There's no harm in it.
Egersund, Norway and London, UK - 27th August 2020 - NAVTOR, the leading provider in navigational software for the maritime industry, today announced that it has received a majority growth investment from Accel-KKR, a leading global software-focused investment firm headquartered in Silicon Valley.
And Silicon Valley. America.
Oh, okay. That's all right ... I suppose.
The investment also marks Accel-KKR's 42nd completed investment in the EMEA region since 2013 when it established a European headquarters, making Accel-KKR one of the most active software private equity firms in Europe and specifically, Scandinavia. It also marks Accel-KKR's 15th completed investment globally since the second half of March 2020.
Oh.
NOW(!) ...
I wonder what Tor says ...
"The entire NAVTOR team is very excited to work with Accel-KKR in our continued momentum as a leader in the e-navigational space," says Tor Svanes, CEO and Founder of NAVTOR. "Through a relentless focus on serving the needs of commercial seafaring fleet managers and navigators, we have built a superior technological offering with an industry-leading reputation for customer service and support. We look forward to writing NAVTOR's next chapter together with the AKKR team."
Well, well! That's what he says. 'You no longer need to wonder, boss.' Ha! I like to wonder, Voice. It's the only thing that keeps me awake sometimes. 'And what are you wondering now?' I'm wondering if our Borge has anything he wants to say. 'I bet he does. He's that type.' Christ! They're all that type, son. Haven't you learnt anything?
Borge Hetland, Chief Commercial Officer and Co-Founder of NAVTOR adds, "With Accel-KKR's backing, we see tremendous opportunities to take NAVTOR to the forefront of our industry, and to further serve our customers with a total ship operations platform - from navigation excellence to fleet optimization and crew performance. Specifically, we are very excited to be working with Accel-KKR given their breadth of software-specific and M&A capabilities to accelerate NAVTOR's top-line growth."
Great. Okay. That's great. / The only thing missing is, uh ... someone from Accel-KKR. We need someone from Accel-KKR to say something. 'It'll be an awful shame, boss, if they can't be bothered. You know, if they can't give a toss, like.' Well ... they've invested their money, Voice. They've got to care. I mean - 'Oh, look -'
"The sheer size of the global maritime industry and the continuing digitization of fleets bode well for the future of NAVTOR," says Maurice Hernandez, Head of the European office at Accel-KKR. "Pairing NAVTOR's mission-critical software and the deep domain expertise of its management team with AKKR's know-how in accelerating growth in software companies will lead to exciting outcomes for the marketplace and customers. We look forward to working closely with the NAVTOR team in the coming months and years."
Ha, ha, ha! I was wondering when old Maurice would pipe up. 'You can't keep him quiet for long.' No. He's definitely the type that likes to speak. 'They all are!' I know, I know.
I just pray for silence, really.
Anyway, about Accel-KKR ...
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with over $9 billion in capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and IT-enabled businesses, well-positioned for topline and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR's investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value alongside management by leveraging the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across a wide range of transaction types including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. Accel-KKR is headquartered in Menlo Park with additional offices in Atlanta and London.
And that's the ENDS of that! No need to wonder any more, dear reader(s).
...
Anything else? Music? My music?! Ha, ha, ha! No need to wonder there either. I'll tell you. Good news! Listen, kook(s), I knew in my heart, and in my soul, oh! ... that the I Love You tune was too good to throw away. So, I've completely refurbished it. Yes! I've speeded it up, I've lengthened it, I've given it a cool new rhythm, I've changed the structure, and ... it's now a rock/pop song at just over four and a half minutes. It's going to need a new lyric and title, of course. The only question is ... Will it be one of my BIG TEN? Well, I don't know yet. Let's wait and see! [I've got a gut feeling that it will be, uh, this time.]
Later(s), alligator(s)!
