• EQT Real Estate invests in two office buildings comprising about 70,000 square meters in Frankfurt, Germany’s foremost hub for financial services
  
  
• The plan includes an extensive repositioning of the buildings in the rapidly changing Niederrad and Neu-Isenburg submarkets

• The investment represents EQT Real Estate’s fifth investment to date

EQT Real Estate I (“EQT Real Estate” or “the Fund”) has acquired two multi-let office assets in Frankfurt, Germany. The assets form part of the pan-German portfolio Project Mars, acquired by Eurocastle from DWS in 2007, and represents the fund's fifth investment to date and second in Germany.

Frankfurt is well-known as an attractive base for the European banking and financial services sectors, with a rapidly evolving office market with strong demand from tenants but only a small number of new developments. The two buildings are both modern and strategically located in terms of transport links and political initiatives. The largest one, Atricom, comprises 45,600 square meters and is located in Niederrad, while the second building, Le Büro, comprises 23,700 square meters and is located in Neu-Isenburg.

The buildings are set to receive a comprehensive refresh and optimization by further modernizing, upgrading and improving the buildings, both technically and visually, in order to offer future and existing tenants a quality working environment.

Frank Forster, Director at EQT Partners and advisor to the Fund, said:

“We are looking forward to EQT Real Estate taking part of the ongoing development in Frankfurt-Niederrad. The area is rapidly changing and the plans for Atricom should make a positive contribution to this part of town.”

Contacts:
Frank Forster, Director at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Real Estate I, +44 20 8432 5404
EQT Press Office, +46 8 506 553 34

About EQT
EQT is a leading alternative investments firm with approximately EUR 37 billion in raised capital across 24 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About EQT Real Estate I
EQT Real Estate I will seek to make direct and indirect controlling investments in real estate assets, portfolios and operating companies that offer significant potential for value creation through repositioning, redevelopment, refurbishment and active management. The investments will typically range between EUR 50 million and EUR 200 million. The fund is advised by an experienced team from EQT Partners, with extensive knowledge of property investment, development and intensive “hands-on” asset management, and with access to the full EQT network, including 10 European offices and more than 250 industrial advisors.

Read the press release here

The EQT Mid-Market Credit fund (“EQT Credit”) today announces that it has provided a new financing solution to support the fund ABAC Solutions (SCA) SICAR (“ABAC”) and management’s investment in Metalcaucho (or the “Company”), a leader in non-OEM spare parts.

Headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, Metalcaucho is a leading automotive spare parts designer and distributor focused on rubber, plastic and metal parts for the independent automotive aftermarket, supplying over 12,500 SKUs across Europe. The new financing will support Metalcaucho with its strong organic and inorganic growth profile through continued product development and international expansion to consolidate its leading position further.

Alexandre Hökfelt, Director at EQT Partners’ Credit team, Investment Advisor to EQT Credit, commented: “Under ABAC’s ownership and with its exceptional management team and strong product offering, Metalcaucho has achieved significant growth and development in a short time period. EQT Credit is excited to support the Company and the management team as it continues its impressive track record of growth and expansion.”

Contacts:
Alexandre Hökfelt, Director at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid-Market Credit, +44 7742 9069 12
EQT Press Office, +46 8 506 55 334, press@eqtpartners.com 

About EQT
EQT is a leading alternative investments firm with approximately EUR 38 billion in raised capital across 25 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About EQT Credit
The EQT Credit platform, which spans the full risk-reward spectrum investing with three strategies: senior debt, direct lending and credit opportunities, has invested approximately EUR 4.0 billion across approximately 150 companies since inception in 2008.

For more information: www.eqtpartners.com/Investment-Strategies/Credit

HTL-Strefa is a fast-growing global med-tech company and pioneer in the medical sharps’ industry. The company is going through an exciting phase - transforming its commercial profile and execution capabilities which has led to higher demand from customers. In order to fulfill the increased demand and to support the implementation of new investments in production, Rick Cook, former Global Head of Operations at Becton Dickinson, will join HTL-Strefa’s Board of Directors.

EQT V portfolio company HTL-Strefa is a global leading provider of proprietary capillary blood sampling and hypodermic injection devices. Global demographic megatrends, such as a growing number of insulin users and increasing need for safe point-of-care blood tests, underpin a solid underlying market growth for years to come. During EQT’s ownership, HTL-Strefa has embarked on a transformation journey from being a local manufacturer to a fully-fledged international medical device player.

Since the appointment of CEO Mikkel Danvold in January 2017 and the strengthening of HTL-Strefa’s management team, the top-line growth and earnings trajectory have been reinvigorated. The improved performance is the result of changing the commercial approach ensuring that customers and end-users are at the center of all decision-making. This approach has already led to a large number of new customers, an ongoing repositioning in the value chain, as well as implementation of multiple initiatives to ensure state-of-the-art commercial excellence and product innovation.

To meet the increased demand from both existing and new customers, HTL-Strefa is scaling up its organization and production capacity significantly. To support management in the implementation of the new expansion projects, Rick Cook will join HTL-Strefa’s Board of Directors. Rick has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and operations for Intravenous solutions and medical devices at all levels, from floor supervision to global operations leadership.

“As former Global Head of Operations at Becton Dickinson, Rick has a long track-record from leading large-scale projects within production and operations in the med-tech industry. Rick brings impressive experience which will be highly valuable to HTL-Strefa’s ongoing transformation. Supporting Mikkel and his team in implementing excellence in quality, service and cost from operations will bring competitive differentiation and enhanced value for customers”, says Gerard Van Odijk, Chairman of the Board of Directors at HTL-Strefa.

“I am honored to be asked to serve on HTL-Strefa’s Board of Directors. I look forward to helping Mikkel and the Operations team build upon the existing strong foundation and create a manufacturing culture and capability that will serve global customers of HTL with excellence in the exciting years ahead”, says Rick Cook, new Board Member of HTL-Strefa.

With the new commercial agenda being implemented, HTL-Strefa is uniquely positioned to further accelerate execution on the many top-line growth initiatives. The plan includes among other things a rapid channel expansion and launch of numerous new innovative products with distinct end-user benefits.

During EQT’s ownership, HTL-Strefa’s revenues have been growing at high single-digit rates and EBITDA margins have increased. With accelerated investments in product innovation and the implementation of an enhanced commercial strategy, growth has improved further to solid double-digit rates and are expected to continue to rise.

Since EQT Ventures launched in May 2016, the fund has closed 22 investments and the team has grown rapidly - now consisting of 22 people in Stockholm, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and San Francisco, and with part-time advisors in Tel Aviv, Zurich and Munich. Ted Persson, Design/UX/Brand Partner Partner and Investment Advisor at EQT Ventures gives an update on the fund’s recent activities and current market trends.

“AI is fundamentally about empowering people, not replacing them”

Earlier this year, Hjalmar Winbladh, Partner and Co-Head at EQT Ventures, stated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to take “the next big step” in 2017. Since then, EQT Ventures has made two additional AI-investments – the virtual customer call centre agent, CallDesk and the AI-powered e-health system, Aifloo.

Ted Persson explains: “As always, there are a lot of things buzzing in tech, but the thing that excites me the most right now is that we are starting to see concrete examples of how AI is underpinning entire industries. There are also speculations around whether AI will start replacing jobs in specific sectors or not. Having said that, I think it is important to also emphasize the job creation possibilities that this technology will bring. AI is fundamentally about empowering people, not replacing them.”

“One of EQT Ventures’ most recent investments, CallDesk offers an AI-powered virtual agent that works alongside human tele-operators to improve customer experience and lower costs. The virtual AI-agent can autonomously handle simple, repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as scheduling, order management, authentication and call routing. This means less waiting times for customers and more time for the (human) tele-operators to focus their efforts on handling high-value, complex issues”, says Ted Persson

Blurring the lines between the real and digital world

Earlier this fall, EQT Ventures announced its first Mixed Reality (MR) investment in Helsinki-based Varjo – the world’s first human eye resolution platform for virtual reality and augmented reality. Varjo’s proprietary combination of software, hardware and insight into how the brain processes visual information, provides the experience of 70 megapixels per eye. This blurs the lines between the real and digital world.

