Chicago, Illinois (December 23, 2021) – Linden Capital Partners (“Linden”), a leading healthcare private equity firm, today announced the closing for its fifth buyout fund, Linden Capital Partners V (“Fund V”). Similar to prior Linden buyout raises, this fundraise was oversubscribed above its hard cap of $3.0 billion of limited partner commitments.

“We are grateful for our investors’ support as we seek to create exceptional companies and deliver attractive returns,” said Tony Davis, Linden’s President and Managing Partner. “As one of the largest and longest-standing dedicated healthcare private equity firms, we believe we’re well-positioned to continue to execute our investment strategy over the course of Fund V.”

Since Linden Capital Partners’ founding in 2004, the firm has focused on middle-market healthcare investments across services, products, and distribution. Linden seeks to create long-term sustainable growth by implementing proprietary value creation programs, emphasizing human capital, and leveraging integrated financial and operating experience. Over the last several years, Linden has strategically built out its team, which has grown to 42 professionals, including a buyout investment team of 20 professionals. In addition to its buyout funds, Linden also manages a non-control, structured capital fund, which closed in June 2021.

“We’re extremely pleased with this outcome, especially in such a crowded fundraising environment,” added Katie Kornel, Linden’s Investor Relations Partner. “With this raise, we continued to diversify our investor base, which now includes investors from over 20 countries. We’re honored to manage capital on behalf of some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated institutions.”

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisors, and PJT Park Hill served as placement advisor.

About Linden Capital Partners

Linden Capital Partners is a Chicago-based private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. Founded in 2004, Linden is one of the country’s largest dedicated healthcare private equity firms. Linden’s strategy is based upon three elements: (i) healthcare specialization, (ii) integrated private equity and operating expertise, and (iii) its differentiated human capital program. Linden invests in middle market platforms in the medical products, specialty distribution, pharmaceutical, and services segments of healthcare. Since its founding, Linden has invested in over 40 healthcare companies encompassing over 200 total transactions. The firm has raised over $6 billion in limited partner commitments since inception. For more information, please visit www.lindenllc.com.

1. LOUIS (December 22, 2021) – Thompson Street Capital Partners (“TSCP”), a private equity firm based in St. Louis, today announced the closing of its first Continuation Fund capitalized by AlpInvest and a leading group of limited partners.

The Continuation Fund was established to acquire Revenue Management Solutions (“RMS”) and BCM One Holdings, Inc (“BCM One”). The transaction closed with a combined enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion and the Continuation Fund includes substantial additional capital to drive organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions at both companies.

The transaction was led by AlpInvest, a subsidiary of Carlyle Global Investment Solutions, and supported by a diverse group of high-quality investors, including both TSCP Fund IV and Fund V limited and general partners. The transaction includes significant equity contributions from the founders and management of both companies.

RMS, a TSCP Fund IV investment, provides more than 1,000 leading healthcare providers, revenue cycle management and other healthcare entities with automation solutions for more than $220 billion of cash payment reconciliations as well as correspondence management and other workflows. BCM One, a TSCP Fund V investment, delivers managed services to support unified communications, network management and optimization, and other technical services to more than 20,000 customers and channel partners.

“Establishing our first continuation fund represents a significant event for Thompson Street Capital Partners,” said Bob Dunn, Managing Partner of TSCP. “BCM One and RMS are two of the best-performing portfolio companies in TSCP’s twenty-year history and we are excited to continue our partnership with both businesses through this vehicle.”

Scott Thomas, CEO of RMS stated, “Our partnership with TSCP ensures we continue to deliver our customers the forward-thinking products and services they need to be successful. The additional support from both existing and new investors allows us to retain our leadership position in a fast-paced, quickly changing environment through ongoing technological innovation and the ability to take advantage of opportunities for both organic and strategic growth.”

Geoff Bloss, BCM One’s CEO said, “The resources TSCP provides has allowed us to better assist our customers in managing complex, scalable technologies to meet their network needs while remaining focused on our own prospects for growth. We’re excited about their additional support and our ability to position ourselves for continued success moving forward as a leading managed service provider around its Next Gen Communication offerings.”

Brian Kornmann, Managing Director at TSCP, added “We are grateful to AlpInvest and all the investors who supported this effort.  We have been fortunate to partner with RMS and BCM One and look forward to working closely with the executive teams and founders of the businesses to continue to aggressively pursue, and execute on, growth strategies to continue the strong performance of both businesses.”

Garrett Hall, Managing Director at AlpInvest said, “We are excited to expand our partnership with Thompson Street Capital Partners and support two exceptional companies in their continued value creation on behalf of new and existing investors.”

Evercore served as financial advisor to TSCP in the transaction with Kirkland & Ellis serving as TSCP’s legal counsel. BCM One was supported in the transaction by both William Blair and QAdvisors while RMS was supported by RW Baird.  Sidley Austin served as legal counsel to both Companies. Ropes & Gray LLP acted as legal counsel for AlpInvest.

About Thompson Street Capital Partners

Thompson Street Capital Partners (tscp.com) is a St. Louis-based private equity firm focused on investing in founder-led middle market businesses in the Life Sciences & Healthcare, Software & Technology, and Business and Consumer Services and Products sectors. TSCP partners with management teams to increase value by accelerating growth, both organically and via acquisitions.

About BCM One Holdings, Inc.  

Founded in 1992, BCM One (www.bcmone.com) is a leading managed solutions provider offering businesses a one-stop shop for integrated technology needs. Now serving more than 19,000 customers worldwide, BCM One offers a variety of solutions supporting businesses’ critical network infrastructure – unified communications, SIP Trunking and UCaaS services, SDWAN, cloud, security and connectivity solutions.

About RMS

Founded in 2006, and based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, RMS (www.rmsweb.com) is the leading technology-based healthcare remittance automation platform tool available in the market. Currently used by more than 1,000 acute care, revenue cycle management, dental and pharmacy clients, RMS allows healthcare providers, outsourcers and facilities to optimize the remittance matching, reconciliation, and management processes. The Company, which processes over 16 million transactions each month, offers its technology-driven solutions both directly to customers and through established channel relationships with leading financial institutions throughout the United States.

Contact:

Jeremy Milner
BackBay Communications
(401) 862-9422
jeremy.milner@backbaycommunications.com

Brittany Berliner
(212) 813-4839
brittany.berliner@carlyle.com

The private equity firm Vaaka Partners has raised a new EUR 250 million fund, Vaaka Partners Buyout Fund IV Ky. The fund attracted strong interest from both existing and new investors and was significantly oversubscribed in a rapid process that lasted only 11 weeks.

Vaaka Partners’ fourth buyout fund is a continuation of Vaaka’s three previous funds, through which Vaaka has supported medium-sized Finnish companies in achieving ambitious growth targets. Vaaka invests in companies that have a strong market position and significant growth potential with a controlled level of risk. Through the fourth fund, Vaaka continues partnering with similar companies in the future as well.

“We added new international investors, who will now contribute to the growth of Finnish companies. The imperative for Finland to attract international capital is to maintain its predictable and low-risk operating environment also in the future,” says Juha Peltola, the Managing Partner of Vaaka Partners.

“We had the pleasure of choosing for the new fund, for example, Alfred I. DuPont Charitable Trust, the US non-profit foundation with a very special mission as an investor,” Peltola continues.

The Trust, through its beneficiary the Nemours Foundation, is one of the largest institutions in the United States focused exclusively on pediatric healthcare. Hospitals funded by the charitable foundation treat half a million children in need of care each year, regardless of their ability to pay.

“As a long-time investor in global private markets, we seek long-term partnerships with high-integrity teams investing in and growing small businesses globally. We were first introduced to Vaaka Partners in 2016 and have developed a deep admiration of the team’s investment judgment and ability to find and partner with management to build great businesses in Finland and beyond. In addition to finding a high-caliber, high-integrity team in Vaaka Partners, we have found Finland to be an attractive investment environment due to the favorable business climate and depth of intellectual and managerial talent. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Vaaka on their journey to building Finland’s next great business champions,” says Sean Kelly, Associate Director of Investment Operations of Alfred I. DuPont Charitable Trust.

Active and constructive collaboration creates growth

Together with the operating management of its portfolio companies and entrepreneurs, Vaaka Partners has, on average, more than tripled the revenue of its portfolio companies during its period of ownership. Half of the portfolio companies’ growth has come through organic growth, in addition to which they have grown by implementing and integrating more than 100 strategy-supporting acquisitions. Behind the growth is a model of active and constructive collaboration.

Artti Aurasmaa, the recently nominated CEO of Vaaka portfolio company Staria Oyj, describes collaboration as follows:

“The co-operation has started extremely well and upbeat: the atmosphere is goal-oriented, but at the same time human in the right way, as people are the source of creative growth even in the digitalizing world. Vaaka’s approach has opened up new angles for my thinking about growth, the most important of which is the ability to combine mutual respect and extreme goal-orientation particularly well,” says Aurasmaa.

Founder of another current Vaaka portfolio company, Jungle Juice Bar, Noora Fagerström describes the importance of Vaaka for herself and the company:

“From a personal perspective, the most important thing has been having someone sharing the financial risk. From the company’s perspective, moving forward. Almost everything has been developed and the company has grown into a major player in the industry.”

Collaboration is one of Vaaka’s core values.

“We are not a passive investor; we bring our portfolio companies new know-how and previous experience in, for example, internationalization or growth through acquisitions,” Peltola explains.

The role of Vaaka Partners has also been significant in the internationalization of Framery, with origins in Tampere.

“Vaaka has provided the grounds for rapid development for both me and the company. When the board and the management team get the best expertise in the whole world instead of just the best in the province, things start to happen. We would certainly have succeeded without Vaaka’s involvement, but with Vaaka we have made the same development in three years as we would have done in ten alone,” explains Samu Hällfors, CEO of Framery.

“The creation of significant profitable growth has also led to high returns with a controlled risk profile, which the companies’ key employees have been able to enjoy together with the funds’ investors,” Peltola continues.

—

Vaaka Partners is an ambitious private equity company that helps medium-sized Finnish companies to become business champions. Current Vaaka champions are e.g. AINS Group, Staria, Framery and Jungle Juice Bar. With its fourth buyout fund, the company is responsible for over EUR 0.6 billion of private equity funds. To realize new growth opportunities, Vaaka’s approach combines strategic and operational expertise with trust-based collaboration. The largest investors in Vaaka funds are leading pension funds.

www.vaakapartners.fi/en

More information:
Juha Peltola, CEO
Vaaka Partners
tel. +358 50 514 8401

NEW YORK – November 22, 2021 – Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced the final close of Blackstone Strategic Capital Holdings II (“BSCH II”), the second Blackstone fund in GP Stakes. BSCH II closed with $5.6 billion of investor capital.

Blackstone GP Stakes specializes in value-added, long-term, minority investments in the management companies of leading private equity firms. This year the team has made investments in Great Hill Partners, GTCR and Sentinel Capital Partners.

Mustafa M. Siddiqui, Head of Blackstone GP Stakes said, “We are thrilled with the positive response we received from a diverse group of limited partners. This is a strong recognition of Blackstone’s unique value proposition in the GP Stakes market and the rigorous approach our team brings to identifying and investing behind great firms.”

Mike Nash, Chairman of Blackstone GP Stakes said, “We have strong momentum in the GP Stakes market as we seek to invest with the most successful GPs across the private-market landscape. As long-term investors, we make it a priority to deliver Blackstone’s substantial resources and know-how to help them build enduring franchises.”

Blackstone GP Stakes offers substantial advantages to the firms in which it invests. These include cost savings at the portfolio company level by leveraging the buying power of the more than $150 billion revenue base across Blackstone’s global procurement platform. Blackstone also makes available a range of other business-building resources and services it provides internally and to its portfolio companies, spanning new product development, business strategy, ESG, cybersecurity, back-office operations, and other functional areas.

About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative investment firm. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $731 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, 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.

Blackstone Contact
Paula Chirhart
+1-347-463-5453
paula.chirhart@blackstone.com

IK Investment Partners (“IK” or “the Firm”), a leading Pan-European private equity firm, is pleased to announce that it has closed the IK Small Cap III Fund (“IK Small Cap III” or “the Fund”) at its hard cap with commitments of €1.2 billion. The IK Small Cap III Fund was significantly oversubscribed and allocated exclusively to existing IK platform investors in just three months, having been raised on a fully virtual basis.

The Fund is more than double the size of its €550 million predecessor, IK Small Cap II Fund, and was raised exclusively with the support of existing investors across the IK platform.

IK Small Cap III will continue to employ the same investment strategy focused on growing businesses across IK’s core sectors of Business Services, Healthcare, Consumer and Industrials and will make investments in companies with enterprise values of between €50 million and €150 million. The Fund includes a dedicated Development Capital pool which will focus on investing in smaller companies valued up to €50 million, in line with IK’s original Small Cap I Fund strategy.

IK launched its Small Cap strategy in 2015 and has since made 27 platform investments across two funds. The €277 million IK Small Cap I Fund has realised €425 million of proceeds, including seven full exits at a gross average 3.2x MM and 56% IRR.

IK Small Cap III will continue to support businesses through its active ownership model focused on organic growth, international buy-and-build, professionalisation and operational improvement. The IK Small Cap team of 30 investment professionals located across Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Hamburg, London, Paris and Stockholm will be supported throughout the investment process by IK’s dedicated Operations and Capital Markets teams.

The closing of the Fund follows a period of significant fundraising for IK, which has held a final close on funds with over €4.3 billion of commitments in the last 12 months, reflecting continued investor confidence and support despite the ongoing pandemic. This included the €2.85 billion raised for IK’s ninth Mid Cap fund, the IK IX Fund, in May 2020 and more recently the €303 million final close for IK’s Partnership Fund, a vehicle dedicated to making minority investments in larger, more established businesses.

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP acted as legal counsel to the Fund.

This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States or any other jurisdiction and interests in the Fund may not be offered or sold in the United States or any other jurisdictions save in accordance with applicable law.

Kristian Carlsson Kemppinen, Head of IK’s Small Cap strategy and Managing Partner at IK, said: “Five years after we launched our first Small Cap Fund, we continue to see significant opportunities in high-potential European companies at the lower end of the mid-market. Despite the challenges we have seen throughout the pandemic, IK’s strategy has remained resilient and we are delighted with the continued support from our investors. With our Investment and Operations Teams based on the ground across all our key markets, we are ideally placed to support the transformation of local champions into European and international leaders.”

Pierre Gallix, Head of IK’s Development Capital strategy and Managing Partner at IK, said: “There continue to be a large number of opportunities at the lower end of the small cap market where we see significant potential for IK to support management teams in unlocking potential and realising growth. We have already identified a pipeline of future market leaders who we can support with our capital and expertise as they look to scale up and expand.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Investment Partners

Maitland/AMO
James McFarlane
Phone: +44 (0) 7584 142 665
jmcfarlane@maitland.co.uk

About IK Investment Partners
IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €14 billion of capital and invested in 145 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com