Category Archives: News

Memsource Acquires Phrase

Carlyle

Transaction creates the translation industry’s leading localization platform allowing Memsource to further expand its product portfolio, geographic footprint, and customer base

Prague, Czech Republic; Hamburg, Germany; and London, UK – Memsource, the leading AI-powered translation management system, together with its majority shareholder The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG), today announced that it has acquired Phrase, a leading software localization platform.

Headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, Memsource is a leading translation technology provider that assists global corporations and the language services industry in automating the localization of large volumes of multilingual content. The company is a leader in AI-powered translation technology, which makes localization easier, faster, and more cost-effective. Memsource translation software is used by leaders in their respective industries, such as Uber, Zendesk, Supercell, and Vistaprint.

Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, the Phrase platform provides cloud-based localization for software, websites, and mobile applications. Phrase enables customers of all sizes to scale their translation processes through advanced automation, eliminating unnecessary steps from the localization process. Through its unique value proposition, Phrase has built up a wide reaching customer base across multiple industries with customers such as Lufthansa Systems and Pizza Hut Digital Ventures.

The combination of Memsource and Phrase creates the industry’s leading translation management company. The transaction significantly expands Memsource’s product portfolio and customer base while also extending its operations into Germany, a country in which it previously did not have a presence. The combined group will seek to transform the localization industry, providing global brands with a streamlined solution that reduces costs, increases translation quality, and automates the localization process end-to-end.

The three founders of Phrase will become shareholders of the Memsource group. David Canek, the CEO of Memsource, will become the group CEO with immediate effect.

David Canek, Founder and CEO of Memsource, said: “Since Carlyle’s investment in Memsource in July 2020, we have focused on growing the business organically while exploring compelling acquisition opportunities. Phrase is a leading software localization platform bootstrapped by an incredibly talented team. As leaders in their respective fields (enterprise TMS and software localization respectively), Memsource and Phrase are determined to create the next generation of translation automation for the full range of enterprise localization use cases.”

Wolfram Grätz, Founder of Phrase, said: “Having established ourselves as a pioneer in software localization, partnering with Memsource and Carlyle is the next logical step for the company. We have a cross-industry customer base from the automotive to the financial sector and many of them are asking us about our plans to support additional localization use cases. We have continuously addressed their needs, and by combining our high-quality management teams and deep software expertise, we intend to create a market innovator with the vision, talent and scale to define the future of enterprise translation management.”

Fernando Chueca, a Managing Director in the Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) advisory team, said: “CETP IV invested in Memsource to accelerate the next phase of the company’s development, including a focus on expansion into new geographies and innovative technologies. The transaction with Phrase, the first since Carlyle’s investment, is testament to this strategy, providing an attractive entry point to the German market and access to its highly complementary product suite and established customer base. The enlarged group is uniquely positioned to establish itself as a leader in translation management systems, enabling sophisticated software localization across international markets.”

ENDS

About Memsource
Memsource helps global companies translate efficiently. Ranked as the most viable Translation Management System by CSA Research in 2019, Memsource supports 500+ languages, 50+ file types, and 30+ machine translation engines. Memsource enables its customers to increase translation quality while reducing costs using its patented, state-of-the-art AI technology. With a team of over 120 people in offices across Europe, US and Japan, Memsource serves thousands of global customers, including leading brands such as Uber, Zendesk, Supercell and Vistaprint. Further information is available at www.memsource.com.

About Phrase
Phrase is a cloud-based software localization platform that accelerates the development of multilingual digital products. Phrase enables organizations of all sizes to scale and centralize their translation processes through advanced automation and a broad variety of integrations. Founded in 2012 in the heart of Hamburg, Phrase has grown from a small start-up into an agile, ambitious team from around the world. Phrase is growing rapidly and currently partners with over a thousand businesses in over 60 countries. Further information is available at phrase.com.

