Category Archives: News

Earlier success fuels oversubscription: Lifeline Ventures raises EUR 130 million for a new fund

Tesi

Investments in funds – 15.11.2019

Venture capital firm Lifeline Ventures has raised EUR 130 million for a new fund, an amount that sets a new record for fundraising in Finland. The company invests in Finnish technology companies in all their development stages: from first-round investments in the angel or seed stage through to large-scale, follow-on investments in later-stage financing rounds. Lifeline Ventures also invests in funds; including insurance funds Ilmarinen, Varma and Elo, state-owned investment company Tesi and FoF Growth III fund, Nordea Life Assurance and Taaleri Kasvurahastot.

The Lifeline Ventures IV fund will invest in some 40 companies over the next five years. An angel or seed investment from the fund will range from EUR 200,000 to EUR 2 million in size. Lifeline is well-known for its connection with early-stage technology and software companies. The company’s most successful earlier investments include those in Supercell, Applifier and Nonstop Games, while the company’s current investments include those in Wolt, Oura, Sulapac and ICEYE. Recently, Lifeline has focused more on science-based companies operating in sectors such as optics, virtual reality and materials technology.

“In 2012, in its first year of operation, our fund proved to be exceptionally successful. In a global comparison of our peers for that year, we easily ranked in the top quartile in terms of gains,” says Lifeline’s partner Samuli Leppänen.

Last year Finnish startups raised a record EUR 480 million in total. Lifeline estimates that its portfolio companies account for some 30% of this capital.

A number of investments in Finland’s venture capital market are starting to mature and to launch financing rounds that are tens of millions of euros in size. Financing rounds of this size mostly require international investors, and almost all such rounds consist of numerous investors.

“We want to be the first investor in a startup. Our most successful investments have mainly been those in which we were an angel investor. This new, much larger, fund allows us to extend our horizon in portfolio companies’ development. The landscape has changed drastically: the level of startups has risen sharply, and the best of early-stage companies are also able to recruit the most skilled talent,” points out Timo Ahopelto, well-known co-founder of Lifeline.

“It’s great to see a fund raised in Finland of a size that enables investing in the best crop of early-stage portfolio companies through their later-stage financing rounds also. The fund is managed by an experienced player with strong international networks. That, in itself, attracts international investors to Finnish companies, especially in larger-scale financing rounds,” says Tesi’s Investment Director Riitta Jääskeläinen.

For further information:

Lifeline Ventures

Timo Ahopelto, timo@lifelineventures.com

Samuli Leppänen, samuli@lifelineventures.com

Team photo: Kai Backman, Timo Ahopelto, Samuli Leppänen, Petteri Koponen and Juha Lindfors.

Lifeline Ventures is a Finland-based, early-stage venture capital firm that invests widely in sectors ranging from biotech to mobile gaming. Lifeline Ventures founded is first fund in 2012. The company’s head office is located in Helsinki, Finland.  So far, Lifeline Ventures has invested in over 70 companies in Finland, including Aiven, Oura, Varjo, Sulapac, Dispelix, Smartly.io, Swappie, Altum Technologies, Solar Foods, Iceye and Wolt. www.lifelineventures.com

Categories: News

Tags:

Partners Group to sell stake in Action, Europe’s leading non-food discount retailer, to Hellman & Friedman

Partners Group

 

Baar-Zug, Switzerland; 25 November 2019

Partners Group to exit Covage, a leading open-access fiber infrastructure platform in France

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has, on behalf of its clients, entered into exclusive negotiations with a consortium led by Altice, and including Allianz Capital Partners, AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets, acting on behalf of its clients, and OMERS Infrastructure, to sell its 50% stake in Covage (“Covage” or “the Company”). The transaction gives Covage an equity value of EUR 1 billion.

Covage is a leading open-access fiber infrastructure platform with a national footprint across low-, medium-, and high-density areas in France. The Company operates 45 local networks, complemented by a fully-owned national fiber backbone of 9,000 km. Covage’s awarded perimeter includes 2.4 million homes and 21,000 existing connected businesses. Its connections are built and operated under the support of France’s national rural broadband access program, a key social ESG initiative to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban regions.

The sale of Partners Group’s 50% stake in Covage would be the final divestment from Partners Group’s acquisition of Axia NetMedia Corporation, on behalf of its clients, in a public-to-private transaction that resulted in its delisting from the Toronto stock exchange in July 2016. It follows the divestment of the Canadian operations of Axia NetMedia, which were sold to BCE Inc (Bell Canada) in 2018. The sale of Covage is subject to customary regulatory clearances and is expected to take place during the first half of 2020.

