ALPINE INVESTORS FINALIZES OVERSUBSCRIBED NINTH FUND AT HARD CAP OF $4.5 BILLION IN CAPITAL COMMITMENTS

New fund for Alpine doubles the size of predecessor fund in 2021


SAN FRANCISCO, July 13 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Alpine Investors (“Alpine”), a Certified B Corp people-driven private equity firm committed to building enduring software and services companies, announced today the completion of fundraising for Alpine Investors IX (“Fund IX”), reaching the fund’s hard cap of $4.5 billion in limited partner capital commitments.

Fundraising for Fund IX launched with a target of $3.75 billion and was oversubscribed. Fund IX is double the size of Alpine’s previous fund, Alpine Investors VIII, which was similarly oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap of $2.25 billion of limited partner commitments in August 2021.

Fund IX received limited partner commitments from a diversified investor base of returning and new investors from the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Alpine plans to invest the capital for Fund IX in control buyouts of software and services businesses with total enterprise values of up to $1 billion and focus on add-on acquisitions for high-performing platform investments.

“We are thrilled with this outcome, particularly in a very challenging fundraising environment,” said Graham Weaver, Founder and CEO of Alpine Investors. “We started Alpine 22 years ago with the thesis that the secret to building companies was hiring and training world-class leaders. It is incredibly satisfying to think that treating people well and giving them opportunities to be their best selves at work has been the formula for our investing success. We’re extremely grateful to have a wonderful group of like-minded investors and partners who have supported us along the way, and we are excited to continue this amazing journey together with them.”

Alpine has been active in recent years across its software and services specialties through buyouts as well as the launch of several prominent platforms. Notable investments from the last year include:

• The successful expansion of ASG, Alpine’s software business that buys vertical SaaS companies and builds them into market leaders, with more than 50 acquisitions since inception;
• The announcement of AlpineX’s professional education vertical, Axcel Learning, and its water services vertical, Axia Water;
• The formation of predictis, a data-enabled software platform launched in conjunction with the acquisition of AirDNA;
• The establishment of the Trilon Group, an engineering services platform, with 15 acquisitions including Alta Planning + Design, Inc., a globally-renowned active mobility and sustainability consulting firm;
• The acquisition of FEV Tutor, a K-12 market leading research and evidence-based online tutoring platform;
• The acquisition of Medusind, a leading provider of revenue cycle management services to the healthcare industry; and
• The formation of Ascend, a platform that partners with entrepreneurial CPAs, through its acquisition of Opsahl Dawson.

“We are grateful for the continued partnership from so many long-standing investors in Alpine, and we are excited by the significant presence of new partners across the globe that chose to participate in Fund IX,” said April Smith, Head of Investor Relations and Fundraising, Alpine Investors. “The makeup of Fund IX is the most global of any of our funds to date, demonstrating our expanding reach, and the robust market interest we generated underscores the increasing awareness of our value proposition for investors.”

Founded in 2001, Alpine Investors has over $15 billion in assets under management with more than 20,000 employees within its portfolio companies.¹ The firm is known for its PeopleFirst operating philosophy and its executive talent programs, which recruit and develop MBA graduates into CEOs and other executive-level roles. Originating with its CEO-in-Training and CEO-in-Residence programs, Alpine employs over 110 CEOs and executive-level roles within its portfolio companies through these talent programs.

Evercore Inc. served as placement agent for the fund and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to Alpine.

About Alpine Investors

Alpine Investors is a people-driven private equity firm committed to building enduring companies by working with, learning from, and developing exceptional people. Alpine specializes in investments in the software and services industries. Alpine’s PeopleFirst strategy includes a talent program that allows Alpine to bring leadership to situations where additional or new management is needed post-transaction. Alpine has over $15 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2023 and has three offices in San Francisco, New York, and Salt Lake City.¹ For more information, visit www.alpineinvestors.com and https://alpineinvestors.com/terms-conditions/ for full disclaimers including, but not limited to, third-party reviews and Alpine Operations Group.

¹ Pro forma for additional Fund IX commitments raised as of June 30, 2023 and fair market value as of March 31, 2023.

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Contact

Media
Audrey Harris
Head of Marketing
aharris@alpineinvestors.com

Sarah Braunstein
sbraunstein@sloanepr.com

Source : Alpine Investors

AMBIQ PROPELS REMOTE HEALTHCARE MONITORING SECTOR GROWTH WITH NEW ULTRA-LOW POWER PROCESSORS

The Apollo4 Lite and Apollo4 Blue Lite System-on-Chips (SoCs) Help Enhance Devices' Functionalities and Battery Life to Accelerate the Adoption of Remote Monitoring



News Highlights:

• The new Apollo4 Lite and Blue Lite SoCs offer feature-rich capability, optimized memory, powerful graphics performance, and secureSPOT^® for robust security in a lightweight solution
• Ideal for digital health applications, such as digital stethoscopes, patient monitoring, and continuous glucose and blood pressure monitoring
• The Apollo4 Blue Lite offers secure Bluetooth^® Low Energy connectivity for communication to handheld devices, host equipment, and the Cloud

AUSTIN, Texas, July 11 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ambiq^®, a technology leader in ultra-low power semiconductor products and solutions, introduces the Apollo4 Lite and Apollo4 Blue Lite SoC to its expanding portfolio of SoCs for IoT endpoint devices, especially the remote monitoring products of the healthcare sector. This announcement follows Ambiq’s release of its Heart Kit™, an optimized open-source AI model utilizing multi-head neural networks (MH-NNs) to enable a variety of real-time heart-monitoring applications.

The Apollo4 Lite and Blue Lite product line is the latest generation system processor solutions built upon Ambiq’s proprietary Subthreshold Power-Optimized Technology (SPOT^®) platform, enabling new features while reducing devices’ overall system power consumption to extend their battery life. Both SoCs are embedded with an ultra-low power Cortex-M4 core that can operate at up to 192 MHz with turboSPOT, an audio subsystem, GPU, and ample MRAM and SRAM. They are also conveniently pin-compatible with Ambiq’s Apollo4 Plus and Blue Plus¹, providing developers with optimum flexibility for innovation.

“Today’s patients are more empowered to monitor and advocate for their own health, and healthcare providers require more data analytics to prescribe holistic treatment,” said David Priscak, VP of Technical Solutions at Ambiq. “With bold graphics and long battery life, state-of-the-art health tracking is now more affordable and accessible thanks to these new additions to our Apollo4 SoC family.”

“The global remote patient market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $53.6 billion in 2022 and is poised to reach $175.2 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 26.7% from 2022 to 2027,” said Ms. Anu Dhiman – Lead Healthcare Analyst – MarketsandMarkets Research Pvt. Ltd. “The predominant factors influencing the growth of the market include the benefits of remote patient monitoring to reduce the burden on medical resources, the monitoring benefits of telehealth and remote patient monitoring services, advancements in telecommunications, as increasing geriatric population, and the growing need to expand healthcare access.”

The Apollo4 Lite and the Apollo4 Blue Lite are designed for extended battery life, advanced security, and powerful graphics in small form factors, which are critical for the continued adoption of these devices. Both are now in mass production, targeting digital health products, smartwatches, fitness bands, animal trackers, voice-activated remotes, industrial maintenance, and smart home IoT devices. For more product information, visit www.ambiq.com/apollo4-lite and www.ambiq.com/apollo4-blue-lite.

¹ – Apollo4 Lite is pin-compatible with Apollo4 Plus (AMAP42KP-KBR); Apollo4 Blue Lite is pin-compatible with Apollo4 Blue Plus (AMA4B2KP-KXR.)

About Ambiq

Ambiq’s mission is to develop the lowest-power semiconductor solutions to enable intelligent devices everywhere by developing the lowest-power semiconductor solutions to drive a more energy-efficient, sustainable, and data-driven world. Ambiq has helped leading manufacturers worldwide develop products that last weeks on a single charge (rather than days) while delivering a maximum feature set in compact industrial designs. Ambiq’s goal is to take Artificial Intelligence (AI) where it has never gone before in mobile and portable devices, using Ambiq’s advanced ultra-low power system on chip (SoC) solutions. Ambiq has shipped more than 200 million units as of March 2023. For more information, visit www.ambiq.com.

