkins LLP advised KKR and Ten Eleven Ventures.

About NetSPI
NetSPI is the leader in enterprise security testing and attack surface management, partnering with nine of the top 10 U.S. banks, three of the world’s five largest health care companies, the largest global cloud providers, and many of the Fortune® 500. NetSPI experts perform deep dive manual penetration testing of application, network, and cloud attack surfaces, historically testing over 1 million assets to find 4 million unique vulnerabilities. NetSPI offers Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) through its Resolve™ platform and adversary simulation through its Red Team Tool Kit. NetSPI is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN and is a portfolio company of growth equity firm Sunstone Partners, KKR, and Ten Eleven Ventures. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and 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 The 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.

About Ten Eleven Ventures
Ten Eleven Ventures is the original venture capital firm focused solely on investing in digital security. The firm invests globally and at all stages, from seed to growth (the latter via its Joint Investment Alliance with KKR). Since its founding in Silicon Valley in 2015, Ten Eleven Ventures has raised nearly $US 500 million and invested in 30 leading cybersecurity companies including KnowBe4, Darktrace, Twistlock, Verodin, Cylance, and Ping Identity. For more information, please visit www.1011vc.com or follow us on Twitter @1011vc.

About Sunstone Partners
Sunstone Partners is a growth-oriented private equity firm that makes majority and minority investments in technology-enabled services and software businesses. Recently recognized as one of Inc.’s 2020 PE 50 founder-friendly private equity firms for entrepreneurs, the firm seeks to partner with exceptional management teams, often as their first institutional capital partner, to help accelerate organic growth and fund acquisitions. Founded in 2015, the firm has $800 million of committed capital to its first two funds. For more information, visit www.sunstonepartners.com.

Media Contacts:

Jean Hill, Maccabee PR for NetSPI
jean@maccabee.com
(612) 294-3154

KKR
Cara Major or Miles Radcliffe-Trenner
Media@KKR.com
(212) 750-8300

Ten Eleven Ventures
Megan Dubofsky
mdubofsky@1011vc.com
(917) 576-5590

SOURCE NetSPI

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Kinnevik’s Board has decided the final terms and timetable for the Zalando distribution

Kinnevik

Kinnevik AB (publ) (“Kinnevik”) today announced that its Board has decided the final terms for the distribution of Kinnevik’s shareholding in Zalando SE (“Zalando”), through a share redemption plan. The Board has decided to distribute Kinnevik’s entire shareholding in Zalando, and accordingly Kinnevik will distribute 28 Zalando shares for 143 Kinnevik redemption shares, equivalent to approximately SEK 166 or 0.195 Zalando share per Kinnevik share. Kinnevik will thereby make an extraordinary value transfer of approximately SEK 45.8bn to its shareholders.

The Annual General Meeting of Kinnevik on 29 April 2021 resolved to distribute Kinnevik’s shareholding in Zalando through a share redemption plan. The Board was authorised to determine the final distribution per share as well as the timetable for the share redemption plan. Kinnevik’s Board has today decided to distribute Kinnevik’s entire shareholding in Zalando through the share redemption plan, and that the redemption consideration accordingly will be 28 Zalando shares for 143 Kinnevik redemption shares. Based on the closing price for Zalando’s share on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as at 10 May 2021, the redemption consideration per share corresponds to approximately SEK 166, a total value transfer to Kinnevik’s shareholders of approximately SEK 45.8bn.

Further, the Board has set the record date for the share split and the right to receive redemption shares to Tuesday 18 May 2021. The last trading day in the Kinnevik share before the share split including the right to receive redemption shares is Friday 14 May 2021. From and including Monday 17 May 2021, the Kinnevik share will be traded not including the right to receive redemption shares. The redemption shares will be traded on Nasdaq Stockholm from and including Wednesday 19 May 2021 to and including Wednesday 9 June 2021. The Zalando shares are estimated to be available on the shareholders’ securities accounts, nominee accounts or equivalent on Friday 18 June 2021.

Please note that both the resolved terms and the timetable are the same as the indicative terms and timetable stated in the notice to the 2021 Annual General Meeting and in the information brochure regarding the share redemption plan.

Kinnevik’s shareholding in Zalando will for technical reasons be distributed in the form of Euroclear Sweden-registered Zalando shares that the holder may re-register directly with Clearstream Germany following the share redemption plan (during July 2021). The re-registration is made to enable shareholders to complete transactions with the distributed Zalando shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. An information brochure with further information on the share redemption plan as well as detailed instructions on the subsequent, free-of-charge, re-registration is available on Kinnevik’s website at www.kinnevik.com under the heading ”General Meetings” (which can be found under the section ”Governance”).

Shareholders with questions regarding the distribution can call or email Kinnevik’s hotline call center service operated by Computershare.

