LDC, the private equity arm of the Lloyds Banking Group, has backed the management team of 1st – The Exchange, a provider of technology and e-commerce solutions to the financial service

With the capital markets recovering and investor fears receding, financial services M&A activity over the next 12 months will be fuelled more by buyers seeking to grow than by selle

Octopus Ventures, an investor in early-stage and expanding companies, has invested GBP1.75m into Surrey NanoSystems, a developer of equipment and processes for growing carbon nanotubes

iNovia Capital, a Montreal-based manager of seed and early stage venture capital funds, has invested in New-York-based Urgent Career as part of the company’s series A funding round.

Cosmetics and skincare products manufacturer 29 Luxury Goods has closed on USD1.4m in venture capital financing led by Williams Venture Partners.

GroFin has held the final closing of the GroFin Africa Fund at USD170m against a target of USD150m.

First State Media Group has acquired the entire music publishing catalogue of singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow. Crow is responsible for chart topping hits such as All I Wanna Do, Everyday Is A Winding Road, and Soak Up The Sun.   The acquisition sees FSMG add 153 songs released by

Twenty nine Finnish high-tech growth companies raised almost EUR51m in the first half of 2009 – a 17 per cent decrease from the first half of 2008, according to a survey by Technopolis

International law firm Reed Smith has advised EIS Optics on its acquisition of Oerlikon Optics, a Shanghai-based business, for an undisclosed amount.