BROOMFIELD, Colo., Dec. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Polaris Electro-Optics, Inc., a Colorado-based company, announced the successful completion of its over-subscribed Seed financing round, resulting in an investment of $3M. Polaris leverages patented material and design innovations to offer the highest speed, most energy efficient integrated photonics products to the communications and computing industries. The funding round was led by Rhapsody Venture Partners and garnered support from new investor Buff Gold Ventures as well as pre-seed investor, M Ventures. As part of this milestone, Bernard Lupien of Rhapsody Venture Partners will join Polaris’ Board of Directors.

Jason Sickler, CEO of Polaris, emphasized the significance of this financing round, stating, “The addition of Rhapsody and Buff Gold Ventures as shareholders, along with the unwavering support from M Ventures, underscores the vast potential of our platform technology to revolutionize the communications and computation sectors. To meet the ever-growing demands of these markets, we must deliver unparalleled speed, exceptional energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and stability. In all respects, Polaris’s technology stands unrivaled.”

Bernard Lupien, General Partner at Rhapsody Venture Partners, underlined the remarkable potential of Polaris’s platform, stating, “We’ve conducted thorough assessments of various technologies aimed at continually enhancing the speed and efficiency of optical communications.

We believe that Polaris’s platform has the most promising potential for solving the acute data transfer bottlenecks that the industry is facing.

This funding will be strategically allocated towards advancing material and design innovation. It will further enable Polaris Electro-Optics to showcase high-speed, high-efficiency devices designed for optical interconnect systems, reaffirming their commitment to transforming the optical technology landscape.”

Our excitement for Polaris Electro-Optics’ potential to deliver a step-function change to the silicon photonics roadmap has only increased since our pre-Seed investment, and we are more than glad to double down with our Seed round investment.

Through our existing investments in the photonics, optics, and high-performance compute sectors, we recognize an unmet and rapidly growing need for a next generation of electro-optic modulators. We believe that Polaris’ technology platform will be integral to enable the anticipated fundamental trends in high-performance compute, such as the shift towards datacenter disaggregation,

“Next to the intrinsic advantages in modulation physics, we see the clear route towards mass-manufacturability and back-end integration with existing fabrications processes as a major differentiator.”

“We are delighted to join the collaborative team of investors supporting Polaris Electro-Optics. The disruptive intellectual property licensed from the University of Colorado, combined with a strong team of experienced founders and technologists, gives Polaris a solid foundation for quick innovation and early traction,” noted Sally Hatcher, Managing Partner of Buff Gold Ventures.

About Polaris Electro-Optics, Inc.

At Polaris Electro-Optics, Inc., we believe that overcoming society’s greatest challenges requires mastery of the creation, movement, and use of information. We are mastering the movement of information by leveraging patented material and design innovations to offer the highest-speed, most energy efficient integrated photonics products to the communications and computation industries. Our goal is to define the standard for moving information. We work hard in a collaborative, cross-functional team environment, and value mutual trust and respect built on a foundation of integrity, transparency, consistency, and humility. Additional information about Polaris is available at www.PolarisEO.com.

About Rhapsody Venture Partners

Rhapsody Venture Partners is a venture firm in Cambridge, MA, that funds early-stage applied science and engineering companies. Rhapsody’s team works side-by-side with entrepreneurs to secure anchor customers that reduce time-to-commercialization and accelerate growth. www.RhapsodyVP.com

About M Ventures

M Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. From its headquarters in the Netherlands and offices in Germany, USA and Israel, M Ventures invests globally in transformational ideas driven by innovative entrepreneurs. Taking an active role in its portfolio companies, M Ventures teams up with management teams and co-investors to translate scientific discoveries into commercial success. M Ventures focuses on identifying and financing novel solutions to some of the most difficult challenges, through company creation and equity investments in fields that will impact the vitality and sustainability of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s current and future businesses. www.M-Ventures.com

About Buff Gold Ventures

Buff Gold Ventures is a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in and supporting innovative startups affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder. Our mission is to accelerate the development of disruptive technologies that address global challenges while fostering the growth of the next generation of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. We invest in technology and the diverse teams solving some of the world’s most pressing problems. www.BuffGoldVentures.com.

New York, December 5, 2023 – Today, Blackstone (NYSE: BX) announced that private equity funds affiliated with Blackstone have closed the acquisition of Power Grid Components, Inc. (“PGC”) from Shorehill Capital LLC.

PGC is a leading domestic designer and manufacturer of a wide range of critical components for protection, monitoring, and safety applications in electrical substations, an essential segment of the electrical grid responsible for managing and monitoring power flows and converting electricity into different voltages. As a supplier of critical components to the grid and partner to many of the nation’s largest electrical utilities, PGC advances the global energy transition by improving the reliability, capacity, and safety of the grid, by enabling the deployment of new renewable generation, and by supporting broad electrification trends. PGC was founded in 2017 by CEO Rick McClure and Shorehill Capital LLC.  Mr. McClure and the other senior leaders will remain with the business in their current positions following the transaction.

David Foley, Global Head of Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, said: “As a leading investor in the energy transition, we proactively seek out companies with strong, entrepreneurial management and work to help them fully capitalize on the growth opportunities available to them. The acquisition of Power Grid Components fits squarely within one of our favorite investment themes – the U.S. electrical grid, joining our other recent grid-related investments, including Champlain Hudson Power Express, equipment manufacturers such as Sabre and grid software companies such as Energy Exemplar.”

John-Paul (JP) Munfa, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, added: “We’re thrilled to invest in PGC, which we believe is well-positioned to benefit from tremendous growth driven by long-term secular tailwinds associated with the need to replace aging electrical grid infrastructure, connect newly-built renewable power generation, increase capacity to meet growing electricity demand, and harden the grid to improve its reliability. We look forward to working with Rick and his team on this next chapter for PGC. PGC has built strong, long-term relationships with many of our nation’s leading electrical utilities and has positioned itself as an acquiror of choice within the electrical components sector.”

Rick McClure, CEO of Power Grid Components, Inc., said: “Our leadership team is thrilled to be partnering with Blackstone, a leader in energy transition investing. We believe Blackstone will be an outstanding strategic partner in helping us achieve long-term growth while continuing to supply essential components with outstanding quality, reliability and lead times to North America’s electrical utilities.”

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 Blackstone Energy Transition Partners   
Blackstone Energy Transition Partners is Blackstone’s energy-focused private equity business, a leading energy investor with a successful long-term record, having invested over $21 billion of equity globally across a broad range of sectors within the energy industry. Our investment philosophy is based on backing exceptional management teams with flexible capital to provide solutions that help energy companies grow and improve performance, thereby delivering cleaner, more reliable and affordable energy to meet the needs of the global community. In the process, we build stronger, larger scale enterprises, create jobs and generate lasting value for our investors, employees and all stakeholders.

About Power Grid Components, Inc.
Power Grid Components, Inc. was formed by electric grid products industry veteran Rick McClure and Shorehill Capital LLC to acquire and grow companies that manufacture, and supply products used in the North American electric power grid. Currently, the company is a supplier of high voltage disconnect switchgear, high quality porcelain and glass insulators, as well as instrument transformers for revenue metering and protective relaying to electric utilities, original equipment manufacturers and other customers who support the grid.

Contact
Kate Holderness
Kate.holderness@blackstone.com
917-318-6818

• Under Nordic Capital’s ownership, Consilium Safety Group has made a profound transformation becoming an innovative global leader within SafetyTech in attractive niche markets
  
• Consilium Safety Group has invested in organic growth and R&D and has further expanded its global service coverage to protect lives, values and the planet
• The Company has seen significant increases in sales and almost tripled its profits in three years

Nordic Capital, a leading sector-specialised private equity investor, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Consilium Safety Group, a leading provider of innovative SafetyTech, to a wholly-owned affiliate of Antin Infrastructure Partners’ Flagship Fund V. During Nordic Capital’s ownership period, Consilium Safety Group has developed to become a global innovation leader in safety technologies specialising in intelligent Fire, Flame and Gas detection within the marine, energy, transport and building sectors.

Following Nordic Capital’s acquisition in 2020, Consilium Safety Group became a stand-alone company fully focused on putting safety first for its customers. Since then, the company has grown significantly and transformed into a leading provider of mission-critical infrastructure in highly demanding and regulated end markets, with a premier standard of global service coverage. Consilium Safety Group has professionalised its organisation and operations, effectively utilising its innovative technology and service platform to expand its top-tier offering to make a lasting, positive impact and continue protecting lives, values and the planet. Revenues have increased from SEK 1.4 bn to SEK 2.5 bn, and EBITDA has almost tripled in three years.

In partnership with the Consilium Safety Group management team, Nordic Capital has focused on Consilium Safety Group’s core strategy and its customer offering within SafetyTech. Significant investments into R&D and innovation, expansion of the product and aftermarket offerings and, commercial initiatives to increase digitalisation and refine operations, have created a more integrated, efficient, and connected organisation. Consilium Safety Group is now well positioned to take its next step with further international growth and innovative product development ahead.

“We are very proud of what Nordic Capital and Consilium Safety Group’s management team has together achieved, creating a leading and innovative company with a global footprint. The plans set out at the time of the acquisition have been successfully executed much earlier than expected. We want to thank the whole team at Consilium Safety Group for their contribution during these years. Consilium Safety Group is now well placed to continue its growth trajectory and outperform the market. This marks the culmination of a very successful partnership and the start of an exciting next phase for Consilium Safety Group,” said Joakim Andreasson, Managing Director, Nordic Capital Advisors.

“Nordic Capital’s operational focus, deep sector insights and expertise in how to fuel global expansion, have been instrumental in the growth of Consilium Safety Group. Together, we have achieved great results quicker than we expected. We thank them for their support and guidance as we take the next step of our journey. As we embark on the next chapter, we are very excited to partner with Antin. We will continue delivering mission-critical safety and operational resilience to our customers and with Antin’s support, we look forward to investing further in the expansion of our offering, capabilities, and presence,” said Philip Isell Lind af Hageby, CEO, Consilium Safety Group.

“We are very impressed by the team at Consilium Safety Group and their commitment to safety, continuous innovation, and customer service. The company has built an extensive international footprint which enables it to support its customers who rely on Consilium Safety Group’s mission-critical infrastructure for their operations,” said Simon Söder, Senior Partner, Antin Infrastructure Partners.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Completion of the transaction is expected in H1 2024, and is subject to customary closing conditions, including relevant regulatory approvals.

Citigroup Global Markets acted as financial advisor to Nordic Capital.

Press contacts:

Nordic Capital

Katarina Janerud
Communications Manager, Nordic Capital Advisors
Tel: +46 8 440 50 50
e-mail: katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com

Consilium Safety Group

Malin Cardemar
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer
Tel: +46 735 95 32 51
e-mail: malin.cardemar@consiliumsafety.com

Antin Infrastructure Partners
Nicolle Graugnard, Communication Director
Email: nicolle.graugnard@antin-ip.com

About Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital is a leading sector-specialised private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Focus sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services, and selectively, Industrial & Business Services. Key regions are Europe and globally for Healthcare and Technology & Payments investments. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested EUR 23 billion in 140 investments. The most recent entities are Nordic Capital XI with EUR 9.0 billion in committed capital and Nordic Capital Evolution with EUR 1.2 billion in committed capital, principally provided by international institutional investors such as pension funds. Nordic Capital Advisors have local offices in Sweden, the UK, the US, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and South Korea. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com.

“Nordic Capital” refers to, depending on the context, any, or all, Nordic Capital branded entities, vehicles, structures, and associated entities. The general partners and/or delegated portfolio managers of Nordic Capital’s entities and vehicles are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities, any or all of which are referred to as “Nordic Capital Advisors”.

Consilium Safety Group
Consilium Safety Group is a world-leading solution provider of fire, flame and gas safety technologies for the marine, energy, transport and building sectors. By combining safety expertise with intelligent detection, the company contributes to protecting lives, values, and the planet through technology. What started in 1912 is today an international company driven by innovation. Consilium Safety Group is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, has more than 55 offices, covering all time zones, and strives to be a great place to grow for all its 900 employees.

About Antin Infrastructure Partners
Antin Infrastructure Partners is a leading private equity firm focused on infrastructure. With over €30 billion in assets under management across its Flagship, Mid Cap and NextGen investment strategies, Antin targets investments in the energy and environment, digital, transport and social infrastructure sectors. With offices in Paris, London, New York, Singapore and Luxembourg, Antin employs over 220 professionals dedicated to growing, improving and transforming infrastructure businesses while delivering long-term value to portfolio companies and investors. Majority owned by its partners, Antin is listed on Euronext Paris (Ticker: ANTIN – ISIN: FR0014005AL0)

Flexiramics recently has raised a follow-on investment of € 4.5M in from new and existing shareholders, including Cottonwood Technology Fund, Demcon Investment, Oost NL and 819 Capital Partners.

Flexiramics’ unique technology produces 100% ceramic nanofibers in the form of ultra-thin mat and other products with one-of-a-kind material properties that address customer unmet needs across multiple industrial applications, including microfiltration, membranes, catalyst support and heat dissipation in electronics.

CEO Andy Wynn: “I would like to thank all of our shareholders for their tremendous support over the last two years in helping our growing team build such an exciting portfolio of commercial opportunities and deliver the world’s first pilot facility for production of ceramic nanofiber mats. This new investment will enable the team to grow Flexiramics® from a start up to a scale up over the next 2 years and position the company for full scale productionization and commercialization.”

CTO and founder Gerard Cadafalch Gazquez: “This new investment is a major step towards our strategic goal of becoming the leader in enabling breakthrough engineering solutions through non-woven ceramic materials and derivatives.”

819 Capital Partners invested in Flexiramics from 819 Evergreen Fund.

HEXPOL has acquired 100% of the shares in the American TPE Compounder Star Thermoplastic Alloys and Rubbers, Inc. (“Star Thermoplastics”) from Thomas A. Dieschbourg. Through the acquisition, HEXPOL establishes presence on the growing American TPE market. Thomas A. Dieschbourg founded the company in 1993 and has developed the company into a technically advanced TPE company. Thomas A. Dieschbourg will remain as the President of the company.

“The acquisition of Star Thermoplastics is in line with our growth strategy and will enable HEXPOL to enter the American TPE market through a well-established company with a strong product portfolio.”

Peter Rosén, Acting CEO and CFO

“HEXPOL’s addition of Star Thermoplastics to HEXPOL TPE portfolio is a perfect fit. HEXPOL will provide enhanced capabilities and a better geographic reach. The transaction will be beneficial both to the Star Thermoplastics employees and to HEXPOL.”

Thomas A. Dieschbourg

”Star Thermoplastics will enable us to replicate our successful European TPE growth journey on the larger American TPE market. Both our existing TPE companies in Europe and China and Star Thermoplastics will be stronger through this expanded footprint.”

Ralph Wolkener and Carsten Rüter, Presidents HEXPOL TPE Compounding

Star Thermoplastics currently has a turnover of approximately 20 MUSD with a profitability level below that of the HEXPOL Group. Star Thermoplastics has its operations near Chicago, Illinois, USA at one well-invested location with plenty of growth capacity and has some 30 employees. The main end customer segments are automotive, building & construction, medical, industrial, electronics and consumer.

The acquisition price amounts to 26.5 MUSD on a cash and debt free basis and is funded by a combination of cash on hand and existing bank facilities. Star Thermoplastics will be consolidated by HEXPOL from 1 November 2023.

For further information please contact:

Peter Rosén
Acting CEO and CFO
peter.rosen@hexpol.com

+46 (0) 73 656 49 34

HEXPOL is a world-leading polymers group with strong global positions in advanced polymer compounds (Compounding), gaskets for plate heat exchangers (Gaskets and Seals), and wheels made of polymer materials for truck and castor wheel applications (Wheels). Customers are primarily system suppliers to the global automotive and engineering industry, building and construction industry and within sectors as transportation, energy, consumer and cable industry and manufacturers of medical equipment, plate heat exchangers and forklifts. The Group is organized in two business areas, HEXPOL Compounding and HEXPOL Engineered Products. The HEXPOL Group’s sales in 2022 amounted to 22,243 MSEK and the Group has approximately 5,000 employees in fourteen countries. Further information can be found at www.hexpol.com.

Torqx Capital Partners (“Torqx”) is pleased to announce that it has acquired a majority share in ELCEE, a leading fabless supplier of mechanical components and assemblies for a wide range of industries. The company is active in the (co-)development, design, engineering, sourcing, supply chain-and inventory management of mechanical engineered parts. ELCEE is headquartered in Dordrecht and operates through local offices across Europe combined with technical support centers in China, The Netherlands and Poland.

Together with Torqx Capital Partners ELCEE straightaway acquires Prins, a supplier of tailor-made castings and forgings, headquartered in the Netherlands with sourcing & test centers in China and India. The Prins acquisition will complement ELCEE’s current product portfolio, customer base and geographic reach. By joining forces with Prins, the company will be able to offer more value-added solutions to customers and leverage synergies in operations, procurement, and engineering.

Torqx has followed ELCEE with great interest over the last years and is very familiar with its end markets and business model via relevant experience from previous investments. On the back of deep industry understanding and extensive experience, Torqx will support the management team to realize ELCEE’s future organic (and inorganic) growth plans. It is Torqx’ ambition to help ELCEE further develop into the undisputed market leader in its core countries.

Peter Fluitsma, CEO of ELCEE states that: “With Rivean Capital’s support, ELCEE has evolved beyond its Dutch origins to become a pan-European industrial supplier driven by an active buy-and-build strategy. Coming from 9 separate operating companies and refining the ELCEE strategy as of 2018, we created a solid platform ready to facilitate the next phase of profitable growth. Going forward Torqx is a partner that shares our vision and values and has a proven track record of building better businesses in a wide range of manufacturing- technical distribution- and other, mostly B2B industries. With Torqx as our partner and Prins in our group, we will have more resources, capabilities and opportunities to grow and develop ELCEE further.”

Marcel Pot, CEO Prins Castings & Forgings; “With over 85 years of experience, Prins has become a prominent supplier specialised in castings and forgings. Our journey reflects a commitment to quality and innovation, leading us from our origins as a trading entity to our present role as a valued business partner. Joining forces with ELCEE represents a significant milestone. This strategic collaboration, supported by Torqx’s experience and proven track record in building businesses, promises new opportunities and synergies. Together, we’ll leverage our combined strengths and resources to deliver even greater value to our customers and establish our position as a global market leader in the industry.”

Rik Leunissen, Partner at Torqx, further states that: “Over the last years, ELCEE has proven itself as the go-to supplier for customer-specific, mission-critical engineered mechanical components and assemblies. We admire ELCEE as a thriving enterprise that has achieved notable success over the past years and is set for the next phase of accelerated growth. Also, we believe it provides a unique opportunity to both companies to combine ELCEE and Prins as one group – with that further solidifying its market leading position in the Benelux and increasing scale in a.o. the German market. This will allow the companies to be able to become even more successful using ELCEE’s and Prins’ combined market power and scale. We are excited to partner with- and support management in further refining and executing their strategy, leveraging Torqx’ extensive experience with similar businesses and deep industry understanding.”

For this transaction, Houthoff and DLA Piper acted as legal advisors to Torqx, with PwC providing financial and tax due diligence services.

About ELCEE
ELCEE is the go-to fabless supplier of mission-critical engineered and standard mechanical components and assemblies for leading manufacturing industries in North-West Europe. The company has approximately 250 FTE’s and is headquartered in Dordrecht, the Netherlands with local sales offices across Europe and technical support centers in China, The Netherlands and Poland. ELCEE provides in-house engineering support as well as quality control and inventory management and serves customers across the material handling, agri- & food processing, equipment manufacturing, construction- and shipbuilding industries, among others. ELCEE carries a strong engineering driven portfolio, as well as an assortment of products from world class brands Crosby, igus® and Wärtsila which are used as single assortments as well as in assemblies. For more information, please visit www.elcee.com.

About Prins Castings & Forgings
Prins is a supplier of tailor-made castings and forgings and helps out in the engineering, design, and quality control phases. Prins has approximately 50 FTEs, is headquartered in Amersfoort, The Netherlands and has locations in China and India to support local operations. Prins is stockholder for custom made products and serves a variety of industries a.o. railinfra-structure, earthmoving equipment, commercial vehicles, building and construction equipment. For more information, please visit www.primepro.eu.