Tag Archives: Software

Ardian arranges senior debt to finance Castik’s carve-out acquisition of Wolters Kluwer Transport Services

London, July 13th 2017 – Ardian, the independent private investment company, today announced the arrangement of a Senior Debt financing facility to finance Castik Capital’s carve-out acquisition of Wolters Kluwer Transport Services (“WKTS”), a leading European-focused provider of logistics management cloud-based software platforms. The financing marks the beginning of Ardian Private Debt’s Senior Debt direct lending capabilities.

WKTS was founded in 1985 under the name Teleroute, primarily offering Freight Exchange (“FX”) solutions. The Company was acquired by the Wolters Kluwer Group in 1989, which led an expansion of its product portfolio to include Transportation Management Software (“TMS”) solutions, whilst also driving strong business growth both organically and through selective M&A. Under the ownership of the Wolters Kluwer Group, WKTS has significantly expanded its geographical presence throughout Europe, and has recently expanded internationally into the US, China, and Latin America. The company currently serves more than 100,000 users across 80 countries.

WKTS primarily focuses on end-customers transporting large volumes of low value goods, where both shippers and carriers benefit significantly from managing transport volumes through web-based platforms. Within the broader market, WKTS is focused on cloud-based platforms, covering ‘matching’ through its FX platform, and ‘logistics management networks’ through its TMS platform.

ABOUT WKTS

WKTS, founded in 1985 and headquartered in Brussels, provides its customers with “on demand” Transportation Management Software and Services, equally catering for all transport and logistics professionals. With over 100,000 users across 80 countries, and through the breadth of their service offerings, WKTS is one of the few providers able to address the needs of the entire logistics supply chain via carriers, freight forwarders, logistics providers, and shippers.

www.wktransportservices.com

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian, founded in 1996 and led by Dominique Senequier, is an independent private investment company with assets of US$62 billion managed or advised in Europe, North America and Asia. The company, which is majority-owned by its employees, keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and delivers investment performance to its global investors while fuelling growth in economies across the world. Ardian’s investment process embodies three values: excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship.

Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 460 employees working through twelve offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore and Zurich. The company offers its 580 investors a diversified choice of funds covering the full range of asset classes, including Ardian Funds of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary), Ardian Private Debt, Ardian North America Direct Buyout, Direct Funds (Ardian Mid Cap Buyout, Ardian Expansion, Ardian Growth, Ardian Co-Investment), Ardian Infrastructure, Ardian Real Estate and customized mandate solutions with Ardian Mandates.

www.ardian.com

ABOUT CASTIK

Castik Capital, founded in 2014, is based in Luxembourg and focuses on identifying and developing investment opportunities across Europe. The advisor to Castik Capital is Castik Capital Partners GmbH, based in Munich. The professionals of Castik Capital and Castik Capital Partners have worked together for many years and collectively the partners have more than 100 years of relevant experience in private equity, industry, consulting, and banking.

Funds managed by Castik Capital aim to deliver superior returns through a flexible, focused, and long-term approach to investing and value creation.

Castik Capital is currently investing out of its first fund which has a volume of €1 billion.

www.castik.lu

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Viking Venture exits EcoOnline at 10 times the investment

Viking Venture exits EcoOnline at 10 times the investment

Viking Venture, the Norwegian B2B software specialist, is happy to announce its divestiture of chemical management software provider EcoOnline AS to Summa Equity. After developing the company into a rapidly growing undisputed market leader in the Nordics, Viking Venture exits at 10 times the investment in 2.5 years. Viking Venture reinvests parts of the proceeds in EcoOnline to facilitate further growth in the Nordics and to establish a leading position in Europe. 

EcoOnline is sold to Summa Equities, a leading Nordic private equity firm, in an all cash transaction valuing EcoOnline at NOK 355 million. Viking Venture owned 64% of EcoOnline prior to the transaction.

– The sale of EcoOnline is a highly successful exit, yielding 10 times return on our investment in only 2.5 years, says Erik Hagen, managing partner of Viking Venture and the former chairman of the board of EcoOnline.

– With Summa Equity as a strong partner we will continue the rapid growth in our existing markets and are ready to expand into Europe, says Jostein Vik, partner of Viking Venture and former board member of EcoOnline. – We want to take part in the continued value creation and are reinvesting a substantial sum together with management”.

Summa will own 69% of the shares after the transaction while Viking Venture retains 23%. The remaining 8% is owned by management and employees.

 

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BlackFin Capital Partners announces the acquisition of Buckaroo

 

Blackfin

BlackFin Capital Partners announces the acquisition of Buckaroo

BlackFin Capital Partners has entered into an agreement with Intrum Justitia to acquire 100% of the shares in Buckaroo BV. The acquisition will be subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval, with an expected closing during the third quarter of 2017.

Buckaroo is a leading and multiple award winning Dutch payment service provider servicing over 5000 merchants. Buckaroo has grown into the absolute specialist in payment solutions in recent years. Many corporates and medium-sized companies use Buckaroo to facilitate their growth in business in ecommerce, mobile business or offline business.

BlackFin, a private equity firm specialized in the financial services & fintech sector, is deeply committed to invest in Buckaroo in order to accelerate the company’s growth strategy together with the management team. This will enable Buckaroo to capitalize on the fast growing e-commerce segment and the rapidly evolving payment space.

“We are pleased with BlackFin as our new shareholder. With their expertise and track record in accelerating growth we will embark on an ambitious growth strategy for Buckaroo and expand the service offering to clients.” Andre Valkenburg, CEO Buckaroo

“This investment marks our strong interest in the attractive payments space in the Netherlands. We are looking forward to working together with the management team of Buckaroo and support them in realizing their exciting growth path.” Eric May, Founding Partner of BlackFin

BlackFin’s investment in Buckaroo also marks BlackFin’s first investment in the Netherlands led by the Benelux team of BlackFin. During the deal, BlackFin Capital was advised by Kempen & Co, Loyens & Loeff, Regulation Partners and Ernst & Young.

About Buckaroo

Buckaroo

Founded in 2005, Buckaroo is a leading provider of payment solutions in the Netherlands, specialised in offering next generation payment gateways, subscription services and credit management for merchants. It services over 5000 customers and has over 200 partners. Buckaroo has been recognised as Best Payment Provider in the Netherlands by Emerce Top 100 for the last four years.

https://www.buckaroo-payments.com

 

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Comtravo, the AI business travel platform raises €8.5 million in Series A round

Berlin, July 6th, 2017. Comtravo closed an €8.5 million Series A financing round co-led by Berlin-based VC Project A and Swedish VC fund Creandum. The AI business travel platform makes booking and managing business trips as simple as sending an email. With the new funding, Comtravo will accelerate their product development and open the door for future international expansion.

Comtravo’s software translates text requests such as email into structured queries using natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence technology to provide the best travel options for individual travelers based on specified preferences as well as previous booking behavior. This way, users can quickly book personalized offers with one click directly in the email.

For small- and medium-sized companies, which account for two thirds of the global business travel market, Comtravo offers an easy-to-use and cost-efficient solution to manage business travel with the additional benefit of a centralized billing system.

“Comtravo is combining the best talent in the space with cutting-edge technology and excellent execution. A perfect mix to tackle a market with huge potential for disruption,” says Anton Waitz, Partner at Project A. “We have been using the product for more than a year and we love it.”

Simon Schmincke, Principal at Creandum adds: “We were immediately convinced by the idea and the implementation. Much of the innovation that already exists in the leisure travel market is still missing in the business travel market. Comtravo has the strongest team in artificial intelligence and travel technology to revolutionize business travel.”

Focusing on research and development in the last year and a half, Comtravo’s technology has evolved to the point that more than 35% of the travel requests are processed fully automated. Experienced travel experts constantly train the software and ensure a superior customer experience. Comtravo combines the services of a classic travel agency with the efficiency of online tools.

“It makes no sense at all that very well-trained travel agents are concerned about simple standard requests, as it is the case in many classic travel agencies. Thanks to our technology, our agents on average need one third of the time that is required in a fully manual process,” explains Michael Riegel, CEO of Comtravo. “At the same time, Comtravo is able to bundle the demand of small- and medium-sized companies to negotiate better conditions for its customers like a purchasing group.”

