Tag Archives: Information technology

Robert Bosch Venture Capital participates in Graphcore’s USD 200 million Series D

Robert Bosch

A world leading AI chipmaker valued at USD 1.7bn

  • Early backer Robert Bosch Venture Capital continues its support after leading Series A
  • Machine intelligence training and inference at 10x to 100x the speed of current solutions
  • Investment Partner Dr. Hongquan Jiang: “Graphcore is changing the paradigm of AI computing in the cloud and at the edge”
18 December 2018, Stuttgart. Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH (RBVC), the corporate venture capital company, of the Bosch Group, participated in the just announced financing round of Graphcore. The AI (Artificial Intelligence) chipmaker just finalized a new USD 200 million funding round, which values the company at USD 1.7 billion

A new kind of processor

Graphcore has built a completely new kind of processor and software for AI and machine intelligence. It has been shipping first products to early access customers and generated first revenues this year, just two years after the company was founded. High volume production is now ramping up to meet customer demand for its Intelligent Processing Unit (IPU) PCIe processor cards. Graphcore’s IPU is the first processor to be designed specifically for machine intelligence training and inference and delivers an increase in speed of 10x to 100x compared to today’s hardware. “Graphcore is changing the paradigm of AI computing in the cloud and at the edge. The highly efficient and massively parallel IPU technology can significantly improve AI driven products in many categories such as autonomous driving and security”, says Dr. Hongquan Jiang, Investment Partner at RBVC and board member of Graphcore. “We are very excited to accompany Graphcore’s journey in becoming a global leading AI company”.

Rapid growth towards a global leading AI company

The company is currently in a stage of rapid growth and has tripled the size of its team in 2018. This rate of growth will now accelerate significantly driven by the new investment. The funding is a further step towards fulfilling the company’s ambition to build a global technology company, focused on this new and fast-growing machine intelligence market. RBVC led Graphcore’s Series A in 2016 and has continuously supported the company that has now raised over USD 300 million in funding. RBVC Managing Director Dr. Ingo Ramesohl says: “Graphcore is a perfect fit for the RBVC portfolio in artificial intelligence technologies. We see enormous business potential with Bosch.”

A new age of computing

Nigel Toon, CEO and co-founder of Graphcore, says: “Machine intelligence marks the start of a new age of computing which needs a radically different type of processor and software tools. This new, fast growing market creates the opportunity for Graphcore to build a major global technology company that can help innovators in AI achieve important breakthroughs.”

About RBVC GmbH

Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH (RBVC) is the corporate venture capital company of the Bosch Group, a leading global supplier of technology and services. RBVC invests worldwide in innovative start-up companies at all stages of their development. Its investment activities focus on technology companies working in areas of business of current and future relevance for Bosch, above all, automation and electrification, energy efficiency, enabling technologies, and healthcare systems. RBVC also invests in services and business models as well as new materials that are relevant to the above-mentioned areas of business.

Additional information is available at www.rbvc.com

About Graphcore
Graphcore’s Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU) hardware and software lets innovators create next generation machine intelligence solutions. The IPU is the first processor to be designed specifically for Machine Intelligence and delivers between 10x to 100x speed up compared to today’s hardware. Graphcore has raised over $300m in funding from leading financial and strategic investors and is headquartered in Bristol UK, with offices in London UK, Oslo Norway, Palo Alto USA and Beijing China.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 402,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2017). The company generated sales of 78.1 billion euros in 2017. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology.

As a leading IoT company, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, smart cities, connected mobility, and connected manufacturing. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to deliver innovations for a connected life. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.” The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 440 subsidiary and regional companies in 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. The basis for the company’s future growth is its innovative strength. At 125 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 64,500 associates in research and development.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com, www.twitter.com/BoschPresse.

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Egress Secures $40 Million Growth Equity Funding Led by FTV Capital

FTV Capital

Global private equity firm specializing in high-growth companies invests in Egress to accelerate global expansion

BOSTON — Egress, a leading provider of data privacy and compliance software designed to secure unstructured data, today announced it has raised $40 million in a Series C financing round led by FTV Capital, with continued participation from existing backer AlbionVC. Egress will use this investment to build on its ongoing rapid growth in Europe and North America, as well as accelerate development of new technology across its data security platform.

A market leader in privacy and risk management, Egress helps enterprises protect unstructured data to meet compliance requirements and drive business productivity. The company’s AI-powered platform enables users to control and secure the data they share in line with evolving compliance regulations, including GDPR, the NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation (23 NYCRR 500), and the recently-passed California Consumer Privacy Act. Since raising $3.6 million in Series A funding in February 2014, Egress has grown ARR by 9x, acquired over 2,000 customers and now supports more than five million users globally.

Egress customer, the State of Delaware, has been using the technology to help protect highly sensitive data and manage compliance. “As a regulated US Government State Agency, we recognized the importance of selecting a best-of-breed security partner,” explained Director of Network Engineering Mark Cabry. “Egress understands our complex business requirements and their technical innovation has helped us to maintain privacy and mitigate risk when sharing data across and outside government, leading us to deploy the service state-wide. It is therefore of little surprise that Egress is continuing to gain significant traction throughout the US market.”

