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Last Updated: 27 March 2020

Summa Equity has a set up a Via Summa “COVID-19 Solutions Room” to help the Summa team and portfolio companies navigate the current environment.

Through online meetings and online spaces we share knowledge documents, tools, and work together with our network of experts to provide new perspectives, insights and advice.

This week, Wiersholm, a leading Norwegian business law firm, and Mannheimer Swartling, a Sweden-based law firm, held deep-dives on the Norwegian and Swedish employment law changes. In addition, McKinsey shared their perspectives on the economic implications of the COVID-19 situation.

We are working hard to support our portfolio companies and colleagues in the best possible way through these challenging times, and build resilient businesses for the future. 

Last Updated: 27 March 2020

We are living in volatile times and an uncertain world. Here Managing Partner, Reynir Indahl, shares some of his reflections:

Over the past weeks, we have been witnessing COVID-19 (Coronavirus) cross borders, make people sick and take lives. Today my thoughts go to those who have been affected by this pandemic. 

This is a serious Black Swan event, testing the over-leveraged economy and the integrated dependency in our value chains.

The companies in our portfolio are solving significant and sustained societal challenges, such as health, waste and recycling, food supply, or regulatory compliance. The current crisis disrupts physical supply chains, and customers are cutting all purchases to preserve cash. Climate change, regulatory compliance and other problems are suddenly secondary when businesses are dealing with immediate existential issues.

The rapid massive precautionary decisions put in place following COVID-19 in Norway, Denmark and now Sweden, will hurt the Nordic region earlier than other markets. However, the Nordic region is a good place to be, the health and wealth represent a societal resilience.

Despite being hopeful in these challenging times, I believe it will take time before we see evidence of the recovery.

I hope that all of you are in good health.

Reynir

Last Updated: 10 March 2020

Dear Friends,

2019 was the Year of ESG (Environmental, Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance) the Financial Times reported. In August, the Business Roundtable in the US redefined the responsibility of a company from benefitting solely shareholders to benefitting all stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders. In January 2020, Larry Fink, Blackrock’s CEO, wrote in his annual investor letter that “Climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects. [...] A company cannot achieve long-term profits without embracing purpose and considering the needs of a broad range of stakeholders”.

So how do you use ESG to create more value with less risk? A growing number of private equity firms are adding management of “externalities” and ESG to their existing capabilities. We called this development Private Equity 4.0. When we published our Private Equity 4.0 model in the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance in the Spring of 2019, we outlined how, but did not anticipate how fast, the industry and investors would integrate ESG as a driver for creating superior long-term returns.

There are strong reasons to be optimistic.

We are convinced that our industry will make substantial improvements to the world, environmentally and socially.

So, we ask, is ESG the new “dot-com” bubble?
ESG is like the internet during the dot-com boom in the 1990s. Internet and ESG are here to stay, but the winners of tomorrow are hard to spot today. Like with the internet in the early phases, there is a lot of confusion about how to transform in the right way, or how to integrate ESG in the investment process to deliver superior returns.

The world-leading Harvard professors Michael Porter and George Serafeim recently wrote an article titled “Where ESG fails”, published in Institutional Investor. We are proud that Summa Equity was highlighted and recognized as a private equity firm that is integrating ESG in a way that is creating value. The authors conclude that the traditional ESG approach has no impact on superior returns. Today, many companies are struggling with integrating ESG into their investment process or portfolio companies, although investors and companies are broadcasting their strong focus on ESG and how they use the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as their framework.

Our approach goes deeper and is embedded from the beginning of the investment analysis with themes from the SDGs; examining companies in terms of social, environmental and financial performance; developing a framework for sourcing; investing, developing and exiting companies; and expecting that all portfolio companies measure, manage and report on their impact on society.

We call our ownership framework “Via Summa” and it embeds sustainability throughout our entire value creation approach.

As an industry we need to set the standard and show real commitment, as opposed to “green washing” – which will not drive outperformance.

To outperform, there needs to be a positive and real long-term correlation between what the businesses do and their impact on externalities.

Summa was awarded several ESG prizes within Private Equity in 2019, and we are grateful that the industry is recognizing our efforts. But, while Porter and Serafeim believe in Summa’s PE 4.0 approach, it will take some time for us to fully prove that our thesis is correct. The first results are positive.

We just did one of our first exits with EcoOnline, a leading European software company helping customers optimize safe handling of chemicals and ensure occupational safety. EcoOnline’s performance, yielding over 50% yearly return, has been strong due to future-proofing of the company by strengthening the organization, investing in R&D, executing several add on acquisitions to expand its services and geographic presence, and aligning the strategy with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The secular megatrends and tailwinds also drove the increase in valuation.

This reflects recent discussions with a couple of our investors who have informed us that the parts of their portfolio that clearly have negative impact on externalities are seeing lower returns. And we see that when companies align ESG and the SDGs that risks are mitigated and financial performance improved.

So, any ESG greenwashing or SDG rainbowwashing distract us from our real purpose of creating value. We will likely see an ESG bust, similar to the dot-com bust, unless we all succeed in creating positive impact on externalities as outlined in the SDG framework.

It is a sobering backdrop that we only have ten years left to meet the SDGs. The task at hand is big and growing: CO2 emissions should have been reduced by 7.6%1 in 2019 according to the Paris Agreement, but instead CO2 emissions increased by 0.6%2. For the first time, the World Economic Forum’s Annual Risks Report stated that all five of the most likely risks in 2020 were related to climate change and environmental degradation.

Although ten years seems like too little time to create the necessary substantial changes needed to improve our planet and society, fortunately, we are seeing positive structural changes in the financial sector. Change is happening faster than anticipated. To further accelerate the positive momentum, Summa has engaged with UNDP SDG Impact, which is an initiative that provides investors with insights and tools to align their investments with the SDGs.

It is when the business is aligned with the SDGs and addresses externalities that we will see growth, innovation, improved value chains and changing market behavior. This is why Summa “Invests to Solve Global Challenges”, whether it is in health, in recycling, in food production, in energy usage, or in security.

Summa Summarum, while 2019 was the Year of ESG, we believe 2020 will be the Year of the SDGs.

Sincerely,
Reynir Indahl and Anna Ryott

–

Reynir Indahl,
Managing Partner, Summa Equity
reynir.indahl@summaequity.com
+47 90 69 11 13

Anna Ryott,
Chair, Summa Equity
anna.ryott@summaequity.com
+46 705 41 33 60

Last Updated: 26 February 2020

26th February 2020, Oslo – EcoOnline AS, a leading European software company helping customers optimize safe handling of chemicals and ensure occupational safety, will expand further internationally with new financing from Summa Equity and Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division.

EcoOnline is a leading provider of workplace health and safety software which focuses on reducing the negative impact chemicals can have on humans and the environment, enabling its customers to easily comply with complex regulations. In the EU, 53% of workplace deaths are caused by chemical exposure and the majority of companies in Europe are non compliant with chemical safety regulations. In the UK the number of deaths from workplace chemical exposure is five times higher than that from traffic accidents. A recent study by the Swedish Work Environment Authority found non-compliance to be as high as 81%. EcoOnline’s services and solutions are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals #3 on good health and well-being, #8 on decent work and economic growth and #12 on responsible consumption and production.

Summa Equity and Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division signed an agreement 18 February 2020 which secures new capital from Summa Equity’s Fund II and Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division. Summa Equity Fund II and Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division will each acquire a 33% ownership in EcoOnline from selling shareholders, which include Summa Equity Fund I and Viking Venture. Both will remain shareholders in the company.

“We are thrilled to have the continued engagement and expertise of Summa Equity while adding Goldman Sachs as a key shareholder to provide further support for our sustained growth in existing as well as new international markets,” EcoOnline CEO, Göran Lindö says and continues: “In our next wave of growth, we are excited to have a new, strong, responsible and ambitious ownership team, and new capital to help us build on our vision and realize our European leadership ambition within chemical management and occupational safety solutions.”

“We are proud of what we have accomplished in EcoOnline during our 2.5-year ownership. We have focused on future-proofing the company by strengthening the organization, investing in R&D and executing several add-on acquisitions to help EcoOnline expand its Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) services and presence in Europe. We are very happy about that Summa Equity continues as a majority shareholder. EcoOnline’s purpose and value creation potential show that returns and sustainability can go hand-in-hand, a central pillar in our investment strategy,” says Christian Melby, Partner at Summa Equity and Board Member of EcoOnline.

“Having backed EcoOnline since 2014 we are thrilled to have Goldman Sachs and Summa Equity Fund II join as investors. The company is now ready to become the clear European leader in HSE software,” says Erik Hagen, Managing Partner of Viking Venture.

“EcoOnline is a pioneer within workplace safety software and is exceptionally well placed to benefit from and drive the trend towards safer and more sustainable workplaces. We look forward to working with the company and other shareholders over the coming years to support the company’s organic and acquisition-based growth,” continues Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division Partner, Michael Bruun.

The transaction remains subject to antitrust approval. Arma Partners acted as financial advisor to the selling shareholders and Marks Baughan Securities acted as financial advisor to the acquirers on the transaction.

About EcoOnline

EcoOnline is a leading supplier of Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) software, making workplace safety tasks and compliance for companies user-friendly and cost-efficient. The company was founded in 2000 and has 6,000 customers and over 230 employees in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, UK and Ireland. EcoOnline is experiencing rapid growth and increased demand for its services in all markets.
www.ecoonline.com

About Summa Equity

Summa Equity is a thematic investment company with Nordic focus with more than EUR 1.4 billion under management. Founded in 2016, Summa Equity invests in companies within Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics and Tech-enabled Businesses. Summa Equity is amongst the first Private Equity firms to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and its investments are aligned with these.
www.summaequity.com

About Viking Venture

Viking Venture is the Nordic Software Investor with NOK 2.6 billion under management. Founded in 2001, Viking Venture is an active minority investor in growth stage business to business Software companies in the Nordics.
www.vikingventure.com

About Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division

Founded in 1869, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division (MBD) is the primary center for the firm’s long-term principal investing activity. MBD is one of the leading private capital investors in the world with investments across private equity, infrastructure, private debt, growth equity and real estate.
www.goldmansachs.com

For interviews or more information, please contact:

Göran Lindö
CEO of EcoOnline
+47 45 20 06 60
goran.lindo@ecoonline.com

Christian Melby
Partner at Summa Equity
+47 95 81 32 77
christian.melby@summaequity.com

Joseph Stein
Media Relations at Goldman Sachs
+44 207 774 4080

Last Updated: 20 February 2020

We invest to solve global challenges

Are you ambitious, progressive, eager to learn and to contribute positively towards some of the most important challenges we face today? If yes, would you like to be one of us for a period?

We are a thematically focused Nordic private equity firm, focusing on Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-enabled businesses. Summa was formed with the purpose of investing in companies that offer solutions to our social, environmental and business challenges and thus have strong value creation potential.

