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Today in European Tech: UK tech scale-up Cazoo goes after $7 billion valuation in SPAC deal, Staffbase raises €122 million, and more

Robin Wauters 29 March 2021
Today in European Tech: UK tech scale-up Cazoo goes after $7 billion valuation in SPAC deal, Staffbase raises €122 million, and more
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Hello!

Here's what happened today in European Tech.

Deals

- Cazoo, the UK used-car sales portal that has been on a major fundraising tear in the last year, will list on the NYSE by way of a business combination with SPAC AJAX I; the deal values Cazoo at $7 billion.

- Broadridge is to acquire UK-based front office trading technology firm Itiviti from Nordic Capital in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.5 billion.

- Barcelona-based Wallbox, an energy management company that manufactures smart charging solutions for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, is reportedly reaching for a SPAC in a deal that could value it at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.

- Pitango Venture Capital is joining the SPAC trend, announcing that it intends to launch one named Israel Amplify Program together with funds Amplify, and Sphera with the aim of raising up to $200 million in an IPO.

- According to a report in La Informacion, on-demand delivery scale-up Glovo is in the final stages of raising €450 million, which would be the largest round ever raised by a Spanish startup.

- A fintech-focused SPAC led by Commerzbank’s former CEO, Martin Blessing, has begun trading on Amsterdam’s Euronext stock exchange. Called EFIC1 “European Fintech IPO Company BV”, the blank-cheque firm raised €415 million in its IPO.

- Chemnitz, Germany-based Staffbase, a provider of digital solutions for internal communications, has raised €122 million in a round led by General Atlantic.

- Singular, a new VC firm based in Paris founded by two former Alven partners, has just finished raising its initial fund, worth €225 million.

- The National Security Strategic Investment Fund, the UK security services' investment fund, has invested £100 million into 7 venture capital firms to back technology startups.

- Lendable, the London-based digital lender backed by Goldman Sachs, has reportedly quietly become Europe’s latest unicorn earlier this year following a secondary sale.

- Israel-based AnD Ventures is launching its first fund, looking to invest in artificial intelligence, database and software technologies, as well as new emerging markets. The company, founded last year, has raised about 80 percent of its initial $50 million seed fund.

- Israeli company Razor Labs, which develops AI solutions for industrial manufacturing processes, has announced the successful completion of its IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, raising $36 million.

- AliExpress Russia has invested in KazanExpress, a major regional e-commerce company from Russia, by acquiring a 30 percent stake.

- Founded in 2000 as a spin-off from universities Louvain-La-Neuve and Liège, data analytics, machine learning, and AI firm N-SIDE has raised €10 million in a new funding round.

- 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

- Food delivery startup Deliveroo has changed the target value for its London Stock Exchange IPO, after some investors expressed concerns over workers’ rights and the company’s share ownership structure.

- Here’s the letter Seedrs is sending to its shareholders following the Crowdcube merger collapse.

- Britain’s competition watchdog has cleared Uber’s takeover of UK tech firm Autocab, after its initial probe found the deal would not affect competition in the country’s taxi booking and dispatch software market.

- "How the American SPACs rocket has failed to take off in Europe".

- AI chips giant Nvidia has announced that it will hire 600 hardware and software engineers in Israel, for a variety of roles at different levels.

- A €9 million pilot project run by European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) will test a new approach to boosting the innovation capabilities of universities in the EU, helping them develop relationships with industry and teach innovation and entrepreneurship.

- Slovakia is keen to build itself up as 'the next global leader in financial technology', setting up a fintech hub designed to support innovation within the CEE region.

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Today in European Tech: UK tech scale-up Cazoo goes after $7 billion valuation in SPAC deal, Staffbase raises €122 million, and more
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