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Private Equity Wire talks to Ted Persson, partner at EQT Ventures – which recently closed a USD18 million series-A round into Stockholm-based AI-focused online learning platform Sana Labs, about the fact that around 1.3 billion adults will face a ‘skills mismatch’ for the jobs needed in the future, how the online learning trend will pan out in the next few years, and the role of the private sector in driving this trend.
INVESTMENT
Splashtop, a remote access and remote support company, has closed a USD50 million financing round that takes its valuation above the USD1 billion mark.
RESEARCH
Given the economic instability generated by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, European private equity deal activity showed remarkable resilience last year, according to Pitchbook’s 2020 European PE Breakdown.
The report found that private equity deal volume rose to a new quarterly peak in Q4 last year, closing more than 1,200 deals for the first time.
Both deal value and volume recorded third- and fourth-quarter decade-raging records, respectively, during what proved to be the worst economic climate since the Great Depression in Q2 2020, with 4,179 deals closing for a total of EUR449.1 billion.
The European private equity industry held back
THE NEW NORMAL
By Purva Aggarwal – US-based global investing firm Capria Ventures made its second investment in Latin America during the pandemic in January, with Mexican VC fund Angel Ventures. The Mexico City-based firm invests in entrepreneurs across Latin America, with a particular focus on Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru.
OUTLOOK
2020 saw unprecedented pandemic-induced turbulence on the political, social and economic arenas not seen for decades. While some of the major private equity groups on the global scene – the likes of KKR, Blackstone and Apollo – managed to draw on dry powder, scoop up distressed assets in the wake of the turmoil, and launch new credit funds amid the financial havoc, there are many firms who have struggled with keeping their portfolio companies afloat while coping with vast demands on management. We also witnessed debut managers experience increasing hurdles.
PODCAST
According to newly released research by equity management platform Capdesk, 77 per cent of startup founders are saying that the Covid crisis has made them more likely to offer employee equity in their company.
Capdesk is headquartered in London and works with European scale-ups including Secret Escapes, Curve, GoHenry, Privitar, Nutmeg and Gousto.
The study found that among employees, founders and CEOs at private equity-backed UK startups and scale-ups, a majority of employees (80 per cent) and business owners (78 per cent) believe companies should be required by law to offer equity share schemes to their workforce.
“After an extremely
MANAGER INSIGHTS
New York-based Grafine Partners, established by former Riverstone Holdings’ executive Elizabeth Weymouth, is hoping to fill what it regards as a key gap in the market, by providing institutional investors with a dedicated direct investment platform; one that places emphasis on patient, creative and sophisticated capital and a way for large investors to look beyond the usual ‘2 & 20’ fee model charged by traditional commingled funds.
Weymouth, who founded Grafine Partners and acts as Managing Partner and Chair of the Investment Committee, has been in the investment world for 25 years, building up two substantial investment platforms; one at
NEWS
British low-alcohol spirits startup CleanCo has raised GBP7 million from existing and new investors including Ursula Burns, board member of Uber and former board member of Diageo, and Stonebridge, a digital-first consumer brand investment firm set up by DTC entrepreneur James Cox.
REPORT
Carlyle’s latest Global Insights Report, “5 Questions for 2021,” examines five pressing questions the company believe are likely to prove to be the most consequential for markets this year…
NEWS
Weezy, a UK-based on-demand supermarket that delivers groceries in 15 minutes on average, has raised USD20 million in Series A funding to expand its grocery delivery service across London and the UK.
The investment round was led by New York-based VC Left Lane Capital, with participation from UK-based DN Capital, as well as existing investors Heartcore Capital and angel investors including Chris Muhr, founder of Groupon.
Left Lane Capital managing partner Harley Miller will join Weezy’s board following the deal. The capital will be used to expand the company’s London-based team by 50 employees over the next four months.
“This
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