Category Archives: News

Gimv sells stake in thinkstep AG, the Stuttgart-based specialist in sustainability software.

GIMV

Gimv, together with all other shareholders, is selling its stake in Stuttgart-based software firm thinkstep AG (www.thinkstep.com) to US software provider Sphera Solutions. Thanks to the long-term support of all investors, thinkstep has grown substantially and successfully transformed its business model into a software-as-a-service solution (SaaS).

Headquartered in Leinfelden-Echterdingen near Stuttgart, thinkstep was founded in 1991 as a provider of software and consulting services supporting companies globally in sustainability management and reducing their environmental footprint. In the last few years, thinkstep has continuously expanded its impressive customer base and now serves over 2,000 clients in 20 industries, including a large number of Fortune 500 companies in Germany and around the world.

thinkstep AG operates in three fields. Corporate Sustainability introduces and implements sustainability processes, such as enterprise-wide energy management, corporate social responsibility management and active resource optimization. Product Sustainability helps clients take account of environmental issues early in the design stage in order to fully integrate adequate measures into product management and production processes. thinkstep’s Product Compliance solution identifies and mitigates compliance and reputation risks at an early stage.

Gimv first invested in thinkstep in 2010, acquiring a minority stake alongside Next47 with the aim to provide capital, know-how and connections to help the firm expand globally, strengthen its operations, and switching from a licence-based model to SaaS. Over time, Gimv and Next47 gradually increased their investment while some of the founders remained on board as minority shareholders. In this way, thinkstep has expanded to become a world-leading software provider in enterprise sustainability and compliance solutions. The exit of the current shareholders and the planned integration of the business into the operations of Sphera marks the next step in the company’s successful development.

Dr. Sven Oleownik, Partner and Head of Germany at Gimv, says, “Over the past few years, thinkstep has undergone a remarkable transformation and fundamentally converted its business model. Global activity and technological development have been driven forward, all on the back of an extremely loyal customer base. Rising expectations among both investors and consumers for companies to do business in an ethical and environmentally conscious way result in a highly attractive and rapidly expanding market for sustainability solutions. thinkstep is therefore ideally positioned for the future and will continue to extend its market leadership under its new owners.”

Lisa Hengerer, Associate at Gimv’s Smart Industries platform in Munich, adds: “thinkstep has been another success within the software segment of Gimv’s Smart Industries platform. This sale to a global industrial player from the US is an excellent example how Gimv Smart Industries supports its portfolio companies in their strategic development and on their growth path to become attractive for an international renowned industrial player like Sphera Solutions.”

This exit has no major impact on the Net Asset Value of Gimv as of 31 March 2019. The transaction is subject to the usual conditions, including approval by the competition authorities. No further financial details on this transaction are being published.

Categories: News

Tags:

Proposed sale of Ontic for $1,365 million to CVC Fund Vll

Transaction unanimously supported by the BBA board as being in the best interests of shareholders

BBA Aviation plc, a market-leading provider of global aviation support and aftermarket services, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement for the sale of Ontic, a leading provider of high-quality, OEM-licensed parts for legacy aerospace platforms, to CVC Fund Vll, for an enterprise value of $1,365 million, subject, inter alia to shareholder approval and regulatory consents.

Transaction highlights

  • Sale of Ontic for an enterprise value of $1,365 million, on a cash-free, debt-free basis
  • Transaction multiple meaningfully above BBA’s trading multiple of 11.4x FY18 underlying EBITDA
  • Transaction unanimously supported by the BBA Board as being in the best interests of shareholders
  • Transaction will enable enhanced focus and investment in the company’s market-leading Signature business, which the board believes to be a significant source of future shareholder value creation
  • Transaction should allow for a capital return to shareholders expected to be between $750 million and $850 million, to help ensure that the net debt of the retained group remains near the lower end of the stated target range of net debt to underlying adjusted EBITDA of 2.5 to 3.0 times at 31 December 2019, on a covenant basis
  • Transaction is conditional upon approval by BBA’s shareholders and various other approvals (including the consent of certain group lenders or replacement of certain financial indebtedness, and consent to the release of applicable security by the group’s pension trustee)
  • Completion is expected in Q4 2019

Mark Johnstone, BBA Aviation CEO, commented: “We are delighted that we have reached an agreement to sell our Ontic business to CVC Fund Vll for $1,365 million, delivering compelling value for BBA shareholders. While maintaining a strong balance sheet, we also expect to return between $750 and $850 million to shareholders and will evaluate how best to structure this return after consultation with our shareholders.

