La Caixa backs vLex
La Caixa has led a €4m investment in online legal research platform vLex alongside reinvestment from shareholders, public money from the Spanish government’s Plan Avanza initiative and the European Network and Information Security Agency. La Caixa invested through its technology fund Caixa Capital TIC.
Investment will underpin plans for the company's expansion in Latin America and market consolidation.
In 2000, vLex received a €3m expansion capital package from 3i in a transaction led by Felipe Muntadas and Pablo Gallo. The balance of the company's share capital was retained by vLex.com's founder Luis Faus.
Company
Founded in 1999 and based in Barcelona, vLex provides online access to legal information and solutions through its subscription-based platform available in 13 languages. Its 40,000 subscribers include market professionals, government representatives and academic institutions including Yale University and the Supreme Court of Justice, Mexico. The online platform contains 65 million documents for consultation on computers, smartphones and tablets.
The company has more than 1,000 contributors and employs 120 members of staff at its offices in Barcelona, Madrid, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Bogota and Mexico City.
People
Sergio Pérez, investment director of Caixa Capital TIC, led the transaction.
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