04 - 09 March 2019
IPAWEEK
KKR completes acquisition of BrightSpring Health for US$ 1.3 bn
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it & BPM i FOOD I HEALTHCARE i TEXTILES i INFRASTRUCTURE i ENGINEERING i tourism
FPL plans to build four new solar power plants in 2019
THE DEFINITIVE SOURCE FOR INVESTMENT PROMOTION EXECUTIVES
Evonik to sell its Methacrylates business to Advent Int. for US$3.4 bn
Grab secures US$1.4 bn investment from SoftBank
Grasim Industries to acquire Soktas India Private Limited
Norway's first Radission Red set to arrive in Oslo
Healthcare
Mondelēz Invest in Uplift Food Start-Up
Almirall agreement to divest ThermiGen business to Celling Biosciences
Food
KKR completes acquisition of BrightSpring Health Services for $1.3 bn
Staybridge Suites expands in Mexico with Saltillo and Villahermosa openings
Tourism
Accenture to acquire Enterprise System Partners
IFC invests in METRO Wholesale Myanmar
ADM and Cargill launching JV focused on farmer profitability
AdoRx Therapeutics collaborate with Johnson & Johnson Innovation
International Vitamin Corporation forms joint venture with GNC
IHG opens Holiday Inn Express Lima San Isidro hotel in Peru
IHG signs first avid hotel in Germany at IHIF 2019
IHG announces first voco™ hotel in the Netherlands
Infrastructure
Ninebot Tech, kick off $2.8 billion electric vehicle project in Changzhou, China
IT-BPM
R&M acquires Optimum Fiberoptics Inc
Total signs agreements for entry into Arctic LNG 2
Grab secures US$1.4 billion investment from SoftBank
Mitsubishi's new plant in Czech Republic to produce Motors and Inverters
Motherson Sumito acquire Bombardier’s UK rolling stock business
Boeing acquires ForeFlight
Daimler AG and BMW to jointly develop technologies for automated driving
Automotive
KnowBe4 to receive investment from KKR
eversign completes acquisition of Docracy
Electronic
Robi and YABX collaborate to finance smartphones in Bangladesh
Evonik to sell its Methacrylates business to Advent Int. for $3.4 bn
OPPO and Ericsson signed patent license agreement
Fortrec acquires Aromatic solvents refinery in Ulsan, Korea
Ravenswood and GDM announce strategic partnership
Chemical
H.B. Fuller establishes adhesives business in Japan
Purafil increases capabilities with R&D Lab Expansion
Textile
Robi, the leading digital service provider in Bangladesh, and YABX, a fintech company incubated by Comviva, have partnered to secure smartphone financing for Robi's customers in that country. At the 2019 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed , Managing Director and CEO of Robi, and Rajat Dayal , Founder and CEO of YABX, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on behalf of their respective company. Less than a year after the launch of the 4.5G service, Robi created Bangladesh's largest 4.5G network . YABX provides financing guarantee technology for emerging market consumers. The company creates customer profiles from tens of thousands of data points by leveraging mobile network information. Customers can then buy their first smartphone. This partnership should therefore make an important contribution to the promotion of a digital lifestyle in the country. In addition, thanks to the state-of-the-art YABX technology for device blocking, financial institutions are able to establish monthly payment plans by letting YABX manage the entire customer journey, acquisition, payments, recoveries, etc. ., through digital channels. Mahtab Uddin Ahmed , general manager and chief executive officer of Robi Axiata Limited, describes the partnership: "The average price of a smartphone, as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) per capita for Bangladesh , is one of highest in the region. It is a major impediment to the breakthrough of the smartphone, which is currently one of the weakest in the region. For us, there is no doubt that this partnership with YABX will eliminate the barrier of high cost of entry; smartphone adoption will be facilitated and inequality in Bangladesh, scaled down. This is one of the goals of sustainable development. In addition, this new achievement will complement Robi's offer in Big Data analytics and fintech initiatives. "
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OPPO a leading global smartphone brand and Ericsson have signed a multi-year global patent license agreement, including collaboration on a number of business projects. Ericsson is one of the leading providers of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the world. The deal with Ericsson is the latest in a series of patent license agreements by OPPO with key telecommunication industry partners including Qualcomm, Dolby and Nokia. Adler Feng, Head of OPPO Intellectual Property Department, said that the agreement will lay a solid foundation for further cooperation between the two companies in the 5G era. "OPPO has always placed intellectual property rights as our top priority. We look forward to working with Ericsson to drive cutting-edge innovation in products and services." Gustav Brismark, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Ericsson, said: "This important deal confirms the value of our patent portfolio and further validates the Ericsson FRAND licensing program. Ericsson has signed more than 100 patent license agreements to date, and we are delighted to sign a mutually beneficial agreement with OPPO." Following a patent-first strategy, OPPO always attaches great importance to the patent and reserve accumulation. As of January 2019, the company has filed more than 33,000 patent applications worldwide and owns more than 8,000 granted patents. OPPO will continue to work closely with leading industry partners to bring the best products and experiences to consumers globally.
Purafil, the leader in gas phase filtration, announced the completion of its recent lab overhaul to increase functionality and expand testing capabilities. "We will now be able to offer comprehensive and developmental testing services as well as media analysis services. We also have rapid prototyping of new media capabilities," explained Bill England, Purafil's R&D Manager. By expanding services, Purafil can now run more tests to innovate new products faster and offer customers more timely and accurate media analyses. Currently, Purafil generates over 20,000 analyses per year. It hopes the new lab will increase analysis capabilities on media for gas and odor removal and adsorption. Purafil doubled the size of the lab, upgraded its upgraded equipment and hired leading experts in air purification. This will allow Purafil to increase product innovation to solve the problems their customers face.
Ravenswood Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of turnkey military training and operational testing instrumentation systems, and GDM Electronic & Medical, LLC, an AS9100 registered contract manufacturing firm servicing the high-tech industry since 1983, announced a strategic partnership that will more directly relate the technology design, manufacture and fielding processes for state-of-the-art instrumentation systems hardware. Ravenswood and GDM have worked together for the last 15 years coupling Ravenswood’s product development and Mobile Ground Truth System (FlexTrain) exercise support with GDM’s quality manufacturing of Ravenswood’s signature product, the GPS and radio-based FREDI-2 tracking device. The result has been a history of unbroken success for the National Guard’s eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) program and various other high-tech military and homeland security evolutions worldwide. The teaming agreement will allow Ravenswood and GDM to approach current and new clients with customized best-in-class products. With the defense industry’s recent focus on the supply chain security, Ravenswood’s choice of US-based manufacturer is a smart move. In a 2018 report to President Donald Trump, the Interagency Task Force in Fulfillment of Executive Order 13806 stated, “The defense manufacturing supply chain flows goods and critical supporting information through multiple organizations of varying size and sophistication to transform raw materials into components, subassemblies, and ultimately finished products and systems that meet DoD performance specifications and requirements. These supply chain operations rely on an infinite number of touch points where digital and physical information flows through multiple networks – both within and across many manufacturers’ systems. In today’s digitized world, every one of these supply chain touch points represents a potential product security risk.” “Working with San Jose-based GDM to innovate and incorporate new technologies, we are able to mitigate risk to our customers and maintain the integrity of our products,” said Ravenswood Production and Training/Testing-as-a-Service Manager, Andrew Power. “Our relationship with GDM has been a long, tried and true association that has ultimately been of significant benefit to our Army National Guard customer,” said Ravenswood CEO, Dan Donoghue. “The formalizing of this partnership with closer engineering and strategic planning ties will be of even greater benefit to a wider range of clients for both of us”.
The BMW Group and Daimler AG are to join forces on automated driving. Initially, the focus will be on advancing the development of next-generation technologies for driver assistance systems, automated driving on highways and parking features (up to SAE Level 4). The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop this technology, which is key for future mobility. The BMW Group and Daimler AG view their partnership as a long-term, strategic cooperation and aim to make next-level technologies widely available by the middle of the coming decade. Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development said: “Autonomous driving is one of the most revolutionary trends for us at the moment, and the entire Daimler Group is working very hard on it. As always at Daimler, our top priority is safety. Instead of individual, stand-alone solutions, we want to develop a reliable overall system that offers noticeable added-value for customers. Working with the right partners, we want to make significant advances in enhancing the performance of this technology and bring it safely on the road.” The planned cooperation offers the BMW Group and Daimler AG a number of obvious advantages: the skills and experience of the individual partners and a scalable architecture will speed up and streamline the development of future technology generations. Besides the synergies, new technologies will be faster to market, with shorter innovation cycles. For both companies, the safety of vehicle occupants and other road users is of the utmost importance and a key reason for making the reliability of systems a key criterion for the collaboration. The two partners continue to pursue their goal of being the pace-setter in development. Joint development work will be carried out via a scalable architecture covering several stages of automation, with Levels 3 and 4 enabling automated driving on highways. In addition, the two partners plan to discuss the possibility of extending their collaboration to cover higher levels of automation, both on highways and in urban areas. These considerations underline the sustainable, long-term nature of the cooperation, which includes the aim to create a scalable platform for automated driving. The development of current-generation technologies and ongoing collaborations of the two companies will remain unaffected and continue as before. Ongoing development of latest-generation technologies and existing collaborations will remain unaffected by the projected cooperation and go ahead as planned. The BMW Group and Daimler AG will also explore additional partnerships with other technology companies and automotive manufacturers that could contribute to the success of the platform.
Boeing completed the acquisition of ForeFlight, a leading provider of innovative mobile and web-based aviation applications. ForeFlight has partnered with Boeing for the past two years to bring aviators Jeppesen's aeronautical data and charts through ForeFlight's popular mobile platforms. Now, the teams will integrate talent and offerings to bring innovative, expanded digital solutions to all segments of the aviation industry. "We are excited to build on ForeFlight's tremendous success in personal, business and defense aviation so we can provide next-generation, integrated tools to our aviation customers today," said Ken Sain, Boeing Vice President of Digital Solutions and Analytics. "This acquisition also expands Boeing's rapidly growing, unparalleled digital services portfolio which will enable us to compete and win in the $2.8 trillion, 10-year services market." The acquisition of ForeFlight aligns with Boeing's growth strategy of complementing organic investments with targeted, strategic investments that position the company for long-term growth. "We are inspired by the future built at Boeing and what our teams will be able to create by coming together," said Tyson Weihs, co-founder and CEO of ForeFlight. "Our companies share a passion for delivering customers the essential tools that drive efficiency, productivity, and safety." Terms of the approved deal are not being disclosed and do not affect Boeing's financial guidance or the company's commitment to returning approximately 100 percent of free cash flow to shareholders. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ForeFlight has approximately 180 employees.
Ninebot Tech Co., Ltd., an innovative, world leading provider of intelligent short-distance transportation and service robot solutions, held the groundbreaking ceremony for its intelligent electric vehicle project in Changzhou National Hi-Tech District (CND) on March 1. On the same day, several other projects scheduled to start operations in 2019 jointly held a "grand opening" ceremony in the district. With an initial investment of 19 billion yuan in the aggregate (approx. US$2.8 billion) followed by planned annual investment of 9 billion yuan (approx. US$1.3 billion), construction of the 35 facilities meant to house the projects was initiated at the same time, signaling a concerted effort on the part of CND to have the production lines associated with 182 key projects at or above the district level ready and working before the end of this year. The 35 projects targeting new and emerging industries include photovoltaic smart energy, carbon fibers, composite materials, electric vehicles, core automotive components, new medicines, medical devices as well as next-generation IT equipment, in addition to high-end services, infrastructure projects, and quality-of-life enhancing products and services. Among them, with total investment reaching 3 billion yuan (approx. US$450 million), the Ninebot intelligent EV project is on track to be capable of churning out one million vehicles annually once completed. In recent years, the district has focused on attracting larger scale projects and has been quite successful at vastly raising the level of investment that has been brought in as a result. In January of this year, the first series of projects, seven in all, backed by an investment of 10.45 billion yuan (approx. US$1.56 billion) were signed, a positive sign for the ability to attract more projects of a similar caliber.
Ninebot Tech, kick off $2.8 bn electric vehicle project in Changzhou, China
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that it would start construction of a new plant on the premises of its subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric Automotive Czech s.r.o (MEAC) in Slaný, Czech Republic. The new factory will enable MEAC to increase its mass production of motor and inverter systems for electric vehicles, such as the company's integrated starter-generator (ISG) systems for 48V hybrid vehicles*, which are expected to see rapid growth in demand, especially in Europe. Aiming to expand the scale of its automotive equipment business, Mitsubishi Electric is developing a range of advanced automotive products by applying its extensive proprietary technologies in the fields of power electronics, vehicle integration control and high-density coil winding for motors.
Mitsubishi Electric's new plant in Czech Republic to produce Motors and Inverters
Evonik to sell its Methacrylates business to Advent for $3.4bn
Evonik has signed an agreement to sell its Methacrylates business to Advent International for €3 billion. The selling price is 8.5 times the business’ EBITDA. The transaction is subject to approval by the authorities in several countries and is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. The Methacrylates business has 18 production sites and 3,900 employees worldwide. From 2016 to 2018, the business generated an average annual EBITDA of about €350 million and sales of about €1.8 billion per year. For 2019 Evonik expects sales and EBITDA at a similar level. The transaction comprises the Methacrylates, Acrylic Products and CyPlus business lines, and some of the methacrylate resins activities. Evonik put these operations on the market as part of its systematic strategy of sharpening its focus on specialty chemicals, which are less cyclical. Private equity company Advent International is one of the most experienced financial investors in the chemical industry in the world, with more than 30 investments over three decades. The net purchase price (equity value) can be calculated after deductions, made up primarily of pension obligations of around €500 million. Evonik will use the sale proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet and, above all, for targeted growth projects. That includes funding the purchase price of the US company PeroxyChem, which Evonik plans to close this year. In addition, some funds will be used to strengthen the present specialty chemicals portfolio, for example, by building a new polyamide 12 plant in Marl, Germany. These businesses generate an attractive margin and an above-average cash flow. Also in 2019 and even without the contribution from the Methacrylates business, Evonik will be able to cover the dividend payment out of its strong free cash flow
H.B. Fuller Company announced that it has established H.B. Fuller Japan G.K.. H.B. Fuller Japan will strengthen its Engineering Adhesive (EA) businesses in Japan by focusing on high-performance adhesives, including reactive adhesive chemistries and applications. H.B. Fuller's EA segment was established in 2016 and currently serves the electronics, transportation, renewable energies, aerospace, general industry and medical markets. This business has grown rapidly to approximately USD $478 million with double-digit annual growth rates, contributing to 19 percent of the company's operating income in 2018. H.B. Fuller Japan G.K. will collaborate closely with the company's joint-venture business, Sekisui Fuller Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Ichiro Arai, Minato-ku, Tokyo), for sales and distribution channels.
Singapore headquartered Fortrec has completed the acquisition of and re-started its refurbished aromatic solvents refinery in Ulsan, Korea. The facility, which has a sixty thousand (60,000) tonne a year capacity for producing aromatic solvents FSol100, FSol150, FSol200 and Washoil, is the culmination of a nine-month acquisition by Fortrec. Fortrec's Ulsan facility will aim to source all its feedstock locally and is targeting to reach full capacity within the coming months, and then to further expand as customer demand grows. The company is exploring opportunities to produce other high value-added petrochemical products as well as their standard stock. Fortrec has been at the forefront the heavy aromatics trading since its inception. Ten years ago, Fortrec made its first investment into the production side of the business by taking a stake in a major Chinese solvent producer. In the past few years, Fortrec has been looking to expand on its asset strategy by strategically acquiring stakes in other production facilities to complement its trading strategy. The acquisition in Ulsan is key step in Fortrec's plans for its further expansion into the production side of the business. Mr Ajay Bhattacharya, Managing Director of the Fortrec Group, is ebullient about the recent acquisition: "Fortrec will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in September and we are really pleased to announce our first facility to produce high grade products for our partners and clients. We continually look at and develop new bio-aromatic products -- and are exploring other investment opportunities in China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Fortrec embraces change and has a five year horizon, so that we can constantly improve our strategy and deliverables so they are relevant to our customers and in step with the environmental changes in our industry."
Fortrec acquires aromatic solvents refinery in Ulsan, Korea
Motherson Sumito acquire Bombardier’s UK rolling stock electrical component business
Motherson Rolling Stock Systems GB Limited (“MRSS”) has signed a definitive agreement with Bombardier Transportation (Rolling Stock) UK Ltd. (“Bombardier”) to acquire Bombardier’s assets in connection with the production and installation of electrical components and systems for applications in the rail industry, comprising among others the manufacturing of wiring harnesses, panel and cabinet build and electromechanical assemblies in Derby, UK. MRSS will enter into a lease agreement for the part of Bombardier’s Derby site currently occupied by the business and will continue to operate the business with its current employees. Through this transaction, MSSL will expand its supply of electricals and wiring systems to Bombardier Transportation, to cover UK rolling stock projects. The transaction includes transfer of assets, employee and inventories, on a debt-free and cash-free basis and is valued at approximately £ 10.87 million (subject to customary adjustments). The revenue of said business was £ 36 million (provisional) during the calendar year ending December 31, 2018. The transaction is subject to customary closing events and expected to be completed between April and June 2019. MSSL, through PKC Group (acquired in March, 2017), is engaged with the manufacturing of wiring harnesses for rolling stock, mainly in Europe and North America. PKC Group entered the rolling stock business by acquiring Kabel – Technik – Polska Sp. z o.o. (“KTP”) in 2015 and executed a global partnership agreement with Bombardier Transportation GmbH in 2016. Now, with the execution of this definitive agreement between MRSS and BTROS, the relationship will expand to the United Kingdom. Mr. V. C. Sehgal, Chairman, MSSL said, “I would like to congratulate the team for enhancing the partnership between PKC and Bombardier under the global partnership agreement, and for continuing to win the confidence of our partners and customers in the rolling stock business.”
The Swiss cabling specialist, R&M, announced the acquisition of Optimum Fiberoptics Inc., a U.S. fiber optic cable and connectivity specialist based in Elkridge, Maryland. Founded in 1997, Optimum is a premium manufacturer and supplier of fiber management products for the commercial, industrial and governmental market. It has developed strong customer relationships in Washington D.C. and the Mid-Atlantic states supported by its quality products and its agility to provide customized solutions within short lead-times. "Optimum is an excellent addition to our current activities based out of our North American Headquarters in the Silicon Valley and will enable us to accelerate our ambitious growth strategy," says Markus Huber, Executive Vice President R&M North America. "We are excited about the new opportunities. Optimum is ideally located to serve our existing customer base on the East Coast as well as to target new customer groups. Furthermore, it will give us excellent access to the fast-growing data center market area in Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia." With its new location on the East Coast, R&M can offer the full range of its products and services nationwide. Further investments will follow over the next 24 months to further strengthen R&M's presence in the North American market. Jay Megan, Co-Founder of Optimum, says: "Over the last 20 years, we have built excellent customer relationships through our in-depth expertise in fiber optic technology and our ability to react quickly on customer needs. We are proud to become part of R&M and are convinced that with the additional resources and technology we can take our business to the next level."
"The construction of four additional solar energy centers is just the latest demonstration of our laser focus on advancing solar energy for all of our customers, while keeping their bills lower than 90 percent of the country," said Eric Silagy, FPL president and CEO. "These solar plants are part of our commitment to installing 30 million more solar panels by 2030 across more than 100 new solar sites, resulting in the creation of thousands of jobs here in our state." New statistics demonstrate the positive impact Florida's solar expansion continues to have on job creation in the state. Florida ranked second in the nation in 2018 in solar employment, behind California, according to a recent report by The Solar Foundation. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity projects solar jobs to grow by more than 60 percent through 2026, compared to statewide job growth of about 10 percent. At peak construction, each FPL solar plant employs about 200 workers. FPL estimates that about 3,000 jobs have been created since 2016 when the company embarked on one of the largest solar expansions in the country. Each of the new FPL solar plants will be capable of generating 74.5 megawatts of power from the sun, for a combined addition of nearly 300 megawatts of new solar capacity – enough to power about 60,000 homes. Built cost-effectively, the new solar plants will bring an additional $26 million in net-savings to FPL customers over the long-term. FPL Okeechobee Solar Energy Center, Okeechobee County The new solar plant will expand FPL's clean energy footprint in Okeechobee County, which will also soon be home to the FPL Okeechobee Clean Energy Center. The natural gas power plant is projected to be the cleanest most fuel-efficient power plant of its kind when it begins serving customers next month. "FPL's investments in clean power generation continue to be a game-changer for our county," said Jeff Sumner, president, Sumner Engineering & Consulting and chairman of the Economic Council of Okeechobee County. "Investments like these provide a vital injection of economic activity to our area and help support our local community for years to come." FPL Hibiscus Solar Energy Center, Palm Beach County The new solar plant will be FPL's largest installation to date in Palm Beach County, where FPL and its parent company, NextEra Energy, are headquartered. "We're fortunate to have a world leader in renewable energy located right here in Palm Beach County," said Kelly Smallridge, president and CEO, Business Development Board of Palm Beach County. "FPL's ability to deliver some of the cleanest and most affordable power in the country is a major competitive advantage that helps us attract businesses to our area." FPL Echo River Solar Energy Center, Suwannee County Visible to thousands of drivers traveling Interstate 10 every day, the new FPL solar plant will be the largest solar installation in Suwannee County to date. "FPL's solar investment is an ideal fit for our community as it supports the growth of clean tech and ecotourism - two industry sectors that provide for a diversified and sustainable regional economy," said Jimmy Norris, director, Suwannee County Economic Development. "And its location will help us advertise that Suwannee County is playing a role in Florida's transition from the Sunshine State to the Solar State." FPL Southfork Solar Energy Center, Manatee County FPL's second solar plant in Manatee County will join the FPL Manatee Solar Energy Center, which was built in 2016 and started the company's unprecedented solar expansion.
Total sign agreements with Novatek
Total announces that it has signed the definitive agreements with Novatek for the acquisition of a direct 10% interest in Arctic LNG 2, a major liquefied natural gas development led by Novatek on the Gydan Peninsula, Russia. Taking into account Total’s 19.4% stake in Novatek and Novatek’s intention to retain 60% of the project, the Group's overall economic interest in this new LNG project will be approximately 21.6%. Should Novatek decide to reduce its participation below 60%, Total will have the possibility to increase its direct share up to 15%. Novatek and Total also agree that Total will have the opportunity to acquire a 10 to 15% direct interest in all Novatek's future LNG projects located on the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas. . “We are delighted to have concluded the definitive agreements for our entry into this new world class LNG project based on the vast Russian gas resources alongside our partner Novatek. Arctic LNG 2 builds on the success of Yamal LNG and will introduce several innovative solutions to further increase competitiveness," commented Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total. “Arctic LNG 2 fits into our strategy of growing our LNG portfolio through competitive developments based on giant low cost resources primarily destined for the fast growing Asian markets.”
KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, announced that it has entered into an agreement to receive a sizable minority investment from leading global investment firm KKR, with participation from Ten Eleven Ventures. The investment, which values the company at over $800 million, comes off the back of an exceptional 2018 for KnowBe4, which reached $120 million of bookings and revenue growth of 110 percent. “KKR is an important strategic partner for KnowBe4 as we continue to grow worldwide and bring new-school security awareness training to new markets,” said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4. “We have had 23 straight quarters of explosive growth and there is no slowing down. All organizations need to invest in the human side of their security defenses and there is no better way to build their capabilities than to continually train and test them on the constantly evolving threats that they will be exposed to.” According to the 2018 Verizon Data Breach Report, phishing and pretexting represent 98 percent of social incidents and 93 percent of breaches. KnowBe4 helps organizations reduce their risk of an attack by educating users to recognize, report and avoid threats. KnowBe4’s market-leading approach to security awareness training and simulated phishing tests is designed to help employees make smarter security decisions. By building a ‘human firewall’ of users, KnowBe4 customers have an added line of defense on top of security technologies that cannot protect organizations by themselves. KnowBe4 continually produces fresh content, combined with simulated phishing tests, to continually educate users about threats such as phishing, malware and social engineering. KnowBe4’s platform is used by more than 23,000 organizations across a variety of industries, including highly regulated fields such as finance, healthcare, energy, government and insurance. “We’ve seen global spending on cyber security solutions grow to $48 billion, yet despite this investment, breaches, and the severity of these breaches, continue to be on the rise – over 90 percent of which involve inadvertent human error. We believe employees represent an organization’s first and last line of defense. That is exactly why we are so excited to be investing in KnowBe4, the leading cyber security solution that goes beyond the infrastructure and prioritizes empowering employees to make smarter security decisions,” said Stephen Shanley, Director at KKR.
eversign, a leading cloud-based platform for electronic signatures and online document signing, announced that it has completed its acquisition of Docracy, an open platform for crowd-sourced legal documents with over 500,000 users. Together, eversign and Docracy believe they can deliver an even better experience to over 100,000 companies and individuals using the eversign platform to legally sign documents online, and provide users of Docracy's platform with an even easier way of signing each of the tens of thousands of crowd-sourced legal documents available on the Docracy platform. "Our goal at eversign is to simplify the signing of documents from start to finish. Through our acquisition of Docracy, we're the first e-signature provider to integrate one of the world's biggest archives of legal document templates right into our core platform," said eversign Co-Founder and CEO Julian Zehetmayr. "Over the past eight years, Docracy has built an impressive archive of legal document templates spanning hundreds of categories – from simple NDAs to rental agreements, investment term sheets and even inheritance contracts. By integrating our two platforms, Docracy's users will be able to immediately place a legal signature on each of the thousands of documents available on Docracy while completely eliminating the need for pen and paper. eversign's customers will benefit from the acquisition by gaining access to Docracy's legal templates directly inside the eversign platform. This allows us to cover the whole document signing process, from document creation to signing and archiving." "What makes this acquisition so exciting is the huge benefit for users on both sides," said Matt Hall, Co-Founder of Docracy. "Initially launched at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2011, Docracy has over the last eight years evolved into one of the most used platforms for crowd-sourced legal documents. Our goal from the beginning was to provide users with a trusted source of legal document templates covering a variety of different use cases and industries.
Grab Holdings Inc., Southeast Asia’s leading super app, announced it has secured US$1.46 billion of fresh funding from the Softbank Vision Fund (“SVF”). This capital injection from SVF brings the total financing secured in Grab’s current Series H round to over US$4.5 billion. Other investors in this round include Toyota Motor Corporation, Oppenheimer Funds, Hyundai Motor Group, Booking Holdings, Microsoft Corporation, Ping An Capital, and Yamaha Motor. Anthony Tan, Grab’s Co-Founder and CEO said, “SoftBank and the Vision Fund are long-standing strategic investors and we are grateful for their continued support. The investment is a clear statement of belief in our vision to grow Southeast Asia’s technology ecosystem as the region’s Number 1 super app. Looking ahead, we aim to continue improving the lives of many millions of Southeast Asians by providing enhanced income opportunities through our platform, and giving our users more choice and convenience.” David Thevenon, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said: “We have been working alongside Grab for a number of years and are privileged to support the evolution of its user-driven technologies. This investment will help the company explore exciting new opportunities across on-demand mobility, delivery and financial services as it continues to grow its offline-to-online platform across Southeast Asia.” Ming Maa, Grab’s President said, “We have been blessed with overwhelming shareholder support in our current fundraising round, with strong interest both in terms of capital invested and the quality of strategic partners seeking to support the continued development of Grab. We continue to receive new investor interest and look forward to welcoming more global industry leaders as partners in 2019.” Grab intends to use the funds to advance its super app vision in Southeast Asia, with the aim of bringing more every day services, greater accessibility and convenience to users. Grab plans to expand its verticals such as financial services, food delivery, parcel delivery, content and digital payments, and roll out new services announced in 2018. Built on Grab’s open platform, GrabPlatform, these services include on-demand video, in partnership with HOOQ; digital healthcare, in partnership with Ping An Good Doctor; insurance, in partnership with ZhongAn International; and hotel bookings, in partnership with Booking Holdings.
AdoRx Therapeutics, a UK based drug discovery company, announced that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC and the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson to develop novel therapeutics for the treatment of lung cancer. Under terms of the agreement, AdoRx has granted an exclusive option to research, develop and commercialise novel antagonists within the AdoRx portfolio, and the groups will collaborate on drug discovery and preclinical development activities. Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed. Commenting, Pete Finan, CEO of AdoRx, said: "We are delighted to be teaming up with Johnson & Johnson and their Lung Cancer Initiative less than two years after the creation of AdoRx. The collaboration will facilitate the progression of AdoRx's fit-for-purpose receptor antagonists into clinical development." AdoRx was founded in 2017 by leading healthcare investor Epidarex Capital. The company announced further investment by Epidarex Capital and Sixth Element Capital which manages the oncology focused CRT Pioneer Fund (CPF) in June 2018.
Almirall S.A. (ALM) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Celling Biosciences, based in Austin (Texas), to divest ThermiGen for an undisclosed amount. In 2018, Thermi generated $18 MM of net sales and had 94 employees, based in Dallas (Texas). Thermi has an installed base of more than 2,000 users with a strong presence across the U.S. Peter Guenter, Chief Executive Officer of Almirall S.A., said: "Almirall continues to refocus its business towards medical dermatology. With this divestment, Almirall completes its strategic realignment and puts Thermi business in very good hands to capture the potential of the new Arvati innovative platform". Kevin Dunworth, Celling Biosciences CEO, explained: "We are excited about the acquisition announced today and the expansion of our portfolio with ThermiGen's leading energy-based technology. Acquiring this technology will allow Celling to combine their unique cellular therapy devices with the existing ThermiGen technology to offer physicians a unique scientific approach to treat their patience".
Accenture has agreed to acquire Enterprise System Partners (ESP), a consulting and manufacturing services provider for the life sciences industry that is headquartered in Cork, Ireland, serving clients around the globe. Upon close, ESP will join Accenture Industry X.0, which helps clients master the digital reinvention of industry, strengthening Accenture’s capabilities to transform manufacturing for pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device clients globally. ESP has long-standing industry experience in planning and implementing manufacturing solutions, with niche expertise in manufacturing execution systems (MES) and serialization. MES digitally track and document the production process, providing the groundwork for more automated and analytics-driven manufacturing and supply chains. Serialization allows life science companies to digitally track each saleable unit from the packaging line all the way to the patient. Ben Salama, a managing director who leads Accenture Industry X.0 in the United Kingdom & Ireland, said, “Digital technologies are fundamentally transforming the factory floor. With ESP’s manufacturing solutions and our Industry X.0 capabilities, we can help clients take advantage of engineering and product lifecycle management, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence for a flexible, efficient, and cost-effective production process.” ESP will be the latest of several acquisitions Accenture has made recently to expand Accenture Industry X.0 in Europe and North America, including embedded software company Pillar Technology (US), hardware engineering firm Mindtribe (US), and strategic design consultancy designaffairs. The acquisition will complement others in life sciences that Accenture has made in recent years. This includes the acquisition of LabAnswer in 2017, now the Accenture Scientific Informatics Services (ASIS) business, which helps capture, manage, and analyze complex laboratory and scientific data. Anne Marie O’Halloran, a managing director and lead of Accenture’s Life Sciences Industry X.0 group, said, “New digital technologies and scientific advances are combining and changing how therapies can be developed and delivered to patients. There is significant opportunity for us to help clients drive greater efficiencies in how they manufacture essential medicines for patients around the world with the combination of ESP’s and our life sciences expertise.” Founded in 2003, ESP will bring a team of 200 professionals with deep manufacturing, process and IT knowledge, who will work closely with Accenture’s Life Sciences group. It currently services 17 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical and biotech companies from offices in Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Turkey and the United States.
Global investment firm KKR and BrightSpring Health Services, one of the largest home and community-based health services providers, announced that KKR has closed on its acquisition of BrightSpring. As part of this transaction, BrightSpring has merged with PharMerica Corporation to now become a leading provider of both home and community-based health and pharmacy services for high-need and medically complex populations. The strategic combination of BrightSpring and PharMerica creates a uniquely positioned, diversified health care platform with comprehensive care capabilities across clinical, pharmacy, and non-clinical support services in multiple care settings. Upon close, the combined company will serve over 300,000 clients daily in 47 states, Puerto Rico and Canada with combined revenue of approximately $4.5 billion. “Combining BrightSpring and PharMerica brings together two well-respected, high quality and innovative leaders within their markets. Together, we will have unmatched capabilities to drive improved outcomes and reduced costs through integrated service and care models for all of the people and stakeholders we serve. Through the combination of our community-based health services and pharmacy capabilities, our complementary offerings will have valuable benefits to our clients, patients and customers and provide new opportunities together,” said Jon Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of BrightSpring and Chief Executive Officer of PharMerica. With the combined enterprise led by Rousseau as CEO, Bob Dries has been named the President of PharMerica as part of the combination. “Greater independence, improved health outcomes and reduced hospitalizations all depend on three things to be present – non-clinical support services, daily medication optimization and clinical monitoring and interventions when required, which is what we are focused on providing to deliver value as a combined company,” said Dries. “With PharMerica, we provide industry leading medication availability, cost containment results, and clinical, regulatory and education support for our customers and their residents and patients – through our proprietary programs and systems,” he added.
International Vitamin Corporation (IVC), a world leading nutritional supplement manufacturer announced that it has formed a joint venture with GNC Holdings, Inc., a leading global health and wellness brand, to integrate GNC's Nutra manufacturing division into IVC's operations. Nutra will be known as Nutra Manufacturing, LLC. Under the joint venture agreement, IVC will assume control of manufacturing and integrate into GNC's supply chain, while GNC teams will continue to support product development and innovation. Under the terms of the agreement, GNC will receive $101 million from IVC in exchange for an initial majority ownership in the joint venture. Over the next four years, GNC will receive an additional $75 million from IVC as IVC's ownership of the joint venture increases to 100% and Nutra Manufacturing, LLC becomes wholly owned by IVC. "Core to our mission is to operate the most technologically advanced and efficient manufacturing platform because the innovation, quality, and cost structure payoffs are so meaningful. When combined with IVC's vertically integrated supply chain, the result is operational excellence that is difficult to compete with." Steven Dai, IVC President & CEO. Dai adds, "This venture demonstrates the value of our differentiated manufacturing platform. GNC, one of the most trusted and innovative supplement brands in the world will now have the ability to devote even greater resources to new product development and brand expansion, while IVC's manufacturing expertise will deliver unmatched quality at the most competitive costs." Ken Martindale, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GNC commented, "This partnership with IVC will provide us a level of efficiency we could not have achieved on our own while allowing our team to continue focusing on delivering high quality, innovative products to our customers," Martindale said. "IVC has capacity to scale up, giving us room for future growth and supporting our global expansion plans without the need for significant future capital investment."
Grasim Industries Limited (“Grasim”) signed a definitive agreement, to acquire 100% equity shareholding of Soktas India Private Limited (“SIPL”), from its current promoters, for an enterprise value of INR 165 crores, subject to net debt and working capital adjustments, as of the closing date. The transaction will be funded by the company primarily out of internal accruals. SIPL will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Grasim upon completion of the transaction. SIPL is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of SÖKTAS Tekstil Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., world renowned producer and marketer of fabrics, with its main facilities in Soke, Turkey. Today, SIPL is in the business of manufacturing and the distribution of premium cotton fabrics. Its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is located at Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Its plant capacity is about 10 million metres per annum of finished fabric. SIPL sells premium fabrics in India under the “SÖKTAS”, “Giza House” and “Excellence by SÖKTAS” brands. The company is also a preferred supplier to leading Indian and Global menswear brands. In Fiscal March 2018, SIPL reported revenue and EBITDA of INR 186 crores and INR 31 crores respectively. Says Thomas Varghese, Business Head – Textiles, Aditya Birla Group, “The acquisition is in line with Grasim’s Linen business strategy to strengthen its presence in the premium fabric market. Increasing disposable income, fashion and quality orientation of Indian consumers has resulted in an increase in the demand for premium fabric over the years. This acquisition is a compelling strategic fit, and further strengthens our leadership in the premium cotton and linen fabric market in India.” Says Muharrem Kayhan, Chairman, SÖKTAS Tekstil Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. “We have no doubt that SIPL will continue to grow under the leadership of Grasim. We look forward to the ongoing success of our brands in the subcontinent and beyond.”
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, announces the opening of the newly-built 175-room Holiday Inn Express Lima San Isidro hotel located in the heart of Peru’s bustling capital city. Located at Calle Coronel Andres Reyes No. 492 in the vibrant San Isidro neighborhood, travelers can enjoy the hotel’s proximity to the Jockey Plaza shopping mall, the Huaca Pucllana ancient archaeological site in nearby Miraflores district, and top restaurants and shopping areas surrounding the hotel. Holiday Inn Express Lima San Isidro is less than 10 minutes away from renowned international companies and one of the city’s most important business districts. Gerardo Murray, Regional Vice President Marketing, Commercial and Revenue Strategy, Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean, IHG, said: "We are thrilled to bring the fresh and modern Holiday Inn Express brand to the remarkable city of Lima. An ideal hotel for travelers who appreciate good value, the Holiday Inn Express Lima San Isidro is a smart and comfortable option for those wanting to enjoy one of South America’s greatest historical and gastronomical capitals.” As Peru continues to grow, IHG, which currently has two properties in the capital city – Crowne Plaza®Lima hotel and Holiday Inn® Lima Airport hotel – will have a greater presence in the area with six hotels that will be opening across Peru over the next few years. Owned by Corporación Hotelera Lima S.A.C. and managed by Grupo Agrisal, Division Hotelera, Holiday Inn Express Lima San Isidro is franchised by an affiliate of IHG. The hotel is part of IHG’s diverse family of brands in nearly 100 countries and territories.
Radisson Hospitality AB, publicly listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Sweden, and part of Radisson Hotel Group, is delighted to announce the signing of the Radisson RED Okern Oslo, which will be the first-ever Radisson RED hotel to arrive in Norway. This vibrant and unique hotel concept is set to open its doors in 2021 in one of the most forward-thinking buildings in Oslo. Elie Younes, Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer, Radisson Hotel Group, said: "We’re thrilled to bring the first Radisson RED to Norway and offer our guests this bold, playful brand in such an up-and-coming area of Oslo. It’s hugely exciting to be part of this highly innovative project – the perfect fit for Radisson RED.” In 2021, Oslo’s most future-oriented building, ‘Økern Portal’, will be complete. This 81,000sqm business building will offer everything from flexible office premises to hotel, restaurant, and cultural experiences. The property is being built in partnership with the real estate owner, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS, and Norlandia Hotel Group. The Radisson RED Okern Oslo is part of the construction – featuring 224 spacious and bright rooms and suites, several meeting rooms, a restaurant and a rooftop bar that will offer unparalleled views of Norway’s capital. The rooftop of the hotel will be the crown jewel of the city, offering 360-degree views over Oslo and a rooftop garden. The terrace will be inspired by European cities; another feature that means guests can look forward to world-class and truly unique experiences at the hotel. Morten A. Kahrs, CEO of Norlandia Hotel Group, the owner, comments: “It’s with great pleasure and excitement that we’ve signed the agreement to bring Radisson RED to Oslo with this fantastic hotel. The property will provide guests with untraditional experiences and be built with truly innovative and sustainable solutions as key features.”
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the leading hotel companies worldwide, further strengthens its presence in Mexico with the most recent Staybridge Suites hotel openings in Villahermosa, Tabasco and Saltillo, Coahuila. Gerardo Murray, Regional Vice President Marketing, Commercial and Revenue Strategy Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean IHG, said: “We are very excited with the strong and accelerated growth that Staybridge Suites, one of our extended-stay brands, is having in Mexico. Staybridge Suites properties can be found in major destinations in the country; now, with the recent openings in Saltillo and Villahermosa, we are pleased to bring this attractive, high-category lodging alternative to travelers on business or leisure." The Staybridge Suites Saltillo hotel has 121 suites in different sizes and with different features distributed on eight floors. It is strategically located on Blvd. Corporativo 177 inside the Parque Centro, a mixed-use commercial development featuring offices, restaurants, and residences. Less than 5 miles away are the major shopping and entertainment areas, including Galleries Saltillo, Cathedral of Saltillo, the CANACINTRA Convention Center, Museum of the Birds of Mexico and the Desert Museum. The Staybridge Suites Saltillo hotel is operated by Grupo Presidente. The Staybridge Suites® Villahermosa hotel is located 5 minutes away from Carlos Rovirosa Perez International Airport, in the beautiful eastern state of Tabasco on Paseo Usumacinta 1504 within the Tabasco 2000 area. The 77 contemporary-designed suites deliver everything guests need to be comfortable while on the road, and the hotel has meeting space for up to 70 people. Staybridge Suites Villahermosa is owned and managed by Alta Hotelería, S.A. de C.V. and franchised by an affiliate of IHG.
The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, and UBM Development AG, announced the signing of the first voco™ hotel in the Netherlands which is planned to open in 2020. This signing is the first publicly announced signing in Continental Europe underscoring the strong momentum of the voco brand in the region since its launch in June 2018. voco - Kneuterdijk 8 will be set in a beautiful building located in the city centre of The Hague that formerly housed a bank. The hotel will be in close proximity to the town’s famous sights, several museums, parks and the shopping mile. Launched in June 2018, voco — inspired by the meaning ‘to invite’ or to ‘come together’ in Latin — combines the informality and charm of an individual hotel with the quality and reassurance of a global and respected brand. The signing of voco The Hague – Kneuterdijk 8 follows the recent openings of the first three voco hotels in the world — voco Gold Coast in Australia, voco Cardiff and voco Solihull in the UK – and continuing the strong momentum for IHG’s newest upscale brand in Europe. With a listed façade dating from the 1920s and an expansive atrium, the property is quite an impressive sight to behold – naturally, all historic features will be retained and very carefully renovated. Inside, the hotel will be no less awe-inspiring – containing more than 200 exquisite rooms and suites. The new voco The Hague combines a very laid-back comfort, a relaxed approach and individual hospitality – which will be evident in both the culinary offerings of the hotel, and in every aspect of the Kneuterdijk 8 location. It will have direct access to the pedestrian area of Noordeinde welcoming tourists and locals alike. After its completion in 2020, the new hotel will serve as an exceptional meeting point for all, becoming a centre for travellers as well as a very accessible gastronomic and life-style hotspot.
IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, and Germany-based Sirius Hospitality Holding GmbH announce the signing of the first avid™ hotel in Germany which is due to open at Frankfurt Airport. Representatives of both companies closed the deal at the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, Europe’s leading hotel investment conference. The avid hotels brand was thoughtfully designed for travellers who want a hotel experience that meets their expectations for the type of hospitality they value most – the basics done exceptionally well at a fair price. The first avid hotel signed in Germany will be strategically located at Frankfurt Airport, the fourth-largest international airport in Europe and number 14 worldwide. The hotel will be a five-story, new-build hotel with 215 guest rooms and underground parking. Construction is planned to start later this year and the hotel is expected to open in 2021. Germany is one of five priority markets for IHG after a strong growth momentum since 2015, with 132 hotels already open or in the development pipeline. IHG is now seeking to build further on this hotel growth momentum with the ambition for avid hotels to become one of their biggest brands in Germany. The first important step in realising this ambition was the signing of a Multiple Development Agreement (MDA) with existing partner GS Star GmbH (GS Star) at EXPO Real in Munich last October, committing to bring 15 avid hotels to the German market. In Sirius Hospitality Holding GmbH, IHG now has a second partner who believes in the unique offer of the new mainstream brand and is committed to bring the avid hotels brand to market. Mario Maxeiner, Managing Director Northern Europe, at IHG said: “The first signing in Germany for our new high-quality mainstream brand demonstrates further momentum for avid hotels. New hotel signings continue to exceed expectations, with more than 170 signings across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and now Germany. In Germany, we believe that the brand has the potential to be an important mainstream growth vehicle – with both compelling consumer demand and owner interest. We are delighted to develop our first avid hotels property in the market with Sirius Hospitality Holding – a partner with whom we have successfully built properties in the past.”
ADM and Cargill forms JV focused on farmer profitability
Archer Daniels Midland Company and Cargill have successfully completed their transaction, formally launching Grainbridge, LLC. The joint venture will develop digital tools to help North American farmers consolidate information on production economics and grain marketing activities into a single digital platform, at no cost to them. With the transaction complete, the joint venture will begin developing a suite of digital solutions, including tools that provide grain marketing decision support, e-commerce and account management software. “We’re thrilled to launch GrainBridge, and begin the roll out of our technological solutions for farmers this summer,” said Mark Frank, CEO, GrainBridge. “Since we announced this venture last fall, we’ve been talking to farmers across the country, and it’s clear that the people who grow our food are themselves hungry for technological solutions to help increase their efficiency and profitability.” Headquartered in Omaha, Neb., Grainbridge, LLC welcomes other grain companies, grain buyers, technology and data providers to participate in the platform. This open approach will enhance the information available to farmers, giving them a complete, seamless 360-degree view of their business without having to consolidate these information sources on their own.
Mondelēz International announced that it has taken a minority investment in Uplift Food, a US-based early-stage start-up focusing on prebiotic functional foods. This is the first venture investment the company is making as part of SnackFutures, the company’s innovation and venture hub aimed at unlocking snacking growth opportunities around the world. A key pillar of the company’s consumer-centric growth strategy, SnackFutures is designed as an independent hub that brings three core tenets of growth under one umbrella to accelerate innovation: invention of new brands and businesses; reinvention of small-scale brands with large-scale potential, and venture investments with start-up entrepreneurs. “As the global snacking leader, we’re on a clear mission to lead the future of snacking by providing the right snack, for the right moment, made the right way,” said Tim Cofer, Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer of Mondelēz International. “Together with Uplift Food, we have a unique opportunity to disrupt the functional food category by delivering ‘snackable’ products focusing on gut health – something that does not exist today.” Functional snacking is a strategic area for SnackFutures as consumers are increasingly looking for their snacks to deliver benefits but options are currently limited. The SnackFutures team will work with Uplift Food to make gut health more understandable, accessible, and enjoyable through new forms and flavors. Beyond the financial investment, SnackFutures will also provide strategic support in areas like marketing, distribution, R&D and sourcing. “Partnering with SnackFutures will undeniably strengthen Uplift Food’s capacity to live our mission of seeing everyone benefit from the consumption of gut healthy foods. The SnackFutures team provides the industry experience needed to make our dream a reality, and the continued support they show us to hold onto our nutritional and ingredient integrity allows us to remain true to our core values and grow,” said Kara Landau, Dietitian and Founder Uplift Food.
Mondelēz invest in Uplift Food start-up
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $20million financing to METRO Wholesale Myanmar Limited to help create jobs, raise food safety standards, and benefit the country’s food suppliers, buyers, and consumers. METRO Wholesale Myanmar offers a one-stop wholesale food service distribution for hotels, restaurants, catering firms, independent small retailers, and offices. It is a joint venture partnership between METRO AG, a leading global specialist in wholesale food and Yoma Strategic Holdings Limited, a publicly listed business corporation in Singapore with a diversified portfolio of businesses in real estate, consumer, and financial services in Myanmar. Progress in the agricultural sector was directly responsible for at least 46% of the reduction in poverty between 2005-2015 in Myanmar. With IFC’s investment, METRO Wholesale Myanmar will drive up agricultural incomes and help reduce poverty as well as improve the quality and availability of local produce, benefiting buyers and end consumers. It will help METRO Wholesale Myanmar source majority of its produce from local farmers and companies, raising food safety standards and creating more than 300 jobs for both women and men and significant indirect employment in food processing and logistic services. Jens Michel, CEO of METRO Wholesale Myanmar, shared “With IFC’s support, we are able to initiate our operation more efficiently after building a state of the art warehouse and distribution center in Yangon’s Thilawa Special Economic Zone. This platform stores, processes, and distributes raw and fresh food products along with non-food and fast moving consumer goods. In addition, it benefits from a modern value added service area, the first of its kind in Myanmar, which undertakes rigorous quality checks and tailor made solutions allowing customers to order online virtually for doorstep deliveries.” “IFC’s investment in METRO Wholesale Myanmar is another affirmation of our commitment to improve the quality of agricultural produce in Myanmar. The aim is to ensure the availability of safe, high-quality foods from the farm to fork, increasing the agribusiness sector’s export potential,” said Vikram Kumar, IFC Country Manager for Myanmar and Thailand. He added, “This investment has already contributed to promoting inclusive growth as it is benefitting farmers and will eventually benefiting small and medium enterprises, and service providers along the value chain, thereby creating more jobs.” METRO Wholesale Myanmar is one of the first companies in the sector to adopt energy efficient building standards. The company’s warehouse in Thilawa is compliant with IFC’s EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) standards by incorporating cost-effective green building features into its design.
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