Medical Artificial Intelligence company Quantib receives capital injection of EUR 4.5 million

Faster and more objective diagnoses by automatic interpretation of MRI and CT scan data

Chicago, 27 November 2017 – At the world’s largest radiology conference (RSNA), medical Artificial Intelligence (AI) company Quantib announced today that it secured €4.5mln ($ 5.4mln) of fresh funding in a round that was led by Holland Venture and InnovationQuarter. Quantib develops Machine Learning (ML) applications for medical imaging analyses, allowing physicians and researchers to make more efficient and more accurate diagnoses. The investment supports Quantib with her international scale-up ambitions.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Quantib is one of the most renowned Dutch players in the field of medical AI applications. Quantib utilizes ML software for the segmentation, classification and quantification of medical images, improving diagnostic quality and allowing for a more efficient workflow of physicians and researchers. Quantib is a spin-off of the Erasmus MC, developing her products in close collaboration with the internationally recognized Biomedical Imaging Group Rotterdam (BIGR) under supervision of Prof. dr. Wiro Niessen. Moreover, Quantib has strong partnerships with industry players (GE Healthcare, Philips and Intrasense) for research, development and the distribution of her products. Recently, Quantib received media coverage as winner of The Dutch Data Science prize . Quantib’s first products received FDA approval and CE marking in 2016 and focus on the detection and tracking of neurological disorders such as Parkinson, Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease.

The investment allows Quantib to bring new ML applications to the market with regards to stroke, lung disorders, oncology and bone structures. Quantib will also establish new partnerships with leading international academic hospitals.

In conjunction with the investment, the management team has been reinforced with Arthur Post Uiterweer (former Philips and Boston Consulting Group) and Jorrit Glastra (former Shell). The supervisory board will consist of Prof. dr. Gabriel Krestin, Harm-Jan Wessels and health entrepreneur Jaap Maljers.

Rudolf Scholte, CEO of Quantib: “Our software supports radiologists and neurologists with their objective assessment of MRI- and CT scans. Our deep learning algorithms can support better diagnoses, and a better assessment of treatments’ effectiveness. Up until now, our main focus was on brain disorders. This investment allows us to develop new products and to extend our team.”

“Quantib’s applications help standardise and speed up image analysis and allows for the detection of subtle changes over time. It increases the objectivity of the diagnostic process and therefore delivers an improved diagnosis combined with more efficient processes, positively impacting a large group of patients. We see large international growth opportunities for the company and we are proud to be a part of this development.” says Ewout Prins, Managing Partner Holland Venture.

Francis Quint, Head InnovationQuarter Capital: “Quantib facilitates faster, better and more efficient diagnoses, a fantastic result from the close collaboration with Erasmus MC. We are happy to support this Rotterdam-based company with their ambition to extend the range of their current technology to other applications.”

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Roche Acquires Lab Data Analytics Platform Viewics

Canvas Ventures

Roche Acquires Lab Data Analytics Platform Viewics

Roche, a pharmaceuticals and diagnostics focused on advancing science has announced an agreement to acquire Viewics, Inc., a laboratory business analytics platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Roche is acquiring all shares of the company. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

As part of the acquisition, Viewics, Inc. will become an integral part of Roche and add further digital capabilities on top of Roche Diagnostics’ Integrated Core Lab offering to make faster data-driven informed decisions on their operations and processes.  The cloud-based solution is secure, infrastructure-agnostic, interactive, and accessible from multiple devices (e.g. smart phones, tablets, desktop computers).

Founded in 2010 in Sunnyvale, CA, the Viewics solution allows for efficient integration of big data from a variety of IT systems in the laboratory and beyond, pioneering a new way in extracting, cleansing, transforming and augmenting data. The HIPAA-compliant solution puts the transformational power of analytics into the hands of healthcare professionals in laboratory, financial, executive, and IT roles.

The solution enables organizations to leverage insights out-of-the-box, combined with the flexibility of further customising the solution to meet the needs of their unique situations, truly interact with their data and make decisions based on accurate information to deliver significant impact.