Phone: +46 (0)8-46 00 73 89
Email: kinnevik@computershare.se

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 to make people’ lives better and 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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Altor enters partnership with the founders of Aarke

Altor

Altor Fund V (“Altor”) has acquired a majority stake in the fast-growing Swedish home appliances brand Aarke from the founders Jonas Groth and Carl Ljungh. The founders will remain significant owners and continue in their new operational roles as CEO and CPO.

Aarke is the leading premium home carbonation company with global presence. The company has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2016 with sales reaching above SEK 200m in 2020. Aarke currently sells premium home carbonation machines with a sleek, minimalistic Scandinavian industrial design and related products via its global distributor network and own webshop.

“When we started searching for a partner, we wanted someone that could complement us and contribute with relevant experience for the next phase in our growth journey”, says Carl Ljungh and Jonas Groth, the founders of Aarke. “We felt that Altor was a very good match as they have partnered up with founders in similar situations before and they have a successful history in supporting fast-growing consumer companies with global expansion ambitions”.

“We are highly impressed with Aarke’s success to date with spectacular growth, design capabilities, innovation and brand values. The home carbonation market is attractive and Aarke provides high-quality products to a growing, global consumer base focused on health, wellness and sustainability”, says Andreas Källström Säfweräng, partner at Altor. “We actively look for partnerships with outstanding founders, which is something we have definitely found in Carl and Jonas. We are looking forward to our journey ahead.”

In addition to the partnership with Altor, a new Board will also take office, Pernilla Ekman, former CEO of Zound Industries will become Chairman of the Board and Stefan Ytterborn, founder of POC and Cake, will become member of the Board.

For more information, please contact:
Tor Krusell, Head of Communications at Altor +46 705 43 87 47

Author: Katarina Karlsson
Date: 2021.05.11
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Eurazeo signs an exclusivity agreement aiming at investing in I-TRACING, a French leading independent provider of Cybersecurity Services

Eurazeo

Eurazeo’s small-mid buyout team1 has signed an exclusivity agreement with the aim of investing in I-TRACING alongside the company’s management and founders Theodore-Michel Vrangos and Laurent Charvériat, who would collectively hold 49% of the company’s equity after completion of the transaction.
Keensight Capital, minority financial shareholder since 2017, would sell its entire stake while Sagard NewGen would invest as a minority shareholder in a holding company controlled by Eurazeo.

The transaction would value I-TRACING at €165 million. Eurazeo would become an anchor investor of the group by investing around €65 million.
I-TRACING was founded in 2005 and offers a comprehensive range of high-value-added services to secure its clients’ IT systems: consultancy, audits and pen tests, integration of diversified software solutions and associated managed services, identity and access management, operation of SOCs (Security Operations Centers) as well as deployment of cyberattack response units (CERTs or Computer Emergency Response Teams).

Headquartered in Paris, I-TRACING employs more than 285 experts who help their clients (CAC40, SBF120 and medium-sized companies) with all of their cybersecurity needs. The company also has subsidiaries in Montreal, Hong Kong and London, enabling the group to offer managed services and support on a 24/7 basis. In 2020, I-TRACING generated nearly €50 million of revenue, up around 40% vs. 2019, despite the Covid-19 crisis. The company targets around €70 million revenues in 2021.
Eurazeo’s small-mid buyout team, Sagard NewGen and I-TRACING’s management share the ambition of building a leading European provider of cybersecurity services. This would entail an acceleration of the company’s growth through further expansion, capitalizing on its high level of expertise as well as the rapid growth of its market and underlying demand. The new chapter is also aiming at pursuing an active buy-and-build strategy, with several targets already identified, as well as supporting I-TRACING’ clients internationally.

Pierre Meignen, Member of Eurazeo PME’s Executive Board, said:
“We are delighted to be involved in I-TRACING’s project. Eurazeo ambitions to provide long-term support to Théodore-Michel Vrangos and Laurent Charvériat in their growth strategy and contribute to the emergence of a European leading independent provider of cybersecurity services. Further than its financial support, Eurazeo would bring the expertise and support of its experienced teams located in 10 countries around the world and its international business network. We can’t wait to actively back the group in a new active phase of its development.”

Théodore-Michel Vrangos and Laurent Charvériat, I-TRACING’s two Founding Partners, underlined:
“We are very pleased to enter I-TRACING’s new phase of development alongside Eurazeo and Sagard, to write a new chapter in our journey as an independent company, 15 years after it was founded. Since 2017, we have successfully passed critical steps with the help of Keensight Capital’s teams: we have tripled our revenue in a four years’ time, structured our offering and our organization, doubled our workforce, accelerated our international growth and made our first add-on. We very grateful for their valuable support. From now on, with the assistance of Eurazeo and Sagard, we will accelerate our growth both in France and internationally in Europe, Asia and North America, accompanying our major French and European clients in all of their cybersecurity needs. We will ensure to maintain our values and mindset, the quality and expertise of our services, commitment to our clients in a thrilling environment for our staff.”

