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Regionall focussed specialist asset manager Mercia Asset Management PLC (AIM: MERC), the proactive, regionally focused specialist asset manager, is pleased to announce that the British Business Bank (BBB) has allocated an additional GBP54.3 million to regionally focused specialist asset manager Mercia’s two existing investment mandates from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).This takes Mercia’s total mandates from BBB to GBP186.3million and the Group’s total assets under management (AUM) to cGBP800million.
Mercia was first awarded investment mandates from NPIF in February 2017 across two funds; the GBP57.5million NPIF YHTV Equity fund and the GBP51.0million NPIF Y&H Debt fund. Since then, Mercia
The Global Health Investment Fund’s (GHIF) portfolio company Atomo Diagnostics Limited (AT1) has commenced trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) following an oversubscribed initial public offering (IPO). The Australian rapid blood test company intends to use the net proceeds from the IPO to support the planned expansion of its production capacity as the company prepares to utilise its rapid test devices to help detect Covid-19 and expand its commercial efforts for HIV and pregnancy self testing. Atomo has already entered into a binding COVID-19 supply agreement with NG Biotech, including two initial orders totalling nearly 950,000 devices, and is in
Tech start-up Blueprint has secured a GBP1million seed investment led by Magnus Rausing’s MAHR Projects and including Founders Factory and Hambro Perks. At a time when worldwide ecommerce adoption and digital payments are accelerating, Blueprint is ramping up the development of the first true conversational commerce platform which allows consumers to purchase products and speak to brands through a single SMS or WhatsApp message.
Blueprint aims to disrupt the retail process that has been built on email or online communication and traditional, clunky checkout systems. Using a mix of sophisticated natural language processing and machine learning in combination with real-world customer
A UK company, which is developing the next generation of spinal implants, has raised GBP830,000 in a funding round led by asset manager Mercia, to launch trials of its product in the US. Axis Spine has spent three years developing its technology, which could improve the success of spinal surgery and help people in chronic pain. It expects to secure clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) next month.
The latest funding, which comes from Mercia’s enterprise investment scheme (EIS) funds and two private investors, and has been completed in the midst of the lockdown, will allow it to
Legal firm Orrick has appointed French M&A and private equity advisor Olivier Jouffroy as a partner, based in Paris. Jouffroy joins Orrick from Clifford Chance.“Olivier is an up-and-coming M&A talent. His practice and experience are an excellent match for our focus in Paris and globally on serving the tech and innovation, energy and infrastructure, and finance sectors,” says Patrick Tardivy, co-head of Orrick’s Paris office.
Jouffroy advises on domestic and cross-border M&A transactions in the energy, infrastructure, finance, and real estate sectors. He acts for listed companies and financial institutions on both public and private M&A matters, corporate reorganisations and
Sofinnova Partners, a European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London and Milan, has made an investment in Genespire, a Milan-based gene-therapy company developing best-in-class therapies for patients affected by genetic diseases. This is the third investment for the Sofinnova Telethon Fund, bringing the total financing of Italian startups by Sofinnova Partners to EUR25 million over the past six months. The Sofinnova Telethon Fund is the largest fund in Italy dedicated to biotechnologies, making early-stage investments in Italian companies targeting cures for rare and genetic diseases.
Genespire was spearheaded by the renowned gene therapy pioneer Professor Luigi Naldini. This
YFM Equity Partners-advised funds have sold their shareholding in GroupBC to Bentley Systems Incorporated, a global provider of software and digital twins services for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, generating a return well in excess of three-tims its original investment.GroupBC is a leading provider of enterprise-scale information management systems for construction-related projects and asset owners. Its UK-hosted Common Data Environment makes it easy for teams to collaborate, manage and share documents and data from a central, secure cloud-based platform.
YFM has been supporting the transformational growth of UK SMEs since 1982. GroupBC was backed by British Smaller
ZEDRA Fund Services has won a new mandate to provide comprehensive fund administration and corporate governance services to IG4 Capital’s latest USD231.5 million blind-pool Private Equity II Fund, which will focus on special opportunities in Latin America. Ryan Taylor, director of ZEDRA Fund Services, explains: “We have proven and significant experience in the small and mid-tier alternative funds administration sector, where we can bring our particular skills and experience to bear for the benefit of our clients. As well as all the traditional threshold services expected, this would include benefiting from our experience in value-added areas such as fund governance, meeting
Holland Capital has sold its portfolio company Inno4Life, a manufacturer of machines for the pharmaceutical industry, to Dec Group, a Swiss powder handling and process containment equipment provider.
Inno4Life’s management will remain actively involved in the company after its acquisition, which will continue to operate under its own name following the deal.
Inno4Life is a manufacturer of complex filling and packaging machines for the pharmaceutical industry. The company delivers tailor-made solutions to its customers, which include large pharmaceutical companies.
Inno4Life searched for a strong partner to team up with in order to enable further international growth, and found this partner
When it comes to investing in Latin America’s private markets, Brazil leads the way, accounting for 58 per cent of all Private Equity and Venture Capital investment in 2019, according to the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America (LAVCA).
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