Tony Pepper, CEO and co-founder of Egress, commented on the announcement: “Today’s heightened security threats, combined with an increasingly complex regulatory landscape, means that organizations face considerable risk from data breaches, resulting in reputational damage and significant financial loss. At Egress, we help businesses mitigate this risk by wrapping security around the user and managing their experience using machine learning and AI. This risk-based approach helps users avoid potential mistakes, such as sending information to the wrong recipients, and provides security administrators with insight into behavioral anomalies across the business.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with FTV as we enter the next phase of our development,” Pepper continued. “A prominent growth equity firm with an impressive track record of helping similar companies in our space to scale rapidly, FTV will bring invaluable strategic expertise to help expand our technical capabilities and business operations into new markets and geographies.”

As part of the transaction, FTV partner Kyle Griswold will join the Egress board of directors.

“The need for comprehensive data security systems that help prevent data breaches and maintain compliance has become one of the key strategic priorities for businesses globally,” stated Griswold. “Egress’ user-centric strategy, combined with their use of AI-driven technical innovation, is helping to tackle these challenges head on. Their success in highly regulated markets is evidenced by their rapid growth and exceptional customer retention rates, which make them an ideal partner for FTV and an attractive solution for the financial institutions in our Global Partner Network.”

“By partnering with Egress at this point in their journey, FTV will offer strategic support and guidance designed to accelerate growth and capitalize on what is a significant market opportunity, in addition to commercial introductions to our Global Partner Network enterprises,” Griswold concluded.

Ed Lascelles, partner at AlbionVC, commented: “We look forward to supporting Egress as it enters the next stage of expansion. We have witnessed first-hand how the business has built out an enterprise-grade data security platform from a niche point solution, while growing into new verticals and geographies during the period. The demand for enhanced data security is only going to increase and so we remain excited about the team’s ability to continue delivering rapid growth.”

About Egress

Egress helps enterprises protect unstructured data to meet compliance requirements and drive business productivity. The company’s AI-powered platform enables users to control and secure the data they share.

The award-winning solution provides email and document classification, accidental send prevention, email and file protection, secure online collaboration and audit and compliance reporting.

Trusted by over 2,000 enterprise organizations and governments around the globe, Egress offers a seamless user experience, powerful real-time auditing and patented information rights management, all accessible via a single global identity.

A privately-held company, Egress has offices in London, UK, Boston, USA, and Toronto, Canada.

About FTV Capital

Celebrating its 20 year anniversary, FTV Capital is a growth equity investment firm that has raised over $2.7 billion to invest in high-growth companies offering a range of innovative solutions in three sectors: enterprise technology & services, financial services and payments & transaction processing. FTV’s experienced team leverages its domain expertise and proven track record in each of these sectors to help motivated management teams accelerate growth. FTV also provides companies with access to its Global Partner Network®, a group of the world’s leading enterprises and executives who have helped FTV portfolio companies for two decades. Founded in 1998, FTV Capital has invested in 107 portfolio companies including compliance/security and managed services companies such as A-LIGN, Aveksa (acquired by EMC), KVS (acquired by Veritas), ReliaQuest and Trustwave (acquired by Singapore Telecom). FTV has offices in San Francisco and New York. For more information, visit www.ftvcapital.com.

About AlbionVC

AlbionVC is the technology investment arm of Albion Capital Group LLP. The technology team invests from seed through to Series B in high growth companies, predominantly in the UK, with a particular focus on B2B software and technology enabled services. Albion has 20+ years’ experience investing in technology, has c.£450m FUM in technology companies and over 40 tech investments within its portfolios.

Albion Capital Group LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

Visit: www.albion.vc

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Verdane invests in and merges HR Manager and Webcruiter

Verdane Capital

Verdane Edda has invested in HR Manager and Webcruiter, two leading suppliers of cloud-based HR and recruitment systems. The companies will be merged to create a leading Nordic platform for talent recruitment and development.

Once defined as the attraction of top talent, HR and recruitment have since developed into an integral part of corporate strategy that, in addition, encompasses talent management and development. As a result, the choice of HR software has come to be of critical importance.

HR Manager and Webcruiter hold individually strong positions in the market for cloud-based HR and recruitment systems. Webcruiter offers a specialized system for talent agents and leaders on the hunt for professional recruitment solutions. With more than 400 clients with users in over 120 markets, Webcruiter’s recruitment system handles over 1.9 million applications annually. The firm holds a leading position in the Norwegian market, particularly in the public sector, and is an active player in the Swedish market.

HR Manager has over 900 clients with users in more than 50 countries, and processes more than 3.5 million applications annually. The company’s integrated cloud-based platform for recruitment, employee introduction and talent development has established a strong market position in the Nordics.

Together, HR Manager and Webcruiter will form a company with Nordic growth ambitions, through both organic and add-on acquisitions, working to develop and broaden the available offering of cloud-based products and services for talent recruitment and development.

“HR Manager and Webcruiter’s combined competence, technology and solutions will bring forth promising new opportunities for both existing and new clients. We look forward to developing and establishing a leading Nordic platform together with Webcruiter,” says Lars Christian Ringdal, CEO at HR Manager.

Fredrik Mælum, CEO of Webcruiter, agrees. “We are a stellar fit across technology, client roster and culture. By coming together as one company we will be able to develop cloud-based solutions that support our clients’ strategic needs and operative work within recruitment, onboarding, talent development and HR leadership,” he says.

The Nordic market for HR software is valued at closer to NOK 5 billion, and faces significant changes in the years ahead. The market for cloud-based solutions is expected to grow at 10 to 20% per year until 2020, with far higher market penetration in the Nordics than in the rest of Europe and the US.

“HR Manager and Webcruiter both offer solid solutions and have very competent teams. This fusion will spark the development of even better products available to a greater number of clients across the Nordic market. We are pleased to contribute with our expertise, network and experience,” says Bjarne Lie, Managing Partner at Verdane Capital Advisors.

Verdane Edda will be the majority owner of the fused entity, which joins a Verdane roster of over 170 software and consumer internet investments made over the last 14 years. Expected revenue for HR Manager and Webcruiter stands at 55 and 49 million NOK, respectively, in 2018.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the transaction.

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DCI Group, in which Naxicap Partners has held a majority interest since 2016, continues its growth strategy by acquiring Retis

Naxicap

After buying hosted (i.e. cloud) services operator Lhexian in November 2017, DCI now announces the acquisition
of Retis, making it a major name in France’s digital services market with revenue over €90m.
DCI, a leading firm in IT integration and digital services providing infrastructure and cybersecurity solutions, announces its acquisition of Retis, a specialist in the digital workplace, IT infrastructure, cybersecurity and cabling.

This latest acquisition is being carried out with the help of a single-tranche loan from Idinvest Partners.
First established in 1993 and based in Montauban (Brittany), Retis has seen steep growth in recent years and is now a
recognised expert in cybersecurity and unified communications. The company has a diversified customer base across the French market, served by its network of 6 branch offices in Rennes, Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Quimper and Nantes.
The new combined group becomes an outfit of critical size in digital services with more than 360 employees and a portfolio of over 1,000 active customers in both the public sector (universities, education, research, local authorities, healthcare, etc.) and the private sector (industry, finance and insurance, services, new tech, the press, etc.). It will continue its expansion by building on the many dovetailing aspects between DCI and Retis in terms of their technology portfolios, technical skills, types of customer, and geographical locations.

“This acquisition is consistent with DCI’s accelerated growth trajectory that we have been following since 2016 with our majority shareholder. These two companies, with the same market positioning, support and guide their customers throughout the value chain for digital transformation projects (feasibility, integration and post-implementation). By combining their talents and expertise, we aim to create a leading group in digital services on the French market,” says Fabrice Tusseau, President of DCI.
“After studying a number of options, I reached the conclusion I needed to sell the firm I started 25 years ago to another company in the market with a compatible business to dovetail with that of Retis, with similar values, able to ensure the long-term future of the work achieved in the interests of Retis’ employees and customers,” says Joël Cheritel, President and founder, Retis.

“This acquisition reflects a desire from management at both DCI and Naxicap Partners to actively pursue a strategy of
targeted acquisitions in IT consultancy and services, where the market is still fragmented and growth prospects high. We are particularly pleased with this acquisition which will help us expand our geographic coverage and strengthen the group’stechnological expertise, both of which make us stand out to clients.” Laurent Chouteau, Head of Investment at NAXICAP Partners.

Participants in the transaction:
DCI: Fabrice Tusseau, Nicolas Servage, Olivier Signoret
Naxicap Partners: Laurent Chouteau, Simon Ricque
DCI Corporate Investment Lawyer: Agilys (Baptiste Bellone, David Kalfon, Carolle Thain-Navarro, Madalina Suru,
Chloé Journel)
Financial DD: Exelmans (Stéphane Dahan, Manuel Manas, Amaury de Loisy, Chenwei Xu)
Single-tranche Debt: Idinvest Partners (Nicolas Nedelec, Emmanuelle Tanguy)
Bank debt Lawyers: Nabarro & Hinge (Jonathan Nabarro, Magali Béraud)

About Naxicap Partners:
One of France’s leading private equity companies, Naxicap Partners – an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers* – has €3.2 billion of capital under management. As a committed, responsible investor, Naxicap Partners builds solid, constructive partnerships with entrepreneurs so that their projects can succeed. The company has almost 35 investment professionals in five offices in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Nantes and Frankfurt. For more information, please visit www.naxicap.fr

About Natixis Investment Managers*
Natixis Investment Managers serves financial professionals with more insightful ways to construct portfolios. Powered
by the expertise of 27 specialized investment managers globally, we apply Active ThinkingSM to deliver proactive
solutions that help clients pursue better outcomes in all markets. Natixis ranks among the world’s largest asset
management firms1 with more than $1 trillion assets under management2 (€861 billion AUM). Headquartered in Paris and Boston, Natixis Investment Managers is a subsidiary of Natixis. Listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, Natixis is a
subsidiary of BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France. For additional information, please visit the company’s website at im.natixis.com | LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/natixis-investment-managers. Natixis Investment Managers includes all of the investment management and distribution entities affiliated with Natixis Distribution, L.P. and Natixis Investment Managers S.A. Natixis Distribution, L.P. is a limited purpose broker-dealer and the distributor of various registered investment companies for which advisory services are provided by affiliates of Natixis Investment Managers.

Provided by Natixis Investment Managers UK Limited which is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct
Authority (register no. 190258).
Registered Office: Natixis Investment Managers UK Limited, One Carter Lane, London, EC4V 5ER.
1 Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2017 ranked Natixis Investment Managers (formerly Natixis Global Asset Management) as the 15th largest asset manager in the world based on assets under management as of December 31, 2016. 2Net asset value as at September 30 2018, Assets under management (“AUM”), as reported, may include notional assets, assets serviced, gross assets and other
types of non-regulatory AUM.

About DCI:
DCI has been a leading provider of digital services to private-sector businesses and public-sector organisations for more than 25 years. A recognised expert in infrastructure solutions (networks and mobility, data centres, unified
communications) and cybersecurity, DCI offers a unique value proposition in both cloud and on-premises modes. Driven by a culture focused on performance, technological innovation and customer satisfaction, DCI supports and guides 1,000 business customers throughout their solutions’ lifecycle, with audit, consultancy, project-mode integration, MCO and managed services. With 190 employees across France, DCI supports its customers’ operations 24/7, and home and abroad.

About Retis:
Retis, the IT services and consultancy specialist, delivers day-to-day support to organisations undertaking workplace digital transformation projects and in IT infrastructure management and security. Retis positions itself as a cybersecurity expert and has certified specialists to address organisations’ security issues in a comprehensive manner. From briefings and preliminary consultancy to the operational phase, Retis adopts a proactive approach and endeavours to deliver its customers expert services and advice to improve efficiency and performance. Retis is an independent firm currently employing 170 people, with offices across France, including in Nantes, Lyon, Paris, Quimper, Rennes and Toulouse. The preferred partner for the largest construction and publishing companies, Retis is well-established in a diverse ecosystem, and also has close links with the education sector. Retis’ wide-ranging customer base spans both the private and public sectors. Retis has been ISO 27001 certified since 2015.

About Idinvest Partners
With nearly €9 billion under management, Idinvest Partners is a recognised mid-market private equity firm in Europe.
Idinvest Partners has developed several additional areas of expertise, including: growth capital for young, innovative
European companies; mid-market private debt (single tranche, senior and subordinated loans); primary and secondary investments in unlisted European companies; and private equity consultancy. Founded in 1997, Idinvest Partners was a subsidiary of Allianz until 2010, when it became independent.

Press Contact:
Naxicap Partners
Valérie Sammut – Tel: +33 (0)4 72 10 87 99
valerie.sammut@naxicap.fr

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Silver Lake to Acquire Majority Stake in ServiceMax from GE Digital

Silverlake

Strategic partnership to accelerate growth of leading provider of Field Service Management software
GE to continue as minority investor

SAN RAMON, CALIF. & MENLO PARK, CALIF. – DECEMBER 13, 2018 – GE Digital (NYSE: GE) and Silver Lake announced today an agreement for GE Digital to sell a majority stake in ServiceMax, a leading provider of cloud-based software productivity tools for field service technicians, to Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing. Under the agreement, GE will retain a 10% equity ownership in ServiceMax. Since GE Digital acquired the company in 2016, ServiceMax has continued to invest in its technology and delivered growth that has outpaced the market over the past two years. ServiceMax and GE Digital have also entered into a reseller agreement to ensure ongoing collaboration to serve their joint customers, including GE’s industrial business units, and plan to continue to deeply integrate their technology offerings.

In collaboration with Silver Lake, ServiceMax will enjoy increased agility to accelerate its growth initiatives, pursue new strategic partnerships and execute a dedicated Field Service Management agenda. ServiceMax offers cloud software tools that improve the productivity of complex service and equipment-centric business operations for over 400 corporate customers across dozens of industries. As a separate company, ServiceMax will have the strategic focus required to penetrate the vast $34 billion global Field Service Management software market opportunity. The majority of the approximately 39 million field technicians globally who install, maintain and repair machines do not currently have access to any Field Service Management software such as ServiceMax.

“ServiceMax has a strong foundation of customers inside and outside the GE customer base,” said Scott Berg, CEO, ServiceMax. “In Silver Lake, we have found a partner with a technology growth mindset and unique expertise in separating companies into standalone businesses. Joining the Silver Lake family will provide the investment we need in continued technology development and market expansion in areas where we have seen significant traction, such as medical devices, construction and manufacturing industries. The new company structure gives us both the flexibility to provide solutions to all industrial manufacturers and the strategic backing of GE to continue to pursue the industrial asset operator markets.”

“Field Service Management is a core element in the digital transformation of industrial operations, and ServiceMax’s innovative platform provides field technicians with next-generation, business-critical software and technology,” said Kenneth Hao, Managing Partner and Managing Director of Silver Lake. “We look forward to working with ServiceMax and GE to bring ServiceMax’s technology to a broader customer base, increase investments in product development and help the company achieve its long-term potential.”

As part of GE Digital, ServiceMax accelerated market reach into new regions, expanded its Field Service Management capabilities and introduced its offerings to new industries. With this new relationship, GE Digital and ServiceMax will continue to work together to provide solutions that help companies transform how they operate and manage their industrial assets across the entire asset lifecycle. The two
companies will continue to advance the integration between GE Digital’s Predix Asset Performance Management suite and ServiceMax’s field service management solution – arming customers with a complete solution for proactive and predictive maintenance.

For almost 20 years Silver Lake has invested behind enterprise technology leaders in partnership with management. ServiceMax joins current and prior Silver Lake portfolio companies such as Broadcom (then Avago Technologies), Cast & Crew, the Dell Technologies family of businesses (including Pivotal, SecureWorks and VMware), GoDaddy, NXP, Red Ventures, Skype, SolarWinds and Unity.
The transaction is expected to close in early 2019. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as legal advisor to Silver Lake.

About GE Digital
GE Digital is reimagining how industrials build, operate and service their assets, unlocking machine data to turn valuable insights into powerful business outcomes. GE Digital’s Predix portfolio – including the leading Asset Performance Management and Field Service Management applications, as well as Predix Private Cloud – helps its customers manage the entire asset lifecycle. Underpinned by Predix, the leading application development platform for the Industrial Internet, GE Digital enables industrial businesses to operate faster, smarter and more efficiently, wherever their operations require. For more information, visit www.ge.com/digital.

About Silver Lake
Silver Lake is the global leader in technology investing, with about $45.5 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of approximately 100 investment and value creation professionals located in Silicon Valley, New York, London and Hong Kong. Silver Lake’s portfolio of investments collectively generates more than $225 billion of revenue annually and employs more than 390,000 people globally. The Silver Lake portfolio includes leading technology and technology-enabled businesses such as Alibaba Group, Ancestry, Broadcom Limited, Cast & Crew, Ctrip, Dell Technologies, Endeavor, Fanatics, Global Blue, GoDaddy, Motorola Solutions, Red Ventures, Sabre, SoFi, SolarWinds, Symantec, Unity, Weld North Education and WP Engine. For more information about Silver Lake and its entire portfolio, please visit www.silverlake.com.

Media Contacts
For GE Digital:
Amy Sarosiek
925-968-7871
amy.sarosiek@ge.com
For Silver Lake:
Patricia Graue
212-333-3810
silverlake@brunswickgroup.com

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Motive Partners announces acquisition of Finantix

Motive Partners

Finantix is a leading provider of technology enabling the digitalization of omni-channel advisory, sales and services processes for private banks, wealth managers and insurance companies. New York, London, 11 December 2018 –

Motive Partners today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Finantix. Motive Partners will support Finantix and its founders in continuing to build out their market-leading suite of products and to expand their geographic footprint in to core growth markets.

Finantix is a financial technology provider with a focus on private banks, wealth managers and insurance companies. Finantix offers a suite of software components, accelerators, APIs and engines that collectively support the digitalization of sales, onboarding, advisory, products origination, services and transactions along the client life-cycle, across channels and devices for mass affluent to ultra-high net worth clients. The announced transaction follows strong financial results at Finantix, with the company having experienced significant growth in recent years.

Scott Kauffman, Partner at Motive Partners, commented: “Finantix founders Ralf Emmerich and Alessandro Tonchia, supported by a strong management team, have demonstrated their ability to create a compelling product and bring a leading technology platform to an ever-increasing set of blue chip clients. We are excited to back the Finantix team and together focus on opportunities to make Finantix a globally recognized leader in its space.”

Finantix has grown in recent years to over 250 specialists in 7 cities, with further expansion planned as Finantix and Motive Partners capitalize on the international opportunity, with substantial opportunities to continue to grow in Europe, Asia and to enter the US market. Motive Labs, the operational and technology value creation team of Motive Partners, will also work in conjunction with Finantix and its team to accelerate growth by supporting continued technology development and international expansion across Motive Labs’ international ecosystem. Other significant opportunities for value creation include further product development in response to strong customer demand and accelerated expansion through potential strategic acquisitions. Finantix founders and the current management team will continue to lead the company to achieve the shared vision and to ensure high service quality to all existing and future clients.

Ralf Emmerich, Co-founder of Finantix, commented: “Our rapid growth is based upon the strength of our front office and multi-channel components, which are recognized as best in class for their solid architecture, rich functionality, sophistication, flexibility and ability to enable effective sales, advisory, onboarding, product origination and management processes for private banks, wealth managers and insurance companies. Motive Partners’ experience growing financial technology businesses on a global scale, combined with their extensive network, makes them an ideal partner for the next stage of our growth.”

Andy Stewart, Industry Partner at Motive Partners, added: “We see substantial opportunity within this space, with Finantix well positioned to continue their strong growth. Motive Partners will bring to bear our sector-specialist expertise and capabilities to build on the company’s strong foundations to achieve our shared vision.”

 

Proskauer and EY served as advisors to Motive Partners in connection with the transaction. Osborne Clarke served as legal advisor to Finantix in connection with the transaction.

 

About Finantix

Finantix has a global customer base spanning over 45 countries, acquired over more than 15 years’ experience distilled into its flagship Finantix Components product and supported from eight offices across Europe, North America and Asia. Finantix Components are trusted by some of the world’s largest banks, insurers and wealth managers and offer a broad, solid and proven library of multi-country, multi-jurisdiction, multi-channel, omni-device reusable software modules, widgets, engines, connectors and APIs that help leading financial institutions digitize and transform key processes in the financial services industry.

 

About Motive Partners

Motive Partners is a sector specialist investment firm that is focused on technology enabled companies that power the financial services industry. Based in New York and London and comprised of investors, operators and innovators, Motive Partners brings differentiated expertise, connectivity and capabilities to create long-term value in financial technology companies. More information on Motive Partners can be found at www.motivepartners.com.

For more information please contact: Sam Tidswell-Norrish | M: +44 7855 910178 | pr@motivepartners.com

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Elysian Capital announces acquisition of Facilis Group in USA

Elysian Capital

Elysian Capital LLP (‘Elysian’) is delighted to announce that it has made its second investment into the promotional products sector following its investment in Brand Addition in May 2017.

Elysian has acquired Facilis Group (Facilis), a core service provider to more than 120 entrepreneur led distributor businesses (its Partners) in the fragmented $26bn North American promotional products industry.

Facilis provides unparalleled services to its Partners via a subscription based service providing best-in-class sales workflow and website technology, preferred supplier contracts and supply chain tools, and a vibrant community network. These three service pillars support and enable their Partners and preferred suppliers to grow.

Both Facilis and Brand Addition are market leading companies within their respective specialist sectors of the large and growing promotional products sector where they deliver unique services to their Partners and clients that set them apart from their competition. Brand Addition, itself a Facilis Partner in the US for ten years, provides the complex services necessary to support the promotional product programmes and agendas of large corporates across the US, Europe and Asia.

Whilst retaining their separate brands, growth strategies and management teams, Facilis and Brand Addition will be under common ownership within Elysian. There are a number of exciting opportunities for Facilis and its Partners with Brand Addition given the group’s combined business spend, enhanced geographic presence and continued investment in technology.

Dan Rochette, Martin Weber and Chuck Fandos, the former owners of Facilis, together with their wider management team all remain with the business.

 

Chuck Fandos, CEO of Facilisgroup said:

“Dan, Martin and myself believe that Elysian will be a strong investor as we continue to grow and evolve Facilis group. They share in our vision and mirror our mission to help our Partners be ever more competitive and successful.”

 

Tom Falcon, Chairman of The Pebble Group and Operating Partner of Elysian Capital LLP said:

‘We are really excited about our investment in FacilisGroup, our second in the industry. In Facilis we see a committed and extremely capable team helping their terrific community of Partners grow via their industry leading technology and supply chain.”

 

For further information, please contact:

Tom Falcon, Partner at Elysian Capital       tom@elysiancapital.com

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TA Associates to Invest in Netsmart Technologies

TA associates

BOSTON and OVERLAND PARK, KS – TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to invest, alongside GI Partners, in Netsmart Technologies, Inc. (“Netsmart” or “the Company”).

Netsmart is a leading healthcare software company delivering management process solutions and electronic medical records to the health and human services (HHS) and post-acute end markets. TA Associates and GI Partners, a current shareholder in Netsmart, will acquire the stake in Netsmart held by Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX). The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018 and is subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1968, Netsmart provides software and services to the HHS and post-acute markets. The Company’s products, comprised primarily of electronic health records (EHRs) and related offerings, address the clinical, financial and administrative needs of its clients. The Netsmart suite includes care coordination, connectivity and integration, analytics, benchmarking, consumer engagement, mobility and telehealth offerings, among others. The largest provider of its kind in the United States, Netsmart serves more than 600,000 users from over 25,000 organizations across the country within four core areas: behavioral health, social services, care at home and senior living. The Company is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, with additional offices in Arkansas, California, Illinois, Missouri, New York, North Carolina and Ohio.

“We are excited to partner with the leading healthcare technology provider serving these growing and important end markets,” said Mark H. Carter, a Managing Director at TA Associates who will join the Netsmart board of directors. “Netsmart’s compelling attributes include a high-quality business model, a large and diversified customer base and software solutions that we believe are mission critical. We welcome the opportunity to work with Netsmart CEO Mike Valentine, whom we have known for many years, and with the investment professionals at GI Partners.”

“Since our founding, Netsmart has sought partners who share our commitment to excellence and quality healthcare outcomes,” said Mike Valentine, CEO of Netsmart. “TA Associates brings decades of experience investing in the healthcare industry and supporting efficiency, quality care and cost containment. Along with the team at GI, I am delighted to welcome TA as an investor and look forward to a close collaboration in continuing the evolution of Netsmart.”

Netsmart estimates the addressable market for HHS, home health, and long-term care software and technology solutions at $25 billion annually. According to the Company, the U.S. market for its core product offering is approximately $14.5 billion, with behavioral health comprising nearly half of that figure.

“Increasingly complex clinical, billing and regulatory requirements, and the need to measure and report patient outcomes, are accelerating the adoption of Netsmart’s software solutions,” said Hythem T. El-Nazer, a Managing Director at TA Associates who also will join the Netsmart board of directors. “In addition, as the HHS and post-acute industries continue to consolidate and expand, the need for technology solutions to coordinate care and drive efficiency will grow. As the leader addressing the unique and complex billing needs of customers spanning the continuum of care, we believe that Netsmart is very well positioned for continued growth.”

Kirkland & Ellis is providing legal counsel and Deloitte is serving as financial advisor to TA Associates.

About Netsmart
Netsmart designs, builds and delivers electronic health records (EHRs), solutions and services that are powerful, intuitive and easy-to-use. The Company’s platform provides accurate, up-to-date information that is easily accessible to care team members in behavioral health, care at home, senior living and social services. Netsmart makes the complex simple and personalized so clients can concentrate on what they do best: provide services and treatment that support whole-person care. By leveraging the powerful Netsmart network, care providers can seamlessly and securely integrate information across communities, collaborate on the most effective treatments and improve outcomes for those in their care. The Company’s streamlined systems and personalized workflows put relevant information at the fingertips of users when and where they need it. To learn more about how Netsmart is changing the face of healthcare today, please visit www.ntst.com.

About TA Associates
Now in its 50th year, TA Associates is one of the largest and most experienced global growth private equity firms. Focused on five target 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 growth companies. TA has raised $24 billion in capital since its founding in 1968 and is committing to new investments at the pace of $1.5 to $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.

 

 

 

 

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BBS Automation acquires industrial software specialist ANT

eqt

EQT portfolio company BBS Automation today announced the add-on acquisition of ANT – a leading developer of innovative “Industry 4.0” solutions that digitize production workflows in large-scale manufacturing processes.

Headquartered in Munich, Germany, BBS Automation develops flexible and high-quality automation solutions for complex manufacturing and testing processes. With production sites in Germany, the US, China and Malaysia, BBS Automation supports a diverse network of blue-chip customers on a global scale. EQT Mid Market Europe and EQT Mid Market Asia III jointly invested in BBS Automation alongside its founding families to support the growth ambitions of the company both organically and through add-on acquisitions.

BBS Automation and ANT – expanding offering of digital factory solutions

Better utilization of data analytics and IoT technologies represent an enormous opportunity for manufacturing companies across all sectors. The ability to increase the efficiency of assembly processes, allow for more rigorous testing and quality management practices as well as to enable predictive maintenance are only some of the manifold potentials that can be provided by integrated digital factory solutions.

In order to expand its offering in this regard, BBS Automation acquired the industrial software specialist ANT Sp. z o.o, a developer of highly innovative “Industry 4.0” solutions headquartered in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 2006 by Jerzy Fulara and Andrzej Jarosz, ANT has developed a core platform (“AOS”) that can be combined with highly customized software modules tailored to the specific needs of each customer.

Among other features, solutions of ANT include digital dashboards to visualize production workflows, data analysis tools to optimize machine efficiency, assistants to enable predictive maintenance and tools to digitize processes like documentation and quality control. One key strength of ANT’s solutions is the high compatibility with existing hardware and software infrastructures. Data can be drawn from a wide range of available machine sensors, complemented with ANT data acquisition modules wherever required. Analyses can subsequently be fed into a wide range of ERP-systems. This makes ANT a valuable partner for the digital transformation of existing factories, proven in more than 450 system implementations in more than 30 countries to date.

The combination of BBS Automation’s deep industrial automation expertise with ANT’s experience in software and data analytics will strengthen the ability to jointly develop integrated “Industry 4.0” solutions.

Uwe Behr, Co-founder of BBS Automation, comments: “In ANT we found our ideal counterpart among industrial software developers: ANT draws on a remarkable sector experience and truly understands the needs of its customers in their respective end markets, acting in close partnership with its clients to develop customized solutions of highest quality. With every new implementation they expand their ‘toolkit’ of capabilities. We are looking forward to partner up with its founders to combine our capabilities and jointly develop new innovative solutions that will allow our customers to master the digital transformation of their assembly and testing processes.”

Andrzej Jarosz, CEO and Co-founder of ANT adds: “Over the course of the last twelve years we expanded the depth and scope of our solution offering and were looking for a strong partner to further accelerate our growth. Our customers increasingly request us to serve them on a global scale. The global platforms of BBS Automation and EQT will allow us to better serve customers internationally. In addition, we see strong demand for our solutions in new end markets that BBS Automation already serves today and for which we will now work on customized solutions together.”

Andreas Fischer, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market Europe concludes: “Both BBS Automation and ANT have a strong entrepreneurial culture and share a passion to build best-in-class solutions for their customers. EQT is thrilled to support this add-on acquisition only six months after investing in the company. This transaction is a strong fit, not only in terms of synergistic technologies and geographic expansion potential, but especially in terms of the cultural fit of both businesses and we welcome the decision of ANT’s founders to stay on board. EQT looks forward to jointly develop BBS Automation’s positioning as a key enabler of Industry 4.0 production systems.”

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Vagaro Raises $63 Million in Growth Equity Led by FTV Capital

FTV Capital

Online booking, payments and business management platform for salons, spas and fitness businesses expands technology offering to meet digital demand

Dublin, CA — Vagaro, a leading cloud-based business management platform for the salon, spa and fitness industry, today announced the company has raised a $63 million growth equity round, its first institutional capital, led by FTV Capital. The company will continue to invest in cloud-based, industry-specific technology to help businesses of any size optimize operations, reduce complexity and seamlessly process payments. In addition, Vagaro will expand its sales and marketing team and geographic footprint. Vagaro will benefit from FTV’s Global Partner Network®, which includes executives from the world’s leading financial services and payments companies, and the firm’s experience in scaling high growth companies that operate in specialty industry verticals. As part of the transaction, FTV Capital partner Robert Anderson and FTV Capital managing partner Richard Garman will join the Vagaro board of directors.

Vagaro’s platform successfully meets the needs of a digital-first, productivity-focused millennial generation by providing salon, spa and fitness business owners with a powerful and comprehensive suite of back-office and consumer-facing business management software solutions, including appointment booking, calendaring, client management, marketing, reporting, payroll, inventory management and payment acceptance.

Most recently, Vagaro added a form builder to collect registrations, waivers and surveys to its highly customizable platform, leaving the company uniquely positioned to aggressively compete in the fitness management software segment. The company also added a competitively priced multi-transaction EMV reader to its point-of-sales solutions, making EMV payment processing even faster and more convenient for U.S. business owners.

In addition to automating and streamlining business processes, Vagaro connects businesses to consumers who are searching for spa, salon and fitness services via Vagaro.com, an online marketplace, and via the easy-to-use Vagaro booking app.

“I feel privileged to have led Vagaro’s talented team for the past 10 years. Our company has completely transformed — moving from delivering industry-changing salon software technology to offering a full suite of industry-specific business management solutions coupled with a powerful online marketplace,” said Vagaro founder and CEO Fred Helou. “Vagaro’s partnership with FTV Capital opens up exciting new possibilities for us, including the expansion to additional international markets, and will usher in a new chapter in the company’s growth story. Thanks to our compelling price point and newer technology, we are perfectly positioned to compete against slow-moving, more traditional industry players.”

“We are energized by our new partnership with FTV Capital, a firm that has helped many high growth companies, like Vagaro, build on their success to best meet customer needs,” said Kerry Melchior, Vagaro’s chief of operations. “Our near-term plans include expanding the range of payment solutions and digital functionality for our clients, while continuing to deliver the highest quality, easiest to use solutions with superior customer service.”

“Vagaro’s innovative and integrated product suite makes it easy for businesses to run all aspects of their operation from attracting and retaining customers to managing day-to-day activities to accepting payments,” said FTV partner Robert Anderson. “The Vagaro team is well-positioned to continue to capitalize on secular growth trends across the more than $9 billion global health and wellness market, and we are excited to provide the capital and strategic support for this next phase of growth.”

ABOUT VAGARO

Vagaro, Inc. develops all-in-one business management platforms and powerful online marketplaces for the salon, spa and fitness industries. Businesses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia use Vagaro’s cloud-based software to manage all aspects of their operations and to market their services to local customers. Consumers choose Vagaro to search for and book services in their community at their convenience. Vagaro is easy-to-use and works on any device. Learn more by visiting Vagaro.com and https://sales.vagaro.com.

ABOUT FTV CAPITAL

FTV Capital is a growth equity investment firm that has raised over $2.7 billion to invest in high-growth companies offering a range of innovative solutions in three sectors: enterprise technology & services, financial services, and payments & transaction processing. FTV’s experienced team leverages its domain expertise and proven track record in each of these sectors to help motivated management teams accelerate growth. FTV also provides companies with access to its Global Partner Network®, a group of the world’s leading enterprises and executives who have helped FTV portfolio companies for two decades. Founded in 1998, FTV Capital has invested in 106 portfolio companies, including CardConnect, CashStar, EBANX, Enfusion Systems, Clearent, NeonOne, VPay and WorldFirst. FTV has offices in San Francisco and New York. For more information, visit www.ftvcapital.com.

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