Category Archives: News

CapMan Growth exits RealMachinery Oy

Capman

CapMan Growth Press Release
12 july 2021 at 12:05 p.m. EET

CapMan Growth exits RealMachinery Oy

CapMan Growth Fund has agreed to sell their holdings in RealMachinery Oy to Wihuri Oy. The transaction is the fifth exit of CapMan Growth Fund, which was established in 2017.

RealMachinery is a nationwide full-service machinery company, which imports, sells and rents out earthmoving machinery. In addition to this, the company’s operations include sales of used machinery, servicing and repairs, leasing, and sales of spare parts, giving them a strong value chain.

After the acquisition, Wihuri Oy will own RealMachinery Oy and its subsidiaries operating in Finland. The acquisition does not include RealMachinery Oy’s companies operating abroad.

“During CapMan’s ownership period the company has grown into a full-service machinery company, and we believe Wihuri offers strong premises for the company’s continued development and growth”, says Antti Kummu, partner at CapMan Growth.

The new entity will offer Wihuri’s customers more diverse earthmoving solutions directly from one and the same supplier. The transaction will create an excellent foundation for the growth of Wihuri Oy Technical Trade.

“Strategically the acquisition is a natural move for Wihuri Technical Trade and an expansion into heavy earthmoving equipment. As a result of the transaction, we will acquire an extensive and high-quality addition to our range of solutions. In recent years, Wihuri has been single-mindedly expanding into new customer segments. We are seeking strong growth, both now and in the future”, says Risto Aarnio-Wihuri, CEO of Wihuri Group.

“The acquisition will strengthen the position of Wihuri Oy Technical Trade in the market. Through the acquisition, we will receive an excellent addition to our range, well managed customer relations and of course a very competent organisation. This is a great opportunity for us,” continues Jonne Honkanen, Vice President and General Manager of Wihuri Oy Technical Trade.

“The acquisition will give us significantly broader shoulders to serve our current and new customers nationwide, both in machinery trade and maintenance and repair services. Wihuri Oy has many decades of experience in the earthmoving sector, and the company is renowned for serving its customers flexibly, quickly and with quality. Wihuri Oy is a leading company in the technical trade sector in Finland, so the prospects for a shared future are very positive. With the acquisition, we believe that Wihuri Oy’s expertise and support will enable RealMachinery’s growth story to continue for several decades,” says Matti Salminen, CEO of RealMachinery Oy.

After the acquisition, the operations of RealMachinery will continue normally as part of Wihuri Group. The arrangement will not affect the company’s present customer relationships or partnerships. The transaction is subject to the approval of the competing authorities.

For further information, please contact:

Antti Kummu, partner, CapMan Growth, antti.kummu[a]capman.com,  puh +358 50 432 4486

About CapMan

CapMan Growth is a leading Finnish growth investor that makes significant minority investments in growth stage companies with ambitious growth and expansion goals. CapMan Growth is a part of CapMan, a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value-creation in its portfolio companies and assets, with assets under management of close to €4 billion. CapMan has a broad presence in the unlisted market through our local and specialised teams. The investment strategies cover Private Equity, Real Estate and Infra. CapMan also has a growing service business that includes procurement services, wealth management, and analysis, reporting and back office services. Altogether, CapMan employs around 150 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London and Luxembourg. We are a public company listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since 2001 and a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since 2012. Read more at www.capman.com.

About Wihuri-group

Technical Trade is part of the diversified international group Wihuri, which has strong Finnish roots. Wihuri Group consists of four business areas: packaging, daily goods wholesale, technical trade and aviation. Wihuri Group’s 2020 net sales amounted to €1.8 billion, and it employs approximately 5,200 specialists in 30 countries. 

In Finland, Wihuri Oy Technical Trade represents the following brands amongst others: Wille, John Deere, Bobcat, Linde, Mazak, Eberspächer and Metabo. The technical Trade business area has its own nationwide service network to support its products. Wihuri Oy Technical Trade is the market leader in Finland in environmental management machines and service solutions for their maintenance and servicing.

About RealMachinery

Established in 2010, RealMachinery Oy is a nationwide full-service machinery company, which sells, rents out, services, and equips earthmoving machinery for all purposes. In addition to RealMachinery, the machinery group includes Dae-Tek Oy, which has more than 25 years of experience in machinery sales and imports, RealLift Oy, which specialises in the sale of hoists and cranes, and RealParts Oy, which focuses on the sale of accessories. In 2020, RealMachinery Group recorded net sales of €75 million and employed about 100 people.

