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February 08, 2010

Berlin's Brands4friends Invests in London's SecretSale

Shopping club Brands4friends.de, based in Berlin, has made an investment in similar site SecretSale, although they are not disclosing.

If you are not familiar with either company, we first noticed Brands4friends.de at the 2009 NOAH Conference where founder and CEO Christian Heitmeyer, gave a quirky presentation on the startup's tremendous growth in Germany. The company boasts having over 2.5M members in Germany alone, and that in the two years since it has been founded, revenues of €80M.

In the UK, SecretSales competes with the likes of Brand Alley, Vente Privee, Cocosa and The Outnet.

In November 2008, Brands4friends, raised over €10M in third-round funding. The round was led by Partech International, joined by Mangrove Capital Partners and Holtzbrinck Ventures.

Link:

Edited By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 04:44 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

Greenhouse Emissions Management Platform Raises $5.5M

AMEE, a company that provides technology for enterprises to calculate greenhouse emissions, has raised $5.5M (€4M) for its newly built carbon computation engine (the largest of its kind). Amadeus Capital led the Series B round; O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and Union Square Ventures were a part of the deal as well.

With offices in the US and UK, AMEE has quickly advanced in the "clean-tech" space, as an independent source for carbon calculations. It provides detail accounts of carbon emissions, which is makes it easier to audit and track the environmental impact of daily business activities and products. This is good news for carbon accounting practitioners and governments looking to track their carbon footprint and set emissions reduction targets. Using AMEE's API, practitioners can embed best-practice carbon models required by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), and others.

Enterprise carbon accounting is projected to reach $4B (€2.9M) by 2017, yet enterprise management is not is the only focus in AMEE's strategic vision. Today's deal is only one avenue to become "the world's energy meter." In December, the company partnered with energy management service AlertMe, to provide business intelligence solutions for home-based businesses as well.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 12:51 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

February 03, 2010

UK's Seedcamp Announces Applications Call for Prague

Earlier this week Seedcamp opened its call for Mini Seedcamp Prague. Seedcamp is on the road looking for new European talent and innovation. This month Mini Seedcamp will be in Zagreb, moving onto Prague in March. There is much talent in the region; the entrepreneurship community looks to build on the success it had last year in Warsaw.

For more information regarding Mini Seedcamp Prague, click here.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 11:28 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

January 28, 2010

Russian Social Gaming Startup Raises Capital

Another social gaming play? Well, in Russia the market has grown to $30M in less than two years with one major player. How is that for temptation? Okay, maybe "exuberance" is a better word. Whatever the case, new capital has been flowing into the market over the past year. This week Mangrove Capital Partners led a round with ABRT Fund to finance young startup Drimmi. Although, an amount has not been disclosed it has been confirmed that several million dollars will be invested in exchange for a whopping 20 percent stake in the company.

Led by Nikita Sherman (CEO) and Viktor Zakharchenko (COO) Drimmi is currently in development mode with a plan to make a major entry into Russia's social gaming market. Founded less than 6 months ago, the company has been operating in stealth mode with a team of developers and marketers.

New funding will help further game development; it is set to release its first game this quarter and has plans to release a series of games throughout 2010. Mangrove is also an investor in online trivia platform Amuso. Expect an analytics driven strategy leveraging from Nikita Sherman's previous social networking and micro-payments experience.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 10:45 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

January 26, 2010

Leading VCs Invest £13M for Cloud Based Email Management Service

Cloud-based email management service Mimecast completed a second round of funding on Monday. Index Ventures and Dawn Capital raised this round to £13M.

Mimecast has been in the cloud-based space since its founding in 2003. Led by Peter Bauer (CEO) and Neil Murray (CTO) the company enhances the capabilities of traditional offline email platforms by adding additional storage, archiving, and virus protection within its platform. This maintains value of in-house solutions while saving them on costs and security.

To date Mimecast supports a global clients' base that ranges across different industry sectors, and has experienced high revenue growth within the past 3 years. New funding will allow it to finance new research and development initiatives. With just under 2,500 customers worldwide the firm has much room to increase its market presence. Investors are excited about the firm's impressive growth rates and smooth adoption into the enterprise space.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 10:55 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

January 24, 2010

Hot Celsius Raises €3.3M for Luxury Mobile

The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch, so goes the aphorism. What if those few who dare are those who do watches?

Well...we're paying attention.

Celsius started by four thirty-somethings few years back, with a focused goal to tap the niche luxury phone market for lovers of Swiss watch wizardry is now red hot in the VC market. Sofinnova Partners, one of Europe’s biggest venture capital firms, could not have timed its investment of €2.2M ($3.13M) better. AGF Private Equity has put in €500K to the kitty and many other private investors are giving €600K.

For Sofinnova, the investment represents a bet that there is money to be made in bringing together the world of geeks and fashionistas. Papillon, the company’s first mobile, contains a patented mechanism that winds the watch inside every time the user opens and closes the clamshell-shaped phone. It would be sold in a dozen watch or jewelry stores globally and cost around €20K. For Celsius, the challenge will be building brand credibility in what is essentially a tiny niche market.

Romaric Andre, the CEO of Celsius, aims to take the 500-year old tradition of hand-made watches and use it to make a mobile phone that would replace chips and electronics with moving parts. Edouard Meylan, co-chief executive of Celsius, targets elite customers who are aficionados of Swiss watches and will keep his mobiles for decades rather than tossing them aside after a year. Meylan says that Celsius aims to sell 50 of its Papillon phones this year and 150 of a lower-priced version. The company wants to increase sales of the lower-priced model to more than 1,000 units by 2013, while keeping sales of the high-end version more restricted.

Meylan knows more about the appeal of fine craftsmanship than most: he is the son of George-Henry Meylan, the long-time CEO of Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet. To end with another timely quote suitable for Meylan - Learn the past, watch the present, and create the future.

By Raghuraman R

Posted at 11:21 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

January 22, 2010

Finnfund Funds Ashley Oy Venture in India

A joint venture between Finland-based Alteams Oy and Ashok Leyland of India went ahead full steam with the commissioning of its plant at Cheyyar in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The plant will produce high precision aluminum high pressure die cast components for the automotive and telecom sectors, in domestic and international markets.

The joint venture is funded by Finnfund, set up by the Finnish Government for encouraging Finnish business projects outside the country. The details of financing are not yet known but some Indian banks have given 'soft loans' for the project. Rp1.3B (€19M) to produce 7000 tons is the initial investment, which is slated to go up to Rp3B (€45M) for producing 10000 tons. Mr. Seshasayee, chairman of the company is confident that annual sales will go from Rp1.8B (€27M) to Rp5B (€76M) in 5 years. He firmly believes that participation of Finnfund "has raised the stature of the joint venture."

The joint venture focuses primarily on two fast-growing telecom and automotive segments, from which offer significant export potential. Alteam benefits by hedging itself during the business cycles of telecom industry. Entry into automotives will provide the much needed stability. For the Indian counterpart, Ashok Leyland, this deal gives a supply source for HPDC components

.

By Raghuraman R

Posted at 12:47 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

January 20, 2010

Atlas Ventures Relocates to Boston

Early stage venture firm Atlas Ventures announced its decision to consolidate its US and Europe teams by reducing its investment partners. Since 1980, the firm has built over 350 companies worldwide. In 2010, the firm will bring all operations to a new office in the Boston area. Partner Fred Destin will relocate to Boston. The firm will continue its investment strategy in Europe. Christopher Spray shall remain in London to manage its existing European portfolio.

For additional information, click here.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 10:34 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

January 19, 2010

Acton Capital Takes Stake in MyTheresa.com

Luxury fashion site mytheresa.com sold a minority stake in its e-commerce business to Acton Capital Partners. Details covering the deal remain undisclosed.

The company led by co-founders Christoph and Susanne Botschen was founded in 2006. Leveraging over 20 years of fashion industry experience the two founders have established mytheresa.com as an exclusive source for women's fashion and accessories.

Carrying over 120 international luxury brands for its global customer base, the market leading service provides a multilingual website and first-class customer service department. With low barriers of entry into online retail competitors in the area of luxury fashion are rapidly growing. This deal brings on-board a wealth of e-commerce experience from Acton's expert team along with a capital boost to help mytheresa.com maneuver and maintain its leading niche position with high-end luxury fashion.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 11:13 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

Russian Shopping Platform Raises $20M

Online shopping network KupiVIP.ru raised $20M in round led by Accel Partners. Mangrove Capital Partners, ARLAN, Direct Group and Oliver Jung (private investor) were also involved with the deal.

