Münster, Germany and London, United Kingdom – 6 November 2020: Hg, Europe’s leading software investor, today announces that it has agreed the sale of Eucon Group to VHV Group, a leading German insurance group. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary anti-trust approvals and closing is expected later this year.
Eucon is a leading provider of best-in-class information and data-based systems for efficient product management in the automotive aftermarket. Customers include car manufacturers and suppliers, as well as a variety of workshop chains. For insurers, Eucon digitalises claims management and is one of the sector leaders for digital platform solutions for data and document processing. In addition, Eucon offers digital solutions for the real estate industry for efficient and transparent invoice management.
“Together with Hg, we have written a great success story over the last five years. We would like to thank Benedikt Joeris and his team for their partnership and trusting cooperation. We have been successfully cooperating with the VHV Group for some time now and therefore could not have hoped for a better new investor. By providing platform solutions, we help our customers tap the digital potential of their industry and ensure sustainable access to the key technologies they require. With VHV as a robust, powerful and innovative partner, we can achieve this goal even more effectively and ensure that this open platform strategy is available to our customers for the long term.”
Sven Krüger, CEO of the Eucon Group
“It has been a real privilege to work with Sven, the founders and entire team at Eucon. Today we part ways after five very productive years of working together. Eucon’s business sits at the intersection of two growth drivers in which Hg has built substantial experience: the value of big data in the automotive sector and the increasing digitalisation of the insurance and real estate industry – and together we have built a great business in these areas. We are delighted that the team will be able to continue this journey with VHV, a true leader in insurance across Germany. We’re also pleased to see the strength of our networks and our track record continue to drive value in small and medium enterprises across Germany.”
Benedikt Joeris, Director at Hg
“Eucon can look back on a very successful few years of development alongside Hg. Our collaboration has been very valuable to the business and we enjoyed working closely together. We look forward to continuing Eucon’s growth with VHV.”
The founders of Eucon Group, Maurice and Marcel Oosenbrugh
General Atlantic, Hg and IHS Markit aim to strengthen Gen II’s suite of solutions, supporting a growing customer base and generating further strategic growth
New York, New York, USA and London, UK. 6 November 2020: Gen II Fund Services, LLC (“Gen II”), a leading independent private equity fund administrator, announced today that it has secured a new strategic investment. General Atlantic (“GA”), a leading global growth equity firm, and Hg, a leading global software investor, together will lead the investment. IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, will also make a minority investment in the company. Cobepa S.A will continue to hold a minority position. The Gen II founders and management team will continue to hold a significant investment in Gen II whilst continuing to lead the business.
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed and closing of the transaction is conditional on customary anti-trust and regulatory approvals.
Led by its three original co-founders – Steven Millner, Steven Alecia and Norman Leben – since 2009, Gen II is a leading pure-play provider of alternative asset fund administration services. With headquarters in New York, New York and Luxembourg and serving a global client base, the company administers over $375 billion of private capital on behalf of its clients across more than 500 funds and their 25,000 investors, spanning various investment strategies including Buyout, Infrastructure, Energy, Real Estate, Fund of Funds, Credit, and Retail.
Gen II is differentiated by providing a leading, tech-enabled platform offering a high-touch, premium service to its clients in fund administration, accounting, reporting and regulatory compliance. Mr. Millner, Mr. Alecia and Mr. Leben have built a strong team providing an industry-leading experience to the Firm’s clients, which has led to consistent, uninterrupted double-digit organic growth over the last 10 years.
“We are excited to partner with General Atlantic, Hg and IHS Markit to make Gen II even stronger. Our new investors each bring game-changing expertise to our Firm and our clients. General Atlantic brings 40 years of global growth equity investing and will be superb advisors as we expand our capabilities and reach. Hg, the largest software investor in Europe, brings deep software and service business intelligence that we will leverage to help refine our products. And IHS Markit, developers of WSO Software and iLevel, brings technology, analytics, and product expertise that will help us transform the features and performance of our platform. This is a powerhouse combination.”
Steven Millner, Steven Alecia and Norman Leben, co-founders of Gen II
“We are thrilled to partner with Gen II in its next phase of growth. Under the leadership of Steven, Steven and Norman, the business has become a critical player across the full fund lifecycle of the alternative asset ecosystem. We see significant potential to help drive market expansion across a growing global base of GPs and their investors.”
