Mid Europa Partners (“Mid Europa”), the leading private equity investor in Central and Eastern Europe, has announced the agreement to sell Bambi, the leading biscuit producer in the countries of former Yugoslavia, to Coca-Cola HBC AG (“Coca-Cola HBC”). The transaction is subject to customary competition authority clearance and is expected to close in Q2 2019.

Mid Europa acquired Bambi in 2015 together with Imlek and Knjaz Miloš, the leading regional dairy and natural mineral water players, respectively, forming the consumer group – Moji Brendovi. Bambi, a confectionery producer, recognised the increased consumer focus on health and wellness and emerged as the regional biscuit category leader.

Robert Knorr, Co-Managing Partner of Mid Europa commented: “Bambi showcases our value-add approach – we focused on Bambi’s strength in the biscuit category by disposing of its chocolate division and investing more in its core biscuit brands. We are now extracting Bambi from a diversified consumer group as the company has deservedly found its place within a leading international consumer leader. We will continue to replicate this strategy across our investments in Central and Eastern Europe.”

Andrej Babache, Partner of Mid Europa commented: “We acquired a strong business and worked closely with Moji Brendovi’s CEO, Andrej Jovanovic, and the management buy-in team to transform it into a regional leader with an unprecedented brand recognition and customer loyalty.”

Dragan Stajkovic, CEO of Bambi, commented: “It is with pride that we join a family of highly successful brands at Coca-Cola HBC. We believe that their unique positioning across 28 markets provides us with a strong backbone for the continuation of our geographical expansion and development of our ambitious innovation for the benefit of our customers.”

BofA Merrill Lynch acted as exclusive financial adviser to Mid Europa, White & Case, Dechert and Karanovic & Partners as legal counsel and KPMG as transaction services adviser.

The transaction was executed by Ratko Jovic, Filip Kisdobranski and Aleksandar Dragicevic.

About Bambi: 

Bambi is engaged in the production of biscuits, salty snacks and waffles.

Source: Mid Europa Partners press release

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G2 Esports secures a $17.3 million (€15 million) funding round, including prominent New York investors and a variety of global tech moguls.

The company has announced that it has secured a $17.3 million (€15 million) funding round which includes participation from prominent New York investors and a variety of global tech moguls. Seasoned NYC investors including Seal Rock Partners, Al Tylis and Dan Gilbert joined Parkwood Corporation and Everblue Management to lead the round. Alongside this group, we are excited to welcome a group of leading tech and sports entrepreneurs including Yext Co-Founder and President, Brian Distelburger; Doodle Founder, Myke Naef; and Topgolf Media President, YuChiang Cheng; among others. The capital will be used to accelerate global expansion, fund franchise fees, and continue to invest in world-class business and content operations. Backed by a veteran global investor group, this funding brings significant resources and diverse experiences to strategically develop G2 Esports.

“The backing from this distinguished group of business leaders is a testament to the future  growth of this organization,” said G2 Esports CEO Carlos “ocelote” Rodriguez. “After an  incredibly successful 2018 where we positioned ourselves as one of the leading entertainment  assets in esports, G2 is doubling down on international growth, and continuing our investment in world-class content creation. We have partnered with the right investors, who have a deep understanding of a variety of entertainment industries, and significant experience in scaling successful companies and brands.”

Co-founded by Carlos Rodriguez and Jens Hilgers in 2014, G2 Esports is a premier global esports brand with one of the fastest-growing fan bases in the West. We were recently named by Forbes as one of the world’s most valuable esports companies, and in late 2018, were accepted as a permanent partner into the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) where we currently sit in 1st place following last year’s semi-final run at the World Championships.

“G2 Esports is well-positioned for exponential growth as it commits to seeing the advancement of LEC and the esports industry as a whole,” Yext Co-Founder and President, Brian Distelburger, commented. “We believe in the founding team and are thrilled to be a part of G2 Esports’ continued momentum and international expansion.”

Alongside a strong existing investor group including Zak Brown, Sumit Gupta, Go4it Capital and other veteran investors, this round brings G2 Esports’ funding to date to over $24.6M. Inner Circle Sports, a boutique investment bank headquartered in New York City with a focus on the global sports industry, acted as G2’s financial advisor on the capital raise.

About G2 Esports: 

G2 Esports is a World Premier esports club founded in November, 2013 by Carlos ‘ocelote’ Rodriguez, a former star player in League of Legends. Carlos is the Chief Executive Officer of the club, which currently includes professional teams in League of Legends, Counter-Strike:Global Offensive, Hearthstone, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Vainglory and Rocket League.

Source: G2 Esports press release

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About Acturis :

The Acturis Group was founded in 2001 and today comprises some 700 colleagues across five countries and four divisions. The four divisions include: Acturis SaaS, a leading multi-tenant SaaS platform for the general insurance industry; Acturis Deutschland, the market-leading broker software platform and comparison engine in the German broker market; ICE InsureTech, a cutting-edge platform for forward-thinking insurers, MGAs and claims managers; and NIS, the leading technology platform in the travel insurance, assistance and benefits market. Astorg will support Acturis’ future organic growth and acquisition growth opportunities in the insurance software market.

Source: Astorg press release

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Summa Equity acquires Olink Proteomics, a Swedish life science company that has developed a unique technology for human biomarker discovery, targeting the global biopharma and academic research and discovery markets. Olink’s purpose is to enable precision medicine through proteomics, thereby contributing to advancing healthcare worldwide. Summa Equity is excited to support this development, and to continue building its base of investments within life science.

