Allocations
KKR and Salesforce Ventures have invested USD62 million in a Series B round for Copenhagen-based, no-code software test automation platform Leapwork, to accelerate its global expansion.
KKR is to acquire Ritchies Transport (Ritchies), a transportation operator in New Zealand with an 86-year heritage.
The investment – which marks KKR’s first infrastructure investment in New Zealand – will be used to advance the Company’s mission to better connect local communities, support the country’s expanding public transport network and promote greener transportation solutions.
Founded in Temuka in 1935, Ritchies is one of the largest transport providers in New Zealand, with a fleet of more than 1,600 vehicles and a network of 42 strategically located depots across the country. The Company provides the government, local councils, and private customers
Picsart has raised USD130 million in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 with participation from new investors G Squared and Tribe Capital, as well as existing investors Sequoia, DCM, Graph Ventures, and Siguler Guf & Company.
With over USD100 million in annual revenue run rate, Picsart is now valued at over USD1 billion. The company has raised a total of USD195 million in capital since its founding.
“Picsart is powering visual culture and breaking barriers between inspiration and creativity,” says Hovhannes Avoyan, Picsart’s founder and CEO. “We want to make the world more creative and
Invest Green, Inc (IGI) has launched with a mission of providing all investors access to institutional quality Cleantech opportunities managed by a team that includes some of the most experienced and respected pioneers of the ESG movement.
Utilising proprietary research which has twice been ranked No1 in the World, IGI is creating a public company with a portfolio of potentially disruptive technologies.
“IGI’s team has been involved in this sector since the very beginning of ESG investing. The timing is ideal for a new investment vehicle which allows retail investors to participate in early stage Cleantech opportunities which would normally
Avestria Ventures, a Bay Area-based life sciences venture fund, has closed Avestria Ventures Fund I.
Founded by veteran life science industry executives Linda Greub and Corinne Nevinny, Avestria invests in early-stage women’s health companies and female-led life science ventures.
Avestria seeks to generate strong returns by focusing on these two under-invested sectors. Although the NIH has accepted sex as a biological variable since 2016, less than 1 per cent of the venture capital invested in the USD4 trillion US healthcare industry was directed towards women’s health in 2020 according to Pitchbook Inc. Similarly, only 2.3 per cent of venture capital
AgFunder, a foodtech and agtech VC firm, has held the final close of New Carnivore, its alternative protein fund, at USD21 million. The fund was oversubscribed, surpassing its hard cap.
ADM Ventures, the VC arm of the global food and commodities company Archer-Daniels-Midland, invested in the fund. Alexandria Venture Investments, a unit of USD30 billion real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, also participated.
New Carnivore has made seven investments to date, co-investing with leading VCs such as a16z, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and DCVC, as well as celebrities like Natalie Portman, John Legend, and Jay-Z. The fund is targeting
Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE-STC) is to acquire Informative Research (IR), a specialist in providing credit, consumer, and real estate data and technology services.
IR serves more than 3,000 customers across the United States and offers a wide range of mission critical solutions through its proprietary platform to streamline the loan cycle.
“Stewart continues to invest in the creation of an end-to-end, customer-focused real estate services and technology platform,” says Fred Eppinger, Stewart Chief Executive Officer. “By bringing IR into the Stewart family of companies, we further reflect that commitment and advance our data and analytics capabilities. I’m excited about
The London Corporate practice of Maples and Calder, the Maples Group’s law firm, has advised on all Cayman Islands Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) that have listed on Euronext Amsterdam so far this year.
The team, led by Jack Marriott Partner and head of the London Corporate practice along with Associate Christopher Oliver, continue to be selected to act as Cayman Islands counsel on SPAC IPOs as a result of the firm’s market-leading experience and comprehensive capabilities in this area.
In its most recent role, the London team acted as Cayman Islands counsel for Crystal Peak Acquisition on its
BGF, the UK & Ireland’s most active investor, has invested more than GBP316 million across nearly 80 businesses in the first six months of 2021. Exit activity reached record levels during the same period, with 15 exits generating an average money multiple of 2.5x.
Successful exits in H1 include Alnwick-based pharmaceutical company, Arcinova; independent provider of dialysis services, Renal Services; ATM sector services provider, Cennox; Nottingham-based life sciences incubation business, BioCity; sustainable e-commerce returns tech platform ReBOUND; and data security and compliance solutions provider, Semafone.
In addition to its GBP2.5 billion balance sheet, BGF also started making investments alongside
Allocators are blurring the boundaries between the hedge fund and private equity sides of their portfolios, as once strictly segmented alternatives buckets begin to blend, according to investment firm Cambridge Associates.
Dan Aylott, Managing Director and Head of European Private Investments, at Cambridge Associates says that the distinction between hedge funds and private equity has become an increasingly “grey area”.
“Those parts of a portfolio are less distinct today than they were. Within Cambridge Associates, hedge funds don’t compete against private equity for the best ideas or vice versa, there’s a lot more overlap,” he commented.
The palette mixing of
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
