Tag Archives: Consumer brands

BGF completes successful exit of Furniture Village

BGF

BGF has successfully exited its investment in Furniture Village, the leading national furniture retailer, following a share buyback by the business.

Furniture Village is an award-winning family business that has been selling quality sofas, dining furniture and beds across the UK for over 30 years.

BGF has invested £12 million in the business across two successive funding rounds, the first in 2014, followed by a second in 2015.

Over the eight-year investment partnership, Furniture Village has used the growth capital to increase its store footprint from 40 to 55, and also to bolster its logistics, IT and digital infrastructure. The exit has yielded strong returns on BGF’s original investment and follows a period of consistent, profitable growth for Furniture Village.

The move allows father-and-son duo Peter and Charlie Harrison to continue to build on the success of the business, with the aim of further strengthening its market position. Outside a substantial holding by the company’s employee benefit trust, the Harrison family is now the sole shareholder of the business.

Peter Harrison, Chief Executive, Furniture Village commented: “It has always been a lifelong ambition that the business would be wholly owned by the family. We have now realised that dream thanks to our fantastic people and our principle partners who have all contributed to our journey – my original business partner David Imrie, Peter Grant of Cadogan Estates, Jane Vinson at BGF and Jim Hodkinson our longstanding Chairman.

“Charlie and I have a very strong vision for where we would like to take the business next. It is based on a highly collaborative and loyal relationship with our people, excellence in customer service and always being able to offer the highest quality product at good value prices to our customers nationwide.”

Jane Vinson, Head of Portfolio, South at BGF said: “BGF has backed Furniture Village since 2014, providing £12 million of growth capital across two successive funding rounds. Over the last eight years we have supported the business with its acquisitive growth strategy providing the financial and strategic support needed to roll-out new sites, invest in new technologies and scale its ecommerce platform.

“During BGF’s investment hold period, the company has experienced significant growth and this deal marks an exciting next step for the company. This deal demonstrates BGF’s flexibility on exit routes, and we wish Peter and Charlie Harrison and the entire team all the best for the future.”

Charlie Harrison, Commercial Director, of Furniture Village added: “In recognition of our team, their strength and success, Furniture Village has also decided to introduce an Employee Benefit Family Partnership which will be a means of sharing the results of great performance with everyone in our special business.”

The news comes ahead of the imminent opening of its 55th UK store in Colchester on Boxing Day.

Categories: News

Tags:

Concord Prices $1.8 Billion ABS to Finance Corporate Growth Strategy

Apollo

Apollo Structured and Anchored ABS as Long-term Financing Partner

NASHVILLE AND NEW YORK – December 8, 2022 – Concord, a global leader in music publishing, recorded music and theatrical rights licensing, has successfully priced $1.8 billion of senior notes secured by a significant portion of its highly diversified catalogue of sound recordings and songs. It is the largest asset-backed securitization offering of music rights in the industry to date in terms of both size of issuance and number of assets (over one million copyrights). Apollo (NYSE: APO), through its Capital Solutions business, structured the ABS transaction and formed an investor syndicate led by Apollo-managed funds. JP Morgan served as a co-structuring agent of the transaction. Proceeds from the issuance will be reinvested to support Concord’s continued growth in 2023 and beyond.

“Concord has reached a new milestone in its own evolution and for the broader global industry in pricing the largest music ABS transaction in history,” said Bob Valentine, President of Concord. “I’m proud to help lead a company partnered with the astonishing depth and breadth of artistic talent that the works financed by this securitization represent. I’m also extraordinarily thankful that a significant number of blue-chip financial institutions have taken note of our success to date and chosen to participate in our future. As we continue to better position Concord as a bellwether in the industry, our focus remains the same: to elevate the voices of artists and musicians using the global, independent platform that we have been assembling for years. We are grateful to our financing partners at Apollo and JP Morgan who helped us develop a long-term capital solution that reflects the strength of the portfolio we have built to date and further validates our active management strategy.”

Concord’s transaction reflects the growing value of music copyrights and increased interest from financial institutions in music royalties as a long-term, annuity-like asset class. The music industry is experiencing a period of sustained expansion, fueled by exponential growth in the global streaming market, new marketing platforms, increased collector demand for vinyl records and, with the integration of new technologies, diversified platforms for music commercialization. These combined factors benefit both legacy catalogues and new releases while driving artist and songwriter revenue.

Concord’s new 5-year facility is backed by an actively managed catalogue of more than 1 million unique music assets spanning a wide-range of genres, including over 300 GRAMMY Award winners and more than 400 recordings with Gold, Platinum, Multi-Platinum and Diamond Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifications. The catalogue is valued at more than $4 billion, resulting in an approximate 44% loan-to-value ratio for the offering and the notes are rated A+ by KBRA.

Apollo Partner and Head of Asset-Backed Finance Bret Leas said, “Concord’s experienced management team continues to build a world-renowned catalogue of assets with diversification and cash flow characteristics well suited for asset-based lending. We are pleased to provide a tailored, flexible structured solution that supports their continued growth.”

