Category Archives: News

VEGAMOUR Announces $80 Million Minority Growth Investment by General Atlantic to Fuel Continued Expansion as a Category Leader in Hair Wellness

April 13, 2021

VEGAMOUR, a premium, direct-to-consumer, clean hair wellness brand, today announced $80M in funding from General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm. The Company will use the new funds to further its organic e-commerce growth, launch additional products and expand into new channels and geographies.

Founded in 2016 by CEO Daniel Hodgdon, VEGAMOUR is a plant-based hair wellness brand that incorporates a comprehensive range of naturally-derived products to support healthy hair growth and wellness. All of VEGAMOUR’s products are clean, vegan and formulated with proprietary phytoactive ingredients clinically proven to help promote abundant and radiant looking hair. VEGAMOUR has emerged as a differentiated solution from traditional hair care products, which are often formulated with potentially harmful and synthetic chemicals. Through its expanding line of best-selling topical serums, organically-sourced supplements and natural hair maintenance and scalp health products, VEGAMOUR hopes to redefine the hair care category with its holistic, inside-out approach to hair wellness. Hair loss affects approximately 35% of women – amounting to nearly 60 million people in the U.S. alone – and VEGAMOUR is directly addressing this large unmet need by providing a vegan and efficacious product line for all women.

Hodgdon, a longtime advocate and producer of sustainably-sourced, plant-based ingredients for the skincare and hair care industry, said, “After years of observing how things thrive in nature, it’s clear that when it comes to healthy hair, we should consider the body’s entire ecosystem. Hair wellness is impacted by so many factors – aging, stress, sleep, our environment and especially the things we put into and onto our bodies. At VEGAMOUR, we’ve developed a 360° approach to hair health that seeks to address these issues and support a balanced physiological ecosystem conducive to healthy, beautiful hair. As we look ahead, we are excited to be partnering with General Atlantic and leveraging the firm’s deep expertise in helping beauty brands scale globally. We look forward to bringing continued product innovation to the market and making VEGAMOUR accessible on a wider scale as we meet growing consumer demand for natural and sustainable beauty products.”

“VEGAMOUR has been a leader in creating a new category in hair wellness and occupies a differentiated position in the marketplace as an efficacious, vegan and clean solution,” said Andrew Ferrer, Managing Director at General Atlantic. “In partnership with Dan and the VEGAMOUR team, we are excited to accelerate the company’s growth and build upon its proven model.”

As part of the transaction, General Atlantic’s Andrew Ferrer and Lexie Bartlett will join the VEGAMOUR Board of Directors.

VEGAMOUR was advised by Financo | Raymond James and Sidley Austin LLP. General Atlantic was advised by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.  Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About VEGAMOUR

VEGAMOUR is a digitally native, vegan beauty company. Founded in 2016, VEGAMOUR is committed to creating clean, sustainable, plant-based products that have a positive impact on people’s lives and the planet we all share. For more information, please visit https://vegamour.com/.

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. Established in 1980, General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to build market-leading businesses worldwide. General Atlantic has more than 175 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Greenwich, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

Media Contacts

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

Cara Hilfer
VEGAMOUR cara@ihpr.us

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KLAR Partners funds acquire ITS Kanal Services AG in Switzerland to build Europe’s leading underground infrastructure maintenance (“UIM”) service provider

Funds advised by KLAR Partners Limited (“KLAR Partners” or “KLAR”) have signed an agreement to acquire ITS Kanal Services, a corporate carve-out from ISS Schweiz AG and Switzerland’s leading player within UIM. The acquisition is in line with KLAR’s investment strategy to make control investments in companies providing mission critical services in resilient and growing markets. ITS Kanal Services is KLAR’s first acquisition in Switzerland.

ITS Kanal Services offers underground infrastructure maintenance services in a resilient market across eight locations in Switzerland. The company’s services consist of UIM cleaning and maintenance through flushing and inspection, as well as UIM maintenance and repair. The company has a large and well-diversified customer base consisting of local municipalities, industrial customers as well as private and institutional property owners. With almost 300 employees, ITS Kanal Services is the largest UIM service provider in Switzerland.

