Allocations
Eleanor West, partner at McDermott Will & Emery in London, comments on the UK general election result…
Today’s election results have shaken the business community to its core. Mid-M&A market had been showing signs of recovery in the recent months and the UK political landscape looked to be stable enough to inspire investor’s confidence again. Over the last quarter we witnessed an increased volume in transactions and this had certainly led us to believe that recovery was on the way.
Unfortunately, the results have made only one thing clear – the only thing we can be certain of is continuing
Noerr has advised the Hogg Robinson Group on the acquisition of the digital travel innovator eWings.com. Sellers are the founder of eWings.com and other venture capital investors.
Berlin-based eWings.com provides a fast and easy-to-use software solution for booking and managing flights for frequent flyers and business customers. The acquisition provides Hogg Robinson with a developed solution as well as with a new technology which is highly complementary to their proprietary technology and will fit perfectly with Hogg Robinson’s platform.
Hogg Robinson Group plc is a leading global B2B services company specialising in travel, payments and expense management. The company
Albion Ventures, an independent investment manager with a long-term record of partnering ambitious business, has rebranded as Albion Capital.
The rebrand reflects the evolution of the Group, encompassing the growth of its venture capital, renewable energy, care home and IP commercialisation businesses, and the successful integration of OLIM Investment Managers, the value-oriented equity specialists acquired in September 2016.
Albion Capital combines decades of investment experience from the Albion Ventures and OLIM teams providing an offering with expertise across the full spectrum of UK equity investing, from early stage start-ups all the way through to FTSE100 companies.
The integration
InMotion, Jaguar Land Rover’s mobility services business, has made a USD25 million (GBP19 million) investment in Lyft, the fastest-growing rideshare company in the US.
This investment will support Lyft’s expansion and technology plans. It will also provide Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures with the opportunity to develop and test its mobility services, including autonomous vehicles, and to supply Lyft drivers with a fleet of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles.
Sebastian Peck, InMotion Managing Director, says: “We are excited to collaborate with a leading platform like Lyft not only on developing premium mobility solutions but also devising innovative solutions to the
Solteq has acquired inPulse Works Oy. The acquisition will enable Solteq to offer services that meet the varying needs of electricity, district heating and water companies.
The acquisition will also strengthen Solteq’s current BI and analytics expertise and open new opportunities in the sector-independent BI and analytics market. inPulse Works Oy’s products and services digitalise customer engagement and business processes. The company offers its clients digital services related to the customer interface, invoicing and customer data systems, electricity sales management systems, and BI and analytics solutions.
The acquisition is in line with the strategy revision that Solteq announced in
Munich-based Fidelium Partners has held the successful closing of its debut special situations fund. The oversubscribed EUR 103m Fidelium Holdings Fund attracted a selected group of German business families.
The Fidelium team members have also made a significant financial commitment to the fund.
A spokesperson for Fidelium Partners says: “We are extremely excited and grateful for the support and confidence by our limited partners, entrusting us to steward and invest their capital. We now look forward to capitalising on our team’s extensive network and track record, targeting to build-up a portfolio of 10-15 attractive investments over the next years.”
River Associates Investments (RAI), a longstanding lower middle market private equity firm, has held the successful closing of its seventh committed capital investment fund, River VII, LP, with total commitments of USD285 million.
Raised in approximately eight months, the fund was oversubscribed and exceeded the original USD250 million target.
Commitments to River VII came from well-respected university endowments, public company pension plans, insurance companies and family offices, a number of whom were investors in previous River Associates’ funds. Consistent with prior funds, the partners of River Associates have made significant personal capital commitments to River VII.
River VII
European venture capital house Octopus Ventures is celebrating its tenth anniversary this month. Founded in 2007 with an initial fund of just GBP30 million, investing GBP10 million a year, Octopus Ventures now manages in excess of GBP660 million and invests GBP100 million per year.
Octopus Ventures invests across a range of sectors and specifically looks to back unusually talented entrepreneurs intent on building large, often global businesses. It now invests in businesses at differing phases of their lifecycle, from startups at the earliest stages of their formation through to companies in the later stages of growth and maturity.
Law firm Howard Kennedy has advised the selling shareholders, and separately the incoming and existing management team, on the multi-million-pound investment from Rutland Partners into the Aston Barclay Group.
The transaction paves the way for a significant investment in the business which will consolidate it as the UK’s leading national independent vehicle remarketing provider. The MBO was led by new chief executive officer Neil Hodson, with Glenn and David Scarborough, the former managing director and commercial director respectively, remaining shareholders and non-executive directors.
The Howard Kennedy team advising the selling shareholders was led by Corporate Partner Gillian White and
Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange (SDiX), the world’s first commodity exchange for physically settled diamonds, has raised USD10 million in Series B+ financing.
The round, which closed on June, was led by existing investors Vertex Ventures and SDiX Chairman Alain Vandenborre (pictured). New investors in this round include Simon Murray, Chairman and founder of SMC and GEMS and former Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa; and Richard Ji, co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of All-Stars Investment and former Asia-Pacific Head of Internet/media investment research at Morgan Stanley.
The new investment will support the continued execution of SDiX’s strategy to create
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