Apollo Capital Solutions’ Paul Sipio added, “This transaction leverages the scale of our investment platform alongside our growing Capital Solutions business to originate, anchor and syndicate a comprehensive financing solution. Having known the Concord Board and management team for many years, we are pleased to support their future success.”

Concord continues to grow as a major force in the music industry. Works in the securitization catalogue alone include songs and recordings by Phil Collins, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Daft Punk, Miles Davis, Danny Elfman, Evanescence, The Fania All-Stars, John Fogerty, Genesis, Imagine Dragons, Isaac Hayes, James Taylor, Jewel, Joan Sebastian, Nine Inch Nails, Pink Floyd, Cyndi Lauper, Little Richard, Nikki Six, Otis Redding, R.E.M., Rodgers & Hammerstein, Pete Seeger, Taking Back Sunday, Ryan Tedder, The Traveling Wilburys, The Vince Guaraldi Trio, Hans Zimmer and hundreds more.

FTI served as the valuation agent on the transaction and KBRA provided ratings services. DLA Piper served as legal counsel to Concord, and King & Spalding LLP as legal counsel to Apollo affiliates. Reed Smith and Greenberg Traurig serviced as special counsel with respect to music assets for Concord and for Apollo affiliates, respectively.

###

ABOUT CONCORD
Concord is the independent, worldwide leader in the development, management and acquisition of sound recordings, music publishing, theatrical performance rights and narrative content. Headquartered in Nashville with additional offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin, Melbourne and Miami, Concord also has staff in Auckland, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. The Company’s catalog consists of more than 1 million songs, composed works, plays, musicals and active recordings which are licensed in virtually every country and territory worldwide.

CONCORD LABEL GROUP is comprised of seven active labels across many musical genres: Fantasy Records, Fearless Records, Loma Vista Recordings, Rounder Records, Easy Eye Sound, Concord Records and Concord Jazz.

The company’s historical labels are managed by its Craft Recordings team, and include such storied imprints as Fania, Independiente, Milestone, Musart, Nitro, Pablo, Prestige, Riverside, Savoy, Specialty, Stax, Telarc, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay, Victory and Wind-up. Concord’s master recording portfolio contains more than 275,000 active song recordings and includes no less than 300 GRAMMY® winners (representing over 6.6% of all the GRAMMYs® ever awarded) and over 400 Gold, Platinum, multi-Platinum and Diamond RIAA certifications across 215 titles.

Concord is also home to the #1 kids’ music brand, KIDZ BOP. Now in its 20th year, the global hit music franchise has sold 22.5 million albums, generated 8 billion streams, and continues to reach kids and families with new music, videos, consumer products and live tours.

CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING represents more than 600,000 copyrighted works by the world’s most celebrated songwriters, composers and lyricists. Spanning nearly two centuries of song, through a vast array of genres and territories, Concord Music Publishing also supports a diverse group of contemporary creators producing important and popular new songs and musical works. Concord Music Publishing is home to the world’s leading classical music publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, and operates exclusive joint ventures with top pop music publisher, Pulse Music Group and Hillary Lindsey’s Hang Your Hat Music.

CONCORD THEATRICALS is the world’s most significant theatrical company, comprising the catalogs of R&H Theatricals, Samuel French, Tams-Witmark and The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, plus dozens of new signings each year. Our unparalleled roster includes the work of Irving Berlin, Agatha Christie, George & Ira Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, Lorraine Hansberry, Kander & Ebb, Ken Ludwig, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dominique Morisseau, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thornton Wilder and August Wilson. We are the only firm providing truly comprehensive services to the creators and producers of plays and musicals, including theatrical licensing, music publishing, script publishing, cast recording and first-class production.

CONCORD ORIGINALS is Concord’s narrative content creation division. The team develops and produces stories anchored by Concord’s artists, music and theatrical works. Concord Originals takes a proactive, narrative-driven approach to each project and partners with A-list storytellers to produce premium content for screen and beyond. The division’s slate is comprised of feature films, series, documentaries and podcasts, including remakes and re-imaginings of properties from Concord’s iconic portfolio.

Concord is a private company funded by long-term institutional capital and members of Concord’s management team. At the forefront of intellectual property valuation, acquisition and utilization, the Concord investment underscores the partners’ belief in the lasting and appreciating global value of superior original creative content.

About Apollo
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade to private equity with a focus on three investing strategies: yield, hybrid, and equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of September 30, 2022, Apollo had approximately $523 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.

Contact Information

Noah Gunn
Global Head of Investor Relations
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0540
IR@apollo.com

Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822 0491

Communications@apollo.com

Categories: News

Tags:

Argos Wityu sells Juratoys to Maped

argos wityu

Argos Wityu, an independent European investment fund, has agreed to sell Juratoys, a designer and distributor of toys and games (Janod, Kaloo and Liliputiens brands) to the family-owned Maped group, a leader in school, writing, colouring and office supplies.

Argos Wityu orchestrated the spin-off and carve-out of the 50-year-old French group Juratoys in 2018. Leader in the educational and wooden toys segment, with strong, well-known brands, Juratoys has achieved rapid growth in its business. The company has nearly 170 employees, who generate annual turnover of more than €80m, vs a little more than €50m in 2018. The company’s growth and development has been articulated around several important principles embedded in its strategy:

  • Strengthened product design and development oriented towards early childhood learning;
  • Permanent commitment to an environmental policy to foster progress and preserve the world in which the next generation will come of age;
  • Rapid international expansion, which has increased the portion of sales outside France to almost half the total;
  • Digitalisation of the company’s activities in marketing and in the company’s relationships with its distributors and end-customers;
  • Acquisitions, such as the merger with the Belgian company Lilliputiens in 2020.

Through its concerted environmental efforts, Juratoys has: 

  • Reduced its consumption of plastic by 5.3 tonnes p.a. by eliminating packaging;
  • Organised the planting of 4,500 trees every year, including 1,500 in France, with Kinomé, a reforestation initiative, and ONF, the French national forestry office, in an effort to be both educational and inclusive;
  • Focused on using FSC wood and cardboard as well as packing materials derived from recycled plastic bottles.

Read about all of the group’s ESG commitments here: www.jouez-engage.fr

The merger of Juratoys and Maped is right in line with the two companies’ mission to support children as they grow and define themselves at every stage in their lives.

The merger will enable the two companies to benefit from their numerous complementary features, combining academic and pleasurable learning. Maped’s international distribution network as well as its industrial expertise will boost growth at Juratoys.

Ludovic Martin, Chairman and CEO of Juratoys, said, “The years we have spent alongside Argos have been fruitful and enriching.  We have the feeling Argos has always listened to us and supported us. We have been able to take advantage of Argos’s expertise and that of its other companies. We carried out several strategic projects such as digitalising the company and developing our international sales. We grew significantly and intelligently with the acquisition of Lilliputiens in 2020. Together we made strong ESG commitments on all fronts. A new chapter in the life of Juratoys is now opening, as it joins a leading company in a related and very complementary market to that of toys and games. Our geographical and cultural proximity will be an advantage for our development. Together we will continue to create opportunities for children and their parents to experience and share happy moments, both in France and abroad.”

Romain Lacroix, Chairman and CEO of Maped, added, “Acquiring Juratoys and its longstanding brands Janod, Kaloo and Lilliputiens gives Maped’s diversification strategy the boost it needs to pursue the new group’s targets. We are pleased to take part in building a large French group that aims to distribute school supplies and educational, sustainable and fun toys and games to accompany children throughout the world in every aspect of their learning.”

Gilles Lorang, Managing Partner Argos Wityu concluded, “The management of Juratoys has done a remarkable job managing both rapid organic growth and the integration of Lilliputiens, while continuing to carry out ground-breaking, strategic and transformative ESG initiatives. We are confident that the merger with Maped will enable Juratoys to continue its expansion. We would like to thank the management team for their pleasant and efficient collaboration, and we wish them all the best in the years to come.”

Argos Wityu team: Gilles Lorang, Mario Giannattasio, Pierre Cassignol

Seller’s financial advisers: Clearwater international (Philippe Guezenec, Marie Cassola, Valentine Mevel, Matthias Krimmel)
Seller’s legal advisers: McDermott Will & Emery (Bertrand Delafaye, Herschel Guez, Alexandre Adande)
Seller’s financial due diligence: KPMG (Olivier Boumendil, Benoit Luscan, Adrien Bes)
Buyer’s financial advisers: Natixis Partners (Jean-Noel Combasson, Driss Mernissi)
Seller’s tax advisers: Arsene Taxand (Franck Chaminade, Valentine Roulin)
Buyer’s legal advisers: Delsol Avocats (Emmanuel Kaeppelin, Caroline Da Lage, Raphaël Ory)
Management advisers: Facchin Avocats (Cyril Facchin)

Argos Wityu

Coralie Cornet
Head of Communications
ccc@argos.fund
+33 (0)6 14 38 33 37

Juratoys

Stéphanie Barthoulot
Head of Communications & ESG
stephanie.barthoulot@juratoys.com
+33 6 80 27 29 40

About Argos Wityu / www.argos.wityu.fund
One firm, two strategies.
Argos Wityu is an independent European private equity group that supports the growth of mid-sized businesses and backs their management teams.
With more than €1.4bn assets under management, over 30 years of experience and more than 90 businesses assisted, Argos Wityu operates from offices in Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Luxembourg, Milan and Paris. The group seeks to acquire majority stakes and invests between €10m and €100m in each investment of its two strategies:
• The Midmarket fund helps companies implement ownership transitions to accelerate growth
• The Climate Action fund aims at shaping European sustainable leaders by making their “Grey to Green” transition

About Juratoys / janod.com / kaloo.com / lilliputiens.be
Juratoys has been designing and distributing toys and games for 50 years. Its Janod and Kaloo brands, acquired in 2011, and Lilliputiens, acquired in 2020, are recognised for their design, the quality of their materials and their educational values, which contribute to early childhood development and learning. The company is also the exclusive distributor in France and Belgium of certain international toy brands, such as Ty. Juratoys manages more than 1,400 products under its three proprietary brands and places great emphasis on innovation, designing more than 350 new products every year. The company has 170 employees and generates annual turnover of more than €80 million. The company is present in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and China.

