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Experts from across the insurance linked securities (ILS) asset class are coming together to discuss the industry’s pressing issues at a Guernsey Finance-hosted thought leadership event in Zurich.
The event, ‘ILS Insight’, takes place at the Park Hyatt Zurich on 2 July and will include two panel sessions featuring ILS experts from Guernsey, the UK and mainland Europe.
Guernsey has become a leading destination for ILS; figures at the end of last year showed that Guernsey licensed 89 new international insurers during 2013, with more than 40 of the licences structures relating to ILS.
Fiona Le Poidevin, chief
Patrick Bradley, former chief executive of Ingenious Ventures, has launched Station 12, a media and entertainment investment manager.
Station 12 will be Europe’s only investment manager to focus entirely on providing growth and expansion capital to the region’s fast-growing and disruptive media, entertainment and media technology companies.
The team will invest in companies ranging from television, film, publishing and live entertainment, through to marketing services, e-commerce, digital content, gaming, fashion and design.
The London-based fund aims to raise GBP150m, commencing its first fundraise this summer. The investment team has already identified a pipeline of potential investments, into which
Calibration services specialist Trescal has acquired Instrument Calibration Services and Test Equipment Repair Corporation, with the support of majority shareholder private investment firm Ardian.
The two companies provide calibration and repair services for a wide variety of measurement and test equipment.
This is the fourth expansion since Ardian acquired Trescal in July 2013.
Instrument Calibration Services and Test Equipment Repair Corporation — both based in Atlanta, Georgia — generated roughly USD4.2m in sales last year and have 24 employees including 18 engineers. The terms of the deals are not disclosed.
“The acquisition furthers our growth strategy in
Qiming Venture Partners has closed Fund IV at USD500m.
The fund continues Qiming's strategy of funding innovations by Chinese entrepreneurs in the information technology, consumer and internet, healthcare, and cleantech sectors.
Qiming's assets under management now exceed USD1.6bn after its debut in 2006.
Qiming's portfolio includes over 70 investments distributed among its targeted sectors. Qiming Venture Partners invests in early-stage and expansion-stage deals, with over 50 per cent of its investments in early stage companies. Qiming's initial investment in a portfolio company ranges from USD500,000 to USD30m.
Most of the LPs in Qiming IV are returning LPs
Content management and web experience management software provider Ektron has closed a growth equity funding round led by Accel-KKR.
This minority investment, the company's first institutional round, will enable Ektron to accelerate product and company expansion as enterprise demand for its content management, marketing and web experience management software offerings continues to grow.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"We're entering a new era where businesses and people experience content across the web and mobile devices in entirely new ways," says Ektron president Tim McKinnon. "Ektron is at the forefront of helping to power these new
Jafco Ventures has raised USD260m for its fifth and largest fund to date, Jafco Technology Partners V.
In contrast to its prior four funds where Jafco received all of its capital from its limited partner in Japan, Jafco Co Ltd, the new fund features over 20 new limited partners consisting of institutional investors, endowments, foundations and family offices.
"The consistency of our successful exits as a firm enabled us to attract a very high quality mix of new LPs," says Joe Horowitz, Jafco's managing general partner. “But our overall performance is due in no small part to the extraordinary
Law firm White & Case has advised private equity firm Rhône Capital on the acquisition by its affiliates of ASK Chemicals from Ashland and Clariant.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2014 subject to standard conditions, including regulatory approvals.
“We are very pleased to have supported Rhône on this significant acquisition,” says London-based White & Case partner Ian Bagshaw, the firm’s EMEA co-head of private equity who led the team of lawyers which advised on the deal. “The global nature of ASK and the tight execution timetable meant that the deal
Tendyne Holdings has secured USD25m in an oversubscribed Series C financing led by Apple Tree Partners, along with Boulle Group members and other existing investors.
Proceeds will be used for validation of Tendyne's novel Transcatheter Mitral Valve Implant to treat mitral regurgitation, including forthcoming clinical trials.
"This financing is a significant milestone for Tendyne. In 2013 Tendyne demonstrated positive human data and this infusion of capital allows us to move ahead confidently as we accelerate our minimally invasive mitral valve programme," says Jeff Franco, founder and CEO of Tendyne. "We are excited to have Apple Tree Partners come on board.
Israeli private equity company Viola Group has increased its ownership stake in RRsat Global Communications by acquiring an additional 6.6 per cent interest from Kardan Communications L for a total investment of USD9.4m.
"The increased ownership position reflects a significant, ongoing vote of confidence by a leading private equity investment group," says Avi Cohen, RRsat's chief executive officer.
Following this transaction, Viola Group owns approximately 28.6 per cent of RRsat's shares. This latest acquisition by Viola Group follows its previously reported acquisitions during 2013 of 15 per cent of RRsat's shares from Kardan Communications and seven per cent of
Berlin-based sociomantic labs has been acquired by dunnhumby Ltd, a subsidiary of the London listed Tesco, the world's third largest retailer.
Sociomantic offers real-time bidding advertising solutions for online advertisers in 60 countries.
An international team at CMS, led by partners Jörg Zätzsch and John Hammond, advised the founders of Sociomantic on the sale, which is one of the largest exits to date in the German start-up scene.
"The German start-up landscape is still pretty attractive for both domestic and foreign investors. For Berlin's entrepreneurs, this is a landmark transaction," says Zätzsch.
Sociomantic was established in 2009.
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