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The Vita Group, a European provider of flexible polyurethane foam, has acquired mattress manufacturer Usleep Limited from Northedge Capital LLP.
Usleep produces a portfolio of foam, spring and hybrid mattresses for a number of the UK’s leading mattress retailers and Bed in the Box (BiB) brands. Usleep’s two sites in Ashton under Lyne and Castle Donnington utilise state-of-the-art machinery to create one of the UK’s most efficient automated mattress production processes.
This will be the 3rd acquisition completed by Vita in 2021 following the acquisitions of IMPE Srl, located in Naples, Italy, in Q1 and UK based Technical Foam Services
Panakès Partners, an Italian venture capital firm in the life sciences sector, has appointed Rob Woodman as a Partner, to lead the firm’s newly created biotech investment team.
The appointment of Dr Woodman follows the recent first closing at EUR150 million (USD175 million) of Panakès’ second fund (named the Purple Fund), which is focused on both Biotech and Medtech. As a result, Panakès is now ideally placed to selectively deploy capital into the next generation of innovative start-ups.
Woodman has global experience in biotech gained at both institutional and corporate venture firms, encompassing de novo start-up through to growth
Liti Capital SA, a Swiss-based litigation funding provider disrupting private equity investing with blockchain technology, is launching Scambusters, a new tool that allows users to vote for which crypto-focused cases the company should pursue next.
This year will be a record for investment fraud: 14,079 investment scams were reported to the FTC in the first quarter of 2021, and victims lost USD215 million in this quarter alone. Liti Capital is bringing its expertise in picking, funding and winning court cases and inviting consumers to vote on which scams it should pursue in court next.
“The idea that scammers can
Isotropic Systems, a developer of broadband terminal technologies, has raised over USD37 million in an equity financing round, which fully funds the development of its multi-link antennas through to product launch in 2022.
The round is led by Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC – the world’s first listed space tech fund – in the first significant investment since its IPO on the London Stock Exchange in July. The round also included participation from leading strategic and deep-tech venture capital investors including AEI HorizonX, Promus Ventures through its Luxembourg based space investment fund Orbital Ventures, and Firmament Ventures.
Concurrently, Isotropic Systems
Frontify, a provider of brand management software, has raised an additional USD50 million in Series C funding, led by Revaia (formerly Gaia Capital Partners) with participation from High Sage Ventures and existing investors EQT Ventures, Blossom Capital, and Tenderloin Ventures.
Frontify is committed to accelerated growth, both in product R&D, and in hiring talent in the US, Switzerland, and beyond to join its current team of 200+ employees. Investing in highly-engaged and skilled people will strengthen the company’s position as thought-leaders on the future of brand. The funding will also boost Frontify’s technology to support the growing global community of brand
Berkshire Partners has appointed Kristin Johnsen as an Advisory Director.
Johnsen, a longtime technology executive, will partner with the firm’s technology team to evaluate new investment ideas and partner with portfolio companies on growth initiatives.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kristin to the team and look forward to deepening our relationship with her as an Advisory Director,” says EJ Whelan, Managing Director of Berkshire Partners. “Kristin brings deep technology leadership experience that will be invaluable for our private equity team in assessing new opportunities, and with our portfolio company teams in prioritising and executing on growth strategies.”
Johnsen has more
By Darius Pandole, Managing Director & CEO, JM Financial Private Equity – The importance of infrastructure for sustained economic development is well recognised. Infrastructure facilities such as roads, railways, metro rails, etc are required to increase the productivity and seamless functioning of various business sectors in India. High transaction costs arising from inadequate and inefficient infrastructure can prevent the economy from realising its full growth potential, regardless of the progress on other fronts.
Surge Private Equity has invested in its 10th platform, Contractor Connect (CC), a B2B networking lead-generation platform within the home improvement and remodeling space.
The transaction closed with debt financing provided by Modern Bank and Assurance Mezzanine Fund with BakerHostetler acting as lead counsel.
Since its founding in 2014, CC has connected hundreds of thousands of homeowners to local contractors through its proprietary lead aggregator, screening, and live-transfer platform. The Company primarily specialises in various home remodelling verticals including bathrooms, windows, roofs, gutters, and sidings. Its recognised brand is highly regarded across the 25+ states it currently serves. Founder Joseph
Global private markets firm Partners Group has acquired a significant equity stake in Milestone Equipment Holdings (Milestone) and will partner with Barings to continue and accelerate the company’s growth story as one of the largest providers of transportation equipment and supply chain solutions in the US.
Through this significant recapitalisation, which Barings led, Milestone raised over USD1.0 billion in equity commitments from institutional investors in a transaction that valued the Company in excess of USD1.4 billion. As part of the transaction, Partners Group acquired a co-control ownership stake in Milestone and joined the Company’s board of directors alongside Barings.
Milestone
Audax Private Equity’s portfolio company, Emplifi, a global provider of SaaS-based, omnichannel consumer experience software, has acquired SYM-SYS (Go Instore).
Headquartered in London, UK, Go Instore is a specialist in live commerce software. Go Instore leverages immersive HD live video to connect customers with a brand’s data driven product experts. Their leading-edge video technology provides brands with a new channel via which they can engage with and serve their customers, strengthening Emplifi’s omnichannel CX approach along all stages of the customer journey.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Go Instore team and welcome their outstanding people, culture, platform, and
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