Category Archives: News

S&H, specialist consultant backed by Ardian

Ardian

Paris, France, 4 December 2019 – S&H is partnering with Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, to reorganize its capital and support the development and growth of the company, through a financing operation amounting to 14 million euros.
The consultancy firm specialized in modernising HR and Finance support functions, has over 250 employees and a turnover in excess of 30 million euros. S&H has provided consulting services to over 100 large and medium-sized businesses, across a variety of services, including:
  • – Strategy and innovation
  • – Project implementation and management
  • – Business intelligence design & analytics
  • – Digital integration and data management
  • – Change management and training
  • – Application maintenance and user support
The firm is well recognised for its strong expertise in Oracle solutions and also works with a range software publishers.
With Ardian minority investment, the business has funds to accelerate its growth trajectory through sizeable investments and external growth opportunities.
“Our growth, which has been steady since the company was founded, is proof of a dynamic market and our ability to respond to it. Ardian’s investment is an indication of our team’s strong performance and will give the company’s development a huge boost,” said Pap Amadou NGOM, Chairman and co-founder of S&H.
Geoffroy de La Grandière, Director at Ardian Growth, added: “The team at S&H have clearly demonstrated their ability to implement an ambitious growth strategy. This is reflected in their genuine expertise in integration during external growth operations. This operation illustrates our support to European companies with high potential.“
Florian Dupont, Investment Manager at Ardian Growth, concluded: “The positioning of S&H within the value chain and its impressive track record of innovation have asserted the company as a dynamic entrepreneurial player with excellent prospects for growth and we are proud to support them going forward.”

ABOUT S&H

S&H (Des Systèmes et des Hommes) is a Digital Services Company (DSC) that specializes in advising on the digital transformation of HR and Finance functions. Its 250 consultants work with large and medium-sized businesses on strategic projects, on an international scale, concerned with information systems: change strategy, help with decision-making, integration, Business Intelligence, Data Management, and change management support.
A diverse range of profiles, combining knowledge of customers’ lines of business with technical expertise, has been providing customers with real added value for 29 years.
But S&H consists first and foremost of talented people dedicated to making projects succeed and with strong shared values: diversity, commitment and solidarity. Ranked as a Great Place to Work for five consecutive years, and winner of the Prix des Talents DSC trophy in 2018, S&H is attentive to its employees’ development, career progression, and training in the solutions of the future. S&H won the Oracle Partners HCM Cloud prize in 2019 and the Oracle PaaS prize in 2018 for its innovative projects, and has earned the trust of its partner publishers (including Oracle, Talentsoft, NetSuite, Anaplan, Axway and Kyriba).
www.s-h.fr

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$96bn 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 640 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.
www.ardian.com

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

– S&H: Pap Amadou NGOM, Marc-Edouard Bellest
– Ardian: Geoffroy de La Grandière, Florian Dupont
– Ardian financial advisors: Crowe HAF (Thomas Corbineau, Julien Latrubesse)
– Ardian legal advisors: McDermott Will & Emery (Diana Hund – corporate / Pierre-Arnoux Mayoly – bancaire / Côme de Saint-Vincent – fiscal)
– S&H Financial VDD: Aca Nexia (Laurent Cazebonne, Olivier Duval)
– S&H legal advisor: BNR Avocats (Julien Berthezène)
– Arranger BNP (Enoline Marchadier – Brendan Gianoncelli) – Caisse d’Epargne Ile-de-France (Maxime Moysan)

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN
Headland
Carl Leijonhufvud
CLeijonhufvud@headlandconsultancy.com
D: +44 (0)20 3805 4827
M: +44 (0)7901 853
S&H
Marie-Laure Leroy
Head of Marketing and Communications
Tel: +33 (0)1 75 77 75 28, mlleroy@s-h.fr

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Verint announces plan to separate into two independent publicly traded companies

Apax

4 December 2019

Also announces $200 million minority investment by funds advised by Apax Partners in support of Verint’s separation plan; additional $200 million to be invested post separation

New $300 Million Share Buyback Program Over Period Through Closing of Separation

MELVILLE, N.Y., December 4, 2019: Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT), today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved proceeding with a plan to separate Verint into two independent companies: one of which will consist of its customer engagement business, and one of which will consist of its cyber intelligence business. Verint expects to complete the separation shortly after the end of Verint’s next fiscal year ending January 31, 2021.

“With our customer engagement business approaching $1 billion in annual revenue and our cyber intelligence business approaching $500 million in annual revenue, we believe the two independent, publicly traded companies will both benefit from the separation and be well positioned to pursue their own strategies, drive opportunities to accelerate growth and extend their market leadership. The separation will make it easier for investors to evaluate and make independent investment decisions in each business. In preparation for the separation, we have taken steps over the last several years to strengthen the two businesses operationally and believe we are now well positioned to execute our separation plan,” said Dan Bodner, Verint CEO.