Bérangère Barbe, Agnès Huyghues-Despointes, Guillaume Lefebvre, Partners at Sagard NewGen, said:
“We would be very happy to accompany Théodore-Michel Vrangos and Laurent Charvériat’s outstanding team, alongside Eurazeo, in this new phase of development. I-TRACING has an impressive track record of growth over the last 15 years, offering a broad array of customizable cybersecurity services praised by its clients. This new step will be an opportunity for I-TRACING to leverage Sagard’s relational and commercial network in Europe and North America to pursue a dynamic organic growth and add-ons aimed at strengthening its positioning and technological expertise.”

Philippe Crochet, Managing Partner at Keensight Capital, specifies:
“I-TRACING is a perfect example of the companies we like at Keensight: it provides essential services in a fast-growing market and is an undisputed leader in its industry thanks to a talented and visionary management team. We have actively supported the group in the recent years, particularly outside France with the opening of a new office in Montreal, and in external growth with the strategic acquisition of Idento in 2019, a major player of identity and access management services. At Keensight, we focus on successful companies before, during and after our investment. I-TRACING perfectly fits that description and we are proud of what we have achieved together.”

ABOUT EURAZEO
• Eurazeo is a leading global investment group, with a diversified portfolio of €21.8 billion in assets under management, including €15 billion from third parties, invested in 450 companies. With its considerable private equity, private debt, real estate and infrastructure expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its nearly 300 professionals and offering in-depth sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term.
• Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, London, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Madrid.
• Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.
• ISIN: FR0000121121 – Bloomberg: RF FP – Reuters: EURA.PA

ABOUT I-TRACING
• I-TRACING was founded in 2005 in Paris by Laurent Charvériat and Théodore-Michel Vrangos, who were soon joined by Michel Vujicic and then Laurent Besset. It is France’s leading independent pure-play provider of cybersecurity services, covering all requirements in this field: cyberdefence (CyberSOC, I-CERT, Vulnerability Management Center, offensive audit, 24/7 “follow-the-sun” CyberSOC etc.), consultancy and solution engineering/integration, support and managed services. Idento, which joined the group in 2019, provides consultancy and engineering services in the field of Identity and Access Management (IAM).
• The I-TRACING group comprises the I-TRACING companies based in Puteaux, London, Hong Kong and Montreal, along with IDENTO I-TRACING Group, which has locations in Asnières and Nantes.
• The company generated consolidated revenue of €50 million in 2020, up around 40% compared with 2019, and its current workforce consists of 285 engineers. Its client base consists of more than 230 companies across all business sectors, including 30 CAC 40 companies.
• https://i-tracing.com/
• PRESS CONTACTS: Véronique Loquet (vloquet@alx-communication.com – +33 (0)6 68 42 79 68)

ABOUT SAGARD NEWGEN
• Sagard NewGen aims to support the development of leaders in the healthcare and technology sectors. The fund was established to make majority and minority equity investments, financing the growth strategy of profitable European companies that share its commitment to innovation and sustainability (revenues of up to €150 million).
• Sponsored by Sagard Holdings and supported by Sienna Capital, Sagard NewGen extends the platform’s European base alongside Sagard MidCap. Sagard NewGen provides management teams with bespoke support and a high value-added ecosystem that has truly international reach through its presence in Europe, North America and Asia.
• Sagard has offices in Paris, Montreal, Toronto, New York, San Francisco and Singapore.
• www.sagard.eu
• PRESS CONTACTS: Stéphanie Lacan Tabouis, Publicis Consultants (stephanie.tabouis@publicisconsultants.com – +33 (0)6 03 84 05 03)

ABOUT KEENSIGHT CAPITAL
• Keensight Capital, one of the leading European Growth Buyout firms, is committed to supporting entrepreneurs as they implement their growth strategies. For 20 years, Keensight Capital’s seasoned professionals have leveraged their knowledge of investment and growth industries to invest for the long term in profitable companies with high growth potential and revenues in the range of €10 million to €300 million.
• Drawing on its expertise in the Tech and Healthcare sectors, Keensight identifies the best investment opportunities in Europe and works closely with management teams to develop and achieve their strategic vision.
• www.keensightcapital.com
• PRESS CONTACTS: Anne de Bonnefon – abonnefon@keensightcapital.com – +33 (0)1 83 79 87 37
• Citigate Dewe Rogerson: Yoann Besse / Estelle Bleuze – estelle.bleuze@citigatedewerogerson.com – +33 (0)7 63 73 05 67

EURAZEO CONTACTS
Virginie Christnacht
HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS vchristnacht@eurazeo.com
+33 (0)1 44 15 76 44
Pierre Bernardin
HEAD OF INVESTOR RELATIONS pbernardin@eurazeo.com
+33 (0)1 44 15 16 76
PRESS CONTACT
David Sturken
MAITLAND/AMO dsturken@maitland.co.uk+44 (0)7990 595 913

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EQT Private Equity invests in Indesso, Southeast Asia’s largest natural Flavor & Fragrance ingredients and Food & Wellness solutions provider

eqt
  • Indesso benefits from the global demand and growing consumer awareness for natural ingredients, and contributes to the development of a sustainable value chain in the flavors & fragrances and wider consumer goods industries
  • EQT Private Equity will support Indesso’s ambition for continued research driven product innovation and geographical expansion, as well as in enhancing digital capabilities and sustainability, leveraging on EQT’s inhouse expertise and global advisory network

EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Mid Market Asia III fund (“EQT Private Equity”) has invested in Indesso Group (“Indesso” or “the Group”). The founding Gunawan family will retain a majority stake in the Group and remains as management following the transaction.

