Allocations
Strong equity markets, and increased demand for transformational, disruptive tech businesses, saw valuations and deal volumes, soar in the first half of 2021, says tech-focussed investment bank ICON Corporate Finance.
As the market responded to the volatility of 2020, ICON’S UK Tech M&A Snapshot reveals that a record number of 500 transactions were completed in the period January-June, with a ‘tidal wave’ of money driving M&A to near record levels .
Driven by strong equity markets, valuations averaged a lofty 23x EV/EBIT, while transaction volumes were up 47 per cent year-on-year, and up 5 per cent on 2019.
Private equity
FTX Trading (FTX.COM), the owner and operator of the FTX.COM cryptocurrency exchange, has closed a USD900 million Series B fundraise, valuing the Company at USD18 billion.
This new financing round will expand FTX’s global presence, accelerate the Company’s growth, and represents one of the largest raises for a crypto company.
Over 60 investors participated including Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Thoma Bravo, SoftBank, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Third Point, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Altimeter, BOND, NEA, Coinbase Ventures, Willoughby Capital, 40North, Senator Investment Group, Sino Global Capital, Multicoin, the Paul Tudor Jones family, Izzy Englander, Alan Howard, VanEck, Hudson River Trading, and Circle.
Coave Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing life changing gene therapies in rare Ocular and CNS (Central Nervous System) diseases, has raised an additional EUR21.2 million (USD25.1 million) of Series B funding, bringing the total raised to EUR33.1 million (USD39 million).
This latest financing was led by Seroba Life Sciences, supported by new investors Théa Open Innovation and eureKARE alongside existing shareholders Fund+, Omnes Capital, V-Bio Ventures, Kurma Partners, Idinvest, GO Capital, and Sham Innovation Santé/Turenne.
Coave Therapeutics will use the proceeds from this fundraising to support the execution of its corporate strategy, which is focused
Aromyx, a specialist in applying biotechnology and data science to capture unique sensory data, has closed an oversubscribed USD10 million Series A round of financing led by Rabo Food&Ag Innovation Fund and SOZO Ventures.
Existing investors Ulu Ventures, Radicle Growth, Capital Energy and Merus Capital also participated in the round.
Aromyx has developed the largest database of human receptors, ingredients/chemicals and word descriptors in the world using a proprietary biotechnology platform. Aromyx tests consumer products and ingredients against these receptors to quantitatively determine how a person would perceive that product. Aromyx then applies this unique data to understand individual
Anzu Partners, an investment firm that focuses on early stage industrial and life science technology companies, has launched its third venture fund with USD130 million in commitments to date toward a USD300 million target size.
Anzu’s Fund III will invest in early-stage breakthrough technology companies that can shape and enable high growth sectors that are essential to prosperity, productivity, and sustainability. The fund’s investors include public and private institutions, single and multifamily offices, and individuals across the U.S. and overseas.
Since its founding in 2014, Anzu Partners has grown into a robust investment firm with over 50 team members, and
Speedinvest, a pan-European early-stage VC, today announces the final closing of its second specialist marketplaces and consumer fund at EUR60 million, above its original target of EUR50 million. More than a dozen notable marketplace founders and executives have joined the final close, including the founders of Ankorstore, Vinted, TradingView, Planetly, and more.
Jörg Gerbig, COO of JustEatTakeAway & co-founder of Lieferando, also participated in the fund.Speedinvest’s Marketplaces and Consumer team has already made four investments since the fund’s first close, including freight and logistics B2B marketplace Yolda, which announced its USD1.9 million seed round in June. The team, led
Although private equity deal activity slowed down a bit in Q2 from the first quarter of 2021, the speed at which PE deals closed continued, leading to a massive uptick in deal value, according to Pitchbook’s latest European PE Breakdown report.
In the second quarter of 2021, around 1,800 deals closed at a total value of EUR169.6 billion, the report showed – which represents a year-on-year increase of 161.2 per cent and 137.3 per cent, respectively. This constitutes Europe’s second-highest quarterly numbers so far, driven by activity in the core middle market.
The lockdown of economies around the world reshaped
In this podcast, Private Equity Wire speaks to Randy Schwimmer (pictured), head of senior lending origination and capital markets at Churchill Asset Management, about capital markets, deal trends and the current private equity middle-market lending environment.
Vestwell, a specialist in workplace savings and investing programmes, has raised USD70 million in a Series C financing round led by Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and Fin Venture Capital. A host of other financial services and fintech leaders also participated, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Manulife, Point72, Nationwide Ventures, Allianz Life Ventures, Northwestern Mutual, FinTech Collective, Greenspring Associates, Primary Venture Partners, Teamworthy Ventures, F-Prime Capital, Industry Ventures, and Commerce Ventures.
Vestwell provides the underlying infrastructure for workplace savings and investing programs, such as 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plans. The firm’s API-based technology is designed to support a diverse ecosystem of
Renaissance Venture Capital has closed its fourth fund with USD77.5 million of new capital.
Since it opened in 2008, Renaissance has raised over USD280 million, making it the largest “fund of funds” of its kind in the United States. Renaissance has become a role model for similar funds that have emerged in Cincinnati, Houston, and most recently Wisconsin.
Renaissance invests in top-tier venture capital funds around the county, bringing them into Michigan’s vibrant startup ecosystem. It then connects those funds and their startups with major organisations looking for innovation. Startup companies are the life blood of a growing economy, and
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