Categories: News

Tags:

Eurazeo announces sale of majority ownership position in Nest New York to North Castle Partners led investor group

Eurazeo

Eurazeo, a leading global investment company with a diversified portfolio of €32.5 billion in assets under management, today announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its majority ownership position in NEST New York (“NEST” or the “Company”), a leading fragrance lifestyle brand, in a transaction that values NEST at approximately $200 million. Under the terms of the transaction, an investor group led by North Castle Partners (“North Castle”), a consumer-focused private equity firm, will purchase a majority stake in NEST, with Eurazeo and NEST Founder Laura Slatkin retaining minority ownership positions. Following the close of this transaction, Eurazeo’s invested equity capital will yield a return of approximately 2.7x.

Eurazeo’s Brands Division launched in May 2017 and NEST was its debut investment. Under Eurazeo’s management, NEST’s leadership team accelerated product innovation, expanded brand awareness and significantly increased the brand’s digital penetration. As a result, overall brand sales tripled, direct-to-consumer sales increased 10-fold and EBITDA margins significantly expanded. NEST is the leading luxury home fragrance brand in the U.S., a top 10 women’s fine fragrance brand at Sephora and continues to be recognized for its innovation, having won two 2022 Allure Best of Beauty awards and having been named “Best New Beauty Brand” in the U.K. by The Fragrance Foundation.

Laura Slatkin, Founder of NEST New York, said:

“Since I founded NEST in 2008, I have been fortunate to have exceptional partners that have helped the brand solidify its position as one of the world’s most trusted and highly regarded fragrance brands. I am deeply grateful for Eurazeo’s partnership and expertise, which have enabled the business to flourish and deliver impressive growth over the past five years. As the brand embarks on its next chapter of growth, I look forward to partnering with North Castle and reuniting with Rich Gersten, whom I have had the pleasure of working with in the past.”

Maria Dempsey, CEO of NEST New York, said:

“NEST New York is a beloved fragrance lifestyle brand that has seen explosive growth over the past several years due to a laser-focus on product innovation, new customer acquisition, digital expansion and creative storytelling. This significant growth has been achieved with our exceptional team of professionals, strong retailer partnerships and a highly collaborative relationship with Eurazeo. We are thrilled to be working alongside the North Castle team on this next phase of growth.”

Jill Granoff, Managing Partner of Eurazeo and CEO of Eurazeo’s Brands Division, said:

“Laura, Maria and the NEST team have been exemplary partners, and together, we have built the NEST brand and driven tremendous value creation. We look forward to working with North Castle Partners on the next chapter of NEST’s growth to leverage the Company’s strong foundation and expand the business globally.”

Hemanshu Patel, Partner at North Castle Partners, noted:

“We’re very excited to partner with Eurazeo and the management team at NEST and welcome the Company into North Castle’s family of health and wellness focused brands that are leaders in their respective categories. It’s an ideal situation for us with Rich Gersten, Beauty Industry Advisor at North Castle Partners, having worked with Laura and NEST in the past.”

Rich Gersten added:

“I have always been a huge fan of the brand and its potential, and it is exciting to partner with NEST once again at this inflection point to expand the brand’s reach across categories and geographies.”

NEST represents North Castle’s second beauty and personal care investment in the last two years. North Castle has spent more than two decades partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams to scale brands and unlock the full potential of companies in the Healthy, Active and Sustainable Living sector.

The transaction is expected to close at the end of November. Perella Weinberg Partners LP acted as financial advisor to NEST.

Categories: News

Tags:

Bluegem partners with Suavinex

Bleugem

Consumer specialist private equity firm Bluegem Capital Partners today announces that Bluegem III, through its portfolio company Béaba, has acquired a majority stake in Suavinex, a premium Spanish baby care brand.

Headquartered in Spain, the group is recognised for high quality and innovative baby products focused on baby bottles, soothers and personal care for babies and mothers. The business has manufacturing operations in Slovakia and Spain as well as an in-house team of engineers and technicians who have developed a wide range of worldwide patented products.

Suavinex was established in 1980 and in 1988 pioneered the launch of a revolutionary weaning product, the three position teat system, making it possible to adapt the flow of liquid from the bottle to the baby’s rate of sucking and type of food. In 2018 the business released Zero-Zero, an innovative product range of anti-colic baby bottles and soothers utilising patented technology and founded on the principles of medical benefits.

While most of the sales are in Spain, via a team of direct sales agents locally, the business has dedicated sales teams also in Italy, France and China, in addition to sales through distributors globally. In tandem the business has a strong and growing digital presence and a loyal customer base willing to repurchase and recommend the brand. The business benefits from an end to end vertically integrated business model allowing for full control over the entire value chain.

Suavinex is acquired by Bluegem’s third generation fund which held its final close in February of this year and has already made five investments in a diversified portfolio of resilient consumer subsectors. The combination of Suavinex and Béaba will establish a leading European company in the baby care sector, with a global footprint and a strong focus on feeding newborns to 24-month-old babies.

Commenting on the acquisition, Julien Laporte, CEO at Beaba and Operating Partner at Bluegem said:

“We firmly believe in the quality of Suavinex products and in its leadership position in the Spanish market. We are excited by the opportunity to consolidate two fantastic brands and look forward to creating a European leader in the baby care sector, focused on feeding and personal care.”

Mathieu Develay, Partner at Bluegem said:

“Suavinex is a great addition to Bluegem III and our portfolio of resilient consumer brands. We see premium baby care, especially the feeding and personal care segments, as core components of non-discretionary demand: parents don’t compromise on quality when providing for their babies. By combining two premium brands in this space, Béaba and Suavinex, we see a strong opportunity to drive growth and value, from a safe and stable base.”

Juan Ramón García, CEO at Suavinex commented:

“Suavinex is a leading “love brand” in the Spanish newborn and personal care market, developing and marketing high quality and innovative products. The integration into the Peek-a-Boo Group (Beaba) will strengthen Suavinex presence in international markets, continuing the company’s strategy initiated 10 years ago, and will enhance the value of its manufacturing facilities located in Spain and Slovakia. Our aim, with this alliance, is to create one of the most important European groups in baby care and personal care.”

About Bluegem Capital Partners LLP

Bluegem is a specialist private equity firm investing in brands underpinned by non-discretionary demand and megatrend tailwinds.  Bluegem utilise a proprietary artificial intelligence toolkit alongside an experienced team of investment professionals to accelerate business growth.  Bluegem have a track record of partnering with management teams across Europe through different economic cycles and market conditions, focusing on resilient consumer segments including: Beauty and Personal Care; Household Care; Food and Beverage; Baby Care; Pet Care; and Hobby and Craft. More information about Bluegem can be found at www.bluegemcp.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

Bluegem III partners with Petromax Group

Bleugem

Bluegem enters outdoor consumer market: Pan European private equity investor partners with Petromax Group

Consumer specialist private equity firm Bluegem today announces that the third Bluegem Fund has made a majority investment in the Petromax Group, an outdoor hobby and lifestyle Group comprised of two renowned heritage brands, Petromax and Feuerhand. Headquartered in Germany with international distribution channels the Petromax Group is recognised for a wide product assortment of high quality outdoor equipment.

The entrepreneurial couple Jonas and Dr. Pia Christin Taureck, the current Co-CEOs and shareholders of the company, will reinvest into the business and remain as Co-CEOs to lead its expansion in the coming years.

The Petromax Group was established in 2005 and has since then captured the unique opportunity of combining two traditional best in class complementary outdoor brands.

  • Petromax, founded in 1910, is the German brand for self-sufficient adventures in nature offering products for outdoor living, cooking, bushcraft and lighting solutions.

  • Feuerhand, founded in 1893, is a brand veteran of patio and garden culture with lighting, fire bowls and convivial outdoor products. Cornerstone of the product range are the iconic Hurricane Lanterns of the Baby Special 276 series.

The Petromax Group heritage brands have a differentiated and superior value proposition, producing German engineered durable products. Petromax and Feuerhand both benefit from a large and loyal community of brand lovers with a long history of engagement and repeat purchase behaviour. The group has strong in house R&D capabilities in new product development leveraging on a highly skilled team who continue to expand the product range.

Commenting on the transaction, Constantin Rojahn, Investment Director, at Bluegem said:

“We have been impressed by the tremendous success of Petromax in building a leading outdoor lifestyle offering and we are thrilled to leverage our consumer expertise to support the team as they further scale the business while providing equipment for adventurers globally to pursue their passions.”

Jonas and Dr. Pia Christin Taureck, Founders and Managing Director of Petromax Group said:

“With Bluegem we have found a strong and experienced partner to drive healthy growth for the long-term. Bluegem bring a top-performing network with international expertise in building premium brands. Together we look forward to expanding our leading market position further and building even stronger teams and brands.”

The Petromax Group is the fifth investment made by Bluegem’s third generation fund which held its final close in February of this year and is already invested in a diversified portfolio of resilient consumer subsectors which are underpinned by megatrend tailwinds. The transaction represents the first investment by the Fund into the outdoor hobbies subsector and brings further diversification to the Bluegem III portfolio, which is already invested in the following:

  • Nutrimuscle: a fast growing digital brand of clean sports nutrition products and wellbeing supplements

  • BeautyNova Group: a leading Italian professional haircare group

  • Beaba Group: two premium international brands (Beaba and Childhome) leading in the Baby Care sector

  • Ecooking: skin care products developed with a strong focus on ingredients and efficacy

About Bluegem Capital Partners

Bluegem is a specialist consumer-focused private equity firm that partners with management teams and founders to accelerate growth of strong consumer brands. With a track record of investing across Europe through different economic cycles, industry and market conditions, Bluegem have refined their investment strategy to focus on resilient consumer segments benefiting from secular megatrends, including Beauty and Personal Care; Household Care; Food and Beverage; Baby Care; Pet Care; Home Décor; and Hobby and Craft. More information about Bluegem can be found at www.bluegemcp.com.

About Petromax Group

The Petromax Group is one of the leading suppliers of high quality equipment supporting any kind of independent outdoor lifestyle. Headquartered in Magdeburg, Germany, the group is comprised of two renowned heritage brands, Petromax and Feuerhand. Petromax, founded in 1910, is the German brand for self-sufficient adventures in nature offering traditional yet cleverly designed products for outdoor living and cooking, bushcraft und lighting. The product range is characterised by the highest possible level of quality, durability and well-thought-out details. Feuerhand is a brand veteran of patio and garden culture. Cornerstone of the product range is the iconic Hurricane Lantern dating back to 1893. The timeless portfolio around light, fire and convivial pleasures outdoors has been further developed since the brand has become part of the Petromax Group in 2014.

The entrepreneurial couple Jonas and Dr. Pia Christin Taureck has established the values of tradition, innovation and quality as both goal and motivation for constantly developing the brands further. Since its foundation in 2005 the group has gained recognition as a leading player in the outdoor industry with strong R&D capabilities and international distribution channels.

Categories: News

Tags:

BCI Leads Significant Investment in Authority Brands

Apax

COLUMBIA, MD and VICTORIA, British Columbia – September 20, 2022 – Authority Brands, a residential services franchising platform in North America, today announced that British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (“BCI”), one of the largest institutional investors in Canada, has agreed to acquire a significant minority stake in the company, alongside funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax Funds”), which will retain majority ownership.

Authority Brands is the premier home service franchisor in North America. Its family of home service franchise brands are leaders in their industry, providing homeowners with services from the property line to the roof line. Authority Brands’ companies include 12 leading home service franchisors: America’s Swimming Pool Company, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, The Cleaning Authority, Color World Painting, DoodyCalls, Homewatch CareGivers, Mister Sparky, Monster Tree Service, Mosquito Squad, One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning, STOP Restoration and Woofie’s. Together, these brands provide home services through approximately 860 franchise owners across North America.

Since the Apax Funds’ initial investment in 2018, Authority Brands has grown from two home service franchisors to the current 12, expanding into new geographies and services and building out a powerful infrastructure.

“We are proud to have partnered with the Authority Brands team to help build, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, a leading residential services franchising platform,” said Ashish Karandikar, Partner at Apax. “We continue to see significant room for growth by Authority Brands and are pleased to join with BCI and members of the leadership team in the next phase of the company’s journey as they extend their platform through M&A, and strategic initiatives including franchise development, technology transformation and international expansion.”

“As a long-term investor, we seek to invest in market-leading companies with strong management teams, multiple levers for growth, and resilient business models that create shareholder value, such as Authority Brands,” said Dave Hong, Senior Managing Director, Private Equity at BCI. “We look forward to working with Authority Brands and Apax to generate compelling risk-adjusted returns for our pension plan and insurance fund clients.”

“We could not be more pleased than to continue to build the premier residential services franchisor in partnership with Apax and BCI,” said Craig Donaldson, Chief Executive Officer of Authority Brands. “Both partners will add substantial value as we aim to capture further share in the highly fragmented home services market, including by evaluating M&A opportunities in new service verticals.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to be completed in Q4 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.

Apax was advised by Harris Williams, Boxwood Partners, William Blair & Company, Moelis & Company (financial advisors), Kirkland & Ellis, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, DLA Piper, and Lathrop GPM (legal counsel), and Ernst & Young (financial and tax advisor).

 

-ENDS-

 

 

About BCI
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is amongst the largest institutional investors in Canada with C$211.1 billion under management, as of March 31, 2022. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, with offices in Vancouver and New York City, BCI is invested in: fixed income and private debt; public and private equity; infrastructure and renewable resources; as well as real estate equity and real estate debt through our independently operated platform company QuadReal Property Group. With our global outlook, we seek investment opportunities that convert savings into productive capital that will meet our clients’ risk and return requirements over time.

BCI’s private equity program actively manages a C$24.8 billion global portfolio of privately held companies and funds with long-term growth potential. Leveraging our sector-focused teams in business services, consumer, financial services, healthcare, industrials, and technology, media and telecommunications, we work with strategic private equity partners to source and manage direct and co-sponsor/co-investment opportunities.

For more information, please visit bci.ca.

About Apax Partners LLP

Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”) is a leading global private equity advisory firm. For nearly 50 years, Apax has worked to inspire growth and ideas that transform businesses. The firm has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of more than $60 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Internet/Consumer, Tech, Services, and Healthcare. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.

Apax Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

About Authority Brands

Authority Brands is the premier residential services franchising platform providing services from the property line to the roof line. Authority Brands’ companies include 12 leading home service franchisors: America’s Swimming Pool Company, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, The Cleaning Authority, Color World Painting, DoodyCalls, Homewatch CareGivers, Mister Sparky, Monster Tree Service, Mosquito Squad, One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning, STOP Restoration and Woofie’s. Together, these brands provide home services through approximately 860 franchise owners across North America. Authority Brands, which is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, is dedicated to supporting individual franchise owner growth with a full suite of marketing, technology, and operational support, allowing them to focus on providing exceptional service to homeowners. Please visit www.authoritybrands.com for more information.

Categories: News

Tags:

Bluegem III acquires Nutrimuscle

Bleugem

On July 12, 2022, Bluegem Capital Partners acquired Nutrimuscle (the “Company”), the leading French digital D2C community-driven brand in sustainable active nutrition, from Groupe Finoli and the management team.

Théo-Ange Copolata, the current CEO and shareholder of the company will reinvest into the business and remain as CEO to lead its expansion in the coming years.

 Headquartered in Paris with manufacturing operations in Belgium, Nutrimuscle is a pioneer and digitally native D2C brand in the fast-growing sport and health supplement markets. Founded in 1993 as an answer to a lack of good quality sport supplements in Europe, Nutrimuscle has a differentiated and superior value proposition based on natural ingredients, organic & clean formulas and transparent sourcing. The Company benefits from a large and fast-growing community of brand lovers with long history of unparalleled loyalty, engagement and repeat purchase behaviour.

The Company has best-in class digital marketing, e-commerce and community-management capabilities surpassing industry standards. Its end-to-end vertically integrated business model allows full traceability and control over the entire value chain. Nutrimuscle has strong R&D capabilities in new product development and formulation leveraging on a highly skilled team and long-term relationships with leading suppliers. The Company has a proprietary portfolio of over 100 products and 850 SKUs.

Nutrimuscle is highly focused on ESG practices as an “Entreprise à Mission” and on its path to become certified B-Corp by 2023.

Groupe Finoli acquired, alongside Théo-Ange Copolata, Nutrimuscle in 2018 from the Company’s founder and successfully transformed the business to position it as a fast growing brand while maintaining its core values. Since 2018, Nutrimuscle generated impressive organic growth track record with best-in class profitability. Today the group has 62 employees distributed over France (Paris) and Belgium (Aubange).

Théo-Ange Copolata, Shareholder and CEO of Nutrimuscle said:

“I am thrilled to pursue the phenomenous brand expansion we had since 2018 thanks to the brilliant support of Groupe Finoli and look forward to achieve a great implantation in Europe alongside Bluegem support and expertise”

Mathieu Develay, Partner of Bluegem, commented:

“We are very excited to partner with Nutrimuscle and have been impressed by Nutrimuscle’s commitment to clean-ingredient, traceable products with ESG factors at the core of the company’s values. We look forward to helping Nutrimuscle educate the public on nutrition and wellness, and expand its offerings beyond Nutrimuscle’s native French market.”

Emilio Di Spiezio Sardo, Founding Partner of Bluegem commented:

“With an ever increasing focus on health and nutrition we believe Nutrimuscle is a fantastic addition to the Bluegem III portfolio, which includes a diverse range of resilient consumer brands underpinned by megatrend tailwinds.”

Pierre Juhen and Grégory Declercq, co-CEOs of Groupe Finoli added:

“We are delighted to have worked alongside Théo and his team to achieve the impressive growth journey of Nutrimuscle since 2018, and we believe the brand and the team are now ideally positioned to further develop their footprint in France and accelerate their internationalization with the support of a skilled shareholder”

On the buyside, Oaklins acted as M&A advisor,  Alvarez & Marsal advised on finance DD, Arsene Taxand advised on tax DD and Agilys Avocats acted as Bluegem’s legal advisor. Marlborough Partners acted as financing and debt advisor, with Céréa and Indigo providing debt financing, and debt and equity financing respectively.

J.P. Morgan acted as exclusive sell-side financial advisor to Groupe Finoli. BCG carried out the vendor commercial DD while KPMG performed the vendor financial / IT / legal and tax DD. McDermott Will & Emery AARPI and Jeausserand-Audouard acted respectively as legal advisors for the shareholders and the management team.

BLUEGEM CAPITAL PARTNERS

Bluegem is a specialist consumer-focused private equity firm that partners with management teams and founders to accelerate growth of strong consumer brands. With a track record of investing across Europe through different economic cycles, industry and market conditions, Bluegem have refined their investment strategy to focus on resilient consumer segments benefiting from secular megatrends, including Beauty and Personal Care; Household Care; Food and Beverage; Baby Care; Pet Care; Consumer Health and Nutrition; and Hobby and Craft. More information about Bluegem can be found at www.bluegemcp.com.

GROUPE FINOLI

Groupe Finoli is a French industrial conglomerate founded in 2008, mainly active in the fields of beauty, wellbeing and healthcare. Through its subsidiaries and activity, the Finoli Group has been pursuing a vision of long-term development for over 10 years and promoting strong values: Excellence, Innovation, Ethics and Merit. The Finoli Group is a private, independent company controlled and managed by its founders.

Groupe Finoli is growing, with approximately 150 staff, a consolidated turnover of about 50 million euros and equity capital of over 200 million euros. Positioned in particularly buoyant and resilient markets, the Finoli Group foresees its development continuing rapidly, both organically and through external growth.

Categories: News

Tags:

First acquisition for Waterland investment LionsHome: Fashiola strengthens leading commerce content platform

Waterland

LionsHome, operator of one of Europe’s leading product comparison platforms in the home & living vertical, realizes its first growth partnership in cooperation with investment group Waterland Private Equity. In February 2022, Waterland acquired a majority stake in the Berlin-based group. The current acquisition of Fashiola forms a cornerstone of a long-term buy-&-build strategy to establish LionsHome as a leading, pan-European commerce content group and already brings the group up to more than 100 million visits per year. The seller of the stake is online classifieds company Lifull Connect; its current Head of Tech, Javier Pérez, as well as Head of Operations, Macarena Quinzaños, will continue to lead the company in the future. Further financial details of the transaction will not be disclosed.

Fashiola and its Dutch sister-brand Kleding.nl were founded in 2012. The company aggregates the online offering of a wide range of leading fashion brands into a unique product comparison platform, enabling its customers to quickly and easily discover and compare high-quality clothing, footwear as well as accessories. Today, the company is active in more than 20 countries, and with more than 60 million visits per year it is one of the leading international product comparison platforms in the fashion sector.

LionsHome GmbH was founded in 2014 by Christoph Königer and Michael Röcker in Berlin and is currently active in ten countries. With about 40 million visits per year, LionsHome is one of the leading product comparison platforms in the European home & living vertical. In addition to household and office furniture, LionsHome also offers a wide range of accessories, decorative items, lamps, garden furniture and much more.

In February 2022, Waterland entered a partnership with LionsHome and initiated a long-term growth campaign. The acquisition of Fashiola now marks the first strategic cornerstone for developing LionsHome into a comprehensive commerce content platform, which aggregates a wide range of digital publishing models under one umbrella. In addition to the existing focus on the home & living vertical, the partnership with Fashiola drives the expansion of LionsHome into its second e-commerce vertical: fashion and accessories.

“We are very pleased to welcome Fashiola into the LionsHome group. With this acquisition, we are not only able to realize our first add-on within a very short timeframe. Combining our strengths and using them to expand our second e-commerce verticals at an international scale also marks a significant milestone of our growth journey”, says LionsHome CEO Michael Roecker.

“Fashiola has recorded monumental growth over the past two years. Having worked directly with the team during this time, I could not be prouder of their accomplishments,” Mauricio Silber, CEO LIFULL Connect, explains. “The most exciting aspect is the fact Fashiola is only beginning to reach its full potential. However, fashion is not part of our core strategy at LIFULL Connect, so it was hugely important for us to find a partner who could help the brand continue its promising trajectory. LionsHome was a perfect match in that regard.”

“With a very ambitious team, LionsHome is already today one of the leading and fastest-growing product comparison platforms in the European home & living vertical. The partnership with Fashiola, which is an international leader for product comparison in the fashion industry, is a cornerstone for LionsHome to build a digital publishing platform focused on commerce content.”, says Dr. Carsten Rahlfs, Managing Partner at Waterland.

Categories: News

Tags:

3i invests in VakantieDiscounter to accelerate its strong organic growth

3I

3i Group plc (“3i”) today announces that it has agreed to invest in VakantieDiscounter, a leading, technology-enabled online travel agency in the Benelux focused on affordable holidays, providing the best-value holiday deals. VakantieDiscounter is a strongly performing subsidiary of European travel company Otravo, which will continue with a focus on air ticket sales only.

Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, VakantieDiscounter is the number one online holiday packages platform in the Benelux. Through its own pre-packaged holidays as well as those of third-party providers, VakantieDiscounter offers more than 1.3 billion holiday package combinations in over 50 countries with more than 17,000 accommodation options. Its broad package offering and value-for-money focus has created a winning proposition which has grown market share rapidly and attracted a large, diverse customer base since its foundation in 2000.

VakantieDiscounter is a highly scalable, technology-driven business with a strong position in the market and a highly capable management team. The investment by 3i helps ensure the company has the necessary resources to sustain its market leadership and navigate the current economic environment from a position of strength.

Boris Kawohl, Partner, 3i, said: “VakantieDiscounter offers the widest selection of affordable package holidays in the market through a focused, online-only offering. The scalable tech platform will allow VakantieDiscounter to continue its long term track record of growth and its recovery from the pandemic. We have the opportunity to partner with a high-quality, ambitious management team and we believe there is significant potential ahead to accelerate VakantieDiscounter’s success.”

Hans van Hoffen, CEO, VakantieDiscounter, said: “I am excited to be partnering with the team at 3i. Customers will benefit from continued investment in our travel platform. 3i’s experience in the value-for-money consumer segment and travel sector makes them an ideal partner to scale our business and take advantage of the opportunity to further grow our market share by delivering great value to travellers.”

 

Categories: News

Tags: