Alternative Investment news & headlines
Latest breaking stories, features and analysis
- Lightspeed officially announced the establishment of office at its regional headquarter in Singapore.
- Lightspeed could be the second major league VC after Sequoia for setting up an office in Southeast Asia.
- Lightspeed Ventures’ announcement is sixth global expansion after U.S., Europe, China, India and Israel.
Latest Alternative Investment news
We look at the Top 11 industries that were positively affected by COVID-19 and how these industries will fare over the coming year
On September 3, Daniel Kamensky, the principal of Marble Ridge Capital was criminally charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, extortion and obstruction of justice by the US Department of the Justice. The official link can be found here. Daniel Kamensky, 47, has been alleged to pressurise the rival bidder (investment bank) not to bid for the assets related to Neiman Marcus’ bankruptcy. That way, he could get the assets for himself at...
Germany-based Auxmoney has announced the fundraising worth €150 Million in growth capital in a round led by Centerbridge Partners. This deal is mentioned to be the biggest fintech capital raising deal in the eurozone region in 2020 so far. In addition to the current funding, private equity firm Centerbridge Partners will also be acquiring the additional shares from the existing shareholders in Auxmoney and thus is expected to become a major...
Based in Taranaki, New Zealand, Greenfern Industries has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign to raise NZ$ 4.0 Million. Total retail investment is limited to NZ$ 2.0 Million (50%), and the rest of the NZ$ 2.0 Million (50%) is restricted to Wholesale or Qualifying Investors. The NZ$ 0.2 Million of the wholesale category has already been issued. The minimum investment value is NZ$ 500. Medicinal cannabis company Greenfern Industries chose the...
Headquartered in Bengaluru, edtech startup Unacademy raised funding worth $150 Million led by Japanese multinational conglomerate SoftBank. With the recent fundraising, Unacademy has entered into a unicorn club by having valuation at around $1.45 Billion. The funding round also consisted of investment from existing shareholders General Atlantic, Facebook, Blume Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Nexus Venture Partners. On 2nd September, co-founder an...
A Berlin-based Venture Capital Fund, BITKRAFT Ventures has announced the closing of a new $165 Million venture fund that will be used for Seed and Series A investments in various companies related to the Game Studios, Interactive Platforms and Immersive Technologies. BITKRAFT Ventures is founded by former ESL CEO and G2 Esports chairman Jens Hilgers. The new fund’s investor list consists of many renowned names. Under corporate investor cate...
On September 1st, the US Dollar dropped towards multi-year lows against most major currencies. Investors are expecting the Federal Reserve’s new policy framework would translate into lower US interest rates as compared to interest rates in other countries. The dollar index fell to a two-year low at 91.775. The dollar index volatility is expected to continue in the coming periods as the first week of September is full of macroeconomic data r...
BlackBull Markets – a multi-asset broker in New Zealand becomes a licensed broker after receiving a derivative issuer by the New Zealand’s financial regulator, the FMA. BlackBull Markets, the trading name of BlackBull Group Limited, offers different types of trading services – including Forex, CFDs, and commodities. The trading company was created in 2014 and since operated as a registered (but unlicensed) financial service provider in New Zealan...
On 4th August 2020, two explosions occurred at the Port of Beirut. The second explosion was related to 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate blast. This explosion is considered to be one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions in history. Beirut’s Mar Mikhaël area is very well known for fashionable trendy boutiques, art galleries, antique furniture stores. This area is right across the Port of Beirut, where the blast took place. The city’s des...
KPMG Private Enterprise recently shared its Venture Pulse Q2 2020 report. The report provides a great insight into the global and local venture capital industry. In this article, we have provided a super-condensed and summarized version of the major trends, challenges and opportunities in the global venture capital market for Q2 2020. You can read the KPMG report here. Globally, venture capital-backed companies raised almost $62.9 Billion funds a...
On 30 July 2020, Crestview Partners announced an investment into Upwell Water LLC, a water-focused specialty finance company. San Francisco-based Upwell Water’s services consist of providing liquidity and investment solutions to water-related assets. The company acquires and finances water assets. Upwell Water got spun out of Upwell, LLC, a holding company for purpose-driven platform companies. With a recent Crestview Partners’...
Boston based investment firm, Berkshire Partners along with the CrossFit’s incoming CEO Eric Roza, announced buying the global gym brand CrossFit from former CEO and founder Greg Glassman for an undisclosed amount. “Following a month of hard work by several dozen individuals on our respective deal teams, I’m delighted to report we have signed the final contract to purchase 100% of CrossFit from Greg Glassman. I will be joi...
For years, hedge funds are known to buy shares of companies set to sell themselves but the global COVID-19 pandemic has now forced funds to do the opposite, The Wall Street Journal reported. Merger-arbitrage bets Hedge funds that buy shares of a target company typically engage in what is called merger-arbitrage. A company agrees to sell itself for a set price on a set date but if the stock trades below the buyout price it presents an arbitrage op...
Starboard Value, a top-tier activist investor firm, amassed a 9% stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MMSI), a manufacturer of disposable medical devices, CNBC reported. Who is Starboard and Merit Medical? Starboard boasts an impressive track record of pushing companies to change their operations. The firm boasts expertise across multiple market segments ranging from technology, cloud computing, and restaurants. The activist investor now...
Land & Buildings Investment Management is among the most notable activist investor firms in the real estate space. The fund, mostly known for establishing long positions and pushing for change, is now taking a different approach by shorting multiple New York City office owners, The Wall Street Journal reported. Potential short targets Land & Buildings is reportedly short three names, including Empire State Realty Trust Inc (NYSE: ESRT), S...
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) has announced its tranche of startup investments: £108M ($132M) injected in 11 businesses. The deals speak to the venture capitalist’s commitment towards nurturing tech-based businesses including chip design, artificial intelligence, and autonomous computing. While Intel Capital tries to operate independently from its parent company, it has not shied away from using Intel’s muscle to leverage relationships and exp...
Ares Australia Management (“AAM”), a joint venture between Fidante Partners and Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) has launched its first product in Australia, the Ares Global Credit Income Fund. AAM developed the Fund owing to a growing demand for an investment approach that offers high-income generation while preserving capital especially during these uncertain times when many businesses continue to register low returns. Teiki Benveniste,...