Contact

Charlene Wan
VP of Branding, Marketing, and Investor Relations
cwan@ambiq.com
+1.512.879.2850

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/620a2f10-acfe-4d54-b9c3-0983c58c06f6

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fd179ebf-2f60-4195-8fca-b88c7b7a852c 


SOURCE : Ambiq Micro

Stablecoins-powered Payment Transactions Value Exceeds US$187 BLN By 2028 - Juniper Research

KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 (Bernama) -- The value of payment transactions powered by stablecoins will exceed US$187 billion globally by 2028, up from US$53 billion in 2023, according to a new study from Juniper Research. (US$1=RM4.66)

The study found that stablecoins are making rapid progress in the cross-border market in particular, with them representing a key way to bypass slow, expensive and difficult-to-track existing cross‑border payment rails.

According to Juniper Research in a statement, stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that have their value pegged to a fiat currency or commodity, removing the volatility inherent to a typical cryptocurrency.

By 2028, the value of cross-border stablecoin payments will represent almost 73 per cent of total stablecoin payments transaction values globally, showing the dominance of cross-border use cases.

Stablecoins can be highly effective, as they remove stages in the cross-border process, increase speed of transactions and settlements, as well as greatly improve traceability.

However, the research identified the main obstacle for further growth as being acceptance, with stablecoin roll-outs needing new networks to be built and scaled.

Another challenge to stablecoin growth is the role of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), digital coins issued by a central bank, which are pegged to the country’s fiat currency.

While CBDCs are at an early stage of development, they too have strong potential for cross-border. The advantage CBDCs have is their central bank backing, meaning roll-outs should be at a faster pace.

Given the size of the cross-border space, and the very nascent stage of CBDC development, stablecoins have strong prospects for growth alongside CBDCs.

-- BERNAMA

GTJAI BROUGHT ESG CONSIDERATIONS INTO ITS CREDIT RISK POLICY

HONG KONG, July 6 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Guotai Junan International Holdings Limited (“Guotai Junan International”, the “Group” or “GTJAI”, stock code: 1788.HK) announced that the Group has incorporated ESG risk factors into its Newest Credit Risk Policy to control and manage the ESG risks at the business operation level more efficiently.

The GTJAI’s Newest Credit Risk Policy covers all its subsidiaries and affiliates in all types of businesses including, but not limited to, lending, underwriting of debt securities, derivatives trading, and other financing activities such as investment banking and wealth management business. The policy reflects ESG criteria formally in the client onboarding, due diligence and credit risk management process with reference to global ESG frameworks. Require ESG Due Diligence. As specifically required in the policy, all business teams are responsible for the Know-Your-Client (KYC) process by reviewing clients’ financial reports, ESG report, performing background check on shareholders, reviewing internal policies and controls. Specify Industry-related Risk. All business teams are required to conduct enhanced due diligence on higher ESG risk customers. If there is significant ESG risk on certain customer or industry, the Company should consider avoiding provide finance accordingly. Specifically, companies’ 85% revenue from Tar sand, Shale Oil & Gas, Arctic Oil & Gas, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and Ultra-Deep-Water (UDW) Oil & Gas will be considered as high risk. Identify Other ESG Red Flags. All business teams are required to include ESG rating downgrade in assessing potential clients’ profiles and documentation. About GTJAI Guotai Junan International (“GTJAI”, Stock Code: 1788.HK) is the market leader and first mover for internationalization of Chinese Securities Company as well as the first Chinese securities broker listed on the Main Board of The Hong Kong Stock Exchange through initial public offering. It has also been included in FTSE4Good Index by London Stock Exchange of the United Kingdom. Based in Hong Kong, GTJAI provides comprehensive, diversified and high-quality integrated financial services. Core business includes brokerage, corporate finance, asset management, loans and financing, financial products, which cover three dimensions including individual finance (wealth management), institutional finance (institutional investor services and corporate finance service) and investment management. GTJAI has been assigned “Baa2” and “BBB+” long term issuer rating from Moody and Standard & Poor respectively. The controlling shareholder, Guotai Junan Securities Company Limited (Stock Code: 601211.SH; 2611.HK), is the comprehensive financial provider with a long-term, sustainable and overall leading position in the Chinese securities industry. For more information about GTJAI, please visit http://www.gtjai.com View source version on businesswire.com:  https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230705168364/en/ Contact For Media and Investor Enquiry: ir@gtjas.com.hk For Customer Service: (Tel: 4008 095 521 / (852) 2509 7524) Source : Guotai Junan International Holdings Limited

GLOBE GROUP WOOS GLOBAL INVESTORS WITH CUTTING-EDGE DIGITAL SOLUTIONS AT CAIXIN ASIA NEW VISION FORUM

^{President and CEO Ernest Cu represented the Globe Group at the Caixin Global Asia New Vision Forum (ANVF), capturing global investors' interest by unveiling its groundbreaking digital solutions now reshaping the country’s digital economy. (Photo: Business Wire)}



MANILA, Philippines, July 4 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Globe Group distinguished itself as the only Philippine telecom representative at the prestigious Caixin Global Asia New Vision Forum (ANVF) held June 12 to 13 in Singapore, capturing global investors' interest by unveiling its groundbreaking digital solutions now reshaping the country’s digital economy.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230703598203/en/

 

Globe Group President and CEO Ernest Cu represented the company at the ANVF 2023, the first international business leadership conference spotlighting Asia in the post-Covid landscape, with a focus on global, green, tech, and home visions. Gathering over 300 business and thought leaders, policymakers, and industry practitioners, the event amplified nuanced Asian perspectives within the broader business community.

During the panel discussion on Investing in Asia Pacific, Cu highlighted the nation’s consumer-driven economy, young population, and how the Globe Group's transition into a digital platform is helping drive national development.

Showcasing an array of portfolio companies, the Globe Group, the Philippines’ leading digital solutions platform, presented compelling evidence of the robustness of its transformative digital services which lower long-established entry barriers, especially in finance, healthcare, and education.

Its fintech platform GCash is the #1 Finance SuperApp with a highly engaged user base that surpasses competition in terms of daily and monthly active users. GCash is also one of the very few profitable fintechs in the world that now serves as an indispensable companion for Filipinos in their day-to-day needs. GCash has democratized access to financial services offering options to open a savings account, investing in UITFs, getting insurance, and even acquiring loans.

Meanwhile, Globe’s growing telehealth platform KonsultaMD has been providing much-needed quality medical care across a suite of services. It recently launched a SuperApp that features doctor consultations, a 24/7 online pharmacy with same-day delivery, at-home lab testing, diagnostics, wellness services, physical therapy, nursing care for newborns and elderly patients, and a concierge service for premium subscribers. It currently has a network of over 1,000 medical professionals with more than 40 specializations including mental health.

Cu also pitched the Philippines as a viable investment destination, saying: “We’ve got a very young population growing at about 3% per year and projected to be about 150 million people by 2050. The Philippines is pretty much a consumer-driven and consumption-driven economy. We don’t have much of the other industries yet, but we’ve got a tremendous base of consumers fed a lot by the overseas foreign workers.”

The country is also seeing steady economic growth. At the same time, the number of people using digital technology is set to rise by 36 million by 2030, making up over 70% of the population, according to a World Economic Forum report. While it's still developing, the Philippines’ startup scene is growing rapidly, with at least 700 active startups compared to only 100 in 2015, according to the Asian Development Bank.

Cu addressed the importance of local knowledge and partnerships when investing in ASEAN countries. He reiterated how the Globe Group, part of the Ayala conglomerate, has utilized its extensive understanding of the Philippines to provide unique and large-scale solutions.

"We wield what we call an ‘unfair advantage’. We understand our culture, our people, and their needs much better than any company that comes into the Philippines. We happen to live in a country where there’s a multitude of opportunities to help the population. So, we started to look at large problems that exist and there’s plenty— from financial inclusion to access to healthcare, access to education, and pollution. Those areas are what we wanted to tackle. We started with financial inclusion,” he said.

Looking into the future, Cu highlighted the Globe Group's strategy to be the hub of technology startups through its venture builder, 917Ventures, and venture capital arm, Kickstart Ventures. Kickstart currently has 61 investments in eight countries out of three funds.

Other key decision-makers from the Globe Group joined Cu at the event, further demonstrating the company's commitment and synergy. GCash made its presence felt led by its President and CEO Martha Sazon and CFO Tek Olaño, while KonsultaMD was represented by its CEO Cholo Tagaysay.

Given the country's large population, supportive government policies, and low entry barriers, investors have an exciting market to explore with the Globe Group as a guide.

To learn more about Globe, visit www.globe.com.ph.

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Contact

For more information, please contact:
Golin for Globe Group
Email Address: GlobeGroup@Golin.com

Source : Globe Group

YOMAEX UPGRADES SECURITY SYSTEM TO PROTECT USER ASSETS

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- YOMAEX recently upgraded its security protection system to provide users with a more reliable trading environment as YOMAEX Exchange, the global leading digital currency exchange, has always placed "user asset security" at the forefront.

In the context of the rapid development of the digital currency market, YOMAEX is facing more and more security challenges. The company has taken a series of important measures, in order to better protect the security of user assets.

According to a statement, in terms of transaction security, YOMAEX independently developed a high-performance matching trading engine.

After a comprehensive upgrade, the engine has the ability to process millions of orders per second, and the average transaction delay is less than 50 milliseconds, in which this technological innovation has greatly improved transaction efficiency and effectively reduced the risk of transaction lag and system downtime.

YOMAEX has also introduced an industry-leading risk control system with multiple functions such as real-time monitoring, risk warning and risk control, which can accurately monitor and warn against abnormal behaviours during the transaction process, and take timely measures to ensure the safe trading for users.

In addition, YOMAEX has strengthened asset security protection. The exchange has implemented multiple defence mechanisms against malicious and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, effectively avoiding hacker intrusions and network risks, and providing strong protection for users' digital assets.

In terms of information security, YOMAEX has introduced multiple verification mechanism, and users can choose a suitable verification method to improve the security of their accounts.

To ensure the security of users' personal information and transaction data, YOMAEX adopts multiple encryption technologies to effectively prevent users' personal information and transaction data from being stolen or tampered.

The continuous upgrade of YOMAEX in terms of user asset security demonstrates its high attention and keen insight into market risks. It is committed to create a safe, transparent and reliable trading environment for users via continuous innovation and technological upgrading.

-- BERNAMA

NX EUROPE, LUFTHANSA CARGO COMPLETE SAF AGREEMENT

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- A group company of Nippon Express Holdings Inc, Nippon Express Europe GmbH (NX Europe) and Lufthansa Cargo AG (Lufthansa Cargo) contractually agreed on June 20, to advocate the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) when transporting airfreight shipments.

NX Europe Managing Director, Shinichi Kakiyama said this agreement to advocate using SAF represents a step in the right direction on the way to a greener future.

“Together with Lufthansa Cargo, we are honoured to embark on this journey to meet our sustainability goals and fulfil our ongoing commitment to combat climate change,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa Cargo Chief Executive Officer, Ashwin Bhat said: “The more Sustainable Aviation Fuel is used in the transportation of goods by air freight, the more likely we are to succeed in moving away from fossil fuels, making the entire air freight industry more sustainable.”

The environmentally friendly aviation fuel will enable the Nippon Express Group to achieve emission savings of approximately 3,150 tonnes within one year.

Furthermore, the agreement reached with Lufthansa Cargo includes contributing to high-quality and certified climate protection projects for the so-called well-to-tank emissions that arise during the production and supply of SAF.

The Nippon Express Group has set the goal of a 50 per cent reduction in SCOPE 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2013 as a response to climate change, and of contributing to the realisation of a carbon-neutral society by 2050.

Nippon Express Co Ltd aims to reduce emissions by 350,000 tonnes by 2023, equivalent to a 30 per cent reduction from 2013 levels. In May 2023, Nippon Express Holdings Inc submitted a Letter of Commitment to be certified as a Science Based Targets (SBT) company, and the entire group is working together to achieve a carbon neutral society by 2050.

-- BERNAMA