Tag Archives: Information technology

Zuora Announces $400 Million Strategic Investment from Silver Lake to Accelerate Growth and Extend Leadership in the Subscription Economy

Redwood City, CA – March 2, 2022 – Zuora, Inc. (NYSE: ZUO), the leading cloud-based subscription management platform provider, today announced a $400 million strategic investment from Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing. The partnership reinforces Zuora’s leadership position and will empower Zuora to accelerate growth, including potential targeted acquisitions to expand its quote-to-revenue product portfolio.

“This investment is a validation of the undeniable momentum in the Subscription Economy,” said Tien Tzuo, Founder and CEO at Zuora. “As the market expands, companies are turning to us to assist them to monetize new services, and this partnership will help increase our ability to deliver on this large opportunity.”

Zuora’s Subscription Economy Index™ (SEI) shows that subscription businesses continue to outpace S&P 500 growth rates, achieving 4.6x faster growth1 over the past decade. Across industries, from SaaS disruptors, to established manufacturing incumbents, to digital media brands, companies are recognizing the power and resilience of these new business models.

“Zuora continues to demonstrate it is the clear leader and partner of choice for companies that participate in the vast and growing Subscription Economy,” said Joe Osnoss, Managing Partner at Silver Lake. “New industries continue to join and pursue these new business models. We look forward to helping Zuora accelerate the company’s strategy for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Upon closing of the Silver Lake investment, Mr. Osnoss will join Zuora’s Board of Directors, bringing extensive strategic business experience.

Under the terms of the agreement, upon the initial closing on or about March 24, 2022, Silver Lake will purchase $250 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior unsecured notes due 2029, with an initial conversion price of $20.00 per share, subject to customary closing conditions. The notes will bear interest at a rate 3.95% per annum, payable quarterly in cash, provided that Zuora may elect to pay interest in kind at 5.50% per annum payable quarterly. The remaining $150 million is expected to close at a later date within 18 months of the initial closing. Zuora has also agreed to issue Silver Lake warrants to purchase up to 7,500,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, exercisable for a period of seven years, and of which (i) 2,500,000 shares shall be exercisable at $20.00 per share, (ii) 2,500,000 shares shall be exercisable at $22.00 per share and (iii) 2,500,000 shares shall be exercisable at $24.00 per share. Additional information may be found in a Form 8-K that will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

This investment comes at a time when Zuora’s growth is accelerating. Today, Zuora reported ARR growth of 20% year-over-year, up from 12% a year ago, and a Dollar Based Retention Rate of 110% for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2022 up from 100% a year ago.

Foros is serving as financial advisor to Zuora and Fenwick & West LLP is serving as Zuora’s legal advisor. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as Silver Lake’s legal advisor.

 

__________________________
1 “The Subscription Economy Index Report,” Zuora, February 2022

 

Director Biography

 

Joseph Osnoss is a Managing Partner of Silver Lake, which he joined in 2002. From 2010 to 2014, he was based in London, where he co-led the firm’s activities in EMEA. Prior to joining Silver Lake, Mr. Osnoss worked in investment banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Mr. Osnoss is currently a member of the board of directors of Carta, Cegid Group, Clubessential Holdings, EverCommerce Inc., where he serves on the compensation committee, First Advantage Corporation, where he is Chairman of the Board and serves on the nominating and corporate governance committee, Global Blue Group Holding AG, where he serves on the nomination and compensation committee, LightBox, and Relativity. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of Cast & Crew Entertainment Services, and as a board director of Instinet Inc., Interactive Data Corporation, Mercury Payment Systems, and Virtu Financial Inc. Additionally, Mr. Osnoss served on the board of directors of Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. from December 2017 to October 2021, where he served on its nominating and corporate governance committee from January 2018 to October 2021. Mr. Osnoss also served on the board of directors of Sabre Corporation from March 2007 to April 2021 and served on its audit, compensation, and governance and nominating committees, amongst others, during his directorship. Mr. Osnoss received his A.B., summa cum laude, in Applied Mathematics and a citation in French Language from Harvard College. He has remained involved in academics, including as a Visiting Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics; a member of the Dean’s Advisory Cabinet at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; a participant in The Polsky Center Private Equity Council at the University of Chicago; and a Trustee of Greenwich Academy.

