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Axol Bioscience has exceeded all expectations in its crowdfunding investment round. The game-changing stem cell tech company listed on SyndicateRoom seeking GBP600,000, but massive investor interest saw the campaign quickly reach a revised overfunding limit of GBP1 million, with a surplus of demand following the close.
Axol’s huge raise is further evidence of SyndicateRoom’s leading position in crowdfunding for life science: SyndicateRoom alone accounts for more than 40% of Europe’s total number of life science raises.
Using Nobel Prize-winning technology, Axol Bioscience produces stem cells from human blood and skin cells. These stem cells can then be turned into a
Jersey’s funds industry will need to embrace FinTech, assert its long-standing expertise and focus on innovation in order to remain at the forefront of a constantly evolving global funds landscape, according to the chairman of the Jersey Funds Association (JFA).
Speaking at this year’s annual JFA Dinner (18 March), Ben Robins (pictured) told an audience of over 450 funds professionals, senior politicians and regulatory representatives that the recent performance of Jersey’s funds industry painted an extremely positive picture and positioned the jurisdiction well as a centre for alternative funds business.
Highlighting that the total value of funds business grew at
Ropes & Gray advised HongDao Advisors (HongDao) on the successful closing of three of its recent investment transactions. Ropes & Gray acted as HongDao’s legal counsel on all three transactions.
In February 2016, HongDao investment funds invested over USD 10 million in Lagou Information Limited and subscribed for newly issued Series C preferred shares of the company. Lagou Information Limited is a company focused on online human resources solutions in China.
Earlier in January 2016, HongDao investment funds also closed an investment in WeBus Holding Ltd. HongDao invested over USD8 million by purchasing outstanding shares from the existing shareholders and
Black Diamond Capital Management is to acquire ArcelorMittal's LaPlace, LA, Harriman, TN and Vinton, TX steelmaking and finishing operations focused on the production and sale of long carbon steel products in North America.
The LaPlace operations are primarily located outside of New Orleans with an additional rolling mill in Harriman, TN and three strategically located stocking depots in Tulsa, OK, Chicago, IL and Pittsburgh, PA. The LaPlace and Harriman facilities are leading producers of light structural shapes and merchant bar quality products. The Vinton facility, located near El Paso, TX, is a leading producer of rebar for the construction industry and
Founders Fund has closed a USD1.3 billion sixth fund, bringing the firm’s total amount of capital under management to over USD3 billion.
Founders Fund VI will be led by partners Lauren Gross, Ken Howery, Geoff Lewis, Scott Nolan, Luke Nosek, Brian Singerman, and Peter Thiel. Members of the team have been founders and early employees of prominent technology companies including PayPal, Google, Palantir Technologies, and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). All of the firm’s partners are generalists, investing across sectors and at every stage, though the firm is known for making large, concentrated investments.
“We look to make a material impact
Oligo Swiss Fund Services received its license from the Swiss authorities 13 months ago to provide Swiss legal representative services and has already onboarded more than 200 funds registered for distribution to Swiss qualified investors. These include offshore hedge funds, UCITS-compliant hedge funds and private equity funds.
"Our team has experience in hedge funds, UCITS funds and private equity funds," explains Luis Pedro (pictured), CEO of Oligo Swiss Fund Services. "The size of fund assets on the platform ranges from EUR20 million at the lower end to EUR20 billion at the upper end, spanning all types of strategies and structures
Switzerland is a key part of the global business model at BNP Paribas Securities Services, whose successful acquisition last June of Credit Suisse Prime Fund Services has helped it to become an industry leader in alternative fund administration.
With a depositary bank network spanning 15 European jurisdictions, EUR1.2 trillion of assets under depositary and 1.8 trillion of assets under administration, BNP Paribas Securities Services is leveraging its scalability and breadth of expertise to bring support to Switzerland's fund management community; both traditional and alternative.
Commenting on the PFS acquisition, Garrick Smith (pictured), Head of BNP Paribas Securities Services Switzerland, emphasises
It is now one year in to the Swiss Collective Investment Scheme Act (CISA) and overall impressions appear to be that it has been a success. One particular aspect of CISA, namely the requirement for alternative fund managers marketing their funds in Switzerland to "unregulated qualified investors" (eg pension funds, family offices) to appoint a Swiss Fund Representative and Paying Agent, has proven to be no more than a mild shower in a teacup.
A year ago, fund managers were aghast at the idea of having to incur yet more regulatory costs, but those fears have proven to be largely
Emerging Market corporates have feasted on cheap US dollar debt over the last few years. According to a PwC report (Global Economy Watch – May 2015, "Will dollar denominated debt become an emerging economy epidemic?") since the US Federal Reserve introduced the first round of quantitative easing in 2008, dollar denominated debt rose from USD6 trillion to USD9 trillion in 2014.
In October that year, the Fed's decision to stop QE helped the greenback to strengthen, which it has been doing ever since. Some fear that with global instability, as investors rush to the USD as a safe haven asset in
The actions of central banks over the past few years have been particularly hard for hedge funds, especially fundamental stock pickers, and whilst global macro and CTAs have been able to make some solid returns (the latter more in 2H14), there's been precious little to celebrate in hedge fund land.
According to Preqin's latest global hedge fund survey, 33 per cent of investors felt that hedge funds had fallen short of expectations in 2015. Fund managers shared this sentiment, with 40 per cent saying that they too felt performance had lagged; the average hedge fund returned just +2.02 per cent.
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