FORWARD FEATURES CALENDAR

Managers

Helsinki-based HappySignals, an Employee Experience Management Platform provider, has announced the successful closure of a EUR4.7 million series A funding round led by Nauta Capital with Vendep Capital also in participation. HappySignals will further its mission of helping enterprise IT leaders identify what needs to change so they can build happy, productive cultures that drive digital transformation by scaling operations in Europe and the US. “We believe happiness and productivity are the keys to transforming business IT culture for the better,” says HappySignals CEO Sami Kallio. “We do this by giving enterprise IT leaders the employee experience data they need to
Tokyo pedestrians
From 2010 Japanese investment deals in almost all types of Israeli high tech companies have continued to grow, according to the newly released Japanese Activity in the Israeli Tech Ecosystem Report, published by the IVC Research Center.
Addleshaw Goddard has advised background verification company ClearStar on its GBP14.7 million takeover by private equity investor Hanover.The AG team was led by partners Simon Wood and Charles Penney supported by Louise Pritchard and Mike O’Keeffe. AG has had a relationship with ClearStar since 2014, when the team advised on ClearStar’s IPO. The offer, which announced this morning, sees the company valued at a premium of 23 per cent over its most recent closing price. Wood says: “This is a great result for ClearStar, and we are delighted to have been able to offer our advice and expertise. “It is
Sectigo, a provider of automated digital identity management and web security solutions, is to be acquired by private investment firm GI Partners.Bill Holtz, Chief Executive Officer of Sectigo, says: “It has been a pleasure partnering with the Francisco Partners team over the past few years and we look forward to working with GI Partners as we write the next chapter of Sectigo’s story. The GI Partners team has a strong track record of helping technology companies expand through organic growth acceleration, M&A, and investments to support innovation. We have built a strong foundation as a leader in the cybersecurity market
Signifier Medical Technologies (Signifier), a specialist in the sleep disordered breathing market, has closed a circa USD10 million Series C funding round led by Alan Howard, VC investor and co-founder of Brevan Howard. The proceeds from this latest successful fundraising will allow Signifier to invest further in its innovative and non-invasive solutions for patients with sleep disordered breathing conditions.   The financing round also included participation from James Blair, a career healthcare venture capitalist and Partner/Co-founder of Domain Associates as an additional new investor in Signifier. Existing investors participating in the round included The Pritzker Organization and Signifier’s Chairman Kieran Gallahue,
Information services and software industry veterans Mason Slaine, Jay Nadler, and Karl Jaeger have launched of MLM II, an information services and software platform, in partnership with Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing.MLM II will focus on partnering with information, software, and technology-enabled services companies with a long-term view to value creation. As part of the launch, management and funds affiliated with Warburg Pincus have committed to fund up to USD1 billion of equity to pursue investments. Mason Slaine, Jay Nadler, and Karl Jaeger have collectively over 90 years of experience leading companies in information
LifeSpeak, a North American digital education platform for employee mental health and wellness, has secured a USD42 million minority equity investment from Round13 Growth Fund, Kensington Capital Partners and Roynat Capital. LifeSpeak is raising its first institutional funding round to accelerate its global growth trajectory.    Market demand for remote, technology-based mental health and wellness solutions has grown substantially in recent years. Awareness of mental health issues from anxiety and stress to suicide risk has further accelerated with the onset of COVID-19, particularly with an increasingly remote workforce.   Since its founding in 2004, LifeSpeak has established itself as a trusted
National Fire & Safety, an end-to-end fire protection and life safety solutions platform and a portfolio company of Highview Capital (Highview), has acquired Element Fire Protection (Element), a fire safety service and inspection provider headquartered in the greater Phoenix area.
Finance Durham Fund, which was established by Durham County Council and overseen by Business Durham, has today announced the investment of GBP750,000 in Growth Capital Ventures (GCV). The investment through Finance Durham, managed by Maven Capital Partners (Maven), will support GCV’s growth plans as it seeks to further develop its three main business units G-Labs, G-Ventures and Quva, as well as move premises to larger offices within County Durham.  Launched in 2015, GCV is an FCA authorised fintech firm that helps investors build a diversified investment portfolio and supports entrepreneurs with raising capital to launch and scale high-growth businesses. G-Labs, GCV’s
San Francisco Equity Partners (SFEP), a private equity firm focused on growth-oriented companies in the consumer sector, has made a USD20 million strategic investment into BrüMate, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) provider of insulated drinkware for adult beverages.Founded in 2016 by Dylan Jacob, BrüMate has built a cult-like following of its growing line of insulated drinkware for adult beverages, including wine tumblers, wine canteens, can and bottle coolers, barware, and most recently coolers. BrüMate is continually enhancing the perfect drinking experience for consumers through its innovative products. The company was recently named No14 on Inc. Magazine’s 2020 “Inc 5,000” list of the

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