Category Archives: News

EQT Infrastructure acquires Broadnet, Norway’s leading alternative fiber-based data communications provider

eqt

  • EQT Infrastructure acquires Broadnet, the leading alternative Norwegian provider of fiber-based data communications to businesses, telecom operators and the public sector
  • Broadnet operates in the highly attractive fiber infrastructure sector characterized by growing data traffic
  • EQT Infrastructure is committed to actively supporting Broadnet in its pursuit of growth and continued operational improvement opportunities

The EQT Infrastructure III fund (“EQT Infrastructure”) has agreed to acquire Broadnet Holding AS (“Broadnet” or the “Company”) from the EQT V and VI funds.

Broadnet controls ~24,000km of fiber through its nationwide backbone network in addition to expansive regional as well as local networks, connecting more than 90 cities across Norway. The Company has grown to become the leading independent fiber-based datacom provider in the Norwegian B2B market (~85% of sales), but also serves the B2C market through its HomeNet brand (~15% of sales). The product offering includes VPN, Internet, Ethernet and dedicated capacity to both the wholesale market and to end-customers. The customer base includes some of the largest Norwegian enterprises as well as other telecom operators and consumers.

EQT Infrastructure will support the continued development of Broadnet and assist the Company in its pursuit of new opportunities to grow and commercialize its extensive fiber network assets. Moreover, the value creation strategy is focused on realization of identified operational improvement opportunities, for instance automation and customer service initiatives.

Daniel Pérez, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure, said: “Broadnet was created under the ownership of EQT V/VI and has developed into a leader in the highly attractive Norwegian fiber infrastructure market under the leadership of CEO Martin Lippert. We are excited about the prospects of the Company and thrilled with the opportunity to support Martin and his team with their growth and development plans going forward.”

Martin Lippert, CEO of Broadnet said: “The sale of Broadnet is another proof of our success over the last years. We have, through hard work from all employees and support from our owners, positioned Broadnet as a market leader within fiber infrastructure. We will continue the journey through further development of infrastructure and by providing outstanding customer experiences in the years to come. Broadnet is ideally positioned to take further market shares in a growing Norwegian fiber market, with the backing of our new owner who has extensive experience from our industry.”

The transaction is expected to close in May 2018.

Contacts:
Daniel Pérez, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure, +46 8 506 554 72

EQT Press office +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a leading investment firm with approximately EUR 49 billion in raised capital across 26 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About Broadnet
Broadnet is the largest alternative Datacom provider in Norway. The company controls one of two optical fiber networks in Norway in addition to a substantial regional and local network. The group consist of two brands: Broadnet, serving the business and wholesale market, and HomeNet, serving the consumer market

More info: www.broadnet.no

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FS Investments and KKR Close Transaction, Creating Largest BDC Platform

KKR

Investors Overwhelmingly Approve New Partnership

PHILADELPHIA and NEW YORK, April 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — FS Investments and KKR today announced the closing of their previously announced transaction to create the market’s largest business development company (BDC) platform, with $18 billion in combined assets under management.

Effective today, a new partnership, FS/KKR Advisor, LLC, will serve as the investment adviser to six BDCs:  FS Investment Corporation (NYSE: FSIC), FS Investment Corporation II (FSIC II), FS Investment Corporation III (FSIC III), FS Investment Corporation IV (FSIC IV), Corporate Capital Trust, Inc. (NYSE: CCT) and Corporate Capital Trust II (CCT II).  All of the BDCs are able to participate in the same transactions alongside each other and KKR Credit’s institutional funds and accounts.

“We have been working closely with the KKR team over the past several months to prepare for this transition and are now looking forward to realizing the full benefits of our combined platform for investors,” said Michael Forman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FS Investments. “Our focus will continue to be on optimizing the platform and enhancing performance as we also evaluate potential mergers of these BDCs to create value.”

Todd Builione, President of KKR Credit and Markets, said, “We have enjoyed working with our partners at FS over the past many months.  We firmly believe that through our collective scale and complementary expertise, our combined BDC franchise is positioned to drive superior results for our investors – and holistic financing solutions to our sponsor and corporate clients.”

