Innovation

CD&R Names Consumer Products Executive Leslie Starr As Operating Advisor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) announced the appointment of Leslie Starr as an Operating Advisor to CD&R funds. Starr will work with CD&R's consumer team to advise the funds' consumer businesses.

Why HYPE Innovation Is Buying Planbox

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

HYPE Innovation and Planbox - two major players in innovation management – have announced a merger. This union creates an unparalleled platform, solidifying its commitment to empowering organizations to conquer the ever-evolving business world challenges, ensuring they are current and future-fit.

Fengate Reveals Key Leadership Appointments For Real Estate Business

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Fengate Asset Management has announced three key leadership appointments for the firm’s real estate business.

Advanz Pharma Raises Funding From Ontario Teachers’ And Nordic Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (a leading global institutional investor) and Nordic Capital (one of the most active and experienced investors in healthcare) globally agreed to jointly invest in Advanz Pharma, a global pharmaceutical company, to support Advanz’s development and further fuel its strong growth potential in the years to come.

Kingston Brass Receives Investment From LongueVue Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

LongueVue Capital (LVC) - a New Orleans-based private equity firm – has announced an investment in Kingston Brass, a leading designer and distributor of kitchen and bathroom fixtures, bathtubs, and accessories.

Why Workday Is Buying HiredScore

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Workday - a leading provider of solutions to help organizations manage their people and money – announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire HiredScore, a leading provider of AI-powered talent orchestration solutions that enable companies to use data-driven insights to improve recruiting and talent mobility processes.

Astara Capital Partners Investing In Ally Building Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Astara Capital Partners - a middle-market private equity firm, announced today that an affiliate of Astara Capital Fund I, L.P. – announced it made an investment in Ally Building Solutions. Launched in 2013 by Steve Spade and headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Ally is a leading provider and installer of interior finishes, including flooring, cabinets, countertops, appliances, and specialty products for the residential home market.

TCW Closes $400 Million CLO And Adds Strong Growth In Alternative Credit

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

The TCW Group - a leading global asset management company - announced that it has closed a $400 million Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) fund, TCW CLO 2024-1, Ltd. - secured primarily by broadly syndicated first-lien loans.

United Fintech Receives Strategic Investments From BNP Paribas and Citi

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

BNP Paribas and Citi have become the first institutional investors in United Fintech Group Limited, a neutral Digital Transformation Platform, as part of a strategic investment round led by Citi. And United Fintech is also in advanced talks with other leading strategic investors to join its transformative journey, signalling a broad industry shift towards collaborative fintech innovation.

EQT Raises €22 Billion In Total Commitments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

EQT has announced that EQT X has held its final close, having raised €22 billion (USD 24 billion) in total commitments, of which €21.7 billion (USD 23.5 billion) are fee-generating assets under management. The fundraising exceeded the target size of €20 billion (USD 21.6 billion) and represented a nearly 40% increase on EQT IX, which closed at €15.6 billion in April 2021. It also represents one of the largest private equity funds ever raised.

Rossby Financial Brings In Three Female-Led Firms To The Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Rossby Financial - an open architecture RIA designed for independent advisors – has announced the recent addition of three esteemed wealth management firms to its platform. And these firms, including Red Oak Advisors, led by Jennifer Szeklinski, Life Strategies Financial Partners LLC, led by Kelly Renner CFP, and EViE Financial Group, led by Melissa Reaktenwalt, AIF CSRIC, have joined with Rossby Financial to enhance their business flexibility and cater to their expanding clientele.

Governor JB Pritzker Reveals Historic $500 Million Investment Aligning With The CHIPS And Science Act

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Innovate Illinois Chair and Governor JB Pritzker has announced a groundbreaking proposal to allocate $500 million towards advancing beyond silicon quantum technology in the state. This investment, part of the state's latest budget proposal, is poised to position Illinois as a national leader in advancing the semiconductor industry, quantum computing, and AI.

Mainstay Medical Raises $125 Million For Commercial Growth Of ReActiv8 Restorative Neurostimulation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Mainstay Medical Holdings plc has announced an equity financing in which it will receive gross proceeds of US$125 million. And Mainstay plans to use the funds to support the company’s continued commercial growth of ReActiv8 Restorative Neurostimulation in the U.S., Europe and Australia, additional post-market clinical studies and research, and general operations.

Prime Pensions Raises Strategic Investment From Lightyear Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Prime Pensions - one of the fastest-growing independent providers of retirement plan compliance and administration services - announced that Lightyear Capital has made a strategic investment in the Company. Lightyear Capital is a private equity firm that partners with growing companies at the nexus of financial services and technology, healthcare, and business services.

Wright Electric And Columbia University Receiving U.S. Department Of Energy Award For Ultra-Lightweight Battery Development

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Wright Electric - in collaboration with Columbia University – announced that they had been awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Pioneering Railroad, Oceanic, and Plane Electrification with 1K energy storage systems (PROPEL-1K) for its groundbreaking work on developing an ultra-energy-dense aluminum battery and novel artificial intelligence electrolyte screening system.

