Group Press Releases
Aegis Group plc and Warburg Pincus Announce the Planned Establishment of Everger - A Joint Venture to Invest in eMarketing Opp..
07 March 2000
Aegis Group plc and E.M. Warburg Pincus & Co. announced today that they have agreed terms for the planned establishment of Everger, an investment company to provide early stage equity funding in eMarketing services and enabling technologies. Aegis Group plc and Warburg Pincus will together commit $100 million in capital to seed the venture.
Aegis and Warburg Pincus believe the planned company will represent a powerful combination of strong management and the complementary skills of the shareholders. Aegis can add significant value to new companies in the eMarketing sector by providing access to in-depth in-house market knowledge within the company's global operations. Warburg Pincus plans to leverage its global network to bring venture capital capabilities, a substantial network of current and previous media investments and a strong deal flow. By bringing expertise, information and distribution to these companies, the planned joint venture expects to achieve superior deal flow and portfolio synergies. With Aegis' acquisition track record and its wide network of business and client relationships, the establishment of a company focussed on eMarketing investments is a natural next step for the Group.
The inherent investment economics of the Internet mean that a separate, transparent structure with a new capital base and separate management provides the appropriate approach for both Aegis and Warburg Pincus.
Warburg Pincus is one of the premier global private equity firms - it brings established deal execution capabilities, investment market knowledge and extensive deal flow. Warburg Pincus has undertaken a number of significant Internet investments and has achieved an excellent return on a range of media investments.
Everger will be headed up by Andrew Burke. Andrew was formally COO of eVentures the Internet venture capital fund owned by News Corporation and Softbank. He was the founder and CEO of LineOne, the Internet service provider now owned by BT and United News and Media and established News International's initial Internet presence.
Companies within the eMarketing sector deliver, in the broadest sense, solutions that enable businesses to build and maintain customer relationships online. More specifically, the sector comprises three key sub-sectors: Online Advertising Services companies, Interactive Marketing Software companies and Interactive Marketing Services companies.
The majority of investments will be in the first and second fund raising rounds. A limited number of seed and pre-IPO investments will also be considered.
The Chief Executive of Aegis Group, Doug Flynn said:
"We are delighted to be partnering Warburg Pincus in this venture. As Warburg Pincus was historically a major shareholder of and partner to Aegis, we know them well and have great respect for their capabilities. We considered a number of first rate potential partners before choosing to go with Warburg Pincus. This joint venture provides early low cost entry to the eMarketing sector, through a vehicle that is separately and clearly managed. EMarketing is a business sector which we know well."
Jeremy Young, Managing Director of Warburg Pincus, said:
"This represents an attractive opportunity for us to leverage our long-standing relationship with Aegis, arguably the best global partner we could have in this space, and work with a very talented management team. It also enhances our capacity to invest in the substantial number of opportunities we are seeing in the sector due to our strong global media and internet presence."
About Aegis Group plc.
Aegis Group plc is the holding company for Carat, Media Marketing Assessment and Market Facts, leading companies in providing media communication services, marketing consultancy and market research. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the company is capitalised at around £2,000 million, and operates in 31 countries with its three main businesses.
About Warburg Pincus:
Warburg, Pincus is a private equity partnership investing from two limited partnerships, the $5 billion Warburg Pincus Equity Partners LP and the $800 million Warburg Pincus Ventures International LP. The firm is a major global private equity partnership that has invested more than $9 billion in over 350 companies since 1971. The firm has considerable experience in funding media companies, software companies and Internet start-ups. The opportunities created as a result of the Internet's impact on traditional media is an important focus area for Warburg Pincus. Its past and present portfolio of investments includes Internet companies such as EarthWeb, Covad Communications, StarMedia, BEA Systems, the Cobalt Group, NVision and Chemdex, as well as media investments including London Weekend Television, Aegis, Channel 5 Broadcasting, Information Holdings, Inc., Journal Register Company, Comcast/UK Cable, Renaissance Communications, Mediamap Inc. and Radio Unica
More information is available at www.warburgpincus.com.
For further information please contact:
Andrew Burke CEO,
Everger
Tel: +44 (0)20 7470 5026
Douglas Flynn CEO,
Aegis Group plc
Tel: +44 (0)20 7470 5001
Jeremy Young, Managing Director,
E.M.Warburg Pincus London
Tel: +44 (0)20 7306 3085
Pat Hackett, Managing Director,
E.M.Warburg Pincus New York
Tel: + 1 212 878 9405
Tim Spratt / Charles Palmer
Financial Dynamics
Tel: + 44 (0)20 7831 3113
