Category Archives: News

Advent International to acquire controlling stake in ZCL Chemicals Limited

Advent International
  • Investment will further strengthen Advent’s presence in the pharmaceuticals and API sub-sector.
  • Transaction is Advent’s fourth investment in India over the past twelve months.

MUMBAI, INDIA, February 08, 2021 – Advent International (“Advent”), one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in ZCL Chemicals Limited (“ZCL”), one the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in India. The business was formerly known as Zandu Chemicals Ltd.

With this transaction, Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA), a private equity platform that previously managed a minority investment in ZCL, will exit their investment.

ZCL is one of the fastest growing manufacturers of specialty active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and advanced intermediates. ZCL’s highly specialised approach focuses on niche therapeutic areas, underpinned by complex chemistry, supported by a state-of-the-art U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved facility, along with strong research & development capabilities. The company has delivered impressive growth over the past few years, has leading market positions in its existing products, and is developing a strong pipeline of high potential products that is expected to drive the next phase of its growth.

“ZCL will be our third pharmaceuticals investment in India and the second in the API space. ZCL is a high-growth business, led by a capable management team, which will further fortify our presence in the API market, a key sub-sector focus of ours,” said Shweta Jalan, a Managing Director and Head of India at Advent International, India.

Over the last 12 months, Advent has committed over $1.2 billion globally across the healthcare sector. The firm has also committed over $600 million in four Indian businesses over the same period in varied sectors such as healthcare, consumer, and financial services amongst others.

“We are impressed with ZCL’s differentiated product portfolio, strong pipeline and its high focus on quality and compliance. The acquisition of ZCL helps us get closer to our goal of creating a top five merchant API platform in India,” said Pankaj Patwari, Director, Advent International India.

“We are very pleased with this transaction and excited to partner with Advent. In the last 12 years we have established ZCL as one of the leading pure-play API companies in the country, and today marks an important milestone in these efforts. We are very excited for the future of ZCL, and strongly believe Advent’s global expertise in the pharmaceutical space, combined with ZCL’s strong capabilities in manufacturing and R&D and a culture of customer centricity, will ensure that we keep up our tradition of delivering immense customer value,” said Nihar Parikh, Executive Director of ZCL Chemicals Ltd.

“ZCL was one of MSPEA’s first investments in the Healthcare and Life Sciences sector in India, and we are happy with the progress the company has made in the last 4 years. Today, it is well positioned to embark on the next phase of growth, with a strong product portfolio and focus on quality standards”, said Nirav Mehta, Managing Director and Co-Head of Morgan Stanley Private Equity India.

Advent has been investing in India since 2007. In this time, it has deployed over $1.7 billion in 12 companies with headquarters or operations in the country. In addition to ZCL, new investments in last 12 months include RA Chem Ltd, a vertically integrated pharmaceutical company; Bharat Serums and Vaccines (BSV), a biopharmaceutical leader in women’s health and critical care; and Aditya Birla Capital, the holding company of the financial services businesses of Aditya Birla Group (ABG), an Indian multinational conglomerate.

Advent has significant experience in the healthcare industry globally. In the past 30 years, the firm has invested or committed over $9.6 billion in 48 companies in the sector, including over 20 businesses involved in pharmaceutical R&D, production, and distribution. Recent pharmaceutical transactions include RA Chem Ltd, Bharat Serums and Vaccines, Sundia, Zentiva’s acquisition of Alvogen’s Central and Eastern European generics business, BioDuro, Industria Chimica Emiliana, Somar, Syneos Health and Zentiva.

The transaction will be subject to customary closing conditions.

ZCL Chemicals was advised by Jefferies (Sole Financial Advisor), Bombay Law Chambers (Legal Counsel) and Deloitte (Finance and Tax).

About Advent International

Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 350 private equity transactions in 41 countries, and as of September 30, 2020, had $66.2 billion in assets under management. With 15 offices in 12 countries, Advent has established a globally integrated team of over 200 investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services; health care; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology. After 35 years dedicated to international investing, Advent remains committed to partnering with management teams to deliver sustained revenue and earnings growth for its portfolio companies.

For more information, visit:

Website: www.adventinternational.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/advent-international

About ZCL Chemicals Limited

ZCL (formerly Zandu Chemicals Ltd.) is one of the fastest growing Pharmaceutical companies in India. Established in 1991, ZCL is headquartered in Mumbai and has a state-of-the-art US FDA successfully inspected facility with a capacity of 214 KL along with strong research & development capabilities strategically located in the industrial park of Ankleshwar, Gujarat.

