Tag Archives: Information technology

Tree Line Capital Partners and CVC Credit Partners back Ingenio

Tree Line and CVC Credit increase existing term loan to Ingenio to support add-on acquisition

Tree Line Capital Partners, LLC (“Tree Line”), and CVC Credit Partners (“CVC Credit”) provided an increase to their existing term loan to $127,300,000 to Ingenio to support an add-on acquisition.  Tree Line served as Administrative Agent and Lead Arranger on the transaction.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Ingenio is the leading online platform that connects advice-seekers with coaches and advisors. The platform has enabled over 40 million conversations from around the globe, making Ingenio the leader in phone, chat, and web–based personal advice.  Ingenio is owned by Alpine Investors and management.

“We have enjoyed building a lasting relationship with the Tree Line and CVC Credit teams across several transactions,” said Warren Heffelfinger, CEO at Ingenio. “They have reliably answered the call when it has come to additional capacity for add-on acquisitions coupled with a creative approach to tailoring debt structures to a transaction’s requirements.”

Frank Cupido, Partner of Tree Line added, “We have been extremely pleased with Ingenio’s strong performance and the long-term partnership we’ve built since 2015.  Our relationship with Ingenio is a great example of our ability to grow with a borrower from initial platform acquisition through various stages of growth and capital needs, including acquisitions, recapitalizations and other flexible financings.  Warren and the team have built a best in class organization and we look forward to working with them in the years ahead.”

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Hims & Hers, a Multi-Specialty Telehealth Platform, to Become Publicly-Traded via Merger with Oaktree Acquisition Corp.

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Brentwood

  • Hims & Hers is a telehealth leader modernizing the delivery and accessibility of digital, consumer-focused healthcare services
  • Transaction will enable further investment in growth and new product categories that will accelerate Hims & Hers’ plan to become the digital front door to the healthcare system
  • Combined company to have an implied initial enterprise value of approximately $1.6 billion, with the company expected to have an estimated $330 million in cash after closing
  • Top-tier investors, including Franklin Templeton and clients of Oaktree, anchoring a $75 million PIPE
  • Leading existing institutional backers of Hims & Hers, including Founders Fund, Forerunner Ventures, IVP, Redpoint Ventures, Thrive Capital, McKesson Ventures, and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board intend to roll 100% of their equity

Hims, Inc. (“Hims & Hers” or the “Company”), a market leading telehealth company, and Oaktree Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: OAC.U, OAC, OAC WS), a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”), announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company’s securities are expected to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “HIMS.”

Launched in 2017, Hims & Hers has built a proprietary platform that connects consumers to licensed healthcare professionals for care across numerous specialties, including primary care, mental health, sexual health and dermatology, among others. Since its founding, the Company has facilitated more than two million telehealth consultations, enabling greater access to high quality, convenient and affordable care for people in all 50 states. The Company has driven 100%+ compounded annual revenue growth over the last two years and has more than doubled gross margins to 70%+, with revenue that is over 90% recurring in nature.

The future of healthcare will be led by consumer brands that empower people and give them full control over their healthcare. A direct relationship with consumers is the most valuable component in the healthcare system. Hims & Hers has endeavored to build a healthcare system that squarely focuses on the needs of the healthcare consumer. Hims & Hers directs the consumer experience from start to finish, uniquely positioning the Company in the rapidly-emerging telemedicine landscape to lead the industry in B2C-focused telehealth solutions.

Hims & Hers has built a strong customer base of highly loyal brand ambassadors who represent the future of the healthcare system. The Company’s customers embrace its convenient, digitally native product, generating organic growth through word of mouth and user-generated content, which enhances brand awareness and lowers customer acquisition costs. The majority of its consumers are millennials, a high-value generation at the beginning of its lifetime value curve that is poised to expand its purchasing power. The Hims & Hers platform is set up to serve these customers over the long-term by offering great user experience and access to high quality medical care.

As of June 2020, Hims & Hers had approximately 260,000 subscriptions on the platform.

Management Comments

“We’re thrilled to partner with Oaktree Acquisition Corp. to usher Hims & Hers into our next phase of growth as we work to become the front door to the healthcare system, serving as the first stop for peoples’ health and wellness needs across hundreds of conditions,” said Andrew Dudum, CEO and founder of Hims & Hers. “Hims & Hers was founded to make it easier and more affordable for everyone to get the healthcare they need. We remain committed to advancing that goal as we expand into new categories of care and build an enduring healthcare company that brings choice, affordability and access to consumers.”

“We are very pleased to launch our Oaktree Acquisition Corp. franchise with this partnership with Hims & Hers, a rapidly-growing provider of much-needed innovation to the healthcare system,” said Howard Marks, Co-Chairman of Oaktree. “This transaction shows Oaktree Acquisition Corp. to be a complementary extension of Oaktree’s capabilities and builds on our strength in sourcing opportunities throughout the market cycle.”

“We founded Oaktree Acquisition Corp. to partner with a high quality, growing company that will benefit from a public currency for its next leg of growth,” said Patrick McCaney, CEO of Oaktree Acquisition Corp. “Hims & Hers is an ideal match and represents a unique opportunity to invest in a rapidly-growing company that is modernizing the delivery and accessibility of healthcare and wellness solutions. Over the past two years, the Company has experienced significant growth bolstered by the continuing widespread adoption of telehealth and digital patient care solutions – and we think this is just the beginning. We look forward to partnering with Hims & Hers to accelerate the expansion of its high-quality, end-to-end care services across the broader healthcare marketplace.”