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Tide raises $100 million in Series C funding led by the Apax Digital Fund

Apax Digital
  • Funding round oversubscribed and resulting in a valuation of over $650 million
  • Funding will support further investments in product and international expansion

 

Tide, the UK’s leading business financial platform,[1] today announced it has received just over $100 million in Series C funding, bringing the company’s total raised to date to $200 million. Tide is now valued at over $650 million post-money, after only four years of operation. The round was led by funds advised by Apax Digital, the growth equity team of Apax Partners. Anthemis, Augmentum, Jigsaw, Local Globe / Latitude, SBI, and SpeedInvest, existing investors, also participated in the round.

Tide has experienced rapid and sustained growth since launching in 2017, with 2020 seeing the business more than double its user base in the UK. With over 350,000 members, over 400,000 business accounts and a proposition ranging from business banking to payments and accounting software, Tide serves around 6% of UK businesses.  Earlier this year, Tide announced that it was expanding into India, with a full launch of the platform planned for 2022.

The new funding puts Tide in a position to continue to develop their business financial platform, grow their market share, as well as expand globally. Tide, in partnership with ClearBank, has also been awarded a total of nearly $120 million in grants from the RBS Alternative Remedies Package.

Oliver Prill, Tide CEO said: “Partnering with Apax Digital validates Tide’s potential to continue our growth trajectory and gain traction in global markets.

“Tide’s growth story to date has been hugely exciting, creating a diverse platform that serves small business owners, as well as generating significant market share. As we embark on taking Tide international, we couldn’t have a better set of investors to support us. We look forward to working with Apax Digital to realise our ambition of becoming a leading global business financial platform.”

Mark Beith, Partner at Apax Digital and Niccolò Ferragamo, Principal at Apax Digital said: “Small businesses are a key pillar of the economy. Yet, for years, they have been underserved by both financial services and software providers. Tide’s cutting-edge platform is empowering SMEs by providing frictionless, easy-to-use software for their financial needs. We are thrilled to partner with Oliver and the Tide team in their mission to simplify the lives of millions of small businesses globally.”

The investment remains subject to FCA approval. Financial Technology Partners (FT Partners) served as the exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Tide on this transaction.

 

 

 

[1] Tide is not a bank, but a business financial platform and the leading digital challenger in business banking services. We believe that a platform approach is the future of business banking, allowing us to offer both financial and admin services to SMEs, saving them time (and money) to allow them to focus on what they love: running their businesses.

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Latour acquires Motala Hissar AB

Latour logo
2021-07-09 11:00

Investment AB Latour (publ) has, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Aritco Group AB, signed an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the shares in Motala Hissar AB from KONE AB.

Motala Hissar is a well-established and leading manufacturer of platform lifts. The company is based in Motala with in-house development and production, and it sells through distributors across large parts of Europe. Net sales in 2020 amounted to approximately SEK 200 m, most of which was export. The company has about 50 employees.

“We have had Motala Hissar on the radar for several years. The company’s product portfolio complements Aritco’s offer, is technologically sophisticated, delivers very clear customer values and has a clear differentiation from other players in the market. We also see great development opportunities for the company, by investing further in product development, sales and marketing activities and production, we are convinced that Motala Hissar can reach its full potential. I look forward to a good collaboration with all employees to grow and develop the company further”, says Martin Idbrant, CEO of Aritco.

“Together with Aritco, we will be able to strengthen our offering, further expand internationally and develop our business here in Motala. We look forward with great confidence to an exciting new phase in the company’s history. Latour and Aritco offer a long-term stable and responsible environment for Motala Hissar to develop within”, says Stefan Westin, CEO of Motala Hissar.

As an effect of the acquisition the net debt (excl. IFRS 16) of the Latour Group is expected to increase compared to the net debt level at the end of March 2021, to around SEK 6.0 billion, all else equal.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in August, 2021.

Göteborg, 9 July, 2021

INVESTMENT AB LATOUR (PUBL)
Johan Hjertonsson, CEO

For further information, please contact:

Martin Idbrant, CEO Aritco Group AB, +46 727 15 36 52
Niclas Nylund, Business Development Investment AB Latour, +46 708 17 35 85

Aritco Group is a subsidiary of Latour Industries, which is one of five wholly-owned business areas within Latour. Aritco is a globally leading manufacturer of platform lifts for one-family houses and accessibility adaptation of public/commercial buildings. Sales go through a strong network of local partners in Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Investment AB Latour is a mixed investment company consisting primarily of a wholly-owned industrial operations and an investment portfolio of listed holdings in which Latour is the principal owner or one of the principal owners. The investment portfolio consists of nine substantial holdings with a market value of about SEK 84 billion. The wholly-owned industrial operations has an annual turnover of SEK 15 billion.