Separation Details

Verint intends to implement the separation through a pro-rata distribution of common stock of a new entity that will hold the cyber intelligence business and expects the distribution to qualify as tax free to Verint shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The completion of the transaction is subject to certain customary conditions, including final approval of the Verint Board of Directors, receipt of tax opinions from counsel as well as rulings from the Internal Revenue Service and the Israeli Tax Authority with respect to tax treatment to Verint and its shareholders, and effectiveness of a registration statement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The separation is not expected to require a shareholder vote. The separation structure is subject to change based upon various tax and regulatory factors and there can be no assurance that any separation transaction will ultimately occur or, if one does occur, of its terms or timing.

Investment by Funds Advised by Apax Partners

Funds advised by Apax Partners (the “Apax Funds”), a global private equity advisory firm, have agreed to invest up to $400 million in Verint, subject to customary closing conditions including the receipt of required regulatory clearances. The Apax Funds have significant experience in the software sector, including through previous investments in TriZetto, Plex Systems, RealPage, Sophos, Epicor and Exact Software. The investment will be made in the form of convertible preferred stock in two tranches of $200 million each. The first tranche is targeted to close in our first quarter ending April 30, 2020.  The second tranche, conditioned on and expected to close shortly following the separation (expected shortly after the end of Verint’s next fiscal year ending January 31, 2021), will be made into Verint, the entity holding the customer engagement business.

Mr. Bodner added, “Apax Partners has a proven track record of creating value by partnering with leading software companies around the world, including significant experience in both carve-outs and cloud transitions. The investment represents a strong vote of confidence in our strategy and future growth opportunities.”

In connection with the closing of the first tranche of the investment, Jason Wright, Partner at Apax Partners, will be appointed to Verint’s Board of Directors.  At the closing of the second tranche, the company will add a mutually agreed upon independent Director to Verint’s Board.

Mr. Wright said, “We are excited to partner with Verint and help the Company complete the separation, enabling both businesses to achieve their full potential. Verint’s Customer Engagement business is a market leader and we look forward to working with management to execute its cloud strategy and extend its market leadership.”

Under the investment agreement, the Apax Funds will initially purchase $200 million of Series A convertible preferred stock with an initial conversion price of $53.50, representing a conversion premium of 17% percent over the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock over the 45 day period prior to the signing date.  The Series A convertible preferred stock will not participate in the spin-off of the cyber intelligence business but will have its conversion price adjusted and will remain invested in the entity holding the customer engagement business.  Shortly following the separation, the Apax Funds will purchase, subject to certain conditions, up to $200 million of  Series B convertible preferred stock with an initial conversion price based on the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock over a 20 day period following the separation, subject to a collar on the minimum and maximum enterprise value of the company post separation.  Both the Series A and Series B will have an initial dividend rate of 5.2% dropping to 4.0% over time.  Assuming both the Series A and the Series B are issued on the expected timeframe and remain outstanding for 8.5 years from their respective dates of issuance, the average dividend rate on the combined investment will be approximately 4.5%.  Following the closing of the Series A investment, the Apax Funds’ ownership in Verint on an as-converted basis will be approximately 5%. Assuming completion of the Series B investment and the separation, the Apax Funds’ ownership on an as-converted basis will be between 11.5% and 15.0%.

Additional information may be found in the Form 8-K that will be filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Share Buyback Program

Verint today also announced that our Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program whereby we may repurchase up to $300 million of common stock over the period ending on February 1, 2021 (on or shortly before the planned business separation). Repurchases are expected to be financed with the proceeds of the first tranche of the Apax Funds investment and available cash, including possible borrowings under our revolving credit facility. We may utilize a number of different methods to effect the repurchases, including but not limited to, open market purchases and accelerated share repurchases, and some of the repurchases may be made through Rule 10b5-1 plans. The specific timing, price, and size of purchases will depend on prevailing stock prices, general market and economic conditions, and other considerations, including the amount of cash available in the U.S. and other potential uses of cash. The program may be extended, suspended or discontinued at any time without prior notice and does not obligate us to acquire any particular amount of common stock.

Customer Engagement and Cyber Intelligence Leadership

We believe that both our businesses are leaders in their respective markets and the separation will enable them to achieve even better performance over the long term, as the two companies will have:

  • separate boards with further differentiated skillsets to support tailored strategic plans;
  • specific incentive programs more closely aligned with standalone business performance;
  • capital structures tailored to the unique characteristics of each business; and
  • enhanced appeal to a broader set of investors suited to the strategic and financial characteristics of each company.
Customer Engagement Business Highlights

  • Market leader
  • Approaching $1 billion of annual revenue
  • Cloud transition opportunity
 Cyber Intelligence Business Highlights

  • Market leader
  • Approaching $500 million of annual revenue
  • Software model transition opportunity

Mr. Bodner concluded, “Today’s announcements are consistent with our commitment to creating value for our shareholders. We have built two strong, but increasingly distinct businesses, and we believe that separating these two businesses at this stage of their evolution will allow each to unlock its full potential.  Our customer engagement business will continue to focus on helping organizations elevate customer experience while reducing costs and our cyber intelligence business will continue to focus on helping make the world a safer place.”

