Coller’s eighth fund holds final close at just over US$9bn

Coller Capital

Coller Capital, a leading global investor in private equity secondaries, closed Coller International Partners VIII (CIP VIII) on 18 January 2021, with committed capital (including co-investment vehicles) of just over $9 billion.

Like its seven predecessor funds, CIP VIII will take a flexible approach. Advised by a multinational team based in London, New York and Hong Kong, the fund will target a wide array of secondary transactions, targeting assets and sellers located anywhere in the world, and making individual investments of up to $1 billion or more in size.

CIP VIII has over 200 Limited Partners worldwide. At the end of December 2020, the fund had already committed almost one third of its final committed capital.

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Hawksmoor joins Hurst Point Group

Carlyle

Hawksmoor Group Limited (“HGL”) is pleased to announce that its shareholders have agreed to accept an offer to acquire the business from Hurst Point Group, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm. It is expected that a number of share- and option- holders, the majority of whom are staff, will roll over their holdings in HGL into shares in Hurst Point Group. Completion of the transaction is subject to FCA regulatory approval and other customary conditions.

Hawksmoor was founded in 2008 by John Crowley and has grown into an award-winning specialist investment and fund management business with offices in Exeter, London, Taunton, Dorchester and Bury St Edmunds.

Hurst Point Group was established in 2019 to facilitate investment by Carlyle into the UK wealth management sector and made its first investment in March 2020 with the acquisition of Harwood Wealth Management plc via a public scheme of arrangement. HGL will become a separate subsidiary of Hurst Point Group, who intend to support its core strategy of growth in the areas of investment management and specialist funds where it has historically had great success.

Sarah Soar, Hawksmoor CEO, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Hawksmoor as we continue to grow and develop the business. Partnering with Hurst Point Group and an investor such as Carlyle gives us valuable support to achieve our strategic objectives and helps to ensure that we can continue to deliver an exceptionally high-quality service to all of our clients.”

Ian Gladman, Executive Chairman of Hurst Point Group said: “We are delighted that the Hawksmoor shareholders have accepted our offer and also, in many cases, re-invested in the expanded Hurst Point Group. We have long held the Hawksmoor business in high regard and believe we can support the business to fulfill its true potential in the years to come. We look forward to working with Sarah, her management team and a very talented group of employees to realise our shared future vision for the business.”

ENDS

About Hawksmoor Investment Management:
Hawksmoor Investment Management specialises in providing high quality discretionary management services for private clients (and clients of Professional Advisers) including trusts, pension schemes and charities. We also have a range of risk-based ‘Model Portfolios’ for Financial Advisers. Our award-winning Fund Managers team manages three multi asset funds-of-funds.

With offices in Exeter, London, Taunton, Dorchester and Bury St Edmunds, Hawksmoor is a growing specialist investment and fund management business. Find out more at www.hawksmoorim.co.uk or follow us @hawksmoorim on Twitter.

About Hurst Point:
Hurst Point Group was established in 2019 to facilitate investment by The Carlyle Group into the UK wealth management sector. Hurst Point made its first investment in March 2020 with the acquisition of Harwood Wealth Management plc via a public scheme of arrangement. Further information is available at www.hurstpointgroup.com.

About The Carlyle Group:
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $230 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2020, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 1,800 people in 30 offices across six continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

For more information, please contact:
For Hawksmoor:
Diane Hayman (Head of Marketing)
Tel: +44 (0) 1392 573571
Email: diane.hayman@hawksmoorim.co.uk

For Hurst Point / Carlyle:
Charlie Bristow
Tel: +44 (0) 7384 513568
Email: charlie.bristow@carlyle.com

###

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Audax Private Equity Announces Successful Closing of $1.7 billion Continuation Fund Led by AlpInvest Partners, Lexington Partners, and Hamilton Lane

Audax Group

Audax Private Equity (“Audax”) announced today the successful completion of its first Continuation Fund. The fund is comprised of $1.7 billion in capital commitments, which funded the purchase of portfolio companies from Audax Private Equity Fund IV, a 2012 vintage fund with $1.25 billion in capital commitments. The largest of these Fund IV assets include:

