Tag Archives: Banking

Motive Partners Closes Sale of Avaloq to NEC

Motive Partners

New York, December 22, 2020 – Motive Partners today announced that it has completed the sale of Avaloq, a Swiss-based technology provider of digital banking solutions, core banking software and wealth management technology, to NEC Corporation, a Japan-based IT group, for CHF 2.05 billion. The sale agreement was first announced in October 2020. Motive Capital Fund 1 acquired a stake in the company in January 2018.

As the world witnesses a democratization of wealth management, Avaloq is well placed to capitalize on geographic expansion with its new partner, and to lead in digital banking solutions for high-end wealth management services and private banks globally. The democratization of the sector and digital inclusion is going to be an essential topic in the future as we see wealth shift geographies, classes and generations. Market trends continue to produce net flow and fee pressure and with an increase in competition, the industry is seeing further pressure on wealth managers to deliver more value to clients while simultaneously reducing the cost-to-serve. As the industry consolidates across markets in order to scale, Motive Partners seeks to capitalize on these trends.

Rob Heyvaert, Managing Partner of Motive Partners said: “We saw great potential in Avaloq as a result of its history as a global leader in wealth management technology, the opportunity for up-sell and cross-sell opportunities within its existing blue-chip client base, and the opportunity to support this client base through a transition to a cloud-based SaaS platform. Additionally, Motive Partners supported the company as it expanded beyond its traditional home market of Switzerland into the U.K., Germany, and APAC. We enjoyed this exciting journey working together with Avaloq, and with its strong leadership in place, we are confident that Avaloq will enjoy continued success as part of NEC.”
Francisco Fernandez, Founder and Chairman of Avaloq commented: “I have enjoyed working with Motive Partners a great deal, who have proven to be a very supportive investor. Led by industry experts, they shared our collective ambitions while providing the strategic support to allow Avaloq to achieve it’s potential, today and for many years to come. NEC’s geographic footprint and ability to continue investing heavily in R&D will set us in great stead for the future. I am deeply grateful to my partners at Motive Partners, with whom I have grown close to, and I look forward to continuing our friendship.”

About Motive Partners
Motive Partners is a specialist private equity firm with offices in New York City and London, focusing on control-oriented growth equity and buyout investments in software and information services companies based in North America and Europe and serving five core sub-sectors across business and financial services: Banking & Payments, Capital Markets, Data & Analytics, Investment Management and Insurance. Motive Partners brings differentiated expertise, connectivity and capabilities to create long-term value in financial technology companies.
More information on Motive Partners can be found at www.motivepartners.com.

About Avaloq
Founded in 1985, Swiss-based Avaloq is a global leader in digital banking solutions, core banking software and wealth management technology. Avaloq provides powerful cloud computing solutions for banks and wealth managers through BPaaS and SaaS. Avaloq is the only independent banking software provider to develop and also operate its own software.
Its established core banking system is complemented by three innovative digital platforms – Engage, Wealth and Insight – providing end-to-end digital solutions at a level of simplicity that will pave the way for the democratization of wealth management. To further spur innovation, Avaloq connects its clients with selected Financial Technology companies through the Avaloq.one Ecosystem, the company’s open banking marketplace.
More than 150 banks and wealth managers with around CHF 4.5 trillion in assets managed worldwide trust Avaloq for its award-winning products and services. Avaloq has its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland and employs more than 2,000 people around the world.
More information on Avaloq: An NEC Company can be found at www.avaloq.com.

Forward looking statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the expected timing and benefits of the transaction. Statements can generally be identified as forward- looking because they include words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “could,” “should,” or words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The factors that may adversely impact the anticipated outcomes include, among others: the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the transaction agreement; conditions to the completion of the transaction may not be satisfied on the terms expected or on the anticipated timeline; and the benefits of the transaction may be different than currently anticipated. You should consider these factors carefully in evaluating forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Wilshire assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release.

For more information please contact:
EMMA GLYN
Investor Relations, Motive Partners
emma.glyn@motivepartners.com

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Eurazeo invests in Tink, leading open banking platform

Eurazeo

Paris, 11 December 2020 – Through Eurazeo Growth, Eurazeo invests €33 million in Tink, Europe’s leading open banking platform. This round of €85million of additional funding, led by Eurazeo Growth brings the total investment in Tink during 2020 to €175 million.

After Younited Credit, Wefox and Thought Machine, Tink is Eurazeo Growth’s fourth investment in the Fintech sector and the first in the Nordics.
Tink, a Swedish company founded in 2012, has more than 350 employees and is currently serving its clients out of 13 local offices across Europe. The company offers tools to build the future of financial services across Europe. Tink connects with more than 3,400 banks reaching over 250 million banking customers across Europe.

Through one API, Tink allows customers to access aggregated financial data, initiate payments, enrich transactions and build personal finance management tools. Tink’s technology and connectivity powers digital services for over 300 world-leading banks and fintechs, including PayPal, NatWest, ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Nordea and SEB. Tink’s open banking platform is also used by more than 8,000 developers.
Tink is currently live in Sweden, UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands. During 2020, the company made three major acquisitions, Eurobits in Spain, Instantor in Sweden and Openwrks in the UK. These acquisitions enabled Tink to further strengthen its positioning in Spain and in the UK and to complement Tink’s product offering.

The funding will fuel Tink’s continued expansion and support the further development of its technology with a particular focus on payments. The company processes close to 1 million payment transactions per month in 5 markets, for clients including the payment fintech Lydia, used by more than 5 million customers in France. Tink aims to make its payment initiation services live in 10 markets in 2021.

Yann du Rusquec, Partner at Eurazeo Growth, states:

The open banking movement continues to pick up pace, with 2021 showing every sign that it will bring increased collaboration between fintechs and large enterprises, who want to take digitally enabled services to their customers with a tried and trusted partner. Since its inception eight years ago, Tink has proven itself to be the leading open banking platform in Europe, and our investment underlines the confidence we and the industry have in Tink and open banking. We look forward to supporting them on their continued journey.”

Daniel Kjellén, co-founder and CEO of Tink, comments:

“2020 has seen payments powered by open banking take-off, and in 2021 we expect to see this scale – most prominently in the UK, followed by Europe. This funding extension and the partnership with Eurazeo Growth, Dawn Capital and our existing investors will further facilitate the development of our payment initiation services across Europe, while continuing to deliver new data-products built on open banking technology to our customers.”

About Eurazeo
• Eurazeo is a leading global investment company, with a diversified portfolio of €18.8 billion in assets under management, including €13.3 billion from third parties, invested in over 430 companies. With its considerable private equity, real estate and private debt expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its nearly 300 professionals and by offering in-depth sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term.

• Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, London, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Madrid.
• Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.
• ISIN: FR0000121121 – Bloomberg: RF FP – Reuters: EURA.PA

The open banking movement continues to pick up pace, with 2021 showing every sign that it will bring increased collaboration between fintechs and large enterprises, who want to take digitally enabled services to their customers with a tried and trusted partner. Since its inception eight years ago, Tink has proven itself to be the leading open banking platform in Europe, and our investment underlines the confidence we and the industry have in Tink and open banking. We look forward to supporting them on their continued journey.”
“2020 has seen payments powered by open banking take-off, and in 2021 we expect to see this scale – most prominently in the UK, followed by Europe. This funding extension and the partnership with Eurazeo Growth, Dawn Capital and our existing investors will further facilitate the development of our payment initiation services across Europe, while continuing to deliver new data-products built on open banking technology to our customers.”

EURAZEO CONTACTS
PRESS CONTACT
PIERRE BERNARDIN
HEAD OF INVESTOR RELATIONS
email: pbernardin@eurazeo.com
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 15 16 76

VIRGINIE CHRISTNACHT
HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS
mail: vchristnacht@eurazeo.com
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 15 76 44

MAITLAND/amo
DAVID STURKEN
mail: dsturken@maitland.co.uk
Tel: +4444 (0)(0) 7990 5957990 595 913913

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Nordnet announces strategic review

Nordic Capital

Nordnet, a leading Nordic digital bank for investments and savings, and its owners, the Öhman Group and Nordic Capital (“the Owners”), have decided to review strategic options, including a potential listing of, Nordnet AB (publ). The objective is to provide Nordnet the best possible setting to take it to the next level of development. No decision has been taken and the market will be informed if, and when any such decision is taken.

Nordnet was listed on the Stockholm stock exchange in 1999. In 2016, the Owners made a joint recommended public cash offer for Nordnet, with a subsequent delisting. Under the private ownership, significant investments have been made in the business with the ambition to create the best-in-class platform for savings and investments, focused on market leading user-friendliness, availability, pricing, and product offering. On 24 July 2020, Nordnet announced its results for the first half of 2020 achieving record financial performance, including annual growth in customers and savings capital of 25% and 20%, respectively. At the end of the second quarter 2020, Nordnet had 1,070,000 customers across the Nordic region, with 425 BSEK in savings capital.

Lars-Åke Norling, CEO of Nordnet comments: “Our goal is to build the best platform for savings and investments. That ambition applies to both how our digital store is structured, as well as what is on the shelves. I am delighted to see that what we have achieved so far in terms of developing new digital interfaces and broadening our offering of savings products have resulted in a record-high number of private savers choosing Nordnet as their financial partner”.

“Driven by the mission to democratize savings, Nordnet has a tradition of challenging old structures through innovation and providing private savers with the same tools and information as professionals. Together we have completed many of the ambitions we set out to achieve in 2016, and the time is now right to review different strategic options for Nordnet going forward, including a potential listing. As a founder and long-term owner, we look forward to continuing to take an active part in Nordnet’s exciting journey into the future”, says Tom Dinkelspiel, Chairman of the Board of Nordnet, representing the Öhman Group, Nordnet’s main owner.

Christian Frick, Partner at Nordic Capital Advisors comments: “Over the past four years, the Owners have made significant investments in Nordnet, in order to build a pan-Nordic digital platform with a world class customer experience. We are now able to see the result of this transformation, where Nordnet has reached a new level of growth in customers and savings capital and has consolidated its position as the leading digital bank in the Nordics for savings and investments”.

 

Further information please contact:

Johan Tidestad, Chief Communications Officer, Nordnet
+46 708 875 775
johan.tidestad@nordnet.se

This information is information that Nordnet AB (publ) 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 08.00 CET on 1 September 2020.

 

About Nordnet

Nordnet is a digital bank for savings and investments and we operate in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. With user-friendliness, availability, a broad offering and low prices, we give our customers the opportunity to achieve their savings ambitions. Visit us at www.nordnetab.com, www.nordnet.se, www.nordnet.no, www.nordnet.dk or www.nordnet.fi.

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Draper Esprit is pleased to participate in $33 million strategic investment round

Draper Esprit

Draper Esprit is pleased to participate in $33 million strategic investment round of Form3, the leading cloud-native payment and technology provider for banks and regulated Fintechs.

Our participation follows on from our investment in Form3’s Series B funding round in 2018. The company has since trebled in size and increased its annual recurring revenue by 160%.

Form3 is one of many Draper Esprit Fintech investments lead by partner, Vinoth Jayakumar, who focuses on the backbone and infrastructure of banking, specifically on three key areas of interest have been in fraud, payments and core banking systems.

Form3 provides real-time cloud-native end-to-end payments to combat the ever-evolving regulated payments sector, by making payments faster, easier and most cost effective for banks, Fintechs, and Fintech institutions. By removing the need to manage and focus solely on the complexities of the evolving payments infrastructure, Form3 enables banks and Fintechs to focus on building better customer propositions and growing their businesses. The company’s infrastructure significantly reduces downtime and allows for system upgrades to be achieved more seamlessly.

Working with companies like N26, Ebury, and Prepay Solutions, Form3 is helping to improve efficiency, issuing customers real bank account numbers for their clients, and decreasing the amount of time needed to complete and manage real time payments.*

Read the press release below to find out more.

*sourced from Draper Esprits Annual Results 2020

***********************************************************************************

London, August 18 2020: Draper Esprit, a leading venture capital firm investing in and developing high growth digital technology businesses, today announces that it has participated in the recent $33 million strategic investment round in Form3, the leading cloud-native payment technology provider for banks and regulated Fintechs. Form3’s cloud-native, API platform delivers technical connectivity and managed services to address critical payments infrastructure challenges facing banks, building societies and Fintechs globally.

Draper Esprit’s participation follows on from its investment in Form3’s Series B funding round in 2018, since which Form3 has trebled in size and increased its annual recurring revenue by 160%. The new funding will strengthen Form3’s market leading cloud-native payment technology, build significant functional enhancements and accelerate its global expansion plans in existing and new markets.

Leading banking providers worldwide are looking to leverage technology to improve their payments infrastructure and the customer experience. Figures from McKinsey & Company show that 40-90% of banks’ workload globally could be on cloud in 10 years*.

Draper Esprit invested alongside new shareholders led by Lloyds Banking Group and including Nationwide Building Society and venture capital firm 83North.

Michael Mueller, Chief Executive Officer at Form3, commented:

“Form3 has a close relationship with Draper Esprit, having worked with them since our Series B round in 2018. For any relatively young company it is very important to work with investors who fully buy into the vision and the ambitions of the founding team. Draper Esprit saw our potential from the beginning and continue to work with us today to help us execute on our strategy and vision to become the world’s most trusted provider of cloud-native payment technology for the global financial community.”

Vinoth Jayakumar, Partner at Draper Esprit, commented:

“We are delighted to be following our investment in Form3, which has shown phenomenal growth since its last round. Form3 is a great example of the investment potential in Fintech as the digital banking revolution continues. It’s also encouraging to invest alongside banking industry players who bring significant market knowledge and commercial opportunity.”

*Bank of England, The Future of Finance, 20 June 2019.

-ENDS-

About Form3

In 2016, four banking and technology leaders set out to revolutionise the world of payments processing. Form3 has disrupted the traditional payments infrastructure model and built from scratch an award-winning, cloud-native, Payments-as-a-Service platform. Today, Form3 is trusted by some of UK and Europe’s biggest Tier1 banks and fast-growing Fintechs to handle their critical payments architecture.

Form3 has been ranked in the Top European Fintechs to watch by Sifted 2020 and Fintech 50 2019 and named as the Best Digital Innovation by Bobsguide 2019 and runner up in British Bank Awards for Best Technology Partner 2020.

About Draper Esprit

Draper Esprit is one of the most active venture capital firms in Europe, developing and investing in disruptive, high growth technology companies. We believe the best entrepreneurs in Europe are capable of building the global businesses of the future. We fuel their growth with long- term capital, access to international networks and decades of experience building businesses. Currently, Draper Esprit is a shareholder in a diverse portfolio of companies including Trustpilot, UiPath, TransferWise, and Graphcore. For more information please visit: www.draperesprit.com

Contact:

Powerscourt (public relations)

Elly Williamson: 07970 246 725

Donjeta Miftari: 07961 628 862

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Nordic Capital-backed Trustly announces strategic minority investment by a consortium of investors to support further expansion

Nordic Capital

JUNE 10 2020
Nordic Capital-backed Trustly announces strategic minority investment by a consortium of investors to support further expansion Image

BlackRock Private Equity Partners, through its private equity funds and accounts under management, together with a consortium of institutional investors, including among others, Aberdeen Standard Investments, funds managed by Neuberger Berman, Investment Corporation of Dubai and RSIC, are becoming minority shareholders in Trustly, the world’s leading online account-to-account (A2A) payments provider. Nordic Capital remains the majority shareholder in Trustly.

The transaction diversifies Trustly’s shareholder base and brings in additional long-term capital commitment to further support Trustly as it continues to invest in its products and infrastructure and expand globally.

Nordic Capital announced the acquisition of Trustly in March 2018 with the aim of supporting the expansion of the business internationally.

Oscar Berglund, CEO of Trustly, says: “At Trustly, we’re leveraging local bank-to-bank payment rails to build a global online banking payments network that enables people to pay directly from their bank accounts in a safe and convenient manner. We welcome BlackRock and the other investors as minority shareholders in Trustly. With their support, we will double-down on developing the online banking payments solution that our merchants and billers and their customers love.”

Fredrik Näslund, Partner at Nordic Capital Advisors, says: “It is a testament to Trustly’s amazing success that Nordic Capital is able to attract such a consortium of world-class investors. Nordic Capital welcomes our new partners as co-investors and looks forward to continuing a successful journey with Trustly.”

Citigroup Global Markets Limited acted as financial advisor in connection with this transaction.

Press contact:

Meredith Popolo
Head of PR & Communications at Trustly
meredith.popolo@trustly.com

 

About Trustly

Founded in 2008, Trustly is the global leader in Online Banking Payments. Our account-to-account network enables consumers to make fast, simple and secure payments to merchants directly from their online banking accounts, without going through the card networks. With support for more than 6,000 banks, over 600 million consumers across Europe and North America can pay with Trustly. We serve many of the world’s most prominent merchants within e-commerce, financial services, gaming, media, telecom and travel, which all benefit from increased consumer conversion and reduced operations, fraud and chargeback costs.

Trustly has 400 employees across Europe, the US and Latin America. We are a licensed Payment Institution under the second payment services directive (PSD2) and operate under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority in Europe. In the US, we are state regulated as required to serve our target markets. Read more at www.trustly.com.

 

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Focus sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services and in addition, Industrials & Business Services. Key regions are Northern Europe and globally for Healthcare. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested more than EUR 14 billion in over 110 investments. The Nordic Capital vehicles are based in Jersey. They are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities based in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the UK and the US, any or all of which are referred to as Nordic Capital Advisors. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com.

 

About BlackRock Private Equity Partners

BlackRock Private Equity Partners is the world’s largest asset management firm and had USD 5.98 trillion of assets under management at December 31, 2018. With approximately 14,900 employees in more than 30 countries who serve clients in over 100 countries across the globe, BlackRock provides a broad range of investment and technology services to institutional and retail clients worldwide. For further information about BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com.

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CBC Plays Leading Role in the Creation of New Scottish Business Bank

ClydeBlowersCapital

The team at Clyde Blowers Capital has been playing a prominent role in helping to launch Alba Bank, which will be a challenger bank focused on lending to SMEs across the UK regions. The bank will provide loans to SMEs in the UK through a modern digital platform and placing an emphasis on the core skills of relationship banking.

On reading the announcement in January 2017 of the decision to wind Airdrie Savings Bank (ASB) down, CBC’s Chairman and CEO, Jim McColl OBE, first met with Rod Ashley, ASB’s former CEO, to explore the possibility of retaining their banking licence but changing the strategy to focus on the UK SME banking market. Although an Act of Parliament prevented ASB to transfer their current banking license, the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) were encouraging of a new business proposal and bank application from the team.

Emboldened by the PRA’s initial feedback, CBC successfully led the seed funding to establish Alba in April 2018, while the other members of the founding team worked on a business plan to create a purpose-built SME-focused bank, to be Headquartered in Scotland and serving the UK regions.

CBC has continued to support the aspiring bank through its application process and has been hugely impressed by the progress made to date. In December 2019, Alba announced they had formally submitted their application for a banking license to the Regulator, representing an important milestone in the journey of becoming a fully licensed bank.

Jim McColl, CEO of CBC, commented:

“We believe there is a strong demand for a new purpose-built lender to SMEs in the UK, incorporating the latest technology available in the market and an emphasis on the core banking skills of the relationship manager. The bank will be focused on lending to SMEs in Scotland and the Northern Regions of the UK.

As the UK SME market continues to be affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic, we firmly believe Alba will play a crucial role in supporting the SME community and the wider economic recovery throughout the regions of the UK.”

Rod Ashley, CEO of Alba, added:

“The guidance and support of Jim McColl and his CBC team have been key elements in our drive to be in the strong position we find ourselves in today. We are on track to launch as a fully operational bank in 2021 and remain confident of receiving our authorisation with restrictions this Autumn. The achievement of that milestone will enable us to be known by our official name, Alba Bank.

The backing from Jim and his team will be a critical part of our work as we develop our business to be able to provide the necessary funding and support to UK-based SMEs as they strive to recover from today’s challenging climate and continue to be the backbone of the British economy.”

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Nordic Capital increases its shareholding in Norwegian Finans Holding ASA

Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital Fund IX (“Nordic Capital”) has, through its wholly owned subsidiary Cidron Xingu Limited, last night acquired 7,598,162 shares in Norwegian Finans Holding ASA (“Bank Norwegian”) from a group of sellers including Green 91 AS, a company owned by Lars Ola Kjos, at a price of NOK 35 per share. The acquisition was made to strengthen Nordic Capital’s position as the largest shareholder and following the transaction, the holding will amount to 30,646,498 shares, corresponding to 16.4% of the total shares outstanding. In total, Nordic Capital and Sampo collectively own 42,472,603 shares, corresponding to 22.7% of Bank Norwegian following the transaction.

In August 2019, Nordic Capital together with Sampo signed an agreement to become the largest shareholders in Bank Norwegian. The acquisition was completed in October 2019.

Nordic Capital has extensive experience and a strong track record in the financial services sector in the Nordic region and continues to see Bank Norwegian as an interesting company with strong growth potential.


Press contact
Katarina Janerud, Communications Manager
Nordic Capital Advisors
Tel: +46 8 440 50 50
e-mail: katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com

 

About Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Core sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services and Industrials & Business Services. Key regions are Northern Europe and globally for Healthcare. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested more than EUR 14.5 billion in over 110 investments. The Nordic Capital vehicles are based in Jersey. They are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities based in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the UK and the US, any or all of which are referred to as Nordic Capital Advisors. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com

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Carlyle Group sells Peru-based cash management company Hermes to CVC Fund VII

Hermes sold to CVC Fund VII for an enterprise value of approximately $400 million

Global investment firm The Carlyle Group has sold its stake in Hermes Transportes Blindados S.A. to CVC Fund VII for an enterprise value of approximately $400 million. The transaction closed on January 7, 2020 after CVC Fund VII launched a tender offer on December 3, 2019. Carlyle invested in Hermes through its Carlyle Peru Fund and Carlyle South America Buyout Fund in 2015.

Based in Lima, Peru, Hermes is a leading provider of cash management services with a nationwide network of 18 branches, 228 armored vehicles and over 3,700 employees. The company offers valuable logistics, cash processing and custody services to a blue chip client base comprised of more than 1,000 active clients in the financial, retail, utilities and mining segments. Hermes is a mission critical partner to the largest financial institutions and retail organisations in Peru.

Eduardo Ramos, Managing Director and Head of the Carlyle Peru Advisory Team, said, “During our four-plus years of ownership, we are proud to have helped Hermes grow by identifying new revenue streams, increasing operational efficiencies and entering new business segments. We’re confident the company is well positioned for continued growth over the long-term.”

Sebastian Barriga, Director of the Carlyle Peru Advisory Team, added, “It has been a privilege to work alongside Hermes’s world-class management team. Together, we have created long-term value by pursuing both organic and inorganic growth opportunities and are proud of the work Hermes has done to advance the cash management industry in Peru. We look forward to their continued success.”

Mirella Velasquez, CEO of Hermes, said, “Eduardo and the Carlyle team have been outstanding partners. Today’s announcement underpins the continued success of our company. We are extremely proud of our team and look forward to continuing to develop the cash management industry in Peru.”

Jean-Marc Etlin, Partner overseeing CVC Capital Partner’s Latin America private equity business said, “This is a unique opportunity to invest in a company with an outstanding track record and proven business model. We are very impressed with the quality of the management team and their ability to continue generating significant value for shareholders. We are looking forward to continuing to support the company and its talented management team in its next phase of growth.”

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Blackstone completes the acquisition of €1 billion majority stake in Luminor

Blackstone

Luminor announced today the acquisition of a 60% majority stake in the bank by a consortium led by private equity funds managed by Blackstone. The bank’s current owners, Nordea Bank Abp (“Nordea”) and DNB BANK ASA (“DNB”), will each retain a 20% equity stake in Luminor.

The consortium, which includes a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (“ADIA”), as well as other co-investors, has now completed the transaction having received the relevant approvals.

Nordea and DNB will continue to support the bank with long-term funding, expertise and on-going representation on the Board of Directors. Blackstone has agreed with Nordea to purchase their remaining 20% stake over the coming years.

Blackstone was uniquely positioned to manage this complex acquisition, and is well-placed to support Luminor and the wider Baltic economy going forward.

Nadim El Gabbani, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said: “We are excited by the long-term partnership with management, Nordea and DNB and look forward to working together to create a stronger platform to further economic growth in the Baltics. We will continue to support local businesses and strongly believe that Luminor is well-positioned to continue to lead the market as an independent provider of financial services.”

Nils Melngailis, Chairman of the Supervisory Council of Luminor, said: “The Baltics benefit from a strong macroeconomic climate and a stable operating environment, and are among the most dynamic economies in the European Union. This transaction represents one of the largest investments in Baltic history and I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the regulators in the approval process and our teams in completing the transaction. I look forward to our strategic partnership with Blackstone.”

Erkki Raasuke, CEO of Luminor, said: “Blackstone is an ideal partner for Luminor as it undertakes one of the most extensive corporate transformations in the Baltics. Their demonstrable track record in transformations, strong financial standing and network of global talent will support Luminor in growing as the largest local independent bank; a bank which will be dedicated to supporting sustainable growth of the Baltic region by providing long-term commitment to businesses and individuals.”

For more information, please contact:

Blackstone
Ramesh Chhabra
+44 (20) 7451 4053
Ramesh.Chhabra@Blackstone.com

Luminor
Ivi Heldna
+372 52 31 192
Ivi.Heldna@luminorgroup.com

About Luminor
Luminor was established as an independent Baltic bank in autumn 2017, built on the Baltic businesses of Nordea and DNB and combining the experience and knowledge from the Nordic countries. We are the third-largest provider of financial services in the Baltics, with approximately 1 million clients, 2,500 employees, and a market share of 16.4% in deposits and 20.2% in lending as at the end of the second quarter of 2019. Total shareholders’ equity amounts to €1.6 billion and Luminor is capitalised with a CET1 ratio of 18%. On 13 September 2018, Moody’s assigned Luminor long and short-term, foreign and local currency deposit ratings of Baa1/Prime-2.

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 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 $545 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.

About ADIA 
Established in 1976, ADIA is a globally-diversified investment institution that prudently invests funds on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi through a strategy focused on long-term value creation.  ADIA has invested in private equity since 1989 and has built a significant internal team of specialists with experience across asset products, geographies and sectors. Through its extensive relationships across the industry, the Private Equities Department invests in private equity and credit products globally, often alongside external partners, and through externally managed primary and secondary funds. Its philosophy is to build long-term, collaborative relationships with its partners and company management teams to maximize value and support the implementation of agreed strategies. For more information: https://www.adia.ae

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Krungsri joins forces with international private equity consortium to strengthen its microfinance platform

Krungsri joins forces with international private equity consortium to strengthen its microfinance platform

20 Nov 2018

Move to bolster microfinance arm providing affordable credit and insurance solutions

Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited) has announced that it will sell a 50% stake in its wholly-owned Ngern Tid Lor Company Limited (“NTL”) business unit to an international private equity consortium led by CVC Capital Partners Asia Fund IV (“CVC”) and Equity Partners Limited (“EPL”). The move is expected to bolster the microfinance arm of Krungsri, which provides affordable credit and insurance solutions to Thailand’s underbanked and self-employed population.

Sharing his thoughts on the investment Schwin Chiaravanont, EPL’s partner, states, “On behalf of EPL, we are excited to partner with CVC and Krungsri in this landmark deal in the Thai financial services industry. NTL is not only a high-quality growth asset, but it also represents a strong reflection of our values in corporate culture and governance and we support the ambition to ameliorate conditions for Thailand’s underbanked communities.”

Brian Hong, Partner and Co-Head of Southeast Asia at CVC, said of the transaction, “We are tremendously pleased to be partnering with Krungsri and NTL. We are firm believers in the dynamic and passionate culture of service which has fuelled impressive growth and innovation at NTL. We are excited to be able to support the company in realising new opportunities and achieving its full potential.”

Piyasak Ukritnukun, Managing Director of NTL, commented, “Our new shareholders bring with them a combination of global expertise and local strength. We hope to benefit from new technologies, operational best practices and business development opportunities to help us better serve Thailand’s long-tail segment.”

“This is a significant transaction for Krungsri. We are confident that the CVC and EPL consortium is the right partner to help bring NTL to the next level and allow us to explore potential synergy with the consortium.” said Dan Harsono, Krungsri Head of Retail and Consumer Banking.

This transaction is subject to satisfactory completion of conditions precedent and regulatory filings. Krungsri appointed ING Bank N.V. as exclusive financial advisor on this transaction.

NTL is a privately-held market leading title loan operator that was acquired by Krungsri in 2009. As at the end of 2017, the company operated 750 branches across 74 provinces and had an outstanding loan portfolio of THB 24.6bn.

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