Silver Lake to Make €600M Strategic Investment in TeamSystem

Silverlake

MILAN & LONDON – TeamSystem, a leading provider of business software solutions to companies and accountants in Italy and Spain, announced today that Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a €600 million minority stake in the company from Hellman & Friedman (H&F). H&F will remain the majority shareholder in TeamSystem following close of the transaction.

This strategic investment from Silver Lake marks a significant milestone for the Company as it continues to drive the digital transformation of businesses and their accountants in Italy and Spain. TeamSystem’s innovative software platform – with solutions ranging from core business applications to financial technology and AI tools – has revolutionized business processes, empowering clients to streamline operations, drive efficiency and accelerate growth. Since the time of H&F’s initial investment in TeamSystem in 2016, the number of customers served by the company has grown from 200 thousand to approximately 1.8 million today.

Commenting on the investment, Federico Leproux, CEO of TeamSystem, said: “We are pleased to welcome Silver Lake as a strategic partner. We believe this partnership will unlock even greater potential for TeamSystem as the company continues to expand its product offering to help digitise the Italian and Spanish economies – and beyond. We are also delighted to continue our partnership with Hellman & Friedman, which has been our trusted partner for over seven years.”

Christian Lucas, Co-Head of EMEA at Silver Lake, said: “We are excited to partner with TeamSystem as it continues to transform the Italian software industry. Management’s strong commitment to technological leadership, customer-centric approach, and drive for best-in-class innovation are qualities we value highly and have invested behind consistently in support of cloud software leaders across Europe, making TeamSystem an ideal fit for Silver Lake. We look forward to working closely with Federico and the full team in partnership with Hellman & Friedman to drive further growth and deliver exceptional value to its customers.”

Blake Kleinman, Partner at Hellman & Friedman, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Silver Lake as an investor in TeamSystem as we set our sights on the next phase of growth for the business. We have been impressed by TeamSystem’s performance since our initial investment in 2016. Federico Leproux and his team have done an outstanding job to strengthen TeamSystem’s offering and more than triple the company’s revenues. Our investment in TeamSystem which started over seven years ago is a great example of H&F’s approach to long-term value creation. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Federico and his outstanding management team.”

The transaction is expected to close around end of the year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Evercore acted as financial adviser to H&F and TeamSystem.

About TeamSystem

TeamSystem is an Italian technology company with market-leading digital solutions enabling companies and professionals to run their businesses. The Group – which has a 40-year track record – reported a turnover of approximately €700 million in 2022. TeamSystem serves 1.8 million customers through proprietary Cloud platforms. For more information, visit www.teamsystem.com.

About Silver Lake

Silver Lake is a global technology investment firm, with more than $95 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia. Silver Lake’s portfolio companies collectively generate more than $282 billion of revenue annually and employ approximately 713,000 people globally.

About Hellman & Friedman

Hellman & Friedman is a preeminent global private equity firm with a distinctive investment approach focused on a limited number of large-scale equity investments in high quality growth businesses. H&F seeks to partner with world-class management teams where its deep sector expertise, long-term orientation and collaborative partnership approach enable companies to flourish. H&F targets outstanding businesses in select sectors including software & technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer & retail, and other business services.

Since its founding in 1984, H&F has invested in over 100 companies. The firm is currently investing its tenth fund, with $24.4 billion of committed capital, and has over $85 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022. Learn more about H&F’s defining investment philosophy and approach to sustainable outcomes at www.hf.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

Restaurant365 Announces $135M Funding Round Co-Led by KKR and L Catterton

KKR

Leading restaurant enterprise management software company surpasses $1B valuation.

IRVINE, Calif.May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Restaurant365, an industry leading all-in-one restaurant enterprise management software, today announced it has agreed to a $135M funding round co-led by global investment firms KKR and L Catterton with participation from current investors, including ICONIQ Growth and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Restaurant365 is transforming the restaurant industry by providing operators with innovative solutions to increase sales, control food costs, and optimize labor. The company’s robust software suite brings key accounting, operational, and payroll-based processes together into a single, cloud-based technology.

“R365 has achieved continuous, accelerated growth, which is a testament to our strong team who is eager to change the restaurant industry for the better,” states Tony Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of Restaurant365. “Anytime we receive funding, we recognize it as a privilege. However, the primary driver of this round is uniting with two strategic investors so intimately tied to the restaurant industry. Having recently crossed exciting milestones of $100M in revenue and $1B in value, we can’t wait for what’s next.”

The investment is from KKR’s Tech Growth strategy and Catterton’s Growth Fund.

“Restaurant365 has demonstrated compelling growth throughout its history, now powering more than 40,000 restaurant locations,” said Jimmy Miele, Director, Tech Growth at KKR. “Moreover, their software has played a crucial role in helping many struggling operators keep their doors open during uncertain times. We look forward to being a part of this next chapter, helping even more operators achieve their highest potential.”

L Catterton has deep experience investing in world-class restaurant brands globally,” says Ian Friedman, Partner at L Catterton who will join Restaurant365’s board. “With deep insight into the everyday pain points of restaurant operators, we believe Restaurant365 is the gold standard in the industry, helping to streamline operations and boost profitability, and we are proud to leverage our consumer and technology investing experience as a partner to Tony and the team.”

Proceeds from the round will be invested into product enhancements to ensure that Restaurant365’s Accounting, Store Operations, Workforce, and Intelligence product suites continue to meet the evolving needs of the restaurant industry, while also expanding its market share.

About Restaurant365®

Restaurant365 is an industry leading all-in-one, cloud-based accounting, inventory, scheduling, payroll, and HR solution developed specifically for restaurants. R365’s restaurant enterprise management software simplifies day-to-day management for operators, allowing them to control food costs and optimize labor. Integrations and open APIs enable Restaurant365 to connect with other systems including POS providers, vendors, and banks. The result is accurate, timely reporting that provides a clear and complete view of their businesses. Restaurant365 is based in Irvine, California with an office in Austin, Texas. The company is backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, ICONIQ, KKR, L Catterton, and Serent Capital. Additional information is available at www.restaurant365.com.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life, and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About Catterton 

L Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused investment firm, managing approximately $33 billion of equity capital across three multi-product platforms: private equity, credit, and real estate. Leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad network of strategic relationships, Catterton’s team of more than 200 investment and operating professionals across 17 offices partners with management teams to drive differentiated value creation across its portfolio.

Founded in 1989, the firm has made over 250 investments in some of the world’s most iconic consumer brands. L Catterton has significant experience investing in restaurant brands, including Velvet Taco, bartaco, CHOPT Creative Salad Company, Hopdoddy, Cheddar’s, First Watch, and P.F. Chang’s, among others, as well as leading software businesses including Forter, Sendcloud, and Flash Parking. For more information about L Catterton, please visit www.lcatterton.com.

Contact: restaurant365@nextpr.com

SOURCE Restaurant365

Categories: News

Tags:

GTreasury secures investment from Hg to accelerate growth as a global Treasury Management Software platform

HG Capital

GTreasury secures investment from Hg to accelerate growth as a global Treasury Management Software platform.

Chicago, Ill. – May 18, 2023: GTreasury, a treasury, payments, and risk management software provider, today announces that it has secured a majority investment from Hg, a leading investor in global software and services companies. As part of the transaction, the GTreasury management team and former majority owner, Mainsail Partners, will continue as investors in the business.

Based in Chicago, Illinois, GTreasury is a global leader in treasury management systems (TMS) for organizations worldwide. GTreasury’s SaaS solutions assist treasury departments to effectively manage liquidity needs, payment execution, bank relationships, FX hedging, and auditing and compliance requirements. GTreasury provides these practitioners with real-time insight and access into their global liquidity needs, serving over 700 customers across 30 industries in over 160 countries.

Renaat Ver Eecke, CEO of GTreasury, said: “This is a great moment for the team at GTreasury as it will support further product development and geographic expansion, helping us to continue innovating and bringing new products and features to an ever-growing customer base. Hg’s global software specialization and deep knowledge in this area will help accelerate this strategy significantly.”

Hg’s investment and support will enable GTreasury to continue its rapid growth as a highly strategic platform in the TMS segment, with scope to drive further operational improvements, invest in more product development, and continue its global expansion plans—including Asia Pacific regions and in Europe, where Hg has a deep network and 30-year heritage. Hg has invested around $9 billion in the wider tax and accounting software segment across Europe and North America over the last 19 years, with an increasing focus on software serving the ‘Office of the CFO’.

Ben Meyer, Partner at Hg, said: “Renaat leads an impressive team in a high-quality business, providing a leading solution in what is a fast-growing segment. We are excited to partner with Renaat and his team, and to work together with Mainsail, to support them in further scaling GTreasury as a TMS industry champion.”

Louis Kinsella, Director at Hg, said: “TMS software is becoming an increasingly critical segment within the office of the CFO, with companies continuing to focus on their cash and liquidity visibility and needs. This is a really long-term trend, and we’re delighted to be backing a great businesses and team which is at the forefront of this sector.”

“Partnering with Renaat and the rest of the GTreasury team over the past five years to build a leading treasury management platform has been very rewarding,” said Vinay Kashyap, Partner at Mainsail Partners.  “We believe the company is well positioned and are excited to continue our partnership along with management and the team at Hg.”

Terms of the transaction are not disclosed. Hg was advised by William Blair & Company, Skadden & Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, EY and McKinsey. GTreasury and Mainsail were advised by Guggenheim Securities and Wilson Sonsini.


For further information, please contact:

GTreasury:
Bret Clement (Clement | Peterson)
+1 (303) 229-2271

Hg:
Tom Eckersley
+44 (0)208 148 5401

Harry Mayfield (Brunswick, USA)
+1 917 818 5204
HG@brunswickgroup.com

Categories: News

Tags:

ProService Welcomes Silver Lake as New Investment Partner

No Comments
Silverlake

Positions Leading Bundled HR Solutions Provider to Drive the Next Chapter of Growth and Innovation in Partnership with Global Leader in Technology Investing

HONOLULU & MENLO PARK, Calif. – ProService, a leading provider of bundled HR solutions, today announced that Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing, has partnered with the ProService management team and employee owners to invest in and drive the company’s next chapter of innovation and growth.

ProService offers critical HR services including payroll, benefits, insurance, compliance, administrative and risk management services on a fully bundled basis. More than 3,000 employers, with over 70,000 employees, partner with ProService to reduce their employment costs, compete for and retain the best talent, and ensure compliance in complex regulatory environments.

ProService excels at serving employers in specific markets where it is challenging to manage the costs and complexities of HR, payroll, and benefits. In addition to Hawai’i, ProService offers bundled HR solutions to employers in Las Vegas, NV; Denver, CO; and the senior care and disability services market through its AdvanStaff HR, Obsidian HR, and ProCare business units, respectively. These businesses are each experiencing strong growth by providing excellent service and bundled offerings that lower costs and save time for employers and employees. ProService plans to aggressively invest in its technology and insurance offerings to bring more value to clients, and will grow where employers face challenges managing the rising costs and complexities of employment.

Silver Lake brings deep technology and industry expertise to support ProService in accelerating the company’s technology strategy and execution capabilities, driving the further enhancement of ProService’s solutions and services.

“We can imagine no better partner than Silver Lake as we continue to pursue our purpose of making it easier to be an employer in the markets we serve,” said Ben Godsey, President and CEO of ProService. “The Silver Lake team is an amazing complement to ProService, bringing its excellence in product development and tech management to our HR and service expertise.”

“ProService has truly mastered solving for employers’ needs, with comprehensive solutions for each local market,” said Lee Wittlinger, Managing Director at Silver Lake. “Silver Lake is incredibly excited to partner with the ProService team and utilize our technology expertise and business scaling experience to help better serve the company’s current and future employer and employee partners.”

“On behalf of our entire team, we are grateful to FFL Partners for their support and partnership over the past six years, and for how they have worked with us to pass the equity investment baton to Silver Lake,” concluded Godsey. “The sequential investments from these two firms validate our client-focused business model, and they are instrumental in making good on our promise that ProService’s success is shared by our clients, our employees, and the markets we serve. As we look ahead, our ‘Clients are Partners’ core value has never been more front and center, and we look forward to accelerating our innovation to better support employers in the local markets we serve. The best is yet to come!”

About ProService

ProService provides bundled HR solutions that make it easier for employers to succeed. We provide local HR services for time-consuming and complex HR tasks and help employers manage HR and employee benefits and costs. These bundled solutions include configured HR technology, payroll, scheduling, HR consultations, health benefits management, administrative & risk management, workers’ compensation, 401(k), and regulatory compliance. ProService’s family of companies serve over 3,000 businesses representing over 70,000 employees in Hawaii, Las Vegas, NV, Denver, CO, and the senior care and disability services markets through ProService Hawaii, AdvanStaff HR, Obsidian HR, and ProCare, respectively. ProService is accredited by the Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC).

About Silver Lake

Silver Lake is a global technology investment firm, with more than $95 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia. Silver Lake’s portfolio companies collectively generate more than $282 billion of revenue annually and employ approximately 713,000 people globally.

Categories: News

Tags:

Apax Funds make approximately $450m investment in travel tech company IBS Software

Funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”) announced today that they have reached a definitive agreement to invest approximately $450m to acquire a significant minority stake in IBS Software, a leading provider of modern Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to the global travel and logistics industry, from Blackstone. Following the transaction, Apax will partner closely with IBS Software’s Founder and Executive Chairman, V K Mathews, who will remain the majority shareholder.

IBS Software Logo (002)

Founded in 1997 with a vision of redefining the future of travel through technology innovation, IBS Software provides next-generation SaaS solutions that power the most mission-critical operations at the world’s leading aviation, tour and cruise, hospitality and logistics companies. With a comprehensive portfolio of modular, cloud-based solutions purpose-built for the travel industry, IBS Software helps travel companies accelerate innovation and drive efficiency across a broad set of core business processes, including cargo and logistics, flight operations, passenger services, loyalty programs, cruise operations, energy & resource logistics and hospitality distribution platforms. Backed by a team of 4000 professionals across the world with more than 25 years of deep domain expertise, IBS Software’s scalable, cloud-native platform and demonstrated market leadership, position it to define the future of mission-critical technology for the travel industry.

V K Mathews, Founder and Executive Chairman of IBS Software said: “We’re excited to partner with Apax as we enter a new phase in our mission to transform how travel companies operate in a digital world. This investment is an endorsement of our strategy and our commitment and contribution to the industry, and we have a shared vision with Apax for the future of the business. We thank our customers and employees who have been instrumental in our success so far. We’re grateful to the Blackstone team for their invaluable support over the years and we look forward to an exciting and fulfilling journey ahead with Apax.”

Anand Krishnan, CEO, IBS Software, added: “As the travel industry rapidly embraces digitalisation, we have a vital role to play in helping our customers accelerate revenues, drive efficiency and create differentiated customer experiences. Apax has deep experience in partnering with leading SaaS providers and will be a strategic partner for IBS Software as we embark on a new phase of growth. We thank Blackstone for helping us create real value and a true partnership.”

Jason Wright, Partner, Apax, commented: “We are thrilled to partner with VK and the management team at IBS Software. Having closely monitored the travel software sector over the last several years, IBS Software stood out to us as uniquely positioned in the industry, offering a next-gen software suite that we believe is truly unrivalled. Over the last two decades, IBS Software has invested in products, innovation, and culture, while continuing to scale the business. We believe there is tremendous growth potential ahead and look forward to leveraging our software experience to help IBS Software become a world leader in travel and logistics software.”

Amit Dixit, Head of Asia Private Equity, Blackstone, said: “We are happy to have played an important role in IBS Software’s transformation to a SaaS company with global leadership in Travel and Logistics. IBS is already one of the largest enterprise SaaS companies out of India. We thank VK for his strategic vision and for being a terrific partner, and Anand and the management team for their impeccable execution. Value creation at IBS Software demonstrates our business-building approach to investing and reinforces our conviction in Technology as a sectoral theme.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close end of Q2 2023. Financial terms were not disclosed.

J.P. Morgan is acting as financial advisor to IBS Software and Blackstone, Drew & Napier LLC is acting as legal counsel to IBS Software and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal counsel to Blackstone.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal counsel and Jefferies LLC is acting as financial advisor to Apax.

 

-ENDS-

 

ABOUT IBS SOFTWARE

IBS Software is a leading SaaS solutions provider to the travel industry globally, managing mission-critical operations for customers in the aviation, tour & cruise, hospitality, and energy resources industries. IBS Software’s solutions for the aviation industry cover fleet & crew operations, aircraft maintenance, passenger services, loyalty programs, staff travel and air-cargo management. IBS Software also runs a real time B2B and B2C distribution platform providing hotel room inventory, rates and availability to a global network of hospitality companies and channels. For the tour and cruise industry, IBS provides a comprehensive, customer-centric, digital platform that covers onshore, online and on-board solutions. Across the energy & resources industry, we provide logistics management solutions that cover logistics planning, operations & accommodation management. The Consulting and Digital Transformation (CDx) business focuses on driving digital transformation initiatives of its customers, leveraging its domain knowledge, digital technologies and engineering excellence. IBS Software operates from 16 offices across the world. Further information at www.ibsplc.com. Follow us: Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

 

ABOUT APAX

Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”) is a leading global private equity advisory firm. For 50 years, Apax has worked to inspire growth and ideas that transform businesses. The firm has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of more than $65 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Internet/Consumer, Tech, Services, and Healthcare. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.

Apax Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

Categories: News

Tags:

KPN ventures invests in supply chain visibility tool box id systems

Kpn Ventures

First half of April, KPN Ventures completed the Pre-Series A Investment Round in German-based enterprise cloud software platform BOX ID.

The solution enables industrial and logistics companies to track their Reusable Transport Packages (RTPs – e.g., containers, transport racks) throughout the supply chain to create both in- and outdoor visibility across any number and type of sites, (third-party) premises as well as during transportation globally to optimize its supply chain management. BOX ID integrates with enterprise software, such as ERP and TMS, to deliver valuable supply chain data and analytics to help manage supply chain processes; ensuring availability, preventing shrinkage and increasing utilization of RTPs. BOX ID provides customers with a highly scalable solution needed to easily manage distributed supply chain logistic processes in segments such as Automotive, Wholesale, Healthcare, Machinery, Glass Industry, Post & Parcel, serving some of the titans of industry.

“With its clear portfolio philosophy and focus on specific customer verticals in the industrial and logistics segments BOX ID is well positioned to add value to KPN IoTs (international) customers in the B2B segment” says Carolien Nijhuis, EVP KPN IoT & Dataservices, “with KPN’s connectivity, a combined hardware offering and BOX ID’s flexible and vertical focused cloud platform, we strive to leverage each other’s strengths and keep surprising our customers with innovative solutions.”

With this investment we join well-known German investors such as HTGF and Bayern Kapital next to Wille Finance and various seasoned business angels active in the industry. We are very much looking forward to be working together with the highly experienced team of Wolfgang, Shawn, Dominik and Matthias.

Categories: News

Tags:

Clearlake and STG to sell Archer to Cinven

Clearlake

Under Clearlake’s and STG’s ownership, Archer has transformed into a leading end-to-end integrated risk management software-as-a-service platform serving customers around the world

 

Santa Monica, CA, Menlo Park, CA, London, UK, and Overland Park, KSApril 13, 2023 – Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (together with its affiliates, “Clearlake”) and Symphony Technology Group (“STG”) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement to sell Archer (the “Company”) to Cinven. The transaction is expected to close in the middle of 2023 and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, Archer is a leading provider of integrated risk management (“IRM”) cloud software solutions with products that encompass compliance, governance, security, audit and ESG. STG initially acquired Archer in 2020 as a part of its acquisition of RSA Security LLC from Dell Technologies and subsequently partnered with Clearlake in 2021 to establish Archer as an independent business.

 

Over the course of Clearlake’s and STG’s ownership, Archer was strategically repositioned as a leading standalone IRM platform poised for continued expansion under the guidance of a new executive leadership team. The Archer executive team accelerated product innovation by modernizing its core platform to drive customer satisfaction and launched new product offerings that allowed the Company to broaden its addressable market with a focus on ESG risk quantification and modeling.

 

Leveraging Clearlake’s O.P.S.® strategy and best practices from STG’s software investment portfolio, Archer transformed its global go-to-market motion, resulting in accelerated bookings and annual recurring revenue (“ARR”) growth, while transitioning many of its customers to its cloud subscription offerings. As a result, Archer has approximately doubled the size of its software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) ARR under Clearlake and STG’s ownership. Today, Archer has over 1,000 customers spread throughout the globe, including more than 50% of the Fortune 500 across financial services, healthcare, technology, consumer and other end-markets, and has been awarded 24 cumulative “Leader” positions from Gartner since 2013.

 

“We are thrilled by the tremendous progress Archer has made since re-launching as an independent SaaS Company and we want to recognize the efforts of CEO Bill Diaz and the rest of the management team that have made Archer a leading provider of cloud-based IRM solutions across a broad range of applications, end markets, and geographies,” said Behdad Eghbali, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, and Prashant Mehrotra, Partner and Managing Director, at Clearlake. “We are grateful to have had the opportunity to partner with the Archer and STG teams to create a solid foundation for the Company’s continued growth under Cinven’s ownership.”

 

“It has been a pleasure partnering with Bill and the entire Archer management team in scaling the business,” said William Chisholm, Managing Partner, at STG. ‘Since the Dell carveout in 2020, we established Archer as a standalone business and drove investments in both product and sales and marketing, which resulted in product innovation and capital efficient growth at the Company. Archer has evolved to become a leader in the SaaS-based integrated risk compliance and management market delivering significant value to its customers and partners.”

 

Mr. Diaz, Chief Executive Officer at Archer, said, “This is a very exciting milestone in Archer’s history after going through a tremendous strategic transformation over the past few years under Clearlake’s and STG’s ownership. Cinven’s acquisition of Archer represents confidence in our ability to accelerate our leadership position in integrated risk management and our goal to help organizations manage risk in the digital era. We are grateful to Clearlake and STG for their support during this process, and we are excited for the next chapter of Archer’s story with Cinven.”

 

“With a portfolio of leading end-to-end software solutions alongside a history of product innovation, we believe Archer is well positioned to capitalize on emerging growth trends in global risk and compliance software markets,” said Julia Kahr, Partner and Head of North America, and Daniel Garin, Senior Principal, at Cinven. “As an independent scaled platform, Archer is strategically differentiated in the IRM market, and we’re excited to partner with the management team to help Archer accelerate growth through both organic and inorganic initiatives.”

 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley and Co. LLC acted as financial advisors to Archer. Sidley Austin LLP provided legal counsel to Archer, Clearlake, and STG.

 

About Clearlake

Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is an investment firm founded in 2006 operating integrated businesses across private equity, credit and other related strategies. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with experienced management teams by providing patient, long-term capital to dynamic businesses that can benefit from Clearlake’s operational improvement approach, O.P.S.® The firm’s core target sectors are technology, industrials and consumer. Clearlake currently has over $70 billion of assets under management and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 400 investments. The firm is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA with affiliates in Dallas, TX, London, UK, Dublin, Ireland and Singapore. More information is available at www.clearlake.com and on Twitter @Clearlake.

 

About STG

STG is a private equity partner to market leading companies in data, software, and analytics. The firm brings experience, flexibility, and resources to build strategic value and unlock the potential of innovative companies. Partnering to build customer-centric, market winning portfolio companies, STG creates sustainable foundations for growth that bring value to existing and future stakeholders. The firm is dedicated to transforming and building outstanding technology companies in partnership with world class management teams. STG’s expansive portfolio has consisted of more than 50 global companies. For more information, please visit www.stg.com.

 

About Cinven

Cinven is a leading international private equity firm focused on building world-class global and European companies. Its funds invest in six key sectors: Business Services, Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials and Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT). Cinven has offices in London, New York, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Guernsey and Luxembourg.

 

 

Media Contacts

 

For Archer:

Ben Desjardins

571-758-7286

ben.desjardins@archerirm.com

 

For Clearlake:

Jennifer Hurson

Lambert & Co.

845-507-0571

jhurson@lambert.com

 

For STG:

Gloria Consola

pr@stgpartners.com

 

For Cinven:

Alison Raymond

Alison.Raymond@Cinven.com

Categories: News

Tags:

Cinven agrees to acquire Archer

Cinven

Acquisition to create a global leader in governance, risk and compliance technology solutions

International private equity firm Cinven today announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire Archer, a leading provider of integrated risk management solutions, from RSA Security, a portfolio company of Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. and Symphony Technology Group. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Archer is a leading provider of governance, risk and compliance (‘GRC’) software globally. Founded in 2000, Archer has a 20+ year track record of providing integrated risk management (‘IRM’) and software solutions across the GRC landscape. Archer’s industry leading solutions support its diverse and growing customer base of large and mid-sized enterprises to improve their strategic decision-making and operational resilience. Headquartered in Kansas, US, Archer has significant international operations in Europe, the Middle East, and APAC, with European expansion a strategic priority.

Having spent significant time targeting investment opportunities in the global GRC subsector, Cinven’s TMT and Business Services sector teams in North America and Europe worked closely together to identify Archer as an attractive primary carve-out investment opportunity, given:

  • The GRC software market is highly attractive, rapidly growing and fragmented, with opportunity for further consolidation;
  • Archer has a leading position, with the opportunity to grow further through organic and inorganic expansion in both North America and Europe;
  • The quality and breadth of Archer’s product portfolio, as it serves more than half of the Fortune 500; and
  • Archer’s highly recurring revenue stream, with strong visibility and high customer retention.

Through this transaction, Cinven will support the long-term strategic growth of Archer’s integrated software platform as a standalone business following the initial carve-out from RSA Security. Drawing on its European and US platform and expertise, Cinven will work in close partnership with management to continue internationalising the business, including executing opportunities to expand Archer’s presence in key markets and verticals across both North America and Europe.

 

Julia Kahr, Partner and Head of North America at Cinven, commented:

“This transaction exemplifies Cinven’s ability to deploy our differentiated sector-country matrix to carve-out and invest behind high-growth businesses, and to position them for long-term success as standalone companies. This is a tremendous opportunity to leverage our sector expertise and established track record of investing in both North America and Europe to drive growth in a leading business with an unmatched product offering in a dynamic and growing market.”

 

Daniel Garin, Senior Principal at Cinven, added:

“The governance, risk and compliance market has been a significant focus area for Cinven globally for many years, and Archer continues to be a leading player in a highly fragmented market. Our investment in Archer builds on our strong track record of driving product innovation and geographic expansion that better supports customers around the world.”

 

Bill Diaz, Chief Executive Officer at Archer, commented:

“Cinven has a strong track record of driving value in software businesses and they are the ideal partner to support Archer’s next phase of growth. This partnership with Cinven will allow us to capitalize on significant growth opportunities both organically and through strategic acquisitions and further accelerate our leading position to the benefit of our customers, employees and all stakeholders.”

 

Upon the close of the transaction, Bill Diaz will continue to lead the business as Chief Executive Officer alongside the existing Archer leadership team.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Categories: News

Tags:

Ardian acquires stake in Mimacom Flowable Group, a specialist in digitalization services, hyperautomation and low code software

Ardian

Together with the strong investor, the services, software and digitalization group aims to accelerate its growth strategy by accessing new markets and customers

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, has agreed to invest in the Swiss Flowable Holding AG (“Mimacom Flowable Group”) alongside the management team, led by CEO Agim Emruli, to support the Company in implementing its growth strategy.

Headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, the Mimacom Flowable Group specializes in services, software development and digital transformation, cloud, and data consultancy for well-known blue-chip customers in the manufacturing, finance, insurance and life sciences sectors. With Flowable, the Company also offers its own low-code software platform for the automation and digitalization of business processes. The Group has more than 500 employees across 10 locations worldwide, including in Switzerland, Germany, Spain, the US, and Poland.

Hyperautomation involves the systematic and holistic automation of a company’s entire business processes using a wide range of technologies and methods. One of Mimacom Flowable Group’s core products is the low-code software application, Flowable Work, that enables customers to create software applications to automate processes largely without software development knowledge using intuitive interfaces that feature drag-and-drop tools. This reduces the customer’s reliance on developer capacity and lowers costs for project planning, and staff training and development, while significantly shortening the time to market for new digital services and products.

The management team – led by Agim Emruli (Group CEO and CEO Flowable), Alain Sahli (CEO mimacom), Tim Weinmann (CRO mimacom) and Micha Kiener (Founder and CTO) – will continue to manage the company’s operations. With the support of Ardian, the Group plans to drive its growth through entering new markets, growing its customer base and targeted acquisitions of IT service and business process automation companies.

“The Mimacom Flowable Group combines the technology of a strong software platform for automation processes with the expertise of an experienced digitalization expert in the implementation of software projects. This offers our customers a comprehensive one-stop solution that can be integrated into any company environment. With Ardian, we have found a partner that understands our market and our business model and will support our international expansion. Together, we are excited to further accelerate our growth strategy.” Agim Emruli, Group CEO Mimacom Flowable Group

“Digital transformation continues to be one of the major challenges facing companies worldwide. The markets for digitization, hyperautomation and low-code platforms are generating double-digit annual growth rates, but at the same time they are still highly fragmented. As a leader in these areas, Mimacom Flowable Group has fast growth potential and will actively participate in the industry’s consolidation thanks to its excellent management team, compelling strategy and strong customer base. We look forward to working with the management team.” Marc Abadir, Managing Director Expansion, Ardian

List of participants

  • Ardian

    • Marc Abadir, Max Dolata, Nicolas Münzer, Marlon Sandvoss, Janine Paustian
    • Financial: Deloitte (E. Sachsalber / N. Nobereit)
    • Commercial / Technical: Singulier (K. Symes / R. Tomusk)
    • Legal Corporate M&A: Milbank (M. Bernhardt, S.-M. Resch) / Advestra (A. von Jeinsen / B. Kaufmann)
    • Legal Financing: Milbank (T. Ingenhoven, G. Merkel) / Advestra (A. von Jeinsen, A. Hammer)
    • Tax Structuring: Milbank (M. Schell) / Advestra (P. Riedweg / L. Riedweg)
    • Tax Due Diligence: EY (N. Hahn / R. Obrist / S. Niemeyer)
    • M&A and Debt Advisory: Lincoln International (Ø. Bjordal / C. Gilgenberg)

ABOUT MIMACOM-FLOWABLE GROUP

Headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, Mimacom Flowable Group specializes in software development and consulting projects in the field of digitization as well as cloud and data. With Flowable, it also offers its own low-code software platform for the automation of business processes. Today, the Group has more than 500 employees and advises well-known blue-chip customers in the fields of manufacturing, finance, insurance and life science on their digital transformation. The Group has 10 locations worldwide, including Switzerland, Germany, Spain, the USA, Poland and Singapore.
Founded in 2010, Flowable is a leading provider of Gartner-certified open-source intelligent business automation platforms used by many of the world’s leading companies including SAP, Dow Jones and many other Fortune 500 companies. This enables users to quickly set up and roll out efficiency-enhancing business applications, deliver an outstanding customer experience, and increase profitability.
Founded in 1999, mimacom advises companies on digital transformation and supports the creation of innovative software products. Together with Flowable, mimacom offers innovative solutions for Intelligent Automation (iBPM), Business Process Management (BPM) and Adaptive Case Management (ACM) that enable the digital transformation of business processes.

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $150bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,400 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks, family offices and private institutional investors worldwide. Ardian is majority-owned by its employees and places great emphasis on developing its people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our1,000+ employees, spread across 16 offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility.
At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last.

Press contact

Ardian

Categories: News

Tags:

EQT Growth to acquire GotPhoto, a leading vertical software platform helping photographers spend less time behind their desk and more time behind the lens

eqt
  • GotPhoto is dedicated to making photographers’ lives easier and more efficient. The Company provides an end-to-end workflow and e-commerce solution enabling its customers to digitalize key parts of their workflow, from photo management to payment and marketing automation, to order fulfilment, combining high functionality with a user-friendly platform
  • With over 4,000 customers in the US, UK and DACH, GotPhoto is already one of the largest players in the workflow and e-commerce solution market for volume photography, which is expected to grow 24% year-on-year through 2027
  • EQT Growth, in partnership with GotPhoto’s founders and management team, will support the Company’s continued organic and inorganic growth plans in its core markets and expansion into additional verticals and geographies, while further investing in the Company’s platform, product and commercial excellence

The EQT Growth fund (“EQT” or “EQT Growth”) has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake of GotPhoto Company (“GotPhoto” or “the Company”) from its founders, existing angel investors, and management team, who will remain minority owners. GotPhoto’s management team, including its CEO, Benedikt Greifenhofer, will continue to lead the Company, building on its strong track record of growth. As part of the transaction, EQT Growth will also invest additional primary capital into the business to further accelerate the company’s organic growth, including product & tech investments, as well as capitalize on attractive inorganic opportunities in the market.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, GotPhoto (and its German brand, fotograf.de) are dedicated to making the lives of photographers easier and more efficient, helping them spend less time behind their desk and more time behind the lens. By enabling photographers to digitalize key parts of their workflow, including photo management, photo editing, marketing automation, payment, and order fulfillment, GotPhoto effectively powers the daily operations of photographers, allowing them to save significant time and effort across photo shoots. The Company – which has over 4,000 customers, primarily SMBs and “solopreneur” photographers, across the US, UK and DACH – has managed to build a strong reputation as a leading vertical software solution within the people photography segment across its core markets, while being bootstrapped.

GotPhoto operates in a large but highly fragmented and antiquated market, in which digital services and products are not commonly used. As customers increasingly recognize the benefits of digital-native workflow management solutions like GotPhoto’s, it is expected that the underlying core market will grow 24% year-on-year through to 2027. Added to that, historically the volume photography market has proven to be more resilient than other parts of the wider photography market given people’s continued desire to purchase high quality photos as a way to “capture a moment” in time, like the first day of nursery or graduation day. GotPhoto is already well positioned in this market thanks to its seamless end-to-end functionality and user-friendly platform, which has allowed the Company to continue winning market share from legacy solutions, seeing consistent 50% year-over-year growth over the last five years.

EQT Growth will partner with GotPhoto’s founders and management team to further invest in the Company’s proprietary tech platform while it adds new product features. At the same time, as GotPhoto continues to build its commercial expertise it will benefit from access to EQT’s in-house digital team, EQT’s network of over 600 expert industrial advisors, and shared learnings across EQT’s global business, which is active in the Company’s core markets across in Europe and North America. With this support, GotPhoto plans to further expand its presence in areas such as sports and portrait photography as well as new attractive geographies, as it aims to strengthen its position as a leading global player in people photography. In addition to that, both EQT and GotPhoto believe there are a number of interesting M&A opportunities in the market, which should help complement the company’s organic strategy and accelerate the team’s ambitious growth plans.

Benedikt Greifenhofer, CEO of GotPhoto, remarked: “I’m very proud of everything that our team here at GotPhoto has achieved so far but, in many ways, this is just the beginning. Partnering with EQT Growth marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for GotPhoto. It will enable us to accelerate our mission of driving the digitization of the people photography market and allowing photographers to do what they do best: taking photos. We look forward to leveraging EQT’s digital expertise and sector experience, combined with their local presence across Europe, the US, and Asia and their broad network of industrial advisors, to successfully take this next step on our journey.”

GotPhoto Co-Founder and former CEO Markus Posselt, who will transition to GotPhoto’s Advisory Board, commented: “I’m very happy that with EQT Growth we have found an ideal partner for GotPhoto’s next stage of growth. Not only was EQT our preferred partner of choice given their global scale, strong value-add capabilities, and sub-sector expertise across software and prosumer technology investments, but also given the great cultural fit with the EQT team and their alignment of vision and values with ours.”

Dominik Stein, Partner in the EQT Growth Investment Advisory Team who will also join GotPhoto’s Advisory Board, concluded: “GotPhoto is a prime example of a technology company supported by long-term macro trends and led by an excellent management team that is ready to embark on the next phase of its growth journey. Benedikt and the entire GotPhoto team have accomplished so much, having to-date been entirely bootstrapped, and we are delighted to partner with them as we continue to build on GotPhoto’s market-leading position in the US, UK, and DACH.”

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals. It is expected to close in April 2023.

BCG, PwC, Willkie, Awelin, Netlight, and Aon served as advisors to EQT Growth.
Stout, KPMG, and Springer Kuss served as advisors to GotPhoto.

Contacts

Finn McLaughlan, +44 77 1534 1608, finn.mclaughlan@eqtpartners.com
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT Growth
EQT Growth supports leading growth-stage technology companies as they take the next step to scale. The strategy seeks to invest around EUR 50 million to EUR 200 million, backing strong management teams of companies supported by secular macro trends primarily within four tech sub-sectors: enterprise, con/prosumer, health, and climate. Based in five countries across Europe, the EQT Growth team has extensive investing and operating experience that allows it to support its portfolio companies however called upon.

EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 113 billion in assets under management within two business segments – Private Capital and Real Assets. EQT owns portfolio companies and assets in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas and supports them in achieving sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com

Follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram

About GotPhoto
For the past decade, GotPhoto has been the leader in supporting high-volume photographers with its easy-to-use, comprehensive workflow and sales software. With a mission to make school, sports, and dance photographers more successful, whether you photograph 100 students or 100,000, GotPhoto can help you save time and increase your sales.

More info: https://www.gotphoto.com

Categories: News

Tags: