Category Archives: News

Ardian Private Debt provides financing to support HG’S investment in A-PLAN

Ardian

London, March 15th – Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, today announces the arrangement of a Subordinated Debt Facility to support HgCapital’s (“Hg”) investment in A-Plan, one of the UK’s largest personal lines insurance brokers.

Founded in 1963, A-Plan is a leading UK specialist multichannel insurance broking group with a focus on personal lines and a growing presence in specialized products such as SME policies. The group’s core proposition is a branch-led, service-driven offering, valued by its large base of loyal customers that today make up over 1.5 million policies nationally.

Mark Brenke, Managing Director & Co-Head of Ardian Private Debt, said: “We are delighted to continue our relationship as financing partner to Hg and to be backing A-Plan, a leading player in the UK insurance industry. The Company’s management team have had demonstrable success in delivering continuous growth both organically and through M&A over an extended period and in particular, Carl Shuker (CEO), who has been with the business for almost 30 years, brings with him an exceptional depth of experience.”

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$90bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base.

Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.

Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 550 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of around 800 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

www.ardian.com

LIST OF PARTIES INVOLVED

Ardian Private Debt: Mark Brenke, Raaj Rabheru, Saam Serajian-Esfahan
HgCapital: Juan Campos, Giuseppe Franzé, Nika Kucifer

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN
Headland
EMMA RUTTLE
Tel: +44 20 3805 4816
eruttle@headlandconsultancy.com

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The Carlyle Group Acquires Minority Shareholding in Jeanologia, a Spanish Developer of Eco-Efficient Technologies for the Global Apparel & Textile Industry

Carlyle

Investment will support the company’s growth and continued development of disruptive sustainable technologies

London, Valencia – Global investment firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced it has acquired a significant minority share in Jeanologia, a developer of eco-efficient technologies for the denim industry. Jeanologia has developed a strategic plan to significantly reduce the use of water and the production of toxic waste from the global textile industry within the next five years.

Equity for the transaction comes from Carlyle Europe Partners (CEP) V.  Carlyle acquired its shareholding from MCH Private Equity, who will retain a minority stake in the company.

Established in 1994 and headquartered in Valencia, Jeanologia is a fast-growing supplier of innovative and sustainable solutions for the denim industry. The company’s products offer cost-efficient, sustainable technologies which are transforming the denim manufacturing process by drastically reducing the water consumption and environmental impact of the processing step of the denim industry.

A rapidly-growing percentage of the 6 billion pairs of jeans sold annually are produced with the company’s sustainable eco-efficient technology, and this is expected to increase significantly in the near future.   Jeanologia has ambitious international expansion plans, which will also see its investment in R&D double in the next three years.

Enrique Silla, CEO of Jeanologia said: “The entire Jeanologia team is very excited about the partnership with The Carlyle Group.  Jeanologia has grown at a tremendous rate over the past 20 years during which we have become one of the largest providers of sustainable textile solutions, and a major contributor to the global denim industry.

“This partnership will help us work towards our aspirational goal of eliminating waste water in the textile industry by 2023, making the manufacturing of traditional blue jeans an industrial and technological standard.”

Alex Wagenberg, Managing Director, The Carlyle Group, said: “We are delighted to partner with Enrique’s accomplished team in a company that is transforming the manufacturing industry with a clean, efficient and environmentally-friendly production process.

“We look forward to supporting Jeanologia’s explosive growth through the development of their innovative product range and pipeline of future sales.”

* * * * *

Media Contacts:

The Carlyle Group
Catherine Armstrong
Catherine.Armstrong@carlyle.com
+44 20 7894 1632

The Carlyle Group Press Office Spain – Kreab

Oscar Torres / Clara Eguiagaray
Email: otorres@kreab.com / ceguiagaray@kreab.com
Mobile. +34 685 929 026 / 91 702 71 70

Jeanology – DosdeC

Casanova&Carbonell Comunicación
Rocío Casanova
Email: comunicacion@dosdece.com
Phone: +34 639 68 11 18

About Jeanologia

Since 1994 their mission has been to create an ethical, sustainable and eco-efficient industry through their disruptive technology and know-how. Their laser, G2 ozone and e-flow system have revolutionized the textile industry.  They offer infinite design possibilities and garment finishes, while saving water, energy and chemicals, eliminating waste and toxic emissions.

The Spanish company currently has clients in 5 continents.  The export of its machines and services represents 90% of its total billing, reaching 61 countries. The biggest market brands place their confidence in Jeanologia, using technology developed by the company.

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with $216 billion of assets under management across 343 investment vehicles as of December 31, 2018. Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America.

Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,650 people in 31 offices across six continents.

Web: www.carlyle.com
Videos: www.youtube.com/onecarlyle
Tweets: www.twitter.com/onecarlyle
Podcasts: www.carlyle.com/about-carlyle/market-commentary

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MOBILEXPENSE strengthens international footprint by acquiring the Swedish market leader in travel expense management

Fortino Capital

MobileXpense, the Brussels-based company that provides worldwide mobile solutions for travel expense management, is making its first strategic acquisition in taking over eBuilder Travel, the travel and expense management market leader in Sweden. This further strengthens MobileXpense’s position as a key international software supplier. In 2017, Fortino Capital Partners invested 20 million euros in the company’s commercial growth and the development of new mobile services.

Pieter Geeraerts, CEO, clarifies MobileXpense’s ambition: “MobileXpense has shown substantial and consistent growth in recent years. This acquisition allows us to further heighten our position in the international market where we have become a leading European player able to challenge the world’s largest software suppliers. We want to maintain this pioneering position and develop solutions that are able to follow the most complex processes of large multinational corporate and governmental organizations.”

MobileXpense was founded in 2000 as one of the first European Software-as-a-Service (Saas) companies. It specializes in software applications for travel and expense management and offers complete automation of the entire process from planning and booking, to reimbursement and accounting. MobileXpense has become a front-row service provider for multinationals in Europe, the UK, the US, Latin America and China.

This success is due to the solution’s user-friendliness, flexible integration with existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and payroll solutions, and particularly its compliance with local tax regulations and procedures in more than 70 countries. MobileXpense currently has 1.2 million users worldwide, spread over 100+ countries and almost 300 corporate customers including blue-chip companies such as Canon, UCB, DB Schenker or Panalpina but also the Belgian National Bank and the Dutch government.

In 2018, Pieter Geeraerts joined MobileXpense as its new CEO, bringing along his strong track record in growing software companies. Today, MobileXpense reaches another important milestone with the acquisition of eBuilder Travel, a strong player in travel and expense management in the Nordics. With this acquisition, MobileXpense obtains a solid set of large customers in Sweden and Finland backed by a strong team of local experts and aims to further expand its activities in the Nordics and strengthen its international offering.

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Negotiations with the National Property Board of Sweden concerning Ratos property

Ratos

Ratos AB (publ) owns and has its headquarters in the Stockholm Lejonet 4 property located between the Rosenbad building (the prime minister’s office) and Sagerska Palatset (the prime minister’s official residence) on Drottninggatan in Stockholm. Security requirements in the area have increased, and are expected to continue to increase, resulting in a number of restrictions and obstacles for the operations at Ratos AB’s (publ) headquarters on Drottninggatan, including entry and exit restrictions. Ratos is therefore currently in negotiations with the National Property Board of Sweden regarding a possible transfer of ownership to the Swedish state.

The Stockholm Lejonet 4 property was acquired by Söderberg & Haak in 1938 and by Ratos AB (publ) in 1980 and had a book value in the company’s balance sheet of SEK 56m as of 31 December 2018.

For further information, please contact:
Jonas Wiström, CEO, Ratos, +46 8 700 17 00
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR and Press Ratos, +46 70 868 40 50

About Ratos:
Ratos owns and develops unlisted medium-sized companies in the Nordic countries. Our goal as an active owner is to contribute to long-term and sustainable operational development in the companies we invest in and to make value-generating transactions. Ratos’s portfolio consists of 12 medium-sized Nordic companies and the largest segments in terms of sales are Construction, Industrials and Consumer goods/Commerce. Ratos is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and has approximately 12,300 employees. 

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FPE Capital announces the successful sale of leading UK human capital management SaaS investment Kallidus achieving 3.0x MoC and 31% IRR

FPE Capital

FPE Capital (“FPE”) is pleased to announce its successful sale of Kallidus Holdings Limited (“Kallidus”), a leading human capital management and e-learning software as a service (SaaS) provider. The buyout of Kallidus will generate a 3.0x MoC and 31% IRR return for FPE funds, which in combination with funding for a subsequent bolt on achieves a blended return of 2.7x MoC and 34% IRR over the four-year investment period.

