News 2014
Keronite - Portfolio Company of the Year
Keronite awarded Azini Capital’s portfolio company of the year 2014
December 2014 - Azini Capital is pleased to report that Keronite International has been awarded Azini Capital’s portfolio company of the year for 2014.
Keronite is a patented process that converts the surface of aluminium, magnesium and titanium alloys into a hard, dense ceramic which enhances the durability of components by increasing wear resistance and corrosion protection. The company services customers across a range of industries including aerospace, automotive (including Formula 1), elite sporting equipment, oil and gas and semi-conductor. Keronite has two dedicated facilities, one in the UK and another in the US.
Keronite has taken a number of years to refine its proposition, to establish the right business model and go-to-market strategy but this work finally paid off in 2014. The company has seen a number of new customers adopting its technology resulting in a 92% increase in sales during the year and with the company moving into profitability. Azini Capital’s Managing Partner Nick Habgood explained “The credit for Keronite’s stunning progress this year must go to CEO, Matt Hamblin, his management team and the company’s staff who have demonstrated incredible commitment and dedication. I know that many people across the organisation have gone way beyond the call of duty to support the company’s incredible growth this year. This award is a way for us to say “well done and thank you” to all of those individuals”.
Azini Capital acquired its interest in Keronite in 2007 and since then has led a number of rounds of funding that have enabled the company to develop into a leading provider of advanced coating services. The company’s dramatically improved performance is a consequence of the Keronite process being used by some of the World’s largest and most advanced manufacturing companies.
Alexander Smart, Independent Chairman, commented, “Azini Capital, together with a small group of private investors, have shown incredible commitment and belief in Keronite – investing considerable sums of money over the year to support the company’s development and growth. Critically Azini has brought more than just investment; their considerable understanding, experience and expertise has really contributed and made a significant difference to the business. It is pleasing to see that this has been rewarded with such positive progress this year and with a pipeline of new opportunities that bodes well for the future.”
Azini Invests in Kalibrate Technologies
First Investment from New Fund
Azini Capital, the London based private equity firm that specialises in secondary transactions, has completed the acquisition of a 19% interest in Kalibrate Technologies plc. As a result Azini has become Kalibrate’s second largest shareholder.
Azini Capital’s Managing Partner Nick Habgood has also joined the board of Kalibrate.
Kalibrate is a market leading provider of services to the fuel retail industry, and is the only global provider of both fuel pricing and retail network planning software and services. Kalibrate’s proprietary software-based solutions are used by many of the world’s leading fuel retailers, enabling them to effectively develop new market entry strategies, plan and optimise existing fuel retail locations and to automate and support fuel pricing decisions on a real time basis.
The investment in Kalibrate is the first from Azini Capital’s new $100 million fund which was announced in March 2014. The new fund, Azini 3, will acquire shareholdings - individually or as portfolios - in growth and development stage technology companies, providing historical investors and shareholders with an option of early liquidity.
Kalibrate (KLBT) was admitted to the AIM market of London Stock Exchange and raised net proceeds of $9 million in November 2013. N+1 Singer Advisory LLP acted as Nominated Advisor and sole Broker to the Group.
Azini Capital is an independent private equity fund management company that specialises in “direct-secondary” transactions - acquiring portfolios of shareholdings in private and public companies from existing and historical investors. For more information visit: www.azini.com or contact Nick Habgood, Managing Partner, Azini Capital Partners LLP, nick.habgood@azini.com 020 3178 3381.
Azini Raises Third Fund
Azini Capital raises $100 million third fund
Azini Capital, the UK based private equity direct-secondary firm, has today announced that it has successfully raised a new $100 million fund. The new fund, Azini 3, will acquire shareholdings - individually or as portfolios - in growth and development stage technology companies, providing historical investors and shareholders with an option for early liquidity.
Lexington Partners, the leading global independent manager of secondary private equity funds, has worked with Azini since 2005 and has agreed to provide the majority of the investment for the new fund.
The Azini 3 fund builds on the success of the firm’s first two funds: Azini 1, which was raised in 2007 and Azini 2, which was established in 2010 to acquire a portfolio of investments from Apax Partners. Lexington was a major participant in both funds.
Nick Habgood of Azini Capital disclosed, “Over the past 3 years Azini Capital has sold portfolio companies with more than $1.25 billion of enterprise value. Both Azini 1 and Azini 2 are fully returned and both funds continue to hold investments with significant potential.”
The investment criteria for Azini 3 is similar to that for Azini’s previous funds - to acquire greater than 10% holdings in businesses which have more than $10 million of revenue and have a clear plan for the future.
Michael Bennett of Azini Capital explained: “Once we have acquired an initial shareholding we are then able to invest fresh capital into the company to accelerate its performance and maximize the potential for a successful exit. Access to additional capital from a new investor can be very attractive to management and the remaining shareholders.”
About Azini Capital
Azini Capital is an independent private equity fund management company that specialises in “direct-secondary” transactions - acquiring portfolios of shareholdings in private and public companies from existing and historical investors. Azini Capital liberates value by providing portfolio companies with the additional time and/or fresh capital required to realize maximum value.
For more information visit: www.azini.com or contact Nick Habgood, Managing Partner, Azini Capital Partners LLP, nick.habgood@azini.com 020 3178 3381.
About Lexington Partners
Lexington Partners is a leading global alternative investment manager primarily involved in providing liquidity to owners of private equity and other alternative investments and in making co-investments alongside leading private equity sponsors. Lexington Partners is the largest independent manager of secondary acquisition and co-investment funds with more than $22 billion in committed capital. Since 1990, Lexington has acquired over 2,200 secondary and co-investment interests through 475 transactions with a total value in excess of $30 billion, including $10 billion of syndications. Lexington also invests in private investment funds during their initial formation and has committed to more than 200 new funds in the U.S., Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. Lexington currently employs more than 80 people and has offices strategically located in the major centers for private equity investing – New York, Boston, Menlo Park, London, and Hong Kong. Lexington also has senior advisors located in Asia, Australia, and Latin America.
Additional information may be found at www.lexingtonpartners.com
Understanding direct secondary transactions - a different type of investing
In November’s GS-insight magazine Gillamor Stephens’ Steve Morrison interviews Azini Capital’s founder Nick Habgood about the direct-secondary business model and about his views on building better boards and management teams.
To read the full article click here.
Gillamor Stephens is one of Europe’s leading executive recruitment firms specializing in securing the best “C level” and board level talent for many of Europe’s leading technology and digital companies.
Azini Capital celebrates 10 year anniversary
July 2014 marks the 10 year anniversary of Azini Capital Partners, one of Europe’s leading private equity firms specialising in direct secondary transactions.
Over the 10 year period Azini has raised $300million and has acquired interests in 29 companies across UK, Northern Europe, North America and Israel.
Nick Habgood, a founding Partner commented; “I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved over the past 10 years. When Michael Bennett and I first started Azini we were confident that there was an opportunity for a firm specialising in secondary direct transactions. Not only have we been successful in deploying the funds we’ve raised, but we’ve also had a number of highly rewarding exits having sold portfolio companies with over $1.25 billion of enterprise value. We have provided significant returns for our investors, Lexington Partners and Stepstone. We’ve also built an experienced team around us and having just raised a new $100 million fund, we’ve every reason to look forward to the next 10 years.”
About Azini Capital
Azini Capital is a UK based private equity firm that specialises in acquiring shareholdings in private and small-cap public technology companies from historical investors and shareholders (direct secondary transactions).
Azini acquires significant - greater than 15% - stakes in growth and development stage technology companies with $15m to $100m of revenue. Azini will acquire individual shareholdings, portfolios of shareholdings or even entire funds.
Azini Successfully Completes Regulatory Approvals
Azini Capital Partners LLP (“Azini”) today announces that it has successfully completed a number of new regulatory approvals
Azini has varied its scope of permissions with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in compliance with the Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Regulations 2013, and has been approved as a Small Authorised UK AIFM (Sub-Threshold).
Azini has also been entered in the register of Small Registered UK AIFMs, as an EuVECA manager under the EuVECA Regulations 2013. Introduced as part of the EU action plan to improve access to finance for small and medium companies, EuVECA registration will, for example, allow Azini to market EU qualifying funds to certain EU investors in the form of a "marketing passport".
Azini Capital has been registered as an Exempt Reporting Adviser with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for some time. However Azini is also now able to confirm that it is compliant with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and has registered directly with the IRS of the United States. Azini has been allocated a Global Intermediary Identification Number for each of its Registered Deemed-Compliant Financial Institutions.
Nick Habgood, Managing Partner of Azini Capital commented; “As a firm we have always considered regulatory compliance and money laundering prevention to be a critically important component of our business and as such we continue to invest senior management time and effort to ensure that we keep Azini Capital at the forefront with respect to regulatory changes.”
Azini Sells Mobixell
Azini Capital announces that it has completed the sale of its shareholding in Mobixell Networks to Israeli company Flash Networks.
Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, Mobixell is a leading provider of video optimisation and monetization solutions, serving mobile network operators around the world.
Azini Capital’s shareholding in Mobixell was part of a leading portfolio acquired from Apax Partners in October 2010. Other shareholders included Escalate Capital and Intel Capital.
About Mobixell
Mobixell Networks provides intelligent mobile Internet solutions to mobile operators that optimize data networks and maximize data profitability. Mobixell’s flagship product, Seamless Access, enables mobile operators to intelligently manage, optimize, and monetize the surging mobile data and video traffic while giving subscribers an exceptional user experience. Mobixell has dozens of deployments around the world, including Verizon, Vodafone, Bharti, Orange, XLcom, TIM, and Telefonica. Founded in 2000, Mobixell has offices in the US, UK, and Israel, and presence in Germany, Switzerland, Finland, India, Indonesia, and China.