“We have been excited about AR and VR for a long time, but mass adoption of this technology shift has taken somewhat longer than anticipated. EQT Ventures’ bet is that Mixed Reality has the potential of being “the next smartphone” sooner or later. However, in the meantime, the fund is serving more niche markets where the need of this advanced technology already has arrived”, says Ted Persson.

EQT is staying local with the locals in Silicon Valley

It is not only the EQT Ventures portfolio that is growing – the team is also expanding rapidly, with several key recruitments made during the year. This summer, San Francisco-based Alastair Mitchell joined as Partner, with the ambition to grow EQT Ventures’ US presence and making sure that EQT is staying local with the locals in Silicon Valley.

“Alastair has an impressive track record of developing companies. He is the Co-Founder and former CEO of enterprise collaboration platform Huddle as well as board member of a number of early-stage B2B internet software companies in Europe and the US. We also welcomed Lucy Wimmer as new Communications Partner, bringing more than 12 years of experience from working with communications in the European and US tech industries”, says Ted Persson.

Ted Persson continues: “Bartosz Jakubowski was recruited to join EQT Ventures straight from a Paris-based VC firm and Reda Bensaid joined the team from a Danish investor. Both are native French speakers and are now our eyes and ears on the French scene, which has become increasingly more well-sophisticated, especially within AI”.

More recently, Axel Bard Bringéus, former Global Head of Markets at Spotify, joined the fund to help identify fast-growing, innovative and tech-enabled companies for support and investment in Germany. Earlier in December, EQT Ventures also welcomed Jo Bertram, former regional general manager for Northern Europe at Uber, as an Executive in Residence.

Read more on www.eqtventures.com

Following the record year of 2016, EQT continued its strong growth in 2017. During the past 12 months, EQT funds invested in approximately 30 portfolio companies and exited - or partially exited - around 10. In terms of fundraising, it was full steam ahead with successful closings of four new funds. EQT reached the hard cap for EQT Infrastructure III at EUR 4.0 billion and EQT Mid Market Europe at EUR 1.6 billion. The EQT Credit Opportunities III fund surpassed its target with EUR 1.3 billion in commitments and the inaugural EQT Real Estate I fund closed at EUR 420 million.

Behind the hectic business activities lie a lot of hard work and effort by dedicated employees and specialists across the globe and throughout EQT’s different investment strategies. In the context of dedicated employees, EQT is happy to announce the promotion of the following Directors to Partners, effective as of January 1, 2018:

• Fabian Gröne, Infrastructure, Singapore

• Bert Janssens, Equity, Amsterdam

• Kasper Knokgaard, Equity, New York

• Ulrich Köllensperger, Infrastructure, Zurich

• Johannes Reichel, Equity, Munich

• Niklas Ringby, Equity, Stockholm

• Jan Vesely, Infrastructure, New York

Thomas von Koch, Managing Partner and CEO at EQT comments:

“2017 was a great and successful year for EQT but as always, it is important to remain humble and acknowledge all the hard work that lies behind it. I am therefore happy to announce that we have invited seven new Partners to join the EQT Partner Group. They have showed excellence and passion in both business and strategy, and are notoriously thinking ‘outside the box’. Talented and committed colleagues are the very foundation of EQT’s culture and development journey.”

• EQT Mid Market förvärvar Candidator, en svensk leverantör av IT-drifttjänster med kapacitet för komplett IT-outsourcing i Sverige och Norge

• EQT Mid Markets ambition är att driva fortsatt tillväxt och stärka Candidators erbjudande, både organiskt och genom tilläggsförvärv 

• Möjlighet att konsolidera en fragmenterad nordisk IT-driftmarknad

EQT Mid Market Europe-fonden (“EQT Mid Market”) meddelar idag att man ingått ett avtal om att förvärva Candidator Holding AB (”Candidator” eller ”Bolaget”) från det privata investmentbolaget Sobro och minoritetsägare.

Candidator grundades 1997 och är en svensk leverantör av IT-drifttjänster med kapacitet för komplett IT-outsourcing som levererar främst avtalsbaserade tjänster till sina kunder, exempelvis molntjänster, hosting och applikationstjänster. Candidator har sitt huvudkontor i Alingsås och drygt 300 anställda i Sverige och Norge, samt en årlig omsättning på omkring SEK 450 miljoner. Genom att kombinera ett starkt kundfokus med högkvalitativa IT-driftlösningar har Candidator byggt en lojal kundbas och starka kundrelationer inom SME-segmentet.

EQT Mid Market kommer stötta Candidators tillväxtstrategi samt utveckla dess plattform och erbjudande, både organiskt och genom tilläggförvärv. Bolaget förväntas gynnas av rådande sekulära trender kring ökad andel IT-outsourcing och mer utbrett användande av molntjänster.

”EQT har följt den svenska IT-driftmarknaden under lång tid och ser Candidator som en attraktiv plattform för att konsolidera en fragmenterad marknad. Vi är imponerade av Candidators starka tillväxt och den branschledande kundnöjdhet som grundarna och ledningen framgångsrikt byggt upp. EQT:s expertis inom TMT- och tjänstesektorn, tillsammans med ett starkt nätverk av industriella rådgivare, kommer stötta Candidators fortsatta tillväxt och utveckling”, säger Johan Dettel, Partner på EQT Partners, Investeringsrådgivare till EQT Mid Market. 

”Vi ser fram emot att välkomna EQT som vår nya majoritetsägare. Det är dags för Candidator att ta nästa steg på den nordiska IT-driftmarknaden och EQT kommer göra det möjligt för oss att fortsätta utveckla vår plattform och framtidssäkra vårt erbjudande där kunden alltid står i fokus. Stödet från EQT innebär nya förutsättningar för oss att skapa en ledande nordisk IT-driftgrupp”, säger Johan de Verdier, VD på Candidator.

HDR Partners bistod med M&A-rådgivning till EQT Mid Market, White & Case var legal rådgivare, Bain var kommersiell rådgivare och KPMG var finansiell- samt skatterådgivare. Samtliga parter har enats om att inte offentliggöra affärens transaktionsvärde. 

Kontakt:
Johan Dettel, Partner på EQT Partners, Investeringsrådgivare till EQT Mid Market, +468 506 55 350
EQT Press Office, +468 506 55 334 

Om EQT
EQT är ett ledande globalt private equity-bolag med cirka 38 miljarder euro i rest kapital i 25 fonder. EQT-fonderna har portföljbolag i Europa, Asien och USA med en total omsättning på cirka 19 miljarder euro och 110 000 anställda. EQT arbetar med sina portföljbolag för att uppnå en hållbar tillväxt, operationell effektivitet och marknadsledande position.

Mer information: www.eqtpartners.com

Om Candidator
Candidator AB har kontor i Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö, Vara, Skövde, Bergen, Oslo och Alingsås, där bolaget idag förfogar över sammanlagt fyra toppmoderna datahallar som dygnet runt, året om, levererar stabil och effektiv IT-drift till bolagets cirka 400 avtalskunder. Candidator har sedan starten 1997 visat en stark tillväxt och har idag cirka 300 anställda. Bolagets strategi är att bygga långsiktiga kundrelationer genom att kombinera hög servicenivå med effektiva IT-lösningar som ger kunden tydliga affärsmässiga fördelar.

Mer information: www.candidator.se

• EQT Mid Market acquires Candidator, a Swedish managed IT services provider with capabilities for full IT outsourcing in Sweden and Norway

• EQT Mid Market is committed to drive continued growth and further strengthen Candidator’s service offering both organically and through add-on acquisitions

• Potential to further consolidate the fragmented Nordic managed IT services market

The EQT Mid Market Europe fund (“EQT Mid Market”) today announced that it has entered an agreement to acquire Candidator Holding AB (“Candidator” or “the Company”) from the private investment company Sobro and minority owners.

Established in 1997, Candidator is a managed IT services provider with capabilities for full IT outsourcing, providing its clients with mainly contractually recurring services, including cloud, hosting and application management. The Company has approximately 300 employees in Sweden and Norway with annual sales of around EUR 45 million. Candidator has managed to build strong customer relationships within the SME segment by combining customer focus with high quality IT solutions.

EQT Mid Market will support the continued development of Candidator’s growth strategy while strengthening its platform and developing its service offering, both organically and through acquisitions. The Company is expected to benefit from strong underlying secular trends, including increased share of IT outsourcing and growing cloud adoption.

