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Deals

Sellsy, a French provider of all-in-one CRM and FMS (financial management system) software solutions for SMEs, has secured EUR55 million in funding from PSG, a growth equity firm partnering with middle-market software and technology-enabled services companies. Sellsy offers a fully-fledged CRM solution, including lead management, quotation and pipeline, marketing automation and contact management, coupled with key FMS functionalities including invoicing, payment reconciliation and liquidity management.  Sellsy was founded in 2009 in La Rochelle by Co-CEO Alain Mevellec and Chairman Frederic Coulais, who later welcomed Co-CEO Victor Douek as he joined the company in 2016. Following the transaction, Sellsy will continue
Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) investment manager Deepbridge Capital has now deployed over GBP100 million of capital via the Deepbridge Technology Growth EIS fund. The fund was launched in 2013 as one of the first growth-focused technology EIS funds, providing private investors with access to a portfolio of early-stage investee companies across various intellectual-property-rich sectors, including energy and resource innovation, hardware technologies and IT-based developments.   With over 30 per cent of the fund having been raised within the past two years, capital has been provided UK-wide to 38 companies to date, with investee companies based across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland
LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, is increasing its support of the UK’s mid-market through a new commitment to invest in at least 100 medium-sized businesses over the next five years.
Arlington Capital Partners (Arlington), a Washington, DC-based private equity firm, has acquired Millstone Medical Outsourcing (Millstone). Selling shareholders included Schooner Capital, a Boston-based investment firm.  Headquartered in Fall River, MA, Millstone is a comprehensive solutions provider of quality-critical services to the medical device and pharmaceutical industries, managing post-manufacturing services and supply chain and logistics services.  Cain Brothers, a division of KeyBanc Capital Markets, served as financial advisor and DLA Piper served as legal advisor to Arlington on this transaction. William Blair & Company served as exclusive financial advisor and Locke Lord served as legal advisor to Millstone on this transaction.
Redstor, a data management and SaaS protection company, has secured a growth investment from Bregal Milestone, a European technology growth capital firm. With more than 40,000 customers worldwide, Redstor will use the financing to fuel its international expansion into the United States and accelerate its AI-enabled platform and overall growth.  Previous Redstor investor Beech Tree Private Equity realised its investment in full as part of the transaction.  Results served as corporate finance advisor to Redstor with Osborne Clarke serving as legal advisor for the transaction. Bregal Milestone were advised by Goodwin (legal), Deloitte (financial and tax) and Endava Private Equity
Softline, a global IT and digital transformation provider, is to acquire Academy IT, a provider of corporate training and learning management solution. Academy IT, which creates, develops, and deploys bespoke corporate training solutions, will join Softline’s existing technology education and training business, including a learning centre where more than 300,000 information technology specialists have trained over the past 18 years.   London-listed Softline is also targeting expansion in the global education technology (EdTech) market, an industry which is forecast to grow to USD404 billion by 2025.
High Street Capital (HSC) portfolio company Tramec has completed the acquisition of Penz Products (Penz), a designer and manufacturer primarily of vent doors, fenders, and trailer landing gear components for heavy-duty trailer OEM and aftermarket customers. Penz’s operations will be integrated into the Tramec Sloan division, presenting numerous opportunities to enhance Tramec Sloan’s suite of solutions to its customer base and broaden its manufacturing capabilities, particularly in metal forming, robotic welding, thermoforming, vacuum forming, and urethane foaming.
London witnessed a record number of IPOs in 2021 with 121 listings, the highest since 2007, raising total funds of GBP16.3 billion, according to EY’s latest market tracker, IPO Eye. The main market continued to see a significant flow of IPOs in Q4, with 17 IPOs raising GBP1.9 billion, surpassing the 15 IPOs in Q3, although Q3 proceeds were higher at GBP2.9 billion. The Alternative Investment Market (AIM) also saw activity with a further 29 IPOs in the final quarter of the year raising GBP1 billion. This brings total funds raised through IPOs in Q4 on both markets to GBP2.9
Global private equity firm Astorg has signed an exclusivity agreement to invest in ARMOR-IIMAK via its newly launched Mid-Cap fund in partnership with Hubert de Boisredon, ARMOR Group’s Chairman and CEO, and its management team. De Boisredon and ARMOR-IIMAK’s Management team will remain the majority shareholders with Astorg acquiring a c40 per cent stake in the business. Headquartered in Nantes, France, ARMOR-IIMAK, is a specialist in thermal transfer ribbons, which are inked films used as consumables for the thermal transfer printing industry.  This transaction marks the second investment made by Astorg’s Mid-Cap fund, and represents a typical Astorg deal, with
Shaking Hands
AI enabled fintech company Qraft Technologies has closed a USD146 million investment from SoftBank Group Corp. (SoftBank), which includes primary growth capital and secondary capital that will be used to fund share purchases from investors.

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