Category Archives: News

Andera Partners sells its Life Sciences’ portfolio company Arvelle Therapeutics

Andera Partners

Andera Partners sells its Life Sciences’ portfolio company Arvelle Therapeutics to Angelini Pharma in a deal valued at up to $960 million

Andera co-led the $207.5m Series A financing of Arvelle Therapeutics in February 2019 and joined the company’s board of directors. With the Series A funds, Arvelle in-licensed European product rights to Cenobamate from SK BioPharmaceuticals, prepared regulatory submission for the drug candidate and established a European structure.

Cenobamate is a small molecule with a unique dual complementary mechanism of action. It acts by positively modulating the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) ion channel and inhibiting voltage-gated sodium currents. Key study findings documented Cenobamate’s clinical efficacy by showing a significant greater reduction in median seizure frequency and more patients achieving a 50% or greater reduction in seizure frequency compared to the placebo group (see press release link below). Cenobamate is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States as an anti-seizure medication for the treatment of focal-onset epileptic seizures in adults. In 2020 Arvelle filed for European approval of Cenobamate.

This transaction is the second industrial sale from Andera Life Sciences BioDiscovery 5 fund portfolio, following the sale of Corvidia to NovoNordisk for $2.1Bn in the summer of 2020. It further adds to four public listings of BioDiscovery 5 companies (Axonics, Erytech, LogicBio and Nyxoah), and occurs still during the funds’ investment period.

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Genezen Laboratories Receives Growth Equity Investment from Ampersand Capital Partners

Genezen Laboratories

FISHERS, Ind., Jan. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Genezen Laboratories, Inc., a cell and gene therapy Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) focused on early-phase process development, vector production, and analytical testing services, today announced a majority investment from Ampersand Capital Partners, a private equity firm specializing in growth equity investments in the healthcare sector. Ampersand’s investment will be used to complete the construction of the company’s 25,000 square foot cGMP-compliant lentiviral vector production facility, which will also offer a full suite of process development and analytical capabilities.

Genezen’s manufacturing facility, located north of Indianapolis in Fishers, IN, will leverage the company’s historical expertise in lentiviral vector production and development of cell and gene therapy products from preclinical through Phase I/II clinical development. The building will include multiple cGMP production suites, complete downstream processing and packaging capabilities, and comprehensive process development and analytical testing facilities. The process development laboratory will offer a range of customized production and analytical services, including those supporting cGMP and commercial readiness, upstream and downstream process improvements, research grade and preclinical vector production, and analytical assay development and validation. Analytical testing services, including Recombinant Competent Lentivirus testing (RCL), vector stability testing, and safety and sterility testing, will also be available. The company will round out its complete platform of cell and gene therapy CDMO services by continuing to offer cell manufacturing and patient sample testing through its existing academic partnerships.

Bill Vincent, Chairman and CEO of Genezen commented, “We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Ampersand in catalyzing the next phase of Genezen’s growth. Our recognized expertise in the lentiviral vector platform, combined with Ampersand’s unique cell and gene therapy CDMO experience, makes for a powerful combination. We look forward to providing a differentiated offering that will be critical in helping life-changing therapeutics reach the patients who need them.”

David Anderson, General Partner at Ampersand, added, “Given the ongoing growth of the cell and gene therapy sector, and the continued supply/demand imbalance in cGMP manufacturing, we are excited to partner with another specialized service provider in the space. We look forward to working with the Genezen team to leverage our deep experience with cell and gene therapy CDMOs to establish a leading platform in this revolutionary healthcare market.”

About Genezen Laboratories, Inc.

Founded in Indianapolis in 2014, Genezen Laboratories is focused on supporting the demands of the current and future gene and cell therapy manufacturing market worldwide— making viral vector production accessible to both early-stage, growth-oriented companies and established industry leaders. Genezen offers early-phase process development, GMP vector production, and analytical testing services, building on the company’s expansive knowledge and experience in the industry and working with the nation’s leading institutions. For more information, or to learn more about services offered in Genezen’s new cGMP facility, please visit genezenlabs.com.

About Ampersand Capital Partners

Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with more than $2 billion of assets under management 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 the firm’s core healthcare sectors. Additional information about Ampersand is available at ampersandcapital.com.

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Chronosphere Releases First Monitoring Product Purpose-Built for Cloud-Native, Raises $43.4 Million in Funding

General Atlantic

January 5, 2021

Chronosphere, the company redefining monitoring for the cloud-native world, today announced the general availability of its award-winning monitoring product. This release comes after a year in beta during which Chronosphere onboarded customers from emerging startups like Tecton to later stage startups including one of the largest delivery app companies to well-known global brands including a multinational financial services company.

“We basically don’t think about monitoring anymore as we spin Tecton deployments up and down. It’s way better than it was before,” said Ravi Trivedi, software engineer at Tecton, an enterprise feature store company for machine learning.

Today’s monitoring tools are not equipped to handle the complex and dynamic nature of cloud-native environments and while the recommended open source tools like Prometheus help get companies started, they do not scale. Chronosphere delivers scalable, reliable and customizable monitoring purpose-built for companies adopting cloud-native.

Chronosphere’s product is powered by the open source metrics engine M3 that Chronosphere founders Martin Mao, CEO, and Rob Skillington, CTO, developed while at Uber. There they experienced first-hand the complexity and scale required to monitor cloud-native workloads. They solved this by scaling M3 to one of the largest production monitoring systems in the world storing tens of billions of time series and analyzing billions of data points per second in real-time.

“Everyone understands the business benefits of cloud-native architecture, but not many think about the implications,” said Mao. “For monitoring, you need a solution that is not only compatible with the rest of the ecosystem, but one that can also handle all of the data produced by the ephemeral and complex nature of these new environments.”

Chronosphere not only allows customers to store and retrieve the massive amounts of monitoring data produced by cloud-native environments, but it also does so with an order of magnitude more cost efficient than existing solutions. Additionally, Chronosphere lets customers understand and control their spending, even as the data continues to grow. This level of visibility and control is the first of its kind in an industry notorious for unexpected and uncontrollable bills. Chronosphere customers are estimated to reduce monitoring costs by up to 10 times.

Chronosphere’s monitoring product is provided as a hosted service, eliminating the need to manage monitoring infrastructure while maintaining 100% compatibility with cloud-native standards like Prometheus, PromQL and Grafana Dashboards. Customers can retain the vendor-neutral industry standards and tooling they have grown to love without worrying about the management overhead.

Chronosphere Raises a $43.4 Million Series B Growth Funding Round

Today Chronosphere also announced $43.4 million in Series B funding, bringing the total raised to $55 million. This round was led by previous investors Greylock, Lux Capital and venture capitalist Lee Fixel with participation from new investor General Atlantic.

Jerry Chen, Partner at Greylock and Chronosphere Board Member, said: “Chronosphere’s incredible customer wins and growth since Greylock led the Series A in 2019 show how badly customers need a cloud-native monitoring solution. In 2020, co-founders Martin and Rob have been able to hire strong team members, release critical product features, and close important customers. I look forward to continuing to partner with them as more customers experience the magic of Chronosphere’s monitoring product.”

Brandon Reeves, Partner at Lux Capital and Chronosphere Board Observer, said: “In just over a year since the Series A, customers ranging from decacorn startups to more than $100 billion in enterprise value publicly traded companies have chosen Chronosphere to monitor their mission critical workloads. And they have accomplished this with nearly a 100% pilot to production conversion.”

Anton Levy, Co-President, Managing Director, and Global Head of Technology Investing at General Atlantic, said: “Chronosphere is at the forefront of the shift to next-generation data monitoring, and offers the cost-effective scalability and reliability that leading enterprises need. We believe the company’s end-to-end solution – and application across a range of verticals – has the potential to transform the industry.”

Since formally launching in November 2019, Chronosphere has been named a Gartner Cool Vendor in Performance Analysis [1],  a Vendor to Watch by EMA, one of the 50 most promising startups by The Information, one of 31 commercial open source software startups that will thrive during Covid in Business Insider and a Startup to Watch by Built In NYC.

About Chronosphere

Chronosphere’s mission is to enable organizations to operate reliably at scale and make precise, data-driven decisions. Chronosphere provides solutions for scale, performance, reliability and cost efficiency. Chronosphere is backed by Greylock, Lux Capital, General Atlantic and Lee Fixel. For more information, visit https://chronosphere.io or follow @chronosphereio.

[1] Gartner, Cool Vendors in Performance Analysis, by Padraig Byrne and Gregg Siegfried, 5 October 2020 (report available to Gartner subscribers here).

Media Contacts

Mary Armstrong & Emily Japlon
General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com

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Gladstone Investment Corporation Exits its Investment in Frontier Packaging

Gladstone

MCLEAN, VA / ACCESSWIRE / January 4, 2021 / Gladstone Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:GAIN) (“Gladstone Investment”) announced today the sale of its portfolio company Frontier Packaging, Inc. (“Frontier Packaging,” or “Frontier”). As a result of this transaction, Gladstone Investment received repayment of its debt investment at par and realized a significant gain on its equity investment. Gladstone Investment acquired Frontier Packaging in partnership with management in 2012.

Frontier Packaging, headquartered in Tukwila, WA, is a market-leading provider of packaging materials to the fish processing industry across the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

“Gladstone Investment has developed a strong relationship with Frontier’s management team over nearly a decade. We believe this is the strongest management team in the industry and are proud to have supported them through a period of sustained growth,” said Kyle Largent, Executive Vice President of Gladstone Investment. “We wish Frontier and the management team continued success.”

“With our sale of Frontier Packaging and from our inception in 2005, Gladstone Investment has exited over 20 of its management supported buy-outs, generating significant net realized gains on these investments in the aggregate,” said David Dullum, President of Gladstone Investment. “Our strategy as a buyout fund, realizing gains on equity, while also generating strong current income during the investment period from debt investments alongside our equity investments, provides meaningful value to our shareholders through stock appreciation and dividend growth. Significant winners like Frontier prove out our focus on buying high quality businesses, backing outstanding management teams and being able to have investments with long hold periods.”

Gladstone Investment Corporation is a publicly traded business development company that seeks to make secured debt and equity investments in lower middle market private businesses in the United States in connection with acquisitions, changes in control and recapitalizations. Additional information can be found at www.gladstoneinvestment.com.

For Investor Relations inquiries related to any of the monthly distribution-paying Gladstone family of funds, please visit www.gladstonecompanies.com.

Forward-looking Statements:

The statements in this press release regarding the longer-term prospects of Gladstone Investment and Frontier Packaging and its management team, and the ability of Gladstone Investment and Frontier Packaging to be successful in the future are “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements inherently involve certain risks and uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Although these statements are based on Gladstone Investment’s current beliefs that are believed to be reasonable as of the date of this press release, a number of factors could cause actual results and conditions to differ materially from these forward-looking statements, including those factors described from time to time in Gladstone Investment’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gladstone Investment undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

For further information: Gladstone Investment Corporation, 703-287-5810

SOURCE: Gladstone Investment Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/622824/Gladstone-Investment-Corporation-Exits-its-Investment-in-Frontier-Packaging

Released January 4, 2021

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Paycor received commitments for $270 million in new investment led by Neuberger Berman and QIA and accompanied by other new investors

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Apax

4 January 2021

Cincinnati and New York, January 4, 2021 – Paycor, a leading provider of SaaS Payroll and Human Capital Management software, today announced that it has received commitments for $270 million in new investment co-led by Neuberger Berman, on behalf of certain funds for which it serves as investment adviser, and Qatar Investment Authority (“QIA”) and accompanied by other new investors including ClearBridge Investments, Franklin Templeton, Leumi Partners, and Teca Partners.

Paycor received commitments for $270 million in new investment led by Neuberger Berman and QIA and accompanied by other new investors

Paycor is a trusted partner to more than 40,000 medium and small-sized businesses. Known for delivering modern, intuitive recruiting, HR and payroll solutions, Paycor partners with businesses to optimize the management of their most valuable asset — their people.

“The partnership of these new investors with Paycor speaks to the momentum we have achieved as a leader in HCM and the opportunities we see ahead,” said Raul Villar, Jr., Paycor’s Chief Executive Officer. “This allows Paycor to accelerate our strategy of serving our customers with industry-leading technology and expertise.”

Jason Wright, Partner at Apax Partners said, “Cloud HCM / Payroll is a large, growing market with evolving customer needs. Paycor’s next-generation, integrated suite of solutions is at the forefront of this evolution. In the last three years, Paycor has undergone a substantial transformation, investing in its product, go-to-market strategy, and management team, while continuing to scale the business. We welcome Neuberger Berman, QIA, ClearBridge Investments, Franklin Templeton, Leumi Partners and Teca Partners as additional investors to support the company’s growth strategy.”