“EQT has monitored the Swedish managed IT services market for a long time and identified Candidator as an attractive platform to drive the consolidation. We are impressed by Candidator’s strong financial performance and industry-leading customer satisfaction, successfully built by the founders and management. EQT’s expertise within the TMT and Services sectors, coupled with a strong network of Industrial Advisors will support Candidator’s further growth and development”, says Johan Dettel, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market.

“We are excited about welcoming EQT as our new majority owner. Candidator is entering the next stage of growth in the Nordic managed IT services market and EQT will enable us to continue to develop our platform as well as future-proof our customer-centric service offering. Working together with EQT will empower us to build a leading Nordic managed IT services group”, says Johan de Verdier, CEO of Candidator.

HDR Partners served as M&A advisor to EQT Mid Market, White & Case as legal advisor, Bain as commercial consultant and KPMG as finance and tax advisor. All parties have agreed to not disclose the transaction value.

Contact:
Johan Dettel, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market, +468 506 55 350
EQT Press Office, +468 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a leading alternative investments firm with approximately EUR 38 billion in raised capital across 25 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About Candidator
Candidator AB has offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Vara, Skövde, Bergen, Oslo and Alingsås, where the company has four modern data centers that deliver stable and efficient IT operations around the clock to the company's approximately 400 contracted customers. Since the start in 1997, Candidator has shown strong growth and they currently have approximately 300 employees. The company's strategy is to build long-term relationships with its customers by combining high levels of service with effective IT solutions that provide clear business benefits.

More info: www.candidator.se

EQT Credit, through its Mid-Market Credit investment strategy, announces today that it has agreed to provide senior secured financing for TowerBrook Capital Partners’ (“TowerBrook”) acquisition of Bosal Automotive Carrier and Protection Systems (“Bosal ACPS” or the “Company”) from Bosal Group.

Headquartered in Germany, Bosal ACPS is a leading manufacturer of tow bars for original equipment manufacturers and suppliers and for the aftermarket in Europe. The Company has manufacturing facilities in Europe and the Americas, generating sales in 2017 of approximately EUR 250 million.

Paul Johnson, Partner at EQT Partners’ Credit team, Investment Advisor to EQT Credit, commented: “Bosal ACPS is an established market-leader in the European OEM tow-bar segment. We are attracted by the Company’s long-term track record, product quality and history of technological leadership and innovation. EQT’s network of Industrial Advisors, with former senior executives in the automotive segment, provided key support throughout the due diligence process. EQT Credit looks forward to support Bosal ACPS and TowerBrook as they continue to execute on the plans for international growth and operational improvement.”

All parties have agreed to not disclose any financial details.

Contacts:
Paul Johnson, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Credit, +44 207 430 5554
Nakul Sarin, Director at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Credit, +44 208 432 5420
EQT Press Office, +46 8 506 55 334, press@eqtpartners.com 

About EQT
EQT is a leading alternative investments firm with approximately EUR 38 billion in raised capital across 25 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About EQT Credit
EQT Credit invests through three complementary strategies: senior debt, Mid-Market Credit (direct lending) and credit opportunities. Since inception, EQT Credit has invested approximately EUR 4.0 billion in 150 companies. EQT Credit’s direct lending strategy seeks to provide flexible, long-term debt capital solutions to medium-sized European businesses, across a wide range of sectors. These businesses may be privately-owned corporates seeking alternative funding to grow or be the subject of private equity-led acquisitions or refinancings.

For more information: www.eqtpartners.com/Investment-Strategies/Credit

HTL-Strefa is a fast-growing global med-tech company and pioneer in the medical sharps’ industry. The company is going through an exciting phase - transforming its commercial profile and execution capabilities which has led to higher demand from customers. In order to fulfill the increased demand and to support the implementation of new investments in production, Rick Cook, former Global Head of Operations at Becton Dickinson, will join HTL-Strefa’s Board of Directors.

EQT V portfolio company HTL-Strefa is a global leading provider of proprietary capillary blood sampling and hypodermic injection devices. Global demographic megatrends, such as a growing number of insulin users and increasing need for safe point-of-care blood tests, underpin a solid underlying market growth for years to come. During EQT’s ownership, HTL-Strefa has embarked on a transformation journey from being a local manufacturer to a fully-fledged international medical device player.

Since the appointment of CEO Mikkel Danvold in January 2017 and the strengthening of HTL-Strefa’s management team, the top-line growth and earnings trajectory have been reinvigorated. The improved performance is the result of changing the commercial approach ensuring that customers and end-users are at the center of all decision-making. This approach has already led to a large number of new customers, an ongoing repositioning in the value chain, as well as implementation of multiple initiatives to ensure state-of-the-art commercial excellence and product innovation.

To meet the increased demand from both existing and new customers, HTL-Strefa is scaling up its organization and production capacity significantly. To support management in the implementation of the new expansion projects, Rick Cook will join HTL-Strefa’s Board of Directors. Rick has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and operations for Intravenous solutions and medical devices at all levels, from floor supervision to global operations leadership.

“As former Global Head of Operations at Becton Dickinson, Rick has a long track-record from leading large-scale projects within production and operations in the med-tech industry. Rick brings impressive experience which will be highly valuable to HTL-Strefa’s ongoing transformation. Supporting Mikkel and his team in implementing excellence in quality, service and cost from operations will bring competitive differentiation and enhanced value for customers”, says Gerard Van Odijk, Chairman of the Board of Directors at HTL-Strefa.

“I am honored to be asked to serve on HTL-Strefa’s Board of Directors. I look forward to helping Mikkel and the Operations team build upon the existing strong foundation and create a manufacturing culture and capability that will serve global customers of HTL with excellence in the exciting years ahead”, says Rick Cook, new Board Member of HTL-Strefa.

With the new commercial agenda being implemented, HTL-Strefa is uniquely positioned to further accelerate execution on the many top-line growth initiatives. The plan includes among other things a rapid channel expansion and launch of numerous new innovative products with distinct end-user benefits.

During EQT’s ownership, HTL-Strefa’s revenues have been growing at high single-digit rates and EBITDA margins have increased. With accelerated investments in product innovation and the implementation of an enhanced commercial strategy, growth has improved further to solid double-digit rates and are expected to continue to rise.

Since EQT Ventures launched in May 2016, the fund has closed 22 investments and the team has grown rapidly - now consisting of 22 people in Stockholm, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and San Francisco, and with part-time advisors in Tel Aviv, Zurich and Munich. Ted Persson, Design/UX/Brand Partner Partner and Investment Advisor at EQT Ventures gives an update on the fund’s recent activities and current market trends.

“AI is fundamentally about empowering people, not replacing them”

Earlier this year, Hjalmar Winbladh, Partner and Co-Head at EQT Ventures, stated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to take “the next big step” in 2017. Since then, EQT Ventures has made two additional AI-investments – the virtual customer call centre agent, CallDesk and the AI-powered e-health system, Aifloo.

Ted Persson explains: “As always, there are a lot of things buzzing in tech, but the thing that excites me the most right now is that we are starting to see concrete examples of how AI is underpinning entire industries. There are also speculations around whether AI will start replacing jobs in specific sectors or not. Having said that, I think it is important to also emphasize the job creation possibilities that this technology will bring. AI is fundamentally about empowering people, not replacing them.”

“One of EQT Ventures’ most recent investments, CallDesk offers an AI-powered virtual agent that works alongside human tele-operators to improve customer experience and lower costs. The virtual AI-agent can autonomously handle simple, repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as scheduling, order management, authentication and call routing. This means less waiting times for customers and more time for the (human) tele-operators to focus their efforts on handling high-value, complex issues”, says Ted Persson

Blurring the lines between the real and digital world

Earlier this fall, EQT Ventures announced its first Mixed Reality (MR) investment in Helsinki-based Varjo – the world’s first human eye resolution platform for virtual reality and augmented reality. Varjo’s proprietary combination of software, hardware and insight into how the brain processes visual information, provides the experience of 70 megapixels per eye. This blurs the lines between the real and digital world.

“We have been excited about AR and VR for a long time, but mass adoption of this technology shift has taken somewhat longer than anticipated. EQT Ventures’ bet is that Mixed Reality has the potential of being “the next smartphone” sooner or later. However, in the meantime, the fund is serving more niche markets where the need of this advanced technology already has arrived”, says Ted Persson.

EQT is staying local with the locals in Silicon Valley

It is not only the EQT Ventures portfolio that is growing – the team is also expanding rapidly, with several key recruitments made during the year. This summer, San Francisco-based Alastair Mitchell joined as Partner, with the ambition to grow EQT Ventures’ US presence and making sure that EQT is staying local with the locals in Silicon Valley.

“Alastair has an impressive track record of developing companies. He is the Co-Founder and former CEO of enterprise collaboration platform Huddle as well as board member of a number of early-stage B2B internet software companies in Europe and the US. We also welcomed Lucy Wimmer as new Communications Partner, bringing more than 12 years of experience from working with communications in the European and US tech industries”, says Ted Persson.

Ted Persson continues: “Bartosz Jakubowski was recruited to join EQT Ventures straight from a Paris-based VC firm and Reda Bensaid joined the team from a Danish investor. Both are native French speakers and are now our eyes and ears on the French scene, which has become increasingly more well-sophisticated, especially within AI”.

More recently, Axel Bard Bringéus, former Global Head of Markets at Spotify, joined the fund to help identify fast-growing, innovative and tech-enabled companies for support and investment in Germany. Earlier in December, EQT Ventures also welcomed Jo Bertram, former regional general manager for Northern Europe at Uber, as an Executive in Residence.

Read more on www.eqtventures.com

EQT Infrastructure portfolio company DCLI today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire TRAC Intermodal’s fleet of approximately 72,000 53-foot domestic chassis and related customer and hosting contracts with major Class I railroads and intermodal shipping companies throughout the US. DCLI’s acquisition of TRAC Intermodal creates the largest intermodal chassis leasing and management platform in the US.

Direct ChassisLink Inc. (“DCLI”), acquired by EQT Infrastructure II in June 2016, is a leading provider of marine chassis and asset management services to the US intermodal industry. As a result of the acquisition, DCLI will own, lease or manage approximately 136,000 marine chassis, as well as approximately 80,000 domestic chassis, for a total chassis fleet of over 216,000. In addition, through its REZ-1 asset management platform, the company manages over 86,000 domestic intermodal containers for third parties.

After combining the businesses, customers will benefit from a single source for intermodal marine and domestic chassis leasing services through DCLI’s expanded national footprint now encompassing all major ports and railway terminals in the US, and with the benefits of operating on the REZ-1 asset management platform.

“DCLI’s operating expertise in chassis management creates a natural strategic fit with TRAC Intermodal’s domestic fleet. We strongly believe in DCLI and are excited to support the management team through its growth. This acquisition in combination with DCLI and REZ-1 will create a unique intermodal infrastructure asset,” says Erwin Thompson, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure.

The transaction is expected to close in early January 2018, subject to customary closing conditions.

Read the full DCLI press release or visit DCLI’s website for more information.

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, JAPAN OR AUSTRALIA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ) (”Carnegie”) and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (”SEB”) have been retained to explore the opportunity to sell up to 11,511,385 shares in AcadeMedia AB (publ) ("AcadeMedia") to Swedish and international institutional investors (the “Placing”). The shares are owned by Marvin Holding Limited (a holding company owned by EQT V Limited and its co-investors) (“Marvin”).

Marvin’s current holding amounts to 11,511,385 shares, representing 12.1% of the total number of shares in AcadeMedia.

The price per share in the Placing will be determined through an accelerated bookbuilding process. The bookbuilding period commences today, 26 October 2017, at 17:30 CEST and may close at any time on short notice.

Carnegie and SEB are acting as joint bookrunners in connection with the Placing.

Marvin Holding Limited

26 October 2017

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN OFFER OF SECURITIES OR INVESTMENTS FOR SALE OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY SECURITIES OR INVESTMENTS IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. NO ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN THAT WOULD PERMIT AN OFFERING OF THE SECURITIES OR POSSESSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE ACTION FOR THAT PURPOSE IS REQUIRED. PERSONS INTO WHOSE POSSESSION THIS ANNOUNCEMENT COMES ARE REQUIRED TO INFORM THEMSELVES ABOUT AND TO OBSERVE ANY SUCH RESTRICTIONS. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THESE RESTRICTIONS MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY SUCH JURISDICTION.