Established in 1968 and headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, Indesso is a leading provider of natural ingredients, serving over 2,000 customers in the Flavors & Fragrances (“F&F”) industry in more than 50 countries globally. Indesso’s natural products are essential elements used in the formulation of a wide range of flavor ingredients in food and beverage products, as well as aromatherapy and fragrances in consumer products and nutraceuticals.

Over the years, Indesso has established a strong presence as a manufacturer of essential oils including their derivatives and botanical extracts unique to Indonesia. Through continuous research and innovation, it has transformed into an integrated solutions provider across the F&F ecosystem. Indesso is also one of the market leaders in Indonesia supplying F&F products and food ingredients on behalf of its global principals to the fast-growing local consumer goods industry.

Indesso’s underlying market is supported by global megatrends, such as the shift to natural based products, and the growing importance of sustainable supply chains. The Group supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through its “People – Partnership – Planet” program, which seeks to develop a traceable and responsible natural raw material sourcing and reduce the environmental impact of its business activities.

EQT has vast expertise and a long history in developing strong assets in the sector, including a global F&F company, and existing portfolio companies Azelis and Chr. Hansen Natural Colors. EQT Private Equity intends to leverage on this experience and its global advisory network, to support Indesso’s ambitions for accelerating product innovation and enhancing its raw material sourcing capabilities to continue serving its customers with the best product offering and highest service standards. EQT Private Equity also intends to back Indesso’s inorganic growth plans in the region and invest further in the Group’s digital infrastructure and sustainability, drawing on its inhouse expert capabilities.

Brian Chang, Partner and Investment Advisor, Head of Southeast Asia at EQT Partners, said “Indesso started on its journey more than 50 years ago, bringing natural ingredients to the world. We are truly humbled by the opportunity to invest in a market leader in this highly thematic space as it prepares for the next phase of its journey to expand further. We have full confidence in the talented team and high quality business that Pak Robby is leading and are excited about the ample opportunities to further invest in innovation, sustainability and digitalization to continue to add value to Indesso’s customers and principals.”

Robby Gunawan, CEO of Indesso Group, said “This partnership with EQT represents a new chapter in Indesso’s ‘Journey of Unlocking Nature’. This will accelerate our corporate mission of creating innovative solutions with ‘sustainable natural based ingredients for life’. In the last 10 years, we have enjoyed robust growth in our business built upon solid relationships with current business and supply partners, principals and customers, something that we want to continue and further strengthen. EQT’s expertise and experience in our business space will support us in realizing new opportunities to provide better and innovative solutions for our customers.”

The transaction was closed on 10 May 2021.

Contact
APAC media inquiries: KEKST CNC, daniel.delre@kekstcnc.com, +852 9212 3105
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334
Indesso Corporate Communication, arianto.mulyadi@indesso.com, +62811965808

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 67 billion in assets under management across 26 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas with total sales of approximately EUR 29 billion and more than 175,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

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

About Indesso
Established in 1968, Indesso is one of Indonesia’s key manufacturers of food, flavor, and fragrance ingredients. Through strict quality assurance, we ensure that all customers receive high quality products, which comply with international standards and regulations. Indesso is devoted to providing value-added ingredients through innovation, efficiency, and sustainable business practices.

More info: www.indesso.com
Follow Indesso on LinkedIn and Instagram

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Ngern Tid Lor debuts TIDLOR shares in the SET

CVC Capital Partners

Emphasising its strong fundamentals based on distinctive business model driven by technological innovations, together with continuous and sustainable growth potentials

Ngern Tid Lor Public Company Limited debuts its shares, TIDLOR, in the Stock Exchange of Thailand today. An IPO of TIDLOR has become the largest IPO ever in the Finance and Securities Sector in Thailand as well as one of the top five largest equity IPOs in the history of the Thai equity capital market, with the total offering size of THB 38,089 million (including an overallotment option) and the market capitalisation at the IPO price of THB 84,643 million, demonstrating Ngern Tid Lor’s strong fundamentals as the leading vehicle title loan provider and top 3 retail-focused insurance broker with rapid growth. Driven by technological innovations and omni-channel distribution platform, Ngern Tid Lor is ready to take its success in listing in the SET to another level by expanding its network of branches and boosting efficiency. The company plans to continue to invest in improving technological and digital platforms in order to maintain its leadership status and create sustainable growth opportunities. Stabilisation activities will be in place for a period of no more than 30 days after the first trading date to support stability of the share price in the secondary market.

