Managers
Foreside has bolstered its customised, tech-enabled governance, risk management, and compliance offering, for hedge fund, private equity, and other emerging alternative investments managers with the acquisition of Integrated Compliance Solutions Group (ICSGroup).ICSGroup is a regulatory compliance services firm serving the asset management industry in the US and Africa, with an emphasis on private funds and emerging managers.
Founded in 2008 and based in Hartford, Connecticut, ICSGroup has helped its clients adhere to regulatory requirements and industry standards by developing and managing robust compliance programs, effectively managing regulatory issues, and providing operational due diligence to instill confidence in their investors and
Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners (Stonepeak), a private equity firm specialising in infrastructure investing, is to acquire Astound Broadband (Astound), the sixth largest US cable operator in the United States that operates leading regional providers RCN, Grande, Wave and enTouch.
AI-focused VC-firm Air Street Capital has closed a USD17 million fund, targeting early-stage founders in Europe and the US who combine AI expertise with sector-specific knowledge in the enterprise, consumer and life sciences sectors.
Founded by general partner Nathan Benaich, Air Street Capital aims to partner up with professionals in the AI community in order to apply technical expertise to spot new talent and “cut through the hype” to source AI applications, according to the newly founded firm.
Benaich’s prior seed and early-stage investments include Mapillary -which was later acquired by Facebook- Tractable, LabGenius, Thought Machine, Starship, Ravelin, PolyAI, Jukedeck,
The North East Development Capital Fund (NEDCF) has co-led a GBP1.75 million funding round for Newcastle-based Hive HR Ltd (Hive), an employee engagement Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution. The Fund, which is managed by Maven Capital Partners (Maven), has invested GBP500,000, alongside GBP1 million of funding from Maven’s VCTs and GBP250,000 from existing shareholders.
Since the NEDCF’s original investment in Hive HR in April 2019 the business has enjoyed strong growth, doubling revenue in the past 12 months, and has continued to add to its impressive client base, which includes River Island, Hermes, Travelodge, Tarmac, and Northumbria Police. Today’s funding will assist
Despite the global pandemic, private equity backed businesses completed a substantial number of add-ons in H1 2020, according to Silverfleet Capital’s European Buy & Build Monitor, highlighting the resilience of buy & build as a value creation strategy.The European Buy & Build Monitor, which tracks global add-on activity undertaken by European-headquartered companies backed by private equity, identified a provisional total1 of 253 add-ons in the first half of 2020, with the first quarter seeing 156 reported add-ons, and the second quarter seeing 81.
Unsurprisingly, in light of the current climate, this represents a decline from the 387 in H1 2019
Gousto, a UK recipe box provider, has become only the fourth UK company in 2020 to achieve ‘Tech Unicorn’ status, following hot on the heels of Synk and fellow consumer-facing businesses Gymshark and Cazoo. Just eight years since launch, Gousto joins an elite group of 19 venture-backed UK businesses, including the likes of Deliveroo, that have achieved a valuation of at least USD1 billion.In its latest funding round, which closed on 30 Oct 2020, Gousto raised GBP25 million (USD 33m) of new equity from existing investors Perwyn and BGF at a valuation in excess of USD1 billion. The new equity
Eurazeo Capital, alongside IK Investment Partners, RAISE Investissement and the existing management team, has invested in Questel to acquire 100 per cent of its share capital. Eurazeo and the IK IX Fund will each invest an initial amount of nearly EUR200 million and together will hold a majority stake. Definitive financial information will be disclosed once the transaction has been completed.
Questel is a major intellectual property solutions provider that operates worldwide, developing SaaS products and an automated brand services and patent filing platform. The company works with close to 6,000 clients, including a number of large multinationals, offering end-to-end collaborative
Mid-market private equity firm LDC has backed Rhino Products, Europe’s leading manufacturer of light commercial vehicle accessories, in a deal valued at GBP36 million, to support its international growth strategy.Headquartered in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, Rhino is a designer and manufacturer of premium external load carrying and restraint systems for light commercial vehicles. Its innovative products are designed to address health and safety concerns of major fleet owners as well as providing high quality and reliable products for SMEs. With two factories in the UK and further dedicated sites in The Netherlands, Poland and Sweden, Rhino is an internationally recognised brand,
AnaCap Financial Partners (AnaCap), a specialist mid-market private equity investor, has entered into exclusive negotiations for the purchase of a majority stake in Market Pay, an innovative end-to-end omnichannel payments platform operating in multiple countries, from the Carrefour Group (Carrefour) in a deal valued close to EUR300 million.
The transaction is subject to the consultation of works council and to the usual closing conditions (including regulatory and antitrust approvals).
The deal, expected to complete in H1 2021, would see Carrefour retaining a minority stake in what will be a working partnership to commercialise the offering outside Carrefour, diversify product lines and
ARQIS has advised on the merger of the fitness studio chain Ai Fitness with the Jumpers Group, a portfolio company of NORD Holding. The client of ARQIS was Ai Fitness founder and seller Marius Neugebauer, who is taking a significant stake in the new group and is moving to the advisory board.
The two entities together form a new platform, the ‘BestFit Group’, which will focus on the growing premium discount fitness sector in Germany. The new group is a leading provider with well over 210,000 members, 64 studios and a strong presence in southern and western Germany. A comprehensive
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
