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Morrison & Foerster has appointed Christopher Kandel as a partner in the firm’s Finance practice in London.
Kandel brings to the firm a wealth of experience in leveraged finance and complex international acquisition finance, and restructuring transactions. He comes to Morrison & Foerster from Latham & Watkins, where he served as co-chair of the global banking practice.
Kandel is the third partner to join the firm’s London Finance Department in less than a year, following the noteworthy additions of Caroline Jury, who joined from Clifford Chance, and Benoit Lavigne, who joined from Ropes & Gray, as the firm accelerates
Venture capital funding to automotive start-ups totalled USD8 billion in 2018, according to the latest Automotive Technology M&A Market Report from international technology mergers and acquisitions adviser, Hampleton Partners.
In parallel, almost 100 M&A deals were inked, including Renault, Ford and Volkswagen’s autotech acquisitions in the second half of 2018; however, total disclosed M&A transaction value reached USD3.9 billion in the time period, the lowest in over five years.
The report also shows the growing role of Private Equity (PE) in the autotech M&A market, accounting for almost one quarter of all transactions in 2018. The largest PE acquisition
Foresight Group (Foresight) has made two investments totalling GBP1.95 million into two fast-growing Lincolnshire based businesses, Firetree Chocolate Ltd and YPP Group via the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).
Foresight completed a GBP950k investment into premium chocolate maker Firetree Chocolate Ltd (Firetree) as part of a GBP1.2 million funding round in late January. Firetree was set up in 2017 as a bespoke high-end chocolate manufacturer. It has been successful in securing several prominent B2B supply contracts in the ‘super premium’ chocolate market, as well as securing two lucrative private label contracts. Firetree’s ambition is to develop its own brand of
Allianz X, the digital investment unit of the Allianz Group, has received additional investment from Allianz SE, increasing its fund size to EUR1 billion.
The increase is the result of Allianz X’s investment track record, successful collaborations with growth companies as well as the contribution towards the Group’s overall digital transformation strategy. The funds will be used to make additional direct investments in digital companies globally that are strategically relevant for the Allianz Group. Allianz X becomes one of the largest European firms dedicated to digital investment by fund size, uniquely leveraging the world’s leading insurer and asset manager.
Equitivo is partnering with Ablrate, a specialist asset backed lending marketplace, to accelerate its growth, launch a new integrated broker platform, expand its marketing and develop new products.
The consultancy work will also assist in Ablrate’s progress of ASMX, a blockchain enabled secondary market which connects multiple platforms and investors in one portal, to integrate Ablrate and its white label partner Huddle Capital. This will create the worlds’ first blockchain based platform for trading private debt globally.
Equitivo is a specialist fintech consultancy with international capabilities and a broad range of consultancy services. Already working with more than ten
Senseon, an AI platform for cyber defence, has completed a USD6.4 million seed funding round led by venture capital fund MMC Ventures, alongside Mark Weatherford, former Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity, US Department of Homeland Security.
Additional investors include Amadeus Capital Partners, Crane Venture Partners and CyLon.
The funding will allow Senseon to continue its rapid expansion in the UK and increase its presence in EMEA and the US.
Founded in 2017 by David Atkinson – the first ever cyber operative within the UK’s specialist military units – Senseon empowers businesses to keep pace with the increase of
Leep Utilities, an independent multi-utility operator, is to purchase SSE Water, a New Appointments and Variations (NAV) company, from SSE plc. The transaction is expected to complete by the end of March and is conditional on approvals typical of a transaction of this nature.
Leep Utilities is a joint-venture between Ancala Partners (Ancala), a mid-market infrastructure investment manager, and the Peel Group (Peel), one of the UK’s leading private real estate investment and infrastructure companies. Leep owns and operates regulated and non-regulated utility networks, including electricity, water and district heating networks, with a portfolio of sites across the country.
Preservation Capital Partners (Preservation Capital), a financial services-focussed private equity firm which last year acquired an interest in the insurTech-driven cyber and specialty lines MGA Ascent Underwriting (Ascent), has made a strategic investment in US construction-focused MGA Cove Programs (Cove).
Together the business will manage in excess of USD200 million GWP, making it one of the largest independently owned emerging risk and specialty lines MGAs. Ascent and Cove will continue to operate under their respective market-leading brands. Each is a pioneer in speciality product development and distribution within their respective markets, supported by best-in-class underwriting and claims teams. However, senior
Octopus Investments (Octopus), a provider of venture capital trusts (VCTs) in the UK, has passed the GBP1 billion milestone in VCT assets under management.
Octopus is the first investment manager to reach this milestone, which comes after recent fundraising. The assets are spread across Octopus’ four VCTs, which are currently supporting more than 200 portfolio companies.
According to the latest figures from Association of Investment Companies (AIC), Octopus manages almost 25 per cent of all VCT funds, which amount to GBP4.25 billion.
Paul Latham, Head of Tax Products, at Octopus Investments, says: “VCTs have proven to be a
Baltisse has completed the acquisition of Polflam, a Polish fire-resistant glass manufacturer. The selling shareholders were the two founders, Maciej Szamborski and Wojciech Wilczak, and Syntaxis Capital, a private debt and growth capital investor.
Polflam is the leading fire-resistant glass manufacturer in Poland, as well as a successful challenger on other European markets, with a constantly growing share of export sales. A unique proprietary technology and hard to replicate production process provide the Company with a sustainable cost advantage and best-in-class product qualities. The Company’s experience and professionalism is backed up by thousands of successful installations all over Europe. Polflam
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