News/Deals
UK - MASA and Midven invest £600,000 into Cytox
MASA Life Sciences and Midven have completed a £600,000 seed investment into neuroscience company Cytox Limited, alongside existing investors, management and US-based business angel Dr. Jim Foght, who joins the company as advisor.
ITALY - SICI takes 45% stake in Digitart
Sviluppo Imprese Centro Italia (SICI) has invested EUR 2m into smart house specialist Digitart through a capital increase, taking a 45% stake in the business.
FRANCE - Sofinnova and Dassult invest EUR 4.7m into blueKiwi
Sofinnova Partners and Dassult Sytèmes have invested EUR 4.7m into blueKiwi Software, an enterprise social software company, in a second round of funding.
GERMANY - PE interested in Almatis
Reports suggest that Blackstone and Advent International are among several buyout houses interested in bidding for Dubai International Capital's (DIC) German aluminium business Almatis, which entered debt restructuring talks earlier this month.
FRANCE - BNP PE and XAnge in EUR 2.6m Wedia investment
BNP Paribas Private Equity and XAnge Private Equity have invested EUR 2.6m into software company Wedia.
FRANCE - Crédit Agricole PE invests EUR 3m into Stentys
Crédit Agricole Private Equity has invested EUR 3m into biomedical company Stentys in an extension to its series-B funding round, which was initially raised in March 2008 and saw Sofinnova and Scottish Equity Partners inject EUR 12m into the business.
UK - Wellington Partners leads $10m Enecsys funding
Wellington Partners has led a $10m series-A funding round for micro-inverter company Enecsys, alongside BankInvest New Energy Solutions.
UK - Abingworth et al. invest £15m into Chroma Therapeutics
Returning backers Abingworth Management, Essex Woodlands Healthcare Ventures, Gilde Healthcare, Nomura Phase4 Ventures and The Wellcome Trust have backed a £15m series-D funding round for biotechnology company Chroma Therapeutics.
FRANCE - AGF, CEA and Emertec invest $10m into Alchimer
Existing backers AGF Private Equity, CEA Investissement and Emertec Gestion have invested $10m into Alchimer, a provider of wet depositions processes for interconnections in advanced 3d-packagin applications, in a series-D financing round.
UK - Doughty-backed Setanta enters administration
London-based sports broadcaster Setanta, backed by a private equity syndicate comprising Doughty Hanson, Balderton Capital and Goldman Sachs, has reportedly seen its UK business go into administration.
UK - Crescent Capital leads £2m Axis investment
Crescent Capital has led a £2m round of funding for medical imaging company Axis Three, alongside existing investors Clarendon Fund Managers and Siemens.
UK - NVM-backed CloserStill acquires two exhibition businesses
NVM Private Equity-backed events company CloserStill has acquired Pioneer Global Media and Principal Media for an undisclosed sum.
UK - YFM completes £500,000 Syphan funding
YFM Venture Finance, through the Yorkshire and Humber Equity Fund (YHEF) and Partnership Investment Fund (PIF), has invested £500,000 into security technology company Syphan Technologies. Both YHEF and PIF contributed £250,000 of the total.
GERMANY - JC Flowers-backed Hypo prepares for profit plunge
Hard-hit real estate lender Hypo Real Estate, which is backed by US buyout house JC Flowers, has announced that profits are likely to see a "high three digit million" decrease in the second quarter of 2009 amidst a weakening real estate loan market.
GERMANY - Frog doubles SiC stake
London-based venture firm Frog Capital has doubled its stake in portfolio company SiC Processing AG, a producer of wafer cutting fluids used in silicon wafers, through the purchase of holdings from other shareholders.
GERMANY - HTGF et al. invest EUR 500,000 into wwg
High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Holtzbrink Ventures and business angels Oliver Jung and Torsten Oppermann have invested EUR 500,000 into online gaming company wwg worldwidegames GmbH.
AUSTRIA - Consortium backs mobil data with EUR 2.3m
Wiener Wachstumsfonds and tecnet equity have invested more than EUR 2m into mobile working company mobil data IT & Kommunikationslösungen GmbH, with part of the funding being used to acquire sector rival Tempore Zeiterfassungssysteme.
UK - YFM further invests in CMS SupaTrak
YFM Group, via the South West Ventures Fund, has further invested in vehicle tracking and mobile working solutions company CMS SupaTrak in a third round of funding.
FRANCE - A Plus invests EUR 1.5m into Systancia
A Plus Finance has invested EUR 1.5m into software company Systancia in a first round of funding.
GERMANY - GI Partners puts Acentic up for sale
According to reports, GI Partners has mandated Cavendish Corporate Finance to find a buyer for on-demand content provider Acentic GmbH, with the price tag thought to be up to £100m.
FRANCE - Avenir et al. invest EUR 1.2m into Canevaflor
Avenir Entreprises, Apicil Proximité and Calixte Investissement have joined returning investors Crédit Agricole Création, Rhône Alpes Création and Rhône Dauphiné Développement in a EUR 1.2m investment into Canevaflor, a producer of building materials.
SWITZERLAND – HealthCap leads CHF 6m Lumavita funding
New investor HealthCap has led a CHF 6m extension to biopharmaceutical company Lumavita's series-A financing round, alongside historical backer Endeavour Vision.
FRANCE - BNP PE invests EUR 700,000 into Acropolis Telecom
BNP Private Equity, through its Antin Proximité 1 fund, has invested EUR 700,000 into Acropolis Telecom, a telecoms operator.
BENELUX - PE interested in Intertrust
According to reports, several major buyout houses have expressed interest in making an offer for Intertrust, Fortis' former tax-advisory arm.