Esther Peiner, Managing Director, Private Infrastructure Europe, Partners Group, comments: “We are very proud of our contribution to the strong growth Covage has experienced over our holding period. Consistent with our platform expansion strategy, significant capital investments from the shareholders have enabled Covage to deliver a material increase in high bandwidth connectivity nationwide and establish itself as a leading provider in the French communication infrastructure market. Partners Group, through the Covage board, worked with CEO Pascal Rialland and his team to successfully institutionalize the fiber roll-out and commercialization framework of the Company, thus demonstrating the considerable value that can be added through entrepreneurial governance.”

Categories: News

Tags:

ONCAP Partners with Enertech; Tower Arch Capital Completes Successful Investment

Onex

Toronto, Ontario, Salt Lake City, Utah and New Braunfels, Texas, November 14, 2019 –ONCAP announced today it has partnered with the management team of Enertech Holdings LLC (“Enertech”) to acquire the company from Tower Arch Capital LLC (“Tower Arch Capital”).

Enertech is a leading provider of wireless infrastructure services to telecommunications carriers and tower owners throughout the Southern, Central and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States. The company goes to market under three regional brands: (i) Enertech Resources,(ii) EasTex Tower, and (iii) Legacy Telecom, all of which provide network densification, structural modifications, technology upgrades, and repairs and maintenance services. Headquartered in New Braunfels, Texas, Enertech employs more than 470 people across 14 facilities located throughout the United States.

“Enertech is a market leader due to a relentless focus on exceptional customer service, employee safety and technical expertise,” said Edmund Kim, a Managing Director with ONCAP. “We arethrilled to partner with Eric Chase and the Enertech management team to continue to grow the business through acquisitions and organic growth.”

“Right from the onset of this process, the ONCAP team brought speed, incredible know-how and a keen eye for the details. We couldn’t imagine a better fit for both Enertech and the wireless industry,” remarked Eric Chase, Chief Executive Officer of Enertech. “We’ve been truly blessed to work with Dave Parkin, Ryan Stratton and the entire Tower Arch Capital family over the years. Their support and partnership has been a key factor in enabling Enertech to reach this next step in our journey.”“Enertech has been an excellent partner. Dave Parkin and I have enjoyed working with Eric Chase, Justin Jones, Jim Miller and Jim Tracy, while delivering exceptional returns to our investors,” said Ryan Stratton, a Partner at Tower Arch Capital. “The company is well-positioned for continued success and we believe ONCAP will be a great partner for Enertech.” The investment was made by ONCAP IV, Onex Corporation’s (TSX: ONEX) $1.1 billion fund. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

About ONCAP

ONCAP is the mid-market private equity platform of Onex. In partnership with operating company management teams, ONCAP invests in and builds value in North American headquartered small and medium-sized businesses that are market leaders and possess meaningful growth potential. For more information on ONCAP, visit www.oncap.com. Founded in 1984, Onex invests and manages capital on behalf of its shareholders, institutional investors and high net worth clients from around the world. Onex’ platforms include: Onex Partners, private equity funds focused on larger opportunities in North America and Europe; ONCAP, private equity funds focused on middle market and smaller opportunities in North America; Onex Credit, which manages primarily non-investment grade debt through collateralized loan obligations, private debt and other credit strategies; and Gluskin Sheff’s actively managed public equity and public credit funds. In total Onex has approximately $38 billion of assets under management, of which approximately $7.0 billion is its own shareholder capital. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and London, Onex and its experienced management teams are collectively the largest investors across Onex’ platforms. Onex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX.

For more information on Onex, visit www.onex.com.

About Enertech

Enertech Holdings’ companies provide turnkey services in the wireless infrastructure services space, including macro towers, small cell, DAS, microwave, structural engineering, utility towers, technology upgrades, civil services, tower modifications, generator services, and project management. The company is headquartered in New Braunfels, Texas.

For more information about Enertech, please visit https://enertechholdings.com.

