Archives

Concurrent Brings In $500 Million Advisory Team

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Multi-custodial hybrid RIA Concurrent Investment Advisors announced it welcomed The Wealth Stewards to its growing network of aligned independent financial advisory firms. Jeff Breese and Brent Mekosh, managing partners of The Wealth Stewards, have merged their two Arizona-based practices to move to the Concurrent platform. And they chose Concurrent to provide operational support and growth capital as their team of nine professionals enters the RIA space.

Cheetah Technologies: Restaurant Supply Tech Company Raises $14 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Cheetah Technologies, a restaurant supply technology and food distribution innovator, announced the appointment of their new CEO Kim Spalding. In the last few months, Spalding and the Cheetah board collaborated on an additional $14 million funding round, focused on the continued development and scaling of the company's technology platform.

Fairgen: $8 Million Secured To Generate Accurate AI Responses To Surveys

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Fairgen, a company generating accurate AI responses to surveys, announced it had raised $8 million to date in Seed funding, led by Maverick Ventures Israel, with participation from Tal Ventures, IGNIA, and Creator Fund to move consumer insights into the AI era. And the company is launching FairBoost, its flagship solution that doubles the size of under-sampled segments using predictive synthetic responses.

Attovia Therapeutics: $105 Million Raised To Create A Pipeline Of Biotherapeutics With A Focus On Immune-Mediated Diseases

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Attovia Therapeutics announced the closing of a $105 million oversubscribed Series B financing, bringing the total funding raised by the company since its launch in June 2023 to $165 million. The proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the Company’s lead programs ATTO-1310 and ATTO-002 through initial clinical data readouts, expand the company’s immunology and inflammation pipeline, and further develop the Attobody platform.

Raymond James: $900 Million Advisor Team Brought Into Florida

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Raymond James’ Florida regional director for the firm's employee advisor channel Raymond James & Associates (RJA), Tim Killgoar, announced that they have welcomed the team of four financial advisors and three branch professionals at Lelekis, Ellis, Kilczewski Private Wealth Management Group of Raymond James to RJA in St. Petersburg, Florida.

FV Bank: An Interview With Co-Founder And CEO Miles Paschini

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

FV Bank is a Puerto Rico-based global digital bank that provides business and individual accounts globally. FV Bank supports multiple currencies, international payments, and investment accounts along with debit and prepaid cards. Pulse 2.0 interviewed FV Bank co-founder and CEO Miles Paschini to learn more about the company.

LPL Financial Brings In $215 Million Financial Advisor Team

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

LPL Financial announced that financial advisor Tara Blair, CFP, CPA, has joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer, RIA and custodial platforms. And she reported serving approximately $215 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets and joins LPL from Lincoln Financial.

C3 Rentals: Trailer Rental And Ownership Solutions Company Secures $100 Million Debt Facility

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

C3 Rentals, a leader in trailer rental and ownership solutions, announced it secured a $100 million debt facility funded by WhiteHawk Capital Partners and arranged by Ankura Capital Advisors. This strategic funding will increase liquidity and support the company's future working capital needs, enabling further expansion across the US.

Canopy: $35 Million Secured To Help Accountants Build Sophisticated Firms

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

Canopy - a firm-wide operating system helping accountants build the firms they always wanted - announced it raised $35 million in an oversubscribed funding round. This funding round was led by Ten Coves Capital and Ankona Capital, with participation from Pelion Venture Partners, Tenaya Capital, and NewView Capital. The $35 million funding round will be channeled towards doubling down on Canopy’s vision for leveraging AI to make firms exponentially more efficient.

Vanguard Names Salim Ramji As New CEO

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

Vanguard announced that its Board of Directors has named Salim Ramji, a longtime financial services executive, as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board, effective July 8, 2024. Ramji succeeds Tim Buckley, who will retire and step down as Chairman and CEO.

Fortress Management And Mubadala Complete Fortress Investment Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

Fortress Investment Group and Mubadala Investment Company—through its wholly-owned asset management subsidiary Mubadala Capital—announced that they had completed the previously announced acquisition of SoftBank Group's 90.01% equity in Fortress. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Mercer Advisors: Martine Lellis Transitions To M&A Partner Development

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

Mercer Global Advisors, a national Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) firm, announced the move of Martine Lellis, Chief Talent Officer since 2020, to a newly created Principal, M&A Partner Development role.

LPL Financial: $280 Million Noble Traditions Wealth Team Joins

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

LPL Financial announced that financial advisor Garrett Oczachowski has joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer, RIA and custodial platforms. And he reported serving approximately $280 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets and joins LPL from JPMorgan Chase.

May Health: $25 Million Secured To Help Those Living With PCOS

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

May Health, a clinical-stage medical device company dedicated to helping those living with the endocrine disorder polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), announced it has closed a $25 million Series B financing round, co-led by Bpifrance and Trill Impact with participation from founding investor Sofinnova Partners, and Avestria Ventures and Kidron Capital Assets LP.

Mercurius Media Capital Launches New $50M+ Fund For Investing In High-Growth US Startups

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

Mercurius Media Capital (MMC) has launched a new $50+ million independent media fund in the US. And this fund strategically deploys the inventory of its media partners into brands with a robust presence in the US, aimed at expediting startup growth.

Bluejay Therapeutics Secures $182 Million in Series C Financing to Propel Clinical Pipeline

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

Bluejay Therapeutics, a leader in developing novel therapeutics, today announced the successful closure of a $182 million Series C financing round. This capital infusion will accelerate the clinical development of BJT-778, as the treatment for chronic hepatitis D (HDV). The funds will also support the progression of additional promising candidates in Bluejay’s robust pipeline for the treatment for chronic hepatitis B. As previously announced, BJT-778 has received PRIME designation from EMA based on early results from the Phase 1/2 study in HDV.

Pepper: Food Distribution Sector Company Raises $30 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

Pepper, a trusted technology partner for the food distribution sector, announced the successful closing of a $30 million Series B funding round. This significant funding round was led by ICONIQ Growth, with continued participation from existing partners at Index Ventures, Greylock, Imaginary, and Harmony Partners.

Raymond James Launches New Private Credit Business

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

Raymond James announced it is expanding the capabilities of its Investment Banking division by partnering with Eldridge Industries and Raymond James Bank to provide private credit solutions to sponsor-backed portfolio companies in four primary sectors: Consumer, Diversified Industrials, Healthcare and Technology & Services. Raymond James has also hired credit industry veteran Omer Masud as head of sponsor finance origination to launch the firm’s Private Credit effort.

Wiz: Cloud Security Company Raises $1 Billion At $12 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 19, 2024

Cloud security company Wiz recently raised $1 billion at a $12 billion valuation, bringing the company's total funding to $1.9 billion. The current round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Thrive Capital, with participation from Greylock, Wellington Management, and existing investors Cyberstarts, Greenoaks, Howard Schultz, Index Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Sequoia Capital.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management Named As Outsourced CIO For UPS’ $43.4 Billion Pension Portfolios

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2024

Goldman Sachs Asset Management announced its appointment by the UPS pension plan fiduciaries to provide investment management services for UPS’s US and Canadian-defined benefit pension plan assets. And UPS’s North American pension plans have a combined $43.4 billion in assets as of March 31, 2024.

Johnson & Johnson Buying Proteologix For $850 Million In Cash

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2024

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Proteologix, a privately-held biotechnology company focused on bispecific antibodies for immune-mediated diseases, for $850 million in cash, with the potential for an additional milestone payment.

Permira Taking Squarespace Private In $6.9 Billion All-Cash Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2024

Squarespace, a design-driven platform helping entrepreneurs build brands and businesses online, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to go private by global private equity firm Permira in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $6.9 billion.

Reed Smith: Anne Peetz Added As Capital Markets Partner In Houston

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2024

Law firm Reed Smith announced capital markets and corporate lawyer Anne Peetz joined as a partner of the Global Corporate Group, based in Houston. Peetz was previously a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.

Mogul: $100 Million In Tracked Royalties Surpassed

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2024

Mogul, the music industry's top layer for tracking royalties across all rights types, has surpassed $100 million in tracked royalties across all the artists signed up for the service. This significant milestone is a testament to Mogul's commitment to helping artists and their teams understand their business by centralizing many different royalty sources into an actionable hub.

Dentons: Jonathan Shulan Added As Litigation Practice Partner In St. Louis

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2024

Dentons recently announced the addition of Jonathan Shulan to its Litigation practice as a partner and resident in the firm’s St. Louis office. Shulan represents clients in complex commercial disputes and high-stakes insurance issues.

In-House Health: AI-Powered Nurse Scheduling Platform Secures $4 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2024

In-House Health has formally launched its AI-driven scheduling and management platform for modern nursing teams. The company recently raised $4 million in seed funding, led by NEA and TMV, with participation from pre-seed investors Vine Ventures and Longevity Venture Partners. This brings the total investment to date to $5.4 million.

Nami Surgical: Robotic-Assisted Surgery Company Raises $4 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2024

Nami Surgical, a company aiming to transform the robotic-assisted surgery market with a breakthrough ultrasonic platform, has secured $4 million of investment and grant funding. St Andrews-based impact investment firm Eos Advisory led the seed $3.1 million round alongside the Investment Fund for Scotland, which is managed by UK private equity firm Maven and delivered by British Business Bank, Scottish Enterprise, and SIS Ventures. The company was also separately awarded a grant from Innovate UK, the United Kingdom’s national innovation agency.

Aardvark Therapeutics: $85 Million Raised To Develop Therapeutics For Activating Innate Homeostatic Pathways To Treat Metabolic Diseases

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2024

Aardvark Therapeutics has raised an $85 million oversubscribed Series C financing led by Decheng Capital, with participation from Cormorant Asset Management, Surveyor Capital, SymBiosis, Tetragon Financial Group, Walleye Capital, Laurion Capital Management, LG Technology Ventures, Cantor Ventures, Silver Arc Private Capital, The Prader-Willi Syndrome Association – USA, and existing investors, including Vickers Venture Partners and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research. Decheng Capital's Managing Director, Victor Tong, Jr., joined Aardvark's board of Directors in connection with the investment.

Avenue Capital Group: Over $1 Billion In Commitments Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2024

Avenue Capital Group announced the successful final closing of the Avenue Europe Special Situations Fund V (Avenue Europe Fund). With separately managed accounts, over $1 billion of commitments have been raised for the Avenue Europe Fund from a broad range of existing and new investors, including public and corporate pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, and family offices.

DayMark Wealth Partners Brings In $585 Million Hofstetter Baron Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 18, 2024

Ohio-based DayMark Wealth Partners announced that veteran financial advisors Thomas Hofstetter and Daniel Baron have joined the firm as the Hofstetter Baron Group of DayMark Wealth Partners. Previously a Wells Fargo Advisors team managing $585 million, Southport, Connecticut-based Hofstetter Baron Group advises high net worth families and individuals.