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Companies backed by LeapFrog Investments, the ‘profit with purpose’ investment group, have reached 111 million people, marking an impact investing milestone.
The figures surpass the targets set a decade ago when Dr Andrew Kuper, LeapFrog’s founder and CEO, pledged on stage with President Bill Clinton to impact the lives of 25 million low-income people by 2020 and achieve top-tier results through Profit with Purpose investing.
Dr Kuper also pledged then to raise USD100 million to invest in purpose-driven businesses. Today, LeapFrog manages over USD1 billion, making it the largest equity impact investor for emerging markets. The capital has so
Mojix, a provider of RFID systems and IoT platform solutions, has merged with Europe-based CXignited, a specialist in delivering retailers real-time product and consumer data for unique customer experiences.
The united company will create a worldwide footprint with expanded resources, scalability and an end-to-end retail platform based on innovative business solutions and technology. It also secures a leadership position in servicing global retailers, brands and manufacturers while accelerating each company’s growth initiatives.
The unique combination of Mojix’s innovative RFID technology and IoT platform solutions, and CXignited’s product “inception to in-store” digitalisation applications delivers a complete retail business solution not available in
Leonardo & Co, in association with Houlihan Lokey, has established an Advisory Board with the appointment of Gianni Mion and Roberto Poli as Senior Advisors.
The Advisory Board will contribute, with the support of Mion and Poli’s expertise, to the continued growth of the firm and consolidating its market positioning.
Mion served as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Edizione Holding S.p.A, the holding company for the Benetton family, from 1986 to 2012 and has served as its Executive Vice-Chairman since 2012 until recently. He currently serves on several boards of directors.
Poli served as the Chairman
Nordic Capital Fund VII (Nordic Capital) has sold all of its remaining shares in Tokmanni Group Corporation (Tokmanni). Under Nordic Capital’s ownership, Tokmanni has grown substantially, reinforcing its leadership position in the attractive Finnish general discount retail market.
The remaining shareholding of 15.21 per cent was sold on September 12, 2017, and the book-building generated large investor interest with the book multiple times oversubscribed.
“Tokmanni has accelerated its development under Nordic Capital’s ownership. The Company now has a strong track record of growth and profitability, and is flourishing despite a challenging Finnish economy and retail market. Tokmanni has continued the
Gattai, Minoli, Agostinelli & Partners advised the investment firm Mittel on its acquisition of a 75 per cent controlling stake in IMC (Industria Metallurgica Carmagnolese), an Italian auto parts manufacturer.
Established in 1962 in Carmignola (Turin), IMC is a supplies Europe’s largest automotive manufacturers and recorded EUR40 million revenues in 2016, 90 per cent of which outside Italy.
The Gattai, Minoli, Agostinelli & Partners team comprised partners Bruno Gattai and Lorenzo Vernetti, senior associates Federico Bal and Andrea Taurozzi, and associate Diletta Camicia. Deloitte assited Mittel with the fiscal and financial due diligence.
BonelliErede advised the seller Roblafin Holding with a team
Direct Online Services, a Gloucestershire-based e-commerce business is on course to hit 67 per cent growth in revenue over two years (37 per cent in the last year alone) following an ambitious expansion programme across the UK and Europe.
Turnover at Direct Online Services, now the UK’s largest online retailer of kitchen worktops, has increased from GBP18 million in 2015 to GBP22 million in 2016 and is on course to surpass GBP30 million in 2017.
Founded in 2008 by father and son team Martyn and Will Rees, Direct Online Services is the e-commerce platform behind well-known kitchen furniture brand
Barings has served as joint lead arranger and administrative agent on first lien senior secured credit facilities to support Genstar Capital’s investment in Professional Datasolutions Inc (PDI) and strategic partnership with TA Associates.
Ares Capital Corporation served as joint lead arranger and administrative agent on the second lien credit facilities.
PDI is a specialist in providing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services that help multi-unit convenience stores and gas stations enhance operating efficiency through retail automation, bulk fuel automation, business intelligence, financial reporting and workforce management. The company’s retail and petroleum customers operate more than 50,000
Direct lender Beechbrook Capital has completed two new deals, its 49th and 50th since it began investing in 2010.
The firm’s Private Debt III fund has provided a unitranche loan to help finance the acquisition of Kuldeteknisk, a Tromsø-based leading supplier of refrigeration and heating products for use in the food, retail, buildings management and fisheries sectors, by Norwegian private equity fund manager Nord Kapitalforvaltning. Beechbrook’s Private Debt III fund offers flexible debt funding to private equity-sponsored businesses across northern Europe.
At the same time, Beechbrook’s UK SME Credit I fund, which specialises in UK small and medium-sized businesses
OpenHealth Company, a specialist in real-time healthcare data collection and analysis, has closed a EUR5 million financing round led by LBO France/Innovation Capital.
The company now plans to launch The Hub, the largest healthcare data analysis platform available in France.
OpenHealth’s Hub aggregates data from multiple sources to offer a variety of powerful capabilities for analysis.
OpenHealth believes that the analysis of healthcare data will gradually change how we understand various challenges in the healthcare sector. After massive investments in many developed countries, and especially North America, this was the first fundraising operation to be held in France
Paragon Genomics has raised USD8 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by Cowin Venture Capital and Fosun Industrial Co., Limited. Additional investors were Cloudstone Venture, HEDA Ventures, and Wisemont Capital.
“With this funding, we will develop additional NGS assay products, particularly in the oncology and precision medicine space, and expand our United States commercial team. Our CleanPlex technology has been adopted by more than 50 NGS labs globally including groups from the University of California, USDA, CDC, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Annoroad Gene Technology. We are expanding our global footprint into Europe, Asia and South America
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