Property Investors Welcome Rise of Blockchain Technology - Page 14 Middle Market CEO and CFO Pay Increases Show Momentum - Page 24
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Trump Must 'Show Backbone' and Repeal Obama's Imperialistic Global Tax Law
Markets Monthly - December 2016
Local Businesses Set to Challenge Amazon, Adding ÂŁ4bn to High St Sales - Page 7
NewStar Closes New $505 Million Managed Credit Fund - Page 10
Shortage of Skilled Staff Ranks as Biggest Growth Obstacle for SMEs - Page 26
www.markets-monthly.com
Markets Monthly - December 2016
Welcome to the latest issue of Markets Monthly Magazine Welcome to the December edition of Markets Monthly Magazine. In this edition, we take a look at some key personnel issues across the middle market, including how CEO pay has increased and the shortage of skilled staff is a big growth obstacle for SME’s. Brexit continues to linger in the news as we enter 2017. Key UK business figures met at The Economist Event’ inaugural Middle Market Forum: ‘Business after Brexit’ to outline their ongoing support for the UK’s middle market and the vital role it will play in a post-Brexit economy. Also in this issue, M&A advisory firm AdMedia Partners, Inc. has acted as exclusive financial advisor to Advent International in its acquisition of a majority stake in Ansira Partners, Inc. (“Ansira”), a leading data-driven, technology-enabled marketing solutions provider. Finally, we wrap up the rest of the news in the market along with all the latest deals. We hope you enjoy this issue. www.markets-monthly.com
What's Inside... 4. News Investment 8. Drake Star Partners Introduces Private Equity Co-Investments 10. NewStar Closes New $505 Million Managed Credit Fund 12. Proficio Closes $12 Million Led by Kayne Capital 14. Property Investors Welcome Rise of Blockchain Technology M&A 16. AdMedia Partners Advises Advent International in Acquisition of Majority Stake in Ansira 18. Dr Pepper Snapple Group to Acquire Bai Brands 20. Investec Acts as Sponsor, Financial Adviser, Book Runner and Broker to Sanne Group on Its £90.1m Capital Raising 22. Seacoast to Acquire GulfShore Bank, Entering Attractive Tampa Market Personnel 24. Middle Market CEO and CFO Pay Increases Show Momentum 26. Shortage of Skilled Staff Ranks as Biggest Growth Obstacle for SMEs 28. Deals
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Business Leaders United in Call for Greater Support for UK Middle Market Post-Brexit economy set to be boosted by support for the UK middle market. Key UK business figures met at The Economist Event’s inaugural Middle Market Forum: ‘Business after Brexit’ to discuss the vital role that the UK’s Middle Market companies will play in Britain’s post-Brexit economy. Striking a tone of cautious optimism, business figures agreed that ongoing support for the UK’s middle market was vital to ensure the UK remains on track in the wake of Brexit, uncertainty in the Eurozone and the US Presidential result. Middle-market companies, with a turnover between £25m and £500m, contribute over a third of private-sector GDP, revenues and employment. Delegates of the conference agreed that British brand remains strong abroad, which will continue to strengthen exports. Graham Cartledge, CBE & Chairman of Benoy, who runs a business solely based in Britain, stated that he still sees Brexit as having the potential to cause chaos to UK businesses and is worried for the future. In a stark contrast, Mottie Kessler, CEO of 2M Holdings stated that “life is not controlled by Europe and the UK is the best place to run an international business” due to our time zone and availability to contact key markets in APAC and EMEA. Miriam Gonzalez of global law firm Dechert warned: “we haven’t yet heard the basic parameters on the relationship with the EU. What we do know is that there is likely to be an acrimonious negotiation with the EU and that whatever we want to take we have to give, there will be winners and losers.” Richard Cockett, Business Editor of The Economist rounded off the event by saying: “the speakers today have been surprisingly optimistic. The majority voted remain but are now seeing the advantages of Brexit and are seeking the opportunities which is interesting. A major concern for companies is retaining talent. Everyone agreed that we are in the fog of Brexit and feeling nonplussed by what’s happening. The message from the speakers today is that they will get on with running their business as they always have done.”
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Michael Gove predicts no election before 2020 Key note speaker and MP for Surrey Heath, Michael Gove, spoke about the impact of immigration in a postBrexit Britain. He said the public have no problem with immigration, providing that those entering the UK “manifest significant life enhancing skills”. He emphasised that concern over immigration lies with those that come to do “low skilled work” and that overall, migration should be determined by the skills that the country needs. Gove also stated that he does not expect to see another general election before 2020 and that “the UK will be outside the EU by the next election which will be concluded in March 2019, despite parliaments recent ruling that the divorce proceedings must be legislated.” He also emphasised that a post-Brexit priority should be a free trade agreement with the remaining EU nations and the quickest way to secure this is between two individual sovereign states. He concluded that EU migrants already living in the UK prior to the Brexit vote should be entitled to stay.
Markets Monthly - December 2016
Garrett Baker Joins Lazard Garrett Baker has joined Lazard Ltd. to lead their middle market telecommunications, media and technology. Lazard Ltd has announced that Garrett Baker has joined its subsidiary, Lazard Middle Market LLC, as a Managing Director and Head of Middle Market Telecommunications, Media and Technology. He is based in New York.
“Garrett has established a national reputation as one of the top advisors in middle market telecom, with a dominant position in the broadband subsegment,” said David Solomon, head of Lazard's middle market advisory business. “This move reflects our broader strategy of establishing national leadership in distinct and important industry niches.” Prior to joining Lazard, Mr. Baker was President of Waller Capital Partners, where he led mergers and acquisitions for cable, telecom and media clients and oversaw day-to-day operations of the firm. He joined Waller Capital Partners in 1998 and was named President in 2009. Prior to that, he was a mergers and acquisitions banker at Bear Stearns & Co. Mr. Baker was named as a ‘Top 50 Dealmaker in North America’ by Global M&A Network and one of the cable industry's top ‘40 Under 40’ executives by MultiChannel News. Lazard's middle market advisory business provides substantive financial and strategic advice on mergers and
acquisitions, financing of debt and equity, and restructuring to mid-sized companies. Our senior professionals bring deep sector expertise and relationships with CEOs and board members, while leveraging the global resources of Lazard. For more information, please visit www.lazardmm.com. About Lazard Lazard, one of the world's preeminent financial advisory and asset management firms, operates from 42 cities across 27 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Central and South America. With origins dating to 1848, the firm provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic matters, restructuring and capital structure, capital raising and corporate finance, as well as asset management services to corporations, partnerships, institutions, governments and
Investors and HNW Individuals Poised to Capitalize on Trump Victory Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group is speaking out after markets recover following the shock of the multibillionaire mogul becoming the president-elect of the United States. Global investors and high net worth individuals are preparing to take financial advantage of Donald Trump’s victory, reveals the boss of one of the world’s largest independent financial organisations. Mr Green observes: “Global markets were shaken earlier in the day after Trump swept to victory ahead of Hillary Clinton. “This was expected as Trump was the outsider who represents uncertainty, which always creates volatility in the markets. “However, financial markets have recovered somewhat after Trump’s acceptance speech due to its notably conciliatory tone and content. It offered reassurance and the markets have responded accordingly.” He continues: “Against this backdrop of a Trump victory, global investors and high net worth individuals are, quite sensibly, preparing to take financial advantage. “Savvy investors will know and capitalize on the fact that the shock result will, despite the recovery of the markets, still create some key buying opportunities due to Trump’s protectionist rhetoric during his campaigning. “They will also appreciate that under Trump’s policies some sectors will do significantly better than others. The mining and oil sectors are, for example, likely to rally as he has promised to limit environmental laws.” Mr Green goes on to say: “Mr Trump has also been bold on promising tax cuts for high net worth individuals and corporations in the hope of attracting investment, jobs and talent. “With all of this in mind, it can be expected that investors in the U.S. and around the world will be now urgently reviewing and rebalancing their portfolios and personal financial strategies, in order to take full financial advantage of the surprise Trump victory.”