About Tower Arch Capital

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, Tower Arch Capital is a lower-middle market private equity fund. Tower Arch focuses on partnering with and growing high-quality family and entrepreneur-owned companies to deliver long-term value for their management teams and investors. Tower Arch brings operational, consulting, and financial expertise to small companies to give them the tools they need to achieve their full potential. Target investments include control positions in entrepreneur and family-owned businesses with revenue between $20 million and $150 million or EBITDA between $5 million and $25 million. For more information, please visit www.towerarch.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

EQT closes second Ventures fund, securing commitments totaling EUR 660 million

  • One of Europe’s largest VC funds, bringing EQT Ventures’ total capital raised to just over EUR 1.2 billion
  • Data-driven approach with Motherbrain continues to transform VC investment process
  • Team of founders and operators ensures hands-on support for bold, ambitious European and US founders

EQT today announced the successful closing of EQT Ventures II (or the “Fund”), securing commitments totaling EUR 660 million, of which approximately EUR 620 million are fee paying, just 3.5 years after EQT Ventures I launched. The Fund is one of the largest European venture capital (“VC”) funds and demand from both existing and new investors was strong.

EQT Ventures II will build on the multi-stage strategy of its predecessor fund EQT Ventures I, which secured commitments totaling EUR 566 million in 2016, investing in the next generation of ambitious founders and building global winners out of Europe. In addition to partnering early on with bold European founders (typically at Series A and B funding rounds), the Fund will continue to bridge the US and Europe, providing support and capital for US founders (typically at Series B and C rounds) keen to scale into Europe. Motherbrain, EQT’s proprietary in-house developed artificial intelligence system that helps source attractive investments, will also remain central to the Fund’s strategy.

Born inside the EQT Ventures advisory team and spun out to its own dedicated team in 2016, Motherbrain is managed as a start-up inside EQT. Keeping track of millions of companies every day, Motherbrain enables the EQT Ventures advisory team to assess companies faster, improve assessment accuracy and spend more time on the right companies earlier. The self-learning platform is involved in prioritizing and evaluating all potential investments and deeply integrated throughout the sourcing process. Five EQT Ventures’ portfolio companies have been sourced by Motherbrain so far – Peakon, Handshake, AnyDesk, Warducks and Standard Cognition.

The EQT Ventures advisory team, consisting of former founders and entrepreneurs from companies such as Spotify, King, Booking.com, Lithium, Huddle and Hotels.com, supports portfolio companies in a wide range of disciplines. These include product, marketing and communications, engineering, analytics, user experience, international expansion, sales, partnerships and finance.

With advisory teams in Stockholm, London, San Francisco, Amsterdam and Berlin, EQT Ventures’ “local-with-locals” approach and hands-on support for founders started to produce strong results early on. Just 2.5 years after its launch, the EQT Ventures I fund had its first exit when it sold its stake in mobile games company Small Giant Games to leading social games developer Zynga Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNGA) in a deal valued at USD 700 million.

Hjalmar Winbladh, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to the EQT Ventures funds, commented: “Building a global success story requires more than just capital. It requires grit, ambition, teamwork and support from people who have experienced the start-up journey firsthand. Being a large multi-stage investor, the EQT Ventures advisory team supports and coaches entrepreneurs on their journeys so they can scale and deliver long-term sustainable growth. Europe has never lacked ambition, talent or innovation but compared with the US, European start-ups have often struggled to access the capital they needed to grow from bright ideas into proven businesses. With this fund, EQT Ventures wants to continue to close this funding gap and its size is clear evidence of the growing confidence in European tech, which is punching above its weight. The team is looking forward to partnering with more of the boldest founders in Europe and the US.”

Christian Sinding, CEO and Managing Partner of EQT Partners, added: “Digital innovation is reshaping industries by disrupting existing business and operating models. This presents an opportunity for businesses and entrepreneurs keen to transform every sector imaginable. With the EQT Ventures advisory team’s deep experience of founding and supporting start-ups, they are ideally positioned to support the next wave of founders and this is evident in the superb performance of the first fund. We are proud of what the team has achieved so far and looking forward to the next stage of EQT Ventures’ journey.”

EQT Ventures II is backed by a global blue-chip investor base consisting of, among others, pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, foundations and family offices. Backing from new and existing investors from Europe, the US and Asia, highlights the growing confidence in European tech start-ups and talent.

Recent additions to EQT Ventures’ portfolio include Einride (USD 25 million Series A), BEAT81 (EUR 6.4 million Series A) and Standard Cognition (USD 35 million Series B).

EQT Ventures’ dedicated investment advisory team will continue to leverage the global network of EQT’s advisors and global platform, as well as the proven governance model and growth-focused approach to drive performance.

The fundraising for the Fund has now closed. Accordingly, the foregoing should in no way be treated as any form of offer or solicitation to subscribe for or make any commitments for or in respect of any securities or other interests or to engage in any other transaction.