“Ontic was acquired by BBA in February 2006 for $67 million and has grown successfully through the acquisition of licences, organic and inorganic growth, and a disciplined approach to investment. This success has been based on trusted partner relationships with key aviation original equipment manufacturers. It now supports more than 39,000 legacy aircraft, through its portfolio of over 165 licences for more than 7,000 parts and over 1,200 customers worldwide.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our Ontic employees for their contribution to BBA Aviation over the years, and wish them well in the next stage of their journey.

“The Ontic disposal will allow BBA to focus on its core Signature business, the leading global FBO operator and service provider for the B&GA market. BBA shareholders will continue to benefit from Signature’s ability to outperform the B&GA market through the cycle, as well as its ability to take advantage of its significant opportunities for future growth.

“We remain committed to delivering long-term sustainable value from Signature, a strongly free cash generative business, which after funding investment requirements, should underpin both progressive dividends and ongoing returns of capital to shareholders.

“The ERO disposal process is ongoing and we expect to update the market in due course. Disposal proceeds would provide an opportunity to further enhance our proposed return of capital.”

James Mahoney, Senior Managing Director, CVC Capital Partners commented: “Ontic is a growing, highly resilient business and a leading player in what we believe to be a very attractive market. We see multiple opportunities to develop the business further and look forward to working closely with Ontic’s excellent management team to take the company to the next level.”

 

Categories: News

Tags:

KPN Ventures provides growth capital to smart home alarm developer Minut

Kpn Ventures

Posted at 29 Jul 14:00h in Connected Home, News by KPN Ventures

Rotterdam, July 1, 2019 – KPN Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of KPN, announced today it has participated in the $8M Series A financing round in Minut, a Swedish tech startup that makes the Point smart home alarm. The round was led by KPN Ventures, with participation from previous backers Karma Ventures, SOSV and Nordic Makers, joined by strategic partner Centrica, bringing the total amount of funding over $10 million.

Minut has created the first complete smart alarm to keep your home safe and sound through a single device. The company has already sold devices in more than 60 countries with a growing team and new office based in London. The new capital will be used to accelerate growth across markets and to strengthen the product portfolio.

Minut has made protecting homes more accessible than ever before. Installation takes seconds with no drilling or cables to run and the app is easy to use for the whole family. The Minut smart home alarm analyses the environment and any motion or sound will be identified and alerts houseowners to threats through instant notifications. Through the use of machine-learning the sound recognition is continuously improved by the Minut community, making the system even better over time.

Nils Mattisson, CEO/co-founder of Minute: “Feeling safe shouldn’t be a luxury, or come at the cost of privacy. Until recently the most affordable solution for home security and monitoring has been Wi-Fi connected cameras, but people don’t want or trust them in their homes. Our aim is to make home security and monitoring accessible to everyone and we are excited to have KPN Ventures on board in this journey.”

Herman Kienhuis, Director of KPN Ventures said: “With their innovative ‘Point’ device, The Minut team has executed on the vision to make home security smart, simple and accessible for everybody. KPN powers the connected home and we see great opportunities to partner with Minut to help people protect their homes.”

Categories: News

Tags:

Ardian signs an agreement with 3i Infrastructure for the sale of its stake in Ionisos

Ardian

Paris, July 26th 2019 – Ardian, the independent private investment company, announces that it has signed an agreement to sell its stake in Ionisos, a leading international provider of cold sterilisation services to the medical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries with 3i Infrastructure PLC (“3i Infrastructure”).
Established in 1993 in Civrieux, France, Ionisos is the third largest cold sterilization provider globally and operates a network of 11 plants in Europe with market leading positions on the French and Spanish markets. It has over 200 employees and a highly diversified and loyal client base of more than 1,000 clients. Ionisos delivers a mission-critical service for the medical and pharmaceutical industries.
The need for pharmaceutical products and medical instruments and the associated sterilization services is driven by attractive market fundamentals and non-cyclical market drivers, including an ageing population in Western Europe, a growing demand for medical services increasingly requiring disposal medical supplies, as well as strong regulation on sterilization of medical and pharmaceutical products.
Since Ardian Expansion acquired a stake in July 2016, the company’s turnover has almost doubled. Ionisos has experienced strong organic growth and has implemented a dynamic external growth strategy over the past three years, through five acquisitions in five European countries (Germany, Spain, Estonia, France and Italy).François Jerphagnon, Member of the Board of Ardian France and Head of Ardian Expansion, commented: “We are delighted to have supported Ionisos’ management in its growth strategy and its international expansion. In line with its expertise, Ardian Expansion has transformed a top tier French player into a European leader through an active acquisition strategy. We would like to thank the management team and all the employees for the extraordinary work achieved.”Marie Arnaud-Battandier, Managing Director in the Ardian Expansion team, added: “We are very happy to have participated in Ionisos’ development. We have contributed to strengthening the management team and the group’s international expansion. We are confident that the company now has everything to succeed in its new development phase.“

