Deals
The cybersecurity sector’s largest ever deal, Broadcom’s landmark acquisition of Symantec for USD10.7 billion, set the tone for an uptick in transaction volume and continuously strong valuations, according to Hampleton Partners’ latest analysis of global cybersecurity mergers & acquisitions activity.
Hampleton’s Cybersecurity M&A report highlights the popularity of cybersecurity vendors as all industries seek protection from cyber-attacks.
Cybersecurity transaction volume rose by 15 per cent in the second-half of 2019 compared to that of 2H2017. Valuations have also remained healthy, with EV/S multiples consistently trading around 5x for the past four years – significantly above the 3x valuations seen
The Columbia Threadneedle European Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (ESIF) is to acquire Condor Ferries, an operator of lifeline freight and passenger ferry services between Guernsey, Jersey, the United Kingdom, and the Port of St Malo in France.
The acquisition is made in consortium with Brittany Ferries, a French ferry operator, who has a minority stake. Condor Ferries has been acquired from Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund II, managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.
ESIF is a new open-ended fund that invests in European mid-market equity assets, managed by leading global asset management group Columbia Threadneedle Investments. ESIF is managed by
Barings has completed a substantial investment in GigaSphere Holdings on behalf of clients and accounts managed by Barings.
The Company, which does business under the brand name GigaMonster, provides fibre-optic-based telecommunications products and services to the multifamily and commercial real estate industries.
“Worldwide 5G network infrastructure revenue is projected to reach USD4.2 billion in 2020 and GigaMonster’s UAN infrastructure technology is designed to support the mobile 5G market of the future,” says Mike Baumstein, Deputy Head of the Barings Private Equity & Real Assets team. “Barings has been deploying capital in cell towers, DAS systems, fibre networks, spectrum and data
Octopus Renewables, part of Octopus Group, has agreed to acquire nine wind farms across France, the UK and Ireland in two deals totalling over EUR100 million with global renewable energy company RES.
The wind farms are a mix of operational and construction-ready facilities across England, Wales, Ireland and France, totalling 130MW. Six of the wind farms are in France, signalling further confidence in the French market as a key location for renewable energy assets.
The two acquisitions represent an addition to Octopus’s considerable European renewables portfolio. Octopus is the UK’s largest non-utility investor in onshore renewables and largest commercial solar
SheerID, a specialist in the identity marketing space, has closed a USD64 million equity round led by CVC Growth Partners (CVC Growth).
CVC Growth will join SheerID’s board alongside Centana Growth Partners and Voyager Capital, which led SheerID’s earlier financing rounds in 2017 and 2015, respectively.
The new funding comes on the heels of 450 per cent revenue growth over the last three years, achieving the rank of 243 in this year’s Deloitte and Touche Fast 500. Over the last year, SheerID has expanded its customer base to include more than 200 customers across a diverse range of Fortune
Ironwood Capital has exited its investment in Numet Machining Techniques (Numet), which has been sold to Bromford Industries.
Numet, headquartered in Orange, Connecticut, is a manufacturer of precision machined components requiring complex geometries and exotic alloys. Numet supplies many of the key leading aerospace engine platforms. Its customers include Pratt & Whitney, GE Aviation and the US Department of Defense.
Ironwood Capital Managing Director, Jim Barra, says:, “Ironwood Capital is proud to have partnered with Numet over the past several years. During our investment period, the Numet management team transformed the business from a components supplier to a value-added
Alternative asset management firm Owl Rock Capital Group has sold a passive, non-voting minority stake to Dyal Capital Partners (Dyal), a division of Neuberger Berman. Terms of the investment have not been disclosed.
Dyal’s investment provides Owl Rock with additional permanent capital to continue providing highly customised direct lending solutions to US middle market companies. Owl Rock plans to use all proceeds from the transaction to invest in Owl Rock products, which are expected to include complementary product launches and strategies in 2020.
There will be no changes in the management, strategy, investment process, or day-to-day operations of Owl Rock
A Scottish tech firm with an online platform that helps convenience stores and corner shops cash in on the growth in online grocery sales has raised a seven-figure sum to fund its expansion throughout the UK.
Snappy Shopper has raised the seed capital from Kelvin Capital, Mercia, the Scottish Investment Bank and the company’s existing management team. The investment will support the company’s ambition to become the UK’s leading online platform for convenience stores and allow it to build its team with the creation of 21 jobs over the next year.
Snappy Shopper, which is based in Dundee, brings ‘convenience stores to consumers’ doors’ and can offer deliveries in under 60 minutes in many cases. It provides an easy and seamless way
Sera Prognostics (Sera), a health diagnostics company dedicated to improving the lives of women and babies through individualised prenatal care, has raised USD36 million in a Series D financing round led by Blue Ox Healthcare Partners (Blue Ox), alongside two strategic healthcare companies.
Proceeds from the Series D financing will be used to increase commercialisation of Sera’s PreTRM test and to measure real-world clinical improvements and economic savings in collaboration with top health plans and providers.
Sera’s products focus on the early prediction of a woman’s individualised risk of preterm birth and other pregnancy complications. The Company’s PreTRM® test
Belfast-based tech firm Cloudsmith has closed an equity investment round of GBP2.1 million led by Frontline Ventures and co-investors MMC Ventures, with local involvement by Techstart Ventures through its Invest NI fund, Techstart.
Cloudsmith’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offers an advanced logistics platform for software developers, operators and vendors, who need to secure, manage and accelerate their product development and distribution. It distributes millions of artifacts on behalf of its global customer base spanning every time zone in almost every continent.
The seed round takes place after a pre-seed investment earlier in the year, and will be used to ramp-up Cloudsmith’s R&D
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