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as Sole Placement Agent on the financing. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal advisor to Paycor.

This press release is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute, or form a part of, an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

– END –

About Paycor
Paycor creates HR software for leaders who want to make a difference. Our Human Capital Management (HCM) platform modernizes every aspect of people management, from the way you recruit, onboard and develop people, to the way you pay and retain them. But what really sets us apart is our focus on business leaders. For 30 years, we’ve been listening to and partnering with leaders, so we know what they need: HR technology that saves time, powerful analytics that provide actionable insights and dedicated support from HR experts. That’s why more than 40,000 medium & small businesses trust Paycor to help them solve problems and achieve their goals.

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

About Neuberger Berman
Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge funds—on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 24 countries, Neuberger Berman’s diverse team has over 2,300 professionals. For seven consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). In 2020, the PRI named Neuberger Berman a Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The PRI also awarded Neuberger Berman an A+ in every eligible category for our approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The firm manages $374 billion in client assets as of September 30, 2020. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

About QIA
Qatar Investment Authority (“QIA”) is the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar. QIA was founded in 2005 to invest and manage the state reserve funds. QIA is among the largest and most active sovereign wealth funds globally. QIA invests across a wide range of asset classes and regions as well as in partnership with leading institutions around the world to build a global and diversified investment portfolio with a long-term perspective that can deliver sustainable returns and contribute to the prosperity of the State of Qatar.

Media contacts

For Paycor
Katy Bunn | +1 513.307.6392 | KBunn@paycor.com

For Apax Partners
Katarina Sallerfors | +44 207 872 6526 | katarina.sallerfors@apax.com
Kekst CNC | +1 212 521 4854 | todd.fogarty@kekstcnc.com

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Platinum Equity Acquires Controlling Stake in Mad Engine, A Global Provider of Licensed, Branded, and Private Label Apparel and Accessories

Platinum

Press Release · January 04, 2021

Company’s current shareholders and management team retain minority interest and
leadership responsibilities

Transaction highlights continued momentum of Platinum Equity’s Small Cap team

LOS ANGELES AND SAN DIEGO (January 4, 2021) – Platinum Equity announced today that it has acquired a controlling stake in leading apparel company Mad Engine from affiliates of the company’s current ownership group, which has owned the business since 2011. The existing shareholders and management have retained a meaningful equity interest and will continue to serve in leadership roles.

Mad Engine is a full-service, global apparel and accessories company that creates, designs, produces and distributes a full range of licensed, private label and branded products.

“From its roots as a small, narrowly focused company in San Diego, Mad Engine has grown into one of the world’s leading providers of apparel and a trusted partner to many of the world’s most iconic brands,” said Platinum Equity Partner Jacob Kotzubei. “The company is a well-established, scalable platform operating in a highly fragmented industry, which creates a perfect opportunity to continue investing in and growing the business. We have great respect for everything Mad Engine has accomplished and our team is excited to help maximize the company’s potential.”

Founded in 1987, Mad Engine today manages a large and diverse portfolio of licenses with major corporations, brands, and entertainment businesses, including Disney, Warner Brothers, Epic Games, IMG, Nickelodeon, Netflix, Coca-Cola, and hundreds of others. Mad Engine’s products are sold through leading retailer partners including Walmart, Target, Old Navy, Kohl’s and JC Penney, in addition to specialty retailers, e-commerce channels and other outlets.

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with Platinum and are confident that they are the perfect partner for us,” said Mad Engine CEO Danish Gajiani. “Their fervent desire to grow the business is very exciting for all of us at Mad Engine.”

“Platinum has a lot of experience working with businesses like ours and will provide us strategic, financial and operational support, enabling us to pursue an ambitious new phase of growth and expansion,” added Mad Engine President and Chief Operating Officer Faizan Bakali. “This partnership with Platinum gives us tremendous strength as we continue to serve our retailers, licensor partners and, ultimately, the end consumer.”

“From its roots as a small, narrowly focused company in San Diego, Mad Engine has grown into one of the world’s leading providers of apparel and a trusted partner to many of the world’s most iconic brands,” said Platinum Equity Partner Jacob Kotzubei. “The company is a well-established, scalable platform operating in a highly fragmented industry, which creates a perfect opportunity to continue investing in and growing the business. We have great respect for everything Mad Engine has accomplished and our team is excited to help maximize the company’s potential.”