Gabriel Caillaux, Co-President, Managing Director and Head of EMEA at General Atlantic
“Gen II’s embedded, quality solutions drive real value for its customers, demonstrated by the momentum of the business over the past decade. We look forward to leveraging General Atlantic’s deep expertise in financial technology, alongside that of Hg and IHS Markit, to further augment and expand its integrated technology platform.”
Aaron Goldman, Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Financial Services at General Atlantic
“Today Hg is investing in a very strong business, which has built a differentiated profile to become the platform-of-choice for its industry. In line with the management team’s ambition, we see potential to scale further, both across the sector and across geographies. Hg has invested over $2 billion into wealth & capital markets as well as compliance services and technology platforms to date and we are looking forward to using this expertise to continue Gen II’s success together with our partners.”
Thorsten Toepfer, Partner at Hg
“We have actively followed the fund administration space for several years and during this time we’ve seen Gen II build a reputation as one of the most respected alternative asset administration tech platforms in the industry. The founders have been right at the heart of this the whole way and it is truly impressive what they and their team have achieved. Alongside them, and our new investment partners, we look forward to bringing our experience in fintech to see what we can achieve together.”
Joris Van Gool, Partner at Hg
”Through its innovation and value-added solutions, Gen II is a leader in fund administration for alternative assets. Given our growth strategy and commitment to enabling the success of private capital markets, we are pleased to invest additional resources with GA, Hg and the Gen II leadership team to further support our global GP and LP clients.”
Adam Kansler, President of Financial Services at IHS Markit
Advising the buy side on the transaction were HPS (debt financing), Skadden and Paul Weiss (legal), Raymond James (M&A), Linklaters (debt legal), PWC and EY (financial due diligence, tax and structuring), Bain (commercial due diligence) and Validus (FX). Baird advised on the transaction as part of the sell side.
Establishes a Global Leader in Medical Communications
Friday, November 6, 2020
London and New York
Huntsworth, a Clayton, Dubilier & Rice portfolio company, has announced an agreement to acquire Nucleus Global from its founder, Stephen Cameron.
The combination will create a global leader in the fast growing medical communications space and further establish Huntsworth as a leading Pharma Commercialization platform, offering a suite of medical affairs, market access, and marketing services to large and mid-size pharmaceutical and biotech companies across the life cycle of drugs.
With a 30-year history of organic growth, Nucleus has become one of the largest privately owned medical communications groups with 14 offices around the world and more than 800 experts serving the biggest healthcare and medical assets in the world. Nucleus Founder and Chair, Stephen Cameron will join the main Board of Huntsworth and continue to lead Nucleus.
“This is a transformational milestone for two highly complementary businesses,” said Eric Rouzier, CD&R Partner. “We believe the combined businesses will offer a highly differentiated and complementary suite of high science solutions to support its clients in the pharmaceutical industry in developing and commercializing drugs globally. We are delighted that Stephen will remain with the business through the next phase of its growth.”
CD&R, which acquired Huntsworth in May, has a long track record investing in healthcare businesses globally. Huntsworth Chairman Liam FitzGerald, Operating Advisor to CD&R funds and former CEO of UDG Healthcare, will continue in the Chairman role for the new combined business upon close of the transaction, expected in December 2020.
About Nucleus
Nucleus Global is a medical communications group, which provides communications strategy, publications planning, expert and patient engagement, scientific events management, medical education, internal communications, training and clinical support for pharmacy and biotech companies. Nucleus has its headquarters in London and operates dedicated, conflict-free teams across 14 offices and 800 employees in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. For more information, please visit www.nucleus-global.com/.
About Huntsworth
Huntsworth is an international healthcare and communications group. The Group’s principal area of focus is Health, which provides medical affairs and marketing services to large and mid-size pharmaceutical and biotech companies. It also has a smaller Communications group, which provides a wide range of communications and advisory services including strategic communications, public affairs, investor relations and consumer marketing. Huntsworth is headquartered in London and operates 46 offices around 20 countries with approximately 2,000 employees. For more information, please visit www.huntsworth.com/.
About Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
Founded in 1978, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is a private investment firm with a strategy predicated on enhancing the value of portfolio businesses by supporting long-term growth, productivity, capital efficiency, and related strategic measures. Since inception, CD&R has managed the investment of more than $30 billion in 95 companies with an aggregate transaction value of more than $150 billion. The Firm has offices in New York and London. For more information, visit www.cdr-inc.com.
Agilitas, the pan-European mid-market private equity firm, today announces the signing of an agreement to back the buyout of TenCate Advanced Armour Holding B.V. and its subsidiaries (together the “Company” or “TenCate Advanced Armour”), the global leading manufacturer of lightweight survivability solutions, from Royal Ten Cate.
TenCate Advanced Armour is a global provider of lightweight, mission-critical survivability and protection solutions for people working in hostile environments. Its portfolio of bespoke, highly engineered defensive products covers personal protection, as well as applications for land vehicles, aircraft, and naval vessels. Uniquely positioned as one of only two transatlantic and independent providers globally in the highly regulated survivability solutions industry, TenCate Advanced Armour is a key strategic partner to the world’s leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), militaries and law enforcement agencies around the world.
The Company has 300 employees and is one of the only vertically integrated armour solutions providers with the ability to develop, test and manufacture armour products in-house. It does so through its facilities in Denmark, France and the US, which also hold individual certifications and national security clearances that allow TenCate Advanced Armour to supply survivability systems to governments and OEMs.
TenCate Advanced Armour serves society by providing high-quality protection to those who risk their lives in hostile environments. The buyout of the Company is the latest example of Agilitas’s strategy of backing ambitious management teams in high-quality and defensive businesses, with opportunities for multi-dimensional business transformation and a strong alignment between shareholder value and fundamental positive purpose.
Kevin Iermiin, of Agilitas, who will be joining the Board of TenCate Advanced Armour Holding BV, commented: “It has been a pleasure to work with management on identifying multi-dimensional transformational opportunities for TenCate Advanced Armour. We are excited to support their vision to become the leading OEM-independent manufacturer of lightweight survivability solutions across all platforms.”
Steen Tanderup, CEO at TenCate Advanced Armour, commented: “We are very proud of what we have achieved with TenCate Advanced Armour’s growth to date. Since the public-to-private of the TenCate group in 2016 we have invested significantly in our factories, our people and in R&D and have built a very strong business with the highest quality products and service for our customers. We look forward to partnering with Agilitas to continue to provide service of the highest quality and integrity to our customers and further accelerate our growth path.”
Martin Calderbank, Managing Partner at Agilitas, said: “TenCate Advanced Armour operates where the quality of protection is of the utmost importance. By supporting management to bring about step changes in the Company’s performance and continuing its global growth, we will help it provide even better protection for people working in hostile environments around the world.”
The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.
Media enquiries to: Greenbrook – Alex Jones, James Madsen and Catriona Crellin
Acquisition of market-leading commercial fleet management business, servicing blue chip customers across the UK
As a standalone business, Pullman will focus on growth and expanding its offering into related services including accident management and vehicle leasing
AURELIUS will work with Pullman to develop further commercial and growth opportunities through potential collaboration with AURELIUS-owned Rivus Fleet Solutions
Pullman is AURELIUS’ second carve-out announced in two weeks, underscoring its expertise in complex carve-outs, and marking another successful acquisition of a unique asset in fleet services
Munich/London, November 5, 2020 – AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN: DE000A0JK2A8) (“AURELIUS”) today announces that it has agreed to acquire Pullman Fleet Services from Wincanton plc. As a market leader with a particular focus on heavy goods vehicles (“HGV”) in the UK, Pullman Fleet Services (“Pullman”) will complement AURELIUS-owned Rivus Fleet Solutions (“Rivus”) which has an offering for light commercial vehicles (“LCV”s).
Headquartered in Doncaster, Pullman Fleet Services is the UK’s largest independent provider of commercial fleet management and maintenance, with a focus on heavy goods vehicles. Pullman has a strong reputation and track record for excellence, throughout 35 years of providing a reliable, flexible and quality service offering, and will be further supported under the ownership of AURELIUS.
Pullman is the second complex carve-out executed by AURELIUS in two weeks, following the announcement of its acquisition of GKN Wheels & Structures from GKN.