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IK Investment Partners has reached an agreement to invest in Blanchon, the European specialist in woodcare products, alongside Abénex who are reinvesting

ik-investment-partners

Lyon (France), 19/07/2020 – Abénex announces the signing of an agreement with IK Investment Partners (“IK”) for the sale of Blanchon (“the Group”), one of the leading European manufacturers of woodcare solutions serving both professionals and individuals. Abénex will significantly reinvest in the new transaction alongside IK and the management team headed by Guillaume Clément. Completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of relevant antitrust authorities.

This transaction represents the first investment made from the IK Small Cap III Fund which closed in April 2021, at the hard cap of €1.2 billion, having been raised on a fully virtual basis.

Founded in 1832 and headquartered in Saint-Priest near Lyon, the Group operates through highly recognised brands; Blanchon, Ciranova and Carver, dedicated to professionals, along with the Syntilor brand distributed in DIY retail networks. The group leverages an innovative research and development process to develop an extensive portfolio of technical varnishes and innovative paints across its six production sites. The Group also develops, produces and commercialises varnishes for wooden and vinyl floors that are commercialised and sold to leading flooring manufacturers through Ciranova Industrial Finishes and Blanchon Industry brands.

Since 2019, under Abénex’s ownership, Blanchon has further reinforced its leadership positions in France whilst accelerating its international expansion. In particular, the Group recently acquired the Belgian company Debal Finance (Ciranova brand) which generates €15 million worth of turnover. By 2021, the Group should reach €100 million in sales, of which a third will be realised internationally in over 50 countries. In the coming years, Blanchon is expecting to pursue its external growth strategy to become a clear European leader for the protection, maintenance, renovation and decoration of wood and vinyl coatings as well as supports.

From its inception, Blanchon has always stood out for its innovative solutions that are increasingly environmentally friendly with, for example, the development of a new bio-sourced product line. Furthermore, the Group has leveraged major technological changes to enhance its varnishes and coatings solutions. In the recent years, it has significantly invested in the optimisation of its production and logistics capabilities to fuel its development ambitions.

Guillaume Clément, President of Blanchon Group: “We are delighted to have partnered with Abénex for the last few years, which has seen the successful completion of the managerial transition and paved the way for a new growth path. We are eager to continue pursuing our ambitious and sustainable growth trajectory with all our employees and with the support of IK and Abénex. We will further focus on strengthening our value proposition for our customers, on continuous improvement and relying on the pursuit of external growth operations in all of key countries and particularly internationally.”

Arnaud Bosc, Partner at IK Investment Partners and Advisor to the IK Small Cap III Fund: “We have been impressed by Blanchon’s track record during the past few years. The Group has built a unique position in the woodcare products market and has successfully pursued its international development strategy under Guillaume Clément’s strong leadership. We look forward to supporting the business and working with the management team and Abénex to help Blanchon become a clear European leader.”

Jérôme Vandermarcq, Partner at Abénex: “We are proud to have supported the Group in its managerial transition over the past two years. Blanchon has accelerated its growth since our investment, notably due to the transformational and highly synergetic acquisition in Benelux. This acquisition is a result of the external growth strategy initiated more than a year ago which had the aim of accelerating international expansion. We are very happy to continue this adventure alongside IK, with whom we share a common ambition for Blanchon Group.”

For further questions, please contact:
IK Investment Partners
Maitland/AMO
Phone: +44 (0) 7342 704 229
IK-Maitland@maitland.co.uk

Abénex Capital
Jérôme Vandermarcq
+33 6 60 19 49 26
Jerome.vandermarcq@abenex.com

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Audax Private Equity Announces Investment in Solve Industrial Motion Group

Audax Group

Audax Private Equity (“Audax”) today announced that it has acquired a controlling interest in Solve Industrial Motion Group (“Solve” or the “Company”), a leading provider of high-quality power transmission components and industrial-grade bearings, from Incline Equity Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Solve is a leading manufacturer and value-added service provider of highly engineered, specialty bearings and other power transmission and drive components. The company offers a portfolio of globally sourced specialty products across its P.T. International, IPTCI Bearings, and LMS Bearing brands. Solve’s comprehensive supply catalog, coupled with its refined supply chain, certified quality control, competitive pricing, custom offerings, and unparalleled customer service has made it a trusted partner to distributors and OEM customers since 1994.

“Today’s milestone affirms our strong go-to-market strategy and brand evolution,” said Lisa Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of Solve. “With Audax’ support, knowledge, and expertise, we hope to drive further global expansion into the broader power transmission and electric motion markets. We are excited to begin this next chapter of growth.”

“We believe Solve is well-positioned to capture additional market share with OEMs and distributors globally through organic growth opportunities and strategic acquisitions,” said Don Bramley, Managing Director of Audax, “We are thrilled to be partnering with the company’s highly-experienced management team to help take the business to the next level.”