KupiVIP.ru was founded in 2008 with a $11M startup egg, and has hatched exceptional growth since then, selling over 500 fashion brands online. The short-time growth that CEO Oskar Hartmann has achieved proves to investors that Russia is indeed a viable market for discounted fashion.

The young startup, headquartered in Moscow, concentrates on flash sales (roughly 200 a month), bringing fashion brands to an exclusive invitation-only customer base. New financing brings growth capital to build on sales momentum --increasing the amount sales events as well as the number of brands participating with the site.

KupiVIP.ru has its own distribution network with a call center and branded courier service. There is much ahead before the company gets an handle on its domestic market. While potential competitors are focusing on greater Europe few have considered entering Russia with their offerings. This leaves the door open for KupiVIP.ru to build on its distribution channel, customer knowledge and secure market share as a flash sales leader in the region.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 11:11 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

January 18, 2010

France's Spartoo closes Series B at €12M

E-retailer Spartoo.com announced that it raised €12M in a Series B round. Highland Capital Partners and Endeavour Vision led funding, while existing investors A Plus Finance and CM-CIC Capital Privé joined as well. The deal was managed by Clipperton Finance.

Founded in 2006, Spartoo has experienced tremendous growth selling shoes online. Some analyst have compared the startup to U.S. based firm Zappos, which made news last year, after being acquired for $1.2B (€832M) by Amazon. Such a comparison implies that perhaps Spartoo will have a similar exit. Well, it's possible but not as straightforward as Zappos.com's growth in the U.S.

Since inception Spartoo has maintained a fairly vertical offering of shoes. Like most European firms its growth strategy is intricate because the European market is smaller and more fragmented, relative to the U.S. Because of this Spartoo has been very selective about what markets it expands to as well as what order. CEO Boris Saragaglia has aims to build France-based Spartoo.com into the European leader in the online shoe market. His plans to do so are analytics-driven, based on consumer buying behaviors in different countries. So far the firm has focused on bringing strong customer services and premium brand names to markets where consumers are comfortable with buying products online. It expanded into Italy in early 2009, quickly becoming the country's largest online shoe retailer before expanding into the UK last Fall.

This round will finance expansion throughout geographical Europe. Though, for the next 2 or 3 years it will continue growth in established markets. Nonetheless, expect to see some early entry into new markets such as Spain and Germany later this year. As a result new challenges facing the company will be how well it will compete with strong national leaders in each market. Whether it's matching products and brands to consumer expectations in each region or tailoring local sites to maximize the user experience for varying cultural behaviors. See video below (in French).

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 10:57 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

January 10, 2010

German Company CircuLite Closes Series C Round for $32.5M

Cardiovascular device maker CircuLite has closed a $32.5M (€22.5M) in a third round of financing. The new round was led by Forbion Capital Partners, which joined existing backers Crédit Agricole Private Equity, Foundation Medical Partners, Oxford Bioscience Partners, and several undisclosed private investors.

Headquartered in Saddle Brook, New Jersey (US) the company has its operations based in Aachen, Germany. CircuLite was founded in 2004. Led by President and CEO Paul Southworth, it specializes in micro-pumping devices that assist chronic heart failure patients.

Once getting its new generation of Synergy products beyond trial phase CircuLite will be well-positioned to launch them in European and the United States. New funds will back clinical testing for its latest product Synergy (R) Pocket Micro-pump. The Synergy (R) Pocket Micro-pump provides partial circulatory support for patients with Class IIIb and IV heart failure.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 08:24 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

January 09, 2010

Finland's Rightware Closes €3M for Spin-off

User interface technology developer Rightware raised its first round of funding, securing €3M in the deal. Nexit Ventures and Inventure (a Nordic focused early stage investor) co-led the round. Nexit Ventures invests in mobile and wireless high-growth companies, primarily in the Nordic countries and the US.

Founded in 2009 by CEO Tero Sarkkinen, Rightware is a spin-off from Futuremark, a leading developer of 3D graphics software, UI solutions and gaming. Based in Helsinki, Finland the former Futuremark unit specializes in developing advanced user interface solutions for mobile phone and and embedded applications. With this deal all mobile and embedded intellectual property rights are transferred to Rightware. In addition, this financial boost will accelerate development and marketing goals for its leading product Kanzi™ which enhances display and infotainment systems with more intuitive user interfaces. Top brands such as Audi, China Mobile, Texas instruments and Imagination Technologies have already adopted the solution.

With the benefit of having an established operation Rightware has a competitive foothold in a rapidly growing market. Artturi Tarjanne, General Partner of Nexit Ventures believes the company is poised to deliver rich smartphone and display panel solutions at a quicker time-to-market.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 08:17 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

Swiss Insulin Infuser Infused with $29.6M Series A

Swiss developer CeQur raised a Series A round of $29.6M (€20.4M). The late 2009 round included BMC Ventures A/S, Endeavor Vision SA, Schroder & Co. Bank AG and Venture Incubator AG.

Headquartered in Mopntreux Switzerland, with operations in Nordborg, Denmark and Marlborough, Massachusetts CeQur was founded in 2008, as a spin-off from Danish industrial product group Danfoss A/S. The company develops delivery systems to improve management of Type II diabetes. Its leading infuser product Cequr™ Insulin Infuser offers three day insulin delivery from a wearable pack. The small device provides daily injections of basal/bolus insulin on-demand, by the push of a button.

With more than 8 million people with Type II diabetes in the U.S. and EU there's plenty of potential for CeQur to offer its insulin infuser as an alternative solution, for people to conveniently maintain their glycemic levels. Proceeds from this round of financing with help the company meet European and U.S. regulatory demands in 2010.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 12:59 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

January 02, 2010

Sweden's Securitas Acquires Tecniserv

International security firm Securitas acquired Tecniserv. Headquartered in Sweden, Securitas offers security services across multiple segments: business and industry, private individuals, and public transportation. This current acquisition increases the breadth of their in-house monitoring and console service unit known as "Securitas Alert Services."

Spanish company Tecniserv specializes in alarm systems and third-party monitoring. With a majority of customers in the Madrid area Tecniserv has produced annual sales up to kr54M (€5M). Its operations are currently valued at kr76M (€7M).

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 11:35 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

December 31, 2009

Nuance Picks Up SpinVox for $102.5M

Nuance Communications, a speech and imaging service, acquired SpinVox in a hefty deal worth $102.5M (€71M); $66M cash and $36.5M common stock.

SpinVox, is a robust service that allows you to utilize speech recognition technology to convert voice messaging into text that can be seen through SMS or email. The service can translate multiple languages into a text format. This strategic acquisition will allow Nuance to integrate its speech solutions with SpinVox's leading technology and carrier-grade infrastructure.

Based in London, SpinVox provides services to telecommunication companies across five continents (nearly 100 million users worldwide). This offer saves the debt-laiden company, while providing an ideal opportunity for Nuance to expand its product innovation and global reach through SpinVox's development team.

It's an "oh-so-common" scenario where a US company can purchase a solid European tech company to further its international presence. With this key competency gain, expect to see the Burlington (MA) software firm improve its service quality and advance speech automation for web and mobile markets.

[Update: paidContent, covered this story as well. Read, for more detail.]

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 10:46 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

December 24, 2009

Telefónica Pays €145M For Net Telco Jajah

Telefónica has bought Jajah out of Menlo Park for €145M. This is a decent win for investors who had put in $28M (€17M). They are Globespan Capital Partners, Intel Capital, Deutsche Telekom and Sequoia Capital.

Jajah's technology enables people to talk over Internet. Subscribers type in their own phone number and the destination phone number on the company's Website. The phone call is then connected at especially low rates. Other Jajah services allow the same type of connection via cellular phone.

Its unclear how much revenue Jajah is doing but clearly they are not up to some speculation - some even viewed Jajah as an IPO candidate. Gigaom had speculated that JaJah might be earning €100M in revenues. More reasonable speculation is that Jajah earned $30M on its 25M subscribers, with the expectation that it is profitable.

While this space is very competitive (Skype, Google via Gizmo5, etc.), Jajah's biggest contract to date was signed with Microsoft, which is integrating jajah's product into their's communications server. The deal is estimated to be worth millions of dollars annually.

CEO Trevor Healy was GM and head of sales at Paypal. The company was founded in Israel and has its R&D there.

Posted at 06:26 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

December 18, 2009

UK's Seedcamp Community Announces 2010 Itinerary

The enthusiasm surrounding Seedcamp has been infectious. The community oriented initiative began in 2007, to address a growing need for micro-seed funding and early stage support in Europe. It has since created quite a movement, pulling from a network of advisors and venture capitalists, to provide guidance and capital support to new founders.