Mr. Piyasak Ukritnukun, Managing Director of Ngern Tid Lor PCL, states that the TIDLOR shares will make its debut in the SET today (May 10, 2021). “This is a very important day for Ngern Tid Lor, and we are honored to join the stock exchange of Thailand. Ngern Tid Lor is one of Thailand’s leading financial inclusion companies in the fragmented title loan and general insurance brokerage businesses, we are on a mission to help promote sustainable economic development by helping people gain access to fair, responsible, and transparent financial products and services. Our rapid growth has been driven by our strong corporate culture, unique omni-channel, distribution platform, reputable brand, and innovative products and services.”

Ngern Tid Lor’s IPO is the largest IPO ever in the Finance and Securities Sector in Thailand as well as one of the top five largest equity IPOs in the history of the Thai equity capital market, with the total offering size of THB 38,089 million (including an overallotment option) and the market capitalization at the IPO price of THB 84,643 million. TIDLOR IPO had received an overwhelming interest from broad range of investors, from leading Thai and global institutional investors to Thai general public retail investors, reflecting investors’ confidence in Ngern Tid Lor’s strong fundamentals and potential for a sustainable growth in the future.

Ngern Tid Lor’s mission is to provide access to fair, transparent and responsible financial services for financial betterment by offering relevant products and services that are simple to understand, convenient and fast through our committed employees. The unique business model, combining financial services expertise, purpose-built technology and data analytics capabilities to effectively offer the right products for our target customer via omni-channel distributions of 1,076 branches in 74 provinces, with a customer referral network comprises of 638 branches of Krungsri Bank, 5,132 representatives, 491 second-hand truck sales representatives, and 519 phone sales representatives. Our customer acquisition from physical channels is further supplemented by online channels ranging from Ngern Tid Lor website, application and Facebook, and TIDLOR Connect to fulfil the existing gaps and provide further access to financial services for citizens in Thailand.

The company’s performance during 2018-2020 demonstrated strong track record of consistent growth and profitability, generating THB 7,569.4 million, THB 9,457.9 million, and THB 10,558.9 million of revenues respectively and net profits of THB 1,306.2 million, THB 2,201.7 million, and THB 2,416.1 million respectively. Gross loans balance between 2018-2020 stood at THB 39,724.1 million, THB 47,979.4 million, and THB 51,331.2 million respectively, while the premiums of non-life insurance collected at end of year amounted of THB 1,917.7 million, THB 2,854.3 million, and THB 4,010.9 million respectively. Ngern Tid Lor has achieved outstanding risk management outcomes, delivering a rate of Non-Performing Loans to Total Loans of 1.7% along with Coverage ratio of 325.1% as of 31 December 2020.

Following its listing in the SET, Ngern Tid Lor is determined to maintain its leadership in the vehicle title loan business and to strive for the leading position in insurance brokerage business in the future. To achieve such goals, the company will use the money from IPO to expand our lending and insurance brokerage business. Ngern Tid Lor plans to improve existing branches and expand 500 new branches by 2023 to provide wider coverage, invest and develop the IT system and digital transformation to strengthen business operations, uses part of the raised funds for working capital as well as capital restructuring in anticipation of a steady and sustained growth in the future.

“Our fundraising through the IPO will enable Ngern Tid Lor to boost our potential for sustainable growth, strengthen our financial status, continue our investment in digital transformation and platform-building” says Mr. Piyasak.

“Following our listing in the SET, Ngern Tid Lor is determined to be one of the leading quality listed companies under the principle of creating fair transparent and responsible financial opportunities for every Thai individual, while continuing to deliver steady and sustainable growth for the utmost benefits of our shareholders and all stakeholders.”

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SYNLAB AG commences trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

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Cinven

Value creation through investment in medical excellence, international expansion and consolidation

SYNLAB AG (“SYNLAB” or “the Group”), the largest European clinical laboratory and medical diagnostic services company, completed its successful listing on the Regulated Market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (“FSE”) on 30 April 2021. In total, 42.9 million shares were placed as part of the initial public offering. The total offer volume reached EUR 772 million with an expected free float of 19%, assuming full exercise of the Greenshoe option. At the IPO price of €18.00 per share, the implied market capitalisation was €4.0 billion, and the implied enterprise value amounted to €5.9 billion. The stock trades under the trading symbol SYAB, the German securities code (WKN) A2TSL7, and the international securities identification number (ISIN) DE000A2TSL71.

In 2015, funds advised by Cinven acquired the Germany-based SYNLAB and French medical diagnostics provider Labco at a combined enterprise value of €2.9 billion. Following the successful merger of the two companies under the joint SYNLAB brand, Cinven and co-investors Novo Holdings and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (together “the sponsors”) supported the company on its organic and M&A-driven growth strategy. Under the leadership of Dr. Bartl Wimmer, founder of SYNLAB, and since 2018 of CEO Mathieu Floreani, SYNLAB consistently focused on a strategy of customer-centric medical excellence to drive organic growth. In a fragmented medical diagnostics market, the Group executed on more than 100 add-on transactions and expanded its presence to an additional eight countries, including market entries in Latin America and Africa. Today, the Group is active in 36 countries globally and the only player with a presence in the five largest European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, UK). Over the past year, its scale and flexibility enabled SYNLAB to quickly ramp up SARS-CoV-2 testing capacity across its markets and contribute to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic as a key part of the medical infrastructure.

SYNLAB grew its revenues to €2.6 billion in fiscal year 2020. EBITDA increased to €679 million in the same period. In addition to its considerable business success and value creation, SYNLAB also expanded its workforce to more than 20,000 employees in 2020. The Group processes more 500 million tests and assists more than 100 million patients per annum.

Commenting on the IPO, Alex Leslie, Partner of Cinven said:

“Our original investment thesis in 2015 was based on the unique opportunity to create a European leader by combining two strong platforms with an excellent regional fit. Together with our co-shareholders, we supported the transition from a great business led by founder Bartl Wimmer to an enterprise led by a new management team under the leadership of Mathieu Floreani. Mathieu and his team built on the strong strategic position of SYNLAB and further accelerated the international expansion across markets in Europe and Latin America. We fully endorsed the strategy of customer-centric medical excellence, and we are proud that SYNLAB has played an important role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year. SYNLAB is in an excellent position to deliver on its future growth strategy and will continue to fulfil its mission of providing actionable diagnostic information for healthy lives and well-being for all.”

Christian Salling, Senior Partner at Novo Holdings, commented:

“SYNLAB has been on an impressive journey during our ownership, and management has done an outstanding job of creating a leading, international diagnostics services provider. Furthermore, SYNLAB has been at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19 since the beginning of the outbreak and quickly stepped up to face this considerable challenge. We at Novo Holdings are very proud to be part of that journey. SYNLAB is an excellent example of our strategy of investing in quality companies with strong management teams and demonstrates the strength of our engaged ownership model, that we exercised together with leading investment partners. We are very pleased with the company’s accomplishments to date and congratulate the team on this important milestone.”

Nick Jansa, Senior Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Ontario Teachers’ added:

“We are delighted to see SYNLAB successfully transition to the public markets under the stewardship of Cinven, Novo and Ontario Teachers’. The business has been transformed under our ownership because of numerous strategic acquisitions and other value creation initiatives. We are proud to have backed SYNLAB, which has achieved significant growth while making a vital contribution to public health efforts across the globe.”

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EQT Private Equity to sell StormGeo to Alfa Laval

eqt
  • EQT Private Equity to sell StormGeo, a global provider of software-based decision support for weather sensitive operations, to Alfa Laval at a transaction price of NOK 3,630 million
  • StormGeo’s weather intelligence contributes to safeguarding people, assets and operations, and helps its customers achieve greenhouse gas targets and reduce emissions, with more than 2.0 million tons fuel and 6.1 million tons CO2 saved since 2018
  • During EQT’s ownership, StormGeo has more than doubled revenues, EBITDA and number of customers as a result of strong organic growth, investments in digitalization and a number of strategic add-on acquisitions

EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Mid Market fund (“EQT Private Equity”) has agreed to sell StormGeo Holding AS (“StormGeo” or “the Company”) to Alfa Laval AB (“Alfa Laval”), a world leader in heat transfer, centrifugal separation and fluid handling. The transaction price amounts to NOK 3,630 million.

StormGeo was founded in 1997 in Bergen, Norway, as a spin-off from Norway’s largest commercial broadcaster, TV2. Through its scalable software solutions, StormGeo provides weather-centric services to more than 2,200 customers globally in a variety of industries, including shipping, energy and onshore industries such as healthcare, hospitality, insurance and retail.

With extreme weather being the number one cause of business disruptions globally, StormGeo’s point specific forecasts, coupled with asset specific data, enable customers to safeguard people, assets and operations while minimizing downtime, improving ESG performance, saving fuel and resources.

During EQT Private Equity’s ownership, StormGeo has transformed from a regional champion into a leading global provider of shipping- and weather-solutions, underpinned by a proprietary and automated data platform. Fueled by global megatrends such as climate change and digitalization, StormGeo has more than doubled revenues, EBITDA and number of customers, and the Company’s platform has been significantly strengthened through investments in digitalization and six strategic add-on acquisitions. In 2018, StormGeo was elected a UN Global Compact Partner and has since proudly contributed to the Action Platform for Sustainable Ocean Business.

Rikke Kjær Nielsen, Partner and Investment Advisor at EQT Partners said, “It has been a privilege to partner with StormGeo’s management team and take part of the growth journey. We are proud of the company’s contribution to society in helping clients act sustainably and facilitating a reduction of 6.1 million tons CO2 since 2018. This aligns perfectly with EQT’s investment approach, and StormGeo is a strong testimony to EQT’s purpose of making a positive impact. I would also like to thank DNV and all the other minority co-investors in StormGeo for a great cooperation over the past few years. We are confident that Alfa Laval will be a great new home for StormGeo, and together, they will continue to be a trusted partner to businesses worldwide.”

Søren Andersen, CEO of StormGeo, further commented, “Together with EQT, StormGeo has transformed into a global market leader through accelerated investments in digitalization and several strategic add-on acquisitions. We are grateful for the strong cooperation and support from EQT over the past years, and we now look forward to continuing to develop our business through further geographic- and technological expansion together with Alfa Laval.”

The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2021.

EQT Private Equity was advised by Houlihan Lokey (M&A), EY (financial, tax, commercial, ESG, tech) and Wiersholm (legal).

Contact
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 67 billion in assets under management across 26 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas with total sales of approximately EUR 29 billion and more than 175,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

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

About StormGeo
StormGeo is a leading global provider of software-based decision support for weather sensitive operations. The company was founded in 1997 as a spin-off from Norway’s largest commercial broadcaster, TV2, and today provides weather-centric services for a variety of industries, including shipping, renewables, oil & gas, and onshore industries such as healthcare, hospitality and retail. The company is headquartered in Bergen, Norway and has 24 offices in 15 countries and approximately 515 employees.

More info: www.stormgeo.com

About Alfa Laval
Alfa Laval is active in the areas of Energy, Marine, and Food & Water, offering its expertise, products, and service to a wide range of industries in some 100 countries. The company is committed to optimizing processes, creating responsible growth, and driving progress – always going the extra mile to support customers in achieving their business goals and sustainability targets.

Alfa Laval’s innovative technologies are dedicated to purifying, refining, and reusing materials, promoting more responsible use of natural resources. They contribute to improved energy efficiency and heat recovery, better water treatment, and reduced emissions. Thereby, Alfa Laval is not only accelerating success for its customers, but also for people and the planet. Making the world better, every day.

Alfa Laval has 16,700 employees. Annual sales in 2020 were SEK 41.5 billion (approx. EUR 4 billion). The company is listed on Nasdaq

More info: www.alfalaval.com

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Endeit Capital invests in German-based parcelLab

Endeit

First investment in newly-minted Third Fund

ParcelLab, the leading Operations Experience Management platform, announced today that it has secured a $112 million Series C funding round led by Insights Partners with Endeit Capital co-investing. Existing investors Capnamic Ventures and Coparion also contributed again. The new funding will fuel parcelLab’s global expansion and accelerate its mission to bring people and brands closer together.

ParcelLab was founded in 2015 by Tobias Buxhoidt (CEO), Julian Krenge (CTO) and Anton Eder (COO) and is headquartered in Munich. The company is focused on adding  customer experience and visibility into online post-purchase, operational processes that are traditionally opaque and full of friction.

Founders parcellab

As e-commerce becomes increasingly competitive, providing unique branded experiences will drive growth. Identifying opportunities to connect with people post-sales and build better relationships is a key differentiator. Brands that are leveraging Operations Experience Management are transforming operational complexity into opportunities to outperform in the market.

Household names like as IKEA, Puma and Lidl have partnered with parcelLab to transform their Operations Experiences. ParcelLab operates globally in 153 countries, is integrated with 150+ carriers  and sends out seven million pro-active and personalized communications every day. The company boasts impressive conversion rates and performance stats, with double-digit basket increases, over 90% open rate on emails, 25% reduction in ‘Where Is My Order?’ questions and triple-digit increase of customer reviews.

ParcelLab is the first investment of Endeit Capital’s Fund III , which is set to invest 250 million euro in Europe’s digital sovereignty over the coming years. ParcelLab will use the funding to accelerate global expansion,  extend the product suite, expand into new sectors and search for fresh talent across the globe (fully remote).

The mission of the ParcelLab team is to provide their customers with a best-in-class product. As entrepreneurs who can drive the change to make Europe more competitive and who have the ambition to become global market leaders, ParcelLab is the perfect fit for Endeit Capital’s Fund III, which builds on Endeit’s buy & build experience in growing businesses in over 25 countries.

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Navitas Semiconductor, the Industry Leader in Gallium Nitride (GaN) Power ICs, to Go Public at an Enterprise Value of $1.04 Billion via Live Oak II SPAC Business Combination

  • Deal raises approximately $400M capital, including an over-subscribed and upsized $145M PIPE.
  • Capital to be used for accelerated product development and expansion into power semi markets estimated at a $13B TAM, including mobile, consumer, enterprise, renewables and EV / eMobility.
  • Navitas estimates that its proprietary and highly patent-protected GaNFast™ power ICs deliver up to 3x faster charging in half the size and weight and up to 40% energy savings compared with legacy silicon chips.
  • Featured Image
  • Over 18 million GaNFast™ power ICs have shipped, with zero reported field failures, to Tier-1 customers including Dell, Lenovo, Xiaomi, OPPO, LG, Amazon, Belkin and dozens more.
  • Committed manufacturing capacity well in excess of current forecasts to confidently meet strong customer demand.
  • Navitas estimates that GaN ICs can impact up to 2.6 Gtons of CO2 reduction annually by 2050.

 

DUBLIN and MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 7, 2021 – (NYSE: LOKB) Navitas Semiconductor (“the Company” or “Navitas”), the industry leader in GaN Power ICs, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with Live Oak Acquisition Corp. II (“Live Oak II”), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company. The transaction, which values the combined entity at a pro forma equity value of $1.4 billion, will result in Navitas becoming a publicly traded company on a national exchange under a new ticker symbol.

Gallium nitride (GaN) is a next-generation semiconductor technology that runs up to 20x faster than legacy silicon, and enables up to 3x more power or 3x faster charging in half the size and weight. Navitas GaNFast™ power ICs integrate GaN power and drive plus protection and control to deliver simple, small, fast and efficient performance.

Driven by increasing demand for connectivity, electrification away from fossil fuels, and efficient sustainable energy sources, Navitas predicts GaN ICs can address markets estimated to grow to over $13 billion in 2026. Markets include mobile, consumer, enterprise (data center, 5G), renewables (solar, energy storage) and EV / eMobility.

With a proven leadership team with over 300 years of combined power semiconductor experience and a track record of extraordinary value creation, Navitas is in mass production and ramping shipments to many major OEM’s and aftermarket suppliers, including Dell, Lenovo, LG, Xiaomi, OPPO, Amazon, Belkin and dozens of others. Over 18 million GaNFast™ power ICs have shipped, with zero reported field failures.

With a proprietary process design kit (PDK) and over 120 patents granted or pending, Navitas has an early mover advantage in the GaN market. A robust roadmap for new GaN generations and continued cost reductions accelerate the transformation to “Electrify Our World™” away from CO2-burdened fossil fuels. Navitas estimates that GaN can impact up to 2.6 Gtons of CO2 reduction annually by 2050.

Gene Sheridan, co-founder and CEO of Navitas commented: “Navitas was formed with the vision to revolutionize the world of power electronics, while addressing significant sustainability challenges for our planet. Not only has Navitas’ world-class team invented and patented revolutionary new technology, but we have also overcome all the key hurdles associated with successfully bringing it to market. We are proud to enter the public capital markets with strong operating momentum and investor partners who share our enthusiasm for our long-term mission.”

“We are excited to partner with Navitas,” said Rick Hendrix, Chief Executive Officer of Live Oak, “This is the most compelling opportunity we have seen in the semiconductor industry, and we are delighted that Navitas’ solutions contribute meaningfully to reduced carbon emissions through more efficient power delivery. The capital raised through this transaction will allow Navitas to accelerate that vision as they expand from mobile and consumer markets into even more power-intensive applications like data centers, solar energy and electric vehicles – all while delivering a significant CO2 reduction as part of their Net Zero initiative.”

Navitas was originally funded by the company’s management team, along with top venture capitalists with exceptional long term track records highly focused on disruptive businesses in the clean tech and electronics industries. Capricorn Investment Group,  Atlantic Bridge  and seed investor Malibu IQ, along with all current investors are rolling 100% of their equity into this transaction. Malibu IQ founder David Moxam noted, “With a doubling of electrical energy demand driving the global energy transition, Navitas’ GaN Power ICs are already having a powerful, positive energy efficiency impact, benefiting all of us globally.”

Transaction Overview
The transaction is anticipated to deliver up to $398 million of gross proceeds to the combined company, assuming minimal redemptions by Live Oak II’s public stockholders. This includes an oversubscribed and upsized $145 million private placement of Class A common stock in Live Oak II at $10.00 per share (the “PIPE”), from a diversified group of top-tier institutional investors. Proceeds of the transaction will be used to fund Navitas’ future growth initiatives. Existing Navitas shareholders will roll 100% of their equity into the combined company, demonstrating their conviction of Navitas’ continued growth trajectory. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of Live Oak II and Navitas, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, subject to approval by Navitas’ shareholders, which has been secured through support agreements, Live Oak II’s shareholders and other customary closing conditions, including any applicable regulatory approvals.

Advisors
Deutsche Bank Securities and Jefferies are serving as co-financial advisors to Navitas.  Jefferies and BofA Securities are acting as placement agents on the PIPE and capital markets advisors to Live Oak II. Nomura Greentech and BofA Securities are serving as financial advisors to Live Oak II. DLA Piper LLP is serving as legal counsel to Navitas. Vinson & Elkins LLP is serving as legal counsel to Live Oak II. Winston & Strawn LLP is serving as legal counsel to the placement agents on the PIPE. Blueshirt Capital Markets LLC is serving as an advisor to Navitas.

Investor Conference Call Information
Management of Navitas and Live Oak II have recorded an audio webcast reviewing the proposed transaction and investor presentation, which will be available on www.navitassemi.com/ir.

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