For more information, visit:
www.zclchemicals.com

Media contacts

Advent International

India:
Girish Dikey
Ketchum Sampark
Tel: +91 98922 00260
girish.dikey@ketchumsampark.com

USA:
Andrew Johnson or Anna Epstein
Finsbury
Tel: +1 646 805 2000
Adventinternational-US@finsbury.com

UK:
Graeme Wilson or Harry Cameron
Tulchan
Tel: +44 (0)20 7353 4200
Advent@tulchangroup.com

Categories: News

Tags:

Ratos establishes new financial targets related to its strategy to develop a long-term business group

Ratos

 

  • EBITA is to amount to at least SEK 3 billion by 2025.
  • Net debt in relation to EBITDA should normally range from 1.5 to 2.5x.
  • The dividend payout ratio should amount to 30–50% of profit after tax attributable to owners of the parent, excluding capital gains and losses.

The Board of Ratos AB (“Ratos”) decided on these new financial targets based on the previously announced decision to steer the direction of operations towards becoming a business group with a long-term perspective. Ratos currently has an “eternal” ownership horizon and invests to build value over the long term.

“After reviewing the investment strategy implemented by Ratos’s management and Board in 2018, our focus was initially on increasing stability and profitability in the companies owned. This work resulted in EBITA in 2020 more than doubling compared with 2018. This means that Ratos and its companies are ready to take the next step, with a focus on profitable growth, both organically and through acquisitions,” says Per-Olof Söderberg, Chairman of Ratos.

“We are well positioned to accelerate the pace of execution of our business plan, with the aim of investing in organic growth and margin growth in the existing business group as well as add-on acquisitions and potential new acquisitions. We have taken several steps in the transformation of Ratos and are now a business group focused on profitable growth. At the same time, a great deal of work remains to reach our targets,” says Jonas Wiström, President and CEO of Ratos.

FINANCIAL TARGETS

Ratos decided on the following financial targets:

EBITA growth
Target: EBITA is to amount to at least SEK 3 billion by 2025.

Net leverage
Target: Net debt in relation to EBITDA should normally range from 1.5 to 2.5x, excluding financial leasing liability. The target includes the cash balances of Ratos’s parent company.

Dividend payout ratio
Target: The dividend payout ratio should amount to 30–50% of profit after tax attributable to owners of the parent, excluding capital gains and losses.

The new financial targets replace the previous targets, which were: 1. the earnings of the company portfolio should increase each year; 2. the total return on Ratos shares should, over time, outperform the average on Nasdaq Stockholm; and 3. that the dividend payout ratio should be 30–50% of profit after tax attributable to owners of the parent.

Telephone conference
Jonas Wiström, President and CEO of Ratos, and Jonas Ågrup, CFO, will hold a telephone conference at 9:00 a.m. CET on 8 February to discuss the publication of Ratos’s year-end report and to present the financial targets.

To participate in the teleconference, call UK: +44 333 300 9031, SE: +46 8 505 583 50, US: +1 833 526 83 47 or follow this link https://financialhearings.com/event/13548. The presentation material is also available on Ratos’s website: www.ratos.com.

This is information that Ratos AB is required to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out below, on 8 February 2021 at 7:00 a.m. CET.

For further information, please contact:
Jonas Wiström, President & CEO
+46 8 700 17 00

Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR and Press
+46 8 700 17 98
helene.gustafsson@ratos.com

About Ratos:
Ratos is a business group consisting of 11 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer & Technology and Industry. In total, the companies have SEK 33 billion in sales and EBITA of SEK 2 billion. Our business concept is to develop mid-sized companies headquartered in the Nordics that are or can become market leaders. We enable independent mid-sized companies to excel by being part of something larger. A focus on people, leadership, culture and values is a key component of Ratos. Everything we do is based on Ratos’s core values: Simplicity, Speed in Execution and It’s All About People.