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ConnectiveRx Acquires Pittsburgh-Based Careform to Further Speed-To-Therapy and Patient Engagement for Specialty Drugs

Genstar Capital

WHIPPANY, NEW JERSEY, November 15, 2017 – ConnectiveRx, a leader in helping patients with affordability, access and medication adherence messaging, has acquired Careform, a leader in technology-enabled “hub” services driving patient and provider engagement and support. The acquisition, which was completed Tuesday, November 14, 2017, will enable both ConnectiveRx and Careform to improve patient outcomes by improving speed-to-therapy, and prescription compliance and persistence. ConnectiveRx is a portfolio company of Genstar Capital.

In addition to its proprietary BrandHub platform, Careform’s highly experienced team of case managers and technologists solve healthcare challenges by efficiently deploying technology to enhance product access. The company also offers electronic reimbursement support, clinical support that includes therapy management protocols supported by nurses and pharmacists, REMS administration monitoring, patient assistance qualification and fulfillment, benefits investigation, prior authorization and FDA-compliant eSignature.

“The ConnectiveRx mission is to simplify how people get and stay on medications. The opportunity exists to remove barriers that make it difficult for patients to quickly get on therapy for complex specialty drugs,” said Harry Totonis, CEO of ConnectiveRx.  “Careform will enhance and broaden our existing solutions for our biopharmaceutical customers with specialty medications. We are delighted to be working with Careform to better serve our customers and improve outcomes for patients, providers and healthcare.”

“Joining forces with ConnectiveRx is mutually beneficial. Because our products and services are truly complementary, we will be able to deliver true end-to-end patient access services: hub services fully integrated with affordability and adherence messaging solutions,” said Steve Fleck, founder and CEO of Careform. “Together, we are poised to become the leader in innovative pharmaceutical services.” Mr. Fleck added that Careform will remain in Pittsburgh.

“We are excited to support the continued growth of ConnectiveRx through the acquisition of Careform,” said Ben Marshall, Principal at Genstar Capital. “Careform adds a leading technology-based hub capability to ConnectiveRx’s expanding suite of solutions for specialty medications.”

About ConnectiveRx

Headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey, ConnectiveRx delivers affordability and adherence messaging solutions through all stages of the patient’s medication journey to help them get and stay on their medications. The company provides these solutions to over 125 biopharmaceutical manufacturers. ConnectiveRx is also home to PDR, a trusted brand with a 70-year history of delivering medication information to healthcare professionals nationally. Follow @ConnectiveRx on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. For more information, please visit www.connectiverx.com.

About Careform

Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Careform was founded in 2012 to simplify access to specialty pharmaceuticals through technology-enabled patient support services. BrandHub delivers inventory management, EHR integration and therapy cycle management to identify and remove barriers to patient access through its team of logistics experts dedicated to advancing the customer’s brand to providers, payers and patients. For more information, please visit www.careform.com.

About Genstar Capital 

Genstar Capital is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high-quality companies for more than 25 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar manages funds with total capital commitments of approximately $9 billion and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the industrial technology, healthcare, financial services and software industries. For more information, please visit www.gencap.com.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES:

ConnectiveRx and Careform
Donna K. Ramer
dramer@strategcations.com
917-744-2669

Genstar
Chris Tofalli Public Relations
Chris Tofalli
+914-834-4334
chris@tofallipr.com

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Insight Venture Partners Invests $26M Series B in LeanTaaS to Fuel Growth of Healthcare Operations Platform

Insight Venture

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–LeanTaaS, Inc., a Silicon Valley software innovator that increases patient access and transforms operational performance for healthcare providers, today announced that new investor Insight Venture Partners, a leading global venture capital and private equity firm, has invested $26 million in a Series B round of financing.

“Healthcare is a difficult space in which to bring about radical change,” said Jeff Horing, co-founder and managing director of Insight Venture Partners. “We are impressed by the quality of deep customer partnerships, the product portfolio and the team that LeanTaaS has assembled.”

The company’s solutions — relied upon by more than 40 of the nation’s leading hospitals and infusion centers — use lean principles, predictive analytics, machine learning and the cloud to dramatically improve the patient experience. LeanTaaS customers have reduced wait times for appointments and surgeries by up to 50 percent, increased patient access by as much as 30 percent and improved operational performance up to 20 percent through increased revenue and reduced costs.

The mathematical foundation on which patient appointments are scheduled is fundamentally flawed. As a result, expensive assets like infusion chairs, operating rooms, diagnostic imaging equipment and inpatient beds are commonly over- and underutilized, often on the same day.

LeanTaaS has quickly emerged as the leader in using advanced data science and mathematics to address this perplexing paradox. The company’s patent-pending algorithms help providers do more with existing assets and defer investments in additional staff, equipment and facilities. LeanTaaS solutions also improve surgeon access to valuable operating room time, lower wait times for patients and level-load the day for anesthesiologists, nurses and staff.

“We are privileged to work with many of the leading health systems in the country to demonstrate the impact of combining lean principles, predictive analytics and scalable software to drive significant improvements in operational performance and asset utilization,” said Mohan Giridharadas, founder and CEO of LeanTaaS. “This investment from Insight Venture Partners is a strong validation of our approach and will enable us to dramatically accelerate our growth over the coming years.”

The financing will fund continued investment in the LeanTaaS iQueue platform, which currently consists of two solutions: iQueue for Infusion Centers and iQueue for Operating Rooms. In May 2017, the company also established iQueue Labs, which explores answers to emerging, significant operational challenges in diagnostic imaging departments, emergency departments, pharmacies, labs and inpatient beds. The iQueue platform is a cloud service that works with any electronic health record and requires only minimal assistance by the provider’s internal IT staff to set up and use.

LeanTaaS joins an Insight Venture Partners portfolio that already boasts five companies on Inc.’s annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

Nordstjernan to invest in Lideta Hälsovård

 

Nordstjernan

Nordstjernan has reached an agreement with the founding Larsson/Lewné family on acquiring a majority of the shares in Lideta Hälsovård (“Lideta”). Dr. Simon Larsson and Hugo Lewné will remain as shareholders in Lideta, and Mr. Lewné will also remain as CEO.

Lideta engages in primary care via 15 units in Stockholm and southern Sweden. The company has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2001 by Dr. Larsson. The company currently has 93,000 listed patients, 350 employees and sales of approximately SEK 500 million. Over the last few years, Lideta has grown through acquisitions and invested in various digital initiatives to increase the accessibility and efficiency of primary care.

Tomas Billing, CEO of Nordstjernan, says:

“Nordstjernan sees a major future need of high-quality private health care. We are becoming the majority shareholder in Lideta, a well-managed company, with the ambition of being part of and developing a high-quality company in Swedish health care over many years.”

Hugo Lewné, CEO of Lideta, says:

“We are very pleased to get Nordstjernan as majority shareholder in Lideta. Our family looks forward to continuing to develop the company together with Nordstjernan.”

Lideta is Nordstjernan’s third investment in the care and health care sector. Since 2007, Nordstjernan has owned Etac, a global medical aid company whose offerings include products for people with impaired mobility. In 2015, Nordstjernan invested in the listed care company Attendo and is now the company’s largest shareholder.

Nordstjernan has a long tradition as an active shareholder in listed and private companies. Nordstjernan was founded in 1890 and its major shareholder is the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit.

The transaction is subject to approval from the relevant competition authorities, which is expected during the fourth quarter of 2017.

The parties have agreed not to publish the terms of the transaction.

Tomas Billing
President and CEO
Nordstjernan AB

Questions will be answered by:

Tomas Billing, CEO, Nordstjernan
Telephone: +46 8 788 50 18
E-mail: tomas.billing@nordstjernan.se

Hugo Lewné, CEO, Lideta Hälsovård
Telephone: +46 42 453 04 90
E-mail: hugo@lideta.se

Nordstjernan is a family-controlled investment company that creates growth in value through long-term and active ownership of Nordic companies. More information about Nordstjernan is available at www.nordstjernan.se. 

Lideta Hälsovård is a medical care company that engages in primary care in Stockholm and southern Sweden. More information about Lideta is available at www.lideta.se.

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Successful IPO of bm|t portfolio company inflaRx at NASDAQ

BM-T

InflaRx, the biopharmaceutical company developing new therapeutics in the terminal complement space, yesterday announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 6,667,000 common shares at an initial public offering price of $15.00 per common share, for total gross proceeds of approximately $100 million. In addition, InflaRx has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,000,050 common shares at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. All of the common shares are being offered by InflaRx.

InflaRx GmbH

The shares started trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on November 8, 2017 under the ticker symbol “IFRX.”

J.P. Morgan, Leerink Partners and BMO Capital Markets acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.

bm|t has been an investor in inflaRx from day one and is extremely proud have supported yet another success story from Thuringia.

About InflaRx: InflaRx is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on applying its proprietary anti-C5a technology to discover and develop first-in-class, potent and specific inhibitors of C5a.

Contacts:

InflaRx GmbH
Prof. Dr. Niels C. Riedemann – CEO
Email: info[at]inflarx.de
Tel: +49-3641-508180

MC Services AG
Dr. Claudia Gutjahr-Loeser
Email: inflarx[at]mc-services.eu
Tel: +49-89-210 2280

 

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Karolinska Development will receive shares in Pharmanest AB

Karolinska

STOCKHOLM – November 9, 2017. Karolinska Development today announces that the company will receive 140,149 shares in Pharmanest AB. Furthermore, the company will receive 11,527 shares via KCIF Co-Investment Fund. In total, this corresponds to an ownership of 10,4 percent in Pharmanest. Pharmanest is one of the companies covered by Karolinska Development’s earn out-agreements. The transaction requires approval at the general meeting at Pharmanest.

Pharmanest develops a new and innovative treatment of pain in conjunction with gynaecological procedures, based on its unique technology platform SHACT. The company recently entered a license agreement with the pharmaceutical company Gedeon Richter Plc. This agreement gives Gedeon Richter the right to commercialize Pharmanest’s SHACT technology in Europe, Latin America and other specific geographies.

Karolinska Development will receive 140,149 shares in Pharmanest. Moreover, Karolinska development will receive 11,527 shares via KCIF Co-Investment Fund KB, a holding company jointly owned by the European Investment Fund and Karolinska Development.

“The ownership in Pharmanest AB has a positive impact on our overall portfolio value and we look forward to following the company’s future development. This is yet another confirmation of the value in the earn-out agreements we have signed in conjunction with divestments”, says Viktor Drvota, CEO, Karolinska Development.
For further information, please contact:

Viktor Drvota, CEO, Karolinska Development AB
Phone: +46 73 982 52 02, e-mail: viktor.drvota@karolinskadevelopment.com

Christian Tange, CFO, Karolinska Development AB
Phone: +46 73 712 14 30, e-mail: christian.tange@karolinskadevelopment.com

TO THE EDITORS

About Karolinska Development AB
Karolinska Development AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: KDEV) is a Nordic life sciences investment company. The company focuses on identifying breakthrough medical innovations in the Nordic region that are developed by entrepreneurs and leadership teams. The Company invests in the creation and growth of companies that advance these assets into commercial products that are designed to make a difference to patients’ lives while providing an attractive return on investment to shareholders.

Karolinska Development has access to world-class medical innovations at the Karolinska Institutet and other leading universities and research institutes in the Nordic region. The Company aims to build companies around scientists who are leaders in their fields, supported by experienced management teams and advisers, and co-funded by specialist international investors, to provide the greatest chance of success.

Karolinska Development has established a portfolio of nine companies targeting opportunities in innovative treatment for life-threatening or serious debilitating diseases.

The Company is led by an entrepreneurial team of investment professionals with a proven track record as company builders and with access to a strong global network.

For more information, please visit www.karolinskadevelopment.com

This information is information that Karolinska Development AB (publ) (Nasdaq Stockholm: KDEV) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of Viktor Drvota, at 2.45 pm CET on 9 of November 2017. 

 

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CSAM Health AS announces agreement to aquire Databyrån AB

Priveq

The agreed Acquisition of ProSang company strengthens CSAM’s position as the leading provider of specialized solutions in the Nordic eHealth Market.

OSLO, Norway

(November 1st , 2017) – CSAM Health AS announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Swedish company Databyrån AB, makers of ProSang. With this acquisition, CSAM adds an exciting new specialized product area to its leading portfolio of eHealth niche solutions in the Nordics.

ProSang is an advanced Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) that simplifies the entire management of blood – from blood donor call–up to transfusion. Since its inception in 1965, Databyrån AB has grown to achieve a leading market position within the Nordics. Today, more than 180 blood centres and several clinical immunology and transplantation departments use ProSang.

“Databyrån AB has established loyal and satisfied user groups in many countries, and I am incredibly impressed by what their team has accomplished with ProSang,” said Sverre Flatby, CEO of CSAM. “We are proud that the owners of ProSang have chosen to join the CSAM team, and we look forward to welcoming them and working together to secure further growth and export.”

“To continue the journey towards our ambitious vision, I am confident that CSAM is the best home for ProSang, Databyrån’s employees, and our customers,” said Daniel Wiman, Press release November 1st, 2017

Chairman of Databyrån AB. “Today’s agreement ensures that our employees can continue working as a specialized team, while benefitting from the shared services CSAM provides, and strengthening our sales and development capabilities.” The Databyrån AB transaction reinforces CSAM’s focus on accelerating growth through strategic acquisitions, strengthening the company’s portfolio of niche products and their leadership position in the Nordic eHealth market.

About CSAM Health AS

CSAM is a privately-owned eHealth company delivering software solutions that enable healthcare providers to access relevant clinical information at the point of care. CSAM’s headquarters are located in Oslo, Norway, with local offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Oulu, Tampere, and London. The company also has a fully owned software engineering subsidiary in the Philippines. CSAM has established itself as a leading Nordic niche player in the specialized eHealth market, with a unique blend of best-in-class innovative technology and outstanding human skills. Backed by strong financial owners, CSAM aspires to achieve continued growth both organically and through selected mergers and acquisitions.

For more information, visit csamhealth.com

About Databyrån AB

Databyrån AB is based in Sweden and serves healthcare professionals across the Nordics. Founded in 1965, the company is a leader in software development for transfusion medicine, developing strong relationships with its users. Databyrån AB’s clients span the fields of transfusion medicine, immunology, transplantation immunology, and tissue management.

For more information, visit databyran.se and prosang.com

For more information, please contact:

Daniel Wiman

Chairman, Databyrån AB

+46 70-482 77 57

 

daniel.wiman@databyran.se

Sverre Flatby

Group CEO, CSAM Health AS

+47 9159 9159

sverre.flatby@csamhealth.com

 

 

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Deutsche Beteiligungs AG: Cleanpart Group sells healthcare business

Deutsche Beteiligungs AG

Sales of Healthcare division tripled in space of two years
•    Focus on semiconductor industry business
•    Objective: Expansion of market position in the US

Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 3 November 2017. Cleanpart Group GmbH, a company in the Deutschen Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) portfolio, will in future focus on providing services for the semiconductor industry and is therefore selling its healthcare business. The buyer is VAMED, a hospital services provider, majority owned by Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA. In April 2015, DBAG invested in Cleanpart alongside DBAG Fund VI for which it provides consultation; the fund had acquired the company as part of the company’s successor solution. The partial sale has been completed with an attractive valuation; it reflects the company’s development, the good course of business in the last two years and the positive outlook for the coming years. The valuation is above that of the investment value in the last interim report published by DBAG. The rise in value has already been taken into consideration in the current DBAG forecast for the 2016/2017 financial year (30 September, preliminary figures will be published on 23 November 2017).

Cleanpart Group (www.cleanpart.com) generated over 20 percent of its revenues with its healthcare business. The company prepared reusable medical products for hospitals as an external service provider. Services included manual and mechanical instrument cleaning and sterilisation as well as repair and maintenance. Cleanpart also provided hospital operators with planning and construction consultation as well as advice for the operation of central sterilisation. The healthcare business has shown very positive development over the last two years: revenues have trebled, internally, thanks to measures to broaden the service portfolio, and externally, thanks to the acquisition of a competitor. Investments were also made in a new site to expand capacity.

“The market environment in our core business – the semiconductor industry – is excellent and offers great growth opportunities with existing and new customers,” explains Dr Udo Nothelfer, Chairman of the Cleanpart Management Board. “We want to make the most of these opportunities by focussing on our core business.” This is due to the sustained high level of investment in the development of new semiconductor manufacturing facilities and the good capacity utilisation levels of existing production facilities. Cleanpart maintains process-critical components in machines that are primarily used in the production of logic chips, memory chips, etc. Since these components become contaminated and wear out, they must be regularly decontaminated, cleaned and coated to ensure that they meet the extreme purity and performance requirements in the production processes of chip manufacturers. This also extends the components’ useful lives.

Torsten Grede, Spokesman of the DBAG Board of Management, commented on the partial sale: “Cleanpart has a solid foundation and a leading market position in Europe – we will now assist the company’s management in expanding its market position in the US with a strategy based on high technological differentiation.”

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Norvestor divests Life Europe AB

Norvestor

Norvestor IV, L.P. (“Norvestor”) has signed an agreement to divest Life Europe AB (“Life” or “the Company”),a leading specialist retailer of health and wellness products in Sweden, Norway and Finland, to Fairford Group.

Norvestor invested in Life in 2005. During Norvestor’s ownership, the company has become the clear market leader as a specialist health and wellness retailer in the Nordic region and one of the largest specialist retailers within its’ space in the world. Life currently has over 380 stores including own stores and franchise stores. The Company has above 600 employees and revenues of around SEK 1.2 billion in Sweden, Norway and Finland.

“For the Norvestor team, it has been an interesting journey building Life to the clear market leader in the Nordics together with all the competent people in the Company. We are happy to see Fairford coming on board to support further development for Life and expand their strong market position”, says Lars Grinde, Managing Partner in Norvestor.

“With Norvestor as the main shareholder, Life has over the last years built not only the biggest health and wellness retail chain in the Nordic region but also the two biggest health and wellness product distributers. With this distribution power we look forward to meeting new opportunities together with Fairford”, says Erik Frydenberg, CEO in Life. Norvestor was advised by Advokatfirman Lindahl.

The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2017, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from competition authorities. The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the transaction.

For further information:

Lars Grinde, Managing Partner in Norvestor Equity AS

Telephone: +47402 11 444

Email: lars.grinde@norvestor.com

Erik Frydenberg, CEO in Life

Telephone: +47 922 29 955

Email: erik.fryd enberg@lifeeurope.com

 

Life Europe AB is the leading specialist retail of health and wellness products in Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Read more at www.lifebutiken.se

Norvestor Equity AS is a leading private equity company focusing on lower mid -market buyouts in the Nordic region. The team has worked together since 1991 making it one of the most experienced private equity teams in Norway, having executed 66 investments with 260 follow – on M&A transactions, in addition to executing 43 exits including 14 IPOs.

Norvestor focuses on investment opportunities in growth companies, making platform investments principally in Norway and Sweden, with potential to achieve a leading Nordic or international position either through organic growth, through acquisitions or by expanding into new countries. Funds advised by Norvestor are currently invested in the following portfolio companies; Johnson Metall, Sentech (formerly Advantec Sensing), Apsis, Aptilo, Cegal, Marine Aluminium, Crayon, Robust, iSurvey, Future Production, Nomor, PG Flow Solutions, Roadworks, Permascand, 4Service, HydraWell, Eneas, Presserv, Nordic Camping & Resort, READ Cased Hole, IT Gården, NetNordic and Wexus.

Read more at www.norvestor.com

 

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