  • Innovative Chemical Products Group (“ICP Group”), a leading specialty chemical company that formulates, manufactures, and markets coatings, adhesives and sealants;
  • Justrite Safety Group, a leading manufacturer of industrial safety products for handling, storage, and spill containment of flammable and hazardous liquids;
  • 42 North Dental, a leading dental practice management company in New England; and
  • TPC Wire & Cable Corp., a producer of ruggedized wires, cables, and interconnect assemblies for harsh industrial applications.
    This is Audax Private Equity’s first GP-led secondary fund. It will provide Audax with additional time and capital to support the continued growth of key portfolio assets.

“This is an important milestone for Audax Private Equity. We are pleased to have the support of our longstanding limited partners and a blue-chip set of new institutional partners,” said Don Bramley, Managing Director of Audax. “We are proud of the performance of our Fund IV portfolio, and believe that there is value we have yet to unlock. By leveraging the additional time and capital from this fund, we can continue to execute our proven Buy & Build acquisition strategy, with a goal of allowing our portfolio companies to reach their full potential. We look forward to continuing to work to create value for our existing and new limited partners.”

The transaction was led by AlpInvest Partners, Lexington Partners, and Hamilton Lane, and comprised of a diverse group of secondary and primary investors, including Fund IV limited partners. All Fund IV limited partners had the option of reinvesting their Fund IV value into the Continuation Fund on status quo terms, or receiving full or partial liquidity.

Joe Rogers, Managing Director of Audax, added, “We are grateful for the support of our existing limited partners and welcome the backing of such an exceptional group of new investors, including AlpInvest, Lexington, and Hamilton Lane. This transaction not only marks a new chapter of growth for our portfolio companies, but also for Audax Private Equity. We are pleased we could deliver optional liquidity to our existing Fund IV limited partners, and we look forward to leveraging the support of our new capital partners as we work alongside management teams to support transformative initiatives.”

Evercore served as exclusive financial advisor to Audax, with Kirkland & Ellis serving as Audax legal counsel. Ropes & Gray LLP acted as legal counsel for AlpInvest Partners and Hamilton Lane, Proskauer Rose LLP served as legal counsel for Lexington Partners.

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Volpi Capital beats target with second fund holding final close at €323m

Volpi Capital

London,12 January, 2021: Volpi Capital, the London-based mid-market tech investor, has today announced the final close of its second fund at €323 million (excluding co-investments) surpassing its €300 million target. Despite the challenges of fundraising during the pandemic, the new fund is 75% larger than Volpi’s predecessor fund which closed in March 2018 on €185 million.

This successful fundraise enables Volpi to continue its thematic, “Pick-Your-Partner” approach to investing in Northern European tech-enabled businesses. As with Fund I, Fund II will focus on businesses providing mission-critical services to enterprise customers where technology is displacing traditional business models. Volpi takes a partnership approach to working with management teams to accelerate growth, driving transformation through product expansion, internationalisation and ambitious buy-and-build programmes.

Investors were attracted to Volpi’s tech-enabled focus and resilient portfolio, which grew EBITDA by 27% in 2020. Volpi secured backing from both existing investors, and substantial new commitments from blue-chip European (70%) and US (30%) institutions, including university endowments, fund of funds, insurance companies and family offices.

The growth seen in Volpi’s assets under management reflects the growth of Volpi Capital itself. Today Volpi comprises an internationally diverse team of 17, which will continue to grow as the Fund is invested.

The Fund has already made five investments to date, backing Dutch IT services company Mansystems; Norwegian FSM software provider Asolvi; Dutch fleet management software provider Moving Intelligence; Danish software and solutions business Boyum IT and Profit Software; a Nordic IT services company for the insurance and banking sectors.

Crevan O’Grady, Partner at Volpi Capital said:

“It is fantastic to see the investor support we have received in raising Fund II, especially at such a tumultuous time. We look forward to working with our investors, new and existing, to continue building pan-European tech-enabled assets capable of generating exceptional returns”.

Marco Sodi, Partner at Volpi Capital said:

“The market conditions we have seen in the past year have served to validate the robustness of our thesis and accelerate the long term trends we have been investing behind since inception. Throughout 2020 we have continued to identify attractive opportunities, reflected in our strong deployment, and we look forward to delivering more outstanding deals for our investors in Fund II”.

The Volpi Capital II fundraise was advised by Rede Partners. Loyens and Loeff and MJ Hudson acted as legal advisors.

About Volpi Capital

Volpi Capital is a specialist Northern European lower mid-market private equity firm seeking ambitious businesses that use technology to disrupt traditional B2B value chains. Volpi typically invests €25-75 million of equity in businesses with enterprise values between €50 million and €200 million and seeks to drive transformative growth through international expansion and consolidation. The firm, which was founded in 2016 by Crevan O’Grady and Marco Sodi, today comprises 17 professionals. Volpi closed its first fund (Volpi Capital Fund I) in April 2018 with commitments of €185 million and its second fund (Volpi Capital Fund II) in December 2020 with €323 million of commitments.

For further information visit www.volpicapital.com

Media enquiries:

Volpi Capital – Samantha Lang T. +44 203 747 2625

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Blackstone Private Credit Fund Breaks Escrow with Net Proceeds of $814 Million

Blackstone

New York, NY, January 12, 2021 – Blackstone today announced that Blackstone Private Credit Fund (“BCRED”), the firm’s non-listed business development company (“BDC”), broke escrow with approximately $814 million in net proceeds for its continuous public offering on January 7, 2021. With leverage, BCRED may have approximately $1.8 billion of investable capital.

Blackstone Credit manages approximately $135 billion[1] of assets overall and invests across the corporate credit market. BCRED is part of Blackstone Credit’s $21 billion[2] direct lending platform, which provides privately originated, senior secured, floating rate loans to U.S. and European middle market companies. Leveraging Blackstone’s institutional-caliber investment approach, BCRED aims to provide income-focused individual investors access to private credit in a continuously offered fund structure. BCRED is offered through Blackstone’s global Private Wealth Solutions business, demonstrating the firm’s continued commitment to delivering solutions for individual investors.

Commenting on the announcement, Joan Solotar, Global Head of Private Wealth Solutions, said: “Just as we reimagined the non-traded REIT with BREIT, we are hoping to do the same with private credit and BDCs. The positive initial response to BCRED illustrates the need for income solutions in today’s low rate environment and the compelling opportunity BCRED can provide.”

Dwight Scott, Global Head of Blackstone Credit, said: “Blackstone has built a $21 billion direct lending business, focused on developing long-term partnerships with companies to support their success. With BCRED, we’re excited to give individual investors the same access to our experienced team, scale and deep resources that we provide our institutional clients.”

Brad Marshall, Co-Head of Performing Credit and CEO of BCRED, said: “With BCRED, we’re focused on investing in established, historically stable enterprises with positive cash flows and staying senior in the capital structure. Our scale and resources differentiate us in the market, help us identify investment opportunities and help support the long-term success of the companies we invest in.”

About Blackstone Credit

Blackstone Credit is one of the world’s largest credit-focused asset managers, with $135 billion in assets under management. We seek to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our clients by investing across the entire corporate credit market, from public debt to private loans. Our capital supports a wide range of companies across sectors and geographies, enabling businesses to expand, invest, and navigate changing market environments.

About Blackstone   

Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $584 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this communication constitutes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “outlook,” “indicator,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “can,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates”, “confident,” “conviction,” “identified” or the negative versions of these words or other comparable words thereof. These may include financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements about plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, statements regarding future performance, statements regarding economic and market trends and statements regarding identified but not yet closed investments. Such forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and there are or may be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements. BCRED believes these factors also include but are not limited to those described under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in its prospectus, and any such updated factors included in its periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this document (or BCRED’s prospectus and other filings). Except as otherwise required by federal securities laws, BCRED undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Contacts

Blackstone

Kate Holderness

kate.holderness@blackstone.com

+1 917 318 6818

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Zouk Capital announces third close in Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund

Zouk Capital

London, United Kingdom – January 2021

• Willis Towers Watson and Morgan Stanley Investment Management anchor close with HM Treasury
• Fund currently stands at £380m in signed commitments

London, 11 January, 2021: Zouk Capital, manager of the UK Treasury’s Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF), today announced the fund has now reached a total of £380m in signed commitments (against a target of £400m) after this third close. The third close was anchored from the private sector by Willis Towers Watson’s clients and investment funds and Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Climate Impact Fund, with funding matched by HM Treasury. The fund is targeting a final close in early 2021.

Both global leaders in their fields, investment consultant and fund manager Willis Towers Watson and asset manager Morgan Stanley Investment Management further strengthen the impressive list of investors already committed to CIIF. The CIIF is underpinned by the need to rapidly decarbonise the UK’s transport sector and improve air quality, which creates an opportunity to make environmentally impactful financial returns through the creation of large renewable energy powered public EV charging networks.

In 2020 the UK Government twice reduced the deadline for sales of petrol and diesel cars in its goal of reducing net carbon emission to zero by 2050. Supporting the public electric vehicle (EV) charging network is a key initiative within this objective. CIIF is dedicated to catalysing the rollout of a robust and diversified public EV charging infrastructure that is required to support the electrification of vehicles throughout the UK. Two investments have been made from CIIF so far – the first investment was in InstaVolt, which develops, installs, owns and operates rapid EV charging stations in the UK and has plans to bolster UK rapid charge points nationally to 5000. The second, announced in May 2020, was in Liberty Charge, a joint venture between Liberty Global and Zouk Capital, which is rolling out on-street residential charging points throughout the UK for the 40% of households without access to private driveways.

Paul Berriman, global head of TWIM, Willis Towers Watson’s investment fund business, said,

‘The Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund is playing an important role in speeding up the decarbonisation of the UK’s transport industry. This is clearly important from a sustainability perspective, and that also makes it a good investment opportunity for our Partners Fund, the flagship multi-asset portfolio of our best ideas across all asset classes.’

Vikram Raju, Head of Climate Impact, Morgan Stanley Investment Management AIP Private Markets, continued,

‘Accelerating the carbon transition in transportation is a key focus for the Climate Impact strategy at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Through our partnership with the CIIF and Instavolt, we hope to transform significantly the way automobiles in the UK consume fuel and reduce the emissions they generate.’

Samer Salty, Managing Partner Zouk Capital added,

‘In spite of the ongoing challenging business environment, leading global investors continue to be attracted to the long-term fundamentals of CIIF. We are delighted to welcome both Willis Towers Watson and Morgan Stanley Investment Management to the fund, both with strong ESG mandates and both who share in our belief in the commercial opportunity in electric vehicle infrastructure as well as the importance of decarbonisation. Through Willis Towers Watson and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, we now have investments in CIIF from not only the UK and the Middle East, but also from the US, Germany, and Australia.’

Matthew Vickerstaff, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure and Projects Authority said,

“The private sector will play a crucial role in the ambitions to decarbonise our infrastructure and put the UK on the path to NetZero 2050.

This next investment into the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, alongside the recently launched National Infrastructure Strategy, reaffirms our commitment to working with the private sector, to make these newer technologies available for everyone across the country.”

Willis Towers Watson
Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WLTW) is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. With roots dating to 1828, Willis Towers Watson has 45,000 employees serving in more than 140 countries and markets. We design and deliver solutions that manage risk, optimise benefits, cultivate talent, and expand the power of capital to protect and strengthen institutions and individuals. Our unique perspective allows us to see the critical intersections between talent, assets and ideas — the dynamic formula that drives business performance. Together, we unlock potential. Learn more at willistowerswatson.com.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management
Morgan Stanley Investment Management, together with its investment advisory affiliates, has more than 729 investment professionals around the world and $715 billion in assets under management or supervision as of September 30, 2020. Morgan Stanley Investment Management strives to provide outstanding long-term investment performance, service and a comprehensive suite of investment management solutions to a diverse client base, which includes governments, institutions, corporations and individuals worldwide. For further information about Morgan Stanley Investment Management, please visit www.morganstanley.com/im.

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KKR Closes Inaugural Asia Pacific Infrastructure Fund at US$3.9 billion Cap

KKR

January 10, 2021

HONG KONG–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced the final close of KKR Asia Pacific Infrastructure Investors SCSp (the “Fund”), a US$3.9 billion fund focused on infrastructure-related investments across Asia Pacific.

“We are thrilled to announce the close of our inaugural Asian infrastructure fund, coming at this pivotal time for the infrastructure sector,” said Ming Lu, Head of KKR Asia Pacific. “We believe that Asia Pacific contains some of the most favorable macroeconomic dynamics in the world, and that the region is expected to account for more than half of the world’s economic growth in the coming years. However, the demand to develop or upgrade critical infrastructure assets outpaces the available public funding in many markets. Private capital is playing an increasingly important role to fill the gap in the region, and through our new fund, KKR is committed to investing in essential infrastructure solutions over a long-term horizon.”

KKR’s infrastructure investment approach combines a disciplined selection process with distinctive deal sourcing and structuring capabilities executed by a dedicated investment team based in markets across Asia Pacific. In line with this approach, the Fund will focus on critical infrastructure with low volatility and strong downside protection where KKR believes it can achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns by leveraging its global network of industry experts, its highly experienced team in Asia Pacific and long history of operational value creation. The Fund has a broad investment mandate across both emerging and developed Asia Pacific, in sectors, including waste, renewables, power and utilities, telecommunications and transportation infrastructure.

At the time of close, the Fund reached its hard cap to become the largest pan-regional infrastructure fund to have been raised for Asia Pacific. The Fund’s size aligns with KKR’s expectations for infrastructure deal flow in the region through the long-term horizon. KKR invested approximately US$300 million in capital alongside external investors through its balance sheet and employee commitments.

David Luboff, Head of Asia Pacific Infrastructure at KKR, said, “Infrastructure is a key priority for KKR in Asia Pacific and we are proud to have built one of the leading infrastructure investment platforms in the region. The size of this fund and the caliber of our limited partners reflect the strength of both our Asia Pacific and infrastructure businesses, and speaks to our ability to deliver attractive, risk-adjusted returns to our investors through a careful investment approach. Bringing together our deep, local market knowledge with decades of global industry expertise uniquely positions us to flexibly meet the crucial infrastructure needs of both developed and emerging Asia Pacific.”

The Fund, which was significantly oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap, received strong backing from a diverse group of prominent global infrastructure investors, including public and corporate pensions, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments, private banking platforms, family offices and high net worth individual investors.

“The successful close of our new infrastructure fund demonstrates the compelling value proposition that KKR offers to investors. We are grateful for the confidence investors have placed in our Asia Pacific infrastructure strategy and talented team as they look for investments that can deliver stable capital appreciation in today’s volatile environment,” said Alisa Amarosa Wood, Head of KKR’s Private Markets Strategies Group.

KKR first established its global infrastructure team and strategy in 2008 and has since been one of the most active infrastructure investors around the world. Over this period, the Firm has deployed more than US$24 billion across approximately 40 infrastructure investments, and currently has a team of approximately 45 dedicated investment professionals.

“One of our differentiators is KKR’s ability to provide flexible capital solutions to meet the needs of its portfolio companies across all asset classes,” said Raj Agrawal, Global Head of Infrastructure at KKR. “This unique blend of deal sourcing and structuring, along with our deep operational management and active engagement allows us to take advantage of the full range of investment opportunities created by Asia Pacific’s continued emergence as an economic engine for the 21st Century.”

In Asia, KKR has committed US$1.8 billion across six investments as part of the Firm’s dedicated Asia Pacific infrastructure strategy, which was launched in 2019. KKR’s Asia Pacific infrastructure portfolio includes India Grid Trust, India’s leading infrastructure investment trust; Virescent Infrastructure, a renewable energy company in India; Eco Solutions Group, a leading environmental services provider in South Korea; First Gen, a leading Philippines power producer; TSK Corporation, an environmental services management company in South Korea; and Pinnacle Towers, a leading telecommunications infrastructure provider in the Philippines.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP represented KKR as primary fund counsel for this fundraise.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, credit and real assets, with strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

KKR Asia Pacific
Anita Davis
+852 3602 7335
Anita.Davis@kkr.com

KKR Americas
Kristi Huller, Cara Major or Miles Radcliffe-Trenner
+1 212-750-8300
Media@kkr.com

Source: KKR

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3i continues to support strategic M&A activity across its private equity portfolio

3I

3i Group plc (“3i Group”) announces that four of its portfolio companies have recently made significant bolt-on acquisitions, expanding their geographies, capabilities and product ranges.

GartenHaus, the leading online retailer of garden homes, sheds and saunas in the DACH region in which 3i invested in September 2020, has acquired Polhus, a leading online retailer of garden houses and related products based in Sweden. Combined, GartenHaus and Polhus will be the pure-play, online market leader in both the German-speaking and Scandinavian regions.

Havea, a European leader in natural health products in which 3i invested in 2016, has acquired Laudavie, which includes Calmosine, the French specialist in children’s food supplements. Combined, Havea and Laudavie will become a leader in the babycare market in France. This is Havea’s fourth acquisition since 3i’s investment following the acquisitions of Aragan, Densmore and Pasquali Healthcare.

Cirtec, a leading global provider of outsourced medical device and components design, engineering and manufacturing in which 3i invested in 2017, has acquired NovelCath, a fast growing catheter-based delivery systems manufacturer based in Minnesota. The acquisition will enable Cirtec to further vertically expand within the core structural heart end market while increasing its existing exposure to other attractive segments including the electrophysiology, neurovascular and peripheral vascular markets. This is Cirtec’s seventh acquisition since 3i’s original investment.

Royal Sanders, a leading European private label and contract manufacturing producer of personal care products, has signed the acquisition of Royal Herkel, a private label and contract manufacturing producer of nutritional supplements, medical devices, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products based in the Netherlands. The acquisition expands Royal Sanders’ offering into vitamins, minerals and supplements, which is an attractive growth segment and a highly fragmented market. This is Royal Sanders’ second significant acquisition since 3i’s investment in 2018.

Simon Borrows, Chief Executive, 3i Group, commented: “During a challenging period, we have maintained our focus on enhancing the value of our portfolio through buy-and-build opportunities for our platform assets. These four strategic acquisitions represent significant milestones in the growth and internationalisation of GartenHaus, Havea, Cirtec Medical and Royal Sanders.”

-ends-

Download this press release   

 

For further information, contact:

3i Group plc

Silvia Santoro
Investor enquiries
Tel: +44 20 7975 3258
Email: silvia.santoro@3i.com
Kathryn van der Kroft
Media enquiries
Tel: +44 7721 886 304
Email: kathryn.vanderkroft@3i.com

 

About 3i Group

3i is an investment company with two complementary businesses, Private Equity and Infrastructure, specialising in core investment markets in Northern Europe and North America.

3i’s Private Equity team provides investment solutions for growing companies, backing entrepreneurs and management teams of mid-market companies with an EV typically between €100m – €500m. We back international growth plans, providing access to our network and expertise to accelerate the growth of companies across the consumer, industrial, healthcare and business and technology services industries.

For further information, please visit: www.3i.com

Regulatory information

This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Corporation, a US wholly owned subsidiary of 3i Group, and recommendations of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i France and 3i Benelux.

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EQT AB signs EUR 1 billion Revolving Credit Facility

eqt

On 21 December 2020, EQT AB (publ) signed a five-year EUR 1 billion revolving credit facility (the “RCF”), supported by a syndicate of global financial institutions.

The RCF will increase the financial flexibility of EQT and be used for corporate purposes, supporting the EQT AB Group’s growth initiatives and long-term strategy. The RCF will further incorporate a pricing mechanism linked to ESG-related objectives, lowering the interest rates if targets are met, and increasing them if targets are not achieved. It will thus be in line with EQT’s overall approach of integrating sustainability throughout its activities, both on EQT AB Group level and within funds advised by EQT. As announced earlier in 2020, EQT has launched ESG-linked bridge facilities both within the Private Capital and Infrastructure business lines, today totaling more than EUR 6 billion.

The RCF was arranged by Nordea and SEB (the “Bookrunners”). It attracted a strong level of interest during syndication and was significantly oversubscribed, displaying broad support for EQT’s strategy.

In addition to the Bookrunners, a total of 13 global financial institutions participated in the syndicate: Banco Santander, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, DNB, Goldman Sachs, ING Wholesale Banking, J.P. Morgan, Mizuho Bank, Morgan Stanley, National Westminster Bank and Swedbank joined as Mandated Lead Arrangers.

Contact
Kim Henriksson, CFO, +46 8 506 55 300
Olof Svensson, Head of Shareholder Relations, +46 72 989 09 15
Nina Nornholm, Head of Communications, +46 70 855 03 56
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with a 25-year track-record of consistent investment performance across multiple geographies, sectors, and strategies. EQT has raised more than EUR 75 billion since inception and currently has more than EUR 46 billion in assets under management across 16 active funds within two business segments – Private Capital and Real Assets.

With its roots in the Wallenberg family’s entrepreneurial mindset and philosophy of long-term ownership, EQT is guided by a set of strong values and a distinct corporate culture. EQT manages and advises funds and vehicles that invest across the world with the mission to future-proof companies, generate attractive returns and make a positive impact with everything EQT does.

The EQT AB Group comprises EQT AB (publ) and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, which include general partners and fund managers of EQT funds as well as entities advising EQT funds. EQT has offices in 16 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America with more than 700 employees.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram

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WATERLAND announces closing of€2.5 billion for their eight Fund

Waterland

Waterland Private Equity Investments (“Waterland”) is pleased to announce the closing of its eighth institutional fund, Waterland Private Equity Fund VIII (“WPEF VIII”) at €2.5 billion. The fund closed at the hard cap three months after its initial launch.

WPEF VIII was considerably oversubscribed with demand significantly exceeding the fundraising target, attributable to continued strong support from existing investors combined with significant interest from new investors.

The fundraise attracted commitments from world class institutional investors with over half headquartered in Europe, over a third in the United States, and select investors from the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Public pension plans represent the largest proportion of the investor base.

WPEF VIII expects to make control investments in medium-sized quality companies in fragmented growth markets in Europe (Benelux, DACH, Poland, UK, Ireland, Nordics and France) to finance organic and acquisitive growth. This is a continuation of the successful buy-and-build investment strategy applied to the Firm’s prior funds over the last two decades.

“The fundraising for WPEF VIII has been a great success and we are grateful for the support of our investors. It is a significant achievement for us to have closed Waterland’s largest fund to date in just three months, doing so completely remotely and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to making investments with our eighth fund, for which we see many attractive opportunities in the target region. We remain thankful for the continued support of our existing investors, and we are proud of the high quality of the new investors we now welcome into WPEF VIII.” said Frank Vlayen, Group Managing Partner.

Marc Lutgen, Head of Investor Relations, said: “The success of the fundraise of WPEF VIII despite the challenges presented by a global pandemic reflects investors’ confidence in Waterland’s strategy and team. We are grateful for the support our investors have shown us and their ease towards adapting their investment processes to enable remote diligence.”

MVision Private Equity Advisers acted as the global strategic fundraising adviser for Waterland. Kirkland & Ellis International LLP acted as the global legal, tax and regulatory counsel. De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek N.V. acted as Dutch legal counsel.

For further informationen please contact:
Marc Lutgen, Head of Investor Relations, Waterland, lutgen@waterland.nu

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