Category Archives: News

Apollo Funds to Make Strategic Equity Investment in PetSmart

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  • PetSmart is a leading omnichannel pet retailer in North America, providing an extensive range of pet products and services across more than 1,660 stores in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico
  • Apollo Fund investment underscores the robust fundamentals of PetSmart’s business and resilient performance across economic cycles
  • BC Partners and its co-investors to receive partial liquidity while maintaining majority ownership and control of the Board of PetSmart
  • Apollo will join BC Partners, as it continues to draw on its deep sector knowledge and best in class operating capabilities, to support PetSmart’s management to continue delivering leading products and services to its more than 62 million loyalty members

PHOENIX and NEW YORK – July 24, 2023 – PetSmart (or “the Company”), a leading omnichannel pet retailer in North America, announced today that funds managed by affiliates of Apollo (NYSE: APO) have entered into a definitive agreement to make a strategic equity investment in the Company. BC Partners, alongside co-investors including GIC and the PetSmart management team, will remain the majority shareholder of PetSmart and retain control of the Board.

The strategic investment by the Apollo Funds affirms PetSmart’s strong fundamentals and continued growth opportunity, as the Company drives operational excellence across its store network and builds a broader suite of products and services for pets and pet parents. The Apollo and BC Partners teams continue to see significant opportunities ahead, driven by PetSmart’s growth plans and an industry that continues to be a long-term net grower with increasing pet ownership and higher spend per pet. PetSmart is also differentiated from online-only peers thanks to a broad array of in-person grooming, training, and veterinary services, as well as proprietary brands and product lines.

BC Partners first invested in PetSmart in 2015, leading a group of investors to acquire the Company in a public-to-private transaction. The investment thesis, which continues to hold true today, was underpinned by the structural growth in pet ownership, the humanization of pets, and an increasing focus on animal wellness. PetSmart’s strong market position, robust profitability, and strong cash flow generation reinforces its growth strategy and the resilience of the business and industry.

Under BC Partners ownership, PetSmart and its management team have increased revenues by more than 40%, while investing in associates and industry-leading pet care. The Company’s commitment to continuous investment in learning and professional development for its associates ensures a happy and safe working environment, while delivering the highest standard of animal care. BC Partners’ owner-operator mindset and close, collaborative relationship with PetSmart leadership has helped guide strategic capital investment, including in digital and supply chain development, enabling the Company to deliver significant growth in revenue and profitability, with meaningful contribution coming from omnichannel sales.

“We are delighted to welcome Apollo as a strategic partner – affirming our growth and the strength of our associates’ commitment to doing anything for pets,” said J.K. Symancyk, President and CEO of PetSmart. “The combined expertise of BC Partners and Apollo enables even greater value creation opportunities as we embark on the next stage of growth for the business. We are grateful for the continued support of BC Partners, who have been our trusted partner for over eight years and look forward to working with the team at Apollo who bring the highest levels of expertise and whose vision for PetSmart aligns with our own.”

Apollo Partner Andrew Jhawar said, “PetSmart is an incredible, highly differentiated business in an industry that continues to see strong, sustainable growth across both pet ownership and pet care. We are big believers in PetSmart’s management team and store associates, as well as the Company’s growth strategy, operating model, and historical resiliency throughout market cycles, which gave us strong conviction to make this strategic investment alongside BC Partners, its co-investors and management. We are pleased to support PetSmart’s continued success as a meaningful shareholder moving forward, where we will utilize our demonstrated historical experience as a highly successful investor in the consumer, grocery, and retail sectors.”

Apollo Partner Salim Hirji said, “We are excited to be making this investment in PetSmart, an industry leader providing a wide breadth of products and services to pets and pet parents in communities across North America. We look forward to working with and supporting the Company’s management team and store associates as PetSmart embarks on its next phase of growth.”

Raymond Svider, Chairman of BC Partners, said: “We are in the midst of an incredible journey, which we are pleased to share with the entire PetSmart team. Our conviction in this business, close partnership with management, and the acumen of our investment and portfolio operations team have achieved a flagship investment for the firm, our limited partners, and all stakeholders. BC Partners has a long history of working in partnership with the Apollo team and we welcome the opportunity to do so again as we support PetSmart in the next stage of its growth.”

The transaction is currently expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For BC Partners, JP Morgan served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisors. UBS Investment Bank served as financial advisor to the Apollo Funds and Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP served as legal advisors.

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KKR Acquires Marmic Fire & Safety

KKR

All Employees to Become Owners in the Company

JOPLIN, Mo. & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that investment funds managed by KKR have acquired Marmic Fire & Safety (“Marmic” or the “Company”), a leading provider of regulation-mandated fire equipment inspection, testing and maintenance services, from HGGC. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Marmic specializes in the inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire protection equipment for more than 56,000 customers across the commercial, industrial, multi-family, education, government, and healthcare end markets in the U.S. Since its founding in 1951, Marmic has provided services that are critical to keeping its customers safe and helping them adhere to local and national fire codes and regulations.

“Marmic’s growth is a testament to the talent and dedication of our team. We are thrilled to begin working with KKR, which shares our belief in the power of our employee-centric culture and supports our ambition for building a scaled fire safety services platform that strives to provide reliable, expert service to our customers. I see tremendous potential for Marmic in this next phase of its journey,” said Greg Bochicchio, Chief Executive Officer of Marmic.

“For over 70 years, Marmic has been a trusted provider to its customers, helping them prevent life-threatening incidents and ensuring the safety of thousands of people across the U.S. We have been extremely impressed by the Company’s ability to grow its footprint while maintaining its commitment to best-in-class service and technical expertise,” said Brandon Brahm, Partner at KKR and Co-Head of KKR’s Ascendant strategy. “We look forward to working with Greg, the leadership team, and all of the employees at Marmic as we embark on this new and exciting chapter in the Company’s growth.”

KKR will support Marmic in implementing a broad-based employee ownership program to allow all of its employees to have the opportunity to participate in the benefits of ownership of the Company. This strategy is based on the belief that employee engagement is a key driver in building stronger companies. Since 2011, KKR portfolio companies have awarded billions of dollars of equity value to over 100,000 non-senior management employees across more than 40 portfolio companies.

KKR is making its investment in Marmic through its Ascendant Strategy, which invests in middle market businesses in North America as part of KKR’s Americas Private Equity platform. Marmic will be maintained as an independent company backed by KKR.

Houlihan Lokey and Latham & Watkins LLP served as advisors to KKR.

About Marmic:

Founded in 1951, Marmic Fire & Safety Co. is a leading provider of regulation-mandated fire protection equipment inspection, testing, and maintenance services. Marmic services over 56,000 customers throughout the United States across a wide variety of commercial and industrial end-markets. For more information, please visit www.marmicfire.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.

Media

For Marmic:
Carrie Gerbitz
(417) 627-5640
communications@marmicfire.com

For KKR:
Julia Kosygina or Emily Cummings
(212) 750-8300
media@kkr.com

Source: KKR

 

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T-Mobile And KKR Announce Joint Venture To Acquire Metronet And Offer Leading Fiber Solution To More U.S. Consumers

KKR

The Un-carrier will expand its broadband portfolio and offer more consumers a differentiated experience, selling fiber internet services provided by the JV using Metronet’s fiber network deployment and management expertise

 

BELLEVUE, Wash. & NEW YORK & EVANSVILLE, Ind.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS), America’s 5G leader and fastest-growing fixed wireless broadband provider, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to establish a joint venture (JV) with leading global investment firm KKR (NYSE: KKR) that will acquire Metronet including its broadband infrastructure, rapidly growing residential fiber business operations and existing customers. As part of the transaction, the JV will also acquire Oak Hill Capital’s existing stake. Oak Hill Capital will re-invest to retain a minority position and founder John Cinelli will also retain a minority position once the deal closes.

Metronet is uniquely positioned as the fastest-growing pure play fiber company in the U.S. and an experienced independent fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) operator. The company currently reaches more than 2 million homes and businesses across 17 states with fiber solutions built on a state-of-the art broadband platform. Following the transaction’s close, Metronet will become a wholesale services provider for its retail customers and 100% of its residential fiber retail operations and customers will transition to T-Mobile. T-Mobile will have full responsibility for residential customer acquisition and support, leveraging its differentiated retail, marketing, brand and service model, and will utilize Metronet’s deep digital and fiber infrastructure expertise to expand to more households with fiber broadband services. Metronet will focus on build plans, network engineering and design, network deployment, and customer installation. Following the transaction close, Metronet is expected to be self-funding on a go forward basis and it is expected to reach 6.5 million homes passed by the end of 2030. To support this business plan T-Mobile does not expect to make any additional capital contributions to the JV.

“This is a unique opportunity and a smart, capital-efficient deal that enables T-Mobile to profitably build on our success in broadband and provide fast, affordable and reliable connectivity options to millions more customers nationwide as a complement to our wireless growth strategy,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “Metronet is the perfect partner for T-Mobile as a leader in fiber solutions with an incredibly fast build pace, and a top-notch management team. Together with KKR’s strong heritage of corporate partnership and global fiber franchise, we will further expand the Un-carrier’s fiber footprint and deliver real value and choice to customers while addressing a growing demand for fast and reliable broadband.”

“As a leading investor in fiber broadband, KKR has a strong track record of building fiber networks in multiple countries around the world. Since our initial investment in Metronet in 2021, the company has grown rapidly, including constructing new fiber infrastructure and adding subscribers in attractive, underserved markets,” said Waldemar Szlezak, Partner, and Global Head of Digital Infrastructure at KKR. “Our new joint venture with T-Mobile will be transformational for the future of the Metronet business. We look forward to benefitting from T-Mobile’s industry-leading customer experience to support the company in reaching its full potential.”

