Category Archives: News

Gilde Buy Out Partners and Management acquire Caseking Group

Gilde Buy Out

Berlin – Funds advised by Gilde Buy Out Partners (“Gilde”) today announced the acquisition of Caseking Group (“Caseking” or the “Company”), together with the Founders and management. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Caseking, a leading supplier of high-performance PC-gaming equipment and peripherals, maintains a track record of strong organic growth, excellent market understanding and successful product placement supporting the future growth of the Company. Caseking has displayed consistent growth, both organically as well as through add-on acquisitions, becoming a leading platform for PC-gaming equipment in Europe. Operations are based in Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Portugal and Taiwan. The Company processes 540.000 orders and sells approximately 4 million products worldwide per year. Products sold include own brands, brands exclusively available at Caseking and third-party brands.

Commenting on the sale, Toni Sonn, CEO of Caseking says: “I am thankful to all employees at Caseking for their contribution and support in putting the Company on a path of sustained growth. We have experienced exciting years with strong organic growth and the expansion of Caseking to other regions outside Germany. The sale of Caseking to Gilde will allow us to further strengthen the strong position of Caseking in the PC-gaming industry and we are looking forward to work with Gilde as an experienced partner for companies with a strong growth and expansion focus.”

Matthias Wilcken, Partner at Gilde: “We are impressed with Caseking’s track record of consistent growth and the ability to understand the needs of performance PC-gamers. The Company has built a leading position in Europe focusing on the most demanding clients in the categories of PC equipment and peripherals. Caseking is in an excellent position to further build on this solid foundation and to become the most respected brand within the PC-gaming community. We are excited to support Caseking in this next phase of development.” Read more at: http://gilde.com/news/2018/gilde-buy-out-partners-and-management-acquire-caseking-group

 

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Cetera Financial Group Selects Genstar Capital as Strategic Partner

Genstar Embraces Cetera’s Commitment to the Advice-Centric ExperienceTM and Focus on Financial Well-Being Through an Enriched Client Engagement

Company to Continue Operating Under Current Brand, Culture and Leadership, with Significant Capital for Investments in Future Growth

LOS ANGELES, July 17, 2018 – Cetera Financial Group® (“Cetera”), a leading network of nearly 8,000 financial advisors, today announced that it has partnered with Genstar Capital (“Genstar”), to accelerate the company’s growth and success under its current brand, culture and leadership team.  Genstar is a leading private equity firm focused on investments in targeted segments of the financial services, software, industrial technology, and healthcare industries.  The transaction reflects a shared commitment to Cetera’s Advice-Centric Experience™ model and provides access to significant capital for future investments in technology, customer experience, operations, data and growth platforms for the financial advisors and financial institutions served by Cetera.

Robert “RJ” Moore, CEO of Cetera, said, “The successful conclusion of our capital structure review process represents the next milestone in our company’s strategic transformation that began in 2016.  This outcome affirms our vision for the future of the financial advice profession and creates a powerful partnership to help make this vision a reality for the financial advisors and financial institutions we support.  Working alongside Genstar, our entire organization will continue to serve our advisor community by advancing our Advice-Centric Experience, which envisions a profession driven by high-caliber, planning-based advice for clients.” Mr. Moore went on to say, “This is a unique time in our profession, when the need and desire for financial advice is at its greatest. We believe there continues to be significant opportunities for Cetera to be a compelling leader in the delivery of that advice.”

Going forward, Cetera will continue to operate under a multi-affiliation structure, through two core channels – Traditional and Specialty – that collectively serve the full spectrum of independent advisor businesses and financial institutions.

Under this new partnership, Genstar has entered into a definitive agreement with Aretec Group, Inc., the holding company for Cetera, in a transaction expected to close in the late third quarter of this year.  Under the agreement, the specific terms of which were not disclosed, Genstar will assume majority equity control of Cetera, with Cetera’s leadership team maintaining a meaningful ownership position.

Tony Salewski, Managing Director of Genstar, said, “We’re excited to work closely with the team at Cetera to build on the company’s longstanding leadership in the financial advice space, and to support the growth and success of its nearly 8,000 financial advisors across the country.  From its scale and breadth of solutions, to its leadership team and vision for the future of advice, Cetera is well-positioned to capitalize on long-term secular tailwinds in wealth management. We have deep sector expertise and we see enormous opportunities to promote the long-term success of Cetera, its advisors and institutions to address the rising importance of professional financial advice to help individuals reach their financial goals.”

Genstar’s current and previous financial services investments include Mercer Advisors, AssetMark, Ascensus, Apex Fund Services, Acrisure, ISS, and Strategic Insight.  For this investment Genstar has assembled a strong Board of Directors to help guide the company’s strategic direction. In addition to RJ Moore, CEO of Cetera, Genstar representatives will include Tony Salewski and Sid Ramakrishnan as well as Ben Brigeman, former Executive Vice President for Charles Schwab & Co. who led the company’s Individual Investor (Retail) business; and Hal Strong, formerly Vice Chairman of Russell Investments.

Mr. Moore concluded, “The future of Cetera, its independent financial advisors and financial institutions, and indeed, the broader wealth management profession, has never been brighter.  We thank our advisors, institutions and our employees for their strong support and confidence throughout this process, and we’re excited to continue this journey together.”

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory and other approvals.  Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as Cetera’s financial advisors in this transaction, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as legal counsel for the company.

UBS Investment Bank and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. served as financial advisors to Genstar, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal counsel for Genstar.

About Genstar Capital

Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for 30 years.  Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar has approximately $10 billion in assets under management and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the financial services, industrial technology, healthcare and software industries.

About Cetera Financial Group®

Cetera Financial Group (“Cetera”) is a leading network of independent firms empowering the delivery of professional financial advice to individuals, families and company retirement plans across the country through trusted financial advisors and financial institutions. Cetera is the second-largest independent financial advisor network in the nation by number of advisors, as well as a leading service provider to the investment programs of banks and credit unions.

Through its multiple distinct firms, Cetera offers independent and financial institutions-based advisors the benefits of a large, established broker-dealer and registered investment adviser, while serving advisors and institutions in a way that is customized to their needs and aspirations. Advisor support resources offered through Cetera include award-winning wealth management and advisory platforms, comprehensive broker-dealer and registered investment adviser services, practice management support and innovative technology. For more information, visit cetera.com.

“Cetera Financial Group” refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors, Cetera Advisor Networks, Cetera Investment Services (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions), Cetera Financial Specialists, First Allied Securities and Summit Brokerage Services. All firms are members FINRA / SIPC.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES:

Cetera
Joseph Kuo or Chris Clemens
Haven Tower Group
424 652 6520 ext 101 or 102
kuo@haventower.com
cclemens@haventower.com

Genstar Capital
Contact: Chris Tofalli
Chris Tofalli Public Relations
914-834-4334
chris@tofallipr.com

 

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Genstar Capital to Acquire CRF Health from Vitruvian Partners and Combine with Bracket

Combined organization will bring together complementary strengths with a shared focus on accelerated customer value through patient-centric clinical technology solutions

London, United Kingdom and Wayne, Pennsylvania, USA (July 17, 2018) – Genstar Capital, a leading investor in healthcare technology and services companies, is pleased to announce the acquisition of CRF Health, a global provider of eCOA and eConsent solutions for the life sciences industry. As part of the transaction, CRF will be combined with Bracket, a provider of software and technology-enabled solutions utilized in clinical trials. Bracket is a portfolio company of Genstar.

CRF Health has been majority-owned by Vitruvian Partners, a leading growth-and technology-focused investment firm, since 2015.

The newly combined organization will drive accelerated value for pharmaceutical companies and CRO customers, providing patient-centric solutions, combined with deep and broad therapeutic area expertise, across a strong and efficient global footprint.

“CRF Health earned an outstanding reputation with 20 years of experience providing eCOA and now eConsent solutions to the biopharma industry around the world,” said Mike Nolte, who will lead the combined organization as CEO. “CRF’s technology and therapeutic experience dovetail well with our solutions, and they expand our ability to support increasingly complex clinical research. I am excited to bring two outstanding teams together to provide a reliable and scalable platform that accelerates the development of life changing medicines for our families and communities across the globe.”

The combined company will have over 1,500 employees worldwide, and will be in a position to accelerate the penetration of user-friendly technologies across the clinical trial spectrum – driving the transfer from manual, paper based services to electronic while improving service quality and data integrity.

“This is an exciting step forward for patients, clients, and our new combined team,” said Rachel Wyllie, CEO of CRF Health, who will become the Executive Chairman of the combined company. “The complementary nature of the two businesses provides us with the platform and scale for future growth in our dynamic markets, while ensuring our customers have more access to the latest patient-centric innovations in clinical research.”

Jean-Pierre Conte, Chairman and Managing Director at Genstar Capital, added, “Bringing CRF and Bracket together will create a world-class healthcare technology company supporting clinical trials and will accelerate adoption and growth in eCOA, eConsent, patient engagement, rater training and trial supply management solutions. We look forward to working with the outstanding leaders at both organizations. This notable event in pharmaceutical services is another example of Genstar’s private equity strategy of driving change at our portfolio companies to create high-growth and extremely valuable companies. Healthcare is an important sector for Genstar and we continue to identify great opportunities to apply our growth model to build great companies.”

Philip Russmeyer, Partner at Vitruvian Partners, commented, “We are delighted to support the combination of Bracket and CRF to further accelerate, and build upon, the excellent advances that our partnership with the strong management team at CRF has produced over the past years.”

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2018 and is subject to customary closing and regulatory approvals.

Jefferies International Limited served as exclusive financial adviser and Dickson Minto as legal adviser to CRF.  Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal adviser to Genstar Capital.

About Bracket

Bracket (www.bracketglobal.com) is a technology company that accelerates clinical research and improves the experience of patients accessing potentially life-changing therapies. Our solutions, combined with deep scientific and clinical insight, link engaged patients to researchers, provide faster, more reliable decision making, and help provide longer, healthier and more productive lives for our families and communities around the globe. Bracket has over 800 employees and delivers services in more than 90 countries to a diverse base of global customers, including 15 of the top 20 biopharma companies.

About CRF Health

CRF Health is the leading provider of patient-centered eSource technology solutions for the life sciences industry. With experience in more than 800 clinical trials, over 100 languages and across 74 countries, CRF Health’s TrialMax® platform consistently demonstrates the industry’s highest data accuracy, patient and site compliance, and patient retention. The integrated TrialMax platform includes eCOA solutions for collecting PROs (Patient Reported Outcomes), ObsROs (Observer Reported Outcomes), ClinROs (Clinician or Rater Reported Outcomes), and PerfOs (Performance Outcomes), and features TrialConsent®, an electronic solution for collecting and managing informed consent in clinical trials. CRF Health’s eSource solutions improve trial engagement by making the patient the center of the clinical trial process.

About Genstar Capital

Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for more than 25 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar manages funds with total capital commitments of approximately $10 billion and targets investments focussed on targeted segments of the healthcare, financial services, software, and industrial technology industries.

About Vitruvian Partners

Vitruvian is a European growth-focused investment firm specialised in ‘dynamic situations’, where companies undergo growth and change typically driven by technology. Vitruvian helps portfolio companies scale their operations by providing an operational support system and assistance with strategic initiatives including acquisitions. Other notable investments to date include global market leaders in their field such as Just Eat, FarFetch, Skyscanner, EasyPark, Snow Software, Trustpilot, Voxbone, Callcredit, Ebury and others. The €2.4bn Vitruvian Investment Partnership III (“VIP III”) is among the largest pools of capital in Europe supporting innovative and higher growth companies. Vitruvian has backed 30 companies in its first two funds and has assets under management of c. €5 billion, operating out of offices in London, Munich, Stockholm, Luxembourg and San Francisco. More information can be found at: www.vitruvianpartners.com

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MEDIA INQUIRIES:

Contact: Chris Tofalli
Chris Tofalli Public Relations
914-834-4334

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Fortino Capital is investing in the international expansion of e-health company Dobco Medical Systems

Fortino Capital

Fortino Capital is investing EUR 2.2 million in Dobco Medical Systems, a Belgian software company specialising in online solutions for medical imaging. Fortino Capital will help Dobco Medical Systems’ management with the further development of their platform and their international expansion.

Dobco Medical Systems was founded in 2011 and quickly became the reference for online medical imaging in the Benelux. Their most well-known solution, the PACSonWEB platform, is used in 9 out of 10 Flemish hospitals. PACSonWEB is a secure cloud platform that provides an efficient way to exchange medical images and reports between all involved parties. Dobco is thus able to simplify complex processes within medical imaging and provide doctors and patients with medical information faster, more accurately and in a secure manner.

“Together with Fortino Capital, Dobco Medical Systems can take the next step and further scale up the company. Thanks to Fortino Capital’s knowledge of Software-as-a-Service, as well as their experience in putting companies on the map in an international context “, confirms Jan Dobbenie, CEO at Dobco Medical Systems.

Dobco’s aim is to further expand its platform and service offering both in Belgium and internationally to Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France and Cyprus. With Fortino as its partner, the company is looking to strengthen its sales team so it can meet the increasing international demand.

Matthias Vandepitte, partner at Fortino Capital, explains: “We are impressed with the expertise at Dobco Medical Systems. Their commercial traction confirms the added value for their customers, as well as the potential for further international growth. This explains our enthusiasm to further grow the company together with the Dobco team.”

Dobco Medical Systems has a turnover of approximately EUR 3 million and currently employs 24 people. With this investment, Fortino Capital emphasises its role of providing growth capital to companies that are successful in their domestic market, such as Dobco Medical systems, to further grow on an international level. This venture capital investment is the tenth software investment in Fortino Capital’s portfolio.

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Ardian arranges the Unitranche refinancing of Evernex

Ardian

Paris, July 17th 2018 – Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, today announces the arrangement of a Unitranche facility to refinance the existing debt of Evernex, a leading global provider of third party maintenance services for IT infrastructures and a Carlyle Europe Technology Partners portfolio company. The Unitranche package will also include a dedicated committed acquisition facility to finance future build-ups.

Founded in 1983, Evernex has built a broad global network over time covering 160 countries through 330 stocking locations and over 400 employees, of which 200 specialized engineers. This footprint enables the Company to support and maintain its customers’ locations 24/7, leveraging over 750,000 available spare parts from its inventory.

Evernex’s rapid growth can be explained by dynamic organic performance, enabled by the expansion of its operations into new geographies, as well as by a selective external growth strategy, with the aim of securing the Company’s leadership in its core markets and enhancing its service range. Evernex is indeed involved in a fragmented competitive landscape, which offers enticing consolidation opportunities, from which the company wishes to benefit as it did in 2016 with the acquisition of Nexeya. The Group intends to further capitalize on these opportunities to densify its network and continue supporting its customer base in their evolving IT hardware needs.

Carlyle acquired a majority stake in Evernex in 2015 (named CapVert Finance at the time) and the Company has now chosen Ardian Private Debt as financing partner, thanks to its tailor-made Unitranche financing, which combines flexibility and rapidity of execution.

“The acquisitive ambition of Evernex made the Unitranche choice an obvious one to unlock further opportunities and contribute to the continued growth of the business.” commented Jean-David Ponsin, Director in the Private Debt team of Ardian. Charles Villet, Associate Director at Carlyle Europe Technology Partners, added: “Ardian’s ability to deliver terms perfectly in line with the Company’s needs was key in this partnership. Ardian demonstrated a strong level of creativity and has set up a financing package particularly well suited to the story we wish to continue writing with Evernex.”

“We are delighted and excited to carry out this transaction alongside Carlyle Europe Technology Partners, to support a Company with such an impressive growth track record and quality management team.” said Olivier Berment, Co-Head of Ardian Private Debt and Managing Director. “Evernex’s preference for a Unitranche solution demonstrates the strength of this type of financing, especially in the context of fast-growing companies, by providing them with the flexibility and reactivity they need to unlock their full development potential.”

“With this Unitranche financing, our intention is to accelerate even further the execution of our original investment thesis and establish Evernex as the uncontested global leader in its market.” concluded Vladimir Lasocki, Managing Director at Carlyle Europe Technology Partners. “We are convinced that Ardian will prove to be a strong growth partner for Evernex in the long run, and will have the capacity to further finance the Group’s needs for its development.”

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$71bn 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 500 employees working from fourteen 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). It manages funds on behalf of around 700 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Funds of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
Ardian on Twitter @Ardian
www.ardian.com

ABOUT THE CARLYLE GROUP

The Carlyle Group is a global alternative asset manager with $201 billion of assets under management across 324 investment vehicles. Founded in 1987 in Washington, DC, Carlyle has grown into one of the world’s largest and most successful investment firms, with more than 1,575 professionals operating in 31 offices in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) is a pan-European growth & small-cap buyout fund predominantly investing in technology, media and telecoms companies. CETP seeks to partner with entrepreneurs and management teams and invest in businesses with substantial potential for growth which typically have enterprise values between €25m and €250m.

www.carlyle.com

LIST OF PARTIES INVOLVED

Evernex: Stanislas Pilot, Stéphane Régenet, Farid Seddar.
Carlyle Europe Technology Partners: Vladimir Lasocki, Charles Villet.
Ardian Private Debt: Olivier Berment, Jean-David Ponsin, Clément Chidiac.
Financing Legal Advisor (Ardian): K&L Gates – Mounir Letayf, assisted by Adeline Roboam and Patrick Gerard-Boucher.

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN
Headland
TOM JAMES
Tel: +44 207 3675 240
tjames@headlandconsultancy.co.uk

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KKR to Invest $400 Million in AppLovin

KKR

Investment will fuel company’s growth as it continues to scale its global mobile game discovery business

PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– AppLovin announced today it has agreed to terms on a $400 million investment from KKR, a leading global investment firm. The partnership with KKR will accelerate AppLovin’s goal of giving app developers of all sizes the ability to finance, market, and grow their businesses.

Founded in 2012, AppLovin started as a leader in the mobile gaming user acquisition and monetization space and has expanded to offer a single, comprehensive platform that gives developers the ability to connect with consumers around the globe. In 2018, the company launched its own mobile gaming division, Lion Studios, which has already published multiple chart-topping games. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto with offices in San Francisco, New York, Dublin, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, and Berlin.

With accelerating revenue growth and profitability, AppLovin is a critical growth engine for mobile game developers around the world, helping to support fresh ideas and increase the healthy competition that drives game development innovation and a robust global gaming economy. To do so, the company reaches over 300 million daily active users and drives over one billion installs for gaming companies annually. Close to 90% of the top mobile gaming companies from around the world work with AppLovin. The company is well positioned for continued growth, with mobile gaming projected to be a $70.3 billion industry in 2018, growing over 25% year-over-year according to Global Games Market Report.

“We’re honored to be partnering with KKR, one of the best investment firms in the world,” said Adam Foroughi, CEO and co-founder of AppLovin. “This investment will further fuel the growth of our product and our investment in Lion Studios. KKR’s expertise will be invaluable as we continue to scale our company globally and help more app developers meet and exceed their business goals.”

“AppLovin is a robust, market leading platform in the high-growth mobile gaming market,” said Herald Chen, Member and Head of Technology, Media and Telecom at KKR. “We are excited to be backing the company and partnering with Adam Foroughi, an excellent entrepreneur, strategist and operator, and we look forward to supporting the expansion of its global mobile gaming platform through continued investment in AppLovin’s best-in-class products and services.”

KKR is making the investment primarily from its KKR Americas XII Fund.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is serving as exclusive financial advisor to AppLovin and The Raine Group is serving as exclusive financial advisor to KKR on the transaction. Fenwick & West is serving as legal advisor to AppLovin and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is serving as legal advisor to KKR.

About AppLovin

AppLovin offers a comprehensive platform where app developers of all sizes can connect with their ideal consumers and get discovered. Founded in 2012, the company is focused on helping both indie and established mobile game developers grow with the expertise and insights they need to finance, market, and expand their businesses—all in one place. App developers view AppLovin as a trusted partner, the rare company that understands what it takes to succeed in the mobile app ecosystem and has the ability to help them reach their goals. Learn more at www.applovin.com.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic manager partnerships that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

AppLovin
Katie Jansen, 415-710-5305
press@applovin.com
or
KKR
Kristi Huller or Cara Major, 212-750-8300
media@kkr.com

Source: AppLovin

 

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PAT MCGRATH LABS selects Eurazeo Brands as investment partner

Eurazeo

New York, July 16, 2018 – Eurazeo Brands has made an investment in Pat McGrath Labs, the iconic makeup brand created by Pat McGrath, the number one makeup artist in the world. Eurazeo, a leading global investment company with ~€16 billion of assets under management, joins ONE Luxury Group, a dedicated luxury investment fund, as minority shareholders in the company. Eurazeo’s total investment is $60 million, bringing total external funding to date to $88 million. The new capital will help Pat McGrath Labs build on its incredible success and enable the company to further expand its distribution in the U.S., as well as meet increasing demand worldwide. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded by McGrath in 2016, Pat McGrath Labs quickly revolutionized modern beauty through its must-have, straight-from-the-runway makeup experience. In its early days, products such as Pat McGrath Labs’ brilliant Gold 001, which sold out in less than six minutes, captured the imagination and attention of the industry, making it one of the most talked-about beauty launches. In the fall of 2017, Pat McGrath Labs debuted its core collection of makeup on patmcgrath.com and at select Sephora locations in North America. The highly anticipated launch generated incredible media attention and captivated consumers with some of the most unique and coveted makeup ever made available to the public. This fall will see the introduction of new product categories to complement the brand’s best-selling lipsticks, eyeliners and eyeshadows.

Pat McGrath Labs has reached top selling SKU status at Sephora with various hit products and was also voted the number one most engaged beauty brand in a Facebook survey of 500 top beauty brands. Pat McGrath Labs has already garnered over 30 billion media impressions since launch.

On creating Pat McGrath Labs and partnering with Eurazeo Brands, McGrath said: “It has always been my dream to create an iconic beauty brand that goes beyond the usual limitations, that lives outside the parameters of what is expected. I am thrilled to be working with the unique and expert team at Eurazeo Brands.”

“We are honored to be working with Pat, whose vision, talent and trailblazing history in the beauty industry have set Pat McGrath Labs up to be one of the most authentic and innovative makeup brands to ever come to market,” said Jill Granoff, CEO of Eurazeo Brands. “We’re excited to combine our experience of building global beauty and fashion brands with Pat and her team’s unmatched creativity and passion.” Granoff has also had a successful career in beauty and fashion, including 10 years in senior leadership roles at Estée Lauder and seven years at Victoria’s Secret Beauty, where she helped to double sales from $500 million to $1 billion and launched the brand internationally during her tenure as President and Chief Operating Officer.

Virginie Morgon, CEO of Eurazeo, added, “We look forward to joining Pat McGrath Labs on its global journey to reach millions of new consumers who have followed the brand for years. We love to partner with brilliant entrepreneurs like Pat and believe this investment will be a success.”

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EURAZEO CONTACTS

PRESS CONTACT

 

CAROLINE COHEN

HEAD OF INVESTOR RELATIONS

E-mail: ccohen@eurazeo.com

Tel: +33 (0)1 44 15 16 76

STEPHANIE MARIA-BAJARD

DIR. COMMUNICATION

E-mail:  smaria-bajard@eurazeo.com

Tel: +33 (0)1 44 15 80 44

EDELMAN

CARLEIGH ROESER

E-mail: Carleigh.roesler@edelman.com

Tel: (917) 344 4779

For more information,please visit the Group’s website: www.eurazeo.com

Follow-us on Twitter,Linkedin, andYouTube

About Pat McGrath

 

Pat McGrath is an incomparable beauty trendsetter, having inspired and created the most ground-breaking and celebrated makeup looks of the 21st century. Named “the most influential make-up artist in the world” by Vogue, McGrath curates and creates the makeup looks for the couture and prêt-a-porter runway shows of the leading luxury fashion houses, including Prada, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Givenchy, Maison Margiela, Valentino and many others.

McGrath created the makeup looks for every Vogue Italia cover for more than 10 years, working with legendary photographer Steven Meisel, as well as for countless other covers, editorials, and campaigns for the world’s pre-eminent publications and luxury brands. McGrath is Beauty Editor-at-Large for British Vogue. McGrath is also the creative force behind top international makeup brands, including Giorgio Armani cosmetics, Gucci Beauty, Dolce & Gabbana: The Makeup, and as former global creative director of P&G Beauty, successfully transformed P&G Beauty into a leading player in luxury color cosmetics.

McGrath was honored by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for services to fashion and beauty and has been designated a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

About Eurazeo Brands

Eurazeo Brands aims to invest a total of $800 million in high potential U.S. and European consumer companies with differentiated brands across a wide range of verticals including beauty, fashion, home, wellness, leisure and food. Eurazeo Brands partners with visionary founders and strong management teams to drive value creation by leveraging Eurazeo’s brand building and operating expertise, as well as its global network, with offices across four continents.

About Eurazeo

With a diversified portfolio of approximately €16 billion in assets under management, including €10 billion from third parties, Eurazeo is a leading global investment company with offices in Paris and Luxembourg, New York, Shanghai and Sao Paulo. Its purpose and mission is to identify, accelerate and enhance the transformation potential of the companies in which it invests. The firm covers most private equity segments through its five investment divisions – Eurazeo Capital, Eurazeo Croissance, Eurazeo PME, Eurazeo Patrimoine and Eurazeo Brands – and through three Idinvest business divisions: Venture Capital, Private Debt and Dedicated Portfolio & Funds. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term. As a global long-term shareholder, the firm offers deep sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a stable foothold for transformational growth to the companies it supports.

Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.

ISIN: FR0000121121 – Bloomberg: RF FP – Reuters: EURA.PA

About ONE Luxury Group

ONE Luxury Group is an investment fund focused on disruptive consumer and retail luxury businesses that combine both traditional and new communication and retail distribution models. ONE Luxury’s mission is to help build luxury brands that embrace new models of communication and customer acquisition whilst combining the best of traditional and online retail.

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Messer and CVC Fund VII acquire assets in the Americas from Linde

Joint venture named MG Industries and will operate under the Messer brand

The industrial gases specialist Messer and CVC Capital Partners Fund VII (“CVC”) today concluded an agreement with Linde AG to acquire the majority of Linde’s gases business in North America and certain business activities in South America.

With approximately 5,100 employees, the acquired North and South American companies generated 2017 revenues of USD 1.7 billion (EUR 1.4 billion) and EBITDA of just over USD 360 million (EUR 305 million). The purchase price of USD 3.3 billion (EUR 2.8 billion) will be subject to customary adjustments at closing. The transaction is subject to the completion of the planned merger of the two industrial gases firms, Praxair and Linde, and the approval by the relevant cartel authorities.

The joint venture between Messer and CVC Fund VII will be named MG Industries and will operate under the Messer brand. As part of the transaction Messer, the world’s largest privately managed specialist for industrial gases, will contribute its Western European operating companies into MG Industries. These operations in Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, France, Benelux, Denmark and Germany employ 780 people and generated 2017 revenues of EUR 334 million. With 5,675 employees worldwide, Messer achieved 2017 revenues in excess of EUR 1.2 billion.

“In creating this strategic partnership, we are seizing a unique opportunity to return to the North and South American markets and create a global player in the industrial gases sector”, said Stefan Messer, owner and CEO of the Messer Group, with headquarters in Bad Soden, Germany. In the course of its restructuring in 2004, the Messer Group sold its North American holdings to the French Air Liquide SA. “Through our industry expertise and strong engineering and application know-how, as well as the operational expertise and global network provided by CVC, we will continue to grow the acquired businesses together with its highly experienced and motivated employees.”

Alexander Dibelius, Managing Partner and Head of DACH at CVC added: “This is an exciting opportunity to create a new global player in the attractive industrial gases sector. We are delighted to be partnering with Messer and the Messer family with whom we have a long-standing, trusted relationship for years. Their engineering competencies and application know-how will, amongst others, be critical aspects in further growing the acquired businesses in the future.”

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Ardian takes a minority stake in the Spanish firm MKD

Ardian

Paris, July 2nd, 2018 – Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, today announces the acquisition of a minority stake in MKD, a Spain-based online platform that offers maintenance supervision and repair services for the fleet management sector.

Founded in 2014 by current CEO José Piñera, MKD has cemented its status as Spain’s leading platform for fleet managers wishing to outsource maintenance and repair services. With more than €20 million in sales and over 400,000 repairs made in Spain, MKD’s clients include top-tier companies from the car rental industry, including Europcar, Alphabet, Arval, Generali, Allianz and new players in mobility management. MKD has further extended its offer to individuals with the launch of Reparatuchoche.com.

José Piñera, CEO of MKD, said: “In order to speed up our development and reinforce our position as a leader, we decided to enter into a new phase of our development, which include seizing external opportunities and deploying new technological services. To support our vision, Ardian Growth stood out as the partner of choice given their excellent support in our build-up strategy prior to becoming shareholder, and their strong expertise in the digital sector.”

In addition to accessing Ardian Growth’s network and expertise, this partnership will help management consolidate the company’s leading position in the fleet management industry. In this rapidly expanding sector, MKD is one of the few players to have successfully developed interoperable services with a wide range of market players.

Bertrand Schapiro, Senior Investment Manager at Ardian Growth, said: “For more than a year, we built a strong relationship with José and MKD’s senior team, which helped us outline the terms and priorities of our partnership. The acquisitions of PTRZ and Fortius – that are taking place simultaneously with our investment – provide a good illustration of this”.

Laurent Foata, Head of Ardian Growth, added: “After our recent investment alongside T2O’s founders, this transaction highlights our aim to become a leading Growth Equity player for Spanish-based entrepreneurs looking for a sparring partner capable of supporting their development, both within Spain and internationally.”

ABOUT MKD
Founded in 2014 by current CEO José Piñera, MKD is a leading player in the supervision of maintenance and repair services for fleet managers. With over 250 experts and a large network of garages across Spain, the company offers through its online platform maintenance and repair cost optimization, and shorter “Vehicle off road” events.

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$71bn 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 500 employees working from fourteen 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). It manages funds on behalf of around 700 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Funds of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

www.ardian.com

LISTE DES PARTICIPANTS

MKD: José Piñera, Fernando Pérez Granero
Legal advisor: Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados
Ardian: Laurent Foata, Bertrand Schapiro, Louise Gros
Legal advisor: EY (Francisco Aldavero Bernalte, Hector Gomez Ferrero)
Financial due diligence: Deloitte (Jordi Valls, Yannis Arago)
Tax due diligence: Deloitte (Santiago Doce, Ian Bueno)

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN
Headland
CARL LEIJONHUFVUD
CLeijonhufvud@headlandconsultancy.com
Tel: +44 20 3805 4827

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Priveq – a new growth partner for Lamiflex

Priveq

Lamiflex, a world leading supplier of transport packaging solutions mainly to the steel, aluminum and cable industries, is bringing in Priveq Investment (“Priveq”) as growth partner for the future. CEO and management as well as the former majority owners will continue to be a part of the owner group.

Lamiflex was founded in 1992 and started with the product ”Lamiflex”, protecting steel pipes and bars during transportation. The portfolio has today grown to offer complete solutions to a number of industries, i.e. oil and gas as well as the automobile industry. The company works in seven countries with headquarters in Nyköping in the south of Sweden with 63 employees in total.

During the last 30 years, the world steel production, excluding China, has been on a relatively even level even during economic decline and at times with volatile steel prices. Since a few years back, a structural shift has occurred in the market for transport packaging in the steel and aluminum industry – mainly steel protection and non-automatic processes have been replaced by plastic protection and automatisation, which is expected to drive Lamiflex’s addressable market mainly in Europe and South Korea. Through the partnership with Priveq, good conditions are created for continued growth and development of the company.

”We are impressed by the way Lamiflex has managed to establish itself as a niche actor with a strong offer and a unique position in the market. We look forward to work together with Lamiflex and actively support the company ahead.”, says Johan Koch, Partner at Priveq.

”We are very pleased to have Priveq as a growth partner in Lamiflex. Priveq has a broad experience from over 100 growth companies and we are convinced that Priveq will help us in taking the next step in our development.”, says Adrian Robert, CEO of Lamiflex.

”As Chairman of the Board and co-owner, I am leaving the baton to Priveq with warm hands. Together with the other former main owners, I will continue to invest and follow Lamiflex in to the next phase of growth and we are convinced that Priveq is a great partner to do this with.” says Wiking Henricsson, resigning Chairman of the Board in Lamiflex.

For more information, please contact:

Johan Koch, Partner and Investment Manager, Priveq Investment
Tel: +46 (0)70 813 04 18
johan.koch@priveq.se

Adrian Robert, CEO Lamiflex
Tel: +46 (0)72 858 99 81
adrian.robert@lamiflex.se

About Lamiflex
The Lamiflex Group is a world leading supplier of transport packaging solutions mainly in the steel, aluminum and cable industries as well as within oil and gas. The portfolio consists of material, machinery, services and methods for optimal packaging solutions. The Lamiflex Group is headquartered in Nyköping in the south of Sweden and with subsidiaries all over the world.

More information is available at www.lamiflex.se.

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