Key Transaction Terms

The business combination values the combined company at an enterprise value of approximately $1.6 billion and is expected to deliver up to $280 million of cash to the combined company through the contribution of up to $205 million of cash held in Oaktree Acquisition Corp.’s trust account, and a $75 million concurrent private placement (PIPE) of common stock of the combined company, priced at $10.00 per share, from leading institutional investors, including funds managed by Franklin Templeton and certain Oaktree clients. The enterprise value equals 8.9x estimated 2021 revenue and 12.2x estimated 2021 gross profit, an attractive valuation relative to telehealth peers despite the Company’s leading growth and margin profile.

As part of the transaction, Hims & Hers’ current management and existing equity holders will roll nearly 100% of their equity into the combined company. Leading existing institutional backers of the Company including Founders Fund, Forerunner Ventures, IVP, Redpoint Ventures, Thrive Capital, McKesson Ventures, and the Canadian Pension Fund intend to roll 100% of their shares and the transaction agreement provides for up to $75 million of cash consideration at closing to shareholders, at their election. Assuming no public shareholders of Oaktree Acquisition Corp. exercise their redemption rights and before any potential cash consideration to Hims & Hers shareholders, current Hims & Hers equity holders will own approximately 84%, Oaktree Acquisition Corp. shareholders will own approximately 12%, and PIPE investors will own approximately 4% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock, respectively, of the combined company at closing. Furthermore, the combined company will be capitalized with up to $330 million in cash, including proceeds received from the transaction together with existing cash on Hims & Hers’ balance sheet. The business combination includes a minimum cash closing condition of $200 million, which is calculated as cash delivered from Oaktree Acquisition Corp.’s trust account, plus cash delivered from the PIPE, minus the up to $75 million of cash consideration at closing to shareholders as described above. Hims & Hers intends to continue investing in growth and new product categories to accelerate its goal of becoming the digital front door to the healthcare system.

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of each Hims & Hers and Oaktree Acquisition Corp., is subject to approval by Oaktree Acquisition Corp.’s shareholders and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.

A more detailed description of the transaction terms and a copy of the Agreement and Plan of Merger will be included in a current report on Form 8-K to be filed by Oaktree Acquisition Corp. with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Oaktree Acquisition Corp. will file a registration statement (which will contain a proxy statement/ prospectus) with the SEC in connection with the transaction.

Advisors

LionTree Advisors is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Hims & Hers and Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian LLP is serving as legal counsel.

Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Securities are serving as capital markets advisors and private placement agents to Oaktree Acquisition Corp. Deutsche Bank Securities is acting as financial advisor to Oaktree Acquisition Corp. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to Oaktree Acquisition Corp.

Management Presentation

A presentation made by the management teams each of Hims & Hers and Oaktree Acquisition Corp. regarding the transaction will be available on the websites of Oaktree Acquisition Corp. at https://www.oaktreeacquisitioncorp.com/news and Hims & Hers at forhims.com/investor and forhers.com/investor. Oaktree Acquisition Corp. will also file the presentation with the SEC as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K, which can be viewed on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

About Hims & Hers

Hims & Hers is a multi-specialty telehealth platform that connects consumers to licensed healthcare professionals, enabling them to access high quality medical care for numerous conditions related to primary care, mental health, sexual health, dermatology, and more. Launched in November 2017, the company also offers thoughtfully created and curated health and wellness products. With products and services available across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., Hims & Hers is able to provide all Americans access to quality, convenient and affordable care through a computer or smartphone. Hims & Hers was founded by CEO Andrew Dudum, Hilary Coles, Jack Abraham and Joe Spector at venture studio Atomic in San Francisco, California. For more information about Hims & Hers, please visit forhims.com and forhers.com.

About Oaktree Acquisition Corp.

The Oaktree Acquisition Corp. franchise was formed to partner with high-quality, growing companies to facilitate their successful entry to the public markets. By leveraging the deep capabilities and experience of its sponsor, an affiliate of Oaktree, which manages $122 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2020, Oaktree Acquisition Corp. seeks to provide best-in-class resources and execution, coupled with a focus on long-term partnership and shareholder value creation. For more information about Oaktree Acquisition Corp. or Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II, please visit oaktreeacquisitioncorp.com.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

Oaktree Acquisition Corp. intends to file with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 containing a proxy statement/prospectus relating to the proposed business combination, which will be mailed to its shareholders once definitive. This press release does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed business combination and is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect of the proposed business combination. Oaktree Acquisition Corp.’s shareholders and other interested persons are advised to read, when available, the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus and the amendments thereto and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed in connection with the proposed business combination, as these materials will contain important information about the Company, Oaktree Acquisition Corp. and the proposed business combination. When available, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials for the proposed business combination will be mailed to shareholders of Oaktree Acquisition Corp. as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed business combination. Shareholders of Oaktree Acquisition Corp. will also be able to obtain copies of the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC, without charge, once available, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or by directing a written request to: Oaktree Acquisition Corp., 333 South Grand Avenue, 28th Floor, Los Angeles, California.

