BBS Automation acquires industrial software specialist ANT
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HQ Capital Gives Back! in New York
New York, NY, 3 December 2018. HQ Capital’s New York office participated in a “Reading Party” for grade school children as part of the firm-wide HQ Capital Gives Back! Initiative.
More than 30 employees attended the event, hosted by Pajama Program, a national organization dedicated to providing new pajamas and books to vulnerable children in support of a caring bedtime ritual and good night’s sleep. The Reading Party began with introductions and then the children spent an hour reading with their adult “reading buddies.” At the end of the Reading Party, the children each selected a book of their choice to take home and were presented with a new pair of pajamas, specially wrapped and labeled with their name. Each child was given a round of applause to encourage their participation in reading activities.
“As a parent of teenage children, the Reading Party brought back memories of reading to my own children. Knowing the importance of this activity made the experience especially meaningful,” said Chris Lawrence, Managing Director at HQ Capital. “The event was well-run, and the staff is extremely devoted and caring. It was truly rewarding to have contributed to the impact the Pajama Program is making in the lives of these kids.”
Pajama Program was founded in 2001 by Genevieve Piturro after she was asked by a young girl living in a shelter, “What are pajamas?” Piturro regularly read to children at a local shelter and was shocked to realize how many did not have pajamas to change into or a book to read before bedtime. She started the program with the goal of helping to transform bedtime into a loving ritual for children living in difficult circumstances. The program now serves children in every state and has delivered more than 3 million pajamas and over 2 million books.
“The number of employees who participated in the Reading Party is a testament to HQ Capital’s commitment to giving back to the community,” said Jeremy Katz, Co-Head of Real Estate at HQ Capital. “We are proud to have partnered with the Pajama Program and to have supported their mission of providing new pajamas and books to children who might not otherwise have them. We are continually looking for opportunities in which we can make a positive social impact.”
About Pajama Program
At Pajama Program, we understand deeply how many children in this country don’t have a stable home life, or a home at all. To these children — often abandoned, neglected, living in shelters or temporary housing — we pledge our unwavering commitment to the inherent right of every one of them to have a loving bedtime and restful good night as the start of a positive, empowering good day. New pajamas and books are magical gifts that we collect and give, with love, to vulnerable children. They inspire them, teaching them how to use imagination and creativity to change their lives in the moment, and every day. They are the building blocks of confidence, trust and love. Further information can be found at www.pajamaprogram.org.
Leading Fintech Innovator Cross River Raises $100 Million Funding Round Led by KKR
KKR Makes $75 Million Investment and is Joined by CreditEase, Lion Tree Partners and Returning Investors Battery Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Ribbit Capital
FORT LEE, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cross River Bank (“Cross River” or the “Company”), a fast-growing provider of banking services for financial technology companies, announced today that it has completed a funding round of approximately $100 million, led by a $75 million equity investment from KKR. KKR is joined in the round by new investors, CreditEase and Lion Tree Partners, and by returning investors Battery Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Ribbit Capital.
Cross River combines innovative technologies with the trust, security and established expertise of a bank to create new services and solutions for fintech companies that are redefining global financial services. In addition to traditional banking, Cross River has developed partnerships with financial technology leaders to build fully compliant and integrated products for the marketplace lending and payment processing arenas. Current clients consist of leading technology brands, start-ups and financial services firms disrupting global finance including marketplace lenders Affirm, Best Egg, Upstart and RocketLoans as well as financial technology companies like Coinbase and TransferWise.
“We are very pleased that our growth and progress has the endorsement of leading investors such as KKR,” said Gilles Gade, founder, CEO and Chairman of Cross River. “We also welcome new investors CreditEase and Lion Tree Partners and are especially grateful for the continued confidence of our previous investors Battery Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Ribbit Capital. This is a very strong signal that we continue to execute on our plan and are poised to take Cross River through its next phase of successful development here in the U.S. and across the globe.”
The new funding round follows $28 million in venture capital secured in late 2016 from Battery Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Ribbit Capital.
This additional funding will enable Cross River to invest in the Company’s continued growth by expanding its technology and product development teams as well as its compliance infrastructure. The capital will allow Cross River to continue building and enhancing a complete banking platform where fintech companies can leverage best-in-class banking technology coupled with compliance excellence.
“We believe Cross River has a great future ahead and we are very pleased to support Gilles and the talented management team to continue their impressive growth,” said Dan Pietrzak, Member and Co-Head of Private Credit at KKR. “Cross River offers solutions to address a number of challenges faced by fintech companies by giving them access to a full suite of banking solutions and services in a single, fully compliant and innovative platform, making it an increasingly attractive and valuable franchise in a dynamic marketplace.”
KKR is making the investment primarily from its Private Credit Opportunities Partners II L.P fund.
About Cross River
Cross River Bank is a fast-growing financial services organization that merges the established expertise and traditional services of a bank, with the forward-thinking offerings of a technology company. They combine a fully compliant and comprehensive suite of products into a unique banking-as-a-platform solution, encompassing lending, payments and risk management. Cross River partners with leading marketplace lenders and fintech companies enabling them to focus on their own growth without hindering innovation. Founded in 2008, Cross River is a New Jersey state-chartered FDIC insured bank. For more information, please visit Cross River’s website at www.crossriver.com or the company’s Twitter @crossriverbank.
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.
Contacts
Cross River
Robert Rendine/Robin Weinberg/Cameron Seligmann
Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Phone: 212-687-8080
CrossRiver-SVC@sardverb.com
KKR
Kristi Huller or Samantha Norquist
Phone: 212-750-8300
media@kkr.com
Impel NeuroPharma Closes $67.5 Million Series D Financing
Crossover Financing to Advance Clinical Development of Central Nervous System Assets in Migraine, Parkinson’s Disease and Acute Agitation
SEATTLE, Dec. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Impel NeuroPharma (“Impel” or the “Company”), a Seattle-based, privately-held biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for the treatment of central nervous system (“CNS”) disorders with unmet medical needs, today announced that it has completed a Series D financing totaling $67,500,000. The investment is co-led by KKR and Norwest Venture Partners (“Norwest”), with participation from existing investors, Vivo Capital, 5AM Ventures and venBio Partners.
In connection with the financing Dr. Robert Mittendorff, Partner at Norwest, and Ali Satvat, Member at KKR, will join the Impel Board of Directors.
This financing will enable Impel to accelerate its existing clinical development portfolio in CNS disorders. Impel is currently investigating three programs leveraging its novel Precision Olfactory Delivery, or POD®, device technology: INP104 in a Phase 3 trial for the treatment of acute migraine headache, INP103 in a Phase 2 trial for the reversal of OFF episodes in Parkinson’s disease and INP105 in a Phase 1 trial for the treatment of acute agitation in bipolar I and schizophrenia disorders.
“We are delighted to have the support of this exceptional group of both new and existing investors. Dr. Mittendorff and Mr. Satvat will be tremendous assets as new members of Impel’s Board of Directors and we believe that this investment is a testament to the strength of our POD® technology, our clinical programs and our management team,” said Jon Congleton, Chief Executive Officer of Impel. “With three product candidates progressing through various stages of clinical development in 2018, it has been an exciting year for Impel, and this financing confirms the value that we are generating with our clinical programs.”
“We are excited to have co-led this financing round with KKR and look forward to helping Impel reach its goals as the Company progresses the development of these novel investigative therapies,” said Dr. Mittendorff. “Norwest shares in Impel’s belief that the Company’s pipeline has the potential to bring important new treatments to the market for the CNS community.”
“We are thrilled to contribute to the development of innovative solutions that may enhance the lives of patients with CNS disorders,” said Mr. Satvat. “Impel’s proprietary, novel platform has the potential to transform intranasal drug delivery, significantly improving the range of treatment options for people living with acute migraine, acute agitation and Parkinson’s disease.”
About Impel NeuroPharma
Impel NeuroPharma, Inc., is a privately-held, Seattle-based biotechnology company devoted to creating life-changing, innovative therapies for central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Impel NeuroPharma is currently investigating INP104 (POD-DHE) for acute migraine headache, INP103 (POD-levodopa) for reversal of OFF episodes in Parkinson’s disease and INP105 (POD-olanzapine) for acute agitation in schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.
Impel’s products utilize its novel, nasal drug-delivery Precision Olfactory Delivery, or POD™, device technology to deliver liquid or dry powder forms of drug to the upper nasal cavity in a consistent and predictable manner.
IMPEL, POD and the IMPEL Logo are trademarks of Impel NeuroPharma, Inc. To learn more about Impel NeuroPharma, please visit our website at http://impelnp.com.
About Precision Olfactory Delivery™ or POD™ Devices
Impel NeuroPharma’s proprietary POD™ intranasal drug delivery device is designed to deliver drugs to the richly-vascularized upper nasal cavity to achieve superior biodistribution and bioavailability of both small molecules and biologic drugs. By consistently and predictably delivering therapeutics to the upper nasal cavity, the POD nasal delivery device may improve overall bioavailability of drugs. The POD device also has the potential for nose-to-brain delivery via the olfactory and trigeminal nerves. Impel has developed dry powder and liquid compatible POD devices to improve upon current treatment options for central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
Contact:
Melyssa Weible
Elixir Health Public Relations
Ph: (1) 201-723-5805
E: mweible@elixirhealthpr.com
Gladstone Investment Corporation acquires EDUCATORS RESOURCE
MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gladstone Investment Corporation (NASDAQ: GAIN) (“Gladstone Investment”) announced today that on November 30, 2018, it acquired Educators Resource, Inc. (“Educators Resource” or the “Company”) in partnership with members of the Company’s executive management team. Gladstone Investment provided equity and senior secured debt to complete the transaction.
Educators Resource is a leading wholesale distributor of school supplies and K-12 supplemental teaching materials to market leading e-retailers and brick-and-mortar stores nationwide. The Company offers the broadest array of products in the market, with over 25,000 SKUs sourced from over 300 suppliers, ensuring that reseller customers are able to deliver upon an “endless aisle” experience without the burden of onerous inventory and fulfillment costs. Additional information can be found at www.educatorsresource.com.
“Educators Resource is a leader in e-commerce fulfillment, providing a value-added, turnkey solution to resellers of supplemental teaching materials. We are excited to partner with the talented team at Educators Resource and look forward to helping the Company as it enters its next phase of growth,” said Peter Roushdy, Managing Director of Gladstone Investment.
Gladstone Investment is a publicly traded business development company that seeks to make secured debt and equity investments in lower middle market businesses in the United States in connection with acquisitions, changes in control and recapitalizations. Additional information on the transaction can be found at www.gladstoneinvestment.com.
For Investor Relations inquiries related to any of the monthly dividend paying Gladstone funds, please visit www.gladstone.com.
Forward-looking Statements:
The statements in this press release regarding the longer-term prospects of Gladstone Investment and Educators Resource and its management team, and the ability of Gladstone Investment and Educators Resource to grow and expand 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 plans 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.
SOURCE: Gladstone Investment Corporation
For further information: Gladstone Investment Corporation, 703-287-5893
Source: Gladstone Investment Corporation
Vagaro Raises $63 Million in Growth Equity Led by FTV Capital
Online booking, payments and business management platform for salons, spas and fitness businesses expands technology offering to meet digital demand
Dublin, CA — Vagaro, a leading cloud-based business management platform for the salon, spa and fitness industry, today announced the company has raised a $63 million growth equity round, its first institutional capital, led by FTV Capital. The company will continue to invest in cloud-based, industry-specific technology to help businesses of any size optimize operations, reduce complexity and seamlessly process payments. In addition, Vagaro will expand its sales and marketing team and geographic footprint. Vagaro will benefit from FTV’s Global Partner Network®, which includes executives from the world’s leading financial services and payments companies, and the firm’s experience in scaling high growth companies that operate in specialty industry verticals. As part of the transaction, FTV Capital partner Robert Anderson and FTV Capital managing partner Richard Garman will join the Vagaro board of directors.
Vagaro’s platform successfully meets the needs of a digital-first, productivity-focused millennial generation by providing salon, spa and fitness business owners with a powerful and comprehensive suite of back-office and consumer-facing business management software solutions, including appointment booking, calendaring, client management, marketing, reporting, payroll, inventory management and payment acceptance.
Most recently, Vagaro added a form builder to collect registrations, waivers and surveys to its highly customizable platform, leaving the company uniquely positioned to aggressively compete in the fitness management software segment. The company also added a competitively priced multi-transaction EMV reader to its point-of-sales solutions, making EMV payment processing even faster and more convenient for U.S. business owners.
In addition to automating and streamlining business processes, Vagaro connects businesses to consumers who are searching for spa, salon and fitness services via Vagaro.com, an online marketplace, and via the easy-to-use Vagaro booking app.
“I feel privileged to have led Vagaro’s talented team for the past 10 years. Our company has completely transformed — moving from delivering industry-changing salon software technology to offering a full suite of industry-specific business management solutions coupled with a powerful online marketplace,” said Vagaro founder and CEO Fred Helou. “Vagaro’s partnership with FTV Capital opens up exciting new possibilities for us, including the expansion to additional international markets, and will usher in a new chapter in the company’s growth story. Thanks to our compelling price point and newer technology, we are perfectly positioned to compete against slow-moving, more traditional industry players.”
“We are energized by our new partnership with FTV Capital, a firm that has helped many high growth companies, like Vagaro, build on their success to best meet customer needs,” said Kerry Melchior, Vagaro’s chief of operations. “Our near-term plans include expanding the range of payment solutions and digital functionality for our clients, while continuing to deliver the highest quality, easiest to use solutions with superior customer service.”
“Vagaro’s innovative and integrated product suite makes it easy for businesses to run all aspects of their operation from attracting and retaining customers to managing day-to-day activities to accepting payments,” said FTV partner Robert Anderson. “The Vagaro team is well-positioned to continue to capitalize on secular growth trends across the more than $9 billion global health and wellness market, and we are excited to provide the capital and strategic support for this next phase of growth.”
ABOUT VAGARO
Vagaro, Inc. develops all-in-one business management platforms and powerful online marketplaces for the salon, spa and fitness industries. Businesses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia use Vagaro’s cloud-based software to manage all aspects of their operations and to market their services to local customers. Consumers choose Vagaro to search for and book services in their community at their convenience. Vagaro is easy-to-use and works on any device. Learn more by visiting Vagaro.com and https://sales.vagaro.com.
ABOUT FTV CAPITAL
FTV Capital is a growth equity investment firm that has raised over $2.7 billion to invest in high-growth companies offering a range of innovative solutions in three sectors: enterprise technology & services, financial services, and payments & transaction processing. FTV’s experienced team leverages its domain expertise and proven track record in each of these sectors to help motivated management teams accelerate growth. FTV also provides companies with access to its Global Partner Network®, a group of the world’s leading enterprises and executives who have helped FTV portfolio companies for two decades. Founded in 1998, FTV Capital has invested in 106 portfolio companies, including CardConnect, CashStar, EBANX, Enfusion Systems, Clearent, NeonOne, VPay and WorldFirst. FTV has offices in San Francisco and New York. For more information, visit www.ftvcapital.com.
Leading talent marketing solutions provider, partners with Google to improve candidate engagement and conversion
Symphony Talent, a leading talent marketing solutions provider, today announced its partnership with Google Cloud Talent Solution to provide its clients with enhanced search capabilities to attract, hire and engage high-quality talent faster.
Google Cloud Talent Solution provides a combination of search APIs that leverages machine learning and Google’s learnings in search to produce better search performance and conversion by delivering high-quality results to job seekers far beyond the limitations of typical keyword-based methods. This integration provides candidates with the same superior search experience they have come to expect from Google. The seamless integration of Google Cloud Talent Solution with the career site job content of Symphony Talent’s clients will help return enhanced search results for candidates that account for the role level, jargon, abbreviations and acronyms, and misspellings. In addition, the job search capability leverages machine learning, so the results will continue to improve over time.
“Our partnership with Google Cloud Talent Solution delivers a significant opportunity for our clients to optimize their candidate and recruiter experiences,” said Roopesh Nair, president and CEO, Symphony Talent. “The synchronicity of Google’s industry-leading search capabilities with our data-driven, experience-focused solutions will empower global brands to redefine how they connect with quality talent.”
Symphony Talent has collaborated with Google to deliver enhanced search capabilities and advance the candidate experiences for its portfolio of global clients, such as UCLA Health and Hilton Grand Vacations.
According to Nair, the benefits of Symphony Talent’s seamless integration with Google Cloud Talent Solution include:
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- More accurate results and a shorter funnel for candidates
- Enhanced candidate and recruiter experiences
- Higher apply rates and decreased drop-off
- Increased candidate conversion
- Better fit candidates
Symphony Talent is an alpha partner for future Google Cloud Talent Solution enhancements, including the profile APIs. This partnership and shared vision between Symphony Talent and Google Cloud Talent Solution will also allow their teams to collaborate and further advance the experiences, job search function, candidate job recommendations and the recruiter profile search on Symphony Talent’s platform.
FSN Capital V has signed an agreement to acquire Rameder Group
FSN Capital V has, together with management, acquired a majority stake in the Rameder Group, the European market leader in the distribution of towbars and related products. This partnership marks FSN Capital Funds’ first platform investment in Germany.
Founded in 1996, Rameder is today Europe’s leading distributor of towbars, bike carriers and roof racks. Based in the German town of Leutenberg and with offices in Ingolstadt (DE), Lille (FR) and Prague (CZ), the 200 employees at Rameder manage online shops in over ten countries (including kupplung.de in Germany), selling around 300,000 towbars each year throughout Europe. In addition, the Company operates 16 assembly points making them one of the largest professional towbar installation service providers in Germany. In recent years, Rameder has succeeded in making strategically important acquisitions both in Germany and abroad, with the acquisitions of Bertelshofer (DE) in 2012, France Attelage (FR) in 2017 and ELSA (CZ) in 2018. Combined with robust organic growth, these acquisitions have resulted in strong topline development. Today Rameder generates approximately €70m in revenue.
Focusing on organic and acquisition-driven growth
After two decades of successfully investing in Scandinavia, in early 2018 FSN Capital Partners, acting as investment adviser to the FSN Capital Funds, opened an office in Munich and hired a team of professionals to advise the FSN Capital Funds on investments in the DACH region. The team, led by partners Robin Mürer, Justin Kent and Patrice Jabet, focuses on growth-oriented, mid-sized companies that have a strong value proposition and a clear market-leading position, where the FSN Funds see a clear potential to support management teams to achieve their growth strategies by providing both capital and know-how. The FSN team will seek to support FSN Capital V and Rameder’s management to achieve its strategic goals to boost turnover further in the core markets of Germany and Austria, expand its assembly network, and foster greater international growth by way of acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
Expanding market leadership
“Rameder is an exceptionally well positioned company with a clear value proposition for its customers. We look forward to supporting the Rameder team to further solidify its leadership position in its core markets, while continuing to expand internationally in a sustainable and responsible manner” says Justin Kent, partner at FSN Capital Partners in Munich.
“We are delighted to have found the ideal partner in FSN for the next stage of our development and we look forward to working with the FSN team to continue Rameder’s success story. FSN Capital Funds’ outstanding track record partnering with growing companies and their managers, combined with its strong focus on values, was a key aspect of our decision to partner with FSN”, say Dirk Schöler and Stefan Bertelshofer, Co-CEOs of Rameder Group.
Six successful investments in 2018
2018 has been a highly successful year for the FSN Capital Funds. Thus far, FSN Capital Funds have acquired the Norwegian road safety and road infrastructure solutions provider Saferoad the Norwegian equipment supplier for the aquaculture and fishery sectors Mørenot and the Swedish retailer of limited-edition trainers Sneakersnstuff. In addition, FSN Capital Funds have assumed a controlling interest in a new IT outsourcing business group that was created by the joint acquisitions of Swedish companies OITP, Zetup and Dicom. Key add-on acquisitions have also been successfully completed for the portfolio companies Holmbergs, which acquired the Austrian company Fasching Safety Belts, and Fitness World, which acquired the Swiss fitness chain basefit.
The team at FSN Capital Partners responsible for advising on the transaction is composed of Justin Kent, Eskil Koffeld and Clemens Plainer. FSN Capital V was also advised by Hengeler Mueller (legal), Bain (commercial), Alvarez & Marsal (financial), PwC (tax & ESG), eccelerate (e-commerce), JLT (insurance), capitalmind (debt advisory) and mcf (M&A).
The transaction is still subject to regulatory approval with closing of the transaction scheduled for January. The details of the transaction will not be disclosed.
Samsung SDI, Port of Tallinn, GEM and Alrosa recognised in the 15th annual East Capital Awards
East Capital, a specialist asset manager in emerging and frontier markets, today announces the winners of the 2018 East Capital Awards:
- Samsung SDI Best Growth Award
- Port of Tallinn Best IPO Award
- GEM Discovery of the Year Award
- Alrosa Best Corporate Governance Award
This is the 15th year that the East Capital Awards honour remarkable companies in East Capital’s investment universe. Peter Elam Håkansson, Chairman and CIO of East Capital, said: “The Awards serve to highlight some of the most outstanding companies in our portfolios, and also to inspire others. Through our extensive in-depth research with frequent company meetings in emerging and frontier markets, we identify companies each year that have achieved impressive results and demonstrate great potential. I want to extend my sincere congratulations to this year’s award winners on their impressive achievements.”
The Best Growth Award is presented to Samsung SDI, a global leader in lithium battery technology. In 2018, the South Korean company saw a strong turnaround in earnings thanks to growth momentum in all its business segments. During the first nine months of 2018, revenue jumped 49% and net profit 19%. The small battery segment benefitted from market share gains among smartphone and power-tool producers. The large batteries are used for electric vehicles and are on track to become a profitable segment for the company in the second half of 2018 due to superior product quality. During next year, we expect a significant margin improvement in the large battery business.
The Best IPO Award is presented to Port of Tallinn, the fourth largest port operator in Northern Europe, with 10.6 million passengers in 2017. The Estonian company operates a portfolio of diversified high-quality infrastructure assets, including passenger and cruise ship harbours, cargo ports and a domestic ferry service. Their IPO on the Tallinn Stock Exchange was the first privatisation in the Baltic region in almost two decades. The deal was skillfully executed, and more than 3 times oversubscribed by a wide investor base. The company has continued to show strong results in the first half of the year, with an expected dividend yield of 6% for 2018, above the market and peer group benchmarks. East Capital participated in the IPO, acquiring 1.3% of the shares. The stock outperformed the market by 16% during the first three days of trading and is up by 22%* since the IPO. It is however still trading at a significant discount to European peers.
*As of 12-11-2018
The Discovery of the Year Award is presented to GEM, the largest used batteries and rare metals recycling company globally. It is also the world’s largest ultra-fine cobalt powder producer, with 20% market share, sourcing 35% of its cobalt from its own recycling. GEM moved downstream and entered the nickel-cobalt-manganese cathode and precursor material business in recent years, growing cathode and precursor capacity from 15,000 tons in 2015 to a target of 90,000 tons in 2020. We like GEM’s leading position in cobalt recycling and the strong synergy between the recycling and battery material businesses. While the recycling business provides cost advantages for GEM’s battery material business, its battery material business creates a new sales channel for its recycling business, allowing GEM to climb up the value chain by capturing a higher-margin segment.
The Best Corporate Governance Award is presented to Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of diamonds. The company is majority owned by the Russian State and by the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Typically, state-owned companies are not leaders in terms of corporate governance developments, but we consider Alrosa one of the best examples adhering to the highest standards of corporate governance in emerging markets. The improvement of corporate governance has been led by CEO Sergey Ivanov and CFO Alexey Phillipovskiy. Most notably, the dividend policy is expected to be radically changed to 100% of the free cash flow. And there have been a number of other achievements, including cost-cutting, disposal of non-core assets and working capital improvements.
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Notes to editors
The East Capital Awards were established in 2004 to reward the progress of outstanding companies in East Capital’s portfolios.
The award for Best Growth is presented to a company that has demonstrated outstanding growth in the areas of sales, market share and profit margins in recent years. The Best IPO Award is presented to the company that has carried out the most successful floatation in the region. The Discovery of the Year is awarded to a company discovered by our investment team that is expected to demonstrate unique performance. The Best Corporate Governance Award is presented to a company that demonstrates exceptional standards in the area of corporate governance.
For further information about the winning companies, please visit:
Best Growth Award 2018: Samsung SDI
samsungsdi.com / linkedin.com/company/samsung-sdi/
Best IPO Award 2018: Port of Tallinn
portoftallinn.com / linkedin.com/company/port-of-tallinn/
Discovery of the Year Award 2018: GEM
gemchina.com
Best Corporate Governance Award 2018: Alrosa
eng.alrosa.ru / twitter.com/ALROSA_official
Contact information:
Ilze Johnston, Marketing Communications Manager, East Capital
+46 8 505 88 550 mediaenquiries@eastcapital.com
Andrew Fleming/ Georgie Rudkin, MHP Communications, Europe
+44 203 128 8100 eastcapital@mhpc.com
Ruby Lo / Judith Bence, MHP, Asia
+852 6255 8133 / +61 415 903 849 eastcapital@mhpc.com
ARDIAN arranges a unitranche financing for the acquisitions of selection1818 and aprep by DLPK GROUP
DLPK Group is a major French player in the design and distribution of financial products for finance professionals, through its three specialized subsidiaries: Nortia (life insurance), Nortia Invest (securities accounts) and Haas Gestion (asset management). The group is majority owned by its management team, with BlackFin Capital Partners a minority shareholder since February 2018.
With the acquisition of Sélection 1818 and APREP, DLPK Group strengthens its position in the life insurance and securities accounts segments and becomes the leading distribution platform for financial advisers in France, with total assets under management of around €13bn.
Guillaume Chinardet, Head of Ardian Private Debt in France and Managing Director, said: “We were impressed by DLPK Group’s positioning, focused on the development of innovative financial solutions with a strong emphasis placed on quality of service and customer satisfaction, as well as the ambitions of its management team, who are determined for DLPK Group to become a leader in its market.”
“We are pleased to be able to help DLPK Group expand in a consolidating market. We are convinced that Sélection 1818 and APREP will benefit in full from DLPK’s expertise after their integration, and our Unitranche financing is particularly well suited to support the group’s expansion in the years to come” added Jean-David Ponsin, Director at Ardian Private Debt.
Vincent Dubois, chairman of DLPK Group, commented: “We are delighted to be working alongside Ardian, which has proven its creative and agile nature in providing a tailor-made financing solution, meeting the group’s needs perfectly under the framework of these two transformative acquisitions.”
Daniel Cohen-Sabban, Managing Director at BlackFin Capital Partners, added: “We are pleased to continue supporting growth at DLPK Group alongside Ardian, a long-term partner for BlackFin.”
ABOUT ARDIAN
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 560 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 750 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Funds of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
Ardian on Twitter @Ardian
ABOUT DLPK
Following the successive acquisitions of Sélection 1818 and APREP Diffusion, the DLPK group manages €13 billion in assets under management as of December 1, 2018.
ABOUT BLACKFIN CAPITAL PARTNERS
BlackFin operates as an active and influential investor, supporting management teams to take their businesses to the next level.
BlackFin manages €800m through two financial services growth / buyout funds and one FinTech focused venture capital fund.
BlackFin Capital Partners is a fully independent firm, run by its four founding partners who have worked together as managers and entrepreneurs in the financial industry for decades. Altogether the team consists of 25 experienced professionals operating out of offices in Paris, Brussels and Frankfurt.
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
DLPK: Vincent Dubois, Antoine Limare
BlackFin Capital Partners: Bruno Rostain, Sabine Mathis, Daniel Cohen-Sabban, Alexandre Chanteur
Legal and Financial Advisors (Ardian): K&L Gates – Mounir Letayf, Adeline Roboam
PRESS CONTACTS
HEADLAND
TOM JAMES
ardian@headlandconsultancy.com
AGENCE FARGO
MARIE MAUREL
mmaurel@agencefargo.com