Joe Rogers, Managing Director of Audax, added, “Solve is a long-standing leader in the bearings and power transmission space with a highly diversified product portfolio across key industries. We look forward to supporting the Company as it continues to serve as a preeminent end-to-end resource to its customers.”

Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel to Audax.

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EQT Private Equity to sell Igenomix to Vitrolife for an enterprise value of EUR 1.25 billion

eqt
  • Igenomix is a global leader in molecular genetic diagnostics for reproductive medicine and rare diseases – assisting approximately 90,000 patients per year through a diversified portfolio of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and rare diseases genetic testing services
  • The combination of Igenomix and Vitrolife will create a global leader in reproductive health by combining the knowledge, product portfolios and market presence of two leading companies within IVF medical devices and reproductive genetic testing services
  • As part of the transaction, EQT Private Equity will become a minority shareholder in Vitrolife, a global developer of IVF products listed on Stockholm Nasdaq – and will support in integration of the two businesses and the extraction of synergies
  • During EQT Private Equity’s ownership, Igenomix has experienced strong growth and made significant investments into its product portfolio and R&D capabilities, as well as supported international expansion

EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT VIII fund (“EQT Private Equity”) has agreed to sell Igenomix (or “the Company”) to Vitrolife AB publ (“Vitrolife”), The enterprise value amounts to EUR 1.25 billion and will be funded in a mix of upfront cash and newly issued shares directed to EQT and the partnering minority shareholders. As part of the transaction, Igenomix’s key shareholders will retain a minority shareholder stake in Vitrolife representing 7 percent.

Founded in 2011 as a spin-off from IVI Group, Igenomix is a leading global provider of molecular genetic testing diagnosis for IVF and rare diseases, assisting approximately 90,000 patients per year through a diversified portfolio of testing services. The Company is globally recognized for its R&D expertise, led by Dr. Carlos Simón and under the leadership of CEO, David Jiménez. Igenomix employs approximately 560 people and is headquartered in Valencia, Spain, with additional laboratories in 21 countries.

EQT Private Equity acquired a majority stake in Igenomix in 2019, alongside Charme Capital Partners, Igenomix’s founder, and management. Together with the management team, EQT supported Igenomix in its mission to provide personalized genetic information to improve clinical practices in infertility, women’s health and rare diseases. With science at its core, Igenomix has a patient-oriented approach and works to deliver high-quality genetic testing services at affordable prices.

Under EQT Private Equity’s ownership, Igenomix has strengthened the organization in particular through the improvement of digital go-to-market and sales capabilities. Additionally, the Company has made substantial investments into product portfolio and R&D, launching non-invasive Pre-implantation Genetic Testing (PGT), a Covid-19 test as well as a new business line, Genetic Precision Diagnostics (GDPx) testing for rare diseases. Igenomix has also continued to consolidate its international presence, including expanding to, among others, China, Chile, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan and currently serves over 3,000 clinics across 80 countries.

David Jimenez, CEO of Igenomix, commented, “Igenomix has been on a fantastic journey with EQT and Charme Capital Partners as owners. We are excited to embark on a new journey together with Vitrolife which will help us to further improve delivery of our mission to provide personalized genetic information to patients globally and further improve clinical practices in infertility, women’s health and rare diseases”.

Vesa Koskinen, Partner within EQT Private Equity Advisory Team, commented, “We are grateful to have worked alongside Igenomix’ highly entrepreneurial and innovative management team and employees who have created a true world market leader within molecular genetic diagnostics for reproductive medicine. Igenomix and Vitrolife share the same vision of helping IVF patients to achieve their dream of having a healthy baby at home and we look very much forward to support Vitrolife in the creation of a global leader in reproductive health”.

Carlos Santana, Partner and Head of the EQT Private Equity Advisory Team in Spain, added, “This transaction marks the first exit for EQT Private Equity in Spain after having formally entered the country in 2018 with this strategy. Igenomix is a great example of how EQT Private Equity’s value-add approach can support Spanish companies in becoming global market leaders”.

The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and is expected to close in H2 2021. It is the intention that Vesa Koskinen, Partner within EQT Private Equity’s Advisory Team, will join Vitrolife’s board of directors.

J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley acted as financial co-advisors to Igenomix, Allen & Overy and White & Case provided legal counsel and Freshfields acted as tax structuring advisor.

Contact
Spanish media inquiries, Grupo Albión, malonso@grupoalbion.net, +34 91 531 23 88
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 Igenomix
Igenomix is a global leader in reproductive genetic testing services with a global network of 26 laboratories serving more than 80 countries and +3,000 clinics. Created in 2011 as a spin-off from the IVI Group, one of the largest IVF clinics in the world, the Company offers a diversified portfolio of IVF and rare diseases genetic testing services. Igenomix is headquartered in Valencia, Spain and as of Dec-20 employed c. 560 people, of which approximately 14% hold a PhD and have contributed to over 492 scientific publications.

More info: www.igenomix.com

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Gimv transfers Summa, specialist in digital cutting solutions, to Ergon

GIMV
Topic: Divestment

Summa enters into a new phase after a successful expansion under Gimv ownership resulting in more than doubling of its turnover. To support further growth, Ergon acquires Summa alongside management.

With its digital finishing solutions, Summa (Gistel – BE, www.summa.com) responds to the evolutions in the attractive digital printing industry. The ongoing market shift from analog to digital printing creates high production flexibility and enables mass customization of products, driving demand for digital cutting tools. Technological evolutions result in an ever-increasing range of materials that can be printed and cut digitally, such as cardboard, stickers and textiles. The product portfolio expansion – from roll cutters to flatbed and laser cutting equipment – is fully aligned with Summa’s motto ‘if you can print it, we can cut it’.

In 2016, Gimv acquired a majority stake in Summa alongside the management team. Summa expanded quickly by establishing its own organization in the US (2017), expanding organically its flatbed product portfolio, entering the market of laser cutting for textiles through the acquisition of UK-based CadCam Technology (2018), and launching its own software platform GoSuite (2019). Summa has achieved impressive growth and has doubled its turnover since Gimv’s entry. Today, Summa employs more than 150 people with sites in Belgium (Gistel), the UK (Nottingham), the US (Boston area) and Singapore.

Summa will continue to develop its product portfolio and expand its geographical presence. With its innovative digital cutting solutions, Summa has everything to cater to all the needs of its global client base. To assist management in its ambitions and to continue investing in the company’s accelerated growth, Summa has entered a partnership with Ergon, an independent, mid-market value investor with a track record of fostering growth at innovative, niche companies.

Erwin Vandousselaere, CEO of Summa, explains: “Together with Gimv, it has been a great journey over the past 5 years and we are grateful to them for that. We are now at the start with our new partner Ergon, in whom we have full confidence to continue our planned growth. Summa’s performance has been excellent, as the company invested in geographical expansion, product upgrades and new innovations and will continue to do so.”

Tom Van de Voorde, Managing Partner and Head of the Gimv Smart Industries platform, on this growth story: “From a ‘hidden champion’, Summa is evolving into a global market leader through resolute investments in new products and software development, entering new segments and establishing partnerships with market leaders in the printing industry. The collaboration with the Summa team and our joint ambitions have led to impressive organic growth. Companies like Summa make us optimistic about the industrial potential of Europe in the years to come.”

Pieter Lambrecht, Partner at Ergon, on this new partnership: “We are truly impressed by Summa’s strong growth and innovation track record and the clear vision of Erwin and his team. Summa’s international footprint and entrepreneurial DNA fit very well with that of Ergon, making us proud to embark on this partnership. We look forward to supporting the company in its next phase of accelerated and international growth.”

This transaction has a positive impact of about 1 euro per share on Gimv’s net asset value as per 31 March 2021. No further financial details will be disclosed.

Read the full press release:

English – French – Dutch
Gimv
Karel Oomsstraat 37, 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium
www.gimv.com

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Main Capital backs Swedish financial software player Björn Lundén

Main Capital

Stockholm, July 7, 2021- Software investor Main Capital backs Björn Lundén. Björn Lundén is one of the leading players offering financial software for SME and accountancy customers in the Swedish market. With a team of 120 employees headquartered in Hudiksvall, Sweden, the company serves over 30.000 customers with a comprehensive portfolio of solutions. Main Capital will acquire a majority stake in Björn Lundén.

Building on its heritage as accountancy and bookkeeping publisher and course provider, Björn Lundén shifted towards delivering modern software solutions in the early 2000’s. This in-depth heritage of knowledge combined with a suite of modern cloud solutions creates a unique value proposition for accountancy firms and SME’s in the Swedish market. Björn Lundén’s products provide customers with intuitive solutions in accounting, billing, reporting, consolidation, payrolling, legal and tax administration to optimize workflows, provide actionable insight and follow latest regulations.

With the support of Main Capital, Björn Lundén will initially focus on further strengthening its market position in Sweden through a combination of organic growth and a buy-and-build strategy, focused on acquiring complementary solutions to provide additional value for its customers. Main Capital has significant experience in the financial software market through successful investments in companies such as KING Software, Cleversoft and Onguard.