Christoph Herkens, chairman of Ionisos, concluded: “We are delighted to have partnered with Ardian over the past few years. Without this active support, the development we have seen would not have been possible at this speed and with this coherence. We would like to thank Ardian for the trust they have placed in the management, the great openness during this partnership. The Ionisos teams are well prepared and highly motivated to enter a new phase of growth with 3i Infrastructure and we look forward to this future partnership.”

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$96bn 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 610 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 970 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
www.ardian.com

ABOUT IONISOS

Ionisos is a French company founded in 1993, which manages eleven plants in France, Spain, Germany, Estonia and now Italy. Ionisos is a specialist in cold sterilization using ionization and ethylene oxide for the medical sector, pharmaceutical products, cosmetics and food packaging. The company is also active in the cross-linking of various products used in industry, particularly the construction industry.
www.ionisos.fr

ARDIAN

Ardian Expansion: François Jerphagnon, Marie Arnaud-Battandier, Maxime Séquier, Thomas Grétéré
M&A Advisors: Natixis Partners (François Rivalland, Joseph El Khoury)
Legal advisors: Weil Gotshal & Manges (Frédéric Cazals, Alexandra Stoicescu)

IONISOS GROUP

Christoph Herkens, Aurélien Guilloux
Legal advisors: Delaby & Dorison (Emmanuel Delaby)

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN
Headland
Viktor Tsvetanov
Tel: +44 203 4357 518
vtsvetanov@headlandconsultancy.co.uk

Categories: News

Tags:

Naxicap Partners and Ardian in exlusive negotiations to acquire a stake in the Emera Group alongside its founder Claude Cheton

Ardian

Emera Group, a leading provider of residential retirement homes in France, is reorganizing its capital structure involving Naxicap Partners, Ardian Co-Investment and its founders, Claude Cheton and Christophe Bergue.

Paris, July 26th, 2019 – Naxicap Partners, and Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, have entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire a significant stake in Emera Group, a leading provider of residential retirement homes in France, to help accelerate the Group’s international expansion.

Founded in 1987, Emera has built a network of 68 residential retirement homes with more than 6,000 beds across Europe. The Group is recognized as a leading provider of residential care home services, achieving a high satisfaction among its residents and their families. Emera is also the first company to have launched independent retirement homes as part of its establishments. In 2018, Emera’s turnover exceeded 230 million euros, 20% of which was generated outside of France – in Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy and Spain.

Naxicap Partners and Ardian were attracted by Emera’s unique strategic assets: a high-quality network of establishments with solid operational and financial performance, a highly experienced management team and a significant potential for international expansion. The Group intends to pursue the existing strategy, set out by Claude Cheton and his team, as it accelerates its international expansion while ensuring that outstanding quality of service remains at the heart of the company.

Claude Cheton, President and Founder of Emera Group, said: “I am very excited to welcome Naxicap Partners and Ardian, two experienced investors, to Emera Group. They share our vision and the strategy pursued by the Group since its creation. Naxicap Partners and Ardian will be able to share their experience, supporting The Group in the next stage of its development and help accelerate its international expansion. This is a new chapter for Emera and I am convinced that we will achieve our growth ambitions, as we have done in the past.”

Eric Baugas, Chief Executive Officer of the Emera Group, added: “This transaction marks the opening of a new chapter for Emera, as Naxicap Partners and Ardian support our ambition to expand in France and internationally. This partnership will enable us to play a leading role in the consolidation of the European residential retirement homes market.”

Eric Aveillan, Chairman of the Executive Board of Naxicap Partners, said: “Naxicap Partners is pleased to announce the acquisition of a significant stake in Emera Group, in consortium with Ardian and alongside Claude Cheton. The Group’s expertise, performance and the quality of its management team make it a unique investment opportunity in the sector. Naxicap Partners wishes to be active alongside the Group to help it accelerate its growth both organically and by seizing external opportunities”.

