19 April 2018

The investment will accelerate growth and international expansion 

London and Helsinki, April 19, 2018: The Apax Digital Fund, a growth equity fund advised by global private equity advisory firm Apax Partners, today announces the acquisition of a majority stake in leading Finnish digital transformation company Solita from Vaaka Partners. Solita management will acquire a minority stake in the business, alongside the Apax Digital Fund. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Solita is a digital transformation company driven by data and human insight. The company provides a range of services, including strategic consulting, service design, artificial intelligence, analytics, and managed cloud services, to its fast-growing international client roster. The company was founded in 1996 and employs more than 650 digital specialists across Finland, Sweden, Singapore, and Estonia.

The investment from the Apax Digital Fund will enable Solita to boost growth in its native Finland and accelerate its international expansion, both organically and through potential acquisitions.

Jari Niska, President and CEO of Solita, commented: “We are highly committed to be our customers’ trusted advisor on their transformation journey towards a better future, and are proud of our company’s accomplishments to date, which include a near tripling of our team and revenue over the last five years. We are especially happy to have achieved this while nurturing a unique and inspiring culture. We are now delighted to partner with the Apax Digital Fund as we embark on the next stage of Solita’s growth and believe their team’s insight and experience with other leading digital transformation companies will be invaluable as we continue to expand our business.”

“We are hugely excited to partner with Solita, the leader in digital transformation in Finland, and support Jari and his talented team in developing a pan-Nordic champion,” said Mark Beith, Managing Director of Apax Digital. “Solita has an outstanding end-to-end offering, with worldclass, cross-functional teams helping customers all the way – from crafting their strategy and designing their architecture to developing cutting-edge software and integrating best-in-class data and analytics.”

Marcelo Gigliani, Managing Partner of Apax Digital, said, “The world’s most successful companies are increasingly embracing agile technology solutions to address their digital transformations and enhance their competitive advantages. Solita has a long and proven track record in supporting its clients’ digital efforts, through its unwavering focus on innovation, excellence, and people. We aim to leverage Apax’s deep experience investing in leading global digital services companies to accelerate Solita’s growth plans.”

The investment in Solita is the Apax Funds’ tenth IT services investment. Previous notable investments in the sector include Wizeline (an Apax Digital Fund investment), GlobalLogic, ThoughtWorks, EVRY, Engineering, and Zensar.

About Solita
Solita is a digital transformation company driven by data and human insight. We create culture, services and tech solutions that help us reinvent businesses and society for the better. Our services range from strategic consulting to service design, digital development, data, AI & analytics and managed cloud services. Established in 1996, Solita employs 650 digital business specialists in Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu, Singapore, Stockholm and Tallinn. For further information, please visit https://www.solita.fi.

About Apax Digital
Apax Digital advises the Apax Digital Fund, which specializes in growth equity and buyout investments in high-growth enterprise software, internet, and technology-enabled services companies worldwide. Apax Digital leverages Apax Partners’ deep tech investing expertise, global platform, and specialized operating experts, to enable technology companies and their management teams to accelerate the achievement of their full potential. For further information, please visit http://digital.apax.com.

Over its more than 35-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of over $50 billion. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For further information about Apax Partners, please visit http://apax.com.

Press contacts:

Solita
Jari Niska, CEO, Solita | +358 40 524 6400 | jari.niska@solita.fi
Media: Minna Pinola | +358 40 5166 024 | minna.pinola@solita.fi

Apax Partners
Global Media: Andrew Kenny, Apax | +44 20 7 872 6371 | andrew.kenny@apax.com
UK Media: Matthew Goodman / James Madsen, Greenbrook | +44 20 7952 2000 | apax@greenbrookpr.com
USA Media: Todd Fogarty, Kekst | +1 212-521 4854 | todd.fogarty@kekst.com

Paris, 15 March 2018 – As announced in our press release dated 8 March, a new transaction has been signed by Apax Partners SAS: the acquisition of Business Integration Partners (Bip), a leading European consulting firm headquartered in Italy, from its management team and Argos Soditic.

Founded in 2003, Bip delivers management consulting, business integration and IT/digital transformation services supporting international companies in their innovation strategies and in the adoption of disruptive technologies. The company is present in more than 11 countries with over 1,800 professionals.

The objective is to establish Bip as an undisputed global player in the market by pursuing both organic and external growth, and by accelerating its international development and industry diversification.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.

About Altamir

Altamir is a listed private equity company (Euronext Paris-B, ticker: LTA) founded in 1995 and with almost €800m in assets under management. Its objective is to provide shareholders with long term capital appreciation and regular dividends by investing in a diversified portfolio of private equity investments.

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

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

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

For more information: www.altamir.fr

Contact

Agathe Heinrich

Tel: +33 1 53 65 01 74

E-mail: investors@altamir.fr

Say organized crime, and most people will think of a burglar trying to break in through your front door. However, today’s organized thugs are sitting in front of computer screens and hacking in to companies’ databases. Open Systems is a leading Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) that offers monitoring, prevention and proactive intervention for cybersecurity infrastructures on a 24/7 basis. Together with EQT, Open Systems is set to take the next step in making the Internet a safer place.

In times of increased cyber criminality and malware attacks, being able to respond to them while protecting your data is no longer a necessity, but a matter of survival. Companies today are faced with a fundamentally-shifting complex world, offering game-changing opportunities in the digital space. Digitalization allows companies to be closer to their customers, delivering faster, better and more proactive services and products. Having said that, the digital transformation also creates new and significantly larger threats of business interruption and targeted attacks. However, fear is a bad advisor to embrace the future.

EQT Mid Market Europe portfolio company, Open Systems, is a pure-play MSS provider that is committed to working on the forefront of cybersecurity. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, Open Systems monitors and secures IT networks and business-critical applications for global companies, NGOs and institutions with a digital footprint. Open Systems offers a unique and fully integrated service portfolio consisting of Secure SD-WAN as a Service, Threat Analytics and Prevention, Managed Detection & Response Services and SOC as a Service.

With offices in Zurich, Sydney and New York and deployed security services in more than 180 countries, Open Systems takes responsibility to protect their customers in their digital space. The company’s 140 employees, of which 40 are dedicated to R&D and continuous development of the security platform, are working 24/7 as DevOps Security Operations team to ensure that their customers’ data is in safe hands.

Open Systems brings more than 25 years of industry experience and enjoys a competitive advantage with regards to combining a highly scalable security platform with around-the-clock availability to highly skilled customer service, making it a one-stop-shop for holistic security solutions in the digital space. The company’s frontline staff holds all relevant international regulatory certifications, allowing them to respond and act on security breaches, threats and malware attacks on a global scale.

Since EQT invested in Open Systems in June 2017, the focus has been on strengthening the company’s go-to-market approach and sales organization, further developing the comprehensive product roadmap towards Security as a Service (SeCaaS) with full respond & defend and analyze & detect security capabilities and to continue Open Systems’ internationalization into Germany and the US by leveraging EQT’s global platform.

“The global MSS market is currently at a tipping point”

While ignoring the potential of digitalization is not an option in a competitive market, the risks involved are severe. More specifically, a single incident can kill entire companies. Recent disastrous cybersecurity incidents at enterprises such as Maersk stress that the digital value creation chain and cybersecurity risks are inseparable. Now, there is increased customer awareness of risk and cyber criminality against companies. Stringent data privacy regulations and accelerated developments in digitalization and IoT have resulted in enhanced compliance complexity for companies’ in-house IT departments. The shortage of in-house security expertise and adoption of new technologies drive customer demand to partner with MSS providers.

“The global MSS market is currently at a tipping point where it is expected to almost double in size by 2020. Open Systems’ business model is highly scalable with good operating leverage for international expansion and its technology is deeply integrated into the company’s structure, which enables a high degree of automation. EQT has deep sector expertise in this area from portfolio companies such as, Utimaco, IFS, Automic, Unomaly and Hacker One. Together with Open Systems, EQT looks forward to supporting the company’s continued growth trajectory and accelerated international expansion”, says Florian Funk, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market Europe.

Global 2000 enterprises, as well as medium to large companies across all sectors, trust Mission Control Security Services by Open Systems to protect their businesses and end users. The spectrum of clients ranges from Gate Group (GATE:SW) to Sulzer (SUN) and from SOS Children’s Villages to UBS AG, and underlines that Open Systems’ highly standardized services are delivered to a broad range of verticals.

Open Systems’ CEO Martin Bosshardt adds: “The global MSS market is highly fragmented in terms of numbers, types of providers and their geographic coverage. The support of EQT and its Industrial Advisors will enable further advancements in Open Systems’ security platform and will empower us in taking the next step in growing our presence in primarily the DACH region and the US. Our ambition is to reinvent the market for cybersecurity. Together with EQT, we are ready to take the next step in making the Internet a safer place for our customers.”

Pfäffikon, February 2018

Partners and friends of Ufenau Capital Partners, we are pleased to announce that Swiss IT Security AG has joined forces with alphaBit GmbH. Swiss IT Security AG is one of the leading providers of IT cyber security in Switzerland. Since the year 2002 the company serves a broad and renowned customer base from the insurance, pharma and retail sector.

alphaBit GmbH headquartered in Wiesbaden (Germany), is a nationwide mid-sized IT Consulting Company, that provides IT infrastructure and security Solutions to the public sector as well as to larger companies since 20 years. IT security solutions are integrative elements of almost all projects. alphaBit has >100 employees and is an ideal complementary addition to the Swiss Security in terms of geographic reach and provided services.

Mehmet Gökhan and Michael Wielsch, CEOs of alphaBit:

We are very pleased that we have found Swiss IT Security AG as Partner, who shares our ambitions and supports our growth strategy. Our shared objective is the joint creation of leading IT Security Service Group with focus on the German speaking Europe.” Philipp Stebler, CEO of Swiss IT Security AG, adds: “With this partnership we have completed a very important step, that strengthens our geographic presence in Germany and expands the offered services of the group. We are looking forward to the joint development of the Group together with alphaBit.

In addition to the healthy organic growth of the Swiss IT Security Group, further add-on acquisitions shall be executed to increase the geographical footprint and service offering. We are looking forward to the positive development of the Group.

Sincerely, your

Ufenau Team

About Ufenau Capital Partners

Ufenau Capital Partners is a privately owned Swiss Investor Group headquartered at the Lake Zurich which advises private investors, family offices and institutional investors with their investments in private equity. Ufenau Capital Partners is focused on investments in service companies in German-speaking Europe and invests in the Education & Lifestyle, Business Services, Health Care and Financial Services sectors. Through a renowned Group of experienced Industry Partners (Owners, CEOs, CFOs), Ufenau Capital Partners pursues an active value-adding investment approach on eye-level with entrepreneurs and managers.

Europe’s largest data centre campus secures £125 Million of new business and commences build out of 2 50,000 sq ft top floor

Cardiff Capital Region – 8 February 2018:

Next Generation Data (NGD) today announced the build out of an additional 250,000 sq ft of capacity at its mega data centre campus near Cardiff, South Wales. This follows a spate of new customer contracts worth in excess of £125 Million over the next five years including agreements with several Fortune 100 companies. Construction work is already underway on NGD’s top floor to accommodate the new private and shared data halls. The scale and complexity of the project requires more than 500 construction workers to be permanently on site, creating further substantial employment for locally based contractor firms. “Our latest long term contract successes demonstrate major multinationals are continuing to find NGD’s UK- based world class facility is unbeatable on price and performance, especially when it comes to our space, power, connectivity and 100 per cent service level record,” said Simon Taylor, NGD’s Chairman.

“NGD’s industry leading 16 week build out timescales and the financial resources of our funding partner Infravia Capital Partners is enabling us to respond extremely quickly to global market opportunities.”

Added Phil Smith, NGD’s Construction Director, recently joined from global construction engineering firm Spie:

NGD’s 750,000 sq ft multi-tier facility has already reached 30% Occupancy with 31data halls but we still have abundant space and power available to future proof customer requirements as well as soak up new business demand. The largely pillar-free top floor is ideal for a variety of scalable data hall designs including private and shared facilities.”

Since opening its multimillion pounds data centre campus for business eight years ago NGD has already notched up over 32MW of built space and remains Europe’s largest data centre campus.

In 2016 the company secured multimillion pound funding from Infravia Capital Partners to accelerate expansion. The highly secure facility features a vast 180 MW renewably sourced power capacity and multiple high speed low latency fibre network connections. NGD is ideally suited to meeting demanding Cloud and High Performance Computing requirements.

About NGD Europe

Located in the Cardiff Capital Region, NGD is a purpose-built carrier-neutral Tier 3 facility offering 750,000 sq feet (gross internal area) of highly secure and cost-effective space housing up to 22,000 racks. These can be arranged into self-contained and colocation data halls of various sizes all with independent services, resilient power and cooling systems. NGD Europe’s environmentally- friendly high level technology infrastructure has been designed to meet and exceed the ever increasing demand for more computing power. Among its many features are a high capacity 180 MVA power supply direct from the super grid and sourced from 100 per cent renewable energy; and a variety of on-site high-speed, low latency carrier interconnects.

For more information please visit

www.ngd.co.uk

For further information, visit

www.ngd.co.uk

For further information:

Next Generation Data Ltd

Tel: 01633 674 518

www.ngd.co.uk