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BC Platforms Closes USD $15 million Series C Financing and Signs Partnership with IQVIA to extend Data Analytics in Genomics

Tesi

Investments in companies – 18.12.2019

BC Platforms, a world leader in genomic data management and analytics, today announced that it has closed a 15 million USD financing round alongside a new commercial partnership with IQVIA™ (NYSE: IQV). The round was led by IQVIA in conjunction with Debiopharm Innovation Fund and Tesi, a Finnish venture capital and private equity company. As part of the partnership, IQVIA and BC Platforms plan to launch new data driven technologies, integrating complex clinical and genomic data, to benefit transformational research.

IQVIA and BC Platforms have a shared vision to build a world leading analytics platform to enable the pharmaceutical industry’s advancement of precision medicine, improving the efficiency of drug development and patient outcomes. BC Platforms technology will enhance IQVIA’s E360™ Genomics – a scalable, privacy-preserving genotypic-phenotypic database solution – in supporting a federated data network of genomic related analytics while ensuring patient privacy.

BC Platforms will use the fundraising proceeds to expand its global network of clinical and genomics data, delivering novel automated solutions to pharmaceutical companies. To date, the company has established partnerships with approximately 100 enterprise level healthcare systems and biobanks globally in 25 countries and has recently established an entity in Singapore to spearhead its growing activities in Asia.

Tero Silvola, CEO at BC Platforms, said: “IQVIA and BC Platforms aim to combine genomic and clinical data assets around the world. IQVIA´s E360™ Genomics is built on patented techniques that allow us to build data access without compromising data privacy and security in any situation. Together with IQVIA´s deep healthcare expertise in managing and curating real-world data, we believe that we can accelerate precision medicine initiatives for patient benefits. This funding and commercial partnership will help accelerate our growth in serving healthcare and Life Science customers as well as connecting data partners in a global, interoperable federated network.’

Rob Kotchie, President, Real World Solution, IQVIA, said: “Drawing insights from integrated clinical-genomics data is a growing need of our life science and healthcare customers. Through the combination of BC Platforms technologies – which automates the workflow from genomic instruments to actionable insights – with IQVIAs leading real-world technologies platform we can enable customers to conduct novel research and discover new insights to advance healthcare.”

Tom Gibbs, Director at Debiopharm, commented: ‘We are dedicated supporters of innovation and believe that digital health and data accessibility are going to be key drivers of future healthcare research and development. We are delighted to be supporting BC Platforms, a leader in the field of genomic data management, in the next stage of their expansion and are excited by the potential of this collaboration with IQVIA.’

As part of its investment, IQVIA will have a designee on the BC Platforms’ Board of Directors.

Tesi’s Investment Manager Joni Karsikas comments: “The pharmaceutical industry and healthcare are operating in active partnership that is becoming ever closer. The pricing of pharmaceuticals, for instance, is more often being based on their impact. That requires genomic data to be combined with various clinical data registers. Patients will receive the most suitable and correctly-timed medications, and the system will charge for them according to the treatment results. We are very pleased that we can support BC Platforms, a pioneer in genomic data management, in the next stage of its expansion.”

Contact information:

BC Platforms, Tero Silvola, CEO, + 358 40 590 5733, tero.silvola@bcplatforms.com

IQVIA, Rob Kotchie, President Real World Solutions, + 44 20 3075 5705, Rob.Kotchie@iqvia.com

Tesi, Joni Karsikas, Investment Manager, +358 40 827 0395, joni.karsikas@tesi.fi 

 

About BC Platforms

BC Platforms is a world leader in providing powerful genomic data management and analysis solutions. Our high performing genomic data management platform enables flexible data integration, secure analysis and interpretation of molecular and clinical information. The company has launched and opened a global network of biobanks, known as BCRQUEST.COM, to provide genomic and clinical cohort data for pharmaceutical and medical research and development. BC Platforms’ vision is to build the world’s leading analytics platform for healthcare and industry by 2020, providing access to diverse genomic and clinical data and samples from more than 5 million subjects consolidated from a global network of biobanks.

Founded in 1997 from an MIT Whitehead project spinoff, the Company has a strong scientific heritage underpinned by over 20 years of working in close collaboration with a network of leading researchers, developers, manufacturers and vendors. BC Platforms has global operations with its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, research and development in Espoo, Finland, and sales and marketing in London, Boston, Vancouver and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.bcplatforms.com or follow us on Twitter @BCPlatforms.

