Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Investment

  • Vienna RegTech platform Kompany, accelerates growth with new funding

    Vienna RegTech platform Kompany, accelerates growth with new funding

    Kompany announced a new investment of almost €6 million, the company’s largest single investment round to date.

    Fairway Global Investment led the round, together with Global Brain, a major venture capital firm based in Tokyo, Japan, who acted as co-investor.

    Both are global investors in RegTech, FinTech and the payment sector and expect their portfolio companies to benefit from Kompany’s technological lead in Business KYC (KYB).

    Existing shareholders, including the European Super Angels Club and the Kompany management team also participated in this round.

    The new fundraising round directly supports the further development of two key technologies: the AI-based instant shareholder discovery and the fusion of Digital Identity with Business KYC (KYB) for cross-border payments.

  • CzechInvest: 143 transactions reported in the second quarter of 2020

    CzechInvest: 143 transactions reported in the second quarter of 2020

    In the Czech Republic, 143 transactions were reported in the second quarter of 2020, CzechInvest M&A Report shows.

    The largest number of mergers and acquisitions (41) occurred in the industrial products and services sector, followed by the real-estate sector with 39 transactions and the retail, consumer goods and entertainment sector with 19 deals concluded.

    The most important M&A activities in in the second quarter of 2020

    Significant activities on the Czech market include MVM Group’s acquisition of the Czech energy group Innogy from the German company E.ON.SE.

    The Brno-based holding company Solitea announced the largest merger on the Czech market so far this year, involving the consolidation of twenty-three companies in the Czech Republic and seven in Slovakia.

    C-Energy Planá acquired a majority stake in Teplárna Tábor. ČEZ Group is selling its share in the Israeli company CyberX. Czech Aircraft Group took control of the light sport aircraft manufacturer Czech Sport Aircraft.

    Agrofert is selling some of its bakeries that fall under PEK Group. Detailed information on selected mergers and acquisitions is available in the attached report.

  • Click&Boat acquires Nautal, its main European competitor

    Click&Boat acquires Nautal, its main European competitor

    Click&Boat announced the acquisition of the Spanish company Nautal, Europe’s #2. This is the platform third acquisition in just one year.

    With a new office in Barcelona, the Click&Boat Group now employs 150 employees and connects a community of approximately one million users.

    Click&Boat’s acquisition of its competitor Nautal means that the platform will now offer 10.000 more boats.

    Both domestically in boating hotspots like Miami and Los Angeles, but also in top travel destinations loved by Americans, like in the Caribbean with an additional 1.570 boats and in Mexico with 300 more boats to choose from.

    Due to the current context, Click&Boat reported a 130% increase in traffic on their US website in June 2020 compared to the same period last year.

    Nautal, over the last 5 years has managed to increase the value of its bookings by more than $11.4M.

  • Slovak altFINS secures €1 million seed funding for global expansion

    Slovak altFINS secures €1 million seed funding for global expansion

    altFINS, a platform that allows users to screen, analyze, and trade crypto-assets, has secured more than €1 million in seed funding.

    The Fintech company said that the funds raised will be used to enhance the platform’s capabilities and will also be used to scale its services.

    The company aims to serve more private and institutional clients by helping them make informed investment related decisions and assist them with gaining exposure to crypto-assets.

    Established in 2018, altFINS aims to offer a comprehensive, and user-friendly or intuitive platform that allows traders to aggregate financial data and news updates. Traders that use altFINS are able to analyze different altcoins (alternative coins besides Bitcoin).

  • Medpack Swiss Group opened a new production facility in Bulgaria

    Medpack Swiss Group opened a new production facility in Bulgaria

    Medpack Swiss Group opened a new production facility in Bulgaria, built specifically for disposable masks manufacturing.

    The Medtex Swiss Factory is equipped with modern production lines. The factory has implemented the Quality Management System in accordance with the international standards protocols of ISO 9001:2008.

    The manufacturing process is further certified under European standards by Conformité Européenne / European Conformity (CE). 

    Made of 3-ply hypoallergenic, fibreglass-free nonwoven fabric, this surgical mask showed bacterial filtration efficiency – BFE for short – more than 98%.

    Yet, despite the high-density filtering layer, the mask allows totally unhindered breathing owing to good air permeability.

    It is suitable for sensitive skin thanks to a smooth inside layer which comes in direct contact with the user’s face.

  • Kindred expands Unibet network in third American state, Indiana

    Kindred expands Unibet network in third American state, Indiana

    Kindred continues its US expansion by entering the third state after the launches in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. As of today, Unibet is avaible in Indiana.

    Through a multi-state agreement with Caesars Entertainment, Kindred gains access to sports betting fans in Indiana.

    This is Kindred’s third state in the US, after successfully launching an online casino and sportsbook in New Jersey and an online casino in Pennsylvania.

    “We look forward to Unibet’s success in Indiana and the incremental revenue stream it will provide our sportsbook business,” says Christian Stuart, Head of Caesars Sports and Online Gaming. “Unibet’s launch comes at an exciting time for fans with the return of professional sports.”

    Kindred will use Pala Interactive’s online gaming platform in Indiana and will continue to use Kambi’s sports betting platform, which has also been communicated at an earlier stage.

  • Lumen Ventures launches a €25 million fund for tech startups

    Lumen Ventures launches a €25 million fund for tech startups

    Lumen Ventures has launched a €25 million fund after obtaining authorization from the Bank of Italy as the first Simple Investment Company (SiS) in Italy. The venture capital firm wants to invest in tech SMEs and startups with high growth potential.

    The finance will be invested over four years into a number of sectors, including fintech, insurtech, healthtech, and foodtech.

    Lumen Ventures are looking for early stage startups to meet an ”criteria of excellence”, regarding business model and growth potential. 

    According to data from leading observers, the Venture Capital market has grown steadily over the past five years, providing an alternative investment opportunity.

    In the second quarter of 2019, Venture Capital reached its peak investment peak of EUR 9.3 billion. 

    In Italy, 2019 was a record year for both the number of transactions carried out, 148 compared to 102 the previous year, and for the invested capital, 597 million euros compared to 521 in 2018.

  • Chornomorets Stadium in Odessa, bought by Allrise Capital

    Chornomorets Stadium in Odessa, bought by Allrise Capital

    First Financial Network has completed the successful sale of the Chornomorets Stadium in Odessa, Ukraine, on behalf of the Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF) and the intervened ImexBank, to Allrise Capital of Irvine, California.

    The $7.29 Million transaction was completed and closed on July 16.

    Buyer Allrise Capital plans to field a world-class soccer team at Chornomorets Stadium, make improvements to the stadium facilities to enhance the fan experience, and program events to activate the complex year-round.

    The stadium complex is a marquis real estate asset which includes a 35.000-seat modern sports and events stadium, plus 850.000-square feet in commercial real estate, including a 150-room four-star hotel, an office/business complex, retail, spa, cultural offerings, and a large underground parking facility, all located in the heart of Odessa’s central park near the seaports.  

    Odessa, Ukraine’s third largest city, is situated on the Black Sea coast and is the primary in-country vacation site, known for its temperate climate, beaches and resort setting.

  • TBI Bank to finance your new Lindab roof

    TBI Bank to finance your new Lindab roof

    Lindab, one of the biggest construction materials manufacturers in Romania, will offer TBI’s installment loans for roof construction or renovation.

    The lending process is fully digital and can be completed immediately in less than 10 minutes.

    TBI’s financing solution can be accessed for all types of Lindab roofs, completed by the Rainline or Craft and Magestic rainwater system.

    Free of any charge, all customers receive both technical support in choosing the right solution for their roof and financial support for their existing needs.

  • Trento to receive €300 million for sustainable projects and post-COVID-19 reconstruction

    Trento to receive €300 million for sustainable projects and post-COVID-19 reconstruction

    The EU bank is backing the Autonomous Province of Trento for all sustainable public sector projects and the economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    This is the goal of the agreement signed yesterday by the European Investment Bank (EIB), which will provide €300 million to the northern Italian province, with an initial tranche of €160 million already finalised. 

    Cassa del Trentino – the institution for supporting economic development and infrastructure construction and management within the autonomous province – will be responsible for channelling the resources to municipalities and public entities.

    In concrete terms, projects in the public infrastructure, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, sustainable transport, urban development and renewal sectors together with investments in tackling and mitigating climate change will be eligible for financing.

    These will be joined by any projects of municipalities and public entities in Trentino that aim to alleviate the effects of the economic and social crisis caused by the pandemic and lay the groundwork for an economic recovery.

    The maturity of the loans can be up to 20 years, with a four-year grace period.

  • IAFSTORE receives investment from L Catterton Europe

    IAFSTORE receives investment from L Catterton Europe

    IAFSTORE announced that it has received a significant strategic investment from the European Fund of L Catterton, the largest and most global consumer-focused private equity firm.

    The investment will be used to support the company’s expansion in the fast-growing Italian online supplement market. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

    Founded in 2007 as an e-commerce distributor of third party products, IAFSTORE has become the industry-leading online platform specialized in sports nutrition, food supplements, over-the-counter and healthy products.

    In 2012, the company launched its first owned brand, YAMAMOTO, which quickly became a food supplement leader, providing nutritional products dedicated to millions of fitness enthusiasts and athletes all over the world.

    The company has seven branded products under the brand names Yamamoto Nutrition, Yamamoto Research, IAFSTORE, OneProtein, Alphazer, Yamamoto Active Wear, and Smile Crunch, offering a broad selection of high quality supplements.  

  • TileDB closes $15M Series A for industry’s first universal data engine

    TileDB closes $15M Series A for industry’s first universal data engine

    TileDB has secured a $15M Series A investment round led by Two Bear Capital, joined by Uncorrelated Ventures and all existing investors: Nexus Venture Partners, Intel Capital, and Big Pi Ventures.

    The funding will help the company expand go-to-market and product development for its “universal data engine,” a novel database that goes beyond tables to manage any complex data and beyond SQL to analyze the data with any tool, all serverless and at planet scale.

    Montana philanthropist and Two Bear Capital Managing Partner Mike Goguen will join TileDB’s Board of Directors.

    The Series A financing comes after TileDB was chosen by customers who experienced two key pains: scalability for complex data and deployment.

    Whole-genome population data, single-cell gene data, spatio-temporal satellite imagery, and asset-trading data all share multi-dimensional structures that are poorly handled by monolithic databases, tables, and legacy file formats.

    Newer computational frameworks evolved to offer “pluggable storage” but that forces another part of the stack to deal with data management.

    As a result, organizations waste resources on managing a sea of files and optimizing storage performance, tasks traditionally done by the database. Moreover, developers and data scientists are spending excessive time in data engineering and deployment, instead of actual analysis and collaboration.