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The total cumulative value of offshore M&A deals and IPOs remained robust in the first quarter of 2015, with the average size of each deal among the highest on record, according to a report released today by Appleby.
The latest edition of Offshore-i, an Appleby report that provides data and insight on corporate transaction activity in the major offshore financial centres, focuses on deals announced during the first quarter of 2015. While there was a significant drop in the number of transactions when compared to the previous quarter, total deal value remained level due in part to three megadeals each
The Motorist’s Organisation Limited (TMO) has successfully raised GBP750,000 of additional equity capital from private equity firm, Ashridge Capital.
TMO is an online platform allowing independent and franchised garages to provide consumers with like-for-like comparisons on a real-time availability and pricing basis for MOTs, car servicing and vehicle repairs.
This new capital will enable TMO to further develop and accelerate its penetration into the UK’s GBP10 billion aftersales market for vehicle maintenance. TMO was established by entrepreneur, Douglas Rotberg in 2012 and TMO’s online platform is the foundation for its recently announced partnership with The RAC, the UK automotive
VentureFounders, the UK-based equity crowdfunding platform, has launched a GBP500,000 crowdfunding campaign for freemarketFX, the peer-to-peer currency exchange, focused on the high-value B2B commercial spot FX market.
The innovative FX exchange platform reduces currency exchange costs to users up to 75 per cent by matching companies and individuals directly with their peers for a fixed commission charge of 0.2 per cent, thereby removing intermediaries and cutting out the financial and operating costs common to many traditional bank and FX broker models.
freemarketFX operates ‘scheduled exchanges’ to execute transfers at set times, rather than on an individual basis, to
Travel industry predictive analytics specialist bd4travel today has closed a USD4.2m Series A funding round, with participation from Talis Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Robin Klein and a number of prominent business angels.
The funding will be used to extend the product offering and accelerate international sales. Expedia founder, Simon Breakwell, has also been appointed as chairman of bd4travel.
Developed by an experienced team of travel industry veterans and pioneering data scientists, bd4travel provides online travel companies with an audience relationship management (ARM) platform. It's machine learning algorithms detect the detailed travel wishes of each unique user in real-time,
TRAFI, a public transport mobile app designed to accurately plan journeys using real-time data, has completed a successful Series A funding round totalling USD6.5m.
The round was led by Octopus Investments with the EBRD Venture Capital Investment Programme and BaltCap, who all join existing investors Practica Capital.
TRAFI, which was founded in Lithuania in 2013, provides precise journey planning information, using a mix of data collected from users and transit authorities. The team’s focus is on high-growth emerging markets, where they use predictive technology to look at local traffic patterns and then apply TRAFI’s algorithm to calculate exact journey times.
The average time taken to exit private equity-backed buyout investments has increased year-on-year since 2008. In this extract from the Preqin Private Equity Spotlight: May 2015, Anna Strumillo and Ciantelle Lawrence conduct an in-depth analysis of buyout holding periods.
Private equity investments are traditionally long-term investments with typical holding periods ranging between three and five years. Within this defined time period, the fund manager focuses on increasing the value of the portfolio company in order to sell it at a profit and distribute the proceeds to investors. This in turn determines how quickly and how much the investors can
European growth private equity firm Keensight Capital has appointed Guillaume Lefebvre as Associate and Alexandre Carrot (Pictured) as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Before joining Keensight Capital, Lefebvre worked as an Associate at Argos Soditic in Paris, where he was involved in investments in medium-sized companies across various sectors including Healthcare and Energy.
Prior to this, he started his career within the Merchant Banking division of the Rothschild group.
Guillaume, 30 years old, is a graduate from ESCP Europe Business School and holds Master degrees in Finance and Economics from the Sorbonne University.
Carrot started his career as an auditor in
The London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) has selected an affiliate of Apollo Global Management as its alternative credit manager.
Subject to final documentation, Apollo will oversee the LPFA’s GBP150 million allocation to alternative credit including distressed debt, real estate debt, leveraged senior loans and private lending.
The mandate will be unconstrained and target absolute returns by investing across a number of higher yielding debt markets. It is expected that the majority of investments will be made within developed markets; however, there is also scope for allocations to emerging markets.
Apollo’s appointment was made after a thorough two-part tender process, which
Private equity firm Trilantic North America has added to its senior leadership team with the appointment of Charles Fleischmann as a Partner in teh fiem’s New York office.
With 11 years of private equity experience, Fleischmann will primarily focus on investments in the services and light industrials sectors.
“We are excited to welcome Charles and to integrate him into our existing senior management team,” says Charlie Ayres, Chairman and Managing Partner of Trilantic North America. “Charles brings with him a wealth of knowledge across of variety of industry sectors, including business services, consumer, distribution and light industrials, which align with
AllSeated, a network for the events industry providing users with comprehensive planning and collaboration tools, has secured funding from Magma Venture Partners alongside new and existing investors.
AllSeated is rapidly expanding its network connecting tens of thousands of event professionals, including venues, caterers, event planners, vendors as well as DIYs. The Network functionality includes floor plan management, table layouts, guest lists, seating arrangements, timelines and reports. Users include leading brands such as Hilton, Marriott, The Ritz Carlton and The Plaza.
"It's all about providing our users with time-saving, secure, easy to use, powerful tools to plan their events collaboratively. Our
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