Deutsche Börse Group has invested in Trifacta, the U.S.-based global leader in data wrangling. The group acquired a minority stake that will be managed by its corporate venture capital arm, DB1 Ventures, which will also provide a member of the company’s non-executive board.

Deutsche Börse Group is one of the largest exchange organizations worldwide. It organizes markets characterized by integrity, transparency and safety for investors who invest capital and for companies that raise capital.

Macfarlanes has advised London-based investment firm, Hollyport Capital LLP, on the raising of its sixth fund, Hollyport Secondary Opportunities VI, which has closed at its hard cap of $500m.

This represents a significant increase in assets under management for Hollyport Capital and an increase on their fifth secondaries fund which closed in November 2015 with commitments of £187.5m. Hollyport Capital plans to continue its focus on the mature private equity secondaries market and has already completed a number of investments for the new fund.   

Slaughter and May advised Swiss Re Ltd on the sale of a minority stake in ReAssure, a market-leading UK closed life book consolidator within the Swiss Re Life Capital Business Unit, and related joint venture arrangements.

The sale values ReAssure at GBP 3.5 billion and involves Tokyo-based MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc. acquiring an initial 5% stake in ReAssure and committing to future investments of up to GBP 800 million.

Osborne Clarke has advised Thomas Toporowicz, founder of outdoor advertising group IT WORKS GmbH, on an investment by AFINUM Achte Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG. IT WORKS will use the investment to accelerate growth and expand its service portfolio in the areas of geo-marketing, data analytics and digital solutions.
IT WORKS is an independent leading service provider for outdoor advertising. The company focuses on consulting, optimization and implementation of public media campaigns.

DAC Beachcroft LLP has advised key client The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Ltd, the UK's largest mutual life insurance company, on its acquisition of Hermes’ stake in Bluewater Shopping Centre in a deal worth in excess of £150m.

The deal, which exchanged on 11 September, sees Royal London take on a 7.5% interest in the 1.8m sq ft centre, which attracts around 27m visitors per year since first opening its doors in 1999.

The Commercial Real Estate team at international law firm DAC Beachcroft LLP has acted for Royal London on xxxx launch of a new £2.7 billion UK property fund.

The Royal London UK Real Estate Fund is the largest-ever UK property fund at launch and invests in commercial property across all major sectors (industrial, offices, retail warehouses, shopping centres) and regions. It is designed to provide domestic and foreign institutional investors exposure to the UK commercial real estate market.

Eversheds Sutherland has advised long-standing client Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) on the largest ever launch of a UK property fund, with portfolio worth over £2.7bn.

Shoosmiths has advised coffee chain Bob & Berts on £2m funding from the BGF to venture into the Scottish market.

Founded in Northern Ireland, Bob & Berts is a family business that has grown to encompass 16 outlets in the country with a further 30 stores planned to open over the next four years, 20 of which will be in Scotland. Its relaxed style and focus on fresh food has proved a winning combination with a wide and growing customer base.

Paul Hastings announced that the firm advised SoftBank Vision Fund, one of the largest investment funds in the world that focuses on the global technology industry, in its approximately US$550 million investment in the US$1.5 billion Hong Kong initial public offering of ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance (“ZhongAn Insurance”), China’s first internet-only insurer.

SoftBank Vision Fund bought a minority stake in ZhongAn Insurance, acting as a key cornerstone investor. The IPO is the largest ever by a financial technology company in Hong Kong.

Simpson Thacher represented Oakley Capital in connection with the formation and raising of Oakley Capital Private Equity III. The fund closed with total commitments of €800 million, exceeding its original €750 million hard cap.

Oakley Capital Private Equity III primarily focuses on making equity investments that secure it a controlling position, or from which it can otherwise obtain a strategic financial advantage, in companies located predominantly in western Europe with enterprise values ranging between €60 million and €300 million.