Categories: News

Cinven to invest in Drake Software

Cinven

Investment in leading tax preparation software provider

International private equity firm, Cinven, today announces that it has agreed to make a significant investment into Drake Software (‘Drake’ or ‘the company’), a provider of software for tax preparers. Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Headquartered in Franklin, North Carolina, Drake is a leading provider of professional tax preparation software. It provides the tools and resources that tax professionals need to build their businesses and attract new clients. Drake employs more than 600 people across five offices in North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. More than 64,000 tax professionals nationwide use Drake, and each year the company processes more than 33 million federal and state-accepted returns. The business was established in 1977 by founder Phil Drake.

Building on its successful investment in Visma, a provider of Enterprise Resource Planning software and services – including accounting, tax and payroll applications – Cinven’s Technology, Media and Telecom (‘TMT’) Sector team worked closely with its US team to identify Drake as an attractive investment opportunity, given:

  • The resilience and stability of the professional tax preparation market;
  • Drake’s best-in-class reputation with its customers, evidenced by its market-leading customer retention rates and high recurring revenues;
  • Its market leading position, with the opportunity for further organic and acquisitive growth; and
  • The quality and breadth of the company’s software, with recent success in cross-selling new products and opportunities for the introduction of add-on products.

Cinven will be working with the highly experienced Drake management team, with Jamie Stiles continuing in his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Drake Software.

Chris Good, Partner at Cinven, commented:

“This is a truly outstanding opportunity for Cinven to invest behind a team that has not only built a product that is loved by its customers, but also has a well-established position in a stable market with a wide range of exciting growth prospects.”

“We believe Cinven is well positioned to support the company through its next stage of growth, especially given its track record of investing successfully in technology-focused companies such as Visma and Jaggaer.”

Daniel Garin, Principal at Cinven, said:

“We are delighted to have the chance to work with Jamie and the Drake management team. We plan to invest behind the company’s growth plans to expand Drake’s presence in the market, renew its technology platform, and enhance its product offerings for the benefit of Drake’s employees and customers.”

Cinven’s investment in Drake builds on its successful track record in TMT, following its realisations of: Visma, a leading business solutions provider, in May 2019; Ufinet Group, a provider of fibre infrastructure and transmission services to telecom operators, in July 2018; and HEG, a provider of hosting and domain services, in April 2017.

Alongside these realisations, Cinven has continued to actively invest in the sector, most recently acquiring: MasMovil, a Spanish telecommunications operator; Jaggaer, a global provider of procurement software for large and medium-sized enterprises; RTB House, a global digital advertising technology provider; and One.com, a leading European web hosting provider.

The transaction is subject to customary anti-trust approvals.

Ropes & Gray LLP provided legal advice to Cinven on the transaction.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. provided legal advice to Drake Software.

Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC acted as financial advisor to Drake Software.

Categories: News

Tags:

Andera Partners enters exclusivity agreement with IK Investment Partners to sell its majority stake in Skill & You

ik-investment-partners

The investment, conducted by IK Investment Partners alongside the management team led by Eric Petco and Sonia Levy-Odier, will open a new development cycle in line with the strong ambitions of the Group.

Paris, 4 February, 2021 – Andera Partners today announces that it has formed an exclusive agreement with IK Investment Partners to sell its majority stake in Skill & You to the IK IX Fund. Having generated nearly €115m of sales in 2020, Skill & You is a vocational e-learning provider with 120,000 students and 850 employees and has established itself as a market leader in France and Spain. The Group’s unrivalled portfolio of 220 courses largely lead to state diplomas and cover a wide range of professional fields (healthcare, childcare, animal health, IT & digital, accounting and administration, public service, and construction, among others). As a member of the EdTech France association, Skill & You also plays a major role in fostering the development of e-learning in France.

Since the original investment led by Andera MidCap in July 2018, Eric Petco and Sonia Levy-Odier have successfully carried out the change of scale of the Group, with sales growth reaching almost +25% per annum. Skill & You has continuously expanded its portfolio across new verticals (including accounting & management, naturopathy, bakery and fashion) and has consistently invested in the improvement of both pedagogical tools and academic support. An e-learning partnership has also been signed with French institutions to train jobseekers looking for further qualifications or a career change. The Group has also begun its international expansion by acquiring the Spanish market leader Ilerna Online in 2018, which has since experienced very strong growth.

As a new chapter unfolds for the Group, management intends to accelerate its development with the support of IK Investment Partners, in particular through:
– Strengthening its leadership position in a fast-growing market benefiting from promising trends, by continuing to invest in the Group’s training offering and its digital platform;
– Reinforcing Skill & You’s presence in B2G (public sector) and B2B; and
– Accelerating the development of the Group internationally by leveraging its strong expertise in France and Spain.

