Janes has today announced an agreement to acquire the defence market analytics business – also known as Global Platforms and Systems (“GPS”) – from Avascent to support its industry intelligence solutions and enhance the offering it provides to customers.

This acquisition comes as we continue to build on the momentum we have created since becoming an independent business and ensures that we will continue to deliver the objective open-source intelligence and analytics that our customers rely upon.

Blake Bartlett, CEO of Janes

“I’m delighted to announce the acquisition of GPS from Avascent – it’s a great addition to our portfolio of trusted open-source defence intelligence solutions and allows us to enhance our position as the leading provider of defence market forecasts worldwide,” said Blake Bartlett, CEO at Janes. “This acquisition comes as we continue to build on the momentum we have created since becoming an independent business and ensures that we will continue to deliver the objective open-source intelligence and analytics that the world of defence and security relies upon.”

“This deal brings a highly complementary capability into the Janes ecosystem of connected data that our customers trust in their most critical decisions,” said Doug Dixon, President of Aerospace and Defence Industry at Janes. “We’re focused on getting our customers the right data in the right structure to underpin the analytics they need to operate in the modern national security environment.”

“In Janes, we have found a partner that can take the GPS business to the next level while we continue to focus and invest in our core strategy consulting business,” said Steve Irwin, President of Avascent. “Clients who have come to rely on GPS and its custom features will experience no change in the quality of the product or the responsiveness of the client service. Indeed, clients who have wanted closer integration between GPS and other data resources can now look forward to the prospect of more powerful tools to support their strategy, corporate development, and business development efforts.”

The deal between Janes and Avascent also includes a collaboration agreement through which the two firms can pursue opportunities where their joint capabilities will provide clients with unparalleled insights and advice on critical defence and security issues.

Janes expects completion of the acquisition in January 2021 subject to customary conditions.

Janes has today announced an agreement to acquire the defence market analytics business – also known as Global Platforms and Systems (“GPS”) – from Avascent to support its industry intelligence solutions and enhance the offering it provides to customers.

This acquisition comes as we continue to build on the momentum we have created since becoming an independent business and ensures that we will continue to deliver the objective open-source intelligence and analytics that our customers rely upon.

Blake Bartlett, CEO of Janes

“I’m delighted to announce the acquisition of GPS from Avascent – it’s a great addition to our portfolio of trusted open-source defence intelligence solutions and allows us to enhance our position as the leading provider of defence market forecasts worldwide,” said Blake Bartlett, CEO at Janes. “This acquisition comes as we continue to build on the momentum we have created since becoming an independent business and ensures that we will continue to deliver the objective open-source intelligence and analytics that the world of defence and security relies upon.”

“This deal brings a highly complementary capability into the Janes ecosystem of connected data that our customers trust in their most critical decisions,” said Doug Dixon, President of Aerospace and Defence Industry at Janes. “We’re focused on getting our customers the right data in the right structure to underpin the analytics they need to operate in the modern national security environment.”

“In Janes, we have found a partner that can take the GPS business to the next level while we continue to focus and invest in our core strategy consulting business,” said Steve Irwin, President of Avascent. “Clients who have come to rely on GPS and its custom features will experience no change in the quality of the product or the responsiveness of the client service. Indeed, clients who have wanted closer integration between GPS and other data resources can now look forward to the prospect of more powerful tools to support their strategy, corporate development, and business development efforts.”

The deal between Janes and Avascent also includes a collaboration agreement through which the two firms can pursue opportunities where their joint capabilities will provide clients with unparalleled insights and advice on critical defence and security issues.

Janes expects completion of the acquisition in January 2021 subject to customary conditions.

BGF has completed a multi-million pound investment for a minority shareholding in a Teesside-headquartered Engineering Information Management (EIM) software company, Datum360, to accelerate growth and address significant market demand.

Datum360’s software platform connects disparate systems, providing a trusted data backbone which manages the life cycle of critical engineering and asset management data for a range of blue-chip customers from the fields of energy, mining, utilities, road and rail infrastructure.

The fast growth technology company was founded by CEO Steve Wilson, alongside CTO Dave Mitchell and CFO James Michael. The management team have a combined 50 years’ experience working within large engineering and design firms where they cultivated a deep understanding of data management in major capital projects.

The pioneering North East company has offices in Australia and plans to open a US base in 2021. It has a global reach and is undertaking projects in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Datum360 counts organisations such as BP, Total and BHP among its customers. BGF’s investment will help to unlock its expansion and allow the business to build on the fast growth it has experienced to date.

Commenting on the investment, CEO Steve Wilson said “Datum360 has built a reputation for delivering, at speed and globally, our cloud based Connected Data platform for Engineering Information. Working with energy, mining, utilities and infrastructure clients, we are excited to see the demand for data become more distinct and more urgent. Our capability delivers the critical data foundation and backbone which underpins our clients evolving approach to BIM and building and maintaining their Digital Twins.”

“BGF’s investment team and their expertise in supporting the scale-up of technology businesses like ours is invaluable to the next stage of our growth. Having first met BGF in September this year, we have been impressed with the pace to get the deal to completion. The BGF team were quick to understand our business and market opportunity and we look forward to working together to achieve our shared ambitions.”

BGF opened a Newcastle office in 2018 and has invested in a number of innovative fast-growing North East companies, such as Sunderland-based SaleCycle – a behavioural marketing technology company – and Alnwick-headquartered Arcinova, a life sciences business.

Chris Boyes from BGF led the deal. Chris said: “Datum360 is a fine example of a North East business with a market-leading product which has significant global potential. With the growth plan and opportunity for the business clear, we were able to deploy capital very quickly. We already have a number of successful investments in the North East and are looking to back more businesses in the region.”

“We recognise that business owners are trading in a very tough economy and we believe that equity investment can be a solution for supporting progressive entrepreneurs’ growth ambitions, as well as playing a vital role in driving economic recovery.”

 

ESPOO, Finland, 10^th November 2020

IQM Quantum Computers (IQM), the European leader in building superconducting quantum computers, today announced that it has raised €39 M in Series A funding, bringing the total amount of funding raised to date to €71 M.

This ranks among the highest fundraising rounds by a European deep-tech startup within a year. MIG Fonds has led this round, with participation from all existing investors including Tesi, OpenOcean, Maki.vc, Vito Ventures, Matadero QED. New investors Vsquared, Salvia GmbH, Santo Venture Capital GmbH, and Tencent, have also joined this round.

“IQM has a strong track record of research and in achieving high growth. They continue to attract the best global talent across functions and have exceeded their hardware and software milestones. We are thrilled to lead this round and continue to support IQM as the company accelerates its next phase of business and hardware growth,” said Axel Thierauf, Partner at MIG Fonds, and Chairman of the Board of IQM.

Since 2019, IQM has been among the fastest-growing companies in the quantum computing sector and already has one of the world’s largest quantum hardware engineering teams. This funding will be used to accelerate IQM´s hardware development and to co-design application-specific quantum computers. A significant part of the funding will also be used to attract and retain the best global talent in quantum computing, and to establish sales and business development teams.

”Today’s announcement is part of our ongoing Series-A funding round. I am extremely pleased with the confidence our investors have shown in our vision, team, product, and the ability to execute and commercialize quantum computers. This investment also shows their continued belief in building the future of quantum technologies. This is a significant recognition for our fantastic team that has achieved all our key milestones from the previous round. We’re just getting started,” said Jan Goetz, CEO of IQM.

“It is impressive to be a part of the IQM journey and see the progress of their technology. We’re proud to see another startup from Finland making a global impact. IQM will have a lasting impact on the future of computing, and consequently will help solve some of the global challenges related to healthcare, climate change and development of sustainable materials among many others,” said Juha Lehtola, Head of Direct VC Investments at Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment).

IQM delivers on-premises quantum computers for research laboratories and supercomputing centers. For industrial customers, IQM follows an innovative co-design strategy to deliver quantum advantage based on application-specific processors, using novel chip architectures and ultrafast quantum operations. IQM provides the full hardware stack for a quantum computer, integrating different technologies, and invites collaborations with quantum software companies.

“We want to invest in deep technology startups that shape the future and advance society. IQM is the perfect example of a company that is on top of its game; their work on quantum computing will make an impact for generations to come,” said Herbert Mangesius, Founding Partner at Vsquared and Vito Ventures.

While quantum computing is still under development, governments and private organizations across the world are investing today to retain their competitive edge and become quantum-ready for the future.

The next decade will be the decade of quantum technology, and we will see major breakthroughs with real-world applications using quantum computers in healthcare, logistics, finance, chemistry and beyond.

About IQM Quantum Computers:

IQM is the European leader in superconducting quantum computers, headquartered in Espoo, Finland. Since its inception in 2018, IQM has grown to 70+ (TBC) employees and has also established a subsidiary in Munich, Germany, to lead the co-design approach. IQM delivers on-premises quantum computers for research laboratories and supercomputing centers and provides complete access to its hardware. For industrial customers, IQM delivers quantum advantage through a unique application-specific co-design approach. IQM has also received a €3.3 M grant from Business Finland and has been awarded a €15 M equity investment from the EIC Accelerator program.

For more information, visit www.meetiqm.com.

Registered office:

IQM Finland Oy
Keilaranta 19
02150 Espoo
FINLAND
www.meetiqm.com

Media Contact:

Raghunath Koduvayur

Head of Marketing and Communications

Raghunath@meetiqm.com

+358504876509

Additional investor quotes:

” We are proud once again to invest in IQM. Quantum computing processors are on the edge of our core scope of investing in scalable B2B software businesses, but this opportunity was too big to miss. We need a strong quantum eco-system to address the next generation of data-intensive computations, which cannot be created without the fastest and most robust quantum machines for real world applications provided by IQM. This is where IQM can be the step change that will foster the future of the industry,” said Ekaterina Almasque, Venture Partner at OpenOcean.

“IQM is a game-changer — a company that can play a leadership role in quantum computing, and one that will have a huge positive impact across the world. Quantum computers will also help us with our sustainability goals. We are thrilled to continue to support their ambitious vision,” said Ilkka Kivimäki, Partner at Maki.vc.

“IQM’s technical innovation, world-class scientific team and drive in building quantum computers have made them a European leader in the quantum computers field. We look forward to supporting them in commercializing quantum computing and achieving more milestones in future,” said Dr Ling Ge, Chief European Representative at Tencent.

“IQM’s seasoned technical and commercial team, long-term focus on quantum technology for global markets fits in well with our new fund’s focus areas. They have created leading technology from Europe and we are proud to join this round,” said Helmut Jeggle, Founding Partner and Managing Director at Salvia GmbH.

”We believe in partnering with exceptional founders building the next generation of deep-tech global businesses. IQM has done a fabulous job in attracting the best talent and are solving real problems with their innovative approach. Quantum computing is definitely the future,” said Johannes Froehling, Deeptech investment activities at Matadero QED.

About the investors:

MIG Fonds: https://www.mig.ag

OpenOcean: https://openocean.vc

Maki.vc: https://maki.vc

Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd): www.tesi.fi

Vito Ventures: http://vito.vc

VSquared Ventures: https://www.vsquared.vc

Tencent: https://www.tencent.com/

You can also download our press releases here:

IQM Series A press release – French

IQM Series A press release – Finnish

IQM Series A press release – German

IQM Series A press release – English

IQM Series A press release – Swedish

Amsterdam, 24 November 2020 – Regulatory Lab, an online platform for lawyers, tax advisers, and civil-law notaries, received an investment of € 600,000 from Arches Capital. With the investment, Regulatory Lab will expand its leading position in anti-money laundering software.

In recent years, Regulatory Lab has focused on supporting legal professionals with a better, more effective, and easier way to fight against money laundering. With its highly secure and customer-friendly platform, Regulatory Lab has quickly become the market leader in the Netherlands with clients ranging from enterprise to medium-sized and boutique law, notary, and tax consultancy firms.

We are very pleased with Arches Capital’s investment. Arches Capital’s track record, together with the network’s direct involvement and entrepreneurial background, are the ideal ingredients for us to support us in our ambition to serve the entire European legal market.

Joost Tulkens and Pieter Hallebeek, founders of Regulatory Lab

 

We see a great potential of this software for this specific target group and at the same time, we see how this software can contribute to making the world a little better. The strategy of entering Europe now seems to be the right one to us. The team is very eager to learn and the collaboration has already paid off.

Frank Appeldoorn, Managing Partner at Arches Capital

 

About Regulatory Lab
Regulatory Lab was founded in 2017 to simplify the process of client onboarding and comply with legislation to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, making it more efficient and customer-friendly for supervised institutions such as lawyers, notaries, and tax advisory firms. Regulatory Lab developed an application, which fully automates these processes. The application replaces the manual process of UBO forms, monitors all parties involved for sanctions and other relevant lists, and provides a full audit trail for when the regulator comes along.

For more information see www.regulatorylab.com.

About Arches Capital
Arches Capital is a fast-growing group of business angels that invests in startup and scale-up companies with a large growth potential. Through its investments Arches Capital bridges the gap between formal investors (VCs) and informal investors (business angels), by joining the best of both worlds:

“ We source, select and invest like a VC;
We engage, care and inspire as the angel we are. ”

Arches Capital differentiates itself by bringing superior deal flow, professional knowledge and a lower risk profile to the participating angel investors, while supporting its successful portfolio companies from start to exit through follow-on investments. For this Arches Capital is building the leading platform of actively engaged business angels that know how to operate and manage their investments in a professional and standardized manner.

For more information, visit www.arches.capital.

Janes has today announced an agreement to acquire the defence market analytics business – also known as Global Platforms and Systems (“GPS”) – from Avascent to support its industry intelligence solutions and enhance the offering it provides to customers.

This acquisition comes as we continue to build on the momentum we have created since becoming an independent business and ensures that we will continue to deliver the objective open-source intelligence and analytics that our customers rely upon.

Blake Bartlett, CEO of Janes

“I’m delighted to announce the acquisition of GPS from Avascent – it’s a great addition to our portfolio of trusted open-source defence intelligence solutions and allows us to enhance our position as the leading provider of defence market forecasts worldwide,” said Blake Bartlett, CEO at Janes. “This acquisition comes as we continue to build on the momentum we have created since becoming an independent business and ensures that we will continue to deliver the objective open-source intelligence and analytics that the world of defence and security relies upon.”

“This deal brings a highly complementary capability into the Janes ecosystem of connected data that our customers trust in their most critical decisions,” said Doug Dixon, President of Aerospace and Defence Industry at Janes. “We’re focused on getting our customers the right data in the right structure to underpin the analytics they need to operate in the modern national security environment.”

“In Janes, we have found a partner that can take the GPS business to the next level while we continue to focus and invest in our core strategy consulting business,” said Steve Irwin, President of Avascent. “Clients who have come to rely on GPS and its custom features will experience no change in the quality of the product or the responsiveness of the client service. Indeed, clients who have wanted closer integration between GPS and other data resources can now look forward to the prospect of more powerful tools to support their strategy, corporate development, and business development efforts.”

The deal between Janes and Avascent also includes a collaboration agreement through which the two firms can pursue opportunities where their joint capabilities will provide clients with unparalleled insights and advice on critical defence and security issues.

Janes expects completion of the acquisition in January 2021 subject to customary conditions.

Paris, 20 November 2020 – Apax Partners LLP announces the sale of the investment held alongside Carlyle in ECi Software Solutions to Leonard Green and Partners, a US private equity company. Apax Partners LLP will reinvest a minority stake in the company via the Apax IX LP fund.

The transaction, which is expected to close in December 2020, will give Altamir a MOIC of around 4.2x. This represents an uplift of 18% to ECi’s fair value as of 30 June 2020.

ECi Software Solutions is a leading provider of ERP software solutions to small-to-medium-sized businesses, with more than 22,000 customers worldwide.

Under Apax Partners LLP and Carlyle ownership, ECi enjoyed rapid growth, both organically and through strategic M&A. The 15 acquisitions completed since 2017 helped the company gain significant market share and scale internationally, notably in Europe and Australia.

 

About Altamir

Altamir is a listed private equity company (Euronext Paris-B, ticker: LTA) founded in 1995 and with an investment portfolio of more than €1.2bn. Its objective is to provide shareholders with long-term capital appreciation and regular dividends by investing in a diversified portfolio of private equity investments.

Altamir’s investment policy is to invest via and with the funds managed or advised by Apax Partners SAS and Apax Partners LLP, two leading private equity firms that take majority or lead positions in buyouts and growth capital transactions and seek ambitious value creation objectives.

In this way, Altamir provides access to a diversified portfolio of fast-growing companies across Apax’s sectors of specialisation (TMT, Consumer, Healthcare, Services) and in complementary market segments (mid-sized companies in continental Europe and larger companies in Europe, North America and key emerging markets).

Altamir derives certain tax benefits from its status as a SCR (“Société de Capital Risque”). As such, Altamir is exempt from corporate tax and the company’s investors may benefit from tax exemptions, subject to specific holding-period and dividend-reinvestment conditions.

For more information: www.altamir.fr

 

Contact

Claire Peyssard Moses

Tel.: +33 1 53 65 01 74 / E-mail: investors@altamir.fr

 

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Sandbäckens continues its profitable growth journey and strengthens its position in the Östergötland area through an additional acquisition, Trisec AB. The acquired company offers energy-efficient automation solutions for properties and industrial premises.

Trisec is based in Norrköping and employs 14 people, generating a turnover of c. SEK 25m. The company has a broad customer base consisting of property owners, real estate managers and industrial companies with a geographic footprint spread across Östergötland.

“I am very pleased to welcome Jonas Stenbäck and all co-workers to Sandbäckens. Trisec is a successful company with significant competence and experience of meeting customer demand for energy efficient solutions in different types of properties”, says André Roos, Head of Business Development and Head of region East.

For further information, please visit www.sandbackens.se or contact:

Marcus Planting-Bergloo, Managing Partner, Segulah Advisor AB
+46 70 229 11 85, planting@segulah.se

André Roos, Head of Business Development and Head of region East, Sandbäckens
+46 76 000 26 01, andre.roos@sandbackens.se

19 November 2020

Fort Worth, TX, November 19, 2020 – ECI Software Solutions (“ECI”), a leader in cloud-based business management software solutions for small and medium sized companies, today announced that Leonard Green & Partners (“LGP”) will acquire a majority stake in the company from funds advised by Apax Partners and The Carlyle Group. Upon completion of the transaction, funds advised by Apax Partners, which acquired ECI in 2017, will retain a minority stake in ECI. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

ECI is the premier provider of Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) solutions, such as accounting, purchasing, warehousing and inventory management, to more than 22,000 customers globally. Under the Apax Funds’ and Carlyle’s ownership, ECI has experienced rapid growth both organically and through strategic M&A. Since 2017, ECI has made 15 acquisitions, helping it gain significant market share and scale internationally, with sizeable transactions in Europe and Australia consolidating its presence in those regions.

“The ECI team and I have had a powerful partnership with Apax and Carlyle as we have built the company into a leading SaaS business software solutions and services provider,” said Ron Books, ECI’s Chief Executive Officer. “They have been instrumental in the tremendous growth of our company, and we are proud of what we accomplished together. We are excited to welcome LGP as our new partner, and I am confident that this is the right choice for our future – and the future of our 1,700 employees and more than 22,000 customers.”

Usama Cortas, Partner at LGP, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with a mission-driven company like ECI, which is focused on supporting the activities and growth of small to medium-sized businesses around the world. We invest in companies that win with people, have a differentiated culture and are market leaders with multiple ways to grow – and ECI is the perfect example. ECI has built an incredible track record of success, and we are excited to be partnering with ECI Management and Apax to support and accelerate the next phase of the company’s growth.”

Jason Wright, Partner at Apax Partners, said: “We have been proud to partner with Ron Books and the ECI management team over the past three years as they have executed their plan and transformed the Company through investment in products, international expansion and the completion of 15 acquisitions. Importantly, Ron and the team have instilled a unique culture that is customer-centric and employee-friendly. We’re excited about the opportunity to partner with LGP during this next phase of ECI’s growth.”

Steve Bailey, Managing Director at Carlyle, said: “It has been a tremendous journey with Ron and the ECI team and Apax over the years. Carlyle’s strategy is to focus on vertical market SaaS investments or successfully transition software businesses to a SaaS model. Our partnership with ECI is a great example of the latter. Through embracing the opportunity in SaaS, ECI has accelerated its growth while also benefitting from strategic acquisitions. We wish the team every success for the future.”

BofA Securities is acting as lead financial advisor, Barclays as financial advisor, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meager & Flom as legal advisor to Apax Partners and ECI. Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor to LGP.

About ECI

ECI Software Solutions provides industry-specific business software solutions and services, focusing on cloud-based technologies. For 30+ years, ECI has served small to medium-sized manufacturing, wholesale/retail distribution, building and construction, and field service organizations. Privately held, ECI is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, with offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, England, the Netherlands, and Australia. For information, email info@ecisolutions.com, visit www.ECISolutions.com or call (800) 959-3367.

About Apax Partners LLP

Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of approximately $50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across four business segments: Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $230 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2020, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 1,800 people in 30 offices across six continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

About Leonard Green & Partners

Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. is a leading private equity investment firm founded in 1989 and based in Los Angeles. The firm partners with experienced management teams and often with founders to invest in market-leading companies. Since inception, LGP has invested in over 100 companies in the form of traditional buyouts, going-private transactions, recapitalizations, growth equity, and selective public equity and debt positions. LGP primarily focuses on companies providing services, including consumer, business, and healthcare services, as well as retail, distribution, and industrials. For more information, please visit www.leonardgreen.com.

ECI Media Contacts

Wendi Sabo | +1 214 683 9217 | wsabo@ecisolutions.com

Apax Media Contacts 

Katarina Sallerfors | +44 207 872 6526 | katarina.sallerfors@apax.com

Kekst CNC | +1 212 521 4854 | todd.fogarty@kekstcnc.com

Greenbrook | +44 20 7295 2000 | apax@greenbrookpr.com

Carlyle Media Contacts

Brittany Berliner | +1 (516) 404-2369 | brittany.berliner@carlyle.com

Andrew Kenny | +44 7816 176120 | andrew.kenny@carlyle.com