Tag Archives: Information technology

Edenred Capital announces exit of portfolio company LaunchPad to OutMatch

Edenred

Edenred Capital Partners announces the sale of portfolio company LaunchPad to OutMatch. Founded in 2011 by Will Hamilton, Launchpad is a London-based recruitment automation and video interviewing platform that provides end-to-end recruitment automation. The merger with US-based OutMatch will create a first-of-its-kind candidate-driven talent selection platform that marries automation and AI bringing efficiency and data to the hiring process.

Norbert Furnion, managing partner of Edenred Capital and board member of Launchpad since its first investment in 2014, stated: “We are proud to have helped Will Hamilton in this journey from a Seed-level investment to a sale to a leading player in HR Tech, which will help grow the strong suite of products developed by LaunchPad. We wish Will and OutMatch every success in the future and we are certain they will continue to thrive as they consolidate their market position.”

OutMatch is a portfolio company of Rubicon Technology Partners (Boulder, Colorado) and Camden Partners (Baltimore, Maryland).

About Edenred Capital Partners

Edenred Capital Partners is the Venture Capital investment arm of Edenred Group, the world leader in corporate transactional services. We are looking for ambitious teams of entrepreneurs reshaping interactions between companies, workforce and merchants. We invest up to €10m, from Series A to Series C, alongside other investment funds. Edenred Capital Partners provides financial and operational support to entrepreneurs. The structure of our organisation facilitates relationships within Edenred’s ecosystem to generate operational synergies. Our investment scope covers Human Capital Management, Professional Mobility, Payment and Retail. Investments include Addworking, Andjaro, Fretlink, Lucky Cart and Zenchef in France, Beamery, Fuse and Launchpad in the UK, Avrios and Beekeeper in Switzerland and Candex in the US.

About LaunchPad

LaunchPad’s recruitment technology platform brings together the latest in video interviewing technology, best of breed assessments, automation, reviewer insights and predictive analytics to optimize your hiring process – allowing you to create a seamless candidate experience, improve the reliability of your hiring decisions and hire the best candidates, faster, all from one platform. LaunchPad has served 350+ clients and processed over 3 million interviews worldwide for some of the world’s leading brands.

About OutMatch

The OutMatch Talent Intelligence Platform brings clarity to talent decisions by gathering the right data and putting the insights companies need at their fingertips. We help the world’s biggest brands to select and develop great people, maximizing the employee life cycle. Nearly 100 million candidates and employees have used OutMatch technology, with over 10 million flowing through per year. This volume of data gives OutMatch unique insight into the workforce and prepares OutMatch clients for the future of work. OutMatch was recently named to the 2020 Inc 5000 list as well as Inc magazine’s annual list of the Best Workplaces for 2020.

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Attentive Raises $230 Million Series D Investment, Led by Coatue, to Enhance Product and Expand Support for Customers

Atomico

The funding will be used to further accelerate our rapid pace of product innovation and business growth as we continue to create the best-in-class personalized text messaging solution for our 2,000+ customers.

We’re thrilled to share that Attentive has raised a $230 million Series D investment, led by Coatue. Read more in Forbes.

Tiger Global, Wellington Management Company, D1 Capital Partners, Atomico, and Sozo Ventures are new investors in the company—joining existing investors Bain Capital Ventures, Sequoia, Sequoia Capital Global Equities, Coatue, IVP, Eniac Ventures, NextView Ventures, High Alpha, and Sapphire Ventures.

Mobile and e-commerce growth have accelerated over a matter of months this year, creating a lasting impact on consumer behavior. As a result, the way consumers and businesses interact is fundamentally shifting.

Today’s mobile-first consumers expect businesses to engage with them where and how they prefer—on their mobile devices. The future of business-to-consumer communications is mobile, two-way, and personalized interactions.

Over 2,000 innovative businesses—including Tapestry (Coach, Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman), Urban Outfitters, Michaels, Steve Madden, and Jack in the Box—rely on Attentive to help engage their mobile audiences with personalized text messaging, driving billions of dollars in transactions. On average, Attentive is responsible for driving 18.5% of our customers’ total online revenue.

We continue to be very impressed by Attentive’s growth and performance and are very excited to expand our partnership with the team. We believe that mobile messaging will be how consumers will want to interact with businesses due to its immediacy, relevancy, and ease of use and believe that Attentive is strongly positioned as a leader in this space.

– Lucas Swisher, Partner at Coatue

This investment comes just five months after the announcement of the extension of our Series C round. In that time, we’ve tirelessly pushed innovation to meet widespread market demand and support our customers by building sophisticated product functionalities that deliver powerful results.

We’re on a mission to create the best personalized text messaging platform that helps our 2,000+ customers effectively engage their mobile audiences. This additional capital will be used to continue to accelerate our rapid pace of product innovation and to invest in the hiring and professional development of the top talent working towards this mission.

Attentive now has over 400 full-time employees—a 310% increase in headcount year-over-year. Notably, more people have joined the company since the transition to remote work due to COVID-19 than were on the team prior to March. (We are continuing to hire—view open roles here.)

Attentive has become an incredibly important part of our brand’s digital strategy and overall revenue growth. The platform’s capabilities and the team’s expertise in the text messaging space are both incredible, and have been integral to our success.

– Jeff Silverman, President of Global E-Commerce at Steve Madden

Thank you to all of our customers, investors, advisors, and industry partners for your continued support of Attentive.

To learn more, read the article in Forbes and the full press release.

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NextCapital Receives $30 Million Growth Investment Led by Francisco Partners

Franciso Partners

Press Release – September 22 2020

Investments from FP Credit, Oak HC/FT and IA Capital Group to advance retirement income capabilities and growth partnerships

CHICAGO — NextCapital, the leader in enterprise digital advice, today announced $30 million in growth financing, bringing the company’s total funding to $85 million. The financing was led by FP Credit, the credit investment arm of Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm. Oak HC/FT and IA Capital Group also participated in the capital raise.

NextCapital enables its commercial partners to rapidly bring to market a cost-effective, full-stack digital advice solution that is built to support the demanding requirements of large enterprises. The company enables scalable financial planning, advice, and managed accounts across leading financial institutions.

“This funding advances our mission to help everyone retire successfully,” said NextCapital Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder John Patterson. “Our partners are equally essential to the success of this mission, so we are excited to use this funding to further invest in our Partner Success program. This capital raise also allows us to extend our best-in-class workplace and rollover managed advice platform, as well as expand our retirement income offering.”

“NextCapital is at the forefront of the digital transformation sweeping the $8 trillion defined contribution market,” said Peter Christodoulo, partner at Francisco Partners. “Especially in the current economic climate, there is an urgent need to give Americans institutional-grade advice both in the accumulation phase for younger workplace savers and during the decumulation phase for older investors.”

NextCapital’s multi-channel solution supports defined contribution, IRA rollover, and retail accounts. Other key configuration features include:

  • Custom user experience and ongoing engagement
  • Configurable investment methodologies and advisory roles
  • Self-service and advisor-assisted service models
  • Plan advisor enablement
  • Integrations with 401(k) recordkeeping systems and retail custodians

“NextCapital is unique among its competitors in their ability to work with all firms in the retirement ecosystem, from large asset managers to recordkeepers to large advisory firms. NextCapital can build completely customized managed advice solutions for their partners that fulfill each institution’s unique requirements,” said Alois Pirker, research director for Aite Group‘s wealth management practice. “NextCapital’s platform addresses the needs of enterprise partners across the entire retirement landscape.”

Francisco Partners was advised by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as its legal advisor.

About NextCapital Group

NextCapital is an enterprise digital advice company whose mission is to help everyone retire successfully. NextCapital partners with financial institutions to deliver personalized planning and managed accounts to individual investors across multiple channels, including 401(k), IRA, and taxable brokerage accounts. NextCapital’s open-architecture digital advice solution provides integrated account aggregation, analytics, planning and portfolio management, and allows partners to customize advice methodology and fiduciary roles.

“NextCapital” is a brand name representing NextCapital Group, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, NextCapital Software, Inc. and NextCapital Advisers, Inc. NextCapital Advisers, Inc. is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). NextCapital Software, Inc. is not registered with the SEC and does not provide investment advice.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has raised over $24 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 300 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. The firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

About Oak HC/FT

Founded in 2014, Oak HC/FT is the premier venture growth-equity fund investing in Healthcare Information & Services (“HC”) and Financial Services Technology (“FT”). With $1.9 billion in assets under management, we are focused on driving transformation in these industries by providing entrepreneurs and companies with strategic counsel, board-level participation, business plan execution and access to our extensive network of industry leaders. Oak HC/FT is headquartered in Greenwich, CT, with offices in Boston and San Francisco. Follow Oak HC/FT on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Medium.

About IA Capital Group

Founded in 1992, IA Capital Group Inc. (previously Inter-Atlantic Group) is based in New York City and manages venture capital funds under the Inter-Atlantic name. The firm has a 20 year track record in insurtech and fintech venture capital, the longest of any insurtech-focused venture capital firm. Its fully-exited first fund, Inter-Atlantic Fund LP, had three portfolio company IPOs and ranks as the number one performing fund in several databases among comparable funds of its vintage. IA Capital currently makes strategic venture capital investments on behalf of 15 insurance companies.

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Ionir Launches Cloud Native Storage and Data Platform for Kubernetes with $11M in Funding led by JVP

C5 Capital

ntroduces industry first solution for instant mobility of applications and data between clouds

Press Release provided by Ionir—

New York, NY. – September 21, 2020 –Ionir launched today its container native  software defined storage and data management platform, designed to support Kubernetes production workloads in private cloud, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud deployments.  The Ionir enterprise software defined storage platform delivers  Data Teleport™, the industry’s first instant mobility capability for persistent volumes, that allows stateful applications to be copied or moved instantly between Kubernetes clusters. Ionir also announced $11 million in funding led by Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) alongside C5 Capital.

The Ionir solution brings the same portability and mobility that customers get with containers and Kubernetes to data and persistent volumes. Based on the unique and proven technology developed by Reduxio, the 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.

“With Data Teleport, persistent volumes can be moved or copied between Kubernetes clusters and clouds in under 40 seconds independent of the size of the volume or the amount of data involved” said Jacob Cherian, CEO, Ionir. For example, in a production/development hybrid deployment, developers will no longer have to wait for hours or days for volumes to be copied to get access to the latest data. With instant mobility data can be refreshed in under a minute accelerating development processes and the delivery of new capabilities.”

The Ionir platform is the first microservices based software defined storage and data management solution for Kubernetes that allows the platform to be extended to support future interfaces and technologies without the need for fork-lift upgrades. The platform today provides the following capabilities:

  • Fully virtualized persistent volumes with no practical size limit
  • Data Teleport™ – Instantly copy or move volumes of any size across clouds
  • Instant clones for data and application recovery
  • Global deduplication and compression for efficiency at scale
  • Fault tolerant and highly available

 

“As a long standing investor in the cloud and infrastructure space, we have a track record of investing in companies that deliver the most innovative solution in the market to the world’s leading enterprises” said Fiona Darmon, General Partner, JVP and Ionir Board Member. “We are proud to lead this round in Ionir, leveraging the proven Reduxio technology, bringing about a new era of data democratization as organizations the world over will have the freedom to choose and move data freely between their cloud silos.”

Enterprise adoption of Kubernetes is increasing; but using legacy storage solutions and the lack of instant data mobility creates infrastructure silos and operational challenges in private cloud, hybrid cloud and multi-cloud deployments. Ionir’s platform and instant data mobility capability  allows enterprises to unify multiple infrastructure environments into a single data cloud with seamless mobility of applications and data.

“Ionir is disrupting the Kubernetes and cloud data storage market by helping organizations achieve seamless mobility for their applications and data” said Michael Wall, Chairman of Ionir, and a storage and IT infrastructure industry veteran. “This technology will redefine IT workflows and open up new possibilities for customers to maximize the return on their investments in multi-datacenter, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud strategies.”

For more information about Ionir, the company’s vision, and to request a demo of the product and Data Teleport™ please visit www.ionir.com

About Ionir

Ionir’s cloud native storage and data management platform for Kubernetes combines high performance software-defined container-native storage and data management with data mobility to enable customers to build a single data cloud for their applications across all their infrastructure, anywhere. Ionir is backed by leading international VC funds Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) and C5 Capital, among others.  For more information, visit www.ionir.com Connect with Ionir on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

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Nordic Capital-backed Conscia announces four acquisitions in a week expanding its presence within cyber-security, cloud transformation and managed services

Nordic Capital

September 21 2020
Nordic Capital-backed Conscia announces four acquisitions in a week expanding its presence within cyber-security, cloud transformation and managed services Image

 

Conscia, the expert in IT infrastructure and security solutions has announced four acquisitions in the past week: Danish cyber-security specialist Credocom, Danish VMware consulting firm NetIT, Dutch cloud services provider Damecon and Swedish cloud services company SECOA. 

Nordic Capital acquired Conscia in Spring 2019 in order to support the company’s fast-paced expansion in Europe, through an active buy and build strategy in new and existing geographies.  In addition to the acquisitions announced the last week, Conscia acquired German technology company xevIT in Autumn 2019, taking the total number of acquisitions since Nordic Capital acquired Conscia to five, strengthening its market leading position and service offering.

Founded in Brøndby, Denmark in 2003, Conscia is one of the leading players in the Northern European IT infrastructure space within complex infrastructure solutions and managed services. Conscia builds and services some of Europe’s most complex IT security and networking infrastructures, and notably is recognised as one of the strongest integrators of Cisco solutions. Customers include some of the largest organisations within financial services, healthcare, and public sector organisations.

“Nordic Capital is delighted to be part of Conscia’s growth journey supporting the business through its continued international expansion strategy whilst also strengthening its offering within cybersecurity, multi-cloud and managed services.  We are seeing increased interest from customers who want to make sure that their IT infrastructure is flexible, scalable and can withstand cyber-security attacks whilst also ensuring that their digital foundation is strong enough to support their future business opportunities,” said Fredrik Näslund, Partner, Nordic Capital Advisors.

The acquisitions further cement Nordic Capital’s expertise and outstanding track record in the Technology & Payments sector. Nordic Capital has made 17 Technology & Payment platform investments to date as well as many add-on acquisitions since its first acquisition in the sector in 2001.

 

About Conscia

Conscia is a Network of Knowledge and an ICT service provider that specialises in cyber security, IT infrastructure solutions, and managed services. As a trusted advisor Conscia strives to support the customers ‘business-critical IT infrastructure’ across the entire value chain from design, implementation, operation and optimization. The ambition is supported by profound technical competencies and insight, which is displayed through the unique customer portal, this also forms the basis for the best customer experiences and the highest customer satisfaction in the industry. Another strategic goal for Conscia is to be the most attractive workplace for talented IT infrastructure specialists in Europe. Currently Conscia Group has more than 750 employees across six countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, and Slovenia), with an annual turnover of approximately DKK 2,5bn DKK (€335mm). For more information, please visit Conscia.com

 

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Stirling Square Capital Partners’ Fourth Fund Invests in DOCU Nordic in Partnership with TA Associates

TA associates

London – Stirling Square Capital Partners (“Stirling Square”), a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, today announced an additional investment in portfolio company DOCU Nordic Group Holdings AB (“DOCU Nordic” or the “Company”) in partnership with TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm.

TA Associates will acquire a significant minority stake in the Company from Stirling Square’s Third Fund alongside Stirling Square’s Fourth Fund, which becomes the majority shareholder in DOCU Nordic.

Headquartered in Ljusdal, Sweden, DOCU Nordic is the leading provider of business intelligence and data analytics services within the construction, real estate and healthcare markets in Scandinavia, Central Europe and Iberia.

During Stirling Square’s Third Fund’s ownership, DOCU Nordic substantially developed its product offerings and capabilities while expanding its geographic reach. The Company recently announced the acquisition of Vortal in Portugal, which will add strategic e-tendering capabilities and a presence in Iberia. The new investment is the latest step in DOCU Nordic’s aim to create the leading construction technology and construction management eco-system in Europe, with significant opportunity for future buy-and-build activity.

Henrik Lif, Partner of Stirling Square, commented, “We believe that DOCU Nordic is an outstanding business that provides business critical and high-value services to a broad customer base. We are delighted to continue our investment journey with the Company in partnership with TA Associates. DOCU Nordic has demonstrated industry leading innovation in the construction, real estate and healthcare sectors. With the recent acquisition of Vortal in Portugal, the Company takes a further step geographically with the leading public e-tendering platform in Southern Europe. We look forward to continuing our work with senior management on organic growth and buy-and-build opportunities across Europe.”

Naveen Wadhera, Managing Director of TA Associates, said, “Given our focus on partnering with market leading, profitable and growing businesses, DOCU Nordic offers a compelling investment opportunity for TA. We see particular opportunity to help accelerate the Company’s growth and to expand both product offerings and geographic reach through accretive acquisitions. We are excited to partner with Stirling Square and DOCU Nordic’s management team to help build additional value for the Company.”

Stefan Lindqvist, CEO of DOCU Nordic, added, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to further build on the past three years of partnership with Stirling Square, and we welcome TA Associates, an experienced global investor in the technology sector, as a new partner. We look forward to working closely with both owners as we open a new chapter in DOCU Nordic’s success story.”

Mr. Henrik Lif, Mr. Ben Hopper and Mr Raphael Mukomilow of Stirling Square and Mr. Naveen Wadhera and Mr. Max Cancre of TA Associates will serve on the DOCU Nordic Board of Directors.

About Stirling Square Capital Partners
Stirling Square Capital Partners was established in 2002 as a pan-European private equity firm to pursue transformational change investments in mid-market companies with enterprise values of between €50 million and €500 million. The firm manages €2.5 billion across three active funds on behalf of a global and diverse investor base.

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 85 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.

About DOCU Nordic
DOCU Nordic is the leading provider of business intelligence and data analytics services within the construction, real estate and healthcare markets in Scandinavia, Central Europe and Iberia.

 

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AddSecure confirms acquisition of Dualtech IT

Castik Capital

17.09.2020

Through the deal, European customers will benefit from future-proof, secure and reliable end-to-end solutions. This is of particular importance in view of the forthcoming technological shift and the new alarm transmission EU standard 50136-3 required by 2021.

AddSecure, a leading European provider of premium solutions for secure data and critical communications, has completed an agreement to acquire Dualtech IT AB, a leading supplier of secure IP based alarm communication terminals and innovative services, to strengthen its Smart Alarms’ portfolio, expertise, and market coverage in Europe.

“We are delighted to have reached agreement with a company that has demonstrated consistent innovation and dedication to their customers over a long period of time”, says Stefan Albertsson, CEO of AddSecure.

Dualtech’s experience of digitization is of particular importance with the forthcoming technology shift, i.e. the closing down of 2G and 3G networks that is taking place throughout Europe.

“As the technology shift will take place across Europe, there will be a large number of customers with similar needs around Europe. Dualtech’s platform and experience in the field are therefore of great value to AddSecure”, Albertsson continues.

By combining offerings the companies are also well positioned considering the new alarm transmission EU standard 50136-3 required by 2021, which stipulates that an alarm system must be tested end-to-end, and will be will be able to provide European customers with future-proof, secure and reliable end-to-end solutions.

Dualtech will be part of AddSecure, and the product portfolio will coexist together with  AddSecure’s existing Smart Alarms offering. Future offerings will combine the innovative solutions from both portfolios. The Dualtech founders and staff will continue to drive and grow the market and Dualtech’s solutions portfolio.

“This transaction provides Dualtech customers with an excellent outcome in terms of their ability to access the latest technology and solutions available. It also provides an exciting future for our staff with an expansive growth company”, says Anders Johansson, Managing Director of Dualtech.

Dualtech has customers in over 20 countries around the world, and has delivered over 250 000 secure alarm communications products.

For more information, please contact:

Kristina Grandin, Corporate Marketing Manager, AddSecure
Mobile: +46 70 689 52 08, kristina.grandin@addsecure.com

About AddSecure

AddSecure is a leading European provider of premium solutions for secure data and critical communications. The company serves over 50 000 business customers and partners around Europe with secure communications and solutions that help customers safeguard their life- and business-critical applications. This helps save lives, protect property and vital societal functions, and drive business.

AddSecure serves customers in the security and safety industry, in building security and automation, in digital care, in transport and logistics, in utilities and smart cities, and more. Customers are provided with solutions within Smart Alarms, Smart Care, Smart Grids, Smart Rescue, and Smart Transport.

The company, founded in the early 1970s, today employs more than 750 staff in 15 countries. AddSecure is headquartered in Sweden, and has regional offices as well as a network of distributors around Europe.
AddSecure is majority-owned by Funds managed by Castik Capital, a European private equity fund with a long-term approach to value creation, founded in 2014.

About Dualtech IT

Dualtech IT AB, founded 1999, is a leading supplier of secure and cost-efficient alarm communications solutions. The company provides secure IP based alarm communication terminals and innovative services, and is an appreciated and well-renowned business and technology development partner to leading security industry companies all over Europe.

Dualtech focuses on the ongoing transformation of the security industry to new business models under the umbrella Security as a Service, and has long experience and great knowledge of what the digitalization and transformation means to business

Dualtech has customers in over 20 countries around the world, and has delivered over 250 000 secure alarm communications products.

The company has its head office in Gothenburg, Sweden, a sales office in Stockholm, Sweden as well as a subsidiary office in Paris, France.

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ECI announce investment in predictive analytics software business Mobysoft

ECI

ECI Partners, the leading growth-focused mid-market private equity firm, has invested in Mobysoft, a Manchester-based predictive analytics software provider to the social housing sector.

The partnership will support Mobysoft’s continued growth as it expands its predictive analytics product suite and continues to invest in people.

Mobysoft’s flagship product, Rentsense, processes payment patterns for more than 1.7m social housing properties each week. The software uses cloud-based predictive analytics to provide recommendations and optimise workflows for over 140 social housing providers. Customers use RentSense to reduce income officer workload and ensure tenants are receiving the support they need.

Alexander Karle, CEO of Mobysoft said: “We are delighted to partner with ECI to deliver future growth for the business and further support social housing providers and their tenants. For Mobysoft and our customers, this partnership means that we will accelerate investment into new products and services while continuing to strengthen our existing products. ECI has a strong track record supporting fast-growing software businesses and we are excited about the opportunity ahead.”

Derek Steele, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Mobysoft said: “The next phase of investment with ECI will further strengthen our products and organisation. We will further expand our team and invest in predictive analytics solutions that support social housing providers in delivering efficiencies and providing services to the communities they serve.”

Stephen Roberts, Investment Director at ECI, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Alex, Derek and the team. Mobysoft is a market leading software business at an exciting stage of its development, led by an ambitious and high-calibre management team. We are looking forward to working with the business to help deliver the next phase of growth.”

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Main Capital acquires majority stake in German E-Government Software Specialist MACH AG

Main Capital

Düsseldorf, September 15, 2020 – Software investor Main Capital acquires a majority stake in Lübeck-based MACH AG, a market leading software vendor for the German government sector with EUR 44m in revenues and more than 400 employees. The founding family Müller-Ontjes remains on board as active owner. With its comprehensive product portfolio and deep sector expertise, MACH is a frontrunner in providing digital services and solutions to German governmental bodies. Joining forces with Main will allow MACH to profit from Main’s long-standing expertise in the government software market and further leverage its sector expertise.

MACH was founded in 1985 and has since then build up extensive knowledge and an entrenched market position in the highly attractive German government sector, exhibiting significant market entry barriers. From its six German offices and with more than 400 employees, the company serves 10,000+ public institutions in Germany. MACH provides its solutions to all government levels (federal, state, and municipality), educational and research institutions as well as churches and welfare organizations, serving notable customers such as the Bundesverwaltungsamt (federal administration office), the federal police and various federal states (e.g. Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen).

MACH provides a comprehensive solution and service portfolio that allows its clients to digitize their key administrative and financial processes. The core solution is a financial management module which is compliant with all relevant accounting systems used in the German public sector. Currently, more than half of the payments at federal state level are supported by MACH’s financial management solution and the company’s clients regularly cite MACH’s stringent focus on requirements of public administrations as a key advantage over more generalist software offerings.

To herald the next growth phase, a joint strategy will focus on extending the company’s product and technology offering while further expanding its vertical coverage with organic as well as inorganic initiatives. This will be crucial to position the company for the new market dynamics following from recent regulatory initiatives introduced by the German government such as the Online Access Act.

With investments in Exxellence group (public sector, Netherlands), SDB group and Alfa, (healthcare in Netherlands and Sweden) the investment in MACH AG in the German public sector is considered as strategic by Main.

Sven van Berge Henegouwen, Partner in Germany, states: “Since 2016, we have been in regular contact with MACH and are very pleased that the company has opted for Main Capital as their strategic partner to initiate a new growth chapter. We are convinced that together we will succeed in further expanding the pivotal role that MACH already plays in the digitization of the public administration in Germany. Our goal is to assist MACH in becoming the leading digitization partner for the public sector.”

Rolf Sahre, CEO of MACH AG, adds: ” Current topics such as the German government’s economic stimulus package, the implementation of the Online Access Act and future-oriented topics such as Smart City and Artificial Intelligence offer great opportunities to continue MACH’s growth path. After a thorough selection process, we have chosen Main Capital Partners as one of the leading investors in the B2B software sector in Northwest Europe. In addition to the valuable industry experience, we were convinced by Main’s long-term investment approach, which is based on a partnership with the founders and the management team as well as MACH’s continued independence. Partnering with Main will allow us to leverage our full potential and improve our innovative strength to continuously support the public administration as a strong and reliable partner.”

About MACH AG

Digitization of paper files, more transparency in the financial budget or modern personnel processes – MACH AG has been supporting public administrations in digitization projects since 1985. With deep sector know-how and our own software, we strengthen our customers in the long-term – and thus Germany. More than 100,000 users in federal and state authorities, church administrations, educational and research institutions and NGOs rely on our solutions on a daily basis. These institutions benefit from our holistic approach because MACH provides a one-stop solution for software, consulting and execution. Further information is available at www.mach.de.

About Main Capital Partners

Main Capital Partners is a strategic investor with an exclusive focus on the software sector in the Benelux, DACH and Nordics regions. Main has a long-term investment horizon centered around successful partnerships with management teams, with the goal to jointly build larger software groups. Main has approximately € 1 billion in assets under management for investments in mature and growing software companies.

The current portfolio of Main Capital includes rapidly growing software- and SaaS software companies like Alfa (healthcare), WoodWing (content management), Exxellence Groep (public sector), Optimizers (supply chain software), Assessio (talent management), GBTEC (GRC software), Onventis (procurement software), HYPE Innovation (enterprise innovation software), Cleversoft (Regtech software), Enovation (healthcare), SDB Groep (healthcare), Jobrouter (BPM software), GOconnectIT (GIS software), Inergy (business intelligence), MUIS Software (bookkeeping and ERP software), Artegic (marketing automation), OBI4wan (CRM software), b+m Informatik (financial services software), ChainPoint (suppy chain software) and RVC (healthcare). Successful former companies that have grown substantially under the guidance of Main are: Connexys (HR software), Roxit (public sector), Axxerion (facility management software) and Ymor (APM software). More information at www.main.nl

 

Contact Main Capital Netherlands
Charly Zwemstra (Managing Partner)
Tel: +31 (0) 70 324 3433 / +31 (0) 6 5127 7805
e-mail: charly@main.nl

Contact Main Capital DACH
Sven van Berge Henegouwen (Partner)
Tel: +49 173 4823712
e-mail: sven@mainsoftware.de

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BGF achieves three successful exits in six months

BGF

BGF’s North West Investment team is celebrating a strong run of investment activity over the last six months. Since March, it has completed two multi-million pound deals and three exits, returning £80 million from £40 million invested.

Last month, BGF successfully exited a subsidiary of Hobs Group when e-discovery business, Anexsys was acquired by US PE-backed Xact Data Discovery (XDD). BGF invested in Liverpool-headquartered Hobs Group back in 2014. Anexsys revenues grew by 250 per cent in this period, with EBITDA rising from zero to £2.5 million at the point of sale.   

This deal follows BGF’s exit from vehicle manufacturer Woodall Nicholson in April, which generated a 2.5x return. BGF backed the business in 2016 with funding supporting the business’ product development and acquisition strategy. Woodall Nicholson grew three-fold in four years and during this time the business made four acquisitions, which accelerated international expansion and broadened its market reach.  

BGF also exited web hosting company, Miss Group in February 2020. Revenues rose from £8 million to £25 million in the 18-month investment period with EBITDA of £11 million at the time of exit. The deal delivered an IRR of more than 100 per cent for BGF.  

Neil Inskip, head of BGF’s North West team, said: “This trio of exits demonstrates the strength and flexibility of BGF’s model. We backed three North West businesses at different stages of their evolution and from a range of sectors. We have facilitated several acquisitions, built out well-rounded management teams and expanded internationally. All three companies have proven to be fantastic investments, delivering excellent returns for all shareholders. 

“The average investment hold period was 3.5 years, and ranged from 18 months to nearly six years, facilitated by our investment model. Our flexibility has also allowed us to retain an investment in two of these businesses, providing future upside potential.” 

BGF has also announced two new investments in the region as it continues to support the economy in uncertain times. Lead generation technology company, ROI received £3 million to accelerate its UK and European expansion. Miss Group CEO, Mattias Kaneteg and Non-Executive Chair, Phil Male both join the ROI board. 

A Wilderness Way (AWW), a provider of specialist residential childcare and crisis intervention services, also secured backing from BGF. Fiona Lowry was appointed as Non-Executive Chair, having founded and sold several successful businesses in the healthcare sector, including The Good Care Group, a former BGF portfolio company. 

Neil Inskip added: “Our recent investments clearly show the long-term value creation and the strength of the network we’re building with the appointment of two non-executive chairs from businesses we’ve already had successful exits from. 

“The past six months have been a testing time for most entrepreneurs, but we have seen impressive resilience and reinvention from the businesses we work with. It has also been a time for entrepreneurs to take stock of their long-term goals. Our combination of flexible capital and access to experienced Non-Executive Directors through our Talent Network means we’re perfectly placed to support the ambitious business leaders driving the growth economy – even against the most challenging backdrop.” 

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