The transaction is expected to close in March 2021.

Eric Petco and Sonia Levy-Odier, Managers of Skill & You said: “Over the last three years, Skill & You has considerably overachieved its business plan objectives by taking advantage of the sound dynamics of the e-learning market while investing in its pedagogical content, its international development and by signing strategic partnerships, especially with French Institutions. We are delighted with the change of scale that has been achieved with the support of the Andera MidCap teams. We also look forward to starting a new collaboration with IK Investment Partners, which we believe is the ideal partner to further accelerate our development in France and Europe.”

Laurent Tourtois and Sylvain Charignon, Partners of Andera Partners, added: “We are very proud to have been able to support Eric and Sonia in the change of scale of the Group. Skill & You has benefited from the growing digitalisation of vocational training while managing to combine the diversification of its training portfolio with external growth and international development to rise as the European leader in this fast-growing market.Congratulations! We are grateful to all of Skill and You’s teams, who have been entirely committed to this project all along!” 

Rémi Buttiaux, Managing Partner at IK Investment Partners and advisor to the IK IX Fund said: “Skill & You has experienced impressive growth over the recent years due to the quality and the breadth of its offering and has built a clear leadership position in France and Spain. We are delighted to have the opportunity to support Skill & You and its management team in their ambitious growth strategy.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Investment Partners

Maitland/AMO
James McFarlane
Phone: +44 (0) 7584 142 665
jmcfarlane@maitland.co.uk

Andera Partners

Nicolas Delsert
Communication & PR
+33 1 85 73 52 88
n.delsert@anderapartners.com

Marie-Charlotte Potet
Bien Commun Advisory
+33 6 47 97 39 46
mc.potet@bcadvisory.fr

About IK Investment Partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €13 billion of capital and invested in over 140 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com

About Andera Partners

Created in 2001, Andera Partners (formerly Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners) is a major player in private company investments in France and internationally. Its teams manage nearly €2.5 billion in investments in life sciences (Andera Life Sciences), growth and buyout capital (Andera MidCap, Andera Expansion and Andera Croissance) and sponsorless transactions (Andera Acto).

Andera Partners’ mission is to work alongside companies and their managers to support them in achieving strong and sustainable growth. The quality of performance offered to our investors relies on a strong partnership between the entrepreneurs in our portfolio companies and our teams, based on shared values. Performance through collective engagement, the “Power of And”, constitutes Andera Partners’ DNA.

Based in Paris, Andera Partners is wholly owned by its teams, which count 74 professionals, of which nearly 50 investment professionals. It is structured as a partnership and managed by a board of 10 partners. Responsible and committed, the management company regularly forms partnerships with non-profit sector entities and takes concrete action in the fight against global warming. Andera Partners has been certified carbon neutral since 2018.

Categories: News

Tags:

New Harbor Capital Portfolio Company Quigley Eye Specialists Partners with Beraja Medical Institute

New Harbour

New Harbor Capital announced today that its portfolio company Quigley Eye Specialists has partnered with Beraja Medical Institute and Douglas Surgery Center (collectively “BMI”), a South Florida leader in the diagnosis and treatment of vision disorders. Led by Dr. Roberto Beraja and Dr. Victor Beraja, Beraja Medical Institute has been providing care to Miami-Dade County for over 30 years and now joins 19 other locations under Quigley Eye Specialists ownership in Florida. This partnership will establish Quigley Eye Specialists’ presence in Miami-Dade County.

“Partnering with BMI is an excellent opportunity for expansion into Southeast Florida,” said Dr. Thomas Quigley, Founder of Quigley Eye Specialists. “Miami-Dade is a vibrant market with impressive growth. For more than 30 years, Dr. Roberto Beraja and Dr. Victor Beraja have been taking great care of patients in Coral Gables and are respected surgeons with exemplary reputations. We look forward to our partnership and are excited about the future growth of the practice.”

The partnership will ensure patients throughout Florida will have convenient access to industry-leading specialists, innovative treatments, and state-of-the-art equipment. Together, Quigley Eye Specialists and BMI have 36 optometric physicians and ophthalmic surgeons with three surgery centers in Southwest and Southeast Florida.

Founded in 1988, Quigley Eye Specialists is one of the nation’s leading multispecialty ophthalmology practices and consists of more than 100 medical professionals, including surgeons, optometrists, retina specialists, and technicians.

BMI represents the sixth follow-on investment for Quigley Eye Specialists since New Harbor completed an equity investment in January 2020, further extending Quigley Eye Specialists’ tenured market leadership position in the Florida market.

About Quigley Eye Specialists

Technology leaders in eye care, Quigley Eye Specialists is one of the nation’s leading multispecialty ophthalmology practices specializing in cataracts, laser cataract surgery, glaucoma, iLASIK, dry eye, eyelid surgery, retinal issues, corneal conditions, routine eye care, and facial plastic surgery. As the number one choice for cataract treatment in Southwest Florida, Quigley Eye Specialists is committed to providing the highest level of quality eye care and service to the community. For more information or a full list of locations, visit www.QuigleyEye.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

EURAZEO receives €340M in new commitments to its growth strategy

No Comments
Eurazeo

Paris, 3rd February 2021 –
Eurazeo has come to an agreement with a group of international investors that will provide €340m additional investment capacity for its Eurazeo growth strategy. The investors will commit to a newly created continuation fund that will acquire a 32% stake in Eurazeo Growth assets which were financed through the Eurazeo balance sheet. Eurazeo remains fully committed to the development of these companies; it will hold on to the remaining 68% of these assets and will maintain full control through the management of the continuation fund. This transaction remains subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent and is expected to close within Q1 2021.
Through this transaction Eurazeo will receive cash proceeds of €215m. The transaction generates an IRR of c. 25% on the investments that are being realized. Assets are valued in line with the Eurazeo NAV as of 30 June 2020.

The commitments received for this transaction will fund the acquisition of the above 32% stake and provide follow on capital for the relevant portfolio companies, and fund new investments by the Eurazeo Growth team. The investor group is comprised of leading institutional investors in Europe and North America, representing collectively over €500 bn in assets under management. It comprises both returning investors and new relationships.

This transaction is a new milestone demonstrating investor appetite for this strategy launched in 2015 from Eurazeo’s balance sheet. Eurazeo Growth consists of a multilocal (Paris, London, Berlin) team of 15 professionals investing in and developing the next generation of European tech leaders. Together with the Venture Capital team, Eurazeo manages over €4 bn in AuM in fast growing Tech assets.
Yann du Rusquec, Partner at Eurazeo Growth, commented:
“With initial returns on this portfolio of above 25%, and significant new relationships for the Eurazeo Growth team, this is a very significant step for us and validates our vision and the investment model we have built over the years. We are proud that top level international investors trust us with this renewed partnership and look forward to shared success in the years to come. »

About Eurazeo
• Eurazeo is a leading global investment company, with a diversified portfolio of €18.8 billion in assets under management, including €13.3 billion from third parties, invested in over 430 companies. With its considerable private equity, real estate and private debt expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its nearly 300 professionals and by offering in-depth sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term.

• Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, London, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Madrid.
• Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.
• ISIN : FR0000121121 – Bloomberg : RF FP – Reuters : EURA.PA
EURAZEO EURAZEO

PIERRE BERNARDIN
HEAD OF INVESTOR RELATIONS
mail : pbernardin@eurazeo.com
Te l : +33 (0)1 44 15 16 76

VIRGINIE CHRISTNACHT
HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS
mail:vchristnacht@eurazeo.com
Tel: +33( 1 44 15 76 44

MAITLAND/amo
DAVID STURKEN
mail:dsturken@maitland .co .uk
Tel: +44 ( 7990 595 913

Categories: News

Tags:

CVC Capital Partners agrees to joint venture with Shiseido in Personal Care business

CVC Capital Partners

Aiming to maximize potential of Personal Care business and pursue further growth

CVC Capital Partners announced today that CVC Capital Partners Asia Fund V has signed a definitive agreement with Shiseido Company, Limited for the transfer of Shiseido’s Personal Care business (“the New Company”).

The New Company, in which Shiseido will hold a 35% stake and CVC Asia V will acquire 65% as a joint venture, will obtain Shiseido’s strong portfolio of established global brands, including the market-leading haircare brand TSUBAKI and skincare label SENKA.

