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  4. Summa Equity acquires Intix, a Belgium fintech company to accelerate smart and real-time compliance and transaction monitoring

Summa Equity acquires Intix, a Belgium fintech company to accelerate smart and real-time compliance and transaction monitoring

Summa Equity Fund III has made its first investment with the acquisition of Intix, a transaction and compliance insight platform for the financial sector. Intix will contribute to a safer, transparent, and more inclusive financial system, helping reduce illicit financial flows, corruption, and financial inequities.

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Intix

March 1st, 2022, Stockholm/Oslo/Munich: Summa Equity Fund III (“Summa”) has acquired a majority stake in Intix, a Belgium fintech company that delivers a high-performance and unique insight platform to ensure operational excellence, enabling a quantum leap in transaction monitoring and transparency for financial institutions. The first acquisition done by Fund III builds on Summa Equity’s proven track record of incorporating the UN SDG framework in shaping the investment and value creation strategy to drive long-run value. Summa Equity’s acquisition allows Intix to accelerate its growth and innovation, while keeping the founders on board to leverage their experience to capitalise on new business opportunities that solve global challenges.

Founded in 2011 in Mechelen, Belgium, Intix has developed a pure-play transaction insight platform. The Intix products provide financial institutions with the capability to view all their transaction data in a unified visual graphical user interface (GUI), as well as in machine readable application programming interfaces (APIs). The Intix solutions replace manual work that costs financial institutions billions of EUR each year and radically speeds up time to insight and action, as it offers tracking of transactions while identifying irregularities and issuing real-time alerts.

The need for real-time, full-resolution access to quality-assured master transaction data is business-critical for today’s financial institutions. With Intix, tier 1 and 2 banks like Nordea, Société Générale, Standard Bank of South Africa, and KBC Bank have access to end-to-end transparency and reporting, real-time surveillance, and alerts with user-friendly analytics that are easily maintained and upgraded.

Intix directly addresses SDGs #16.4 to prevent illicit financial flows and #SDG 16.5 to help reduce corruption. Preventing illicit financial flows is becoming increasingly challenging in today’s environment and poses a massive challenge to political and economic security worldwide, particularly to developing countries. Corruption, organized crime, illegal exploitation of natural resources, fraud in international trade and tax evasion are harmful to society.

Marc Braet, CEO of Intix said:

”In Summa Equity, we found the ideal partner to support our exponential growth ambitions. From the very first contact, we felt that Summa Equity shares the cultural and social values of the Intix family. We are looking forward to working together, capitalising on new business opportunities that solve global challenges.”

Gisle Glück Evensen, Partner at Summa Equity, commented:

“Money laundering and fraud are massive challenges to the financial system and the society through the activities they support. Intix have made a solution that represents a step change in monitoring and detection capabilities. We have been impressed with the team and their values and look forward to partnering with them for the next leg of the journey.”

About Intix

Intix is a leading fintech company based in Belgium that provides a transaction and compliance insight platform for the financial sector.

The company offers unique ‘off the shelf’ technology products to trace and monitor financial transaction data. Intix’s platform makes data more transparent and actionable for banks and financial institutions in payment modernization, compliance and audit.

Their client portfolio consists of Tier 1 banks all over the world, such as KBC, Nordea, Société Générale and Standard Bank of South Africa.

www.intix.eu

About Summa Equity

Summa invests in companies that are solving global challenges and creating positive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes for society.

Summa’s purpose is to co-create win-win for investors, portfolio companies, and society through aligning its vision and outcomes to the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring a net-positive impact against ESG challenges, and the potential for long-term, sustainable outperformance.

Investments are focused on industries and companies that have tailwind from megatrends within three sustainability themes: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Transformation. Across these themes, Summa’s portfolio companies are supporting a world in transition and showing that business can be part of the solution. Summa Equity has c. EUR 4 billion (c. SEK 40 billion) assets under management.

summaequity.com

For interviews or more information, please contact:

Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen, Investment Director and Head of IR at Summa Equity
+47 936 41 960 | Hannah.jacobsen@summaequity.com

Marc Braet, CEO, Intix
+32-15-14.02.30 | marc.braet@intix.eu

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  4. Summa Equity raises the largest European impact fund to date – announcing final close of c. EUR 2.3 billion for third fund

Summa Equity raises the largest European impact fund to date – announcing final close of c. EUR 2.3 billion for third fund

Summa Equity is expanding to support its mission of investing to solve global challenges in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

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Stockholm/Oslo: Today, Summa Equity announced the closing of its third fund (“Fund III” or “the Fund”), with investor commitments of c. EUR 2.3 billion (c. SEK 23 billion). The Fund was closed in record time and was oversubscribed within four months, raised in a fully virtual fundraising environment. The capital raised will strengthen Summa Equity’s ability to contribute to solving global challenges through sustainable investing.

With its new fund, Summa Equity now manages aggregated capital commitments of close to EUR 4 billion (c. SEK 40 billion). Established in 2016, Summa Equity was one of the first Private Equity firms with a clear purpose-driven investment strategy and continues to be committed to positively impacting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Fund III will continue to build on Summa Equity’s proven track record of incorporating the SDG framework in shaping the investment and value creation strategy to drive long-run value, focusing on thematic investments in industries supported by the same megatrends within resource efficiency, changing demographics, and tech enabled transformation as its predecessors.

The announcement of Fund III comes three years after Fund II, and five years after Fund I. Fund I and Fund II closed with commitments of c. SEK 4.7 billion (c. EUR 470 million) and c. SEK 6.8 billion (c. EUR 680 million) respectively, and with a further c. SEK 5.4 billion (c. EUR 540 million) in managed co-investments. Fund III represents a scale-up, with an extended investment mandate to invest across a more expansive geographical remit and to also invest in primary capital in growth companies. To reflect this growth, Summa has expanded its investment team to the DACH region, Benelux, and the US.

Leading global investors have chosen to continue to invest in Summa Equity also for Fund III, as well as new investors joining to invest to solve global challenges. Fund III is comprised of a diverse group of investors including pension funds, insurance companies, foundations and endowments, financial investors and family offices with global representation including Canada, the United States, the Nordics, UK, DACH, France, Benelux, Singapore, Japan and Australia.

Summa Equity has made 22 investments to date that are advancing the SDGs. These include five investments delivered in 2021, with representation across all the three structural themes. The portfolio has delivered strong performance to date, as measured through financial and operational value drivers and demonstrable impact-oriented and ESG outcomes. Summa is committed to pushing the limits on quantifying positive impact through its collaboration with the Impact Weighted Accounts (IWA) project at Harvard Business School. Moreover, Summa has recently certified as a B Corporation, joining a growing group of companies reinventing business by pursuing purpose as well as profit.

Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner and Founder of Summa Equity said:

“Our societal challenges are increasing, environmentally, socially, and with falling trust and governance issues. All companies are either part of the problem or can be a solution. As we have seen in our portfolio, companies offering positive solutions for society prosper in a turbulent world. With the scale up in Fund III, we hope that Summa can have significantly increase its positive impact on an international scale, investing in companies across the spectrum from young, high-growth companies to more mature firms. Impact investing, or what we call Private Equity 4.0, is becoming mainstream as a growing number of PE firms are adding to their existing capabilities the effective management of impact on “externalities” to address environmental, social, and governance challenges. The growth of Summa Equity over our five-year history and the strong interest we received in our Fund III is further evidence that impact investing has become mainstream.”

Hannah Jacobsen, Investment Director and Head of Investor Relations said:

“The strong commitment to Summa Equity’s third fund confirms that our investors believe in our thematic focus, distinct deal flow and high caliber team; recognizing Summa Equity’s ability to deliver future-proofed superior returns whilst driving ESG outcomes. Together, we will continue to reimagine capitalism.”

Summa Equity was advised by Rede Partners, an independent funding advisor to the private equity industry. Mannheimer Swartling was lead legal counsel in the fundraising, with Ropes & Gray advising on US legal matters and PWC on tax and structural matters. Summa Equity is domiciled in Sweden and regulated as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.

About Summa Equity

Summa invests in companies that are solving global challenges and creating positive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes for society.

Summa’s purpose is to co-create win-win for investors, portfolio companies, and society through aligning its vision and outcomes to the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring a net-positive impact against ESG challenges, and the potential for long-term, sustainable outperformance.

Investments are focused on industries and companies that have tailwind from megatrends within three sustainability themes: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Transformation. Across these themes, Summa’s portfolio companies are supporting a world in transition and showing that business can be part of the solution.

summaequity.com

For interviews or more information, please contact:

Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen, Investment Director and Head of IR at Summa Equity
+47 936 41 960 | Hannah.jacobsen@summaequity.com

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  4. Summa Equity receives two awards at the Private Equity Exchange & Awards 2021

Summa Equity receives two awards at the Private Equity Exchange & Awards 2021

Summa Equity receives two awards at the Private Equity Exchange & Awards 2021

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It’s nice to be recognized for the work and efforts put in by the Summa team and our portfolio companies, said Reynir Indahl, Summa Equity’s Managing Partner.

The awards, which are part of the Private Equity Exchange conference, are among the most prestigious on the calendar, with winners chosen by a panel of more than 80 high-profile professionals from across the world, including limited partners.

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  4. Summa Equity Achieves B Corporation Status

Summa Equity Achieves B Corporation Status

Summa Equity, which invests in companies solving global challenges, has been certified as a B Corporation, joining a growing group of companies reinventing business by pursuing purpose as well as profit.

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The certification has been awarded by B Lab, the not-for-profit behind the B Corporation movement. Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corporations are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

“The B Corporation certification is a significant milestone for Summa Equity and something which is deeply aligned with our purpose of investing to solve global challenges. By being part of this influential and rapidly growing global movement, we hope to inspire others to follow while continuing to push ourselves to build a better business and a better world,” says Managing Partner of Summa Equity, Reynir Indahl.

Founded in 2016, Summa was one of the first private equity firms to align its vision and outcomes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring a net-positive impact against ESG challenges. Its investments are focused on industries and companies within three sustainability megatrends: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Transformation.

As a B Corporation, Summa Equity is now part of a community of 4,000 businesses globally. The B Corporation community in Europe, representing a broad cross section of industries and size of business, comprises over 600 companies and includes well-known brands such as The Guardian, The Body Shop and organic food pioneers Abel & Cole. Summa Equity’s B Corporation certification is a notable step and signals a shift towards greater accountability and transparency in the private equity sector.

Chris Turner, Executive Director of B Lab UK, says “Being able to welcome Summa Equity to the B Corporation community is hugely exciting. The firm’s commitment to doing business differently will be an inspiration to others and really help spread the idea that we can redefine success in business to be as much about people and planet as it is about profit. We know that Summa Equity is going to be a fantastic addition to the community and will continue driving the conversation forward”.

Read more about B Lab & B Corporation here.

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  4. Pagero listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market

Pagero listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market

Pagero Group AB (publ) (”Pagero” or the “Company”) a growth-oriented, global SaaS company with the aim to build the world’s largest open business network in order to digitalise trading between buyers and sellers, today announces the outcome of the offering of the Company’s shares (the “Offering”) prior to the listing on Nasdaq First North Growth Market (the “Listing”). The Offering attracted very strong interest, both from institutional investors in Sweden and internationally as well as the general public in Sweden. Trading in the Company’s shares on Nasdaq First North Growth Market commences on 22 October 2021.

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The Offering in brief:

  • As previously announced, the price per share in the Offering was SEK 24, corresponding to a market value of all outstanding shares in the Company upon completion of the Offering to approximately SEK 3,701 million.
  • The Offering included 20,833,333 newly issued shares and will bring the Company total proceeds of approximately SEK 500 million, before deduction of transaction costs related to the Offering, corresponding to 13.5 per cent of the total amount of shares and votes in the Company after the Offering.
  • In order to cover any over-allotment in connection with the Offering, the principal shareholders, Summa Equity1, Greenfield AB2, Sjätte AP-fonden, Mats Ryding3 and Norelia AB4 (“Selling Shareholders”) have granted an over-allotment option to Joint Global Coordinators to acquire existing shares, corresponding to not more than 15 per cent of the number of shares in the Offering (the “Over-allotment Option”), which may be exercised in full or in part by the Joint Global Coordinators during the 30-day period from the first day of trading in the Company’s shares on Nasdaq First North Growth Market.
  • Provided that the Over-allotment Option is exercised in full the Offering will include 23,958,332 shares, corresponding to an amount of SEK 575 million, which represents approximately 15.5 per cent of the total number of shares in the Company upon completion of the Offering.
  • Funds managed by I&T Asset Management (Fondsmæglerselskabet Investering & Tryghed A/S) and Swedbank Robur Fonder, (together the “Cornerstone Investors”) have acquired shares in the Offering for an amount in total of SEK 230 million, corresponding to 46 per cent of the shares in the Offering. Swedbank Robur Fonder was prior to the Offering an existing shareholder of the Company.
  • Trading in Pagero’s shares on Nasdaq First North Growth Market commences today, 22 October 2021, under the ticker “PAGERO”. Settlement is expected to take place on 26 October 2021.

Bengt Nilsson, CEO of Pagero, comments:

”This is a great milestone for Pagero and an important step towards realising our goal of making buying and selling processes easy for companies through a global and open business network. We look forward to accelerating continued expansion to make business communication easier, cheaper and more environmentally friendly around the world. I want to thank all of our employees for your work and commitment in Pagero’s continued growth – a journey that is far from over. I also want to thank our customers and partners in more than 140 countries for your trust and faith.”

Birger Steen, chairman of the board of directors of Pagero, comments:

”The interest to invest in Pagero have exceeded our expectations and we look forward to continue this growth journey together with all new shareholders. We see that businesses are increasingly investing time in becoming more sustainable, compliant and efficient with lower environmental impact. With an already proven business model, we look forward to starting this new chapter as a listed company and to help more businesses modernise their processes.”

Read more about Pagero here.

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  4. Summa Equity hires three new partners

Summa Equity hires three new partners

Onboarding of new partners to drive growth across Summa’s three investment themes, and expand the firm’s European presence through the Munich office opening

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20th October 2021: Summa Equity, which invests in companies that are solving global challenges and creating positive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes for society, has made three new hires at partner level.

Christoph Waer joins as a partner, focusing on the Changing Demographics theme, targeting companies in the healthcare and life sciences sectors. Based in Belgium, his role will involve generating and sourcing new opportunities, and serving as a partner for portfolio companies. Before joining Summa, Waer managed the life science activities for Korys, a leading European family office with a “three P” investment strategy (People, Planet, Profit), where he was instrumental in the set-up of the OMX Europe Venture Fund.

Tim He joins as a partner within the Tech-Enabled Transformation theme, focusing on Summa’s growth investment strategy. Based in Stockholm, his role will be focused on new idea generation, assessing and executing new investments, and working with founders and CEOs on value creation and developing companies for the next stage of their journey. He joins Summa from Kinnevik, where he was Investment Director and played a leading role in rebuilding its successful Nordic portfolio. Prior to Kinnevik, he was Principal at Northzone and also brings hands-on operational experience from Groupon.

Matthias Fink will join in November as a partner to lead Summa’s work in DACH (Germany, Switzerland, and Austria), spanning sourcing, value creation, and portfolio management across investment themes with a focus on Resource Efficiency and Tech Enabled Transformation. He will lead on the expansion of Summa’s Munich office, building on the company’s first investment in Germany earlier this year. Fink was previously a Partner at The Riverside Company, prior to which he was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group.

“Our strategy of aligning investments to global challenges and the UN Sustainable Development Goals have led us to do investments globally within our core thematic areas. Expanding our team with passionate Summates adds to our thematic expertise and our expanding footprint to ensure we can create an even greater win-win for investors, portfolio companies, and society in the years to come,” says Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner, Summa Equity.

Since its launch in 2016, Summa Equity has launched two funds, and now has €1.6bn assets under management. In 2021 alone, the company has made five new investments and five exits and IPOs.

ENDS.

About Summa Equity

Summa invests in companies that are solving global challenges and creating positive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes for society.

Summa’s purpose is to co-create win-win for investors, portfolio companies, and society through aligning its vision and outcomes to the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring a net-positive impact against ESG challenges, and the potential for long-term, sustainable outperformance.

Investments are focused on industries and companies within three sustainability megatrends: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Transformation. Across these themes, Summa’s portfolio companies are supporting a world in transition and showing that business can be part of the solution. Summa has more than €1.6bn of assets under management.

summaequity.com

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  4. Summa Equity has agreed to sell Lakers to Vestum for SEK 2bn

Summa Equity has agreed to sell Lakers to Vestum for SEK 2bn

Summa Equity has signed a definitive agreement to sell Lakers Group Holding AS (“Lakers” or the “Company”), a leading and independent aftermarket service provider of water and wastewater pumps to Vestum AB (publ) (“Vestum”) for a total consideration of approximately SEK 2bn, of which c. SEK 250m will be reinvested into Vestum.

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Since Summa Equity’s acquisition of Lakers in 2018, the Company has grown rapidly through organic initiatives and a series of 14 acquisitions across the Nordic region, United Kingdom and Germany.

“Our investment in Lakers was founded in Summa Equity’s philosophy of investing to solve global challenges, and Lakers solves issues with our ageing water and sanitation infrastructure. We are excited about Vestum’s acquisition, which is validating our thesis on consolidating and improving the service industry for water infrastructure,” says Christian Melby, Partner and CIO at Summa Equity.

The Company contributes to improve SDG #6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and #9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and serves as an important partner for the maintenance and service of our water and sanitation infrastructure.

“We are proud to have been part of Lakers journey since 2018, growing revenues fourfold and operating result sixfold through a swift expansion of its footprint across the Nordics and into Germany and the UK,” says Johannes Lien, Principal at Summa Equity.

Lakers is the leading independent waste and wastewater pump service provider in Northern Europe focused on product offerings within aftermarket products and services such as rental, maintenance, product manufacturing and sales, and projects across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

“We have had a fantastic partnership with Summa in building a company that truly delivers on our mission of “Making Water Work” through providing the best possible service and products to our customers. We are excited about continuing this journey with Vestum, as they are also strongly aligned with our ambition to continue to consolidate the industry in Europe so that Lakers can improve how we address the sustainability challenges in our aging water and sanitation infrastructure,” says Carl-Johan Callenholm, CEO of Lakers.

Cederquist and Selmer has been acting as legal advisors to Lakers.

For further information, please contact:

Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen, Head of IR Summa Equity

+47 93 64 19 60

hannah.jacobsen@summaequity.com

About Lakers

Lakers is a North European aftermarket service, project and product provider of water and wastewater pumps, which serve as key components for transportation of water in the water infrastructure. The Company was founded by Carl-Johan Callenholm (CEO) and Carl Hall (Board Member and Head of M&A) in 2016 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway with more than 400 FTEs. Lakers operates within Pump Service, Aftermarket Projects and Niche Products through its 25 entities in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom.

About Summa Equity

Summa invests in companies that are solving global challenges and creating positive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes for society.

Summa’s purpose is to co-create win-win for investors, portfolio companies, and society through aligning its vision and outcomes to the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring a net-positive impact against ESG challenges, and the potential for long-term, sustainable outperformance.

Investments are focused on industries and companies within three sustainability megatrends: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Businesses. Across these themes, Summa’s portfolio companies are supporting a world in transition and showing that business can be part of the solution. Summa has more than €1.6bn of assets under management.

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  4. Summa Equity acquires G-CON Manufacturing, the leading US-based provider of POD® cleanroom solutions

Summa Equity acquires G-CON Manufacturing, the leading US-based provider of POD® cleanroom solutions

Through its acquisition of G-CON, Summa Equity enters the rapidly growing biopharmaceutical manufacturing market, including cell and gene therapy manufacturing.

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20 July 2021, Stockholm, Sweden: Summa Equity Fund II (“Summa”) has acquired a majority stake in G-CON, a leading US-based manufacturer of prefabricated cleanrooms used for manufacturing within the pharmaceuticals industry. G-CON designs, builds and installs turnkey cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practice) compliant suites called PODs, for a global biopharma customer base focused on biologics, pharma, CDMO (contract development and manufacturing), and cell and gene therapy manufacturing.

Founded in 2009 in College Station, Texas, G -CON has developed a unique prefabricated cleanroom solution, which differs from traditional cleanroom facility structures due to the ease of scalability, mobility, and the ability to repurpose the PODs once the production process reaches the end of its lifecycle. The company has experienced strong growth and sold more than 300 cleanrooms since inception.

As the biopharma market evolves, emerging modalities, such as cell and gene therapy, and the need to rapidly scale manufacturing requirements, have driven the pressing demand for off-site built solutions, which can be manufactured, installed, and scaled quickly. The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the need for uninterrupted off-site construction of cleanroom infrastructures.

G-CON has become a market leader in fulfilling this demand, with high quality, scalable and flexible manufacturing solutions, delivered within rapid and reliable delivery timelines. Its value proposition is particularly relevant to the growing and highly complex biologics and personalized medicine market, which have unique manufacturing requirements.

By addressing and disrupting the limitations of conventional manufacturing processes that many biopharma manufacturers face, G-CON is aligned with Summa’s focus on solving global challenges, and its Changing Demographics theme, along with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) #3: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”, and #9: “Industry, innovation and infrastructure”.

Summa is supporting the company in its journey to become a leading turnkey bioprocessing solution provider globally by expanding the product and service offering and establishing a local presence outside the USA.

“We are proud to partner with G-CON for the next, exciting chapter of its growth trajectory,” says Marika Vitiä, Director at Summa Equity. “We strongly believe G-CON has the potential to significantly accelerate bioprocessing production timelines, to help biopharma manufacturers get to market earlier and fully meet their capacity requirements after launch. This is a vitally important element of the healthcare value chain, ensuring that more of society has access to the right healthcare when they need it.”

“We are extremely happy to partner with Summa Equity as their vision and activities support our purpose of helping more patients gain affordable medicines fast. With Summa’s support we will expand our capabilities, service, and product offerings, to transform manufacturing capacity within the biopharmaceutical market. We look forward to working with the team to further accelerate the global adoption of our unique bioprocessing solutions,” said Maik Jornitz, CEO of G-CON.

The transaction completed on 15 July 2021. William Blair acted as exclusive financial advisor, Ropes & Gray as legal advisor, PwC as FDD and Tax advisor, McKinsey & Company as commercial due diligence advisor, and Frank Partners as ESG advisor to Summa Equity for the transaction. Jefferies LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and Vinson & Elkins LLP as legal advisor to G-CON.

About Summa Equity

Summa invests in companies that are solving global challenges and creating positive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes for society.
Summa’s purpose is to co-create win-win for investors, portfolio companies, and society through aligning its vision and outcomes to the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring a net-positive impact against ESG challenges, and the potential for long-term, sustainable outperformance.
Investments are focused on industries and companies within three sustainability megatrends: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Businesses. Across these themes, Summa’s portfolio companies are supporting a world in transition and showing that business can be part of the solution. Summa has more than €1.4bn of assets under management.
summaequity.com

About G-CON Manufacturing, Inc.

G-CON Manufacturing designs, builds and installs prefabricated G-CON POD® cleanrooms. G-CON’s POD portfolio provides cleanrooms in a number of dimensions for a variety of uses, from laboratory environments to personalized medicine and production process platforms. G-CON POD® cleanroom units surpass traditional cleanroom structures in scalability, mobility and the possibility of repurposing the PODs once the production process reaches its lifecycle end.
For more information, please visit G-CON’s website at https://www.gconbio.com. G-CON Manufacturing… BUILDING FOR LIFE™

For interviews or more information, please contact:

Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen
Head of IR and Communication at Summa Equity
+47 936 41 960
hannah.jacobsen@summaequity.com

Anna King
PR Representative, Summa Equity
+44 7878 485 851
anna@scripsy.co.uk

Brittany Berryman
Director of Marketing, G-CON Manufacturing, Inc.
+1-979-204-7975
bberryma@gconbio.com

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Summa Equity adds Schulz & Berger to its waste equipment platform to accelerate growth and innovation in circular economy technologies 

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  4. Summa Equity acquires Axion BioSystems, to accelerate understanding of cell behaviour in drug discovery and development

Summa Equity acquires Axion BioSystems, to accelerate understanding of cell behaviour in drug discovery and development

Summa Equity Fund II has acquired Axion BioSystems, a US life science tools business specializing in the development, production, and marketing of MEA (Microelectrode Arrays) and impedance technologies. Its tools are used to understand cell behavior and function in real-time, for applications including cell and gene therapy (CGT).

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16 July 2021, Stockholm, Sweden: Summa Equity Fund II (“Summa”) has acquired a majority stake in Axion BioSystems, a leading provider of MEA and impedance technology for single-cell analysis. Axion BioSystems provides an integrated technology platform for cell activity monitoring, based on its unique Bioelectronic Assay technology. The instruments are used by academia and biopharma customers, the Assays allow for non-invasive, real time study of cells.

Founded in 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia, by Tom O’Brien and Jim Ross Ph.D., Axion BioSystems originally developed its technology from a graduate research project at Georgia Tech. Now operating across North America, EMEA and APAC, the company has placed more than 500 systems to date and has grown to more than 60 full-time employees.

Understanding cell behaviour is central to some of the most important segments of pharmaceuticals, including the development of cell and gene therapeutics and understanding drug safety. Cell and gene therapy (CGT) are the fastest growing segments within the pharmaceuticals sector, with the promise of treating, preventing or potentially curing a whole host of acquired and genetic diseases, including cancer. Axion BioSystems is well-placed to capitalize on this demand and help to accelerate the development of CGT, with market-leading technology in a large and rapidly growing market.

Summa Equity’s investment in Axion BioSystems aligns with its focus on solving global challenges, and supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG #3 ‘Strengthen health measures and medical standards globally and ensure the well-being of individuals’, and #9 ‘Enhancing scientific research and supporting technology development and innovation’.

Tommi Unkuri, Partner at Summa Equity, commented:

“Summa has been focused on solutions in the CGT market for a long period of time, due to its alignment with our strategy and its significant potential for growth. Axion BioSystems impressed us with its market-leading, highly competitive and scalable technology, which gives both academics and biopharma organisations the ability to go much deeper in their understanding of cell behaviour, enabling faster, more accurate and more cost-efficient drug discovery, development and quality control. We look forward to working with the team as it continues to develop its technology and grow its market share, while continuing to solve some of society’s biggest pharmaceutical and healthcare challenges.”

Tom O’Brien, CEO & President of Axion BioSystems, commented:

“We have been highly impressed with Summa’s understanding of the life sciences market, and belief in the potential of our technology to accelerate innovation in many areas of pharmaceuticals and healthcare. We believe that they will bring tremendous value in helping us to increase our commercial capacity, reach and market awareness, to scale up significantly, and have an even greater impact in the years to come.

For the transaction, William Blair acted as exclusive financial advisor, Jones Day as legal advisors and Wipfli as accounting and tax advisor to Axion BioSystems. White & Case acted as legal and debt financing advisor, PwC as FDD and tax advisor, and Frank Partners as ESG advisor to Summa Equity.”

About Summa Equity

Summa Equity invests in companies that are solving global challenges and creating positive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes for society.

Summa’s purpose is to co-create win-win for investors, portfolio companies, and society through aligning its vision and outcomes to the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring a net-positive impact against ESG challenges, and the potential for long-term, sustainable outperformance.

Investments are focused on industries and companies within three sustainability megatrends: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Businesses. Across these themes, Summa’s portfolio companies are supporting a world in transition and showing that business can be part of the solution. Summa Equity has more than €1.4bn of assets under management.

summaequity.com

About Axion BioSystems

Axion BioSystems is a leading life science tools company focused on developing and commercializing label-free, bioelectronic assays used to study the function of live cells in vitro, to enable drug discovery, and disease modeling. The team at Axion BioSystems is dedicated to continuing the advancement of technologies in bioelectronic assays that enable the understanding of biological complexity outside of the body. Axion BioSystems is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and also has an office in Shanghai, China. Axion BioSystems has more than 60 employees across its current locations.

www.axionbiosystems.com

For interviews or more information, please contact:

Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen
Head of IR and Communication at Summa Equity
+47 936 41 960
hannah.jacobsen@summaequity.com

Anna King
PR Representative, Summa Equity
+44 7878 485 851
anna@scripsy.co.uk

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  4. Summa Equity and Longship join forces in land-based fish farming

Summa Equity and Longship join forces in land-based fish farming

Longship brings Summa Equity on board as an investor in Nofitech, a leading turn-key supplier of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), to support growth opportunities in land-based fish farming.

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Longship brings Summa Equity on board as an investor in Nofitech, a leading turn-key supplier of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), to support growth opportunities in land-based fish farming.

Summa Equity Fund II (Summa) and Longship Fund II have invested in Nofitech, a Norway-based turnkey supplier of land-based fish farming facilities, services, and equipment.

Technological advancements have enabled aquaculture farmers to grow fish in land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). This has increasingly become the dominant technology for smolt and post-smolt production, as well as for full grow-out. Nofitech’s module-based RAS solutions allow aquaculture farmers to increase their production by bringing parts of- or the entire growth cycle onto land, providing better fish health and environmental impact, and speeding up the production cycle.

Longship Fund I invested in Nofitech in 2018 and initiated – in cooperation with management and the founders – a transformation that has allowed the company to become the leading provider of post-smolt RAS solutions.

Nofitech’s mission is to provide the most cost-efficient, environmentally-friendly, and well-performing RAS facilities. With standardized turnkey solutions and equipment, Nofitech’s RAS modules are well proven and offer high operational security. In combination with our training program, market leading automation, a revolutionary production prediction system and no-waste solutions to be launched in the near future, we are well-positioned for further growth, says Bernt Østhus, partner at Longship.

For Summa, Nofitech marks their second major investment in the aquaculture sector:

The aquaculture industry is key for solving global challenges, such as shifting to sustainable diets and increasing resource efficiency in production and consumption. Nofitech fits our thematic investment approach well and has a sustainable approach to enabling land-based aquaculture, says Martin Gjølme, partner at Summa.

Nofitech was established in 2011 by the founders Geir Løvik and John Hestad.

As founders, John and I could not be more pleased to see what Nofitech has turned into in this short period of time. We look forward to the continued cooperation with Longship, and welcome Summa to this joint effort to further develop RAS solutions for the future, says Geir Løvik.

Over the last 3-4 years, Nofitech has developed from a small founder-led business to a mature and professional organization. Longship and Summa bring exactly the skills, experience, financial strength, and capabilities required to support us on our continued growth journey, and we are excited to have them on board, says Robert Hundstad, CEO of Nofitech.

Nofitech’s business aligns with Summa’s focus on supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically ‘#2 Zero hunger, ‘#3 Good health & wellbeing, ‘#12 Responsible consumption and production, ‘#13 Climate action and ‘#14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources.

For interviews or more information, please contact:

Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen
Head of IR and Communication at Summa Equity
+47 936 41 960 | Hannah.jacobsen@summaequity.com

Bernt Østhus
Partner at Longship AS
+47 93 44 99 10 | Bernt.osthus@longship.no

Robert Hundstad
CEO Nofitech
+47 900 49 976 | Robert@nofitech.com

About Longship

Longship is a Norwegian private equity investor established in 2015 by an experienced team of investment professionals. Longship invests in companies with significant growth potential in the Norwegian lower mid-market, and are applying a transformational growth approach, organically and through M&A. Longship pursue a thematic approach, supporting long term sustainable businesses within Technology and Digitalization, Sustainability, Leisure and Lifestyle, and Health and Care.
The investment team currently consists of eleven professionals, making it the leading player in the Norwegian lower mid-market. Longship closed its second fund in November 2020 and has approx. NOK 3.1bn of assets under management
https://www.longship.no/

About Nofitech

Nofitech was established in 2011 by the founders Geir Løvik and John Hestad. Both has long operating experience from Norwegian smolt production and more than 10 years of experience in designing RAS facilities. Their ambition was to develop the market’s most cost-effective and compact RAS solution. The first module for freshwater was delivered in 2012, and the first ModulRAS facility for operation with seawater in 2015. Through an extensive R&D program, and select add-on acquisitions, Nofitech has put itself in the forefront of the technical development made in RAS over the last few years.
www.nofitech.com

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Summa Equity adds Schulz & Berger to its waste equipment platform to accelerate growth and innovation in circular economy technologies 

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The case for scalable regenerative agriculture 

Read more

Investing in food and agriculture for health and planetary resilience

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NetGuardians and Intix unite to form Vyntra

Read more

Planetary boundaries as a guiding framework for sustainable growth

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Summa Equity announces exit from Documaster

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