Tag Archives: Information technology

Cinven and Ontario Teachers’ to invest in the combination of group.ONE and dogado group

Cinven

The combination of group.ONE and dogado group will create a diversified pan-European champion in the web hosting and domains market, with one-stop-shop solutions to support SMEs with their online presence and success.

International private equity firm, Cinven, today announces that the Seventh Cinven Fund, in partnership with leading global investor Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (“Ontario Teachers’”), has agreed to acquire and combine group.ONE and dogado group (“dogado”). The combination of group.ONE and dogado will create a leading pan-European one-stop-shop provider of online presence solutions for small- and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) and small-office home-offices (“SOHOs”) including domain, web hosting, cloud hosting, business software and digital marketing services. Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed.

group.ONE is a leading European provider of online presence solutions via mass hosting and software products to c. 1.6 million customers through brands including one.com, Hostnet and WP Media. Headquartered in Sweden, group.ONE operates across a number of European countries and has strong positions in the Nordic and Benelux mass hosting markets. The company has more than 650 employees.

dogado is a leading provider of online presence solutions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (the “DACH” region), offering mass and cloud hosting and digital marketing services to more than 380,000 customers through brands including dogado, Metanet and Herold. Headquartered in Germany, the company employs more than 500 people.

Cinven and Ontario Teachers’ believe the combination of group.ONE and dogado represents an attractive investment opportunity based on a number of factors, including:

  • Strong financial performance: group.ONE and dogado have strong financial track records. Both businesses have proven resilient through challenging macro environments, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the more recent economic and geopolitical uncertainty, thanks to their recurring subscription models, their large and highly diversified customer bases, and the mission-critical nature and low absolute cost of their offerings;
  • Structurally growing, resilient end-markets: The Nordic, Benelux and DACH online presence markets are expected to continue to experience growth over the next decade, driven by continued digitalisation across SMEs and a shift to higher value-add products that can help customers succeed in the broad and increasingly complex online ecosystem;
  • Highly complementary businesses that are well positioned in their respective end-markets: The combination of group.ONE and dogado will create a leading pan-European player, with strong positions in the Nordic, Benelux and DACH regions. In addition, group.ONE and dogado benefit from complementary product offerings and capabilities, such that the combined group can become a leading one-stop-shop provider of online presence solutions;
  • Experienced management teams: Both group.ONE and dogado are led by strong management teams with long-standing experience in the web hosting and domains sector. The combined group will benefit from the cumulative experience and complementary skills of the two teams; and
  • Extensive M&A pipeline in a fragmented but consolidating market: Both businesses have a strong track record of successfully identifying, executing and integrating add-on acquisitions. The combined group would represent a leading consolidation platform in the fragmented European hosting market.

Jacob Nordestgaard Jensen, founder and non-executive director of Group.ONE, who has remained a significant minority shareholder in the company, is reinvesting alongside Cinven and Ontario Teachers’ in the new transaction for a significant minority stake in the combined group. Senior managers from both group.ONE and dogado are also reinvesting materially in the business.

Thomas Railhac, Partner at Cinven, said:

“group.ONE has performed very strongly under Cinven’s ownership since its original investment in the business in 2019 and we are delighted to be continuing to support group.ONE’s growth strategy through this transaction. The combination of group.ONE and dogado will create a leading pan-European player in the online presence market, with significant opportunity for further growth, both organically and through buy and build. This is a sector we know well through Cinven’s successful investments in HEG and one.com.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with Ontario Teachers’ in this transaction. They are a committed, long-term investor and we look forward to working closely together with them and the combined group’s management team.”

Jean-Charles Douin, Senior Managing Director, Private Capital for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Ontario Teachers’ added:

“We are pleased to be partnering with Cinven to acquire group.ONE and dogado group. Both businesses are highly regarded in their markets and provide critical services to their SME customers, enabling them to maintain a vital online presence.”

“We see the combined business as a great fit for our European Private Capital portfolio given group.ONE and dogado’s leading positions in their respective markets and resilient subscription-based business models. We have a strong, long-standing relationship with Cinven and look forward to working together with them and management to support the company in the next stage of its growth.”

Daniel Hagemeier, CEO of dogado group commented:

“Today’s announcement marks an exciting new chapter in our company’s history. By bringing together the highly complementary businesses of group.ONE and dogado, we will create a new European market leader in the web hosting and domain market, with a unique and enhanced offering.”

“We are excited about the partnership with Cinven and Ontario Teachers’, who share our long-term vision for the business and will enable us to further expand our operations to best serve the growing needs of our clients. We look forward to working with the group.ONE team as we enter the next phase of growth.”

Stephan Wolfram, CEO of group.ONE, added:

“I have worked closely with the Cinven team since 2019, Cinven is now re-investing in our business, alongside Ontario Teachers’ in order to enable us to continue our strong growth trajectory.”

“That investment and the addition of dogado group, means that the combined group will be able to leverage its size and scale to significantly increase our growth opportunities across the Nordic, Benelux and DACH regions. We look forward to working with the dogado team in that journey.”

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory and antitrust approvals.

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HYPR, the Leader in Phishing-Resistant MFA, Raises $25M

.406 Ventures

NEW YORK, NY – December 1, 2022 — HYPR, the Passwordless Company, today announced a $25 million Series C1 led by Advent International through Advent Tech, the firm’s dedicated global technology fund. The investment brings HYPR’s total funds raised to $97 million and includes participation from existing investors including .406 Ventures, RRE Ventures, Top Tier Capital, and Comcast Ventures. The new injection of capital will be used to expand HYPR’s go-to-market strategy and R&D efforts and to accelerate its mission Fix the Way the World Logs In.

Recent HYPR research revealed that 89% of organizations experienced at least one phishing attack within the past year at an average cost of $2.19M. Legacy authentication solutions have failed to keep pace with the industrial-grade tooling easily available to attackers. In response, industry officials, including CISA, have urgently advised organizations to eliminate passwords and adopt phishing-resistant MFA such as HYPR’s passwordless solution.

“Passwords and Legacy MFA solutions that are supposed to keep organizations safe are actually putting them at tremendous risk, “ said Bojan Simic, CEO of HYPR.  “These outdated technologies make organizations an easy target for hackers using readily-available online tools to automate and scale attacks. Furthermore, the user experience with these legacy methods is so frustrating that users bypass the security controls, which gives hackers further vulnerabilities to exploit.  The new investments will advance our efforts to help organizations keep their employees and customers safe while significantly reducing the astronomical costs of passwords.”

HYPR is a pioneer in passwordless authentication and has demonstrated tremendous momentum over the past 24 months.  HYPR’s solution offers a consistent passwordless authentication experience regardless of the heterogeneity of a customer’s infrastructure. Enterprises who have deployed HYPR’s phishing-resistant MFA on a worldwide basis include 2 of the 4 largest US banks, Fortune 500 manufacturing conglomerates, and global insurance providers.

“As a Fintech institution, we face an increasingly complicated threat landscape,” said Dawn Watters, SVP of Identity & Data Protection at Fiserv.  “We selected HYPR for the completeness of their passwordless authentication solution and the overall user experience. Working with HYPR will significantly reduce our exposure to phishing attacks and improve our overall enterprise security while using the latest FIDO standards.”

HYPR is deploying passwordless solutions to hundreds of thousands workforce users per quarter while also rapidly enabling the adoption of passwordless technologies in the consumer identity space.

“The HYPR team has built one of the most significant phishing-resistant MFA solutions that is deployed at scale globally,” said Eric Noeth, Partner at Advent International. “The growing deployment momentum demonstrates HYPR’s ability to give organizations a proven passwordless alternative to replace failing systems based on the password. We continue to be impressed by the pace of HYPR’s innovation and leadership in the passwordless authentication space and we’re excited to continue our partnership with the HYPR team in this next phase of their journey.”

HYPR’s market leadership has grown based on the company’s early adoption of the FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) standard, which has garnered broad industry acceptance.  Earlier this year, platform leaders including Google, Apple and Microsoft committed to expand their support of the FIDO standards to accelerate the availability of passwordless logins.

“HYPR has been a long-time supporter of the FIDO Alliance, and their FIDO Certified products have underpinned some of the industry’s flagship FIDO implementations with leading enterprises around the world,” said Andrew Shikiar, Executive Director and CMO of the FIDO Alliance.  “As a member of FIDO’s Board of Directors for the past five years, HYPR has played a critical role in developing and advancing the FIDO standards – working alongside other leading companies in the Alliance to fulfill our collective mission of reducing reliance on passwords in favor of simpler, stronger user authentication.”

About HYPR

HYPR fixes the way the world logs in. HYPR’s True Passwordless™ MFA platform decouples authentication from the organization’s identity providers and eliminates the traditional trade-off between security and user experience by providing uncompromising assurance and consumer-grade experience. By eliminating the password and deployments taking hours rather than weeks or months, organizations decrease the risk of a cyber attack, increase positive user experience, and lower operational costs.

Welcome to The Passwordless Company®. Additional information is available at https://www.hypr.com

About Advent International

Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 400 private equity investments across 41 countries, and as of June 30, 2022, had $96 billion in assets under management. With 15 offices in 12 countries, Advent has established a globally integrated team of over 285 private equity investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services; health care; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology. For over 35 years, Advent has been dedicated to international investing and remains committed to partnering with management teams to deliver sustained revenue and earnings growth for its portfolio companies.

For more information, visit

Website: www.adventinternational.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/advent-international

Contact

Carol Dullmeyer
Vice President, Brand and Corporate Communications
carol.dullmeyer@hypr.com

Sophia Templin or Amanda Muccio
FGS Global for Advent International
AdventInternational-US@fgsglobal.com

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ZS and Abacus Insights Announce Partnership To Bring Innovative Data and Analytics Solutions to Health Plans

.406 Ventures

EVANSTON, Ill. and BOSTON, Mass. – November 29, 2022 –  As ZS continues to help health plans evolve and transform, the firm announced today an investment in and partnership with Abacus Insights, a healthcare technology leader with a groundbreaking offering in data usability that rapidly accelerates the achievement of key health plan goals including efficiency, equity, health services and member outcomes.

“At ZS, we believe the future of healthcare is connected, with providers, health plans, pharma companies and other stakeholders working together,” said ZS CEO Pratap Khedkar. “Usable data from Abacus Insights is a key enabler and connecter, and we take seriously our role in helping health plans innovate and excel. Partnerships like this one between ZS and Abacus Insights will be increasingly important in a connected health ecosystem.”

Abacus Insights offers the capability to consolidate and clean billions of pieces of structured and unstructured data from payers, providers, labs, digital apps and many more sources, providing end users with complete, current and accurate data sets that drive both operational and analytical uses. Through this partnership, health plans working with ZS gain access to usable data and a full suite of analytics and digital tools, unlocking insights from sales to operations to health outcomes and accelerating a path to decisions and actions.

“Abacus Insights is proud to have the support of ZS both as an investor and partner. ZS recognizes that data usability is a game-changer in creating and scaling big performance advances for health plans,” said Minal Patel, Abacus Insights CEO. “Our companies share a common purpose to improve healthcare. Our combined health plan-specific expertise will accelerate our ability to help clients achieve their key transformational goals of better serving their members and leading healthcare change.”

Usable data from Abacus Insights is already powering better quality reporting, more accurate risk adjustment and improved value-based contracting, care and payments. ZS Managing Principal Adam Siskind, who leads the firm’s health plan and provider vertical, said the partnership aims to help unlock use cases that health plans can leverage to fully realize the benefits of their analytics transformations.

“There is no shortage of health plan challenges to solve, and it seems there is never enough capacity to unravel them. Our partnership with Abacus Insights will help our clients access the solutions they need to not only reach their goals but to do so efficiently and with scale,” Siskind said. “At ZS, we are proud to be the leading firm at the intersection of healthcare and analytics, so it only made sense to join forces with Abacus Insights, a company already recognized as the leader in health plan data usability in the U.S. Our combined capabilities allow us to achieve a new level of impact that all of our health plan clients seek—and all of their members deserve.”

About ZS

ZS is a management consulting and technology firm focused on transforming global healthcare and beyond. We leverage our leading-edge analytics, plus the power of data, science and products to help our clients make more intelligent decisions, deliver innovative solutions and improve outcomes for all. Founded in 1983, ZS has more than 12,000 employees in 35 offices worldwide. To learn more, visit www.zs.com.

About Abacus Insights

Abacus Insights is a healthcare technology leader with the only data transformation platform and solutions built specifically for health plans. Focused on data quality and usefulness, Abacus Insights gives payers a new level of control and flexibility with their data by developing accurate, timely, and robust ecosystems that can support any analytics or other applications. Managing data for 21 million members, Abacus Insights partners with payers to deliver scalable solutions that drive strategic initiatives, control costs, and improve member lives and experiences.

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Occto raises €4.6 million to fast forward the way companies create relevant customer experiences

Industriefonden

Industrifonden invested in Occto already in January 2021 and today we are happy to announce our continued support and investment in the company. This €4.6 million round was led by Amsterdam based Newion, with continued participation from Munich based 42CAP and Industrifonden.

Occto is an Experience Data Platform built to fast forward the way companies create relevant customer experiences, everywhere. With Occtoo the user can easily unify all experience data such as customer, product, transactional, behavioral and content – and make it accessible in real time in any frontend of choice. Occto was founded in 2019 and their solution has become especially popular among upper mid-market and enterprise sized retailers with a need to support their omnichannel sales strategy such as Cartier, Intersport and Nordic Nest. The new funding will be used to accelerate expansion, grow the partner network and product development.

Niclas Mollin, CEO & Co-founder, Occtoo, said: “The relevance of our product is even stronger in this unstable market, companies need to focus on creating a relevant customer experience using the resources they already have and with less risk. We help them do that.”

Tomas Bie, Investment Director, Industrifonden, said: ”We are especially impressed by the fact that Occtoo can implement a new digital experience for a digital marketing department in days, whereas it today can take months to get hold of the data needed. We’ve been following Occto for a couple of years now and can see that the customers are adapting their platform beyond expectation. We are happy to continue supporting the team on their mission to create relevant customer experiences.”

Read more in Breakit (Swedish) and EU-Startups.

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Wireless Logic acquires IOThink Solutions

Montagu

IoThink’s innovative IoT platform will create new opportunities for Wireless Logic customers to control connected devices, monitor fleets and analyse data

Wireless Logic, the leading global IoT connectivity platform provider has acquired IoThink Solutions for an undisclosed sum. IoThink is an international software as service vendor, which provides tools for customers to quickly and easily build their own bespoke IoT solution. This agreement marks the latest step in Wireless Logic’s business expansion following the acquisitions of Mobius Networks and Jola in July.

Formed in 2016 and headquartered in France, IoThink is on a mission to simplify IoT. Its core offering is the Kheiron IoT Suite, which provides users with the required tools to quickly and easily build their own IoT platform. The fully customisable solution offers low-code development, over 750 pre-integrated devices, digital twin capabilities and templates for multiple use cases. In addition, Kheiron facilitates the management of information flows from different sources and allows integrators to interconnect with their own internal solutions under a single data format. Kheiron can adapt to different use cases to meet demand across different vertical sectors – from smart cities, buildings and industry, to retail and utilities.

Julien Dalmasso, Co-founder and CEO at IoThink Solutions commented: “Joining one of the world’s largest IoT Connectivity providers is a natural fit and a logical next step for us. Wireless Logic is a heavyweight in the IoT industry, as evidenced by its recent global momentum, partnerships and overall market success. Introducing our IoT enablement solution to Wireless Logic’s extensive customer base presents a huge opportunity. This milestone is testament to the hard work and dedication of the amazing team at IoThink. We are all very excited at the prospect of what we can achieve as part of the group.”

Joining one of the world’s largest IoT Connectivity providers is a natural fit and a logical next step for us. Wireless Logic is a heavyweight in the IoT industry, as evidenced by its recent global momentum, partnerships and overall market success.

Julien Dalmasso, Co-founder & CEO, IoThink Solutions

Jeremy Mirouf, Co-founder and CTO at IoThink Solutions commented: “We are delighted to be joining the Wireless Logic Group. This will enable us to accelerate the development of our IoT enablement capabilities for our 1,000+ customers across the globe, as well as introducing our own capabilities to Wireless Logic customers. Innovation is at our core, and we are passionate about delivering scalable, cost effective and user-friendly software solutions to simplify IoT. I am thrilled that Wireless Logic’s reliable and secure connectivity solutions will now be available to IoThink customers. This will provide our joint customer base with a horizontal ‘one-stop-shop’ to help speed up and simplify global IoT deployments.”

We are delighted to be joining the Wireless Logic Group. This will enable us to accelerate the development of our IoT enablement capabilities for our 1,000+ customers across the globe, as well as introducing our own capabilities to Wireless Logic customers.

Jeremy Mirouf, Co-founder and CTO, IoThink Solutions

Marc Niccolini, Managing Director, Group Revenue (CRO) at Wireless Logic commented: “This acquisition will expand Wireless Logic’s position into an adjacent part of the value chain. With the talented IoThink team onboard, our customers will be able to take charge and accelerate their IoT deployments through the low-code development, templates, and large device library available on the Kheiron IoT Suite. Similarly, our connectivity solutions will be a valuable addition to Kheiron, helping customers to decrease complexity and time to market. We look forward to working closely with the talented and innovative IoThink team.”

This acquisition will expand Wireless Logic’s position into an adjacent part of the value chain. With the talented IoThink team onboard, our customers will be able to take charge and accelerate their IoT deployments through the low-code development, templates, and large device library available on the Kheiron IoT Suite.

Marc Niccolini, Managing Director, Group Revenue (CRO), Wireless Logic

Oliver Tucker, CEO of Wireless Logic commented: “There are great synergies between Wireless Logic and IoThink Solutions, and this is an exciting acquisition for us, as it extends our reach to an adjacent part of the value chain. As IoT scales, the tools and solutions that IoThink offers are increasingly important to optimise any IoT project for maximum efficiency, and we are excited to bring these capabilities to our customers as they accelerate their own deployments. Similarly, our connectivity solutions will be a valuable addition to the Kheiron IoT Suite, helping customers decrease complexity and time to market. We look forward to working closely with the talented and innovative IoThink team.”

There are great synergies between Wireless Logic and IoThink Solutions, and this an exciting acquisition for us, as it extends our reach to an adjacent part of the value chain.

Oliver Tucker, CEO, Wireless Logic

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UK-based Moteefe secures £8 million credit facility from Espresso Capital

espresso capital

London — November 23, 2021 — Espresso Capital announced today that it has provided London-based Moteefe, the ecommerce platform providing infrastructure, customization, and global fulfillment for retailers of all sizes, with an £8 million credit facility. The company will use the capital to further enhance its platform and make strategic investments in its sales and marketing.

“With this non-dilutive financing from Espresso, we’re able to accelerate our efforts to expand our offerings, bringing best-in-class, print-on-demand enterprise solutions to market,” says Mathijs Eefting, CEO of Moteefe. “The next generation of our platform will be more agile and API led, enabling a variety of new expansion opportunities.”

Moteefe has developed a unique fully integrated supply chain platform leveraging leading on-demand suppliers worldwide to provide a wide variety of customized products. On-demand ecommerce has seen tremendous growth in recent years, with larger retailers becoming increasingly interested in the space. Moteefe’s end-to-end ecommerce platform enables anyone to set up an online store or offer customized products on their own site in minutes.

“We’re pleased to be able to provide Moteefe with the capital they need to accelerate their efforts to bring a leading enterprise print-on-demand solution to market,” says Espresso Managing Director Will Hutchins. “Mathijs and his team have a differentiated platform, are well-placed to capitalize on prevailing market trends toward customization and sustainability, and are backed by leading investors.”

“Working with Espresso is about more than just accessing capital,” notes Eefting. “In a very short period of time, we’ve developed strong relationships with the team there. It already feels like we’ve added a true partner to the business.”

Moteefe’s existing investors include BGF, Force Over Mass Capital, and Gresham House.

About Moteefe

Moteefe, founded in 2015, enables brands and retailers of all sizes to offer unique and personalised merchandisable products within minutes. It is the only technology enabled end-to-end e-commerce solution to manage the entire production and fulfilment of high quality, on demand, customised products globally. Every order is produced and routed as close to the end-consumer as possible for cost and carbon reduction. With offices in London, Lisbon and Hanoi, and 20 fulfilment partners around the world, Moteefe is a Deloitte Technology Fast 50 and Technology Fast 500 EMEA company.

About Espresso Capital

Espresso empowers companies with innovative venture debt solutions. Since 2009, we’ve helped more than 300 technology companies and their investors accelerate growth, extend runway, and increase strategic flexibility with non-dilutive capital. Learn more at espressocapital.com.

Media contact

Kevin Cain
Head of Marketing, Espresso Capital
kcain@espressocapital.com

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Eurazeo signs an agreement to invest in Neoxam, a provider of front-office, middle-office and back-office software for financial institutions

Eurazeo

Eurazeo, via its Small-Mid Buyout team is today announcing the signature of an agreement with a view to investing in NeoXam, alongside its founder Serge Delpla and its management team led by Florent Fabre.

Under the agreement, Eurazeo would invest more than €100 million, thus becoming the group’s majority shareholder. Historical partners (led by Cathay Capital and BPI), shareholders since 2018, would sell their share in this occasion.

NeoXam was created in 2014 following a carve-out from Sungard and a series of acquisitions adding complementary solutions. It now has 550 employees, of which half in R&D, across 15 offices worldwide. The company provides “data-centric” solutions used by more than 120 clients – large asset managers, financial institutions, and global banks – to structure their IT systems. NeoXam solutions cover everything from Front Office (Portfolio Management System) to Back and Middle Office, accounting (NAV) and regulatory and client reporting teams. Clients on all continents – in Europe, the US, Canada and Asia, particularly Singapore and mainland China – have chosen NeoXam for its functional and technological expertise.

Over the last four years, NeoXam has deployed its global growth strategy while also developing its business model. It has transitioned away from upfront licences to SaaS subscriptions, which now account for more than half of its revenue (€75 million) and make the company highly resilient.

Through its investment plan, Eurazeo is willing to support NeoXam in continuing ramping up growth, particularly in the Data Management and Reporting segments, and expanding internationally (particularly in Asia, the UK and US). Eurazeo also plans to provide NeoXam with its internal resources, helping NeoXam to pursue its buy-and-build strategy to complement its range of services and client base, and to accelerate its international expansion.

To achieve this, Eurazeo would give NeoXam access to its global network and expertise in developing businesses throughout their growth phase, in order to strengthen the global leading position of this asset management solution provider.

Serge Delpla, founder of NeoXam, said:

“With Eurazeo’s support, NeoXam could add a new dimension to its international growth strategy. Our products, which are used by most of the global top 20 asset managers in locations such as NY, London and Singapore, have proven their value as extraordinarily useful tools, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of Data Management and Reporting. Eurazeo would be an ideal partner, combining extensive investment capabilities, an exceptional international network and a rare understanding of the entrepreneurs it supports. We hope to enter into a partnership in the very near future, to enable NeoXam to reach its full potential.”

Florent Fabre, Managing Director of NeoXam, added:

“We are confident that Eurazeo is the best partner to accompany NeoXam in the next chapter of our story. On top of all the resources that Eurazeo can offer, its teams share with us the same human and entrepreneurial essential values, which will help us to work together to complete the next phase of our growth strategy. We will more than ever focus on the continuous investment in our solutions, client satisfaction and our workforce fulfilment.”

Pierre Meignen, Managing Director of Eurazeo’s Small-Mid Buyout team, said:

“The opportunity to work alongside NeoXam fits perfectly with our investment strategy. The company has an extremely resilient business, its core business areas displaying growth over 20% p.a. Its strong global presence will help boost growth and its teams are immensely talented.”

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Lutech, backed by the Apax Funds, enters into exclusive negotiations to acquire Atos Italia S.p.A., creating a new leader in digital transformation

Apax

Lutech, an IT services, software and technology company in Italy and other parts of Europe, and a portfolio company of funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax Funds”), today announced it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Atos Group to acquire Atos Italia S.p.A.[1] (“Atos Italia”).

Operating across 6 diversified verticals, and servicing major Italian companies, Atos Italy has built a very solid franchise and benefits from a strong reputation in the IT services market, with a total of approximately 1,600 skilled employees in over 5 sites across the country.

Following the acquisition of Lutech by the Apax Funds in 2021, this transaction is an important step towards creating a market leader in the rapidly evolving digital transformation sector. This combination will help drive increased scale, strengthen Lutech and Atos Italia’s offering by adding complementary expertise, while also bolstering their presence in strategic sectors. The integration between the two companies will take place gradually, ensuring business continuity and high level of customer service and support.

“This is an important announcement that brings together two major players in the Italian IT market”, announced Tullio Pirovano, CEO of the Lutech Group. “Today’s news is a fundamental step towards achieving our goal, in partnership with Apax, of creating a leading Italian company in the digital transformation space. This transaction brings together two cutting-edge companies, combining our skills and cultures and consolidating our leadership position as an end-to-end player in the digital market.”

Gabriele Cipparrone, Partner at Apax, added: “We are proud to partner with Lutech in this transaction. When the Apax Funds first invested in Lutech we saw the opportunity to consolidate the Italian IT services market, and this transaction is a crucial step in that process. By combining the complementary scale, expertise, and capabilities of Lutech and Atos Italia into one group, we are creating a leading provider in the market that can offer an even wider suite of products and services to clients across a more diversified set of sectors. We are excited to partner with both teams to deliver on our ambitious growth plans.”

“A new leading company will be born to enhance the country’s digital growth and support our customers.” declared Giuseppe Di Franco, President and CEO of Atos Italia. “The entire management team is proud to announce that today we have taken a further step in the consolidation of the Italian digital market. The new company will benefit from continued cooperation with the Atos Group to manage global operations in Italy and abroad. We will be able to use the combined skills of Atos Italia and Lutech, and our complementarity will allow us to better serve companies in their digital transformation journeys.”

Lutech and Apax Partners LLP were supported by several advisors, including Bain & Company (commercial advisor), Legance (legal advisor), PCB Partners (M&A advisor), and PWC (financial and tax advisor).

The transaction is subject to the consultation with representative bodies and other regulatory approvals, with closing expected in H1 2023.

 

About

Lutech Group

Lutech Group, Italian leader and European player in ICT services and solutions, supports the evolution of its clients by designing, implementing and managing end-to-end digital solutions, with a view towards continuous improvement which involves people and processes, technology and knowledge.

Evolution and transformation require a new way of interacting and connecting people, data and technologies. Lutech Group places at the foundation of the Digital Evolution five technological core entities designed to provide a complete and integrated offering, able to meet the manifold needs of digitization: LutechSolutions, LutechDigital, LutechCybersecurity, LutechServices and LutechCloud.

For more information, visit www.lutech.group

About Apax

Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”) is a leading global private equity advisory firm. For 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 Tech, Services, Healthcare, and Internet/Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For further information about Apax, please visit www.apax.com

 

[1] The transaction will not include Atos Italia’s UCC operations and EuroHPC’s contracts.

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Blackstone Commits up to $359 million (INR 2,904 crore) to Acquire a Majority Stake in R Systems

Blackstone

Mumbai and Noida, India, November 17, 2022 – Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced that private equity funds managed by Blackstone (“Blackstone”) have signed definitive agreements with Satinder Singh Rekhi and other current promoters to purchase a majority stake in R Systems International Limited (“R Systems”).

R Systems, founded in 1993 by Satinder Singh Rekhi, is one of the leading providers of digital Information Technology services, specializing in product engineering, and serves over 250 customers in technology, media, telecom, and financial services sectors globally. R Systems is a partner of choice for enterprise customers with a strong suite of capabilities in product engineering, artificial intelligence, data analytics, internet of things, robotic process automation and cloud, employing over 4,400 people across 18 delivery centers in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and India. R System’s revenue for the last twelve months, as of September 30, 2022, was INR 1,445 crore (~$189 mm), registering a 36% year on year growth.

Satinder Singh Rekhi and the other promoters currently hold ~52% stake in R Systems, which Blackstone will acquire for INR 245 per share. Blackstone will also launch a conditional delisting offer, at a price of INR 246 per share. The transaction is expected to be completed in the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Dr. Rekhi will continue to guide the company in his role as a non-executive advisor.

Mukesh Mehta, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said: “R Systems has been a reliable long-term partner to marquee global customers, guiding them on their digital transformation journeys. Their domain knowledge, service quality and global delivery centers make them a partner of choice for their customers. As a leader in outsourced software product development, R Systems is well-positioned to benefit from digitalization tailwinds, shorter product launch cycles and increased openness to outsource product development. This investment follows Blackstone’s long-standing conviction in IT services and builds on the firm’s robust track record in the sector globally. We are excited to partner with the current management team to support the company’s next phase of growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. I am aware of the great work that Dr. Rekhi has done in the field of the science of Happiness, and the Blackstone team is looking forward to working with him.”

Satinder Singh Rekhi, CEO of R Systems, said: “I am excited that our partnership with Blackstone will take R Systems on the path to its next level of growth. Today, R Systems is a well-known product engineering brand that attracts top-notch talent looking to work on cutting-edge solutions for our global clients. The company’s management team will be excited to welcome Blackstone and benefit from their scale, expertise, and global track record in IT services. Our employees, customers, and partners will gain immensely from this partnership with Blackstone. I am happy for my new role as an advisor to the company under Blackstone’s ownership.”

BDA Partners acted as the financial advisor to the sellers of R Systems. AZB & Partners acted as legal advisor to the sellers. KPMG, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as advisors to Blackstone.

About R Systems
R Systems is a one of the leading providers of Information Technology services, specializing in digital product engineering. The firm partners with customers to enable or elevate their digital transformation with diversified digital offerings. Services and solutions span over five major business verticals i.e. technology, media, telecom and financial services.

The firm maintains 18 development and service centers to serve customers in North America, Europe, and APAC. With over 25+ years, the firm has been empowering organizations with 25+ offices worldwide and a workforce of 4,400+ professionals ensuring seamless services to clients across the globe.

About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. 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 $951 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, infrastructure, 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 LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Blackstone Media Contact
Deepa Jayaraman
Deepa.jay@outlook.com
Tel: +91 90087 78681

Ellen Bogard
Ellen.Bogard@Blackstone.com
Tel: +852 3651 7737

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Partners Group acquires EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure, a hyperscale data center platform in the US

  • Partners Group will invest up to USD 1.2 billion to fund the acquisition and buildout of existing and future data center sites
  • EdgeCore is a next-generation infrastructure platform that is set to benefit from global digitization themes driving demand for data center processing and storage
  • The Company signs long-term contracts with large Tier 1 data center users

Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, has, on behalf of its clients, acquired EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure (“EdgeCore” or “the Company”), an owner, operator, and builder of hyperscale data centers in the US. Partners Group will invest up to USD 1.2 billion to fund the acquisition and buildout of existing and future data center sites.

Through this investment, Partners Group will acquire EdgeCore’s existing and under construction sites, and fund future acquisitions and buildout. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, EdgeCore selects, builds, and commercializes data centers for the world’s largest cloud, internet, and technology companies. Data center contracts are often long-term, with customers charged a price based on their contracted power capacity, leading to highly visible cashflows. The Company is well-positioned to benefit from global digitization themes, such as the growth of cloud computing, machine learning, AI, and 5G technologies, which are driving increasing demand for data center processing and storage. Mobile data traffic in North America is expected to grow at 24% CAGR through to 2027[1].

Partners Group will work with EdgeCore’s experienced management team, which has over 140 years of combined industry experience, on its transformational value creation plan. Key initiatives include existing site expansion, acquiring and building future assets in the US, and expanding sustainability initiatives at its data center campuses.

Ed Diffendal, Managing Director, Co-Head Private Infrastructure Americas, Partners Group, says: “Through our thematic investing approach, we found rising demand for data centers in the US as service providers deploy more capacity to support businesses migrating to the cloud. EdgeCore is a unique next-generation infrastructure investment due to its strong portfolio of data center sites, advanced pipeline of shovel-ready assets in strategically important markets, and talented management team. We look forward to building out the platform.”

Tom Ray, Chief Executive Officer, EdgeCore, comments: “EdgeCore differentiates itself through a combination of superior site locations, excellent reliability, flexible customer solutions, and speed to market. We build data centers in areas that maximize our pool of potential customers and design them to the performance standards of the top hyperscale customers. We have identified a pipeline of opportunities across the US and believe Partners Group’s extensive experience working with infrastructure platforms, coupled with its financial resources, will enable us to execute on current and future opportunities.”

Fentress Boyse, Member of Management, Private Infrastructure Americas, Partners Group, adds: “EdgeCore has strong infrastructure characteristics and is set to benefit from structural tailwinds across the data center sector. Businesses are increasingly shifting IT infrastructure to scaled outsourced cloud service provider data centers, which have more efficient power and cooling capabilities. The Company is at an inflexion point in its growth journey and our transformational value creation plan aims to build a best-in-class sustainable digital infrastructure platform for the largest demand users in this market.”

Partners Group’s Private Infrastructure business has USD 21 billion in assets under management and has made over 130 investments in 18 countries globally.

Partners Group was advised by Latham and Watkins, KPMG, Clifford Chance, and Ropes & Gray. EdgeCore was advised by Greenberg Traurig, RBC Capital Markets, and Ernst and Young.

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