Pullman reported revenues of £44m in the financial year 2019/2020. With 27 service centres, over 70 mobile service vehicles, and more than 430 employees and highly trained technicians, Pullman’s offering provides a full suite of services for HGV and LCV fleet management outsourcing, repair and maintenance, and pay as you go flexibility depending on a customer’s needs.
AURELIUS will capitalise on Pullman’s position as the only multi-marque operator of scale for HGVs in the UK, welcoming the business into a portfolio that includes Rivus Fleet Solutions, formerly BT Fleet Solutions, and deploying in-house operational expertise to maximise the commercial potential. Pullman’s blue chip customer base operates across the retail, logistics, industrial and service sectors, with a strong growth outlook and sales pipeline. The business will also continue in partnership with Wincanton as its preferred supplier for fleet management, repairs and maintenance following completion.
Joining the AURELIUS portfolio of companies will enable Pullman to take advantage of expertise and market potential developed through its ownership of Rivus Fleet Solutions. Headquartered in Solihull, Rivus Fleet Solutions offers a comprehensive suite of fleet management services, through a network of 55 locations, supported by 800 employees and mobile technicians.
Commenting on today’s announcement Dr Dirk Markus, CEO of AURELIUS, said: “I am delighted Pullman Fleet Services is joining our portfolio, shortly after we agreed to acquire GKN Wheels & Structures from GKN. AURELIUS will empower Pullman to capitalise on the strong market growth potential and develop an expanded service offering, for example in leasing and accident management in the months ahead, alongside our portfolio company Rivus Fleet Solutions. Despite the significant uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic, this transaction demonstrates our confidence in the strong position of AURELIUS, our ability to transact through downturns, and build a portfolio of companies that will grow and thrive across multiple sectors throughout Europe.
“Complex carve-outs are a unique expertise of AURELIUS, our investment and operational teams. Following from the successful acquisitions of Pullman and GKN Wheels, AURELIUS expects to see another increase in special situations and divestment opportunities in the months ahead.”
Tristan Nagler, UK Managing Director of AURELIUS, said: “I would like to welcome Pullman to the AURELIUS Group, and look forward to partnering with the management team on the next stage of its journey with us. We have confidence that our operational experts, and deep experience in fleet services with Rivus Fleet Solutions, working alongside management will ensure the standalone Pullman business has a solid platform from which to capture the significant growth opportunity available in the UK market.”
Unified Women’s Healthcare Announces New Investment from Altas Partners and Ares Management to Accelerate Mission of Empowering Physicians to Transform Women’s Healthcare
Unified Women’s Healthcare (“Unified” or the “Company”), the leading practice management platform in women’s healthcare, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to add Altas Partners (“Altas”) as a strategic partner. Altas, a long-term oriented investment firm, will become Unified’s largest investor, while Ares Management Corporation (“Ares”), in equal partnership with Altas, will continue to be a significant investor in the Company. As part of the transaction, private equity funds managed by Ares will make a significant new investment in the Company. The investments from Altas and Ares, alongside the physicians who are Unified’s partners, will enable the Company to expand the breadth of services it provides to its affiliated practices, provide capital for growth, and allow the Company to further invest in market-leading value-based care capabilities for providers and payers.
Founded in 2009, Unified’s mission is to empower physicians to positively impact and lead the effort to transform women’s healthcare for the benefit of their patients. Its strategic focus remains on the preservation of clinical autonomy and decision-making at the practice level, while advancing the impact of private practice through value-based care transformation. In addition to offering professional management expertise and innovative technology, Unified seeks to grow its affiliated practices through ancillary services and platform acquisitions. Today, Unified supports more than 1,800 providers in 12 states and the District of Columbia, who collectively care for more than 2 million women each year.
“We are thrilled to welcome Altas as our partner, and alongside Ares and our physician-owners, their collective investment is a testament to the strength of our affiliated practices and the national platform we have built,” said Bob LaGalia, President and Chief Executive Officer of Unified. “Altas and Ares both understand and support our core mission, which is to continue to support outstanding physicians as they improve women’s healthcare. This investment will allow Unified to continue to support our affiliated practices as they attract great physicians, provide best-in-class capabilities, and further our investments in value-based care.”
The transaction is expected to close in December 2020, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
About Unified Women’s Healthcare
Founded in 2009, Unified Women’s Healthcare is the largest Ob-Gyn physician practice management company supporting more than 1,800 providers across 12 states and the District of Columbia. Unified remains an indispensable source of business knowledge, innovation, and support to empower physicians to make the greatest impact on transforming women’s healthcare for their patients. For more information, visit www.unifiedwomenshealthcare.com.
About Altas Partners
Founded in 2012, Altas Partners is an investment firm with a long-term orientation focused on acquiring significant interests in high-quality, market-leading businesses in partnership with outstanding management teams. The firm manages approximately US$7 billion on behalf of endowments, foundations, family offices, public pension funds, and other institutional investors. The firm’s past and present portfolio companies include DuBois Chemicals, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, Tecta America, Hub International, PADI, Medforth Global Healthcare Education, Capital Vision Services (MyEyeDr.), and NSC Minerals. For more information, please visit www.altas.com.
About Ares Management Corporation
Ares Management Corporation is a leading global alternative investment manager operating integrated businesses across Credit, Private Equity, Real Estate and Strategic Initiatives. Ares Management’s investment groups collaborate to deliver innovative investment solutions and consistent and attractive investment returns for fund investors throughout market cycles. Ares Management’s global platform had approximately $179 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2020 with more than 1,400 employees operating across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com.
DENVER, CO (November 05, 2020) – Nwestco, LLC (“Nwestco” or the “Company”), a Denver,CO-based distributor, installer, and maintenance service provider to petroleum and car wash
service stations, has successfully completed the acquisition of W. Banks Moore, Inc. (“Banks”) and Moore Services, Inc. (“Moore Services”), collectively referred to as “Banks Moore.”
Founded in 1979, Banks Moore has evolved into a full-service maintenance service and petroleum equipment distributor to retail and commercial petroleum and car wash service stations across
central California. Since 1979, Banks Moore has been owned and operated by multiple generations of the Moore family out of Banks Moore’s headquarters in Fresno, California. Tim Gibbar, Nwestco’s CEO, commented “Banks Moore’s combination of years of success as a Gilbarco distributor, coupled with the ongoing growth of their car wash operations, sets up exceptionally well for customers and employees of both organizations.” Ryan May, Nwestco’s President, added “the Nwestco team is thrilled to partner with John and Pat Moore, and the rest of the team at Banks Moore to continue their 40+ year legacy of superior service and customer satisfaction.” Following the transaction, John and Pat Moore will remain with the newly combined businesses for a handful of years as they begin to evaluate their future life plans after many years in the petroleum and car wash industry.
The acquisition of Banks Moore marks the third acquisition Nwestco has completed since WestView Capital Partners invested in the Company in mid-2017. The combination of Banks and
Nwestco is a logical next step for the Company as it solidifies its dominant presences throughout the Western US, Rocky Mountains, and Southeastern states.
About Nwestco
Nwestco is a leading equipment distributor, installer, and maintenance provider to retail fuel stations and car washes in the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain, and Southeastern regions of the US. The Company provides a one-stop solution for its customers’ equipment and service needs, offering a comprehensive product portfolio and delivering high-quality installation and ongoing maintenance services. Nwestco is based in Denver, Colorado and operates eight additional branches across Montana, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Arkansas, and California. Additional information can be found by visiting www.nwestco.com.
About WestView Capital Partners
WestView Capital Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm focused exclusively on middlemarket growth companies, manages approximately $1.7 billion in capital across four funds.
WestView partners with existing management teams to sponsor minority and majority recapitalizations, growth, and consolidation transactions in industries such as healthcare technology and outsourcing, business services, software and IT services, consumer, and growth industrial. WestView invests in companies with operating profits between $3 million and $20 million with investment sizes ranging from $10 million to $60 million. For more information, please visit www.wvcapital.com.
Atlanta-based Kobiton, a mobile testing platform that allows developers and QA teams to test their apps on real devices, both on their own desks and through the company’s cloud-based service, today announced that it has acquired Mobile Labs, another Atlanta-based mobile testing service.
To finance the acquisition of its well-funded competitor, Kobiton raised a $14 million extension to its $5.2 million Series A from its existing investor BIP Capital and new investor Fulcrum Equity Partners.
