14 May 2024
Oakley
Capital Investments Limited
Oakley
Capital Investments Limited1 ("OCI") is pleased to
announce that Oakley Capital Origin II2 ("Origin II")
has agreed to acquire vitroconnect, a
leading broadband open access platform business in Germany. This
will be the first platform investment made by Origin II.
OCI's indirect contribution to Origin II is
anticipated to be up to £19 million, which
relates to OCI's share of Oakley's investment in
vitroconnect.
Further details on the transaction can be found in
the below announcement from Oakley Capital3.
Oakley Capital invests in
German broadband open access platform
vitroconnect
Oakley Capital, the leading
pan-European, mid-market private equity investor, is pleased to
announce that Oakley Capital Origin II has agreed its first
investment, acquiring a majority stake in vitroconnect, one of the
leading broadband open access platforms in Germany. Oakley is
investing alongside founder and CEO Dirk Pasternack and his
management team who will continue to run the business.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval
and is expected to complete around the end of H1 2024.
Based in Gütersloh, Germany,
vitroconnect connects broadband providers with resellers through a
proprietary, single interface software platform. The company works
with most of Germany's leading telco players, offering process
automation, network operations, brokerage and white-label services
through its Carrier Aggregation Platform ('CAP').
vitroconnect's CAP-enabled
intermediation services help customers utilise broadband networks
more efficiently and reduce transaction costs significantly for all
parties involved. This unique offering has allowed the company to
steadily expand its customer base of network operators and
resellers, with minimal customer churn, strong net retention and a
high share of recurring revenues contributing to consistent and
profitable double-digit growth over the last three
years.
As a key enabler of wholesale
activities in the highly fragmented and technologically
heterogeneous German broadband marketplace, vitroconnect is poised
to benefit from the significant proliferation of fibre to the home
('FTTH') technology as Germany catches up with European
peers.
Germany currently has one of the
lowest rates of homes connected to fibre broadband. This is
attracting significant investment in fibre technology which will
underpin future market growth with the number of connected homes
expected to grow from three million today to 29 million by 2029 and
39 million by 2035.
Oakley's investment in vitroconnect
further adds to a long track record of partnering with high growth
and profitable founder-led businesses. Relevant Oakley deals in
adjacent sectors span across software businesses including WebPros,
Horizons Optical and Alerce.
Oakley Capital co-founder and Managing Partner Peter Dubens
said: "vitroconnect is set to
benefit from the transformational change underway in Germany's
broadband market as the country pivots to fibre technology. The
company has established a market leading position thanks to its
customer focus, strong technical capabilities and excellent
management. Oakley looks forward to working with Dirk and his team,
combining vitroconnect's core strengths with our own sector
capabilities to help further accelerate its growth."
vitroconnect founder and CEO Dirk Pasternack
said: "We
were attracted to Oakley's strong track record in the software and
telco space, in particular its proven ability to guide companies
through inflection points. We look forward to partnering with
Oakley as we embark on the next stage of vitroconnect's growth
plan."
- ends
-
For further information please
contact:
Oakley Capital Limited
+44 20 7766 6900
Steven Tredget
Greenbrook Communications
Limited
+44 20 7952 2000
Rob White / Michael
Russell
Deutsche Numis (Financial Adviser
& Broker)
+44 20 7260 1000
Nathan Brown / Matt Goss
Notes:
LEI Number:
213800KW6MZUK12CQ815
1 About Oakley
Capital Investments Limited ("OCI")
OCI is a Specialist Fund Segment ("SFS") traded investment vehicle that aims to provide
shareholders with consistent long-term capital growth in excess of
the FTSE All-Share Index by providing liquid access to private
equity returns through investment in the Oakley Funds.
A video introduction to OCI is
available at https://oakleycapitalinvestments.com/videos/
The contents of the OCI website are
not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this
announcement.
2 The Oakley
Funds
Oakley Capital Private Equity II,
Oakley Capital Private Equity III, Oakley Capital IV, Oakley
Capital V, Oakley Capital Origin and Oakley Capital Origin II are
unlisted lower-mid to mid-market private equity funds that aim to
provide investors with significant long-term capital appreciation.
The investment strategy of the Funds is to focus on buy-out
opportunities in industries with the potential for growth,
consolidation and performance improvement. The Oakley family of
funds also includes Oakley PROfounders Fund III and Oakley Touring
Venture Fund, which are venture capital funds focused on investments in entrepreneur-led, disruptive,
technology led companies.
3 Oakley Capital, the
Investment Adviser
Founded in 2002, Oakley Capital
Limited has demonstrated the repeated ability to source attractive
growth assets at attractive prices. To do this it relies on its
sector and regional expertise, its ability to tackle transaction
complexity and its deal generating entrepreneur network.
Important information
Specialist Fund Segment securities
are not admitted to the Official List of the Financial Conduct
Authority. Therefore, the Company has not been required to satisfy
the eligibility criteria for admission to listing on the Official
List and is not required to comply with the Financial Conduct
Authority's Listing Rules.
The Specialist Fund Segment is
intended for institutional, professional, professionally advised
and knowledgeable investors who understand, or who have been
advised of, the potential risk from investing in companies admitted
to the Specialist Fund Segment.
This announcement may include
"forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements are
statements regarding the Company's objectives, intentions, beliefs
or current expectations with respect to, amongst other things, the
Company's financial position, business strategy, results of
operations, liquidity, prospects and growth. Forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties because they
relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not
occur in the future. Accordingly the Company's actual future
financial results, operational performance and achievements may
differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the
statements. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors are
cautioned not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking
statements, which speak only as at the date of this announcement.
The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to
reflect actual results or any change in the Company's expectations
with regard to them or any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statements are based unless
required to do so by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000,
the Listing Rules or Prospectus Regulation Rules of the Financial
Conduct Authority or other applicable laws, regulations or
rules.