Jones Day is serving as legal advisor to Verint and Jefferies LLC is acting as financial advisor to Verint.Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to Apax Partners.

About Verint Systems Inc.

Verint® (Nasdaq: VRNT) is a global leader in Actionable Intelligence® solutions with a focus on customer engagement optimization and cyber intelligence. Today, over 10,000 organizations in more than 180 countries—including over 85 percent of the Fortune 100—count on intelligence from Verint solutions to make more informed, effective and timely decisions. Learn more about how we’re creating A Smarter World with Actionable Intelligence® at www.verint.com.

About Apax Partners

Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of c.$50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.

Cautions About Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expectations, predictions, views, opportunities, plans, strategies, beliefs, and statements of similar effect relating to Verint Systems Inc. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and they are based on management’s expectations that involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results or conditions to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause our actual results or conditions to differ materially from current expectations include, among others: uncertainties regarding the impact of general economic conditions in the United States and abroad, particularly in information technology spending and government budgets, on our business; risks associated with our ability to keep pace with technological advances and challenges and evolving industry standards; to adapt to changing market potential from area to area within our markets; and to successfully develop, launch, and drive demand for new, innovative, high-quality products that meet or exceed customer needs, while simultaneously preserving our legacy businesses and migrating away from areas of commoditization; risks due to aggressive competition in all of our markets, including with respect to maintaining revenues, margins, and sufficient levels of investment in our business and operations; risks created by the continued consolidation of our competitors or the introduction of large competitors in our markets with greater resources than we have; risks associated with our ability to successfully compete for, consummate, and implement mergers and acquisitions, including risks associated with valuations, reputational considerations, capital constraints, costs and expenses, maintaining profitability levels, expansion into new areas, management distraction, post-acquisition integration activities, and potential asset impairments; risks relating to our ability to properly manage investments in our business and operations, execute on growth initiatives, and enhance our existing operations and infrastructure, including the proper prioritization and allocation of limited financial and other resources; risks associated with our ability to retain, recruit, and train qualified personnel in regions in which we operate, including in new markets and growth areas we may enter; risks that we may be unable to establish and maintain relationships with key resellers, partners, and systems integrators and risks associated with our reliance on third-party suppliers, partners, or original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) for certain components, products, or services, including companies that may compete with us or work with our competitors; risks associated with the mishandling or perceived mishandling of sensitive or confidential information, including information that may belong to our customers or other third parties, and with security vulnerabilities or lapses, including cyber-attacks, information technology system breaches, failures, or disruptions; risks that our products or services, or those of third-party suppliers, partners, or OEMs which we use in or with our offerings or otherwise rely on, including third-party hosting platforms, may contain defects, develop operational problems, or be vulnerable to cyber-attacks; risks associated with our significant international operations, including, among others, in Israel, Europe, and Asia, exposure to regions subject to political or economic instability, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, and challenges associated with a significant portion of our cash being held overseas; risks associated with political factors related to our business or operations, including reputational risks associated with our security solutions and our ability to maintain security clearances where required, as well as risks associated with a significant amount of our business coming from domestic and foreign government customers; risks associated with complex and changing local and foreign regulatory environments in the jurisdictions in which we operate, including, among others, with respect to trade compliance, anti-corruption, information security, data privacy and protection, tax, labor, government contracts, relating to our own operations as well as to the use of our solutions by our customers; challenges associated with selling sophisticated solutions, including with respect to assisting customers in understanding and realizing the benefits of our solutions, and developing, offering, implementing, and maintaining a broad and sophisticated solution portfolio; challenges associated with pursuing larger sales opportunities, including with respect to longer sales cycles, transaction reductions, deferrals, or cancellations during the sales cycle, risk of customer concentration; challenges associated with our ability to accurately forecast when a sales opportunity will convert to an order, or to accurately forecast revenue and expenses, including as a result of our Customer Engagement segment cloud transition and our Cyber Intelligence segment software model transition, and increased volatility of our operating results from period to period; risks that our intellectual property rights may not be adequate to protect our business or assets or that others may make claims on our intellectual property, claim infringement on their intellectual property rights, or claim a violation of their license rights, including relative to free or open source components we may use; risks that our customers delay or cancel orders or are unable to honor contractual commitments due to liquidity issues, challenges in their business, or otherwise; risks that we may experience liquidity or working capital issues and related risks that financing sources may be unavailable to us on reasonable terms or at all; risks associated with significant leverage resulting from our current debt position or our ability to incur additional debt, including with respect to liquidity considerations, covenant limitations and compliance, fluctuations in interest rates, dilution considerations (with respect to our convertible notes), and our ability to maintain our credit ratings; risks arising as a result of contingent or other obligations or liabilities assumed in our acquisition of our former parent company, Comverse Technology, Inc. (“CTI”), or associated with formerly being consolidated with, and part of a consolidated tax group with, CTI, or as a result of the successor to CTI’s business operations, Mavenir, Inc., being unwilling or unable to provide us with certain indemnities to which we are entitled; risks relating to the adequacy of our existing infrastructure, systems, processes, policies, procedures, internal controls, and personnel, and our ability to successfully implement and maintain enhancements to the foregoing, for our current and future operations and reporting needs, including related risks of financial statement omissions, misstatements, restatements, or filing delays; risks associated with changing accounting principles or standards, tax laws and regulations, tax rates, and the continuing availability of expected tax benefits; risks associated with market volatility in the prices of our common stock and convertible notes based on our performance, third-party publications or speculation, or other factors and risks associated with actions of activist stockholders; risks associated with the planned issuance of preferred stock to Apax Partners, including with respect to Apax’s significant ownership position and potential that their interests will not be aligned with those of our common stockholders; and risks associated with the planned spin-off of our Cyber Intelligence business, including the possibility that the spin-off transaction may not be completed in the expected timeframe or at all, that it does not achieve the benefits anticipated, or that it negatively impacts our operations or stock price.  We assume no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, except as otherwise required by law.  For a detailed discussion of these risk factors, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2019,  our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2019 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2019, when filed, and other filings we make with the SEC.