Mad Engine has multiple sales, design, and operational facilities and a talented team of designers, artists, merchandisers and product developers. The company’s business has expanded beyond men’s and boy’s t-shirts to include fashion tops and bottoms, denim, dresses, outerwear, pajamas, underwear, hats and beanies, backpacks, purses, watches, and sunglasses across a wide spectrum of categories and geographies.

The Mad Engine deal represents the seventh platform investment by Platinum
Equity’s Small Cap team, including five completed during 2020.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as Platinum Equity’s legal counsel on the acquisition of Mad Engine. Buchalter represented Mad Engine.

Lincoln International acted as the exclusive investment banking representative for Mad Engine.

Wells Fargo Capital Finance is supporting the transaction and will remain the company’s lending partner.

About Platinum Equity
Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with approximately $23 billion of assets under management and a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world. The firm is currently investing from Platinum Equity Capital Partners V, a $10 billion global buyout fund, and Platinum Equity Small Cap Fund, a $1.5 billion buyout fund focused on investment opportunities in the lower middle market. Platinum Equity specializes in mergers, acquisitions and operations – a trademarked strategy it calls M&A&O® – acquiring and operating companies in a broad range of business markets, including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services, media and entertainment, technology, telecommunications and other industries. Over the past 25 years Platinum Equity has completed more than 300 acquisitions.

About Mad Engine
Founded in 1987, Mad Engine has grown to become a leading global wholesaler of licensed, branded and private label apparel and accessories. Top licenses include Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Fortnite, Netflix and Nickelodeon. Company-owned brands include Lifted Research Group (LRG), Neff Headwear and Mighty Fine. Mad Engine’s footprint spans multiple continents, with unique locations dedicated to customer service, manufacturing, quality assurance and distribution. This process better enables the company to fully meet the needs of every customer – from independent boutiques to mass market retailers – ensuring the best customer experience possible.

Investor Relations
and Media Contacts:

Mark Barnhill
Partner
+1 310.228.9514 E-mail Mark

Dan Whelan
Principal
+1 310.282.9202 E-mail Dan

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Waterlogic strengthens its position in Sweden with the acquisition of three companies

Castik Capital

04.01.2021

Waterlogic, a leading global designer, manufacturer, distributor and service provider of purified drinking water dispensers, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Vattentornet Aqua Concilio, Waterconcept and Thoreau International, hereby referred to collectively as ‘Thoreau’.

Vattentornet Aqua Concilio services dispensers in offices and workplaces in western Sweden, with some dispensers also located in Stockholm, Östergötland and Skåne. Waterconcept focuses purely on the HoReCa market under the Thoreau brand, boasting strong brand recognition in Sweden alongside its trademarked bottle. Thoreau International sells franchises for HoReCa businesses outside of Sweden, providing product concept, marketing support, expertise and brand recognition to offer quick and affordable solutions for start-ups.

Founded in 1992, Waterlogic has pioneered the application of advanced technology in the design of its water dispensers to deliver the safest, best-tasting water proven effective against COVID-19, in the most sustainable way to organisations around the world. Waterlogic is a vertically integrated company operating throughout Europe, the Americas and Australia with its own manufacturing operations in Australia, China and the U.S, and an extensive independent global distribution network reaching over 50 countries.

Mattias Källemyr, CEO Waterlogic Sweden, says, “We are excited to expand the Waterlogic offering for the HoReCa sector, adding the well-respected Thoreau brand to complete our already impressive hospitality concept – Purezza. We welcome the Thoreau employees to Waterlogic and wish them every success in our combined business.”

The acquisition of the Swedish companies results in the addition of 1,000 machines in field (MIF) and use of the highly valued Thoreau brand to expand our hospitality offering in Sweden alongside our already established Purezza brand. Waterlogic Sweden will provide hydration solutions for a wide range of organisations from small offices and workplaces to large international and corporate offices, hospitality and HoReCa businesses.

Former Thoreau owner Jörgen Andersson says, “I have great confidence in the expansion plan for the Thoreau concept, and the opportunity to merge with Waterlogic is important in enabling us to continue to expand the brand at an international level and of course locally in Sweden.”

Waterlogic was acquired in January 2015 by funds managed by Castik Capital, the European private equity investor. Thoreau is the most recent acquisition as part of the company’s buy and build strategy since the acquisition by Castik, and following substantial acquisitions in the US and Canada, UK, Australia, Spain, France, Germany, Latin America and Scandinavia.