“We are delighted to announce our first acquisition in Switzerland, which constitutes a significant milestone for KLAR and highlights our strong local networks across Europe. ITS Kanal Services is one of the few fully integrated full-service platforms in Europe and the clear market leader in UIM digitization and integrated portfolio solutions, providing a solid foundation for future growth. We look forward to working together with the highly experienced and entrepreneurial management team to further strengthen its leading position in Switzerland and develop the company into a European market leader”, commented Florian Bandel, KLAR Team Leader.

“We have built a fully integrated, scalable and nimble platform over the last 20 years and are grateful for the support ISS has provided us with over that period. Through our partnership with KLAR, ITS Kanal Services enters an exciting and new phase of its growth journey. KLAR’s deep and focused sector expertise within the business services sector will enable us to better serve our customers, rapidly extend our footprint and roll-out our digital solutions and service innovations”, said Urs Aschwanden, Managing Director of ITS Kanal Services.

For more information:
Carl Johan Falkenberg
cj@klarpartners.com
+44 7918 941 391

About KLAR Partners
KLAR Partners is a European private equity company focused on investments in companies operating in business services and light industrials. The companies in which KLAR invests each have an annual turnover of approximately €50-500 million and are headquartered in the Nordics, Benelux or DACH regions. With investment professionals located in London, Stockholm, Frankfurt and Brussels, and together with a broad international network in the industry, KLAR has a proven business model to support, develop and grow companies. KLAR’s senior professionals have worked together for many years and have more than 50 years of combined investment experience in KLAR’s industry-specific and geographical focus area.  KLAR Partners is a signatory of United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. More information about KLAR can be found on the company’s website at www.klarpartners.com.

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Ardian raises latest buyout platform at €7.5Bn to invest in high-potential businesses

Ardian

 

12 April 2021 Buyout France, Paris

• The fund exceeded its €6bn target, is already 50% deployed and aims to increase its exposure to North America.
• The fundraise follows strong portfolio performance over the past year, endorsing Ardian Buyout’s focus on growth-focused companies with strong fundamentals in resilient sectors.

Paris, April 12th, 2021- Ardian, a world leading private investment house, today announces it has raised €6.5 billion for its latest buyout fund, Ardian Buyout Fund VII. Ardian has raised an additional €1 billion via co-investments, which has extended the capacity of the platform to a total of €7.5 billion. The fund significantly surpassed the size of its predecessor, an increase of 60%, with long-term and new investors alike backing Ardian Buyout’s strategy of supporting ambitious management teams to turn regional champions into global leaders in niche markets. The investment strategy is focused on four core sectors of expertise: healthcare, the food value chain, technology and services. The approach encompasses three transverse themes, namely: buy & build, sustainable buyout, tech-enabled & digital solutions.

Ardian Buyout, which has over 52 investment professionals operating across seven offices, will invest the fund in line with its growth-oriented established strategy of backing growing European businesses with an enterprise value of up to €2bn. The fund will also target North American businesses for up to 10% of its size.

Ardian Buyout Fund VII attracted a global and diverse investor base, composed of 221 institutional and private investors, from 27 countries. Approximately a quarter of the fund’s previous investors represent over half of the total amount raised, substantiating the trust and loyalty established by the team. In addition, the fund composition is shifting and broadening. The HNWI investor category now distinctively make up nearly one tenth of the funds raised (8%).

Philippe Poletti, Member of the Executive Committee and Head of Ardian Buyout, said: “The success of our latest fundraise clearly demonstrates the continued trust in our approach by our investors. We are proud to have surpassed our target in such an extraordinary time. The sizable increase clearly shows the efficacy of our investment strategy, which is now truly hardship tested – and one which has a proven track record of six generations.

“Importantly, our investments have shown significant resilience across the past year, and we continue to see compelling opportunities in the market. Our focus on businesses with strong fundamentals in resilient sectors means we are well-positioned to invest in the next generation of global champions. In this unusual time, our ability to offer global investors access to growth-focused and sustainable investments is more compelling than ever before.”

Ardian has already committed 50% of the seventh-generation fund across eleven investments. The most recent transactions include Inovie (Medical Laboratory Testing, France), Angus (Specialty additives focused in Life Sciences and Personal Care, USA), AD Education (Creative Arts Education Platform, France) Jakala (Digital Marketing, Italy) and GBA (Food & Environmental Testing, Germany).