We are seeking interns to our office in Oslo. The internship is conducted on a full-time basis during Fall 2020. The internship will last between 3 and 6 months depending on your availability.

To succeed in the role, you should have:              

- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Outstanding grades and motivation to build companies positively contributing to society
- Interest in learning, and you thrive working in a radically honest and transparent environment

Previous work experience from banking, management consulting or an investment firm is beneficial, but not required as we strive to build a team with diverse backgrounds.

You will become an integral part of Summa’s investment team and be involved in investment processes, including identification of investment opportunities, valuation, due diligence and other relevant topics. In addition, you will work with our existing portfolio companies.

As an intern you will be responsible for
the following:

- Identify investment opportunities with high value creation potential across our themes
- Prepare valuation documents
- Implement industry and company analyses
- Work with corporate development in Summa Equity's existing portfolio companies

If you are interested, please send your application (incl. resume and grades) to the following address: mette.mellby@summaequity.com

Should you have any queries, please contact Benedicte Jørgensen on +47 979 82 291 or benedicte.jorgensen@summaequity.com

Deadline for submitting your application is 31 March 2020.
Please visit our website for more information about Summa Equity, http://summaequity.com/

Last Updated: 29 January 2020

28 January 2020, Oslo – Lakers Group, a leading water and wastewater company focusing on pump technology and the aftermarket, has over the last months made three new acquisitions. With these new acquisitions Lakers will reach an annual revenue of more than NOK 550 million and have a significant presence in all Nordic countries.

“These three acquisitions offer different services, but they all fit into our strategy, complement each other and will help us strengthen our current operations,” says Carl-Johan Callenholm, CEO Lakers.  

The latest acquisitions are:

- El & Driftteknik i Strängnäs AB, an aftermarket company that focuses on electrical motors, pumps, generators, fans etc. The company is strategically located in Mälardalen, Sweden, and complement Lakers’ three units in Stockholm. With the acquisition Lakers will expand its aftermarket services to motors and other electronical components.

- Filtrena AB, a company that focus on clean water treatment located in Växjö. The company offers a wide range of filters, pressure vessels and pumps. Filtrena will complement Lakers’ existing services and help the company expand into water treatment.

- Kafra AS, located in Fredrikstad, delivers enclosures (small houses) for wastewater and clean water pumping stations. The company has through its 40 years history and delivered high-quality, customised products primarily to the Norwegian market. This acquisition will complement Driftsteknikk Industries AS and enable Lakers to be an even better partner for its customers.

Summa Equity Fund I acquired a majority stake in Lakers Group AS in September 2018. Since the acquisition, Lakers has completed eight add-on acquisitions.

Summa Equity is among the first Private Equity firms to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). These acquisitions are aligned with Summa Equity’s Resource Efficiency theme and SDG #6: “Ensure access of water and sanitation for all”.
“Summa acquired Lakers with a strategy to support a continued ambitious growth plan. The three acquisitions fits well with Lakers’ strategy and strengthen its position as the leading independent water pump service company in the Nordic region” says Johannes Lien, Board member of Lakers.

To secure continuity, use and leverage experience, existing managing directors remain in their positions in the acquired companied.

About Lakers
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Oslo, Lakers is a Nordic group active in aftermarket services in the water and wastewater industry. It offers maintenance, service, development and technical consultancy for pumps, pumping stations, electrical motors and related components. The company has 300 employees across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. www.lakers.no

About Summa Equity
Summa Equity is a thematic investment company with Nordic focus. Founded in 2016, Summa Equity invests in companies within Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics and Tech-enabled Businesses. Summa Equity is amongst the first Private Equity firms to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and its investments are aligned with these. www.summaequity.com

For interviews or more information, please contact: 
Carl Johan Callenholm
CEO, Lakers
+47 900 97 806
cj.callenholm@lakers.com

Johannes Lien
Board member, Lakers
+46 72 206 68 00
johannes.lien@summaequity.com

Last Updated: 16 January 2020

14 January 2020, Jönköping, - Infobric, a leading supplier of IT systems for increased security and effectiveness in the construction industry, is acquiring one of Sweden’s largest telematics companies, TelliQ AB. Through the acquisition TelliQ AB will become Infobric’s fleet management company. Together, they will form a strong and innovative IT group with a common vision: to create smarter and more sustainable work processes for their customers.

“By adding TelliQ’s product portfolio, strong customer relationships and its many years of experience in developing technology to the strong position that Infobric has built up over the last 15 years, we have a solid platform for scaling up and expanding the opportunities offered by digitization to the construction, haulage and other transport-heavy industries,” says Dan Friberg, CEO of the Infobric Group.

TelliQ AB is one of the market-leading companies in digital fleet management systems with over 80,000 connected units. The company develops and provides services to companies where vehicles, machines and facilities are important parts of the business. TelliQ has strengthened its position over the last few years and achieved a turnover of SEK 105 million in 2019. Over the last three years, the company has recorded annual growth of approximately 30%.

“It’s really exciting to be joining the Infobric Group because, just like us, their vision is to provide digital solutions that make work processes easier for businesses. Infobric’s large client base within the construction sector gives us the opportunity to work together to achieve even more growth with unique solutions for the market,” says Joakim Lindquist, CEO of TelliQ AB.

The Group’s ambitions for 2020 and beyond are to push the Group forward in a profitable and sustainable manner, and to continue the high level of growth. In doing so, there will be a focus on taking advantage of the company’s targeted engagement in developing smart, digital tools that can make everyday work more secure and efficient for their customers. Several of the industries which the companies are addressing are in the midst of a digital transformation where digital services and IoT products can reduce administrative work, create a safer working environment and support regulatory compliance as well as minimising risks such as tax evasion. The aim is to be a leading digitization partner that contributes to building sustainable and profitable companies on a solid and healthy foundation.

Infobric is acquiring 100% of shares in TelliQ AB, making it the largest ever acquisition in the company’s history. The purchase is finalized in January 2020 and the majority of the company’s current owners will re-invest in the Group. After the acquisition of TelliQ, the Group’s rolling turnover will be a sizeable SEK 300 million, with 200 employees in five countries. The majority owner of the Group is Summa Equity, a private equity company which combines investments with the UN’s global sustainable development goals.

“We are very proud to welcome TelliQ to the Infobric family and look forward to exciting challenges together,” says Dan Friberg.

For interviews or more information, please contact:

Dan Friberg, CEO, Infobric Group

+46 707 88 75 44, dan.friberg@infobric.se

Joakim Lindquist, CEO, TelliQ AB

+46 702 27 62 86, joakim.lindquist@telliq.com

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About TelliQ

TelliQ is a company specialising in fully digital fleet systems and services for modern vehicle fleets. The company was founded in 2002 under the name Arkub AB and was one of the first companies in Sweden to specialise in telematics. TelliQ develops and provides web-based services and solutions which support decision-making processes, make everyday processes easier and increase profitability for companies where vehicles, machines and facilities are important parts of the business. www.telliq.com

About Infobric

Infobric was founded in 2004 and is a group of IT and electronics companies which develop solutions for safer and more effective workplaces. The Group includes the subsidiaries Tempus AS and BlastManager AS. Today, Infobric play a key role at more than 16,000 workplaces and their clients include many of Europe’s largest construction and machine rental companies. Infobric is owned by Summa Equity which invests in technology solutions to solve global sustainability challenges. www.infobric.com

About Summa Equity

Summa Equity is a lower mid-market Private Equity firm in the Nordics. It is a megatrend driven, thematic investment company focusing on Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics and Tech-enabled Businesses. Summa Equity is amongst the first Private Equity firms to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and its investments are aligned with these. Summa Equity was founded in 2016.www.summaequity.com

Last Updated: 5 December 2019

27.11.2019, Paris – Today Summa Equity won the Best ESG Private Equity Firm Award at the 10th edition of the Private Equity Exchange & Awards 2019 in Paris. “I am proud of each and every one of our colleagues, and our portfolio companies, for winning this prize. It is great to see that our approach on including externalities as investment opportunities and risks is being recognized for driving returns in our industry,” says Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner and Founder of Summa Equity. Hannah Jacobsen and Alexander Bjørklund represented Summa at the ceremony.

In today’s business environment there is an increasing correlation between positive outcomes for society and business success, and a higher awareness of the correlation between negative outcomes for society and the lack of business resilience.

This is changing the fundamentals of Private Equity. Purpose, stakeholders and creating positive externalities are increasingly fundamental to value creation and future- proofing our companies, and are key to Summa’s approach as owners. We have termed our approach Private Equity 4.0 (as we described in the article published by the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance the spring 2019). Private Equity 4.0 will improve returns and lower risks.

We are proud of the Summa portfolio companies that are all contributing to achieving the SDGs and thereby creating long-term sustainable businesses. Our portfolio SDG KPIs also show strong progress, providing further evidence of the positive correlation between value creation and SDG improvements.

The Private Equity Exchange & Awards is one of the major Pan-European events on Private Equity & Restructuring, and gathers around 1,200 high-profile delegates and is dedicated to all players of these communities: CEOs, Funds, Limited Partners, Banks and specialist advisors.

Last Updated: 18 October 2019

Michael E. Porter, a world-renowned economist, George Serafeim, a professor at Harvard Business School and Mark Kramer, have throughout their careers brought economic theory and strategy concepts that address the most challenging problems facing many corporations and industries.

In the article “Where ESG Fails” published in the Institutional Investor 16 October 20190 the Porter, Serafeim and Kramer address new models of understanding the positive correlation between investment performance and social impact. We are proud to see that the article use Summa Equity as an example of a company that is built on the Creating Shared Value concept, which we call Private Equity 4.0.

You can read the full article here. http://bit.ly/2VZ5wFX

Below are the excerpts that mentions Summa Equity from the article.

“Summa Equity, a Scandinavian private equity fund, also begins its analysis with themes drawn from the SDGs to identify areas of investment opportunity. Within these broad themes investment teams then examine specific companies and industries in terms of both social and financial performance. The firm has developed its own framework for sourcing, investing in, and exiting companies in which the leadership of each portfolio company is responsible for measuring, managing, and reporting on the company’s social impact. This framework, Via Summa, holds management accountable for taking a hard look at the company’s competitive advantage and how it can be leveraged to create social impact through the core products and services of the company. This clarifies the firm’s strategy internally to new hires and is integral to raising new capital and sourcing new deals.”

“Generation and Summa Equity look for positive social impact that reinforces exemplary financial performance by combining a deep understanding of social issues with traditional security analysis. Yet such an integrated analysis remains rare. For far too long the vast majority of conventional investors have ignored social impact, and most SRI and ESG investors have overlooked the tools of rigorous security valuation, such as free cash flow, P/E ratios, and barriers to entry. Merely investing in the most highly rated ESG companies is no assurance of superior returns. It is the integration of social factors with the conventional economics of highly disciplined security analysis, as well as attention to both long-term competitive advantage and short-term results, that leads to superior investment performance.”

Last Updated: 3 October 2019

To celebrate the launch of the special issue on Sustainable Financial Management by the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Hannah Jacobsen from Summa Private Equity joined a stellar line-up of speakers in a webinar about how to raise the bar in sustainable finance.

Speakers included:

• Hannah Saltman, Manager, Governance, Ceres
• Brian Tomlinson, Research Director, Strategic Investor Initiative, CECP
• Hannah Jacobsen, Director, Summa Equity
• Chris Pinney, CEO, High Meadows Institute
• Sakis Kotsantonis, Managing Partner, KKS Advisors
• Tony Davis, CEO, Inherent Group
• Tania Bizoumi, Sustainable Finance, Athens Exchange Group

In Part 1 of the webinar, you will learn:

• How board oversight can drive climate and sustainability performance
• The economic significance of companies presenting their long-term plans
• How a private equity firm is using ESG to create more value with less risk: Focus on Summa Equity

Watch Part 1 of the webinar here:

In Part 2, you will learn:

• The
  state of play on sustainability in the capital markets
• Four
  things no one will tell you about ESG data
• How
  ESG can be used as a value creation tool for active investors: Focus on
  Inherent Group
• ESG innovation in stock exchanges:
  Focus on Athens Exchange Group

Watch Part 2 of the webinar here:

To read the full article, published in the Journal of Applied
Corporate Finance (2019), Volume 31, Number 2, pp. 34-41. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jacf.12344 or
download the pdf here.

Last Updated: 30 September 2019

Last week, Summa Equity gathered all our portfolio companies at the Via Summa Day. Via Summa is how Summa contributes to our portfolio companies’ journeys by connecting ideas, capital, resources, and competence.

The day was designed to share trends and insights, achievements and lessons learnt as well as to grow our collective knowledge. Reynir Indahl opened the day with his reflections from the past year, a panel of CEOs from our portfolio companies shared what they have learnt from working together with Summa and leveraging Via Summa tools, before participants joined workshops on sustainable leadership, design thinking and how to build a good social media presence.

Via Summa is being developed with the belief that by combining industry and functional competence with a business-oriented understanding of the SDGs, customer needs and other trends, we can co-create sustainable high returns. So, what trends have the most impact on business? Henrik Larsson-Broman, author of the book Super Trends, taught us to spot trends and he shared insights about economic altruism, happynomics and tribalisation, their impact on business and leadership, and how to turn them into business opportunities.

Watch a film about the event here:

Last Updated: 25 September 2019

9 September 2019, New York City - The SDG Impact, a flagship initiative of the UNDP to advance transparency and mobilise private capital to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched a new set of standards for Private Equity. The UNDP SDG Impact Practice Standards for Private Equity (the Standards) are under comment and consultation through to 4 December 2019.   

The Private Equity Industry, increasingly interested in leveraging its financial power to drive positive impact for the people and planet as well as securing more resilient portfolios and financial returns, have asked for guidance. These new Standards will make it easier for the private sector to operationalise the SDGs and fill the gap between showing an interest and acting to advance the SDGs. The Standards will complement, not compete, with principles and frameworks already in place. The next Standards to be developed are UNDP Practice Standards for Bonds and Enterprises.

The Standards will include a tiered certification framework that acknowledges and differentiates good practices. This will be further solidified by an SDG Impact Seal based on compliance with certification criteria.  

“I believe that the UNDP SDG Impact will play a crucial role, by giving the finance sector and investors a common approach for SDG impact management. Meanwhile it is important that the Private Equity community engages in the consultation process to ensure that we use our collective competence to make the Standards as impactful as possible for the Private Equity industry. Investments will help us achieve the SDGs and we know that change goes where the money flows,” said Anna Ryott, Chair of the Board, Summa Equity and SDG Impact Steering Committee member when speaking at the UNDP Executive Board meeting in NY on Wednesday 4 September 2019.

The Standards are targeted towards fund managers, asset owners and investors, industry bodies and communities, enterprises, analysts, advisers, research houses, the media and development finance institutions, governments and multilateral organisations.

The Standards are available for download here.

Feedback to the Standards can be provided by email to sdgimpact.standards@undp.org or by completing the online form available here.

Read the full statement from SDG Impact on the UNDP website.

Read here Summa Equity’s involvement in the SDG Impact.

Last Updated: 16 September 2019

Summa Equity’s Portfolio Report 2018 summarizes the state of our business, our approach, portfolio metrics, investment themes and our investments.

“Financial uncertainties have increased, creating a more challenging market for companies and investors. From this uncertainty, Summa Equity has realized the business opportunities in UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are therefore excited to show how our companies are solving some of the world’s challenges, and the growth and value increase in doing so,” says Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner, Summa Equity.

The Portfolio Report 2018 builds on the framework presented in our Portfolio Report 2017, while providing further context to the metrics used by adding relevant sector benchmarks and including year-on-year changes where possible. In addition, we seek to provide further context to Via Summa and our thematic investments (Resource efficiency, changing demographics and tech-enabled businesses), while demonstrating our value creation approach through company case studies representing each of our themes.

Download Summa Equity Annual Portfolio Report here.

In 2019, we are continuing our journey of enhancing Via Summa and our efforts to make Summa an ecosystem of purpose drive companies that deliver profitable returns while solving the challenges our world is facing, where we as owners help accelerate this performance.

Last Updated: 6 August 2019

By Reynir Indahl and Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen, Summa Equity
The private equity industry is evolving. When the 1980s gave birth to the first wave of leveraged buyouts, PE firms created value primarily through financial engineering. This involved the use of high leverage in combination with large equity stakes to motivate managers charged mainly with taking costs out of mature businesses. Then, in the 1990s, PE 2.0 was focused heavily on increasing operating efficiencies, accomplished often by bringing in proven CEOs from successful public companies. Starting in the 2000s, PE 3.0 saw the building of large financial institutions that continued to function as value-adding buyers, while responding to tough competition from both strategic and financial buyers by expanding into different asset classes and developing new areas of expertise.

Today, in a movement that might be called Private Equity 4.0, a growing number of PE firms have been adding to their existing capabilities the effective management of “externalities” and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. In this article, we focus on how one such firm—our firm, Summa Equity—has turned its ESG principles and practices into a core competence, a source of competitive advantage that has enabled the firm to distinguish itself from its competitors and, in so doing, to bring about significant increases in efficiency and long-run value.

To read the full article, published in the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance (2019), Volume 31, Number 2, pp. 34-41. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jacf.12344 or download the pdf here.

Last Updated: 12 July 2019

Every year, the magazine D2, distributed by the Norwegian financial paper Dagens Næringsliv, selects 30 talents under 30. This year’s nominations were devoted to talented leaders that are making the world a better place.

At Summa Equity, we could not be prouder that our very own Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen made the list. Hannah was our first employee, and today she serves as a Director in our investment team. Summa Equity would not be where we are today without the passion and dedication Hannah has for our mission. In the words of the D2 jury: With her passion, she shows in a convincing way that sustainability and finance can easily be united (translated from Norwegian).

You can read the full interview with Hannah in D2 here.

“In an uncertain world, there are some things we still know for certain. The population is growing, we are becoming older and sicker, we need to take better care of our resources, and technology will continue to penetrate our whole society. The mission has always been to invest in these mega trends”
-Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen in D2

Out of the top 30, readers of D2 will nominate a winner. You can submit your vote to Hannah here.

Last Updated: 24 May 2019

Are you ambitious, progressive, eager to learn and want to contribute positively towards some of the most important challenges we face today? If yes, would you like to be one of us?

We are a thematically focused Nordic private equity firm, focusing on Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-enabled businesses. Summa was formed with the purpose of investing in companies that offer solutions to our social, environmental and business challenges and thus have strong value creation potential.

We are seeking part-time analysts to our office in Oslo. The work is conducted on a part-time basis during Fall 2019 and Spring 2020. The work will last between 3 and 12 months depending on your availability. We will be flexible in terms of day or evening work, and number of days during the week, but a minimum of 10 hours per week will be required.

To succeed in the role, you should have:
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Outstanding grades and motivation to build companies positively contributing to society
• Interest in learning, and you thrive working in a radically honest and transparent environment

Previous work experience from banking, management consulting or an investment firm is beneficial, but not required as we strive to build a team with diverse backgrounds. Any interest or exposure towards one of our three themes will count positively, as you will be dedicated towards one of the themes.
You will become an integral part of Summa’s investment team and be involved in investment processes, including identification of investment opportunities, sourcing work, building databases, valuation, due diligences and other relevant topics.

As an intern you will be responsible for the following:
• Sourcing work and identification of investment opportunities
• Implement industry and company analyses
• Prepare valuation documents

If you are interested, please send your application (incl. resume and grades) to the following address: elisabeth.aanonsen@summaequity.wpkonsulterna.se
Should you have any queries, please contact Michael Vollset on +47 902 10 151 or michael.vollset@summaequity.wpkonsulterna.se

Deadline for submitting your application is 23rd of June 2019.
Please visit our website for more information about Summa Equity, https://summaequity.com/

Last Updated: 15 May 2019

15 May 2019, Oslo – Summa Equity today announced their commitment to the United Nations’ SDG Impact initiative together with Business for Peace, EQT and LGT. This UNDP-led initiative aims to enable private sector investment by providing investors and businesses with the clarity, insights, and tools to support their contributions toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Nordic Springboard, of the UNDP SDG Impact Initiative, will be launched at the Business for Peace Summit in Oslo today to rally top-investment firms in the Nordic region to join the initiative. 

“We are proud to be part of the global SDG Impact initiative, the Nordic Springboard and challenge the whole private equity community to join and invest in line with the SDGs,” says Anna Ryott, Chair of the Board, Summa Equity and SDG Impact Steering Committee member. Ryott has joined the SDG Impact Steering Group with global leaders of development, investment and industry, who will validate and confirm the work of the SDG Impact platform, and thus, the global effort to authenticate SDG enabling investments. 

The SDG Impact springboard event in Oslo will gather Nordic investor support and build momentum to an upcoming global event in Stockholm.

“Summa Equity was amongst the first private equity firms to commit to the SDGs, aligning our investment and value creation strategy with the SDG framework,” says Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner of Summa Equity. “We believe our biggest challenges are also our most attractive investment opportunities. By incorporating solutions to environmental, social and governance challenges, companies will show stronger growth and returns, while having lower risk. They are more future-proof.” 

Ryott and Indahl will speak at the Nordic Springboard about why Summa Equity supports the SDG Impact initiative. 

Today Summa Equity manages aggregated capital commitments of SEK 14 billion (c. EUR 1.3 billion), having closed its Fund II with SEK 6.5 billion (c. EUR 610 million) to continue to invest in global challenges. Summa Equity focuses on investments that can outperform and are driven by tailwind from megatrends such as ageing demographics, movement of people, resource scarcity, population growth, climate change and technology disruption. The portfolio has shown strong growth and value increase. Summa was also recently won the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Award at the Private Equity Awards 2019 for the firm’s commitment to best practice in ESG.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 is expected to require $5-7 trillion in total annual investment and requires a fundamental rethinking of global financial flows. Up until now there has not been a consistent approach to defining and measuring SDG-alignment, which the SDG Impact initiative is designed to meet. 

SDG Impact aims to catalyze up to $1 trillion annually in private sector investment to achieve the SGDs.These efforts would contribute towards helping create some $12 trillion per year in economic opportunities and 380 million new jobs, which the Business Commission on Sustainable Development estimates would be possible from investing in the SDGs.

For interviews and more information, please contact: 

Jenny Keisu
jenny.keisu@summaequity.com
+46 722 42 41 44

Last Updated: 25 April 2019

25.04.2019, London – Summa Equity won the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Award at the Private Equity Awards 2019 for incorporating the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework in shaping the long-term strategy of its portfolio companies, measuring the effect and innovating to address the global challenges.

“We are honored to win the Environmental, Social and Governance Award at the Private Equity Awards 2019, one of the oldest and most respected tributes in our industry,” says Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner of Summa Equity. “To outperform, one cannot be agnostic to the challenges we as a society are facing. Companies that incorporate solutions to environmental, social and governance challenges, will show stronger growth and returns, while having lower risk. They are more future-proof.”

Summa Equity was amongst the first Private Equity firms to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aligning its investment and value creation strategy with the SDG framework.

The ESG Award comes shortly after Summa Equity closed its Fund II with SEK 6.5 billion (c. EUR 610 million) to continue to invest to solve global challenges. In total, Summa Equity manages aggregated capital commitments of SEK 14 billion (c. EUR 1.3 billion). The portfolio has to date shown strong growth and value increase.

The ESG Award at the Private Equity Awards recognizes a firm’s commitment to best practice in environmental, social and corporate governance. Seven companies were shortlisted for the award and the shortlist was collated following nominations from a specialist LP judging panel.

For the 18^th year, the Private Equity Awards celebrate the industry’s contribution to the success of European businesses. The awards were celebrated by more than 700 delegates including more than 250 firms in private equity from across Europe.

Last Updated: 15 April 2019

Summa Equity has decided to take the next step in focusing Lin Education’s operations. Lin Solutions – the business area that focuses on digital tools, with related services and pedagogy – is acquired by the independent IT company Xllnc. Summa Equity will remain as the main owner of the software business in Lin Software, and the focus will be on realizing the potential in the Loops product.

Summa Equity acquired Lin Education in February 2017. Since its inception in 2007, Lin Education has played an important role in the digitization of Swedish schools by supporting municipalities, school leaders, teachers and students with special competence in pedagogy and technology. The corporate culture has been characterized by a strong drive to make a positive impact in schools, and as part of its strategy, the company has invested in developing software products for learning based on innovative pedagogy. One of these is the digital education product Loops, which was launched late 2017, targeting schools, companies and other organizations.

From the outset, Summa Equity has seen great potential in developing and scaling up Loops in the school market and in exploring new business opportunities outside the school market. In order to succeed in this, Summa Equity and Lin Education saw a need to create a clearer focus on software operations and add resources and skills required for scaling up. It was clear that the best thing for Lin Education was a clearer division between Lin Solutions and Lin Software, in order to better meet the different needs of the two operations.

“Summa Equity will now be able to focus on developing Lin Software further and building Loops for schools, companies and other organizations. Loops is a unique software product, and it has attracted a great deal of interest from customers in the school world and the business community. Since the launch of the new Loops product, which was made less than a year ago, we have seen an exciting development with customers who benefit from the pedagogy that Loops is based on,” says Tommi Unkuri, Partner at Summa Equity.

There is still a strong market trend in Sweden and the Nordic region to increase digitization of schools. The school market is therefore a niche, in the broader IT industry, which is expected to continue having strong growth going forward.

“As a pioneer, Lin Education has played an important role in the digitization of Swedish schools. We are very proud of this. That work will be intensified, by both Lin’s operations in their own domains,” says Josef Lind, Founder and Board Member of Lin Education.

Xllnc offers large corporations and organizations a platform to handle IT equipment during its entire life cycle. The service provides customers with predictability, control and increased productivity combined with reduced costs and minimized environmental footprint.

“For a long time, there has been interest from potential buyers of Lin Education’s operations. But it is only with Xllnc, who is a partner of Lin Education and who has been close to Lin Education, that time feels ripe for Summa Equity to sell. Xllnc has a lot to contribute with to Lin Solutions, and we believe that the merger will be very good for Lin Solutions,” says Tommi Unkuri, Partner at Summa Equity.

 

Last Updated: 26 March 2019

Are you ambitious, progressive, eager to learn and to contribute positively towards some of the most important challenges we face today? If yes, would you like to be one of us for a period?

We are a thematically focused Nordic private equity firm, focusing on Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-enabled businesses. Summa was formed with the purpose of investing in companies that offer solutions to our social, environmental and business challenges and thus have strong value creation potential.

We are seeking interns to our office in Oslo. The internship is conducted on a full-time basis during Fall 2019. The internship will last between 3 and 6 months depending on your availability.

To succeed in the role, you should have:              

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Outstanding grades and motivation to build companies positively contributing to society
• Interest in learning, and you thrive working in a radically honest and transparent environment

Previous work experience from banking, management consulting or an investment firm is beneficial, but not required as we strive to build a team with diverse backgrounds.

You will become an integral part of Summa’s investment team and be involved in investment processes, including identification of investment opportunities, valuation, due diligence and other relevant topics. In addition, you will work with our existing portfolio companies.

As an intern you will be responsible for the following:

• Identify investment opportunities with high value creation potential across our themes
• Prepare valuation documents
• Implement industry and company analyses
• Work with corporate development in Summa Equity's existing portfolio companies

If you are interested, please send your application (incl. resume and grades) to the following address: elisabeth.aanonsen@summaequity.com

Should you have any queries, please contact Michael Vollset on +47 902 10 151 or michael.vollset@summaequity.com

Deadline for submitting your application is 15 May 2019.
Please visit our website for more information about Summa Equity, https://summaequity.com/

Last Updated: 26 March 2019

Are you ambitious, progressive, eager to learn and to contribute positively towards some of the most important challenges we face today? If yes, would you like to be one of us for a period?

We are a thematically focused Nordic private equity firm, focusing on Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-enabled businesses. Summa was formed with the purpose of investing in companies that offer solutions to our social, environmental and business challenges and thus have strong value creation potential.

We are seeking interns to our office in Stockholm. The internship is conducted on a full-time basis during Fall 2019. The internship will last between 3 and 6 months depending on your availability.

To succeed in the role, you should have:              

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Outstanding grades and motivation to build companies positively contributing to society
• Interest in learning, and you thrive working in a radically honest and transparent environment

Previous work experience from banking, management consulting or an investment firm is beneficial, but not required as we strive to build a team with diverse backgrounds.

You will become an integral part of Summa’s investment team and be involved in investment processes, including identification of investment opportunities, valuation, due diligence and other relevant topics. In addition, you will work with our existing portfolio companies.

As an intern you will be responsible for the following:

• Identify investment opportunities with high value creation potential across our themes
• Prepare valuation documents
• Implement industry and company analyses
• Work with corporate development in Summa Equity's existing portfolio companies

If you are interested, please send your application (incl. resume and grades) to the following address: rehab.abdelkader@summaequity.com

Should you have any queries, please contact Johan Pietilä Holmner on +46 702 554 590 or johan.pietila.holmner@summaequity.com

Deadline for submitting your application is 15 May 2019.
Please visit our website for more information about Summa Equity, https://summaequity.com/

Last Updated: 22 March 2019

Stockholm, 22 March 2019 – Lakers Group, the leading independent water pump service company in the Nordic region, continues its Nordic expansion. It has completed four acquisitions during the last months. The new companies joining Lakers Group are Elmotorservice Syd and Öhbergs Pumpeservice in Sweden, A & J Pumpservice in Finland and Elmodan in Denmark, increasing Lakers’ pro-forma revenues to NOK 350 million.

 

“We are excited to welcome four new companies to the Lakers Group. With the acquisition of A & J, Lakers also makes it’s first acquisition in Finland, making Lakers present in all Nordic markets,” said Carl-Johan Callenholm, Founder and CEO of Lakers.

 

Summa Equity Fund I acquired a majority stake in Lakers Group AB in October 2018.

 

“Summa acquired Lakers with a strategy to support a continued ambitious growth plan. The four acquisitions complement Lakers and strengthen Lakers’ position as the leading independent water pump service company in the Nordic region,” said Johannes Lien, Partner at Summa Equity.

 

The new companies acquired by Lakers are:

 

Öhbergs Pumpservice (Sweden), a service company working with waste water applications for municipal as well as industry customers. Historically they have also worked a lot with pressurized sewage systems. The company was established in 1957 and has become well-known in the industry with a strong position in the Stockholm area.

 

Elmotorservice Syd (Sweden), a company focused on sales and services of power tools, electric motors, fans, transmissions and pumps. Over the years Elmotorservice has developed a strong focus on dewatering pumps and has a close cooperation with leading suppliers in the dewatering segment. The company was founded in 1999 and has operations in Ystad and Simrishamn.

 

Elmodan (Denmark), a company specializing on pumps, generators and power tools, being known for providing a service beyond normal. Established in 1959, Elmodan has two premises with workshop, warehouse and exhibition in Næstved and Ishøj.

 

A & J Pump Service (Finland), offers comprehensive maintenance and repair services related to waste water and basic water pumps as well as suction vehicle services for industry, properties and construction with high pressure and vacuum trucks. The company was established in 2008. It has an office in Helsinki and operates mainly in the metropolitan area, in the Uusimaa region and in Lahti.

 

To secure continuity and utilize experience, existing managing directors remain in their positions in all companies.

 

Summa Equity is amongst the first Private Equity firms to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Lakers’ acquisitions are aligned with goal #6: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.

 

Last Updated: 12 March 2019

Summa Equity acquires Olink Proteomics, a Swedish life science company that has developed a unique technology for human biomarker discovery, targeting the global biopharma and academic research and discovery markets. Olink’s purpose is to enable precision medicine through proteomics, thereby contributing to advancing healthcare worldwide. Summa Equity is excited to support this development, and to continue building its base of investments within life science.

 

Summa Equity focuses on investments in companies that help solve global challenges. Olink Proteomics is providing a unique technology to vastly improve our understanding of proteins within the human body. Proteomics, i.e. the large scale study of proteins, is one of the most important areas for gaining insights in human biology and disease, as protein expression profiles are critical in reflecting states of health. The acquisition of Olink Proteomics is aligned with Summa Equity’s Changing Demographics theme and it supports the UN Sustainable Development Goal Target #3: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”, by enabling improved treatment and patient outcomes across a large number of disease areas.

Olink Proteomics was founded in 2004, based on pioneering research at Uppsala University, under the oversight of Prof. Ulf Landegren and his team of researchers. The company has a unique technology for protein analysis, which provides substantial benefits over other existing technologies in the market by enabling a more efficient and precise analysis of much larger numbers of proteins. This technology improves understanding of the interaction of proteins and human disease, which is required to enable improved treatments within many clinical areas.

The company has grown very rapidly over the past years, quickly expanding its scope of activities across the global market for life science, with a growing footprint across North America, Europe and Asia. Olink Proteomics is headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden, but also has facilities in the US. Olink Proteomics has approximately 110 employees across its current locations.

”The scientific and business opportunities for Olink Proteomics are enormous, as its technology is radically transforming the market for proteomics, thus enabling improved patient treatment. We look forward to supporting the company in its ambition to continue investing in improved customer solutions, and its effort to roll out its technology on a world-wide basis,” said Tommi Unkuri, Partner at Summa Equity.

”We are very happy to have Summa Equity as our new owner. They have shown a deep understanding of our technology and the markets we are addressing. They will be able to support us in scaling up our operations across markets, and drive benefit for customers, patients and the research community,” said Jon Heimer, CEO of Olink Proteomics.

Summa Equity will be the majority shareholder in Olink Proteomics, whilst the management team and Ulf Landegren will remain as shareholders in the company. Summa Equity has been supported by a global team of advisors, including Moelis & Company LLC as financial advisor, White & Case as legal advisor, LEK Consulting as commercial advisor and KPMG as accounting advisor. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as Olink Proteomics’ financial advisor and Wiggin and Dana LLP and Lindahl served as its legal advisors.

Last Updated: 5 March 2019

Stockholm, 5 March 2019 - Swedish energy tech company Metry, whose platform helps the real estate sector digitise and structure energy data to become more energy efficient, is announcing a rights issue and investment of 14 million SEK. The funds will support the continued development of the company’s position as an unbiased/independent actor in the ecosystem for energy data. The lead investment comes from Summa Equity, followed by Chalmers Ventures, angel investors and Metry’s chairman of the board Andreas Rydholm.

 

In a reality where 40% of the world’s energy data is consumed by the real estate sector, Metry has built a platform that digitises the availability of energy data and helps the real estate sector become more energy efficient. Metry manages billions of data points for Sweden’s largest real estate companies, such as Vasakronan, Catena, Rikshem and Kungsleden. With Metry, the users can focus on saving energy, instead of spending time on data collection and administration. The fundings will boost continued development of the company’s position as an unbiased actor in the ecosystem for energy data, while growing in Sweden and abroad.

 

— Since sustainability is one of the core values of Metry, Summa Equity’s purpose and investment focus on solving global challenges is a great fit. The new growth funds serve as proof that many out there share our vision to help build a more energy efficient real estate sector. We look forward to continued growth and feel empowered going forward to have Summa Equity onboard supporting our journey, says Joel Torkelsson, Chief Commercial Officer and co-founder in Metry.

 

— We are excited to support the great team in Metry in creating a more digitised and energy-efficient building sector which currently accounts for 36 % of the CO2 emissions in Europe. Summa has already since 2016 invested in Egain, the leading provider of building energy management solutions, and we are expanding our commitments in a fast developing Smart Energy market. The purpose is to make the relevant data easier available and use data smartly to reduce energy waste, improve customer comfort, and improve real estate values. We believe Metry can be an important part of this development, says Gisle Gluck Evensen, Director in Summa Equity.

Last Updated: 27 February 2019

While we are all worried about the state of the world, we are also seeing positive changes. One particular encouragement is the widening investor-recognition that companies incorporating solutions to environmental, social and governance challenges, will show stronger growth and returns, while having lower risk.

 

In this letter, we share what we have learnt from investing in the world we want.

 

When fundraising for Fund I, we had to explain to investors how aligning our investments with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) would create higher returns. To date, the portfolio of companies advancing the SDGs in Summa Equity Fund I has performed strongly.

 

25^th of February 2019 we closed our Fund II at SEK 6.5 billion, three years after inception of the firm.

 

However, this time, the fundraising was different.

 

Investors were eager to commit. The investment community has started to understand that externalities and returns are increasingly correlated. It is necessary to have a successful and future-proof business. This makes us optimistic!

 

Today, the world is at a tipping point.

 

Several challenges are unfolding simultaneously, after decades of build-up:

• Climate change is leading to extreme weather volatility. The latest IPCC report highlights the future risks we are exposed to and the need for immediate actions. The World Economic Forum Global Risk Report, launched in January 2019, lists extreme weather events and failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation as two of the top three risks in terms of likelihood and impact
• Inequality and social uprising increase, impacting the workforce and marketplace
• Technology disrupts industries, affecting people and their jobs
• We have damaged the biosphere over the past decades, with significant loss of biodiversity
• Our democratic bodies, both in Europe and the US, are becoming increasingly polarized. This is creating uncertainty and difficulties in effectively addressing these issues
• Growth is stagnating. Countries, banks and companies have had elevated debt levels since the Global Financial Crisis 2007-2008, increasing economic risk.

 

In this uncertain world, we do however have some certainties that bring business opportunities:

• Population is increasing from 7 to 10 billion by 2050. This rapid growth strains our natural resources, but creates growth in recycling and agri-tech industries
• We live longer, bringing growth in the healthcare- and infrastructure sectors
• People are moving because of unrest and urbanisation. This creates investment opportunities in education, security, public services, real estate, and infrastructure
• We need to reduce CO₂ emissions, improve energy efficiency and promote renewable energy consumption. This is making energy efficient technologies, energy infrastructure solutions and smart cities attractive investment opportunities.

 

Our biggest challenges are our biggest investment opportunities.

 

At Summa Equity, we take a thematic megatrend approach to investing, and focus on:

• Resource Efficiency, including recycling, energy efficiency, agri-tech and circular economy
• Changing Demographics, including healthcare, education, and security services
• Tech-enabled Businesses, including companies digitising processes and thereby for example increasing efficiency in the value chain, providing more transparency and improved compliance.

 

We invest to solve the global challenges. We also invest carefully to provide superior returns. Most investors traditionally saw these two goals as incompatible. That is no longer the case.

 

What got us here will not get us there.

All companies fulfil a valuable role for their customers. If they don’t, our market system puts them out of business. Businesses create both positive and negative externalities. In many industries, there is a high correlation between positive outcomes for society and business success. Take for instance a healthcare company that must make its customers healthier to succeed. It will create positive externalities. However, oil and gas companies, for example, have historically created negative externalities.

 

Until recently, most investors have been largely agnostic about these externalities. Now we are beginning to see a significant change. There is an increasing correlation between positive outcomes for society and business success. And a higher awareness of the correlation between negative outcomes and the lack of how future-proof the business is. Unless investors and owners understand and incorporate this, the risk-reward ratio will drastically worsen. Investors need to start accounting for negative externalities and business leaders need to innovate for positive externalities.

 

We had the ability to respond. So, we took responsibility.

Summa Equity was amongst the first Private Equity firms to commit to the SDGs and to align our investment and value creation strategy with this framework. The 17 SDGs should be used as the world’s business plan. They also provide an excellent framework for assessing risks and opportunities.

 

We believe that companies that develop the best solutions to the challenges society faces will outperform, attract capital and the best people. Investing in these companies will create higher returns and it will contribute to the positive change we need.

 

In Private Equity, investment focus has moved from financial engineering in the 1980s, to operational improvement in the 1990s, to strategic improvement and institution building in the 2000s. Now we are in the 4^th generation of Private Equity development, where purpose, stakeholders, and externalities are fundamental to value creation and future proofing the portfolio. There are amazing business opportunities in solving the challenges we face.

 

We expect to take a long-term perspective on our investments and sell to buyers who do the same. We do not deal in short-termism. Our exit options and exit valuations are affected by the outlook of ten or more years, which includes assessing how future-proof the company is. Given that we are only a few years away from knowing which of the climate change scenarios we are on, we will also evaluate the risk and impact of these on our investments.

 

Professor George Serafeim is one of our advisors. His research at Harvard Business School shows that purpose-driven companies exhibit higher levels of motivation and better performance. We all want to be part of the solution rather than the problem.

 

It encourages us to see that other investors are following a similar approach to Summa Equity. The investment opportunity is big and attractive, driven by the increasing and urgent need for solutions. So, while it is now making strong economic sense, we also need to accelerate this to avoid that the challenges become a major risk, rather than an attractive opportunity.

 

Sincerely,

 

Anna Ryott

Chair, Summa Equity

anna.ryott@summaequity.com

+46 705 41 33 60

 

Reynir Indahl

Managing Partner, Summa Equity

reynir.indahl@summaequity.com

+47 90 69 11 13

Last Updated: 26 February 2019

Stockholm, 26 February 2019 – Summa Equity announced today that it has raised further capital to continue to invest to solve global challenges. Summa Equity Fund II closed at hard cap with investor commitments of SEK 6.5 billion (c. EUR 610 million). With Fund I and II, Summa Equity now manages aggregated capital commitments of SEK 11 billion (c. EUR 1 billion).
Summa Equity was amongst the first Private Equity firms to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aligning its investment and value creation strategy with the SDG framework.

The announcement of Fund II comes three years after inception of the firm, and Fund I closed with commitments of SEK 4.7 billion (c. EUR 440 million). Fund II will continue to focus on investments that can outperform and are driven by tailwind from megatrends such as ageing demographics, movement of people, resource scarcity, population growth, climate change and technology disruption. Investments are made in companies that solve global challenges, within three investment themes: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics and Tech-enabled Business.

“We are seeing several challenges unfolding simultaneously; environmentally, socially, and with technology disrupting industries. We believe our biggest challenges are also our most attractive investment opportunities. The fundraising for Fund II shows that the investment community is beginning to understand that to outperform, one cannot be agnostic to the challenges we are facing” says Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner of Summa Equity.

“Some of the leading global investors are not only continuing to invest in us, but also increasing their investment in Fund II. This confirms that investors increasingly recognise that companies that incorporate solutions to environmental, social, and governance challenges, will show stronger growth and returns, while having lower risk. They are more future-proof,” concludes Indahl.

Summa Equity Fund I has eleven portfolio companies that are advancing the SDGs. The portfolio has performed strongly to date. By incorporating the SDG framework in shaping the long-term strategy of the portfolio companies, measuring the effect and innovating to address the global challenges, the portfolio has to date shown strong growth and value increase.

Summa Equity Fund II is backed by a strong investor base of top-tier endowments, foundations, pension funds, insurance firms and fund of funds including a broad range of traditional and sustainability-oriented investors from the Nordics, Europe and North America.
“AP1’s overriding goal is to deliver the best possible return on pension savers’ money. We are convinced that one way of achieving this goal is by considering sustainability aspects in our investment decision process. We seek investments which are characterized by sustainable value creation. We are therefore excited to invest in Summa Equity, and look forward to a close and fruitful cooperation,” says Jan Rådberg, Portfolio Manager Private Equity at AP1.

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 financial matters. Summa Equity is domiciled in Sweden and regulated as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.

 

###

 

For interviews or more information, please contact:
Jenny Keisu
jenny.keisu@summaequity.com
+46 722 42 41 44

Last Updated: 8 February 2019

Summa Equity has signed an agreement to acquire Infobric AB (“Infobric”), a provider of software and hardware for attendance systems, access control, asset monitoring, and energy efficiency on construction sites.

 

Summa Equity has made its first move into the construction industry, with the acquisition of the Swedish based software and hardware company, Infobric. Infobric has developed proprietary solutions for building sites in order to solve the industry’s productivity challenges, meet increased regulatory demand for workplace safety and support initiatives to combat undocumented labour.

Infobric was founded in 2004 in Jönköping, Sweden, and is a market leading supplier of software solutions and IoT products for building sites in the Nordics. From the start, the company goal has been to provide smart solutions that increase security and efficiency at the site, with innovations developed in close relationship with construction and machine rental companies. The company has 60 employees with sales offices in Jönköping, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki and London, and has experienced strong demand growth for their proprietary software platform (SaaS) and hardware for attendance systems, access control and energy efficiency.

"Through Infobric we will contribute to efficiency improvements as well as improved workplace safety on construction sites. We are impressed by the profitable growth the Infobric team has achieved to date and we are looking forward to support the company’s growth and development in the coming years," says Christian Melby, Partner at Summa Equity.

New technology to measure, monitor, and improve safety and security on building sites, will be a key  enabler for increased efficiency. Furthermore, digitalization of the industry is strengthening the growth outlook. By contributing to tech-enabled safety, compliance and energy/asset efficiency, Infobric is becoming an increasingly important provider to an industry fundamental for economic development.

"With Summa Equity as the new majority owner, Infobric enters a new and exciting phase. Summa's commitment to creating a sustainable society and contribute to solving social and environmental challenges through innovative technology is closely aligned with Infobrics' values and business focus. Summa will also play an important role in Infobric’s journey towards becoming the leading digitalization partner for the construction industry," says Dan Friberg, CEO at Infobric.

The acquisition of Infobric is aligned with Summa Equity’s Technology-enabled Businesses theme and the UN SDG Targets #8.8 “Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers”, and #16.6: “Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels”.

Infobric will be acquired from Jönköping Business Development AB, founders and management shareholders. The management team will remain as significant shareholders in the company.

Last Updated: 15 October 2018

With the aim of strengthening their ability to inform and support sustainable quality improvements, transparency and efficiency in healthcare LOGEX, Ivbar, and Prodacapo have decided to join forces through the new LOGEX Group. This will create a European market leader in advanced software for analysing outcomes and costs in healthcare.

 

Today, the three companies all hold leading positions in their respective markets – the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, UK and France. The new LOGEX Group will have unmatched capacities to support a holistic approach to improvement in healthcare through advanced analytics. It brings together leading capabilities from quality and costing analytics:

• LOGEX is headquartered in Amsterdam and the pacesetter in the Dutch market for costing analytics, providing advanced solutions for cost tracking, budgeting and planning in healthcare. LOGEX also comprises Value2Health and MRDM. Value2Health, being the Dutch market leader in healthcare quality analytics, specializes in giving healthcare providers, receivers or organisers, access to reliable information making it possible to improve quality and outcomes. MRDM are experts in the field of data security and privacy.
• Ivbar is headquartered in Stockholm and is a market leader in Sweden in providing technical solutions for efficiency analytics and management of advanced payment models. Its mission is to support healthcare organisations to sustainably improve outcomes.
• Prodacapo is headquartered in Helsinki and is the market leader in Finland, Sweden and Norway in costing analytics for the healthcare sector. Prodacapo also has a strong presence in the UK market.

The new LOGEX Group will create a favourable environment to allow for the companies to develop their core competencies and product portfolio further, with the aim of providing even stronger solutions to all stakeholders in the healthcare system, including providers, payers and authorities.

“As we create a larger international group, customers will benefit from a more versatile product portfolio that meets a broader spectrum of their needs as they strive to drive improvements in their operations. Utilizing our tools to drive transparency and understanding of outcomes, resource use and costs in healthcare, will help our customers in their development, and ultimately benefit patients and society,” says Philipp Jan Flach, CEO of LOGEX Group.

As healthcare expenditure constitutes a growing share of GDP in many European markets and healthcare budgets are under pressure, the demand for tools to increase efficiency and understand patient outcomes increases. The enlarged group will offer a holistic product offering, with strong potential to address these challenges.

“Being able to provide our customers with deep insights on patient outcomes as well as costs and resources used in healthcare is unique, and extraordinarily important if we are to solve the challenges posed to our healthcare systems today,” says Kari Lappalainen, CEO of Prodacapo.

LOGEX Group will be headquartered in Amsterdam with offices across Sweden, Finland, Norway, UK, France, Czech Republic and other locations in the Netherlands. This scope of operations provides the group a broad perspective on healthcare systems in Europe.

“Broadening our geographical footprint, becoming a truly European company will create unmatched opportunities to benchmark healthcare performance across markets, regions and patient groups. This will provide invaluable insight for all stakeholders with an interest to improve healthcare,” says Jonas Wohlin, CEO of IVBAR.

The new LOGEX Group will have more than 250 employees. Phillip Jan Flach will be CEO of the new group.

Last Updated: 10 September 2018

Summa Equity has signed an agreement to acquire Lakers Holding AB (“Lakers”), a Nordic group operating within the water, wastewater, building services and industry segments. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in October 2018.

 

The Nordic water and wastewater infrastructure is ageing and has large inefficiencies. Growing populations, urbanization, increased connectivity and increased regulatory standards also drive the need for restructuring and upgrades of the infrastructure. These challenges will drive growth for Lakers by its contribution to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and wastewater, aligned with Summa Equity’s Resource Efficiency theme and the UN SDG #6 of Clean water and sanitation for all.

Lakers was founded in 2016 by Carl Hall and Carl-Johan Callenholm and offers maintenance, service, development and technical consultancy for pumps, pumping stations, electrical motors and related components. The company has 130 employees across Norway, Sweden and Denmark with a revenue of SEK 280m.

"Through Lakers we will contribute to maintain and improve a critical part of our water infrastructure. We are impressed by the profitable growth the Lakers team has achieved to date and we are looking forward to support the company’s growth and development in the coming years," says Johannes Lien, Partner at Summa Equity.

Lakers will be acquired from MVI Fund I AB, the founders and a handful of minority shareholders active in the business. The founders and the management team will remain as significant shareholders in the company.

"To have Summa Equity as our new majority owner and partner will help Lakers take the next steps in our development. We are looking forward to a collaboration whereby we will accelerate our growth journey, further develop our organisation meanwhile keeping our entrepreneurial spirit. In Summa Equity we find a good fit not only for our business, but also for our people and stakeholders," says Carl-Johan Callenholm, Founder and CEO of Lakers.

Last Updated: 6 September 2018

Summa Equity will become majority shareholder of the Finnish company HyTest, producer of antibodies and antigens for the diagnostic industry. The growing company operates in a global market where growth is driven by an aging population, innovation and increasing investments in medical care. The investment is Summa Equity’s first in the Finnish market.

 

”Antibodies and antigens make it possible to diagnose and follow disease development using in vitro diagnostics (IVD). Use of this technology will increase with an aging population, continued advances in research and technology, and the global trend of increased investments in medical care and wellness. HyTest is a globally recognized leader in this space, with a reputation for exceptional quality and innovation. The company has great potential for continued growth, and we look forward to supporting the HyTest team on this journey,” says Tommi Unkuri, partner at Summa Equity.

HyTest was founded in 1994 by a group of scientists who are still members of senior management. The company, based in Turku, Finland, now has around 100 employees. HyTest’s customer base includes a large number of companies that supply IVD equipment, including many of the global leaders in the IVD market. The company is active across the globe, including US, Asia and Europe.

”Our goal since we started has been to improve health, by providing access to the latest research and technology in the arena of antibodies and antigens for diagnostic use to the market. With Summa Equity as owner, we will be able to take the next step in developing our company, for the benefit of our customers and patients,” says Maria Severina, CEO at HyTest.

Following completion of the transaction Summa Equity will be the majority shareholder in HyTest, and the founders and management team will remain as significant shareholders in the company.

Last Updated: 22 August 2018

Anna Ryott, Deputy CEO at Norrsken Foundation and former CEO of Swedfund International, has been elected as working chairperson of Summa Equity. The election of Ryott strengthens Summa Equity’s expertise and experience in the area of sustainability. Ryott’s Board of Directors will include several newly elected members with strong backgrounds in value creation, investments and sustainability.

 

”Making sustainable investments here and now is the key to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. In Sweden alone, the private equity industry’s turnover exceeds SEK 300 billion and accounts for 8 per cent of GDP. Summa Equity is a unique private equity company that invests exclusively in sustainable companies with potential for high growth and returns. By demonstrating that sustainability and profitability go hand in hand, we can help channel more capital to sustainable investments and thereby help achieve the UN’s sustainability targets,” says Ms Ryott.

Ryott comes most recently from Norrsken Foundation where she has served as deputy CEO. She was formerly CEO of Swedfund – the national Swedish development finance institution – and secretary-general of SOS Children’s Villages. She has also held a range of management positions in the advertising sector and worked as a management consultant at McKinsey. She will now be one of the first female chairpersons of a Nordic private equity company.

”Summa Equity invests in companies that operate in industries with tailwind from the megatrends of resource efficiency, changing demographics and tech-enabled business. These companies generate high returns while also helping to solve some of the greatest challenges of our time. We use investments in sustainable companies as a tool to create a better world. This is something I strongly believe in and am passionate about. It is a fantastic privilege to work to promote values that I believe are important,” continues Ms Ryott.

”Anna is precisely the chairperson Summa Equity needs as we take the next step in our ambition to promote a more sustainable society through making good investments in companies that solve challenges and helping them to outperform. Her background in investment, sustainability, operation and strategy will strongly add to our investment and value creation skills and approach,” says Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner at Summa Equity.

Several other leading individuals have been elected as directors to Summa Equity’s board:

- Göran Carstedt, chairman of Summa Foundation (charitable foundation and controlling shareholder of Summa Equity). Carstedt has held executive positions at international organisations including Volvo, IKEA, the Clinton Climate Initiative, and the Society for Organisational Learning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

- Martin Skancke, chairman of the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and adviser to several sovereign wealth funds and asset managers. After working as a consultant at McKinsey, Skancke served as Director General at the Norwegian Ministry of Finance where his brief included responsibility for the Norwegian Pension Fund, with assets of over USD one trillion. He is also chairman of Storebrand, Norfund and Kommunalbanken in Norway.

- Kari Olrud Moen, who also has a background from McKinsey, has held leading positions within DNB, Norway’s largest financial group. She has also served as State Secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Finance. She was recently appointed chairperson of the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).

- Per-Anders Enkvist, is founder and CEO of Material Economics, a Swedish management consultancy that recently published a report on the extent to which a circular economy can help reduce carbon emissions. Enkvist has a background as a partner at McKinsey, where he was involved in founding and leading the sustainability practice. He is also co-author of the book “A Good Distribution: Redefining Growth in the Twenty-First Century”.

- Mirja Lehmler-Brown, with a background from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, is a partner at Hayfin Capital Management. Prior to joining Hayfin Capital Management, she worked for over ten years at Aberdeen Asset Management.

”I’m very proud that we have been able to attract such a competent group of Board members with world class experience in investments, value creation and ESG – Environmental, Social and Governance – compliance and reporting. They share our view that our greatest challenges are also our best investment opportunities and that investing in purpose driven companies that put sustainability at the core of their strategy and operations will lead to outperformance,” continues Mr Indahl.

Last Updated: 21 December 2017

On the 20th of December, Summa Equity Fund I (Summa) entered into an agreement to acquire Norsk Gjenvinning from Altor Fund III (Altor). The transaction is subject to government approval and is expected to be completed in Q1 2018.

 

Norsk Gjenvinning is Norway's largest and leading recycling company, with approximately 1,200 employees and annual revenues in excess of NOK 4 billion. Private Equity fund Altor acquired a majority stake in Norsk Gjenvinning in 2011 and has since strengthened the company’s position as a leading player in recycling and industrial solutions for the circular economy.

"We are very enthusiastic about Summa as our new owner, as they share our belief that a company that aims to be future-proof and sustainable cannot only emphasise financial results, but needs to include the environmental and social footprint. Norsk Gjenvinning is in an exciting phase focusing on industrialisation, innovation and Nordic growth, and we strongly believe that Summa can contribute positively to our further development,” says Erik Osmundsen, CEO of Norsk Gjenvinning.

Summa Equity is a private equity fund that invests in companies in the Nordic region. Summa focuses on growing companies that benefit from strong megatrends and that provide solutions within the areas of Resource Scarcity, Energy Efficiency, Demographic Changes and Digitalisation. Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner at Summa Equity, has in-depth knowledge of the recycling industry gained as former chairman of Norsk Gjenvinning and through Summa’s ownership of Swedish recycling company Sortera.

"The company is proof of the financial attractiveness of providing solutions that improve environmental sustainability, and I am impressed that Norsk Gjenvinning is now on Ipso’s list of Norway’s top 20 most reputable companies. The company’s focus and business model fit very well with Summa's investment philosophy, and we are excited to be part of developing Norsk Gjenvinning further,” says Mr Indahl.

"We are impressed by the position Norsk Gjenvinning has achieved and the development the company has had under Altor’s ownership. We believe Norsk Gjenvinning will become one of the leading companies in the Nordic region within the growing circular economy,” says Christian Melby, Partner at Summa and co-responsible for the transaction.

Norsk Gjenvinning chairman Ole Enger, with his extensive experience from Norsk Hydro, Elkem, Sapa and REC, has been an important contributor to the company’s operational improvements. Mr Enger will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board.

"Summa's acquisition of Norsk Gjenvinning is a recognition of the great work our employees have done in recent years. However, the job of industrialising the company is not finished and I look forward to continuing that journey,” says Mr Enger.

Last Updated: 27 November 2017

With its acquisition of DT Recycling AB in Malmö, Sortera Group AB – the Swedish building waste collection and sorting provider – will provide services to Sweden’s four largest metropolitan areas and nearly 75% of the Swedish population.

 

“The future belongs to those who dare to think big and bold, and in our industry Sortera is such a company. With our expertise in solid waste management, DT Recycling has become a significant industry player. Together with Sortera, we can reach a national market,” says DT Recycling’s Fredrik Tell.

“Through the acquisition of DT Recycling we can provide the Stockholm and Gothenburg construction markets with greater expertise in handling and deposing of solid waste. Together with DT Recycling, we can provide building waste collection and sorting services in the Malmö area. DT Recycling’s offer will continue to develop under Sortera’s management,” comments Conny Ryk, CEO of Sortera.

“Sortera is a unique company driven by growth, technology, environmental responsibility and a continuous focus on the customer experience. We have tripled our revenue in less than two years while broadening the customer offer and expanding into new geographic markets,” says Johannes Lien, Partner at Summa Equity and Chairman of the Sortera Group.

Last Updated: 24 July 2017

Summa Equity has acquired 75% of Milarex, a value-added processing company in the salmon industry, from the founder, Jerzy Malek. Summa Equity is a thematically-focused private equity investor with Seafood as one of the focus areas within its “Resource Scarcity” theme.

 

"With a growing global population amidst global climate issues, the world needs healthy and sustainable food, and these megatrends are driving the growth in seafood consumption. Wild catch of fish is levelling off and we expect fish farming to surpass it by 2019. Salmon farming uses no fresh water, has a high feed conversion ratio, is healthier than meat and barely produces CO2. Although there are environmental issues, as with most food production, the industry is young and innovation and regulation in Norway are rapidly improving the sustainability of salmon farming," says Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner of Summa Equity.

Milarex has built one of the largest factories for value-added processing of salmon outside Gdansk in Poland, and is already a leading supplier to large retailers of smoked salmon products. Production commenced in 2016 and the company has a current production of ~5,500 tons finished products, but can be ramped up to over 30.000 tons which the factory is built for. Milarex has been profitable since start-up of production and expects revenues of c. EUR 100 million in 2017. The company has an industry-leading production efficiency, due to its large scale, technology and the flexibility of its production.

"In a fragmented industry where capacity additions have been limited relative to demand, Milarex has built one of the largest and most efficient processing factories and quickly gained a strong European market position,” says Joakim S. Johansen, Investment Manager at Summa Equity.

Milarex is founded and led by Polish entrepreneur Jerzy Malek, the founder of Morpol, the world’s currently largest salmon processor, which was sold to Marine Harvest in 2012.

"Jerzy Malek, the man who developed the German smoked salmon market and created Morpol, is an institution in the world of salmon. Yet again, he proves his ability to create a leading player. The technology and know-how his organization has developed is a tremendous asset to Milarex. It is a privilege to be working with him and his team,” says Jon Hindar, Summa Equity’s Industrial Advisor, the former CEO of Cermaq, and the new Chairman of the Board of Milarex.

Going forward, Summa will make substantial investments to position Milarex as a global leader in value-added processing of salmon. A new main office will be established in Oslo, as the majority of salmon comes from Norway which supplies over 50% of the global salmon production. Jerzy Malek will continue as a 25% shareholder and have an active role in the Board of Milarex.

"The investment from Summa Equity will enable Milarex to grow rapidly in Europe and beyond. My former experience with Hindar and Indahl from Summa, and the discussions we've had over the last year, convinced me that they are the right partner to develop Milarex," says Jerzy Malek, founder and CEO of Milarex.

 

Last Updated: 10 July 2017

Summa Equity acquires EcoOnline AS, a Nordic software company helping customers optimize safe handling of chemicals. Summa Equity becomes the majority shareholder. Viking Venture and management will remain invested alongside Summa Equity.

 

Christian Melby, Partner at Summa Equity, said: “Nearly all sectors use chemicals and are thereby required to comply with universal legislation and ensure health and safety for employees. Many companies are not adequately and safely managing their chemicals today and we believe EcoOnline’s purpose-built software helps solve this problem. EcoOnline is the best software solution on the Nordic market and we are impressed with the management team and their ability to develop and grow this business. We will continue to expand in the Nordics as well as in other selected geographical markets”.

Since inception, EcoOnline has developed into a state of the art SaaS provider with high recurring revenues from a large and diverse customer base comprising more than 4,000 customers in all relevant industries and public sectors in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. EcoOnline’s platform ensures compliance against European legislation across the safety data sheet chain, from producers to end-users, offering strong benefits for customers in both ends of the spectrum. EcoOnline’s software solution also provides companies with chemical risk assessments and documents to conduct preventative measures.

EcoOnline is expected to benefit from global tailwinds such as increasing regulatory requirements for chemical management and rise in environmentally focused companies.

Erik Hagen, Managing Partner at Viking Venture, said: “During our initial ownership period we have reached our first goal of becoming the clear Nordic market leader. With Summa Equity as a strong partner we will continue the rapid growth in our existing markets and are ready to expand into Europe”.

Øyvind Robert Thorsen, CEO at EcoOnline, said: “Thanks to Summa Equity’s and Viking Venture’s funding and commitment to EcoOnline, we can continue with our growth strategy and bring our services to a market which holds large potential for software adoption. Our goal is to become the European health, safety and environment thought leader, and help companies understand their chemical exposure and how to reduce harmful substances”.

EcoOnline has over 80 employees and is headquartered in Tønsberg, Norway, with offices in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. EcoOnline is in an expansive growth phase and saw revenues grow 30% to NOK 88m in 2016.

The investment will be made through the acquisition of shares from existing shareholders and a rights issue of NOK 22m. After the transaction, Summa will own 69% of the shares while Viking Venture retains 23%. The remaining 8% is owned by management and employees.

Last Updated: 12 June 2017

Sortera Group AB acquires 100% of the shares in BIG BAG Group AB and thereby strengthens its position as one of the leading companies in the industry for collection and recycling of construction waste in Sweden.

 

“The industry is undergoing a period of significant change and it is now time for BIG BAG to take the next step in its development. I am confident that Sortera Group is the right owner for BIG BAG at this stage and beyond” says BIG BAG Group CEO Pierre Grubbström.

“Through the acquisition of BIG BAG we can provide the construction market with a complete range of waste services in Stockholm. BIG BAG has been an important player in the waste market for a long time and developed a very strong brand. BIG BAG’s offer will continue to develop under Sortera Group’s management. By adding BIG BAG to Sortera’s already strong organization, we look forward to delivering an even better customer experience and thereby strengthen the group’s brands”, comments Sortera Group CEO Conny Ryk.

“Since we acquired Sortera Group a year ago, we have embarked on a growth journey by broadening the business and expanding into new geographic markets. The acquisition of BIG BAG is an important milestone in Sortera’s strategic development. We strongly believe that the combination of the two companies represents a strong strategic fit that will enable us to continuously improve our customer offering and sustainability efforts”, says Johannes Lien, Partner at Summa Equity and Chairman of the Sortera Group.

 

Last Updated: 23 May 2017

Summa Equity establishes Summa Digital – a platform for big data enabled businesses with ground breaking technologies within their respective field. The platform holds three businesses that Summa Equity has added to its portfolio.

 

Summa Equity has invested in Swedish IVBAR Institute AB, Norwegian Documaster AS and UK-based Qlearsite Ltd. All three companies are early actors with leading solutions within different areas of big data solutions.

Christian Melby, Partner at Summa Equity said: “The field of data analytics is growing exponentially. Niche markets are developing solutions tailored to the specific needs of businesses and organisations. IVBAR, Documaster and Qlearsite are all pioneers within their respective fields and have succeeded in developing technically sophisticated solutions with strong value propositions for users. We have closely followed the companies’ rapid market traction, the positive feedback received from customers and how the products have proven to be very solid.”

Summa Equity is focused on helping Summa Digital companies in their next phase of development, with funding and support to scale up the businesses for broader roll-out and growth acceleration.

Tommi Unkuri, Partner at Summa Equity, said: “The joint big data platform creates good conditions for synergies in for example go-to-market and development processes. These will be important growth enablers and accelerators.”

IVBAR is a Swedish digital health company that has developed a big data analytics platform, ERA Vision, that enables improved management of healthcare through a focus on patient value. The platform improves transparency and provides unique levels of insight into both health outcomes and resource allocation, and is useful for both payors and providers of healthcare. IVBAR’s solutions have been developed in collaboration with both public and private partners, and the company has succeeded in consolidating vast amounts of highly fragmented healthcare data, enabling a level of insight previously unseen in the system. ERA Vision is used for advanced benchmarking, performance monitoring and calculation of reimbursement.

Tommi Unkuri, continued: “IVBAR addresses fundamentally important topics in the healthcare sector and we believe that IVBAR will have a strong positive contribution to its customers and to patients. IVBAR’s solutions are highly scalable across countries, and the underlying challenges are similar in all healthcare systems. IVBAR has a unique position to provide solutions, based on close collaborations with public health providers in Sweden, its in-depth knowledge of the healthcare system, and a unique digital platform.”

Documaster is a Norwegian digital record management company with core competence on digitization, information management and cloud-based archiving of valuable data. The company has developed a unique technology that addresses an increasing need for efficient and compliant archiving, driven by the rapid growth in digital documentation as well as an increased regulatory focus on record management. The solutions enable organisations to capture, process and preserve data in one single application, where it can easily and instantly be accessed through user-friendly retrieval and search functionality, whilst catering to relevant compliance requirements. The company offers a system agnostic archiving core that is compliant with EU and local regulations.

Christian Melby, said: “Digital documentation is growing at an exponential rate and is rapidly phasing out physical documentation, leaving companies with out-dated, underperforming systems for record management. This is a growing headache for companies and institutions worldwide, and put them at risk of failure to meet regulatory standards. With Documaster’s solutions, organisations are able to regain control of their data. Documaster’s impressive technologies help customers to decommission legacy systems, digitalize paper documents, and gather all records into one application that is user friendly and quick to implement.”

Qlearsite is an early actor in the rapidly growing field of people analytics for human resource management, based in the United Kingdom. The company has developed a technology that is specifically designed to analyse and make predictions about the behaviour of people in a workforce, using both structured and unstructured data. The product suite ranges across data connection and reporting, predictive analysis, and survey analytics, to create a complete toolbox for impactful analysis. The company defines their approach as Organisational Science, using intelligent analytics technologies with data generated by employees to enable corporations to understand the culture within their organisation and get important insights about how to get the best out of their talent base.

Christian Melby continued: “Hiring the right people and making them thrive is a key value driver and crucial for the performance of any business. Companies worldwide are becoming increasingly aware of this strong connection between commercial success and proper management of employees, and thereby the value potential in being able to perform proper analysis on HR data. Qlearsite is at the forefront of this movement with their Organisational Science approach, helping companies to get a deep understanding of what influences their organisation, its people and how to improve performance. Their state of the art solution allows users to perform complete analysis that answers the questions of what, who and why and to make the right priorities in creating stronger organisations, thereby gaining competitive advantages and avoiding unnecessary costs.”

Last Updated: 2 May 2017

Summa Equity invests in Pagero Group, a company that develops and markets Pagero Online, a cloud-based network platform for communication of business documents within the purchase-to-pay, order-to-cash and logistic-to-pay (TMS) processes. Summa Equity becomes the largest shareholder. CEO Bengt Nilsson and management will remain invested alongside Summa Equity.

 

Christian Melby, Partner at Summa Equity, said: “In our extensive search for the next global trend, we have met a lot of companies with interesting applications for business support within procurement and order-to-cash. However, most of them were either built on a closed network or traditional EDI connections. We believe in Pagero’s philosophy of offering an open platform, connecting businesses with all their customers and suppliers in an easy and cost-efficient way that allows room for correct and fast decision-making in a global and competitive world.”

Since its foundation, Pagero has developed into a modern SaaS provider with more than 80 per cent recurring revenues, over 20,000 customers, more than 1.5 million transactions per month, and a network that reaches millions of companies directly and via roaming agreements. The value-added services enable Pagero’s customers to achieve accurate data and obtain a 100 per cent digital inbound and outbound business document flow, resulting in minimal error handling, compliance with local VAT regulation and control over company spend. Pagero Online is independent of ERP systems and therefore suits companies of all sizes and within all industries. It is also interconnected with an extensive number of other networks for global reach.

Bengt Nilsson, CEO of Pagero, said: “Summa Equity’s confidence in Pagero is a clear sign that our choice of strategy and business model are right. Thanks to Summa Equity’s funding and commitment to Pagero, we can continue with our growth strategy and bring our services to a market largely driven by legislation with high demands on compliance. Our goal is to be the top-of-mind player on the market enabling companies all over the globe to streamline their business processes with accurate data and a 100 per cent digital business document flow.”

Pagero has over 190 employees and a strong innovation focus, with 50 employees in R&D. It is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, with offices in Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Rome, Madrid, Paris, Istanbul and Dubai. Pagero is in an expansive growth phase and saw revenues grow to SEK 168m in 2016.

The investment will be made through a rights issue of SEK 100 million and the acquisition of shares from existing shareholders. Summa Equity will support Pagero through continued investments in R&D, new markets, and people with the ambition of sustaining the company’s high growth trajectory. Pagero is expected to benefit from the global trends towards increasing digitalisation and automation of business processes, and increasing regulatory demands on compliance.

Last Updated: 20 February 2017

Summa Equity has acquired Linfre Education AB from the founder and a handful of private investors. The founder and CEO Josef Lind will reinvest the majority of his proceeds, and the management team will also invest alongside Summa Equity.

 

Tommi Unkuri, Partner at Summa Equity, said: “We are very excited about concluding Summa Equity’ third investment, and the first one within the investment theme Changing Demographics. This investment also fits within another of our four themes, Tech-enabled business, where Education is a core segment. Through Lin Education we will contribute to the digitalisation of the Swedish educational system. In a time when learning is more important than ever, this is a field offering important challenges, but also huge opportunities. Being part of innovative solutions to some of the pressing challenges of our time, is a fundament in Summa Equity’s investment philosophy”.

Josef Lind, Founder and CEO of Lin Education, said: “We are very pleased to have Summa Equity as our new majority owner and partner, as this will help Lin Education take the next steps in our development. We are looking forward to a collaboration whereby we will strengthen our offering, press ahead to lead the development in educational content, and further develop our organisation. In Summa Equity we find a fit not only for our business, but also for our people and stakeholders.”

Lin Education was founded in 2007 by Josef Lind, and today has several hundred thousand digital tools and IT hardware (i.e. computers, laptops, tablets, etc.) in schools and preschools all over Sweden. Lin Education also offers learning, development and digitalisation training for its customers. Many thousand people are using the Lin Education’s proprietary digital content tools for learning. The company has some 90 employees working out of offices in Gothenburg, Stockholm, Malmö, Karlstad and Umeå. Revenue was SEK 569m in 2016.

Summa Equity will support the continued development of Lin Education and assist the Company in further growth through investments to develop existing as well as new products. Lin Education is expected to benefit from the trend towards increasing digitalisation of learning, in schools and in other environments.

Last Updated: 17 February 2017

Summa Equity today announces that its first fund, Summa Equity Fund I, has closed with commitments of SEK 4.5 billion, exceeding the initial target of SEK 3.3 billion after being significantly oversubscribed. The fund size was limited to SEK 4.5 billion despite oversubscription.

 

Summa Equity was founded in 2016 by five partners brought together by a shared vision of building a leading specialised private equity firm in the Nordic lower mid-market. The firm focuses on capturing the investment opportunity provided by thematic megatrends that are expected to drive long term growth.

Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner, Summa Equity comments: “Our investment strategy is designed to address the challenges associated with generating long-term profitability in a volatile market underpinned by low economic growth. In the process we hope to be part of developing innovative solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time. The closing of our first fund brings us closer to realising this vision and marks the beginning of an exciting journey.”

Summa Equity Fund I is backed by a broad investor base comprising endowments, foundations, pension funds, insurance firms and funds of funds across the Nordics, Europe and North America. The Fund’s strategy will focus on investments related to four themes: resource scarcity, energy efficiency, changing demographics and tech-enabled businesses. The firm has offices in Stockholm and Oslo and the partners are Reynir Indahl, Jenny Keisu, Johannes Lien, Christian Melby and Tommi Unkuri.

Two deals, Sortera and eGain, have already been completed for the fund:

• Sortera is the market leader in collection and recycling of building material waste in Sweden’s largest urban areas.
• eGain is a leading Nordic technology/service provider of remote optimisation and climate-based control of heating in multi-apartment buildings

Jenny Keisu, Partner and COO of Summa Equity, continues: “Sortera and eGain are great examples of the investment opportunities we see. They both have megatrend driven, resilient business models uncoupled from GDP growth and we have already identified a number of value creation initiatives that are being implemented to stimulate their respective growth strategies. A third investment is finalised and will be announced shortly providing a solid foundation for the fund.”

Summa Equity’s investment philosophy also contributes to a strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) profile with the goal to generate long-term sustainable growth and profitability. As part of this commitment the firm will be the first Nordic Private Equity firm to report towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Summa Equity was advised by London-based Rede Partners, an independent fund raising and secondary adviser to the private equity industry. The legal advisors in connection with the fund raising were Mannheimer Swartling and Ropes & Gray.

The new fund is domiciled in Sweden and is regulated as an AIF (Alternative Investment Fund) by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.