Charly Zwemstra (Managing Partner Main Capital Partners): “Björn Lundén is a strong household name for accountancy software in Sweden and has been very successful in its transformation towards becoming a modern SaaS vendor. We see good opportunity to leverage Main’s previous experience in this market and together with the management team we will focus on building out Björn Lundén’s already strong market position, through further product development and a selective buy-and-build strategy.”

Ulf Svensson (CEO Björn Lundén): “We are ready to begin the next chapter in our journey and doing so while maintaining our independence, in an increasingly consolidating industry, is particularly exciting. With our strong proposal including both software and content and organic growth we now add Main´s successful “Buy and build”-strategy. This will enable us to compete for the top positions of our industry.”

About Björn Lundén
Björn Lundén founded in 1987, provides accounting and financial software solutions targeted at accountancies and SMEs. From its office in Hudiksvall, the company serves over 30.000 companies in the Swedish market. The company has developed a comprehensive portfolio of solutions and tools for administration, finance, accounting, tax, legal and personnel administration and in addition offers knowledge tools, books and courses in the aforementioned areas.

About Main Capital
Main Capital is a strategic investor with an exclusive focus on the software sector in the Benelux, DACH and Nordics. Main has a long-term horizon around successful partnerships with management teams, with the aim of building larger software groups together. Main has approximately € 1 billion in assets under management for investments in mature and growing software companies. Within the software sector, Main is the most specialized player in management buyouts and later-stage growth capital for acquisitions. An experienced team of professionals manages these strategic investment funds from offices in The Hague, Düsseldorf and Stockholm.

Main Capital’s current portfolio includes fast growing software and SaaS-software companies such as SIVIS (DACH, SAP), Paragin (NL, Learning software), FOCONIS (DACH, financial services software), Relyon (NL, fieldservice management), Perbility (DACH, HR software), Pointsharp (SE, Security Software) MACH AG (DACH, government software), Textkernel (NL, HR software), Exxellence (NL, government software), WoodWing (NL, ECM/DAM software), Alfa (SE, healthcare/government software), Optimizers (NL, SCM software), Assessio (SE, HR software), GBTEC (DACH, BPM/GRC software), Onventis (DACH, procurement software), HYPE Innovation (DACH, innovation management software), cleversoft (DACH, RegTech), Enovation (NL, healthcare software), SDB Group (NL, healthcare HR software), Jobrouter (DACH, BPM/WFM software), GOconnectIT (NL, GIS/FSM software), Inergy (NL, BI software), KING Software (NL, ERP/accounting software), Artegic (DACH, marketing software), OBI4wan (NL, social media monitoring software), b + m Informatik (DACH financial services software) and ChainPoint (NL, SCM software).

Successful former companies that grew significantly under Main’s leadership include RVC (NL, healthcare software), Connexys (HR software), Roxit (NL, government software), Axxerion (NL, facilities management software), Ymor (NL, APM software), Onguard (NL, credit management software), Sofon (NL, CRM/CPQ software) and TPSC (NL, healthcare GRC software).

Note for editors:
The sender of this press release is Main Capital. For more information you can contact:

Sonja Hartgring (Manager Marketing & Communications)
Main Capital Partners B.V., Paleisstraat 6, 2514 JA, The Hague
+31 (0) 70 324 3433 / +31 (0) 6 24 22 71 06
sonja@main.nl
www.main.nl

Press in the Nordics:
Wessel Ploegmakers (Partner & Co-head Nordics)
Artillerigatan 6, 114 51, Stockholm, Sweden
+46 (0) 73 261 1700
wessel@maincapital.se
www.maincapital.se

Ulf Svensson (CEO Björn Lundén)
Näsviksvägen 23, 820 64, Näsviken, Sweden
+46 (0) 70 444 9043
ulf.svensson@bjornlunden.se
www.bjornlunden.se

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Ardian signs lease agreement with international law firm Allen & Overy, for “Renaissance Project”, Paris based office complex

Ardian

06 July 2021 Real Estate France, Paris

Paris, 6 July 2021 – Ardian, a world leading private investment house, today announces the formal signing of a lease with Allen & Overy for the historic building complex, known as the “Renaissance Project”. Ardian acquired the building site in May 2018 to redevelop and refurbish it.

Centrally located in the heart of Paris’ Golden Triangle, 32 rue François 1er the building complex was the former headquarters of Europe 1. It is currently being redeveloped and, on completion, will provide office space encompassing around 6,900 sq.m of office space and a further 2,300 sq.m of retail space.

The building is composed of private mansions on Rue François 1er and is connected to a newly constructed six-storey building. The project, designed by the architectural firm, CALQ, and decorator Tristan Auer, aims to combine the building’s rich heritage with modern needs, while ensuring environmental efficiency.