About IQVIA

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) is a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and contract research services to the life sciences industry. Formed through the merger of IMS Health and Quintiles, IQVIA applies human data science — leveraging the analytic rigor and clarity of data science to the ever-expanding scope of human science — to enable companies to reimagine and develop new approaches to clinical development and commercialization, speed innovation and accelerate improvements in healthcare outcomes. Powered by the IQVIA CORE™, IQVIA delivers unique and actionable insights at the intersection of large-scale analytics, transformative technology and extensive domain expertise, as well as execution capabilities. With approximately 65,000 employees, IQVIA conducts operations in more than 100 countries.

IQVIA is a global leader in protecting individual patient privacy. The company uses a wide variety of privacy-enhancing technologies and safeguards to protect individual privacy while generating and analyzing information on a scale that helps healthcare stakeholders identify disease patterns and correlate with the precise treatment path and therapy needed for better outcomes. IQVIA’s insights and execution capabilities help biotech, medical device and pharmaceutical companies, medical researchers, government agencies, payers and other healthcare stakeholders tap into a deeper understanding of diseases, human behaviors and scientific advances, in an effort to advance their path toward cures. To learn more, visit www.iqvia.com.

About Tesi

Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a state-owned investment company that wants to raise Finland to the front ranks of renewing economic growth by investing in funds and directly in companies. We invest profitably and responsibly, together with co-investors, to create the world’s new success stories. Our investments under management total 1.2 billion euros. Ambition for ownership and success www.tesi.fi | www.dtg.tesi.fi | @TesiFII

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Verto Analytics and Unacast announce Partnership

OpenOcean

Verto Analytics Expands in Location and POI Data Enrichment with a Single-Source Behavioral Panel, Selects Unacast’s Turbine Location Engine

Verto Analytics launches new research solutions to help understand the overlay of online usage and offline foot traffic with a panel-based measurement solution – Unacast will process Verto’s 1st-party location data to improve Verto’s data enrichment.

New York City, NY, USA

December 16, 2019, 9am NYC time

New York, NY – Unacast, an award-winning and industry-leading location data and strategic insights company, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Verto Analytics, a premier market research and behavioral research platform. Verto Analytics will use Turbine, Unacast’s Platform as a Service technology, as part of its new solutions built to process and turn location data into valuable information around place visitation in the offline world. In this collaboration, the parties process Verto’s 1st party location data to provide contextualized insights on how people move around in the physical world – without being dependent on any 3rd party sources, and solely based on Verto’s proprietary deterministic market research opt-in panel data.

 

Figure – Verto’s behavioral panel gives information on US commercial visits in the physical world for the purposes of advanced market research and media measurement.

 

Through this partnership, Verto is positioned to gain a competitive edge with improved accuracy and scope of their location data. Verto’s new solutions in this area are the first panel-based and opt-in based framework that assesses how people move around in the offline world around the clock, while being able to connect that information to insights/metrics around online usage. Further, the insights that can be derived from footfall patterns will provide a more comprehensive view of human mobility and contextualization of mobile and PC device usage across apps, web sites, e-commerce, shopping journeys, streaming media usage etc. Through this process, Verto’s data will more accurately reflect the depth of insights on consumer behavior by tying online behavior of offline actions, which will further solidify them as the trusted provider for cross-device behavioral information.

“We have a lot of passive location data collected with high cadence that we wanted to leverage to understand consumer behavior at a deeper level, so we searched for a company that has the expertise and experience to interpret all of this information,” says Dr. Hannu Verkasalo, Verto Analytics’ Founder and CEO. “Unacast is a pioneer in the location data space, and after testing the accuracy and quality of their data and the transparent insights they provided, we knew we had found the right fit – a data partner who can keep up with Verto’s evolving business challenges, and be able to expand from high level home/work/on-the move classification to detailed point of interest data to power stronger insights and newer capabilities in custom research and consumer journey analytics .

 

Figure – Verto’s panel data makes it possible to understand consumer visitation in commercial places. Eating out is one of the top categories in Verto’s day-to-day behavioral measurement

Turbine is Unacast’s platform for advanced data filtering and clustering. It enables clients to understand device activity and context for mobility patterns. This data is coupled with other signals to provide a transparent and complete picture of real world behavior while maintaining user privacy.

“We see a lot of companies who sit on petabytes of 1st party location, GPS, WiFi and cell tower data, but are not doing anything meaningful with it – that’s a lost opportunity to extract potential value and insights,” says Thomas Walle, CEO and Co-Founder at Unacast. “We built Turbine to allow companies to leverage the Unacast technology to provide them with location data insights. We are pleased to announce that one of the best known panel-based research companies, Verto Analytics, has started using our product as part of their research work!”

