William Blair served as the exclusive financial advisor to VelocityEHS, a portfolio company of CVC Growth Funds (CVC), in connection with the pending sale of a significant minority stake to Partners Group (Partners). Following the transaction, which signed on August 10 and has since been publicly announced, CVC will retain majority ownership in VelocityEHS alongside Partners.
About the Companies
VelocityEHS is relied on by more than 10 million users worldwide to drive operational excellence and achieve outstanding outcomes, and the company is the global leader in true SaaS enterprise EHS and ESG technology. The VelocityEHS Accelerate® Platform is the definitive gold-standard for ESG, delivering best-in-class capabilities for materiality assessments, safety, industrial ergonomics, control of work, health, operational risk, and environmental compliance. The VelocityEHS team includes unparalleled industry expertise, with more certified experts in health, safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, sustainability, the environment, AI, and machine learning than any EHS software provider. Recognized by the EHS industry’s top independent analysts as a Leader in the Verdantix 2022 Carbon Management and 2021 EHS Green Quadrant Analyses, VelocityEHS is committed to industry thought leadership and to accelerating the pace of innovation through its software solutions and vision. Its privacy and security protocols, which include SOC2 Type II attestation, are among the most stringent in the industry. VelocityEHS is based in Chicago, Illinois, with locations in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Tampa, Florida; Oakville, Ontario; London, England; Perth, Western Australia; and Cork, Ireland.
CVC is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm with a network of 25 offices throughout Europe, Asia, and the U.S., with approximately €125 billion of assets under management. Since its founding in 1981, CVC has secured commitments in excess of €163 billion from some of the world’s leading institutional investors across its private equity and credit strategies. Funds managed or advised by CVC are invested in over 100 companies worldwide, which have combined annual sales of approximately €100 billion and employ more than 550,000 people. CVC Growth was launched in 2014 and is the growth-oriented middle-market technology investment arm of CVC Capital Partners. CVC Growth primarily targets equity investments between $50 million and $250 million in North America and Europe and manages over US$3 billion in assets across two dedicated funds.
Partners is a leading global private markets firm. Since 1996, the firm has invested US$185 billion in private equity, private real estate, private debt, and private infrastructure on behalf of its clients globally. Partners seeks to generate strong returns through capitalizing on thematic growth trends and transforming attractive businesses and assets into market leaders. The firm is a committed, responsible investor and aims to create sustainable returns with lasting, positive impact for all its stakeholders. With US$131 billion in assets under management as of 30 June 2022, Partners Group provides an innovative range of bespoke client solutions to institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and private individuals globally. The firm employs more than 1,600 diverse professionals across 20 offices worldwide and has regional headquarters in Baar-Zug, Switzerland; Denver, USA; and Singapore. It has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2006 (symbol: PGHN).
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