VERINT, ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE, THE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT COMPANY, CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, CYBER INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS, GI2, FIRSTMILE, OMNIX, WEBINT, LUMINAR, RELIANT, VANTAGE, STAR-GATE, TERROGENCE, SENSECY, and VIGIA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Verint Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries.  Verint and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein.

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Lumeon partners with Medtronic on value-based care

GIlde Healthcare

Utrecht (the Netherlands) and London, (UK) – Lumeon, the leader in Care Pathway Management (CPM), today announced that it has entered a strategic partnership with Medtronic, a global leader in medical technology, services, and solutions, that will support Medtronic’s European healthcare provider customers in their transition to efficient, value-based care models.

Through the partnership, Medtronic’s Integrated Healthcare Solutions (IHS) business will leverage Lumeon’s leading CPM Platform to operationalise care pathways for surgery optimization and chronic disease management. These pathways allow providers to create more effective care coordination that reduces the cost of care delivery while minimising unwarranted variation in care.

Medtronic IHS aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of patient care settings, such as cardiac catheterisation labs and operating rooms, while optimising patient pathways and care delivery from the time a patient is referred for treatment to the time he or she has fully recovered.

“As the global healthcare market undergoes a transition from activity-based reimbursement to outcome-based reimbursement, providers are faced with the challenge of reinventing their business models while delivering care that ensures high-quality clinical, operational, and financial outcomes,” said Robbie Hughes, founder and CEO at Lumeon. “We are proud to be working with Medtronic, a company with a well-earned reputation in value-based care models, to help providers master that transition.”

“We are partnering with over 100 hospitals in Europe to develop evidence-based, best practice-informed pathways that deliver superior outcomes for the lowest possible cost,” said Frederic Noël, vice president, Medtronic IHS EMEA. “To help our customers embed these pathways in daily practice and apply them at scale, across their patient groups, we need more than pathway reference models and change management services. We must provide them with solutions to digitalise the pathway, and automate and orchestrate multi-disciplinary care delivery, leveraging Lumeon’s CPM platform.”

Lumeon’s CPM platform ensures that every patient stays on a personalised plan of care throughout his or her entire healthcare journey. It leverages intelligent automation and orchestration to manage a shared plan of care across multiple teams and settings, automatically adjusting activities and deploying the right resource required for each individual patient in real-time.

 

About Lumeon
Lumeon provides Care Pathway Management (CPM) solutions for healthcare organizations. Its industry-leading platform combines evidence-based pathways with deep operational expertise to deliver better care at lower cost.
A patient-first approach to pathway design, orchestration and automation ensures healthcare provider resources are optimized to deliver superior outcomes at less cost, achieving the goals of new reimbursement models.
Progressive health systems in the USA and Europe have deployed Lumeon’s multi-award winning platform across more than 2,000 care locations. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.lumeon.com

About Gilde Healthcare
Gilde Healthcare is a specialized European healthcare investor managing € 1 billion ($ 1.2 billion) across two fund strategies: venture & growth capital and private equity. Gilde Healthcare’s venture & growth capital fund invests in health tech and therapeutics. The venture & growth companies are based in Europe and North America. Gilde Healthcare’s private equity fund invests in profitable European lower mid-market healthcare companies with a focus on the Benelux and DACH region. The private equity fund targets healthcare providers, suppliers of medical products and service providers in the healthcare market. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.gildehealthcare.com

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IK Investment Partners acquires Ondal Medical Systems

ik-investment-partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK VIII Fund has reached an agreement to acquire Ondal Holding GmbH (“Ondal” or “the Company”), a leading Original Design Manufacturer (“ODM”) of medical pendant systems used mainly in operating rooms and intensive care units, from funds advised by Capvis.

Founded in 1945, Ondal has become the global #1 provider of medical pendant systems. With its innovative and broad product portfolio applied in settings such as operating rooms, intensive care units as well as diagnostic and imaging rooms, Ondal sets the global quality standard for medical pendant systems in terms of reliability, functionality and usability. Products manufactured by Ondal are internationally certified in various regulated markets, ensuring compliance with the highest quality standards. Headquartered in Hünfeld, Ondal operates three strategically located manufacturing sites in Germany, the US and China, employing over 500 people.

“With our high-quality pendant products, we carry, move and supply medical equipment to create optimal working conditions. This has enabled us to establish longstanding relationships with international blue-chip customers. IK is the ideal partner as they have a profound understanding of medical technology end-markets and share our vision for growth. We would like to thank Capvis for its support during our partnership,” said Bernd Fabian, CEO of Ondal.

“Ondal is the globally leading platform for medical pendant systems and trusted strategic partner to medical technology companies. Together with management, we will continue to build on the Company’s strong market position as technology leader in its product segment,” said Anders Petersson, Partner at IK and advisor to the IK VIII Fund.

Ondal represents the IK VIII Fund’s fourth Mid Cap acquisition this year, and the 15th acquisition announced by the Fund. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Parties involved:
IK Investment Partners: Anders Petersson, Adrian Tanski, Daniel-Vito Günther
Buyer financial advisor: Quarton (Konstantin Schönborn, Rolf Holtmann)
Buyer strategic due diligence: Alvarez & Marsal (Georg Hochleitner)
Buyer financial due diligence: Eight Advisory (Michael Wahl)
Buyer legal advisor: Renzenbrink & Partner (Ulf Renzenbrink)
Capvis: Eric Trüeb, Leif-Niklas Fanter
Seller financial advisor: William Blair (Philipp Mohr, Eike Dickmann)
Seller legal advisor: Hengeler Müller (Daniel Wiegand)

For further questions, please contact:

IK Investment Partners 
Anders Petersson, Partner
Phone: +49 40 369 8850

Mikaela Murekian, Director Communications & ESG
Phone: +44 77 87 573 566
mikaela.murekian@ikinvest.com

About Ondal Medical Systems
Ondal is one of the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of medical pendant systems that facilitate movement, support loads and supply medical equipment with light, gas or data. For more information, visit www.ondal.de

About IK Investment Partners
IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Nordics, DACH region, France, and Benelux. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €10 billion of capital and invested in over 130 European companies. IK funds support companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com

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KKR and XPV Water Partners Form New Platform to Promote Water Quality

KKR

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 3, 2019– KKR, in partnership with XPV Water Partners, today announced the formation of a wastewater treatment platform with the goal of creating the leading provider of end-to-end nutrient management solutions for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities. Through the foundational acquisitions of Environmental Operating Solutions, Inc. (“EOSi”) and Nexom, Inc. – two providers of nutrient management technologies – the platform aims to address nutrient contamination of water globally by building a diversified and growing portfolio of leading solutions.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191203005263/en/

Over the past 50 years, agricultural runoff from increased use of fertilizers, stormwater runoff from more development and rainfall, and wastewater effluent from municipal and industrial plants have combined to produce a concentration of nutrients in downstream water bodies. Excess nutrients can cause eutrophication and subsequent toxic algae blooms, resulting in loss of aquatic life, human health concerns and other environmental and economic damage. The Environmental Protection Agency has named nutrient pollution “one of America’s most widespread, costly and challenging environmental problems,” with 53% of rivers, 71% of lake acres, 79% of estuary square miles and 98% of great lakes shoreline miles classified as impaired.

“We are pleased to be working with XPV to scale solutions to water pollution. XPV is a thought leader in the water sector with deep connectivity across key stakeholders. Together, we are focused on expanding this platform to promote water quality,” said Robert Antablin and Ken Mehlman, Co-Heads of KKR Global Impact.

“The challenges associated with nutrient management are compounding every year. We view the formation of this platform as a game-changing next step in our strategy: to build a global end-to-end supplier of the products and services that municipal and industrial operators need to solve nutrient management challenges. We look forward to continuing this journey with the EOSi and Nexom teams, alongside KKR, to help drive the next phase of growth of this exciting new platform,” said David Henderson, Partner, XPV Water Partners.

For KKR, the investment is part of the Firm’s Global Impact strategy, which is focused on identifying and investing behind companies whose core business models provide commercial solutions that contribute measurable progress toward one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By reducing pollution and improving water quality, this newly created platform will deliver measurable progress toward achieving the United Nations SDG #6, ensuring the availability and sustainable management of clean water.

The platform is the fifth investment out of KKR’s Global Impact strategy, following investments in Burning Glass, KnowBe4, Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited and Barghest Building Performance. Over the last decade, KKR has been a leader in driving and protecting value throughout the firm’s private markets portfolio through thoughtful Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) management, as well as measuring and reporting on performance to the public and investors.

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 partners 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.

About XPV Water Partners

XPV Water Partners is comprised of experienced water entrepreneurs, operators, and investment professionals dedicated to make a difference in the water industry. XPV invests in and actively supports water-focused companies to enable them to grow and deliver value for all stakeholders. XPV manages over $400 million USD in investment capital from institutional investors in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.xpvwaterpartners.com and on Twitter @XPVwater.

About EOSi

Based in Bourne, Massachusetts, EOSi provides non-hazardous and environmentally sustainable glycerin-based chemicals (“MicroC”) and technical services for biological nutrient removal applications in wastewater systems. EOSi offers superior product quality, technical support and a high level of service to municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plant operators.

About Nexom

Based in Winnipeg, Canada, Nexom provides proven technologies that enable new and existing wastewater treatment plants to meet their nutrient reduction targets. Nexom has developed or acquired seven biological or filtration based technologies, all of which are used to treat wastewater to meet exceedingly strict discharge standards. Nexom benefits from a strong portfolio of products with technical differentiation in certain use cases and a portfolio of references (700+ successful installations).

Source: KKR

Media
KKR:
Kristi Huller or Cara Major
212.750.8300
Media@KKR.com

XPV Water Partners:
Mike Stadnyckyj
416.864.0475 x 308
media@xpvwaterpartners.com

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Kames Capital to move to fully-integrated global model

Kames Capital

Posted on 03 December 2019

bas_dec2019

Today we announced to clients some exciting changes at Kames Capital, as we enhance our client proposition and move to a globally-integrated model as part of our parent group, Aegon Asset Management.

This move will provide Kames Capital’s clients with access to a wider selection of best-of-breed products and services from across Aegon Asset Management, while allowing our investment teams in Edinburgh and London to leverage the expertise and research capabilities from the global group.

There will be no changes to the way we manage clients’ portfolios or the investment managers who run them. We will also maintain current local relationships and client servicing.

The integration will, however, see the Kames Capital brand retired in mid-2020 as the business moves to the globally-recognised Aegon Asset Management brand.

The new structure will create a global investment business with assets under management of £303 billion that maximises the full potential of our teams from across the world.

The new structure, which will take effect from 1 February 2020, will see the global business create four distinct investment platforms in line with the uniquely differentiated capabilities for which Kames Capital and Aegon Asset Management are globally recognised and competitive. These are Fixed Income, Real Assets, Equities and Multi-Asset & Solutions.

Each platform will be led by a global chief investment officer with responsibility for our multi-site investment teams. Each global CIO will also sit on the newly formed global operating management board headed by Aegon Asset Management chief executive Bas NieuweWeme

This integration will provide our investment teams with access to all the resources, expertise, and knowledge of the Aegon Asset Management group across its multiple locations. It also means we can offer our clients best-of-breed products and services from across the group.

Kames Capital is proud of its UK heritage and we are confident our new global structure will enable us to take an important step in enhancing our product offerings, service and overall client experience.

If you would like any further information or have any questions please contact your usual Kames Capital representative.

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HH Global Announces Agreement by Blackstone to make a £100m Strategic Minority Equity Investment

Blackstone

London, United Kingdom, December 3, 2019 – HH Global (the “Company”), a leading global outsourced marketing execution provider, has reached an agreement with funds managed or advised by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities in relation to a £100m strategic minority equity investment in HH Global. Subject to receipt of relevant antitrust approvals, Blackstone’s investment is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2020.

Robert MacMillan, Chairman and Group CEO of HH Global, said: “We look forward to our strategic partnership with the Blackstone team and are excited about reaching new milestones as we embark on this next stage of our journey. Blackstone’s equity investment and extensive experience will enable our committed leadership team to accelerate growth in our core business, broaden our service offering and pursue expansion opportunities globally. The investment allows us to also significantly grow our newly developed data and digital multi-channel marketing offering with a global buy and build strategy.”

Raphael de Botton, Managing Director of Blackstone, said: “We look forward to working with Robert MacMillan and the excellent management team he has assembled. The Company is one of the few truly global operators in the market, which we believe is a strong differentiator to capture the exciting growth ahead of us. We look forward to supporting HH Global’s impressive growth trajectory, both organically and through M&A.”

HH Global’s seasoned leadership with strong industry experience, its global asset-light operating model and relentless focus on execution has underpinned its rapid growth. The Company’s track record of building and maintaining long-term trusted client relationships makes HH Global the first-choice partner in outsourced marketing execution for leading brands globally.