 

About Verto Analytics

Verto Analytics is a media measurement company that offers a holistic view of  consumers—their behavior, along with demographics, lifestyles, attitudes, and interests. Verto owns and operates single-source, passively metered panels in different countries; this gives us the power to measure behavioral changes over time across all media, second by second. Brands, publishers, and researchers can use Verto’s services to benchmark against competitors and the market, fill in the gaps in the consumer journey, and identify ways to increase engagement and loyalty. Verto’s behavioral research platform equips market researchers with deep, passive meter data solutions and the application of triggered surveys on top of the panel. Verto has been awarded in many categories over the years, in market research, including the Winner of Technology Breakthrough Award at Media Excellence Awards

 

About the Real World Graph®

The Real World Graph® is an interconnected system of data sets that understands human mobility in the physical world using a combination of map data, location data, and strategic insights. The Real World Graph® leverages a quality data set with the highest privacy standards and power multiple real estate developers, retailers, city planners and many other companies to build better products and make better decisions.

 

About Unacast

Unacast is an award-winning human mobility data company that harnesses anonymous device location data, map data, and strategic intelligence to tackle business challenges for the retail, real estate, tourism, transportation, and marketing industries. With its flagship product “The Real World Graph®”, it provides innovative solutions and insights to operational challenges for companies of any size or shape. Unacast was founded in 2014 with offices in New York and Oslo, Norway. In 2019, Unacast was awarded the #1 small company to work in NYC for by Built In NYC and received Street Fights’ Most Innovative Use of Geospatial Technology award.

 

All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

 

For more information:

https://www.vertoanalytics.com

Contact:

Hannu Verkasalo

+1 (347) 223 1856

hannu.verkasalo(at)vertoanalytics(dot)com

https://www.unacast.com

Contact:

John Bobis

+1 (646) 300 0708

john.bobis(at)Unacast(dot)com

This news was first published on Verto´s news page: https://vertoanalytics.com/verto-analytics-expands-in-location-and-poi-data-enrichment-with-a-single-source-behavioral-panel-selects-unacasts-turbine-location-engine/

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Innovestor invests in Luxmet – Technology Making Steel Production More Environmental

Innovestor

Luxmet completed their 0,8M€ oversubscribed round led by Innovestor: Advanced high temperature process monitoring and control systems for steel and metal industries.

Heavy industry plays its own significant climate change role. The media often highlights for example air travel and the meat industry as mainly responsible for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. But, as a matter of fact, heavy industry is a bigger source of CO2 emissions than air travel and all other transport modes combined.

Luxmet is on an important mission in cutting down CO2 emissions. Its ArcSpec solution is being applied in heavy industry, more specifically in steel production. Steel is now and will continue in the future to be an important part of sustainable development. Without steel, a low-carbon future is not possible: wind power and other renewable energy forms demand steel.

 

Electric arc furnace enables sustainably produced steel

Steel is produced in two alternative ways: the traditional model is to mine ore and refine it into steel in a blast furnace. Another more environmentally friendly method, is to utilize recycled steel: used metal is melted with electricity in a so-called electric arc furnace. This electric arc method generates merely a third of the CO2 emissions compared with blast furnace technology.

Luxmet’s ArcSpec technology makes electric arc furnaces even more environmentally friendly. According to Luxmet’s CEO Mikko Jokinen:

“Our solution analyzes all essential activities happening inside the furnace and therefore enables the optimization of the whole production process. Temperature’s inside the furnace can reach even 2000 degrees Celsius, so we attach our light-measuring sensors on top of the furnace’s roof. From there the observations are transferred to a nearby computer where the data is analyzed in real time.”

Founded in 2014, Luxmet’s technology is based on research from Oulu University. Jokinen joined the team when the research results were strong enough to start a company. Since then the company has expanded its operations: paying customers can at the moment be found in Finland, Norway, Spain, and Italy.

 

Going global

At the moment internationalization is at the core of Luxmet’s agenda. To enable it, Innovestor recently lead and organized Luxmet’s funding round. The target was to raise 0,8 million euros and the round was actually oversubscribed.

“We were supposed to have it open for a month but we reached the target in just two weeks”, Jokinen explained, clearly satisfied and excited about the co-operation with Innovestor.

The European Union requires significant CO2 emission reductions for heavy industry in the upcoming decades. This calls for innovations like ArcSpec.

At the moment Luxmet has a clear competitive advantage compared to other players in the domain. Their competitors either cannot deliver real time analyses or they concentrate on just one sub-process. ArcSpec is patented extensively which further strengthens Luxmet’s head start.