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Enoro sold to Hansen Technologies in Australia

Herkules III and the management shareholders in Enoro have signed an agreement to sell Enoro to the Australian Hansen Technologies.
Hansen Technologies is a publicly traded company on the Australian stock exchange that delivers customer care and billing solutions to the energy, utilities, Pay TV, and telecommunications industries worldwide.Herkules III acquired Elis in 2010 with the ambition to create a leading Nordic software provider to the utilities sector. Two add-on acquisitions were made in 2011 and the company was rebranded Enoro in 2012.Enoro has since the acquisition of Elis grown to become a leading European software provider for the utilities sector, providing customer information systems and meter and energy data management.  The company has operations in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. The revenue base has through organic growth and acquisitions increased to NOK 317 million in 2016 from NOK 64 million 2010, and EBITDA has grown to a run rate of close to NOK 60 million, from NOK 18 million in 2010.

In 2016, Enoro Generis was awarded a contract for the data hub in the Netherlands (covering 17 million metering points), while Enoro CIS won a new landmark deal with Fortum Markets in Finland.

We are pleased about the development of the company, growing from a local company to a leading European player, and we believe Hansen Technologies is a perfect owner for the company going forward. For Herkules III the investment has delivered an annual return in the high teens.

 

Please see Hansen Technologies press release for more information:http://www.hsntech.com

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Enoro sold to Hansen Technologies in Australia

Herkules III and the management shareholders in Enoro have signed an agreement to sell Enoro to the Australian Hansen Technologies.

Hansen Technologies is a publicly traded company on the Australian stock exchange that delivers customer care and billing solutions to the energy, utilities, Pay TV, and telecommunications industries worldwide.

Herkules III acquired Elis in 2010 with the ambition to create a leading Nordic software provider to the utilities sector. Two add-on acquisitions were made in 2011 and the company was rebranded Enoro in 2012.

Enoro has since the acquisition of Elis grown to become a leading European software provider for the utilities sector, providing customer information systems and meter and energy data management. The company has operations in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. The revenue base has through organic growth and acquisitions increased to NOK 317 million in 2016 from NOK 64 million 2010, and EBITDA has grown to a run rate of close to NOK 60 million, from NOK 18 million in 2010.

In 2016, Enoro Generis was awarded a contract for the data hub in the Netherlands (covering 17 million metering points), while Enoro CIS won a new landmark deal with Fortum Markets in Finland.

We are pleased about the development of the company, growing from a local company to a leading European player, and we believe Hansen Technologies is a perfect owner for the company going forward. For Herkules III the investment has delivered an annual return in the high teens.

Please see Hansen Technologies press release for more information:http://www.hsntech.com

Herkules Capital is exclusive advisor to the Herkules Private Equity Funds.

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HgCapital leads $5.3bn buyout of Visma, Europe’s largest ever software buyout

  • HgCapital leads the largest ever European software buyout in a transaction valued at NOK45bn / £4.2bn / $5.3bn
  • HgCapital led the buying investor group and will ultimately represent 41% of Visma equity as a result of this transaction; significant minority investors are Cinven, GIC, Montagu and ICG alongside management who will retain a 7% stake in the business
  • HgCapital led the public-to-private investment in Visma in 2006 and has been a key shareholder for 11 years, increasing its ownership in both 2014 and now in 2017

29 June 2017: HgCapital has today announced a further investment into Visma Group Holdings (“Visma”), a leading provider of business-critical software to SMBs in the Nordic and Benelux region. HgCapital will invest a further £238 million, in addition to its current holding, valuing the total business at an enterprise value of NOK45 billion (£4.2 billion, US$5.3 billion), making this the largest ever software buyout in Europe and one of the top 5 globally.

HgCapital will be the lead investor in the new transaction structure, representing 41% of the equity, alongside GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, Montagu and ICG, who will hold minority stakes. Following this transaction, KKR will have realised its entire stake in the business, with Cinven separately retaining a shareholding of c. 17% in Visma. GIC, Montagu and ICG are all committing direct capital to the business, which continues to demonstrate the ability of Visma to attract world-class institutional investor support to help drive the future growth of the business.

This group is collectively acquiring 100% of KKR’s stake in Visma and 40% of Cinven’s shareholding as part of their exit process; investing a total of c. £1.4 billion of equity as part of the transaction. Completion is subject to regulatory approval.

This transaction values HgCapital ‘s 2014 investment in Visma at 2.4x original cost / c. 36% gross IRR in NOK, after less than three years of ownership.

In 2002, HgCapital’s TMT team identified regulatory-driven, subscription-based software as an attractive sub-sector with scope for considerable growth over the following decade.  HgCapital has made more than twelve investments in the regulatory-driven software space over the last fifteen years and more than 150 bolt-on acquisitions over this same period.  In total HgCapital has made 37 software TMT investments and over 200 bolt-on software acquisitions since 2002, making the firm comfortably the most active European TMT investor over this period.

HgCapital initially invested £101 million in Visma in 2006 (through the firm’s HgCapital 5 fund), completing a public-to-private de-listing from the Oslo stock exchange valuing the business at £382m at that time. HgCapital subsequently continued to hold a stake in the business and supported Visma’s continued growth over the next eight years, before re-investing again in 2014 (through its HgCapital 7 Fund), alongside both KKR and Cinven.

Visma gives investors ongoing exposure to a leading provider of mission critical accounting, resource planning and payroll software to small and medium-sized enterprises as well as the public sector in the Nordic region. HgCapital has known Visma and its management team since 2004 and will continue to support the business going forward in order to grow revenues both organically and through acquisitions.

HgCapital will continue to work with Visma’s management in the ongoing transition of the company’s software products to Software as a Service (“SaaS”).  Visma is one of the leading SaaS providers to SMB’s and the public sector in Europe, with the potential to accelerate this growth both through organic investment and further bolt-on acquisitions.

Producent van software voor (online) boekhouden, voorraadhoudende groothandel, projectadministratie, urenregistratie, accountancy, relatiebeheer en HRM- en salarisadministratie

Visma’s performance over the eleven years since 2006 has been consistently strong, growing both revenues, profit, employee numbers and research and development investment every year including throughout the financial crisis, Visma’s revenues grew from NOK1.6 billion in 2006 to NOK7.9 billion in 2016, a compound annual growth rate of 17%; EBITDA increased from NOK240 million in 2006 to NOK1.9 billion in 2016, (CAGR of 23%). Separately, the company has also completed more than 120 bolt-on acquisitions over the same period and improved operating margins from 15% to 25%.

“We have been incredibly fortunate to partner with Øystein Moan, CEO of Visma, and his exceptional management team over the last 11 years. They and we have an exciting vision for the business which sees us delivering an ever-increasing number of products and services to our millions of happy customers” said Nic Humphries, Senior Partner and Head of the TMT team at HgCapital.

Øystein Moan, CEO of Visma commented “With KKR now realising their holding after 7 years of investment in Visma, the management team appreciates our long-term investor HgCapital, increasing their holding in the business to 41%. KKR have been good owners of Visma and the company has enjoyed strong growth under their guidance. With deep sector knowledge, HgCapital has made a significant contribution to the development of Visma since 2006, and we look forward to working together towards pan-European expansion and transformation to a pure cloud computing company together with Cinven, GIC, Montagu and ICG. This global network and access to capital will be important when developing and growing Visma over the coming years.”

HgCapital and the buying investor group were advised on this transaction by Arma Partners, Lazard, Deloitte, Skadden, White & Case and Bain & Co.

 

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Viking Venture invests in gamified 3D simulation specialist Attensi

Viking Venture, the Norwegian B2B software investor, is happy to announce its investment in Attensi AS, a leader in gamified 3D simulations and training solutions. Viking Venture joins Attensi in order to help the company grow internationally.

Attensi was founded by serial entrepreneur Odd Skarheim in 2009 in Oslo, Norway, and has grown to be a leader in the use of gamified solutions for workforce training.

3D Gamified training

Attensi uses advanced 3D modelling with deep insight of human behavior and psychology to train employees in authentic situations involving human interaction and the operation of business critical software and systems. The company has customers such as global pharma company Merck, Norwegian leading retailer NorgesGruppen, car dealer Bertel O Steen and Avinor Oslo Airport Gardermoen among its more than 50 customers.
– At Avinor Oslo Airport we were able to train more than 22,000 employees before the new terminal building was finished, says Attensi CEO Anne Lise Waal.

Scalable tools and solutions

Viking Venture acquires 34% of Attensi and will help the company grow internationally.
– Viking Venture has an extensive track record from working with fast growing Norwegian B2B software companies. We are at an inflection point where international growth is our next focus and believe Viking Venture is the best partner for that journey, commented Odd Skarheim, Chairman and Founder of Attensi.
– We were impressed by the team and their products from the first moment. Attensi’s solutions make training fun and efficient in a way traditional e-learning never has been able to. The company is able to prove remarkable effects from their unique approach. We believe this is a new paradigm within digital learning and training says Eivind Bergsmyr, partner at Viking Venture and board member of Attensi.
– Attensi is an ideal fit with our B2B software investment focus and a great addition to the more than 40 investments we have done so far, adds Erik Hagen, Managing Partner of Viking Venture and a fellow board member of Attensi.

About Attensi

Attensi is a leader in 3D gamified simulations and training solutions headquartered in Oslo, Norway. The company has 40 employees and serves more than 50 customers over a wide range of industries. More information on www.attensi.com.

About Viking Venture

Viking Venture is a leading Nordic venture fund focused on B2B software companies with a recurring revenue business model. Viking Venture has invested in more than 40 companies and has more than 1.5 billion NOK under management. The company is located in Trondheim, Norway and London. More information on www.vikingventure.com. You can also read about the investment in Attensi in the Norwegian business newspaper DN (Norwegian only).

Contacts

Odd Skarheim, Founder and Chairman Attensi, odd.skarheim@attensi.com +47 900 11 595

Eivind Bergsmyr, Partner Viking Venture, eivind@vikingventure.com, +47 920 99 010

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Arnaud Martin and Ardian sell Clip Industrie to Forterro and Battery Ventures

Ardian

Paris, June 12 2017 –

Arnaud Martin, CEO of Clip Industrie, and Ardian, the independent private investment company, today announce the sale of Clip Industrie, a publisher of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software for industrial SMEs, to Forterro and Battery Ventures.

US-based Forterro is owned by investment fund Battery Ventures, and already owns a number of ERP software editors around the world which cater to the small and mid-markets. Arnaud Martin will remain CEO of the company and will  continue to support its future development. Ardian has supported Clip Industrie throughout its growth and build-up strategy, notably through the acquisition of software publisher Helios in 2013. Since Ardian took a stake in the company in 2013, Clip Industrie has doubled its revenue while maintaining strong profitability, becoming one of the leading operators in its market.

Ardian and Arnaud Martin have also taken the decision to share the value created during their partnership, with each employee receiving an undisclosed bonus payment. This move highlights both parties’ commitment to responsible investment and shared value creation, rewarding employees for their dedication and contribution to the company’s continued strong performance.

Arnaud Martin, CEO of Clip Industrie, said: “This acquisition is a recognition of both our expertise and the quality of our teams. A new journey is beginning for Clip Industrie, following a fruitful partnership with Ardian which has enabled us to speed up our development and, ultimately, to become part of a global group like Forterro.”

Geoffroy de La Grandière, Director, Ardian Growth, added: “I would like to thank Arnaud Martin for the trust he has placed in Ardian over the years. This transaction is another example of our ability to identify European companies with huge potential and turn them into internationally recognised leaders in their respective fields.”

Morad Elhafed, Partner at Battery Ventures, added: “We have known the Ardian team for a long time, and have built up a close relationship with them over the years. This relationship, along with our respective long-standing presence in the software industry, allowed us to work on a direct process with this opportunity creating value for both parties.”

Financial details are not being disclosed.

ABOUT ARDIAN

Founded in 1996 and headed by Dominique Senequier, Ardian is an independent private investment firm that advises and/or manages $62 billion of assets in Europe, North America and Asia. The company, which is majority-owned by its employees, has always placed entrepreneurial spirit at the heart of its approach and offers its international investors investment performance while participating in the growth of companies around the world. Ardian’s investment philosophy is based on three pillars: excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship. Ardian relies on a solid international network, with more than 450 employees working in twelve offices in Paris,London, Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid, Zurich, New York, San Francisco, Beijing, Singapore, Jersey and Luxembourg. The company offers its 580 investors a diversified selection of funds covering the entire asset class, with Ardian Fund of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary), Ardian Private Debt, Ardian Buyout (including Ardian Mid CapBuyout Europe & North America, Ardian Expansion, Ardian Growth and Ardian Co-Investment), Ardian Infrastructure, Ardian Real Estate and Ardian Mandates.

www.ardian.com

ABOUT CLIP INDUSTRIE

Clip Industrie is a leading publisher and integrator of computer-aided production management (CAPM) software for industrial SMEs. Its two vertical ERP software packages, Clipper and Helios, meet the needs of industrial small and medium-sized companies in the aeronautics, automotive, medical, rail and watch making sectors, as well as those of the workshops and subsidiaries of large groups such as Michelin, the Air Force or Eiffage and the numerous subcontractors of Dassault and Airbus. Clip Industrie will celebrate its 2000th  customer at the Paris Air Show in June, and will confirm its number 1 position in ERP software for subcontractors in the aeronautics industry.

www.clipindustrie.com

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Verdane IX invests in Dapresy to further develop its information visualisation and reporting software

Dapresy, a global provider of visual data reporting software, today announced that it has received the support of a new investor, Verdane Capital IX, a Nordic private equity fund.

Dapresy a global provider of visual data reporting software, today announced that it has received the support of a new investor, Verdane Capital IX, a Nordic private equity fund.

Funding from the new investment will be directed primarily towards development and support activities for its innovative and time-tested Dapresy Pro software, which enables users to create and deploy online dashboard reporting solutions for market research and customer experience management.

According to Dapresy CEO Tobi Andersson, “We are excited to partner with Verdane. This is a period of great success, as we’ve averaged more than 30 percent growth for the past four years and have recently introduced Dapresy Pro Version 10. Verdane’s investment will allow us to take Dapresy to the next level of realizing our vision of a true do-it-yourself-platform. This will help our customers make better business decisions by easily finding the story that lives within their data.”

“We are very excited to have Dapresy in our portfolio,” said Pal Malmros, partner at Verdane. “Enormous amounts of market research and customer feedback data is being collected by businesses and agencies today, but this data becomes really valuable only when it can be translated into action. This is why we believe so much in Dapresy’s products. The Dapresy team has built an innovative product and a very impressive customer roster. We look forward to working with the team and supporting their expansion.”

Verdane invested through a combination of primary funding and an acquisition of shares from Swedish Almi Invest, which had been an investor in Dapresy since 2011.

About Verdane

Verdane funds support companies that have high ambitions in software, consumer internet, energy and high-tech industries with flexible growth capital. Verdane funds have €900m under management and have invested in over 300 companies over the past 14 years. Verdane Capital Advisors has 25 employees working out of offices in Oslo, Stockholm, and Helsinki. More information can be found at: www.verdanecapital.com.

About Dapresy

Dapresy provides a highly visual data reporting software for market research and customer experience management. Market research agency and enterprise professionals in more than 25 countries are using Dapresy Pro to deploy visually engaging dashboards to clearly communicate complex data from markets, users and customers. The company’s unique dynamic dashboards are individually tailored, deploying the right data to the right people at the right time. For marketers looking to move beyond PowerPoint and Excel, Dapresy is the faster and far more effective way to easily present market research and customer experience information from multiple sources in a manner that improves decision making. Founded in 2003, Dapresy has a headquarters in Sweden with a North American headquarters in Portsmouth, NH. The firm has several other client services offices around the globe.

www.dapresy.com

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