Marwyn Materials, an AIM-listed special purpose acquisition vehicle, has acquired Breedon Holdings (formerly Ennstone), the largest independent UK aggregates producer with 29 quarries, 19 asphalt plants, 27 ready mix concrete plants and 181 million tonnes of mineral reserves. The GBP160m reverse takeover, Marwyn’s biggest transaction to date, will result in the company being renamed Breedon Aggregates. Chairman Peter Tom was formerly chief executive and later chairman of Aggregate Industries. Simon Vivian, chief executive, was formerly chief executive of Mowlem and of Hanson’s European building materials business. The new management believes the acquisition represents an ideal platform for acquisitive growth through

Cardlytics, a transaction marketing company, has raised USD18m of equity led by new investors ITC Holdings and Kinetic Ventures. All previous investors participated in the financing, including Canaan Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, and Total Technology Ventures. Concurrent with the financing, Campbell B. Lanier (pictured) of ITC Holdings and Kinetic Ventures has joined the Cardlytics board of directors. "Our exceptionally strong direct marketing performance coupled with the rapid expansion of our financial institution footprint positioned the company to attract significant capital from strategic new investors," says Scott Grimes, chief executive of Cardlytics. "Mr. Lanier, with his deep experience in growing and

Axiologix Education, an educational software provider, has entered into an investment agreement for a USD5m equity line of credit with Dutchess Opportunity Fund II. "We are pleased to be working with Dutchess Capital at such an exciting time in the company’s history. We believe there is a significant growth opportunity in the educational software market, and we expect that this financing commitment will help accelerate our development and growth," says John Daglis, Axiologix’s chief executive. Douglas Leighton, managing director of Dutchess, says: "We believe in management’s efforts to grow Axiologix and this facility provides inexpensive and flexible access capital. Regardless

Shape Up The Nation, a provider of social networking-based online health and wellness services, has raised USD5m of series A funding from Cue Ball Capital and Excel Venture Management, in partnership with management members. “This new investment reaffirms the exciting opportunity for our Software as a Service health and wellness platform and is a milestone on our path to becoming the leading online hub for wellness activities and programming. Cue Ball and Excel each bring a unique base of experiences and relationships that will augment our already meteoric growth,” says Mike Zani, chief executive of Shape Up The Nation. Founded

Felicis Ventures, founded four years ago as an angel fund by Aydin Senkut, has launched its first institutional fund in the amount of USD40m.  Felicis Ventures was oversubscribed by 33 per cent with an investor syndicate that is more than 90 per cent institutional. "Felicis Ventures will continue to invest in groundbreaking startups in the consumer Internet and mobile sectors where there is room for tremendous growth," says Senkut. "In the past we have correctly identified big winners in key markets ahead of most other players – great examples include Mint in online finance, Brightroll in video monetization, Powerset and

FP-EF Holding, an affiliate of technology-focused private equity fund Francisco Partners, completed its acquisition of EF Johnson Technologies. Under the terms of the merger agreement approved by stockholders, FP-EF Holding has acquired all of the outstanding shares of EF Johnson Technologies, based on a price of USD1.50 per share in cash. "EF Johnson has a long history of providing quality products and services to customers in its core markets," says Ashutosh Agrawal, principal at Francisco Partners. "We are looking forward to partnering with the company’s management team to provide our customers with leading products, and the industry’s best customer experience."

GMT Communications Partners and Veronis Suhler Stevenson, private equity investors in the media and communications sector, have sold Pepcom to Star Capital Partners for an undisclosed sum. Pepcom is Germany’s sixth-largest cable TV operator, with more than 630,000 subscribers of video, broadband and voice services. Both GMT and VSS were the control investors in Pepcom, holding equal stakes in the company amounting to an 81 per cent interest, with the remaining 19 per cent in the hands of Pepcom’s senior management and other individual shareholders. Under the terms of the agreement, senior management will rollover a substantial part of their