Why Veradigm Is Buying ScienceIO For $140 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Veradigm - a leading provider of healthcare data and technology products and solutions - announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ScienceIO. The Veradigm Board of Directors has unanimously approved the deal and is expected to close as promptly as practicable following the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Barclays And Blackstone Agree To $1.1 Billion Of Credit Card Receivables Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Barclays PLC and Blackstone Credit & Insurance announced that Barclays Bank Delaware (BBDE) has entered into an agreement with insurance accounts managed by Blackstone’s Asset Based Finance group to sell approximately US$1.1 billion of currently outstanding credit card receivables in relation to a defined set of Barclays-branded credit card accounts in the United States of America. This is the first in a series of activities Barclays plans to conduct to reduce its risk-weighted assets (RWAs) and create additional lending capacity for BBDE.

Why Sparq Is Buying Nearshore Digital Engineering Firm Octobot

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Sparq - a leading U.S.-based provider of outsourced digital engineering for technology driven and Fortune 1000 companies – announced it has acquired Octobot. This fast-growing nearshore digital engineering firm will expand Sparq’s digital product development services and nearshore delivery capabilities.

UMG Reveals Majority Investment In Mavin Global Label

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Universal Music Group (UMG) – a leader in music-based entertainment – recently announced a majority investment in one of the world’s most dynamic and exciting independent record labels, Mavin Global (Mavin). This deal remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of Q3 2024.

JLL Names Cara Killackey As Managing Director Of Investor Relations

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

JLL Partners - a New York-based middle market private equity firm focused on investing in businesses in the healthcare, aerospace, defense, and business services sectors - announced that Cara Killackey has joined the Firm as Managing Director of Investor Relations. Killackey will oversee the investor relations function at JLL and lead capital formation efforts for the firm’s flagship funds and active co-investment program.

Parspec: $11.5 Million In Seed Funding Raised In Round Led By Innovation Endeavors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Parspec - an AI-powered software platform that streamlines the selection and sale of construction products - announced its oversubscribed $11.5 million seed round. Innovation Endeavors led the investment, with participation from Building Ventures, Heartland Ventures, and Hometeam Ventures. And two investors joined the board in connection with the investment: Innovation Endeavors’ Josh Rapperport as a board member and Building Ventures’ Allen Preger as a board observer.

LPL Financial Launches New Continuity Private Wealth Practice

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

LPL Financial announced that financial advisors James “Jamie” P. Debuque, CPFA, CPWA, CRPC, and Timothy M. Baltz, CPFA, CRPC, have launched a new independent practice Continuity Private Wealth, through affiliation with LPL Financial’s supported independence model, LPL Strategic Wealth Services. And they reported having served approximately $1 billion in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets and joined LPL from Merrill Lynch.

Unseenlabs: €85 Million Raised To Transformed Maritime Surveillance

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Unseenlabs - a France-based company and global leader in maritime surveillance through detection and geolocation of radio frequency signals from space – announced the closure of an exceptional fundraising round of €85 million. This operation - one of the largest in the space industry - confirms the world’s interest in Earth observation and marks a new milestone in Unseenlabs' development.

BackBox: Helping Companies Automate Complex Tasks In A $20+ Billion Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

BackBox is a market leader in security-centric automation for network teams. The BackBox Automation Platform for Network Teams helps companies and managed service providers worldwide automate complex tasks, ensure network health and performance, achieve business continuity, and give administrators the confidence that automation will deliver the expected outcome every time. Pulse 2.0 interviewed BackBox CEO Andrew Kahl to learn more about the company.

Cin7 Names Ajoy Krishnamoorthy As CEO

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Cin7 – an industry-leading inventory and order management software provider – announced it has appointed Ajoy Krishnamoorthy as Chief Executive Officer and Nolan Smith as President and Chief Operating Officer to lead Cin7 into its next phase of substantial growth.

SAS Partnering With Carahsoft To Bring AI And Data Management To The Public Sector

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

Data and AI leader SAS announced a new distribution agreement with Carahsoft Technology. Under this agreement, Carahsoft will serve as a SAS Public Sector Distributor, making the company's analytics, AI and data management solutions available to US Government agencies through Carahsoft's reseller partners and various contract vehicles and government schedules. SAS and Carahsoft offer potent benefits for SAS' resellers in the public sector.

U.S. News & World Report Buying TheCultureTrip

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 28, 2024

U.S. News & World Report - a global leader in consumer advice and decision support - announced the acquisition of TheCultureTrip.com, a premier travel website with thousands of curated travel guides and a marketplace for tours worldwide.

Verdane: Edda III Fund Closed Past Target At €1.1 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 27, 2024

The Verdane Edda III fund has closed significantly past its target at €1.1 billion, doubling its predecessor fund, Edda II. And this is the firm’s second successful fund close in six months, following the announcement of Verdane Freya XI at €1.1 billion in September 2023. Verdane’s proven platform attracted an increasingly global LP base, with US investors comprising 25% of Edda III commitments.

Mobly: Mobile Software Company Closes $2.5 Million In Seed Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 27, 2024

Mobile software company Mobly announced it raised $2.5 million in seed funding. The company's funding round is led by Peterson Ventures, with participation from VITALIZE Venture Capital, Peak Ventures, Tenzing Capital, Upstream Ventures, and Service Provider Capital, and several strategic angel investors.

High Q Technologies: Innovative Life Sciences Company Secures $3.75 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 27, 2024

High Q Technologies - an innovative life sciences company that develops quantum-enabled scientific instruments for protein characterization in drug discovery - announced a $3.75-million Government of Canada investment through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) as part of the Regional Quantum Initiative.