Each week for the past 3 years Seedcamp has facilitated Seedcamp Weeks where new venture concepts and projects are shared. Resulting from these activities have been investments in 15 companies over the same period.

This week the community announced it's 2010 Mini-Seedcamp itinerary (Jan- July) with some new developments:

• 11FEB09 - Zagreb
• 02MAR09 - Prague
• 23MAR09 - Barcelona
• 15APR09 - Paris
• 05MAY09 - Tel Aviv
• 27MAY09 - Copenhagen
• 16JUN09 - Berlin
• 20JUL09 - London

For more information pertaining to these events, please click here.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 07:25 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

December 16, 2009

German Company Raises €8M Series D for Self-Powered Wireless Technology

Energy harvesting wireless sensors? Sound promising? How about building automation through sensors, with no need for batteries? This has to save some costs for both residential and commercial buildings. EnOcean assures us that it does.

The firm is a market leader in energy-autonomous wireless technology. Earlier this week EnOcean completed its fourth round of funding. The round bringing in €8M, welcomed new investors SET Venture Partners and Kathrein Group to join existing backers: Atmos, BayTech Venture Capital, Emerald Technology Ventures, Siemens Technology Accelerator, Siemens Venture Capital and Wellington Partners.

Being joined by Kathrein (the world's largest antenna producer) brings tremendous expertise and insight into scaling international operations for high-tech communication technologies. EnOcean will use its new funding for further development of its self-powered wireless technology and, more importantly, increase sales efforts in Europe, North America, and Asia.

As it stands, customers need a little more massaging to buy something that will save them money. This should not be too big of an obstacle for a niche leader looking to increase revenues internationally.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 12:37 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

December 08, 2009

Medius Raises €2.5M to go International

Sweden-based Medius was able to raise kr25M (€2.5M) from Swedish venture capital firm InnovationsKapital through an equity issuance. This equity infusion is to carry out its rapid expansion plans over the next three years in rest of the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK and in France. Medius is an established company with over 300 customers including Saab, Haldex, Stadium, Mekonomen, K-rauta and The Body Shop. Led by Per Nordling, CEO and co-founder, it has grown organically and profitably since its founding in 2002. In its last three years company revenue has increased by 430%, putting it on target to reach kr90M (€9M) in 2009.

InnovationsKapital–known for its long-term growth expertise–has full trust in a great team, strong and competitive customer offering and a fast growing market for Medius in the future. There's an enormous market opportunity for their workflow platform offering, MediusFlow. Expect more traction on this product over the next two years. Its platform provides support to processes that fall out of the scope of enterprise systems by integrating and matching the process to the look and feel of the larger business system.

By Raghuraman R

Posted at 10:20 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

Aquiline Clear2Pay €50M

Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, a New York-based private equity firm has led the investment round in Clear2Pay NV, a financial services technology company that catalyzes secure and timely electronic payments. This round with also funds from existing investors provides €50M to Clear2Pay for its future growth and potential strategic acquisitions. This round will close with customary conditions by the end of this year.

The payments technology industry has a multi billion dollar revenue opportunity with an expanding market. However, localization is key. Shifting industry paradigms like globalization, consolidation, regulatory change and Eurozone harmonization demand efficient and up-to-date payment silos especially in many banks, processors and clearing houses.

Clear2Pay, with Michael Akkermans as its Chairman and CEO, is a novel one-stop-shop for flexible, extensible and cost-efficient global payment solutions. It accommodates different payment systems of its customers complying with changing local regulatory requirements in the current financial environment and modifies its market propositions efficiently. Jurgen Ingels, Co-founder and CFO is confident of accelerating their geographic expansion with broadened product offerings keeping a growing client base happy. Jeff Greenberg, Chief Executive of Aquiline vouches for the same.

By Raghuraman R

Posted at 09:45 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

December 07, 2009

If Recession Comes Can M&As Be Far Behind?

After 18 months of "stand-by" and caution i.e. recession, companies around the world are looking ahead to consolidate and cement their positions.  Mergers and acquisitions is the most popular approach, especially to capture early market positions in new growth territories.  American companies have taken the lead with major transactions - Amazon (Zappos), Google (AdMob), Cisco (Tandberg, Starent, ScanSafe), Oracle (Sun), IBM (SPSS), Intel (Wind River), Atheros Communications (Intellon), Compuware (Gomez) and Electronic Arts (PlayFish).  Fore this reason, speculation about the role of European companies naturally comes under scrutiny.

Technology indices give a good measure of companies that are not only stable but also most likely to lead in a post-recession phase. The main market indexes - NASDAQ 100, FTSE 100, CAC 40 and CTI (Clipperton Technology Index) have been following the same evolution since 1 September 2008.  Each index follows a set of bellwether stocks or "barometer stocks" and analysts can look at them to get an idea of events likely to come.  Stability of an index is a good indication that the companies it tracks are indeed the right ones.  With respect to the current economic crisis, it is to be noted that CTI hit its lowest point at 30 points below, while NASDAQ, FOOTSIE and CAC 40 dipped 40 points below September 2008 levels, reaffirming the reliability of CTI.

CTI has evolved over the years with classification of companies based on market capitalization and the sector in which it operates.  Large caps refer to those whose market capital is greater than €1000M, Mid-caps for those between €100M and €1000M and Small-caps for those below €100M.  Seven Large-caps, which influence more than one third of the total CTI index's evolution, are within the Life Sciences, Telecom Operators, Energy and Diversified Technology sectors e.g. Sanofi Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Astrazeneca, Vodafone, Areva, Alstom and Schneider Electric.  During the period of Sep 2008-Mar 2009, Large-caps fell by 28 points, while small and mid-caps declined by 40 points.  CTI resisted the downturn because of the stability of the Large-cap technology firms.

The latest CTI is composed of 471 publicly traded companies in Europe, 227 located in UK and 244 in France and the index will be expanded to include the German and Benelux markets.  Companies to watch are 1. Nokia - which will be tested by Apple and RIM (Research in Motion) making inroads, 2. Gemalto (a merger of Gemplus and Axalto) - global leader of smartcard market will be evaluated for its strategies towards new areas of growth, 3. Pace - operator in the domain of broadcasting will be checked by IPTV and move against dependency of cable operators on equipment and 4. Psion which has a good view looking forward from its current position as third in mobile market, after Motorola's Symbol Technologies and Honeywell's Scanning and Mobility division.

CTI also listed two key deals in 2009 a) CSR and SiRF merger and b) Autonomy acquiring Interwoven.  There was a special focus to dynamic Web and E-Commerce segment especially SeLoger.com, Hi-Media and Xing. Meetic's acquisition of European operations of US leader Match.com also got a special mention in the latest CTI newsletter.

For more information, M&A strategy in a post-recession environment is discussed in greater detail between Wharton management professor Larry Hrebiniak and finance professor Pavel Savor for Wharton's newsletter.

By Raghuraman R

Posted at 08:59 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

December 06, 2009

Balderton Pleased with YOOX Group IPO

Online fashion retailer YOOX Group commenced its IPO December 3, 2009. The company was valued at €260M (€4.3 per share). Its shares raised 8.37% (€4.66 per share) by the end of the first trading day. The YOOX Group's largest institutional shareholder Balderton Capital was pleased with its successful IPO. Shares closed Friday at €4.935. The fact that Balderton remains a significant shareholder speaks to the expected growth potential of YOOX.

Led by Federico Marchetti, the Italy-based e-tailer was founded in 2000. It manages an array of multi-brand and single-brand online stores with customers in 57 countries worldwide. Its 2008 net revenues were at €101M.

More companies ranging between high and low fashion retail are entering the European e-commerce space. At this point many are targeting local markets with discounted price offerings. Keep an eye out for newcomer Brands4Friends (Germany), and more established firms Dress-for-Less (Germany) and BuyVIP (Spain), which have transcontinental offerings. Sooner than later you will see each of these firms pulling out more competitive stops as new strategic markets are identified and revenue goals expand.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 02:03 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

December 05, 2009

UK Smartphone Solutions Developer Receives Growth Investment from DN Capital

Smartphone solutions provider Apsmart received an undisclosed amount of funding from early stage and growth investment firm, DN Capital. The young/stealth startup will capitalize from DN Capital and its collective knowledge of the mobile technology industry.

Based in London the company was founded by Rahul Powar (formerly a lead developer at Shazam). Aspmart develops mobile solutions for organizations to bring applications to smartphone platforms i.e. iPhone, Android, RIM and other smart devices. This deal comes out of Rahul's longstanding relationship with DN Capital, which formerly funded Shazam. The DN Capital team has helped Powar establish a growth and expansion strategy for this new venture. It has fixed aim on "high-end smartphone platforms" for service delivery and applications development.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 01:13 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

December 02, 2009

Innotech Solar Sunlit by Investinor AS

Innotech Solar AS (ITS) prospects are sunlit with NOK 51.7M (€6.13M) investment by Investinor AS and NOK 2.3M (€272K) invested by new employees.  The production line in Narvik is scheduled to hit a volume of 27MW during 2010.  The company established in spring 2008, rapidly grew to 42 employees, divided by headquarters and production in Narvik, administration and technology in Oslo, sales offices in Germany and China, and project development for power plants in Switzerland.  ITS specializes in getting out all the clean energy from the solar cells, bought from wide range of large, international solar cell manufacturers.

With its "greener than green" idea, ITS is making clean renewable energy using upgraded solar cells. The technology and production process has been developed in-house and upgrades the ITS solar cells for use in their certified products. Innovation Norway and Forskningsrådet (The Research Council of Norway) support the technology development.  The unique offering of ITS is competitive solar modules. That is, the main component in solar power plants. Keeping its modules competitive ensure low production costs for plant owners, without compromising volume or high-tech production processes. ITS engages in constructing and operating complete solar power plants as well.

ITS has in no time built a strong team of world class expertise. The firm boasts "over 150 years of combined solar experience." With Germany and China investing heavily in clean technologies ITS is strategically positioned in each region to benefit from its unprecedented level of investment in the sector. Investors may see the value and financial benefits in solar power plants, however wind development is making a strong push. How will solar power plants stand out as the alternative of choice?

By Raghuraman R

Posted at 11:00 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

EIB Joins Sicily with €148M and €60M for JESSICA and JEREMIE

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Sicily Region declared the creation of JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Development in City Areas), a €148M holding fund to finance urban regeneration and energy efficiency in Sicilian cities. Dario Scannapieco, EIB Vice-President responsible for operations in Malta, Italy and the Western Balkans, and Raffaele Lombardo, Governor of the Sicily Region presented the first of its kind operation in Rome.

JESSICA is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the EIB, in conjunction with the Council of Europe Development Bank, which fosters investment in urban infrastructure through the more effective use of the EU structural funds. Twenty countries have already decided to set up JESSICA funds. Seven of them are up and running in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Spain, Lithuania and Poland. The Marche Region has signed a Memorandum of Understanding providing for the creation of JESSICA financing instruments worth up to €20M.

Municipalities, public and semi-public companies, and firms involved in infrastructure construction and urban regeneration investment are eligible for financing under the JESSICA fund for the Sicily Region, even beyond the current programming period (2007-2013).

In addition, European Investment Fund (EIF, part of the EIB Group) and the Sicily Region signed an agreement to set up a JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises) fund for providing financial support for Sicily’s small businesses through a variety of instruments and making available microcredit, worth a total of €60M. This is the second JEREMIE agreement in Italy following one established with the Campania Region a year ago.

JEREMIE is a joint effort of the European Commission and the EIF for improving small firms’ access to credit under the 2007-2013 Structural Funds Framework Programme. The agreement signed in Rome enables the Sicily to use ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) resources to support its small businesses, during the period 2009-2013, through its €60M fund. JEREMIE will offer selected financial intermediaries a wide range of dedicated products, including guarantees, microcredit and securitization. Altogether, the revolving fund ensures long-term support for small businesses without providing grants to SMEs.

By Raghuraman R

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November 30, 2009

Heliatek GmbH notches up $27M in 2nd round

Heliatek GmbH, leader in organic solar cells got a boost of $27M (€17M) in a second round of financing led by Wellington Partners. Bosch, RWE Innogy Ventures, BASF Venture Capital, the High-Tech-Gründerfonds, eCAPITAL entrepreneurial Partners, the Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen and GP Bullhound Sidecar were the other participants in this round. The funds of this round will be used to build an initial production facility in Dresden, Germany

The company is highly focused on its proprietary tandem technology for efficiently producing flexible and very lightweight PV modules on a film substrate, at 500 grams per square meter. It is well placed to nab the opportunity to bring PV well beyond grid parity.

Formed in 2006 as a spin-off from the Universities of Dresden and Ulm, Heliatek under CEO Dr. Andreas Rückemann cant wait to hit the market in order to be one of the first suppliers to ramp up a production operation.

By Raghuraman R

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November 27, 2009

UK Universities Rethinking Entrepreneurship: Community First

There is an impetus, for young entrepreneurs in the UK to build a community culture that supports business and innovation. Doing so and motivating others to participate will help spawn a new generation of entrepreneurs in Europe. Many UK universities recognize this goal and are finding ways to cultivate a renewed entrepreneurial spirit in students.

The London School of Business (LBS) and its Institute for Entrepreneurship has a new lecture series where successful entrepreneurs speak on their experiences and give insights on what it takes to build a scalable business. Jeff Skinner, Director at the Institute for Entrepreneurship, says the series [only two lecturers in] has been met with an overwhelming welcome from students and professionals in the startup world.

Early success of the LBS series comes rather timely on the heels of Seedcamp and the excitement it has generated in the UK. Seedcamp's community, which started in 2007, pulls from a network of advisors and venture capitalists to provide guidance and capital support to new founders. Other developments aligned with cultivating talented entrepreneurs have been the new community platform UK Uni Startups established by seed capital firm Ycombinator and more recently, the one-day business competition The Cambridge Apprentice as a part of the 2009 UK Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Each initiative indicates the burgeoning scene happening in the UK as well as its focus on emulating a thriving technology community –one that is as fertile and affective as legendary Route 128 of the 1980s and today's Silicon Valley. It's exciting to witness the beginning of this shift. However, conventional wisdom tells us that, in order for this effort to work and survive the test of time, intellectual, institutional and financial resources must work in tandem to grow talent, leadership and innovation. Shreyas Mukund, Director of Development at Cambridge University Technology and Enterprise Club (CUTEC) agrees with this assertion. His work at CUTEC along with the efforts of Cambridge University Entrepreneurs Society (CUE) look to address this concern by holding events that encourage collaborations between technology students, business students, industry members and venture capital firms, at Cambridge.

There were unique factors for both Route 128 and Silicon Valley. Each locale, in its early stage, was a condensed environment of technologists, well-established technology firms and heavily funded research institutions. For Europe the challenge is building a network that fully understands the importance of each factor, before it can adequately capitalize off of its benefits. Moreover the success of Silicon Valley stands in contrast to that of Route 128 because of its ability to share information across institutions.

Although, the UK in particular has much understated strength in its intellectual and cultural diversity, one of its greater hurdles will be how well it can adapt to a culture of sharing information. This observation is not limited to intellectual property rather highlighting the importance of access for individuals. Low barriers of entry are an extremely important aspect for young talent to gain immersive experiences and share ideas. A continuous challenge with this issue will be how well it translates to facilitating openness and embracing diversity beyond convention. For new entrepreneurial communities, finding success in this area will allow for new and tangential developments to happen when growing talent, leadership, and innovation.

By Hanif O'Neil

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November 26, 2009

eCommera endears ePlanet, entrusted £1.3M

UK-based eCommerca has attracted £1.3M from ePlanet in the latest round of funding. With this round, £6M funding has poured into eCommera, reiterating it as the best funded ecommerce providers in Europe. This latest injection comes two months after an investment group led by growth capital investor, Frog Capital in conjunction with West Coast Capital and GP Bullhound put their money, £5M to be exact, on eCommera.

Funding will go towards driving the geographic expansion of eCommera with an initial focus on Europe. eCommera which helps large retailers like Asda and House of Fraser to run profitable online retail operations, was founded by Michael Ross, founder of highly successful online fashion retailer Figleaves.com, and ex-BT marketing director, Andrew McGregor in 2007. eCommera today serves over 20 major retailers, and has over 70 staff, many of whom are veterans from the e-commerce industry from companies like Arcadia, Tesco, Fish 4, Dell and Harrods.

ePlanet has a successful track record of investing in successful, growing tech companies, including Baidu, the leading Chinese search engine, and Skype. Dennis Atkinson, ePlanet partner strongly believes that eCommera's ecommerce dashboard, CoreTrader with enterprise class Software as a Service (SaaS) platform helps large global retailers grow without the distraction and high cost of managing technology and make profits quickly.

By Raghuraman R

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November 25, 2009

UK's Oxagen Raises £16M Series C

UK based Oxagen Limited, a drug innovation and development company, successfully completed a £16M ($26.7M) Series C round led by Novartis Venture Funds. MPM Capital, SV Life Sciences, Advent Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Omega, Abingworth, IBT, Red Abbey and The Wellcome Trust, existing investors in Oxagen actively supported Novartis Venture Funds in this round. Mark Payton, CEO of Oxagen was delighted to see Novartis as an investor. Novartis are equally excited and anticipate a blockbuster in Oxagen's lead compound, CRTH2.

CRTH2 a.k.a. DP2 is a cell surface receptor for prostaglandin D2 and implied in allergic inflammation. Proceeds from this round will advance Oxagen's CRTH2 antagonist program for inflammatory and respiratory illnesses. Particularly, completion of the Phase IIb clinical study of primary molecule OC000459 in moderate persistent asthma, which followed the successful completion of proof-of-concept analysis in both asthma and allergic rhinitis.

For more information of this condition please click here.

By Raghuraman R

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November 24, 2009

SantoSolve AS Kinetic with $5.5M for Amputee Pain Reliever

Oslo based SantoSolve AS received a boost with a new $5.5M (€3.6M), injected by Scandinavian VCs Teknoinvest, InnovationsKapital and Investinor. The Norwegian pharmaceutical/biotech company focuses on targeted pain therapeutics using a novel class of active ingredients. The topical analgesic products that it develops are based on non-radioactive strontium as the active substance. Company flagship product 2PX is used for topical administration (applied directly on skin), combining the active ingredient with selected dermal penetration enhancers. Local administration of the product focuses delivery of the active product to subdermal sites of pain and inflammation.

Although the process seems a bit hair-raising, minimum side-effects have been observed in Phase I safety and pharmacology studies. Phase II studies further confirm favorable results, testing the analgesic effects of 2PX alongside placebo controlled trials.

New tests show a strong analgesic effect of 2PX has been proven in patients with chronic, hard-to-treat stump pain that often accompanies major-limb amputation. Additional funding will help SantoSolve advance further into 2PX Phase III trials in both OA and post-amputation pain.

By Raghuraman R

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November 21, 2009

Karolinska Development and EIF Start New Life Science Fund

Swedish investment company Karolinska Development AB and European Investment Fund (EIF) have a co-investment agreement, in which the fund managed by the former will be invested in early-stage pharmaceutical and medical technology companies. With a contribution of €26.7M this is the EIF's single largest investment in Nordic region. This agreement for this deal was concluded after the European Investment performed its own due-diligence check of Karolina Development investments in new projects as well as its share in portfolio companies in the final stages of clinical development, over a period of four years.

Karolinska Development has carefully created one of the biggest portfolio of life science companies in Europe since 2003. It has access to world-class life science innovations, not only from Karolinska Institutet but through many leading Nordic universities. Thus making the company well positioned to cultivate early stage companies for successful commercial exits. Monies from the European Investment Fund will be made over a 4 year period.

By Raghuraman R

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November 20, 2009

UK's picoChip Hitches $20M from Cautious VCs

At a time when venture investors are cautious, picoChip today announced that it has completed a $20M (€13M) round of funding. The round points not only to the confidence of investors but also to the leadership, strength and game-changing technology of picoChip, which has been a first mover in femtocell technology since 2005. Atlas Venture, Highland Capital Partners, Pond Venture Partners, Scottish Equity Partners, and Rothschild are some of the principal investors in picoChip, along with strategic investors AT&T, Intel and Samsung.

picoChip is a pioneer and unsurprisingly the dominant supplier for femtocell silicon. Many see it as the next generation of wireless technology. ABI Research indicates the growth of femtocell market to reach 2.3 million units in 2010, and rising to 40 million units by 2014. Six major network operators have launched femtocell services that cover USA, Europe and Asia, in 2009. Most carrier's HSPA roll-outs depend on picoChip's leading technology and seventeen customers are already using the field-proven picoXcell™ product. Strategy for picoChip is to have an end-to-end femtocell reference solution that can seamlessly enter homes, minimize cost and arrive on-time in the market.

By Raghuraman R

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UK Ring-Back Tone Service Secures €9M from VCs

Digital ring-back tone (RBT) service Muzicall has raised another round of funding, securing €9M in its latest round. Existing funders BlueRun Ventures and Thule were joined by a new group of investors: Orkos Capital, Veddis Ventures and GP Bullhound. News of this deal comes shortly after flattering value projections made by market research firm, Multimedia Intelligence, which foresees Muzicall tripling its value by 2012.

Based out of London, Muzicall will use new capital to expand its RBT service throughout Europe. Hoping to replicate hefty revenue streams like those services in Asia and the U.S. Patrick Allainguillaume, CEO, says that only 2% of the Europe's mobile users have ring-back tones, which makes them a prime market for increased awareness and sales growth.

Founded in 2004, the company now boasts to be Europe's leading provider of ring-back tone services. Its ALL platform enables users to create their own content library and assign separate rings for each caller in their phone book. New funding will help the firm build its marketing and content partnerships with customers such as Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange.

Analysts at IDC predict that mobile entertainment will see a significant shift in 2010, with ring-back tone services overtaking traditional ring-tone services and becoming a leading revenue source in the sector.

By Raghuraman R

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November 17, 2009

WRI Marks 10th Anniversary With a €228M Deal

In what could easily be an inspiring story for the aspiring entrepreneurs, the owners of Web Reservations International (WRI) zoomed into the category of super-rich on the occasion of the tenth birthday of their firm with a €228M ($340M) deal. In 1999, software entrepreneur Ray Nolan made a humble beginning developing a booking system for Tom Kennedy, who owned the Avalon hostel in Dublin. Together they co-founded WRI, developing a network of websites which now handles bookings for 23,000 properties globally. WRI is best-known for the Hostelworld.com website, but also owns Boo.com, Bed-and-breakfast-world.com, Hostels.com and Trav.com. Ireland-based Web Reservations International, is privately held and has offices in Sydney, Australia, San Mateo, California and Shanghai, China.

Hellman & Friedman, the US private equity firm, heavily impressed by the profit margins of WRI quickly closed the deal late last week, with Morgan Stanely overseeing the two-month sale process. Several parties including behemoths in the travel industry were attracted to WRI, but Feargal Mooney, chief executive of WRI, said that the board of the company decided in favor of the "right partner" Hellman & Friedman, which has "an ambitious agenda for growth and further innovation." Stephen Duckett, managing director of Hellman & Friedman, said that WRI had ‘a strong and distinctive franchise in the online travel market’.

WRI, which sold €350M worth of accommodation last year, is not expected to have large changes at the company by the buyout. It has been expanding into new areas, and Hellman & Friedman may see opportunities for acquisitions. Nolan and Kennedy who owned about 25% and 30% of WRI would have had a big payday. Up to 93 employees will also benefit from the deal via an employee share ownership scheme. Venture capital firm Summit Partners, which invested in WRI in 2004 and had a 20 per cent stake are also a beneficiary. WRI has completed a number of share recapitalizations in recent years, yielding about €100M for shareholders. Added to the buyout by Hellman & Friedman, various shareholders have made about €335M ($500M) from Web Reservations International.

The WRI deal is one of the biggest corporate transactions in Ireland in recent years, and among the biggest ever in the Irish technology sector. Hellman & Friedman bought Datatel, a US education software firm, for €381M ($570M) just three days before the WRI deal. With Datatel’s previous owner, buyout firm Thoma Bravo, quadrupling its money in less than five years, it was a sign that leveraged buyouts could be returning despite the credit crunch. Hellman& Friedman is also preparing flotation plans for Gartmore, the British fund manager in which it owns a 50 per cent stake.

By Raghuraman R

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November 13, 2009

PanGenetics Sells PG110 to Abbott

PanGenetics, a therapeutic antibody development company with offices in UK and Netherlands has agreed to sell PG110 to Abbott, which will market this antibody worldwide. The agreement amounting $190M (€127M )includes an upfront payment of $170M (€114M) and additional milestone payments. JP Morgan is the financial advisor for this transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009. Kevin Johnson, CEO of PanGenetics is buoyant after this successful deal and is looking forward to bringing breakthrough new therapies to the marketplace.

Leading European investors including Index Ventures, Forbion Capital Partners, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners (EdRIP) and Credit Agricole Private Equity participated in earlier rounds of funding for PanGenetics. In the last funding, Fortis Private Equity Belgium and Biogen-Idec New Ventures pitched in as well.

PG110 is a humanized antibody to Nerve Growth Factor (NGF). An estimated 72 million patients in the US and EU have been diagnosed of chronic pain and nearly 30% of chronic pain patients get inadequate relief. NSAIDs, selective Cox-2 inhibitors, opioids, and other analgesics are dosed daily in some of the current treatment methods but they have some safety and tolerability issues including abuse and addiction. Abbott expects to evaluate PG110 in other pain states including chronic lower back pain and diabetic neuropathic pain, if Phase 1 trial is successful.