Over the past decade, Ardian has incorporated sustainability at the core of company transformation in order to shape high-performing and resilient business models providing measurable impacts on society and the planet. In the past year, the company has introduced a more refined and measured Sustainable Buyout Methodology, which aims to help today’s companies become the companies of the future – we see this as an important societal step and increasingly a clear proxy for company performance. The approach is focused on companies’ ability to transform themselves into more sustainable and more resilient businesses, which includes the ability to improve their positive impact while also reducing their negative impact.

In late 2020, Ardian also strengthened its Buyout team with the appointment of five new Managing Directors, with two external recruits, Scarlett Omar Broca in France and Heiko Geissler in Germany.

 

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$110bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base.

Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 700 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of more than 1,000 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

 

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN – Headland

CARL LEIJONHUFVUD

CLeijonhufvud@headlandconsultancy.com +44 (0)20 3805 4827

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Activa Capital sells its stake in Alliance Etiquettes

Activa Capital

Activa Capital has sold its majority stake in Alliance Etiquettes, the French leader in premium label printing, in an MBO organised by Chequers Capital. Activa Capital will reinvest in the new operation.
Founded in 2015 by Olivier Laulan and Activa Capital with the acquisition of Imprimerie Laulan, the Alliance Etiquettes group has become in just five years one of the leaders in high-end labelling solutions in France, addressing more than 4,000 customers in the wine, spirits, food, cosmetics or industrial segments.

Based in Floirac (Southwestern France), the Alliance Etiquettes group was built on an active acquisition strategy with the integration of eight highly complementary build-ups that enabled the group to increase its territorial coverage, diversify its activities and consolidate a highly fragmented market.

Since Activa Capital’s entry, the group’s turnover and EBITDA have increased by more than 8x and 7x respectively. The platform now has more than €70m in revenues for 406 FTEs and is forecasting strong prospects for FY21.
By reinvesting alongside Chequers Capital, the Group’s new reference shareholder, Activa Capital is joining Alliance Etiquettes’ European growth and consolidation ambitions.

Olivier Laulan, Chairman of the Alliance Etiquettes Group, said: “I am very proud of the progress we have made over the past five years in partnership with Activa Capital, and I am delighted that our collaboration will continue with this new round of financing. The arrival of Chequers Capital will give Alliance Etiquettes the means to achieve its ambition: the continuation of its growth and consolidation project in France and Europe.”

Christophe Parier and Alexandre Masson, Managing Partners of Activa Capital, added: “Activa Capital has completed one of the most successful transactions in its history with the sale of Alliance Etiquettes, a project that is emblematic of its investment strategy since 2015. Based on our in-depth knowledge of the Group and its market, and convinced of its growth prospects, we decided to reinvest as minority shareholders via our new ACF IV fund alongside Olivier Laulan and Chequers Capital, sharing their objective of becoming an undisputed leader in the European label market within 5 years.”

Participants
Buyers
Chequers Capital: Jérôme Kinas, Philippe Guérin, Marie-Céline Etcheber, Emeric Boo d’Arc
Activa Capital: Alexandre Masson, Christophe Parier, David Quatrepoint, Camille Emin
Management: Olivier Laulan, Erik de Woillemont

Vendors
Activa Capital: Alexandre Masson, Christophe Parier, David Quatrepoint, Camille Emin
Management: Olivier Laulan, Erik de Woillemont
Vendors participants
M&A: Amala Partners (Jean-Baptiste Marchand), Natixis Partners (Thomas Laroque)
Vendor Financial Due Diligence: 8 Advisory (Bertrand Perrette, Jean-Baptiste Blanco)
Vendor Strategic Due Diligence: Indefi (Julien Berger)
Vendor Tax and Legal Due Diligence: Altaïr Avocats (Sébastien Péronne)
Vendor Social Due Diligence: Ellipse Avocats (Arnaud Pilloix)
Vendor ESG Due Diligence: PwC (Emilie Bobin)
Lawyers: Mayer Brown (Olivier Aubouin, Marine Ollive)

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

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Andus Group welcomes Gilde Equity Management as shareholder

Gilde Equity

Vianen – Andus Group, an internationally active holding company with 14 leading and independent subsidiaries, spread across Refractories, Steel Structures and Specialties divisions, welcomes Gilde Equity Management (GEM) as shareholder.

For Tom van Rijn, founder and major shareholder of Andus Group, this represents the next step in his business succession. He stepped down from the day-to-day management of the Andus Group in 2018 and has scaled down his responsibilities within it. The current management of Andus Group will stay on and continue its day-to-day management.

Chairman of the Board, Wiebe van den Elshout, is grateful to Tom van Rijn for his huge contribution during the past 25 years and welcomes the current collaboration with Gilde. “Over 100 years of experience underscore the strong position that Andus Group has built up worldwide within the industry. We are a strong, reliable partner for our clients and we work to the highest safety and quality standards. After our success in recent years, Andus Group now finds itself on the cusp of our next growth phase. In Gilde, we have found an ambitious partner that matches our entrepreneurial group culture. Gilde can help us with further investments in the expansion of our services and the acceleration of our international growth ambitions.”

Bas Glas, Partner at Gilde Equity Management says that Gilde is proud to fuel this business succession. “We recognize the strength of the Andus Group, how essential its products and services are to its clients and how well positioned it is to flourish in future. We are looking forward to this collaboration and the further international growth of Andus Group and we have every confidence in the strategy that has been defined.”

About Andus Group

Andus Group is a strong, internationally active holding company with independent subsidiaries in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Slovakia and Sweden. With a workforce of more than 650 employees, these subsidiaries realize a total turnover of approximately € 250 million.

The Andus Group’s subsidiaries are divided across three divisions: Refractories, Steel Structures and Specialties. Within each division, the focus is on the end user in market segments that include: waste-to-energy, wind energy, petrochemicals, civil engineering, offshore oil & gas, the pharmaceutical industry and mechanical engineering. For many years now these subsidiaries have enabled Andus Group to create added value for its clients. This value is added in areas that include engineering, production and installation of high-quality refractory bricks and concrete, bridge-building, locks and complex, heavy steel structures, the manufacture of stainless steel and high-grade alloy process equipment, the design and production of platforms for the offshore industry and the manufacture of high-value industrial castings used in mechanical engineering and the dredging industry.

Refractories

In this division are the companies that operate worldwide in the high-value refractory market. Their activities relate to engineering, the production and delivery of refractory bricks, castables, concrete and service and maintenance work for a wide range of industrial refractory linings, applications and processes. Thanks to the high quality they provide and their reliability of delivery, the position of Refractories companies in the (primary) aluminum, waste-to-energy and petrochemical markets is both renowned and firmly anchored, all over the world. Refractories recently strengthened its position in Scandinavia. In addition to the foundation of Gouda Refractories Nordic AB, it also acquired the Industri-Eldfast AB refractory installation company in Sweden.

Steel Structures

The companies in this division focus on the design, engineering, production and delivery of multidisciplinary steel construction projects for the (petro)chemical and heavy industries, as well as for the energy market, such as transformer platforms for offshore wind energy and oil and gas platforms. In the offshore wind sector, HSM Offshore, one of the companies in this division, is regarded as one of the most progressive platform builders in the world. The first large offshore transformer platforms in the offshore wind energy sector in the Netherlands (Borssele Alpha and Beta from TenneT) were built by HSM Offshore. Companies in the division also build large infrastructure projects, such as steel bridges and lock complexes.

Specialties

This division comprises companies engaged in the provision of industrial castings, such as pump housings for the dredging industry, large castings used in mechanical engineering and special projects for railways and public spaces. They are also active in the design, production and installation of stainless-steel process equipment, beer-tank installations and beer-delivery trucks.

For more information, please visit https://www.andusgroup.com/.

About Gilde Equity Management

Gilde Equity Management (GEM) is an independent private equity firm with €1.5 billion in committed capital. Since its foundation in the mid-1990s, GEM has been a leading investor in medium-sized companies and has helped many of them to realize (international) growth. Examples of GEM investments include: Dunlop, a leading manufacturer of safety boots for industrial applications; Fruityline, a fast-growing producer of freshly squeezed premium fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies; Wasco, a technical wholesaler active in the area of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and sanitary facilities; Actief Interim, one of the biggest independent employment agencies in Benelux and Germany serving the SME sector; Eiffel, a consultancy firm with expertise in Legal, Finance and Process; and Kwantum & Leen Bakker, discount retailers in the Dutch and Belgian home-furnishing and decoration sector.

For more information, please visit https://www.gembenelux.com/.

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Kinnevik emerges as the largest shareholder in Kolonial after particpating in a funding round co-led by Softbank and Prosus

Kinnevik

Kinnevik AB (publ) (“Kinnevik”) today announced its participation with NOK 200m in Kolonial’s recent funding round. The NOK 2.2bn round was co-led by Softbank and Prosus, and encompassed NOK 1.2bn in primary equity and NOK 1.0bn in secondary equity acquired from other existing shareholders. After the round, Kinnevik emerges as the largest shareholder in Kolonial, owning 21% of the company.

The newly raised capital will be used to fund Kolonial’s international expansion plans, beginning with Finland, with a new fulfilment center due to open in Helsinki later this year. The company is further in the earlier stages of preparing a 2022 launch in the EUR 220bn German grocery market. In preparation of becoming a global company and the imminent international expansion, Kolonial is refreshing its brand proposition and changing its name to Oda.

Oda’s mission is to be the most effective online grocer in the world, and it has world leading picking efficiency of 212 UPH (units processed per labor hour at the warehouse), compared to 169 UPH of the leading UK online grocer in 2020. Its unique business model is built on Nordic principles of employee wellbeing and a commitment to sustainability, as well as proprietary warehouse automation and data-driven processes.

Georgi Ganev, CEO of Kinnevik commented:” We are excited by the strong traction in Oda and its international expansion plans. Since our first investment in 2018, Karl and his team have consistently impressed us with their combined focus on growth and efficiency, achieving world class productivity levels in their fulfilment operations. We are happy to welcome fellow leading global tech investors Softbank and Prosus as shareholders, and we look forward to working with them in support of Oda’s growth plans and international expansion.”

In Kinnevik’s Year-End Release 2020, Kinnevik’s investment in Oda was valued at SEK 1,087m. Out of Kinnevik’s approximate NOK 200m participation in the new funding round, some 170m were injected already in 2019 in the form of a convertible bridge note, converting into shares at a customary discount to the valuation in the funding round. During the last months, Oda has consistently beaten its budgeted growth, set new record levels in fulfilment efficiency, and made significant strides in its preparations for international expansion. These developments, in combination with the new funding round, which values the business at NOK 7.5bn post-money, provide strong reference points for a valuation of Kinnevik’s investment in Oda that would correspond to a value uplift of more than 40 percent to just below SEK 1.6bn.

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

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

Kinnevik is an industry focused investment company with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our purpose is to make people’s lives better by providing more and better choice. In partnership with talented founders and management teams we build challenger businesses that use disruptive technology to address material, everyday consumer needs. As active owners, we believe in delivering both shareholder and social value by building long-term sustainable businesses that contribute positively to society. We invest in Europe, with a focus on the Nordics, the US, and selectively in other markets. Kinnevik was founded in 1936 by the Stenbeck, Klingspor and von Horn families. Kinnevik’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s list for large cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B.

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Vibrant Foods announces acquisition of Fudco, leading UK premium nuts and spices brand

Exponent

Vibrant Foods, leading producer and distributor of South Asian foods in the UK and across continental Europe, has announced its second acquisition in the last month, with the purchase of Fudco. Fudco, founded in 1979, began with a single retail store on Ealing Road, Wembley, serving quality foods to the community, and has since become the UK’s leading premium Asian foods brand; the portfolio comprises nuts, spices, dried fruits, pulses, speciality flours, and other Asian foods.

Led by brothers Sheilesh and Akhil Shah, the food arm of Fudco employs 68 people across its headquarters and factory in Willesden and retail store on Ealing Road, and has remained a family run business since its foundation. Today the business distributes an impressive 2,500 SKUs and is found in over 1,000 stores nationwide.

The new partnership will bring Fudco’s food brands into the Vibrant Foods portfolio, alongside the loved and recognised Asian foods brands of TRS, East End and Cofresh, as well as the recently acquired Everest Dairies, the UK’s leading paneer brand. This deal continues Vibrant’s strong tradition of investing in pioneering, heritage-focused, family-owned businesses, helping owners to exit while retaining the business’ legacy. It also cements Vibrant Foods as one of Europe’s leading, branded, Asian foods businesses by growing the group’s existing consumer demographic and reach.

Vibrant

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KKR to Acquire Therapy Brands

KKR

April 7, 2021

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. and NEW YORK, April 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — KKR, a leading global investment firm, announced today that it has agreed to acquire a majority interest in Therapy Brands (the “Company”), a leading practice management and electronic health record (EHR) software platform for mental, behavioral, substance use recovery, applied behavior analysis (ABA) and physical rehabilitation healthcare providers, from its existing shareholders – investment funds affiliated with Lightyear Capital LLC, Oak HC/FT and Greater Sum Ventures. Existing investor PSG will participate in the transaction alongside KKR and continue to be a minority shareholder in Therapy Brands. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2013, Therapy Brands provides end-to-end, purpose-built software solutions to streamline the full clinical, administrative and reimbursement workflows of healthcare professionals in multiple end markets. Its HIPAA-compliant solution suite supports the daily operations of more than 28,000 practices across the U.S., ranging from individual providers to national multi-location practice groups.

“Provider and patient friendly technology-enabled solutions are more important than ever as the demand for mental and behavioral health services continues to rapidly increase,” said Kimberly O’Loughlin, CEO of Therapy Brands. “We are excited to welcome KKR as our new investor, which brings a deep understanding of the healthcare sector and extensive experience in scaling technology-enabled platforms. This support will help us accelerate our mission of making it easier for providers to navigate an increasingly complex administrative landscape so they can spend more time and focus on delivering improved outcomes for their clients.”

Therapy Brands’ technology platforms address the underserved practice management needs of mental and behavioral healthcare professionals, including psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, social workers, ABA clinicians, addiction specialists and physical, speech and occupational therapists. Across its portfolio of leading brands – including TheraNest, ShareNote, CodeMetro, AccuPoint,DataFinch, TenEleven, Procentive, Fusion Web Clinic, and A2C – Therapy Brands offers comprehensive and customized practice management and EHR services along with integrated capabilities for telehealth, data collection and interoperability, revenue cycle management, e-prescribing and payments. Therapy Brands’ technologies are purpose-built, focused squarely on improving the patient experience and decreasing the administrative burden for practitioners so they can spend more time focused on the health and well-being of their clients and businesses.

“We are delighted to be backing Therapy Brands at a time when there is increasing recognition and social awareness about the importance of mental health,” said Max Lin, a KKR Partner who co-leads the health care industry team for KKR’s Americas Private Equity business. “Therapy Brands has developed an impressive portfolio of best-in-class software tools and mission-critical solutions to help mental health providers modernize their practices.  We look forward to working with the team in accelerating the growth of the platform and finding additional ways of delivering enhanced value to its clinicians.”

“We formed the Therapy Brands platform to bring comprehensive technology solutions to this important end market within our healthcare system,” said Marco Ferrari, a Managing Director at PSG. “We have been thrilled with our partnership with the Therapy Brands team and look forward to continuing this journey alongside KKR.”

KKR is making its investment in Therapy Brands primarily from its Americas XII Fund. The investment adds to KKR’s experience of investing in leading behavioral healthcare businesses, including Blue Sprig Pediatrics and BrightSpring Health Services, and in high-growth healthcare-related technology companies such as WebMD (Internet Brands) and Clarify Health. KKR has also established a strong track record of supporting leading vertical market software companies including Autodata, Epicor Software Corporation, Ipreo, Mitchell, MYOB and OptimalPlus.

Mark F. Vassallo, Managing Partner of Lightyear, stated, “The investment in Therapy Brands reflects Lightyear’s ongoing thematic focus on the intersection of tech-enabled financial services and healthcare. Under our ownership, Therapy Brands has more than tripled in size through a combination of strong organic growth and nine strategic acquisitions. It has been a pleasure working with Kimberly and the Therapy Brands team, and we wish them continued success.”

William Blair and TripleTree are acting as financial advisors and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP as legal advisor to Therapy Brands. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to KKR.

About Therapy Brands
At a time when the topics of digital connectivity and access to care are at the forefront of the cultural conversation in the U.S., Therapy Brands is equipping practitioners with effective solutions to address the growing needs of mental and behavioral health, substance use recovery, applied behavior analysis and rehabilitation populations. Through purpose-built, fully integrated practice management and EHR solutions provided by Therapy Brands, healthcare providers can improve patient quality of care and support better health outcomes for those they serve. Therapy Brands is headquartered in Birmingham, AL. For more information, please visit us at www.therapybrands.com

About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

PSG
PSG is a growth equity firm that partners with middle-market software and technology-enabled services companies to help them navigate transformational growth, capitalize on strategic opportunities and build strong teams. Having backed more than 65 companies and facilitated over 275 add-on acquisitions, PSG brings extensive investment experience, deep expertise in software and technology, and a firm commitment to collaborating with management teams. Founded in 2014, PSG operates out of offices in Boston, Kansas City and London. To learn more about PSG, visit www.psgequity.com.

Media Contacts:
For KKR:
Cara Major or Miles Radcliffe-Trenner
212-750-8300
media@kkr.com

For Therapy Brands:
Shannon Vann
Mediainquiries@therapybrands.com

For PSG:
Cameron Nugent
cameron.nugent@psgequity.com

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The Carlyle Group Agrees to Sell Liberty Tire Recycling To ECP

NEW YORK and SUMMIT, N.J. – Global investment firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) announced today that it has agreed to sell Liberty Tire Recycling (“Liberty” or the “Company”) to ECP, an investor with a decades-long reputation in the environmental and sustainable solutions sector. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.

Liberty is a premier provider of tire recycling services in North America. With a network of more than 25 processing plants and flexible collection service offerings nationwide, the Company saves more than 190 million tires per year from the waste stream, recycling approximately three billion pounds of rubber for innovative, sustainable materials and products.

Carlyle Strategic Partners IV, an investment fund managed by Carlyle, led a recapitalization transaction to become the Company’s majority equity sponsor in December 2017.

Evan Middleton, co-head of North America for Carlyle Strategic Partners, said, “Carlyle’s investment thesis for Liberty centered on the Company’s attractive growth characteristics and the ability to create a national provider operating at the nexus of beneficial reuse and sustainable materials production. We are confident that Liberty will continue to create value in an exciting market under the ownership of ECP.”

Tyler Reeder, Managing Partner of ECP, said, “Liberty occupies a key position in the recycling industry and is part of a vital sustainability supply chain in North America. As consumers and manufacturers commit to greener and more sustainable products and practices, Liberty’s ability to provide sustainable materials and solutions for a growing number of applications will only make the Company a stronger and more sought-after partner.”

Liberty Tire Recycling CEO Thomas Womble said, “Under Carlyle’s leadership, Liberty transformed into a national company with strong assets, broad capabilities, and innovative products. We are excited to partner with ECP as we continue our growth trajectory and increase our capacity to recycle tires into a wide range of beneficial, eco-friendly products.”

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Houlihan Lokey is serving as the lead financial advisor, BMO Capital Markets is serving as co-financial advisor and Latham & Watkins is serving as legal advisor to Liberty Tire Recycling. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to ECP.

* * * * *

About Liberty Tire Recycling
Liberty Tire Recycling is a premier provider of tire recycling services in North America. Liberty collects and recycles used tires for innovative, beneficial re-use. The recycled rubber produced by Liberty is used as crumb rubber and industrial feedstock for molded products; as tire-derived fuel for industrial kilns, mills and power plants; and as rubber mulch for landscaping and playgrounds. The company maintains a network of processing plants and comprehensive, nationwide collection services.

About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $246 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2020, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs 1,825 people in 29 offices across five continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow The Carlyle Group on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

About ECP
ECP, founded in 2005, is a leading investor across energy transition and decarbonization infrastructure assets, including power generation, renewables and storage solutions, sustainability-linked infrastructure and customer solutions facilitating the energy transition. The ECP team, comprised of 52 people with 500 years of collective industry experience, deep expertise and extensive relationships, has consummated more than 60 transactions over the last 10 years, representing more than $45 billion of enterprise value.

