– The founders of Grupo Tragaluz-En Compañía de Lobos have reached an agreement with Miura Private Equity, which has acquired a majority stake in the business with the aim of boosting its growth.

The transaction includes the restaurants in Barcelona (acknowledged Tragaluz, Cuines de Santa Caterina, Gallito, Pez Vela, The Green Spot and Negro Rojo); in Madrid (Bar Tomate and Luzi Bombón, among others); and one (Spot) in Mallorca. The restaurants Tragamar, Acontraluz and Mordisco are not included in the transaction.

With a track record of more than 30 years in the industry, Grupo Tragaluz-En Compañía de Lobos is one of the most prestigious restaurant groups in Spain thanks to its quality cuisine, design and unique locations. Tomás Tarruella —co-founder and main driver of this successful project alongside his mother, Rosa María Esteva— will continue to lead the management team in this new phase. Tomás Tarruella states: “we are very excited to count on Miura’s support for this new phase. This partnership will help us to continue growing and consolidating our position in the sector. We will strengthen our presence in other cities and we are equally committed to provide a seamless quality and care to our customers.”

Rosa María Esteva, a restaurateur of renowned prestige highly admired in the sector, will be no longer part of the group and will focus on the expansion of Mordisco, which was the first restaurant opened by the group in 1987. Today, Mordisco operates two establishments: one in Passatge de la Concepció, in Barcelona, and another one that has recently opened in La Roca Village. Neither of these two restaurants are included within the transaction perimeter. Rosa María Esteva comments: “we began our adventure in the business with the opening of Mordisco and it clearly defined the personality of the group. It holds a really special place in my heart, and I am very excited about the recent inauguration at La Roca Village.”

The Esteva-Tarruella family marked a turning point in the Spanish restaurant sector with a ground-breaking model that set a trend and continues to be a national standard. Rosa María Esteva and Tomás Tarruella led this project alongside other members of the family. Sandra Tarruella was the designer of the spaces and interiors that have defined the distinctive personality of the group’s establishments and will be involved in future projects of the company’s expansion. Raquel Tarruella is the owner of the iconic restaurant Tragamar in Calella de Palafrugell, and Carla Tarruella owns Acontraluz in Barcelona. Both restaurants were already independent of Grupo Tragaluz and are not included in the deal.

The transaction was intermediated by Arcano, Baker McKenzie and Deloitte on behalf of Miura, while Next Corporate, Arraut & Asociados and Baker McKenzie advised the shareholders of Grupo Tragaluz-En Compañía de Lobos.

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Nazca Capital has closed the acquisition of Cinelux, the Spanish leader in rental services of lighting equipment for TV shows, series, cinema and events. David Garcia, partner and managing director of Cinelux will lean on Nazca’s expertise in growth projects, both organic and inorganic, to take advantage of the existing opportunities in the audio-visual business.

In this new stage, Cinelux plans to take advantage from the relevant opportunities of the Spanish audio-visual market: the increasing outsourcing demand from the Spanish TV chains, new technological improvements (like the replacement of traditional lighting by LED), and the strong growth demand of series contents from OTT platforms. Thus the company expects to invest in new lighting equipment, in addition to the possibility of growing through the acquisition of other companies in the lighting sector and other technical areas, to create an audio-visual group that offers an integrated service to the TV chains and production companies.

PWC and Pérez Llorca acted as advisors for Nazca and Santander Corporate & Investment Banking for the sellers.

About Cinelux:

Headquartered in Madrid and with 2 subsidiaries in Barcelona, Cinelux is the leader and a national reference player in the sector of rental of lighting equipment for television, series and cinema, with sales of 12 million of euros in 2018 and a highly qualified team. During the last years, the company has registered double digit growth, due to the increasing trend of outsourcing lighting services, as well as its ability to offer the latest and most innovative equipment with the largest lighting equipment base in the Spanish market.

Source: Nazca Capital press release

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Keensight Capital, one of the leading private equity managers dedicated to pan-European Growth Buyout1 investments, announces the acquisition of Infarco’s majority stake in 3P Biopharmaceuticals, a leading Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) specialized in the process development and GMP manufacturing of biologics.

Founded in 2006 and based near Pamplona, Spain, 3P Biopharmaceuticals offers a complete biologics production service, from preclinical and clinical stages, all the way to full-scale commercial manufacturing. – Technologically, the company develops and manufactures both new biological entities as well as biosimilars through mammalian, microbial and yeast expression systems. – Operationally, 3P’s manufacturing facility is both GMP certified as well as EMA and FDA approved. – Commercially, 3P develops tailored solutions for its clients, including cell line development and a complete range of analytical services and regulatory support.

3P provides a comprehensive service which is focused on quality, flexibility and a strong, two-way partnership with its clients. With more than 240 employees and a wide number of customers located in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia, 3P Biopharmaceuticals has successfully established itself as a recognized European CDMO leader. Benefiting from an increasingly international client base, constituted of highly regarded pharmaceutical and biotech companies, the company has experienced a 23% annual revenue growth over the past 4 years.

3P Biopharmaceuticals is strategically well positioned in the biologics CDMO market, which is now one of the fastest growing healthcare segments globally. The market size is estimated to be €10bn worldwide and is expected to grow at 13% per annum from 2018 to 2022. Keensight Capital will support 3P in its next phase of development, notably by investing in 3P’s production capacity, broadening its service offering and attracting further talents. Keensight expects to be able to leverage its extensive knowledge, expertise and network in the CDMO field, in order to achieve these goals.

Dámaso Molero, General Manager of 3P Biopharmaceuticals, stated: “This is an exciting new chapter for 3P Biopharmaceuticals, we are extremely enthusiastic to work hand in hand with Keensight Capital at such a crucial moment for our industry. With their global footprint and their expertise in the biologics field, I am highly confident that the Keensight team will help us reach significant milestones in the coming years.”

Pierre Rémy, Managing Partner at Keensight Capital, said: “3P Biopharmaceuticals has differentiated itself by offering its clients an impressive range of services, being one of the few EU midsized players with commercial manufacturing capabilities. We look forward to partnering with 3P in its efforts to further expand its scale and footprint, while retaining the entrepreneurial culture that helped 3P become what it is today. We are particularly excited to be working with such a talented team of individuals, many of whom have been together since the very beginning of 3P Biopharmaceuticals.”

Sodena will remain a minority shareholder of the company. Alantra acted as advisor to the seller and PwC as advisor to Keensight.

About 3P Biopharmaceuticals : 

3P Biopharmaceuticals is a leading CDMO specialized in the process development and GMP manufacturing of biological products. 3P offers its customers solutions at all stages of development: from initial steps to analytics development, preclinical and clinical phases, and commercial production. Its extensive experience, flexibility and willingness to adapt to client needs – underpinned by the technology and team to pull it all together – is what positions 3P as a truly differentiated company on the international stage.

Source: Keensight Capital press release

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Blackstone (NYSE: BX has announced the final close of its latest global real estate fund, Blackstone Real Estate Partners IX (“BREP IX”). BREP IX has $20.5 billion of total capital commitments — the largest real estate fund ever raised. Blackstone is also currently investing two regional opportunistic funds, the €7.9 billion BREP Europe V and the $7.2 billion BREP Asia II.

Kathleen McCarthy, Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate, said, “This fundraise reflects the excellent relationships we have with our limited partners given the strong results the BREP funds have generated for them since 1991. We are grateful to our investors for their ongoing support and look forward to putting this capital to work on their behalf.”

Added Ken Caplan, Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate: “Despite the challenging investment environment, we continue to see compelling opportunities around our highest conviction investment themes. BREP IX’s scale allows us to commit capital globally in a differentiated set of complex transactions.”

In June, BREP IX committed to its initial investment, the purchase of GLP’s U.S. Logistics Assets for a total of $19 billion, alongside other Blackstone vehicles. This acquisition is expected to close in the coming weeks.

Source: Blackstone press release 

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Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, has announced that it has completed fundraising for Advent Global Technology (“Advent Tech” or the “Fund”), a technology-focused companion fund to its flagship Global Private Equity (GPE) program. Advent Tech exceeded its $1.6 billion target and reached its hard cap of $2 billion after six months in the market.

The debut of the new fund closely follows the completion of fundraising for Advent’s ninth global private equity fund, GPE IX, at the hard cap of $17.5 billion, bringing the firm’s total capital raised in 2019 to $19.5 billion.

In conjunction with the formation of Advent Tech, Advent has opened an office in Palo Alto, California, establishing an on-the-ground presence in one of the world’s leading centers for technology and innovation.

The firm has also expanded its technology investment team by more than 50% in recent months with the addition of seven professionals, including the previously announced appointment of Bryan Taylor as global head of the team. The new recruits bring the total number of technology professionals to 20—located in Palo Alto, New York and London—with plans to further grow the group to more than 25 people in the next 12 months. The team will source, execute and manage technology investments globally for both Advent Tech and GPE IX.

“Advent has a long history of technology investing, and the new fund, office and expanded team represent a deepening of our commitment to the sector,” said Bryan Taylor, a Managing Partner at Advent in Palo Alto. “Technology is increasingly important to all industry segments, and we are excited about the benefits these developments will bring to our firm across sectors and around the globe.” Mr. Taylor, who joined Advent in February, was previously co-head of TPG Capital’s technology group, where he was instrumental in building the firm’s software investment capabilities.

Advent has deep technology roots, having started as a technology-focused venture capital investor in the early 1980s. Since establishing its private equity strategy in 1990, the firm has invested in technology companies with a combined enterprise value of over $14 billion worldwide.

Building on this solid foundation, Advent Tech will continue to focus on growth-oriented companies in a variety of software and data subsectors. It will invest primarily in North America and Europe and selectively in other global markets where Advent has an established presence.

Advent Tech will broaden the range of transaction sizes Advent can pursue in the technology sector. On its own, the Fund will have the flexibility to make smaller investments—from $50 million of equity—in disruptive, high-growth emerging businesses. It will also co-invest with GPE IX in mid-sized to large technology companies, with the two funds together able to deploy up to $2 billion or more in a transaction. The funds will consider an array of transaction types, including minority growth equity investments, public-to-private transactions, control buyouts and corporate carve-outs.

“The new dedicated technology fund, combined with the scale and multisector expertise of our GPE program, allows Advent to invest broadly across the technology landscape—from smaller growth equity transactions to larger tech buyouts,” said David Mussafer, a Managing Partner at Advent in Boston. “This flexibility is vital in the technology sector, as relationships, intellectual capital and opportunities scale up and down company size.”

Advent Tech has already agreed to invest in two companies alongside GPE IX: Definitive Healthcare, the leading U.S. provider of data, intelligence and analytics on the healthcare provider market, and Transaction Services Group, a global company offering business management software and integrated payment solutions to the health-and-fitness and child-care markets.

“These important strategic initiatives strengthen Advent’s technology investing capabilities, positioning us strongly for the future,” said James Brocklebank, a Managing Partner at Advent in London. “We will be able to draw on the tech team to support our activities in other sectors globally, providing greater visibility on technology disruption, enhanced ability to apply technology-driven value creation plans in our portfolio companies and deeper access to digital and technology expertise.”

In addition to Advent Tech and GPE IX, Advent is currently investing its sixth private equity fund focused on buyouts and growth equity investments across Latin America. The 2015-vintage fund, LAPEF VI, is capitalized at $2.1 billion.

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Ardian, the world’s leading private investment firm, together with the Chilean Fund Manager, CMB, agreed to acquire a 33% stake in a Chilean toll road business from Brookfield Infrastructure. The business that is being acquired is comprised of a 100% interest in Vespucio Norte Express and Túnel San Cristóbal in Santiago de Chile.

Vespucio Norte Express is a critical urban express highway in Santiago de Chile with 29 kilometers of extension of a multi-lane road (3X3) with a free flow system, which border the city from the north-east to the south-west connecting two of the city’s wealthiest areas to the industrial side of the capital. Túnel San Cristóbal in Santiago de Chile is a 4 kilometers toll tunnel expressway in Santiago, which includes two uni-directional (2×2) tunnels that connect the district of Providencia with the district of Huechuraba. Both districts are densely populated with consolidated commercial areas. The remaining concession life of these two assets are 14 and 18 years respectively.

Juan Angoitia, Senior Managing Director at Ardian, said: “The Chilean concession system has a long and consistent history of development, fostering very productive and valuable public-private partnerships based on a robust legal framework system. The Chilean concession system has become a cornerstone of the economic development of the country. The acquisition of two key assets in the urban toll road system of Chile’s capital is a strategic milestone for Ardian Infrastructure, a world leading investor in the road sector”.

The transaction is Ardian’s Infrastructure first investment in Chilean transport sector. Ardian is already active in the energy sector in the country. Asset Chile acted as financial advisor and Baraona Fischer & Cia as legal counsel to Ardian and CMB. The closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary regulatory and other approvals.

Source: Ardian press release

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Funds advised by EMH Partners have purchased a significant minority shareholding in LIGANOVA GROUP, a leading company transforming retail spaces into experience channels, and have provided growth capital to support internationalization, expansion of services for retail transformation and digitalization of physical spaces. LIGANOVA GROUP’s founder Vincent Bodo Andrin and Dr. Marc Schumacher, Managing Partner of LIGANOVA and responsible for the operational client business, will retain a majority ownership in the business and continue to manage LIGANOVA GROUP.

LIGANOVA GROUP supports many of the world’s most renowned brands in innovating and executing their retail marketing activities, thereby creating memorable experiences for their customers. “By intensifying digital interactions between brands and customers, we will witness an increase in the importance of the physical live contact,” says Dr. Marc Schumacher, Managing Partner of LIGANOVA. “The digitalization will force retail spaces to reinvent themselves. We are deeply convinced that brand and product spaces as we know them, will no longer exist. The Point of Sale is about to transform into the Point of Experience.”

“The world is radically changing. And so is global consumer behavior. We are entering the perfect storm in retail. This creates a unique opportunity for the business of LIGANOVA as we have always been pioneers in the transformation of commercial spaces,” says Vincent Bodo Andrin, founder and CEO of LIGANOVA GROUP. “We have found our perfect match in EMH Partners. The team, the company’s entrepreneurial approach and its focus on digitalization will help us boost our international expansion plans and our capability to digitalize physical spaces. Moreover, we share the same mission – to transform commercial spaces into phygital experience channels.”

“The experience economy is driving the rising market for brand experience services. We are highly interested in this segment due to its strong growth and enormous digitalization potential in retail and beyond,” says Dr. Thomas von Werner of EMH Partners. “We are also excited about LIGANOVA GROUP’s proprietary software and data analytics tools in order to drive customer conversion, respectively retention, and the digitalization of physical spaces.”

EMH Partners and LIGANOVA GROUP have agreed to keep the terms of the investment confidential. Closing is foreseen in the next months. LIGANOVA GROUP is the sixth investment of funds advised by EMH Partners. Previous investments contain among others: Brainlab, a global leader of software-driven medical technology, Occhio, a German manufacturer of high-quality lighting, as well as Design Offices, the German industry leader in the corporate coworking sector.

About LIGANOVA GROUP: 

LIGANOVA GROUP offers end-to-end and seamless brand, product and service experiences for global brands. The holding company further owns other highly specialized entities: LIGA2037, a consulting unit focused on urban commercial space transformation, LIGADIGITAL, a developer of software and data analytics tools for brand retail, or LIGAPRODUCTION, a full-service production and logistics hub. LIGANOVA was established in 1995 in Stuttgart, Germany, and today employs more than 400 people across four offices worldwide. It is among the leaders in its field, working together with some of world’s most renowned brands.

Source: EMH Partners press release

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Sherpa Capital, a private equity fund manager focusedon investing in medium-sized companies with 250 million euros under management,announces the entry into the shareholding structure of Omega Spice, the leading Spanish company in the production and distribution of dehydrated spices, herbsand vegetables for large food companies.

After Sherpa Capital’s entrance into the capital ofthe company, Omega Spice begins a newstage oriented towards the consolidation and growth of the business through new investments thats trengthen the Company and its positioning along the value chain.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Archena (Murcia), Omega Spice is a leading company in the spice sector with a clear international vocation, generating more than 95%of its sales overseas, of which Latin America represents around 65% of the total.

The Company boasts products and raw materials of the highest quality standards, which are audited and accredited with the strictest food safety and security certificates andwith its own laboratory dedicated to the analysis and validation of its production. Thanks to this strict internal control together with the quality of the product, Omega has among its clients large international food companies, maintaining a long-termcommercial relationship with all of them.

Omega’s CEO, José García, said: “Sherpa’s arrival at our company consolidates our growth project in the culinary food and food industry, where the quality of our products has a recognised prestige and occupies a position that makes us a strategic supplier for the main multinationals”. 

“We are convinced that the experience and support of Sherpa Capital will be essential in the transition of our business model to become a global leader in the sector of spices and dehydrated vegetables forindustrial use.”

For Jorge Fernández Miret, partner of Sherpa Capital, “the entry into the capital of Omega represents a long-term project in a market with great growth potential, where a leading company like Omega has great competitive advantages. For us the project is especially interesting due to the success demonstrated by Omega in growing through exports and thanks to the quality of the product,which we want to continue promoting in the coming years to consolidate Omega as one of the great leaders in its sector”.

The transaction was advised by EY as financial advisor to Omega, Garrigues as legal advisor to Omega and Gómez Acebo and Pombo as legal advisor to Sherpa.

About Omega Spice: 

Founded in 1998 and head quartered in Archena (Murcia),Omega Spice is a benchmark company in the spice sector with a wide range of products including paprika, spices, seeds, dehydrated vegetables, herbs and condiments, exporting more than 95% of its sales.

Source: Sherpa Capital press release 

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