“ArcSpec is a result of many trials and errors. We realized early on that an innovation like this cannot be developed in the researcher’s lab. Instead, you need to try things out in actual factories. That is the only way to gather valuable real-life experience. Now our product is ripe and we are ready to go full steam global”, Jokinen sums up.

 

About Luxmet 

Luxmet has developed a unique solution for real-time measurement of steel production processes. The patented technology developed by the company is completely unique and enables for the first time reliable, real-time monitoring of the steel manufacturing process. The technology has been shown to improve processes by up to 8%. For steel producers, this means not only millions of euros in annual savings, but also more ecological production.

 

About Innovestor

Innovestor is an early-stage venture capital investor, who actively offers direct co-investment syndication opportunities and builds growth programs.  We manage the largest private venture backed portfolio in the Nordics and have to date invested around 140M€ together with our +500 co-investors. Around +1500 growth companies apply to our programs per year to whom we organize and facilitate +200 events with the support of +200 partners.

 

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Hellman & Friedman to Acquire AutoScout24

Hellman & Friedman

MUNICH, Germany

AutoScout24, the leading European digital car marketplace, today announced that affiliates of Hellman & Friedman LLC (“H&F”) have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the company from Scout24.

With over 10 million monthly users, 2.5 million cars listed and 45,000 car dealer customers, AutoScout24 is the leading online car classifieds platform in Europe. The company is based in Munich and has a presence in 18 countries.

Blake Kleinman, Partner of Hellman & Friedman said: “We have known AutoScout24 for many years. We are excited to partner with the AutoScout24 team to build upon the historical successes that we achieved together. We are strong believers in AutoScout24’s consumer-centric approach; we look forward to working with its dealer customers to offer them value-added marketing solutions as they continue to digitalise their business models. This transaction will help AutoScout24 focus on the growth opportunities ahead.”

Tobias Hartmann, CEO of Scout24 added: “This transaction is an important milestone for Scout24. Separating ImmoScout24 and AutoScout24 will help each business focus on their respective growth opportunities and accelerate shareholder value creation.”

“We are delighted to resume our partnership with AutoScout24. We sincerely thank Hans-Holger Albrecht and the Supervisory Board as well as Tobias Hartmann and the entire Scout24 Management Board for the opportunity to support the business once more. This transaction is an outstanding outcome for Scout24, its shareholders as well as for AutoScout24” added Patrick Healy, CEO of Hellman & Friedman.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2020. J.P. Morgan acted as sole financial advisor, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as legal counsel to H&F for this transaction.

About Hellman & Friedman LLC
Hellman & Friedman is a leading private equity investment firm with offices in San Francisco, New York, and London. Since its founding in 1984, H&F has raised over $50 billion of committed capital. The firm focuses on investing in outstanding business franchises and serving as a value-added partner to management in select industries including financial services, business & information services, software, healthcare, internet & media, retail & consumer, and industrials & energy. For more information, please visit www.hf.com.

About Scout24
AutoScout24 is the largest pan-European online car marketplace. The marketplace allows users to easily find, buy and finance the right car. With more than 36 million downloads, AutoScout24’s app was awarded the title of Germany’s best car app*. The Company generated €235m in 2018 and has delivered consistent double-digit revenue growth and margin expansion throughout the last decade. The company is headquartered in Munich and operates in 18 markets. In addition to the AutoScout24 car classifieds websites, the transaction perimeter includes Finanzcheck, a leading German online brokerage business.

*by Focus Money

For further information, please contact:
Felix Schönauer
+49 69 92 18 74-59

 

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Gryphon Investors Announces the Close of Gryphon Mezzanine Partners II, L.P. at $300 Million in Commitments

Gryphon Investors

Firm’s Second Junior Debt Fund Closes At Its Cap

San Francisco, CA – December 17, 2019 —

Gryphon Investors (“Gryphon”), a San Francisco-based private equity firm, today announced that it held a final closing of Gryphon Mezzanine Partners II, L.P. (“the Fund”) at its cap, achieving $300 million of aggregate commitments. The Fund was oversubscribed and closed above its $225 million target with commitments from new and existing LPs.

This is Gryphon’s second junior debt fund. The firm’s first junior debt fund, Gryphon Mezzanine Partners, L.P., closed in August 2017 at its cap of $105 million. Gryphon has also raised six control private equity funds since 1997.

The Fund will participate on a minority basis in the junior debt financings of Gryphon portfolio companies, in all cases led by leading independent third-party lenders. The Fund will be managed by existing Gryphon professionals.

Gryphon founder and CEO David Andrews commented, “Our mezzanine strategy was initiated to satisfy the demand of a number of the firm’s limited partners seeking attractive risk adjusted yields in the junior debt securities of Gryphon portfolio companies. We viewed this as an opportunity to add a complementary strategy to our primary strategy of control equity investing. We are pleased that the Fund has been well-received, both by existing investors and investors not previously invested in Gryphon funds. As always, we very much appreciate their enthusiastic support.”

For the past 25 consecutive quarters, Gryphon has placed on Preqin’s “Consistent Performers” quarterly North American buyout rankings for its private equity investing strategy. Gryphon’s most recent private equity buyout fund, Gryphon Partners V, L.P., which closed in April 2019 with $2.1 billion in commitments, now includes eight portfolio company investments and is approximately 80% committed with the December close of Heartland Veterinary Partners.

About Gryphon Investors
Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors (www.gryphoninvestors.com) is a leading private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management. The firm has managed over $5.0 billion of equity investments and capital since 1997. Gryphon targets making equity investments of $100 million to $300 million in portfolio companies with sales ranging from approximately $100 million to $500 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form strong partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon’s capital, specialized professional resources, and operational expertise.

Contacts

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REM – Optimization agreement concluded with NouvLR

Cdpq

  • Mont-Royal tunnel closing postponed
  • No change to REM global schedule
CDPQ Infra, a subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, announced today the conclusion of a work optimization agreement with NouvLR, the consortium building the REM. This agreement reinforces the delivery schedule for the overall project while adjusting certain aspects of the work, which continues to move forward at a sustained pace.Accordingly, the closing of the Mont-Royal tunnel will be postponed until March 30, 2020, so that the consortium can improve its preparation for the work to be done on this part of the project. This postponement will not impact the total time the tunnel will be closed or the overall timing for commissioning thanks to an acceleration of work on all branches. It will also remove one winter season from the period during which alternative public transportation measures will be implemented.

In addition, this agreement is an active response to challenges identified during the first 18 months of work, including:

  • Timely access to sites and infrastructure necessary to deliver the project across Greater Montréal, where there are multiple work sites in operation simultaneously.
  • An increase in the pace of all design work carried out by the consortium for the project to be delivered within the planned global schedule.
  • The availability of the labour necessary to deliver the REM in a stressed job market. Over the course of the project, 34,000 positions will be required to execute the REM work.

The work optimization and response to challenges addressed by the agreement result in a 3.6%, or $230 million, adjustment to the REM budget. The project’s total construction cost is now $6.5 billion and maintains returns within the 8-9% range.

Given the priority placed on respecting the overall schedule, execution milestones have also been defined as performance conditions in the agreement concluded with NouvLR, particularly with regard to the Mont-Royal tunnel. The payment of portions of the amounts announced today will thus be conditional to these milestones being achieved. The new agreement therefore follows the principles of rigour and the best value for money applied by CDPQ Infra from the very start of the REM project.

Fare reduction measures

To provide riders of the Deux-Montagnes line with more predictability in the context of the postponement of the Mont-Royal tunnel closing, CDPQ Infra will implement fare reduction measures at the beginning of 2020. Specifically, CDPQ Infra will provide riders with a free monthly fare for January and up to 30% off the cost of monthly TRAIN and TRAM fares from January to March. The total cost for these two measures will be fully incurred by CDPQ Infra.

About CDPQ Infra

CDPQ Infra is a wholly owned subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a long-term institutional investor with CAD326.7 billion in net assets as of June 2019. CDPQ Infra is responsible for the development, funding and operation of large-scale infrastructure projects, including the Réseau express métropolitain (REM). The REM is a new, 67-km integrated public transit network that will link downtown Montréal, the South Shore, the West Island (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), the North Shore (Deux-Montagnes) and the airport in a unified, fully automated LRT system.

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  • Emmanuelle Rouillard-Moreau
    Advisor, Media Relations
    CDPQ Infra
    514 847-2896
    media@cdpqinfra.com

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KDC/ONE to Merge with HCT Group

Cdpq

Québec, Private Equity Longueuil, Québec and Los Angeles,
share

 
Creates a Global Leader in Manufacturing and Packaging Solutions for the Beauty and Personal Care Industry

Knowlton Development Corporation (“KDC/ONE”), a leading value-added partner to beauty, health and personal care brands, and HCT Group (“HCT”), an innovative, global leader delivering full-service solutions in the design, engineering, manufacturing, formulation, filling and logistics of cosmetics products, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to create a comprehensive global end-to-end solutions provider for the beauty and personal care industry.

As an innovative, global one-stop solution for customers ranging from Fortune 500 companies to indie, emerging and prestige brands, the two companies will partner to provide customers with an expanded suite of manufacturing and packaging solutions. Following the close of the transaction, Nicholas Whitley, President and CEO of KDC/ONE, and Tim Thorpe, President and CEO of HCT, will continue as CEOs of each business.

Established in 2002, KDC/ONE has grown organically and through acquisitions to become a leading custom formulator and manufacturer serving the prestige beauty, personal care and household sectors. With 16 state-of-the art manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe, KDC/ONE offers high-touch innovation, operational excellence and speed to market to well-known and emerging brands. In December 2018, Cornell Capital, together with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“CDPQ”), Investissement Québec (“IQ”) and HarbourVest Partners, LLC (“HarbourVest”), acquired KDC/ONE with a focus on driving international growth and enhancing the company’s high-quality manufacturing capabilities. Since then, KDC/ONE has made three acquisitions to scale the platform, acquire new technologies and expand globally.

Founded by Chris Thorpe, along with his wife Clare and eldest son James in 1992, HCT has grown organically to become a global leader providing full-service, turnkey solutions across concept development and design, manufacturing, fill and assembly, and logistics and operations. With headquarters in Santa Monica and offices in New York, New Jersey, London, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Shanghai, HCT partners with more than 400 clients comprising some of the most iconic names and most successful beauty brands across indie, prestige and mass segments.

“This transformative transaction will enhance how we serve beauty and personal care brands around the world,” said Nicholas Whitley. “Our vertically integrated platform will offer the industry a true one-stop solution. With the support of our partners at Cornell Capital, as well as CDPQ, IQ and HarbourVest, we have been able to build our reputation as a top-tier innovator for an expanded base of customers. HCT’s cutting-edge designs, engineering, manufacturing and global reach will enable us to further elevate our product and service offerings to better serve and anticipate the evolving needs of our valued customers.”

“KDC/ONE and HCT have highly complementary business models and together will offer a unique solution to our world-class client base,” said Tim Thorpe. “The transaction will enable us to leverage adjacent customer relationships, geographic footprints and products. On behalf of my family and the entire company, I’m proud of all that we have accomplished and look forward to exploring synergies across both businesses for the benefit of customers and employees.”

“Together, these businesses will provide greater innovation and growth opportunities in one of the most attractive subsectors in the CPG space,” said Justine Cheng, Chair of the KDC/ONE Board of Directors and Partner at Cornell Capital. “KDC/ONE and HCT have best-in-class management teams and we expect that KDC/ONE’s manufacturing capabilities with HCT’s packaging design expertise will enable the new platform to better serve its customers globally. In addition, the transaction will improve the overall financial profile of the companies through further diversification and increased scale.”

Charles Émond, Executive Vice-President, Québec, Private Equity and Strategic Planning, at CDPQ added, “As a longstanding partner of KDC/ONE, we are pleased to support this Quebec-based company as it continues to grow into a global leader in the industry. This transaction strongly positions KDC/ONE as it executes on its acquisition and diversification strategy.”

Financing for the transaction will include significant equity reinvestment from Cornell Capital, as well as from the other existing financial sponsors and HCT management. UBS Securities LLC and Jefferies LLC are acting as joint lead arrangers for the transaction, with UBS as the left lead arranger. Specific financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in early 2020 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

Jefferies Group LLC is acting as financial advisor to KDC/ONE and Cornell Capital, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is acting as legal advisor. Houlihan Lokey is acting as financial advisor to HCT, and Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP is acting as legal advisor.

About KDC/ONE

KDC/ONE is the largest North American custom innovator, formulator and manufacturer serving the prestige beauty, personal care and household sectors. Established in 2002, KDC/ONE is headquartered in Longueuil, Québec and employs over 5,000 employees across 16 state-of-the-art facilities throughout North America, the UK, France and the Czech Republic. KDC/ONE also operates two state-of-the-art innovation and R&D centers, one in Saddle Brook, New Jersey and one in Irvine, California. The business delivers high-touch innovation, operational excellence and speed to market to well-known and indie, emerging and prestige brands. Over the past four years, KDC/ONE has experienced rapid growth through the successful completion of eight notable acquisitions, most recently in California and Europe with the acquisitions of Benchmark Cosmetics Laboratories, of the ALKOS Group and of the manufacturing operations of Swallowfield plc. For more information, visit www.kdc-one.com.

About HCT Group

For over 25 years, HCT Group has remained a global leader in cosmetic manufacturing — and partners with many of the most successful beauty brands to create the industry’s most iconic products. Founded by Chris Thorpe, along with his wife Clare and eldest son James in 1992, HCT provides full-service, turnkey solutions across concept development and design, manufacturing, fill and assembly, and logistics and operations. With headquarters in Santa Monica and offices in New York, New Jersey, London, Paris, Hong Kong, South Korea and Shanghai, HCT partners with more than 400 clients comprising some of the most iconic names and most successful beauty brands across indie, prestige and mass segments. For more information, visit www.hctgroup.com.

About Cornell Capital

Cornell Capital LLC is a private investment firm that takes a value-driven approach to investing. Partnering with strong and entrepreneurial management teams, the firm seeks opportunities in market- leading businesses across the consumer, financial and industrial/business services sectors. Founder and Senior Partner Henry Cornell, who served as the Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division prior to founding Cornell Capital in 2013, leads a highly seasoned senior leadership team with decades of shared investing experience. The firm currently manages over $3.1 billion of assets and has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, visit www.cornellcapllc.com.

About CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at June 30, 2019, it held CAD 326.7 billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

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Bassem Saleh appointed new CEO of TFS

Ratos

Bassem Saleh has been appointed new CEO of TFS. Bassem is Chief Medical Officer at TFS and Executive Vice President of Clinical Development Services, the largest Business Area at TFS. He will assume his role as CEO today, 17 December. János Filakovský is stepping down from his position as CEO and leaving the company.

Bassem Saleh has solid executive leadership skills and long industry experience from both CROs (Contract Research Organisations) and Biopharma including Premiere Research, ICON, PRAHS and Chugai (Roche group). Most recently Bassem has been heading up TFS largest Business Area Clinical Development Services (CDS) with strong results and is an appreciated leader in the company. Bassem is a medical doctor specialized in Pharmaceutical Medicine and Oncology.

“Bassem has impressed the board of TFS with the results he has delivered in the business. He is an appreciated leader at TFS and with his background from the industry we believe he is an ideal person to further develop TFS as CEO. We thank János for his contributions to TFS,” says Jonas Wiström, CEO of Ratos and Business Area President Industry.

Ratos became an owner of TFS in 2015. On behalf of its customers, the company conduct clinical trials in more than 40 countries worldwide and works with a broad international customer base of leading research companies. Revenues for the rolling 12 months at 30 September 2019 amounted to 86.0 MEUR and EBITA was 1.8 MEUR.

 

For further information, please contact:
Jonas Wiström, President and CEO, Ratos, +46 8 700 17 00
Per Magnusson, Chairman TFS and Director Operations, Ratos, +46 70 676 64 26
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR and Press, Ratos, +46 70 868 40 50

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Ampersand Capital Partners Acquires Peptides International And Merges Company With New England Peptide

WELLESLEY, Mass., GARDNER, Mass. and LOUISVILLE, Ky., Dec. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Ampersand Capital Partners announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Peptides International and merged it with existing portfolio company New England Peptide. This merger brings together two leading providers of peptide synthesis services as well as a broad catalog of unique peptide products to assist in drug discovery and diagnostic product development endeavors around the world.

Based in Louisville and founded in 1983, Peptides International is a global leader in catalog and custom peptide production, providing high-quality synthesis services to an extensive range of pharmaceutical, biotech, and other life science customers. Peptides International is specialized in addressing the most complex peptide projects and offers customers full chemical optimization and scale-up services.

“New England Peptide is excited to announce that in our 20th year as a custom peptide synthesis company, we have merged with Peptides International,” said Sam Massoni, CEO of New England Peptide. “This transaction adds meaningful scale, capabilities, customer relationships, and a similarly strong market reputation to what we have built at New England Peptide.”

Jackie Spatola, current CEO of Peptides International added: “Ampersand Capital’s acquisition of PI enables high-quality custom peptide market development, which fortifies our 35-year-old company’s world leader strategy and position. We look forward to offering even better services to our worldwide customer base through working with New England Peptide.”

José de Chastonay, Chairman of the Board added: “Whereas New England Peptide has a leading position in manufacturing thousands of small-scale peptides and antibody related services, Peptides International is best known for making larger-scale quantities of high-quality custom peptides and for maintaining a unique catalog of off-the-shelf products. The combination of the two companies creates a comprehensive, “one-stop-shop” for non-GMP peptides.”

“Ampersand’s goal with our original investment in New England Peptide earlier this year was to build a world-class leader in peptide synthesis services, and this transaction furthers that goal,” stated Eric Lev, Partner at Ampersand. “Ampersand looks forward to working with the management team in the next phase of organic and inorganic growth as the company strives to provide industry-leading peptide solutions to the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and academic markets.”

About New England Peptide

Established in 1998, New England Peptide designs and manufactures peptide and antibody solutions for drug, vaccine and diagnostic development organizations worldwide. Headquartered in Gardner, MA, the company specializes in custom peptide synthesis, polyclonal antibody production, stable-labeled bioanalytical peptide standards, and catalog peptide products. New England Peptide operates in a 25,000 square foot facility with significant laboratory space to service all customer and regulatory requirements. Additional information about New England Peptide is available at www.newenglandpeptide.com.

About Peptides International

Peptides International, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, specializes in manufacturing and distributing high purity, biologically active peptides, enzyme substrates and inhibitors, innovative polymers and related products, and custom peptide synthesis services to life sciences and research institutions throughout the world. Founded in 1983, the company operates out of a 12,000 square foot facility certified to ISO 9001:2015. Additional information about Peptides International is available at www.pepnet.com.

About Ampersand Capital Partners

Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston, MA and Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ampersand leverages a unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of its core healthcare sectors, including Avista Pharma Solutions, Brammer Bio, Confluent Medical, Genewiz, Genoptix, Talecris Biotherapeutics, and Viracor-IBT Laboratories. Additional information about Ampersand is available at ampersandcapital.com.

Related Links
http://ampersandcapital.com

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Management to acquire Eleda Group

Triton

Stockholm (Sweden), 16 December 2019 – Funds advised by Triton (Triton) have signed an agreement to sell Eleda Infra Services Group (Eleda) to a consortium made up by the group’s management team. Terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Eleda is an infrastructure services group formed by Triton through the consolidation of the regional companies Akeab, KEWAB, Mark & Energibyggarna and Salboheds Bygg & Anläggningstjänster focusing on civil engineering, excavation and other infrastructure services. Headquartered in Stockholm, the group has around 800 employees and achieved pro forma sales of around SEK 3.0 billion at the end of September 2019.

“We would like to thank the management team, the employees and all other stakeholders for their contributions to the successful development of Eleda during Triton’s ownership. We view this as an appropriate time for management to take over as full owners and to continue developing the company further” says Peder Prahl”, Director of the General Partner to the Triton funds.

“Through the creation of Eleda, our Nordic Triton Smaller Mid-Cap (TSM) team and the company’s board have in a joint effort with management succeeded in transforming four companies leading in their respective regional geographies into a national platform with a corporate culture marked by a strong entrepreneurial spirit and coherent processes. We are happy that the management team, who have remained significant shareholders throughout TSM’s ownership, are ready to continue this successful journey.” says Andi Klein, Investment Advisory Professional and responsible for the Triton Smaller Mid-Cap Fund.

”During Triton’s ownership period, Eleda has had the opportunity to grow into one of the leading companies of our market. We today have a well-functioning platform which offers high-quality infrastructure services. With financing and acquiring the company ourselves, we now look forward to a continued growth together with our employees”, says Johan Halvardsson and Peter Condrup, representatives of the management consortium.

About Eleda Group

Eleda Group is an expansive group focusing on civil engineering, contract and other infrastructure services. The Group operates through regional companies across southern and western Sweden. These companies all have similar business models and operational focus and currently include Akeab, KEWAB, Mark & Energibyggarna and Salboheds Bygg & Anläggninstjänster. Eleda Group’s corporate culture is marked by a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and the companies work independently in complementary geographical areas with the goal of being a leading player in their respective regional markets. Eleda Group, which has its headquarters in Stockholm, has around 800 employees and sales of approximately SEK 3.0 billion in the 12 months to September 2019. Eleda Group is owned by Triton and a broad group of key individuals in the Group.

For further information: https://www.eleda.se/en

About Triton

Since its establishment in 1997, Triton has sponsored nine funds, focusing on businesses in the industrial, business services, consumer and health sectors. The Triton funds invest in and support the positive development of medium-sized businesses headquartered in Europe.

Triton seeks to contribute to the building of better businesses for the longer term. Triton and its executives wish to be agents of positive change towards sustainable operational improvements and growth.

The 42 companies currently in Triton’s portfolio have combined sales of around €16,7 billion and around 80,800 employees.

Press Contacts

Triton
Fredrik Hazén
Phone: +46 709 483 810

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