The building will envelop gardens, patios, and green terraces – with works scheduled for completion by the end of 2021.

By choosing this office complex for its future Paris office, the international business law firm Allen & Overy, member of the “Magic Circle”, will offer its Paris based employees a modular and resolutely modern working environment for the next 12 years. The space will enable collaboration among teams and provide an exceptional location for meetings with clients.

Stéphanie Bensimon, Head of Ardian Real Estate explains: “We are very proud to have concluded this agreement with the renowned law firm Allen & Overy. The Renaissance Project is an emblematic transaction of our AREEF I fund initiated in 2017, which invests in value-creating transactions. The signing of this lease prior to delivery demonstrates our team’s ability to completely transform obsolete assets into unique buildings – preserving their historical character yet designing them for the future.”

Sébastien Bégué, Director at Ardian Real Estate, commented: “This was an exceptional opportunity for us to design a building in the heart of the Golden Triangle – arguably the most attractive area for office location in the heart of the city. The complex is now largely newly constructed and offers a high degree of flexibility – which is much sought after for innovative offices. We also see the success of this agreement as further proof of the resilience of the Parisian high-end market. It proves our case, that, well-located, high-quality buildings continue to attract high-profile tenants looking to optimize workspace and attract talent.”

Hervé Ekué, Managing Partner of Allen & Overy in Paris, added: “This move is part of the firm’s dynamic growth and marks an important step in Allen & Overy’s development in France. We would like to thank the Ardian team for their flexibility and support in this. We are certain that these new premises will enable us to transform our office offering. Now, boasting more open and bright spaces, we expect that this space will enhance working conditions, encourage collaboration, and innovation, while contributing to the well-being of each individual. Our new address also expresses the firm’s desire to continue to offer its clients an exceptional place to meet.”

The signing of this BEFA follows the signings of long-term leases on the RIO and Great projects, also developed by Ardian Real Estate, in the central business district of Paris.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

  • Ardian

    • Ardian was advised by Linklaters, BNP, JLL AMO.

 

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of more than US$112bn managed in Europe, South America, North America and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees and generates sustainable, attractive returns for its investors.
Through its commitment to positive outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth. Ardian’s investment philosophy is aligned with the three guiding principles of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship.
Ardian maintains a global network with more than 700 employees and 15 offices in Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), South America (Santiago de Chile), North America (New York and San Francisco) and Asia (Beijing, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo). It manages funds on behalf of more than 1,100 clients in five investment areas: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Funds of Funds, Infrastructure, Private Debt and Real Estate.
Follow Ardian on Twitter @Ardian

www.ardian.com

Press contacts

ARDIAN – Headland

GREGOR RIEMANN

griemann@headlandconsultancy.co.uk Tel: +44 7920 8026 27

 

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cleversoft group and CDDS Join Forces with the Support of Main Capital

Main Capital

Luxembourg/Munich, July 6, 2021 – cleversoft group, the Munich-based RegTech provider for the financial services sector, together with software investor Main Capital, announces the 100% acquisition of CDDS Luxembourg S.A. and CDDS International S.A. (together “CDDS”), a software and data provider group, based in Luxembourg, that specializes in Know your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solutions.

Customer Due Diligence Solutions (CDDS), founded in 2009 by Philippe Lassine, has developed into a market-leading provider in the Luxembourg GRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance) sector. CDDS provides Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) software that can automatically carry out checks for official sanctions, Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) lists, and adverse media for single client names and large databases — something unique in the industry. The automation of these types of checks ensure adherence to various AML and KYC compliance regulations while providing risk classifications for each individual.

In addition to the software solution, CDDS also maintains and updates a comprehensive database to perform the name checks and is therefore not dependent on a third-party vendor. The company currently serves over 700 clients in the financial services industry and adjacent verticals (e.g. banks, asset managers, trust service providers), which are located in 42 countries especially in Luxembourg, Monaco, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands.

CDDS marks the third step in cleversoft’s buy and build strategy after the combination with the risk and regulatory reporting expert SecondFloor in 2019 and the Financial Crime Risk Surveillance solution provider BusinessForensics in 2020. The product portfolio of CDDS is complementary to cleversoft’s current AML offering and fits well into the group’s path to establish its Financial Crime Suite as the one-stop-shop solution in the market for the increasing AML/KYC obligations that financial institutions are facing under the 6th European AML directive. Together, cleversoft group and CDDS create an organization with more than 180 employees and a strong footprint in the DACH, Benelux, Nordics and French regulatory compliance markets. Over the last years both companies grew organically with ca. 20% p.a. and are on track to jointly reach over EUR 20M in revenues in 2021.

Partnership cleversoft – CDDS – Main Capital

René Blaschke, Managing Director of cleversoft, explains the strategic rationale of the acquisition: “We are very excited to welcome Philippe and his team to the cleversoft family. By joining forces with CDDS, cleversoft strengthens its footprint in the French-speaking part of Europe and further enriches its product portfolio, thus being able to extend its AML/KYC platform offering for all its clients. The merger opens new opportunities for both companies to jointly grow in the GRC market and beyond.”  

Philippe Lassine, CEO of CDDS, adds: “We are really looking forward to work with cleversoft and their international ecosystem to provide our clients with a broader offering to comply with their regulatory obligations. Over the last 12 years, CDDS evolved into a leading player in the European AML market. With cleversoft, we found the right partner for the next growth phase of our company. We are therefore happy to contribute to the further development of CDDS and the new group, and look ahead with great confidence.”

Sven van Berge Henegouwen (Partner Main Capital DACH): “Main Capital and cleversoft follow a joint buy and build strategy since 2018 in order to complement the group’s product offering and strengthen its leading position in the European RegTech market. We are very impressed by CDDS’ development and how the team positioned the company in the GRC market. With their specialized KYC and AML solutions, the offering is highly complementary to the current ForensicCloud solutions from BusinessForensics, thus providing further value for all customers.”  

About cleversoft
Founded in 2004, the cleversoft group is a leading cloud-based RegTech provider for financial services. The company is headquartered in Munich with offices in Amsterdam, The Hague, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Luxembourg and Sofia. cleversoft provides digital solutions to more than 300 financial institutions around the globe to support business processes for regulatory documents, marketing materials, as well as commission payments including regulations like MIFID II, 6AMLD, PIFI2, Solvency II, IFRS 17, PRIIPs, IORP.

About CDDS
Founded in 2009 in Luxembourg, CDDS is a holistic software developer and data provider specialized in Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) solutions for banks, asset managers, and other financial institutions. With a strong experience in GRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance), CDDS’ solutions help their clients to be compliant with regards to their AML obligations throughout Europe.

 About Main Capital Partners
Main Capital is a strategic investor with an exclusive focus on the software sector in the Benelux, DACH and Nordics. Main has a long term horizon around successful partnerships with management teams, with the aim of building larger software groups together. Main has approximately € 1 billion in assets under management for investments in mature and growing software companies. Within the software sector, Main is the most specialized player in management buyouts and later-stage growth capital for acquisitions. An experienced team of professionals manages these strategic investment funds from offices in The Hague, Düsseldorf and Stockholm.

Main Capital’s current portfolio includes fast growing software and SaaS-software companies such as Sivis (DACH, identity management software) Paragin (NL, education software), FOCONIS (DACH, financial services software), Relyon (NL, fieldservice management), Perbility (DACH, HR software), Pointsharp (SE, Security Software) MACH AG (DACH, government software), Textkernel (NL, HR software), Exxellence (NL, government software), WoodWing (NL, ECM/DAM software), Alfa (SE, healthcare/government software), Optimizers (NL, SCM software), Assessio (SE, HR software), GBTEC (DACH, BPM/GRC software), Onventis (DACH, procurement software), HYPE Innovation (DACH, innovation management software), cleversoft (DACH, RegTech), Enovation (NL, healthcare software), SDB Group (NL, healthcare HR software), JobRouter (DACH, BPM/WFM software), GOconnectIT (NL, GIS/FSM software), Inergy (NL, BI software), KING Software (NL, ERP/accounting software), Artegic (DACH, marketing software), OBI4wan (NL, social media monitoring software), b+m Informatik (DACH financial services software) and ChainPoint (NL, SCM software).

Successful former companies that grew significantly under Main’s leadership include Sofon (NL, CRM/CPQ software), Connexys (HR software), Roxit (NL, government software), Axxerion (NL, facilities management software), Ymor (NL, APM software), Onguard (NL, credit management software), TPSC (NL, healthcare GRC software) and RVC (NL, healthcare software).

Note for the editor:

For more information, please contact:

Sonja Hartgring (Manager PR & Marketing)
Main Capital Partners
Tel: +31 6 24227106 / +31 (0)70 324 34 33
e-mail: sonja@main.nl

Sven van Berge Henegouwen (Partner)
Main Capital Partners
Tel: +49 173 4823712 / +49 211 731 49 339
e-mail: sven@mainsoftware.de

René Blaschke (Managing Director)
Contact cleversoft group
Tel: : +49 (0) 89 288 511 10
email: rene.blaschke@clever-soft.com

Philippe Lassine (CEO)
Contact CDDS Luxembourg S.A.
Tel: +352 20 21 16 20
e-mail: p.lassine@cdds.lu

 

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