As Kobiton CEO Kevin Lee told me, we shouldn’t take that as the acquisition price, but it’s probably a fair guess that the real price isn’t too far off. The companies declined to disclose the exact price, though. Mobile Labs, which was founded in 2011, had raised about $15 million before the acquisition, according to Crunchbase. The last time it raised outside funding was in 2014. Kobiton and Mobile Labs do not share any common investors.
Kobiton CEO Kevin Lee. Image: Kobiton
It’s interesting that Kobiton, which launched in 2017 and which may seem like a smaller player at first glance, was able to acquire Mobile Labs. Lee argues that one of the reasons Mobile Labs decided to sell is that while his company has long focused on using machine learning to help developers build the tests for their apps — and the open-source Appium testing framework — Mobile Labs had fallen behind in this area.
“They were a little slow to invest in [AI] and I think they realized — and the rest of the market, I think will realize it — if you don’t invest heavily and early, you kind of get behind the eight ball,” Lee told me.
He also noted that there are a lot of obvious synergies between the two companies. Mobile Labs has a lot of clients in the gaming and financial services space, for example. A lot of those clients are relatively new to mobile, while Kobiton’s existing customer base is often mobile-first.
“They’ve been around for 10 years and [have] a lot of partners, a lot of stuff outside the U.S.,” Lee noted. “They have mainly focused on what I would call large established enterprises in regulated industries or industries that are really concerned about IP protection — so behind the firewalls — where they really succeeded well.”
Those Mobile Labs customers, Lee said, were also looking for AI/ML-based testing solutions and the acquisition will now allow the two companies to layer Kobiton’s technology on top of the Mobile Labs solution. There will be an upgrade path for these customers and they’ll be able to do so at their own pace. There’s no plan to sunset Mobile Labs’ existing services for the time being, though some of Mobile Labs’ individual brands may change names.
With this acquisition, Kobiton will more than double the number of its U.S.-based employees, though that’s in part because a good portion of the company’s team is based in Vietnam.
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Vector Capital, a leading private equity firm specializing in transformational investments in established technology businesses, today announced the successful sale of Emarsys, a leading provider of cloud-based talent management software, to SAP SE (NYSE: SAP). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, Emarsys is a market-leading global provider of cloud-based marketing technology serving more than 1,500 companies worldwide. Emarsys empowers digital marketing leaders and business owners with the only omnichannel customer engagement platform built to accelerate business outcomes.
Vector Capital initially invested in Emarsys in 2015 and served as the company’s first outside institutional investment partner. Over the past six years, Vector worked closely with Emarsys’ founders and management team to successfully launch in the U.S. market, invest in product innovation, and efficiently scale its sales and marketing teams. During Vector’s investment, Emarsys significantly accelerated its revenue growth, increased profitability, and became recognized as a market leader by industry analysts including Forrester and Gartner.
Alex Slusky, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Vector Capital, said, “As Emarsys’ first outside, institutional investment partner, we are extremely proud of the growth the company achieved during our ownership and to have reached a successful outcome for our investors. This investment exemplifies our successful track record of investing behind leading marketing technology platforms, accelerating North American expansion for European-based companies, and closely partnering with founders and strong management teams to help them successfully scale their businesses. Emarsys is a fantastic company and I am confident its best days are ahead as part of SAP.”
Hagai Hartman, Emarsys Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, said, “Vector Capital has been a terrific partner over the past six years. Their operational expertise has been invaluable in helping us establish our position as a market leader in cloud-based marketing technology. With Vector’s help, we expanded our geographic reach, particularly in North America, which has been one of our fastest growing markets. We look forward to our next chapter under SAP’s ownership.”
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to Emarsys in this transaction, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP acted as legal advisors.
About Vector Capital Vector Capital is a leading global private equity firm specializing in transformational investments in established technology businesses. With more than $3 billion of capital under management, Vector actively partners with management teams to devise and execute new financial and business strategies that materially improve the competitive standing of businesses and enhance value for employees, customers, and all stakeholders. For more information, visit http://www.vectorcapital.com.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:AAWW) today announced that Titan Aircraft Investments Ltd., a joint venture of its Titan Aviation Holdings, Inc. subsidiary and Bain Capital Credit, has entered into a US$300million warehouse financing agreement with a subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global institutional investor, and BNP Paribas as joint lead arrangers and lenders. Titan Aircraft Investments has also separately entered into a US$200million bridge financing agreement with volofin Capital Management being the sole lender andarranger.
