This week, our research team tracked more than 70 tech funding deals worth over €2.3 billion, and over 15 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe.
As always, we are putting all of them together for you in a list sent in our round-up newsletter next Monday (note: the full list is for paying customers only, and also comes in the form of a handy downloadable spreadsheet).
We've also got some news for you: we're already gearing up for the second edition of the Tech.eu Summit! Save the date:
24 May in Brussels.
If you haven't seen them yet, we've made all the videos from the Tech.eu Summit last May available as a playlist on our YouTube channel - enjoy!
With that said, let's get down to business with the biggest European tech news items for the past couple of days (subscribe to our free newsletter to get this round-up in your inbox).
What happened this week in European Tech?
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>> Notable and big funding rounds
Munich-based process mining platform Celonis has raised $1 billion in funding to reach a valuation of almost $13 billion. The $1 billion in liquidity is split between a $400 million equity portion, and tapping a revolving credit facility to obtain access to as much as $600 million with a syndicate of leading global banks.
UK’s Propel Finance completes first private securitisation as part of €592 million financing round
SME lender Capital on Tap secures £200 million from JP Morgan, Triple Point
Building a more connected virtual world, metaverse avatar platform Ready Player Me tops ups with $56 million
BITLEVEX, an Estonia-based investment platform building a diverse range of financial services, announced that it had secured an investment facility totaling $50 million from GEM Digital Limited, a Bahamas-based digital asset investment firm.
At a time when lending to small businesses in the U.K. has hit an all-time low, London-based SME financial services platform Muse Finance has raised $20 million in a debt facility round.
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>> Noteworthy acquisitions, mergers, IPOs and SPAC deals
UK tech could lose another London-listed firm to a foreign acquisition as Canadian software company OpenText is planning to acquire Berkshire’s Micro Focus, in a $6 billion deal.
Zuora, a California-headquartered, cloud-based subscription management platform provider, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired London-based Zephr, a subscription experience platform. As per the agreement, Zuora will acquire Zephr for $44M (approximately €43.9M) in cash payable at close, plus an earnout of up to $6M (approximately €5.9M), subject to certain financial objectives.
New York-based LexisNexis, a legal tech company, announced that it has acquired Utrecht-based Caselex, a provider of merger control intelligence. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Focus Cloud, a London-based IT recruitment group, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired a specialist Microsoft recruitment firm, Cognitive Group, to form a new global brand named Focus Cloud Group.
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>> Interesting moves from investors
Polish venture capital firm Inovo VC has rolled out its third fund, with the target of €100 million to support CEE-based tech companies with global potential.
Climentum (climate+momentum) Capital has pulled back the curtain and revealed soon-to-be former Head of Ventures, ABB Electrification, Malin Carlström as the shrouded figure.
British renewable energy group specialising in sustainable energy, Octopus Energy Group has unveiled a €220 million fund to drive new green power generation to reduce Europe’s gas reliance.
Bayern, Germany-based Personio, announced that it has launched a call for applications for “exceptional” non-profit organisations working in the fields of climate change mitigation and education to join Personio Foundation’s Impact Portfolio.
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>> In other (important) news
The UK government has unveiled a £20m plan to upgrade electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure that will see 1,000 charge points installed across the country ahead of the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales.
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>> Recommended reads and listens
Offshore firm links BBC chair to sanction-hit Russian ‘Nickel King’. Richard Sharp used Cayman Island company to invest in crypto firm founded by oligarch, documents reveal
The tech that could replace polluting air con and ease the energy crisis this winter
Lloyd’s refuses to cover nation-state attacks: What it means to enterprises
How Russia-Ukraine cyberwar is impacting orgs: Two-thirds say they have been targeted
10 greentech startups tackling Europe’s waste problem
Belgian game sector is booming
Investments are slowing down around the world. Poland as a "green island" for VC?
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