FS Investments and GSO Capital Partners (GSO) have concluded their relationship with respect to all of FS Investments’ sponsored funds that were sub-advised by GSO.

About FS/KKR Advisor LLC 
FS/KKR Advisor, LLC is a partnership between FS Investments and KKR Credit that serves as the investment adviser to six business development companies (BDCs) with approximately $18 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2017. The BDCs managed by FS/KKR include FS Investment Corporation, FS Investment Corporation II, FS Investment Corporation III, FS Investment Corporation IV, Corporate Capital Trust, Inc. and Corporate Capital Trust II.

About FS Investments
FS Investments is a leading asset manager dedicated to helping individuals, financial professionals and institutions design better portfolios. The firm provides access to alternative sources of income and growth and focuses on setting industry standards for investor protection, education and transparency.

FS Investments is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA with offices in New York, NY, Orlando, FL and Washington, DC. Visit fsinvestments.com to learn more.

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 manager partnerships 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. L.P. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Contact Information:

Media (FS Investments)
Marc Yaklofsky or Kate Beers
media@fsinvestments.com
215-495-1174

Media (KKR)
Kristi Huller or Cara Kleiman Major
media@kkr.com
212-750-8300

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements, including statements with regard to the future performance or operations of FSIC, FSIC II, FSIC III, FSIC IV, CCT and CCT II (collectively, the “Funds”). Words such as “believes,” “expects,” “projects” and “future” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Certain factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements, and some of these factors are enumerated in the filings the Funds make with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Funds undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Cision View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fs-investments-and-kkr-close-transaction-creating-largest-bdc-platform-300626249.html

SOURCE FS Investments

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AURELIUS subsidiary B+P Group acquires Raetz Gerüstbau

Aurelius Capital

  • Strategic add-on acquisition is part of B+P’s expansion strategy
  • Expanded presence in the Munich greater metropolitan area
  • Acquisition offers synergy potential

Munich, April 9, 2018 – B+P Gerüstbau, a subsidiary of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE000A0JK2A8), will acquire the operations, including all assets and employees, of Gustav Raetz oHG under an asset deal. The seller is the insolvency administrator. Founded in 1906, the provider of scaffolding services with its main headquarters in Munich and a branch office in Bautzen/Saxony will enable the B+P Group to operate even more successfully in the Munich greater metropolitan area. After the acquisition of the BSB Group in August 2016, the purchase of Raetz is the next logical step in B+P’s Germany-wide expansion strategy. The parties agreed not to divulge the financial details of the transaction.

Raetz Gerüstbau is a longstanding provider of scaffolding services, very well known in the Munich area, with access to and references for public-sector contracts in the region. The medium-sized family enterprise has a total of 23 highly qualified employees and six vocational trainees, as well as a very well situated site in Munich-Milbertshofen. The acquisition of Raetz will enable B+P to further expand its presence in the Munich greater metropolitan area and realize synergies. For example, Raetz’s scaffolding materials and employees can be deployed directly at the Munich-area construction sites of the specialized scaffolder BSB, which is owned by the B+P Group.

“I am pleased that the company will continue to operate under the roof of B+P. First, the acquisition preserves the existing jobs at Raetz. Second, it creates prospects for new growth,” said Anita Bones, the longtime operations manager of Raetz. The acquisition by B+P is also supported by the insolvency administrator of Gustav Raetz oHG, the Munich-based attorney Dr. Matthias Hofmann: “During the transaction process, B+P convinced us with a clear growth concept and with its speed and pragmatism, backed by the support and experience of AURELIUS.”

B+P Gerüstbau, which has belonged to the AURELIUS Group since August 2014, is the market leader in the segment of scaffolding and construction site services in the Berlin greater metropolitan area, where it primarily serves public-sector entities as an expert in demanding, large-scale projects. In its “PLUS Services” segment, B+P also provides services such as electricity and water supply to construction sites. The company has grown continuously on this basis in the last few years. B+P has been involved in nearly all large-scale regional projects in the past. In addition, it provides services to numerous medium-sized and small projects and has a stable customer base including prestigious construction companies and public-sector project owners.

Categories: News

Funds advised by Apax Partners to acquire Healthium MedTech Private Limited

Apax

Mumbai and London, 6 April 2018: Quinag Acquisition (FDI) Limited, a company backed by funds advised by Apax Partners (“the Apax Funds”), today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Healthium MedTech Private Limited (“Healthium” or the “Company”, previously known as “Sutures India”), the leading independent medical devices player in India. The controlling stake was acquired from existing shareholders including TPG Growth, CX Partners, and founding shareholders. The transaction is subject to customary approvals. The financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Founded in 1992, Healthium manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices and consumable products including wound closure products, minimally invasive products including endo surgery and arthroscopy consumables, and urology products. The Company’s key brands include Trusynth, Truglyde, Trubond, and Sironix, amongst others.

Through its strong pan-India distribution presence under the Sutures India division, Healthium sells its products across large and corporate hospitals, nursing homes, and government hospitals and institutions, and services over 10,000 hospitals across the country. Backed by the Apax Funds, Healthium plans to further deepen its presence in the Indian market and broaden its portfolio of specialty medtech products.

Healthium has a significant and growing international business with exports to over 50 countries. With an already strong presence in the urology market in the UK, under the Clinisupplies division, Healthium has also recently and successfully launched a portfolio of wound closure products under the Q-Close brand.

Healthium will be the eighth investment in India for the Apax Funds over the past 11 years. Including this transaction, the Apax Funds have invested just under $2bn of equity in the country. The investment in Healthium marks the second investment in the healthcare space for the Apax Funds in India, following the investment in Apollo Hospitals.

Shashank Singh, Partner at Apax Partners and Head of Apax’s India office, said: “Healthcare is a key focus area for Apax in India given secular tailwinds around healthcare spend and government initiatives focused on affordable and universal healthcare. Healthium, with its strong IP and domestic manufacturing base, is well positioned to improve healthcare access and drive excellence in local manufacturing under the Make in India programme. The opportunity is to create a medtech platform of scale to deliver a broad portfolio of products in the Indian market, and we are excited to partner with the management team of Healthium to deliver this vision.”

Steven Dyson, Partner at Apax Partners and Global Co-head of Healthcare at Apax, said: “Apax has strong experience in medical devices companies globally with several large businesses such as Vyaire, Acelity and Syneron Candela in the Apax Funds’ portfolio. Healthium is a well-established brand selling high quality products at affordable prices, which is necessary in a market like India. We see a great opportunity to further expand its product portfolio and create India’s leading medical devices company.”

Matt Hobart, Partner at TPG Growth and leader of the fund’s Healthcare practice globally, said:  “TPG Growth has invested in a significant number of healthcare provider businesses around the world, from urgent care clinics and travel nurse staffing in the United States to world-class cancer clinics and specialty mother and child centers in India. Thematically, we have always been focused on investing behind companies that offer high-quality products and services with a focus on value. From the time we invested five years ago, Healthium has always delivered extremely well on that quality-cost equation. We are very pleased to have grown Healthium into one of the leading medtech platforms in India and are confident that the Company will continue to scale effectively for years to come.”

Apax was advised by Kirkland & Ellis (legal counsel), Khaitan & Co (legal counsel), and PwC (accounting and tax advisor). TPG Growth was advised by Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (legal counsel), Deloitte (accounting and tax), and Goldman Sachs.

Funds advised by Apax Partners to acquire Healthium MedTech Private Limited

About Healthium MedTech Private Limited
Healthium is India’s leading medical devices player, manufacturing and marketing several surgical and medical consumables including surgical sutures, staplers, suturing needles, other wound closure products, surgical gloves, urology products and a range of minimally invasive solutions. Healthium is headquartered in Bangalore and has 5 manufacturing locations across the country. The Sutures India division of the company has a strong sales and distribution network in India comprising over 400 sales personnel and over 1,500 distributors. Clinisupplies, the UK division of Healthium, is a leading medical devices player in the UK, marketing and selling urology products, surgical sutures and other wound care products. Healthium also has significant global presence with exports to over 50 countries, including the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico, GCC countries, Egypt, Turkey and several Asian countries. Healthium also has a large OEM business that caters to requirements of sutures and other medical device companies globally.

About Apax Partners
Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 35-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of over $50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.

About TPG Growth
TPG Growth is the middle market and growth equity investment platform of TPG, the global private investment firm. With more than $13 billion of assets under management, TPG Growth targets investments in a broad range of industries and geographies. TPG Growth has the deep sector knowledge, operational resources, and global experience to drive value creation, and help companies reach their full potential. The firm is backed by the resources of TPG, which has more than $73 billion of assets under management. For more information, visit www.tpg.com.

Media Contacts

For Apax Partners:

Global Media: Andrew Kenny, Apax | +44 20 7 872 6371 | andrew.kenny@apax.com
USA Media: Todd Fogarty, Kekst | +1 212-521 4854 | todd.fogarty@kekst.com
UK Media: Matthew Goodman / James Madsen, Greenbrook | +44 20 7952 2000 | apax@greenbrookpr.com

For TPG Growth:

Global Media: Erika White, TPG | +1 415-743-1550 | media@tpg.com
India Media: Snigdha Nair, Adfactors |+91 9920481191 | snigdha.nair@adfactorspr.com

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Questel’s management selects IK Investment Partners for exclusive negotiations

ik-investment-partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”), a leading Pan-European private equity firm, is pleased to announce that the IK VIII Fund has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire a stake in Questel, a global leading provider of Intellectual Property (IP) information and management software and services, from its current shareholders, including Capzanine, Raise, Questel’s founders and management team. IK plans, together with the founders, management team and Raise, to support the international expansion and external growth strategy of the group. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Parties involved

IK Investment Partners: Dan Soudry, Rémi Buttiaux, Vincent Elriz, Déborah Collignon
Buyer Strategic DD: ATK (Jérôme Souied, Julien Vincent)
Buyer Financial DD: Ernst & Young (Daniel Benquis, Eric Roussel)
Buyer Legal advisor: Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (Eduardo Fernandez, Grégory de Saxcé, Paul Lombard)

Raise Investissement: Mathieu Blanc, Vincent Sauzay
Capzanine: Christophe Karvelis, Thomas Lafougère
CEO: Charles Besson
Seller Financial advisor: DC Advisory (David Benin, Alexis Matheron)
Seller Financial DD: Eight Advisory (Justin Welstead)
Seller Legal advisor: Mayer Brown (Olivier Aubouin, Marine Ollive)
Seller Tax advisor: Arsene Taxand
Seller Legal DD: K&L Gates
Management advisors: Oloryn Partners (Roland de Farcy) and Desfilis (Guillaume Giuliani)

For further questions, please contact:

IK Investment Partners
Dan Soudry, Partner
Phone: +33 1 44 43 06 60

Mikaela Hedborg
Director Communications & ESG
Phone: +44 77 87 573 566
mikaela.hedborg@ikinvest.com

About Questel
Questel, a former division of France Telecom, offers IP Business Intelligence software allowing advanced research and analysis of patents, trademarks and designs, IP Asset Management platform as well as international filing administrative services. The Group employs nearly 215 people with offices in Europe, America and Asia and generated a turnover of approximately 45 million euros in 2017.

About IK Investment Partners
IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Nordics, DACH region, France, and Benelux. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €9.5 billion of capital and invested in over 115 European companies. IK funds support companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com

About Raise Investissement
Founded in 2013 by Clara Gaymard and Gonzague de Blignières, Raise is divided into four complementary activities:

  • RAISE Investment, a capital investment company that targets mid-cap companies with high growth potential and that takes minority stakes through investments ranging between 10 and 50 million euros
  • REIM, an OPCI licensed by the AMF that devotes to real estate
  • RAISE Ventures, an investment company that targets innovative early startups
  • The Endowment Fund RAISESHERPAS, a philanthropic structure that supports, finances and improves the visibility of young growth entrepreneurs in order to help them build sustainable companies.

Raise is based on a unique funding system, with the investment team giving up 50% of its carried interest in order to finance RAISESHERPAS. This innovative system in France creates a virtuous ecosystem between shareholding major groups, mid-caps and startups. For more information, visit www.raise.com

About Capzanine
Founded in 2004, Capzanine is a European independent private investment management fund. Capzanine supports businesses in their quest for growth, providing financial and industrial expertise to help them achieve success in their development and transfer phases. Capzanine delivers flexible long-term financing solutions to SMEs and mid-cap companies. Depending on the circumstances, Capzanine invests as a majority or minority shareholder and/or as a private debt provider (mezzanine, unitranche, senior debt), in unlisted small and mid-cap companies with an enterprise value of 30 million to 400 million euros. Although broad-based, Capzanine more particularly supports strong value-creating companies in the healthcare, technology, food and services sectors. Based in Paris and run by its partners, Capzanine currently has €2.5 billion in assets under management. For more information, visit http://capzanine.com 

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Aibel is awarded a new contract for the Johan Sverdrup field

Ratos

This is information that Ratos AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 07.15 CET on 5 April 2018.

Today Statoil has awarded Aibel a letter of intent for engineering, procurement and construction of the deck for a process platform on the Johan Sverdrup field. The final contract is expected to be signed later this year and has an estimated value of approximately NOK 8 billion.

The contract, which will be the largest in Aibel’s history and one of the largest individual contracts that has been awarded on the Norwegian continental shelf, includes engineering, procurement and fabrication (EPC) of a process platform (P2) in phase 2 of the Johan Sverdrup development. The platform will consist of three modules, from which two will be built at Aibel’s yard in Haugesund and the third module will be built at Aibel’s yard in Thailand. Work will start immediately while construction activities will commence in 2019. The finished platform deck at around 23,000 tons is scheduled for delivery to Statoil in 2022. The project will at its peak involve around 3,500 employees.

“It is very pleasing that Aibel has been awarded this major and important contract, which is proof of the company’s competence and competitiveness as well as the experience gained from the delivery of the Johan Sverdrup drilling platform”, says Ratos’s CEO Jonas Wiström.

Aibel is a leading service company for the oil and gas industry. The company is also established in renewable energy. Aibel has approximately 4,000 employees. Ratos’s holding in Aibel amounts to 32%.


For further information, please contact:
Jonas Wiström, CEO, +46 8 700 17 00
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR and Press, +46 8 700 17 98

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GSO Capital Partners’ Third Capital Solutions Fund Closes on $7 Billion in LP Commitments

Blackstone

New York, April 5, 2018 – GSO Capital Partners, Blackstone’s (NYSE: BX) credit platform, today announced the final closing of its third stressed / distressed fund, GSO Capital Solutions Fund III (“the Fund”), at its hard cap of $7.0 billion, an increase of approximately 40% from GSO’s second capital solutions fund raised in 2013. GSO received strong support from both existing and new investors, with demand surpassing the Fund’s $7.0 billion hard cap. GSO sourced commitments from a global investor base, including U.S. state, corporate and international pension funds, financial institutions, endowments, foundations and family offices.

This is GSO’s third fund designed to provide capital solutions to companies facing liquidity issues, including pending debt maturities, liquidity shortfalls and temporary cyclical challenges, needing capital to avoid imminent bankruptcy, or needing assistance in their exit from bankruptcy. GSO has deployed over $8.7 billion in the strategy to date across a broad range of sectors and geographies, with a focus on the U.S. and Europe.

Bennett Goodman, Senior Managing Director and Co-Founder of GSO Capital Partners, said, “We are delighted by and appreciative of the significant demand for our third fund from limited partners. This Fund provides us with the capital necessary to continue our strategy of being a partner of choice to those companies seeking capital to solve their balance sheet and liquidity needs, enabling them to focus on their business and growth objectives.”

About GSO Capital Partners
GSO Capital Partners LP is the global credit investment platform of Blackstone. GSO is one of the largest alternative managers in the world focused on the leveraged-finance, or non-investment grade related, marketplace. GSO seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns in its business by investing in a broad array of strategies including mezzanine debt, distressed investing, leveraged loans and other special-situation strategies. Its funds are major providers of credit for small and middle-market companies and they also advance rescue financing to help distressed companies. Overall, Blackstone’s credit platform, which also includes Blackstone Insurance Solutions and Harvest Fund Advisors LLC’s energy MLP business, has assets under management of approximately $138 billion.

About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with over $430 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

Contacts
Blackstone
Public Affairs
New York
212-583-5263

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EQT Mid Market Europe to invest in BBS Automation

eqt
EQT Mid Market Europe partners with the co-founders of BBS Automation, a leading provider of flexible and high-quality automation solutions for complex manufacturing and testing processes with operations across Europe, Asia and North America · Intention is to support the continued growth of BBS Automation, both organically and through add-on acquisitions, to better serve customers along increasingly international and connected operations · BBS Automation’s co-founders, Josef Wildgruber and Uwe Behr, will continue to lead the executive team and all current shareholders will remain invested in the company

The EQT Mid Market Europe Fund (“EQT Mid Market”) today announced that it is partnering with co-founders Josef Wildgruber and Uwe Behr to invest in BBS Automation GmbH (“BBS Automation” or “the Company”) to support the further expansion of the business.

BBS Automation is a leading provider of flexible and high-quality automation solutions for complex manufacturing and testing processes. The Company develops, builds and installs high-quality automated systems for a wide range of industries and requirements. With more than 600 employees across production sites in Germany, China, Malaysia and the US, BBS Automation partners with blue chip customers on a global scale.

EQT Mid Market intends to leverage its long-term experience in the Industrial Technology space to assist BBS Automation’s growth ambitions both organically and through add-on acquisitions in new end markets. Furthermore, EQT’s global network, in particular the presence in China and the Americas, will support the Company in further expanding its geographical foot-print to reach blue chip customers on a global scale.

Josef Wildgruber, CEO of BBS Automation, comments: “Our customers increasingly request us to partner with them on a global scale. We are therefore looking to expand our international delivery capabilities without compromising on the entrepreneurial mindset and flexibility that customers value in BBS Automation today. We view EQT Mid Market as a very strong partner for these growth ambitions, as they not only provide the required capital for our expansion, but also a network of highly relevant Industrial Advisers as valuable sparring partners for building the presence in our growth markets as well as a governance concept that allows us to further build on our strengths“

Andreas Fischer, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market, adds ”EQT Mid Market is seeking to partner with inspiring founders and strong management teams who have a clear vision for their business. We are deeply impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit with which Josef Wildgruber, Uwe Behr and their team have built a true German Mittelstands-Champion over the last years. Very rarely do we find businesses of this size that operate as a truly global platform like BBS Automation. EQT Mid Market is delighted to partner with the co-founders of BBS Automation and their team to further develop this key enabler of Industry 4.0 production systems“

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approval. The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction.

Contacts

Andreas Fischer, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market Europe, +49 89 255 49 954

EQT Press Contact, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT

EQT is a leading investment firm with approximately EUR 49 billion in raised capital across 26 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com


About BBS Automation

BBS Automation is a leading provider of flexible and high-quality automation solutions for complex manufacturing and testing processes. With more than 600 employees across production sites in Germany, China, Malaysia and the US, BBS Automation partners with blue chip customers on a global scale.

More info: www.bbsautomation.com

 

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Kaiku Health raises €4.4 million series A financing to accelerate its digital therapeutics pipeline led by Debiopharm and Tesi

Tesi

Finnish digital health company Kaiku Health Oy, which provides intelligent patient monitoring software for healthcare providers across Europe, has closed a €4.4 million funding round. The investment was led by Debiopharm Innovation Fund SA and Tesi with participation from Prodeko Ventures Oy and existing investors Reaktor Ventures Oy, Metsola Ventures Oy, and Athensmed Oy.

Kaiku Health offers intelligent patient monitoring software for healthcare providers. Structured capture and analysis of patient-reported data enables clinicians to evaluate the effectiveness of therapies and to detect and treat health problems early. Kaiku Health platform is used in routine care by over 30 clinics in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Finland, and has been used by 64,000 patients (March 2018).

“We have seen the significant positive impact our patient monitoring platform can have on people’s health”, comments Lauri Sippola, Kaiku Health CEO and Co-Founder. “This funding allows us to provide our platform to a growing number of healthcare providers and patients internationally. It is important that our investors also bring an extraordinary understanding of healthcare, life sciences and digitalization.”

“We are excited about the impact digital technologies will have on the patient journey and are particularly enthusiastic to help take the digital therapeutic approach in oncology out of the lab and onto the market where the benefits of this high frequency monitoring can be expected to bring real outcomes improvement”, says Tanja Dowe, CEO at Debiopharm Innovation Fund.

“We have studied the Finnish digital health sector thoroughly and found it extremely interesting from an investor’s point of view”, adds Joni Karsikas, Investment Manager at Tesi. “The Kaiku Health team impressed us with its strong technological know-how, for instance in the use of artificial intelligence. Kaiku Health has strong international customer references and a broad user-base for a young health-tech company.”

Digital patient monitoring can improve quality of life and reduce costs of healthcare

Recent research1 has shown that collecting patients’ subjective experiences and turning them into structured data can have significant impact on care outcomes. Kaiku Health’s intelligent digital platform can be applied for monitoring patient-reported outcomes in several medical specialties. Its unique algorithms screen patient’s symptom data, alert care team and trigger personalized instructions for patients. Structured real-world data on the efficacy of therapies allows early interventions and personalized care.

For further information, please contact:

Kaiku Health
Lauri Sippola, CEO & Co-Founder
lauri.sippola@kaikuhealth.com
Tel: +358 40 744 7481

Tesi
Joni Karsikas, Investment Manager
joni.karsikas@tesi.fi
Tel: +358 40 827 0395

Debiopharm Group
Christelle von Büren
Communication Coordinator
christelle.vonburen@debiopharm.com
Tel: +41 (0)21 321 01 11

Pictures: media.kaikuhealth.com

1 References
Basch E, Allison MD, Mark GK, Howard IS, Clifford AH, Paul S, (2015). Symptom Monitoring With Patient- Reported Outcomes During Routine Cancer Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial, J Clin Oncol 2016: 34(6), 557–565.
Basch E, Deal AM, Dueck AC, Scher HI, Kris MG, Hudis C, Schrag D. Overall Survival Results of a Trial Assessing Patient-Reported Outcomes for Symptom Monitoring During Routine Cancer Treatment. JAMA. 2017 Jul 11; 318(2): 197-198.

About Kaiku Health
Kaiku Health (previously Netmedi Oy) is a digital health company aiming to improve quality of life and reduce costs of healthcare through data science. We are digitizing the patient monitoring and easing the adoption of Patient-Reported Outcomes in several therapy areas. Our pioneering patient monitoring platform is used in routine care by over 30 clinics in Europe.
Founded in 2012, Kaiku Health has raised over 6 million euros in total funding. Kaiku Health’s revenue in 2017 was approximately €0,7 million. We are headquartered in Helsinki, but our people also harbor in Frankfurt and Stockholm. For more information, please visit www.kaikuhealth.com and connect with us at Twitter @KaikuHealth.

About Debiopharm Innovation Fund SA
Part of Debiopharm Group™ – a Swiss-headquartered global biopharmaceutical group including five companies active in the life science areas of drug development, GMP manufacturing of proprietary drugs, diagnostic tools and investment management – Debiopharm Innovation Fund’s mission is to invest in companies developing innovative therapeutics, diagnostics and smart data solutions that change the way we develop drugs and treat patients. Since 2008, the company has invested nearly USD 100 million and led 10 out of the 14 last investment rounds in its portfolio companies.
For more information, please visit www.debiopharm.com
We are on Twitter. Follow us @DebiopharmNews 

About Tesi
Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a venture capital and private equity company that accelerates companies’ success stories by investing in them directly and via funds. Tesi always invests together with other investors, providing them with access to high quality deal-flow in Finland. Our investments under management total €1.2 billion and we have altogether 700 companies in portfolio. www.tesi.fi/ @TesiFII

 

 

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KKR to Invest $172 Million in Cherwell Software

KKR

Landmark Investment for Colorado Company in State’s Growing Tech Arena

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Cherwell Software, LLC, (“Cherwell”) a global leader in enterprise service management, announced today that leading global investment firm KKR will take a larger stake in the company through its Next Generation Technology Fund, which focuses on investments in software, security, Internet, digital media, and information services. This latest investment of $172 million will be in addition to KKR’s initial $50 million investment made in Cherwell in February 2017.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180404005377/en/

Cherwell offers software that has enabled thousands of organizations to modernize their business operations by automating services digitally. After establishing itself as a leader in the IT Service Management (ITSM) space, Cherwell is poised to expand into the service management market, which is estimated to top $30 billion by 2020 (including ITSM, “Low code” and PPM, according to MarketsandMarkets). As organizations of all sizes seek to connect disparate digital services and data silos in order to gain more insight, efficiency and productivity, Cherwell’s platform unifies the tools that ensure their businesses are as efficient as possible. Companies, schools, hospitals, and government agencies all over the world depend on Cherwell’s solutions to manage their IT operations and, increasingly, achieve digital transformation across their organizations.

“Since founding this company in 2004, we have committed to serving customers with intuitive technology that helps not only drive business but transform organizations,” said Vance Brown, Cherwell Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board. “The demand for our platform has continued to expand globally and the leadership at KKR is aligned with the company’s vision for growth.”

“Cherwell is a leader in its industry known for its highly-adaptable, high-quality solutions, which enable customers to transform their service management capabilities. We are thrilled to further invest in the company, which we believe has enormous potential for growth,” said Vini Letteri, a Managing Director on KKR’s Private Equity and TMT Growth team.

Cherwell’s business is expanding rapidly across the globe. The company has experienced dramatic growth in new customers in the EMEA and APAC regions as well as in collaboration with leading industry partners through its Technical Alliance Partnership program. In addition, nearly 70% of Cherwell’s enterprise customers have expanded their use of service management beyond IT, deploying the platform to satisfy a number of needs such as HR, Project Management, Facilities, and Security. Cherwell has a growing and engaged customer base including a wide range of active user groups worldwide, which increased in number by 218% and in customer attendance by 250% in 2017.

“Cherwell has enabled us to do much more than we initially anticipated in terms of driving centralized intelligence and optimized service for our business. We have seen an increase in service application across our organization with more than 50% of service tickets coming in through Cherwell now outside of IT. The Cherwell platform was not only able to be customized for our particular needs in healthcare, but it can grow with our needs, which is vital as we look to drive innovation and continuous improvement,” said William J. Weyrick, Director, Information Systems Division, Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

“Cherwell Software’s evolution into a global technology company in a little more than 10 years is one of the state’s high-tech success stories,” Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said. “The innovation and highly skilled jobs this company has produced demonstrates some of the best of what Colorado Springs and Colorado has to offer. I’m proud to see Cherwell continue to attract investment to Colorado and lay the groundwork for even more growth in the years ahead.”

About Cherwell

Cherwell Software (@Cherwell) empowers organizations to transform their business through the rapid adoption and easy management of digital services. Cherwell’s adaptable platform has enabled thousands of organizations to modernize their business operations with customizable service management, automation, and reporting across the enterprise. For more information, visit: http://www.cherwell.com.

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 manager partnerships 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. L.P. (NYSE:KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Media:
Cherwell
Ann Boyd, 719-494-3572
ann.boyd@cherwell.com
or
KKR
Kristi Huller or Cara Kleiman Major, +1-212-750-8300
media@kkr.com

Source: KKR

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