About Silver Lake

Silver Lake is a leading global technology investment firm, with more than USD $90 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of professionals based in North America, Europe, and Asia. Silver Lake’s portfolio companies collectively generate more than USD $227 billion of revenue annually and employ more than 567,000 people globally. For more information about Silver Lake and its portfolio, please visit Silver Lake’s website at silverlake.com.

About Zuora, Inc.

Zuora provides the leading cloud-based subscription management platform that functions as a system of record for subscription businesses across all industries. Powering the Subscription Economy®, the Zuora platform was architected specifically for dynamic, recurring subscription business models and acts as an intelligent subscription management hub that automates and orchestrates the entire subscription order-to-revenue process across billing, collections and revenue recognition. Zuora serves more than 1,000 companies around the world, including Box, Ford, Penske Media Corporation, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Xplornet and Zoom. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Zuora also operates offices around the world in the U.S., EMEA and APAC. To learn more about the Zuora platform, please visit www.zuora.com.

 

© 2022 Zuora, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Zuora, Subscribed, Subscription Economy, Powering the Subscription Economy, and Subscription Economy Index are trademarks or registered trademarks of Zuora, Inc. Third party trademarks mentioned above are owned by their respective companies.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding Zuora’s business strategy, plans, and objectives for future operations; the investment by Silver Lake, and the use of proceeds and benefits thereof; the expected election of a director; statements regarding the expected growth and trends of subscription-based companies (including companies in the SEI report) and non-subscription based companies; Zuora’s market opportunity, including trends in the pace of the subscription economy; the market for subscription-related products and trends in this market, future growth and related targets; expectations for our industry and business, such as our business model, demand for our products, and expected benefits and scale of our products; and expectations regarding the expansion of our product portfolio, including through acquisitions. There are a significant number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from statements made in this press release, including: risks associated with Zuora’s strategies, priorities, or plans taking longer to execute than anticipated; the continuation or tapering of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures on our business, as well as the continuation or tapering of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the overall economic environment; general market, business, competitive, economic and political conditions, including war, conflict or acts of terrorism, such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and trading prices of our stock as a result of volatility in the market.

 

Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect our financial results are included under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2021, which is available on the “Investors” page of our website at https://investor.zuora.com and on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2022. All forward-looking statements contained herein are based on information available to us as of the date hereof and we do not assume any obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

Categories: News

Tags:

FSN Capital has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Seriline

Fsn Capital

 

FSN Capital has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Seriline, a Swedish provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions.  

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Seriline is a fast-growing provider of physical access management solutions, such as physical credentials, card readers, and online identity management systems. The company is owned by the senior management team, Freddie and Pierre Parrman, who will retain a sizable stake in the company. Seriline has 29 FTEs and had SEK 84m in sales in 2021. 

Seriline is expected to be the initial platform for a buy-and-build strategy to create a Nordic cybersecurity leader within IAM, with the company having a pipeline of potential M&A targets in the fragmented market. Today, Seriline has a broad and long-term customer base, including large blue-chip corporations, as well as universities, hospitals, and other public sector institutions. For many, cybersecurity concerns and growing GDPR requirements are driving a focus on physical IAM processes and solutions.  

Erik Nelson, Partner at FSN Capital Partners, commented: “Physical security is a critical element of cybersecurity. As our world becomes more digital, physical and digital security are converging, with Identity and Access Management at the core. Seriline helps customers ensure that the right people can access the right places at the right time. We have been very impressed with the management team and look forward to working with them to build a Northern European cybersecurity leader that contributes to making the world safer and more secure.”  

Simon Larsson, Investment Director at FSN Capital Partners, commented: “Seriline has a strong position in the rapidly growing Identity and Access Management space where it is well-positioned to drive further consolidation in the market. We are very excited to partner up with Freddie Parrman and his experienced team to build a challenger in the European cybersecurity market.” 

Freddie Parrman, CEO at Seriline, commented: “We are super excited to have FSNC as our partner in the journey that we have in front of us. To have this strong partnership will be crucial in the next stage of rapid growth for Seriline. To be an early mover in this market is an advantage that will help us create value and continue to lead the way in serving the evolving security needs of our customers.”

FSN Capital was advised by Applied Value, Bain & Company, KPMG, Frank Partners, Vinge and Marsh. 

 

About Seriline
Seriline was founded in 1990 and is a Swedish-owned company with a focus on identity and access management. By combining the latest technology with many years of experience, Seriline offers proprietary software, online solutions, hardware and services that simplify the flow to creating user-friendly processes for confidentiality and integrity management of identities.  

 

About FSN Capital
Established in 1999, FSN Capital Partners is a leading Northern European private equity firm and investment advisor to the FSN Capital Funds, with €4 billion under management. FSN Capital Funds make control investments in growth-oriented Northern European companies, to support further growth and to transform companies into more sustainable, competitive, international, and profitable entities. Our ethos, “We are decent people making a decent return in a decent way” defines our core values. We are committed to being responsible investors and having a positive environmental and social impact across our portfolio.  FSN Capital Partners has a team of 68 across Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen and Munich, in addition to 9 executive advisors with extensive industry experience. Learn more about FSN Capital on: www.fsncapital.com 

 

For more information please contact the following persons at FSN Capital Partners (investment advisor to the FSN Capital Funds): 

Erik Nelson, Partner
en@fsncapital.com 

Simon Larsson, Investment Director
sl@fsncapital.com

Morten Welo, Partner & COO/IR
mw@fsncapital.com 

Categories: News

Tags:

Ardian announces the sale of its stake in MBK Fincom (ProduceShop) to Gilde Buy Out Partners

Ardian

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, announces that it has sold its stake in MBK Fincom (“MBK”), known as ProduceShop.

MBK, based in Switzerland, has developed a data-driven technology platform to create a new e-commerce model that gives customers access to a wide range of products. Leveraging its expertise in data analytics, MBK develops and markets its own digital brands across Europe and offers the best value for money for a wide range products, ranging from home furnishings, gardening and fitness equipment.

Alongside its 29 proprietary brands, MBK also sells products from partner brands on its ProduceShop website. MBK’s European presence is growing, with the company now selling in 24 countries, including Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Switzerland.

Since Ardian Growth took a stake in the company in 2020, MBK has tripled its revenues by accelerating its international development and diversifying its product offerings. It has also strengthened its technological expertise by investing in software tools.

“The partnership with Ardian has enabled us to accelerate our development,. Subsequently, we have rapidly taken on a European dimension while strengthening our internal resources, both human and technological. We are now entering a new chapter in our history and we look forward to working with Gilde in this new stage.” The Co-Founders, MBK

“We were very pleased to work with and support the growth of MBK. This is a perfect example of the entrepreneurial journeys we wish to support: ambitious founders and managers who aim for international development. This transaction follows several European investments in the digital sector, notably in Italy and Germany, and demonstrates our ability to be a strategic partner for European entrepreneurs. We would like to thank the entire MBK team.” Romain Chiudini, Managing Director within the Ardian Growth Team

“MBK is a perfect example of entrepreneurs who continue to innovate, even in the e-commerce market. Thanks to our multi-local European network, recently strengthened by a presence in Italy, and our cross-fertilisation expertise within Ardian’s Growth team, we identify talented entrepreneurs and act as a partner in scaling them up.” Bertrand Schapiro, Managing Director within the Ardian Growth Team

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

  • ARDIAN

    • ROMAIN CHIUDINI, BERTRAND SCHAPIRO, OLIVIER ROY

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is one of the world’s leading private equity firms with $125 billion under management and/or advice in Europe, America and Asia. The company, which is majority-owned by its employees, has always placed entrepreneurship at the heart of its approach and offers its international investors a first-class performance.
Through its commitment to sharing the value created with all stakeholders, Ardian contributes to the growth of companies and economies around the world.
Building on its values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian has an international network of over 780 employees in 15 offices in Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), North America (New York, San Francisco), South America (Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). The firm manages funds for 1,200 clients through its five investment pillars: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

Follow Ardian on Twitter @Ardian

https://www.ardian.com/

ABOUT MBK FINCOM

MBK Fincom is a dynamic and technology-driven e-commerce company based in Switzerland, active in the sale of home & living branded goods, Europe-wide. MBK co-designs and improves the features of its products in order to offer consumers the best value-for-money option. The mission of MBK is to simplify the online process of research and purchase, including free home delivery. The variety of articles, together with the attention to quality and design, has allowed MBK to grow rapidly into a prominent European leader in the sector.

https://mbkfincom.com/

MEDIA CONTACTS

ARDIAN

HEADLAND

ardian@headlandconsultancy.com

Categories: News

Tags:

Apax Funds to acquire Alcumus

No Comments
Apax

Funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (the “Apax”) announced today that they have reached a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Alcumus (or “the Company”), a global leader in technology-led risk management and compliance solutions, from Inflexion. The Company’s management team will remain significant shareholders in the business following the transaction. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close end of Q1 2022. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Alcumus helps organisations of all sizes anticipate, manage, and avoid risks, thereby improving outcomes for employees and company operations. Alcumus has a unique breadth of technology-enabled services, providing solutions to over 42,000 contractor and supplier customers, and over 3,000 enterprises. These services are critical in improving worker protection and compliance with regulations and international standards. Apax’s expertise across software, services, ESG and digitisation, ideally positions it to partner with Alcumus’s management team in the next stage of the Company’s evolution.

Alyn Franklin, CEO, Alcumus, said: “I’m so proud of what we have been able to achieve already to-date and am confident we have the right strategic partner in Apax to support our next phase of growth. The solutions Alcumus provide are trusted around the world, from our expanding member base of SME’s through to some of the most prominent, international enterprise brands.  Now Apax will help us unlock even more value from our chosen markets.”

Frank Ehmer, Partner, Apax, commented: “EHS services is a sector Apax knows well having followed the space for a number of years, and we have long considered Alcumus as a stand-out player in this market. We believe Alyn, senior management, and the entire employee base of Alcumus, represent a best-in-class team, who are set to continue and accelerate their strong track record.”

Anders Meyerhoff, Partner, Apax, added: “We have been incredibly impressed with the high-quality business and culture that Alyn and his team have built. We are excited to partner with such great people and look forward to further supporting Alcumus and all the employees as they create a safer and more sustainable world.”

Apax was advised by Allen & Overy LLP (lead counsel), Houlihan Lokey (lead financial advisor), the Boston Consulting Group (commercial advisor) and Deloitte (financial and tax advisor). Alcumus was advised by Eversheds Sutherland LLP (legal advisor) and Harris Williams & Co. (financial advisor).

Categories: News

Tags:

Onex Partners to Invest in Analytic Partners

Onex

Toronto, ON, New York, NY, February 8, 2022 – Onex Corporation (“Onex”) (TSX: ONEX)
today announced that Onex Partners V, Onex’ $7.2 billion fund, has agreed to make a significant
investment in Analytic Partners, Inc. (“Analytic Partners” or the “company”) in partnership with
the company’s founder.

Analytic Partners is a leading cloud-based, managed software platform which helps global F1000
customers assess marketing spend effectiveness and optimize future allocations across offline and
online media channels. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Miami, Florida, Analytic Partners
deploys its solutions, supported by a proprietary longitudinal dataset, across 55 countries with
approximately 270 employees throughout 14 offices globally. In The Forrester Wave™:
Marketing Measurement and Optimization Q1 2022 report, Analytic Partners was named a Leader
and was top ranked in the Strategy category among all evaluated vendors.

“We are delighted to add the intellectual and financial firepower of Onex Partners to Analytic
Partners to further accelerate our growth,” said Nancy Smith, Founder, President and CEO of
Analytic Partners. “Our partnership with Onex Partners aligns perfectly with our core values of
People, Passion and Growth. Through our employee equity plan I am proud to announce that
every member of our team will benefit from this investment. Our customers, who are the
motivation for our Passion, will also benefit greatly as our partnership with Onex Partners will
further accelerate our technology leadership, drive more innovation, and help us deliver the
solutions our clients need to Adapt, Evolve and Thrive in a rapidly changing marketing landscape.
This is a true win/win/win for our customers, our team and our partners.”
“We feel incredibly privileged that Nancy has chosen us as her partner to continue building
Analytic Partners. The company’s GPS Enterprise managed software solution, supported by its
proprietary ROI Genome dataset and analytical capabilities, have allowed Analytic Partners to
provide a compelling value proposition to its customers and we expect this to continue,” said Kosty

Gilis, a Managing Director at Onex Partners. “We are extremely enthusiastic about the company’s
prospects as the need to accurately assess the effectiveness of marketing campaigns will continue
to grow which, combined with the opportunity to further leverage Analytic Partners’ capabilities
across a wider range of end markets and geographies, presents a compelling value creation
opportunity over the coming years.”
The transaction is anticipated to close later this year subject to customary closing conditions. The
terms of the transaction are not being disclosed at this time.

On this transaction, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor and Willkie
Farr & Gallagher LLP acted as legal counsel to Analytic Partners. Latham & Watkins LLP acted
as legal counsel to Onex Partners.

About Onex
Founded in 1984, Onex manages and invests capital on behalf of its shareholders, institutional
investors and high net worth clients from around the world. Onex’ platforms include: Onex
Partners, private equity funds focused on mid- to large-cap opportunities in North America and
Western Europe; ONCAP, private equity funds focused on middle market and smaller
opportunities in North America; Onex Credit, which manages primarily non-investment grade debt
through tradeable, private and opportunistic credit strategies as well as actively managed public
equity and public credit funds; and Gluskin Sheff’s wealth management services. In total, as of
September 30, 2021, Onex has approximately $47 billion of assets under management, of which
approximately $7.9 billion is its own investing capital. With offices in Toronto, New York, New
Jersey, Boston and London, Onex and its experienced management teams are collectively the
largest investors across Onex’ platforms.
Onex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX. For more
information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com. Onex’ security filings can also be
accessed at www.sedar.com.

About Analytic Partners
Analytic Partners is the leading cloud-based, managed software platform which provides adaptive
solutions for deeper business understanding and right-time planning & optimization for marketing
and beyond. We turn data into expertise so that our clients can create powerful connections with
their customers and achieve commercial success. For more information on Analytic Partners, visit
its website at www.analyticpartners.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain, without limitation, statements concerning possible or assumed
future operations, performance or results preceded by, followed by or that include words such as
“believes”, “expects”, “potential”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “intends”, “plans” and words of
similar connotation, which would constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements and information because they involve significant and diverse risks and uncertainties
that may cause actual operations, performance or results to be materially different from those
indicated in these forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by Canadian securities
law, Onex is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein
should material facts change due to new information, future events or other factors. These
cautionary statements expressly qualify all forward-looking statements in this press release.

For Further Information:
Onex
Jill Homenuk
Managing Director – Shareholder Relations
and Communications
+1 416.362.7711
Analytic Partners
Kendall Allen Rockwell
WIT Strategy
kallen@witstrategy.com

Categories: News

Tags:

Baird Capital Portfolio Company Vitalyst Sold to Alithya

Baird Capital
Today, Baird Capital announced portfolio company Vitayst has been sold to Alithya, a leader in strategy and digital transformation. Baird Capital engaged with investment bank G2 Capital Partners on the sale process.Founded in 1992, Vitalyst is an award-winning Microsoft Gold Partner that provides best-in-class employee experience and transformative change enablement services via an on-demand, subscription-based training platform. Vitalyst serves as a strategic partner to a diverse base of Fortune 1000 blue-chip customers across a wide variety of industries. The company is headquartered in Bala Cynwyd, Penn., and serves customers throughout the United States as well as in over 20 countries. Baird Capital initially invested in Vitalyst, formerly known as PC Helps, in September of 2012.

Learn more about the acquisition. Learn more about Baird Capital’s Technology & Services sector expertise.

Categories: News

Tags:

Cegeka and data specialist Solver Sweden join forces

GIMV

03/02/2022 – 10:00 | Portfolio

European IT company Cegeka acquires a majority stake in the data specialist Solver Sweden AB. This strategic partnership with Solver Sweden represents an important step for Cegeka in their expansion into Scandinavia. Solver Sweden has three offices in Sweden, with headquarters in Stockholm and a staff of 25 employees. Solver Sweden has been an established player in the Swedish business intelligence and data engineering market for over 15 years. No financial details of the partnership will be disclosed. The acquisition doesn’t include the Global Solver operations.

Data is playing an increasingly important role
The partnership with the company Solver Sweden is part of Cegeka’s strategy to respond to the ever-growing demand for data and AI partners. “Now more than ever, companies are looking for guidance from experts with experience in data and AI. There is a lot of growth potential in Europe, and especially in Scandinavia. Solver Sweden offer this kind of expertise, and their team in Stockholm and the offices in Gälve and Falun have plenty of data experience to draw on,” says Kristel Demotte, Global VP Data Solutions at Cegeka. Solver Sweden has also been rewarded by Microsoft as a Gold Partner for Data Analytics.

Data is the most valuable asset an organisation can have to achieve growth in today’s business environment. With drivers such as 5G and the cloud, the importance of data can only continue to grow. “I truly believe that companies whose thoughts and actions are driven by data have an edge over the competition – they can offer their customers a more individual and efficient service and can generate new revenue and optimise operational costs”, Kristel says.

Categories: News

Tags:

Bold Announces $55M Series B Investment to Drive Continued Transformation of Colombia’s Digital Payments Ecosystem

General Atlantic

Growth investment from Tiger Global Management and General Atlantic to support Company in expansion of product suite, geographic reach, and team

February 3, 2022

Bold, a financial technology company enabling financial access to electronic payments in Colombia, today announced a $55M Series B investment led by Tiger Global Management, a leading investment firm, with participation from General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, and Endeavor Catalyst. Existing investors Piton Capital, GFC, InQLab, Kingsway Capital, Solid Ventures, Grupo Auteco, Amador and Condor Inverlink also participated in the round. Bold plans to leverage the new funds to expand its product and service offering into adjacent financial services for merchants, including working capital financing, lending, deposit accounts, debit and credit cards, as well as to accelerate geographic expansion and hire new talent.

Bold is an emerging independent merchant-acquirer with the mission of promoting financial inclusion by expanding the digital payments ecosystem in Colombia. Bold serves small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), allowing merchants to enroll in just five minutes – versus an average of 15 days with legacy banks – and providing low-cost payment terminals that enable businesses to accept link payments and other local payment methods, with no monthly point-of-sale fees. Merchants supported by Bold have seen sales grow approximately 25% on average simply by enabling digital payments.

Bold was founded in 2019 by José Vélez, Ana María Sandoval, Enríque Ramírez, Jorge Ulloa, and Sergio Vergara. Vélez is the former co-founder and CEO of PayU Latam, a leading online and cross-border payments technology platform. Since its inception, Bold has scaled to more than 380 employees and generated strong traction with merchants, reaching over 100,000 acquired merchants in this time frame. In Colombia, where cash still represents more than 80% of transaction volume, versus 35% in Brazil and 30% in the United States, Bold is laying critical groundwork for small businesses to begin expanding their customer bases and entering the next generation of payments.

José Vélez, Co-Founder and CEO of Bold, said, “Colombia is at an inflection point in the transition from a cash to a digital payments economy. At Bold, we are passionate about unlocking the growth potential of small business by providing easy to use and affordable financial services, and we see a unique opportunity to accelerate the change to digital payments for the benefit of merchants and consumers alike. We look forward to the support of both Tiger and General Atlantic as we focus on growth and deepening the value that we provide to our customers.”

“Despite the fact that small and medium sized businesses are the engine of the Colombian economy, they haven’t had the opportunity to access electronic payments because they are constantly overlooked by established banks. Bold offers small merchants a much-needed opportunity to access digital payments,” commented John Curtius, Partner at Tiger Global Management. “What stands out at Bold is their mission to help small and medium businesses succeed by creating great products which are affordable and easy to use. We are happy to support Bold´s plans to scale and expand its financial services.”

“Bold is a dynamic player with the opportunity to lead the shift towards innovative payments solutions that leverage consumers’ increased access to credit and meet the heightened demand for electronic payments for millions in Colombia, a region that is ripe for innovation,” continued Luiz Ribeiro, Managing Director at General Atlantic. “The platform plays a unique role as the gateway for small merchants in Colombia to begin accepting digital payments, and we are proud to back José and the seasoned management team at Bold as they scale.”

About Bold

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Bogotá, Bold is a leading independent merchant acquirer and one of the largest and fastest-growing fintech companies in Colombia. The company’s mission is to help entrepreneurs and their businesses prosper by providing simple, secure and affordable financial tools. With its innovative POS terminal and free app, Bold currently empowers more than 100,000 merchants across Colombia to grow their businesses by accepting a wide variety of payment methods. For more information, visit the website: https://www.bold.co/

About Tiger Global

Tiger Global Management is a leading global technology investment firm with over $90 billion under management. The firm focuses on private and public companies in the software, internet, and financial technology sectors. Since 2001, Tiger Global has invested in hundreds of companies across more than 30 countries, including investments ranging from Series A to pre-IPO. The firm aims to partner with dynamic entrepreneurs operating market-leading companies in its core focus areas.

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 445 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic currently has over $86 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of September 30, 2021, and more than 215 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Stamford. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

Media Contacts

Emily Japlon & Casey Gunkel
General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com

Sergio Vergara
Bold sergio@bold.co

Categories: News

Tags:

MariaDB announces intentions to list on New York Stock Exchange via SPAC and a EUR 92 million Series D round

Tesi

Maria DB, known for the open-source database software it develops and provides, has announced it intends to list on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) by merging with Angel Pond Holdings, a listing method also referred as a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company). By doing so, MariaDB becomes the first Finnish company to list on the NYSE through SPAC.

MariaDB also announced it has raised a EUR 92 million Series D funding round wherein the buyer Angel Pond and some of the existing investors invested.

“The foundation for Tesi’s investment was the professional team, the strong technology knowhow and the global and ambitious growth story the company possesses. During the journey there have been several challenges and adversities, but we have always found the right solutions together with the management, board members and investors”, comments the announcements Keith Bonnici, Investment Director at Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment).

Tesi first invested in the company in 2012.

Read more:

Further information:

Keith Bonnici, Investment Director, Tesi
+358 40 1799 584
keith.bonnici@tesi.fi

Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a state-owned investment company that wants to raise Finland to the front ranks of transformative economic growth by investing in funds and directly in companies. We invest profitably and responsibly, hand-in-hand with co-investors, to create the world’s new success stories. Our investments under management total 2.1 billion euros. www.tesi.fi | @TesiFII

Categories: News

Tags:

o9 Solutions Raises $295 Million From Strategic Investors to Continue its Growth Across Industry Verticals & Markets

KKR

General Atlantic, Its BeyondNetZero Venture, and Generation Investment Management Join KKR as Investors in o9, Valuing the Company at $2.7 Billion

DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–o9 Solutions, a leading enterprise AI software platform provider for transforming planning and decision-making speed and quality in companies across industry verticals, today announced that it has received equity investments totaling $295 million from General Atlantic, including BeyondNetZero, its climate investing venture, Generation Investment Management, a pure-play sustainability investment manager, and existing investor KKR. This significant investment will help o9 build on its momentum and accelerate growth for its AI-powered Integrated Business Planning platform it calls the “Digital Brain” across industry verticals and markets. It will also help o9 drive continued innovation in R&D, industry knowledge models and partner ecosystem development that will help companies implement o9’s game-changing platform faster and realize greater value.

Today, leading companies across varied industry verticals that include retail, consumer and industrial products manufacturing, high-tech and semiconductor, life sciences, automotive, telecom, and oil and gas leverage o9’s Digital Brain platform for transforming their supply chain, commercial and integrated business planning capabilities. These companies are using o9’s Digital Brain platform to build a live, digital model of enterprise data and knowledge that helps them detect demand and supply risks and opportunities, forecast demand more accurately, and evaluate what-if scenarios all in real time. By matching demand and supply intelligently and driving greater alignment and collaboration between customers, internal stakeholders and suppliers across the integrated supply chain, clients can realize significant value from their commercial plans and decisions while making measurable positive impact to the environment.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity in front of us,” said Chakri Gottemukkala, Co-founder and CEO of o9. “Demand and supply volatility and complexity has been growing and the pandemic has only accelerated the challenges companies face in meeting customer service and financial goals. At the same time, there is significant pressure on boards and executives from customers and employees to also drive meaningful improvements in sustainability goals. And we believe that o9 is poised perfectly to help companies deal with these mega trends with a differentiated, proven platform.

“Executives are increasingly seeing that transforming planning and decision-making capabilities need to be more agile, and integration is the most mission critical, high-value initiative going forward. And because global supply chains are the majority source of environmental impact, we believe transforming planning is key not just for improving P&Ls, but also the health of the planet. The new investments and strategic partnerships with General Atlantic, BeyondNetZero and Generation Investment Management, along with our established strategic partnership with KKR, will help us accelerate this sacred mission of making the o9 Digital Brain the most value-creating enterprise platform.”

General Atlantic, its BeyondNetZero venture and Generation Investment Management join KKR as investors in o9, valuing the company at $2.7 billion. This marks an increase from the $1 billion valuation in April 2020 at the time of the company’s first-ever external investment led by KKR, which is also participating in this funding round. This capital raise follows a record year during which the company reported a greater than threefold increase year-over-year in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from new customers.

“Not only is an agile, intelligent and resilient supply chain one of the most important growth accelerators, it also inherently leads to a reduced carbon footprint – especially for organizations that operate on a global scale,” said Sanjiv Sidhu, Chairman and Co-Founder, o9. “A sustainable supply chain requires companies to digitally transform their planning and decision-making capabilities. o9’s Digital Brain platform makes us the partner of choice for companies across the world and we are pleased and honored that General Atlantic, BeyondNetZero and Generation Investment Management recognize this at such a pivotal phase of our growth trajectory.”

“We believe that o9 is uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology, supply chain, and sustainability,” said Tanzeen Syed, Managing Director, General Atlantic. “The business fits squarely within our theses at General Atlantic and BeyondNetZero to support companies that are leveraging innovation to tackle some of the most pressing issues in the world. o9 helps large organizations transform their costly, complex and resource-intensive supply chains into profitable and environmentally sound models – playing a critical role in enabling them to work toward net zero targets.”

Joy Tuffield, Partner in the Growth Equity strategy at Generation Investment Management, said, “Generation’s brand is predicated on the belief that long-term commercial opportunity is synonymous with sustainable outcomes. We believe the best businesses stand for something significant. Sustainability and supply chain issues have never been more important. o9 is one of the rare companies that we believe can help global enterprises leverage the power of digital technologies to deliver on both imperatives. We are excited by the commitment of o9 to be an enduring company with a positive influence on the world, in both what the company does and how it operates.”

To learn more, contact o9 here.

About o9 Solutions, Inc.

o9 offers a leading AI-powered Planning, Analytics & Data platform called the Digital Brain that helps companies across industry verticals transform traditionally slow and siloed planning into smart, integrated and intelligent planning and decision making across core supply chain, commercial and P&L functions.

With o9’s Digital Brain platform, companies are able to achieve game-changing improvements in quality of data, ability to detect demand and supply risks and opportunities earlier, forecast demand more accurately, evaluate what-if scenarios in real time, match demand and supply intelligently and drive alignment and collaboration across customers, internal stakeholders and suppliers around the integrated supply chain and commercial plans and decisions. Supported by a global ecosystem of partners, o9’s innovative delivery methodology helps companies achieve quick impact in customer service, inventory levels, resource utilization, as well as ESG and financial KPIs—while enabling a long-term, sustainable transformation of their end-to-end planning and decision-making capabilities. For more information, please visit www.o9solutions.com.

About BeyondNetZero, the Climate Investing Venture of General Atlantic

The BeyondNetZero team seeks to invest in growth companies delivering innovative climate solutions and aims to help them achieve scale. BeyondNetZero looks to identify companies that have the potential to meet and exceed net zero emissions targets, with a focus on decarbonization, energy efficiency, resource conservation and emissions management. BeyondNetZero combines General Atlantic’s growth equity experience with a global team of proven climate investors, advisors and industry executives, including Lord Browne of Madingley, who serves as Chairman of BeyondNetZero. This diverse team of experts brings decades of experience in both addressing climate-focused problems and building pioneering growth companies. For more information on BeyondNetZero, please visit the website: https://beyond-net-zero.com.

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 445 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic currently has over $86 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of September 30, 2021, and more than 215 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Stamford. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

About Generation Investment Management

Generation Investment Management LLP is dedicated to long-term investing, integrated sustainability research and client alignment. It is an independent, private, owner-managed partnership established in 2004 and headquartered in London, with a U.S. office in San Francisco. Generation Investment Management LLP is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority. www.generationim.com.

Contacts

Jenni Ottum
Sr. PR Manager
480-231-4887
jennifer.ottum@o9solutions.com

Categories: News

Tags: