Category Archives: News

Oakley sells partial stake in PARSHIP ELITE Group

Transaction values the business at €300m, representing a return of 3.6x MM on original investment and an IRR of approximately 150%. Oakley retains an ongoing stake in the business to benefit from further growth.

Oakley Capital Private Equity is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Private Equity II (“Fund II”) has reached an agreement to sell a controlling stake in PARSHIP ELITE Group (the “Group”), a leading online dating service in the German-speaking world, to ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (“ProSiebenSat.1”), with Fund II and existing management retaining stakes totalling just under 50% of the Group.

This deal means that, since the initial acquisition 16 months ago, the equity investment has generated a 2.3x cash return and a money multiple of 3.6x overall, including Fund II’s retained stake in the Group.

ProSiebenSat.1 is acquiring its interest in PARSHIP ELITE Group based on an enterprise value of €300 million. Fund II will receive gross proceeds of €129 million and retain a significant minority stake in the Group, providing investors with participation in further potential value upside.

Over the 16 months under Fund II’s ownership, PARSHIP ELITE Group has delivered strong organic growth and at the same time has consolidated its position as a leading player in the online dating market, through the acquisition of Elite Partner, signed just six weeks after the initial PARSHIP investment.

Peter Dubens, Managing Partner of Oakley Capital Private Equity, commented: “The sale of this stake in PARSHIP ELITE Group locks in an impressive return for Fund II and a continued stake in a fast growth business. Oakley Capital has a successful history of working with ProSiebenSat.1 with both parties currently invested in online consumer business, Verivox. We are excited by the opportunity that Fund II has created to once again partner with ProSiebenSat.1. Oakley Capital and the management of PARSHIP ELITE Group believe that the value of our retained stake will be significantly enhanced within the ProSiebenSat.1 group of companies by allowing PARSHIP ELITE Group to leverage ProSiebenSat.1’s leading position in the media sector.”

Rebecca Gibson, Partner of Oakley Capital Private Equity, commented: “The strong growth of this company is a further demonstration of Oakley’s expertise in the online sector and its ability to identify value generating opportunities. We have worked in partnership with the management team to drive organic growth whilst encouraging ambitious strategic acquisitions that have brought scale and operational leverage. It also highlights our ability to deliver impressive returns in a relatively short amount of time. We would like to thank the PARSHIP ELITE Group management team, and look forward to working with them and ProSiebenSat.1 in creating further growth and value.”

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Trescal acquires Precision Metrology Inc.

Paris, September 1st 2016.

Trescal_1_14
Trescal, the international specialist in calibration services, announces
the acquisitionof Precision Metrology Inc., a leading calibration services
provider based in Wisconsin and Florida, US.

This transaction consolidates Trescal’s geographical footprint and technical coverage in the United States and has been
completed with the support of Ardian, its majority shareholder.

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Milwaukee,Precision Metrology is A2LA-accreditedand has strong technical skills in dimensional, DC/Low Frequency, thermodynamics, and mechanical/dimensional repair.
With a turnover of around $11 million, the company employs around 90
people and is mostly active in the Utilities, Aeronautics and Life Science sectors.

Precision Metrology’s founder, Carol Shipley, will remain in her
current position to continue leading the growth of the business
in the coming years.

This acquisition will bring Trescal’s portfolio in the US to 15 calibration laboratories, with over 400 employees. It is the 16th acquisition since Ardian became its majority shareholder in July 2013.

 

Categories: News

Handicare acquires Prism Medical Ltd.

1-9-2016

 

Kista, Sweden (September 1, 2016) Handicare announced today the acquisition of Prism Medical Ltd – a successful patient handling company in North America located in Toronto, Canada and St. Louis, USA. Prism Medical has a proven track record of profitable growth and is a significant player in the Ceiling Lift and Patient Handling market in North America.

Prism Medical’s revenue for 2016 will be in the range of 50M USD with 250 people employed. The new combined product portfolio and sales network will put Handicare in a top tier position in North America. The combined product portfolio will later in 2016 be available to both Prism Medical’s and Handicare’s customers worldwide. Moreover, Prism Medical dealers in North America will now have access to Handicare’s stairlifts product range.