Summa Equity focuses on investments in companies that help solve global challenges. Olink Proteomics is providing a unique technology to vastly improve our understanding of proteins within the human body. Proteomics, i.e. the large scale study of proteins, is one of the most important areas for gaining insights in human biology and disease, as protein expression profiles are critical in reflecting states of health. The acquisition of Olink Proteomics is aligned with Summa Equity’s Changing Demographics theme and it supports the UN Sustainable Development Goal Target #3: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”, by enabling improved treatment and patient outcomes across a large number of disease areas.

The company has grown very rapidly over the past years, quickly expanding its scope of activities across the global market for life science, with a growing footprint across North America, Europe and Asia. Olink Proteomics is headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden, but also has facilities in the US. Olink Proteomics has approximately 110 employees across its current locations.

”The scientific and business opportunities for Olink Proteomics are enormous, as its technology is radically transforming the market for proteomics, thus enabling improved patient treatment. We look forward to supporting the company in its ambition to continue investing in improved customer solutions, and its effort to roll out its technology on a world-wide basis,” said Tommi Unkuri, Partner at Summa Equity.

”We are very happy to have Summa Equity as our new owner. They have shown a deep understanding of our technology and the markets we are addressing. They will be able to support us in scaling up our operations across markets, and drive benefit for customers, patients and the research community,” said Jon Heimer, CEO of Olink Proteomics.

Summa Equity will be the majority shareholder in Olink Proteomics, whilst the management team and Ulf Landegren will remain as shareholders in the company. Summa Equity has been supported by a global team of advisors, including Moelis & Company LLC as financial advisor, White & Case as legal advisor, LEK Consulting as commercial advisor and KPMG as accounting advisor. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as Olink Proteomics’ financial advisor and Wiggin and Dana LLP and Lindahl served as its legal advisors.

About Olink Proteomics: 

Olink Proteomics was founded in 2004, based on pioneering research at Uppsala University, under the oversight of Prof. Ulf Landegren and his team of researchers. The company has a unique technology for protein analysis, which provides substantial benefits over other existing technologies in the market by enabling a more efficient and precise analysis of much larger numbers of proteins. This technology improves understanding of the interaction of proteins and human disease, which is required to enable improved treatments within many clinical areas.

Source: Summa Equity press release

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EQT has announced that EQT Infrastructure IV (the “Fund”) held its first and final close at its hard cap of EUR 9 billion on March 12, 2019, after officially launching in September 2018. Demand from both existing and new investors was strong, with a majority of the commitments made by investors in the predecessor fund, EQT Infrastructure III, which closed at its EUR 4 billion hard cap in February 2017.

EQT Infrastructure IV will continue to follow the industrial approach to infrastructure investing that has been successfully applied by EQT Infrastructure since its inception in 2008. The Fund will invest in high-quality companies with infrastructure characteristics and strong value creation potential. EQT Infrastructure will leverage its global platform, proven governance model and growth-focused approach to drive performance. The Fund will be supported by a dedicated investment advisory team and EQT’s extensive network of Industrial Advisors.

EQT Infrastructure IV will primarily pursue investment opportunities in Europe and North America and may opportunistically explore opportunities in Asia Pacific. The Fund has made two investments to date: Saur, a leading French drinking and waste water management company, and Osmose Utilities Services, a leading provider of critical inspection, maintenance and restoration services for utility and telecom infrastructure in the US.

Lennart Blecher, Deputy Managing Partner at EQT Partners (acting as exclusive investments advisors to the Fund), and Head of EQT Real Assets, commented: “EQT Infrastructure has a great track record of delivering attractive, risk-adjusted returns to investors since the inception of the EQT Infrastructure platform more than 10 years ago. The successful fundraising of EQT Infrastructure IV confirms investors’ trust in EQT and illustrates the continued demand for infrastructure investments in the Fund’s core regions.”

Christian Sinding, CEO and Managing Partner of EQT Partners, added: “EQT Infrastructure IV marks another important milestone for EQT and manifests our position as a truly leading global investment firm. We are glad to welcome more than 40 new investors to EQT and excited about their trust in our responsible and growth-focused approach to investing.”

The fundraising was led by the in-house Investor Relations team within EQT Partners. Jussi Saarinen, Partner and Head of Investor Relations, said: “We are pleased with the strong support demonstrated by existing and new investors and are very pleased with the high quality of the Fund’s investor base.”

EQT Infrastructure IV is backed by a global blue-chip investor base consisting of, among others, pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, endowments, foundations and family offices. With the closing of the Fund, EQT has approximately EUR 14 billion in infrastructure assets under management.

Source: EQT press release

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Bridges Fund Management (“Bridges”) has raised £155m of capital to invest in impactful growth businesses and mission-led enterprises, following the close of its latest growth fund and a number of managed accounts.

Over the last two years, Bridges has been re-shaping its investment platform in response to demand from impact-driven entrepreneurs seeking different kinds of capital, and from investors seeking a broader range of ways to invest for impact. It has raised just over £50m to date for Bridges Evergreen Holdings, a pioneering permanent capital vehicle. It has now also closed Bridges Sustainable Growth Fund IV (SGF IV), a traditional closed-end private equity fund, with c.£80m of commitments, and raised a further £25m through separate account arrangements with a number of UK pension funds.

SGF IV will take majority stakes in exciting growth businesses that are helping to tackle our biggest social and environmental challenges, helping these companies to accelerate their growth and optimise their impact. It has already made three investments: Just Ask, a facilities management business that works exclusively with Housing Associations, whose focus on social value and improving the lives of residents is helping it to win new contracts; and Innovate and Cucina, two specialist providers of high-quality school catering, who have now joined forces to create The Impact Food Group.

Evergreen has a more flexible mandate, enabling it to take either majority or minority stakes and to support a range of mission-driven enterprises over a longer time period than standard private equity allows. It is structured as a holding company rather than as a fund, with a focus on delivering an attractive financial yield to investors as well as strong social and environmental impact. It has made three investments to date: in Shaw Healthcare, the UK’s largest employee-owned care business; New Reflexions, a specialist operator of children’s centres; and The Ethical Housing Company, a new venture to create a portfolio of quality affordable homes for rent in the North-East.

Philip Newborough, CEO of Bridges Fund Management, said: “We are excited to have a broader range of tools with which to back enterprises that can change the world for the better. Our world faces huge social and environmental challenges, like climate change, the ageing population and the rise in chronic health conditions. For too long, business has been part of the problem. But we’re now seeing a new generation of mission-driven entrepreneurs emerge that want to be part of the solution – partly because they want to have a positive impact on the world, and partly because they recognise that responding to these unmet needs represents a huge growth opportunity. In the new economy, these are the organisations that people want to buy from and work for.”

“Despite the uncertainty around Brexit, we’re confident the UK will continue to be one of the best places in the world to start and grow this kind of enterprise. So we’re excited about partnering with more ambitious, mission-driven management teams over the next few years, providing them with the flexible, values-aligned capital they need to get to the next level.”

Bridges has specialised in sustainable and impact investment since 2002. Across its platform of funds – which also covers property and social outcomes contracts – it has now raised over £1bn for impactful investments.

Bridges is also committed to supporting the growth of this market, particularly through the work of Bridges Insights, its field-building arm, which is currently facilitating The Impact Management Project.

Source: Bridge Fund Management press release

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Octopus Investments, part of the Octopus Group has announced that its Development Capital team has provided growth funding to Veeqo.

Veeqo is the retail automation platform that helps retailers sync their inventory across multiple sales channels and fulfil customer orders. Octopus Investments joins existing investors, Daniel McPherson and New Look founder Tom Singh, along with the crowdfunding platform Seedrs, in supporting the company through this next stage of rapid growth. This latest round of fundraising will be used to further Veeqo’s dominant position in the UK market, and to expand into the USA. Veeqo’s growth strategy will be driven by a mix of inbound marketing, outbound sales and strategic channel partnerships to cement its position as the leading, all-in-one inventory and fulfillment software for the retail market.

Every year, the Veeqo platform powers over 31 million shipments by its user base. Hundreds of retail brands such as Brompton Bikes, Maidenhead Aquatics and Dove already use Veeqo to fulfil e-commerce orders to customers all over the world, with one Veeqo retailer shipping up to 10,000 orders a day during their peak season. With its head office based in Swansea, South Wales, and additional offices in London & Bishkek, Veeqo will be expanding with a US team based in North America later in 2019 – becoming one of the only companies founded in Wales to boast a truly global footprint.

Matt Warren, CEO and Founder of Veeqo said: “I’m passionate about building a global tech company from our home here in Swansea. We’re the first Welsh company to close growth capital investment, and it’s fantastic to be working with Octopus – one of most well-regarded investment firms in London. With the High Street facing increasing challenges day-by-day, brands selling on multiple channels have an opportunity to grow at an astonishing rate. Veeqo will play a crucial role in helping these retail giants of tomorrow provide the best customer experience to customers everywhere.”

Richard Court, Head of Development Capital at Octopus Investments said: “Veeqo has a very exciting proposition and we’re delighted to be able to support this next phase of growth. The platform Matt and his team have created is market leading, providing SME ecommerce retailers with a strong back-end platform to manage their orders. As a result, Veeqo is positioned well to dominate the UK market and expand further into the USA. We look forward to working with the team and helping them deliver on their ambitious growth plans.”

About Veeqo: 

Veeqo helps retail brands provide the best customer experience to customers everywhere. Their software helps retailers pick, pack and ship a high volume of orders to customers all over the world, and our omnichannel inventory and order management functionality keeps stock levels across multiple warehouses accurate & reliable. Veeqo’s barcode scanning hardware provides digital picking and packing capabilities that result in a paperless warehouse where every order is shipped quickly and accurately. This, along with advanced software and smartphone apps are providing enterprise-level inventory and shipping functionality to retailers of any size.

Source: Octopus Investments press release

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HQ Equita, the direct investment company of HQ Capital, is acquiring a majority interest in the leading value-added software distributor EBERTLANG from Beyond Capital Partners and the company’s founders. Based in Wetzlar, Germany, EBERTLANG is one of the leading value-added distributor of infrastructure software for small and mid-sized companies in German-speaking Europe. The company provides software solutions for email archiving, back-up, IT-security, automation and continuity, and offers comprehensive training, consulting and service support for partners and software vendors.

“EBERTLANG is the ideal partner for small and mid-sized companies to maintain their IT-infrastructure for the future and fulfilling ever-increasing regulatory requirements, such as legally compliant archiving of emails. EBERTLANG is optimally positioned and set up for megatrends including digitization, IT-security, cloud services and regulatory compliance. We are delighted to enter the next phase of EBERTLANG’s development, working together with the strong team that founders Steffen Ebert and Volker Lang have built,” explained Florian Wiemken, partner with HQ Equita.

“EBERTLANG is a success story and has enormous potential. We are pleased to have actively guided the company and its management in an important phase of growth. With HQ Equita the company will have a financially strong, stable and reliable partner for future growth,” says Christoph D. Kauter, Managing Partner of Beyond Capital Partners.

EBERTLANG is the central interface between small- and medium-size companies and leading software vendors. The company offers these vendors access to the highly fragmented German-speaking market, with more than 17,000 IT-system houses, and provides both software distribution as well as product and channel management, marketing, training and technical support. EBERTLANG guides system houses in executing managed services and SaaS concepts for their end customers. EBERTLANG uses its industry-leading business intelligence database and personalized customer care throughout the process.

“With the support of HQ Equita, we plan to drive our already-strong growth even higher. In addition to expanding our solutions portfolio in the software area, we plan to significantly strengthen our service offerings – which IT professionals in the German-speaking countries already value – in order to offer even better support to system houses in all matters relating to sophisticated infrastructure,” explained Steffen Ebert, founder and Co-CEO of EBERTLANG. “Besides expanding our offerings, with help from HQ Equita we will also advance our upcoming national and international expansion – also through acquisitions,” added Volker Lang, second founder and Co-CEO. Discussions with potential acquisition targets have already been started.

HQ Equita will hold the majority interest in EBERTLANG through a newly established holding company, in which the management will also hold an interest. The purchase price was not disclosed.

HQ Equita was supported in the transaction by goetzpartners (M&A, commercial due diligence, debt advisory), Alvarez & Marsal (financial due diligence) and Watson Farley & Williams (law and taxes). Beyond Capital Partners was supported in the transaction by Lincoln International (M&A), Latham & Watkins (law) and EY (financials). The management of EBERTLANG was advised by CMS (law).

About EBERTLANG: 

EBERTLANG is the leading value-added distributor of infrastructure software for small and mid-sized companies in German-speaking Europe. Founded in 1995 and based in Wetzlar, Germany, the company’s approximately 60 employees provide leading software solutions and services in the areas of email archiving, back-up, IT-security, automation and IT-failover to a network of around 17,000 partners.

Source: HQ Equita press release

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Ufenau Capital Partners has reported that the success story of Ufenau Capital Partners continues with the first and final closing of its new fund Ufenau VI German Asset Light with a total size (including parallel funds) of EUR 560 million. As before, Ufenau VI and its parallel funds were oversubscribed. In addition to more than 50 entrepreneurs of the Ufenau industry partner network, we are proud to have attracted a broad set of high quality institutional investors from Europe, the USA and Asia. Ufenau VI will pursue the identical investment strategy of its predecessor funds, focusing on:

▪ Majority investments in „Asset Light“ service companies in Germany, Switzerland and Austria

▪ Companies with a turnover of EUR 15 – 150 million and profitable business models

▪ A sector focus on business services, education & lifestyle, healthcare, IT and financial services

▪ Applying a systematic buy-&-build strategy that further supports the organic growth of the companies.

The fund envisages making 10-12 investments in its target region. The Ufenau team has been significantly broadened to a total of 5 partners and more than 20 investment professionals overall. Ralf Flore, managing partner, comments: „Owing to the successful development of our portfolio, the growth of the team and our proven investment strategy we are grateful to have once again attracted a first class institutional investor base. Our new fund will allow us to continue to be the preferred partner for succession and other management buyout situations in German-speaking Europe.” AXON Partners, with offices in Zug and London, served as exclusive placement agent for the fundraising.

Source: Ufenau Capital Partners press release

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JTC has announced the acquisition of Exequtive Partners SA. A fast-growing, specialist provider of corporate and related fiduciary services, the Luxembourg-based company was established in 2013 and has demonstrated exceptional growth over the past six years.

This latest acquisition forms part of the JTC’s ongoing growth strategy as outlined at its IPO in March 2018 and underlined in the trading update issued on 24 January 2019, with the company continuing to see further opportunities for organic and inorganic growth.

Commenting, Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of JTC, said: “Exequtive Partners is a specialist business in a key strategic location that has demonstrated outstanding performance since its inception. As such, this acquisition is reflective of our focus on high quality growth and on strengthening our proposition for institutional clients. In particular, the management team at Exequtive Partners has built a thriving business based on very similar principles to JTC, making it an excellent cultural fit for us whilst also enabling them to become part of an established global network that remains focused on client service excellence. We extend a warm welcome to our new colleagues, clients and partners.”

Joost Mees, one of the founders of Exequtive Partners, added: “Given the global consolidation in corporate and funds administration, we are very happy to become an integral part of the JTC family which has been built on the same values that both companies recognise as fundamental to success. The expansion of our offering will be of added value to our clients as well as our team who will all have the opportunity of working with an energetic business with a clear shared ownership philosophy at its core. Together, we are confident about increasing our footprint in the corporate and alternative investments market in Luxembourg and beyond.”

JTC listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in March 2018. It opened an office in Luxembourg in 2009 to provide a European centre for funds and corporate services.
About Exequtive Partners: 

Exequtive Partners’ 28 employees, including the five principals, will all join the existing Institutional Client Services team at JTC, which this year marks its tenth anniversary of being in Luxembourg, with immediate effect. As well as expanding JTC’s jurisdictional presence, the acquisition also builds on its corporate services capabilities, complements its funds offering and creates greater opportunities for future growth.

JTC is fully committed to Luxembourg, and the industry, and recently enhanced its fund platform through being granted a depositary license by Luxembourg’s Ministry of Finance. This coupled with its ManCo service, significantly strengthens its capabilities in the EU and enables JTC to provide a full ‘one-stop-shop’ offering meeting regulatory and investor requirements.

Source: JTC press release

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Pure Pet Food, the award-winning manufacturer of dehydrated and freeze dried pet food has secured a £2m investment from NVM Private Equity(NVM) to accelerate its plans to make healthy choices for pet owners easy and accessible. Their low processed natural recipes have become the go-to option for pets suffering with a range of ailments and sensitivities. The innovative Yorkshire based company formed by childhood friends Mathew Cockroft and Daniel Valdur Eha has quickly grown from a tiny business which started life in Daniel’s kitchen, to a brand that is now sold around the world and in major retailers such as Pets at Home.

Pure produces natural pet food products in their very own human grade food facility in West Yorkshire. The company’s innovative manufacturing techniques allow for products that not only address current market trends to feed a low processed and high quality food, but also avoids the inconvenience and expense which can prevent a significant number of owners from doing so.

The investment from NVM comes after a host of recent accolades and achievements for the business. Pure won the Lloyds TSB’s National Best Start-up award and the PetQuip Pet Product Innovation award.

Founder Mat commented “Pure first started after we decided to do our own research into the current commercial pet food available and exactly how it was made. It made little sense to us that highly processed food, containing low quality ingredients, manufactured into small brown biscuits that are fed to pets each day was possibly the healthiest diet option.”

Co-founder Dan added “We set out to create a food which retained the convenience of a commercial dry or wet pet food, but with the benefits of fresh, wholesome ingredients. This thought process led us to the methods of dehydration and freeze drying, which allow for the gentle preservation of fresh ingredients. Pure requires no refrigeration or freezer space, owners simply have to add water and serve, creating a healthy low processed meal in minutes.”

Dan continued. “Pure Pet Food has proved to be a big hit with pets suffering from a range of ailments and allergies such as stomach sensitivities, IBD, Pancreatitis and fussiness to name just a few. I think rather than anything special in our recipes it is more what we haven’t added. Our food contains no grains, corn, additives or any other nasties.”

The pair plan to use the funding to support Pure Pet Food’s rapid growth, whilst launching new products, adding to their team and expanding their offering throughout Europe.

“This investment will allow for the development of a much more personalised offering, improving the level of service we can provide to our customers and their pets. We see huge opportunity within this space and by partnering with NVM we now have the resources and experience to realise our vision.” Mat added

Aaron Lawson-Clark, Investment Associate at NVM, added: “NVM is delighted to be backing Dan and Mat to take Pure Pet Food to the next level.  The team have impressed demonstrating the skills required to build a business, brand and quality product with limited resources.  We are excited by the potential market for natural convenient pet food in the years ahead and we look forward to working with the team to scale up the business and deliver the future of pet nutrition.” 

NVM was provided with:

• Legal advice by Square One Law
• Commercial and digital due diligence by Palladium
• Financial due diligence by Tait Walker
• Management due diligence by Confidas People
• VCT clearance by Philip Hare & Associates

Pure Pet Food were supported by Lee Humble at Inveniam Corporate Finance and Asad Ali at Gunnercooke at Gunnercooke.

About Pure Pet Food: 

Gentle process of dehydration involves blowing warm air across ingredients to remove the moisture content and preserve the food.
Source: NVM press release

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•Includes investment from o2h Ventures Therapeutics Fund

• Funding to support expansion of ion channel screening capabilities and continued research into potential drugs for auto-immune diseases

Metrion Biosciences Ltd (“Metrion”), the specialist ion channel contract research and drug discovery company, has announced that it has completed a fully subscribed funding round on 14 March. Metrion will use the funds to support the broadening of its ion channel screening capabilities, and continued research into novel Kv1.3 inhibitors for the treatment of auto-immune conditions. The new equity investment round was led by the recently launched o2h Ventures Therapeutics Fund, acting via Reyker Securities plc, and supported by existing shareholders. The o2h Ventures fund invests in early stage biotech therapeutic and related AI opportunities in the UK and focusses, in particular, on emerging companies in the growing Cambridge biotech cluster.

Keith McCullagh, Metrion’s chairman, said: “We are pleased to welcome both o2h Ventures Therapeutics Fund as a new shareholder and Sunil Shah, Managing Partner of o2h Ventures Ltd as an observer on the Metrion board.”

Sunil Shah, Managing Partner, o2h Ventures, commented: “We recognise the ion channel biology space as a potentially very valuable source of new drug targets, which is generating a great interest with pharma companies. The Metrion team has deep expertise, and the Company is emerging as a global leader in ion channel drug discovery.”

About Metrion Biosciences: 

Metrion Biosciences is a UK-based Contract Research Organization (CRO) focussed on delivering a range of high quality ion channel drug discovery services.

Source: Metrion Biosciences press release

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Tikehau Capital, through its pan-European minority growth equity fund, and Bpifrance are investing EUR 38 million in ADDEV Materials to support its international development. ADDEV Materials is an industrial company specialised in the conversion and custom cutting of high-performance materials (insulation, technical films, adhesives, foams, etc.). Mainly present in Europe and North America, ADDEV Materials employs 500 people and realises a turnover of almost EUR 110 million.

Through this investment, Tikehau Capital and Bpifrance seek to sustain the company’s fast growth (doubling of the turnover in the past five years combined with a strong international expansion) by providing the means to boost its international development and strengthen its position in fast-growing markets such as the aerospace industry, primarily through external growth operations in Europe and North America.

Tikehau Capital’s investment through its asset management subsidiary Tikehau Investment Management is made via its pan-European growth equity fund dedicated to growing intermediate-sized companies. The aim of this minority fund is to target structures with high growth potential in buoyant markets.

Emmanuel Laillier, Head of Private Equity at Tikehau Capital, said: “We are delighted to be able to support the development of ADDEV Materials. The company has high growth potential in what is still a largely fragmented market. Our aim is to support the management in the development of its external growth strategy. This investment perfectly reflects the philosophy of our minority growth equity fund dedicated to growing SMEs and intermediate-sized companies with international ambitions.”

“With its teams based in Lyon, Bpifrance has worked alongside ADDEV Materials for many years now, providing both financing solutions and capital”, said Bpifrance’s Arnaud Legardeur, Investment Director Mid&Large Cap. “We are delighted to be able to support the management once again in this ambitious growth venture through international acquisitions. This joint investment with our partner Tikehau Capital is another example of the various financing solutions provided by Bpifrance.” According to Pascal Nadobny, Chairman of ADDEV Materials: “We are delighted to on-board Tikehau Capital and its international platform in our entrepreneurial journey, as well as to count 2 on Bpifrance’s renewed trust. Together they will allow ADDEV Materials to grow and see through its external growth operations in Europe and North America, in order to step up its materials custom converting activities and strengthen its position in the aerospace industry.” 

About ADDEV Materials:

ADDEV Materials headquartered in Lyon, employs 500 people on 20 sites around the world and generates 110 million euros in revenue. An intermediate-sized company specializing in the transformation of high-performance materials, its expertise focuses on the conversion of technical films and adhesive solutions and the customized packaging of adhesives and chemicals. As a partner of the world’s leading manufacturers, ADDEV Materials relies on a wide range of technologies and is organized around four Business Units: • INSULATION & FILMS • ADHESIVES & TAPES • AEROSPACE & DEFENSE • NORTH AMERICA ADDEV Materials is a member of the French Fab. “Wherever innovative materials are key, we deliver converting and services. Our human values drive our entrepreneurial, international and responsible growth project”

Source: Tikehau Capital Press release

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Intermediate Capital Group’s Europe VII Fund has announced it has, in partnership with Mérieux Equity Partners and DOC Generici’s management team, agreed to invest in DOC Generici, one of Italy’s largest independent generic pharmaceutical companies – subject to antitrust approval.

This is the seventh deal for the Europe VII fund, which provides long term financing for growing private companies across Europe. The fund closed with €4.5bn of commitments in November 2018.

Luigi Bartone, Head of Italian Subordinated Debt & Equity Investments, said: “DOC Generici exhibits the classic characteristics we look for in an investment. The company is well established, highly cash generative, and led by a best-in class, committed management team. It benefits from a resilient and growing market driven by the ongoing penetration of generics in the Italian pharmaceutical market. We believe there are significant opportunities to continue to grow the business, and ICG resources and global networks will support management’s and Mérieux’s vision.”

Benoît Durteste, Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer of ICG, said: “This is a significant deal for Europe Fund VII and a milestone deal for ICG in Italy. It demonstrates how our local teams continue to find attractive investment opportunities across Europe which have the potential to produce strong growth and enable us to deliver on behalf of our fund investors.”

Benoît Chastaing, Senior Partner at Merieux Equity Partners, said: “We are pleased to collaborate with ICG and DOC Generici management team, to invest in one of the leaders within the Italian Generic market. DOC Generici clearly improves access for patients to high-value medicine, this is in line with Mérieux Participations 3 investment strategy, recently set-up to support fast-growing companies within the healthcare and nutrition markets. This transaction also constitutes the first landmark investment of Mérieux Equity Partners in Italy. We will share our expertise and industrial network with DOC Generici and ICG over the coming years.”

Giorgio De Palma, Senior Managing Director at CVC said: “DOC Generici is a high-quality business with strong organic growth and high cash generation led by an outstanding management team. The launch of two new branded franchises in Ophthalmology and Cardiovascular Medicine have further strengthened DOC’s market position over the last 3 years. We thank Gualtiero Pasquarelli and the rest of the management team for the ongoing success of DOC Generici and wish them all the best for the future”.

Gualtiero Pasquarelli, CEO at DOC Generici, said: “We would like to thank CVC for their support, which has been instrumental in the acceleration of DOC’s growth strategy. DOC Generici has delivered very solid results in terms of sales and EBITDA, outperforming the reference market, and has significant potential for further growth. We now look forward to working with ICG and Mérieux in the next stage of our development.”

Barclays acted as sole financial adviser for ICG, Studio Gattai Minoli Agostinelli and Latham & Watkins as legal advisor. White&Case acted as legal advisor to Mérieux Equity Partners. Legance Studio Legale Associato acted as legal advisor and Studio Facchini Rossi & Soci acted as tax advisor for CVC.

About Doc Generici : 

DOC Generici provides drugs for the treatment of common medical conditions with a broad product portfolio and a strong presence in areas including cardiovascular, gastrointestinal/metabolism and neurological treatments. The Company operates an asset-light model and benefits from a consolidated network of suppliers.

Source: ICG press release

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One of the Europes leading sperm banks, European Sperm Bank, has entered into a new partnership with Axcel, which has now taken over the majority of shares. The partnership is built on a life-affirming vision and an ambitious plan to give even more Danish and foreign women and couples the possibility to have children. They plan is to expand even further by developing the existing business, expanding to new markets and expand the bank’s services.

Since 2004, the European Sperm Bank has helped women and couples fulfill the dream of having a child. The result is more than 34.000 children among more than 25.000 families. Last year alone, the company had customers from over 70 different countries. European Sperm Bank is based in Denmark but has set up clinics for local recruitment in Germany and England.

“We had a healthy development where we most importantly had a part in creating a lot of happiness among women and couples, who around the world needed our help to have children. In the new partnership with Axcel, we will not only continue our good deeds but together we want to boost development, innovation and expansion, which we are now looking forward to, “says Annemette Arndal-Lauritzen, who has been CEO of European Sperm Bank since 2013.

Today, Axcel owns two thirds of European Sperm Bank. Founder and previous majority shareholder, Peter Bower, the executive branch and co-workers will own remaining third of the shares. Annemette Arndal-Lauritzen will continue as CEO and the about 80 current employees can look forward to new colleagues.

“Axcel has for several years followed European Sperm Bank and is impressed by the company’s customer-related services, their relentless focus on high quality, regulative processes and ethical standards. Therefore, we are looking forward to now supporting Annemette and her team in the further expansion in existing European markets and new ones,” says Thomas Blomqvist, Partner and Head of Investments at Axcel.

About European Sperm Bank: 

European Sperm Bank was founded in 2004. Today, the Sperm Bank has about 80 employees spread across offices and clinics in Denmark (Copenhagen, Lyngby and Aarhus), England (London) and Germany (Hamburg).

European Sperm Bank is globally a market leader within its field and has since the beginning helped couples and women across 99 countries. In total, more than 34.000 children have been delivered among 25.000 families (women and couples), and in 2018 alone they had customers from 70 different countries. European Sperm Bank’s focus on security, safety and quality makes the sperm bank a preferred business partner on a global scale.

Source: European Sperm Bank press release

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Mid Europa Partners (“Mid Europa”), the leading private equity investor in Central and Eastern Europe (“CEE”), announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Mlinar d.d. (“Mlinar” or the “Company”) from its founder, Mato Škojo, who will retain a stake in the business. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to complete in Q2 2019.
Andrej Babache, Partner of Mid Europa, said: “We plan to help the Company expand internationally and we look forward to our partnership with Mr Škojo as he continues to support Mlinar’s growth.” Mato Škojo, Founder of Mlinar, commented: “I look forward to working with Mid Europa as a strong and credible partner with an excellent track record in food production and retail.”
Robert Knorr, Co-Managing Partner of Mid Europa, added: “Our investment in Mlinar builds on our strong track record in investing in leading CEE retail and consumer businesses. On the retail side, we believe Mlinar can benefit from our experience in accelerated store expansion execution deployed in Zabka and Profi. On the product side, the focus will be on brand equity enhancement and innovation, as successfully implemented in Bambi, our biscuits producer which was recently sold to Coca Cola HBC. We will also look to exploit synergies between Mlinar’s frozen bakery programme and product development initiatives at our Polish market leader in frozen food, Hortex.”

The transaction was executed by Ratko Jovic, Rustam Kurmakaev and Eugeniu Prodan. Mid Europa was advised by UniCredit (M&A), Dechert and Šavorić & Partners (legal), KPMG (financial & tax) and BCG and Beragua (commercial).

About Milnar : 

Mlinar is the leading bakery retail and wholesale business in Croatia and operates the largest bakery retail network in South East Europe. The company serves pastries, breads, drinks, sandwiches and salads to more than 36 million customers per year through c.220 directlyowned stores in Croatia and Slovenia, and franchise stores across 10 countries. Mlinar operates its own state-of-the-art production and logistics and serves leading modern retail chains, as well as hotels and restaurants from its wholesale operations.

Source: Mid Europa Partners

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Ardian, a world leading private investment house, has announced the acquisition of a minority stake in Rivalis, a leading French network for executive support, as part of an owner buyout (OBO) alongside the company’s management.

The company has reinforced its offering with the website www.petite-enterprise-net, the first service portal developed to answer questions from business leaders. The portal counts more than 9 million visitors per year. In addition, Rivalis has developed Henrri, a software as a service “freemium plus” assistant, in response to key needs of micro-businesses, craftsmen and SMEs, which include budget, invoices, payments and dashboards.

Lionel Valdan, co-founder of Rivalis, said: “With the arrival of an investor like Ardian, we are equipping ourselves with the vital resources to support our growth ambitions, in particular by strengthening our digital expertise and by introducing a targeted acquisition strategy.”

Damien Valdan, co-founder, added: “This is an important chapter in the Rivalis growth story. Ardian Growth is our leading investor and we believe it is invaluable to join forces with a partner who shares our entrepreneurial approach as well as the values our success was built on: human, digital and innovation.”

Romain Chiudini, Director within the Ardian Growth team, said: “Beyond its solid financial foundations, Rivalis has built a unique offer around a previously unseen business model. The founders’ innovative vision and the strength of its management team was a key factor in our decision to partner with Rivalis to help realize its growth ambitions.”

About Rivalis: 

Created in 1994 in Colmar, France, this family business has seen rapid growth, becoming one of the leading supporters of executives of micro-businesses, craftsmen and SMEs in France today. This is thanks to its network of 500 independent advisors and 17,500 users. Rivalis provides business managers with a real-time overview of their company’s financial situation (such as turnover, profitability and forecasts) and enables these individuals to measure the impact of their decisions on areas such as budget, recruitment and investment. Rivalis also offers its clients expert advice to help them improve performance of the companies, to perpetuate the activity and to provide long-term support to the manager.
Source: Ardian press release

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BGF has successfully exited its minority stake in care service provider, The Good Care Group, alongside all other shareholders. Following a period of significant organic growth, the company has been acquired by Sodexo UK.

The Good Care Group offers industry-leading live-in care services which help people live well at home for longer by providing specialist care in the comfort of the home.

BGF invested £2.5m into the group in 2016 to support its ambitious growth and development plans. The capital has been used to drive organic growth through recruitment, marketing and technology – digitalising its processes to better manage care plans and interventions.

The funding also supported the integration of Oxford Aunts, allowed angel investors to exit and incentivised the management team and employees. Shortly after the partnership with BGF, the company received an outstanding rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Following the acquisition by Sodexo, CEO Fiona Lowry and FD Steve Crowther will step down from their roles and provide consultative support. MD Belinda Berkeley and COO Dominique Kent will remain in the business. The exit has resulted in strong returns for all shareholders, which includes a significant number of employee stakeholders.

Fiona Lowry said: “We have achieved a phenomenal amount over the past 10 years, accelerated by BGF’s support and funding. I’m immensely proud of what the entire team has achieved and of their unrelenting commitment to care. I know that they are now looking forward to the next stage of growth with Sodexo. Having worked with private equity companies before, I know that BGF is great to work with – responsive, flexible and supportive. It’s been a pleasure to work with them.”

Will Gresty, BGF said: “When we first met the team at The Good Care Group, it was clear that they were dedicated to driving up standards and professionalising home care. Fiona has built a top rate team around her and developed a sense of employee ownership across the group that has helped deliver exceptional care and growth. We are delighted to see that this has been recognised through the acquisition by a world-leading business such as Sodexo and wish the team continued success within Sodexo.”

BGF’s investments in health and care include Springfield Healthcare Group (Leeds), Dolphin Homes (Portsmouth), Parklands Group (Moray) and Brindley Healthcare (County Donegal).

About The Good Care Group: 

Founded in 2009 by Fiona Lowry, the group provides care to clients around the UK. The business is leading the way in supporting those with medical conditions including dementia, Parkinson’s, MS and Motor Neurone disease – helping to improve their wellbeing and overall quality of life.

Source: BGF press release

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HQ Equita has successfully concluded fundraising for its fifth fund, HQ Equita V (“Fund V” or the “Fund”), with capital commitments totaling €308 million. With the Fund now closed, at a level comparable to its main predecessor fund, HQ Equita remains true to its strategic investment focus.

Established as a GmbH & Co. KG based in Bad Homburg, Germany, Fund V will focus on investments in small- and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) in German-speaking Europe. The Fund’s limited partners include entrepreneurial families, foundations, and select institutional investors, consistent with HQ Equita’s historical investor base comprised of entrepreneurial capital. With investors from both European and non-European countries committing to the Fund, HQ Equita continues to expand its international network.

“Our strategy of developing partnerships to further advance and create value for German-speaking SMEs attracted great interest from investors. We will leverage our team’s deep experience and our broad network to support our portfolio companies’ growth and generate value for both the companies and our investors. With Fund V, we will continue to invest in SMEs, seek to expand our team and advance our strategic development even further,” said Christine Weiß, Partner and Managing Director at HQ Equita.

Since 2017, Fund V has already invested in four attractive companies. The portfolio includes WELL PLUS TRADE (2017), The Packaging Group – consisting of FAWEMA and HDG – (2018), r2p (2018), and EBERTLANG (2019). WELL PLUS TRADE is a specialist developer of protein-based sports nutrition. The Packaging Group is a leading manufacturer of packaging machines. r2p is an international provider of digital systems for public transportation. And EBERTLANG is a leading value-added distributor of infrastructure software for SMEs in German-speaking Europe.

With these four investments, HQ Equita continues to pursue its nearly three-decade long focus on investing in highly specialized small- and medium-sized “hidden champions” in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. By investing in companies with revenues ranging between €20 million and €150 million, HQ Equita is able to provide sustainable growth capital, enact succession planning solutions, and provide the network necessary to develop corporate structures and internationalize the businesses.

“HQ Equita has continued to enhance its profile over the years and remains a trusted partner for growth capital and succession planning solutions for SMEs in German-speaking Europe. With the successful closing of Fund V and the initiation of the generational management change, the foundation for long-term stability and continuity at HQ Equita is firmly in place,” said Dr. Bernd Türk, Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Committee of HQ Capital.

After three successful investments in the last 12 months, HQ Equita will continue to strategically deploy capital in attractive portfolio companies in the German-speaking DACH region.

Source : HQ Equita

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