TowerBrook proudly announced that it received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. TowerBrook joins the ranks of over 840 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year.

Abrielle Rosenthal, Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer at TowerBrook, said, “Building and supporting a truly diverse and inclusive team is not only the right thing to do, it is better for our business and leads to better decision making. At TowerBrook, we seek to recruit highly talented people from a diverse pool of candidates and foster a working culture where integrity, teamwork, respect for each other and equal opportunity are central and at the core of our firm’s identity. We are thrilled to have received the top score on the CEI and look forward to continuing to be one of the best places to work for LGBTQ+ individuals.”

“When the Human Rights Campaign Foundation created the Corporate Equality Index 20 years ago, we dreamed that LGBTQ+ workers—from the factory floor to corporate headquarters, in big cities and small towns—could have access to the policies and benefits needed to thrive and live life authentically,” said Jay Brown, Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President of Programs, Research and Training. “We are proud that the Corporate Equality Index paved the way to that reality for countless LGBTQ+ workers in America and abroad. But there is still more to do, which is why we are raising the bar yet again to create more equitable workplaces and a better tomorrow for LGBTQ+ workers everywhere. Congratulations to TowerBrook for achieving the title of ‘best places to work for LGBTQ+ equality’ and working to advance inclusion in the workplace.”

The results of the 2022 CEI showcase how 1,271 U.S.-based companies are not only promoting LGBTQ+-friendly workplace policies in the U.S., but also for the 56% of CEI-rated companies with global operations who are helping advance the cause of LGBTQ+ inclusion in workplaces abroad. TowerBrook’s efforts in satisfying all of the CEI’s criteria earned a 100 percent ranking and the designation as one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality.

In 2002, the first year of the CEI, only 13 companies achieved a top-score, demonstrating the incredible impact the CEI has had on the business world over its 20-year life. This year’s CEI reflects growth across every measurement category, from the adoption of inclusive non-discrimination policies, to equitable healthcare benefits for transgender employees.

The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to over 20 million U.S. workers and an additional 18 million abroad. Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.

The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars:
● Non-discrimination policies across business entities;
● Equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families;
● Supporting an inclusive culture; and,
● Corporate social responsibility

The full report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America’s largest civil rights organisation working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. Through its programs, the HRC Foundation seeks to make transformational change in the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ people, shedding light on inequity and deepening the public’s understanding of LGBTQ+ issues, with a clear focus on advancing transgender and racial justice. Its work has transformed the landscape for more than 15 million workers, 11 million students, 1 million clients in the adoption and foster care system and so much more. The HRC Foundation provides direct consultation and technical assistance to institutions and communities, driving the advancement of inclusive policies and practices; it builds the capacity of future leaders and allies through fellowship and training programs; and, with the firm belief that we are stronger working together, it forges partnerships with advocates in the U.S. and around the globe to increase our impact and shape the future of our work.

EPSA, a global player specialised in operational and financial performance has announced today a minority investment from funds advised by TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P. (“TowerBrook”), RAISE Investissement (“RAISE”) and CAPZA Expansion (“CAPZA”).

This strategic investment will help drive EPSA’s long-term growth initiatives, which include accelerating the evolution of service offerings, investing in digital solutions, and strategically expanding via organic growth and targeted bolt-on acquisitions. These initiatives will continue to enhance EPSA’s client service and expand the company’s geographic footprint.

At a time when companies are subject to increasing pressure on supply chains and seeking to take advantage of opportunities for accelerated digitisation, EPSA has positioned itself as a major player in driving business performance – and in helping leading companies and public administrations to navigate the social and environmental challenges that will shape the economy of the future.

Matthieu Gufflet, CEO and Founder of the EPSA said: “We welcome the arrival of TowerBrook as shareholders and look forward to working alongside a partner with transatlantic and international experience, as well as the ambition to make EPSA the leading player for delivering lasting performance and optimisation tools and processes.”

According to Karim Saddi, Managing Director and Co-President of TowerBrook: “EPSA’s world-class offering, the quality of its management team and its strong culture of entrepreneurship have been key factors underpinning the historical growth of the business. TowerBrook is proud to support EPSA on its next phase of growth as it continues to provide high-quality global support and comprehensive, tailor-made solutions to boost the competitiveness of European companies.”

White & Case provided legal advice to the Company and Management. BNP Corporate Finance provided advice to the Company and Management. Ayache provided legal advice to TowerBrook, RAISE Investissement and CAPZA Expansion. Mazars, AT Kearney, Eight Advisory and A&M provided additional guidance.

Click here to view the article by Jordan Stutts in PEI’s New Private Markets

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TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P. (“TowerBrook”), an international investment management firm, announced today the completion of the acquisition of ECP-PF Holdings Group, Inc. (“ECP-PF” or “the Company”) from Exaltare Capital Management, a Boston-based private equity firm. ECP-PF, headquartered in Orange, CT, is one of the largest developers and operators of fitness clubs under the Planet Fitness brand (NYSE: PLNT), serving approximately 600,000 members in six U.S. states and three Canadian provinces.

Planet Fitness is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness clubs in North America. As of June 30, 2021, Planet Fitness had more than 14.8 million members and 2,170 clubs in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia. The company’s mission is to enhance people’s lives by providing a high-quality fitness experience in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment, called the Judgement Free Zone.

Jonathan Bilzin, Co-President and Managing Director of TowerBrook, stated, “We are excited to partner with a leading franchisee of Planet Fitness. ECP-PF has a strong track record of growth, and the platform’s mission to provide inclusive, affordable fitness aligns well with TowerBrook’s purpose driven value creation focus and Responsible Ownership. The business is well-positioned to continue to expand that mandate to meet the growing demand for new high value, low price fitness clubs across North America.”

David Humphrey, Chief Executive Officer of ECP-PF, added, “This transaction and partnership with TowerBrook will allow ECP-PF to accelerate our development and acquisition of new club locations, further expand our geographic footprint, and continue to refine our operations. TowerBrook is an ideal partner to help drive ECP-PF through its next phase of growth.”

As part of the transaction, Omar Simmons, Founder and former Executive Chairman of ECP-PF and Managing Director of Exaltare Capital Management, will retain a stake in the business and stay on the Board of Directors.

Mr. Simmons stated, “I am extremely proud of the business we have built over the last nine years and am excited to stay involved, as both an investor and Board member. I believe adding TowerBrook as a partner is a pivotal next step in our evolution as ECP-PF continues to grow its platform and fulfill and extend its mission: to serve people of all fitness levels in an affordable, inclusive, and welcoming environment.”

“We are looking forward to working with David and Omar to continue growing the platform.” stated Michael Recht, Managing Director at TowerBrook. “ECP-PF has established an effective model for growth through organic club development and M&A that will facilitate continued expansion with the additional resources and operational expertise that TowerBrook will provide.”

Brightwood Capital Advisors provided the financing for the transaction. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Exaltare Capital Management was advised by Sperry Mitchell and DLA Piper. TowerBrook was advised by Goodwin Procter LLP, Lathrop GPM and Fifth Third Securities.

Leading global general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs) today announced the creation of the ESG Data Convergence Project to advance an initial standardized set of ESG metrics and mechanism for comparative reporting.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) led the collaboration which includes GPs and LPs representing more than $4 trillion in AUM. The group includes LPs: AlpInvest Partners, APG, CalPERS, CPP Investments, Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island, PGGM, PSP Investments, The Pictet Group, Wellcome Trust; and GPs: Blackstone, Bridgepoint Group Plc, Carlyle, CVC, EQT AB, Permira, and TowerBrook Capital Partners LP.

The group’s objective is to streamline the private equity industry’s historically fragmented approach to collecting and reporting ESG data in order to create a critical mass of material, performance-based, comparable ESG data from portfolio companies. This will allow GPs and portfolio companies to benchmark their current position and accelerate progress toward ESG improvements, which the group believes drives better financial outcomes. This will also enable greater transparency and provide more comparable portfolio information for LPs.

GPs will track and report six metrics from their underlying portfolio companies, beginning with calendar year 2021. The data will be shared directly with invested LPs by GPs and aggregated into an anonymized benchmark by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for this first cycle. The initial six metrics are: Scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, board diversity, work-related injuries, net new hires, and employee engagement.

The group plans to meet annually to assess the prior year’s data, and to refine and build on these initial metrics, prioritizing materiality. This collaboration is intended to be a long-term mechanism to increase the quality, availability, and comparability of ESG data in private markets.

Marcie Frost, CalPERS CEO, said, “Sustainability is a cornerstone of the CalPERS investment program. And yet, we have found it challenging to effectively measure impact in our private equity portfolio because of the multitude of frameworks and definitions used by GPs and LPs. This initiative simplifies sustainability reporting by using comparable metrics which allow us to gain insight into the investment risks and opportunities in our private markets portfolio. Managing these risks and opportunities is essential to fulfilling our fiduciary duty to provide retirement security to our 2 million members. Collaboration between the GP and LP community is the foundation, and we look forward to building out this important work.”

Peter Branner, Chief Investment Officer at APG Asset Management, said, “On behalf of clients, APG has long been driving ESG transparency in private equity as a way to secure accountability for responsible investment performance in the asset class. Through this collaboration, we expect to push towards comparable ESG performance measurement and wider adoption of ESG as an integrated objective of PE investments. APG will use the metrics in its engagement with managers. While APG’s ambition goes beyond the six metrics identified by the ESG Data Convergence Project, we are excited by the momentum generated, with data collection by PE managers already underway.“

Eric-Jan Vink, Head of Private Equity at PGGM, said, “Since 2020, PGGM has actively collected portfolio company GHG emissions data, enabling us to report Scope 1 emissions data on 27% of the companies in our private equity portfolio. By supporting the ESG Data Convergence Project, we are committed to achieving full ESG transparency. The current set of six metrics is a great starting point, and we expect more as the field develops. In Europe, we see that additional ESG disclosures are required under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation already. PGGM, as a member of the ESG Metrics Steering Group, will play a role in driving the private equity market towards making more and better ESG disclosures.”

Steve Nelson, ILPA CEO, said, “ESG has become a core consideration for many LPs when evaluating private market commitments both because of the need to align organizational priorities and from an investment resiliency and return perspective, but to date LPs have lacked a standard set of metrics for assessing their ESG objectives. ILPA believes such convergence is a necessary ingredient for industry-wide progress and supports initiatives aimed at streamlining existing frameworks that are fit-for-purpose and flexible enough to adapt as the market and investor needs evolve. In service of these objectives, we are proud to include these resources as a part of our ESG Roadmap, which is comprised of a variety of helpful ESG-related resources for the private equity industry.”

The partnership is open to any GPs and LPs that wish to join and agree to support the principles of the work. The effort encourages private equity industry stakeholders to work together to gather better, decision-useful ESG data in order to generate deeper insight into ESG factors and their relationship to financial outcomes, and, ultimately, to drive greater progress on critical ESG issues.

Kevin’s Natural Foods (“Kevin’s” or “the Company”) today announced a minority equity investment from TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P. (“TowerBrook”), an international investment management firm, and NewRoad Capital Partners. With its new partners, the Company plans to expand production capacity, support continued innovation, and introduce the brand to millions of new customers. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Launched in 2019 and based in Modesto, CA, Kevin’s Natural Foods is a mission-driven company that develops and manufactures a full line of healthy, refrigerated sous vide meat entrées and vegetable sides, and a complementary line of sauces and seasonings. Kevin’s offers a wide array of recipes and flavours across its product line-up, and all offerings contain no refined sugar or artificial ingredients and are certified paleo, keto, and gluten-free. The Company’s sous vide preparation process enables customers to cook restaurant quality, healthy meals in minutes, allowing the busiest people to eat clean without sacrificing flavour.

Kevin McCray, Co-Founder and COO of Kevin’s stated, “This is a big milestone for Kevin’s. Not only are we expanding our capacity for growth, but we are also augmenting our team with knowledgeable, experienced professionals that share our passion around improving people’s lives by making clean eating accessible, easy and delicious.”

“Kevin’s differentiated product offering has allowed the company to build substantial commercial momentum and consumer loyalty,” said Michael Recht, Managing Director at TowerBrook. “We are looking forward to partnering with Kevin’s dynamic leadership team in the next phase of the company’s growth.”

Kevin’s products can be found in over 11,000 traditional grocery, natural, specialty, club and mass stores, as well as direct-to-consumer platforms like Thrive Market and Amazon. Kevin’s is a category-leader in the home meal replacement set and offers a healthy, delicious and better-for-you alternative to traditional incumbent brands.

Kevin’s was advised by Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. TowerBrook was advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP. NewRoad Capital Partners was advised by Hogan Lovells US LLP.

Throughout its long history, EisnerAmper has made bold moves to ensure it has remained a market leader. With that same visionary spirit, the global business advisory firm announces today that TowerBrook Capital Partners (“TowerBrook”), an international investment management firm, has made a strategic investment in EisnerAmper.

TowerBrook’s significant capital infusion will help drive EisnerAmper’s long-term growth initiatives, which include accelerating the evolution of service offerings, investing considerably in talent and technology, and strategically expanding via organic growth and targeted mergers and acquisitions—all directed at exponentially enhancing client service.

Going forward, EisnerAmper LLP, a licensed CPA firm, will provide attest services; and Eisner Advisory Group LLC, will provide business advisory and non-attest services.

“EisnerAmper and TowerBrook share common goals to provide superior client service, accelerate growth, create value, attract and retain the best and brightest talent, and be responsible corporate citizens,” said Charly Weinstein, EisnerAmper CEO. “We’re supremely confident that now is the right time for this forward-looking move, and we’re excited about the future opportunities this creates for our clients, our communities and our team.”

“Rather than conforming to traditional frameworks, adopting a new model of ownership facilitates the best structure for the Firm to drive growth and innovative solutions to our clients. Our colleagues will be able to chart a course for success in our purpose-built practice structure. EisnerAmper will continue to be a leader of positive transformative change for the profession as a whole,” added Mr. Weinstein.

“EisnerAmper’s commitment to providing industry-leading services has helped it to build a large, long-term client base that is continuing to grow,” stated Jonathan Bilzin, Co-President, Managing Director at TowerBrook. “We see a significant opportunity for the business to increase the pace of that growth with the help of TowerBrook’s resources and relevant experience.”

“We look forward to working with Charly and the partnership at EisnerAmper to continue to grow their platform through strategic M&A and further investments in technology to support their client base,” added Walter Weil, Managing Director at TowerBrook.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. acted as sole financial advisor to EisnerAmper and has provided committed debt financing in support of the transaction.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Equistone Partners Europe (“Equistone”) one of Europe’s leading mid-market private equity firms, announced today that it has signed a binding memorandum to sell a majority stake in Bruneau to TowerBrook Capital Partners. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and consultation with employee representative bodies.

Bruneau is a leading online distributor of office furniture and supplies in Europe. Founded over 65 years ago, the Group offers a wide range of products for all professionals, with over 25,000 office items available for delivery within 24 hours and over 100,000 items in total. In recent years, Bruneau has dynamically extended and consolidated its European reach. Now actively present in six countries (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain), the company employs c. 930 FTEs in Europe.

Since the acquisition of Bruneau in 2017, Equistone has supported the Group in developing its core business, namely by supporting organic growth initiatives and strengthening the Group’s international presence through targeted acquisitions. In 2018, Bruneau acquired Muller & Wegener in Luxembourg. In 2020 and 2021, Bruneau expanded its presence in Spain and Italy by acquiring Viking / Office Depot divisions in both countries.

This transaction highlights Bruneau’s strong results in the past years, notably its resilience amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that resulted in the expansion of the Group’s Work-from-Home, hygiene and sanitary product lines. Demonstrating the relevance of Bruneau’s operating model, based on strong brand awareness and superior value proposition, these results have enabled Bruneau to position itself as a differentiated player in the European B2B office equipment market.

TowerBrook is well-equipped to be a value-added partner to Bruneau given its global reach, knowledge and experience in the digital and B2B sectors, access to key industry veterans, as well as its broader experience within French and European markets.

Nicolas Potier, CEO of Bruneau, said: “We are very happy to welcome Towerbrook as a very strong partner to help us achieve our organic growth objectives (product offering expansion, web-based customer acquisition,…etc) as well as our external growth initiatives.”

Grégoire Chatillon and Grégoire Schlumberger from Equistone said: “We are very proud to have accompanied Bruneau’s outstanding growth story since 2017. As the Group demonstrated resilience during the pandemic, recent acquisitions show it is ideally positioned to be a major player of the sector’s European consolidation.”

The Uperio group, specialist in rental, distribution and services of tower cranes, announces the plan to modify its shareholding structure. The LFPI group, associated with the Belgian entities Sofina and Gigarant, alongside management, had control of the company since 2019, resulting from the merger of Matebat in France and Arcomet in Belgium. An agreement was signed on June 2nd, 2021 to sell all company shares to TowerBrook Capital Partners, the transatlantic investment fund.

“After several years of ownership and construction of Uperio, we are proud to have contributed to the development of two national groups, through organic and external growth, to help them become a world leader, supplier of premium solutions and equipment for construction sites. Today, we are pleased to have reached an agreement for its sale to this new shareholder, which will allow the continued deployment of the global strategy driven by high-quality management,” said Fabien Bismuth of LFPI Gestion.

“Today we are opening a new chapter in the history of the group with this shareholder transition. The entire Uperio team would like to thank LFPI, Sofina and Gigarant for their support in the various stages of building our business. The arrival of TowerBrook in our capital allows us to aim for new ambitions, internationally and in other sectors of activity related to our basic product, the Tower Cranes,” comments Philippe Cohet, President of Uperio.

The transaction will be subject to the approval of the relevant authorities and is expected to be finalised during the summer.