Contact
Lucy Wimmer, Communications Partner, EQT Ventures, lucy@eqtventures.com, +44 7551 289 177
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT Ventures
EQT Ventures is a multi-stage VC fund that partners with the most ambitious and boldest founders in Europe and the US. The fund is based in Luxembourg and has investment advisors stationed in Stockholm, Amsterdam, London, San Francisco and Berlin. Fuelled by some of Europe’s most experienced company builders and scalers, EQT Ventures helps the next generation of entrepreneurs with the capital and hands on support needed to build global winners.

More info: www.eqtventures.com
Follow EQT Ventures on Twitter and LinkedIn

About EQT
EQT is a differentiated global investment organization with more than EUR 62 billion in raised capital and around EUR 41 billion in assets under management across 20 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 21 billion and approximately 127,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on Twitter and LinkedIn

Categories: News

Tags:

SheerID raises $64 million to accelerate growth in identity marketing

Substantial minority investment from CVC Growth Partners allows SheerID to expand platform across multiple geographies; builds on growth momentum

SheerID, the industry leader in the burgeoning identity marketing space, today announced the close of a $64 million equity round led by CVC Growth Partners (“CVC Growth”). CVC Growth will join SheerID’s board alongside Centana Growth Partners and Voyager Capital, which led SheerID’s earlier financing rounds in 2017 and 2015, respectively.

The new funding comes on the heels of 450% revenue growth over the last three years, achieving the rank of 243 in this year’s Deloitte and Touche Fast 500. Over the last year, SheerID has expanded its customer base to include more than 200 customers across a diverse range of Fortune 2000 B2C brands such as Target, Amazon, Lowe’s, Comcast, Google, T-Mobile and Urban Outfitters. Brands use the SheerID Identity Marketing Platform to identify and acquire consumer tribes like students, teachers, or the military with personalised offers backed by instant verification via 9,000 authoritative data sources.

“Our exponential growth is driven by major shifts in personalisation, privacy, and performance marketing. Marketers are struggling to capture the attention of consumers who want more control over their personal data and less uninvited marketing from brands,” said Jake Weatherly, CEO of SheerID. “Our platform allows brands to create offers that honour and recognise an entire consumer tribe, increasing trust and word-of-mouth, and decreasing customer acquisition costs.”

The Rise of Identity Marketing

In a recent report from WBR Insights, 80% of marketers felt more pressure to meet customer acquisition and revenue goals than they did the year prior, citing brand differentiation as well as the current privacy climate as their top two concerns. This is why B2C marketers across a number of industries are turning to identity marketing, a new form of personalisation focused on winning over consumer tribes that align with the brand’s promise.

“Gen Z is the future of streaming media. We knew our growth potential with this audience was vast and our personalised offer to students has taken off,” said Cheri Davies, Senior Director of Acquisition Marketing for Comcast. “Partnering with SheerID has given us a powerful new way to capture and retain our ideal customer segment.”

These consumer tribes share important aspects of their identity, such as their life stage, occupation, and affiliations. They are socially connected and readily share information with each other, like special product offers and brand experiences, that are exclusively provided by brands to their group. This has the double-benefit of increasing marketing reach while decreasing customer acquisition costs, often producing ROAS (return on ad spend) results of 25:1 or higher.

“The most effective marketing does more than convert an audience, it provides a service they value,” said Lauryn Nwankpa, Head of Social Impact for Headspace. “With SheerID, we can create unique offers for students and teachers that support them and move them to spread the word, which benefits the entire educational community and our business. Our identity marketing campaigns generate a powerful ripple effect that’s hard to match.”

Use of New Funds

In addition to bringing on new customers, SheerID has expanded to include 120 employees, and will continue to grow in various areas of the business including marketing, sales, and engineering. This will allow SheerID to expand its platform so companies in all geographies can engage an even broader range of consumer tribes related to occupation, interests, causes, and affiliations worldwide.

“We are incredibly excited to partner with the SheerID team in their next phase of growth,” said Jason Glass, Senior Managing Director at CVC Growth Partners. “As part of our long-standing efforts in fraud prevention and commerce enablement software, we identified SheerID as the industry leader in identity marketing and identity attribute verification.” Doug Behrman, Director at CVC Growth Partners, added, “SheerID’s track record and growth has been very impressive, and the company stands to benefit from powerful secular trends across privacy regulation, personalisation, and eCommerce. We are proud to partner with a team that provides meaningful value not only to their customers, but to groups like students, first responders, and military veterans.” Jason Glass and Doug Behrman will join SheerID’s board of directors.

