Kronos
Incorporated1 today announced that it has entered into a
definitive agreement to effect a recapitalization of the company through
a $750 million equity investment by funds managed by Blackstone
(NYSE:BX) and GIC. Blackstone and GIC will invest in Kronos alongside
the original investors Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity. Hellman &
Friedman will remain the majority investor in the company.
News Facts
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The addition of Blackstone and GIC as investors in Kronos brings
further global expertise, resources, and insight to the company.
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The new investment by Blackstone and GIC will enable Kronos to
accelerate the pace of innovation that has fueled its growth in recent
years. It will also enable the Kronos management team to continue to
take a long-term view of how best to deliver superior products and
services to its customers.
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Aron Ain, chief executive officer of Kronos, will continue to lead the
organization.
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Kronos, previously publicly traded on NASDAQ, was taken private by
Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity in 2007, in a transaction valued at
approximately $1.8 billion. Since that time, Kronos revenues have
increased 45 percent and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation,
and amortization (EBITDA) increased 114 percent. Kronos is fast
approaching $1 billion in annual revenue.
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The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including
receipt of regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the first
half of 2014.
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Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel for Kronos and
Hellman & Friedman. Morgan Stanley and Jefferies served as financial
advisors to Kronos. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Blackstone Advisory
Partners served as advisors to Blackstone.
Supporting Quotes
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Aron Ain, chief executive officer, Kronos
“We are thrilled to have Blackstone and GIC join the Kronos team. Their
significant investments validate our company’s strategy and growth
potential and support us as we rapidly extend our Kronos Cloud
offerings; expedite our pace of product innovation; continue to broaden
our vertical expertise; and accelerate our global expansion strategy.”
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David Tunnell, managing director, Hellman & Friedman
“Kronos’ exceptional value proposition and the strength and depth of the
management team are the core reasons why Kronos has been one of our most
successful investments. We continue to see tremendous opportunity and
are excited to work together with Blackstone, GIC, JMI Equity, and the
Kronos management team to position the company for the next phase of
growth.”
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Chinh Chu, senior managing director and co-chair, Blackstone
“Kronos has the unique combination of industry leadership and expertise,
entrepreneurial spirit, market-leading products, and a loyal customer
base. The company has tremendous potential and we are excited to partner
with the Kronos management team on growth initiatives.”
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Eric Wilmes, head, North America Direct Investments Group, GIC
Special Investments
“As a long-term investor, GIC has been following the Kronos story since
Hellman & Friedman’s initial investment. The company’s track record
speaks for itself, and we are delighted to work with management and our
partners to drive Kronos’ continuing success.”
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos is the global leader in delivering workforce management solutions
in the cloud. Tens of thousands of organizations in more than 100
countries — including more than half of the Fortune 1000® —
use Kronos to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve
workforce productivity. Learn more about Kronos industry-specific time
and attendance, scheduling, absence management, HR and payroll, hiring,
and labor analytics applications at www.kronos.com.
Kronos: Workforce Innovation That Works™.
About Hellman & Friedman
Hellman & Friedman LLC is a leading private equity investment firm with
offices in San Francisco, New York, and London. Since its founding in
1984, H&F has raised and, through its affiliated funds, managed over $25
billion of committed capital. The firm focuses on investing in superior
business franchises and serving as a value‐added partner to management
in select industries including software, financial services, insurance,
business and marketing services, internet and digital media, media,
healthcare, and energy and industrials. For more information on H&F,
please visit www.hf.com.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms.
We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our
investors, the companies we invest in, the companies we advise and the
broader global economy. We do this through the commitment of our
extraordinary people and flexible capital. Our asset management
businesses include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real
estate, hedge fund solutions, non-investment grade credit, secondary
funds, and multi asset class exposures falling outside of other funds’
mandates. Blackstone also provides various financial advisory services,
including financial and strategic advisory, restructuring and
reorganization advisory and fund placement services. Further information
is available at www.blackstone.com.
Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.
About GIC
GIC is among the world’s largest fund management companies with AUM of
well over US$100 billion. Founded in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign
reserves, GIC is an established global private equity investor. We
invest in private equity funds as well as directly in companies,
partnering with management teams and our fund managers. Our private
equity universe ranges from venture capital, growth capital,
and leveraged buyouts to special situations such as mezzanine and
distressed debt and secondaries. The investment teams add value to the
boards and management of the investee companies by providing advice and
access to a global network of relationships. GIC is headquartered in
Singapore with a network of offices in nine cities worldwide. For more
information, please visit www.gic.com.sg.
About JMI Equity
JMI Equity is a growth equity firm focused on investing in leading
software and technology-enabled services companies. Founded in 1992, JMI
has invested in 112 businesses in its target markets and has over $2.1
billion of committed capital under management. JMI provides capital for
growth, recapitalizations, acquisitions and buyouts. Representative
investments include DoubleClick, Eloqua, Halogen (TSX: HGN),
PointClickCare, PowerPlan and ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW). For more
information on JMI Equity, please visit www.jmi.com.
Footnote 1: Kronos Incorporated’s ultimate parent entity, Kronos Parent
Corporation, officially entered this agreement. Note to reporters: cite
agreement as being entered by Kronos Incorporated. (Kronos Parent
Corporation is a legal entity.)
© 2014 Kronos Incorporated. Kronos and the Kronos logo are
registered trademarks and Workforce Innovation That Works is a trademark
of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other trademarks are
property of their respective owners.
Copyright Business Wire 2014