The warehouse facility will provide debt capital to finance the acquisition of freighter aircraft leases by Titan Aircraft Investments and the bridge facility will provide debt capital to finance the conversion of passenger aircraft into freighter configuration.
“We are excited to partner with CDPQ, BNP Paribas, and volofin on these key financing facilities,” said Michael T. Steen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Titan Aviation Holdings and Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide. “These facilities will enable Titan Aircraft Investments to serve the strong market demand for freighters and airfreight capacity, supported by the rapid expansion of express and e-commerce networks worldwide.”
“By partnering with best-in-class air cargo solutions provider, Titan Aviation, as well as leading aviation lender, BNP Paribas, and investor, Bain Capital Credit, we have the opportunity to leverage our deep knowledge of the evolving transportation and global e commerce sectors with our capacity to craft innovative financing structures,” said Martin Laguerre, Managing Director, Capital Solutions, CDPQ. “This investment is well aligned with our Capital Solutions strategy to create tailored solutions backed by high-quality assets in great demand by strong counterparties, such as global freight aircraft lessors, and to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns.”
“It has been great to work with the Atlas and Titan teams on this project,” added Stewart Tanner, Senior Managing Director, volofin Capital Management. “volofin has used its extensive market knowledge and experience to create a bespoke and innovative structure to allow Titan the flexibility it needs within the bridge facility to both acquire and convert in-demand aircraft.”
Titan Aviation Holdings and Bain Capital Credit formed the joint venture in December2019 to develop a diversified freighter aircraft leasing portfolio with an anticipated value of approximately US$1billion. The long-term joint venture aims to capitalize on demand for cargo aircraft, underpinned by robust e-commerce and express market growth. Under the joint venture, Bain and Titan have committed to collectively provide US$400million of equity capital to acquire aircraft over the next several years, which may be supplemented with additional commitments over time. Titan is also providing aircraft- and lease-management services to theventure.
The air cargo industry plays a very important role in the global economy, fueled by accelerated demand for e-commerce and express services. Titan Aircraft Investments is well-positioned to contribute to the growth of the global freighterfleet.
About Titan Aviation Holdings, Ltd. and Atlas Air Worldwide
Titan Aviation Holdings is a freighter-centric leasing company that provides dry leasing solutions to airlines worldwide. Titan’s fleet of cargo aircraft support customers including international flag carriers, express operators, e-commerce providers, and regional and domestic carriers. Titan’s deep airfreight domain expertise and innovative asset management solutions help customers quickly ramp up their aviation operations while minimizing capital investment. Since its inception in2009, Titan has grown to become the third largest freighter lessor globally by fleet value with 30aircraft and book value of over $1.4billion.
Atlas Air Worldwide is a leading global provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services. It is the parent company of Atlas Air, Inc., Southern Air Holdings, Inc. and Titan Aviation Holdings, Inc., and is the majority shareholder of Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Inc. Our companies operate the world’s largest fleet of 747freighter aircraft and provide customers the broadest array of Boeing747, 777, 767 and737 aircraft for domestic, regional and international cargo and passenger operations.
Atlas Air Worldwide’s press releases, SEC filings and other information may be accessed through the company’s home page, www.atlasairworldwide.com.
About Bain Capital Credit
Bain Capital Credit is a leading global credit specialist with approximately $41billion in assets under management. Bain Capital Credit invests up and down the capital structure and across the spectrum of credit strategies, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed debt, private lending, structured products, non-performing loans andequities.
About Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and para-public pension and insurance plans. As at June30, 2020, it held CA$333.0billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit www.cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.
About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 71countries, with approximately 199,000 employees, of which more than 151,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance.
In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the European leader in consumer lending.
BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific.
About volofin Capital Management
volofin Capital Management is a finance company focused on delivering reliable and innovative financing solutions for the commercial aviation market. Formed in January2019, it has grown quickly to support the needs of both airlines and lessors throughout the industry, is headquartered in London and its 17staff are split between offices in London and NewYork.
