Tag Archives: Software

Altura raises 3 million euros in funding. AI-driven bid management software changes way of working.

Fortino Capital

Increasingly, government agencies, as well as private and public organisations, are using formal procurement processes such as a Request for X (RFX) to find a supplier for their contract. These processes are known for their complexity and the enormous amount of documentation required of participants. Altura has developed software to simplify the entire process around creating and managing proposals with the help of AI.  In the coming years, this development promises to dramatically change interactions between governmental organisations and companies, as well as business-to-business collaborations. With an investment of three million euros, Netherlands based Altura is poised to change the playing field in the world of proposal procedures.

Matthijs Huiskamp, founder and CEO Altura: “I see inefficiency in how companies and governments do business with other parties. This is because there is so much manual work and unnecessary steps. With the knowledge and automation in our software, those factors are removed and with that there is more room for vision, creativity, strategy and focus. AI plays the leading role in this.”

Matthijs Huiskamp, founder and CEO Altura

Future of doing business

Increasingly, business purchases are being completed through an RFX. In fact, in recent years, we are seeing smaller organisations purchasing through this route as well. RFX deals include a Request for Bid (RFB), Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ) and a Request for Tender (RFT).

An RFX is an orderly step for an organisation to fairly compare all parties. The government is already required to follow this process in the form of tendering. For participating organisations, an RFX is often an expensive and time-consuming process with stacks of documents involving days of manual work.

From a database with insights into previous proposals, Altura can easily form the right strategy, price and text to increase the likelihood of success.

 

3 million euros funding

Altura launched the first version of its software two years ago. When founders Matthijs Huiskamp and Jordi van der Hek started exploratory talks with investors for a new round of growth, Curiosity VC was immediately enthusiastic and interested. Because of their focus on Artificial Intelligence, Curiosity turned out to be the perfect partner. Subsequently, they found a suitable co-investor in Fortino Capital with the necessary international knowledge and experience.

Wouter Goossens, Investment Director at Fortino Capital: “We see that companies are increasingly buying through RFXs. Matthijs and Jordi have the ambition to become category leaders with software to make bid management more efficient and effective. This objective and the speed at which the company is currently growing really appeal to us.”

Wouter Goossens, Fortino Capital

With the growth money, Altura will further improve their software. There will be a significant investment in tech talent to expand the platform.

The plan is to implement more products and provide even more quality support
to create a perfectly streamlined process.

Herman Kienhuis, managing partner at Curiosity VC: “We have researched the whole market in the field of AI in bid software and see that Altura is the best party. They use new AI technologies for finding and analysing tenders and RFXs, for automating time-consuming manual tasks and also as an assistant for proposal writing. This growth capital will allow them to accelerate their product development and commercial rollout.”

 

AI is storming the proposal management market

Bid management is now subject to AI disruption. That means the manner in which big companies do business and how the government spends is going to be changed. In five years, the field of RFX and procurement will look completely different. Altura is using AI to embrace and accelerate that change. All manual tasks will be solved with artificial intelligence and contextual data from companies. That leaves more time for the work that really matters.

The bid management software uses Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and Custom Prompting. Vector database technology and Graph database technology is deployed.

Thus, Altura’s software can support every step, providing a complete proposal process, from identifying new opportunities to project management and data analysis. The software can scrape product data from platforms, very accurately scan information from documents, estimate financial risks, summarize and organise content in a knowledge library. Based on the information found in the documentation, automated actions are created such as a schedule, task list, text for the proposal and other content. This significantly reduces manual tasks.

 

About Altura

Altura is the market leader in bid management software. The software combines data with technology for a winning proposal process. With Altura, teams can make better proposals by getting the right data insights and administrative tasks are automated by AI. Learn more: https://altura.io

 

About Curiosity VC

Curiosity is a Dutch venture capital fund focused on early-stage investments in AI software startups in the Benelux, Nordic and Baltic countries. Curiosity is led by two experienced operator investors, Herman Kienhuis and Maurice Beckand Verwee, supported by a community of expert advisors and portfolio entrepreneurs who are all co-owners of the fund. Learn more: https://www.curiosityvc.com

 

About Fortino Capital

Fortino Capital is a European investment company focused on high growth B2B software companies. From its offices in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, Fortino supports ambitious entrepreneurs and founders.

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Our investment in Mimo: Simplifying global payments and financial management for SMBs

Northzone

We are thrilled to announce our investment in Mimo, the platform simplifying global payments, cash flow, and financial management for SMBs and accountants. We’ve led this €18m round with participation from Cocoa Ventures, Seedcamp, Upfin VC, Fost Capital, and various angel investors including founders and early operators from Stripe, GoCardless, Wayflyer, and Anyfin.

Despite the fintech innovation of the past decades, when it comes to SMBs, payments and cashflow management continue to be a pain point. The processes are usually handled by a director on top of other duties or by a fractional CFO and involve a lot of manual work. Cashflow management is a timing problem and payments management a workflow problem. Beyond that, companies often fly blind, lacking real insights on their actual cash positions and future cashflows, which hampers their ability to properly plan ahead.

Over the years, we have spoken to multiple founders and fractional CFOs and repeatedly come across the time-consuming and fragmented processes SMBs face when managing money. The payer wants to pay as late as possible, while the payee wants to receive money as fast as possible. Without much negotiating power, small businesses are generally tight on cash; their options are to either take out expensive SME loans or pay their suppliers late to preserve and collect cash.

Today, SMBs often rely on a disjointed network of applications, including house banks, SaaS tools, and FX brokers, to manage their finances. Workflows are clunky and companies often keep track of their invoices in their email inbox, spreadsheets, or tools such as Xero. Furthermore, approvals between individuals go through a variety of touchpoints that are not purpose-built, creating unnecessary back-and-forths.

Over the past decade, we’ve seen a wave of neobanks and banks catered to SMB needs (including FINOM, also a Northzone portfolio company). While these banks replace old and unadapted incumbents, the administrative and cashflow challenges remain. In the UK, the average SME is owed a staggering estimated £22,000 in late payments every year.

Enter: Mimo. Founded by Henrik, Alexander, and Andreas, Mimo is solving this problem with their holistic platform that simplifies global payments, cash flow management, and financial management for SMBs and accountants.

By providing a suite of financial tools that bundles the features needed for SMBs to better understand and control their cash flow, Mimo enables businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers to manage finances through a single platform. The platform allows SMBs to pay suppliers with a click, access working capital, and get paid faster by customers, in any currency. Mimo’s credit offering minimises risk and optimises working capital, empowering businesses to send and receive payments on their own terms.

Our Partner, Jessica Schultz, adds, “Having known Henrik for years, we are very excited to partner up with him and his co-founders Alexander and Andreas, who previously worked together at iZettle and know well what it takes to build and win in the financial SMB market. Companies today face a real pain when it comes to coherently managing payments, cash flow, and financing. We believe Mimo’s vision for a true financial management platform aligns well with our thesis. The commercial success Mimo is already seeing today is a testament to the team’s drive and market edge.”

With this new funding, Mimo will accelerate product development, expand its platform, and continue its commercial success. If you’re an SMB or finance professional looking to streamline your financial processes, join the Mimo movement at mimohq.com.

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Guesty Raises $130M To Accelerate Global Expansion

KKR

Global investment firm KKR leading Series F funding round, with participation from Inovia Capital
–  Investment to drive continued global expansion through both acquisitions and organic growth, including broadening the enterprise-level offering to accommodate medium-term rentals, corporate housing, and fully-serviced stays

NEW YORK, April 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Guesty, the leading property management software platform for the short-term rental (“STR”) and hospitality industry, today announced a $130M Series F funding round led by leading global investment firm KKR. Inovia Capital, together with existing investors Apax Funds, BDT & MSD Partners and Sixth Street, also joined the round, extending their support following Guesty’s significant expansion and sustained growth. This new round of funding will support continued development of Guesty’s best-in-class enterprise-level platform for property managers and drive market consolidation to grow the company’s global footprint. Stephen Shanley, Partner at KKR and Head of Tech Growth in Europe; Lauriane Requena, Principal at KKR Tech Growth, and Dennis Kavelman, Inovia Capital Partner, join Guesty’s Board of Directors following this investment.

The STR industry is growing rapidly and is currently valued at $277B. The significant shift in the way customers choose to live, work, socialize and travel, has led to growth in demand for STRs outpacing hotels in every quarter since 2022. To meet these consumer demands and the growth and complexity in the number of properties offered as short-term rentals, property managers increasingly utilize end-to-end property management systems, like Guesty.

Operating in over 80 countries, Guesty is the most comprehensive and easy-to-use platform on the market today. Guesty’s platform provides both enterprise and SMB property managers as well as individual hosts with the necessary tools to manage the entire rental journey, solving some of their biggest pain points. The company’s best-in-class software platform helps property managers advertise and manage their vacation or short-term rental properties, delivering unrivaled guest experiences through a highly intuitive user experience and open API capabilities.

Guesty’s new funding will be used for expansion across the US, enhancing vacation rental offerings with innovative features. Jonah Mandel joins as VP of Sales to lead the expansion. Additionally, Guesty will invest in catering to the European market, focusing on France, Germany, and Spain, while reinforcing its presence in Australia with customer tailored developments.

“Guesty is a best-in-class operator and one of the clear leaders in the property management sector. There has been a significant shift towards the short- term rental market and this investment will support the company as it continues to meet that growing customer need,” said Stephen Shanley, Partner and Head of Europe Tech Growth at KKR. Lauriane Requena, Principal with KKR Tech Growth added. “Guesty’s product is unique in its ability to offer the tools customers require throughout the management process, giving them an incredible platform to continue to expand. We’re pleased to have invested in the business to support this next phase of growth, as they look to the significant opportunity to grow the business internationally.

‘We have been thoroughly impressed with Guesty’s track record in consolidating the STR segment,” says Inovia Partner Dennis Kavelman. ”We are excited to further invest in this category as its importance in the travel sector continues to grow, and we are confident in Guesty’s position as one of the clear software leaders in this area.”

“Guesty has enjoyed astonishing five-fold growth during the last three years. We’re delighted that this has been recognized by top-tier investors KKR and Inovia, and we’re excited to have them onboard alongside our other investors as we enter our next growth period,” says Amiad Soto, Guesty’s CEO & Co-Founder. “The surge in those seeking short-term rentals continues and our platform remains at the vanguard of the industry. As we embark on creating the industry’s first intelligent property management platform, we’ll continue to develop its functionality and AI capabilities to deliver first-to-market features and best-in-class support for our customers.”

KKR is making the investment in Guesty primarily through its Next Generation Technology Growth Fund III, a fund dedicated to growth equity investment opportunities in the technology space. KKR has established a proven track record of supporting technology-focused growth companies, having invested over $21.6 billion in related investments since 2014 and built a dedicated global team of more than 35 investment professionals with deep technology growth equity expertise. The firm has executed several transactions as part of its tech growth strategy, including DarkTrace, KnowBe4, o9 Solutions, Onestream, OutSystems, NetSPI and Restaurant365.

About Guesty

Guesty is the all-in-one platform for short-term rental businesses to automate and optimize every aspect of their operations. With purpose-built technology, industry-wide expertise, and an R&D team of 250+ engineers, Guesty ensures that hospitality businesses can streamline and achieve growth while delivering the best value to guests. With a complete suite of features and 200+ industry partners, including major booking OTAs like Airbnb, Vrbo, booking.com, Tripadvisor, Expedia, Hopper, Google Travel, Home & Villas by Marriot, and many more, Guesty is transforming the short-term rental industry with innovative solutions. Today, Guesty has 15 offices and 750+ team members across the globe. For more information, visit guesty.com.

About KKR

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

About Inovia Capital

Inovia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders to build impactful and enduring global companies. The team leverages an operator-led mindset to provide founders with multi-stage support, mentorship, and access to a worldwide network. Inovia manages over US$2.2B with operations in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Bay Area, and London. For more information, visit inovia.vc.

Media Contact:

Diane McKaye, Si14 Global Communications
GuestyPR@si14global.com

KKR
FGS Global
Alastair Elwen/ Jack Shelley
KKR-Lon@FGSGlobal.com

 

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Verdane partners with global regulatory software leader Corlytics

Verdane Capital
  • Verdane has made a majority investment in Corlytics, the global leader in regulatory intelligence, content and automated policy compliance and attestation, following a process managed by investment bank Baird  
  • This partnership will enable Corlytics to cement global category leadership, accelerating organic growth and M&A 
  • Corlytics growth will build on their strong client base which includes 40% of the top 30 Systematically Important Financial Institutions (SIFI)  

John Byrne, Corlytics’ founder and CEO, commented, “Corlytics has successfully progressed in developing new products to further improve our value proposition to Tier 1e clients globally. This investment from Verdane ensures the continued growing market leadership for Corlytics. We look forward to partnering with the Verdane team and with their experience and expertise, we expect to accelerate organic growth and augment that with M&A activity. As well as investing significantly in our ‘intelligent content’ offering, combining data, software and AI, we will continue to lead the RegTech sector consolidation with more complementary acquisitions, following our recent transactions with Clausematch and ING SparQ.”  

Nils Vold, Partner at Verdane, commented, “Verdane is delighted to back John and his impressive team at Corlytics. This is a centrepiece majority investment from our newly raised €1.1 billion Edda III Fund and we are thrilled that John and Corlytics chose to partner with Verdane against very strong market interest in the business. We are an active and experienced investor in the RegTech sector and we identified Corlytics as the global category leader in its field, helping banks and financial services companies manage their compliance obligations in a complex and fast-changing environment.”   

Sebastian Wintgens, Principal at Verdane, added, “We are excited to partner with Corlytics and look forward to leveraging our expertise in helping European software leaders to grow, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, as well as bringing our international industry networks to help Corlytics continue to thrive and succeed as it expands globally.”  

 

As part of the Verdane investment and partnership, Corlytics is pleased to announce an expansion of its board of directors, adding further expertise to support the company’s growth plans.   

Simon Russell joins Corlytics as Chair. He has almost 30 years of software advisory expertise. Over the last 15 years, Simon led technology investment banking at firms including Nomura and Dresdner Kleinwort and he served on banking management committees. He now works as a Chair and Non-Executive Director at various international software companies.  

Simon Russell, new Chair at Corlytics, said, “I have long admired Corlytics as a real RegTech industry leader. I am delighted to be partnering with John and Verdane to create value through an active acquisition agenda, plus providing Corlytics with wider support on delivering its ambitious growth plans.”  

Trintech founder Cyril McGuire will continue to serve on the Corlytics board as a Non-Executive Director and his Infinity Capital Fund has also invested for a minority equity stake in the company.  

The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.   

Advisors  

For Corlytics: Baird (financial advisor), Dentons (legal counsel), Liberty (management advice), BDO (financial and tax DD)  

For Verdane: Trinity Square (strategic advisor), Burness Paull (legal counsel), McKinsey (commercial due diligence), Deloitte (financial and tax due diligence), PwC (structuring)  

 

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Purple Digital Storytelling Announces Strategic Acquisition of PLANWORX AG

Holland Capital

Amsterdam, Munich,  April 9, 2024 – In a strategic move to transform the landscape of digital experiences, Purple Digital Storytelling (‘Purple’) announces the acquisition of the Munich based agency PLANWORX, thereby initiating The Storytelling Group. This acquisition marks a turning point in the digital storytelling space, offering an expanded portfolio of services that range from the creation of permanent installations to dynamic event-based storytelling.

The Digital Storytelling Universe
Purple, known for designing and delivering world class experience centers powered by their digital storytelling software ‘Hyro’, and PLANWORX, celebrated for their cutting-edge event experiences will jointly deliver unparalleled digital and live experiences, catering to a wide range of global brands and audiences.

The acquisition aims to benefit from the collective expertise of both companies while maintaining their unique identities and strengths. Purple’s design and technological abilities and PLANWORX’s dynamic approach to live marketing and events are expected to create synergistic outcomes, driving innovation, and expanding the industry of digital storytelling.

Joost Rueck, CEO of Purple and Chairman of the Storytelling Group, expressed enthusiasm about the new direction, “This acquisition is a game changer for us. Looking at this from a market perspective, it allows us to serve our customers better because of our increased reach and offerings. It’s a stepping stone to being a global player in digital brand experience solutions.”

Chris Boehm-Tettelbach, founder of PLANWORX: “Joining forces will allow us to establish a full-spectrum storytelling powerhouse capable of addressing every aspect of digital brand experiences from concept to execution. Using the latest technology we bring these narratives to life – in physical spaces, live events or online.”

Ewout Prins, Managing Partner Holland Capital, “The acquisition of PLANWORX is a significant step for Purple in becoming a true global player in digital and immersive experiences. We are happy that we have been able to support this cross-border transaction from our offices in The Netherlands and Germany. We look forward to supporting the team in their growth ambitions and will continue to keep an eye on the market for additional strategic acquisitions”.

Clients of Purple and PLANWORX can look forward to increased capacity, creativity, and services, enhanced by the shared knowledge, technology, and creative drive of both teams. This collaboration is expected to set new benchmarks in the industry, establishing The Storytelling Group’s commitment to be at the forefront of digital storytelling innovation.

About Purple Digital Storytelling

Founded in 2011, Purple Digital Storytelling, based in the Netherlands, specializes in capturing audience’s attention through innovative digital narratives and immersive experiences. Leveraging their Hyro storytelling software, they offer a full suite of services from strategy and design to content production, tailoring each project to its unique client’s and their specific needs. https://www.purplestorytelling.com/

About PLANWORX

PLANWORX, founded in 1987, is a digital creative agency celebrated for their cutting-edge event experiences. By using the latest technology, they bring these narratives to life – in physical spaces, at live events or online. PLANWORX sees itself as an enabler, digital pioneer, and creative catalyst for global corporations as well as medium-sized companies, bridging the communication gap between businesses, employees, and end customers. With a team of 50 people, PLANWORX operates from Munich. https://planworx.de/en/

About The Storytelling Group

The Storytelling Group is home to Purple Digital Storytelling and PLANWORX. With a focus on creating engaging narratives through digital experiences in physical spaces, The Storytelling Group is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of storytelling, serving a roster of renowned global brands, and setting new industry standards. https://thestorytellinggroup.com/

About Holland Capital

Holland Capital has been responsibly and successfully investing in promising Dutch and German SMEs with growth ambitions for over 40 years. The team understands entrepreneurship and fosters an open, sustainable, and professional relationship with the management teams of the invested companies, aiming for mutual growth. With offices in Amsterdam and Düsseldorf, Holland Capital focuses on Healthcare, Technology, and the recently added Agrifood-Tech sector. The firm actively supports Purple Digital Storytelling in both operational and strategic development since becoming a shareholder in December 2020.

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Veracode Embarks on a New Chapter with Appointment of Brian Roche as Chief Executive Officer

TA associates

Company intensifies innovation focus to continue solving customers’ growing software and cloud risk

Burlington, Mass. – April 3, 2024 – Veracode, a global leader in application risk management, today announced the appointment of Brian Roche as Chief Executive Officer. Roche was formerly Veracode Chief Product Officer and his ascension to CEO completes a succession plan through which Sam King will step down after 17 years at the company.

“My tenure at Veracode has provided me with an unforgettable and rewarding experience,” said Sam King. “I have been working with Brian, the leadership and the Board on this transition. I look forward to advising him as well as continuing to champion the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders going forward.”

“Veracode has a history of pioneering the market with leading solutions for managing application security risks. From our introduction of a SaaS-based static analysis solution to our current development of AI-based remediation solutions, we have consistently led the industry in how best to manage enterprise security risk.” said Chris Wysopal, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Veracode. “As we continue pioneering the market in an AI era, I’m thrilled to welcome Brian into this role and thank Sam for her vision and leadership.”

Brian Roche becomes Veracode CEO after serving as Chief Product Officer for the past three and a half years, leading the company’s Product Strategy, Product Management, Engineering and Operations. With more than 25 years in engineering and digital operations leadership roles, Brian brings a wealth of experience in leading organizations through successful tech-driven transformation and innovations at scale. Under Brian’s vision, Veracode staked an early leadership position with the introduction of Veracode Fix and numerous innovations that shorten the time between code production and flaw remediation, liberating developers to focus on critical tasks that drive value and differentiation.

The next frontier for software security and risk management is fueled by rapid AI advancements and the proliferation of cloud-native technology adoption. Under pressure to innovate faster than ever, organizations are leaning on Large Language Models and open-source software to expedite this process. The safe adoption of AI technologies to fuel rapid innovation and business value is exactly the mission the talented and passionate Veracode team is committed to solving for its customers.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside Sam and I am honored to build on the strong position she leaves the company in as the leader in the application risk management market,” said Brian Roche. “We are here because of Sam’s incredible leadership and impact across our industry. We can’t thank her enough and wish her great success going forward.”

About Veracode
Veracode is intelligent software security. The Veracode Software Security Platform continuously finds flaws and vulnerabilities at every stage of the modern software development lifecycle. Using powerful AI trained on a carefully curated, trusted dataset from experience analyzing trillions of lines of code, Veracode customers fix flaws faster with high accuracy. Trusted by security teams, developers, and business leaders from thousands of the world’s leading organizations, Veracode is the pioneer, continuing to redefine what intelligent software security means. Learn more at www.veracode.com, on the Veracode blog, and on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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SunFire Announces Investment From KKR

KKR

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– SunFireMatrix, Inc. (“SunFire” or the “Company”), a leading software and tech-enabled services platform serving the insurance distribution and health plan markets, announced today that it has been acquired by funds managed by KKR, a leading global investment firm. Funds managed by Stone Point Capital LLC, the Company’s previous majority owner, will continue to be a significant minority shareholder in the Company. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240402643144/en/

“We are excited to strategically partner with KKR, given our shared commitment to transforming the healthcare landscape. KKR and Stone Point’s support provides us with unique access and guidance, helping us to continue to grow and serve our customers and beneficiaries,” said David Graf, CEO of SunFire.

“SunFire is a leading, purpose-built platform with a culture of customer centricity and patient focus that we believe is highly differentiated,” said Ali Satvat, Partner and Global Head of Health Care Strategic Growth at KKR. “We have been impressed by what Dave and the entire SunFire team have achieved and look forward to collaborating closely with them during the next phase of the Company’s growth.”

“We are thrilled to support SunFire in its mission to utilize industry-leading technology and best-in-class customer service to create a more seamless and reliable experience for patients, health plans, and its distribution partners,” said Johnny Kim, Director at KKR.

“We are delighted to continue our partnership with David Graf and Kevin Waldman and the entire SunFire team, and welcome KKR, in this next phase of growth for the Company. Over the past three years, SunFire has maintained its leadership position by developing innovative solutions to simplify beneficiary enrollment and to provide critical tools to agents and its carrier clients,” said Nick Zerbib from Stone Point Capital.

KKR is funding this investment through its Health Care Strategic Growth (HCSG) Fund II, which is focused on investing in high-growth health care companies to which KKR can be a unique strategic partner in helping reach scale.

Evercore and William Blair acted as financial advisors to KKR and SunFire respectively.

About SunFire

SunFire is a SaaS technology company providing transformative and proven IT solutions and services to support the rapidly growing Medicare market. SunFire’s core quoting and enrollment technologies enable brokers to compliantly sell Medicare Advantage, Prescription Drug and Medicare Supplement plans within a proprietary cloud-based platform. SunFire delivers innovative post enrollment engagement solutions providing third party verification technology and advocate services, ensuring the beneficiaries intent to enroll, health risk assessment completion as well as the activation of plan benefits. As a mission-driven company, SunFire is deeply passionate about their commitment to improving the lives of the senior community.

About KKR

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

About Stone Point Capital

Stone Point is an alternative investment firm based in Greenwich, CT. Stone Point targets investments in companies in the global financial services industry and related sectors. The firm invests in alternative asset classes, including private equity through its flagship Trident Funds and credit through commingled funds and separately managed accounts. In addition, Stone Point Capital Markets supports our firm, portfolio companies and other clients by providing dedicated financing solutions. For more information, please visit www.stonepoint.com.

Media:
Liidia Liuksila
(212) 750-8300
media@kkr.com

Anne Gilliland
(203) 862-2926
agilliland@stonepoint.com

Source: KKR

 

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SER Welcomes New Investment from TA to Accelerate Growth

TA associates

Bonn, Germany, 21 March 2024 – SER (the “Company”), a leading global Intelligent Content Automation (“ICA”) software vendor in the Enterprise Content Management (“ECM”) market, today announced that TA Associates (“TA”), a leading global private equity firm, has agreed to make a strategic growth investment in the Company. SER and Carlyle, an investor in SER since 2018, welcome TA as the new lead investor.

“We are delighted to welcome TA to SER as an investor and we are proud that they share our perspective on the significant opportunities ahead for our business,” said Dr. John Bates, CEO of SER. “SER is revolutionizing the way enterprise content is automated, understood and managed. We have amazing customers, a fantastic team and market leading technology. We have had an outstanding partnership with Carlyle, with incredible support throughout the journey, and we are delighted that TA now joins us to supercharge the next phase of growth.”

Since its founding in 1984, SER has developed from a primarily DACH-focused ECM solutions provider into a category-defining ICA player with highly differentiated AI capabilities and an increasingly international enterprise customer base. In partnership with Carlyle, SER built out its senior management team, successfully executed a rapid shift to a subscription-first business model, expanded its innovation-led product offering, and entered new markets including the US, UK, continental Europe, and the Middle East, through considerable organic investment and M&A.

Today, SER has over 600 employees across 20 offices in 11 countries. The Company’s technology is trusted by blue-chip enterprise customers worldwide. SER’s flagship product, Doxis ICA (“Doxis”), combines traditional ECM capabilities with AI-enabled services that are designed to bridge and automate content across best-of-breed apps and multiple vendor ecosystems like SAP, Salesforce, Microsoft and more.

“SER’s impressive suite of next-generation ECM solutions help organizations work faster, smarter and more efficiently,” said Morgan Seigler, Managing Director at TA, and Stefan Dandl, Director at TA. “As the demand for AI-powered technologies continues, we believe SER has a meaningful opportunity to support organizations in their digital transformation journey, harnessing the Doxis platform to streamline document processing and content management needs. We look forward to partnering with Carlyle and SER to accelerate international expansion, invest in AI innovation and enhance the Company’s product offering.”

“We are immensely proud to have partnered with SER during such a significant period of growth and transformation for the business,” said Dr. Thorsten Dippel, Managing Director in the Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (“CETP”) Investment Advisory team. “Through our work with Dr. John Bates and his incredible team, the Company has developed into the category-leading, international ICA software vendor it is today. SER is well-placed to continue its success story as an enterprise software player of scale in the large and growing global ECM market. We are delighted to partner with TA as the new lead investor in SER as the Company enters the next phase of its growth journey.”

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

About SER
Trusted by over 5 million users worldwide, SER is defining Intelligent Content Automation (ICA), the next generation of Enterprise Content Management which leverages AI to provide intelligent content understanding and process automation. SER’s highly scalable Doxis platform brings ICA capabilities into a single, unified platform that works seamlessly across multiple applications and vendor ecosystems, such as SAP, Salesforce and Microsoft. Offering many pre-built solutions and user-friendly no-code tooling, SER’s Doxis delivers rapid time-to-value, superior ROI and lower total cost of ownership for next-generation content applications. Headquartered in Bonn, Germany, SER has a well-established market leadership position in DACH and a fast-growing international business with blue-chip customers around the world.

About TA
TA is a leading global private equity firm focused on scaling growth in profitable companies. Since 1968, TA has invested in more than 560 companies across its five target industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services. Leveraging its deep industry expertise and strategic resources, TA collaborates with management teams worldwide to help high-quality companies deliver lasting value. The firm has raised $65 billion in capital to date and has over 150 investment professionals across offices in Boston, Menlo Park, Austin, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA can be found at www.ta.com.

About Carlyle
Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across its business and conducts its operations through three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Global Investment Solutions. With $426 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2023, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,200 people in 28 offices across four continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. For more, follow Carlyle on LinkedIn and X.

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Carlyle-backed SER Welcomes New Investment from TA to Accelerate Growth

Carlyle

Bonn, Germany, 21 March 2024 – SER (the “Company”), a leading global Intelligent Content Automation (“ICA”) software vendor in the Enterprise Content Management (“ECM”) market, today announced that TA Associates (“TA”), a leading global private equity firm, has agreed to make a strategic growth investment in the Company. SER and Carlyle, an investor in SER since 2018, welcome TA as the new lead investor.

“We are delighted to welcome TA to SER as an investor and we are proud that they share our perspective on the significant opportunities ahead for our business,” said Dr. John Bates, CEO of SER. “SER is revolutionizing the way enterprise content is automated, understood and managed. We have amazing customers, a fantastic team and market leading technology. We have had an outstanding partnership with Carlyle, with incredible support throughout the journey, and we are delighted that TA now joins us to supercharge the next phase of growth.”

Since its founding in 1984, SER has developed from a primarily DACH-focused ECM solutions provider into a category-defining ICA player with highly differentiated AI capabilities and an increasingly international enterprise customer base. In partnership with Carlyle, SER built out its senior management team, successfully executed a rapid shift to a subscription-first business model, expanded its innovation-led product offering, and entered new markets including the US, UK, continental Europe, and the Middle East, through considerable organic investment and M&A.

Today, SER has over 600 employees across 20 offices in 11 countries. The Company’s technology is trusted by blue-chip enterprise customers worldwide. SER’s flagship product, Doxis ICA (“Doxis”), combines traditional ECM capabilities with AI-enabled services that are designed to bridge and automate content across best-of-breed apps and multiple vendor ecosystems like SAP, Salesforce, Microsoft and more.

“SER’s impressive suite of next-generation ECM solutions helps organizations work faster, smarter and more efficiently,” said Morgan Seigler, Managing Director at TA, and Stefan Dandl, Director at TA. “As the demand for AI-powered technologies continues, we believe SER has a meaningful opportunity to support organizations in their digital transformation journey, harnessing the Doxis platform to streamline document processing and content management needs. We look forward to partnering with Carlyle and SER to accelerate international expansion, invest in AI innovation and enhance the Company’s product offering.”

“We are immensely proud to have partnered with SER during such a significant period of growth and transformation for the business,” said Dr. Thorsten Dippel, Managing Director in the Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (“CETP”) Investment Advisory team. “Through our work with Dr. John Bates and his incredible team, the Company has developed into the category-leading, international ICA software vendor it is today. SER is well-placed to continue its success story as an enterprise software player of scale in the large and growing global ECM market. We are delighted to partner with TA as the new lead investor in SER as the Company enters the next phase of its growth journey.”

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

 

Contacts

For SER
Maureen Cueppers
maureen.cueppers@sergroup.com

 

For TA
Maggie Benoit
mbenoit@ta.com

 

For Carlyle
Nicholas Brown
nicholas.brown@carlyle.com

 

About SER
Trusted by over 5 million users worldwide, SER is defining Intelligent Content Automation (ICA), the next generation of Enterprise Content Management which leverages AI to provide intelligent content understanding and process automation. SER’s highly scalable Doxis platform brings ICA capabilities into a single, unified platform that works seamlessly across multiple applications and vendor ecosystems, such as SAP, Salesforce and Microsoft. Offering many pre-built solutions and user-friendly no-code tooling, SER’s Doxis delivers rapid time-to-value, superior ROI and lower total cost of ownership for next-generation content applications. Headquartered in Bonn, Germany, SER has a well-established market leadership position in DACH and a fast-growing international business with blue-chip customers around the world.

 

About TA
TA is a leading global private equity firm focused on scaling growth in profitable companies. Since 1968, TA has invested in more than 560 companies across its five target industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services. Leveraging its deep industry expertise and strategic resources, TA collaborates with management teams worldwide to help high-quality companies deliver lasting value. The firm has raised $65 billion in capital to date and has over 150 investment professionals across offices in Boston, Menlo Park, Austin, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA can be found at www.ta.com.

 

About Carlyle
Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across its business and conducts its operations through three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Global Investment Solutions. With $426 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2023, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,200 people in 28 offices across four continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. For more, follow Carlyle on LinkedIn and X.

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TA Announces Completion of Tender Offer for Payroll Inc.

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TA associates

BOSTON, HONG KONG AND TOKYO – March 19, 2024 – TA Associates (“TA” or the “Firm”), a leading global private equity firm, through its fund entity K.K. TA Associates Japan 1, today announced the successful completion of its tender offer (the “Offer”) to acquire all outstanding ordinary shares and stock acquisition rights of Payroll Inc. (“Payroll”), a leading mission-critical, tech-enabled payroll services provider for large enterprises in Japan. The Offer was completed as part of a Management Buyout (“MBO”) for Payroll’s shares in partnership with Tetsuya Yuasa, Payroll’s founder and current CEO.

The Offer, which commenced on January 25, 2024, for JPY1,380 in cash per share and JPY 87,000 in cash per stock acquisition right, completed as scheduled on March 11, 2024. At the time of completion of the tender offer period, approximately 87.87% of Payroll’s shares have been tendered on a fully diluted basis (together with the non-tendered shares and stock acquisition rights, the voting rights of which are agreed to be exercised in concert with TA under the non-tender agreements, 97.17% in total). All of such shares have been accepted for payment in accordance with the terms of the Offer, and TA expects to promptly pay for such shares.

As part of the delisting process from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, TA will over the coming months acquire the remaining shares from minority shareholders through a series of procedures and share purchases. Upon completion of the transaction, which is expected in Q3 2024, Payroll will become a privately held company, with Mr. Yuasa continuing to serve as CEO and joint shareholder with TA.

“Payroll has established itself as a leading technology-first player in the payroll services industry, demonstrating a strong commitment to innovation and an understanding of customer requirements in Japan,” said Edward F. Sippel, Head of Asia Pacific & Managing Director at TA. “With an attractive service proposition and strong market tailwinds for payroll outsourced services in Japan, we believe Payroll is well-positioned to expand its product portfolio and market presence across Japan. We are excited about the completion of this transaction and honored to partner with Tetsuya Yuasa and Payroll’s management team on the next chapter of the Company’s growth journey.”

The payroll services and solutions market in Japan has seen strong growth in recent years as companies increasingly utilize outsourcing capabilities to address staff shortages, streamline the complex payroll process and allow for companies to focus on their core business. Taking Payroll private will enable the Company to further strengthen its product suite and service offering, and allow for the pursuit and execution of strategic opportunities in the market.

“TA shares our vision for growth, and the Firm’s experience and resources make it a strong partner to accelerate our strategic execution,” said Tetsuya Yuasa. “It’s an exciting time to be part of Payroll, with new opportunities on the horizon for employees and customers alike, and we welcome TA for the next stage of Payroll’s business development.”

“We have been deeply impressed by Tetsuya Yuasa’s vision and strategy for Payroll, which has built the Company into a category leader in the payroll services segment in Japan with best-in-class customer retention,” said Taisuke Asada, Senior Vice President at TA. “We believe TA’s resources and experience scaling growth companies will further accelerate Payroll’s growth, both organically and through M&A, cementing its leading market position in payroll services.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

About TA
TA is a leading global private equity firm focused on scaling growth in profitable companies. Since 1968, TA has invested in more than 560 companies across its five target industries—technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services. Leveraging its deep industry expertise and strategic resources, TA collaborates with management teams worldwide to help high-quality companies deliver lasting value. The firm has raised $65 billion in capital to date and has over 150 investment professionals across offices in Boston, Menlo Park, Austin, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA can be found at www.ta.com.

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