Categories: News

Tags:

CVC Capital Partners closes second Growth Fund with commitments of $1.6 billion

Second above-target fundraise for CVC’s Growth platform following the previous $1 billion raised for Fund I in 2016

CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”), one of the world’s largest private equity and investment advisory firms, is pleased to announce the closing of CVC Growth Partners Fund II (“Fund II”). Fund II will continue the same investment strategy as its predecessor fund, investing in high-growth, mid-market companies in the software and technology-enabled business services sectors.

Fund II exceeded its $1 billion target and, including a sidecar co-investment vehicle, has secured commitments of $1.6 billion. Fund II enjoys a diverse global investor base, spread across North America, Europe, the Middle-East and Asia.

CVC’s Growth Partners platform invests primarily in North America and Europe, focusing on a variety of sectors including software, SaaS, managed services, cloud computing, mobility, payments, security, financial technology, healthcare information technology and other tech-enabled business services. The target equity investment size is $50 million to $250 million.

John Clark, Managing Partner and Head of the CVC Growth Partners team, said: “We are grateful to our existing global investor base, who have strongly supported Fund II, and to our new investors, for helping us to secure $1.6 billion for CVC’s second Growth Fund raise.

“As part of CVC’s global network we enjoy access to a broad and deep pipeline of exciting investment opportunities. The companies we partner with often operate in competitive markets and face significant challenges on their journey to success. That is where we come in; we collaborate with their management teams to help them overcome obstacles to growth, and to successfully execute their strategy, so that they can become leaders in their field.”

Recent investments by CVC Growth Partners Fund I include: SheerID, a leading identity marketing solution provider, based in Portland, Oregon, US; ironSource, a global market leader in the high-growth mobile advertising and mobile gaming technology markets headquartered in Tel Aviv; and Vitech, a leading provider of cloud-based financial administration solutions based in New York.

 

Categories: News

SheerID raises $64 million to accelerate growth in identity marketing

Substantial minority investment from CVC Growth Partners allows SheerID to expand platform across multiple geographies; builds on growth momentum

SheerID, the industry leader in the burgeoning identity marketing space, today announced the close of a $64 million equity round led by CVC Growth Partners (“CVC Growth”). CVC Growth will join SheerID’s board alongside Centana Growth Partners and Voyager Capital, which led SheerID’s earlier financing rounds in 2017 and 2015, respectively.

The new funding comes on the heels of 450% revenue growth over the last three years, achieving the rank of 243 in this year’s Deloitte and Touche Fast 500. Over the last year, SheerID has expanded its customer base to include more than 200 customers across a diverse range of Fortune 2000 B2C brands such as Target, Amazon, Lowe’s, Comcast, Google, T-Mobile and Urban Outfitters. Brands use the SheerID Identity Marketing Platform to identify and acquire consumer tribes like students, teachers, or the military with personalised offers backed by instant verification via 9,000 authoritative data sources.

“Our exponential growth is driven by major shifts in personalisation, privacy, and performance marketing. Marketers are struggling to capture the attention of consumers who want more control over their personal data and less uninvited marketing from brands,” said Jake Weatherly, CEO of SheerID. “Our platform allows brands to create offers that honour and recognise an entire consumer tribe, increasing trust and word-of-mouth, and decreasing customer acquisition costs.”

The Rise of Identity Marketing

In a recent report from WBR Insights, 80% of marketers felt more pressure to meet customer acquisition and revenue goals than they did the year prior, citing brand differentiation as well as the current privacy climate as their top two concerns. This is why B2C marketers across a number of industries are turning to identity marketing, a new form of personalisation focused on winning over consumer tribes that align with the brand’s promise.

“Gen Z is the future of streaming media. We knew our growth potential with this audience was vast and our personalised offer to students has taken off,” said Cheri Davies, Senior Director of Acquisition Marketing for Comcast. “Partnering with SheerID has given us a powerful new way to capture and retain our ideal customer segment.”

These consumer tribes share important aspects of their identity, such as their life stage, occupation, and affiliations. They are socially connected and readily share information with each other, like special product offers and brand experiences, that are exclusively provided by brands to their group. This has the double-benefit of increasing marketing reach while decreasing customer acquisition costs, often producing ROAS (return on ad spend) results of 25:1 or higher.

“The most effective marketing does more than convert an audience, it provides a service they value,” said Lauryn Nwankpa, Head of Social Impact for Headspace. “With SheerID, we can create unique offers for students and teachers that support them and move them to spread the word, which benefits the entire educational community and our business. Our identity marketing campaigns generate a powerful ripple effect that’s hard to match.”

Use of New Funds

In addition to bringing on new customers, SheerID has expanded to include 120 employees, and will continue to grow in various areas of the business including marketing, sales, and engineering. This will allow SheerID to expand its platform so companies in all geographies can engage an even broader range of consumer tribes related to occupation, interests, causes, and affiliations worldwide.

“We are incredibly excited to partner with the SheerID team in their next phase of growth,” said Jason Glass, Senior Managing Director at CVC Growth Partners. “As part of our long-standing efforts in fraud prevention and commerce enablement software, we identified SheerID as the industry leader in identity marketing and identity attribute verification.” Doug Behrman, Director at CVC Growth Partners, added, “SheerID’s track record and growth has been very impressive, and the company stands to benefit from powerful secular trends across privacy regulation, personalisation, and eCommerce. We are proud to partner with a team that provides meaningful value not only to their customers, but to groups like students, first responders, and military veterans.” Jason Glass and Doug Behrman will join SheerID’s board of directors.

Categories: News

Tags:

Keensight Capital enters exclusive talks with Naxicap to acquire a majority stake in Sogelink, a leading provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for infrastructure sector professionals, alongside its management

Naxicap

Paris, November, 12, 2019 Keensight Capital enters exclusive talks with Naxicap to acquire a majority stake in Sogelink, a leading provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for infrastructure sector professionals, alongside its management Keensight Capital, one of the leading private equity managers dedicated to pan-European Growth Buyout investment1, along with Naxicap, mid cap investor, today announce the signature of an exclusivity agreement with a view to buying a majority stake in the group Sogelink, a leading provider of vertical software solutions for infrastructure sector professionals. Keensight Capital will therefore be replacing Naxicap as Sogelink’s major shareholder, alongside the company’s management and employees.Founded in 2000, Sogelink designs, develops and markets software and SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions intended to simplify and optimise complex business processes in the building site, infrastructure and property management industry. With its unique collaborative platform, Sogelink stands as a pioneer and undisputed leader in its market in France. It is also the number one provider of topographic software. Over the past 20 years, Sogelink and its 180 employees have built up a diverse and loyal base of 18,000 clients (churn of less than 2% p.a.), representing more than 80,000 users. In 2018, Sogelink generated revenue of €38 million and has been recording top-line growth of over 20% p.a. over the last 10 years. Its robust business model ensures increasingly recurrent revenue and a high level of profitability.

Keensight Capital will be putting its 20 years of cutting-edge expertise in IT and its experience in international markets to use in helping Sogelink to:‐cement its position as an independent leader in the markets currently addressed;‐provide support in developing and diversifying Sogelink’s product range, notably by marketing new business-specific solutions; and‐conduct acquisitions growth transactions to extend the group’s international footprint and bolster certain areas of expertise.Fatima Berral, CEO of Sogelink, says:“We are convinced that Keensight’s support and extensive expertise, particularly in vertical software, will be a tremendous asset to enable us to pursue our development strategy in France and abroad. The Keensight team’s philosophy is perfectly aligned with ours, so I am delighted with this partnership.”Jean-Michel Beghin, Managing Partner of Keensight Capital, comments:“We have known Sogelink for a long time and it fits our investment criteria perfectly: strong growth, profitability, leader in a market enjoying structural growth. We are impressed by the work accomplished by Fatima, Ignace and Sogelink’s teams in recent years and the coherent manner with which they have developed the group’s diverse business activities. We are convinced of the growth potential harboured by the company, both in its domestic market and abroad.

”Angèle Faugier, Managing Partner at Naxicap, says:“We are proud to have been able to support the Sogelink team over the past 3 years. During this stage, with the founder, we decided to entrust the role of CEO to Fatima Berral, whose action was decisive in ensuring the very sustained pace of development, integrating new talents and giving a new dimension to the group. In addition, the platform has been configured to accommodate new services and developments internally or externally; these elements have motivated our desire to re-include ourselves very significantly in the new round table.”About Naxicap Partners:As one of the top private equity firms in France, Naxicap Partners –an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers* –has €3.1billion in assets under management. As a committed, responsible investor, Naxicap Partners builds solid, constructive partnerships with entrepreneurs so that their projects can succeed. The firm has 39investment professionals spread across five offices in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Nantes and Frankfurt. For more information, visitwww.naxicap.fr/en

About Natixis Investment Managers:

Natixis Investment Managers serves financial professionals with more insightful ways to construct portfolios. Powered by the expertise of more than 20 specialized investment managers globally, we apply Active Thinking® to deliver proactive solutions that help clients pursue better outcomes in all markets. Natixis Investment Managers ranks among the world’s largest asset management firms1with more than $1 trillion assets under management2(€921billion).Headquartered in Paris and Boston, Natixis Investment Managers is a subsidiary of Natixis. Listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, Natixis is a subsidiary of BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France. Natixis Investment Managers’ affiliated investment management firms include AEW; Alliance Entreprendre; AlphaSimplex Group; Darius Capital Partners; DNCA Investments;3Dorval Asset Management; Flexstone Partners; Gateway Investment Advisers; H2O Asset Management; Harris Associates; Investors Mutual Limited; Loomis, Sayles & Company; Mirova; MV Credit; Naxicap Partners; Ossiam; Ostrum Asset Management; Seeyond; Seventure Partners; Thematics Asset Management; Vauban Infrastructure Partners;4Vaughan Nelson Investment Management; Vega Investment Managers;5and WCM Investment Management. Investment solutions are also offered through Natixis Advisors and Dynamic Solutions. Not all offerings available in all jurisdictions.

For additional information, please visit Natixis Investment Managers’ website at im.natixis.com| LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/natixis-investment-managers.Natixis Investment Managers’ distribution and service groupsinclude Natixis Distribution, L.P., a limited purpose broker-dealer and the distributor of various registered investment companies for which advisory services are provided by affiliated firms of Natixis Investment Managers, and Natixis Investment ManagersS.A. (Luxembourg) and its affiliated distribution entities in Europe and Asia.1 Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2019 ranked Natixis Investment Managers as the 17th largest asset manager in the world based on assets under management as of December 31, 2018.2 Net asset value as of September30, 2019 is $1.022 billion. Assets under management (“AUM”), as reported, may include notional assets, assets serviced, gross assets, assets of minority-owned affiliated entities and other types of non-regulatory AUM managed or serviced by firms affiliated with Natixis Investment Managers.3 A brand of DNCA Finance.4 Not yet licensed –currently pending authorization process as a portfolio management company with the French Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”).5 A wholly-owned subsidiary of Natixis Wealth Management.

About Sogelink:

Founded in 2000, by Ignace Vantorre, Sogelink provides software, cloud and mobile solutions for all players in the infrastructure, construction and property management ecosystem. All of its solutions are supported by a technological services platform, notably when it comes to exchanging very large flows of data. With some 18,000 clients and more than 80,000 users, Sogelink aims to become the un rivalled expert in the collaborative, digital and smart management of data in 2D/3D/4D across its ecosystem.www.sogelink.fr

About Keensight Capital:

Keensight Capital, one of the leading European Growth Buyout firms, is committed to supporting entrepreneurs as they implement their growth strategies. For 20 years, Keensight Capital’s team of seasoned professionals has leveraged their knowledge of investment and growth industries to invest for the long term in profitable companies with high growth potential and revenues in the range of €15 million to €250 million. Drawing on its expertise in the IT and Healthcare sectors, Keensight identifies the best investment opportunities in Europe and works closely with management teams to develop and achieve their strategic vision.

www.keensightcapital.com

Press contacts:NaxicapPartners

Valérie SAMMUT -Tél: 04 72 10 87 99 valerie.sammut@naxicap.frKeesightcapital

Anne de Bonnefon -Tél: +33 1 83 79 87 37abonnefon@keensightcapital.com

Citigate Dewe Rogerson Alienor Miens–Tél: +33 6 64 32 81 75alienor.miens@citigatedewerogerson.com

Alexandre Dechaux–Tél: +33 7 62 72 71 15alexandre.dechaux@citigatedewerogerson.com

Categories: News

Tags:

AURELIUS portfolio company NDS Group AS enters biggest supplier agreement in the Norwegian Aftermarket

Aurelius Capital

  • Multiyear agreement accounts for more than 7% sales growth of the company
  • Major milestone in strategic development of the company achieved

Munich, November 2019 – NDS Group AS, a portfolio company of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE000A0JK2A8), will become first supplier for the workshop chain Snap Drive and main independent aftermarket supplier for the Bertel O. Steen Group. The multi-year contract, starting from 2nd of January 2020, is the biggest supplier contract in the Norwegian market with a total volume of approx. 150 million NOK and will account for more than 7% sales growth of the overall company.

Snap Drive, a daughter company of the car import & retail group Bertel O. Steen, is a leading workshop chain in Norway located in the major urban areas of the country. Snap Drive has shown strong growth during recent years and has ambitious growth plans to further expand the workshop chain. “We are looking forward to the partnership with NDS Group, and with this agreement we are preparing the ground for sustainable growth for our chain going forward“ says Morten Harsem, CEO of Snap Drive. The contract includes becoming main independent Aftermarket supplier to the Bertel O. Steen retail group, which imports  the brands Mercedes-Benz, Kia, Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel, smart®, Fuso and Setra. “Based on an overall assessment of quality, logistics, administration and price we made our choice and are entering this partnership agreement with NDS Group” says Tom Harstaad, Director – Strategic purchases of Bertel O. Steen. “We are very excited about this partnership. It shows that customers in Norway see great benefits in dealing with a local, flexible and highly serviced minded company. Winning the biggest supplier contract in Norway shortly after the restructuring of the company shows that we are on the right path. ” says Janno Gröne, CEO of the NDS Group.

NDS Group, former Hellanor, has been acquired by Aurelius in December 2018. After the carve-out from the Hella Group the company has been streamlined, rebranded and turned into a dynamic stand-alone business. The company recently launched a specialized ERP system for Automotive workshops and its own private label range which is sourced via NDS’ recently established sourcing center in Asia. Next to this contract NDS won also in the workshop equipment division significant new volume which is expected to lead to double-digit growth in 2020.

ABOUT NDS

NDS is the second largest automotive aftermarket wholesaler in Norway, with its headquartered in Skytta near Oslo. NDS supplies its customers, typically automotive workshops, car dealerships and local wholesalers, with spare parts from its central warehouse in Skytta as well as from 19 branches across the country. In addition, NDS offers workshop franchise concepts to its clients under its own AutoMester brand as well as for third-party concepts such as Bosch Car Service. Within its AutoMateriell business segment NDS supplies workshop equipment of leading equipment OEMs such as John Bean and MAHA.

Categories: News

EQT brings in GIC as minority partner in Anticimex

eqt

  • EQT brings in GIC, a large institutional investor, in a 9.9% minority stake sale in Anticimex
  • With the partnership, Anticimex aims to internationalize the shareholder base and accelerate further growth and expansion in Asia
  • EQT remains as controlling owner and continues to support Anticimex in becoming the global leader in preventive pest control

The EQT VI fund (“EQT VI”) today announced the decision to bring in GIC as a minority partner through a 9.9% stake sale in Anticimex (“the Company”), in a transaction valuing the Company at approximately EUR 3.6 billion. GIC will hold the same mix of instruments as EQT.

Founded in 1934 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Anticimex is a leading global specialist within pest control, operating in 154 branches in 18 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the US. Since acquired by EQT VI in 2012, Anticimex has transformed from a Nordic services conglomerate into a global player and a market leader in digital pest control. During the ownership period, EQT has backed Anticimex’ organic growth trajectory and ambitious buy-and-build strategy, completing over 200 add-on acquisitions worldwide. EQT has also supported the launch of the Company’s digital and environmentally friendly pest control monitoring system, “Anticimex SMART”.

By bringing in GIC as a minority partner, EQT aims to internationalize the Company’s shareholder base and accelerate Anticimex’ regional expansion in the Asian markets through GIC’s global networks. Anticimex plans to leverage its local know-how and experience to replicate its successful go-to-market strategy across Asia.

Per Franzén, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT VI, commented: “EQT is pleased to welcome GIC as a new investor and business partner that can help strengthen Anticimex’ position in Asia. Anticimex will now continue its journey towards becoming the global leader in preventive pest control with further international expansion and investments in the next generation of digital pest control technologies. Bringing in investors like GIC is part of EQT’s continuous effort to internationalize Anticimex’ shareholder base and strengthen the Company with value-adding partners.”

Jarl Dahlfors, CEO of Anticimex. added: “Anticimex has grown tremendously together with EQT and we see attractive opportunities to continue expanding our business globally. Adding GIC, a well-respected investor with deep roots in Asia, gives us an even stronger foundation in Asia. We are well positioned to continue our historic growth and margin improvements.”

During EQT’s ownership period, Anticimex has almost quadrupled its revenues and increased operating earnings by six times.

The transaction is expected to be completed during Q4 2019.

Contacts
Per Franzén, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT VI, +46 8 506 55 300
EQT Press Office, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a differentiated global investment organization with more than EUR 62 billion in raised capital and around EUR 40 billion in assets under management across 19 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 21 billion and approximately 127,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on Twitter and LinkedIn

About Anticimex
Anticimex is a leading global specialist in preventive pest control with operations in 18 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the US with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. With its approximately 6,000 employees, Anticimex serves around 3 million customers across the globe and offers a broad range of preventive pest control solutions, including the digital solution Anticimex SMART and pest insurance.

More info: www.anticimex.com

Categories: News

Tags: