Niederer Kraft & Frey (NKF) has advised OGC Growth Fund II Coöoperatief U.A., The Netherlands, as lead investor in the CHF 10 m. Series B financing round of Nektoon AG. Nektoon AG operates the software platform "Squirro". Squirro assists companies in, amongst others, managing their customer relationships based on artificial intelligence technologies.
Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has advised Arden Partners, as broker and nominated adviser, on the listing of London-based law firm Gordon Dadds.
Gordon Dadds will list on AIM in early August, following a £18.8 million reverse takeover. The market capitalisation on admission to trading on AIM will be £40 million. As part of the deal, Arden Partners has agreed to raise up to £20 million via a conditional placing of shares at 140p.
Once complete, Gordon Dadds will become only the second law firm to be listed on AIM.
Shearman & Sterling advised ZZ Capital International Ltd (ZZCI) on its investment in Building Energy 1 Holdings plc (Building Energy), a global, vertically integrated, multi-technology independent power producer operating in the renewable energy industry. The investment was structured through the subscription for mandatorily convertible bonds and equity interests.
International law firm CMS has advised British technology business, Virtualstock in the completion of its strategic funding round with leading European venture capital firm, Notion Capital. The funding has raised $6m which will support Virtualstock in the acceleration of its growth plans into its core retail and health sectors, as well as support its expansion into new geographical markets including the United States.
Leading international law firm Clifford Chance advised CITIC Agri Fund Management Co., Ltd. on its acquisition of a select portion of Dow AgroSciences' (a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company) corn seed business in Brazil for approximately US$1.1 billion. CITIC Agri Fund is indirectly controlled by CITIC Limited. The assets include seed processing plants and seed research centres, a copy of Dow AgroSciences' Brazilian corn germplasm bank, the Morgan seed brand and a license for the use of the Dow Sementes brand for a certain period of time.
Charles Russell Speechlys is pleased to advise AllBright on a hat-trick of deals. AllBright is a new fund that invests in the UK’s best female-led businesses, from start-ups to established companies through its innovative business model, combining an angel network and its own portfolio companies, as well as providing access to vital business resources and learning via its academy.
Caroobi GmbH has successfully completed a series-A financing with BMW i Ventures, the venture arm of the Munich automotive manufacturer, as well as the existing investors DN Capital and Cherry Ventures.
Founded in 2011, this is the first investment of the risk capital fund BMW i Ventures in a German company.
A transatlantic team from Eversheds Sutherland has advised Inflexion on its investment in ProLabs, an independent supplier of compatible optical transceivers.
Inflexion, one of the UK's leading independent mid-market private equity firms, made the investment from its Enterprise Fund. The firm is backing the highly experienced management team to support an acceleration in international expansion and target selected acquisitions.
Osborne Clarke has advised 10 Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Funds on the creation of Brunel Pension Partnership (BPP), which will act as a new £27.5 billion investment pool.
A Norton Rose Fulbright life sciences and healthcare team recently advised client Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. on an agreement to sell its Obagi Medical Products business for US$190 million in cash to Haitong International Zhonghua Finance Acquisition Fund I, L.P.
"The sale of Obagi marks additional progress in our efforts to streamline our operations and reduce debt," Joseph C. Papa, chairman and CEO, Valeant. "As we continue to transform Valeant, we will remain focused on the core businesses that will drive high value for our shareholders."