Longship acquires Westcon Power & Automation

Longship Fund II (“Longship”) has as of March 20th, 2021 agreed to acquire 100% of the shares in Westcon Power & Automation AS (“WPA”) from Westcon Group AS (“Westcon”).

WPA is a leading system provider of hybrid- and fully electric propulsion systems and automation solutions to the maritime industry. The company is a forerunner in development of propulsion systems with hydrogen as main energy carrier and will in 2021 deliver the hydrogen-electric propulsion system to MF Hydra, the world’s first hydrogen powered car ferry. WPA reported a pro forma revenue of NOK 480 million with NOK 60 million in EBITDA in 2020. The company employs a total of 145 employees, and is headquartered at Karmøy, Norway.

“WPA has established itself as a leading provider of green propulsion systems through deliveries of more than 30 installations since 2016. Longship is impressed by the company’s competence and approach to drive maritime decarbonization, and we are looking forward to supporting WPA in the growth journey ahead”, says Hans Tindlund, lead partner for Longship’s investment in WPA.

“Throughout the transaction process we have thoroughly gotten to know Longship and their model for active ownership, and we are excited to embark on the next chapter of WPA together with them. We envision to establish WPA as a global provider of hybrid and electric power and automation solutions, and to continue delivering high quality products paving the way for a more sustainable maritime industry”, says Gunvald Mortvedt, Chief Executive Officer of Westcon Power & Automation AS.

“WPA has grown rapidly over the past years and is well positioned to take on further growth in a global market. We are proud of the role Westcon Group has played in the WPA success story. We are equally happy to have agreed with Longship, which is a well-suited owner to take WPA into the next chapter of the growth journey”, says Rune Lande, chairman of Westcon Group.

Longship is a transformational growth investor, developing successful lower mid-market companies into mature growth businesses with institutional and strategic value. We aim to create a scalable platform for sustainable growth and profitability in our portfolio companies and support them on their accelerated growth journey.

Management and employees will become owners in Westcon Power & Automation AS, as part of a broad Management Investment Program.

Longship was advised by Boston Consulting Group, Wiersholm, and EY. Westcon Group was advised by Sparebank1 SR-Bank Markets, Selmer, and Deloitte.

For more information, please contact:

Hans Tindlund, Partner, Longship AS
+47 92 66 99 66
hans.tindlund@longship.no

Gunvald Mortvedt, CEO, Weston Power & Automation AS
+47 982 12 457
gunvald.mortvedt@westcon.no

Rune Lande, Chairman of the Board, Westcon Group AS
+47 901 25 698
lande@eikesdal.com

About Longship:

Longship is a Norwegian private equity investor established in 2015 by an experienced team of investment professionals. Longship invests in companies with significant growth potential in the Norwegian lower mid-market, and are applying a transformational growth approach, organically and through M&A. The investment team currently consists of eleven professionals, making it the leading player in the Norwegian lower mid-market. Longship closed its second fund in November 2020 with commitments of NOK 1.7 billion.

About Westcon Power & Automation:

Westcon Power & Automation (“WPA”) is a leading provider of hybrid- and fully electric propulsion systems and automation solutions to the maritime industry. The company offers complete electrical and automation systems for newbuilds and re-builds, as well as a wide range of products and services to the maritime, offshore, and onshore based industry. The comprehensive portfolio of products ranges from complete power and automation systems to stand-alone products and concepts for machine safety, maintenance, and energy efficiency improvements. The company is a forerunner in development of propulsion systems with hydrogen as main energy carrier with its own development and test facilities at Karmøy, Norway. WPA was founded in Norway in 1988 as a continuation of ABB Marine, and was later acquired by Westcon Group.

Categories: News

Tags:

Bridgepoint sells Calypso

San Francisco, CA – March 22, 2021 – Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity investment firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sectors, today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Calypso Technology, Inc. (“Calypso”) from international private equity group Bridgepoint and global growth investor Summit Partners. The deal, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in San Francisco with offices around the world, Calypso is a cloud-enabled provider of cross-asset, front-to-back solutions for financial markets with over 35,000 users in 60+ countries. Its award-winning software improves reliability, adaptability, and scalability across several verticals, including capital markets, investment management, central banking, clearing, and treasury.

“We are thrilled to begin the next chapter of our story alongside Thoma Bravo and are grateful to Bridgepoint and Summit Partners for their support and partnership. Our acquisition by Thoma Bravo is further validation of the unique value Calypso creates for its customers, employees and investors and a direct reflection of the hard work, collaboration and strong results the team has achieved,” said Didier Bouillard, Chief Executive Officer of Calypso. “Thoma Bravo has a proven track-record of supporting its portfolio companies by investing in growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions designed to drive long-term value and we are excited to continue delivering innovative solutions to the financial markets while accelerating our growth.”

“For more than a decade, we have admired Calypso’s position as a leader in the global capital markets software space with a highly differentiated and modern, integrated front-to-back technology platform across a wide range of asset classes,” said Holden Spaht, a Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo. “Calypso’s technology allows its world-class customer base to navigate the highly complex and regulated capital markets with greater transparency and lower costs. We look forward to partnering with Didier and his team to continue building on their great momentum supported by increased investment and innovation and an intense focus on customer success.”

Brian Jaffee, a Principal at Thoma Bravo, added, “We are thrilled to partner with such a high-quality franchise and management team to help drive continued growth both organically and through M&A. Calypso’s financial services end market is massive and it is well positioned to capitalize on the strong trend of technology outsourcing to best-in-class platform vendors, particularly as the move to the cloud accelerates. We look forward to supporting the company in this next chapter of exciting growth.”

“We are proud to have partnered with Calypso and its management team to achieve the significant transformation of the business which led to this exceptional result. Alongside a range of operational initiatives, the transition of the business to a cloud model combined with best-in-class client service was undoubtedly key in accelerating growth. With this transformation now complete and having demonstrated very robust growth throughout the COVID pandemic, the business is well placed for the next stage of its evolution under new ownership,” said David Nicault, Partner and Global Head of Digital, Technology & Media at Bridgepoint.

“As the regulatory and competitive environment grows more complex, we have seen financial institutions shift their capital markets technology spend from legacy, internally developed platforms to modern, cloud-based software solutions,” said Scott Collins, Managing Director at Summit Partners. “Calypso has supported financial institutions across developing and emerging markets on their modernization journeys. We are grateful for the partnership of the Calypso and Bridgepoint teams, and we look forward to following the company’s continued impact in the financial services sector.”

Kirkland & Ellis, LLP is serving as legal counsel to Thoma Bravo. Evercore and Jefferies are serving as financial advisors and Latham & Watkins is serving as legal counsel to Calypso, Bridgepoint and Summit Partners.

Categories: News

Tags:

ironSource announces combination with Thoma Bravo Advantage to create publicly-traded business platform for the app economy

CVC Capital Partners
  • ironSource, a leading business platform that enables mobile content creators to prosper within the app economy, will combine with Thoma Bravo Advantage at an implied pro forma equity value of approximately $11.1 billion
  • ironSource recorded 2020 revenue and adjusted EBITDA of $332 million and $104 million, respectively, growing revenue at 83% year over year. With ironSource’s core addressable market projected to grow to as much as $41 billion by 2025, the combination with Thoma Bravo Advantage creates a public company positioned for significant long-term growth and value creation
  • Transaction is expected to provide up to $2.3 billion in cash proceeds (a portion of which will be used for purchases from ironSource equity holders), including an oversubscribed PIPE of $1.3 billion and $1 billion of cash held in the trust account of Thoma Bravo Advantage, assuming no redemptions by public shareholders
  • After giving effect to the transaction (and assuming no redemptions by public shareholders), the company is expected to have approximately $740 million of unrestricted cash
  • An affiliate of Thoma Bravo, L.P. has committed $300 million to the PIPE; Orlando Bravo will join ironSource’s Board of Directors at transaction closing
  • Top-tier investors anchoring the PIPE include funds and accounts managed by Tiger Global Management, LLC, Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Nuveen, LLC, Hedosophia, Wellington Management, The Baupost Group, and certain funds managed by Fidelity Investments Canada ULC

ironSource, a leading business platform for the app economy, has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Thoma Bravo Advantage (NYSE: TBA) (“TBA”), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company, to bring to the public markets a highly-profitable and scalable business that provides a comprehensive business platform for app developers. The transaction values ironSource at a pro forma equity value of $11.1 billion, and is supported by a $1.3 billion oversubscribed Class A ordinary share PIPE led by an affiliate of Thoma Bravo, L.P. (“Thoma Bravo”), as well as investments from Tiger Global Management, LLC, Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Nuveen, LLC, Hedosophia, Wellington Management, The Baupost Group, and certain funds managed by Fidelity Investments Canada ULC and other institutional investors. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will operate under the ironSource name.

ironSource provides the most comprehensive business platform for the app economy. The platform is designed to enable any app or game developer to turn their app into a scalable, successful business by helping them to monetize and analyze their app and grow and engage their users through multiple channels, including unique on-device distribution through partnerships with leading telecom operators and OEMs such as Orange and Samsung. In 2020, ironSource grew revenue 83% year-over-year to $332 million, with 94% from 291 customers with more than $100,000 of annual revenue, a dollar-based net expansion rate of 149%, and adjusted EBITDA margins of 31%. The company serves over 2.3 billion monthly active users across its global customer base.

As a public company, ironSource is expected to benefit from the financial and operational support of Thoma Bravo – one of the most experienced and successful software investors in the world. With a track record of over 300 software investments, Thoma Bravo can provide ironSource with unparalleled industry expertise and a global network.

“Joining forces with Thoma Bravo Advantage to bring ironSource to the public markets presents an opportunity to partner with the world’s leading software investor to achieve the next level of growth,” said Tomer Bar Zeev, CEO and co-founder of ironSource. “Despite our previous progress pursuing a traditional IPO, when we met with Thoma Bravo Advantage we found an alignment of vision and shared conviction about the long-term growth we can drive at ironSource that made them the perfect partner as we take this next step in growing our company, and the market as a whole.”

“As one of the fastest-growing and most innovative platforms for building and scaling businesses in the app economy, ironSource is well-positioned for continued success as a public company,” said Orlando Bravo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Thoma Bravo Advantage, as well as a founder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo. “With a full suite of solutions across the app growth life cycle – and a unique combination of scale, business growth, and profitability – we expect ironSource to further its market leadership position as a public company. We look forward to partnering closely with Tomer and the talented ironSource team in this exciting next chapter for the company.”

“ironSource is a one-of-a-kind software company that combines an innovative, high-growth franchise with a deeply experienced management team that has a track record of success in a rapidly expanding market,” said Robert (Tre) Sayle, CEO of Thoma Bravo Advantage, as well as a partner at Thoma Bravo. “We are thrilled to be partnering with ironSource as it enters the public markets and to be able to provide Thoma Bravo’s deep software expertise and financial support to the company as it continues its growth journey.”

Company Overview

The app economy is one of the fastest-growing markets today, with millions of apps available to billions of users who spend 83% of their time on mobile devices inside apps. Within the app economy, games are the leading category of apps, accounting for the majority of apps in the Apple App Store in 2020 according to Statista, and ironSource has established a strong leadership position within this category, focusing its product development and innovation on building core infrastructure serving mobile game developers.

ironSource powers the business growth of 87% of the top 100 games, and has been ranked multiple times as one of the top 3 platforms for driving both quality and scaled user growth by leading industry indexes. In addition, 14 of the 19 games published through the ironSource platform were ranked in the top 10 most downloaded games on either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store over the course of 2020, and one of them – Join Clash – was the most downloaded game in the world in February 2021.

“Our solutions cover the entire game growth cycle, from growing your user base, to generating revenue to reinvest in growth, and then analyzing and optimizing the entire cycle to drive profitability,” said Omer Kaplan, CRO and co-founder of ironSource. “Using our platform, game developers are able to unlock a flywheel of continuous growth, and since our business model is aligned with our customer’s success, as they grow, we do too. While this cycle is most often leveraged by mobile games, it’s easily transferable to apps outside of gaming, and today 16% of our customers with more than $100,000 of annual revenue are already from industries beyond games.”

The ironSource platform is made up of two solution suites, ironSource Sonic (“Sonic”) and ironSource Aura (“Aura”). The Sonic solution suite supports developers as they launch, monetize, and scale their apps and games. The Aura solution suite allows telecom operators to enrich the device experience by creating new engagement touchpoints that deliver relevant content for their users across the entire lifecycle of the device. This creates a unique on-device distribution channel for developers to promote their apps as an integral part of the device experience.

“The Aura solution suite represents a unique value-add for developers, allowing them to get their apps discovered on millions of devices worldwide,” said Arnon Harish, President and co-founder of ironSource. “Equally important, however, is our ability to help telecom operators with digital transformation, enabling them to engage their users throughout the lifecycle of the device. By leveraging ironSource’s core capabilities around content monetization and user engagement, we were able to quickly build and deploy a solution suite for telecom operators that allows them to more fully participate in the app economy.”

The combination of these two solution suites serves to differentiate the ironSource platform, making it the most comprehensive app business platform in the market and underpinning its market leadership. That market leadership makes ironSource the de facto choice for customers looking to grow their app, and the breadth of its solutions means developers of all sizes and at all stages of growth have a way to leverage the platform. Once a developer starts working with ironSource, they typically expand their use to multiple solutions within the platform, driving a high dollar-based net expansion rate and gross customer retention rate.

“This is a very proud moment for us at Viola and for me personally. A company where we were the first investors thrives and goes public as one of the largest public tech companies in Israeli history,” said Shlomo Dovrat, co-founder of Viola Ventures and board member at ironSource. “We look forward to continuing to work with the amazing founding team of ironSource on their incredible journey.”

“We invested in ironSource in 2019 because we saw a unique opportunity to partner with a founder-led company that not only operated in an exciting market, but had already achieved impressive, profitable growth and industry leadership,” said Daniel Pindur, Partner at CVC Capital Partners. “It’s been amazing to be part of ironSource’s journey so far, and incredibly rewarding to see the company enter its next chapter of growth,” added Sebastian Kuenne, Managing Director and Head of CVC Growth Partners in Europe.

Transaction Overview

Thoma Bravo Advantage has agreed to combine with ironSource based on a $11.1 billion pro forma equity valuation and the transaction is supported by a $1.3 billion oversubscribed Class A ordinary share PIPE led by a $300 million investment by an affiliate of Thoma Bravo, as well as investments from Tiger Global Management, LLC, Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Nuveen, LLC, Hedosophia, Wellington Management, The Baupost Group, and certain funds managed by Fidelity Investments Canada ULC and other institutional investors.

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of ironSource and Thoma Bravo Advantage, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Thoma Bravo Advantage’s shareholders.

Shares issued to the sponsor of Thoma Bravo Advantage will be subject to a 12-month lock-up with limited releases based on the trading price of the shares following the 150th day after the closing of the transaction; nearly all of ironSource’s shareholders will be subject to a 6-month lock-up after the closing of the transaction, subject to the same early release applicable to Thoma Bravo Advantage.

Following the closing of the transaction, ironSource will have a dual class equity structure whereby current shareholders of ironSource will own Class B ordinary shares with five votes per share and holders of Class A ordinary shares, including Thoma Bravo Advantage’s shareholders, will have one vote per share.

After giving effect to the transaction and assuming no redemptions by the Thoma Bravo Advantage shareholders, the company is expected to have approximately $740 million of unrestricted cash.

Total consideration to ironSource shareholders will be $10 billion, which is expected to be comprised of $1.5 billion in cash consideration and a majority of the shares of the combined company.

Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will retain the ironSource Ltd. name.

Categories: News

Tags:

Triton acquires ACRE

Triton

London (United Kingdom) / Dallas (United States), March 11th 2021. Funds advised by Triton (“Triton”) acquired ACRE, a leading end-to-end security solutions provider based in Dallas/USA and Dublin/Ireland. Triton will invest alongside the current management team of ACRE. ACRE’s previous majority investor, LLR Partners, who has partnered with the company since 2013, will exit the business.  The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

ACRE is a global leader in the delivery of security systems for access control and intrusion detection as well as innovative video solutions with a communication networking and intelligent appliance portfolio. The software and solutions provided by ACRE’s family of companies (Vanderbilt, Open Options, RS2 Technologies, ComNet and Razberi) help secure the highest valued assets of large and small customers operating in the private and public sectors. Triton will bring industry expertise and additional capital to support ACRE’s continued innovation and proven buy & build strategy.

Peder Prahl, Director of the General Partner for the Triton funds, said: “We look forward to actively supporting the management and employees of ACRE as a stable owner by investing in the growth and development of the company. Our industry expertise and international network will further strengthen ACRE’s position as a leading global provider of intelligent electronic security solutions.”

Joseph Grillo, ACRE’s CEO, stated:  “As we reach our next stage of growth and strive to hit new milestones, we are pleased to welcome Triton as the partner to help us expand our presence and capabilities organically and via new acquisitions. This partnership will allow us to continue to invest in innovation and bring our market-leading solutions to customers.”

“ACRE operates in the structurally growing, fragmented and resilient electronic security market, with an attractive product portfolio and strong market position in the geographies it operates in. We look forward to partnering with Joe and the team as ACRE embarks on the next phase of its journey” adds Sachin Jivanji, Investment Advisory Professional and advisor to the Triton Funds.

About ACRE

ACRE is a global leader in the delivery of integrated technologies and services. Since its formation in 2012, ACRE has played an instrumental role in the development and implementation of security technology initiatives on a global scale.  Its’ Vanderbilt, RS2, Open Options, ComNet, and Razberi brands deliver advanced solutions to thousands of customers around the world. Today, ACRE employs approximately 325 employees in more than 25 countries.

For more information, visit www.acre-co.com.

About Triton

Since its establishment in 1997, Triton has sponsored nine funds, focusing on businesses in the industrial, business services, consumer and health sectors. The Triton funds invest in and support the positive development of medium-sized businesses with a strong European heritage.

Triton seeks to contribute to the building of better businesses for the longer term. Triton and its executives wish to be agents of positive change towards sustainable operational improvements and growth.

The 47 companies currently in Triton’s portfolio have combined sales of around €18,4 billion and around 101,400 employees.

For further information: www.triton-partners.com

Press Contacts

Triton
Marcus Brans
ACRE
Kim M Loy

Categories: News

Tags:

Charlesbank Capital Partners Makes a Strategic Investment in Ivanti to Partner with Clearlake Capital and TA Associates to Accelerate Growth

TA associates

With Backing from Leading Investors Clearlake, Charlesbank and TA, Ivanti Poised to Continue Leadership in IT Automation and Further Accelerate M&A Strategy

SALT LAKE CITY, UT and BOSTON, MA – Ivanti, Inc. (“Ivanti”), the automation platform that makes every IT connection smarter and more secure across devices, infrastructure and people, today announced that Charlesbank Capital Partners, LLC (“Charlesbank”) has signed a definitive agreement to make a strategic investment in the company. Charlesbank, a leading private investment firm managing more than $8 billion of capital, will join existing investors Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (“Clearlake”) and TA Associates (“TA”) as an institutional shareholder in Ivanti. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Ivanti provides solutions that automate IT and security operations, enabling customers to discover, manage, secure and service their IT infrastructure from cloud environments to edge devices. Ivanti’s software is utilized by over 40,000 customers across various industries and five continents, and its solutions allow administrators to discover IT assets on-premises, in the cloud and at the edge; improve IT service delivery; and reduce risk with insights and automation.

In the past six months, Ivanti completed two transformative acquisitions of MobileIron and Pulse Secure, strengthening its Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) and Zero Trust Security solutions, and announced the planned acquisition of Cherwell Software, enhancing its IT Service Management (ITSM) and workflow automation offerings. The recent strategic acquisitions meaningfully increased Ivanti’s scale and addressable market while strengthening its product portfolio. The additional capital from Charlesbank will enable Ivanti to extend its market-leading position further through product innovation and acquisitions. Ivanti will continue to be led by CEO and Chairman Jim Schaper and the current management team.

“Through our partnership with Clearlake and TA, Ivanti has significantly scaled the business, accelerated revenue growth and strengthened relationships with an expanding customer base,” said Mr. Schaper. “We are excited to welcome Charlesbank, an organization that shares both our values and our commitment to serving our customers and helping them solve their business challenges, as we continue innovating and delivering world-class solutions to enable the everywhere workplace. The unique combination of Clearlake, TA and now Charlesbank provides Ivanti with the expertise and capital to accelerate organic growth complemented with continued strategic acquisitions.”

“Ivanti is extraordinarily well-positioned to provide solutions that enable organizations to collaborate and innovate freely,” said Hiren Mankodi and Ryan Carroll, Managing Directors at Charlesbank. “We were attracted to the company’s leadership track record, vision and growth, as well as the value that has been created through recent acquisitions and strategic operational initiatives. We look forward to partnering with Clearlake, TA and the talented management team at Ivanti on the next chapter for this exciting company.”

Behdad Eghbali, Founder and Managing Partner, and Prashant Mehrotra, Partner, of Clearlake, commented, “Since our initial investment, Ivanti has significantly scaled its revenue, expanded its breadth of solutions and strengthened its position in attractive and rapidly growing markets. With the implementation of our O.P.S.® approach, Ivanti has accelerated its revenue growth through both organic and inorganic initiatives. Charlesbank joining our partnership with TA further supports our original investment thesis and sponsorship of the management team’s best-in-class playbook.”

“Since partnering with Ivanti in October 2020 alongside Clearlake, the company has rapidly executed on its growth plan, announcing three strategic acquisitions, successfully driving numerous organic initiatives and more than doubling the business,” said Harry Taylor and Hythem El-Nazer, Managing Directors of TA. “We believe there remains significant opportunity to drive additional innovation and growth given the increasing complexity of IT environments. We are delighted to welcome Charlesbank as a new investment partner and look forward to continuing to support Ivanti in its next phase of growth.”

Charlesbank, Clearlake and TA will have equal representation on the Ivanti Board of Directors. UBS Investment Bank and Citigroup acted as financial advisors for Ivanti. Citigroup and UBS Investment Bank also acted as capital markets advisors for Ivanti. Sidley Austin LLP provided legal counsel for Ivanti, with Ropes and Gray LLP representing Charlesbank. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, pending customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

About Ivanti
The Ivanti automation platform makes every IT connection smarter and more secure across devices, infrastructure and people. From PCs and mobile devices to virtual desktop infrastructure and the data center, Ivanti discovers, manages, secures and services IT assets from cloud to edge in the everywhere enterprise — while delivering personalized employee experiences. In the everywhere enterprise, corporate data flows freely across devices and servers, empowering workers to be productive wherever and however they work. Ivanti is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah and has offices all over the world. For more information, visit www.ivanti.com and follow @GoIvanti.

About Charlesbank Capital Partners
Based in Boston and New York, Charlesbank Capital Partners is a middle-market private investment firm managing more than $8 billion of capital. Charlesbank focuses on management-led buyouts and growth capital financings, and also engages in opportunistic credit and technology investments. The firm seeks to build companies with sustainable competitive advantage and excellent prospects for growth. For more information, please visit www.charlesbank.com.

About Clearlake
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is an investment firm founded in 2006 operating integrated businesses across private equity, credit and other related strategies. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with experienced management teams by providing patient, long-term capital to dynamic businesses that can benefit from Clearlake’s operational improvement approach, O.P.S.® The firm’s core target sectors are technology, industrials and consumer. Clearlake currently has approximately $30 billion of assets under management and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 300 investments. The firm has offices in Santa Monica and Dallas. More information is available at www.clearlake.com and on Twitter @ClearlakeCap.

About TA Associates
TA is a leading global growth private equity firm. Focused on targeted sectors within five industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services – the firm invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth, and has invested in more than 500 companies around the world. Investing as either a majority or minority investor, TA employs a long-term approach, utilizing its strategic resources to help management teams build lasting value in high quality growth companies. TA has raised $33.5 billion in capital since its founding in 1968 and is committing to new investments at the pace of over $3 billion per year. The firm’s more than 100 investment professionals are based in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA Associates can be found at www.ta.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

Nordic Capital and Boost.ai announce partnership to accelerate growth and expand conversational AI platform into new markets

Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital and Boost.ai announce partnership to accelerate growth and expand conversational AI platform into new markets Image

Boost.ai, a global leader in conversational AI for Fortune 1000 companies, and Nordic Capital, a leading private equity firm focusing on fast growing companies in Northern Europe, today announced an agreement to enter into a partnership where Nordic Capital will actively support Boost.ai in its rapid expansion. Nordic Capital intends to further strengthen the Company’s strong market position by helping it to accelerate growth and expansion into new markets, working closely with the CEO and co-founders. The founders, the management team, and the current owners of Boost.ai, including Finstart Nordic and Alliance Venture, will continue as investors alongside Nordic Capital.

Boost.ai empowers leading enterprises and public sector organisations in Europe and North America to automate and scale customer service, support and sales. The Company offers a no-code conversational AI platform, with a strong focus on customer service and support, that helps bridge the digital gap between brands and their customers, through the use of tailored AI-powered chatbots to meet the demand of large enterprises.

Boost.ai was founded in 2016 by CEO Lars Ropeid Selsås together with co-founders Hadle Ropeid Selsås and Henry Vaage Iversen. The Company has experienced unprecedented growth as demand for its conversational AI platform has soared. Headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, the Company has established satellite offices in Oslo, Stockholm, and Santa Monica, and employs a diverse team of more than 100 employees from 18 countries. Boost.ai’s client base consists of many of the top organisations in the Nordics such as Nordea, Telenor, Santander and DNB, and spans multiple industries including financial services, e-commerce, healthcare and the public sector. At the end of 2020, the Company had annual recurring revenue of NOK ~100 mn.

Lars Selsås, Founder and CEO, Boost.ai commented: “Nordic Capital was always our first choice of partner to take Boost.ai to the next level. They share our vision of becoming a global category leader and, at the same time, can help to maintain our leadership position in the Nordic market. Nordic Capital’s investment in our Company and technology is an endorsement of our success so far, and their team’s experience and strong track record with companies at our growth stage makes me confident that we will achieve great things together.”

Nordic Capital will support Boost.ai’s rapid growth trajectory allowing for further international expansion.

Technology & Payments is one of Nordic Capital’s focus sectors, with 18 platform investments made in the Nordic region since 2001. It has a strong and active sector network and a dedicated Technology & Payments team with local presence across Northern Europe. Nordic Capital’s previous experience in this sector includes investments such as Bambora, Trustly, CINT, Conscia, Siteimprove, Vizrt and Signicat.

Jess Tropp, Principal, Nordic Capital Advisors commented: “We are incredibly impressed by Boost.ai’s founders, management team and employees and the company’s superior conversational AI platform which has achieved industry leading resolution rates, evidenced by very strong customer satisfaction. We believe that Boost.ai represents a rare investment opportunity to invest in a leading Nordic based SaaS company with an attractive growth outlook from increased market penetration, as well as an opportunity to support expansion and internationalisation. Nordic Capital is truly excited about partnering with the founders and management to accelerate Boost.ai’s growth ambitions in the coming years.”

Boost.ai’s management team, led by founder and CEO Lars Ropeid Selsås, will continue to operate and manage the Company following the transaction. Co-founder Henry Vaage Iversen will continue as CCO.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

Press contacts:

Boost.ai
Kristian Mossige, Chief Marketing Officer
Tel: +47 98 40 86 03
E-mail: kristian@boost.ai

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

 About Boost.ai

Boost.ai specialises in enterprise-grade conversational artificial intelligence (AI). Inventor of the world’s most user-friendly conversational AI platform, Boost.ai empowers frontline customer service teams to automate customer service interactions with proprietary self-learning AI and a no-code solution that’s quick to deploy, easy to learn and highly scalable. Able to handle unlimited intents while consistently maintaining resolution rates of 90 percent, Boost.ai’s technology is used by companies like Telenor, DNB and Silvercar by Audi to successfully automate thousands of interactions. Boost.ai is a privately held Norwegian software company founded in 2016 with headquarters in Stavanger and satellite offices in Santa Monica (US), Oslo and Stockholm. Learn more at boost.ai

 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 16 billion in over 110 investments. The most recent fund is Nordic Capital Fund X with EUR 6.1 billion in committed capital, principally provided by international institutional investors such as pension funds. Nordic Capital Advisors have local offices in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the UK and the US. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com

 

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

Categories: News

Tags:

ICT Group and a consortium led by NPM Capital agree on recommended all-cash public offer for all shares in ICT Group

NPM Capital

JOINT PRESS RELEASE

This is a joint press release by ICT Group N.V. (“ICT Group” or the “Company“), NPM Investments XI B.V. (the “Offeror“) (a wholly-owned subsidiary of NPM Capital N.V. (“NPM Capital“)) and Teslin Ipanema Acquisition B.V. (Teslin Acquisition”) (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Teslin Participaties Coöperatief U.A. (“Teslin“), and together with NPM Capital the “Consortium“) pursuant to the provisions of Section 4, paragraphs 1 and 3, Section 5, paragraph 1 and Section 7, paragraph 4 of the Netherlands Decree in Public Takeover Bids (Besluit openbare biedingen Wft, the “Decree“) in connection with the intended recommended public offer by the Offeror for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of ICT Group. This announcement does not constitute an offer, or any solicitation of any offer, to buy or subscribe for any securities in ICT Group. Any offer will be made only by means of an offer memorandum (the “Offer Memorandum“) approved by the AFM. This announcement is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in or into, directly or indirectly, the United States, Canada and Japan.
ICT GROUP AND A CONSORTIUM LED BY NPM CAPITAL AGREE ON RECOMMENDED ALL-CASH OFFER OF EUR 14.50 PER SHARE
Transaction highlights

  • Recommended all-cash public offer by Offeror for all Shares in ICT Group at an offer price of EUR 14.50 (cum dividend) per Share, representing a total consideration of approx. EUR 140.6 million
  • The Offer Price represents a premium of approx. 31.8% to the ICT Group closing share price on Thursday 4 March 2021 and a premium of approx. 52.8% to the 6 -month average daily volume weighted share price, delivering immediate, certain and attractive value to ICT Group’s shareholders
  • The Executive Board and Supervisory Board of ICT Group fully support the Transaction and unanimously recommend the Offer
  • The Consortium comprises of experienced investors and will provide ICT Group with knowledge, expertise and financial backing for investments and acquisitions in accordance with ICT Group’s long-term strategy
  • The Consortium is committed to support and accelerate ICT Group’s strategy of driving organic growth and growth through acquisitions and intends to make equity financing available in the amount of up to EUR 200 million to actively support ICT Group in pursuing add-on acquisitions
  • The Offeror views the employees of ICT Group as one of the fundamental assets for its current and continued success; existing rights and benefits of ICT Group’s employees will be respected
  • ICT Group’s corporate identity, values and culture will be maintained
  • ICT Group’s existing Executive Board, led by CEO Jos Blejie and CFO Jan Willem Wienbelt, will continue to lead the Company
  • The Consortium has committed equity financing in place providing certain funds and high deal certainty
  • Teslin, holding approx. 19.3% of the Shares, has irrevocably committed to tender or contribute its Shares to the Offeror, and Mavawe B.V., holding approx. 6.4% of the Shares, has irrevocably committed to tender its Shares under the Offer
  • Following completion, NPM Capital will hold approx. 83% and Teslin Acquisition approx. 17% in the Consortium
  • The draft Offer Memorandum will be submitted to the AFM no later than in April 2021, with completion of the Offer anticipated in Q3 of 2021

 

Rotterdam/Amsterdam/Maarsbergen, the Netherlands, 5 March 2021 – ICT Group, an industrial-technology solutions provider, and the Consortium consisting of NPM Capital and Teslin are pleased to announce that a conditional agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) has been reached on a recommended public offer (the “Offer”, and together with the transactions contemplated in connection therewith, including the Merger and Liquidation, the “Transaction”) for all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in ICT Group (the “Shares”) for EUR 14.50 (cum dividend) in cash per Share (the “Offer Price”). The Offer represents a total consideration of approximately EUR 140.6 million.

Theo van der Raadt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ICT Group: “The Supervisory Board unanimously supports the offer as we believe it will be beneficial to all ICT Group’s stakeholders. The strategic review conducted by the Executive Board showed that, also in the context of our consolidating industry, ICT Group should accelerate its growth strategy and that this could be achieved best in a private environment. After a diligent and carefully executed competitive bidding process we concluded that the offer by the Consortium best serves the interest of all ICT Group’s stakeholders. The transaction reflects a compelling offer price for our shareholders, while best safeguarding the interests of both our employees and customers.”

Jos Blejie, CEO of ICT Group: “In the past years ICT Group has evolved from a secondment services provider to an industrial technology solutions provider with a resilient business model. This has resulted in a healthy mix of activities, while we further increase our focus on high added value services, including our own industry-specific software propositions. Accelerating our growth strategy, in which acquisitions will be instrumental, will further leverage our strong position and enhance our capabilities to further improve and expand our services to our customers. The Consortium is committed to supporting us in accelerating our growth and geographical expansion, including providing further equity financing for add-on acquisitions. NPM Capital and Teslin are reputable Dutch investors known for their long-term commitment with an entrepreneurial spirit and a solid track record of supporting management teams in growing their business. Our employees are our most important asset, supported by a strong culture of excellence and driven by our passion for technology. We believe that this partner will bring increased career opportunities in a growing company. We look forward to continuing our journey with the Consortium.”

Bart Coopmans, NPM Capital, on behalf of the Consortium: “We are pleased to have reached a conditional agreement with the Boards of ICT Group. We strongly believe in ICT Group’s strategy and will support the Company in its next stage of development, working towards becoming a leading Northern European industrial technology solutions provider. The investment in ICT Group fits our strategic investment themes, where the trend of digitization further drives the growth in demand for industrial technology solutions. Our track record in technology investments and our expertise in doing (international) acquisitions, in combination with our extensive network and financial resources will support the company going-forward. NPM Capital and Teslin very much look forward to working with ICT Group management and supporting them in accelerating the execution of their business strategy.”

Strategic review and transaction process

Strategic review
During the summer of 2020, ICT Group performed a strategic review to identify, review and evaluate strategic options available to accelerate its current strategy. Following this strategic review, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board of ICT Group (the “Boards“) concluded that ICT Group could optimise its position as a strong partner for clients, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders by enhancing its geographic presence and increasing its scale. Having reviewed and considered various alternative strategic options, the Boards have concluded that a private environment would be optimal for ICT Group to realise this goal. Such an environment could provide access to a substantial amount of capital to finance organic and inorganic growth and could better position ICT Group to execute on M&A opportunities available in the market.

Transaction process
As a result of the outcome of the strategic review, ICT Group, together with its financial and legal advisers, set up a competitive bidding process in the second half of 2020, with various parties being approached to express their interest in a possible transaction. A special committee consisting of two Supervisory Board members (the “Special Committee“) was appointed to safeguard the interests of ICT Group’s stakeholders and ensure a full and thorough process. The Special Committee and the Boards have frequently and extensively discussed the developments of a proposed transaction and related key decisions throughout the process. Consistent with their fiduciary responsibilities, the Boards, with the assistance of their financial and legal advisers, have carefully reviewed the proposals that were submitted by interested parties, and they have given careful consideration to all aspects of the proposals, including strategic, financial, operational and social aspects.

Support and unanimous recommendation by the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board
Following the diligent and carefully executed competitive process, the Boards believe that the Consortium has made the most compelling offer representing a fair price and attractive premium to ICT Group’s shareholders as well as the most favourable non-financial terms. The Boards have therefore concluded that the Transaction is in the best interest of the Company and the sustainable success of its business, taking into account the interests of all ICT Group’s stakeholders.

AXECO Corporate Finance has issued a fairness opinion to the Executive Board and Supervisory Board, and the Corporate Finance Division of ING Bank N.V. has issued a separate fairness opinion to the Supervisory Board. Both have opined that, from a financial point of view, the Offer is fair to the shareholders of ICT Group and that the price payable under the share sale pursuant to the Merger and Liquidation (as defined below) is fair to ICT Group.

Taking all these considerations into account, the Boards unanimously support the Transaction and recommend the Offer for acceptance to the shareholders of ICT Group. Accordingly, the Boards recommend that the shareholders of ICT Group accept the Offer and vote in favour of the resolutions relating to the Offer at the upcoming extraordinary general meeting of ICT Group (the “EGM“), to be held during the offer period.

Irrevocable undertaking of shareholders
Teslin currently has an aggregate shareholding in ICT Group of approximately 19.3% of the Shares and has irrevocably undertaken to support the Offer and vote in favour of the resolutions that will be proposed at the EGM to be held in connection with the Transaction. Teslin will invest a substantial part of its current shareholding into the Offeror and will tender the remaining part under the Offer. In addition, Teslin has also made available substantial amounts of equity financing to support ICT Group in executing its strategy going forward.

Furthermore, Mavawe B.V., holding approximately 6.4% of the Shares, has irrevocably undertaken to support and accept the Offer and vote in favour of the resolutions that will be proposed at the EGM to be held in connection with the Transaction. No additional shareholders have been approached for an irrevocable undertaking to support and accept the Offer.

Board members have also entered into irrevocable commitments in respect of all Shares and other securities held by them.

The irrevocable commitments of Mavawe B.V. and board members to tender their Shares and the irrevocable commitment of Teslin to tender or invest its Shares together represent approximately 26.7% of the Shares.

In accordance with the applicable public offer rules, information shared about the Offer with shareholders providing an irrevocable undertaking will, unless not published prior to the Offer Memorandum being made generally available, be included in the Offer Memorandum in respect of the Offer (if and when issued) and these shareholders will tender their Shares on the same terms (including price) and conditions as the other shareholders.

Non-financial covenants
ICT Group and the Offeror have agreed to certain covenants, including covenants on strategy, employees, corporate governance, leverage and other non-financial matters, for a duration of three years after settlement (the “Non-Financial Covenants“). ICT Group and the Offeror have also agreed to covenants on minority shareholders.

Strategy and M&A
The Offeror fully supports and respects ICT Group’s business strategy of driving organic growth and growth through acquisitions. The Offeror will support ICT Group in pursuing such add-on acquisitions and intends to make equity financing available to the Company for up to an amount of EUR 200 million to fund these acquisitions.

ICT Group and the Offeror have agreed that the Offeror will not break up the Company’s group and its business, and the Offeror does not intend to pursue any divestments of any of the Company’s group’s subsidiaries, business units or material assets.

Employees
The Offeror recognises the value and importance of ICT Group’s employees. Their existing rights and benefits will be respected, including existing rights and benefits under their individual employment agreements and existing rights and benefits under existing covenants made to the works council. The Offeror will respect the existing pension arrangements and will preserve ICT Group’s culture of excellence, where qualified employees of the Company’s group are offered attractive training and career opportunities.

The Offeror will respect the Company’s group’s current employee consultation structure and will ensure that the arrangements between ICT Group and the works council are respected.

ICT Group and the Offeror have agreed that the current members of the Executive Board will continue to serve as members of the Executive Board and that Roy Jansen, ICT Group’s current Chief Operating Officer, will be appointed to the Executive Board following settlement.

Governance
It is envisaged that upon successful completion of the Offer the Supervisory Board of ICT Group will consist of five members. Theo van der Raadt and Koen Beeckmans will continue as Chairman and member of the Supervisory Board, respectively. As independent members they will especially monitor compliance with the Non-Financial Covenants. Three new supervisory board members will be designated by the Consortium, of which two by NPM Capital and one by Teslin.

ICT Group will continue to operate as a separate legal entity and ICT Group’s corporate identity, values and culture will be maintained.

ICT Group’s large company regime (structuurregime) will remain in place in its current form.

Financing and leverage
The Offeror will ensure that the Company’s group will remain prudently capitalised and financed to safeguard the continuity of the business and the execution of the strategy. Furthermore, the Offeror will procure that the Company’s group does not incur additional third party debt resulting in a higher ratio of net third-party debt to EBITDA than three (3) times post-IFRS-16 EBITDA.

Fully committed financing for the Offer
The Offer Price values 100% of the Shares at approximately EUR 140.6 million. The Offeror has received a binding equity commitment letter from NPM Capital for the total consideration, all the Company’s indebtedness and the associated transaction costs (the “Equity Financing“). The Offeror intends to take out debt financing for an amount of EUR 50 – 60 million, to replace the current bank/debt facilities and part of the Equity Financing, and to enter into binding loan documentation post-announcement, which will be fully committed on a “certain funds” basis (the “Debt Financing“).

From the arranged Equity Financing and Debt Financing, the Offeror will be able to fund the acquisition of the Shares under the Offer, the purchase price pursuant to the share sale in connection with the Merger and Liquidation (if implemented), the payment or refinancing of ICT Group’s existing debt, and the payment of fees and expenses related to the Offer.

Fairness Opinions
On 4 March 2021, AXECO Corporate Finance B.V. issued a fairness opinion to the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board, and the Corporate Finance Division of ING Bank N.V. has issued a separate fairness opinion to the Supervisory Board, in each case related to the fairness, as of such date, and based on and subject to the factors and assumptions set out in each fairness opinion, that the Offer Price is fair to the holders of Shares, and that the price payable under the share sale pursuant to the Merger and Liquidation is fair to ICT Group. The full text of these fairness opinions, each of which sets out the assumptions made, procedures followed, matters considered and limitations on the review undertaken in connection with each such opinion, will be included in ICT Group’s position statement. The opinion of AXECO Corporate Finance B.V. has been given to the Executive Board and to the Supervisory Board and the opinion of the Corporate Finance Division of ING Bank N.V. has been given to the Supervisory Board, and not to the holders of Shares. The fairness opinions do not make any recommendation to the holders of Shares as to whether they should tender their Shares under the Offer (if and when made) or how they should vote or act with respect to the proposed resolutions at the EGM or any other matter.

Investment by key management
The Consortium is focused on ensuring that ICT Group’s key management is retained. After agreement was reached on the most fundamental elements of the Offer, Jos Blejie, Jan Willem Wienbelt and Roy Jansen have had initial discussions with the Consortium regarding participation in the Offeror. The Offeror shall invite Jos Blejie, Jan Willem Wienbelt and Roy Jansen and certain other members of key management of ICT Group to invest and participate in the Offeror after settlement of the Offer.

Pre-offer and offer conditions
The commencement of this Offer is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of pre-offer conditions customary for a transaction of this kind, including:

  • No material breach of the Merger Agreement having occurred
  • No material adverse effect having occurred
  • The Stichting Continuïteit ICT not having exercised its option to call for the issue of cumulative preference shares and no cumulative preference shares in ICT Group having been issued
  • The Offeror having received confirmation from the AFM that the AFM has approved the final draft of the Offer Memorandum
  • Compliance with the co-determination procedures pursuant to the Dutch Works Council Act with respect to the works council of ICT Group
  • Compliance with the notification procedures pursuant to the Merger Code (SER Fusiegedragsregels 2015)
  • No public announcement having been made of a Competing Offer (as defined below)
  • The Boards not having revoked or altered their recommendation of the Offer
  • No order, stay, judgment or decree having been issued restraining, prohibiting or delaying the consummation of the Transaction in any material respect
  • No notification having been received from the AFM that the Offer was prepared in contravention of any of the provisions of chapter 5.5 of the Wft or the Decree, within the meaning of section 5:80 Wft in which case, pursuant to those rules, investment firms would not be permitted to cooperate with the execution and completion of the Offer
  • Euronext not having permanently suspended or ended trading in the Shares on Euronext

If and when made, the consummation of this Offer will be subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the following offer conditions customary for a transaction of this kind, including:

  • Minimum acceptance level of at least 95% of the Shares, to be reduced to 80% if the general meeting of the Company adopts the resolutions in connection with the Merger and Liquidation at the EGM
  • The Competition Clearance (as defined below) having been obtained or the applicable time periods having expired, lapsed or terminated
  • The Stichting Continuïteit ICT not having exercised its option to call for the issue of cumulative preference shares; no cumulative preference shares in ICT Group having been issued; and the Stichting Continuïteit ICT having waived its right to exercise the call option and agreed to termination of the call option agreement with ICT Group with effect from settlement
  • The general meeting of the Company having adopted the resolutions in connection with the Merger and Liquidation at the EGM and the resolutions relating to the composition of the Supervisory Board following settlement
  • No public announcement having been made of a Competing Offer (as defined below)
  • The Boards not having revoked or altered their recommendation of the Offer
  • No material breach of the Merger Agreement having occurred
  • No material adverse effect having occurred
  • No order, stay, judgment or decree having been issued restraining, prohibiting or delaying the consummation of the proposed transaction in any material respect
  • No notification having been received from the AFM that the Offer was made in contravention of any of the provisions of chapter 5.5 of the Wft or the Decree, within the meaning of section 5:80 Wft in which case, pursuant to those rules, investment firms would not be permitted to cooperate with the execution and completion of the Offer
  • Euronext not having permanently suspended or ended trading in the Shares on Euronext

Acquisition of 100% of the Shares
The Consortium and ICT Group believe the sustainable and long-term success of ICT Group will be enhanced under private ownership and acknowledge the importance of acquiring 100% of the Shares and achieving a delisting of ICT Group in order to execute on ICT Group’s long-term strategy. This importance is based, inter alia, on:

  • the ability to achieve the strategic benefits of the Transaction and enhance the sustainable success of the Company’s business in an expeditious manner in a private environment in a fully owned set-up after delisting;
  • the fact that having a single shareholder and operating without a public listing increases the Group’s ability to achieve the goals and implement the actions of its strategy;
  • the ability to terminate the listing of the Shares from Euronext Amsterdam, and all resulting cost savings therefrom;
  • the ability to achieve an efficient capital structure;
  • as part of long-term strategic objectives the ability to focus on pursuing and supporting (by providing access to equity and debt capital) continued buy-and-build acquisition opportunities.

If the Offeror acquires at least 95% of the Shares, it is intended that ICT Group’s listing on Euronext Amsterdam will be terminated as soon as possible. In that case, the Offeror will start statutory squeeze-out proceedings to obtain 100% of the Shares as soon as possible.

If, after the post-acceptance period, the Offeror acquires less than 95%, but at least 80%, of the Shares, the Offeror intends to acquire the entire business of ICT Group at the same price and for the same aggregate consideration as the Offer, pursuant to a legal triangular merger of the Company with two newly incorporated subsidiaries of the Company (Company Holdco and Company Sub), a share sale regarding the shares of Company Sub, between the Offeror and Company Holdco, and a subsequent liquidation of Company Holdco to deliver such consideration to the shareholders (the “Merger and Liquidation“). The advance liquidation distribution to the shareholders of Company Holdco will be an amount that is to the fullest extent possible equal to the Offer Price, without any interest, subject to any applicable withholding taxes and other taxes. The Merger and Liquidation is subject to the approval of ICT Group shareholders at the EGM. The Boards have agreed to unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the Merger and Liquidation. Once the legal triangular merger is implemented, the listing of ICT Group will terminate.

In the event that the Offeror acquires less than 80% of the Shares, the Boards and the individual members of the Boards will be under no obligation to cooperate with the Merger and Liquidation, but they will have the opportunity to re-evaluate the Merger and Liquidation and whether to proceed with it nonetheless in light of the then prevailing circumstances. Accordingly, the Company and the Offeror may agree to proceed with the Merger and Liquidation in such scenario, provided however that this will only be permitted with the prior approval of the Boards, including a vote in favour of that approval by at least one of the independent Supervisory Board members.

The Offeror may utilise all other available legal measures in order to acquire full ownership of the Company, outstanding Shares and/or its business in accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement.

Competition Clearance
The Offeror will procure the preparation and filing with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (the “ACM“) to obtain the required competition clearance in respect of the Offer (the “Competition Clearance“) as soon as practicable after the signing of the Merger Agreement. The Offeror and ICT Group will closely co-operate in respect of any necessary contact with and notifications to the ACM.

Exclusivity and Competing Offer
ICT Group will notify the Offeror in writing if a bona fide third party makes a credible, written and binding unsolicited proposal to acquire all of the Shares or substantially all of ICT Group’s business or a merger of ICT Group that exceeds the original consideration by 10% and, which in the reasonable opinion of the Boards, is a more beneficial offer than the Offer as contemplated in the Merger Agreement (a “Competing Offer“). In the event of such Competing Offer, the Offeror has the opportunity to match such Competing Offer. If it does, and the terms and conditions of such revised offer are, in the reasonable opinion of the Boards, at least equal to those of the Competing Offer, the Merger Agreement will continue in force. ICT Group and the Offeror may terminate the Merger Agreement (i) if the Offeror does not submit within seven business days of ICT Group’s notice of having received a Competing Offer, or (ii) if the Offeror has not made a revised offer, or (iii) if the Offeror has informed the Company that it does not wish to make a revised offer, in which case ICT Group will be entitled to conditionally agree to the Competing Offer. As part of the agreement, ICT Group has entered into customary undertakings not to solicit third party offers.

Termination
If the Merger Agreement is terminated (i) because of a Competing Offer having been conditionally agreed or (ii) in case of a material event, development, circumstance or change that requires the Boards to change their recommendation, ICT Group will pay the Offeror a EUR 1.4 million (1% of the Offer value) termination fee.

These termination fees are without prejudice to each party’s rights under the Merger Agreement to demand specific performance.

Next steps and additional information
ICT Group and the Offeror will seek to obtain all necessary approvals and the Competition Clearance as soon as practicable; the Offeror has agreed to take the necessary steps to obtain that clearance from the ACM. The required advice and consultation procedures with ICT Group’s works council will start as soon as feasible. Both parties are confident that the Offeror will secure all approvals and the Competition Clearance within the timetable of the Offer.

The Offeror intends to launch the Offer as soon as practically possible and in accordance with the applicable statutory timetable. The Offeror expects to submit a request for review and approval of the Offer Memorandum no later than in April 2021 and to publish the Offer Memorandum after approval.

ICT Group will hold the EGM at least six business days before the offer period ends, in accordance with Section 18 Paragraph 1 of the Decree. ICT Group’s shareholders will also be asked to approve the Merger and Liquidation and certain other resolutions with respect to the Offer.

Based on the required steps and subject to the necessary approvals, ICT Group and the Offeror anticipate that the Offer will close in Q3 2021.

Advisers
AXECO Corporate Finance B.V. is acting as ICT Group’s financial adviser and the Corporate Finance Division of ING Bank N.V. as financial adviser to the Supervisory Board. De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek N.V. is acting as ICT Group’s legal adviser and Lindner & van Maaren as communications adviser.

On behalf of NPM Capital, Rabobank is acting as financial adviser, Allen & Overy LLP as legal adviser and Confidant Partners as communications adviser. Clifford Chance LLP is acting as Teslin’s legal adviser.

General restrictions
The information in this announcement is not intended to be complete. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer or an invitation to acquire or dispose of any securities or investment advice or an inducement to enter into investment activity. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy or acquire the securities of ICT Group in any jurisdiction.

The distribution of this press release may, in some countries, be restricted by law or regulation. Accordingly, persons who come into possession of this document should inform themselves of and observe these restrictions. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Consortium, the Offeror and ICT Group disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of any such restrictions by any person. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of that jurisdiction. Neither ICT Group, nor the Consortium, nor Offeror, nor any of their advisers assume any responsibility for any violation by any person of any of these restrictions. ICT Group shareholders in any doubt as to their position should consult an appropriate professional adviser without delay. This announcement is not to be published or distributed in or to Canada, Japan and the United States.

Forward-looking statements
This press release may include “forward-looking statements” such as statements relating to the impact of this transaction on the Offeror and ICT Group and language that indicates trends, such as “anticipated” and “expected”. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Although ICT Group and the Offeror believe that the assumptions upon which their respective financial information and their respective forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, they can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience or from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, receipt of regulatory approvals without unexpected delays or conditions, the Offeror’s ability to achieve the anticipated results from the acquisition of the Company, the effects of competition (in particular the response to the Transaction in the marketplace), economic conditions in the global markets in which the Offeror and the Company operate, and other factors that can be found in the Offeror’s and the Company’s press releases and public filings. Neither ICT Group nor the Consortium nor the Offeror, nor any of their advisers accept any responsibility for any financial information contained in this press release relating to the business or operations or results or financial condition of the other or their respective groups. Each of the Company, the Consortium and the Offeror expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

For more information, please contact:

Press enquiries ICT Group
Carla Stuifzand, marketing director
+31 (0)88 908 2000, E-mail: investor.relations@ict.nl
Website www.ictgroup.eu                                                      

Press enquiries Consortium
Confidant Partners
Sabine Post – de Jong
+31 20 303 60 20, sabine.post@confidantpartners.com

About ICT Group
ICT Group is a leading European industrial technology solutions provider. Our dedicated technical professionals offer our clients services in the field of consultancy, software development, project-based solutions and IT system maintenance. It is our mission to make the world a little smarter every day. Our specialist knowledge in a variety of industries enables us to realise innovative solutions by linking people, technologies and ideas. With around 1,500 dedicated technical specialists in the field, we are capable of building and integrating new and innovative technologies into relevant business solutions for our customers.

Our Industries solutions serve the automotive, manufacturing, high-tech, food, chemicals & pharma, oil & gas and logistics industries. Our Public & Infra solutions are focused on water, rail and road infrastructure as well as public transport and mobility. Across all industries ICT Group offers proprietary industry-specific software solutions, including its own cloud-based platform for IoT, digital transformation and artificial intelligence. ICT Group is listed on Euronext Amsterdam and has a presence in the Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany and Sweden.

About NPM Capital
NPM Capital invests in mid-market companies in the Benelux and supports companies to enter the next growth phase in their development. NPM Capital, with SHV as its sole shareholder, has sufficient capital in order to apply a long investment horizon. Currently, NPM Capital has a portfolio of 26 participations (majority as well as minority holdings, including growth capital) and focuses on the following trends: Everything is Digital, Future of Energy, Feeding the World and Healthy Life.

About Teslin
Teslin is an investment fund managed by Teslin Capital Management. Teslin invests in promising small- and midcaps. Based on fundamental analysis Teslin selects companies active in attractive markets with a strong market position, healthy cash flow and a proper corporate governance structure. Teslin focuses on responsible value creation in the long term and acts as an active and involved shareholder. Teslin has been a long-term significant, active and committed shareholder of ICT Group since 2002 and is delighted to support ICT Group in accelerating and realizing its potential in the coming years, growing into a leading Northern-European industrial technology solutions provider. For more information, please visit: www.teslin.nl

Notes to the press release
This is a public announcement by ICT Group N.V. pursuant to section 17 paragraph 1 of the European Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014). This public announcement does not constitute an offer, or any solicitation of any offer, to buy or subscribe for any securities in ICT Group N.V.

 

* * *

 

Categories: News

Tags:

Evisort Raises $35M Series B Led by General Atlantic, Quadruples Revenue As Enterprises Race To Tame Contracts

Pre-trained AI platform uncovers millions in potential savings, unlocks missed revenue, and exposes risks hidden in contracts within days of implementation

Evisort, the intelligent contract management platform, today announced $35M in Series B funding following a year of 4x revenue growth, bringing its total funding to $55.5M. Global growth equity investor General Atlantic led the round, with participation from existing investors Amity Ventures, Microsoft’s venture fund M12, and Vertex Ventures. General Atlantic’s Operating Partner and former GE CIO Gary Reiner will join Evisort as a board member. The company will use the funds to grow its customer experience team, expand its platform to include more workflow-specific offerings, and continue to push the boundaries of its pre-trained AI.

Enterprises have been racing to digitize contract management due to a convergence of three factors:

  • Remote work has made manual contracting processes all but impossible
  • New regulations have dramatically increased the risk of non-compliant contracts
  • Pandemic-hit businesses are eager to find hidden cost savings and revenue in their contracts

Evisort pioneered a contract management solution to address all three factors. Unlike most contract management solutions which merely streamline processes, Evisort’s cloud-native, end-to-end platform has helped enterprises do business faster and uncover millions of dollars in potential cost savings and new revenue hidden in their contracts. For example, one customer was able to recognize hundreds of thousands of dollars in unfulfilled rebates because Evisort identified discount clauses in thousands of vendor contracts and issued a notification through the finance system before the vendor invoices were paid.

This intelligent approach to contract lifecycle management (CLM) has secured Evisort 4x revenue growth over the past year and helped win or expand seven Fortune 500 or global clients in banking, healthcare and enterprise tech, including Microsoft, NetApp, Molina Healthcare, and Fujitsu.

“In this ever-shifting regulatory environment, it’s hard to know what information in contracts will be important tomorrow. Evisort makes it simple for our teams to train custom algorithms so we can react quickly as our compliance needs change. We’re able to track new information across hundreds of thousands of contracts without any manual effort,” said Tom Orrison, Director of Legal Ops at Microsoft.

“Contract assets are core to B2B relationships, and yet contract data is an under-utilized resource. Evisort exceeds enterprise expectations and needs, providing a solution that works out of the box — with all the legacy systems and across use cases and industries — to deliver meaningful value. The resonance and traction of the business is underscored by Evisort’s recent success in securing major Fortune 500 customers, and by the positive customer feedback we uncovered during our diligence process,” said Gary Reiner, Operating Partner at General Atlantic and board member at Citigroup and HPE.

Evisort is one of the only AI-first, end-to-end CLM products for pre- and post-signing that can be implemented in days. Its authentic AI was developed in-house and pre-trained on millions of documents. Evisort Contract Management, its post-signature solution, can read a 30-page document in 15 seconds, extracting insights and making them actionable through integrations with CRM, ERP, HR, and Finance systems. With the launch of Evisort Contract Workflow in July 2020, the platform can now automate the entire lifecycle of a contract: from contract creation to negotiation to signature. Evisort works out-of-the-box on over 230 types of contracts, meaning it accurately analyzes the document without warning or preparation.

“We have closely tracked the legal technology space for years, and Evisort stands out as an emerging global leader that is primed to disrupt the status quo and capture growth in a market that is large and currently, inefficiently served,” said Alex Crisses, Managing Director and Global Head of New Investment Sourcing and Co-Head of Emerging Growth at General Atlantic. “Jerry and the Evisort team have built differentiated technology with real AI, and we believe that the company has the potential to embed itself as the system of record for contracts across the enterprise. We look forward to partnering with Evisort to grow the business from its earlier stages into a long-term category leader.”

Evisort will use the Series B funds to accelerate its AI development and expand its platform to include more workflow offerings tailored to specific industries, such as financial services, healthcare, and tech. The company will also focus on delivering a premium user experience, quadrupling its customer success team to help clients create their own digital contracting Centers of Excellence.

As a no-code platform which can be up-and-running in days, Evisort requires little implementation expertise. Once customers recognize the value it brings, they quickly look to roll it out enterprise-wide as part of a full digital transformation initiative, led by a cross-functional team of legal, IT, and procurement experts. Evisort has already guided several Fortune 500 companies through this process, providing best practices and blueprints for success.

“We know Evisort helps our customers close deals faster, stay on top of important dates and mitigate risks. Those are huge wins already, but with this funding we can push the envelope of our end-to-end platform even further,” said Evisort Founder and CEO Jerry Ting. “Whenever any part of the business touches a contract, whether that’s an accounting professional finding savings or a sales person negotiating a better deal, Evisort will be there delivering insights they can act on. We’re building the intelligent contract management platform enterprises actually need with innovative AI capabilities they didn’t know were possible.”

About Evisort

Founded in 2016 by Harvard Law and MIT researchers, Evisort leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to help businesses categorize, search, and act on business-driving documents of any type. Evisort’s proprietary AI understands meaning and context in legal language, eliminating the need for manual data entry and parsing of contracts or business documents. The company is backed by leading strategic and institutional investors including General Atlantic, M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, Vertex Ventures, and Amity Ventures. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, more information on Evisort can be found at Evisort.com. Follow @Evisort on Twitter, Facebook, Medium and LinkedIn.

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. Established in 1980, General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon, and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to build market-leading businesses worldwide. General Atlantic has more than 175 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Greenwich, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

Media Contacts

Mary Armstrong & Emily Japlon
General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com

Theresa Carper
Evisort 415-848-9175 evisort@firebrand.marketing

Categories: News

Tags:

Longship Fund II acquires GEXCON AS

Longship

Longship Fund II (“Longship”) has as of February 19th, 2021 acquired 100% of the shares in Gexcon AS from NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS (“NORCE”).

Gexcon is a global leader in process safety software, safety consulting and testing services, and specializes in analysis of dispersion, explosion and fire related risk and consequences. Based on experience developed in cooperation with the oil and gas industry, Gexcon has become the preferred supplier of safety studies also to the global Hydrogen industry, as well as other industries requiring high-end safety solutions. In 2020, consolidated revenues were NOK 180 million and Gexcon employed a total of 147 employees. Gexcon is headquartered in Bergen, Norway, with 11 subsidiaries and branch offices across the globe.

“Gexcon has developed world class software and services, based on decades of significant R&D investments and achievements. Longship has thoroughly enjoyed the process of getting to know the people and the company and we are looking forward to supporting Gexcon, as it is now further commercialising its products and services for a global market”, says Bernt Østhus, lead partner for Longship’s investment in Gexcon.

“This transaction will enable Gexcon to further strengthen the company’s wide range of software products and consulting services and expand its global presence. In this way, NORCE will conclude many years of guidance and ownership with a lasting contribution towards reaching the vision for Gexcon, which is to make the world a safer place.”, says Christopher Giertsen, Executive Vice President Commercialisation, NORCE.

Longship is a transformational growth investor, developing successful lower mid-market companies into mature growth businesses with institutional and strategic value. We aim to create a scalable platform for sustainable growth and profitability in our portfolio companies and support them on their accelerated growth journey. Longship is targeting excess return from its transformational approach.

Management and employees will become owners in Gexcon AS, as part of a broad Management Investment Program.

Longship was advised by McKinsey & Co, Schjødt, Deloitte, Simula Consulting and Lighthouse8. NORCE was advised by Alpha Corporate Finance, Thommessen, KPMG and Bearingpoint.

For more information, please contact:

Bernt Østhus, Partner, Longship AS
+47 93 44 99 10
bernt.osthus@longship.no

Christopher Giertsen, Executive Vice President Commercialization, NORCE,
+47 957 52 125
chgi@norceresearch.no

About Longship:

Longship is a Norwegian private equity investor established by a group of experienced investment professionals in 2015. Longship identifies and invest in companies with significant growth potential in the Norwegian lower mid-market and are applying a transformational growth approach. The investment team currently consists of eleven professionals, making it the leading player in the Norwegian lower mid-market. Longship closed its second fund in November 2020 with commitments of NOK 1.7 billion.

About NORCE:

NORCE is a Norwegian research institute, with expertise in a wide range of fields and strong communities of knowledge. NORCE deliver research and innovation in energy, health care, climate, the environment, society and technology. The solutions from NORCE address key challenges for the society and contribute to value creation for numerous public and private organisations on local, national, and global levels. Commercialisation of results from research and innovation is an integrated part of the core activities in NORCE. At the corporate level (2020), NORCE had about 1000 employees, and a turnover of about NOK 1.4 billion.

Categories: News

Tags:

Investment of $58M Endorses vArmour as Leader in Accelerating Application Relationship Management Market

No Comments
Nightdragon

AllegisCyber Capital and NightDragon lead round to validate market demand for relationship-based application security

vArmour, the leading provider of Application Relationship Management, today announced it has raised $58M in its latest round of funding to accelerate company growth. The latest, oversubscribed round is led by AllegisCyber Capital and NightDragon, with support from existing investors Standard Chartered Ventures, Highland Capital Partners, Telstra, Redline Capital, and EDBI. vArmour has seen strong momentum, doubling net new annual recurring revenue year over year with a trajectory to exceed that in the next fiscal year.

The year 2020 saw an ever-increasing number of enterprises worldwide moving their applications and infrastructure to hybrid cloud environments. Gartner estimates that by 2024, more than 45% of IT infrastructure spending will shift to the cloud. However, conventional tools, applications, and processes have not kept pace. Organizations still cannot “see” in real-time how people and applications interact, impeding their ability to manage risk. vArmour is focused on solving this fundamental challenge through a novel approach called Application Relationship Management. This enables organizations to visualize and control relationships between every user, every application, and across every environment to ultimately better manage risk, increase resiliency, speed application deployment — all without adding costly new infrastructure components or agents.

AllegisCyber Capital has been instrumental in steering vArmour towards its accelerated growth. “Managing risk and resiliency in the hybrid cloud is one of the most significant security challenges for enterprises,” said Bob Ackerman, Founder and Managing Director at AllegisCyber Capital. “vArmour’s platform provides the visibility, controls, and accountability necessary to actively manage these challenges and has done this for hundreds of customers. We are ecstatic to be part of their next stage of growth.”

“As applications become more complex, more distributed, and more targeted by attackers, the importance of full visibility into the relationships between applications becomes increasingly important.” said Dave DeWalt, founder of NightDragon. “vArmour’s approach to application relationship management ensures that enterprises of all sizes can continuously audit, respond, and control identity relationships to best protect their important IP, and mitigate risk to the business.”

vArmour’s focus and investment in product innovation and people are key drivers to their growth. Their latest offering, the Application Access & Identity Module, is equipping security and operations teams with unprecedented visibility and control over user access to critical applications, freeing up time and energy spent mining through thousands of relationship networks. Their new AI and ML research branch in Calgary, Canada is dramatically speeding up time to value for customers by using automation to make faster and more accurate business decisions. Investments in people will continue as they hire global go-to-market teams in Munich, Toronto, Singapore, and Melbourne, along with growing their research and development team in the Bay Area.

“Our innovation, partnerships, and overall customer momentum have been critical in helping us with our growth toward the path to the public marketplace,” said Tim Eades, CEO of vArmour. “By giving our customers unparalleled insights into their applications and the identity of each relationship, we equip them to make real-time decisions regarding their critical assets, which helps enhance both their security posture and their end-user experience.”

For more information on vArmour, please visit www.vArmour.com.

About vArmour

vArmour is the leading provider of Application Relationship Management. Enterprises around the world rely on vArmour to control operational risk, increase application resiliency and secure hybrid clouds — all while leveraging the technology they already own without adding costly new agents or infrastructure. Based in Los Altos, CA, the company was founded in 2011 and is backed by top investors including Highland Capital Partners, AllegisCyber Capital, NightDragon, Redline Capital, Citi Ventures, and Telstra. Learn more at www.vArmour.com.

About AllegisCyber Capital

AllegisCyber Capital is passionate about identifying companies and entrepreneurs developing disruptive and innovative approaches to address the crucial issues on the fast-changing cybersecurity landscape. AllegisCyber Capital uses an integrated investment platform and a game-changing strategic partnership with cybersecurity start-up studio DataTribe to give its entrepreneurs an unfair competitive advantage. DataTribe, a cybersecurity startup foundry located in Maryland, focuses on launching start-ups based on cyber domain expertise out of the intelligence community and national laboratories. Representative portfolio companies of AllegisCyber Capital include: vArmour, Shape, Prevailion, Synack, Enveil, and Dragos. www.allegiscyber.com

About NightDragon

NightDragon is an investment firm focused on investing in growth and late-stage companies within the cybersecurity, safety, security, and privacy industry. Its flexible model allows it to lead or co-invest alongside leading venture capital and private equity firms in the pursuit of driving growth and increasing shareholder value. NightDragon is unique in providing deep operational expertise in cybersecurity gained by its founders Dave DeWalt and Ken Gonzalez from years serving as senior executives leading technology companies such as Documentum, EMC, Siebel Systems (Oracle), McAfee, Mandiant, Avast, and FireEye. www.nightdragon.com

Media Contact:
Mariah Gauthier, Highwire PR
vArmour@highwirepr.com
(951) 314-0760

Categories: News

Tags: