Uncategorized – Page 5

INNOVA CAPITAL SOLD ITS STAKE IN WIRTUALNA POLSKA

Innova Capital, the leading CEE private equity fund, sold its 27% stake in Wirtualna Polska Holding S.A. for PLN 50.00 per share.

In 2014 the Innova Capital fund financed the acquisition of Wirtualna Polska from Orange Polska and its merger with the o2 Group. The purpose of the PLN 375m transaction was to consolidate the e-market in Poland and introduce the group into the e-commerce market segment.

In just a dozen or so months the company underwent a dynamic integration process, strategy overhaul and rebranding. These initiatives gave an immediate boost to the financial performance: 2.5x increase in EBITDA and four-fold increase in market value. Fifteen months after Innova’s investment, Wirtualna Polska Holding became listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the company’s present capitalisation is over PLN 1.5bn, with the share price rising by nearly 70% following the IPO. Thanks to the recent exiting the investment, Innova generated an internal rate of return (IRR) of over 60%.

“Our investment in Wirtualna Polska was very successful: in a relatively short time we have created a leader of the Polish e-market, in cooperation with the excellent team of managers. The new strategy of development and pursuing it consistently has also translated to an above-average rate of return on the investment. This is an excellent example of a Platform+ investment, assuming acquisition of two companies and consolidating them on purchase, leveraging the income and cost synergies effectively and implementing a new management structure,” comments Magdalena Magnuszewska, Partner at Innova Capital.

“The Innova Capital has undoubtedly placed much confidence in us and financed ambitious plans of the Group. I can’t remember any other transaction where a four times smaller company acquires its bigger rival. Then, in short of two years, it consolidates the market by acquiring 14 entities, successfully enters the stock exchange and moves nearly a half of its revenues from the market it has been active on for 20 years to entirely new areas. All this while constantly improving the results and increasing its market value by a few times. This is only possible in Poland. In Wirtualna Polska,” says Jacek Świderski, President of the Board of Wirtualna Polska Holding S.A.

Jacek Świderski, Michał Brański and Krzysztof Sierota, entrepreneurs with a majority stake in Wirtualna Polska, were involved in the repurchase of shares from Innova Capital and now have over 55% votes at the General Meeting of Shareholders. All remaining shares were sold to public institutional investors in the accelerated book building (ABB) process, which was closed today.

About WP Group

The Group owns one of Poland’s two most popular horizontal internet portals called Wirtualna Polska. It also runs the o2 horizontal portal and numerous specialist vertical portals, including in particular a business portal: Money.pl; a sports portal, e.g. WP SportoweFakty, a new technology portal: e.g. Dobreprogramy; entertainment portals: e.g. Pudelek and WP Gwiazdy; health and parenting portals: abcZdrowie.pl and Parenting.pl; and internet radio stations: OpenFM and PolskaStacja. In addition, the Group runs advertising business offering lead generation for internet stores, mostly through portals that aggregate the offers of internet stores (marketplace), in particular Domodi and Allani in fashion, Homebook in the home and interior decoration category, Money.pl and Finansowysupermarket.pl in financial services and wakacje.pl in tourism and recreation. The Group offers its users the possibility of using e-mail free of charge; it also conducts business on the Polish online advertising market offering its clients an extensive range of advertising products: modern display, including video advertising, advertisements distributed by e-mail, advertising for mobile devices and advertising based on a performance model. On 2 December the WP Group launches its latest project, WP Television, available from the 8th landline television multiplex and from SG WP.

LIVINGBRIDGE SELL A MAJORITY OF ITS STAKE IN MORTGAGE FINANCE SPECIALIST ENRA

Livingbridge today announces that it has reached an agreement to sell the majority of its stake in the ENRA Group, the specialist provider of mortgage finance, to Exponent Private Equity.

ENRA lends and brokers short term bridge mortgages as well as distributing specialist second charge and buy-to-let products. Livingbridge first invested in ENRA in 2014 and provided follow on investment to fund the acquisition of West One Loan limited. The business has enjoyed strong growth on the back of its bespoke manual underwriting process that allows it to offer a superior customer centric approach. ENRA is unique in both lending from its own balance sheet and placing loans with external investors via its West One platform, in addition to operating a leading master broker under the Enterprise brand.

Danny Waters, CEO of ENRA, said: “ENRA is well positioned to continue to offer innovative solutions to customers in a market that is evolving at a rapid pace. Over the last three years we have invested in infrastructure and people and it is very pleasing to see the return of that investment. The partnership with Livingbridge has been very rewarding and their support has allowed the business to grow five-fold in just 3 years.”

Shani Zindel of Livingbridge said: “We are very proud of our investment in ENRA. Danny and the team have done a fantastic job. The business has grown from a niche broker of loans to a leading provider of lending solutions – organically and through the acquisition of West One Loans. The investments made in people, IT, sales and marketing have yielded extremely impressive results – ENRA has grown successfully on every level. We are pleased to be able to continue as shareholders and look forward to the next stage of growth.”

CAPITON INVESTS IN NANO-ENGINEERING FIRM, RAITH

About the company

Raith is a leading global developer and manufacturer of nanofabrication systems and software used for printing and scanning nanostructures. Since 1980 Raith has been developing, manufacturing and distributing system solutions for R&D applications to analyze and develop microchip circuits and other nanostructures, for instance in the fields of biochemistry or cybersecurity. The company caters to a global customer base of leading universities, research labs and blue-chip technology companies. Raith has two production sites in Germany and the Netherlands, as well as three distribution units in the US, China and India. In addition, Raith’s regional sales managers are supported by local sales partners across 15 countries. Raith employs around 200 people worldwide, of which 120 are based at its headquarters in Dortmund, and generated sales of € 54 million in 2015.
raith Transaction summary

capiton acquires Raith from the equity capital partner HANNOVER Finanz, who supported the company’s growth since 2002, and will become the majority shareholder of Raith. Financing of the transaction is provided by capiton’s current investment vehicle, capiton V, and banks. capiton is planning to grow the business organically both via international and product expansion, leveraging Raith’s strong market position, as well as through targeted acquisitions, for which additional funds have been reserved in fund capiton V. The transaction remains subject to approval from competition authorities. Buyers and sellers have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction.

CITIC EXITS KING KOIL to ADVENT

PEHub
November 1, 2016
By Iris Dorbian

CITIC Capital Partners has sold King Koil China to Advent International. No financial terms were disclosed. BDA Partners provided financial advice to CITIC on the transaction. King Koil China is a maker and seller of mattresses in China.

PRESS RELEASE

(Shanghai, 01 November 2016) CITIC Capital Partners, the private equity arm of CITIC Capital Holdings Limited, is pleased to announce that its fund has completed the sale of its controlling stake of King Koil Shanghai Sleep System Co., Ltd (“King Koil China” or “the Company”) to Advent International. The investment was made through CITIC Capital China Partners II, L.P., its second China-focused buyout fund. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. BDA Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to CITIC Capital Partners.

Based in Shanghai, King Koil China is a manufacturer and retailer of premium mattresses in China and the exclusive licensee of several international mattress brands such as “King Koil”, “Aireloom”, and “Life Balance” in China. King Koil, a leading US brand founded in 1898, is one of the best-known premium mattress brands globally and is well-recognized by Chinese professionals. The Company is also the leading player in supplying premium sleep products to luxury hotels in China.

CITIC Capital Partners acquired King Koil China in June 2014. Over the past two years, CITIC Capital Partners has focused on growing the Company’s business through expansion of its retail coverage, strengthening its brand recognition, streamlining operational systems and establishing stronger alliances with leading retailers and shopping mall developers by leveraging CITIC Capital’s resources. With the support of CITIC Capital Partners, King Koil China has successfully expanded its business in China market and further enhanced its industry leadership. King Koil China has recently established its first flagship store at a shopping mall in Shanghai and has been voted as the top luxury hotel supplier by frequent travellers.

Yichen ZHANG, Chairman and CEO of CITIC Capital Holdings Limited, said: “It has been our pleasure working with the management and other shareholders of King Koil China in the last two years. Under CITIC Capital Partners’ ownership, King Koil China has demonstrated robust growth and profitability, especially in the key hotel contract and retail sector markets. We believe King Koil will continue to see tremendous growth potential on the back of a solid foundation and the support and resources of the new partner.”

Stephen WANG, CEO and Co-founder of King Koil China said, “We would like to thank CITIC Capital Partners for its contribution to our business in the past and are delighted to welcome such an experienced and growth-oriented private equity firm as our new investment partner. The mattress market in China is large and fragmented, but growing.

With Advent’s support, we will continue to focus on our core competencies that drive growth and operational efficiency, allowing us to consolidate the market and further increase both our footprint and market share in the premium mattress segment.”

king-koil

About King Koil Shanghai Sleep System Co., Ltd.
Established in Shanghai in 2000, King Koil Shanghai Sleep System Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer and retailer of premium mattresses in China and is the exclusive licensee of several international mattress brands such as “King Koil”, “Aireloom”, and “Life Balance” in China. King Koil, a leading US brand founded in 1898, is one of the best-known premium mattress brands globally and has received many prestigious distinctions, including endorsements from the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) and the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER).

About CITIC Capital Holdings Limited
Founded in 2002, CITIC Capital Holdings Limited is an alternative investment management and advisory company. The firm manages over USD7.9 billion of capital from a diverse group of international institutional investors. Core businesses include Private Equity, Real Estate, Structured Investment & Finance, Asset Management and Venture. CITIC Capital currently employs over 200 staff members throughout its offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Tokyo and New York.

About CITIC Capital Partners
CITIC Capital Partners, the private equity arm of CITIC Capital Holdings Limited, operates in China, the United States and Japan, and currently manages USD3.6 billion of committed capital on behalf of over 60 international investors. CITIC Capital Partners’ funds invest globally and work with management teams to help companies realise their full potential.

CAPITON EXITS ZYTOSERVICE GROUP

About the company:

ZytoService is a leading pharmaceutical company that produces parenteral infusion solutions which are customised to individual patients’ needs. These solutions are primarily used in oncological treatment. The company operates state-of-the-art cleanroom laboratories at its principal site in Hamburg, where it focuses on the preparation of pharmaceutical products, tailored to individual patients. capiton invested in the company in August 2008 during a round of growth financing. The company has enjoyed significant growth in recent years, both organically and through acquisitions. Sales have more than quadrupled during the period of capiton’s investment.

zyto About the transaction:

As part of this transaction, which has now been signed and which is still subject to regulatory approvals, capiton is selling its shares in Zyto Service to IK Investment Partners. The parties to the transaction have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction. capiton was advised by Ferber (M&A), Clifford Chance (Legal) and Deloitte (Financial) with respect to this transaction.

LIVINGBRIDGE’S METRONET (UK) ACQUIRES M247 TO CREATE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM

Metronet (UK), the UK’s fastest growing network services provider, backed by mid-market private equity firm Livingbridge, today announces its acquisition of M247, a leading internet infrastructure and hosting company, for £47.5m.

Following the acquisition of M247, Metronet (UK) will be able to offer a combined portfolio of connectivity and content services including wireless network services, datacentres and managed hosting solutions across the UK and Europe.

metronet

Livingbridge invested in Metronet (UK) in June 2014 as part of a £45m secondary buyout of the firm and the acquisition of M247 is the first step in a targeted buy and build strategy that aims to build a disruptive platform in the connectivity space with ‘last mile’ control, speeding up communications to end users, and a powerful transit network across Europe. The combined business will have EBITDA in excess of £12m, over 200 staff and three datacentres.

Established in 2003, Metronet (UK) operates the most advanced hybrid ISP network in the UK and, by combining a unique offering of wireless and wired technology, is able to offer connectivity solutions to corporates and SMEs that are typically implemented five times quicker than traditional fibre and copper based services.

Metronet (UK) currently employs 150 people across two sites in Manchester and works with over 2,500 businesses including Intu, Sofology and ao.com, delivering turnover of £21.5m in the financial year to 2016.

M247 was founded in 2000 by school friends Jonathan Buckle and Chris Byrd, initially as a web hosting services business before David Buckle, Jonathan Buckle’s father, decided to co-invest in the business to purchase a web hosting company named Open Hosting. Open Hosting was then incorporated into Jonathan Buckle and Chris Byrd’s existing business before being rebranded as M247 in 2003.

Today the business provides a wide range of solutions including web hosting, network and data security and 24/365 technical support. The firm operates from Manchester, UK and Bucharest, Romania with clients including On the Beach and Warburtons.

Matthew Caffrey, Partner at Livingbridge, said:

“This is a fantastic step forward for Metronet (UK) as it continues to expand its footprint across the UK and eventually into Europe. This acquisition is the start of a journey to build an international, multi-offering internet service provider and hosting business and we are delighted that M247 will be part of that process. Metronet (UK) has an exciting time ahead as it actively looks for similar acquisition opportunities and we look forward to seeing the business build on its success to date.”

Lee Perkins, Chief Executive at Metronet (UK), said:

“M247 is an excellent fit for us as it provides the scale and reach to build upon our existing momentum and the expertise and infrastructure to provide richer solutions to our combined customers. In addition to further acquisitions of similarly high quality businesses to M247, we are making significant investments in our systems and people to facilitate a smooth integration for our customers and to support further organic growth.”

David Buckle, Managing Director at M247, said:

“We have known the Metronet (UK) team for some time and feel they are a perfect fit for our business. They are the ideal home for M247 and we are extremely excited about what the future holds for our combined businesses.”

FSN’S INSTALCO BOOSTS OPERATIONS IN NORWAY & SWEDEN WITH ADD-ON ACQUISITIONS

Instalco Group, a portfolio company of FSN Capital IV,has continued to execute on its growth strategy by making four additional add-on acquisitions – TIMAB (SE), Rørteft (NO), Dalab (SE) and Installatör AB (SE). The acquisitions are consistent with Instalco’s strategy of establishing a complete national presence in Sweden and strengthen operations in the Oslo area in Norway

TIMAB
TIMAB offers a full service portfolio of HVAC, electrical and heating & plumbing installation solutions for food retailers in the Stockholm area (Sweden). The company was founded in 2004 and has sales of SEK 65 million.

Rørteft
A supplier of heating & plumbing installation services in the Olso area (Norway). Rørteft primarily offers heating & plumbing installation for residential housing. It was founded in 2007 and currently employs 24 people. The company has a turnover of NOK 51 million.

Dalab
Dalab is a leading supplier of HVAC and heating & plumbing installation services in the region around Dalarna in Sweden. The company has 45 employees and offers services for both new projects and modernization. Dalab has a turnover of SEK 93 million.

VVS-Installatör
A heating and plumbing company with over 50 years of experience in the region around Dalarna, Sweden. Operations include installation for new projects as well as modernization of residential buildings, schools and commercial buildings. The company has a turnover of SEK 46 million and employs 45 individuals.

Following the acquisitions, Instalco Group has operations in 3 countries and has estimated run rate LTM sales of SEK 2.4 billion as of July 2016.

LIVINGBRIDGE INVESTS IN CLINICAL CONSULTING BUSINESS FOUR EYES INSIGHT

Livingbridge has invested in the clinical consulting business Four Eyes Insight and will work with the founders to accelerate growth over the next few years. The investment was made from the Livingbridge Enterprise 2 fund.

Four Eyes Insight was founded in 2013 by Dr Henry Carleton and Brian Wells. Leveraging the founders’ clinical experience, the business helps acute NHS trusts across the country identify and implement efficiency and performance improvement projects.The business’s services are in high demand due to the significant funding pressure placed on NHS England. A requirement to find £22bn of annualised efficiency savings by 2020/21 is necessary to overcome the impending funding shortfall. Nearly 60% of the NHS’s budget is directed to acute trusts and as a consequence they are experiencing the greatest share of efficiency saving pressures. Four Eyes Insight’s clinical productivity consulting assists trusts in realising savings.

Drawing on the team’s clinical expertise, the business is able to bring to bear market leading modelling and workflow management techniques for trusts such as The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust, Croydon Health Services Trust and Central Manchester University Hospitals Trust. In each case Four Eyes Insight have helped these trusts and others to achieve tangible improvements in clinical efficiency and reduced patient waiting times.

Four Eyes Insight has worked with more than thirty NHS acute trusts over the last three years and on each occasion has been able to demonstrate lasting productivity improvements which are highly valued by trust management and the regulator, NHSI.

The investment from Livingbridge will see Four Eyes Insight be able to invest further in internal processes and infrastructure and add additional senior talent with a longer term goal to grow the business’s total headcount from approximately thirty to sixty by 2018. There are also plans for further investment in proprietary software and the development of additional services for the NHS.

Following the investment Pete Clarke and Louise Kingston from Livingbridge will join the board.

Dr Henry Carleton, co-founder and CEO at Four Eyes Insight, commented:

“Since our inception just over three years ago, we have worked hard to establish ourselves as a key partner for the Trusts we work with, turning medical productivity plans into an operational reality and helping them to achieve significant efficiency gains and cost savings. Growing our team will now be a primary focus for the business and we are actively recruiting across all areas of the firm as we look to build on the strong momentum we have generated to date.”

Pete Clarke, Partner at Livingbridge said:

“Livingbridge has a track record of working successfully with consultancy businesses and companies working with the NHS so Four Eyes Insight is in our sweetspot. We are very excited about working with such a passionate and well respected management team and see significant growth potential for the business. We will look to invest further in the products, services and software solutions for the NHS, given the constrained funding backdrop and the great work that the team do to help NHS Trusts ‘achieve more with less’”

LIVINGBRIDGE EXITS CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT COMPANY REED & MACKAY

Livingbridge and ECI Partners (‘ECI’) have announced the sale of Reed &
Mackay to Inflexion generating a multiple of 3.4x cost to investors.

Reed & Mackay is a premium corporate travel management company delivering a personalised service through cutting edge technology. Its strategic travel management services focus on law firms, insurance companies, finance houses and the Energy Sector. More recently it has opened offices in Scotland, the US and the UAE. Reed & Mackay also provides an industry leading Event Management service. In the year to March 2016 Reed & Mackay handled nearly 600,000 client travel transactions.

Livingbridge first invested in Reed & Mackay in 2005 before undertaking a reinvestment with ECI in April 2011. Over this period the business has been transformed through investment in people and technology and has delivered consistent, profitable growth. Since the reinvestment in 2011 highlights include:

The client base has grown over 68% (a CAGR of 14%) to nearly 500;
A 97% client retention rate demonstrating the high quality service and value that the whole team at Reed & Mackay delivers daily to its clients;
Total transaction value passed £200m for the first time in 2014 and is set to reach almost £250m in 2016;
EBITDA has more than doubled, growing at a CAGR of 15% over the last 5 years;
Employment has grown from c.250 in 2011 to what will exceed 400 by the end of 2016;
Development of proprietary technology tools including a market leading online booking tool, traveller app and travel risk management platform;
Wholly owned offices opened in Scotland, the US and the UAE, further enhancing the platform for international growth.

The business is now ideally placed to take its market leading service proposition to an increasingly international audience with support and funding from Inflexion.

Fred Stratford, CEO at Reed & Mackay commented: “It has been an enjoyable and rewarding few years working with ECI and Livingbridge to help strengthen Reed & Mackay’s International footprint and to develop the value proposition in line with client demand. We have achieved a huge amount together and now I look forward to working with Gareth Healy, Mark Williams and the team at Inflexion on our next phase of growth.”

Chris Watt, at ECI, commented: “We wish the team every success for the future. It has been a pleasure working with Fred, his team at Reed & Mackay and Shani at Livingbridge, over the past five years and to see the company develop into a world class business that is genuinely differentiated in its field.”

Shani Zindel, at Livingbridge, commented: “It has been fantastic to have been part of the Reed & Mackay growth story over the last 11 years, a period that has seen them flourish as a market leader in strategic travel management for blue chip organisations. We have been proud to partner with Reed & Mackay over this period, and it’s been a pleasure to work with ECI since 2011. We wish the Reed & Mackay team the greatest success for the future.”

CAPITON EXITS FLEXIBLE PACKAGING BUSINESS SCHUR FLEXIBLES TO LINDSAY GOLDBERG AND MANAGEMENT

The Schur Flexibles Group, headquartered in Baden, Austria is a European market leader in the flexible packaging industry. The company was created over the past five years by capiton and the CEO and co-owner Jakob A. Mosser, in the context of a buy-and-build concept.

schur-flex

Today, the group consists of twelve companies with eleven production sites in Germany, Finland, Denmark, Holland, Poland, Slovakia and Greece. In 2015, the group generated sales of almost € 370 million and employed more than 1100 staff.

The product portfol schur-pictures io of the company consists of specialized high value added flexible packaging solutions for the food, tobacco and pharmaceutical markets. The company also covers the entire value chain of the packaging industry, from raw material sourcing to extrusion, printing, lamination and converting.

capiton acquired the first company of the group, CFS Dixie GmbH, in December 2011. The nucleus of the group was then purchased in early 2012 with the take-over of the Schur Flexibles Division (four companies) from Schur International (Denmark). Five further businesses were acquired until the end of 2014 to create the Flexibles business that exists today. In 2014 PS Polymer Sourcing, Warburg Germany was founded as an additional separate business unit.

As part of the share sale signed now, the shareholders of Schur Flexibles have sold their shareholdings to Lindsay Goldberg, represented in Europe by Lindsay Goldberg Vogel, and the management team. The new owners intend to continue the successful buy and build concept through the acquisition of further target companies, some of which have already been identified.