Charley Wallace will assume the role as President & CEO of Handicare North America and Ross Scavuzzo will continue to lead in Canada, as President of Handicare Canada.

Asbjörn Eskild, CEO of Handicare Group, says: “We have for a period searched for a company that can support Handicare’s growth strategy in North America. A healthy company that also shares our values and puts the customer and patient in focus. Prism Medical is a perfect match to us”.

Prism Medical manufactures a broad range of high-quality products, including fixed ceiling lifts, portable ceiling lifts, floor lifts, slings, and other ancillary patient handling products, and provides related sales, installation, training and maintenance services through a combination of direct sales, regional sales and service centres, and independent dealers. Prism Medical also sources and distributes third party products such as stairlifts, baths, and beds to customers in each market that it serves, to provide a complete service solution and leverage the company’s well-established distribution channels.

ABOUT HANDICARE

Handicare was founded in 1986 and supplies technical aids for the elderly and physically disabled. Its products include stairlifts, transfer and lifting products, automobile adaptation solutions and homecare products. Handicare’s brand products are distributed through a comprehensive network of professional dealers and distributors in 30 countries around the world. Through its subsidiary Puls, the group is also a market leader in the sale of capital goods and consumables to hospitals and institutions in Norway. Handicare has 950 employees and its headquarters in Kista, Sweden, and has subsidiaries in Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, England, Belgium, France, and the US. For more information, please see www.handicare.com.

ABOUT PRISM MEDICAL

Prism Medical is a vertically integrated manufacturer and leading provider of equipment and services used to move and handle mobility challenged individuals in a safe and dignified manner. Prism Medical’s products are marketed under the brand names of Prism Medical, ErgoSafe, Waverley Glen and Nightingale in the homecare, acute care and long-term care markets throughout North America. Prism Medical offers solutions that encourage improved care, quality of life and mobility, while seeking to lower the overall cost of the caregiving function in a number of ways, including reducing the incidence of handling-related injuries among caregivers. Through its network of dealers, Prism Medical provides an integrated suite of products and services that make homecare a viable option for many people. For further information visit Prism Medical’s website at www.prismmedicalltd.com or www.sedar.com.

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Varma, CapMan Nordic Real Estate Fund and Cavendo partnership acquires Heron City in Stockholm

Capman

CapMan press release 1 September 2016 at 8.30 a.m. EEST

Varma, CapMan Nordic Real Estate Fund and Cavendo partnership acquires Heron City in Stockholm

Varma, CapMan Nordic Real Estate Fund and Cavendo have purchased Heron City, the 49,400 sqm landmark retail centre located in Kungens Kurva, Stockholm from NIAM for SEK 930 (EUR 98) million.

“We are delighted to have completed this acquisition with both our long standing partner and investor Varma and our new partner Cavendo, who will take responsibility for asset management at the centre. With all of the opportunities it presents, Heron City is a great fit with our value-add strategy,” comments Ed Williams, Senior Partner at CapMan Real Estate.

Kungens Kurva is 15 minutes South of Stockholm’s city centre and is the busiest retail area in the Nordics with approximately 20 million visitors a year. The area is anchored by the largest IKEA store in the world and the catchment area includes 1.5 million people within a 30-minute drive.

Heron City’s main tenants include Sweden’s largest cinema operated by SF Bio, home electronics retailer Media Markt, interior design and furniture retailer Mio, Willys supermarket and sports & outdoor retailer XXL. With a distinct retail and leisure offering, Heron City complements the other retail centres in the area and has benefited from increasing visitor numbers and turnover as Kungens Kurva has expanded in recent years. Visitors to Heron City in 2015 amounted to 7.2 million. The property will benefit from significantly improved accessibility and catchment area over the coming years with the completion of the the Stockholm bypass infrastructure project.

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Bisnode acquires NN Markedsdata

Ratos

2016-08-31

Ratos subsidiary Bisnode is strengthening its market position in Denmark through the acquisition of NN Markedsdata, a supplier of credit and market data and data-driven consulting services. The purchase price of approximately DKK 80m (enterprise value) is being financed through equity from the owners, which entails that Ratos will contribute about DKK 55m for its holding.

Bisnode, a leading European Data & Analytics company, is strengthening its market position in Denmark through the acquisition of NN Markedsdata. The company was formed in 1997 and has 40 employees, with its head office located in Aarhus. Its offering focuses on credit and market data and data-driven consulting services, and will be an excellent complement to Bisnode’s core operations.

“Bisnode has a leading position in data & analytics. It will be further strengthened by this strategic add-on acquisition, which is aligned with our strategy going forward. We continue to develop our core operations, strengthen our expertise and offering in data-driven analytics in order to help our customers to drive growth,” says Magnus Silfverberg, CEO of Bisnode.

The acquisition was completed on 31 August 2016.

For further information, please contact:
Elin Ljung, Head of Corporate Communications, +46 8 700 17 20
Magnus Silfverberg, CEO of Bisnode, +46 8 558 059 00

– See more at: http://www.ratos.se/en/Press/Press-releases/2016/Ratos-AB-Bisnode-acquires-NN-Markedsdata/#sthash.hMzfyQTQ.dpuf

Categories: News

EQT Mid Market to invest in TransIP

  • EQT Mid Market to invest in TransIP, the largest independent domain name, hosting and VPS provider in the Benelux
  • TransIP is EQT Mid Market’s first investment in the region
  • Strengthening of supervisory board with Ali Niknam, founder of TransIP and Jonas Persson, former CTO EMEA at Microsoft, as Chairman

The EQT Mid Market Investment Strategy (“EQT Mid Market”) has agreed to acquire a stake in TransIP Group B.V. (“TransIP” or “the Company”) from its founder Ali Niknam. TransIP is the largest independent domain name, hosting and VPS provider in the Benelux with a focus on tech-savvy customers and IT professionals. The Company is headquartered in Leiden in the Netherlands and has approximately 70 employees. It is the first investment in the Benelux for EQT Mid Market.

Ali Niknam founded TransIP in 2003 and has grown the company to become the largest Dutch player in the market segment, with over 175,000 clients. He will stay on as substantial shareholder and join the board of TransIP. The board is to be strengthened with the experience of Jonas Persson (former CTO EMEA at Microsoft and former CEO at Microsoft Sweden), who will join as Chairman. The existing management will continue to lead TransIP.

EQT Mid Market will support the Company’s continued expansion across both its existing products and markets and will actively assist TransIP in its pursuit of new growth opportunities. EQT will particularly focus on further strengthening the leading position in the tech-savvy market in the Benelux by securing the strong DNA and customer-centric approach. Annual revenues for 2016 are expected at EUR 25m, driven by strong sales growth of above 20% per annum.

Jeroen Hüpscher, CEO at TransIP, said: “TransIP has grown tremendously since its very beginning. We are a leading firm for professional VPS and webhosting services as well as domains and last year also successfully launched ‘STACK’, a Dutch-based online storage solution. We’ve found a great partner in EQT, allowing us to grow beyond the Benelux.”

Ali Niknam, founder of TransIP, said: “’I’m very proud of what we have achieved with TransIP. Through the enormous drive of everyone involved, the Company has entered its mature phase and is ready to grow even further. EQT is a great partner with an eye on long term goals. This will enable us to continue to develop great products that empower people to manage their online presence.”

Jannik Kruse Petersen, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market, said: “TransIP’s growth story is really impressive. Ali Niknam, Jeroen Hüpscher and the employees have grown TransIP into a market leader, based on a clear focus on customers and products, as well as strong innovative capabilities and culture. We look forward to supporting the Company with EQT’s network and financial capacity to deliver on the ample and clear opportunities.”

The parties have agreed to not disclose details of the transaction. Torch Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to the founder of TransIP. Raymond James acted as exclusive financial advisor to EQT Mid Market.

Contacts:

Jannik Kruse Petersen, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market, +45 33 18 12 49

Kerstin Danasten, EQT Press Officer, +46 8 506 55 334

Categories: News

Reduced number of shares and votes in Kinnevik

Kinnevik

Published: 08:00 CEST 31-08-2016 /GlobeNewswire /Source: Kinnevik / : KINV B /ISIN: SE0008373906

Reduced number of shares and votes in Kinnevik

Kinnevik AB (publ) (“Kinnevik”) today announced that as of 31 August 2016 the total number of shares in the company amounts to 275,466,638, divided into 41,157,144 class A shares with ten votes each and 234,309,494 class B shares with one vote each, of which 350,903 are held in treasury. The total number of votes in the company amounts to 645,880,934.

On 23 May 2016 the Annual General Meeting of Kinnevik resolved on a reduction of the share capital by SEK 230,155.20 by way of cancellation of 2,301,552 class B shares repurchased under Kinnevik’s share repurchase program carried out between 15 February 2016 and 23 March 2016. The reduction was registered by the Swedish Companies Registration Office and the shares were cancelled in August 2016.

The information is of such character, which Kinnevik AB (publ) shall disclose in accordance with the law on Trading with Financial Instruments (1991:980). The information was distributed for disclosure at 08.00 CET on 31 August 2016.

For further information, visit www.kinnevik.com or contact:

Torun Litzén, Director Investor Relations

Phone +46 (0)8 562 000 83
Mobile +46 (0)70 762 00 83

 Kinnevik is an entrepreneurial investment group focused on building digital consumer businesses. We work in partnership with talented founders and managers to create, invest in and lead fast growing digital businesses both in developed and developing countries. Kinnevik was founded in 1936 by the Stenbeck, Klingspor and von Horn families. Kinnevik’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s list for large cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B.

Categories: News

Bregal Fresh Stream intents to buy Verwater from Infestos

Verwater, the global provider of industrial and petrochemical plants, confirms that it is in advanced talks with mid-market private equity fund Bregal Fresh Stream ( “Fresh Stream”) with respect to an investment in dilutive.

If these talks result in an agreement, it is anticipated that Fresh Stream will join as a shareholder in Verwater and Verwater Industrial Services. Independent investment Infestos, the current majority shareholder, which has invested in Verwater in 2014, will retain a significant share of Verwater and continue to play a role in the further operational development of the Group. All current minority shareholders will remain investors in the company.

An investment in Verwater would mark the next step in the continued growth of the company, after Infestos together with the operational board and the management team has implemented a successful turnaround in the past two years, making the company has stabilized and a solid platform for offers further growth.

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Canadian medical technology company LABORIE to become new subsidiary

Investor

Patricia Industries, a part of Investor AB, has signed an agreement with Audax Private Equity to acquire the Canadian medical technology company LABORIE, which focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of urologic and gastrointestinal disorders that affect the daily lives of millions. LABORIE was founded in 1967 and has grown organically and through acquisitions from a leading manufacturer of capital equipment for urodynamic testing into a fully-integrated medical device company with a market-leading position in urology and a rapidly growing gastroenterology business. LABORIE has an attractive, asset-light business model with a high share of its revenue derived from recurring sales of proprietary consumables. LABORIE’s global manufacturing, development and commercialization capabilities create a solid platform for growth through organic and non-organic expansion in core and adjacent markets, new geographies and further expansion beyond diagnostics into therapeutic products. LABORIE will continue to be run by its current management team, which will remain part-owners of the company.

LABORIE will be the most recent addition to the Patricia Industries portfolio of high-quality growth companies, whose other healthcare holdings include Mölnlycke Health Care, Permobil, Aleris and BraunAbility.

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Successful exit: Acton sells MyOptique investment to Essilor

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The MyOptique Group, a major European online optical retailer with annual revenues of GBP 57 million, announces today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Essilor International, the world leader in ophthalmic optics.

Subsequent to the transaction the management of MyOptique will remain in place, and will leverage Essilor International’s capabilities to continue growing its leading position in Europe. As part of Essilor, MyOptique will leverage Essilor’s global supply chain and collaborate with its other operating businesses to improve the reach and effectiveness of its business across Europe.

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