Hello! Here is what happened today in European tech:
Deals
- Free to Play: French service provider Free/Iliad Telecom has launched a public offer for Polish mobile operator Play, potentially enabling it to launch in a third major European market after France and Italy. The French group, controlled by Xavier Niel, is paying €2.2 billion for control of 100% of Play’s share capital, giving the country’s leading mobile operator an enterprise value of about €3.5 billion.
- Very Kindred of you: London VC Kindred Capital has closed its second seed fund at £81 million and announced that, through its ‘Equitable Venture’ program, about £5 million is going back to the entrepreneurs rather than Kindred’s general partners. The firm gives seed-stage founders co-ownership in the fund that invested in their businesses.
- TrueCash: London-based fintech startup TrueLayer, which makes it easy to integrate financial services like open banking into any app or website, has raised $25 million in funding from existing investors as an extension of its Series C round, taking its total raised up to $72 million.
- Tink different: Stockholm, Sweden-based fintech startup Tink has acquired the ‘Open Banking Aggregation Platform’ from UK-based OpenWrks. After acquiring Instantor and Eurobits earlier this year, Tink notes that this asset purchase and partnership strengthens its connectivity and coverage significantly in a key market for the startup, bringing UK business account aggregation to its customers (later this year).
- Enough to rival Spotify? French high-quality music streaming and downloading service provider Qobuz has announced a strategic fundraising round of €10 million from its historic shareholders. To support its international development ambitions, Qobuz is establishing a new management team, and launching an aggressive recruitment plan.
- Russian music streaming service for business Muzlab has acquired Belarus-born Market Music, which offers audio marketing and digital signage systems, for $4 million.
- We also tracked a large number of European tech funding rounds and M&A transactions, all of which we are putting in a handy list for you on Friday afternoon in our weekly roundup newsletter (note: the full list is for paying customers only).
Worth Knowing
- See? EU negotiators are closing in on a deal over new rules that would end the sale of cyber-surveillance technologies to autocratic regimes worldwide.
- The rise of Russia’s giant digital ecosystems
- The European Union is considering new rules that would likely require Apple to give competitors access to payments technology inside its iPhones.
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