Baring Asia makes Series A software investment

The intention is to support CBX through the next stage of its growth, characterised by geographic expansion, strategic acquisitions, notably in the technology-enabled retail supply chain space, and product development efforts focused on entering new industry segments.

The company has not previously taken institutional investment; its founders will remain in control following BPEA’s arrival, according to a statement. No indication was given as to whether the private equity firm, which typically makes equity commitments far larger than USD 10m, will make additional investments in CBX.

While buyouts remain core to BPEA’s strategy, minority investments are an increasingly significant part of its business. Around 10% of the firm’s eighth flagship fund – which had surpassed its USD 8.5bn target as of year-end 2021 – is expected to be deployed in high-growth companies and special situations, with additional capital earmarked for corporate partnering.

“When you are organised around sectors, in addition to looking for buyout opportunities, you pay attention to what’s happening in other types of investments or companies. If you don’t do that, you risk getting blindsided,” Jean Eric Salata, CEO of BPEA, told AVCJ last year.

“Sometimes, we see opportunities from a top-down perspective, but control isn’t available, so we combine our buyout strategy with a very selective growth or minority strategy.”

This was the case in another software-related investment: Virtuos. BPEA saw potential in the game developer services vertical within IT services and took a minority stake in the business last year because no similar control opportunities were available.

Founded in 1995, CBX claims to be the world’s leading extended product lifecycle management solution provider. It helps retailers and brands streamline product development and sourcing through order, production, and delivery. The company has more than 15,000 retail and supplier partners and 30,000 users across 50 countries.

CBX took its business to a new level in 2013 with the release of CBX Cloud, which facilitates supply chain digitisation with a view to enabling greater efficiency, transparency, and sustainability.

“With an exceptional founder-led team, a portfolio of top-tier retail customers, and a strong global footprint, we believe that CBX is in a great position to build on its past successes and establish its position as a dominant international player in the space,” said Gordon Shaw, a managing director at BPEA.

“We aim to leverage our footprint and cross-border capabilities to further enhance the CBX client portfolio and help drive expanded market presence.”

Earlier this year, BPEA agreed to a EUR 6.8bn (USD 7.5bn) acquisition by EQT comprising cash and stock. The combined Asia private capital business will be rebranded as BPEA EQT Asia and continue to be led by Salata and his existing senior management team.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Hong Kong (China)
• enterprise software
• Baring Private Equity Asia