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Trump Must 'Show Backbone' and Repeal Obama's Imperialistic Global Tax Law Nigel Green of deVere Group states that Obamas global tax law is forcing a record number of Americans to ditch their U.S. passports, affirms the boss of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations. Trump must “show some backbone” and repeal Obama’s highly controversial global tax law that negatively impacts foreign financial institutions (FFIs). Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, is demanding that the president-elect addresses the issue of abandoning the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which adversely affects FFIs and millions of Americans around the world as “a priority.” Mr Green comments: “Donald Trump has publicly stated that he will revoke some of Obama’s executive orders. I would urge him to make repealing FATCA one of those he revokes. “This must be a major priority as FATCA negatively impacts millions of U.S. citizens. It has been responsible for the record number of Americans, most of whom are proud patriots, feeling that there is no other option than to relinquish their U.S. citizenship. “Since FATCA was introduced, official figures show that more and more Americans give up their U.S. passports every year. This correlates with a deVere Group survey carried out last year that reveals 73 percent of Americans living overseas are tempted to give up their U.S. passports.” He continues: “This toxic legislation turns lawabiding Americans living overseas, of whom there are approximately eight million, into financial pariahs. "For instance, many U.S. citizens cannot even now hold a bank account in their country of residence as foreign banks routinely feel Americans are too much trouble thanks to FATCA’s onerous and costly rules by which they would need to abide to take them on as clients. This makes normal life extremely challenging, to say the least. “By using its super power status, the U.S. has over the last few years been coercing foreign financial institutions around the world into accepting FATCA, or facing stiff financial penalties and extraterritorial
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Image: Dmitriy Linchevskiy
sanctions. These FFIs are now working as de facto agents of America’s tax authority.” Mr Green goes on to say: “This is a golden opportunity for Trump to show his mettle and reverse a fatally flawed, misguided, imperialistic law that’s nothing more than a masterclass in the law of unintended consequences. “Once in the White House, he must do the right thing and show some backbone on FATCA.” Under FATCA which came into effect in July 2014, all non-U.S. financial institutions (including banks, insurance companies, investment funds and pension funds) are required to report the financial information of American clients who have accounts holding more than $50,000 directly to the IRS. The official aim of the legislation is to try and combat tax evasion. However, its opponents, including Nigel Green, a long-term vocal critic of the legislation, says: “Tackling tax evasion is a noble and worthwhile objective, yet FATCA’s dragnet approach will be highly ineffective at achieving this as well as being prohibitively costly.” The deVere CEO concludes: “Until the decent thing is done and FATCA is repealed, Americans must adhere to its farreaching rules. “Whilst the campaign continues to repeal FATCA, there are, thankfully, established solutions to help mitigate FATCA’s complicated, costly and privacy-infringing demands. “These include supplementary overseas pension contracts which allow qualifying U.S. taxpayers to make annual contributions to a pension fund over and above US$51,000 – which is not possible within the current U.S. taxapproved regime. These products also allow tax-deferred investment growth and the opportunity to invest freely into Passive Foreign Investment Companies (PFICs), without incurring U.S. tax penalties and burdensome tax reporting procedures.”
Markets Monthly - December 2016
Local Businesses Set to Challenge Amazon, Adding £4bn to High St Sales • UK tech start-up NearSt to connect independent, small and large retailers • Retailers could add over £4bn in sales using NearSt • 146% rise in ‘near me’ searches and need for convenience drives NearSt success • Offer includes instant collection and 1-hour delivery guarantee Retail tech start-up NearSt, which makes finding items in local shops easier than buying on Amazon, has expanded its offering to consumer electronics, DIY goods, health & beauty products, sportswear, stationery, toys and gift shop services.
inventory to shoppers through www.near. st, app, and directly in Google Search in less than ten minutes. Shoppers simply search for something they want, see where it's in stock nearby, and in a few taps order it for one-hour delivery or instant collection.
The astronomical growth in ‘near me’ searches (over 146% year-on-year1) means NearSt are now best placed to revitalise local shops on UK high streets, who can add over £4bn in sales by connecting the items they sell to the smartphones of people searching for them nearby.
Nick Brackenbury, chief executive at NearSt commented: “The way we shop is changing. Customers expect everything to be 'ondemand'. Where they want it, when they want it and available in just a couple taps of their smartphone. High street shops are perfectly suited to capitalise on this new way of shopping, if they can put their inventory in front of this new mobile shopper. If they fail to do this, they risk slipping into irrelevance and ultimately out of business.
NearSt is already collecting five million inventory updates from its retailers every day for nearby shoppers to browse. Shops show live inventory through the NearSt website and app where people can order and pay for one-hour delivery via bike courier or instant collection in-store. Brick-and-mortar shops up and down UK high streets have suffered in recent years from the rise of online marketplaces, something NearSt aims to change by bringing business back to their door step. With the growth of on-demand shopping, “research online-purchase offline” behaviour, and local ‘near me’ searches, NearSt believes now is the perfect time for shops to take the fight back to the likes of Amazon. NearSt’s technology, called NearLive, enables any shop to set-up and start selling real-time
“Their challenge is serving this new shopper with their existing tools, which today is incredibly difficult and expensive. Our groundbreaking technology is enabling shops to access these new mobile shoppers, exclusively using all of the existing systems and processes already in-store. Shops can get up and running in as little as ten minutes on NearSt, without any need for new technology or hardware. If shops can get their inventory onto the smartphones of shoppers nearby, we see every reason to be optimistic about the central role of high streets in the future of how we all shop” added Nick Brackenbury.
Profitero Accelerates Hiring to Meet Demand for Its Ecommerce Analytics Solution To support rapid growth, Profitero also strengthens experienced leadership team, adding ecommerce veterans Daniel King, president and COO, and Matt Tuel, CFO. Ecommerce analytics company Profitero is strategically expanding its team of ecommerce professionals in key markets to meet growing demand from retailers and brands. For the company’s more than 70 multinational brands and retailers, having FMCG analysts and support teams on the ground with deep local-market knowledge is an increasing priority. Profitero’s proprietary technology monitors more than 300 million products on 4,000 websites that reach consumers across 40 countries. To support the increasing demand for ecommerce analytics, the company now employs more than 160 employees worldwide, also recently opening new offices in the UK and France. “Profitero is committed to being a trusted ecommerce partner to the world’s largest brands and retailers, helping them achieve higher online sales,” said Vol Pigrukh, CEO and co-founder of Profitero. “Our global clients need talented people providing gamechanging insights at a local level and we’ve responded by aggressively adding ecommerce experts and support teams in strategic geographies worldwide.” To support its rapid growth, Profitero also continues to strengthen its experienced leadership team, adding ecommerce veterans Daniel King, president and COO, and Matt Tuel, CFO. Daniel King oversees Profitero’s sales, client services, marketing and strategy and insights divisions, ensuring operational excellence across the company. He is also spearheading Profitero’s global expansion and helping accelerate the growth of its sales team across EMEA. Matt Tuel is responsible for Profitero’s financial performance. He has extensive experience building and scaling financial operations at venture-backed technology companies, most recently at Logentries. Profitero announced record sales last quarter, driven by rapidly growing demand for ecommerce analytics. www.profitero.com/press-release/profiteroreports-record-sales-driven-by-strongdemand-for-ecommerce-analytic
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Markets Monthly - December 2016
Drake Star Partners Introduces Private Equity Co-Investments Drake Star Partners is a global investment banking firm serving the technology, media and communications sectors (TMC) with offices in New York, London, Paris, Munich, Los Angeles, Berlin, Amsterdam, Geneva and Tokyo. Technology, Media and Communications investment bank Drake Star Partners introduces its private equity coinvestment activity. The investments are made with its own capital in partnership with like-minded co-investors consisting of partnerships on behalf of some of the world's largest multi-billion-dollar single family offices. Just over a month after Redwood Capital and LD&A Jupiter announced their merger to form Drake Star Partners, the investment bank with established technology, media and communications domain expertise and cross-border transactional experience is poised to continue on this growth trajectory.
the investment process as we only participate when invited to do so. It also allows us to invest with greater flexibility in global transactions that are not necessarily backed by our own firm's M&A advisory activity.”
Drake Star Partners' deep sector expertise and international reach position the firm as an integral co-investment partner to private equity and growth equity funds. As such, Drake Star Partners seeks to invest between $15-100 million of capital per transaction in middle market private equity technology, media and communications investment opportunities, including buyouts, build-ups, acquisitions, growth equity and recapitalizations worldwide.
Gregory Bedrosian, Drake Star Partners' Co-CEO, continued: “Through our co-investment partnership and collaboration with lead private equity investors, we have already successfully completed 3 investments as a part of co-investor consortiums in transactions totalling over $70 million in aggregate coinvestment equity capital invested alongside lead financial sponsors. Our current portfolio of companies includes CSS Corporation (IT services sector), Club Med (entertainment & hospitality sector) as well as an investment in the media and communications sector. In each case we have co-invested alongside some of the world's most sophisticated private equity firms and family office groups, supporting each management team's growth and development strategy for these stellar companies.”
Marc Deschamps, Co-CEO at Drake Star Partners, commented:
“We are thrilled to announce this coinvestment activity, which perfectly reflects our guiding motto and commitment to helping innovations change the world. This large coinvestment initiative is very much dedicated to supporting private equity firms and other world class financial investors with their own activities. This is prompted by the lead funds' request for us to join
About Drake Star Partners Drake Star Partners is a global investment banking firm serving the technology, media and communications sectors (TMC) with offices in New York, London, Paris, Munich, Los Angeles, Berlin, Amsterdam, Geneva and Tokyo. The firm focuses on M&A and corporate finance for its clients worldwide. Prior to forming Drake Star Partners, LD&A Jupiter and Redwood Capital completed over 274 transactions since 2004, 70% of which are cross-border. Drake Star Partners is the marketing name for the global investment bank Drake Star Partners Limited and its subsidiaries and affiliates. In the USA, all securities are transacted through RCG, LLC. In the USA, RCG, LLC is regulated by FINRA and is a member of SIPC. © 2016 Drake Star Partners. www.drakestar.com
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Markets Monthly - December 2016
NewStar Closes New $505 Million Managed Credit Fund NewStar Financial, Inc. is an internally-managed, commercial finance company with $6.6 billion of assets managed across two complementary business lines — middle market direct lending and asset management. NewStar Financial Inc. ("NewStar" or the "Company"), an internally-managed, specialized finance company, has announced that it has closed the NewStar Berkeley Fund CLO (the "Berkeley Fund" or the "Fund"), a $505 million middle market CLO managed for qualified institutional investors. The Berkeley Fund is the fourth credit fund sponsored by NewStar to co-invest in middle market commercial loans originated through its direct lending platform and represents another significant milestone in the growth of the Company's asset management business.
and liquid loan collateral. As a result, we have strong support among a core group of repeat investors who continue to commit capital to our securitization programs and recognize the merits of middle market direct lending. We were pleased to partner with the Citigroup Global Markets team on this deal and always appreciate the quality of transaction execution they deliver."
The Berkeley Fund is NewStar's 21st securitization since inception and third transaction completed in 2016. The notes offered through this CLO transaction are backed by a diversified portfolio of commercial loans originated and underwritten by NewStar for the benefit of investors. Various classes of notes rated Aaa through Ba3 were placed, which represented an advance rate of approximately 88.6%. Third-party investors retained the equity interests, which represented approximately 10.8% of the capital structure, or approximately $54.5 million. NewStar held 5% of each class of notes to satisfy risk retention rules and will serve as manager of the CLO, which has a four-year reinvestment period.
The notes were issued in a private placement and have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. was placement agent and sole book runner. Dechert LLP acted as legal adviser to NewStar. Commenting on the new fund, Tim Conway, NewStar's CEO stated: "The Berkeley Fund represents another important milestone for our asset management strategy. It also highlights important advantages that we believe NewStar can offer institutional investors who are looking for attractive yields with downside asset protection. First, investors in our funds are able to leverage our established direct lending franchise and extensive balance sheet lending programs to generate proprietary investment opportunities that provide attractive value relative to other fixed income investment options. Second, our investment strategies are defensive, with a focus on 1st lien senior debt, which we believe offers the best combination of yield and position in the capital structure for this stage in the credit cycle. And importantly, we can use our balance sheet to provide risk-retention solutions and pre-ramp portfolios to help investors optimize their returns." NewStar's Treasurer, Mike Eisenstein added: "The Berkeley Fund CLO also demonstrates NewStar's strong presence in the capital markets where we are recognized for our distinguished track record as a leading issuer of CLOs backed by both middle market
This announcement is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy the notes.
Forward-Looking Statements This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding anticipated benefits to fund investors of access to lending opportunities generated by our direct lending platform and investment strategies focused on 1st lien senior debt. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, strategic plans, objectives, future performance, financing plans and business. As such, they are subject to material risks and uncertainties, including the impact of rapid growth in assets under management; the general state of the economy; our ability to compete effectively in a highly competitive industry; and the impact of federal, state and local laws and regulations that govern non-depository commercial lenders and businesses generally. Additional information about these and other risk factors can be found in NewStar's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including Item 1A ("Risk Factors") of our 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K, as may be updated or supplemented by any Risk Factors contained in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. NewStar is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
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Markets Monthly - December 2016
Proficio Closes $12 Million Led by Kayne Capital North American PE firm invests in visionary managed detection and response provider to accelerate global growth. Proficio, an award-winning provider of managed detection and response (MDR) services, has raised $12 million in a round of funding led by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., a leading alternative investment management firm focused primarily on the middle market in North America. The funding comes out of the firm’s Kayne Partners Fund group, which backs highgrowth technology enabled businesses. Proficio will use this investment to expand its global geographical presence in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, and introduce new cybersecurity platforms and services. Founded in 2010, Proficio is a trailblazer in the managed security service provider (MSSP) and managed detection and response (MDR) spaces. The company has established a strong customer base in key markets, such as healthcare and financial services, and was one of the first MSSPs to establish a next-generation security operations center (SOC) in Singapore. Proficio’s ProSOC managed security services business is growing rapidly with over 100 percent year-over-year revenue growth for the last three years. “We are impressed by Proficio’s growth, customer adoption, and innovative managed detection and response services,” said Nate Locke, partner at Kayne Partners Fund group, who will join Proficio’s board of directors as part of this financing. “Proficio is changing the way organizations meet their IT security and compliance goals by providing the most advanced cybersecurity solutions without the cost and complexity of acquiring sophisticated software or operating a 24x7 Security Operations Center on their own.” “We are excited to be partnering with Kayne Capital as we accelerate the next phase of Proficio’s growth,” said Tim McElwee, co-founder, president and chairman of the board of Proficio. “We will continue our focus on delivering innovative solutions that help our customers protect, detect, and respond to cybersecurity threats. In the first half of 2017, we plan to introduce new services and platforms leveraging advanced analytics, threat intelligence, and orchestrated incident response.”
“We’re witnessing strong growth in the managed security services market, fuelled by an increase in cyberattacks, a shortage of skilled network security workers, stronger compliance mandates globally, and a changing threat landscape as IT infrastructure moves to the cloud,” said Martha Vazquez, senior research analyst with International Data Corporation. About Proficio Proficio is an award-winning provider of managed detection and response services. Its innovative approach to managed security service delivery is changing the way organizations defend against advanced threats, achieve regulatory compliance, and prevent security breaches. Proficio’s ProSOC service provides highly accurate, 24×7 security monitoring and alerting, advanced threat detection, and automated response services. Proficio is the trusted managed security service provider for some of the world’s leading utility, healthcare, industrial and consumerfocused organizations. To take your security to the next-generation, visit www.proficio.com. Join the conversation with Proficio’s security leaders at Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. About Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., founded in 1984, is a leading alternative investment management firm focused on niche investing in upstream oil and gas companies, energy infrastructure, specialized real estate, middle market credit and growth private equity. Kayne’s investment philosophy is to pursue niches, with an emphasis on cash flow, where our knowledge and sourcing advantages enable us to deliver above average, risk-adjusted investment returns. Kayne manages over $24 billion in assets (as of 9/30/2016) for institutional investors, family offices, high net worth and retail clients and employs 300 professionals in eight offices across the U.S.
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Markets Monthly - December 2016
Property Investors Welcome Rise of Blockchain Technology • • • •
56% of institutional investors believe that the real estate industry will adopt blockchain technology for property transactions 44% claim to be already ‘familiar’ with blockchain however just 2% are ‘very familiar’ Investors key benefit of blockchain technology for the real estate industry is that it speeds up the process of buying or selling a property BrickVest is prototyping blockchain as a fully compliant repository system and has filed a provisional patent
Property investors expect to see property lease contracts based on blockchain technology in the next four years, according to a new study by the real estate investment platform, BrickVest. More than half (56%) of real estate investors believe that the sector will adopt blockchain technology for transactions but only a third (31%) think it will be common business practice to do so given the prevalence of established gatekeepers such as trustees and notaries. Underlining blockchain’s infancy in the sector, less than half (44%) of property investors claimed to be ‘familiar’ with blockchain of which just 2% are ‘very familiar’. According to investors, the most important benefit that blockchain will have to the real estate sector is its ability to speed up the process of buying or selling a property by enabling smart contracts to be exchanged automatically. This is followed by blockchain’s potential to reduce transaction costs by disintermediating financial ‘gatekeepers;’ reducing the risk of fraud by tracking each property’s transaction history; making the process more transparent and lastly, encouraging the growth of the real estate secondary market by enabling smaller investments and volumes to be traded. BrickVest believes that blockchain technology can improve the inefficient structures of financial markets. The company is currently prototyping blockchain as a repository system and has filed a provisional patent. This will enhance BrickVest’s systems and controls above the market’s antiquated legacy systems in an increasingly rigorous regulatory environment. Emmanuel Lumineau, CEO at BrickVest, commented: “Property Investors are becoming more familiar with
blockchain and many can see the transformational power it will have on the sector by simplifying, de-risking and lowering the cost of buying and selling assets. “Blockchain is capable of turning the entire financial system on its head as transactions can now be directly exchanged in a transparent, cost-effective and secure way between two parties. Given the speed of technological change and increased pressure from investors for greater transparency and reduced costs, it’s likely that blockchain will be adopted earlier than many investors think. “Blockchain technology has already made the online investment market more fluid whilst acting as an interesting tool for the secondary market, enabling smaller investments and trade volumes. These smaller investments were not possible before due to the cost of the middle man.” BrickVest’s platform allows investors to invest in pre-vetted commercial real estate with the ease of an online trading platform. Investors can now access real estate that previously was only accessible to large institutions such as pension funds, insurance companies and large family offices. The firm offers a range of investment opportunities allowing investors to select an opportunity based on the preferred asset class, geography and return profile. BrickVest has unlocked the ability to combine unparalleled ease of access and transparency while providing an institutional-level investment platform with liquidity, supported by reputable fund service providers. European investors interested in signing up and viewing BrickVest’s pan-European real estate investment offering can do so on https://brickvest.com/en/
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Markets Monthly - December 2016
AdMedia Partners Advises Advent International in Acquisition of Majority Stake in Ansira M&A advisory firm AdMedia Partners, Inc. is pleased to announce that it acted as exclusive financial advisor to Advent International (“Advent”), one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, in its acquisition of a majority stake in Ansira Partners, Inc. (“Ansira”), a leading data-driven, technology-enabled marketing solutions provider. Advent is acquiring its stake from KRG Capital Partners in partnership with the company’s management who will continue to retain a substantial ownership position in the company. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Ansira’s management team will continue to lead the company following completion of the transaction, building on a strong track record of success driving growth at Ansira. “We look forward to partnering with Advent during this next phase of growth for our company,” said Martin Reidy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ansira. “We remain focused on executing our strategic plan of both organic and inorganic growth, expanding into new markets and leveraging our new capabilities and expertise to serve clients’ needs amid a rapidly evolving digital landscape.” Ansira is a leading data-driven, technology-enabled marketing solutions provider, specializing in the integration of local and national marketing programs through marketing automation, data analytics, CRM and performance media. The company is one of the largest independent data-driven marketing services companies, providing world-class execution strategies to drive ROI-measured marketing programs. Ansira is trusted by more than 150 leading brands to transform their marketing programs by nurturing customer relationships, informing creative ideas and brand experiences, and fuelling consumer engagement while maximizing the impact of marketing expenditures. Data is central to every element of Ansira’s offerings, which focus on dedication to data-driven decision making, encompassing marketing decisions, strategy recommendations, media / channel allocations and creative concepts. These offerings are supported by the company’s ability to integrate, model and activate disparate first, second and third party data sources. As part of its broader efforts in marketing services, Advent identified Ansira as a leading platform in national to local marketing with substantial runway for organic growth and potential for targeted acquisitions. “We are excited to collaborate with Martin and the Ansira management team in executing on
the company’s growth strategy,” said Chris Egan, a Managing Director at Advent. “As a leader in the data-driven marketing industry, Ansira is strongly positioned to build on its current success and further expand its long-term strategic partnerships with large national brands to develop local and national marketing strategies as well as to attract new customers. We look forward to enhancing the company’s leadership position in the $200 billion data-driven marketing industry and are enthusiastic about the opportunity to support Ansira’s growth through additional capital for targeted acquisitions in this fragmented, large, and growing market.” As part of the transaction, Advent independent Operating Partner Dan Springer will assume the role of Chairman of Ansira’s Board of Directors and work closely with the management team and Advent to continue the company’s track record of success. Mr. Springer’s experience in marketing automation and agency services has direct relevance to Ansira’s technology-enabled and data-driven approach. He was most recently the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Responsys, a leading email marketing and crosschannel orchestration solution now owned by Oracle. Advent has been investing in the business and financial services sector for 25 years and has completed over 65 investments in 23 countries worldwide, and has been investing in the technology, media and telecom (TMT) sector for 26 years, completing more than 70 investments in 24 countries. Recent business and financial services and TMT investments in the US and Europe include TransUnion, a global provider of credit information and risk management solutions to businesses and individual consumers based in the US; Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane, a leading player in the Italian financial services market with strong market positions in payment services; Unit4, a global provider of enterprise resource planning software; P2 Energy Solutions, a leading provider of software, geospatial data and land management tools to the upstream oil and gas industry; Nets, one of Europe's largest providers of payment, information and digital identity solutions; and KMD, one of Denmark’s leading IT services companies.
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M&A
Markets Monthly - December 2016
Dr Pepper Snapple Group to Acquire Bai Brands The cash purchase price of $1.7 billion includes a tax benefit of approximately $400 million on a net present value basis and will be financed through new unsecured notes and short term commercial paper. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Bai Brands, LLC (“Bai” or the “Company”), and its complete portfolio of high-growth premium antioxidant infused beverages.
segments. These highly profitable categories are projected to continue to grow worldwide for the foreseeable future. The acquisition of Bai will further enable us to meet growing consumer demand for better-for-you beverages.
Bai provides a strong platform to incubate and grow better-foryou beverages throughout the non-carbonated and carbonated beverage sectors. It is expected to generate approximately $425 million in net sales in 2017 and add an incremental $132 million to our current net sales expectation for 2017. The transaction is expected to be approximately $0.03 dilutive to reported diluted EPS in 2017 driven by planned increases in marketing investments behind the brand and increased interest expense associated with the financing of the purchase price. The transaction is expected to be accretive to reported diluted EPS in 2018.
Bai will operate within the Packaged Beverages segment and continue to be led by founder Ben Weiss.
“We're excited to welcome Bai into our family of great brands,” said Larry Young, DPS President and CEO. “In a relatively short time, Bai has carved out a leadership position in the enhanced water category and has now extended that success into other fast-growing and profitable categories. We're equally impressed with their innovation pipeline, which will continue to meet the needs of consumers seeking great tasting, low-calorie beverages with natural flavours and no artificial sweeteners.”
The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. The boards of both companies have approved the transaction.
Young continued, “Bai has contributed greatly to our allied brand line-up since we began distributing it broadly in 2013. Adding it to the broad range of choices and options in our company-owned portfolio is a natural next step. Moving forward, we will empower Bai's management team to continue the breakthrough and disruptive branding and innovation that have revolutionized their categories and work with them to put the brand in front of more consumers in more places.” Bai is one of the fastest growing beverage brands, offering a family of premium better-for-you beverages. The Company's product portfolio spans across several high-growth beverage categories including enhanced water, carbonated flavoured water, coconut water and premium ready-to-drink teas. With its Bai, Bai Bubbles, Cocofusion and other innovative brands, Bai is positioned for expanding growth in key beverage
“Over the past seven years, Bai has proven to be an agent of change in a marketplace that is rapidly evolving,” said Weiss. “We've worked tirelessly to challenge the notion that betterfor-you beverages can't taste good. On our journey, we found a strong ally in DPS, an ally who embraced our mission to change the way the world drinks. Now, it only makes sense to continue our quest together. We are thrilled to join the DPS family and create a new path forward with infinite possibilities.”
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is acting as legal counsel. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Bai and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is acting as legal counsel. About Dr Pepper Snapple Group Dr Pepper Snapple Group is a leading producer of flavoured beverages in North America and the Caribbean. Our success is fuelled by more than 50 brands that are synonymous with refreshment, fun and flavour. We have six of the top 10 noncola soft drinks, and 13 of our 14 leading brands are No. 1 or No. 2 in their flavour categories. In addition to our flagship Dr Pepper and Snapple brands, our portfolio includes 7UP, A&W, Canada Dry, Clamato, Crush, Hawaiian Punch, Mott's, Mr & Mrs T mixers, Peñafiel, Rose's, Schweppes, Squirt and Sunkist soda. To learn more about our iconic brands and Plano, Texasbased company, please visit www.DrPepperSnapple.com. For our latest news and updates, follow us at www.Facebook.com/ DrPepperSnapple or www.Twitter.com/DrPepperSnapple.
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M&A
Markets Monthly - December 2016
Investec Acts as Sponsor, Financial Adviser, Book Runner and Broker to Sanne Group on Its £90.1m Capital Raising Sanne has gained an agreement to acquire International Financial Services Limited and IFS Trustees. Sanne, the specialist provider of outsourced corporate, fund and private client administration, reporting and fiduciary services, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to acquire International Financial Services Limited and IFS Trustees (the “IFS Group”) for a total consideration of approximately $127.3 million (£101.9 million).
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significant growth opportunity in Asia and Africa The acquisition consideration and associated transaction fees are to be funded through the net proceeds of the Capital Raising (c.£90.1 million) and the issue of c.5.8 million Consideration Shares to the Vendors The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing The acquisition is conditional upon, among other things, Sanne shareholder approval, receipt of proceeds from the Capital Raising and regulatory clearance, and is expected to complete in Q1 2017 The Board is very confident that results for the full 2016 financial year will be in line its expectations following continued strong performance in the second half.
The consideration for the acquisition will be satisfied through a payment of approximately US$91.1 million (£72.9 million) in cash, which will be financed through the net proceeds of the Capital Raising, and the issue of approximately 5.8 million Consideration Shares, representing approximately 4.1 per cent. of the Company’s Enlarged Share Capital following completion of the Capital Raising and Completion.
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The Company proposes to use the net proceeds of the Capital Raising of £90.1 million to fund the cash consideration payable under the acquisition agreement and associated transaction fees, as well as to reduce the Group’s net debt.
Dean Godwin, Chief Executive Officer of Sanne, commented: “This acquisition enables Sanne to further realise its ambition of building a leading, global business. The IFS Group is highly profitable, with a service offering and client base extremely complementary to Sanne’s. Mauritius is one of the leading international financial centres for foreign investment into Africa and India and this transaction provides us with a significant platform to both support clients in these attractive regions and grow our emerging markets presence. I am delighted to welcome the IFS Group team to the Group and we are excited about the opportunities to come.”
The acquisition is of sufficient size relative to the Group to constitute a Class 1 transaction under the Listing Rules and is therefore conditional on, among other things, the approval of the Group’s shareholders at a General Meeting to be held at 11.30 a.m. on 16 December 2016. Highlights • The IFS Group is a highly profitable and cash generative business, reporting operating profit of USD18.4m in 2015 at an operating profit margin of c.65%, operating cash conversion of c.100%, and assets under administration in excess of $82 billion • The IFS Group will form the core of a new standalone division operating as Sanne’s new emerging marketsfocused platform • A visible capability in Mauritius, which is of scale, is important in allowing Sanne to take advantage of the
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Couldiplall Basanta Lala, a founding Director of the IFS Group, commented: “We are extremely proud of the business that we have established over the past 20 years and, whilst Sanne is a large organisation with global reach, they share many similarities with our business, in particular.”
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M&A
Markets Monthly - December 2016
Seacoast to Acquire GulfShore Bank, Entering Attractive Tampa Market Extends Seacoast's service area along I-4 corridor into Tampa CBD and St. Petersburg. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida ("Seacoast") (NASDAQ: SBCF), the holding company for Seacoast National Bank ("Seacoast Bank"), has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire GulfShore Bancshares, Inc. ("GulfShore"), the parent company of GulfShore Bank. Upon completion of the merger, Seacoast expects that GulfShore Bank will be merged with and into Seacoast Bank. The acquisition of GulfShore Bank, a full-service community bank serving the Tampa area since 2007, will add approximately $332 million in assets, $279 million in deposits and $253 million in loans, bringing Seacoast's total assets to approximately $4.8 billion. GulfShore, which operates three branches – two in Tampa and one in St. Petersburg – has built a strong core deposit franchise, with 55% of total deposits in transaction accounts, and has rapidly grown its high quality, diverse loan portfolio. Dennis S. Hudson, Seacoast's chairman and CEO, said, "Our acquisition of GulfShore, following the announcement last week of our exceptional third quarter results, shows the power of Seacoast's balanced growth strategy. GulfShore is an accretive acquisition and a low-risk alternative to de novo expansion into Tampa, an attractive market that is adjacent to Orlando, where our acquisitions of Floridian Financial Corporation and the BMO Harris Orlando banking franchise earlier this year made Seacoast the largest Florida-based bank in this rapidly growing MSA." "Seacoast has a record of smoothly integrating the banks we've acquired and then growing their households and services through digitally enabled marketing. We are delighted to welcome GulfShore's customers and its employees into the Seacoast family, and we look forward to introducing Tampa's businesses and households to our broad range of convenient and mobile-accessible products and services," Hudson added. "Our clients and shareholders will benefit from our combination with Seacoast, a respected, strongly performing, 90-year-old Florida institution that is committed to serving its clients and communities," said Joe Caballero, GulfShore's President and CEO. "My colleagues look forward to joining Seacoast, and partnering to serve our clients." Hudson noted that, upon completion of the merger, Mr. Caballero will be joining Seacoast as Tampa Market Executive and Ed O'Carroll, GulfShore's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will be joining Seacoast as a Commercial
Banking Manager. Messrs. Caballero and O'Carroll both have over 25 years of experience in banking and middle market lending and strong, long-standing ties to the Tampa market. "Joe's and Ed's impressive careers in community banking and deep Tampa relationships make them excellent partners for our organization," said Hudson. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, GulfShore common shareholders will receive a combination of 0.4807 shares of Seacoast common stock and $1.47 in cash for each share they own, representing a consideration mix of 85% Seacoast common shares and 15% cash (based on Seacoast's ten-day average closing price of $17.33 per share as of November 2, 2016). This values GulfShore's shares at $9.80 per share, for a total transaction value of approximately $54.8 million. The transaction price represents a 1.46x multiple to GulfShore's tangible book value per share as of September 30, 2016. Seacoast expects the GulfShore acquisition to be accretive to earnings per share excluding one-time transaction costs and have a tangible book value earnback period of less than 3.5 years using the crossover method. The transaction is also expected to provide an IRR of nearly 20%. Directors of both Seacoast and GulfShore approved the acquisition. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, subject to approval by GulfShore's shareholders, receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The Tampa metropolitan region, which includes St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa itself, ranks among the fastest-growing markets in the state and country. The metropolitan area's population grew 7.6% compared to 4.4% nationally from 2010 to 2016, and is projected to grow 5.6% from 2016 to 2021 compared to 3.7% nationally. Tampa job growth also continues to be strong, adding nearly 41,000 jobs in 2015 and ranking first in job growth in Florida. Tampa's August jobless rate was 4.6 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seacoast is being advised by FBR Capital Markets & Co. as financial advisor and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP as legal counsel. GulfShore is being advised by Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P. as financial advisor and Foley & Lardner LLP as legal counsel.
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Personnel
Markets Monthly - December 2016
Middle Market CEO and CFO Pay Increases Show Momentum 2015 middle market executive compensation trends foreshadowed momentum companies are seeing in 2016. In Q2, the National Centre for the Middle Market reported 7.2 percent revenue growth over the previous year, and while companies entered the year with some caution, 2015 pay reflected improving performance. According to the BDO 600: 2016 Survey of CEO and CFO Compensation Practices of MidMarket Public Companies, middle market CEO compensation increased by 3.2 percent in 2015, reaching an average of $3.8 million, and CFO compensation increased by 4.1 percent, reaching nearly $1.5 million. While the increases are moderate, middle market executives fared better than employees overall, who received an average 2.9 percent salary increase in 2015, according to the Economic Research Institute. Continuing the trend in pay-for-performance, 63 percent of 2015 CEO pay was in long-term incentives. CFO pay, on the other hand, is more evenly split with 55 percent in longterm incentives and 45 percent in annual cash. The top job at middle market companies continues to out-earn other C-suite executives: Total compensation for CFOs averaged about 38 percent of total CEO pay. “Executives at middle-market companies are cautiously bullish,” says Randy Ramirez, Managing Director in the Global Employer Services practice at BDO USA, LLP. “Compensation increases reflect a modest but positive year, and despite a few economic challenges and uncertainty around election outcomes, 2016 growth may even be better.” Tech, Healthcare, Real Estate & Energy Execs Earn Top Pay As technology continues to disrupt and enhance business across all industries, tech companies are seeing strong results. Technology CEO and CFO pay surpassed other industries in 2015, increasing 19 percent to $5.7 million and 13 percent to $2 million for CEOs and CFOs, respectively. The differences in founder-CEO pay packages may be a contributor to the industry’s leading compensation, as well as the inherent volatility in technology equity. The banking sector, amid continued increased scrutiny of executive pay spanning almost 10 years and recent highprofile clawbacks, saw the second-highest increase in CEO pay, rising 8 percent to $751,174, but still posted the lowest total compensation among the industries studied. Healthcare CEOs narrowly edged out real estate CEOs for the second-highest compensation. Significant transformation and financial and operational challenges in the healthcare industry, however, did not translate into higher CFO compensation. Among CEOs, modest decreases were also seen in the energy and retail
sectors as the former contended with industry contraction and macroeconomic factors, and the latter with headwinds in consumer spending and business strategy. Still, it’s not all bad news for the retail and energy industries. Retail CFO pay increased a notable 38 percent, largely as a result of higher bonus payouts and larger stock grants. Despite a 6 percent decrease in pay, energy CFOs were still the third-highest paid among all industries. “Executive compensation plans continue to be hotly debated in the public as industries like financial services and healthcare grapple with increased scrutiny from stakeholders, lawmakers and consumers around pay practices and performance with continued calls for even more transparency. We expect performance metrics will continue to grow in importance, as will communication plans to help earn shareholder approval,” says Ramirez. Pay Mix Reflects Industry Realities Technology executives continue to see the largest percentages of stock and long-term investments in their pay packages, while non-banking financial services executives earned a more mixed package with bonuses making up roughly one-third of their overall compensation. Banking executives earned the highest percentage of their pay in salary as the only industry to see more than 50 percent of both CEO and CFO pay in cash. Overall, banking CEOs earned an average of 77 percent in cash and 23 percent in long-term incentives, a notable difference from the average across all companies (37 percent cash; 63 percent long-term incentives). This reflects the continued pressure on banking equity as the underlying vehicle for executive pay as well as CEO demands for more guaranteed compensation to lead in a challenged industry. Higher Pay & Higher Risk in Large Companies While executive pay continues to correlate with company size, the survey revealed a few notable differences in category pay trends. CEO pay increased the most at mid-sized companies in the study, rising 6 percent over 2014; however, CFO pay increased the most (6 percent) at the largest companies. While total compensation is highest at larger companies, so too is the proportion of variable compensation in the form of bonuses, stock and long-term incentives. Among the largest companies, just 15 percent of CEO pay is salary, compared to 24 percent for smaller companies. For large-company CFOs, 22 percent of pay is salary, compared to 34 percent for smaller companies.
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Personnel
Markets Monthly - December 2016
Shortage of Skilled Staff Ranks as Biggest Growth Obstacle for SMEs With 50% of small businesses with over five employees planning to grow their headcount over the next two years, finding skilled staff tops the list of challenges business owners face, up from third place in 2015 according to a new report by Albion Ventures, one of the largest independent venture capital investors in the UK. The skills shortage is most acute among London-based small firms followed by those in the South East and the North West. On a sector basis SMEs in the manufacturing industry reported the highest level of concern about finding skilled staff, followed by those in the technology & telecoms sector and construction businesses in third place. Conversely, finding unskilled staff has fallen to 15th place in the list of SME challenges. This is the first time that SMEs have identified a shortage of skilled staff as the biggest obstacle to growth, ahead of red tape and regulation ranked in second and third places in 2016. Political uncertainty and leaving the EU were ranked in fourth and sixth place respectively suggesting that small business owners are most concerned with tangible obstacles to growth rather than those over which they have less control. According to the fourth Albion Growth Report, which is based on interviews with 1,000 SMEs and sheds light on the factors that create and impede growth in post-Brexit Britain, the biggest skills gap reported by over a quarter (26%) of SMEs is marketing, followed by new technology (21%) and business planning (17%). The smallest skills gap is in Financial Management with only 9% of small business owners reporting problems.
On a regional basis, entrepreneurs in the East Midlands are the most underpowered in marketing with a third (32%) lacking expertise in this area, followed by those in the West Midlands and the South West with 30%. The technology skills gap is the widest in Scotland (34%) and London (25%). A quarter (26%) of businesses in the North East felt they lacked expertise in HR, the highest in the UK. Patrick Reeve, Managing Partner at Albion Ventures: “A shortage of skilled staff shows that the growth pressures on the economy are at the most sophisticated end of the scale, which is precisely where we can expect to generate the biggest returns. The economy is coming under capacity constraints at a time of considerable political uncertainty. “Policymakers charged with deciding our post-Brexit future must recognise that many of the skills that enable us to compete in a fast-changing and increasingly competitive world are in short supply and our best chance of overcoming this challenge is by building on the UK’s first class reputation as a home for global talent.”
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DEALS
AimBrain to Partner with NOW Money NOW Money and AimBrain to partner to provide biometric authentication. AimBrain, the biometric start-up poised to revolutionise the banking authentication experience, has signed a partnership agreement with NOW Money (NOW), the mobile wallet and remittance service, to provide the biometric authentication for their smartphone app. NOW will be deploying AimBrain’s SaaS Facial and Behavioural Authentication Modules with immediate effect, allowing NOW’s customers to benefit from a frictionless user experience, which encompasses biometric access and will eliminate the need for password authentication. NOW believes that this will strengthen its security and provide a personal financial experience that is easy to implement and use. This is pioneering for the region, according to NOW’s Chief Operating Officer, Oliver Baillie, and further demonstrates the ability of both NOW and the UAE to act as a “hot bed for innovation.”
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"We’re thrilled to be partnering with such a forwardthinking company as Aimbrain," said Mr Baillie. “We are responding to a clear problem in the GCC – financial inclusion for low-income migrant workers. Our aim is to give low-income workers access to the financial system for the first time, and AimBrain is a key part of our proposition, as our customers are saying they want to be better protected. By utilising AimBrain’s user-friendly and secure biometric technology, we are delivering them control over their finances in a much more secure way,” he added. AimBrain’s Chief Commercial Officer, Peter Reynolds, said: “The partnership with NOW is a key milestone in our international growth. Their mission is to improve employee welfare for low-income migrants in the Middle East and we are only too happy to help improve the usability. Everyone knows passwords are ending soon.”
Middle Markets Market Monthly Monthly - December - June 2016
BrickVest Announces Its First Commercial Real Estate Deal in Zurich with a Leading Swiss Developer, Steiner AG BrickVest offers investors access to a preferred equity investment for a new commercial real estate project in Zurich with Steiner AG. BrickVest, the London based online real estate investment platform, has expanded the range of institutional quality real estate investment opportunities available by offering its first preferred equity deal in Switzerland in partnership with the long-established and successful Swiss real estate developer, Steiner AG. After delivering three new deals at the beginning of September, BrickVest continues to scale its platform and has a current deal pipeline of over £50 million. The deal sees BrickVest expand its product range to become an online real estate investment platform to offer deals diversified by region, risk and capital structure. BrickVest’s platform allows investors to invest in pre-vetted commercial real estate with the ease of an online trading platform. The deal agreed with Steiner AG will fund the development of MANUFAKT8048, a new business park in Zurich comprising 15,000m² of modern office space.
BrickVest is institutionalising the real estate crowd funding model and is on a mission to offer investors online the same product and service as large institutions such as pension funds and insurance companies would expect while providing unique tools to assess, build and transact on their real estate investment portfolio. BrickVest has unlocked the ability to combine unparalleled ease of access and transparency while providing an institutional-level investment platform with increased liquidity, supported by best-in-class reputable fund service providers. European investors interested in signing up and viewing BrickVest’s pan-European real estate investment offering can do so on https://brickvest.com/en/
Emmanuel Lumineau, CEO at BrickVest, commented: “We are very pleased to announced a deal with Steiner AG, who is one of the oldest and most experienced developers in Switzerland, as it perfectly illustrates BrickVest’s ethos – we want to break down barriers for deals that were previously accessible only to the elite institutional investors.” The development will be managed day to day by Seiner AG, an institutional quality deal sponsor with over 100 years’ experience in the Swiss market. Steiner AG has developed over 100,000 m² in Switzerland and more than EUR 500 million in the last five years. Guy Besson, Head of Business Development at Steiner AG said "We are entering the professional real estate crowdfunding space as it offers tremendous potential for the future and we want to be the pioneers in the field. BrickVest was the perfect partner for us because it stood out with its institutional quality platform and governance, which is the key to making it a lasting and scalable opportunity.”
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DEALS
Cross Keys Capital Completes Sale of Square Waveform Anesthesiology to NorthStar Anesthesia Healthcare investment banking team of Cross Keys Capital serves as an exclusive financial advisor to Anesthesiology group in transaction. Cross Keys Capital, LLC, a leading independent investment banking firm providing M&A advisory services to healthcare companies, is pleased to announce that it has acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Square Waveform Anesthesiology, P.A. (“SWA”) in its sale to NorthStar Anesthesia, one of the country’s leading anesthesia care companies. The transaction was led by Cross Keys’ Managing Director Bill Britton and Vice President Victor Kalafa. Mr. Britton, co-founder of Cross Keys and leader of the firm’s healthcare practice said, “Uncertainty in the healthcare space continues to drive groups to explore their options and seek out a partner with value-added resources that most smaller, regional groups cannot provide on their own. Valuations remain high and consolidation continues.” “This latest acquisition demonstrates that there is a continued interest from strategic buyers to acquire quality practices to strengthen their position within markets that are the next to consolidate,” added Mr. Britton. “We were pleased to have had the opportunity to work closely with SWA to help close a deal that made strategic sense for both parties.” Square Waveform Anesthesiology provides the anesthesia care services for many rural hospitals in the state of Iowa. It is unique in that it utilizes an all-CRNA model. “As the sole shareholder of a regional anesthesia company, I was relieved to earn the representation of Cross Keys Capital to help me value and sell my business,” said G. Tyler McDonald, President & Founder of SWA. “I was thoroughly supported throughout the process of preparing all the necessary items, selecting a buyer, and completing a transaction.” “I could not have been more pleased with the outcome. The team at Cross Keys demonstrated integrity and honesty, and a genuine effort to protect my interests. I believed they would deliver for me based upon their history and deep
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healthcare transactional experience, and as soon as we got underway, I observed that they do exactly what they say they will do and then some. I couldn’t imagine another banker who could execute the way Cross Keys did and add the value to my transaction the way they did,” added Tyler. The sale of Square Waveform Anesthesiology, P.A. represents Cross Keys’ fifty-fourth closed transaction on behalf of physician group practices, and the twenty-eighth anesthesiology group they have successfully represented in their sale. In the last year alone, Cross Keys Capital represented the following groups in the sale of their practice: Anesthesia Associates of Cincinnati and Pain Management Associates in their sale to TeamHealth Holdings; Lake County Anesthesia Associates in its sale to TeamHealth Holdings; AllegiantMD, Inc. in its sale to Sheridan Healthcare, the Physician Services Division of AmSurg Corp.; Westchester Anesthesiologists in its sale to a New York affiliate of MEDNAX, Inc.; Jandee Anesthesiology Partners and Karadan Anesthesiology and Pain Management in their sale to Sheridan Healthcare; West End Anesthesia Group, Inc. and Hanover Anesthesia Group, Inc. in their sale to MEDNAX, Inc. About Cross Keys Capital, LLC Cross Keys Capital, LLC (www.crosskeyscapital.com) is an independent investment bank providing merger and acquisition advisory services to established businesses in the middle market, in areas including healthcare, business services, niche manufacturing, and information technology. Its healthcare practice is a leader in representing anaesthesiology practices and other private physician group practices including radiology, ED, pathology, hospitalists, vision and eye care, dermatology, as well as a variety of healthcare service providers and healthcare technology companies. The firm’s extensive experience and track record in advising physician practices are unrivalled by any other middle-market investment banking firm in the nation – Cross Keys has completed the sale or merger of over fifty transactions of independent physician group practices, healthcare providers, services, and technology companies.
Middle Markets Market Monthly Monthly - December - June 2016
Oracle Buys Dyn Oracle has acquired Dyn, the leading cloud-based internet performance provider. Oracle has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Dyn, the leading cloudbased internet performance and DNS provider that monitors, controls, and optimizes Internet applications and cloud services to deliver faster access, reduced page load times, and higher enduser satisfaction. Dyn's solution is powered by a global network that drives 40 billion traffic optimization decisions daily for more than 3,500 enterprise customers, including preeminent digital brands such as Netflix, Twitter, Pfizer and CNBC. Adding Dyn's best-in-class DNS solution extends the Oracle cloud computing platform and provides enterprise customers with a one-stop shop for Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS).
"Oracle already offers enterprise-class IaaS and PaaS for companies building and running Internet applications and cloud services," said Thomas Kurian, President, Product Development, Oracle. "Dyn's immensely scalable and global DNS is a critical core component and a natural extension to our cloud computing platform." "Oracle cloud customers will have unique access to Internet performance information that will help them optimize infrastructure costs, maximize application and website-driven revenue, and manage risk," said Kyle York, Chief Strategy Officer, Dyn. "We are excited to join Oracle and bring even more value to our customers as part of Oracle's cloud computing platform." More information about this announcement is available at www.oracle.com/dyn
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