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Ardian acquires leading data center platform Verne Global from Digital 9

Ardian

Ardian’s investment will support Verne Global’s management team to deliver an ambitious and sustainable expansion plan across the Nordics
• Ardian will commit significant capital to grow the Verne Global platform while allowing its management team to leverage Ardian’s strong renewables know-how
• Ardian demonstrated again its strong expertise in digital infrastructure with investments across the value chain

Ardian, a world leading private investment house, has signed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of Verne Global, a leading data center platform diversified across the UK and Nordics, from Digital 9 Infrastructure plc (D9).

This acquisition builds on Ardian’s deep expertise in investing and managing assets across the digital infrastructure value chain. Ardian will support the company’s strong management team, led by CEO Dominic Ward, to deliver an ambitious expansion plan in the Nordics, one of the fastest growing regions for data centers supported by low-carbon energy and international connectivity.

Founded in 2012, Verne Global’s Northern European data center platform has experienced significant growth and now includes five data center campuses in London, Iceland and Finland. It provides highly specialised data center services for organisations running high-performance computing (HPC) workloads, notably AI, machine learning and Large Language Models (LLM).

Sustainability is at the heart of the company’s mission to help customers cost-effectively scale their digital infrastructure while reducing their carbon footprint. The majority of its data centers are powered by renewable energy.

Closing of the transaction is subject to the receipt of merger control and foreign direct investment clearance which is expected by the end of Q1 2024.
“Verne Global has pioneered a sustainable approach to data centre management, using renewable energy and re-purposing existing sites to minimise its environmental impact. Ardian’s investment will support the strong management team at Verne Global to deliver an ambitious plan for its next stage of growth. With Ardian’s support, Verne is well positioned to capitalise on global digitalisation trends such as the accelerating use of AI and machine learning.” Gonzague Boutry, William Briggs & Pauline Thomson, Infrastructure team, Ardian

“Verne Global continues Ardian’s strategy of investing in a balanced portfolio of infrastructure with scope for growth and attractive returns. This transaction further illustrates the capability of the Infrastructure team at Ardian to invest in large digital infrastructure assets in Europe. We look forward to working with the management team to deliver on the significant potential of the Verne Global platform.” Juan Angoitia Grijalba & Benoît Gaillochet, Co-Heads of Infrastructure Europe, Ardian

“We are absolutely delighted to become part of the Ardian platform, which has a team with deep expertise in digital infrastructure that will help accelerate our ambitious expansion plans across the Nordics. Verne aims to deliver sustainable data center solutions that enable organisations to cost-effectively scale their digital infrastructure while reducing their environmental impact. We are hugely excited to be working with Ardian and believe that we have the perfect partner to help power our future. “ Dominic Ward, CEO, Verne Global

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $156bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,470 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks, family offices and private institutional investors worldwide. Ardian’s main shareholding group is its employees and we place great emphasis on developing its people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our 1,050+ employees, spread across 19 offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility.
At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last.

ardian.com

PRESS CONTACT

ARDIAN

HEADLAND

ardian@headlandconsultancy.com

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Eurazeo and Efeso Partners have signed an agreement to welcome Towerbrook Capital Partners as a reference shareholder in Efeso Management Consultants

Eurazeo

Eurazeo Small-mid buyout1 strategy , together with the Partners of EFESO announce today they have signed an agreement with TowerBrook Capital Partners to become a reference shareholder in EFESO Management Consultants, a leading international consulting pure player in operations strategy and performance improvement. Eurazeo has been supporting the company as a majority shareholder since 2019 and will be reinvesting through its successor fund, as part of a co-control framework with TowerBrook Capital Partners. The EFESO Partners will consolidate their shareholding in the company, with over 65 Partners substantially reinvesting their proceeds. Additionally, there are plans to open the capital pool to more than 100 Principals and Managers. The transaction remains notably subject to applicable regulatory approvals.

Under the terms of this agreement, EFESO Management Consultants would be valued at approximately €450 million. Eurazeo’s invested capital would yield a cash-on-cash multiple of approximately three times and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 24%. Upon closing of this transaction, approximately €90m would be returned to Eurazeo balance sheet net of reinvestment.

Active in 70 countries, EFESO works side-by-side with its clients – from global premier brands to mid-sized organizations, privately-owned growing businesses, and Private Equity – to accelerate their transformation and future-proof their operations, relying both on its consulting services and the group’s one-stop-shop operational excellence SaaS platform, Solvace.

Over the last five years, EFESO has tripled in size, generating over €200m in revenue in 2023. The group has reinforced its leading position across operations strategy and performance improvement, while simultaneously pursuing its international expansion, achieving strong organic growth accelerated by a proven buy & build strategy. These have allowed EFESO to reach critical mass in the DACH and US markets, while reinforcing its positions in key industries as well as Private Equity. EFESO has also significantly strengthened its capabilities in product costing, innovation to industrialization, value engineering and decarbonation.

EFESO Management Consultants’ teams, Eurazeo and TowerBrook share the ambition of further amplifying the group’s international growth, capitalising on its pure player positioning and its growing blue chip client base. Its position as a leading international pure player aims to continue to attract the best talents in the industrial operations world.

This new chapter will aim to further boost the growth of Solvace, EFESO’s fast expanding SAAS scale-up that brings digital power to Operational Excellence.

EFESO will be able to leverage TowerBrook and Eurazeo’s extensive global networks, as well as TowerBrook’s deep sectoral expertise in capital light service providers such as management consultants, technology, network operators, distribution, and outsourcing companies. Eurazeo will be investing approximately €115 million in equity in this new transaction, and more than €290m together with TowerBrook and EFESO Partners.

 

Bruno Machiels, co-CEO of EFESO Management Consultants, declared:

“EFESO grew substantially thanks to the quality of our talents reinforced by new outstanding teams. Our current performance shows that clients value more and more the tangible results we realise and anchor together with them, exploiting our deep expertise. We welcome TowerBrook and Eurazeo as strong partners to continue our growth journey.”

 

Luca Lecchi, co-CEO of EFESO Management Consultants, declared:

“During the last years our passionate consultants (including many new talents and teams) have significantly increased the breadth and the depth of our capabilities to better serve our customers. Together with our current and new financial partners we are excited to further strengthen our position of leading international pure player in operations strategy and performance improvement covering major industrial sectors.”

 

Jean Rollier and Fahd Elkadiri, Managing Directors, TowerBrook Capital Partners, declared:

“We are proud to be investing in EFESO and partnering with Eurazeo and the management team. EFESO’s expertise, its strong positioning in its core markets and the quality of its people and management team were the main factors influencing our investment decision. We are confident there continue to be important growth opportunities for the company, and we very much look forward to supporting the business in its next phase of growth with the full contribution of our global TowerBrook eco-system.”

 

Pierre Meignen, Managing Director – Small-mid buyout, at Eurazeo said:

“We are proud of the strong partnership we have created with EFESO’s management team over the last four years, and we are thrilled to renew this collaboration while welcoming TowerBrook onboard. We see significant opportunities for the group in the coming years, in Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific. We believe EFESO perfectly fits the strategy of Eurazeo PME-IV.”

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1 – Part of the Eurazeo Mid Cap company

Information – Individual investors

Eurazeo Investment Manager (EIM) and Eurazeo Mid Cap (EMC) are merging to form Eurazeo Global Investor (EGI)

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Oribi Group and Bouwpas join forces in strategic combination

Main Capital Partners

Oribi Group strengthens its market position as an Identity & Access Management software provider through the strategic acquisition of Bouwpas.

By joining forces with Bouwpas, Oribi will be able to offer a broader range of solutions regarding access control on construction sites, thus strengthening its position in the construction sector, one of the group’s strategic end-markets.

Bouwpas specializes in solutions for registration, access management, onboarding and compliance, responding to safe and fair working on construction sites. Since partnering with software investor Main Capital Partners in 2021, Bouwpas is the Oribi Group’s fourth add-on acquisition.