Media Contact

Rosanna Turner, Group Marketing Communications Manager
rosanna.turner@waterlogic.com

About Waterlogic

Waterlogic is an innovative designer, manufacturer, distributor and service provider of drinking water dispensers and accessories designed for environments such as offices, factories, hospitals, restaurants, hotels, schools and public spaces. From freestanding, countertop and integrated dispensers to water filling stations, fountains and boilers, every solution focuses on delivering the best quality water in the safest and most sustainable way. An extensive range of consumables and accessories adapts to customer needs and is available on subscription service to guarantee cost savings and continuous supply.

Founded in 1992, Waterlogic was one of the first companies to introduce mains-fed dispensers to customers worldwide, and has been at the forefront of the market promoting product design and water quality, the application of proprietary technologies, sustainability and world-class sales and service.

Waterlogic has its own subsidiaries in 18 countries and its core markets are the US, Australia and Western Europe, in particular the UK and Germany. The company drives growth organically and through M&A to consolidate its lead in existing territories and extend its reach to new markets. In addition, Waterlogic’s extensive and expanding independent global distribution network spans over 50 countries around the world in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and South Africa. Its far-reaching market coverage means Waterlogic is the only water dispenser provider able to cover the full geographical needs of global customers under one roof. More information can be found at www.waterlogic.com.

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IK Investment Partners, Bertrand Liber and LSA’s management enter exclusive discussions with BlackFin to support the insurance broker in its next chapter of growth

ik-investment-partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap II Fund has entered exclusive discussions to acquire a majority stake in LSA (“LSA” or “the Company”) from BlackFin Capital Partners (“Blackfin”). ISAI will be joining IK by acquiring a minority stake, alongside LSA’s CEO, Bertrand Liber and management. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Founded in 1970, LSA is a leading online insurance brokerage platform providing Property & Casualty (P&C) cover for individuals and small businesses in France. The Company specialises in automotive insurance products for non-standard risks, leveraging the prominence of its main brand Assurpeople.com and its fully digital customer experience. LSA covers the whole value chain of insurance products, including acquisition, subscription, contract and claim management through its proprietary IT platform.

Over recent years, LSA has diversified its offering, notably towards animal health insurance with the brand Fidanimo, and more recently by launching Airbag, a wholesale broker specialised in decennial civil liability insurance products for construction professionals. LSA is led by Bertrand Liber, who joined the Company in 2008 and became CEO in 2015. The Company currently employs 135 people based in its headquarters in Rueil-Malmaison and manages over 180,000 contracts in close partnership with leading insurance companies operating in France.

The transaction represents the 15th investment from IK’s €550 million Small Cap II Fund, raised in 2018.

Bertrand Liber, CEO of LSA said:“The LSA team and I are delighted to be partnering with IK, a leading private equity firm in Europe. The team brings impressive credentials in the insurance brokerage sector and has significant experience in helping companies like LSA scale up and grow while ISAI will be the perfect partner to leverage our tech-positioning. I sincerely would like to thank everyone at BlackFin for their help over the last five years in supporting the change of scale and the diversification strategy.”

Arnaud Bosc, Partner at IK and advisor to the IK Small Cap II Fund said:“We have been impressed by LSA’s remarkable track record of growth and the quality of the management team. Having carved a profitable segment of non-standard automotive risks, the Company stands to benefit by applying its digital model to other underserved segments of the market. We look forward to working with Bertrand to develop a platform for further growth.”

Christophe Poupinel, Partner at ISAI said:“LSA perfectly matches the investment strategy of our fund ISAI Expansion: an InsurTech with a dynamic growth, a recognised expertise and a strong focus on digital. We are delighted to work with IK and look forward to supporting the business in its next chapter of growth.”

Bruno Rostain, Partner at BlackFin said:“We have had a fantastic journey with LSA over the last five years and sincerely enjoyed working with Bertrand. Now is the right time for a new partner to come on board and we wish LSA every success in working with IK.”

Parties involved in the transaction:

IK Investment Partners: Arnaud Bosc, Pierre Gallix, Caroline Le Hen, Thierry Aoun, Pauline Lloret
ISAI: Christophe Poupinel, Nicolas Martineau , Antoine Lacour
Legal Advisor: Willkie Farr & Gallagher (Eduardo Fernandez, Hugo Nocerino, Ralph Unger)
Financial / Legal / Tax / Social BDD: PwC (Céline Appel, Marc-Olivier Roux, Yannick Olivier, Bernard Borrely)
Financing: Goldman Sachs Private Capital (Camille de Lamotte, Pierre Grandjean)
Management: LSA (Bertrand Liber, Julie Leveillé-Nizerolle, Henri Lavaure, Anthony Derien, Ludovic Saint-Laurens, Nicolas de Soubeyran, Hervé Lahogue, Laurent Cathalan)
BlackFin: Bruno Rostain, Sabine Mathis, Julien Renaud
M&A Advisor Seller: Rothschild Transaction R (Pierre Sader, Philippe de Montreynaud, Julien Fauconnier, Hadrien Lerouge)
Legal Advisor Seller: Gide (Pierre Karpik, Louis Oudot de Dainville)
Legal Advisor Management: Lerins & BCW (Laurent Julienne, Yohann-David Saadoun)
Tax Advisor Management: Delaby & Dorison (Emmanuel Delaby, Clément Martin)
Financial VDD: Grant Thornton (Emmanuel Riou, Tanguy Guilbaud, Nicolas Salle, Jules Bourdin)

For further questions, please contact:

IK Investment Partners

Maitland/AMO
James McFarlane
Phone: +44 (0) 7584 142 665
jmcfarlane@maitland.co.uk

About IK Investment Partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €13 billion of capital and invested in over 140 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com

About ISAI

Launched in 2010, ISAI Gestion is the French Tech entrepreneurs’ fund gathering more than 300 entrepreneurs across the world. ISAI, authorized by French regulator AMF, can fund and support high potential companies at early stages (venture capital, €150k to €3M initial tickets with ability for follow-on rounds) or at more mature stages (growth equity/LBO, €5M to €30M investments). Follow ISAI at www.isai.vc

About Blackfin

BlackFin is a sector-focused private equity manager, specialized in Financial Services across Europe. The firm’s investment strategy focuses on asset-light businesses in the financial services sector such as payments, independent financial advisors, wealth and asset management, insurance and credit brokerage, business process outsourcing or administration, capital markets and financial technology. BlackFin Capital Partners is a fully independent firm, founded in 2009 by four partners with a demonstrated track record as managers and entrepreneurs in the financial industry. The operational DNA of the firm stems from this experience. Altogether the team consists of 30 experienced professionals operating out of three offices in Paris, Brussels and Frankfurt. BlackFin manages in excess of €1.8bn, across three sector-focused buyout funds, and a VC fund dedicated to Fintech investments. For more information visit www.blackfincp.com

About LSA

Established in 1970, LSA Courtage is a leading online insurance brokerage platform specializing in P&C products in France for individuals and small corporates, which are distributed under its own brands or under white label. The company’s 135 employees work in support of the largest insurers in the French market with extensive underwriting and management capacities. LSA distinguishes itself by its particularly strong position in underserviced areas of the market as well as its use of new technologies in insurance distribution and management. For more information visit www.lsa-courtage.com

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Paycor received commitments for $270 million in new investment led by Neuberger Berman and QIA and accompanied by other new investors

Apax

Paycor received commitments for $270 million in new investment led by Neuberger Berman and QIA and accompanied by other new investors

4 January 2021

Cincinnati and New York, January 4, 2021 – Paycor, a leading provider of SaaS Payroll and Human Capital Management software, today announced that it has received commitments for $270 million in new investment co-led by Neuberger Berman, on behalf of certain funds for which it serves as investment adviser, and Qatar Investment Authority (“QIA”) and accompanied by other new investors including ClearBridge Investments, Franklin Templeton, Leumi Partners, and Teca Partners.

Paycor is a trusted partner to more than 40,000 medium and small-sized businesses. Known for delivering modern, intuitive recruiting, HR and payroll solutions, Paycor partners with businesses to optimize the management of their most valuable asset — their people.

“The partnership of these new investors with Paycor speaks to the momentum we have achieved as a leader in HCM and the opportunities we see ahead,” said Raul Villar, Jr., Paycor’s Chief Executive Officer. “This allows Paycor to accelerate our strategy of serving our customers with industry-leading technology and expertise.”

Jason Wright, Partner at Apax Partners said, “Cloud HCM / Payroll is a large, growing market with evolving customer needs. Paycor’s next-generation, integrated suite of solutions is at the forefront of this evolution. In the last three years, Paycor has undergone a substantial transformation, investing in its product, go-to-market strategy, and management team, while continuing to scale the business. We welcome Neuberger Berman, QIA, ClearBridge Investments, Franklin Templeton, Leumi Partners and Teca Partners as additional investors to support the company’s growth strategy.”

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as Sole Placement Agent on the financing. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal advisor to Paycor.

This press release is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute, or form a part of, an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

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About Paycor
Paycor creates HR software for leaders who want to make a difference. Our Human Capital Management (HCM) platform modernizes every aspect of people management, from the way you recruit, onboard and develop people, to the way you pay and retain them. But what really sets us apart is our focus on business leaders. For 30 years, we’ve been listening to and partnering with leaders, so we know what they need: HR technology that saves time, powerful analytics that provide actionable insights and dedicated support from HR experts. That’s why more than 40,000 medium & small businesses trust Paycor to help them solve problems and achieve their goals.

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

About Neuberger Berman
Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge funds—on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 24 countries, Neuberger Berman’s diverse team has over 2,300 professionals. For seven consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). In 2020, the PRI named Neuberger Berman a Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The PRI also awarded Neuberger Berman an A+ in every eligible category for our approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The firm manages $374 billion in client assets as of September 30, 2020. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

About QIA
Qatar Investment Authority (“QIA”) is the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar. QIA was founded in 2005 to invest and manage the state reserve funds. QIA is among the largest and most active sovereign wealth funds globally. QIA invests across a wide range of asset classes and regions as well as in partnership with leading institutions around the world to build a global and diversified investment portfolio with a long-term perspective that can deliver sustainable returns and contribute to the prosperity of the State of Qatar.

Media contacts

For Paycor
Katy Bunn | +1 513.307.6392 | KBunn@paycor.com

For Apax Partners
Katarina Sallerfors | +44 207 872 6526 | katarina.sallerfors@apax.com
Kekst CNC | +1 212 521 4854 | todd.fogarty@kekstcnc.com

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Levine Leichtman Capital Partners Sells Jonathan Engineered Solutions

Levine Leichtman

LOS ANGELES, CA, January 4, 2021
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (“LLCP”), a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, announced today that it has sold its portfolio company Jonathan Engineered Solutions (“JES” or the “Company”) to JLL Partners.

JES, based in Irvine, CA, is the global market leader in the design and manufacturing of highly engineered steel and aluminum mechanical components for defense, commercial and industrial end markets. With a legacy that spans nearly 70 years, the Company’s ruggedized enclosure solutions protect operating systems in aircraft, naval ships and submarines for the U.S. military and its allies.

Micah Levin, a Senior Managing Director at LLCP, said, “The JES investment has been very successful for LLCP, our partners and the Company’s management team. Since our initial investment in 2016, we are proud to have enhanced the value of JES by investing in a best-in-class management team, driving growth and diversification organically and through acquisitions, expanding the product suite and implementing operational improvements. JES has an exciting future, and we wish the team continued success.”

Jason Cianciarulo, CEO of JES, commented, “It has been a true pleasure partnering with the LLCP team through this time of unprecedented growth. We appreciate their support and expertise in advancing our strategic initiatives, their unwavering confidence in our management team and the capital they provided to acquire complementary businesses. We have benefitted significantly from our collaboration and are excited to enter the next phase of growth.”

Harris Williams served as lead financial advisor with Stifel serving as co-advisor. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor to JES in connection with the transaction.

About Levine Leichtman Capital Partners

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, LLC is a middle-market private equity firm with a 37-year track record of investing across various targeted sectors, including franchising, professional services, education and engineered products. LLCP utilizes a differentiated Structured Private Equity investment strategy, combining debt and equity capital investments in portfolio companies.

LLCP’s global team of dedicated investment professionals is led by seven partners who have worked together for an average of 21 years. Since inception, LLCP has managed approximately $11 billion of institutional capital across 14 investment funds and has invested in over 90 portfolio companies. LLCP currently manages approximately $7 billion of assets – including its most recent flagship fund, Levine Leichtman Capital Partners VI, L.P., which closed in 2018 with $2.5 billion of committed capital – and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Charlotte, Miami, London, Stockholm and The Hague.

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