Oakley Capital invests in vitroconnect

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

14 May 2024

 

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 Capital^3.

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."

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For further information please contact:

Oakley Capital Limited

[phone]

Steven Tredget

Greenbrook Communications Limited

[phone]

Rob White / Michael Russell

Deutsche Numis (Financial Adviser & Broker)

[phone]

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.

 

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