Bouwpas, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Haarlem, offers a digital platform for labor registration and access control on construction sites. The company has a strong market position within the Dutch construction industry and currently serves a total of more than 70 main contractors as well as numerous subcontractors. With many integrations and partnerships, Bouwpas enables its customers to comply with increasing laws and regulations by means of ID, certificate and access control, among other things. Bouwpas makes the construction site a fairer and safer place, while simultaneously reducing administrative workload and overhead costs.

Leading IAM specialist

Bouwpas’ extensive compliance and access control knowledge and capabilities align seamlessly with Oribi’s existing offering of scalable identity and access management solutions. The combination increases Oribi’s market position in the construction industry where identity and access management has become even more essential in recent years due to increasing security measures and the importance of compliance and data protection.

Earlier this year, Oribi already joined forces with Certwell, a specialist in certificate management in sectors such as construction, energy and logistics. Oribi Group customers are now provided with an even more attractive product offering through the complementary solutions of Oribi and Bouwpas that result in a one-stop shop in identity and access management.

Ivo van Deudekom, Investment Director at Main: “Due to increasing requirements regarding security and compliance, the identity and access management market has been growing strongly for years. We see many opportunities for Bouwpas as part of the Oribi Group to further grow into an even bigger household name within the construction industry. There are also concrete growth opportunities in adjacent markets where there is also a huge demand for access control & compliance solutions driven by laws & regulations, such as infrastructure but also healthcare, for example. Finally, we see commercial growth opportunities in the combination of Bouwpas and Certwell, the company Oribi added to the group earlier this year.”

Daan Verkaik, co-founder at Bouwpas: “Bouwpas has now attained a strong market position within the construction sector, but we are not there yet. We still see vast opportunities for the entire construction sector to become compliant with our scalable solution. We also see great opportunities to expand further, both internationally and in other adjacent sectors. By partnering with Oribi and with Main’s involvement, we can achieve this ambition faster.”

Henk de Kort, CEO at Oribi: “The combination between Oribi and Bouwpas is another milestone in our growth and expands our position as a leading provider of identity and access management solutions. We are very excited about the collaboration with the Bouwpas team, with whom we will be working in the coming years. We can’t wait to better serve our customers’ needs for identity and access management solutions.”

We see many opportunities for Bouwpas as part of the Oribi Group to further grow into an even bigger household name within the construction industry.

– Ivo van Deudekom, Investment Director at Main

About

Oribi Group

The Oribi Group offers modern solutions that allow identities of, for example, visitors, customers and employees to be securely and efficiently verified and the corresponding authorizations then managed. With offices in Oisterwijk and Houten, Oribi has over 50 employees serving a total of more than 500 customers. About half of these are municipalities, but Oribi also serves customers in multiple sectors including the flex industry, education, construction and healthcare.

Bouwpas

Bouwpas was founded in 2014 and is based in Haarlem. The company offers a digital platform ‘Bouwpas’ for labor registration and access control on construction sites, which enables contractors to easily comply with laws and regulations. The Bouwpas software works in three domains (fair, safe and access) and is currently offered to more than 70 main contractors within the construction industry.

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New Mountain Capital Announces Majority Growth Investment in Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI)

New Mountain Capital

Leading Growth-Oriented Investment Firm to Accelerate BMI’s Growth Plan to Drive Increased Distributions and Enhanced Services for its Affiliates

BMI Affiliates to Receive $100 Million of Sale Proceeds Following Transaction Closing

New York, NY – November 21, 2023 – New Mountain Capital, LLC, (“New Mountain”) a leading growth-oriented investment firm with over $45 billion in assets under management, announced today that it will lead a shareholder group to acquire Broadcast Music Inc. (“BMI”), the world’s largest performing rights organization (“PRO”). Headquartered in New York, BMI protects the rights of and advocates for more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers and music publishers (“affiliates”). BMI secures royalties for its affiliates by offering licenses to businesses for the performing rights in 22.4 million musical works. Mike O’Neill, BMI’s President & CEO, will continue to lead the company, along with his leadership team, following the closing.

New Mountain will acquire the company from the shareholders who own BMI today. New Mountain has also reserved additional capital to fund growth investments, new ventures and technology enhancements to help accelerate BMI’s long-term plan to maximize distributions for its affiliates and improve the service it provides to songwriters, composers and publishers.

As part of the agreement, and in recognition of the creativity of the songwriters, composers and publishers they have had the privilege to represent, BMI’s current shareholders will allocate $100 million of the proceeds of the sale to affiliates shortly after the transaction closing. The allocation of those funds, while not a distribution of royalties, will be in keeping with the company’s distribution methodologies, which are based on performance levels over a set period of time. BMI will work to finalize an equitable payout plan for this allocation in the coming months.

“Today marks an exciting new chapter for BMI that puts us in the best possible position to stay ahead of the evolving industry and ensure the long-term success of our music creators,” said Mike O’Neill, BMI President & CEO. “New Mountain is an ideal partner because they believe in our mission and understand that the key to success for our company lies in delivering value to our affiliates. We are excited about the many ways New Mountain will accelerate our growth plan, bringing new vision, technological expertise and an outstanding track record of strengthening businesses, all of which will help us build an even stronger future for BMI and our songwriters, composers and publishers.” He added, “I would also like to thank the BMI Board of Directors and BMI’s shareholders for their excellent stewardship and unwavering support of our creative community since the company’s founding in 1939.”

“BMI has been a trusted guide and champion of music creators from the beginning, and we are privileged to work with the company and its 1.4 million affiliates to build on that incredible legacy,” said Pete Masucci, Managing Director at New Mountain. “There are numerous growth opportunities ahead for BMI with significant potential to generate more value for the work of its songwriters, composers and publishers. We look forward to working together alongside Mike and his team to capitalize on those opportunities for the benefit of all BMI stakeholders.”

“While the music industry has undergone a technology-driven transformation over the past two decades, music infrastructure, including the performing rights ecosystem has been slower to transform,” said Mike Oshinsky, Director at New Mountain. “There is tremendous opportunity to modernize this critical part of music infrastructure and ensure that long term royalty collections for songwriters, composers and publishers continue to grow. With our support, BMI is ideally positioned to drive this transformation as the only PRO in the world to combine an open-door policy to all music creators with the innovation and commercial drive of a for-profit business.”

Growth Plan to Accelerate Value for Affiliates

New Mountain’s motto is “building great businesses,” and it brings to BMI significant experience partnering with management teams to grow and add value to the benefit of all constituents. The firm has added or created nearly 69,000 jobs, net of job losses across all of its current and past portfolio companies, has invested over $7 billion into research and development, software, and capital expenditures and generated an estimated $79 billion of enterprise value gains.

New Mountain’s growth investment in BMI will accelerate the company’s ambitious value creation plan, which has three core tenets:

  1. First, to continue to grow cash distributions for its affiliates, as it has always done.
  2. Second, to invest in next generation technology platforms and new service offerings that will improve royalty collections, enhance BMI’s customer service, and deliver the best possible experience for its affiliates.
  3. Third, to add new revenue streams driven by organic growth investments and M&A opportunities, with an initial focus on improving general licensing royalty collections, international partnerships and new service offerings. New growth investments will create additional opportunities for distribution income for its affiliates.

New Mountain’s investment does not change the distribution targets previously communicated, which is the same approach the company followed in calendar year 2023 and which it will follow moving forward. For the calendar year, BMI targeted a payout of 85% of its licensing revenues and delivered +11% growth in cash distributions to affiliates over 2022’s distributions, which were reflective of the company’s prior not-for-profit model.

The transaction is subject to approval by BMI shareholders and customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close by the end of Q1 2024. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisor to BMI and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP served as its legal advisor. Moelis & Company served as financial advisor to New Mountain, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, LLP served as its legal advisor. As part of New Mountain’s investment, CapitalG will also invest a passive minority stake in BMI.

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About New Mountain Capital

New Mountain Capital is a New York-based investment firm that emphasizes business building and growth, rather than debt, as it pursues long-term capital appreciation. The firm currently manages private equity, credit and net lease investment strategies with over $45 billion in assets under management. New Mountain seeks out what it believes to be the highest quality growth leaders in carefully selected industry sectors and then works intensively with management to build the value of these companies. For more information on New Mountain Capital, please visit https://www.newmountaincapital.com/.

About BMI
Celebrating over 80 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in over 22.4 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI’s repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com, follow us on X and Instagram @BMI or stay connected through Broadcast Music, Inc.‘s Facebook page. Sign up for BMI’s The Weekly™ and receive our e-newsletter every week to stay up to date on all things music.

Media Contacts

BMI

Liz Fischer

lfischer@bmi.com

New Mountain Capital

Josh Clarkson/Aiden Woglom/Anne Hart

Pro-newmountain@prosek.com

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Strong results confirm strategy of value creation through growth

GIMV
  • The positive growth of our companies and value creation via exits lead to strong portfolio return of 13.3% in the first half of the year
  • Sustained growth of portfolio to more than EUR 1.6 billion
  • Net profit of more than EUR 150 million increases the equity value per share to EUR 51.3

CEO Koen Dejonckheere about these half-year results:

“The first half of the current financial year proves the success of our strategy of value creation through growth. After a cautious recovery in the second half of the previous year, our companies again realize a strong growth in the first half of 2023. They clearly are fulfilling their role as the leaders and innovators of our economy. Thanks to decreasing input prices, our companies have succeeded in recording double-digit growth in profitability. Moreover, Gimv has also achieved significant capital gains via exits in challenging market conditions. As a result, we are reaping the benefits of a successful execution of our growth strategy.

The strong portfolio result has produced a significant net profit, leading to an increase in Gimv’s equity to over EUR 51 per share.”

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Main Capital Partners announces the sale of its majority stake in GBTEC to Carlyle

Main Capital Partners

Global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) announced today a majority investment in GBTEC Software AG and affiliates (“GBTEC”), a leading provider of business process management (BPM) and governance, risk and compliance (GRC) software.

Global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) announced today a majority investment in GBTEC Software AG and affiliates (“GBTEC”), a leading provider of business process management (BPM) and governance, risk and compliance (GRC) software. GBTEC’s founder and CEO Gregor Greinke will remain the largest private shareholder and CEO of GBTEC. As part of the transaction, co-founder Marc-Oliver Stromberg and the extended GBTEC management team are reinvesting and investing respectively for significant stakes in the company. Main Capital Partners, which has supported GBTEC as a specialized software investor since 2019, has sold its stake in GBTEC as part of the transaction. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed.

GBTEC is a leading provider of SaaS software in the market segments of intelligent Business Process Management (iBPM), Digital Process Automation (DPA) and Process Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC). The company is differentiated by its modern and user-friendly products, which are driven by no-code and low-code technologies, and its state-of-the-art product platform. GBTEC’s products are commended by leading technology analysts. The company has over 1,200 customers, including many European and international blue-chip enterprises as well as public institutions, and employs around 300 people. In addition to its home markets of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the company has established branches in Spain and Australia.

Carlyle will work with GBTEC’s management team to further accelerate the company’s international expansion and further develop its product portfolio, particularly in the area of digital process automation. The company plans to make significant investments particularly in sales & marketing and artificial intelligence.

Equity for the investment will be provided by Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (“CETP”) V, a €3 billion fund which invests in technology companies across Europe. Carlyle will leverage its longstanding track record of internationalising European software companies, including current portfolio companies SER Group, Shopware, CSS, 1E, Phrase and Hack The Box.

Gregor Greinke, founder and CEO of GBTEC, said: “With our modern and user-friendly products we have become a leading BPM and GRC SaaS provider in Europe in recent years. With Carlyle’s investment, we are now entering the next phase of GBTEC’s growth journey. We believe Carlyle, one of the leading technology investors, is the perfect partner to support us in realizing our growth ambitions. We would like to thank Main Capital Partners for the excellent cooperation and partnership over the last four years.”

Michael Wand, Managing Director and Co-Head of the CETP investment advisory team, said: “GBTEC is well placed to benefit from one of the most important technology trends, digital transformation and, specifically, the automation of business processes. We are excited that Gregor Greinke and his team have decided to partner with us. We believe that with our more than 20 years’ of experience in infrastructure software investments and supporting the internationalisation of European software companies, we can be a key contributor to GBTEC’s growth into a global market leader.”

Sven van Berge Henegouwen, Managing Partner at Main Capital Partners, said: “GBTEC‘s performance over the last years has been impressive and the time spent with the management on strategic initiatives such as internationalization and product expansion has been extremely exciting. We believe Carlyle is investing in a well-positioned company with strong prospects for the future.”

GBTEC‘s performance over the last years has been impressive and the time spent with the management on strategic initiatives such as internationalization and product expansion has been extremely exciting.

– Sven van Berge Henegouwen, Managing Partner at Main Capital Partners

About

GBTEC Group

GBTEC is a leading provider of SaaS software in the areas of Business Process Management (BPM) and Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC). GBTEC’s product portfolio covers the areas of Business Process Design & Modelling, Process Execution, Process Mining and Process Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) from a single vendor. The company differentiates through its modern and user-friendly products, driven by no-code and low-code technologies and a state-of-the-art product platform. Customers also benefit from expert customer support and a comprehensive range of training courses in the areas of BPM and GRC. GBTEC’s products are used by companies of all sizes, from SMEs to Fortune 500 enterprises, and public institutions. Headquartered in Bochum, Germany, the company employs approximately 300 people at locations in Germany, Spain and Australia.

Carlyle

Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Global Investment Solutions. With $382 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 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. Follow Carlyle on X @OneCarlyle.

 

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Blackstone to Acquire Civica

Blackstone

LONDON, UK – November 22, 2023 – Blackstone (NYSE: BX), the world’s largest alternative asset manager, announced today that private equity funds managed by affiliates of Blackstone (“Blackstone”) have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Civica, a global leader in public sector software solutions, from Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, acting on behalf of its clients. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Civica was founded in 2001 and has since grown into one of the UK’s largest software companies and a global leader in software for the public sector, providing mission-critical automating and streamlining technology services to clients that range from local to central and federal government, health and social care providers and education. Its wide-ranging product portfolio includes workflow and automation, risk and compliance, workforce management, financial management, and data analytics and insights. Civica is recognized for its high customer retention rates and benefits from strong recurring revenues. Today, Civica has over 6,000 customers, servicing more than 100 million citizens across the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, the United States and Canada.

Civica has benefited from the strong growth of the Government Technology space, powered by the ongoing digitalization of the public sector and long-term investments made by governments to improve their technology capabilities and the services they offer to their constituents.

“Civica is a leader in the ‘GovTech’ space, with an excellent brand and an enviable market position and we are excited to be partnering with a stellar management team to help the business in this next phase of growth. This investment is a testament to our long-standing software experience, a significant focus area for the firm globally, and builds on our strong track record of investing here in the UK,” said Jonathan Murphy, a Managing Director at Blackstone and Miguel García Gómez, a Principal at Blackstone.

“At Civica, our aspiration is to be a ‘GovTech’ champion, providing software that supports the needs of citizens and those that serve them. In partnership with Partners Group, we have significantly transformed our offering and increased growth momentum across cloud, digital enablement, software innovation, and data analytics. We have also cemented our position as an innovation leader. We now have over two decades of growth to build on and look forward to the next phase of our journey,” commented Lee Perkins, Chief Executive Officer at Civica.

The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2024, subject to regulatory approvals. Blackstone was advised by Barclays as lead financial advisor and DC Advisory as secondary financial advisor. Partners Group was advised by Clifford Chance and Arma Partners. Arma Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Civica and Management was advised by Travers Smith and Wyvern Partners.

Media Contacts

Blackstone
Rebecca Flower
Rebecca.Flower@blackstone.com
+44 (0)7918 360372

Civica
Fintan Hastings
press@civica.co.uk

About Blackstone 
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors. We do this by relying on extraordinary people and flexible capital to help strengthen the companies we invest in. Our over $1 trillion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis.  Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

About Civica Group
We’re Civica and we make software that helps deliver critical services for citizens all around the world. From local government to central government, to education, to health and care, over 5,000 public bodies across the globe use our software to help provide critical services to over 100 million citizens. Our aspiration is to be a GovTech champion everywhere we work around the globe, supporting the needs of citizens and those that serve them every day. www.civica.com

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Partners Group to sell Civica, a global provider of cloud software solutions for the public sector

Partners Group

Zug, Switzerland; 22 November 2023

  • Over 6,000 organizations use Civica’s solutions to deliver critical services
  • Civica has high customer retention rates and benefits from strong recurring revenues
  • Partners Group acquired Civica in 2017 and transformed it into a pure software business

Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, acting on behalf of its clients, has agreed to sell Civica (or “the Company”), a global provider of cloud software solutions for the public sector, to Blackstone.

Headquartered in the UK, Civica provides cloud software solutions to over 6,000 organizations across seven countries that deliver critical services to citizens. Civica’s solutions are designed to help public bodies, including local councils, government departments, health and social care providers, and schools, operate more effectively through automating and streamlining services. The Company has a comprehensive product portfolio covering workflow and automation, risk and compliance, workforce management, financial management, and data analytics and insights. Given Civica’s role in supporting the delivery of critical services, the Company maintains high customer retention rates and benefits from strong recurring revenues. Civica is well-positioned to continue capitalizing on broad growth trends within the software market as organizations look to further digitize to provide better services and save money.

Partners Group acquired Civica in 2017 and has since transformed the Company into a pure software business, pivoting away from its previous services such as IT management. This has driven Civica’s strong growth, with EBITDA doubling since Partners Group’s investment. During Partners Group’s ownership, Civica has accelerated organic topline growth, developed a cloud offering, built out its offshore R&D operations, and executed 24 highly complementary add-on acquisitions. Together with the management team, Partners Group has also defined overarching functional priorities that will guide Civica’s next phase of growth.

Bilge Ogut, Partner, Head Private Equity Technology Industry Vertical, Partners Group, says: “We have been on a transformational journey with Civica, and we are very proud of where the business stands today. Our value creation plan centered around moving Civica in the direction of a pure software solutions business and embracing the shift to cloud, which is important for its client base. The Company will continue to benefit from being the trusted party for digital transformation for its clients, with whom it has deep relationships as a partner of choice. We believe Civica has strong foundations from which to further build on its success.”

Lee Perkins, Chief Executive Officer, Civica, comments: “At Civica, our aspiration is to be a ‘GovTech’ champion, providing software that supports the needs of citizens and those that serve them. In partnership with Partners Group, we have significantly transformed our offering and increased growth momentum across cloud, digital enablement, software innovation, and data analytics. We have also cemented our position as an innovation leader. We now have over two decades of growth to build on and look forward to the next phase of our journey.”

Charles Rees, Member of Management, Private Equity Technology Industry Vertical, Partners Group, adds: “The thematic trends that underpinned our original investment in Civica remain strong. Civica’s mission-critical and deeply specialized solutions, which are key in the public sector space where a high level of customer intimacy is required, continue to differentiate the Company from its competitors. Civica’s growing international presence should also provide future growth channels. We wish the management team all the best.”

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing is expected in Q2 2024. Partners Group was advised by Clifford Chance as legal counsel and Arma Partners as exclusive financial adviser.

Partners Group’s Private Equity business has USD 74 billion in assets under management.

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DIF Capital Partners to acquire a majority interest in Novar, leading Dutch developer of green energy systems

DIF Capital Partners (via its DIF Infrastructure VI fund and Dutch Climate Action Fund Equity Vintage 1 fund) has signed an agreement to acquire 60% of Novar, the leading developer of large-scale sustainable energy systems in the Netherlands.

Novar

The transaction marks the start of a long-term collaboration to deliver sustainable and innovative renewable energy solutions. As part of the investment, DIF will provide growth capital to among others support the expansion of Novar’s utility-scale solar, rooftop solar and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) portfolio.

Headquartered in Groningen, Novar owns and operates 440MW of utility-scale solar PV, rooftop solar and BESS projects. It has a development project pipeline of more than 15GW. Novar is a front-runner in integrated energy solutions, currently developing the largest private grid project in the Netherlands, which will provide grid connection for several of its large-scale solar and BESS projects, as well as the first Dutch solar thermal and green hydrogen projects.

The company operates a fully integrated Independent Power Producer model, providing operation & maintenance, technical & commercial asset management and consultancy & flex services to its own portfolio and to third parties.

Gijs Voskuyl, Partner at DIF, said: “The investment in Novar presents an opportunity for DIF to support the Dutch solar energy market leader with a long track record of successfully delivering ground-mounted and rooftop projects. Its existing 440MW contracted portfolio offers a robust investment proposition and with the extensive pipeline in solar and storage projects, we can continue to invest in energy transition investment opportunities going forward. We’re looking forward to working with Novar’s management team to continue to jointly grow the company in the years ahead.”

Gerben Smit, CEO of Novar Holding, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “Thanks to this strategic partnership, Novar has the opportunity to shape further growth, expand internationally and achieve the target of 4GW of operating capacity by 2030.”

DIF was advised by KPMG (financial advisor), McKinsey (commercial advisor), Arup (technical advisor) and NautaDutilh (legal advisor). Novar was advised by Voltiq (financial advisor), Eversheds Sutherland and Hogan Lovells (legal advisors).

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other approvals and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023.

 

About Novar Holding:

Novar Holding, formerly Solarfields, was founded in 2014 and specializes in the development of large-scale sustainable energy systems. For more information, please visit www.novar.nl.

 

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is an infrastructure fund manager with ca. EUR 16 billion of assets under management. DIF was founded in 2005 and has a leading position in managing mid-market investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia.

DIF follows two strategies: its traditional DIF funds invest in lower-risk mid-sized infrastructure projects and companies in the energy transition (incl. renewables) and utilities sector, as well as PPPs and concessions. The firm’s CIF funds invest in small to mid-sized companies that will thrive in the new economy. These companies are typically active in the digital infrastructure, energy transition and sustainable transportation sector.

With a team of over 225 professionals in 11 offices, DIF offers a unique market approach combining global presence with the benefits of strong local networks and investment capabilities. DIF is located in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto.

For more information, please visit www.dif.eu or follow us on LinkedIn.

 

Press contacts:

DIF Capital Partners: press@dif.eu

Novar: David de Jong, david.dejong@novar.nl, +31 6 27971111

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CVC Credit supports the refinancing of PetVet Care Centers

CVC Capital Partners

CVC Credit is pleased to announce that it recently provided $65.5 million in loan facilities and equity to support the refinancing of PetVet Care Centers (“PetVet”), a leading national network of veterinary hospitals in the US and portfolio company of KKR, the leading global investment firm.

Headquartered in Westport, Connecticut, PetVet operates more than 450 general practice, speciality, emergency, and equine veterinary hospitals in 40 states. The company’s full-service, integrated approach is designed to provide high quality care to pet owners while supporting the clinical autonomy and business growth needs of veterinary professionals who partner with PetVet.

Molly Moore, Managing Director at CVC Credit, commented: “We are thrilled to support PetVet’s growth as it continues to pursue attractive consolidation opportunities in the highly fragmented pet health and wellness market, in partnership with skilled veterinary professionals. We believe that attractive secular tailwinds including increased pet ownership, greater awareness about the importance of pet wellness, coupled with longer pet lifespans and PetVet’s recurring revenue streams, will continue to drive expansion of this high quality national veterinary care platform.”

Quotes

This transaction is a testament to the compelling execution capabilities, competitive rate and financings our Capital Solutions business has provided to growing businesses in North America and Europe this year.

Caroline BentonPartner at CVC Credit

Caroline Benton, Partner at CVC Credit, added: “This transaction is a testament to the compelling execution capabilities, competitive rate and financings our Capital Solutions business has provided to growing businesses in North America and Europe this year. We are also delighted to strengthen our relationship with leading sponsor KKR further as they continue to grow and develop this excellent business.”

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