NEWS

L Capital Exits Portfolio Company Ascender to Ceridian

Sydney, Australia | February 2021

L Capital Fund I portfolio company Ascender, a leading payroll and HR solutions provider in Asia Pacific, has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Ceridian (NYSE:CDAY; TSX: CDAY), a global HCM technology and services company. Ascender will broaden Ceridian’s reach and expand existing solutions creating the most comprehensive payroll and human capital management offering in the region. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.

“The acquisition of Ascender will strengthen our leadership in the APJ region, accelerate our global growth strategy, and deliver even greater value to our customers,” said David Ossip, Chairman and CEO, Ceridian. “I look forward to welcoming the Ascender team to Ceridian and to working together on our shared vision to create exceptional employee experiences.”

“The combination of Ascender with Ceridian will be tremendous news for our employees, customers, and partners, who will benefit from Ceridian’s global scale and award-winning Dayforce platform. We’re committed to helping our customers successfully navigate the future of work as we embark on a new chapter within the Ceridian family,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO, Ascender.

Ascender provides more than 1,200 global brands with leading payroll and HR capabilities. As a premier HCM provider in the region, Ascender has deep industry expertise across all verticals, including higher education and government, as well as a strong partner ecosystem. With this acquisition, Ceridian will serve a combined 1,500 customers and 2.5 million employees across 30 countries in the region, including Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

The Ascender acquisition will support Ceridian’s proven track record of successfully bringing value-driven organizations into the company. Previously, Ceridian acquired Excelity Global, a Singapore-based leading HCM provider, and RITEQ, an Australia-based leading enterprise workforce management provider. With the acquisition, Ceridian will have the opportunity to deliver additional value to Ascender’s customers through the Dayforce platform’s full-suite HCM capabilities, including workforce management, payroll, and time and attendance.

“APJ is the fastest growing region for payroll and HCM, and Ceridian is uniquely positioned to support organizational leaders driving transformation in today’s rapidly changing world,” said Stephen Moore, Head of Asia Pacific Japan, Ceridian. “We look forward to serving more customers in the region with Ceridian’s award-winning products and expanding the breadth and depth of our leadership team.”

Goldman Sachs & Co LLC, PwC, and Minter Ellison are serving as advisors for Ceridian on the acquisition. Morgan Stanley, Gilbert + Tobin, Ernst & Young, and PwC are serving as advisors to Ascender. Ascender is backed by a private equity consortium led by Potentia Capital, 5V Capital which acquired the company in 2015. L Capital invested in the business in 2017.

About Ascender

Ascender serves more than 1.3 million employees throughout Asia Pacific Japan with Payroll and Human Capital Management platforms. With more than 900 dedicated professionals across 31 countries, Ascender services a diverse range of clients’ payroll requirements through leading technology and innovative processes. Today, more than 1,200 global brands and listed companies trust Ascender to meet their payroll and HR needs. Ascender is backed by a private equity consortium led by Potentia Capital.

About Ceridian

Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. (“Ceridian” or the “Company”) (NYSE:CDAY) (TSX:CDAY) is a global human capital management software company. Dayforce, our flagship cloud HCM platform, provides human resources, payroll, benefits, workforce management, and talent management functionality. Our platform is used to optimize management of the entire employee lifecycle, including attracting, engaging, paying, deploying, and developing people. Ceridian has solutions for organizations of all sizes. Visit Ceridian.com  or follow us @Ceridian.

About L Capital 

L Capital is a specialty private equity firm focused on the technology, business services, consumer and industrial sectors. L Capital makes equity co-investments alongside leading buyout and growth equity funds and provides advisory services including diligence support and deal origination. The affiliation with Renovata & Company provides access to a global talent network, proprietary deal flow, and relationships with 50 of the top 100 private equity firms ranked by assets under management. www.lcapitalmgmt.com


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