Nordic Capital invests in and partners with Qred – one of Europe’s fastest growing fintech companies

Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital Evolution has signed an agreement to invest in the fast-growing fintech company Qred. The investment will be made in partnership with Qred’s management and founders, with the goal of together continuing to significantly expand the business across Europe.

Since its inception in 2015, Qred has become a leading provider of financing and payment services to small businesses in the Nordics and the Netherlands, with its fully automated credit system, digital platform and easy, innovative solutions for entrepreneurs seeking financing. Nordic Capital will support the company in driving growth, investing in new products for responsible and inclusive lending, and increasing its international presence.

Nordic Capital invests in and partners with Qred – one of Europe’s fastest growing fintech companies Image

“Qred has shown that there is a large and growing demand for small business loans that the big banks fail to address. We are now ready to take the next step in the expansion of our digital product offerings by developing Qred into the leading financial platform for small businesses in Europe. I am thrilled to have Nordic Capital on board. They are the best possible partner for us on this journey, and we look forward to drawing on their expertise within technology and financial services and benefitting from their large international network,” says Emil Sunvisson, CEO and co-founder of Qred.

Qred has recently launched the first credit card aimed for small businesses, that have historically had difficulty gaining access to credit. The credit card offering will allow small businesses to take advantage of a credit facility to grow their business and to use a range of smart features including digital expense management. The broadened product range is an important part of helping small businesses to access better, automated credit services and is part of Qred’s growth strategy.

Nordic Capital will become a significant shareholder in the company, while the current founder and management will remain as majority owners. As an active partner, Nordic Capital will support Qred’s future growth journey with its extensive expertise in financial services and its broad international network and will provide capital for innovative investments in technology and new product development.

“We are very impressed by Qred’s strong development and innovative model. By identifying a new market segment and combining it with leading technology, the company has opened the door for many small businesses to grow and realise their dreams. Studies show that lack of financing is one of the biggest challenges for small businesses, while funds lent to small businesses can considerably increase GDP growth, the creation of new jobs and significant extra tax revenues. Together with Qred’s management and founders, Nordic Capital sees great potential to further accelerate growth, expansion into new geographies and the development of new solutions for small businesses,” says David Samuelson, Principal, Nordic Capital Advisors.

Qred’s leading technology and automated data processing give companies a quick and easy credit assessment combined with access to personal customer service. Qred has to date served over 25,000 small businesses in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium. In 2020, Qred entered the Brazilian market through a joint venture. Today, Qred has around 12,000 monthly active users of their financing solutions and other credit services.

In 2020, Qred was ranked by the Financial Times as the eighth fastest growing company in Europe. The company enjoys high levels of customer satisfaction with many repeat customers and a Trustpilot score of 4.8 out of 5. Qred has approximately 130 employees and is headquartered in Stockholm with regional offices in Helsinki and Malmö.

Nordic Capital is one of Europe’s leading private equity investors with significant value-add expertise in its focus sectors (including Technology & Payments and Financial Services), combined with extensive experience of developing companies through organic growth and add-on acquisitions

The partnership with Qred is consistent with Nordic Capital’s strategy of investing in innovative companies with the potential to be the leaders of the future. The investment is also fully in line with the firm’s ambition to broaden its successful value creation model to include mid-market companies.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Media contacts:

Nordic Capital
Katarina Janerud, Communications Manager
Nordic Capital Advisors
Tel: +46 8 440 50 50
e-mail: katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com

Qred
Andrea Romander, Head of Communications
Tel: +46 (0)730 92 66 07
e-mail: andrea.romander@qred.com

About Qred

Founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, Qred is now Sweden’s fastest growing fintech company according to the Financial Times. Qred is the market leader in the Nordic region and has Sweden’s most satisfied customers according to Trustpilot. With operations in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Brazil and Belgium, Qred has helped more than 25,000 companies. Qred’s fully automated, proprietary credit scoring system allows Qred to quickly and competitively provide business owners with the power they need to grow. For further information about Qred please visit www.qred.com/en-se.

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Focus sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services, and selectively, Industrial & Business Services. Key regions are Europe and globally for Healthcare and Technology & Payments investments. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested close to EUR 19 billion in over 120 investments. The most recent entities are Nordic Capital X with EUR 6.1 billion in committed capital and Nordic Capital Evolution with EUR 1.2 billion in committed capital, principally provided by international institutional investors such as pension funds. Nordic Capital Advisors have local offices in Sweden, the UK, the US, Germany, Denmark, Finland and Norway. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com.

“Nordic Capital” refers to any, or all, Nordic Capital branded funds and vehicles and associated entities. The general partners and/or delegated portfolio manager of Nordic Capital’s funds and vehicles are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities, any or all of which are referred to as “Nordic Capital Advisors”.

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ZeroPoint Technologies raises €2.5 M, led by Industrifonden

Industriefonden
September 8, 2021

The Deep Tech landscape of today offers a lot of investment opportunities and Industrifonden’s strength is to spot and research the best innovations. Therefor we’re very proud to announce that we have led a EUR 2.5 million seed round in ZeroPoint Technologies to finance the company into 2021 and beyond. ZeroPoint Technologies provides the world’s only available real-time Memory Compression IP block for System on Chips (SoCs), effectively doubling a computer’s main memory capacity and memory bandwidth; providing significantly more performance per watt. The new capital will be used to grow and expand the company’s international presence and take several products to market.

The most challenging bottlenecks in computing typically stem from memory capacity and bandwidth. ZeroPoint Technologies’ Ziptilion™ overcomes these bottlenecks: it is the world’s first general-purpose memory compression technology for high performance SoC processor subsystems, such as servers, smart mobiles, and embedded systems. Ziptilion’s™ hardware IP block compresses main memory in real-time by a factor oftwo to four. The solutiondoubles memory capacity and memory bandwidth, resulting in significantly faster systems, more performance per watt, and lower energy use.

“The impact of ZeroPoint Technologies’ product is extremely interesting as it deals with critical bottlenecks in memory capacity and bandwidth. The research that the company builds on comes from Chalmers University. This research, together with the existing owners, Chalmers Invest and a prominent Family Office, signals the promise of this investment opportunity”, says Anna Ljungdahl, Investment Director and Head of Sustainability at Industrifonden.

This investment will support ZeroPoint as they grow their customer base in North America and Asia Pacific, and their development of new innovative products. The company is also set to expand its engineering team in Sweden.

“ZeroPoint Technologies’ ambition is to become the de facto standard for main memory compression in high performance SoC processor subsystems, and this funding gives us muscles to make it happen. Memory bottlenecks are a tremendous challenge for SoC developers, and we mitigate this challenge by doubling main memory capacity and memory bandwidth. Systems with memory compression are environmentally friendly and financially effective. We reduce hardware waste, reduce power consumption, and reduce operating expenses. In short: We deliver more performance per watt”, says ZeroPoint Technologies CEO Klas Moreau.

ZeroPoint Technologies’ IP block is easy to integrate with existing industry standard on-chip-bus-protocols. The IP-block is placed on the memory access path and is invisible to the operating system and applications. Thanks to the ultra-tuned compression/decompression accelerators and that data is compressed when fetched from memory, the memory access latency is often shorter with Ziptilion™ than without.

ZeroPoint Technologies is a spinout from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, and has over the years developed an impressive IP Portfolio in the memory compression domain. Their patented compression technology is based on 15 years of research. Today the company works with industry leaders on product implementation projects and technical evaluations.

Read more in Breakit today.

Welcome to the family ZeroPoint Technologies!

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AnaCap invests in WebID, a leading German Digital Identity Verification-as-a-Service Provider

Anacap
AnaCap invests in WebID, a leading German Digital Identity Verification-as-a-Service Provider

AnaCap Financial Partners (“AnaCap”), a leading specialist mid-market private equity investor in technology enabled financial services, today announces a majority investment in WebID, a leading German digital identification provider. AnaCap will provide significant growth capital and partner with the founders and existing management team to extend WebID’s product offering to other industries outside of the core financial services and telecoms space where it has a market leading position, such as eGovernment, eHealth, eCommerce and eMobility as well as support inorganic growth through future acquisitions.

WebID provides a range of digital identification solutions for Know Your Customer (“KYC”) purposes, such as identification via video call, online banking, artificial intelligence, as well as qualified electronic signature (“QES”) solutions for E-Signing to leading financial institutions and large corporates across Germany, via its modular IT platform, Global Trust Technology Platform (“GTTP”). WebID is an enabler of the increasingly important offline-to-online channel shift being witnessed globally and holds several patents across Europe, US and China. The company identifies over 15,000 users per day with Video Ident alone and more with their fully automated products, on a 24/7 basis, and has collected and stored over 8 million verified identities. WebID continuously looks to develop new innovative and secure solutions which help make the daily lives of customers, industries, and public authorities more digital, eco-friendly and convenient.

WebID was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Berlin, other main sites are Hamburg, Kiel, and Solingen. It has ~300 customers including a blue-chip roster of large corporates and financial institutions. WebID is a pioneer of Bafin[1] -approved, AML-compliant video identification solution and is highly respected among its clients and regulators alike. Currently, major lenders such as Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and Santander are established core clients and rely on WebID’s KYC solutions to boost their online channel activities.

The DACH region is well known to AnaCap and the investment in WebID follows portfolio company MRH Trowe’s (“MRHT”) continued strong expansion with nine bolt-on growth acquisitions as part of an accelerated buy-and-build strategy in the large and fragmented German corporate insurance broking market, for which AnaCap is leveraging experience from its successful buy-and-build strategy of payments company heidelpay across the region and subsequent successful exit to KKR.

Tassilo Arnhold, Partner at AnaCap, commented:
“WebID is a very impressive company and one we have been tracking for some time, given its footing in the high growth digital identification market in Germany. The banking landscape there is witnessing sustained growth from increasing channel shifts of online vs. offline and the penetration of KYC in online processes that we believe will ultimately lead to a fully online customer journey. WebID is extremely well placed to enable, facilitate and capitalise on this trend, particularly for large banks who are keen adopters for security, operational efficiency and cost management purposes. There is also significant further upside potential through the possible deployment of digital identification solutions in additional verticals going forward via the likes of eGov and eHealth, fuelled by actual real use cases and existing favourable legislation. We look forward to supporting management in the next stage of growth for WebID.”

Frank S. Jorga, Founder of WebID, commented:
“We have had numerous inquiries over the past few years and have been pleased with the interest we have received from prestigious investment companies. For us it was important to have a partner matching the founding spirit of WebID. Now with AnaCap, we have found the right investor to consistently expand our leading position in the market and as an industry pioneer and to significantly accelerate our growth, which has so far been organic. After the company’s formative years, 2020 was an exceptional year for WebID. Sales from 2019 of more than 13 million euros rose to 20 million in 2020 and this year we are heading for 30 million. All this confirms our strategy, which is now supported by AnaCap. Products, such as our invention WebID Video Ident, are of interest to numerous, especially regulated, sectors worldwide due to their high level of security. Our IT platform provides a comprehensive global ecosystem for E-KYC and related services. A first-class portfolio for a strong growth trajectory via new business development and international expansion. AnaCap’s experience and success in the fintech space are ideal to further realize our strategy of ambitious growth. Together, we are taking WebID’s success story to the next level.”

For this transaction, AnaCap received corporate finance advice from GCA Altium and legal advice from Proskauer Rose (London) and Norton Rose Fulbright (Munich). The transaction is subject to the usual closing conditions.

 

 

[1] The German financial regulator

Sep 07 2021

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Ohpen secures new financing for expansion

NPM Capital

NPM participation Ohpen, provider of a software-as-a-service (saas) platform for banks, insurers, investment companies, real estate investors and pension funds, has recently secured thirty million euros of new financing from Deutsche Bank. The growth capital will be used to continue expanding in markets such as the United Kingdom and to further develop the platform’s functionalities.

According to CFO Douwe Bijl, the new financing allows Ohpen to realise its strategic goal of becoming a prominent international player in the digitalisation of financial services. He notes that the global market for banking IT is estimated at some 300 billion dollars, and that existing financial institutions are investing heavily into the modernisation of their IT systems to meet the demands of clients, shareholders and regulators. “Thanks to this new round of financing, we will be able to push forward with our internationalisation, accelerate our innovation roadmap and conquer a larger share of this lucrative market”, Bijl said.

Ohpen previously strengthened its position through the acquisition of fintech company Davinci, the nomination of Leni Boeren as new Supervisory Board member, and by recruiting banking veteran Jerry Mulle as Ohpen UK’s Managing Director.

Read more: Digital banking services provider Ohpen selects Aspire Systems as implementation partner

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ProData Consult to acquire French emagine Group to create the leading European provider of high-end business and IT consultants

Axcel

Axcel has signed an agreement whereby ProData Consult partners with Paris-based emagine Group, gaining a strong foothold in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

ProData Consult, the leading Northern European talent-centric provider of high-end business and IT consultants, today announced that it is to acquire emagine Group that holds a strong market position in France, Germany, and United Kingdom. The transaction, facilitated by Axcel, is a significant milestone for ProData Consult in its aspiration to grow outside of the Nordics and will be the fourth acquisition ProData Consult undertakes in less than two years.

Utilizing its proprietary IT platform, ProData Consult offers its blue-chip clientele scalability and access to quality-assured high-end business consultants and IT professionals, both through its large network of local freelance consultants and its Nearshoring-as-a-Service delivered from three hubs in Poland.

“We are convinced that emagine is a perfect match for us in terms of enlarging our geographical reach, the IT platform synergies to be realized, and our corporate culture. emagine’s prominent positions in their key markets France, Germany, and the UK fits perfectly with our position in the Nordics and Poland. The enlarged reach will enable us to offer major domestic and international clients a fully integrated pan-European range of high-end, coherent IT consultancy services”, says Anders Gratte, CEO, ProData Consult.

ProData Consult, based in Copenhagen, reached EUR 202m in revenue in 2020 and employs 150 people. Servicing clients from 14 office locations in Europe and India, emagine Group achieved EUR 150m in revenue in 2020.

The double-digit organic growth ProData Consult has experienced in recent years is fuelled by the fact that digitalization is a top priority for most companies and their management teams in the Nordics and across Europe, according to Anders Gratte.

“Scalability and access to the most skilled IT resources in flexible, agile, and scalable models are more important than ever in the current unpredictable and fast-moving business environment,” says Anders Gratte.

 

emagine Group, headquartered in Paris, incorporates both consultancy and technical expertise in business, information technology, and engineering, providing clients with professional advice and expert skills to further develop and maintain their business performance.

Jean-François Bodin, CEO of emagine Group, said: “We are thrilled to join the ProData Consult team, a successful, fast-growing company with a strong IT platform, a great network, and impressive client portfolio. We are very similar to ProData Consult, and we share the same ambitions to deliver flawless services for IT and digitalization projects. We see great opportunities and look forward to developing synergies and expanding together”.

 

The private equity company Axcel announced their acquisition of ProData Consult on July 1st, 2021, and has facilitated the acquisition of emagine Group by ProData Consult as an important step in the aspiration to form a European IT consultancy powerhouse.

With an evident track record of growth, the ProData Consult management team has already done a great job of building a company in a prominent position in Northern Europe. We are very pleased to have facilitated this transformative acquisition of emagine Group. We believe that ProData Consult’s proprietary IT platform, competent organization and the continued market growth, driven by digitalization, will create a strong basis for further expansion, and we are excited about the potential we see ahead”, said Christian Bamberger Bro, Partner at Axcel.

 

Anders Gratte will continue as CEO of the combined businesses post-closing. Jean-François Bodin will remain part of management and play an instrumental role in the integration process of ProData Consult and emagine Group.

 

The acquisition of ProData Consult by Axcel closed in August 2021. The acquisition of emagine Group is subject to customary regulatory approvals in relevant jurisdictions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

 


About ProData Consult

Established in 1994, ProData Consult is a leading Northern European talent-centric provider of business and IT consultants. ProData Consult offers its customers time and material-based consultants through its freelancer network, Nearshoring-as-a-Service, and vendor management services. The company had close to EUR 200m in revenues (2020) and employs around 150 FTEs. In 2020, the company had more than 2,600 individual consultants working for some of the largest and most prestigious clients in Scandinavia and Poland. ProData Consult is headquartered in Copenhagen and has offices in Sweden, Norway, Poland, the Netherlands, and Germany.

About emagine Group

emagine Group provides clients with professional advice and expert skills to further develop and maintain their business performance. The focus is to maintain long-lasting relationships and look for ways to develop and deliver innovative technology and services to clients. The company had a revenue of EUR 150m in 2020, more than 1,150 individual consultants delivered projects in 24 countries. The company is headquartered in Paris and has offices in France, Germany, India, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

 

About Axcel

Founded in 1994, Axcel is a Nordic private equity firm focusing on mid-market companies, with a broad base of both Nordic and international investors. Axcel has raised six funds with total committed capital of over EUR 2.8 billion. These funds have made 61 platform investments with well over 100 add-on investments and 43 exits. Axcel currently owns 18 companies.

 

Further information:
Geelmyuden Kiese
Paul Svinth Jensen
Senior advisor
e-mail: paul.svinth.jensen@gknordic.com
Tel: +45 4083 3230

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Montagu agrees sale of Servelec

Montagu

Montagu, a leading European private equity firm, is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement to sell Servelec , a leading software provider to healthcare and local authorities based in the UK, to The Access Group.

 

Headquartered in Sheffield, Servelec has over 40 years’ experience in developing mission-critical software solutions to deliver better care. The company is a trusted supplier to more than 45 NHS trusts and over 150 local authorities, providing an integrated approach across social care, healthcare, and education.

 

Servelec’s extensive product portfolio, including systems for electronic patient records, social care case management, schools’ admissions, youth services reporting and patient flow and bed management, is designed with the sole purpose to support effective decision-making and to maximise time spent providing efficient, patient-focused care.

 

Montagu acquired the Servelec Group via a public-to-private transaction in 2018, and since then has worked with the Company to increase its strategic focus on its core health and social care software products. This involved successfully divesting two non-core divisions, completing two complementary acquisitions, and driving significant investment in the business to further strengthen the management team, to scale-up its operating processes, and to accelerate and enhance the development of Servelec’s software products. This has resulted in significant revenue and profit growth, and enabled the business to improve and extend the digital care products it provides to its customers to help support their vital work in the community.

 

 

 

Edward Shuckburgh, Director at Montagu commented: “We first came into contact with Servelec ten years ago, and we immediately knew that the business was a strong fit for Montagu’s approach, spanning our core competencies in both healthcare and technology and addressing growing market needs for innovative digital tools to support care delivery. We are extremely proud of what we have achieved together – Ian and the team have delivered a step change in the professionalisation of the business and have significantly advanced both their products and customer service, which has contributed to Servelec’s very strong growth. As a leading provider of business management software to mid-sized organisations, The Access Group represents a clear strategic fit for Servelec, and we wish them well for the future.”

 

Ian Crichton, CEO at Servelec, said: “Our partnership with Montagu, a firm who shares our values, has been terrific. Technology provides us with endless opportunities to improve people’s lives and with Montagu’s backing we’ve invested heavily to accelerate growth and build a better business that’s ready to help UK society at a time of need. I’m delighted we have secured a great new home. The Access Group are culturally and strategically the best possible fit for the business, and I have no doubt that all of our stakeholders will benefit greatly from the new partnership.”

 

Arma Partners acted as corporate financial advisors to Montagu on the transaction.

Serrala secures strategic investment from Hg

HG Capital

Serrala secures strategic investment from Hg to continue its growth as a leading global financial automation and B2B payments software provider

Hamburg, Germany and London, United Kingdom. 26 August 2021 – Serrala, a fast-growing global financial automation and B2B payments software company, today announced that it has secured a majority investment from Hg, a leading global software and services investor.

Following the transaction, Serrala’s CEO Sven Lindemann and existing investor, Waterland, will continue to support the business and remain as significant minority shareholders in the business.

Founded in 1984 and based in Hamburg, Germany, Serrala provides software solutions for financial automation and B2B payments to medium-sized to large Enterprise customers globally, with a strong footprint across Europe and the US.

Serrala enables the ‘Office of the CFO’ to automate and optimize all processes for corporate payments and cash management to save costs, minimize fraud risks and gain real-time insights into their world of payments. It is a fast-growing company with global offices across North America, Europe and Asia and over 700 employees. Today, Serrala drives innovation for more than 2,800 customers including more than 100 of the S&P500 and around two thirds of companies listed in the DAX.

For Hg this investment follows two decades of experience in growing tax & accounting technology businesses across Europe and North America, and also extends Hg’s footprint in software for the ‘Office of the CFO’, joining Hg’s recent investments in Prophix and insightsoftware, as well as Hg’s long-standing backing of Sovos. Together with Serrala, these complementary businesses all improve the efficiency of financial and tax management for corporations globally.

“Serrala is an ambitious, global financial software business, offering truly differentiated SaaS solutions into the ‘Office of the CFO’. Hg has been investing in this sector for decades and recognises Serrala’s huge potential to continue this growth trajectory. We’re excited to be backing Sven and his team, who have successfully grown and internationalized the firm over the last few years, through impressive organic growth and strategic acquisitions.”

Stefan Margolis, Partner at Hg

“Serrala’s innovative solutions are critical as businesses look to invest in automating their finance processes for both inbound and outbound payments. Building on our strong organic and inorganic growth, as well as our investments in cloud technology, we are proud to welcome Hg to the team for this chapter of our growth story. As a specialist software investor, with a track record of growing technology businesses, they will work alongside the Serrala team to take the business to the next level.”

Sven Lindemann, CEO, Serrala

The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed and completion is subject to customary closing conditions.

Media Contacts:

Hg
Tom Eckersley
Tom.Eckersley@hgcapital.com
+44 208 148 5401

Serrala
Marc-Oliver Prier
m.prier@serrala.com
+49 152 0239 8345

About Serrala
Serrala is a global financial automation and B2B payments software company creating more secure payment capabilities worldwide for enterprises of all sizes. We are a leading fintech pushing the boundaries of finance software by integrating finance and treasury into one central ecosystem for corporate payments
We support our customers automating and digitizing their financial processes to save costs, minimize fraud risks and gain real-time insights into their world of payments.
Serrala is a fast-growing innovator with more than 2,800 global customers including more than 100 of the S&P500 companies and more than 700 employees.
Watch this video or visit serrala.com

About Hg
Hg is a leading investor in software and services, focused on backing businesses that change how we all do business. Deep technology expertise, complemented by vertical application specialisation and dedicated operational support, provides a compelling proposition to management teams looking to scale their businesses. Hg has funds under management of over $30 billion, with an investment team of over 140 professionals, plus a portfolio team of more than 35 operators, providing practical support to help our businesses to realise their growth ambitions. Based in London, Munich and New York, Hg has a portfolio of over 35 software and technology businesses, worth around $70 billion aggregate enterprise value, with over 50,000 employees globally, growing at over 20% per year. Visit www.hgcapital.com for more information

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Fintech Serrala extends shareholder basis: Hg to join founder family, management and Waterland Private Equity as majority owner

Waterland

Serrala, a globally leading software specialist for the automation of financial processes and B2B payments, positions itself for further growth by strengthening its shareholder base with an additional, new majority investor. Waterland Private Equity (“Waterland”), who has closely supported Serrala’s strong expansion over the past five years, is selling a portion of its shares to the software investor Hg. Hg will be the new majority shareholder, while Waterland as well as Serrala’s founder family and management team will retain significant stakes in the company. Backed by this robust and experienced shareholder group, the fintech intends to expand its cloud-based services further and secure additional market share in the sectors of financial automation and B2B payments. Further financial details of the transaction, which is still subject to the usual regulatory approvals, were not disclosed.

As a global software provider, Serrala automates, optimizes and digitizes financial processes for businesses, enabling them to save costs, minimize risks and gain additional process transparency using real-time data. Through innovative solutions, Serrala facilitates the automation of incoming and outgoing payments and invoices as well as cash management processes. Serrala stands for flexible, scalable solutions as well as secure global payment capabilities for businesses of all sizes.

Waterland Private Equity joined forces with Serrala’s founder family Lindemann in 2016 to accelerate the company’s growth. Since then, Serrala has evolved from a German SME into a global B2B fintech with offices in Europe, North America and Asia. The extensive investments made in cooperation with Waterland expanded both the functional range of the firm’s software offering and the technological portfolio, adding for instance also cloud solutions, such that today Serrala provides a unique platform that covers comprehensively the digital “office of the CFO”, in which financial processes and payments are automated and optimized. Together with Hg, an investment firm specializing in the software sector, Serrala will address new growth potential as well as drive forward further investments and expansions.

“During our five years of working with Waterland, we have achieved so much – from expanding the functional range of our software offering over extending the technological portfolio to include cloud solutions to driving forward our internationalization significantly. For that, Waterland’s experience and expertise, both with regards to organic growth – particularly in the US and with our Center of Excellence in India – as well as in regard to acquisitions, were key to the success of by now more than 700 employees and 2,800 clients. For our next growth phase, we aim to continue our current trajectory and invest in innovations and international expansion in cooperation with Waterland and Hg”, says Sven Lindemann, CEO of Serrala.

“Since the beginning of our partnership with Sven Lindemann and the Serrala team, the company has developed from a hidden champion to a global market leader. Today, Serrala is known as a leading software specialist for automating financial processes and B2B payments, both for SMEs as well as blue chip clients. During our partnership, we were able to acquire five companies, which have strategically increased Serrala’s geographic presence as well as its software portfolio. We are very proud of this development and are looking forward to our joint growth journey in the future”, says Dr. Gregor Hengst, Partner at Waterland Private Equity.

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Riskalyze Recapitalised by Hg

HG Capital

Industry-leading, risk-centric wealth management platform gains backing of one of the world’s leading software investors

Founder and CEO Aaron Klein to continue leading the firm

AUBURN, CALIFORNIA, USA and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — August 25th, 2021 – Riskalyze, Inc., an industry-leading risk-centric wealth management platform serving financial advisors, enterprises, and asset managers; and Hg, a leading global investor in software and services, today announced a definitive agreement for Hg to acquire a majority interest in Riskalyze. Terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Riskalyze’s industry-leading client and portfolio risk technology is rapidly emerging as an industry standard for advisor, client and portfolio risk analytics across the US wealth management ecosystem. Today, Riskalyze’s platform supports tens of thousands of financial advisors who use it to manage millions of client accounts with over $400 billion in assets.

The transaction marks a major inflection point for the fast-growing company, enabling the business to continue to invest in its strategy to serve the advisor desktop, providing risk, portfolio analytics, proposal, trading and compliance solutions to advisors and wealth management enterprises. The company has added thousands of advisors to the platform in the last 12 months, and has signed key enterprise clients such as Cetera, Atria Wealth, Grove Point, Hightower, Boston Private and Private Advisor Group.

Riskalyze Co-Founder Aaron Klein will reinvest the majority of his holdings into the recapitalized firm, and will continue to lead the company as CEO and a member of the Board of Directors.

“We are thrilled to welcome Hg to Team Riskalyze and are excited to have found the perfect partner to write this next chapter of our story. When we set out on this journey a decade ago, we quickly came to realize that we weren’t just building a company, but a movement – and the tens of thousands of advisors who comprise the Fearless Investing Movement took a big step forward today into a future of innovation and growth.”

Aaron Klein, CEO, Riskalyze

For Hg, the deal represents an opportunity to support a leading software as a service (SaaS) platform and to build and scale a strong wealth management technology business in the United States. Hg is a software and services investor with extensive experience in the global fintech sector, having invested in over 10 fintech leaders in just over five years and investing over $1 billion in the sector to date. Hg has a track record of partnering with founder teams of high-quality and scalable technology solutions to the financial advisor ecosystem. This scale and experience will provide Riskalyze with ample access to additional capital and expertise as needed to complete future acquisitions or to support organic growth.

“Riskalyze has seen significant momentum in the last few years. The team have successfully established themselves as providing a best-in-class SaaS tool that solves real business challenges in a sector still seeing increasing tech adoption. Riskalyze’s software enables advisors to participate in key trends in wealth management and offer more holistic engagement with their clients. We’re delighted to join the team and support the momentum of a modern software business of scale, backed by a visionary founder CEO and strong supporting team.”

Max Dewez, Director at Hg in New York

Riskalyze was advised by Financial Technology Partners as financial advisor and Morris Manning & Martin as legal counsel. Hg was advised by Skadden Arps as legal counsel. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close before the end of September. Hg’s Sebastien Briens, Max Dewez and Richard Earnshaw will join the Board after closing. The company expects to announce additional board appointments in the near future.

Media Contacts:

StreetCred PR (Riskalyze)

Allie Zendrian
allie@streetcredpr.com
516-581-7202

Jason Lahita
jason@streetcredpr.com
973-460-7837

Hg

Tom Eckersley
Tom.Eckersley@hgcapital.com
+44 208 148 5401

Alex Yankus and Harry Mayfield (Brunswick, USA)
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Inovalon to be acquired by equity consortium led by Nordic Capital including Insight Partners for $7.3 billion

Nordic Capital
  • Stockholders to Receive $41.00 Per Share in Cash 

Inovalon (Nasdaq: INOV), a leading provider of cloud-based platforms empowering data-driven healthcare, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an equity consortium led by Nordic Capital, and joined by Insight Partners, as lead co-investor, 22C Capital, and Inovalon founder and Chief Executive Officer Keith Dunleavy, M.D. and certain Class B stockholders of Inovalon in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $7.3 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, Inovalon stockholders will receive $41.00 per share in cash for each share of Class A Common Stock or Class B Common Stock, representing a 25.3% premium over the closing price of Inovalon Class A Common Stock on July 26, 2021, the last unaffected trading day prior to media speculation regarding a potential transaction, and a 24.4% premium over the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s shares over the 30 trading days leading up to the unaffected trading day.

The independent members of the Inovalon Board of Directors, acting on the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of independent directors that led the consideration of alternatives and the negotiation of the terms of the transaction, unanimously approved the agreement, which is subject to a number of customary conditions, including a vote of each of the Class A and Class B stockholders voting separately. In addition, the transaction is subject to approval by a majority of the voting power of the Class A and Class B stockholders voting together as a single class, excluding Dr. Dunleavy, certain other Class B stockholders who are providing equity capital for the transaction and their affiliates. Dr. Dunleavy was not a member of the Special Committee and recused himself from all relevant Board discussions and from the Board vote regarding the transaction.

Upon completion of the transaction, Inovalon will become a private company with greater flexibility to focus on strategies that drive innovation and global market development. Keith Dunleavy, M.D., will continue to be a substantial shareholder in the Company, serve on the Board of Directors, lead Inovalon as CEO, and the Company will maintain its headquarters in Bowie, Maryland.

 “The Inovalon Board regularly evaluates opportunities to enhance stockholder value. Today’s announcement is the culmination of a thorough process of evaluating strategic alternatives and represents a compelling opportunity to deliver immediate and more certain cash value to stockholders at a significant premium,” said William J. Teuber, Jr., Lead Independent Director of the Board and chair of the Special Committee. “During our evaluation it became clear that not only is the consortium led by Nordic Capital offering our shareholders compelling value, they also have a deep appreciation for Inovalon’s cloud-based platforms and data capabilities, as well as an appreciation for the people, mission, and the value impact of the Company.”

“For more than two decades, Inovalon has developed technologies that enable the connectivity, aggregation, and analysis of healthcare data to empower better clinical outcomes and economics across the healthcare ecosystem,” said Keith Dunleavy, M.D., Inovalon’s founder, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board. “We are excited to enter the next chapter in Inovalon’s journey together with such great partners as Nordic Capital, Insight Partners, and 22C Capital. Their significant experience in the areas of software, data, and healthcare is key. This, together with their longer-term focus, operational experience, and international perspective, is an exciting combination for what we see in front of us. We look forward to continuing our mission, together with our greatly appreciated customers, to empower data-driven healthcare.”

 “As a leading healthcare and technology investor, Nordic Capital has long admired Inovalon’s leadership across the healthcare ecosystem and its cloud-based tools leveraging advanced data analytics to meaningfully empower its customers and the patients they serve,” said Fredrik Näslund, Partner, Nordic Capital Advisors. “As data-driven insights become even more important in improving healthcare, Nordic Capital and its co-investors are committed to supporting Inovalon in continuing to deliver high-value solutions to customers and look forward to partnering with Keith and the Inovalon team in this next phase of the Company’s growth journey.”

 “At Insight Partners, we work with healthcare IT leaders who define and grow their markets through world-class software, data and innovation,” said Deven Parekh, Managing Director at Insight Partners. “We are excited to support Inovalon, a market leader with a long history of serving customers with powerful data technology as they continue to transform the healthcare ecosystem.”

Approvals and Timing

The Inovalon Board of Directors formed a Special Committee composed entirely of independent and disinterested directors to conduct a thorough review of strategic alternatives. The Special Committee led negotiations with the assistance of independent financial and legal advisors. Following the Special Committee’s unanimous recommendation, the independent members of the Inovalon Board unanimously approved the merger agreement with an entity established by the equity consortium led by Nordic Capital and co-led by Insight Partners, and recommend that Inovalon stockholders adopt and approve the merger agreement and the transaction.

The transaction is expected to close in late 2021 or early 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the stockholder approvals described above and the receipt of U.S. antitrust approval. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition.

Advisors

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as financial advisor to Inovalon, and Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as legal advisor to Inovalon and the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Inovalon. Evercore is serving as financial advisor to the Special Committee. Goldman Sachs is acting as lead financial advisor to Nordic Capital and Insight Partners. Citigroup is also advising Nordic Capital and Insight Partners, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor. Willkie Farr and Gallagher LLP served as legal advisor to Insight Partners.

About Inovalon

Inovalon is a leading provider of cloud-based platforms empowering data-driven healthcare. Through the Inovalon ONE® Platform, Inovalon brings to the marketplace a national-scale capability to interconnect with the healthcare ecosystem, aggregate and analyze data in real time, and empower the application of resulting insights to drive meaningful impact at the point of care. Leveraging its Platform, unparalleled proprietary datasets, and industry-leading subject matter expertise, Inovalon enables better care, efficiency, and financial performance across the healthcare ecosystem. From health plans and provider organizations, to pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostics companies, Inovalon’s unique achievement of value is delivered through the effective progression of “Turning Data into Insight, and Insight into Action®.” Supporting thousands of customers, including all 25 of the top 25 U.S. health plans, all 25 of the top 25 global pharma companies, 24 of the top 25 U.S. healthcare provider systems, and many of the leading pharmacy organizations, device manufacturers, and other healthcare industry constituents, Inovalon’s technology platforms and analytics are informed by data pertaining to more than one million physicians, 584,000 clinical facilities, 338 million Americans, and 63 billion medical events. For more information, visit www.inovalon.com.

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Focus sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services, and selectively, Industrial & Business Services. Key regions are Europe and globally for Healthcare and Technology & Payments investments. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested more than EUR 17 billion in close to 120 investments. The most recent funds are Nordic Capital Fund X with EUR 6.1 billion in committed capital and Nordic Capital Evolution Fund with EUR 1.2 billion in committed capital, principally provided by international institutional investors such as pension funds. Nordic Capital Advisors have local offices in Sweden, the UK, the US, Germany, Denmark, Finland and Norway. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com.

“Nordic Capital” refers to any, or all, Nordic Capital branded funds and vehicles and associated entities. The general partners and/or delegated portfolio manager of Nordic Capital’s funds and vehicles are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities, any or all of which are referred to as “Nordic Capital Advisors”.

About Insight Partners

Insight Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight Partners has invested in more than 400 companies worldwide and has raised through a series of funds more than $30 billion in capital commitments. Insight’s mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on software expertise to foster long-term success. Across its people and its portfolio, Insight encourages a culture around a belief that ScaleUp companies and growth create opportunity for all. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit www.insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter@insightpartners.

About 22C Capital

22C Capital is a private investment firm committed to delivering capital and critical resources to companies operating at the intersection of technology enablement and data analytics adoption. The firm has a dedicated focus on the business services, healthcare and financial services sectors. 22C partners with world-class management teams to build companies that are leaders in their respective markets. The firm’s operational and technology resources, including its affiliated data science organization, deliver practical, real-world support to help convert businesses’ challenges into opportunities and unlock their full potential.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. This communication may be deemed to be solicitation material in respect of the proposed transaction involving Inovalon Holdings, Inc. (“Inovalon”) and affiliates of Nordic Capital. In connection with the proposed transaction, Inovalon intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and furnish to stockholders a proxy statement. This communication is not a substitute for the proxy statement or any other document that Inovalon may file with the SEC or send to its stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS OF INOVALON ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER RELEVANT MATERIALS WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT INOVALON AND THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. The materials to be filed by Inovalon will be made available to Inovalon’s investors and stockholders at no expense to them and copies may be obtained free of charge on Inovalon’s website at www.inovalon.com. In addition, all of those materials will be available at no charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Inovalon and its directors, executive officers, other members of its management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies of Inovalon stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction under SEC rules. Investors and stockholders may obtain more detailed information regarding the names, affiliations and interests of Inovalon’s executive officers and directors in the solicitation by reading Inovalon’s proxy statement for its 2021 annual meeting of stockholders, the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, and the proxy statement and other relevant materials that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction when they become available. Information concerning the interests of Inovalon’s participants in the solicitation, which may, in some cases, be different than those of the Inovalon’s stockholders generally, will be set forth in the proxy statement relating to the proposed transaction when it becomes available.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements and assumptions in this communication that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts could be deemed “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intends,” “objective,” “plans,” “projects,” “strategy,” “target” and “will” and similar words and terms or variations of such. These statements represent current intentions, expectations, beliefs or projections, and no assurance can be given that the results described in such statements will be achieved. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about the potential benefits of the proposed transaction; the prospective performance and outlook of Inovalon’s business, performance and opportunities; the ability of the parties to complete the proposed transaction and the expected timing of completion of the proposed transaction; as well as any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements, many of which are outside of Inovalon’s control. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, (i) the ability to obtain the requisite approval from stockholders of Inovalon; (ii) uncertainties as to the timing of the proposed transaction; (iii) the risk that the proposed transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all; (iv) the possibility that competing offers or acquisition proposals for Inovalon will be made; (v) the possibility that any or all of the various conditions to the consummation of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied or waived, including the failure to receive any required regulatory approvals from any applicable governmental entities (or any conditions, limitations or restrictions placed on such approvals); (vi) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement, including in circumstances that would require Inovalon to pay a termination fee or other expenses; (vii) the effect of the pendency of the proposed transaction on Inovalon’s ability to retain and hire key personnel, its ability to maintain relationships with its customers, suppliers and others with whom it does business, its business generally or its stock price; (viii) risks related to diverting management’s attention from Inovalon’s ongoing business operations or the loss of one or more members of the management team; (ix) the risk that stockholder litigation in connection with the proposed transaction may result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; (x) various risks related to health epidemics, pandemics and similar outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have material adverse effects on Inovalon’s business, financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows; (xi) failure to comply with numerous laws, regulations and rules, including regarding employment, anti-bribery, foreign investment, tax, privacy, and data protection laws and regulations; (xii) problems or delays in the development, delivery and transition of new products and services or the enhancement of existing products and services to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; (xiii) failure of third parties to deliver on commitments under contracts with Inovalon; (xiv) misconduct or other improper activities from Inovalon’s employees or subcontractors; (xv) failure of Inovalon’s internal control over financial reporting to detect fraud or other issues; (xvi) failure or disruptions to Inovalon’s systems, due to cyber-attack, service interruptions or other security threats; (xvii) uncertainty from the expected discontinuance of the London Interbank Offered Rate and transition to any other interest rate benchmark; and (xviii) other factors as set forth from time to time in Inovalon’s filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, as may be updated or supplemented by any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or other filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements which speak only as of the date they are made. Inovalon does not undertake any obligation to update or release any revisions to any forward-looking statement or to report any events or circumstances after the date of this communication or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by law.

 

Contacts:

Inovalon
Kim E. Collins, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
kcollins@inovalon.com
Phone: +1-301-809-4000 x1473

Nordic Capital
Katarina Janerud, Communications Manager, Nordic Capital Advisors
katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com
Phone: +46 8 440 50 50

US media contact – Brunswick Group
NordicCapital@brunswickgroup.com

Insight Partners
Nikki Parker, Senior Vice President Marketing & Communications
Phone: +1 571 353 4273
nparker@insightpartners.com