Verdane buys portfolio from Bauer Media Group

The portfolio comprises online education company CareerFoundry, advertising software developer Kyto and plus-sized women's fashion designer Navabi.

Verdane had previously announced its investment in Navabi at the start of March. It acquired a 29% stake in Navabi and a smaller stake in the other two companies.

Currently only Navabi has received primary investment alongside the secondary acquisition, but there is the possibility that the other two companies could receive additional capital from Verdane in the future, according to a spokesperson for the GP.

Verdane drew capital for the acquisition from Verdane Capital IX, a SEK 3bn direct secondaries vehicle that held a final close in July 2016 and was 50% invested by July 2017.

Bauer publishes 600 magazines, more than 400 digital products and operates 100 radio and TV stations. The corporate portfolio also includes print shops, postal businesses, and sales and marketing services. In total it employs 11,500 people in 20 countries.

Company
Founded in 2009, Aachen-based Navabi sells premium plus-size fashion via its e-commerce site. It offers 150 brands including Marina Rinaldi Sport and Levi's. The company also launched its own brands, which account for one third of the company's sales.

CareerFoundry is an online mentor-driven training platform for vocational tech skills in UX design, UI design, iOS development and web development. It has tutored 27,000 people since its inception in 2014.

Kyto develops software to help industrial companies digitalise their marketing activities. The company is headquartered in Berlin.

People
Verdane Capital – Staffan Mörndal (partner).
Bauer Media Group – Philipp Meixner (chief investment officer).

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