By Raghuraman R

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HP Valves BV Acquires Key Valve Technologies Ltd

Netherlands based HP Valves BV, a subsidiary of Indutrade completed the acquisition of Key Valve Technologies Ltd (KVT) as per its declaration of intent announced on 2 Nov 2009. Following this acquisition, KVT is a wholly owned subsidiary of HP Valves yet remains organizationally a part of Indutrade's Special Products business area, which had net sales of kr1.8B (€176M) in 2008. KVT retains its current management and employees and will continue to operate as a standalone enterprise within the Indutrade Group. The acquisition is expected to have a marginally positive impact on Indutrade’s earnings per share.

Key Valve Technologies (KVT) is a leading player in R&D and manufacturing of high pressure valves. Its products are used for pressure-control and flows in severe-duty environments in power generation and in the petrochemicals industry. KVT based in Seoul, South Korea was founded in 1998 by Mr Key Min and today is nearly 30 employees strong, with annual sales of approximately kr150M (€14M).

HP Valves, a wholly owned subsidiary of Indutrade, offers a wide range of valves for applications in the power industry and high-pressure applications for the petrochemical industry and the oil and gas industry. The relationship between HP Valves and KVT goes back several years, and today nearly half of KVT's sales are through HP Valves.

By Raghuraman R

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November 12, 2009

Balderton Leads €5M Round for Wooga

Balderton Capital made a new investment in the social gaming sector today. Joining Holtzbrinck Ventures the firm led a €5M ($7.5M) round for social games developer wooga. Although this news comes amid a flurry of excitement surrounding EA's buyout of Playfish and Playdom's big first round, this deal is much different from the two. According to Robert Bonanzinga, Partner at Balderton Capital, this deal supports a great early stage company, helping them attract talent and continue its development of top quality games. Both he and Dr. Lars Langusch, Partner at Holtzbrinck Ventures believe that the company has sustainable growth potential. Bonanzinga will join wooga's board of directors.

Wooga, a Berlin-based company led by Jen Begemann, was founded in 2009 and launched its first game Brain Buddies on Facebook this past July. Focusing primarily on Facebook, within the past 4 months the company has established itself as one of the social networking site's top game developers.

Three positive factors put this startup in a good position for success: Scalability, Leadership, and Location. The company currently has a staff of 25 people from 9 countries; and it's not hesitant about building a global business. As it continues building its distribution network, we will see Jens Begemann (Founder) pull from Berlin's creative environment and focus wooga's offerings on user experience. At this stage value building and engagement will allow the firm to leverage into new offerings.

By Hanif O'Neil

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November 11, 2009

Logitech Pays $405M For HD Video Conferencing's LifeSize

PC peripherals maker Logitech has acquired high def video conferencing hardware maker LifeSize, paying $405M (€270M) in cash for LifeSize. Lifesize is one of the leaders in the movement to make video conferencing a commodity. Lifesize is the world's third-largest maker of videoconferencing equipment.

Today, you see two extremes - video conferencing that you see on Skype for free and them multi-million dollar packages sold to corporations for their board rooms.

Six-year-old LifeSize, has 200 workers in Austin, TX and 300 worldwide.

LifeSize has raised about $81M (€56M) in venture backing. Lifesize's backers include Austin Ventures, Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, < a href="http://www.nvp.com">Norwest Venture Partners, Pinnacle Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, and Sutter Hill Ventures.

Logitech said LifeSize is expecting revenues of approximately $90M (€60M) in CY2009 with with growth of 40 to 60% in 2010. To date, LifeSize has sold about 30K conferencing systems to 9K customers. The cost of Lifesize ranges from $6000 to $9000 but a feature is that you don't need a systems integration firm to set it up.

The new firm's biggest competitors are Polycom and Tandberg. Both are larger and more established companies. And interestingly, Cisco Systems offered $3B (€2B) to buy Tandberg last month but that deal has been on the edge.

Posted at 11:56 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

BioVex Secures Additional $30M to Complete Cancer Treatment Study

BioVex Inc, a company developing new generation biologics for the treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious disease, has concluded $70M (€46M) in private financing, raising $30M (€20M) in addition to the $40M (€26M) announced in March. This second round of funding was led by Morningside Venture, Ventech and MVM Life Science Partners who were joined by new investors: Sectoral Asset Management and Ysios Capital Partners. Reenie McCarthy for Morningside, Mounia Chaoui of Ventech and Steve Reeders of MVM Life Science Partners will join the BioVex board of directors.

New monies will be used to complete the ongoing Phase III pivotal study of OncoVEX (GM-CSF) for the treatment of recurrent and metastatic melanoma and to fund pre-commercialization activities. Encouraging data in four tumor types and beyond melanoma have been generated and an additional Phase III pivotal protocol with the FDA under the Special Protocol Assessment procedure in head and neck cancer is also agreed upon. Pending the successful conclusion of its first pivotal study, OncoVEX can be positioned to become the first cancer destroying virus to reach the market in the United States.

By Raghuraman R

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Accel Reiterates Growth Investing in India

With Neeraj Bharadwaj as Managing Director, Accel Partners, a leading global venture capital and growth equity firm operating in Silicon Valley, Europe, Israel, China and India, has reiterated its focus to build its growth equity investing initiative in India. This will complement Accel's existing venture capital activity in India, which targets $10M-$50M (€6.6M - €33M) investments and active involvement in high potential incubation-mode companies. To date, the Accel India venture portfolio includes companies such as MuSigma, Inbiopro, Kaati Zone, Myntra and Perfint.

This is an exciting time for growth capital investing in India given the nation's economic growth and the emergence of first generation companies competing successfully with the incumbents in key markets. Accel has the ideal platform to assist these companies, and a stellar track record of building market leaders in media, technology, retail and other high-growth sectors. Accel hopes to leverage on its global network, resources and experience to transform these exciting buds flowering into world-class companies in India.

With over $6B (€4M) under management, Accel has helped entrepreneurs build over 300 successful companies, many of which have defined their categories, including Agile Software, AMCC, BBN, ComScore, Etsy, Facebook, Foundry Networks, GlamMedia, Infinera, JBoss, Kayak, Macromedia, Portal Software, QlikTech, Rapt, Real Networks, UUNe, Veritas, Walmart.com, XenSource and Zimbra. Prior to Accel, Neeraj helped set up Indian operations of APAX, and prior to that was a Partner in the US. He has been involved with include Apollo Hospitals (AHEL), Jamdat, Widerthan, NXP and others on the side of investments. He was selected as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Board Member of the Olympic Goldquest and was part of the team that launched the Indian School of Business (ISB). Prior to joining Apax Partners in 1999, Neeraj held positions at McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Neeraj holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School, and graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

By Raghuraman R

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November 10, 2009

Bank of Ireland Launches Seed and Early Stage Equity Fund

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, T.D. have launched the Bank of Ireland Seed and Early Stage Equity Fund; the 8th fund under Enterprise Ireland's Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2007-2012. This €26M Fund will invest in start-up and early stage companies, with a focus on export orientated high potential start-up companies that operate in the technology (including green technology), food and financial services sectors, in addition to supporting patent and patent-pending projects within Irish universities. Kernel Capital will be manage the fund on behalf of Bank of Ireland and the other partners. This fund comprises an investment by Bank of Ireland of €17M, €8M from Enterprise Ireland, and €1M by University of Limerick Foundation (ULF). This launch will increase the funds under management by Kernel Capital and its Life Science associate firm Seroba Kernel to €190M.

Launch of this new fund by Bank of Ireland is part of the Government's bank recapitalization initiative, marking a significant increase in the supply of seed capital available for new Irish businesses and campus spin-out companies. A healthy seed and venture capital environment is absolutely essential for stimulating the growth of new and innovative businesses that have real potential to grow and expand into export markets. According to Professor Don Barry, President at the University of Limerick, Bank of Ireland's collaboration with the University further enhances strong links with industry and provides a catalyst for third and/or fourth level research, contributing to the future growth of Ireland's smart economy.

Enterprise Ireland is working closely with the banks, the venture capital sector and the European Investment Bank to secure finance for Irish businesses. Since 2000, Bank of Ireland has committed over €101M in venture capital to developing Irish companies.

By Raghuraman R

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November 09, 2009

EA Swoops Up London-based Playfish for $400M

It has been an interesting weekend for Index Ventures. They were dealt a losing hand in a law-suit with the founders of Skype. On the bright side, today one of their investments came to fruition as EA has acquired Playfish for approximately $275M (€183M) in cash and approximately $25M (€16M) in equity retention arrangements. In addition, the sellers are entitled to additional variable cash consideration, up to a maximum of $100M (€66M).

The numbers that got London-based Playfish to this point are led by:

• More than 150M games installed and played worldwide on platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, iPhone and Android.

• Over 60 million monthly active players across its ten titles – including Pet Society, Restaurant City, and Country Story.

• More than 1B game play sessions every month.

In addition to Accel Partners, Playfish is backed by Index Ventures and Stanhope Capital.

Playfish is led by CEO and founder Kristian Segerstrale. He was Managing Director (EMEA) at Glu Mobile and Founder at Macrospace which was bought by Glu Mobile.

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November 05, 2009

Sweden's Spotify Makes its Case for US Expansion

Since 2003, when iTunes launched in the United States, many digital music services have come and gone, without challenging Apple's market dominance, despite the backing of resource-rich parent companies. It started to look as if no service could ever rival iTunes' traction with customers and critics.

Until now.

The Sweden-based startup Spotify, launched for public access in October 2008, has momentum like no other digital music service of the last six years. It offers on-demand music streaming, in both free and premium services, and now claims to have more than 6 million users in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the United Kingdom, France and Spain. At one point it reported signing up new members at a rate of 50,000 per day. Spotify is a proprietary peer-to-peer music streaming service that allows instant listening to specific tracks or albums with virtually no buffering delay. Spotify has won high marks from reviewers for the ease with which it provides access to a catalog of more than 6 million tracks from majors and indies alike and the unobtrusive way it delivers advertising.

Spotify's recently launched mobile version, available for the iPhone and Android-powered devices in Europe to premium subscribers who pay the equivalent of around $15 per month, has won similar praise. Although Spotify doesn't comment on its fund-raising activity, it has reportedly won $50 million worth of backing from investors, at a valuation of $250 million, an almost unheard-of sum for a music venture in today's conservative venture capital environment. The European service also has the full support of the major labels, which reportedly negotiated a collective 18 percent stake in the company.

There are certainly early signs of success. In August, Per Sundin, managing director of Universal Music Sweden, told the Swedish press that his company now earns more revenue from Spotify than iTunes in Europe. Spotify has a good chance of success in the States if they can make the right distribution partnerships, but it may require a different strategy than in Europe. There are certainly more music services in the U.S. than there are in Europe. Gustav Soderstrom, head of mobile group in Spotify says. "So, yes, it's more competitive. But I still think we have a better experience and a better offer. We wouldn't do it if we thought we were going to lose." Spotify may well have hit the spot.

By Raghuraman R

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November 03, 2009

Austria's PDC Biotech GmbH Raises €4M Series A

PDC Biotech GmbH, a Vienna, Austria-based women’s health drug startup whose first product focuses on preterm labor and primary dysmenorrhea, has raised over €4M in Series A funding. MIG Verwaltungs AG and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners co-led the round.

Patricia Griffin and Diane Kalina are the co-founders of PDC, which was previously awarded €1M in seed funding from the Austria Wirtschaftsservice (AWS) and a grant of €517K from the Zentrum für Innovation und Technologie (ZIT, an agency of the City of Vienna for promotion of innovation and technology). The total funds raised since inception amount to over €5.56M.

Proceeds from new funding will be used to complete preclinical work and the first clinical study of the company’s lead compound, PDC31 which is being developed for the treatment of preterm labor and primary dysmenorrhea. Preterm labor is defined as regular uterine contractions associated with cervical changes occurring before 37 weeks of gestation. Preterm birth, which is associated with increased risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality, is most often preceded by preterm labor. Primary Dysmenorrhea is a disabling condition found in high prevalence among adolescent females. Severe abdominal pain is caused by frequent and prolonged uterine contractions that decrease blood flow to the myometrium resulting in ischemia.

PDC31 is a peptide antagonist of the prostaglandin F2α (FP) receptor, the lead in a series of FP antagonists exclusively licensed to PDC Biotech GmbH from Theratechnologies, a Canadian biopharmaceutical company. PDC Biotech GmbH is expecting to conclude its remaining preclinical work early in mid 2010, and then begin a Phase I/II trial.

For more information regarding this deal click here.

By Raghuraman R

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LBS Institute for Entrepreneurship Introduces Lecturer Stan Boland

Thursday, 5 November, 2009 the Entrepreneurial Leadership Series is holding another lecture at the London Business School. This week's guest is Stan Boland, CEO, President and Founder of Icera. Stan is a serial entrepreneur that will share his stories of success as well as his insights on entrepreneurship. He received a degree in Physics from Cambridge University, is a member of the IEEE and is qualified as an FCMA and a MCT. His career has began in electronics and engineering computing, from there he transitioned to various managerial roles including CFO of two operations divisions at ICL. He has served as CEO of Acorn plc, and worked as President and CEO at Element 14, which was later acquired by Broadcom for $640M in 2000. After the sale, he stayed on with Broadcom whereby he was responsible for all DSL-related worldwide development and marketing activity. Stan went on to found Icera in 2002, and has raised over $100M in funding since its inception.

This event is open to all: students, alumni, entrepreneurs, investors, faculty members and other professionals involved in entrepreneurship. For more details about this event, please click here.

By Hanif O'Neil

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October 30, 2009

GreenPeak Technologies Secures €13M Series B Funding

GreenPeak Technologies, a Dutch developer of ultra low power wireless and battery-free data communication technologies, has raised €13M ($19M) in Series B funding. GIMV and Robert Bosch Venture Capital co-led the round, and were joined by return backers DFJ Esprit, Motorola Ventures and Allegro Investment Fund.

Bosch covers many fields in home, building and industrial applications and recognizes the potential of wireless sense and control networks in these fields. GreenPeak impressed Bosch with their clear market vision as an innovator in the wireless and battery-free sense and control networks. Its new wireless IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee technology will create a new class of wireless products for home, building and industrial automation. With this new round of funding the company will be able to expand its distribution channels and ramp volume.

The Netherlands-based company holds offices in Tokyo, Japan, Austin, TX and Zele Belgium and has been selling breakthrough technology for consumer electronics and home automation. Since its establishment in 2007 (a merger between Xanadu Wireless and Ubiwave), GreenPeak achieved a series of technology breakthroughs and has gained significant customer traction in Europe, the USA as well as in the Asia Pacific region.

For more information regarding this deal click here.

By Raghuraman R

Posted at 12:30 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

October 29, 2009

Swedish Government VC Invests in Powercell Sweden AB

Fouriertransform, an auto industry-focused VC firm sponsored by the Swedish government chose Powercell Sweden AB, a maker of fuel cells, fuel reformers and auxillary power units, for its first investment amounting kr60M (€5.8M). Fouriertransform’s investment will be made by a directed share issue, i.e. money is injected directly into the company in exchange for new shares. Through Volvo Technology Transfer, AB Volvo will remain as the largest owner of Powercell Sweden AB, with more than 40 percent of the shares, others being OCAS, Midroc New Technology and Fouriertransform. In early July, Midroc and OCAS, along with the Swedish Energy Agency and Volvo Technology Transfer, made a joint kr200M (€19M) investment in Powercell Sweden AB in Göteborg. Over the next three years, 100 new jobs will be created in what is now the largest fuel cell plant in northern Europe.

Powercell Sweden’s product has been developed by Volvo Technology for more than 15 years and is based on two patented components: a fuel converter (reformer) and a PEM fuel cell – the type of fuel cell most often used in transport applications. The fuel converter produces hydrogen gas from bio fuels such as ethanol, DME (Dimethyl ether), biogas, methanol and biodiesel, but also from regular diesel or gasoline. Compared with normal diesel or gasoline-operated electrical aggregates, Powercell’s product will generate considerably less carbon dioxide emissions, and no emissions whatsoever of particles, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. The fuel cells are also more efficient, smaller and more silent. Consumer areas that this technology could apply include electrical aggregates for households, trucks, boats, radio masts at remote locations and electrical hybrid vehicles.

[A fuel cell can be compared with a small battery that operates on hydrogen gas. During a chemical reaction, the hydrogen gas is converted to electricity with no other waste but water. To resolve the issue of hydrogen gas accessibility, Powercell will initially produce hydrogen gas from such existing fuels as biofuel and gasoline or diesel.]

For more information regarding this deal click here.

By Raghuraman R

Posted at 11:55 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

EQT V Bets Big in Bulgaria

EQT V, a leading European private equity fund, agreed to acquire Eurocom and CableTel, Bulgaria’s two leading cable TV operators with further plans on network investments and new products in digital TV, broadband and telephony. ING Bank acted as financial advisor to EQT V in these transactions, whose total enterprise value amounts to more than €200M, making it among the most significant in the sector for 2009. The transactions mark EQT V’s first and second investment in Central and Eastern Europe. Central and Eastern Europe is an important market for EQT and is covered by an advisory office opened in Warsaw, Poland, in 2008. The merged company will be the clear market leader in both Bulgaria and Macedonia with annual revenues of approximately €70M and some half a million households connected to the network. Istvan Polony, current CEO of Eurocom will become CEO of the combined company.

The Bulgarian cable TV market is fragmented and digital TV and broadband penetration rates are lower than in the European Union as a whole. EQT V intends, together with the new company’s management and other shareholders, to accelerate the move into digital TV, broadband and telephony services by continuously investing into and offering a broad range of new and competitive services in combination with superior customer service.

EQT has a strong track record of fostering growth and value creation in the more than 70 companies that it has invested in over the last 14 years. EQT has previously developed Swedish cable TV operators StjärnTV and Com Hem into leading local providers of digital TV, broadband and telephony – so called triple play. Currently, EQT owns a leading German cable TV operator Kabel BW which has recorded significant growth and successfully developed the triple play concept in Germany.

A merger between the two companies with one majority shareholder has been approved by the Bulgarian competition authorities. For at least two months after the merger announcement the two companies Eurocom and CableTel will continue operating as separate market entities and the services they offer now will be provided throughout this period. The operational integration of the two companies and the impact on customers in terms of new products and services will be announced separately.

By Raghuraman R

Posted at 11:35 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

October 28, 2009

EQT Expansion Capital II Powers Skykon Further

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Skykon received a capital injection from EQT Expansion Capital II, to strengthen its core business. The manufacturing segment of the wind industry is fragmented, if not untapped, and this is EQT Expansion Capital II's first investment in Denmark. This shot in the arm, which apart from assisting in industrial acceleration, also brings EQT's knowledge base and international experience to a flexible solution without diluting the control of existing owners.

The additional capital available as a result of the new financial structure will to a large extent be used to invest in production facilities and other development. The wind energy sector is expected to enjoy double digit growth on average over the next 5 to 10 years, and outsourcing by OEM's is expected to increase. Skykon intends to fully capitalize on this underlying growth as well as the outsourcing trends.

There is also further room for operational improvements, co-ordination and synergies within the Skykon group, particularly in connection with international expansion. The supplier side of the wind energy industry is also fragmented which may provide interesting acquisition opportunities in the future. Smaller suppliers could be seeking a larger and more stable context in order to continue their development and Skykon’s staff and management headed by Jesper Øhlenschlæger (CEO), believe that is where the wind blows.

By Raghuraman R

Posted at 10:44 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

October 25, 2009

Israeli VCs Remain Cautious Despite 3rd Quarter Rise in Capital Funding

Investments in Israeli high-tech companies rose in the 3rd quarter totaling $303M, up 9 percent from the $279M raised in the 2nd quarter of 2009. However, these figures stand in stark contrast to the 8-year high raised this time last year. Analysts are concerned about a latent shortage in capital for new investments. Over the first three quarters of this year high-tech companies in Israel have raised $847M. This is not much to frown about given the global economic downturn. So, what's the concern?

According to a recent Israel Venture Capital Report produced by the IVC Research Center, this decline in capital investment will continue throughout 2010.

Stirred by the effects of the global economic crisis Israeli venture funds are becoming much more conservative, restraining their exposure to first round investments and Seed projects. While most funding comes from foreign investors and non-VC Israeli investors, Israeli VCs make up roughly 36 percent of market share. As local funds become more conservative with domestic investing foreign investors will take notice and in turn limit investment exposure to the region as well.

A sharper decline in venture-capital investments for high-tech could put Israel's growth economy at risk. Nevertheless, an increase in capital investment could bring about adverse consequences as well. Looking ahead what we will to see with conservative spending is more allocation towards growth investments, and possibly a renewed IPO market.

[Investments in Life Sciences led the 3rd Quarter 2009 at 27 percent, followed by Software at 21 percent].

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 05:22 AM | TrackBack | Permalink

October 22, 2009

French Government Funds Online Video Sharing Service

Advent Venture Partners, AGF Private Equity, Atlas Venture, Partech International, each took part in a round led by the French Sovereign Fund (FSI). FSI, a joint entity owned by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and the French government, contributed €7.5M to the round.

After recently demonstrating a sustainable business model, investors are very excited about the potential that Paris-based Dailymotion offers. This new round of funding will support global growth with its current online platform as well as accelerate development in mobile and IPTV services.

According to comScore, August 2009 figures show that Dailymotion attracts 60 million unique visitors, and nearly a billion views per month. These figures provided in context with current revenue outpacing infrastructure costs may prove persuasive, yet there is still some work ahead for the firm. Before decidedly making its claim as "The World's Leading Independent Video Site" the company now has the task of demonstrating how well it can monetize user content. Profitability is a good start, sustainable profitability is even better.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 03:12 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

October 15, 2009

UK-Based Fizzback Raises £1.6M in Series B Round

London-based Fizzback raised £1.6M (€1.7M) in a second round of funding led by Nauta Capital and primary backer Advent Venture Partners.

Founded in 2004, the software company has since made its business developing customer engagement tools. Solutions allowing companies to entertain customer feedback in real-time. Responses are captured at point-of-experience, using an intelligence search engine, and sorted by relevance. Overall Fizzback's innovative tool extends customer relationship management, by bringing businesses closer to the voice of the customer.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 12:03 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

October 12, 2009

French Music Streaming Service Pulls in Another €6.5M

Deezer announced a successful round of funding led by AGF Private Equity and CM-CIC Capital Privé. The Paris-based company, raised €6.5 million in Series B funding. With this deal comes the formation of its new parent company Odyssey Music Group (OMG). OMG, functioning as a Media and Technology Group will support all production and technology development. This is a strategic move to help expand globally Deezer's core capabilities.

Founded in 2007, Deezer is a European leader in online music streaming. It has over 10 million users in Europe, and stands as a formidable competitor to Spotify. Now with €12.2M in working capital, the startup is well-positioned to capitalize on the media and internet experience its partners at AGF Private Equity and CM-CIC Capital Prive can offer.

Deezer remains a independent publication held by Blogmusik SAS.

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 09:10 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

October 11, 2009

Netherlands Based Startup Raises €2M for Event Synchronizing Tool

Maintaining a full calendar is always a tough task for users, whether it involves sharing, scheduling, or simply showing up. This week Dutch startup Flogs raised a €2M round of funding from a group of private investors and the Dutch Government. The software company has its sights on building an international presence with their digital organizing software. With this new round of funding Flogs will further develop its sharing and synchronizing features.

Founded in 2008 by Michiel Mol, Bram van Gestel and current CEO Toon Timmermans the software company has developed a flexible event aggregate tool. The tool allows users to share event schedules: sporting events, concerts, CD releases, films, and art shows (to name a few) over multiple calendars. Should the time or date change for an event it's automatically adjusted in an user's calendar via Flogs.

Nonetheless, are users more concerned with sharing events across platforms or scheduling them? Improving scheduling capabilities over multiple platforms has been the business focus for two North American companies: Tungle and Timebridge. Each service caters to "business professionals." As this sector of service continues to develop overall, Flogs has an opportunity to demonstrate how well its solution meets user needs in both an entertainment and leisure space.

(The service is compatible with Outlook, iCal, Windows Live, Google Calendar, and works well on a PC, Mac, PDA, iPhone or smartphones.)

By Hanif O'Neil

Posted at 02:58 PM | TrackBack | Permalink

October 07, 2009

UK Company Receives €650K From Seed Fund

Linkdex received €650K in a round of funding from the The Amadeus and Angels Seed Fund (AASF), led by Amadaeus Capital Partners.

The London and San Francisco-based technology firm was founded in 2008. It develops software tools that allow for online businesses to analyze and manage natural search results for their business or brand name.

Major search engines are now gatekeepers of information. For businesses to perform well online they must figure out how to rank highly on search engines, yet their efforts are often dominated by a handful of listings. Nonetheless, many businesses resort to natural search campaigns, hedging on a strategy of meta-tagging for more relevant marketing campaigns. According to Jon Straw (CEO), "Going beyond the first 1000 links is crucial...that can make an huge difference in any marketer's campaign" "And we're the only way to find them," he adds.

Linkdex’s suite of products and services provide marketers with a better map of the web along with advanced tools for understanding search engines. With more than one trillion indexed links providing the foundation to the platform. The company's first product, SearchDNA allows individuals to create their own customized crawls of influential sites and prioritize those results depending on what’s important to them.

For startups like Linkdex, seed funding is a crucial support to help establish their product suite. And considering its ability to provide greater web transparency for online marketers, it has high growth potential. That is, depending on how well the company refines its solutions.