Founded in Ginza, Tokyo, in 1872, Shiseido is a global beauty brand that operates in approximately 120 countries and regions. Shiseido is known for its nearly 150-year history of innovation and category firsts that have repeatedly set new standards for the entire beauty industry.

“We are delighted to be investing in some of Japan’s most trusted brands cultivated over the years by Shiseido. Further, we are excited to be partnering with Shiseido as we embark on this next chapter of growth,” said Atsushi Akaike, Partner and Co-Head of CVC Japan.

“Using our global network and experience, CVC is committed to making these strong brands even better. Specifically, we see significant potential for growth by investing further in employees, brands, and R&D, as well as by driving digitalization and accelerating overseas expansion, with the possibility of going public in the future,” said Yukinori Sugiyama, Partner and Co-Head of CVC Japan.

The transaction is expected to close by July 1, 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions (closing of each overseas country and region will be executed in stages).

Categories: News

Tags:

9TH build-up for Alliance Etiquettes with the acquisition of ETIQ’ETAINS

Activa Capital

Alliance Etiquettes, the French leader in label printing for the wine & spirits industry, continues its consolidation strategy and announces the acquisition of Etiq’Etains. With this new build-up, Alliance Etiquettes reinforces its leading position in the pewter label printing market in France.
Created in 1998 and based in Nontron (Southwestern France), Etiq’Etains addresses a diversified clientele in the wine & spirits, food and cosmetics label markets.

Alliance Etiquettes thus completes its 9th external growth operation since 2015, bringing its turnover
to over €70m. The group also continues to identify and screen new potential build-ups, both in France and abroad, particularly in Italy and Spain.

Olivier Laulan, President of Alliance Etiquettes, stated: « Etiq’Etains is of great strategic interest to the Alliance Etiquettes group. The strengthening of our positions in pewter, the integration of new customer accounts in the wine, spirits and food-processing segments and the complementarities of production techniques are all assets that will enable us to bring ever greater value and satisfaction to our customers. We are delighted and proud to welcome the Etiq’Etains team to the Alliance Etiquettes group. »
Alexandre Masson et Christophe Parier, Managing Partners of Activa Capital, added: « In line with the plan and ambition of the Alliance Etiquettes project when it was created and in line with previous acquisitions, Etiq’Etains is a further step in the project to consolidate the label publishing and printing sector in France. The company is perfectly in line with our consolidation platform and once again demonstrates Alliance Etiquettes’ ability to unite the best label printing professionals around its project.»

Participants
Buyers
Alliance Etiquettes: Olivier Laulan, Erik de Woillemont
Activa Capital: Alexandre Masson, Christophe Parier, David Quatrepoint, Camille Emin
Financial Due Diligence: 8 Advisory (Bertrand Perrette, Jean-Baptiste Blanco)
Tax and Legal Due Diligence / Legal Advisor: Altaïr Avocats (Sébastien Péronne, Jeanne Mucchielli)
Social Due Diligence: Ellipse Avocats (Arnaud Pilloix)

Sellers
Etiq’Etains: Jacques-Hervé et Olivier Vandenbosch
Legal Advisor: Fimeco (Christophe Alberola, Anaïs Jaumard)

About Alliance Etiquettes
Alliance Etiquettes is a French company specialized in the design and production of premium labels for the wine, spirits, agri-food and cosmetic market. Managed by Olivier Laulan, the group generates a turnover of
more than €70m in France and overseas. For further information, please visit our website www.allianceetiquettes.com
About Activa Capital
Activa Capital is an independent private equity firm, owned by its partners, characterized by a proactive build-up strategy. It currently manages more than €300 million on behalf of institutional investors by investing in French SMEs and ETIs with high growth potential and an enterprise value of between €20 and €100 million. Activa Capital assists them to accelerate their development and international presence. To find
out more about Activa Capital, visit www.activacapital.com

Press contacts
Alexandre Masson Christophe Parier Christelle Piatto
Managing Partner Managing Partner Communications Manager
+33 1 43 12 50 12 +33 1 43 12 50 12 +33 1 43 12 50 12
alexandre.masson@activacapital.com christophe.parier@activacapital.com christelle.piatto@activacapital.com

Categories: News

Tags:

Sambla and Advisa combine to create a leader in online comparison services with Nordic Capital as the new majority owner

Two of the leading independent online comparison sites for personal finance in the Nordic region, Sambla and Advisa, have today announced their intention to merge. The purpose is to further develop as a combined company to help more clients improve their personal finances by comparing terms on loans and insurance. Both companies have a very high level of customer satisfaction due to a modern user interface, strong and shared corporate values, and by bringing clear benefits to their clients. There is strong growth potential as the two companies support and complement each other very well. Nordic Capital becomes the majority owner and will actively support the new company in the next expansion phase. The goal is to be the best partner for customers, banks and lenders alike, and over time to become the Nordic region’s leading digital comparison site for personal finance.

The combination of Sambla and Advisa creates one of the largest players in the Nordic region within loan intermediation, as both companies have strong platforms to continue to build on. Both companies help clients to compare loan terms and consolidate their loans, and thereby improve the terms and reduce costs. A combination creates new great opportunities for increased product development, an even higher service level and access to additional competitive offers that will benefit more clients. The combined company will have an expected turnover of approximately SEK 575 million and it will be the second largest player in Sweden.

“We are very pleased to announce the combination of the two companies. In recent years, each of our companies have in different ways achieved market-leading customer satisfaction and growth. Together, we have a fantastic opportunity to drive the industry development; not least by product development based on the customer needs and technological innovation. We look forward to having even better opportunities to improve the economy for hundreds of thousands of people throughout the Nordic region,” says Jonathan Bollman, CEO, Advisa.

“I am very pleased that we have agreed to this strategic combination. Together, we gain the scale and position required to take advantage of the growth and expansion opportunities that exist in our market. We are both entrepreneurial companies that share the ambition to become industry leaders, and we have both driven the development of different areas in the industry. Now we have the opportunity to do it together, which will benefit our customers,” says Per Österström, Founder, Sambla.

As the majority owner, Nordic Capital will actively support the new company, drawing on its experience from previous acquisitions in financial services.

“We are deeply impressed by what these two companies have achieved separately and believe that the combined company will increase competition in the sector and be a strong force when it comes to improving consumers’ finances in the future. In addition to creating a strong platform for growth, the combined company will also drive positive development throughout the industry. Nordic Capital looks forward to supporting the business in its next phase,” says Christopher Ekdahl, Principal, Nordic Capital Advisors.

Advisa was founded in 2011 and helps consumers get better terms by comparing loans with up to 36 different banks and lenders in Sweden and Finland. The services are offered completely digitally. Advisa has 48 employees in Stockholm, Sweden and to date has helped over 400,000 customers compare their loans.

Since its inception in 2014, Sambla has helped consumers to save money on their loans by comparing banks’ and lenders’ interest rates in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. The services are offered through a combination of digital processes and advice over the phone. Sambla has 125 employees in Stockholm and Lund in Sweden. The company has partnerships with over 40 bank and lenders in Sweden, and to date Sambla has helped over 390,000 customers to compare their loans.

Nordic Capital has a long and extensive experience of developing companies in financial services, both through organic growth and add-on acquisitions. Today, Nordic Capital has seven portfolio companies in the sector, including Nordax, Bank Norwegian and Nordnet. Previous holdings include Resurs Bank. As an owner, Nordic Capital supports the portfolio companies’ development through extensive sector knowledge, capital for investments, operational experience with a focus on continued product development and support to further professionalisation of the organisation.

As part of the transaction, the shareholders Four Elements AB and Krasse & Co AB will sell their shareholding in Sambla. “We are proud to have contributed in making Sambla successful and to enable this new combination,” says Björn Krasse, Krasse & Co AB.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

 

Press contact:

Nordic Capital

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

 

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 16 billion in over 110 investments. The most recent fund is Nordic Capital Fund X with EUR 6.1 billion in committed capital, principally provided by international institutional investors such as pension funds. Nordic Capital Advisors have local offices in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the UK and the US. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com

Footnote: “Nordic Capital” refers to any, or all, Nordic Capital branded or associated investment vehicles and their associated management entities. Nordic Capital is advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities, any or all of which is referred to as “Nordic Capital Advisors”.

Categories: News

Tags:

Solvari acquires Buldit, a network of home improvement sites

Vortex

Nieuwegein, February 2, 2021

 

Vortex portfolio company Solvari has acquired Buldit, a Belgium based company that advises consumers on improving their homes. Buldit has a large online network with over 300 websites that consumers can go to with their questions about home improvement jobs. The company was founded in 2009 and is active in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Categories: News

Tags: