Stockholm (NordSIP) – At the end of the second week of January, EcoVadis, a leading provider of business sustainability ratings for global supply chains, announced that it had accepted a US$200m growth investment from CVC Growth Partners II, a private equity fund which closed mid-November last year with commitments of US$1.6 billion.
EcoVadis’ ratings cover over 60,000 companies across 155 countries, including Johnson & Johnson, Verizon, L’Oréal, Subway, Nestlé, Salesforce, Michelin and BASF. EcoVadis provides supplier ratings and an engagement platform to 450 companies, representing over $2.5 trillion in business spending. The information available to EcoVadis’ clients allows them to evaluate and improve environmental and social performance across their global supply chain.
“The combination of global sustainability initiatives, evolving compliance regulations and corporate purpose commitments are putting a new and urgent spotlight on the supply chain – and creating an immense and growing market for our solutions,” said Frédéric Trinel, co-founder and co-CEO of EcoVadis. “CVC’s global network and reach will play a critical role in helping us scale and change the way businesses operate.”
“Momentum towards a more environmentally and societally focused economy has been building for years. Today’s executives recognise the power of sustainability to protect their brands, increase valuation, inform investment strategies and positively impact the world,” said Pierre-Francois Thaler, co-CEO and co-founder of EcoVadis. “The supply chain is the single greatest lever for creating real change and making an impact. But when left unmanaged, it becomes a breeding ground for hidden risk – including forced labor, environmental waste, corruption, security issues and more. This investment from CVC Growth Partners is a testament to the critical role that ESG and sustainability factors play in today’s market.”
EcoVadis plans to leverage the funding to further expand its global presence, continue to invest in its technology platform, sustainability intelligence solutions and network of rated companies.
According to GP Bullhound, which acted as exclusive financial advisor in the deal, this is the largest ESG transaction and the largest Enterprise Software equity fundraising in France, to date. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2020 following regulatory approvals. John Clark, Managing Partner of CVC Growth Partners, Aaron Dupuis and Sebastian Kuenne will be joining EcoVadis’ board of directors.
“We are thrilled to have helped EcoVadis again in finding the right financial partner to match the company’s ambition and potential,” GP Bullhound’s Manish Madhvani, Managing Partner at GP Bullhound, and Guillaume Bonneton, Partner, added. “We are confident that EcoVadis will now accelerate its rapid global expansion and cement its position as the standard for business sustainability ratings worldwide.”
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