About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $230 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2020, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 1,800 people in 30 offices across six continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

Press Enquiries:
Memsource / Phrase
Filip Sanca
+420 604 695 225
filip.sanca@memsource.com

The Carlyle Group
Andrew Kenny
+44 7816 176120
andrew.kenny@carlyle.com

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Hawksmoor joins Hurst Point Group

Carlyle

Hawksmoor Group Limited (“HGL”) is pleased to announce that its shareholders have agreed to accept an offer to acquire the business from Hurst Point Group, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm. It is expected that a number of share- and option- holders, the majority of whom are staff, will roll over their holdings in HGL into shares in Hurst Point Group. Completion of the transaction is subject to FCA regulatory approval and other customary conditions.

Hawksmoor was founded in 2008 by John Crowley and has grown into an award-winning specialist investment and fund management business with offices in Exeter, London, Taunton, Dorchester and Bury St Edmunds.

Hurst Point Group was established in 2019 to facilitate investment by Carlyle into the UK wealth management sector and made its first investment in March 2020 with the acquisition of Harwood Wealth Management plc via a public scheme of arrangement. HGL will become a separate subsidiary of Hurst Point Group, who intend to support its core strategy of growth in the areas of investment management and specialist funds where it has historically had great success.

Sarah Soar, Hawksmoor CEO, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Hawksmoor as we continue to grow and develop the business. Partnering with Hurst Point Group and an investor such as Carlyle gives us valuable support to achieve our strategic objectives and helps to ensure that we can continue to deliver an exceptionally high-quality service to all of our clients.”

Ian Gladman, Executive Chairman of Hurst Point Group said: “We are delighted that the Hawksmoor shareholders have accepted our offer and also, in many cases, re-invested in the expanded Hurst Point Group. We have long held the Hawksmoor business in high regard and believe we can support the business to fulfill its true potential in the years to come. We look forward to working with Sarah, her management team and a very talented group of employees to realise our shared future vision for the business.”

ENDS

About Hawksmoor Investment Management:
Hawksmoor Investment Management specialises in providing high quality discretionary management services for private clients (and clients of Professional Advisers) including trusts, pension schemes and charities. We also have a range of risk-based ‘Model Portfolios’ for Financial Advisers. Our award-winning Fund Managers team manages three multi asset funds-of-funds.

With offices in Exeter, London, Taunton, Dorchester and Bury St Edmunds, Hawksmoor is a growing specialist investment and fund management business. Find out more at www.hawksmoorim.co.uk or follow us @hawksmoorim on Twitter.

About Hurst Point:
Hurst Point Group was established in 2019 to facilitate investment by The Carlyle Group into the UK wealth management sector. Hurst Point made its first investment in March 2020 with the acquisition of Harwood Wealth Management plc via a public scheme of arrangement. Further information is available at www.hurstpointgroup.com.

About The Carlyle Group:
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $230 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2020, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 1,800 people in 30 offices across six continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

For more information, please contact:
For Hawksmoor:
Diane Hayman (Head of Marketing)
Tel: +44 (0) 1392 573571
Email: diane.hayman@hawksmoorim.co.uk

For Hurst Point / Carlyle:
Charlie Bristow
Tel: +44 (0) 7384 513568
Email: charlie.bristow@carlyle.com

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AURELIUS to offset CO2 emissions from air travel in

Aurelius Capital

Munich, January 18, 2021 – As part of the measures to reduce CO2 emissions that were already introduced at the beginning of the 2020 financial year, AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE000A0JK2A8) will offset the CO2 emissions from the air travel of all holding company employees in 2020. This travel caused a total of 507 tons of CO2 emissions in 2019. AURELIUS will again offset these CO2 emissions by making offset payments to the climate protection organization atmosfair (www.atmosfair.de).

 

View Certificate (german)

The organization atmosfair uses such offset payments to fund climate protection projects, which mainly involve the increased use of renewable energy. The projects are subject to internationally recognized certification standards such as the CDM Gold Standard, the strictest available standard for climate protection projects. The funds are spent transparently and completely on the respective projects.