Participants in the Solicitation

Oaktree Acquisition Corp. and its directors and executive officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from Oaktree Acquisition Corp.’s shareholders with respect to the proposed business combination. A list of the names of those directors and executive officers and a description of their interests in Oaktree Acquisition Corp. is contained in Oaktree Acquisition Corp.’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, which was filed with the SEC and is available free of charge at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov, or by directing a written request to Oaktree Acquisition Corp., 333 South Grand Avenue, 28th Floor, Los Angeles, California. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed business combination when available.

Hims & Hers and its directors and executive officers may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Oaktree Acquisition Corp. in connection with the proposed business combination. A list of the names of such directors and executive officers and information regarding their interests in the proposed business combination will be included in the proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed business combination when available.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Oaktree Acquisition Corp.’s or Hims & Hers’ future financial or operating performance. For example, statements about the expected timing of the completion of the proposed business combination, the benefits of the proposed business combination, the competitive environment, and the expected future performance (including future revenue, pro forma enterprise value, and cash balance) and market opportunities of Hims & Hers are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “should”, “expect”, “intend”, “will”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “predict”, “potential” or “continue”, or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Oaktree Acquisition Corp. and its management, and Hims & Hers and its management, as the case may be, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the definitive agreements with respect to the proposed business combination; (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Oaktree Acquisition Corp., Hims & Hers, the combined company or others following the announcement of the proposed business combination; (3) the inability to complete the proposed business combination due to the failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of Oaktree Acquisition Corp. or to satisfy other conditions to closing, including the satisfaction of the minimum trust account amount following any redemptions; (4) changes to the proposed structure of the business combination that may be required or appropriate as a result of applicable laws or regulations or as a condition to obtaining regulatory approval of the proposed business combination; (5) the ability to meet stock exchange listing standards at or following the consummation of the proposed business combination; (6) the risk that the proposed business combination disrupts current plans and operations of Hims & Hers as a result of the announcement and consummation of the proposed business combination; (7) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees; (8) costs related to the proposed business combination; (9) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (10) the possibility that Hims & Hers or the combined company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; (11) the limited operating history of Hims & Hers; (12) the Hims & Hers business is subject to significant governmental regulation; (13) the Hims & Hers business may not successfully expand into other markets, including womens’ health; and (14) other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in Oaktree Acquisition Corp.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, and which will be set forth in registration statement on Form S-4 to be filed by Oaktree Acquisi-tion Corp. with the SEC in connection with the proposed business combination.

Nothing in this press release should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Neither Oaktree Acquisition Corp. nor Hims & Hers undertakes any duty to update these forward-looking statements.

Non-Solicitation

This press release is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the potential business combination and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities of Oaktree Acquisition Corp., the Company or the combined company, nor shall there be any sale of any such securi-ties in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Read the full announcement:

Hims & Hers, a Multi-Specialty Telehealth Platform, to Become Publicly-Traded via Merger with Oaktree Acquisition Corp.

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Announcing $268 million in Series E funding

August Capital

We’re excited to share that GitLab has completed a $268 million Series E round of fundraising that pushed the company’s valuation to $2.75 billion. This latest funding round was led by existing investors Goldman Sachs and ICONIQ, but also included participation from nine new-to-GitLab investors.

Our plans for the funding are straightforward: GitLab will invest to make all of our DevOps platform offerings, including monitoring, security, and planning, best in class so we can enable our enterprise customers to continue to bring products to market faster.

At a time when the DevOps tools market is expected to triple by 2023 (from $5.2 billion last year to $15 billion, according to IDC), it was clear there was an opportunity for our company to pursue additional funding. “To be competitive today, companies need to be 10x faster to market. We made an early bet that enterprises would benefit from a single application experience for DevOps teams to accelerate getting software products to market faster and more securely,” says CEO Sid Sijbrandij. “I love hearing how our customers are innovating faster with a single DevOps application that enables Dev, Ops, and Security to collaborate, and this funding will help more organizations experience the benefits of this unified DevOps experience.”

Today more than 100,000 organizations use GitLab, including Ask Media Group, Charter Communication, Delta Air Lines, Goldman Sachs, Ticketmaster, Nvidia, and many more. We just found out we were ranked 32nd in the Forbes 2019 Cloud 100 – and we were the only cloud-agnostic DevOps tool maker named! Our ARR (annual recurring revenue) growth rate is 143%, a sign of customer satisfaction and strong demand.

A fast pace

This latest fundraising effort happened less than a year after we announced our Series D round of $100 million. At that time the company was valued at $1.1 billion; with today’s announcement, our valuation has more than doubled in less than a year.

It’s been an amazing journey to get to this point, and it’s worth remembering where we came from. In 2015 fewer than 10 people worked at GitLab; today over 800 team members contribute from 55 countries around the world. And we’re still growing, as our 222 open positions show. More than 4,800 people actively contribute code to GitLab, and we receive an average of 180 improvements to each monthly release. In March 2019 we had one million merge requests, which was a milestone indeed. We’re on this journey together and we couldn’t be more excited to see where it takes us. Today you’ll find us at our first ever user conference, GitLab Commit, in Brooklyn and then again in London on October 9. We’re looking forward to the inspiring customer stories that have made this all possible.

The funding was announced live in the keynote of GitLab Commit Brooklyn, also see the playlist of all talks that day.

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Main Capital acquires majority stake in AI-powered HR technology provider Textkernel

Main Capital

The Hague, 29 September 2020 – Textkernel is a global leader in developing AI and semantic technology for talent acquisition. Its customer base includes global staffing and recruitment firms, multinational corporations and software vendors. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam and currently employs approximately 154 people across offices in the Netherlands, France, Germany the U.K. and the U.S..

Textkernel provides AI-powered technology, which improves the talent acquisition and management solutions of over 1,000 customers globally.  This includes companies such as Adecco, Randstad, Manpower as well as large corporate organizations such as Otto GmbH & Co KG, The Colas Group, and ENGIE SA. Textkernel’s solutions are business-critical for recruiting and staffing organizations.

By offering a turnkey solution that is already integrated into globally-known and widely adopted core (HR) software systems such as Bullhorn, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle Taleo and Oracle Cloud Recruiting, Cornerstone- Lumesse and Talentsoft, Textkernel has been able to expand its customer base and potential reach into the corporate HR market segment.

Textkernel’s flagship product, Search! & Match!, connects candidates to jobs by leveraging ever-sophisticated algorithms that identify multiple means of making potential matches. By leveraging the latest in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, professionals active in talent management are able to pinpoint the best candidates and job matches within increasing volumes of candidate and job data.

Collaboration Textkernel and Main

  • Current management team Gerard Mulder (CEO) and Guus Meijer (COO) will stay onboard and are investing in Textkernel alongside Main Capital.
  • Together, Textkernel and Main will focus on autonomous growth and further development of the technology platform required to execute on its ambitious growth plans in the coming period.
  • In addition, the combination will pursue a selective strategy for smart acquisitions in the broader HR software space.

Gerard Mulder, CEO at Textkernel: “We are delighted to have the support of Main Capital Partners to drive our ambitious expansion plans for the future.  Despite the challenging economic context, we see ample runway for growth across diverse customer segments and geographies. Having Main Capital as a strategic investment partner allows us to benefit from their deep expertise and diverse SaaS network.  We look forward to delivering on our vision as an AI provider for business leaders seeking innovative solutions to solve their most pressing talent acquisition and management challenges.”

Pieter van Bodegraven, Partner at Main Capital Partners: “Strong potential is visible in this particular part of the HR software market. We have known the management team of Textkernel for many years and are pleased with the opportunity to collaborate. We are impressed by the fact that the company is able to realize autonomous growth in a profitable way, while expanding internationally at the same time.”

About Textkernel
Textkernel works with over 1,000 HR and staffing organizations worldwide to bring the latest in artificial intelligence technology to our customers’ fingertips. We work with large, global companies across multiple industries deliver multilingual parsing, semantic search and match, and labor market intelligence solutions.

About Main Capital Partners
Main Capital is a strategic investor with an exclusive focus on the software sector in the Benelux, DACH and Nordics. Main has a long term horizon around successful partnerships with management teams, with the aim of building larger software groups together. Main has approximately € 1 billion in assets under management for investments in mature and growing software companies.

Main Capital’s current portfolio includes fast-growing software and SaaS software companies such as MACH AG, Exxellence, WoodWing, Alfa, Optimizers, Assessio, GBTEC, Onventis, HYPE Innovation, cleversoft, Enovation, SDB Group, Jobrouter, GOconnectIT, Inergy, KING Software, Artegic, OBI4wan, b+m Informatik, ChainPoint, Sofon and RVC. Successful former companies that have grown significantly under Main’s leadership: Connexys (HR software), Roxit (government software), Axxerion (facility management software), Ymor (APM software), Onguard (credit management software) and TPSC (healthcare GRC software).

Note for the editor:
For more information, please contact:

Charly Zwemstra (Managing Partner)
Main Capital Partners B.V., Paleisstraat 6, 2514 JA, Den Haag
Tel: +31 (0) 70 324 3433 / +31 (0) 6 5127 7805
charly@main.nl
www.main.nl

Gerard Mulder (CEO)
Textkernel B.V.
Nieuwendammerkade 26A-5, 1022 AB Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0) 20 494 2496
mulder@textkernel.com
www.textkernel.com

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TFS enters partnership in the US with the Duke Clinical Research Institute

Ratos

2020-09-29

TFS has entered into a strategic partnership with the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) in North Carolina, US, to provide data management solutions in clinical trials.

The unique collaboration expands TFS’s capability to execute clinical trials for both commercial and government sponsors in the U.S. It supports the company’s growth strategy and further develops its scientific offering. Duke Clinical Research Institute is a world-renowned research institute, recognized for bringing innovation to clinical trial design and execution.

“DCRI is known for ushering in new and innovative approaches to clinical research, and TFS is a leader in providing quality clinical development services through operational excellence and a customer-centric approach. TFS data management solutions ensure quality data services while it continues to push boundaries in study design and management as part of our shared mission to serve patients throughout the world,” says Bassem Saleh, TFS Chief Executive Officer.

“The partnership with Duke Clinical Research Institute is a strategic step toward expanding TFS’ service offering in North America and it opens up doors for further collaboration. TFS provides tailored solutions and is well-positioned to manage complex global studies. The recent agreement strengthens our US presence, while leveraging the European capabilities,” says Joakim Twetman, Head of Business Area Industry at Ratos.

For further information, please contact:
Joakim Twetman, Head of Business Area Industry, Ratos, +46 8 700 17 00
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR and Press, Ratos, +46 8 700 17 98, helene.gustafsson@ratos.se

About TFS:
TFS is a global, mid-sized, clinical contract research organisation (CRO) that supports biotech companies through the entire clinical development process. TFS focuses its scientific and medical competence across a broad therapeutic spectrum, with industry-leading capabilities in dermatology, oncology and ophthalmology. TFS has two business Areas: Clinical Development Services (CDS), which offers clinical trials for small pharmaceutical companies during the development process, and Strategic Resourcing Solutions (SRS), which offers resource solutions featuring clinical professionals and targeting major pharmaceutical companies. Over the past five years, TFS has been involved in approximately 1,100 studies in 40 countries across Europe and North America.

About Ratos:
Ratos is a business group consisting of 12 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer & Technology and Industry. In total, the companies have SEK 38 billion in sales and EBITA of SEK 1.8 billion. Our business concept is to develop mid-sized companies headquartered in the Nordics that are or can become market leaders. We enable independent mid-sized companies to excel by being part of something larger. People, leadership, culture and values are key focus areas for Ratos. Everything we do is based on Ratos’s core values: Simplicity, Speed in Execution and It’s All About People.

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Our investment in QuestDB – the ‘Usain Bolt’ of databases

Seedcamp

Open up your weather app, log into your financial trading platform, or turn the dial on your smart home thermometer and you will produce one of the fastest-growing data types in the world: time-series.

Machines, devices, and sensors create trillions of these time-stamped events around the clock. Although the value of big data has become ubiquitous, managing the quantity of data is a significant challenge for companies. Existing costly databases lack performance to capture and make sense of it all in a cost-effective manner.

Enter: QuestDB.

Founded by Vlad Ilyushchenko, Tancrede Collard, and Nicolas Hourcard, QuestDB is a fast, open-source database for time-series data. Built from scratch with speed and efficiency as a priority, QuestDB puts the data as close to the hardware as possible. This ensures that machine resources are utilised to the fullest extent. Proximity to hardware allows companies to capture and analyse explosive amounts of data without spiraling costs.

At Seedcamp, we like to think of QuestDB as the Usain Bolt of databases. This is why we are thrilled to congratulate them on their $2.3 million seed round, led by Episode 1 Ventures, 7 percent Ventures, Y Combinator, Kima Ventures and several angels.

A preview of QuestDB’s user interface

QuestDB’s roots can be traced back to Vlad’s kitchen table. Having spent decades building low-latency software at leading banks and trading firms, Vlad began developing the open-source version of the software. In 2018, while working at the fintech startup Blockchain.com, his passion project caught the attention of his co-workers and, now co-founders, Tancrede and Nicolas.

Today, the team is laser-focused on building QuestDB from the ground-up to avoid making similar mistakes seen within the database ecosystem.

In the past, “powerful hardware led programmers to neglect software efficiency,” Nicolas commented. “So far, throwing more hardware to mitigate bloated software has been typical. As Moore’s law comes to an end, we believe that the solution is to write lean and efficient code from the start. This is the premise of QuestDB and the reason we have written the entire stack ourselves, without any dependencies and fitting all the codebase in the smallest possible package.”

Currently, QuestDB is in production at several companies. The team is planning on using the round to build out an open-source community and develop an enterprise product.

“From DevOps metrics to data from IoT devices to stock prices, the need for real time data streaming is growing exponentially and this makes time series databases hugely  in-demand.” Sia Houchangnia, one of our investment partners, comments. “When we met Vlad, Nic and Tanc, what truly impressed us was the complementarity of their skillsets, their deep expertise in low-latency trading systems and the years of R&D that had already gone into building from scratch a 10x better product. The team has indeed achieved the feat of combining best in class performance with an ultra-low footprint, while maintaining minimal complexity by using SQL rather than a bespoke language.”

While still in its early days, QuestDB’s vision to build the fastest time-series database on an open-source community base is promising.

“At Seedcamp, we are also big believers in the fact that open source software is eating the world of enterprise software,” Houchangnia reflects upon. “We are therefore very excited to see that QuestDB has not only built an exceptional product but is also nurturing a vibrant open-source community.”

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Orion Advisor Solutions and Brinker Capital Complete Merger, Leapfrogging Competitors With 10,000-plus Active Advisors on Combined TAMP

TA associates

Support from financial partners Genstar and TA Associates fuels the creation of a fully integrated, tech-enabled advisor-client journey

OMAHA, Neb. & BERWYN, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Orion Advisor Solutions (Orion) and Brinker Capital announce the closing of their merger, unifying the industry’s foremost technology provider for fiduciary advisors with the largest privately held turnkey asset management platform (TAMP).

What’s next for Orion and @BrinkerCapital? You won’t have to wait long to see how our combined strengths help advisors drive growth through client satisfaction

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Orion, architect of the tech-enabled fiduciary process that empowers the advisor-client journey by enabling advisors to Prospect, Plan, Invest, and Achieve within a single, connected experience; and Brinker Capital, a highly respected investment management company serving the needs of advisors at insurance and independent broker-dealers; now form an industry-leading organization based on both companies’ long-standing reputations of innovation and industry disruption.

The union of Orion and Brinker Capital, first announced in June, will massively extend the scale and capabilities of the combined firm. The newly unified TAMP will grow to $44 billion in assets, providing more than 10,000 active investment advisor representatives with access to investment strategies from seasoned, in-house portfolio managers, as well as vetted third party strategist partners. With Orion’s technology currently supporting 2,100 firms representing $1.3 trillion in assets under administration, the number of accounts serviced by the newly combined firm will exceed 3.9 million across tech and TAMP.

Orion’s Eric Clarke will lead as CEO of the combined business while Noreen D. Beaman will become the president of Brinker Capital Investments, fusing Brinker Capital’s in-house investment management resources with those of CLS Investments. Chuck Widger, executive chairman and founder of Brinker Capital, will remain an investor and strategic advisor for the combined business.

“With the merger of Orion and Brinker Capital, we are able to capture the momentum created by the increasing connectivity of technology and fiduciary advice, and channel it into the pursuit of a transformative advisor-client journey,” said Clarke and Beaman in a joint statement. “As our companies continue to grow together, our complementary strengths will drive the entire fiduciary process with planning tools, guided or open-architecture investment solutions, and behavioral insights; powering organic advisor growth through client satisfaction.”

Cultural compatibility and the alignment of vision between Orion and Brinker Capital have allowed the companies to complete their merger with speed and ease rarely seen in the financial services industry. Advisors will begin to see the results of this collaboration within weeks, not months. Starting in October, Brinker Capital’s series of dynamic multi-asset risk-based portfolios will be made available through Orion Portfolio Solutions, Orion’s open architecture investment management platform, and through the Orion Communities model marketplace.

Brinker Capital’s Wealth Advisory high-net-worth offering will be made available to Orion advisors in early 2021. Around the same time, Brinker Capital’s clients will gain access to Orion’s technology, helping them foster stronger advisor-client relationships with integrated tools like Market*r, Orion’s automated prospecting and marketing campaign builder; Orion Planning, which guides the creation of engaging and immediately actionable financial plans; and new proposal generation technology that ties investment proposals directly to investors’ specific needs and incorporates behavioral investing tendencies to keep advisors apprised of potential investor reactions to market events.

“The culmination of the deal between Orion and Brinker Capital speaks to the strength and longevity of both companies,” said Tony Salewski, managing director of Genstar Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm that has invested in the combined business alongside TA Associates, Orion’s existing private equity partner.

“It has been gratifying to play a part in the closing of this merger,” Salewski said. “It takes resilience and adaptability for financial services firms to thrive against the headwinds of a global pandemic and market uncertainty. Orion and Brinker Capital stand out in terms of their aligned vision, and have wasted no time magnifying their shared strengths. We look forward to seeing their next steps together as a unified force in the marketplace.”

Roy Burns, managing director of TA Associates and a member of Orion’s board of directors, said the merger will continue to propel Orion beyond its roots as a provider of portfolio management technology for RIAs. “Orion has a strong history of strategic growth through powerful partnerships. Combining their legacy of agility and forward-thinking innovation with Brinker Capital’s deep investment management capabilities creates a company in a category of its own. We are thrilled to be part of what we believe will be an unstoppable trajectory to much greater success.”

To learn more about the new capabilities and resources available to advisor clients of Orion and Brinker Capital, visit our website.

About Orion Advisor Solutions

Orion Advisor Solutions is the premier provider of the tech-enabled fiduciary process that transforms the advisor-client relationship by enabling financial advisors to Prospect, Plan, Invest, and Achieve within a single, connected, technology-driven experience. Combined, our brand entities, Orion Advisor Tech, Orion Portfolio Solutions, and CLS Investments, create a complete yet modular offering that empowers firms to seamlessly attract new clients; connect goals more meaningfully to investment strategies and outcomes; and ultimately track progress toward each investor’s unique definition of financial success. As a result, Orion supports more than 2,100 advisory firms with $1.3 trillion in assets under administration and an additional $44 billion of combined assets (Orion Portfolio Solutions and Brinker Capital) on the open architecture TAMP, making Orion the platform of choice for all growth-focused advisory firms looking to strengthen their client relationships, gain a competitive edge in a crowded marketplace, and build strong, profitable businesses. Learn more at www.orion.com.

About Brinker Capital

Brinker Capital is an investment management company with $26 billion in assets under management (as of August 19, 2020). For over 30 years, Brinker Capital’s purpose has been to deliver an institutional multi-asset class investment experience to individual clients. Brinker Capital’s highly strategic, disciplined approach has provided investors the potential to achieve their long-term goals while controlling risk. With a focus on wealth creation and management, Brinker Capital serves financial advisors and their clients by providing high-quality investment manager due diligence, asset allocation, portfolio construction, and client communication services. Brinker Capital Investments, LLC, is a registered investment advisor.

About Genstar Capital

Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high-quality companies for over 30 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar currently has approximately $19 billion of assets under management and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the financial services, healthcare, industrial, and software industries. Genstar’s current and former portfolio companies in the investment management sector include Apex Group, AssetMark, Artivest, Ascensus, Cetera Financial Group, ISS and Mercer Advisors.

About TA Associates

TA Associates is a leading global growth private equity firm. Focused on targeted sectors within five industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services – TA 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 $2 billion per year. The firm’s more than 90 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.

Contacts

Company Contact:
KELLY WALTRICH
Chief Marketing Officer, Orion
402.896.7406
kelly@orion.com

Media Contacts:
JIMMY MOOCK
Gregory FCA for Orion
610.348.7849
jimmy@gregoryfca.com
orion@gregoryfca.com

MICHELE STEINMETZ
Director, Public Relations and Social Media, Brinker Capital
215.817.5610
msteinmetz@brinkercapital.com

CHRIS TOFALLI
Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC for Genstar Capital
914.834.4334
chris@tofallipr.com

MARCIA O’CARROLL
Director of Marketing, TA Associates
617.852.1345
mocarroll@ta.com

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C5 Further Invests in Ionir to Usher in New Era of Data Democratization

C5 Capital

Today, we announce C5 Capital’s investment in Ionir. The Ionir container native storage and data management platform for Kubernetes and clouds, enables customers to instantly transport data volumes at scale between clouds. We were delighted to participate in the $11 million round led by Jerusalem Venture Partners.

Our new commitment follows C5’s initial investment in 2017, and underlines our confidence in the Ionir leadership team to realise a revolutionary new capability in data mobility. Ionir has created a formidable business, and their technology is fundamental to enabling multi-datacenter, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud strategies.

At C5 Capital, we seek to invest in companies that not only show tremendous growth and promise, but are fulfilling a core need in the market. In addition to our investment we provide these companies with access to our global network of expertise, helping to power their international growth.

Ionir is ideally placed to support its customers in these challenging times where the pandemic has uprooted millions of companies and organisations of all sizes from the confines of their physical office space to conducting operations virtually.  The shift to enable working from home has brought a new set of data management hurdles, and added complexity to storing information across multiple environments. We have witnessed accelerated digital transformation and cloud adoption yet unseen, as companies rushed to ensure business continuity in the digital world. Businesses have migrated to multi cloud architectures to support remote workloads at scale.

Ionir is helping international companies and organizations move applications and data between clouds efficiently and speedily. Through its new platform capability Data Teleport, it is leading a new era of data democratization and redefining IT workflows.

This platform delivers the industry’s first instant mobility capability for persistent volumes, that allows stateful applications to be copied or moved instantly between Kubernetes clusters in under 40 seconds, independent of the size of the volume or the amount of data involved. Based on the unique and proven technology developed by Reduxio, Ionir’s platform eliminates the complexity of storage and data management for Kubernetes-based clouds by allowing customers to build a seamless data layer and a common set of data management workflows independent of the underlying cloud or infrastructure.

Ionir’s unique proposition and proprietary technology enables it to meet the needs of its rapidly growing customer base and positions it for continued strong expansion and growth. We are excited to be part of that journey, sharing the Ionir team’s vision and passion to transform its markets.

André Pienaar, Founder and Managing Director of C5 Capital has joined the Board of Directors at Ionir to support their next phase of growth. André said, “As a specialist investor in the cutting-edge cloud and data management solutions powering our digital future, we are thrilled to support Ionir in transforming this market. Data mobility between clouds has historically required advanced planning and significant amount of time, making it difficult for customers to move applications and data to maximise effectiveness of their IT, or to provide resilience in the case of an outage. Ionir is bringing a paradigm shift by eliminating data gravity and time from the equation. The company’s innovative Data Teleport instant data mobility capability is redefining IT workflows in both hybrid cloud and multi-cloud deployments.”

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The Efficy group acquires INES CRM to create a customer relationship front player in France and become the European Champion

Fortino Capital

Brussels, September 10, 2020 – INES CRM, one of the French cloud-based CRM pioneers, is joining the Efficy group. The stated ambition is to complete the consolidation of the French market in order to conquer Europe!

Obvious product complementarity

Founded in 2005 in Brussels, Efficy publishes a highly flexible CRM intended for medium and large accounts, and positions itself as a partner close to its customers. Already present in 7 European countries and leader in the Benelux, the Efficy group offers CRM solutions at the right price. Daily used by 170,000 users, the group’s solutions support more than 3,500 companies in their growth.

Founded in 1999 in Lyon, INES CRM publishes and integrates an open collaborative SaaS platform, serving business development and the entire customer journey. This solution is particularly suitable for companies with 10 to 50 employees, wishing to quickly set up a personalized CRM solution.

“INES CRM is an ingenious addition to the Efficy group’s range of CRM solutions. Our teams are now able to offer a solution adapted to all contexts. Whether it is a start-up buying a CRM license on the web, a company with 40 employees that wants a customizable solution, or even a group that has several thousand users, ” emphasizes Damien Duchateau, co- founder of INES CRM.

“Joining the Efficy group will allow the INES CRM solution to be enriched with new functionalities. Mobile application, artificial intelligence, gamification, document management and customer extranet functions will quickly complete the INES CRM solution,” adds Max Patissier, co-founder of INES CRM.

A desire to consolidate the European market

The Efficy group aims to represent 5% of the CRM market share on the European scene in four years. This operation is part of this ambition.

The acquisition of INES CRM by Efficy creates a group of 220 employees in Europe with cumulative annual turnover of € 26.5 million for 2019. The customer portfolio stands at 4,500 references.

“In recent years, we have organized and structured ourselves to accelerate the pace of our growth. INES CRM allows us to establish ourselves durably in France. We are planning such operations in other countries in the coming months. Our desire: to become a very serious alternative to the American mastodons on European soil,” concludes Cédric Pierrard, CEO of the Efficy group.

The Efficy CRM group at a glance

Key figures (2019)

  • € 26,5m turnover
  • 220 employees in 9 countries
  • 4 500 clients
  • 185 000 users in 33 countries
  • 46% average growth over the past 5 years

Latest highlights

  • 2017: Acquisition of DESICO, publisher of the Vente Partner solution, in France
  • 2018: Acquisition of E-Deal in France
  • 2019: Acquisition of SumaCRM in Spain
  • 2019: Arrival of Fortino Capital as shareholders

About EFFICY

Efficy is a software provider offering medium & large businesses a complete, flexible and extended CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution which helps companies manage their Customer Relationship. Efficy has over 170,000 daily users in 33 countries. Founded in 2005, the Efficy Group, ISO 9001 certified, works with companies from a wide variety of sectors: Banking (Belfius, BNP Paribas, Fortuneo), Insurance & Mutual insurance (Amma, Thélem), Social housing, Industry (CEA, Gradus, Poujoulat), Services, Tourism & Transport (Kinepolis, Geneva Tourism), Retail (La Redoute, Groupe Gautier), Local authorities & Chambers of commerce. Headquartered in Brussels, Efficy has approximately 165 employees in its 7 local offices in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Germany.

About INES CRM

French publisher and integrator for 20 years, INES CRM offers a collaborative, open and mobile SaaS platform, serving business development and the entire customer journey.

INES CRM teams support BtoB companies and ensure the sustainability of their digital transition. The INES solution is a tool designed to respond to the problems of different departments (sales, marketing, customer service, etc.) by giving companies a 360 ° view of their customer relationship.
www.inescrm.fr

Contact

For more information, please visit www.efficy.com or contact:
Laëtitia Baret
lba@efficy.com
+33 6 13 03 63 67

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MineralTree Raises $50M Series D Funding and Acquires Inspyrus and Regal Software

Great Hill Partners

New investment and acquisitions fuel growth in fast-growing AP automation and B2B payments market

| Source: MineralTree, Inc.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MineralTree, an Accounts Payable (AP) and payments automation solution provider, today announced that it has closed a $50 million Series D investment round with participation from existing investors Great Hill Partners, .406 Ventures, and Eight Roads Ventures. In addition, MineralTree has acquired two companies in the AP automation and B2B payables space, Inspyrus and Regal Software, to further expand its market position in providing AP and payment automation to middle market companies.

The investment round and acquisitions come at a time when MineralTree is seeing increasing demand for its solutions as businesses of all sizes are becoming focused on addressing both pandemic-related work-from-home mandates and rising costs associated with manually processing invoices and B2B payments. $27 Trillion in B2B payments are made in North America every year and businesses spend an estimated $510B on direct and indirect manual AP costs making those payments. By automating AP, businesses can save as much as 80% of these costs and allow their AP process to function seamlessly while working fully remote.

Today’s additional funding and strategic company acquisitions equip MineralTree with expanded product capabilities, partnerships, and scale to serve the needs of a much larger portion of the middle market and up into the enterprise market. Additionally, the funding and acquisitions will bolster capabilities available to existing MineralTree customers and Bank partners.

“Mid-market companies of all sizes continue to show strong interest in automating their AP and payments processes, but as a market segment have been overlooked and underserved,” said MineralTree Chief Executive Officer, Micah Remley. “Our vision to revolutionize B2B commerce starts with making the invoice to payment processes simple, speedy, and secure for mid-market customers and our Bank partners. This new funding, combined with expanded product capabilities and scale that come as a result of acquiring Inspyrus and Regal Software, uniquely positions MineralTree to do just that.”

Silicon Valley-based Inspyrus is an AP automation software solution for large mid-market and enterprise customers. Since its founding in 2008, Inspyrus has built significant scale in AP automation and currently processes over 15 million invoices, representing more than $100B in AP spend, annually in its software platform. It provides out-of-the-box integrations with leading ERP systems such as SAP and Oracle’s E-Business, JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, and ERP Cloud systems. With Inspyrus, MineralTree adds robust product features such as advanced PO matching, Artificial Intelligence-enabled predictive coding, and real-time invoice capture.

“Mid-market companies continue to lag behind their enterprise contemporaries in automating,” stated Inspyrus Founder and Chief Executive Officer Nilay Banker. “Automating these processes can deliver not only significant cost savings, but also increased financial visibility, and fraud reduction. The combination of capabilities from Inspyrus and MineralTree will help accelerate the digitization of Accounts Payable and B2B payments processing across more companies globally.”

Regal Software, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, provides easy-to-use ERP connectors to more than 160 different ERP systems. Its RegalPay solution is used by more than 350 corporate customers and partners including leading banks, card issuers, and financial services institutions to serve their business customers’ needs. Regal Software expands MineralTree’s ability to integrate with both bank and business financial systems, removing one of the biggest barriers to adoption of e-payments.

“We are thrilled to become part of the MineralTree family today,” commented Regal Software Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Kofi Conduah. “The combined strengths of MineralTree and Regal Software position us as the only choice to help mid-market companies easily transition to electronic payments and empower Banks to help their commercial customers do the same.”

Resources:
Industry Report: The State of AP 2020: A Research Report
Product Overview: End-to-End AP Automation – How it Works
Blog Post: Blog: Top 3 AP Automation Misconceptions
Webinar: Building the Modern Finance Function through Digital Transformation

About MineralTree
MineralTree provides modern, secure, easy-to-use, end-to-end Accounts Payable (AP) Automation solutions that reduce costs by more than 75%, increase visibility and control, and mitigate fraud and risk, while improving cash flow. More than 2,000 mid-market and mid-enterprise companies, as well as more than 25 financial institutions rely on MineralTree to digitize and optimize the entire AP Automation and Payments process, preserving control over the complete invoice-to-payment workflow, improving vendor relationships, maximizing ROI, and transforming the finance function from a cost center to a profit center. For more information, visit https://www.mineraltree.com.

 

Media Inquiries
Tim Walsh
617.512.1641

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