• EQT VIII to acquire Facile.it, Italy’s leading online price comparison platform

• Facile.it helps approximately 20 million users in Italy to save money within motor insurance, energy, telecoms and personal financial products

• EQT VIII will support Facile.it’s continued growth journey by leveraging EQT’s strong TMT expertise, local angles and industrial network

The EQT VIII fund (“EQT” or “EQT VIII”) has entered into an agreement to acquire Facile.it (“Facile” or “the company”) from Oakley Capital and other minority owners. Oakley Capital will re-invest into the company while EQT VIII will have a majority ownership.

Founded in 2008, Facile is Italy’s leading online destination for consumers to compare prices for motor insurance, energy, telecoms and personal finance products. Today, Facile helps approximately 20 million users to compare prices and save money on key elements of their household expenditure, providing access and comparison to products from 80 providers. Facile has achieved an average annual top-line growth of 21% over the past five years and in 2017 the company generated approximately EUR 66 million in sales.

EQT VIII will support the continued development of Facile’s growth strategy. In addition to getting access to both operational and financial resources, the company will also be able to leverage EQT’s deep TMT sector expertise, Italian presence and global network of Industrial Advisors. Facile’s current management team, including CEO Mauro Giacobbe, will continue to lead the organization, building on a strong track record of growth.

“We are impressed by Facile’s management team and the high quality of the company’s service offering. Facile holds a true market-leading position in the online price comparison space, which it has successfully built over the past decade by helping millions of consumers to make smarter purchases. EQT looks forward to supporting Facile and the management team in their continued growth journey and expansion, both online and offline”, says Dominik Stein, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VIII and Head of EQT TMT sector team.

Mauro Giacobbe, CEO at Facile comments: “We are very excited to have EQT as our new owner and look forward to working together closely. EQT’s industrial approach, global presence, local angle and broad network will be of great value to Facile as we embark on our next phase of growth. We believe that EQT’s entrepreneurial spirit will play an important part in our future success”.

Federico Quitadamo, Director at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VIII, concludes: “EQT believes that Facile has the potential to continue grow significantly and look forward to partnering with the strong management team to accelerate the company’s expansion and consolidate its leading position in Italy across verticals and channels. The acquisition of Facile confirms EQT’s commitment to expanding its franchise in Italy and the continued pursuit for future investment opportunities in the country”.

The transaction is expected to close in June 2018. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction value.

Contacts
Dominik Stein, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VIII, +49 892 554 99 508
Federico Quitadamo, Director at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VIII, +41 442 666 802
EQT Press office, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a leading investment firm with approximately EUR 50 billion in raised capital across 27 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About Facile.it
Facile.it is Italy’s leading online destination for consumers to compare prices for motor insurance, energy, telecoms and personal finance. Today, Facile helps approximately 20 million users to compare prices on key elements of their household expenditure providing access and comparison to products from 80 providers. Facile.it has achieved an average annual top-line growth of 21% over the past five years and in 2017 generated approximately EUR 66 million in sales.

More info: www.facile.it

Frankfurt, May 11, 2018. Ardian Private Debt and EQT Credit, through its Mid-Market investment strategy,
today announce they have provided a senior secured financing solution to support Hg’s (“Hg”) investment in
MediFox.
Founded in 1994, MediFox is a leading provider of software solutions to over 6,000 ambulatory care services,
elderly care homes and therapists in Germany. Its software solutions support care providers with key services
including resource and route planning, care and support documentation, management information systems, as
well as billing, factoring and administration services. It is headquartered in Hildesheim, Germany and employs
265 people.

Mark Brenke, Managing Director & Co-Head Ardian Private Debt, said: “As a financing partner, we are delighted
to be supporting the MediFox management team of Christian Städtler and Dr. Thorsten Schliebe together with
Hg who have a strong track record of investing in technology-enabled B2B service businesses. MediFox is the
leading software provider in the German care services market, leveraging its proprietary technology platform to
support the digitalisation of the care services segment”.

ABOUT ARDIAN
Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$67bn managed or advised in Europe,
North America and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its
heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base. Through its
commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and
economic growth around the world.
Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global
network, with more than 500 employees working from thirteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey,
London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), North America (New York, San Francisco) and Asia
(Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo). It manages funds on behalf of c.700 clients through five pillars of investment
expertise: Private Debt, Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure and Real Estate.

Follow Ardian on Twitter @Ardian
www.ardian.com

PRESS CONTACTS
ARDIAN
Headland
TOM JAMES
tjames@headlandconsultancy.com
Tel: +44 207 3675 240

• EQT combines Candidator and DGC IT Services to form a new group – creating a substantially larger managed IT services provider

• EQT to support continued growth and further strengthen the customer service offering, both organically and through select add-on acquisitions

• Jörgen Qwist, CEO of DGC, appointed as Group CEO and Johan de Verdier, CEO of Candidator, continues as Head of Candidator with focus on Business Development and M&A for the newly combined group

Candidator, based in Alingsås, Sweden, and DGC IT Services (“DGC”), headquartered in Stockholm, are both managed IT services providers with capabilities for full IT outsourcing, providing their clients with contracted services, including hosting and cloud and application management. The EQT Mid Market fund and the EQT Mid Market Europe fund respectively acquired Candidator in February 2018 and DGC IT Services, a business segment within DGC One, in June 2017.

Today, EQT announces the combination of Candidator and DGC IT Services to form a new group, Candidator DGC. Both companies have strategic complementary characteristics with significant industrial logic for combination, and together, they will have total annual sales of around SEK 1 billion. Compared to operating as standalone entities, the significantly larger group is expected to provide improved service offerings to customers and an improved ability to serve larger clients. EQT will support the continued development of the combined group and drive further growth, both organically and through select acquisitions.

Johan Dettel, Partner and Investment Advisor at EQT Partners comments: “EQT has followed the managed IT services market for a long time and sees great industrial logic in combining the two businesses. Candidator and DGC are highly complementary, both in terms of geographical footprint and strong service offerings in different customer verticals. The IT services market is undergoing powerful change with increasing demand for security services and cloud adoption. With this new platform, EQT creates a great foundation to deliver increased customer value in these areas.”

Jörgen Qwist, CEO of DGC, will assume the role of Group CEO of Candidator DGC. Qwist comments: “Together, Candidator and DGC will become one of the largest managed IT services providers in the Swedish market, with the ambition to grow throughout the Nordic region. As a group, we will possess the wide set of services and core expertise that is needed to compete for the largest clients. I really look forward to making this growth journey with all our employees and customers.”

Johan de Verdier, CEO of Candidator, will continue to be Head of Candidator with a focus on Business Development and M&A for the newly combined group. De Verdier adds: “Candidator and DGC share the same commitment of delivering an unbelievably excellent customer experience, and we complement each other well when it comes to geography and customer mix. We now are exceptionally well positioned for a very exciting future together for all employees and customers.”

The combined group will initially go to market under their respective names, Candidator and DGC, and will gradually integrate to merge under one name.

Contacts
Johan Dettel, Partner and Investment Advisor at EQT Partners, +46 8 506 55 350
EQT Press office, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a leading investment firm with approximately EUR 49 billion in raised capital across 26 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About Candidator
Candidator is a successful IT company which delivers complete IT operation, telephony and outsourcing services to companies and organizations in the Nordic market, under the motto “make it simple.”. Our vision is to be a Nordic IT partner which is recognized for delivering an unbelievably good customer experience.

More info: www.candidator.se

About DGC
DGC is a managed service provider that develops and delivers customized IT services to customers who demand high security, availability and innovation. We deliver our services, from our own infrastructure as well as public clouds, with the highest service levels and a personal commitment to our customers. We started our business in 1991.

More info: www.dgc.se

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