Category Archives: News

Valmet Automotive Strategy and Leadership Transition

Tesi

In 2017 Valmet Automotive took significant steps in transforming from a Finland-based vehicle manufacturing business to a service provider with a broad offering to the automotive industry: a company with a special focus on electric vehicles and a strong presence in Central Europe, close to its key customers. While vehicle manufacturing continues to be a core element in Valmet Automotive’s strategy, the company is putting more emphasis on growth from new areas such as automotive engineering and battery pack supply. This complements its vehicle and roof manufacturing businesses.

In January 2017 Valmet Automotive entered into a partnership focused on electronic automotive solutions with Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), a leading global provider of battery and energy storage solutions. This was followed in February 2017 by the acquisition of an automotive engineering company in Germany employing approximately 800 people in locations next to the leading OEMs. Following this expansion Valmet Automotive now employs circa 1,000 engineers in Europe.

The aim of building up a strong engineering team and the CATL partnership is to move Valmet Automotive closer to its key customers and become a significant European player in the rapidly evolving and fast growing electric vehicle domain. Our goal is to support the European automotive OEMs, their suppliers and selected industrial customers by engineering electric vehicle drive train solutions, integrating them into vehicles and supplying batteries. The unique assets of Valmet Automotive also offer the capability to support complete vehicle engineering, the manufacturing of vehicles and automotive roof solutions.

In vehicle manufacturing Valmet Automotive has successfully built a strong relationship with Daimler through manufacturing both the A-class car and GLC SUV in high volumes in Uusikaupunki, Finland. During 2017 Valmet Automotive manufactured a record number of vehicles. This followed the successful completion of our biggest ever recruitment campaign and extensive development of the Uusikaupunki plant. It is now the largest single site factory operation in Finland, employing over 4,000 people. Such a steep ramp-up of operations in Uusikaupunki did not produce, due to operational issues, the financial results expected. However, Valmet Automotive did manage to deliver more cars to Daimler than they had initially expected. The partnership with Daimler sets a new milestone during 2018 as Valmet Automotive starts manufacturing an as yet unrevealed new Daimler car.

In order to realize the full potential of the Valmet Automotive’s updated strategy and new assets, the Board of Directors has decided to initiate a leadership transition. CEO Ilpo Korhonen steps down from his position January 29, 2018 and leaves the company February 28, 2018. The search for the new CEO is ongoing and in the interim the General Counsel, Minna Huhtaniska, will take on the Managing Director responsibilities of Valmet Automotive’s parent company.

– Valmet Automotive has gone through a significant transformation during the recent past. While the 2017 financial results are not satisfactory, the company has grown into a meaningful European player with expanded business scope and strong capabilities not only in Finland but also in Germany and Poland. We have the keys to the future in our own hands. In order to ensure successful execution of the strategy the Board has concluded that it is the right time to make a leadership transition, says Mr. Jarkko Sairanen, Chairman of the Board, Valmet Automotive.

– I am very proud what we have done over the decades at Valmet Automotive. The company has great talent and it has been a true honor to be part of our journey. I wish Valmet Automotive all the best in realizing its strategy and building the company into a true international player with a significant role in transforming the industry towards electric vehicles, says Mr. Ilpo Korhonen, departing CEO, Valmet Automotive.

– The entire Board and the employees of Valmet Automotive want to thank Ilpo Korhonen very warmly for his 30-years contribution through several roles and in particular for his very strong dedication to the company throughout the years, continues Mr. Jarkko Sairanen, Chairman of the Board, Valmet Automotive.

The owners of the company, Pontos, Tesi and CATL support Valmet Automotive’s measures in implementing the strategy.
– Valmet Automotive is in excellent position to become an increasingly important part of the European automotive industry through the electrification of mobility, says Mr. Timo Kokkila, CEO, Pontos.

Further information:
Jarkko Sairanen, Chairman of the Board
jarkko@sairanen.mobi
Requests for interviews through assistant Terhi Toivari +358 40 733 6929

Timo Kokkila, CEO, Pontos Oy
timo.kokkila@pontos.fi
+358 10 239 6359
@timokokkila

Jussi Hattula, Director, Growth & Industrial Investments, Tesi
jussi.hattula@tesi.fi
+358 40 066 9955
@TesiFII / @jussiha

 

Valmet Automotive is an experienced provider of automotive engineering, vehicle manufacturing, battery systems and convertible roof systems. Our special areas of expertise are premium cars, electric vehicles and convertibles. We employ 5500 professionals in Finland, Germany, Poland and Spain.
www.valmet-automotive.com and Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube

 

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Partners Group sells stake in Japan Solar, a 610MW platform of Japanese solar power assets

Partners Group logo

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has sold its stake in Japan Solar, a 610MW platform of Japanese solar power assets, on behalf of its clients. The stake was sold to a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners (“GIP”), generating a blended gross return of 3.2x on the original investment for Partners Group’s programs.

Partners Group invested alongside Equis Group to acquire its initial stake in Japan Solar in 2013, shortly after the Japanese government introduced a Feed-in Tariff to encourage investment in the renewable energy sector. Partners Group and others invested an initial USD 250 million to fund the construction of utility-scale power plants across the country. Japan Solar partnered with Nippon Renewable Energy, today one of Japan’s largest independent solar utility businesses, to support the build-out of the platform. Partners Group made a further equity investment into Japan Solar during the holding period, making it the largest shareholder in the platform.

At the time the sale to GIP was agreed, Japan Solar consisted of 27 secured projects totaling more than 610MW of capacity, of which over 200MW was operational and contracted into long-term power purchase agreements with Japanese electric utility companies. It is estimated that once Japan Solar’s secured projects become operational, they will generate enough energy to power around 133,000 households.

Benjamin Haan, Partner, Head of Private Infrastructure Asia, Partners Group, comments: “Japan Solar was a timely project and we are delighted to have contributed to the build-out of Japan’s renewable energy production capacity. The successful sale of our stake in Japan Solar ahead of our original exit timeline provides an attractive return to our clients and endorses our strategy of platform-building in markets supported by transformative trends.”

The sale of its holding in Japan Solar is Partners Group’s third announced infrastructure exit this month on behalf of its clients. Earlier in January, Partners Group announced it had agreed to sell its ownership stake in Silicon Ranch Corporation, a leading developer, owner and operator of solar energy facilities in the US, to Shell. The firm also sold its ownership stake in the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, a cancer research, treatment and education centre in Melbourne, Australia, to AMP Capital’s Community Infrastructure Fund.

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EURAZEO Invests in CONTENTSQUARE to back its development in Europe and the U.S.

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Eurazeo

Eurazeo has announced its acquisition of aminority stake in ContentSquare through its Eurazeo Croissance division. ContentSquare is a leader in web and mobile customer experience analytics in SaaSmode. Together with Canaan and Highland Europe, Eurazeo Croissance raised $42 million in funds to pursue the company’s development in Europe and the U.S.

In France, ContentSquare has pioneered the analysis of user behavior in terms of websites and applications. Brands can therefore boost their mobile, web and appconversion rates and significantly increase sales using the company’s expertise.

Launched in 2012, ContentSquare now has 120 clients, analyzes user data in191 countries and has recruited over 200 employees thanks to an annual revenue growth rate of 100% to 200%. ContentSquare had previously raised $20 million in the fall of 2016, enabling it to expand its international reachwith offices now established in four countries(Germany, the United States, France and the United Kingdom).

The ContentSquare platform provides brands with strategic user browsing data on a daily basis in order to notify them of web, mobile and application component performance, make optimization decisions and improve conversion. Used by e-merchants, marketing teams and UX specialists, ContentSquare’s goal is to become a fully automated digital experience optimization platform that will lead the field via the development of artificial intelligence technology.

As a new shareholder, Eurazeo fully supports the ambition and vision of ContentSquare and will provide its network and all its corporate and digital expertise to further the company’s success.

Yann du Rusquec, Managing Director of Eurazeo Croissance, declared: “It is with tremendous enthusiasm that we buy into the capital of ContentSquare, a company we’ve long admired. A pioneer in the booming user experience market, ContentSquare’s spectacular development in Europe and the U.S. seems unlimited. For Eurazeo Croissance, the investment represents an extraordinary long-term opportunity to back a success story whose influence knows no border.”

Jonathan Cherki, Chairman and Founder of ContentSquare, added: “The purpose of ContentSquare is to help businesses understand how and why clients interact with their website, telephone and applications. Using this data, our primary objective is to enhance the consumer digital experience and of course boost our clients’ sales.

By creating innovative technologies that improve and automate digital Experience analytics, and contracts with the world’s leading brands and retailers,we are rapidly becoming the secret weapon of digital teams. This capital round will bolster the value we provide our clients, and we’re delighted to announce our continuing development.

 

About ContentSquare

ContentSquare is a user experience analytics and optimization platform for brands that wish to understand how users interact with their websites, mobile technologies and applications. In addition to grasping and analyzing user intentions, the digital teams are able to make decisions driven by client knowledge to optimize clickstream data thanks to an easy-to-use platform that features an automatic recommendations tool based on artificial intelligence.

Founded in 2012, ContentSquare has over 200 clients worldwide, including Voyages-sncf.com, L’Occitane, Walmart, Priceminister, and Orange. ContentSquare has offices in Paris, London, New York andMunich.

 

About Eurazeo

With a portfolio of approximately €8 billion in assets under management, Eurazeo is a leading global investment company with offices in Paris, Luxembourg, New York, Shanghai and Sao Paulo. Its purpose and mission is to identify, accelerate and enhance the transformation potential of the companies in which it invests.

The firm covers most private equity segments through its five business divisions – Eurazeo Capital, Eurazeo Croissance, Eurazeo PME, Eurazeo Patrimoine and Eurazeo Brands. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term. As a global long-term shareholder, the firm offers deep sector expertise, a gateway to global markets nd a stable foothold for transformational growth to the companies it supports.

Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.

ISIN: FR0000121121

Bloomberg: RF FP

Reuters: EURA.PA

 

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EQT Mid Market to sell I-MED Radiology Network to Permira

eqt

  • EQT Mid Market to sell diagnostic imaging service company I-MED Radiology Network to the Permira funds
  • EQT Mid Market invested in I-MED in April 2014 together with Singaporean Sovereign Wealth fund GIC and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers
  • During EQT Mid Market’s ownership, I-MED has had substantial organic growth, increased scale through multiple add-on acquisition, invested significantly in new equipment and technology and enhanced operating efficiency

The EQT Mid Market fund (“EQT Mid Market”) has, together with co-investors, entered into an agreement to sell I-MED Radiology Network (”I-MED” or “the Company”) to a company backed by the Permira funds.

I-MED is the leading diagnostic imaging service provider in Australia with 204 clinics and performs almost five million procedures per year. During EQT Mid Market’s ownership, the Company has grown the number of fully owned clinics with more than 30% and the number of radiologist by more than 25%. I-MED has during the last three years further strengthened its market position in Australia and for 2017 generated revenues of almost AUD 700 million. I-MED has a strong and dedicated staff with over 3,500 employees, including more than 300 radiologists who serve over 30,000 referrers in the growing healthcare market in Australia.

  • During the ownership of EQT Mid Market, I-MED has successfully enhanced its business on multiple fronts:
  • Achieved strong organic growth through establishing new clinics and entering new hospital contracts
  • Successfully completed a number of value accretive add-on acquisitions
  • Made significant investments into equipment, new technology and people
  • Implemented strategies for further enhancing the customer experience

Steven Rubic, CEO of I-MED, said: “We are proud to have been part of EQT, one of the world’s most respected global investment firms, with a strong experience within the healthcare sector. EQT have supported I-MED’s growth focused strategy and their ownership approach has provided us with a solid foundation for I-MED’s further growth.”

Fredrik Åtting, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market, added: “We are very impressed by I-MED’s management, doctors and staff for the professional and consistent service they provide to the Australian healthcare system. Through a combination of organic and inorganic growth, I-MED has evolved into the undisputed market leader in Australia. It has been a privilege to support I-MED’s management team under the leadership of Paul McClintock and Steven Rubic.”

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2018.

Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor and Herbert Smith Freehills as legal advisor to EQT Mid Market.

Contacts:
Fredrik Åtting, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market, +49 892 554 9950

EQT Press Contact, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a leading alternative investments firm with approximately EUR 38 billion in raised capital across 25 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 I-MED
I-MED is one of the world’s leading diagnostic imaging providers. It was formed in 2000 and offers comprehensive and high-quality services including X-ray, PET, CT, MRI, Nuclear Medicine, Ultrasound, Mammography and Interventional Procedures. Across Australia, I-MED operates 204 clinics covering all major metropolitan areas and significant parts of rural Australia. Each year almost 5 million patient procedures are performed by I-MED’s more than 300 radiologists, 50 nuclear medicine physicians, and 3,500 staff.

More info: www.i-med.com.au

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Spiral Binding acquires Bindomatic

Valedo

Spiral Binding LLC (“Spiral”) has acquired binding efficiency experts Bindomatic Holding AB (“Bindomatic”) from Valedo Partners Fund I AB (“Valedo”). Valedo invested in Bindomatic in 2008 and has since devoted significant resources to expand direct sales and increase operational efficiency.

Bindomatic is established as a global market leader in offline thermal binding solutions. The company is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and operates own subsidiaries in USA, Germany, Portugal and Belgium. Through close co-operation with distributors the company’s products are offered globally.

“Bindomatic has achieved a stable and consistent growth over several years with direct sales growing more than 40% since 2011 supported by; investments in our sales force, launch of the Accel machine series with market leading Drop & Go-efficiency and strengthened production set-up. We believe that Spiral’s established reach to major corporations, small to mid-sized businesses, printers, facility management organizations, as well as the U.S. government and education markets will be a tremendous boost to Bindomatic’s customer base. By combining our market-leading products with their vast network, we are in a great position to transform the binding industry with new, more efficient technology.” says Göran Tolf, CEO, Bindomatic.

The terms and conditions of the transaction are not disclosed.

About Valedo:
Valedo is an independent Swedish investment company investing in high-quality small/mid cap companies in the Nordic region. Valedo is focusing on companies with clear growth and development potential where Valedo can actively contribute to and accelerate the companies’ development. Being an active owner and contributing both capital and industrial experience, Valedo ensures that a company can achieve its full potential.

www.valedopartners.com

About Bindomatic:
Bindomatic is a Swedish corporation and technology-leading manufacturer of best-in-class document binding solutions, doing business on a global scale for over 40 years through a vast distributor network as well as wholly-owned subsidiaries. The group is dedicated to providing top-quality business solutions for professional document finishing. They continue to strive to be the world leaders in off-line finishing by supplying best-in-class binding machines as well as unmatched quality with a variety of covers and supplies.

www.bindomatic.com

About Spiral:
Spiral is a leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of a diverse line of print-finishing, graphic-arts, and presentation products and services. Spiral maintains a highly qualified team of professionals that provides solutions to match any area of need for supplies and equipment in binding, laminating, paper handling, photo finishing, and custom imprinting services. Spiral is also the exclusive global manufacturer and distributor for the Pinchbook™ photobook and Silver Linings™ Self-Adhesive Photo Panels.

www.spiralbinding.com

 

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Arundo Analytics Raises $25M Series A Funding to Bring Large-Scale Machine Learning Into Asset-Heavy Industries

Alliance

Purpose-Built Platform for Deep Industrial Data Science Plans for Global Expansion

Enables Heavy Industries to Drive Business Value from Operating Data in Days Instead of Months

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–January 25, 2018–

Arundo Analytics, a software company powering advanced analytics in heavy industry, announced today an initial closing of $25 million on its Series A financing round. To date, the company has raised over $32.5 million since its founding in 2015.

“This investment is a validation of the product and market strategy our team pursued over the last two years,” said Tor Jakob Ramsøy, CEO of Arundo. “We created flexible, user-friendly software that allows operators, OEMs and service companies in heavy industries to quickly integrate machine learning into their operations. With Arundo’s software, our customers can drive business value from operating data in days or weeks, rather than months or years. This resonates with both our customers and our investors.”

Several leading investors joined in this round, including Sundt AS, Stokke Industri, Horizon, Canica, Strømstangen and Arctic Fund Management. Existing investors also participated, including Stanford-StartX Fund and Northgate Partners.

While companies in sectors such as consumer Internet use the latest machine learning techniques to improve business outcomes, many heavy industrial companies are unable to capitalize on their data. This is due to a combination of legacy assets and challenging operating conditions. As a result, operational data often sits unused. Arundo Analytics solves this challenge with cloud-based, edge-enabled software purpose-built for deep industrial data science and advanced analytics, as well as machine learning applications in areas such as equipment monitoring and sensor anomaly detection.

“Our heritage is rooted in the maritime industry and we understand the challenges and opportunities presented by advanced analytics in such heavy industrial settings,” said Leiv Askvig, CEO of Sundt AS. “We are excited by the team, products and market opportunity of Arundo.”

Arundo plans to use the funds to expand sales and marketing efforts in asset-heavy industries, including the oil & gas, maritime, mining, chemicals, power and manufacturing sectors, as well as to continue to build on its team of world-class software engineers and data scientists in Houston, Oslo and Palo Alto. The company recently added personnel to support global customers in Lausanne, Switzerland and London, UK. It continues to grow its presence in major industrial markets around the world.

About Arundo

With offices in Oslo, Houston and Silicon Valley, Arundo Analytics provides cloud-based and edge-enabled software for the deployment and management of enterprise-scale industrial data science solutions. Arundo’s software allows industrial companies and other organizations to increase revenue, reduce costs and mitigate risks through machine learning and other analytical solutions that connect industrial data to advanced models and connect model insights to business decisions. In 2016, Arundo graduated from Stanford University’s StartX accelerator program, and subsequently received investment from the Stanford-StartX Fund. In 2017, Arundo was named to the MIT STEX25 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Startup Exchange (MIT STEX). MIT STEX25 recognizes select companies from a pool of more than 1,000 MIT-connected startups as being particularly well-suited for industry collaboration based on technical and commercial success. For more information, please visit www.arundo.com, or follow Arundo Analytics on Twitter @arundoanalytics.

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Viking Venture invests more in Evatic

Viking venture

Viking Venture, the Nordic B2B software specialist, is happy to announce its additional investment in the service management software provider Evatic AS. Viking Venture have acquired 49% of the outstanding shares in Evatic from Anjuti AS (owned by Arild Andersen) and Anders Myrvold. Viking Venture controls 86% of the outstanding shares in Evatic after the transaction.

Anjuti AS (Arild Andersen) will, as a consequence of the transaction, reduce its shareholding to 6,2% and will be the second largest shareholder in Evatic. Arild Andersen will continue as a board member and with the same role in the company.

Through organic growth and the acquisitions of Tesseract and Winserv, Evatic Group has taken a leading position within the European service management software market. As the market leader within office equipment the Evatic Group has a solid platform for further growth, both within office equipment as well other verticals such as fire & security, health and catering.

For more information, please contact:

Jostein Vik, Partner, Viking Venture, +47 922 22 392, jostein.vik@vikingventure.com

About Viking Venture

Viking Venture is a leading Nordic venture fund focused on B2B software companies with a recurring revenue business model. Viking Venture has invested in more than 40 companies and has more than 1.7 billion NOK under management. The company is located in Trondheim, Norway and London. More information on www.vikingventure.com.

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DN Capital raises new €200m fund

DN Capital

London, 25th January 2018

DN Capital today announces that it has closed its latest fund of €200 million (£177 million). The VC firm’s fourth fund, which was substantially oversubscribed, will primarily back Seed and Series A-stage companies in its sweet-spot of marketplaces, SaaS, fintech, digital health and consumer mobile apps.

The announcement follows a highly successful few weeks for DN Capital, which saw portfolio companies Shazam acquired by Apple and Auto1 receive a €460 million investment from SoftBank’s Vision Fund.

To date, roughly two-thirds of DN Capital’s investments have been made in Europe, through its London and Berlin bases, with the remainder coming from the firm’s Silicon Valley office in Menlo Park. With Fund IV, the team’s European focus will be on companies in Germany, the UK, the Nordics and France, while its US investments will primarily be on the West Coast and the Boston-New York corridor.

Founded in 2000, DN Capital has consistently ranked as one of the most successful VC funds in Europe, with the performance of most of its funds also comparing favourably with the leading Silicon Valley firms. To date the firm has made 65 investments (excluding seed deals) in nine countries, which have resulted in 15 profitable exits (3 IPOs and 12 trade sales), over 50 per cent of which had enterprise values of between $150 million and $1.2 billion. These include Endeca (Oracle), Purplebricks (AIM: PURP) and Quandoo (Recruit).

“Our guiding principle from day one has been for DN’s two founders to remain actively involved in every investment decision made by the firm,” says Nenad Marovac, founder and CEO at DN Capital and Vice-Chairman of InvestEurope. “We were founded immediately after the tech bubble burst and raised our second fund as the global financial system went into meltdown, so we know what it’s like to be entrepreneurs in the face of adversity.

 

“We bring that experience to bear in the hands-on way we support the founders in our portfolio by providing ongoing advice, connections, introductions, partnerships and mentorships – capital is only the start.”

Co-founder and Managing Partner Steve Schlenker adds: “With Fund IV we will be looking to back ambitious entrepreneurs with the background, intellect, grit and determination to take a startup and build it into a globally impactful business. Our first fund, despite being only €47 million of capital, was the only European investor in Endeca, one of the most important e-commerce infrastructure software companies of the last 20 years, and the lead investor in Shazam, which is on more than a billion phones worldwide.

“Since then, we have led investments in what is now one of the largest online classified businesses in the world (OLX), the UK’s first online estate agent to go public (Purplebricks), the largest car marketplace in Europe (Auto1) and many other technology leaders such as Hometogo, Quandoo, and Parallel Wireless. The opportunity in Europe is extraordinary right now and our global strategy positions us well to help companies born here become world beaters.”

 

About DN Capital

 

DN Capital is an early stage and growth capital investor focused on Seed, Series A and select Series B investments in marketplaces, fintech, SaaS, digital media, e-commerce, mobile applications and digital health companies. The firm was founded in 2000 and has operations in London, Berlin and Silicon Valley. DN Capital’s previous funds are top performers and the firm is one of the lead investors in companies such as Endeca (Oracle), Shazam (Apple), Auto1 (Europe’s largest used car marketplace), Purplebricks (AIM:PURP) and Quandoo (Recruit). The DN Capital team bring over 75 years of private equity experience to their investments, and actively work with portfolio companies to steward their growth through the various stages of development. Find out more at www.dncapital.com.

 

For further information

Kanira Shah

Investor Relations

DN Capital

Kanira@dncapital.com

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Mime Petroleum and Blue Water Energy Join Forces with Blackstone Energy Partners

Blackstone

January 25, 2018 – Mime Petroleum AS (together with its subsidiaries referred to as “Mime Petroleum” or “the Company”), a new independent development and production company established earlier this year by Blue Water Energy LLP (“BWE” or “Blue Water Energy”) and Sverre Skogen (Chairman and CEO), announced today that they have partnered with Blackstone Energy Partners (“Blackstone”). BWE and Blackstone have agreed to lead an initial investment of up to $1 billion in Mime Petroleum.

Mime Petroleum is primarily focused on driving value creation in existing fields and licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (“NCS”). The Company will acquire assets available on the NCS and pursue production optimization, developments and near-field exploration opportunities. The Mime Petroleum management team has a long track record of M&A, technical, commercial and financial success on the NCS. Mr. Sverre Skogen was Executive / Non-Executive Chairman of Det norske oljeselskap (now Aker BP). The core management team is comprised of five executives who previously worked together building DEA Norge’s upstream business, along with Harald Grøsfjeld who joined as CFO with over 29 years’ experience in the oil industry. Mustafa M. Siddiqui, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, and Kjell-Erik Østdahl, Senior Advisor at Blackstone and former Executive Vice President for Operations at Schlumberger, will join the board of Mime Petroleum.

Sverre Skogen, Chairman and CEO of Mime Petroleum, commented on the announcement: “Whilst Blue Water Energy has provided strong strategic and financial support to date, this is now significantly enhanced in combination with Blackstone. Mustafa Siddiqui and his team are a welcome addition and I am looking forward to working with both parties on delivering the vision we have for Mime Petroleum. There are a lot of high-quality opportunities on the NCS, and, with two of the foremost energy investors behind us, we are well positioned to take advantage of these.”

Mustafa M. Siddiqui, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, added: “We are delighted to be backing Sverre Skogen and the Mime Petroleum team. With $15 billion of capital invested in the energy sector, we continue our track record of supporting top management teams with the growth capital and resources to build energy industry champions. We and BWE have enjoyed a successful partnership in the UK and we look forward to replicating that success in Norway.”

Graeme Sword, Partner of Blue Water Energy, said: “We are happy to partner with Blackstone again on building another leading E&P business. We want to provide our portfolio companies with the optimal shareholder base and we believe Blackstone is an aligned partner that shares our ambitions for Mime.”


About Mime Petroleum
Mime Petroleum is a newly formed development and production company on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Mime Petroleum has a team of highly experienced oil and gas industry staff with deep experience across most fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Using these resources, Mime Petroleum is developing a material and sustainable development and production business on the NCS by the following means:

  • Investing in commercially attractive development projects and fields in production;
  • Increasing the recovery of fields supporting infill drilling programs and IOR initiatives;
  • Prolong lifetime and EUR of fields through maturation of near-field prospects; and
  • Building capacity and ensuring financial flexibility for further growth on NCS.

Mime Petroleum’s vision is to build a leading E&P business that is recognized for its ability to use knowledge to create value. The execution of our strategy will be underpinned by our four core values: Teamwork, Knowledge, Integrity and Ownership. The Company is led by Executive Chairman Sverre Skogen and has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway.

About Blue Water Energy
Founded in 2011, Blue Water Energy is a leading global middle market energy specialist private equity firm based in London. The firm primarily targets investments in the Exploration & Production, Upstream Equipment & Services and Mid/Downstream Equipment & Services sectors. Blue Water Energy partners with best-in-class management teams and utilises a network of seasoned investment and operating professionals to drive value creation across its portfolio companies. Since raisings its initial two funds (BWE Fund I and BWE Fund II), Blue Water Energy has $3.0bn under management across a global portfolio of 14 companies. For more information about Blue Water Energy, please visit www.bluewaterenergy.com

About Blackstone Energy Partners
Blackstone Energy Partners is Blackstone’s energy-focused private equity business, with a successful record built on our industry expertise and partnerships with exceptional management teams. Blackstone has invested more than $15 billion of equity globally across a broad range of sectors within the energy industry.

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 in which we invest, 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 $385 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.

Media Contacts:

Blackstone
Andrew Dowler/Rebecca Flower
+44 (0) 207 451 4005
+44 (0) 7918 360 372
Rebecca.Flower@Blackstone.com

Blue Water Energy
Frazer Blyth
+44 (0) 207 2905090
+44 (0) 7793 041618
fblyth@bwenergy.com

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FCG, Nordic risk and compliance services provider, to partner with Bridgepoint Development Capital

Bridgepoint

FCG Holding Sverige AB (‘FCG’ or the ‘Company’), a high growth, market-leading provider of specialist risk and compliance services to the financial sector, will partner with Bridgepoint Development Capital (‘BDC’) where BDC will acquire a significant shareholding in FCG and provide the resources to allow it to realise its expansion plans. The value of the transaction is not disclosed.

Established in Stockholm in 2008, FCG is the leading Nordic specialist service provider of Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) services, primarily focused on the financial sector. The Company offers expertise in the form of consultancy services, outsourcing and fund administration from operations in Stockholm, Malmö, Copenhagen and Oslo.

“We are pleased to welcome Bridgepoint Development Capital as a new owner and partner to FCG. They will add additional business competence, experience from scaling medium-sized businesses, a pan-European network and financial strength, which will allow FCG to continue its growth strategy in the Nordic region and beyond” says Kristian Bentzer, Managing Partner of FCG.

Johan Dahlfors, the partner responsible for Bridgepoint Development Capital’s investment activities in the Nordic region commented “We are very impressed with the progress that FCG has achieved to-date. FCG has built a leading position in the Nordic region, based on high-quality services, passionate and competent employees and a broad service portfolio catering to the needs of the entire financial industry in an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. FCG has ambitious plans and we look forward to partnering with current owners and the Company to develop the business further.”

Given the depth and breadth of competencies required to ensure internal control and compliance with financial regulations, many financial institutions are increasingly seeking external support from specialist service providers. This has resulted in the European market for GRC services experiencing double digit growth over recent years, which is expected to continue, driven by an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.

On the back of strong market demand, and with the successful launch of new service concepts and long-term embedded customer relationships, FCG has grown rapidly over the past years to become the largest dedicated GRC team across the Nordic region. Its high level of competence and expertise of regulatory frameworks, combined with a partnership philosophy towards customers and a highly motivated management team, has allowed FCG to grow the customer base across all sizes and segments of the financial industry.

Under the new ownership, FCG will continue to build on its position as the leading specialist service provider of GRC services to the financial sector, in current as well as in new geographies.

The transaction is subject to approval by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.

Advisors involved in the transaction included:

– For FCG: Keystone MCF Corporate Finance (financial), Andulf (legal)

– For BDC: Vinge (legal), KPMG (financial, tax, pensions), Arkwright (commercial), Marsh (insurance)

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