Antoine Lencou-Barème, Managing Director of Ardian Co-Investment, said: “We are extremely pleased and proud to invest in Emera Group alongside Naxicap Partners and Claude Cheton. The Group’s internationalization strategy and high-quality hotel and care services make it unique in the retirement residential care market. We have been particularly impressed by its growth over the past ten years and the quality of its team, and we look forward to supporting Emera on the next phase of its growth journey.”

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Emera: Claude Cheton, Eric Baugas, Sophie Cheton, Baptiste Bazire
Naxicap Partners: Eric Aveillan, Laurent Sallé, Aurélien Dorkel, Cyrille Seydoux, Nicolas Sebille, Clémence Rousselet
Ardian: Alexandre Motte, Antoine Lencou-Barème, Stéphane Guichard, Jean-Clément Pierre
Purchasers advisors :
M&A : Lazard Frères (Charles Andrez, Guillaume de Fréminet, Raoul Mansour, Pierre-Hadrien Francey) ; Will Consulting (Jacques Ittah)
Financing : Lazard Frères (Emmanuel Plantin, Xavier Gautrin)
Corporate lawyer : Edge (Matthieu Lochardet, Stéphanie Dourdin)
Financing lawyer : Mayer Brown (Patrick Teboul)
Financial due diligence : KPMG (Mathieu Wallich-Petit, Mohamed Macaigne, Stéphane Kuster)
Real estate due diligence : KPMG (Tanneguy de Guerpel, Louis Pelletier) ; Cushman & Wakefield
IT due diligence: KPMG (Laurent Gobbi, Paul Pillet)
Legal, social, fiscal due diligence : Fidal (Anne Fréchette-Kerbat, Mikael Maheust, Régis Hallard, Rodolphe Meneux), Depardieu (Paul Talbourdet)
Strategic Due diligence : BCG (Benjamin Entraygues, Quentin Decouvelaere, Mathilde Marret)
Insurance due diligence: Marsh (Charles Amblard, Jean-Marie Dargaignaratz)
Management advisors :
Financial counsel : Oloryn Partners (Eric Lesieur)
Lawyer : SVZ (Franck Sekri)
Seller’s advisors :
M&A : Transactions & Cie (François Paillier, Sébastien Chabre)
Corporate lawyers : Frieh Associés (Michel Frieh)
Financial due diligence : KPMG (Hervé Richard)

ABOUT NAXICAP PARTNERS

As one of the top private equity firms in France, Naxicap Partners has €3.1 billion in assets under management. As a committed, responsible investor, Naxicap Partners builds solid, constructive partnerships with entrepreneurs so that their projects can succeed. The firm has 39 investment professionals spread across five offices in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Nantes and Frankfurt.
  www.naxicap.fr/en

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$96bn 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 610 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 970 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
www.ardian.com

Categories: News

Tags:

Bain Capital Merges ChinData with Bridge Data Centres to Establish Pan-Asian Data Centre Strategy

BainCapital

HONG KONG, July 25, 2019 – Bain Capital today announced the merger of ChinData, a leading Chinese operator of campus-style, hyperscale data centres, and Bridge Data Centres, a wholesale and custom build data centre company, to form one of the leading pan-Asian data centre platforms. The new parent Company, ChinData Group, will continue to operate under the ChinData and Bridge brands respectively. Bain Capital acquired ChinData in May 2019 from Wangsu Science & Technology Co. Ltd and has owned Bridge Data Centres since 2017.

The combined company delivers hyperscale, wholesale and custom-build data centre solutions to leading regional and global customers, with facilities in China, India, and Southeast Asia.  The company currently has delivered over 100 MW of contracted capacity and is still under continuous and full-speed development.

Bain Capital’s investment in the combined entity is funded from vehicles managed by Bain Capital Private Equity and Bain Capital Credit. Executing this multi-part deal and corporate combination required long-term creative thinking and financing over more than three years, beginning with a greenfield development in India, acquisitions in Southeast Asia, and the exploration of the hyperscale opportunity brought about by the massive needs among Internet, cloud and technology companies in China. ChinData Group is poised to benefit from the dramatic growth in demand among enterprises for cloud services and the expansion of opportunities in Asia for international cloud providers that require high performance mission critical data centre facilities.

