Hello!
Here's what happened today in European Tech.
Deals
- SoftBank-backed Swedish cloud communications company Sinch, has agreed to acquire Inteliquent, a large voice communications provider in the United States, for a total cash consideration of $1.14 billion.
- Portugal-born OutSystems, a low-code app development service provider, has closed $150 million in new capital at a $9.5 billion valuation in a round led by Abdiel Capital and Tiger Global.
- The SPAC craze has officially arrived in Europe. European tech investor Klaus Hommels on Wednesday launched a blank-check firm aimed at snapping up a late-stage tech company in the region. Hommels, the founder of venture capital firm Lakestar, is looking to fetch up to €275 million for his SPAC.
- Swedish investment firm Kinnevik plans to distribute its stake in German online fashion group Zalando, worth $6.6 billion, to its shareholders. Kinnevik said the transfer would allow it to focus on younger, unlisted companies and its core investments in online food, digital healthcare, and payments companies.
- Israeli SPAC Moringa has $100 million on Nasdaq and will now seek an Israeli tech company to merge into.
- Swedish fintech startup Safello has filed for a listing on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Stockholm. The listing is tentatively expected to take place in Q2 2021.
- London-based Blockchain.com has closed on a strategic financing round, securing $120 million from Moore Strategic Ventures, Kyle Bass, Access Industries, Rovida Advisors, Lightspeed Venture Partners, GV, Lakestar, Eldridge, and more.
- Norway-born Web browser maker Opera is getting involved with European fintech in a big way, today launching its own startup called Dify and announcing its intention to invest more than $100 million in fintech over the coming years.
- Copado, a Madrid-based startup that’s built a devops platform for Salesforce, has closed $96 million in Series B funding, bringing the total funds invested in the company to $117 million.
- Peak, a Manchester startup on a mission to make AI available (and usable) to all businesses, has raised $21 million in Series B funding to fuel further global expansion, namely to open offices in the US and India. The round was led by venture capital firm Oxx.
- We also tracked a large number of (other) 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). Also check out our European tech news section for ongoing coverage.
Worth Reading/Knowing
- Fortnite creator Epic Games has taken its fight against Apple to European Union antitrust regulators, escalating its dispute with the iPhone maker over its App Store payment system and control over app downloads.
- He disrupted finance — now TransferWise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus wants to fight the pandemic.
- Google is teaming up with the European Investment Fund and two other organisations in Latin America and Asia to provide $75 million in funding to small- and medium-sized companies suffering from the impact of COVID-19.
- Italy’s Competition and Market Authority today fined Facebook €7 million for failing to comply with a 2018 order to change its data handling practices.
- UK ministers are to announce plans tomorrow for an £800 million scientific research agency legally entitled to invest in projects that are likely to fail and which will be exempted from freedom of information laws.
- Bol.com, the biggest online store in the Netherlands, has generated sales worth 4.3 billion euros in 2020.
- SME digital bank Cashplus is out to raise £50 million in new funding to support growth and unlock a higher proportion of deposit funding for SME lending following bank authorisation.
- Massive funding, huge IPOs and sky-rocketing valuations: Welcome to the fintech gold rush in Israel.
Today's Top Tweets
Why is every European startup run by the same 3 guys? pic.twitter.com/eLvIjX12lT
— Ryan Petersen (@typesfast) February 16, 2021
It’s happening: a community of European founders, investors, corporate execs and scientists, gathered around a mission: make Europe home to the next generation of global tech champions. Unveiling on March 4th, join us live here: https://t.co/ziPtniowOo #ScaleUpEurope pic.twitter.com/My6HzLY0z7
— Scale-Up Europe (@ScaleUpEuropeEN) February 17, 2021
Pushing ahead 👉 Klarna Teams up With Safello – Bringing Open Banking To Cryptocurrency Market https://t.co/0KDTOqjZ3V via @cision
— FrankSchuil (@FrankSchuil) February 17, 2021
Greece recently updated their tax law to cover taxation for equity awards (both options & RSUs). Some highlights
👉 RSUs taxed as a capital gain at 15%
👉 Startup stock option can be taxed as low as 5%
👉 Taxation is deferred until the sale of the stock!https://t.co/nsAzrUHj87— Panos Papadopoulos (@PanosJee) February 17, 2021
I dived into the UK's digital identity framework. Key highlights:
- A “personal data store app” that acts a lot like a digital wallet and uses QR codes
- A "governing body" chosen by gov will oversee digital identity providers
- Evidence-based point systemhttps://t.co/TDgJxirbHg— Ruby Hinchliffe (@rubyhinchliffe) February 17, 2021
One of London’s top fintech investors gives his thoughts on 2021 https://t.co/vrVjZIxkjH via @emilyjnicolle #fintech #VentureCapital
— Private Equity News (@PrivateEquityN1) February 17, 2021
Paris-based Tikehau Capital has joined forces with French holding company Financière Agache to sponsor its first SPAC, which will focus on the European financial services sector. https://t.co/1EZkpgTjYr
— tech.eu (@tech_eu) February 17, 2021
To properly mark our birthday - we turned 12 on Jan, 29 🥳 - we interviewed our biggest advocate, former president @IlvesToomas who's personal interest in #technology dovetailed with his political careerhttps://t.co/8pKSTX367l
— e-Estonia (@e_estonia) February 17, 2021
#Sustainable batteries of the future: supporting @ForseePower with a €50 million loan to become a European battery champion.
The company's plans include:
🔹development of ultra thin batteries
🔹100% #battery-powered, hydrogen & thermal hybrid vehicles
🠮 https://t.co/gTITZjYW8A pic.twitter.com/z7HhUPR33o— European Investment Bank (@EIB) February 17, 2021
French senators debate over-reliance on databases https://t.co/o5GB3HZN8N
— EURACTIV Digital (@eaDigitalEU) February 17, 2021
Save the date📢
Join us on 24 February 2021, 7:00-8:30 p.m. CET for a discussion of European tech trends and the deep tech ecosystem with @RWTHInnovation, powered by @Orrick and supported by @theinnovator
Free tickets available at:https://t.co/f0wQCXmJ5W— Atomico (@atomico) February 17, 2021
1/ @Nicolas Colin asks on @Siftedeu : “why can’t we build more social media giants in Europe?”
Let me tell you the tale of @dailymotion.
Remember them?
They were neck and neck with @YouTube until about 70M UU per month.— Fred Destin (@fdestin) February 17, 2021
The wait is over, the February #EUeic Newsletter is out now! 📨
The shortest month of the year is packed with #innovation:
🏅 Latest #eicPathfinder Results
🚀 Intro to #EUIndustryDays 2021
👩🔬 Female #researchers in science
Read more 👉 https://t.co/ZI0SpA8iMS pic.twitter.com/U75zK60c82— European Innovation Council (@EUeic) February 17, 2021
Our 2nd podcast guest is Soum, cofounder @mysteryvibe.
Combining medical and engineering expertise, MysteryVibe creates devices that elevate sex – especially for those recovering from childbirth, menopause, or surgery.
Read the accompanying interview 👉https://t.co/5KPCz8oex4 pic.twitter.com/5huIWhifDi— Maddyness UK (@Maddyness_UK) February 17, 2021
TeamSystem adquiere Billin, la startup de facturación online líder en el segmento de pymes y autónomos https://t.co/zlpMSUTP3c
— El Negocio (@elnegocio_es) February 17, 2021
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