News release Wizeline

Wizeline Continues Accelerated Growth with Strategic Investment from CDPQ

Private Equity, Technology San Francisco, CA, and Montréal, QC,
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Agreement from CDPQ to purchase a majority stake from Apax Digital Fund who will remain a shareholder following transaction

Wizeline, a global technology services provider that partners with clients to build high-quality digital products and platforms, today announced an agreement for Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global investment group, to acquire majority ownership of Wizeline. Apax Digital Fund, which has been a majority owner since 2018, will remain as a shareholder following the transaction.

Founded in 2014, Wizeline’s origins as a cloud-native, product development company have served it well in its partnerships with customers needing to mature their data-driven capabilities, build next-generation products and platforms, and stay competitive in a constantly evolving market. The company works with its customers in an agile and iterative format to achieve business goals and deliver results.

The arrival of CDPQ marks a significant milestone in Wizeline’s growth, enabling continued expansion of services and geographies.

“Over this past year, we’ve continued to see an accelerated need for digital products and platforms across all industries, which makes it the right time to take the next big step in our journey to become a global leader in the technology services space,” said Bismarck Lepe, CEO and Founder, Wizeline. “The investment from CDPQ, and the continued partnership with Apax Digital Fund will support our vision of providing customers with the most advanced technology solutions, while contributing critical skills development to the next generation of technology creators.”

“Wizeline has successfully captured the rising demand for digital product design and development and built strong client loyalty among its many blue-chip clients to become one of the highest-growth companies in its industry,” said Martin Laguerre, Executive Vice-President and Head of Private Equity and Capital Solutions at CDPQ. “We look forward to joining Wizeline and its employees as they continue to support their clients to succeed by building exceptional digital platforms.”

“It has been an honor to support Bismarck and his team in transforming Wizeline into one of the fastest growing and most exciting software consultancy businesses in the world,” said Marcelo Gigliani, Managing Partner of Apax Digital. “Given the immense talent of our 1400+ Wizeliners and their commitment to delighting a growing roster of blue-chip customers, we are convinced that the best is yet to come. We look forward to partnering with CDPQ over the coming years to help drive Wizeline to even greater heights.”

Wizeline’s award-winning culture, focused on innovation, ownership and community, has made it a company of choice for technology talent around the world. One of its initiatives, Wizeline's Academy, offers free technology courses, certifications and workshops, to not only employees, but the external community and, to date, has served over 25,000 students from 77 nationalities.

Advisors

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor, and White & Case LLP acted as legal counsel to CDPQ. Guggenheim Securities, LLC acted as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel to Wizeline.

ABOUT WIZELINE

Wizeline, a global technology services provider, builds high-quality digital products and platforms that accelerate time to market. We focus on measurable outcomes, partnering with our customers to modernize core technologies, mature data-driven capabilities, and improve user experience. Our adaptive teams provide the right combination of solutions, capabilities and methodologies to deliver results, while partnering with our customers’ teams to foster innovation through continuous learning. We are invested in doing well while doing good, striving to make a positive impact where we live and work. Our diverse culture of innovation, ownership and community, combined with our Academy, create an inspiring environment for talent to build long-term careers. To see how Wizeline can help you, visit wizeline.com. To join our team, visit wizeline.com/careers.

ABOUT CDPQ

At Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), we invest constructively to generate sustainable returns over the long term. As a global investment group managing funds for public retirement and insurance plans, we work alongside our partners to build enterprises that drive performance and progress. We are active in the major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. As at June 30, 2021 CDPQ’s net assets total CAD 390 billion. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

About Apax and Apax Digital

The Apax Digital Fund, which is advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”) specialises in growth equity and buyout investments in high-growth enterprise software, consumer internet, and technology-enabled services companies worldwide.

The Apax Digital team leverages Apax’s deep tech investing expertise, global platform, and specialized operating experts, to enable technology companies and their management teams to accelerate the achievement of their full potential. For further information, please visit: www.apaxdigital.com.

Apax is a leading global private equity advisory firm. For nearly 50 years, Apax has worked to inspire growth and ideas that transform businesses. The firm has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of more than $60 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech, Services, Healthcare and Internet/Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.

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