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Cryptocurrency initial coin offerings (ICOs) will become a significant fundraising route for companies seeking growth capital in the next five years, coming to represent over 10 per cent of all capital raised in the UK, according to results of a new survey by the law firm Collyer Bristow.
Over half (57 per cent) of respondents, comprising investment managers, fintech entrepreneurs and business owners, believe that start-ups will turn to ICOs in increasing numbers as they look for alternatives to more traditional capital raising methods like private equity and venture capital.
They anticipate that at least 10 per cent of
Basingstoke-based Southern Communications is targeting further acquisitions in the telecoms and digital sectors following an increase in existing debt facilities from a syndicate led by Santander Corporate & Commercial, alongside HSBC and Aviva Investors (Aviva).
Southern Communications traces its roots to 1965 as a telecoms service provider and has, over the past 50 years, grown into one of the UK’s leading B2B telecoms and data service providers. It now offers a broad suite of market-leading voice and data products to almost 8,000 SME clients. The firm has successfully completed 13 acquisitions since 2013, which together with strong organic growth has
Ropes & Gray’s lawyers have announced or closed transactions totalling more than USD20 billion on four continents in two weeks. The milestone demonstrates the firm’s exceptional international reach on significant transactions, including across Asia, Latin America and Europe.
“From London and Tokyo, to Hong Kong and into Latin America, our cross-practice teams have reached milestones in headline-making, highly complex, private equity-backed transactions involving big global names: Bain Capital, Toshiba, Alibaba, Advent International, Walmart and more,” says Will Shields, co-chair of Ropes & Gray’s global private equity practice.
“Our results reaffirm that our practice excels in handling an array of
LDC, the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investor, has exited its investment in PEI Media Group (PEI Media) in a sale to Bridgepoint Development Capital.
The deal value has not been undisclosed.
PEI Media provides market-leading intelligence and analysis for senior professionals in the alternative asset classes of private equity, real estate, infrastructure, private debt and other emerging specialisms such as agri-investors. Its product suite includes globally recognised print and online publications, specialist sector research databases and events.
Since LDC backed the management buyout of PEI Media in 2015, the business has significantly invested in the development of
Mid-market private equity firm Bowmark Capital has backed the buy-out of The Instant Group, a specialist in independent flexible workspace solutions.
Founded in 1999, Instant provides alternative methods of office procurement and management, with specific focus on flexible workspace and medium-term lease solutions, employing 250 people in 11 cities around the world.
Its market leading digital platform for flexible office procurement and innovative ’managed office’ solutions allow clients to rethink workspace as an enabler of transformation and growth rather than just as an overhead.
Instant has delivered compound annual revenue growth of 30 per cent over the past
Mid-market private equity investor LDC has invested GBP28 million for a minority shareholding in one of the UK’s leading vehicle insurance specialists: Right Choice Insurance Brokers (RCIB).
RCIB is a motor insurance broker with great insurer relationships, helping to deliver competitive premiums to those customers who typically find it more difficult to buy insurance online. The business uses its unique proprietary software alongside human interaction making it a truly value-additive insurance broker.
RCIB was launched by CEO Mike Joseph in 2008 and has grown year on year since, reaching turnover of GBP26 million in its latest financial year and
Idinvest Partners, an investor in SMEs across Europe, has appointed Nicolas Debock as Investment Director in the firm’s Venture Capital team.
In this position, Debock will be involved in sourcing, analysing and executing investments for the Venture Capital team, both in France and in Europe.
Debock joins Idinvest Partners following 7 years’ experience working as a venture capitalist for Balderton Capital and XAnge Private Equity, where he made numerous SaaS, Marketplaces and Fintech investments focusing on the French and Southern European markets. Prior to this, he worked as Innovation Ecosystem Manager for La Poste, where he was in charge
HIG Capital (HIG), a global private equity investment firm with over USD25 billion of equity capital under management, is pleased to announce it has completed a strategic investment in Brazilian hospital Grupo Meridional, one of the leading hospital groups in Brazil.
Headquartered in Cariacica and with five hospitals in the State of Espírito Santo, Meridional is the fifth largest private hospital group in the country and the leading private hospital in the state of Espirito Santo. With a total of over 400 hospital beds and established international accreditation, Meridional provides a wide range of advanced healthcare treatments in the metropolitan
Ropes & Gray has advised Reed & Mackay, an international travel management company, on its acquisition of Hillgate Travel, a leading UK-based travel management company.
The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
The deal takes Reed & Mackay’s global turnover past the GBP600 million mark. With both businesses in growth phase, the acquisition will see the collective business accelerate the evolution of their suite of industry-leading technology, across the key international markets of their client base.
The Ropes & Gray team was led by private equity partner Phil Sanderson. Other members of the team included finance
L Squared Capital Partners has made a growth investment in Kanopy, its eighth platform investment over the past four years.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Kanopy is a streaming video platform that offers millions of professors, students, and public library patrons free and convenient access to a unique collection of 30,000 highly curated films and documentaries. Kanopy has emerged as the leading destination for thoughtful educational entertainment with content ranging from award winning independent films and documentaries to cinematic classics to engaging lifelong learning course modules.
Kanopy’s CEO & Founder Olivia Humphrey, says: “We are thrilled to partner with the
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