These measures, which are meant to reduce groupwide greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by the year 2025, will be continued in 2021.

“AURELIUS was quick to take steps to reduce its CO2 emissions as part of a comprehensive sustainability strategy. The coronavirus pandemic has bolstered our conviction that a sustainable business model provides long-term competitive advantages from which the entire group and our investors will benefit,” said Matthias Täubl, CEO of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities.

To achieve this goal, meetings will be held by videoconference and online to a greater degree. The changes in the regular workday caused by the coronavirus pandemic have already proved that this can be done without problems and can result in greater productivity. Besides reducing CO2 emissions, this will also save travel expenses. In addition, preference will be given to trains instead of flights for short-distance travel.

AURELIUS has made a voluntary, groupwide commitment to reduce the environmental impact of its products and business activities by means of ecologically responsible action and impeccable behavior and has enshrined this commitment in its ESG Policy (English). For more information, please visit: Environmental responsility at AURELIUS.

Categories: News

Breens Network acquires Educator

Capital-A

AMSTERDAM, 17 JANUARY 2021 – With the recent acquisition of software developer Educator, Breens Network has strengthened its position as a provider of secure and reliable educational working and learning environments which allow students, staff, teachers and managers to maximise the efficiency of their digital infrastructures and achieve maximum result in supporting personal development.

– Acquisition of Educator strengthens Breens Network’s digital working and learning solution.
– Expanding the range of integrated digital solutions to improve life long learning and personalized education.
– Strengthens the position of Breens Network in their mission to unburden education by offering support in their digital transformation to a secure digital working and learning environment

Breens Network was originally set up from the ambition of innovating the Dutch educational system through the implementation of new and established technologies. In our day and age, entire generations of students, teachers, staff, managers and directors are experiencing the transition from physical to digital, a process taking place within a dynamic environment which requires increased management of ongoing professionalisation, personalised learning from the cloud and socially relevant curricula, with safety and privacy also calling for new levels of attention. At the same time, there are several other challenges as well, due to the shortage of teachers, high workloads and overcrowded classrooms.
Breens Network, the new name for what was formerly known as Kofschip Groep, is a Dutch EdTech organisation, committed to the field of education and everything related to learning and teaching. Our primary objective is to support our customers in dealing with the process of digital transformation, helping them to increase their effectiveness, the quality of their output, their (cost) efficiency and the flexibility of their organisations. In doing so, we operate from the vision that the technology and advice we provide, unambiguously contribute to our customers achieving their organisational or personal targets. With the ultimate goal of making life as easy as possible for the educational institutions we support.

“Breens Network’s strength is a result of its total commitment to the field of education and the concept of lifelong learning. Now more than ever, there is a profound need for guidance and advice, for development, implementation and management. In short, there is a need for trust. The acquisition of Educator marks a significant broadening of our range of services and a substantial reinforcement of our working and learning environment, particularly in terms of its safety and reliability.”
Geert-Jan van der Snoek
CEO Breens Network

Educator was created in 2005, as part of the Putten-based Vanenburg Group, a family-owned investment group founded by Jan Baan. “We started Educator 15 years ago from our vision of ‘lifelong learning’. Today, we represent a highly innovative and market-leading software platform with its own dedicated SIS solution, a Student Information System for the education industry”, explains Paul Baan, speaking for the Vanenburg Group. “We see Breens Network is the ideal long-term partner, perfectly positioned to leverage the strength of Educator in providing a robust solution and driving advanced digitisation, unburdening of educational institutions and exploring additional opportunities in decentralised government and other markets.” “It allows us to focus more on our fast-growing software activities in the field of ERP optimisation, while also expanding the exploitation of Vanenburg Castle as a hotel, restaurant, convention centre and wedding venue.”

Educator is a developer of software applications for educational and decentralised government institutions, contributing, with the solutions it offers, to well organised schooling and effective student support. This way, the organisation has, since as early as 2005, broadened the options for personalised education. Committed to reliable and consistent development and management of software to help continuously improve and redefine the key processes of its customers. It makes Educator one of the most innovative Dutch software developers in the industries of education and healthcare and the market of decentralised government.

For Educator, joining the Breens Network organisation opens up new and improved opportunities for growth and a broadening of the options offered by the digital working and learning environment. “Our educational solutions, like the Student Information System, the Education Catalogue and the Study Guide, are an excellent addition to the products and services offered by Breens Network. Together, we can be successful in further strengthening our position in the market for digital working and learning environments. It also allows us, in cooperation with our customers, to speed up the ongoing process of re-innovating our solutions, while the operational scope of the Breens Network organisation provides the communities we serve with the certainty of continuity. This is all very good news, both for our customers and for the employees of Educator”, says Jan Jaap Kanis, General Director of Educator. “One of the key challenges educational institutions are facing, is adequately, proactively and flexibly meeting students’ requirements. To be able to do this, what you need is not only a partner who can offer practical know-how, you need a partner who can create cooperation and encourage the sharing of knowledge.”

About Breens Network
Breens Network was originally set up from the ambition to innovate by using both new and established technologies. Today, with SLBdiensten, IT-Workz, Slim.nl, MBOwebshop.nl, Slimindeklas.nl and Breens.nl, the organisation offers a distinctive and distinguishing brand portfolio. Breens Network is a Dutch ICT-organisation, committed to its customers in education, healthcare and decentralised government. It is our goal to support them in the process of digital transformation, helping them to increase their effectiveness, the quality of their output, their (cost) efficiency and the flexibility of their organisations. Operating, as we do, from the vision that the technology and advice we provide, unambiguously contribute to our customers achieving their organisational or personal targets. And making the best possible use of our extensive digital and technological expertise, complemented with in-depth knowledge of the markets we operate in. The professionals employed by our organisation are a guarantee for effective and excellent partnerships. Together, they look after the needs of over one million students, 90,000 teachers, 40,000 staff members and virtually all of the Dutch schools in higher and secondary vocational education. Focus, in Breens Network’s operations, is on four central areas of competence: the digital working (and learning) environment, cloud migration & management, IT Security and Business Intelligence data apps. The company employs a total of 160 enthusiastic professionals. Its head office is in Amsterdam.

About Educator
Educator develops software applications for educational and decentralised government institutions, contributing, by doing so, to well-organised schooling and effective student support. This way, the organisation has, since as early as 2005, broadened the options for personalised education. From demand management and flexibilisation to formative evaluation, Educator has seen many new trends in the education industry. And through it all, by continuing to communicate with the institutions we have been working with over the years, we have become a genuine education partner, offering valuable practical expertise. The communication we have with the institutions we support, takes place on all levels of the organisations, covering operational, tactical and strategic issues. Apart from this, we actively promote dialogue between educational institutions in various forms of consultation forums, like user groups, steering committees and an Advisory Board. Here, we discuss not only topics related to our software and its ongoing development, but also the future of education in general and the role Educator can continue to play in particular.
Educator products are being used on a daily basis by thousands of students and educational professionals in secondary education, high schools, third level education and private schools. One example of the widely used Educator applications is the Student Information System, a tool allowing students, counsellors and other interested parties to monitor progress in the acquisition of skills and competencies. There is also a dedicated Educator design tool, which lets educational staff create and analyse optimally coherent education programs. And for easy documentation and presentation of these programs, Educator offers the Education Catalogue tool.

About Vanenburg Group
Vanenburg Group is a family-owned investment group established by Jan Baan, Chairman of Vanenburg Group, founder of Baan Company and Cordys and a successful investor in TopTier and WebEx. Today, operational executive authority is shared by a second-generation management team, consisting of the three brothers Paul, Ardjan and Bernhard Baan. As a software provider, Vanenburg assists large and medium-sized businesses in updating their IT-infrastructures by developing innovative ERP extensions & integrations. Vanenburg Group employs a staff of over 100 expert professionals in The Netherlands and India. The company operating from the authentic17th century Vanenburg Castle and Estate, located near the city of Putten in the Dutch province of Gelderland. This unique location also serves as a hotel, restaurant, convention centre and wedding venue.

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Ardian and Global Infrastructure Partners support a friendly and concerted solution to strengthen two French champions of environmental services

Ardian

17 January 2021 Infrastructure France, Paris

Paris, January 17, 2021 – Investment companies Ardian and GIP, experts in the infrastructure sector, today submitted a letter of intent to the Suez Board of Directors.

In a friendly context between Suez and Veolia, and in the case of any event which does not dismantle Suez, the letter of intent paves the way for a global solution with various possible execution options, including an offer by investors to purchase Suez shares at a price of €18 per share, coupon attached. This proposal is subject in particular to the completion of confirmatory due diligence.

Through this letter, Ardian and GIP confirm their intention to support a quick, friendly and positive solution that strengthens the two great French champions of environmental services in the interest of all stakeholders.

 

About the partnership between Ardian and GIP

The consortium is made up of responsible investment companies that have significant financial resources, share common values, have a long-term commitment and benefit from an excellent international reputation as shareholders concerned about respecting social commitments and environmental issues.

Their respective skills are highly complementary: Ardian has a strong foothold in France, with GIP providing recognised international expertise. Together, they provide a stable shareholder base to support Suez’s development in France and abroad, with a constant concern for the public interest. Their respective teams have developed a close working relationship over several years in the context of joint investment projects.

 

About Ardian

Ardian is a French investment company and one of the world leaders in private equity with €88 billion under management and/or advisory in Europe, America and Asia. The company, which is majority owned by its employees, has always placed entrepreneurship at the heart of its approach and offers its international investors top-tier performance.

Through its commitment to sharing the value created with all stakeholders, Ardian participates in the growth of companies and economies around the world.

Since 2005, Ardian Infrastructure has developed solid industrial expertise in the field of infrastructure (energy distribution networks, renewable energies, road and rail infrastructure, airports, social infrastructure, etc.). In 15 years, the team has made 110 investments and currently manages more than €14 billion of assets in this field.

Ardian Infrastructure’s approach is to support companies in their transformation to improve the quality of service to users by relying on innovation and the digitalisation of operations. In the environment sector, Ardian Infrastructure has, among other things, been a shareholder alongside Suez de Sita Cornwall and Sita Northumberland in the United Kingdom.

 

About GIP

Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is an independent fund manager specialising in infrastructure investments and one of the world leaders in this sector. Founded in 2006, with offices in New York, London, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Sydney, GIP invests in the energy, transport and environmental services sectors. The airports, ports, rail networks and power plants operated by GIP provide essential services to tens of millions of users worldwide.
GIP is controlled and ultimately owned by its employees. GIP manages more than €58 billion on behalf of more than 400 institutional investors of 41 different nationalities, including many renowned European and French institutions. There are 38 companies in GIP’s equity portfolio with a cumulative annual turnover of approximately €34 billion and which employ more than 58,000 people. GIP has invested nearly €15 billion in European companies.
GIP’s investment approach is founded on the combination of its industrial expertise and best-in-class management practices. GIP focuses its efforts on reliability, safety, quality of service, investing in growth as well as operational excellence, notably through innovation and technology. Water and environmental services are one of the pillars of GIP’s expertise.
GIP adheres to the highest standards of responsible investment and is notably a signatory of the “Principles for Responsible Investment” promoted by the United Nations and also a founding member of the “One Planet Sovereign Wealth Funds” initiative. GIP is one of the world’s largest independent investors in renewable energy and its assets generate enough green electricity to power the equivalent of several million homes.

PRESS CONTACT

HEADLAND

CHRIS SALT

csalt@headlandconsultancy.com +44 (0)77 9868 3114

TOM JAMES

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UNICEPTA acquires social intelligence specialist Ubermetrics

Paragon

UNICEPTA, the global innovation leader for Media & Data Intelligence expands its competencies in social media. In course of this technology acquisition, both companies will combine their AI-based technology platforms and expand their ability to automatically analyze large amounts of data for communication and marketing management.

Ubermetrics analyzes over 460 million sources from social media as well as blogs and forums in real time and offers the quantified results and insights via its technology platform. The platform is a highly scalable SaaS solution currently used by over 200 companies and focuses on monitoring and text mining.
Patrick Bunk, founder and CEO of Ubermetrics, says: “We are very motivated to partner with UNICEPTA. Two smart companies are now working with a joint technological vision: we want to make AI easily and quickly accessible for more and more communication and marketing areas.”
“Ubermetrics possesses one of the best technology platforms based on semantic AI. We are very pleased that Patrick Bunk, founder and CEO of Ubermetrics, along with his team, has decided to join UNICEPTA.”, says Georg Stahl, Managing Partner of UNICEPTA.
Both brands – UNICEPTA and Ubermetrics – will remain and combine their technology platforms. UNICEPTA will continue to act as an innovation leader and insights advisor for international corporations and large mid-sized companies. Ubermetrics will continue to develop automated intelligence solutions under the leadership of Patrick Bunk. Ubermetrics will launch new market intelligence solutions for risk management (e.g., supply chain risk), as well as text mining services for SaaS and analytics providers.

About Ubermetrics
Ubermetrics is the leading content intelligence platform for marketing and PR professionals. With Ubermetrics, digital communicators find and analyze relevant content and can use the results to track, measure and optimize communication campaigns. In addition, relevant trends, influencers and communication channels as well as successful content can be determined. Per minute, the Ubermetrics platform processes over 50,000 articles and content from more than 460 million sources. Ubermetrics is based in Berlin and successfully works with clients in more than 15 countries worldwide.

About UNICEPTA
UNICEPTA is the leading provider of visionary AI-powered Media & Data Intelligence solutions with an added human factor of analytics and insights that drive faster, more effective business decisions. UNICEPTA offers real-time end-to-end Global Media Monitoring across all media channels (social media, online, broadcast, print), supported by Analytics & Insights to help the subscribed customer to spot corporate issues and opportunities immediately. UNICEPTA is headquartered in Cologne and has subsidiaries in Germany, the USA, China, Poland, Switzerland and the UK.

About Paragon
Paragon is one of the leading independent private equity firms in Europe with more than €1.2 billion of equity under management. Paragon works closely with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth and operational excellence. The investment portfolio covers various industries and currently comprises 14 companies. Since 2018, Paragon is majority shareholder of UNICEPTA. Paragon was founded in 2004 and is based in Munich, Germany.

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nnouncing vivitide, a New Name With Continuous Commitment to Science Based on Long Experience in the World of Peptides and Antibodies

GARDNER, Mass., January 15, 2021 (Newswire.com) – Delighted to announce the new company name, vivitide unites the vision and capabilities of previously merged New England Peptide and Peptides International under one, joint, global brand.

“Our new company name, vivitide, is a true reflection of our identity and commitment,” said Dr. Diekmann, CEO of vivitide. “We take pride in providing agile and flexible service to our customers, offering a broad suite of peptide and antibody services and products to the life science community. Together with our experienced personnel, outstanding customer care, quality, and service, we ensure our clients experience unparalleled support. Our employees take pride in being part of a vibrant life science community, and we confidently look forward to continued success and achievements for both our customers and us.”

“We have significantly evolved, expanded, and grown our services and portfolio over the past 12 months,” adds Ehab Alramahy, Vice President, Global Marketing and Sales. “Our employees are dedicated and highly motivated to fulfill and excel on behalf of our customers” Alramahy continues. “We have transformed our business processes and invested in both our employees and state-of-the art technology. All this together making it easier than ever for you to work with us.”

“With over 100 employees in North America, we established 24/7 production in our facilities to meet increasing demands in 2020. The company has a strong base for further organic growth, supplemented with future M&A activity, which will be a focus of the company’s executives, and Board of Directors,” adds Dr. Diekmann. “We’ll continue to serve customers worldwide as a leading supplier of peptides and antibodies, which play an important role in the research and development, diagnosis and therapy of diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, and COVID-19.”

About vivitide

vivitide is a global leader in custom peptides, antibody services, and catalog products for the life science and biotech industry. Formed by the merger of New England Peptide (founded 1998) and Peptides International (founded in 1983) in 2019, vivitide is headquartered in Gardner, MA, with significant operations in Louisville, KY. Committed to outstanding quality and customer care, vivitide provides a broad suite of custom peptide synthesis services, custom antibodies, catalog peptides, and biochemicals to academia, pharmaceutical, biotech, and diagnostic companies worldwide.

For more information feel free to visit our website www.vivitide.com, follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/vivitide/ or get in touch with Ehab Alramahy, Vice President Global Marketing and Sales at ealramahy@vivitide.com.

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Smartphone photo book sensation Once Upon sets out to conquer new markets with Verdane

Verdane Capital

Verdane, the Northern European specialist growth investor, has announced its investment in Once Upon Publishing AB, the leading app for making and designing photo books on smartphones. Once Upon is based in Skellefteå, Sweden, and operates across Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The company will draw on Verdane’s digital consumer investment experience to support its international expansion and product development. Once Upon reached a turnover of SEK75m in 2020, with closer to 2 million app downloads since launching in 2017. 

In addition to Verdane, which brings experience from investing in companies such as Boozt, Desenio, EasyPark and MatHem, Once Upon will continue to be supported by its existing investor Spintop Ventures.

“Many people today are overwhelmed with the number of photos on their phones and are looking for ways to turn them into curated memories and keepsakes. Our easy way to create stylish photo books on-the-go has found a strong following among busy parents who want to eternalise all those special moments but have little time. The Once Upon app guarantees that anyone can create a beautiful book with sleek Scandinavian design in as little as 20 minutes,” says Lina Andersson, CEO at Once Upon.

Once Upon was founded after Lina realised she didn’t have any printed photo memories of her daughter Sally, and felt that the user experience of existing photo printing services was unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming for a busy mother of three. Together with co-founders Johan Schiller and North Kingdom, the digital design agency, Lina set out to build the world’s number one brand for memories.

 

“We are very happy to welcome Once Upon to the Verdane family.  We have been following their journey over the last two years and are impressed by how they have built a fast-growing brand adored by their customers.  Equally inspiring is their team, who are obsessed with creating a seamless user experience with a proud Scandinavian footprint. This is exactly the sort of journey that we at Verdane are excited to be a part of, and we look forward to supporting them as they expand to new markets,” says Jakob Tolleryd, Partner at Verdane.

Once Upon is headquartered in Skellefteå, in northern Sweden, and currently has 25 employees, a number the company expects to double in the next 12 months. The company is proud of its Northern heritage and is committed to making Once Upon one of the best workplaces in its region.

“Once Upon has built a strong culture of innovation and co-creation that really stands out. It’s inspiring to see how every team member is empowered  to make decisions and the way innovation happens all around the company. It’s been a joy to watch this passionate team evolve, and we’re excited about the things to come,” says Sami Niemi, Partner at Spintop Ventures, who has been an investor in Once Upon since 2019 and also participated in this transaction.

 

About Once Upon

Once Upon is the easy way to turn your precious memories into well-designed photo books. Our vision is to celebrate life and spread happiness through making everyone’s memories shine. We’re based in the far North of Sweden and we have shipped worldwide to 87 countries. Our app has about 2 million downloads and is available in 12 languages.

 

About Verdane

Verdane is a specialist growth equity investment firm that partners with ambitious Northern European tech-enabled businesses to help them reach the next stage of international growth. Verdane pioneered portfolio acquisitions in Northern Europe in 2003, and announced a complementary fund strategy entirely dedicated to direct investments in 2018. Verdane’s eight funds hold €2.1bn in total commitments and have made over 120 investments into category leaders in digital consumer, energy & resource efficiency and software businesses. Verdane’s team of 62, based in Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled businesses in Northern Europe. www.verdane.com

 

About Spintop Ventures

Spintop Ventures is a Swedish early-stage Venture Capital company investing in Nordic software enabling technology companies. Spintop, started in 2009, is backed by the European Investment Fund, Saminvest, Sitra and many high-profile tech entrepreneurs and is currently investing from Spintop’s third fund. Spintop has a sustainable ESG investment agenda for its funds and portfolio companies.

Further information at www.spintopventures.com

 

Press contacts

Lina Andersson, CEO
Once Upon
lina@onceupon.se
+46 70 229 11 13

Jakob Tolleryd, Partner
Verdane
jakob.tolleryd@verdane.com
+46 70 964 23 80

Sami Niemi, Partner
Spintop Ventures
sami.niemi@spintopventures.com
+46 73 38 26 736

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Pembroke VCT exits its investment in Pasta Evangelists

Pembroke

Majority stake in innovative pasta delivery business acquired by Italian food giant

Pembroke VCT, the venture capital trust focused on building the consumer brands of tomorrow, has successfully exited its investment in Pasta Evangelists, which delivers restaurant-quality pasta direct to customers by post. The innovative meal kit business has agreed a deal whereby Italian firm, Barilla Group, will acquire a majority stake. The value of the deal is undisclosed.

Since 2016, Pasta Evangelists has been delivering boxes of fresh, high quality pasta across the UK, to enable customers to prepare five-star homemade dishes in five minutes, using only the freshest ingredients, and Italian where possible.

Pembroke VCT invested £2million in Pasta Evangelists in January 2020. Since then, the home delivery sector has thrived during the pandemic, as consumers have sought interesting ways to cook at home during lockdown.

Pembroke VCT has sold its stake in Pasta Evangelists as part of the deal with Barilla. The exit represents a 2.3x return in the twelve months since Pembroke initiated its investment.

Andrew Wolfson, CEO of Pembroke commented; “Pasta Evangelists is a success story for UK entrepreneurship. Pembroke backs exceptional founders and this outcome demonstrates that innovative companies with strong leadership can flourish in even the most challenging of times. This is an exciting start to the next chapter for Pasta Evangelists and we wish it every success in the future.”  

Press Office

Zoe Powell
e: zpowell@sharecomms.co.uk
dd: 020 7071 3932
m: 07866 639014

Sarah Plevnik
e: splevnik@sharecomms.co.uk
dd: 020 7074 3571
m: 07789 725585

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H.I.G. Realty Invests in Production Studios & Content Hub in Madrid

H.I.G. Europe

LONDON – January 15, 2021 – H.I.G. Capital, LLC (“H.I.G.”), a leading global alternative investment firm with $43 billion of equity capital under management, announced today that one of its affiliates has invested in Madrid Content City, an approximately 140,000 square meter hub with state of the art audio-visual facilities, including production studios, production & post-production technical facilities, and a university focused on media studies.

H.I.G. continues to add to its sizeable portfolio of real estate assets across Europe, consisting of both equity as well as debt investments, with a particular focus on its target market of value-added small and midcap opportunities.

Riccardo Dallolio, Managing Director and Head of H.I.G. Europe Realty Partners, commented: “Madrid Content City will benefit from strong secular tailwinds underpinned by the boom in content production. The state-of-the-art studios and related facilities, the exceptional multinational tenant line-up with long term leases, and its critical mass will make it a leading content production hub in continental Europe”.

Esteban Caja Samboal, Principal at H.I.G. Europe Realty Partners in Madrid, added: “This transaction further demonstrates our ability to leverage our strong local network, execution capabilities and invest in an innovative real estate asset class leveraging on H.I.G.’s real estate as well as TMT expertise”.

About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with $43 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Bogotá, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:

  1. H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
  2. H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
  3. H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $30 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

* Based on total capital commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.

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