Tag: USA

LIVINGBRIDGE ANNOUNCES ITS EXIT FROM YSC CONSULTING

 

Since its £18m investment in 2013, Livingbridge has supported YSC through a period of significant growth. The YSC management team has undertaken a £72m management buy-out with backing from another private equity firm, to pursue the next phase in its growth strategy. The exit has delivered a gross money multiple of 2.4x to Livingbridge clients.

Headquartered in London, YSC today operates from 17 offices in Europe, North America, South Africa and Asia-Pacific. It has a large and fast-growing practice in the US, the world’s largest leadership consultancy market, with offices in New York, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco.

YSC has built a large and diverse blue-chip customer base of more than 400 organisations of which almost 60 per cent are in the FTSE 250 or Fortune 500. Its global clients include Qantas, HSBC, Diageo, GlaxoSmithKline, Tesco, BHP, Li & Fung and BP.

Livingbridge has a successful track record of backing consultancy businesses, having recently invested in specialist financial markets consultancy Catalyst Development, as well as existing investments in clinical service consultancy Four Eyes Insight, global robotic process automation consultancy Symphony Ventures, and procurement consultancy Efficio.

Commenting on the exit, Liz Jones of Livingbridge said:

“We are incredibly proud of what Robert and his team at YSC have achieved throughout our investment.  The business has continued to deliver on its global growth ambitions, whilst staying true to its mission of delivering market-leading leadership insight and strategy solutions for its international clients.  We feel privileged to have been part of the journey and wish them all the very best for the future.”

Robert Sharrock, Chief Executive Officer at YSC said:

“Our success today has been achieved with Livingbridge’s close support and strategic guidance over the last four years. The business is now in a fantastically strong position and we’re excited about continuing YSC’s journey towards becoming the global number one in leadership consulting”

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.
raithTransaction 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

 

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.

LIVINGBRIDGE EXITS CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT COMPANY REED & MACKAY

 

reed-and-mackayLivingbridge 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.”