Today in European Tech: The Hut Group (UK) goes public with a bang, VanMoof nabs $40M and other deals/stories that caught our eyes

Hello! Here is what happened today in European tech:

Deals

- IPO GO: Manchester-based online giant The Hut Group has begun trading on the London Stock Exchange after the e-commerce company raised £1.88 billion in a successful flotation. The float was the largest by a UK tech company since 2015, and shares in The Hut Group jumped in value by a quarter at the start of trading, at one point giving it a near £6 billion valuation.

- Re-Cycle: Only a few months after securing a €12.5 million funding round, Dutch e-bike company VanMoof has raised another $40 million in Series B funding to cope with growth.

- Return to: Sennder, a digital freight forwarder, has acquired Uber’s European freight business in an all-stock transaction, thus making Uber a minority shareholder in the Berlin-based startup.

- European healthtech startups have a new investor at play, Crista Galli Ventures (CGV), an evergreen fund founded by a former NHS doctor. Dr. Fiona Pathiraja, a consultant radiologist, will lead the fund as it invests $65 million in early-stage companies.

- Norwegian edtech unicorn Kahoot! has acquired Actimo, the Danish startup behind an employee engagement platform. To be exact, the Oslo-based company is buying 100 percent of the shares in Actimo for a total consideration reflecting an enterprise value of $26-33 million on a cash and debt-free basis.

- Burdens in Berlin: Personal shopping service for men Outfittery is at risk of running into trouble soon if it doesn't obtain more funding soon (whether from investors, the German state or both).

- MOAR FUNDING: Aidoc $20 million (Israel), ClinSpec Diagnostics £2.4 million (Scotland), Estonia's PRNEWS.IO is set to issue €2 million in convertible bonds, Outfunnel €1.1 million (Estonia), Remato €450,000 (Estonia), Kontomatik (Poland), Betterfront (Germany), Ulobby (Denmark/Belgium), etc.

MOAR M&A: Exact acquired 'Unit4 Bedrijftsoftware' over in The Netherlands, in Israel cybersecurity firm Check Point bought Odo, etc.

Worth Knowing

- State of the (European) Union: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today pledged that it will drive a sustainable and transformational recovery that will "give Europe a global platform to lead economically, environmentally and geopolitically". To enter into a 'digital decade', the focus was on data and GaiaX (the 'European cloud'), artificial intelligence, an EU-wide e-identity play, and infrastructure - including an investment of 8 billion euros in the next generation of supercomputers.

- Pledge: Bolt has committed to having climate positive e-scooter operations by the end of 2020.

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