Media contacts
Liberty Tire Recycling
Don Meyer
Donald.Meyer@gowestfourth.com
202-834-6859

Carlyle
Christa Zipf
Christa.zipf@carlyle.com
347-621-8967

ECP
Jonathan Keehner / Julie Hamilton / Kara Brickman
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212-355-4449

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Categories: News

Deli Home continues international growth with Ardian as a strong partner

Ardian

06 April 2021 Expansion Netherlands, Gorinchem

Dutch made-to-measure manufacturer and distributor of high-quality timber-based home improvement products embarks on pan-European growth strategy with Ardian’s support.

Gorinchem, the Netherlands, April 6, 2021 – Ardian, a world leading private investment house, has signed an agreement to support Deli Home in its international growth plans. Deli Home – “The Digital Carpenter” – is a Dutch made-to-measure manufacturer and distributor of high-quality timber-based home improvement products such as doors, storage and floors and its products are marketed via a combination of do-it-yourself retailers, builders’ merchants and online markets. This transaction marks the first investment in the Netherlands for the Ardian Expansion team. Together with Ardian, Deli Home’s management team will pursue its strategic roadmap to grow the business further and build a pan-European player.
Deli Home is based in Gorinchem, the Netherlands, and has a heritage dating back to 1869. With revenues of more than 340 million Euro and 1,250 employees, the company holds a market leading position in the Benelux. Over the past years, the management team – under the leadership of Victor Aquina (CEO) and Jan-Willem Smits (CFO) – has transformed the company from a distributor to a value-added manufacturer of made-to-measure timber-based home improvement products with a fully integrated digital configurator platform, a broad logistics network and category management capabilities.
Victor Aquina, CEO of Deli Home, said: “We have a clear growth strategy that is focused on two pillars: On the one hand empowering consumers to use digital solutions for facilitating custom home-improvements and on the other hand, further expansion across Europe. Given that two of the key markets we want to address are France and Germany, Ardian with its strong European footprint and network is an ideal partner for us. The Ardian team has impressed us with their deep understanding of the market and will provide valuable insights from its expertise. We look forward to capitalizing on this opportunity and growing the business to reach its full potential.”
Dirk Wittneben, Head of Ardian Expansion Germany, added: “Deli Home has a strong and seasoned management team that has built a convincing growth platform with a proven M&A track record, as underpinned by the acquisitions of Numdata and Weekamp Deuren. We see significant growth potential through further buy & build and expanding the company’s footprint outside of the Benelux. We look forward to working in partnership with management and supporting the company on its growth path.”
The transaction remains subject to the authorization by the competition authorities. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

  • Ardian

    • Dirk Wittneben, Florian Haas, Nicolas Münzer, Janine Paustian
    • Legal Corporate / Finance: Freshfields (Harald Spruit, Mandeep Lotay)
    • Financial: Deloitte (Egon Sachsalber, Tanya Fehr)
    • Tax / Structuring: EY (Anne Mieke Holland)
    • Commercial / Operational: Roland Berger (Sameer Mehta, Switbert Miczka)
    • Tech / Digital: WDP (Christoph Nichau, Johannes Dierkes, Simon Ludwigs)
    • ESG: PwC (Emilie Bobin)
    • Environmental: ERM (Werner Schulte)
    • M&A: ABN AMRO (Eric Altmann, Tammo Gunst)
    • Debt Advisory: Deloitte (Thomas Schouten)

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$110bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base. Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world. Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 700 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of more than 1,000 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
Ardian on Twitter @Ardian

ABOUT DELI HOME

Deli Home is a Benelux market leading producer and distributor of made-to-measure, do-it-yourself and building supplies.
With revenues of over more than 340 million Euro and 1,250 employees and known brands as CanDo, Skantrae, Weekamp, Lundia and Bruynzeel our products are well known by professionals and consumers. Deli Home, based in Gorinchem, the Netherlands, has sales-offices and production locations all across Europe (Belgium, Portugal, Czech Republic, Poland, France and Hungary).

Visit the Website

PRESS CONTACTS

Ardian – Headland

GREGOR RIEMANN

griemann@headlandconsultancy.com +44 792 080 2627

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