The combined company employs professionals with deep experience and capabilities in data centre design, development, and facility operations.  It expects to invest further capital to expand its footprint of wholesale and custom-build hyperscale solutions to more than 300 MW over the next two years to become one of the largest independent third-party data center platforms in Asia.

Jonathan Zhu, co-head of Asia Private Equity for Bain Capital, said: “This deal demonstrates Bain Capital’s capabilities as a truly cross-regional, multi-asset class investment platform.  The combined entity brings together the best minds to power the Asian data revolution, especially in China and India, the two largest and most promising markets globally. ChinData Group will be able to move quickly to serve customers on a pan-Asian regional basis and build a differentiated position in the market.”

Barnaby Lyons, a Managing Director and Head of Asia for Bain Capital Credit, said: “This transaction showcases that Bain Capital, with both private equity and special situations teams, can provide a wide spectrum of solutions to businesses in Asia looking for growth capital.”

About Bain Capital

Bain Capital (www.baincapital.com) has partnered closely with management teams to provide the strategic resources that build great companies and help them thrive since its founding in 1984. Bain Capital Private Equity’s and Bain Capital Credit’s global teams of more than 475 investment professionals create value for its portfolio companies through its depth of expertise in key vertical industries and global distressed and special situations platforms. Bain Capital has offices in Boston, Chicago, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Dublin, London, Munich, Madrid, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Guangzhou and Tokyo. Bain Capital invests across asset classes including private equity, credit, public equity, venture capital and real estate, managing approximately USD 105 billion in total and leveraging the firm’s shared platform to capture opportunities in strategic areas of focus.

Bain Capital’s proven operational expertise and ability to leverage a fully integrated global team presents a significant advantage for companies looking to identify and execute opportunities to tap into Asia’s high growth markets. Bain Capital works with companies in Asia to achieve their full potential and drive value through operating improvements, growth strategies, M&A and carve-outs from larger corporate partners, such as the recent acquisition of Toshiba Memory Corporation from Toshiba.

About ChinData

ChinData specializes in delivering campus-style hyperscale data centres to Internet, cloud and technology companies in China. It owns and operates data centres in Shenzhen, Beijing, Zhangjiakou and Datong, with further expansion planned across multiple locations. The company has pioneered custom-build designs suited to hyperscale customer requirements.  Founded in Beijing and formerly owned by Wangsu Science and Technology Co, ChinData focuses on the planning, investment, construction, testing and operation of high-performance information infrastructure.

ChinData is an industry-leading carrier neutral IT infrastructure solutions provider in China, focused on ecosystem planning, design, building, testing and operations. ChinData provides a full range of services for its customers, such as campus-style data centers, internet services and IT value-added business. Its customers include leading financial, internet, big data, AI enterprises as well as global hyper-scale cloud computing and technology companies.

Since its establishment in August, 2015, ChinData has rapidly built a cluster of hyper-scale IT infrastructure bases around the capital, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Greater Bay Area, with Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen as core end markets, and more than 220 operators’ data rooms in China. In the above-mentioned regions, the company is involved in the development of the most basic level of infrastructure and resources. Its hyperscale data center ecosystem is an engine for development of renewal energy and the green economy.

ChinData’s world-class “edge computing data centers” and “hyperscale data centers” have respectively won the first Global HRA certificate for flexible internet solutions, the 2018 DCD Award for Global Edge Computing Data Center Innovation and the 2019 DataCloud Global Hyper-scale Innovation Award.

About Bridge Data Centres

Bridge is a wholesale and custom-build data centre solutions provider whose customers include large global enterprises and hyperscale cloud and technology companies with rapid expansion plans across the region. The company owns data center facilities in Malaysia and India while pursuing additional opportunities in Southeast Asia.  Established in 2017 to invest in greenfield projects in the India market, Bridge serves customers in multiple industry sectors, including financial institutions, technology companies, government and more recently large cloud services providers, with best-in-class operating and maintenance procedures to ensure the highest levels of uptime and reliability.

 

Categories: News

Tags:

Wireless Logic Group eyes major European growth as France-based Matooma joins the group

Montagu

Wireless Logic Group, Europe’s leading IoT connectivity platform provider today announced the acquisition of Matooma, the Montpellier, France-based IoT connectivity specialist which has grown rapidly since its inception in 2012. Today, Matooma is recognised for its expertise and innovation within the cellular IOT (Internet of Things) connectivity space, with a broad base of customers using their secure network solutions across multiple applications.

