News Release

The Carlyle Group agrees to sell exocad, a CAD/CAM software provider, to Align Technology

2020-015

Carlyle supported exocad’s development to become a key hardware-neutral technology provider for the dental CAD/CAM industry

London, UKGlobal investment firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell exocad Global Holdings GmbH (exocad) to Align Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGN). exocad is an innovative software company driving digital dentistry  by providing  flexible CAD/CAM software for dental labs and dental practices.

exocad is headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, and has five offices worldwide. The company was spun out of the Fraunhofer-Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in 2010 and it has since established itself as an independent developer of dental CAD/CAM software solutions. exocad software is used by OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)  worldwide for integration into their dental CAD/CAM offerings, and thousands of exocad DentalCAD licenses are sold each year. Today, exocad's products are being used in over 150 countries.

During Carlyle’s ownership exocad strengthened its international presence as a thought leader in digital dentistry as well as its strategic positioning as a hardware-neutral dental CAD/CAM software provider. Furtheremore the company invested in new products addressing the chairside and implantology market. During Carlyle’s investment period the company doubled its revenue and EBITDA.

Carlyle invested in exocad in 2016 through Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) III, a €657 million fund focused on European technology, media and telecommunications companies. The CETP team has significant expertise in partnering with founders and software companies with previous investments including SERgroup, UC4, P&I and The Foundry.

Dr. Thorsten Dippel, Managing Director on the Carlyle Europe Technology Partners advisory team, commented: We have had a fantastic partnership with exocad and in particular with its founders, Till Steinbrecher and Maik Gerth. We are proud of what the company has achieved since we invested, not only in terms of its financial growth but more importantly as an innovative frontrunner in the area of digital dentistry. With Align we believe we  have found the ideal partner to further strengthen exocad’s position and we wish the exocad team every success for the future.“

Tillmann Steinbrecher, exocad’s Chief Executive Officer, said: This is an exciting new chapter for our company. I am delighted by the enormous growth opportunity for exocad and its customers that comes with being a part of Align Technology. We thank Carlyle and especially the CETP team for their partnership, experience and support in strengthening exocad’s position as a key technology provider for the dental CAD/CAM industry and in driving continuous innovation with the open and integrated approach that is the foundation of our company.“

Advisers to Carlyle in this transaction were UBS (Financial/Transaction Advice), Latham & Watkins (Legal) and Raymond James (Industry Advice).

ENDS

Media contacts:

UK
Sami Dodangeh
+44 2078943561 / +44 7917804245
Sami.Dodangeh@carlyle.com

Germany
Katharina Gebsattel

+49 172 718 68 57
Katharina.gebsattel@vub.de
 

About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across four business segments: Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $224 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2019, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,775 people in 32 offices across six continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow The Carlyle Group on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

About exocad
exocad GmbH (www.exocad.com) is a dynamic and innovative dental CAD/CAM software company committed to expanding the possibilities of digital dentistry and providing its distribution partners flexible, reliable, and easy-to-use software. exocad's technology enables system integrators to turn equipment into comprehensive, class-leading solutions.

About Align Technology, Inc.
Align Technology designs and manufactures the Invisalign® system, the most advanced clear aligner system in the world, and iTero® intraoral scanners and services. Align’s products help dental professionals achieve the clinical results they expect and deliver effective, cutting-edge dental options to their patients. Visit www.aligntech.com for more information.

For additional information about the Invisalign system or to find an Invisalign doctor in your area, please visit www.invisalign.com. For additional information about iTero digital scanning system, please visit www.itero.com