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Mogrify, a UK company aiming to transform the development of life-saving cell therapies, has held the initial close of its Series A funding round at USD16 million bringing the total investment to over USD20 million USD to date.
The funding will support internal cell therapy programs, and the development and out-license of novel IP relating to cell conversions of broad therapeutic interest. Mogrify is also actively recruiting, and will increase headcount to 60 scientific, operational and commercial staff located at its state-of-the-art facility on Cambridge Science Park.
The funding round was led by existing investor Ahren Innovation Capital (Ahren),
Paul Conroy, Group Head of Real Assets and Private Debt at independent fund and corporate services provider, the Aztec Group, has moved to the firm’s Luxembourg office.
Previously based in Jersey, Conroy will continue to lead the Group’s real assets and private debt offerings, with Group-wide oversight of the delivery of fund and corporate services to the real estate, infrastructure, asset leasing and private debt sectors.
Conroy’s relocation reflects the Aztec Group’s ongoing focus on further strengthening its pan-European capabilities, and reinforces the Group’s commitment to having a cross-jurisdictional Executive Committee.
While based in Luxembourg, Conroy will continue
Hiro Capital has launched a EUR100 million venture capital fund, to back the future UK and EU specialists in the global games, e-sports and digital sports sectors.
The partners will use the fund to accelerate the growth of about 20 UK and European Games and Sports innovators.
Hiro Capital will generally invest at the post-seed stage, at Series A and B. The fund will back deep technology entrepreneurs and creative studios in Games, Esports and Digital Sports and in sector-specific applications of Cloud, Mobile, Streaming, Big Data, AI, Wearables, AR and VR technologies.
By covering all three sectors of
Invest Europe has appointed Eric de Montgolfier as its new CEO. Invest Europe represents Europe’s private equity, venture capital, infrastructure sectors.
A highly-experienced private equity professional, de Montgolfier joins from Brussels-listed investment manager Gimv, where he was Partner and Head of Gimv France, responsible for overseeing investment and group strategy in the market.
“It is a great honour to be joining Invest Europe as CEO,” de Montgolfier says. “I have enormous respect for the work of the association and its team in Brussels. I look forward to bringing the experience I have gained in over 30 years at private
NorthEdge Capital has completed the acquisition of UK independent video game company Catalis Group in a deal that values the business at GBP90 million.
NorthEdge has invested GBP46.6 million through its acquisition vehicle Project Sword Bidco, whilst Vespa Capital, which has been a shareholder in Catalis since 2014, and CEO Dominic Wheatley have reinvested the majority of their shareholdings in Catalis as part of the transaction.
Catalis, which has been led by CEO Dominic Wheatley since 2012, provides a range of services into the high growth, global video games market through two divisions: Curve Digital; and Testronic. Curve is
BGF has successfully exited its investment in landscaping and grounds maintenance company, TCL Group. TCL has been acquired by idverde to create the UK’s largest provider of outdoor green services.
BGF first invested in TCL Group in May 2014 to exit an existing shareholder and provide funding for the acquisition of Burleys. As a minority equity partner, BGF has provided total investment of more than GBP16 million to the group, which now has regional hubs in Derby, Northampton, Dorking and Wiltshire.
Led by Executive Chairman Simon Cashmore, TCL has completed seven acquisitions since BGF’s investment, growing its UK presence
Law firm Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) has appointed Nicholas Sheets as a partner in the firm’s global Private Funds Group.
Sheets is an accomplished corporate lawyer who brings nearly a decade of experience advising Asia, US, and Latin America sponsors and investors in the structuring, formation, and offering of private equity funds as well as co-investment activities and secondary transactions.
Sheets’ practice primarily focuses on the representation of private equity sponsors in their fund formations, co-investments, and related activities, particularly in transactions involving Asia and the United States. Sheets, who is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, regularly counsels on large
MUFG Investor Services, a global asset servicing arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), is to acquire select divisions of the fund administration business of Maitland, a privately owned global advisory, administration and family office firm.
Maitland personnel will join MUFG Investor Services offices in the Cayman Islands, Halifax, and Dublin.
When completed, the acquisition will add approximately USD20 billion in assets under administration (AUA) to MUFG Investor Services, bringing the total AUA to over USD600 billion and expanding the firm’s market share in major markets. The assets consist of hedge funds and private equity funds.
Additionally, new
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice announced has appointed Björn Killmer as a Partner. Killmer is based in the Firm’s London office.
Killmer joins a CD&R investment team that has sourced investments in 16 European headquartered companies over the past two decades, representing more than USD6 billion in invested capital.
Killmer focuses on industrial investments in Europe. He brings extensive experience sourcing, negotiating, structuring and managing private investments in industrial businesses across Europe. Previously, he served as co-head of the Energy & Resources team at Triton Partners, a private equity firm. Killmer joined Triton from Goldman Sachs, where he was a
Storm clouds are building on Europe’s M&A horizon, as record high valuations and rising economic macro risks sow seeds of caution among corporates.
As highlighted in a recent white paper by CMS, a full service global law firm, entitled “Storms brewing: European M&A Outlook 2019”, European M&A value over the last 12 months (Q3 2018 to Q2 2019) is down 22 per cent year-on-year to EUR652.2 billion. Only 27 per cent of respondents surveyed by CMS expect the level of M&A activity in Europe to increase over the next 12 months, compared to 65 per cent last year.
But against
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