The JV will be complementary to T-Mobile’s already existing 5G Home Internet offering, a fixed wireless solution currently being used in more than 5 million households and businesses nationwide using fallow network capacity over the Un-carrier’s 5G network, and the company’s previously announced fiber partnerships. This expanded portfolio of offerings will help meet continually increasing consumer demand for higher speed and reliable broadband products.

“We could not be prouder to expand our strategic partnership with KKR and form a new one with T-Mobile — two global leaders in 5G wireless connectivity and digital infrastructure,” said Metronet CEO Dave Heimbach. “Metronet’s 100% fiber network delivers symmetrical multi-gigabit internet service directly to homes and businesses, perfectly complementing T-Mobile’s industry-leading 5G mobile and fixed-wireless offerings to meet consumer demand for seamless, ubiquitous connectivity. With this new partnership, Metronet will expand its fiber network faster and farther, reaching millions more households by the end of the decade.”

KKR is making the investment in Metronet through its global infrastructure strategy. The firm first established its global infrastructure strategy in 2008 and has since been one of the most active infrastructure investors around the world, currently managing over $61 billion in infrastructure assets. KKR has significant experience investing in the growth of leading FTTH providers globally with over 25 million homes passed and building more than four million annually. This includes the creation of independent open access wholesale fiber optic network companies in Chile, Colombia, Peru and in the Netherlands and investments in Hyperoptic in the U.K., Telenor Fiber in Norway and Deutsche Glasfaser in Germany. Most recently, KKR announced the closing of its acquisition of Telecom Italia Netco, which owns and operates the entire national copper and fiber fixed line network in Italy.

The transaction is expected to close in 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. At closing, T-Mobile is expected to invest approximately $4.9 billion to acquire a 50% equity stake in the JV and 100% of Metronet’s residential fiber retail operations and customers, as well as funding of the JV.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains certain forward-looking statements concerning T-Mobile and the proposed transaction with KKR to acquire Metronet’s broadband infrastructure. All statements other than statements of fact, including information concerning future results, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “could” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction, including anticipated future financial and operating results, T-Mobile’s and the joint venture’s objectives, expectations and intentions, expectations regarding the JV being self-funding and future contributions (or lack thereof), the expected number of homes passed by the JV in the future and the expected timing of completion of the proposed transaction. There are several factors which could cause actual plans and results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the failure to satisfy any of the conditions to the proposed transaction on a timely basis or at all; the occurrence of events that may give rise to a right of one or both of the parties to terminate the definitive agreements; adverse effects on the market price of T-Mobile’s common stock and on T-Mobile’s operating results because of a failure to complete the proposed transaction in the anticipated timeframe or at all; negative effects of the pendency or consummation of the proposed transaction on the market price of T-Mobile’s common stock and on T-Mobile’s operating results; the risk of litigation or regulatory actions; the possibility that T-Mobile may not fully realize the projected benefits of the proposed transaction within expected timeframes or at all; business disruption during the pendency of or following the proposed transaction; diversion of management time from ongoing business operations due to the proposed transaction; the risk of any unexpected costs or expenses resulting from the proposed transaction; the risk that the proposed transaction and its announcement or T-Mobile’s fiber strategy generally could have an adverse effect on the ability of T-Mobile or Metronet to retain customers and retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, stockholders and other business relationships and on its operating results and business generally; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in T-Mobile’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, including in the sections thereof captioned “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K and Form 10-Q, all of which are filed with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov and www.t-mobile.com. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions, which are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, persons reading this communication are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. T-Mobile assumes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this communication (whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise), except as required by applicable law. References to our and the SEC’s website are inactive textual references only. Information contained on our and the SEC’s website is not incorporated by reference in this communication and should not be considered to be a part of this communication.

Advisors

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is serving as T-Mobile’s financial advisor on the transaction with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Davis Wright Tremaine serving as T-Mobile’s legal counsel. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, DLA Piper LLP and Milbank LLP are serving as T-Mobile’s regulatory counsel.

Barclays and Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are serving as lead financial advisors to KKR, with Goldman Sachs, Mizuho and MUFG also serving as financial advisors. Simpson Thacher is serving as KKR’s legal advisor.

Bank Street Group LLC and TD Securities served as financial advisors to Metronet. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Polsinelli served as legal counsel to Metronet. Lazard served as financial advisor to Oak Hill Capital.

About T-Mobile

T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) is America’s supercharged Un-carrier, delivering an advanced 4G LTE and transformative nationwide 5G network that will offer reliable connectivity for all. T-Mobile’s customers benefit from its unmatched combination of value and quality, unwavering obsession with offering them the best possible service experience and undisputable drive for disruption that creates competition and innovation in wireless and beyond. Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile provides services through its subsidiaries and operates its flagship brands, T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile and Mint Mobile. For more information please visit: https://www.t-mobile.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 KKRs website at www.kkr.com. For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit Global Atlantic Group’s website at www.globalatlantic.com.

About Metronet

Metronet is PCMag‘s “Fastest Major ISP” for 2023 and 2024, providing multi-gigabit internet service to homes and businesses in cities like Colorado Springs, Des Moines, Indianapolis, Lexington, Norfolk, Tallahassee and more than 300 other communities across 17 states. Expanding its fiber-optic network in more than 90 communities at any one time, Metronet has become the country’s largest and fastest-growing privately owned fiber-to-the-home company. More information on the Evansville, Ind.-based company can be found at metronet.com.

Contacts

T-Mobile US, Inc. Media Relations
MediaRelations@t-mobile.com

T-Mobile Investor Relations Contact
investor.relations@t-mobile.com
https://investor.t-mobile.com

KKR Media Relations
Media@KKR.com

Metronet Media Relations
media@metronet.com

 

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Categories: News

Outcome of the optional dividend for the FY 2023-24 : 57.8% of the dividend rights are distributed in the form of new ordinary shares, resulting in a capital increase of EUR 29.3 million

GIMV

Topic: Dividend

Gimv today announces that 57.8% of the dividend rights on the financial year 2023-24 had been presented in return for 732,567 new ordinary shares, for a total amount of EUR 29.3 million.

Gimv’s AGM on June 26th, 2024 approved the distribution of a gross dividend of EUR 2.60 per share (EUR 1.82 net) for the financial year 2023-24. In addition, Gimv offered shareholders the option of subscribing to new ordinary shares, each share being exchanged for 22 dividend rights on the financial year 2023-24 (EUR 40.04), or of taking a cash dividend or a combination of both. The new shares will be of the same type as the existing shares (with no right to a reduced withholding tax) and give entitlement to payment of a dividend from Gimv’s profits as from April 1st, 2024. Gimv shareholders were asked to communicate their choice between July 3rd and 23rd, 2024.

16,116,474 dividend rights on the financial year 2023-24 were presented in exchange for 732,567 new ordinary shares, for a total amount of EUR 29.3 million. These new shares will be issued on July 26th, 2024 and will be admitted to listing on Euronext Brussels on the same date. The balance of the dividend will be distributed on July 26th, 2024 in cash, amounting to a gross total of EUR 43.1 million (including withholding taxes).

As a result of this capital increase, Gimv’s equity (group’s share) will amount to EUR 1,446.2 million(1) and will be represented by 28,613,840 ordinary shares. Each of these shares carries one voting right at the general shareholders meetings and the total number of shares indicated above will represent the denominator for purposes of notifications under the transparency regulations.

WorxInvest, Gimv’s reference shareholder, opted for full payment in shares and now holds 8,419,858 shares, equating to 29.4% of the capital. Consequently, Gimv’s free float amounts to 70.6%.

This capital increase adds EUR 29.3 million to Gimv’s equity, in contrast to the situation that would have prevailed had the dividend entirely been paid in cash. The cash which is not paid out will be used by Gimv to finance growth and further value creation in the portfolio.

(1) Most recently published equity value (group’s share) as at 31 March 2024, excluding the dividend on the financial year 2023-24 and increased with the amount of the capital increase.

 

Read the full document

Gimv

Karel Oomsstraat 37, 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium

www.gimv.com

Categories: News

3i announces sale of Weener Plastics generating proceeds of c.£283m and overall return of 2.2x MM

3I

3i Group plc (“3i”) today announces that it has agreed the sale of its investment in Weener Plastics (“WP”), a leading provider of innovative plastic packaging solutions, to Silgan Holdings Inc (“Silgan”). Proceeds to 3i are estimated to be c.£283m, which represents a c.21% uplift on its 31 March 2024 valuation. Including the £45m of proceeds already received, this represents a 2.2x return on invested capital.

WP supplies the world’s leading A-brands and private label players focusing on the design, development and manufacturing of value-added caps and closures, deodorant sticks and roll-ons, and other innovative packaging for the personal care, food and beverage, home care and healthcare industries.

3i invested in WP in 2015 and has supported its international growth strategy through expansion into new product categories such as pharma packaging, and strengthened its position in its existing segments. During this period WP also completed four bolt-on acquisitions, significantly reinforcing its presence in Latin America and Europe, and delivered consistent growth, almost doubling its EBITDA under 3i’s ownership.

WP’s sustainability initiatives have also been recognised with an EcoVadis Platinum rating, placing WP in the top 1% of companies in the manufacture of plastic packaging worldwide.

Adrian Whitfield, CEO of Weener Plastics, said: “Our partnership with 3i has been very successful. We have expanded into new geographies, significantly grown the size of our business and laid the foundation for WP to be the reference player in innovative and sustainable plastic packaging solutions. We are now ready for the next international growth phase. I’m excited to be partnering with Silgan, which will provide new opportunities for growth and innovation, and enable us to take the next step in continuing to deliver exceptional value to our customers, employees and our other stakeholders.”

Pieter de Jong, Partner, Managing Director at 3i, said: “We are proud that WP has developed into one of the leading global suppliers of innovative and sustainable plastic packaging solutions. Under our ownership the company has become a frontrunner in creating sustainable packing solutions for its international clients which is demonstrated by its EcoVadis Platinum status. We are proud to have partnered with the WP management team, whose creative and entrepreneurial spirit drove the success of this business. We wish them a great future under the ownership of Silgan, and thank them for their partnership with 3i.”

The transaction is expected to complete in early Q4 2024 and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Barclays plc are acting as lead financial adviser. William Blair International Ltd. are acting as financial adviser and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP are acting as legal adviser.

-ENDS-

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For further information, contact:

3i Group plc

Elmley de la Cour
Media enquiries

Silvia Santoro
Shareholder enquiries

  

Tel: +44 20 7975 3023
Email: elmley.delacour@3i.com

Tel: +44 20 7975 3258
Email: silvia.santoro@3i.com

About 3i Group
3i is a leading international investment manager focused on mid-market Private Equity and Infrastructure. Its core investment markets are northern Europe and North America.

For further information, please visit: www.3i.com.

About Weener Plastics
Weener Plastics is a full-service global supplier of innovative plastic packaging solutions, with a strong focus on the functionalities of dispensing, containing and closing. The company designs, develops and manufactures added-value caps, closures, roll-ons, jars and bottles for the personal care, food, home care and healthcare industries. Headquartered in Ede, The Netherlands, the company employs more than 4,000 people and has 23 facilities in 15 countries worldwide.

For further information, please visit: www.wppg.com

Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Germany.

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IK Partners to invest in OCTIME Group

IK Partners

IK Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Partnership III (“IK PF III”) Fund has reached an agreement to acquire a minority stake in OCTIME Group (“OCTIME” or “the Group”), a leading French software developer of workforce management solutions. IK will acquire its stake from existing shareholders, including Group President Guillaume Berbinau, Andera Partners (“Andera”) and the management team, who will all be reinvesting. Guillaume Berbinau, President of OCTIME Group since 2008, remains the majority shareholder. He relies on Nicolas Michel-Vernet, Managing Director of the Group and his management team who see their position strengthened. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Biron, France, OCTIME Group is a software company which provides a comprehensive range of solutions for time management and human resource planning. The Group supports over 7,000 small to medium-sized enterprises across a diverse range of sectors and countries in the digitalisation of their human resource processes.

OCTIME’s products enable organisations to track and manage workforce performance, including time, attendance, scheduling and task management. With an international presence and approximately 300 employees, the Group has a strong position in France and operates through subsidiaries in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. Since inception, the Company has demonstrated sustained organic growth and resilience, driven by the consistent acquisition of new clients and very low churn.

Alongside Andera and Guillaume, IK will work with OCTIME’s Managing Director Nicolas Michel-Vernet and his management team to continue building its leadership position in the time management space through the acquisition of new clients within relevant sub-sectors. The Group also plans to strengthen its international presence through the pursuit of an active buy-and-build strategy focused on European neighbouring countries.

Guillaume Berbinau, President of OCTIME Group, commented: “I am very proud of the trajectory of the OCTIME Group, which has managed to retain its DNA, expertise and commitment, while achieving exemplary growth. We owe this success to the strength of our team. I am convinced that the team at IK will be committed partners in supporting and accelerating our future growth plans.”

Magdalena Svensson, Partner at IK and Advisor to the IK PF III Fund, said: “Under the leadership of Guillaume, Nicolas and their team, OCTIME has established itself as a leading French software as a service developer in the time management and planning space. We look forward to working with Guillaume, the management team and Andera Partners in the next phase of the Group’s growth.”

David Robin, Partner at Andera, added: “The development driven by the management team in recent years has enabled the OCTIME Group to become a benchmark player in its market, offering best-in-class solutions to a loyal and diversified customer base. We are delighted and proud of the progress we have made alongside Guillaume, Nicolas and the entire management team.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Partners
Vidya Verlkumar
Phone: +44 7787 558 193
vidya.verlkumar@ikpartners.com

Andera Partners
Nicolas Delsert
Phone: + 33 6 22 67 71 17
n.delsert@anderapartners.com

About OCTIME Group

Based in Biron, France the OCTIME Group is an international HR solutions provider, with expertise in scheduling, working time management and replacements. For 25 years, the OCTIME Group has been helping companies of all sizes and in all sectors to digitise their human resources in order to create the conditions for fairness and well-being at work.

The OCTIME Group offers two SaaS solutions in France: OCTIME, its scheduling and time management solution for SMEs, with a turnkey version OCTIME Expresso for organisations with fewer than 200 employees, and STAFFELIO, its replacement and back-up management platform.

Present in all sectors of activity (retail, services, hotels, etc.), the Group is a leading player in the health and medical-social sector. The OCTIME Group manages 7,000 customers worldwide, representing more than 5.5 million employees.

The OCTIME Group is also present in Spain, Portugal and Latin America through its subsidiaries: Grupo SPEC, a leader in engineering solutions for time management and access control, and aTurnos, a specialist in constrained planning. For more information, visit octime.com

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About IK Partners

IK Partners (“IK”) is a European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €17 billion of capital and invested in over 190 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit ikpartners.com

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About Andera Partners

Created over 20 years ago, Andera Partners is a major player in private company investments in France and internationally, managing nearly €4 billion in investments. Based in Paris, with offices in Antwerp, Milan and Munich, Andera Partners is wholly owned by its teams, which count nearly 110 professionals. Learn more about Andera Partners at anderapartners.com

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CDPQ supports expansion of Vantage Data Centers’ Québec City Campus

Cdpq

DPQ, a global investment group, today announced an agreement to provide USD 75 million (CAD 103 million) as part of a senior financing to Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data centers1, to support the expansion of its Québec City Data Center Campus, QC2. This new investment will finance the construction of the third facility on the four-building campus and will deliver an additional 16MW of IT capacity to serve increasing demand for cloud services across Québec and Eastern Canada. The total USD 130 million (CAD 179 million) credit facility was structured and underwritten by Societe Generale.

Strategically located in Québec’s National Capital region, the hyperscale data center is currently under construction by Pomerleau Inc., one of Canada’s leading construction companies. Once fully developed, the 925,000-square-foot (86 000-square-metre) Québec City Data Center Campus will generate 86MW of total combined IT capacity, and deliver reliable and efficient high computing power to Vantage’s global top-tier customers.

“The surge in data-intensive technologies and cloud service adoption is reshaping the North American digital infrastructure market. Vantage Data Centers is in a leading position to seize this opportunity due to its vast experience in data center buildout and operations, and longstanding customer relationships,” said Marc Cormier, Executive Vice-President and Head of Fixed Income, CDPQ. “This new investment in Vantage leverages CDPQ’s global experience in financing critical digital infrastructure to support the delivery of this important local project.”

“CDPQ’s investment will play a crucial role in our expansion in Québec City and in fueling our capacity to deliver high-quality digital infrastructure in the region,” said Maxime Guévin, Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Canada, Vantage Data Centers. “We’re excited to complete this facility in the Spring of 2025, and to deepen our partnership with CDPQ to meet the growing demand for advanced cloud services in Eastern Canada.”

“We are pleased to partner with CDPQ and to provide a tailored financing solution to support this expansion by Vantage Data Centers in Québec”, said Valtin Gallani, Head of Digital Infrastructure Finance and Advisory, Societe Generale.

CDPQ’s growing footprint in financing digital infrastructure
In addition to this investment in Vantage Data Centers’ Québec City campus, earlier this year, CDPQ invested in Vantage Data Center’s EMEA platform serving key markets in Europe and participated in the USD 7.5-billion debt financing facility to support the growth of AI hyperscaler CoreWeave.

1 Hyperscale data centers are typically leased to organizations that operate massive-scale cloud and AI infrastructure to support their business operations.

ABOUT CDPQ

At CDPQ, we invest constructively to generate sustainable returns over the long term. As a global investment group managing funds for public pension and insurance plans, we work alongside our partners to build enterprises that drive performance and progress. We are active in the major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. As at December 31, 2023, CDPQ’s net assets totalled CAD 434 billion. For more information, visit cdpq.com, consult our LinkedIn or Instagram pages, or follow us on X.

CDPQ is a registered trademark owned by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and licensed for use by its subsidiaries.

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KKR To Acquire Janney Montgomery Scott From Penn Mutual

KKR

NEW YORK & PHILADELPHIA–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm and The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company (“Penn Mutual”) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which investment funds managed by KKR will acquire Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (“Janney” or the “Company”).

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240723034699/en/

Tracing its roots to 1832, Janney is a leading wealth management, investment banking and asset management firm. Janney has over $150 billion in assets under administration, with more than 900 financial advisors providing financial planning, asset allocation, retirement planning and other financial advice and services to clients across 135 offices in the U.S.

Following the close of the transaction, Janney will become a standalone private company that will continue to operate independently.

“We are excited to enter this next chapter in our nearly 200-year history with a new value-added strategic partner. KKR has demonstrated they value our client- and advisor-centric culture and share our deep conviction in the tremendous opportunities ahead for our business,” said Tony Miller, President at Janney. “We look forward to working with KKR to invest further in our growth and enable our talented team to further improve the advice and services we offer our clients.”

“Janney’s well-respected brand, client-centric culture and strong track record of growth have established it as a best-in-class business that we believe is well-positioned to benefit from the significant tailwinds driving demand in the U.S. wealth management market,” said Chris Harrington, a Partner at KKR.

“We have long admired Janney for its high-quality business, growth-oriented mindset and dedication to customer success,” said Simon Greene, a Director at KKR. “We look forward to helping Janney’s talented team leverage the company’s strong foundations to reach even greater heights.”

“This is a great outcome for both Janney and Penn Mutual,” said Dave O’Malley, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer at Penn Mutual. “Janney has been a strong investment for Penn Mutual’s general account for the last 40 years. We have been good stewards and are looking forward to watching Janney’s next chapter of growth.”

KKR will support Janney in creating a broad-based equity ownership program to provide all of the company’s 2,300 employees the opportunity to participate in the benefits of ownership after the transaction closes. This strategy is based on the belief that team member engagement through ownership is a key driver in building stronger companies. Since 2011, more than 50 KKR portfolio companies have awarded billions of dollars of total equity value to over 100,000 non-senior management employees.

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024.

KKR is making its investment in Janney primarily through its North America Fund XIII.

Ardea Partners served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal advisors to KKR. WilmerHale served as legal advisor to Penn Mutual.

About Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney is a leading full-service wealth management, capital markets, and asset management firm dedicated to putting client needs first. We are committed to providing individuals, families, businesses, and institutions with tailored financial advice to help reach their personal or business goals. We focus on building strong relationships, supported by a foundation of trust and performance. With a history of strength and stability, an ability to execute, and a culture of service and collaboration, we continue to deliver on our mission of offering the highest standard of success in financial relationships. Janney is a wholly-owned, independently operated subsidiary of The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the New York Stock Exchange, and Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Additional company information is available at www.janney.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 worldclass 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 The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company

For over 175 years, Penn Mutual has empowered individuals, families and businesses on the journey to achieve their financial goals. Through our partnership with Financial Professionals across the U.S., we help generations grow stronger by instilling the confidence and reliability that comes from a secure financial future. Penn Mutual and its affiliates offer a comprehensive suite of competitive and robust solutions to meet the unique needs of Financial Professionals and their clients, including life insurance, annuities, wealth management and institutional asset management. To learn more, including current financial strength ratings, visit www.pennmutual.com.

Media Contacts

For KKR
Julia Kosygina and Emily Cummings
(212) 750-8300
media@kkr.com

For Janney Montgomery Scott
Bradd DelMuto
(215) 665-6595
corporatecommunications@janney.com

For Penn Mutual
Stephanie Kensy
Penn Mutual
215-956-8337
corporatecommunications@pennmutual.com

Source: KKR

 

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Dazz Secures $50 Million to Accelerate AI-Powered Cloud Security Remediation

Insight Partners

PALO ALTO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 24, 2024 / Dazz, a leader in unified security remediation, announced today that it has secured $50 million in a funding round co-led by Greylock, with participation from Cyberstarts, Insight Partners and Index Ventures, who doubled down on their initial investments to accelerate its momentum in redefining risk prioritization and remediation using AI technologies. The latest financing brings the company’s total funding to $110 million and will fuel its mission to help security and engineering teams reduce exposure efficiently.

Since its launch in late 2021, Dazz has experienced rapid customer growth with Fortune 500 and hyper-growth companies such as BHG Financial, Healthfirst, TaxSlayer, iCapital, and Abnormal Security across financial services, healthcare, pharmaceutical, technology, retail, and manufacturing industries. To date, customers have used the Dazz Unified Remediation Platform to automatically find and manage 1.2 billion vulnerabilities and resolve close to 500 million issues at root causes, saving significant security and engineering time, plus dramatically reducing the chance of security incidents. From FY2023 to FY2024, Dazz achieved a 400 percent increase in ARR, while tripling its salesforce and expanding its footprint across all functions in the U.S., Europe, and Israel.

“In a world where security breaches occur on average every 11 seconds, the constant rise in AI-powered threats presents a prominent danger of more efficient and scalable attacks,” said Merav Bahat, Dazz Co-Founder and CEO. “At Dazz, we are experiencing remarkable business momentum, thanks to a critical market gap that Dazz uniquely addresses. The last year proved that our innovation and execution leads to unprecedented growth, which this new round of funding will accelerate. We are honored and excited to deepen our collaboration with the world’s top cyber investors, with their unwavering trust and support fueling our mission to simplify cloud remediation and help our customers harness the power of AI to prevent attacks.”

Dazz transforms legacy vulnerability management and remediation processes through patented AI, automation, and root-cause analysis technologies that enable security and engineering teams to identify, prioritize, and fix vulnerabilities in hours instead of weeks. The company’s Unified Remediation Platform provides CISOs with holistic visibility across all detection tools and environments, including code, clouds, applications, and infrastructure, and provides significant time savings for customers in researching security issues and reducing the Mean Time to Remediate (MTTR).

“As founding investors in Dazz, we are excited to significantly increase our investment and co-lead the latest financing,” said Asheem Chandna, Partner at Greylock Partners. “Cybersecurity remediation is a growing high priority area. Merav and her accomplished team at Dazz have strong momentum underway as the leader in this new important category.”

“The Dazz team has built a robust solution to one of the oldest, most critical pain points for security teams – sorting through an ocean of alerts and remediating the most critical weaknesses in production, staging, and code levels,” said Gili Raanan, founder of Cyberstarts. “We have been partners to Dazz since day zero and continue to work closely with Merav, Tomer, and Yuval to build an iconic cyber company.”

“Dazz has become a cornerstone of our DevSecOps practice, enabling our security and developer teams to work better together on reducing risk,” said Gary Owen, Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Risk Officer at iCapital. “It allows us to automate workflows and immediately focus on prioritizing and fixing the issues that matter the most to our business.”

About Dazz

Dazz enables security and development teams to remediate risks and reduce exposure across code, clouds, applications, and infrastructure. Our Unified Remediation Platform rapidly uncovers blind spots, prioritizes issues, and streamlines fixes in a developer-friendly workflow, so risk windows shrink from weeks to hours. Dazz is a critical foundation for Application Security Posture Management (ASPM), DevSecOps, and Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) strategies. Visit us at dazz.io and follow us on LinkedIn at dazz-io and on Twitter at @dazz_io.

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INX Software Welcomes Accel-KKR as Majority Shareholder to Pursue Global Growth

AKKR Logo

ERTH, Australia and MENLO PARK, Calif., July 24, 2024 — INX Software, an Australian leader in compliance, workforce management, training and reporting software for complex and high-risk industries, has announced the successful closing of a significant equity investment from Accel-KKR, a technology-focused private equity firm.

The investment, which gives Accel-KKR majority ownership in INX alongside management, will spur global expansion of the risk, compliance, logistics, training and reporting technology business.

Perth-based INX Software supplies world-class solutions to some of Australia’s biggest companies, especially those with complex, fast-paced and remote operations. INX has a suite of software solutions used in mining, manufacturing, health, government and other large organisations.

Chief Executive Officer Marcus Ashby welcomed the investment and said that while INX would remain based in Western Australia, it now had a partner that could accelerate access to global markets.

“INX Software will remain a home-grown, Western Australian technology company, but will now have access to the additional resources that Accel-KKR can deliver,” Mr. Ashby said.

“Our customers work in fast-paced, high-risk environments and they trust us to understand their challenges, deliver effective solutions, and be responsive to their changing needs.

“At the same time, our customers are also growing, and they need solutions that can scale with them, including work across borders and in multiple jurisdictions.

“It’s why we’re excited to announce this investment, which will unlock new opportunities to further develop our software solutions and meet customer needs today and tomorrow. Accel-KKR is known for their expertise for supporting software companies on their quest for global growth, so INX is well positioned to grow and scale with our new partner. I thank our previous backers, Tanarra Capital, for their support to date.”

The investment in INX comes after nearly two dozen investments for Accel-KKR in Australia in recent years, including partnerships with Humanforce, Uptick and Reapit ANZ. Accel-KKR’s investment with Seequent, a New Zealand-based geological modelling software company, was named Buyouts’ 2021 International Deal of the Year.

“INX provides mission-critical solutions that allow customers to run vital day-to-day operations, keep up with ever-evolving regulatory requirements and grow across multiple jurisdictions without missing a beat,” said Dean Jacobson, Managing Director at Accel-KKR.

“Given our experience in vertical software, helping companies expand their markets and deliver innovative products, we look forward to helping INX on the next phase of growth.”

This deal comes at a time of sustained growth for INX, where it has doubled its annual recurring revenue (ARR) in four years to FY2025 and today serves more than one million users across the globe.

Under the terms of the sale, the price has not been disclosed.

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About INX Software

INX Software enables businesses in fast-paced and complex industries to mobilise their workforce and navigate health, safety and environmental challenges to better protect people and the planet.

Based in Perth, Western Australia, we are globally trusted leaders in the delivery of workforce management, environment, health and safety software solutions, supporting our clients in the operation of safer, smarter and sustainable workplaces. We provide solutions across industries, including resources, oil & gas, transport, energy & utilities, engineering, manufacturing and government sectors.

About AKKR

Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with $19 billion in cumulative capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and tech-enabled businesses, well-positioned for top-line and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value alongside management by leveraging the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions, including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across various transaction types, including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. Accel-KKR’s headquarters is in Menlo Park, with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, and Mexico City. Visit accel-kkr.com to learn more.

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