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Africinvest Exits Tunisia’s CFE
AfricInvest sold its stake in Tunisia’s microfinance institution Financial Center for Entrepreneurs (CFE) after a seven-year investment to CFE chairman Radhi Meddeb for an undisclosed amount. AfricInvest and Développement International Desjardins established CFE in 2015. Read More
Korea Development Bank Leads ~USD77m Pre-IPO Round for South Korea’s Zigbang
Korea Development Bank led a KRW100b (~USD77m) pre-IPO round for South Korea-based real estate marketplace Zigbang with a KRW50b (~USD39m) investment at a reported KRW2.4t (~USD1.9b) post-money valuation. IMM Investment and Hana Financial Investment also participated, investing KRW40b (~USD31m) and KRW10b (~USD8m), respectively. Zigbang plans to acquire Samsung SDS’s IoT division for KRW130b (~USD100m) with the new funding. Read More
Endeavor Reaches USD290m Final Close for Fund IV
Endeavor reached a USD290m final close for its Endeavor Catalyst Fund IV. The venture fund will co-invest globally in startups that raise a minimum of USD5m equity capital in a single round of financing from qualified institutional investors. Read more here and h Read More
South Africa’s Sava Raises USD2m in Pre-Seed Round
Sava, a South Africa-based fintech for SMEs, raised a USD2m pre-seed round from investors Quona Capital, Breega, CRE Ventures, Ingressive Capital, RaliCap, Unicorn Growth Capital and Sherpa Ventures. Read More
INCE Capital Leads ~USD15m Pre-Series A for China’s Great Robotics
INCE Capital led a nearly CNY100m (~USD15m) pre-Series A for Great Robotics, a China-based maker of image-guided surgical robots, with participation from Oriental Jiafu. Read More
Base Partners and Crankstart Lead USD30m Series B for Brazil’s Mottu
Base Partners and Crankstart, the family foundation of Michael Moritz of Sequoia, led a USD30m equity Series B for Mottu, a Brazil-based motorbike rental service for last-mile delivery companies, with follow-on from Tiger Global. Mottu secured USD10m in debt funding from Verde Asset Management as part of the round. Read More
Flat6Labs and DisruptAD Select 10 Startups for UAE’s Ignite Program
Flat6Labs and ADQ’s venture platform DisruptAD selected 10 new startups for Ignite, a USD32m UAE-based startup accelerator and seed-stage fund that supports startups with funding, office space and mentorship. Read More
Arpwood Partners, Clermont, Siguler Guff and Somerset Indus Capital To Acquire India’s Sterling Hospitals for ~USD82.4m (INR6.5b)
Arpwood Partners, Clermont, Siguler Guff and Somerset Indus Capital agreed to acquire Sterling Hospitals, a group of India-based hospitals, for ~USD82.4m (INR6.5b). Read More
BlackPeak Capital Reaches ~USD132.1m Final Close for SEE Growth Equity Fund
BlackPeak Capital reached a USD132.1m (EUR126m) final close for its Luxembourg-based Southeast Europe Growth Equity Fund. The vehicle will focus on growth equity SMEs in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia and is backed by the EIF, EBRD, IFC, Erste Asset Management and others. Read More
Metric Capital Partners and IMM Investment Corp Lead USD180.5m Round for UAE’s Pure Harvest
Metric Capital Partners and IMM Investment Corp led a USD180.5m round for UAE-based agribusiness Pure Harvest Smart Farms for its Asia expansion, along with participation from Olayan Group and follow-on from existing investors. Read More
Ascential To Acquire Singapore-Based, VC-Backed Intrepid for up to USD250m
Ascential agreed to acquire Intrepid, a Singapore-based e-commerce execution services platform serving brands in Southeast Asia, for an initial cash consideration of USD57m, plus deferred consideration payable over four years, contingent on meeting certain financial targets. The total consideration, including the initial consideration, is estimated between USD100m and USD197m and is capped at USD250m. Intrepid is backed by VC fund… Read More
NIIF To Acquire 22.5% Stake in UAE’s Hindustan Ports for ~USD300m
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund agreed to acquire a 22.5% stake in Hindustan Ports, a subsidiary of UAE-based port operating company DP World, for~USD300m (~INR22.5b) through its vehicle NIIF Master Fund, which targets investments in ports, terminals, transportation and logistics businesses in India. Read More