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RoadSafe Traffic Systems, a us-based provider of traffic control and pavement marking services backed by Investcorp, has acquired Clark Pavement Markings (CPM).
Based in Apex, North Carolina, CPM is a supplier of pavement marking products and services in the North Carolina market.
Grain Management (Grain), a private investment firm focused on the global communications sector, has appointed Craig Phillips as Managing Director and Chief Operating and Growth Officer.
In this role, Phillips will work with Grain’s executive leadership team to manage many of the firm’s day-to-day operations, develop the systems and infrastructure needed to scale the business, and expand the firm’s investment impact to better serve its partners.
Phillips formerly served as a Counsellor to the Secretary of the US Department of the Treasury where he fulfilled the duties of the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance. He previously held the role of
PayFit, a payroll and HR management solution for SMEs, has raised EUR254 million in a Series E funding round led by growth equity firm General Atlantic.
Existing investors Eurazeo, Bpifrance and Accel Ventures also participated.
PayFit plans to use the funds to recruit additional top talent, accelerate the development of innovative new products, and increase its market share across Europe.
Since its founding in 2015, PayFit has gained over 6,000 clients, and has raised EUR179 million to date, prior to this funding round. Its EUR90 million Series D funding round, which closed in March, supported the company in the
Eastern Bell Capital has held the final close of its USD Fund II and RMB Fund VI, with a total commitments of more than RMB13 billion (USD2.0 billion), marking one of the largest fundraises among China based GPs in 2021.
Earth Capital, a sustainable investing private equity specialist, has appointed Avent Bezuidenhoudt as Head of Investment as the firm continues the deployment of its flagship Nobel Sustainability Fund amid record interest in sustainable investment.
Bezuidenhoudt, who will also be joining the board as a director of Earth Capital and the Investment Committee, joined Earth Capital in July 2020 as Investment Director with over 25 years of experience in investing, portfolio management, and corporate finance advisory. She is an expert at identifying and supporting high-growth technology companies and has been a valuable member of the firm’s investment team. Prior to joining
CryptoSlam, a provider of data and transparency for the NFT industry, has closed an oversubscribed USD9 million seed capital round.
The round was led by Animoca Brands, the company driving digital property rights via NFTs and gaming to build the open metaverse, with participation from CryptoSlam pre-seed investors Mark Cuban and Sound Ventures, the venture capital firm founded by Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary.
Other investors in the round include OKEx Blockdream Ventures, the venture arm of cryptocurrency exchange OKEx, blockchain protocols Binance Smart Chain and Polygon, KCRise Fund, PKO Investments, Stocktwits, Forte, Twenty5Twenty and Red Beard Ventures.
The round
Europe’s private equity industry has continued to rebound following disruption caused by the pandemic, completing 741 buyouts cumulatively valued at EUR141.5 billion in 2021, according to provisional full-year data from CMBOR, the Centre for Private Equity and MBO Research.
Deal volume is broadly consistent with previous years, barring the understandable dip in 2020, whilst deal value reached its highest level since 2007, signalling Europe’s upswing as markets began to stabilise.
Private equity activity in the UK market in 2021 reached levels not seen since before the global financial crisis. At GBP45.8 billion, the cumulative value of the 235 buyouts of
Symplr, a specialist in enterprise healthcare operations including governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, backed by Clearlake Capital Group, and Charlesbank Capital Partners has raised new capital via a Clearlake-managed dedicated fund, Icon Partners V (Icon V).
In addition to broadening symplr’s investor base, the transaction provides new and follow-on capital at a significantly larger scale to support the Company’s accelerated organic growth and acquisition strategy.
Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
The funding from the dedicated Clearlake investment vehicle provides symplr with access to approximately USD1.6 billion in equity capital, including rollover from
Audax Private Debt, the debt financing unit of Audax Group, an alternative investment manager specialising in investments in North American middle market companies, has appointed Bradley Patton as a Managing Director to oversee its Capital Markets for the Private Debt Origination platform.
Based in New York, Patton will be responsible for leading capital markets and syndication efforts across the Audax Private Debt platform, including unitranche and junior debt investments. He will also continue to expand and cultivate Audax Private Debt relationships across the middle market.
Octopus Investments, part of Octopus Group, has appointed Jennifer Ockwell as Head of Institutional.
Ockwell will be responsible for co-ordinating Octopus’ global institutional strategy as it continues to expand its offering to institutional investors.
Based in London, Ockwell will lead Octopus’ institutional funds distribution team, strengthening its engagement with new and existing investors across pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds and family offices in regions that include the UK, Europe, Asia, United States and the Middle East. She will report into Jonathan Digges, Octopus’ Chief Investment Officer.
Octopus currently manages GBP3.4 billion on behalf of institutional investors, representing
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