The Matooma acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, is Wireless Logic’s third major purchase in 2019 having already welcomed Dutch-based M2MBlue and SIMPoint in February and June respectively. The three new organisations join the UK-headquartered IoT connectivity platform provider as it continues to deliver rapid expansion throughout its European network. With Matooma on board, the group has an increased presence in France working alongside Wireless Logic’s existing Aix-en-Provence team, and will enhance its European reach which includes offices in Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands and Spain. The group’s European focus with global reach is backed by Montagu Private Equity who came on board in June 2018.

Commenting on the most recent acquisition, Oliver Tucker, Group CEO of Wireless Logic Group said: “We are delighted to be welcoming the Matooma team into the group. In just seven years, they have built an enviable reputation in France by delivering highly responsive and tailored IoT connectivity services, supported by exceptionally strong leadership. Over the coming months our integration programme will enable the group to enhance our best-in-class connectivity platform solutions to which Matooma will play a significant role, particularly within their core markets.”

On behalf of Matooma, founder and CEO Frédéric Salles said: “The success of Matooma has been based around the innovative use of secure mobile technology, a winning approach to nurturing long-lasting mobile network partnerships and in the strength and character of the Matooma team – our people have been so fundamental to where we are now today. Our journey so far has been short, fast-moving and with every opportunity seized. We are looking forward to combining our strengths with Wireless Logic and together building an even more exciting future as we develop and evolve the IoT connectivity market across France and further afield.”

Categories: News

Tags:

Gimv and other shareholders sell biopharmaceutical company Breath Therapeutics to Zambon after a fast development

GIMV

25/07/2019 – 08:00 | Portfolio

Today, Gimv, Sofinnova and Gilde Healthcare announced the sale of biopharmaceutical company Breath Therapeutics. Specialising in advanced and first-in-class inhalation therapies for severe respiratory diseases, Breath Therapeutics collected around EUR 43.5 million in one of the largest start-up financing rounds in 2017. With the support of the investors, two global Phase III trials are currently underway for inhalation therapy solutions for bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), an orphan lung disease with fatal outcome and no therapies approved. The strategic buyer is the Italian family-owned pharmaceutical and chemical company Zambon.

In March 2017 Gimv and Sofinnova Partners (France) led an investment in Breath Therapeutics. Other investors included Gilde Healthcare (Netherlands) and PARI Pharma as the licensor of the inhalation devices. In addition to financial resources, Gimv was instrumental in supporting Breath Therapeutics with its expertise during the spin-off process, the setup of a syndicated financing structure, and during the implementation of both strategy and streamlined internal processes. By bringing in this external expertise, Breath Therapeutics was able to grow their in house innovation into a mature therapy and to establish an excellent expert team in Europe and USA.

Dr. Karl Nägler, Partner and responsible for Life Sciences within Gimv’s Health & Care team, says: “ We are pleased about the successful development of the company over the last two years, as Gimv has played a key role in the strategic alignment and setup of the platform for growth right from the start. The potential impact of Breath Therapeutics and the drug was apparent to us at an early stage, since lung diseases are unfortunately becoming more common at a dramatic rate – especially due to environmental factors and changing lifestyle habits. Breath Therapeutics – with the help of Zambon – is well-positioned for successfully further developing and marketing the product in the future and expanding into new fields of application.”

Dr. Jens Stegemann, Chief Executive Officer of Breath Therapeutics, commented: “At Breath Therapeutics, we have created a product capable of changing lives around the world. In Zambon, an ethical company with a strong heritage of innovation and a genuine commitment to a patient-orientated approach, we have a partner who shares our vision. We have advanced a potential first-in-class therapy for BOS, just started two global Phase III studies, to a strong position but with Zambon’s infrastructure, expertise and commitment to R&D, we have the chance to expedite the process of bringing this critical treatment to as many patients as possible, as soon as possible. We thank our former partners Gimv, Sofinnova and Gilde Healthcare for supporting us in the important first few years, while we were taking the first steps towards developing our business.”

This exit has an immediate positive impact of around EUR 20 million on the Net Asset Value of Gimv as of 31 March 2019. Gimv has realised a return on this investment which is far above its long-term target of 15%.

For more information on this transaction, we refer to the attached press release of Zambon.