Moelis & Company acted as exclusive financial adviser to HH Global, Osborne Clarke as legal adviser and Jamieson advised on management incentive arrangements.  Slaughter and May acted as legal adviser to Blackstone.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About HH Global

Founded in 1991, HH Global is a leading global outsourced marketing execution provider. Applying proven processes, industry-leading technology, and the deep expertise of over 1,300+ employees, we develop innovative solutions that drive down the cost of our clients’ physical marketing procurement and content development, while improving quality, sustainability, and speed to market.

About Blackstone

Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. The Blackstone team seeks to create positive economic impact and long-term value for investors, the companies Blackstone invests in, and the communities in which Blackstone works. Blackstone does this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems.  Its asset management businesses, with $554 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis.  Follow Blackstone on twitter @Blackstone. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com.

Contact
HH Global
Victoria Ergolavou
+44 207 526 3628
vergolavou@apcoworldwide.com

Blackstone
Ramesh Chhabra
+44 207 451 4053
Ramesh.Chhabra@Blackstone.com

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Lumat, Dominion Fiber Technologies and EuroFibers merge into FibrXL

ActiveCapital

The combination creates an unparalleled portfolio of high-tenacity yarns, renowned high-performance fibers, fiber processing capabilities and a global distribution network.

Leading fiber companies Lumat Group (Lumat), Dominion Fiber Technologies (DFT) and EuroFibers, with a collective experience in technical textiles and fiber enhancing services of over 60 years, have officially announced their merger. The new group will trade under the name FibrXL from January 2020. Marcel Alberts (previously EuroFibers) and Jeroen Drenth (previously Lumat) will continue as Managing Directors of the combined company. Significant synergy opportunities as well as global expansion of the high-performance fibers portfolio are the main reasons to combine the three companies into one. FibrXL is fully committed to becoming the global leader in the sales, marketing and distribution of high-performance fibers, industrial yarns and related converting services.

EuroFibers and Active Capital Company, the investor behind Lumat and DFT, saw the need for a “global one stop fiber shop” and for that reason jointly decided to create a single brand for the three companies, that are very complementary to each other. By combining the vast product knowledge and expertise of the individual companies, as well as their worldwide sales force, logistics services, warehousing facilities, and converting capabilities, a new group is created that can serve the market on a worldwide scale.

Global One Stop Fiber Shop FibrXL is the global one stop fiber shop for technical textiles, where a broad product portfolio, technical expertise, market and application knowledge, decades of experience and an extensive customer-, supplier-, and distribution network are brought together.

In short, FibrXL is the distributor, and innovation partner of the world’s largest producers of high-performance fibers, like Dyneema®, Twaron®, Technora®, Vectran® and Zylon® (FibrXL Performance) and leading distributor of industrial yarns like Polyester, Polyamide and Viscose (FibrXL Industrial). FibrXL works with regional sales managers and agents in both the EU and the USA to efficiently connect their suppliers with their end customers. Not only can FibrXL deliver the unprocessed fibers, but the company can also customize the products in color, size, weight, packaging, and delivering to the customers wishes; direct from stock.

“We are absolutely thrilled to introduce FibrXL to the market. Our global reputation, broad network and combined years of experience in high-performance and industrial fibers will provide customers with the best of both worlds.” Jeroen Drenth, current Managing Director Lumat – future Managing Director FibrXL.

“We are delighted to join forces with the Lumat and DFT team. Their exceptional network and textile experience together with the high-performance portfolio and product know-how of EuroFibers will represent the next generation of outstanding service to our industry” Marcel Alberts, current Managing Director EuroFibers – future Managing Director FibrXL.

Lumat Lumat is a leading provider of integrated marketing, sales and distribution services of industrial yarns, such as Polyester, Polyamide and viscose in Europe, Africa and the Americas. The company has over 30 years of experience and has an extensive network of branch offices and warehouses strategically placed over the three continents serving the industrial market.

Dominion Fiber Technologies (DFT) DFT has served major fiber producers, distributors, and end use customers for more than 20 years. With a highly experienced work force and management team, DFT offers unparalleled innovation, quality and service to their business partners. Building on their experience and worldwide network of suppliers enables them to provide the highest quality materials at competitive pricing.

EuroFibers EuroFibers is the leading distributor and processor of high-performance fibers such as Dyneema®, Twaron®, Technora®, Vectran® and Zylon®, with 10 years of experience. With their in-house developed unique Prisma® coating technology, yarns & strands can be functionalized tailored to the final customer needs for different applications. EuroFibers has a reliable reputation in the field of high-performance fibers and applies stringent quality controls to assure the high quality that is required in the high-end technical markets they serve.

Active Capital Company Active Capital Company invests in Dutch SMEs active in the manufacturing industry. Their business model is not only to provide financing, but also to bring in operational and financial expertise. Active Capital Company has a very active and proven approach to scaling up companies and achieving more and faster growth, innovation and sustainability. It is a reliable partner with a proven track record with various successful investments in the technical textile and maritime industry.

The website fibrxl.com will be launched in January 2020.

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Tikehau Capital acquires mixed-use building in the south-western Paris Region

Tikehau

Paris, 2 December 2019 – Tikehau Capital, the alternative asset management and investment group, announces the acquisition of the “Atlantic Park” business park in Clamart, in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, through its pan-European Real Estate Value-Added fund.
The “Atlantic Park” consists in 5 buildings and lays on a 15,580 sqm. land plot and provides a total lettable area of 14,770 sqm. The buildings are composed of mixed area between light industrial and office space. The whole asset includes 295 underground and outside parking spaces.

The building is well located in Clamart in the Hauts-de-Seine department and in direct vicinity of the Noveos Business Park area, the second largest business park in the Hauts-de-Seine, which welcomes 10,000 workers per day. The park hosts more than an hundred companies and world-renowned blue chips including Coca-Cola, Mondelez or Renault.
Tikehau Capital’s Real Estate Value-Added fund’s sixth acquisition in 2019

This transaction is Tikehau Capital’s Real Estate Value-Added fund’s sixth investment this year following a sale & lease back operation, the acquisition of a mixed-use portfolio in Brussels, two hotels located in central Paris, and two shopping centers in the United Kingdom, in Maidenhead and Orpington. The pan-European Real Estate Value-Added fund, which was launched in 2018, invests across all Real Estate asset classes.

Tikehau Capital’s Head of Real Estate Frédéric Jariel said: “This operation is in line with the company’s acceleration of its Real Estate business and the deployment of our Value-Added fund. The acquisition of the “Atlantic Park” business park confirms our strategy to focus on assets offering great potential to unlock in attractive locations, such as the city of Clamart which is undergoing massive urbanization projects”.
Catella Asset Management advised Tikehau Capital in this operation.

About Tikehau Capital:
Tikehau Capital is an asset management and investment group with €24.3bn of assets under management (as at
30 September 2019) and shareholders’ equity of €3.1 bn (as at 30 June 2019). The Group invests in various asset
classes (private debt, real estate, private equity and liquid strategies), including through its asset management
subsidiaries, on behalf of institutional and private investors. Controlled by its managers, alongside leading
institutional partners, Tikehau Capital employs more than 500 staff (as at 30 September 2019) in its Paris, London,
Amsterdam, Brussels, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, New York, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo offices.
Tikehau Capital is listed on the regulated market of Euronext Paris, Compartment A (ISIN code: FR0013230612;
Ticker: TKO.FP)

Press Contacts:
Tikehau Capital: Jawad Khatib – +33 1 40 06 11 27
Finsbury: Arnaud Salla & Charles O’Brien – +44 207 251 3801
press@tikehaucapital.com
Shareholders and Investors Contact:
Louis Igonet – +33 1 40 06 11 11
shareholders@tikehaucapital.com

DISCLAIMER:
This document are not an offer of securities for sale or investment advisory services. This document contains
general information only and is not intended to represent general or specific investment advice. Past performance
is not a reliable indicator of future results and targets are not guaranteed.
Certain statements and forecasted data are based on current expectations, current market and economic
conditions, estimates, projections, opinions and beliefs of Tikehau Capital and/or its affiliates. Due to various risks
and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking
statements or in any of the case studies or forecasts. All references to Tikehau Capital’s advisory activities in the
US or with respect to US persons relates to Tikehau Capital North America.

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Aritco acquires Invalifts Ltd and Ability Lifts Ltd

Latour logo

Investment AB Latour (publ) has, through its subsidiary Aritco Group, acquired Invalifts Ltd and Ability Lifts Ltd, based in Birmingham, UK. The companies distribute, install and service platform lifts in the UK and has an annual turnover of about GBP 5 m with 18 employees. The acquisition further strengthens Aritco’s position in the important UK market. Sellers are Mr. Derrick Beck and Mrs. Joy Beck.

“I am excited to welcome Invalifts and Ability Lifts to Aritco Group”, says Martin Idbrant, CEO of Aritco Group. ”Invalifts and Ability Lifts will together with our subsidiary Gartec Ltd, become a market leader in the UK for distribution, installation and service and maintenance of platform lifts.”

“It has been very important for me to find a new owner with strong values and long term perspective that can continue to develop the company in a positive direction, which I am convinced that we have found in Aritco and Latour”, says Mr. Derrick Beck, CEO of Invalifts and Ability Lifts.

Göteborg, 2 December, 2019

INVESTMENT AB LATOUR (PUBL)
Johan Hjertonsson
President and CEO

For further information, please contact:
Martin Idbrant, CEO Aritco group AB, +46 727 15 36 52
Björn Lenander, CEO Latour Industries, +46 708 19 47 36
Aritco Group 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 listing 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 65 billion. The wholly-owned industrial operations has an annual turnover of about SEK 13 billion.  

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