Headquartered in Cirencester, UK, Kallidus has grown rapidly in the period under FPE’s ownership, which included the bolt on acquisition of Advorto, a SaaS recruitment provider, in September 2017. Kallidus is being acquired by Apse Capital, which has strong knowledge of the sector, its Partners having previously invested in Seagull, a maritime e-learning and technology platform.

FPE Capital, which completed the raise of a new £101m fund in October 2017, partners with high growth UK-headquartered technology-enabled SMEs, including those in the software and human capital management space. It invested in Kallidus in April 2015 to fund further organic growth of the core business and subsequently backed the acquisition of Advorto to take the business into the recruitment sector. During FPE’s ownership, Kallidus invested heavily in its SaaS platform and successfully migrated the entire business and customer base to a full multi-tenant solution. FPE’s investment has also enabled Kallidus to deliver significant operational and sales process efficiencies to maximise top line revenue growth.

Henry Sallitt and Henry Ropner led the investment for FPE and were non-executive directors of Kallidus through-out the period.

Henry Sallitt, Managing Partner at FPE commented:

“It has been fantastic to see Kallidus grow and to be part of its development as it benefits from its major investment into the core software platform and expanded product offering. We would like to congratulate the team on their significant achievements in the past few years during our partnership with them, and to wish them continued growth and success.”

Rob Caul, CEO at Kallidus said:

“We are delighted with the support FPE has given us, helping us grow organically and through acquisition. Kallidus is at an exciting stage of its growth story and we believe we will benefit from Apse Capital’s expertise and support in our next stage of growth.”

Tim Green, Managing Partner of Apse Capital said:

“The successful completion of our investment in Kallidus marks an exciting phase in its development as we support the Company during the next stage of its growth. We look forward to working with Rob and the rest of the management team to continue to deliver world class human capital management and e-learning solutions.”

Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor, Charles Russell Speechlys LLP as legal advisor, RSM as financial due diligence advisor and CIL as commercial advisor to Kallidus. Capital Law and Momentum Corporate Finance advised the management team.

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Axon ICT I Fund is fully divested in seven years

Axon

14th march. Axon Partners Group successfully exited the last company in the portfolio of its ICT I Fund, marking the conclusion of the fund’s lifecycle.The fund achieved a strong overall annual return of 65% and a multiple of 3.5 times on invested capital. This performance positions Axon’s ICT I in the top quartile of the 2011 vintage funds in Europe. Companies such as Wuaki, Nice People at Work or Akamon were part of the portfolio and proved to be great examples of Spanish start-up success stories, each achieving exit valuations of over € 20m.

ICT I was primarily focused on investing in seed and early stage companies within the digital sector in Spain. A remarkably low average holding period of 3.4 years allowed the Fund to be fully divested in under 7 years. On top of that, the Fund had an unusual write-off ratio of 0%.

Both the low holding period and the 0% write-off ratio highly differ from what is normally observed in the early stage VC industry and are a clear proof of the current opportunity and maturity of the European VC market.

“When looking at the overall VC industry, it is usual to observe that the average loss ratio of early-stage funds stands at around 40-50%, and that holding periods are typically longer. Axon’s performance clearly breaks this stereotype. Through our Fund-of-Funds strategy, we have gained a deep insight into the European VC market, and we definitely see that the overall performance is improving. ICT I is certainly a top quartile performer not only at European, but also at global level” said Francisco Velázquez, President of Axon Partners Group.

“At Axon, we have a very rigorous selection process and deep level of involvement with our portfolio companies. This allows us to support and accelerate their growth while being able to detect and correct any deviation from the business plan. Our investment philosophy is not focused on the search for “unicorns”, but for companies backed by strong teams and disruptive, non-capital intensive business models”, remarked Alfonso de León, CEO of Axon Partners Group.

Axon Partners Group is an Alternative Asset Manager, with more than 12 years of track record investing in the technological sector. Currently, the firm has more than € 250m AUM across 3 funds in Europe, one in Latin America and another in India. In 2018, Axon launched Aurora Fund-of-Funds, which is the first FoF with an exclusive focus on the Pan-European tech opportunity.

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MOBILEXPENSE strengthens international footprint by acquiring the Swedish market leader in travel expense management

Fortino Capital

MobileXpense, the Brussels-based company that provides worldwide mobile solutions for travel expense management, is making its first strategic acquisition in taking over eBuilder Travel, the travel and expense management market leader in Sweden. This further strengthens MobileXpense’s position as a key international software supplier. In 2017, Fortino Capital Partners invested 20 million euros in the company’s commercial growth and the development of new mobile services.

Pieter Geeraerts, CEO, clarifies MobileXpense’s ambition: “MobileXpense has shown substantial and consistent growth in recent years. This acquisition allows us to further heighten our position in the international market where we have become a leading European player able to challenge the world’s largest software suppliers. We want to maintain this pioneering position and develop solutions that are able to follow the most complex processes of large multinational corporate and governmental organizations.”

MobileXpense was founded in 2000 as one of the first European Software-as-a-Service (Saas) companies. It specializes in software applications for travel and expense management and offers complete automation of the entire process from planning and booking, to reimbursement and accounting. MobileXpense has become a front-row service provider for multinationals in Europe, the UK, the US, Latin America and China.

This success is due to the solution’s user-friendliness, flexible integration with existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and payroll solutions, and particularly its compliance with local tax regulations and procedures in more than 70 countries. MobileXpense currently has 1.2 million users worldwide, spread over 100+ countries and almost 300 corporate customers including blue-chip companies such as Canon, UCB, DB Schenker or Panalpina but also the Belgian National Bank and the Dutch government.

In 2018, Pieter Geeraerts joined MobileXpense as its new CEO, bringing along his strong track record in growing software companies. Today, MobileXpense reaches another important milestone with the acquisition of eBuilder Travel, a strong player in travel and expense management in the Nordics. With this acquisition, MobileXpense obtains a solid set of large customers in Sweden and Finland backed by a strong team of local experts and aims to further expand its activities in the Nordics and strengthen its international offering.

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Servelec announces sale of Servelec Technologies to Laurel Solutions

Montagu

London | 14 March 2019

Servelec confirms the sale of its subsidiary Servelec Technologies, a market-leading provider of remote monitoring systems, secure SCADA systems, and business optimization software, to Laurel Solutions, a holding company which works with leading businesses to grow the smart use and development of industrial technology.

Servelec
Servelec, a leading software provider to the NHS and local government for over 20 years, will now focus on the healthcare, social care and children’s services markets. With a strategy to support the provision of Digital Care, Servelec’s software helps NHS trusts to deliver against the NHS 10 year plan for digital maturity and supports local authority social work, youth services and education practitioners in accessing the right information at the right time to deliver improved outcomes.

Neville Davis, Chairman of Servelec commented; “We are pleased to confirm the sale of Servelec Technologies. The company has a strong strategy in place to further develop the business and we wish David Frost, Managing Director of Servelec Technologies, and the team every success for the future.

“Servelec is now wholly focussed on our core public sector markets of NHS and local government. As these markets continue to integrate and share data to deliver improved care, we are working very closely with our customers to provide what they need for a joined-up future. Digital Care is at the heart of what we do; we are certain that this will enable the sectors we address to provide higher quality service in a more cost-effective manner.”

Servelec Technologies
“Servelec Technologies is a leading, global provider of connected remote monitoring and control solutions, helping clients and industries to realise their digital futures. The business is a leader in the UK and other water and wastewater markets, and a major player internationally in sectors including energy, transport and infrastructure. This investment further builds out our leading portfolio in remote asset monitoring and control.” said Martin Carter, CEO of Laurel Solutions. “We are excited to partner with Servelec Technologies’ highly talented management team, and plan significant investment in innovative products and solutions that will enhance their already outstanding offering.”

“We’re thrilled to have the backing of Laurel Solutions as we start a new chapter as a standalone business,” said David Frost, Managing Director at Servelec Technologies. “They bring not only the technical knowledge, but the business operations experience and capital resources that will be instrumental in our success and future growth.”

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DIF consortium reaches financial close on Walloon street lighting PPP

DIF

Schiphol, 13 March 2019 – DIF is pleased to announce that, as part of the LuWa consortium, it has reached financial close on Plan Lumiere 4.0, an availability PPP project involving the modernisation and maintenance of the street lighting network across the Walloon region’s main roads.

The consortium consists of DIF Infrastructure V (70% equity stake), together with its partners Citelum, CFE and Luminus. The authority partner is the Société de Financement Complémentaire des Infrastructures (SOFICO), the public company established to finance the maintenance and upgrade of motorways and other main roads in the Walloon region.

The 20 year DBFM contract covers 2,700 km of roads and interchanges. The project includes the replacement of approximately 100,000 street lights by modern LEDs with dimming capability, as well as the installation of a remote monitoring and management system.

The modernisation program will reduce the energy consumption of the network by 76%, equivalent to a reduction in CO2 emissions of 166,000 tons over the life of the project, as well reduce the light pollution generated by the network. Furthermore, the project will enhance regional employment opportunities: 400 new jobs will be created and 100,000 professional training hours will be organized together with the regional employment agency.

Gijs Voskuyl, partner at DIF, added: “DIF is proud to invest in this innovative project, which incorporates significant technological and ESG improvements, to the benefit of road users, local communities and the environment.”

Total debt funding for the project amounts to €230 million secured from BBVA, Belfius, BNP Paribas, KBC, SMBC and Société Générale.

Advisers to the consortium are Belfius/BDO (financial), DLA Piper (legal), Tiberghien (tax & accounting) and Operis (model audit). Advisors to the lenders are Jones Day (legal), AECOM (technical) and Willis Towers Watson (insurance).

About DIF
DIF is an independent infrastructure fund manager, with €5.6 billion of assets under management across seven closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in greenfield and brownfield infrastructure assets located primarily in Europe, North America and Australasia through two complementary strategies:

  • DIF Infrastructure V targets equity investments in public-private partnerships (PPP/PFI/P3), concessions, regulated assets and renewable energy projects with long-term contracted or regulated income streams that generate stable and predictable cash flows.
  • DIF Core Infrastructure Fund I targets equity investments in small to mid-sized infrastructure assets in the energy, transportation and telecom sectors with mid-term contracted income streams that generate stable and predictable cash flows.

DIF has a team of over 110 professionals, based in eight offices located in Schiphol (the Netherlands), Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Sydney and Toronto. Please visit www.dif.eu for further information.

Contact:
Allard Ruijs, Partner
Email: a.ruijs@dif.eu

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Gaw Capital Partners Completes Acquisition of 12 Shopping Centers in Hong Kong from Link REIT

Gaw Capital

March 13, 2019, Hong Kong – Real estate private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners today announced that the firm, through a fund under its management, and consortium partners, including Goldman Sachs, have completed the acquisition of a retail portfolio comprising 12 shopping centers in Hong Kong from Link Real Estate Investment Trust, which was bought for HK$12.01 billion – amounting to an average price of around HK$7,839 per sq. ft. excluding parking – following an agreement signed on December 12, 2018.
Gaw Capital Partners’ asset management team will be responsible for overseeing the operation of the 12 shopping malls and car parks from today, and will ensure a smooth handover to maintain service quality.
The portfolio is comprised of a number of strategically-located properties across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories that sit in the heart of densely-populated communities. The GFA of the portfolio totals 1.1 million sq. ft. of prime retail space and comes with over 4,700 parking spaces that are connected to highly-convenient transport links. Their excellent accessibility and holistic shopping environments have made them attractive destinations for retailers and hubs of community life for residents.
Goodwin Gaw, Chairman and Managing Principal of Gaw Capital Partners, said, “We and our partners are delighted to complete the acquisition today. We will utilize our experience to rejuvenate these malls and transform them into hubs that serve the needs of the local community and are natural extensions of residents’ homes.”
The shopping centers included in the portfolio are: the retail and car park within the Ap Lei Chau Estate, Chun Shek Shopping Centre, Fortune Shopping Centre, King Lam Shopping Centre, Lei Tung Commercial Centre, Ming Tak Shopping Centre, Shan King Commercial Centre, Siu Hei Commercial Centre, the retail and car park within the Tai Ping Estate, Wah Ming Shopping Centre, Wah Sum Shopping Centre and Wang Tau Hom (Wang Fai Centre).

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