Categories: News

Tags:

The Carlyle Group and Stellex Capital Management to Acquire, Merge Maritime and Defense Companies Vigor Industrial and MHI Holdings

Carlyle

The Carlyle Group and Stellex Capital Management to Acquire, Merge Maritime and Defense Companies Vigor Industrial and MHI Holdings

Transaction to Create Bicoastal Platform of Scale Serving Defense and Commercial Customers

NEW YORK, NORFOLK, Va., PORTLAND, Ore. & WASHINGTON – Global investment firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) and private equity firm Stellex Capital Management today announced a definitive agreement to acquire and merge Vigor Industrial LLC, an infrastructure, defense, and maritime services company based in Portland, Oregon, and MHI Holdings LLC, a ship repair, maintenance, and other ship husbandry services company based in Norfolk, Virginia.

The combined company will create a bicoastal leader in critical ship repair services and commercial and defense-related fabrication services. Key customers include the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, Boeing, cruise lines, fishing fleets, barges and ferry services for local and state governments, and other key commercial and defense customers.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of the third quarter 2019. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Frank Foti, President and CEO of Vigor, said, “Through this transaction, Vigor gains responsible, forward-thinking investors who will seek to build on our current platform while maintaining a values-driven culture. In addition, we are excited to join forces with a company of MHI’s caliber which has a history of delivering strong results and shares our mission to serve the people who protect our country every day. This evolution takes us where we want to go, growing sustainable jobs into the future.  I’m excited to be an investor in this adventure and to be a part of what’s to come.”

Tom Epley, President and CEO of MHI, said, “MHI is stronger than it has ever been, and we’ve successfully executed our strategy of delivering cost effective maintenance and repair solutions to the U.S. Navy, a job we take very seriously.  We are excited to continue our partnership with Stellex and look forward to working with The Carlyle Group and our new colleagues at Vigor.  The MHI leadership team and our 800 employees across MHI Ship Repair, Seaward Marine and Accurate Marine remain committed to our mission.”

Derek Whang, Principal at The Carlyle Group, said, “We look forward to working with our partners at Stellex, Vigor and MHI to create a stronger combined company of scale, capable of providing differentiated, coast-to-coast services to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army and other defense, infrastructure, and maritime customers.  Together, Vigor and MHI are well positioned with their unique, national assets to grow in the highly attractive ship repair and fabrication markets, supported by compelling sector dynamics.”

David Waxman, Managing Director at Stellex Capital, said, “We are thrilled to have partnered with the MHI management team to grow the business over the last four years, including through the acquisitions of Accurate Marine and Seaward Marine, and look forward to working with the combined management teams as we expand our geographical and customer mix.  MHI’s commitment to its customers and its employees has been the foundation of its growth, and we welcome the partnership with Carlyle and Frank Foti in this next stage.”

The Carlyle Group will become majority owner of the combined company. Equity for the investment will come from the Carlyle U.S. Equity Opportunity Fund II, a $2.4 billion fund that focuses on middle-market and growth companies in the United States and Canada. As part of the transaction, Stellex Capital, MHI’s existing owner, will contribute new equity to the platform, while Vigor’s CEO Frank Foti will roll a portion of his existing Vigor ownership stake into the combined company.

A CEO search is underway for the new company. Tom Rabaut, former President and CEO of United Defense and a current Operating Executive at The Carlyle Group, and Admiral James Stavridis, a retired 4-star U.S. Navy officer, former NATO Alliance Supreme Allied Commander, and a current Operating Executive at The Carlyle Group, will both join the Board of Directors. Mr. Foti will also join the Board of Directors as Vice Chairman and will continue as Vigor’s CEO until a new CEO is retained. Tom Epley will continue to lead the MHI business.

Vigor Industrial LLC, majority-owned by CEO Frank Foti, is a provider of complex fabrication and ship repair services. It employs 2,300 people and operates eight drydocks across the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, including the largest floating drydock in North America. Vigor excels at ship repair, specialized shipbuilding, and other complex fabrication projects in support of aerospace, defense, and infrastructure end markets. While the company is widely known for building ferries, it also builds high-performance military craft for the United States and other allied foreign governments.

MHI Holdings LLC, owned by Stellex Capital, is a leading provider of full-range ship maintenance, repair, and modernization services to the U.S. Navy and Military Sealift Command in Norfolk, Virginia. MHI also provides hull cleaning, ship husbandry services, underwater painting and inspections, wastewater treatment, and chemical cleaning services globally. MHI is one of the only private shipyards in Norfolk that can service large surface combatants and amphibious ships.

Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to The Carlyle Group and Stellex Capital Management. DLA Piper served as legal advisor to MHI Holdings LLC and Stellex Capital Management. BofA Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, and Credit Suisse have agreed to provide debt financing for the transaction. Capstone Headwaters served as exclusive financial advisor to Vigor Industrial LLC, and K&L Gates LLP served as Vigor’s legal advisor.

Categories: News

Tags:

Tile Secures $45 Million to Advance Embedded Partnerships, International Growth, Product and Service Expansions

Franciso Partners

Investment, Led by Francisco Partners, Comes as Company Posts Strong First Half Results

SAN MATEO, Calif., — Tile, the world’s leading smart location company, today announced the closing of its Series C fundraising round, with a minority growth investment led by Francisco Partners, a global technology-focused private equity firm. The investment will accelerate plans to expand Tile’s embedded partnerships whereby third party products become findable just like Tile’s popular first party devices. The investment will also allow Tile to grow more aggressively internationally, expand into new product categories, and enhance its Premium service to deliver more peace of mind to its growing community of users.

The announcement comes as Tile posts strong results in early 2019, including growing sell-through in Europe by 160% in the most recent quarter, as well as more than doubling unit sales on Prime Day in the United States. The Company also reports that sign-ups for its Premium service, launched in October 2018, have significantly exceeded initial expectations and will be a key focus going forward.

Tile has grown substantially in recent years as customers increasingly rely on the technology to do more than find lost keys: users now depend on the popular service to remind them if they’ve left for work without their laptop, locate lost luggage, find the family cat hiding in the backyard, and even to keep track of the jacket a child may frequently leave behind. The Company’s growth coincides with a time when daily life is becoming more hectic, leaving the average person spending nearly a year of their lifetime looking for misplaced items.

“Millions of users already trust us to safeguard their belongings and find misplaced items — we will continue to deliver on that promise and more,” said CJ Prober, CEO of Tile. “This investment ushers in a new chapter for Tile: with new products and expanded partnerships, we can better solve the everyday pain point of losing or misplacing the things that matter most to our global customer base.”

This investment comes as Tile reaches a tipping point with its embedded strategy which began with product partners like Bose, Skullcandy and Sennheiser, and continues to grow with semiconductor partners like Qualcomm, Nordic and Dialog, resulting in millions of Tile-enabled third party devices in several new verticals by the end of this year.

“Tile pioneered the smart location category,” said Andrew Kowal, Partner with Francisco Partners. “With Bluetooth technology projected to be included in nearly 30 billion devices shipping in the next five years, Tile is poised to deliver an embedded finding solution for a rapidly expanding market. We are extremely excited to be partnering with Tile as the company enters the next chapter of its growth story.”

Tile also raised a portion of the Series C investment from existing investors GGV Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners, as well as new investors Bryant Stibel and SVB Financial Group.

About Tile

Tile gives everything the power of smart location. Leveraging its vast community that spans 230 countries and territories, Tile’s cloud-based finding platform helps people find the things that matter to them most. The global Tile community helps locate more than five million unique items every day. The company is based in San Mateo, CA and is backed by Francisco Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and GGV Capital. For more information, please visit Tile.com.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global private equity firm that specializes in investments in technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has raised over $14 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 275 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. The firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit: www.franciscopartners.com.

About Bryant Stibel

Bryant Stibel was founded in 2013 to provide strategic, financial, and operational support to businesses with a focus across technology, media, and data. The Bryant Stibel platform is unique in that it combines the creative vision of Kobe Bryant, one of the world’s most well known and respected sports icons, with Jeff Stibel, a proven market-driven operator and serial entrepreneur, alongside a team of proven public and private company executives. The team has extensive experience operating technology and data-driven businesses, as well as deploying capital through its growth and venture platforms. For more information, please visit www.BryantStibel.com.

About SVB Financial Group

For more than 35 years, SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) and its subsidiaries have helped innovative companies and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB Financial Group’s businesses, including Silicon Valley Bank, offer commercial, investment and private banking, asset management, private wealth management, brokerage and investment services and funds management services to companies in the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity and venture capital, and premium wine industries. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, SVB Financial Group operates in centers of innovation around the world. Learn more at www.svb.com.

Categories: News

Tags: