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EIB, €600M in loans for SAAB and Renault

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved loans to European-based car makers SAAB Automobile AB and Renault worth a total of €600m.
A €400m loan for SAAB Automobile AB will be used for research and development activities for the improvement of fuel efficiency and safety, including new tooling for the production of cleaner and safer cars, subject to the European Commission’s approval of the Swedish state guarantee.
The main part of the loan, €320m of the €400m approved for SAAB, will be provided by the EIB’s European Clean Transport Facility (ECTF).
The ECTF, which is part of the Bank’s response under the European Economic Recovery Package, targets significant cuts in vehicles’ CO2 emissions through research, development and innovation, the production of cleaner and more fuel-efficient means of transport, and also through tangible fixed assets in related infrastructure and production plants.
The remaining €80m is aimed to help SAAB improve the active and passive safety of its future vehicles.
Through the other loan, Renault will receive €200m to support a new production facility near Tangiers, Morocco, for manufacturing smaller cars, including the design, civil engineering, purchase of equipment and tooling of the new factory.

FinSMEs
22/10/2009

New Risk Capital Fund Will invest into Lithuanian SMEs

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The European Investment Fund has in principle approved the Fund LitCapital I as the second new risk capital fund dedicated to investing into Lithuanian SMEs in the framework of JEREMIE.
This fund, which have a target size of approximately €25m, will provide start-up and expansion financing for micro, small and medium size companies with growth potential located in the country. It will aim to take equity stakes between €0.3-3m to build a diversified portfolio of 12 SMEs.
According to a EIB’s statement, Vilnius, Lithuania-based LitCapitalAsset Management is in the process of being established as a management company for the Fund.
The finalisation of the funds’ set-up is subject to final legal due diligence and the successful raising of private funds by the fund managers by the end of 2009 or early 2010.
The EIF has already selected UAB BaltCap Management to manage a new risk capital fund of €20m and UAB Strata and Mes Invest to manage an €8m Business Angels Co-investment Fund.
JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises) is the initiative launched by the European Commission and the EIB Group to improve access to finance for SMEs in the EU within the Structural Funds framework for the period 2007 – 2013.
The innovative initiative enables the EU Member States and Regions to put money from the structural funds and also national resources into holding funds that can finance SMEs. Since the products will be provided on a repayment basis, funding will be reinvested and hence more SMEs will benefit from the EU resources.
In Lithuania, JEREMIE Holding Fund is financed from the EU Structural Funds under 2007-2013 Economic Growth Operational Programme.
FinSMEs
22/10/2009

MPOWER Mobile Receives Strategic Investment From Veteran Technology Entrepreneurs

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MPOWER Mobile, Inc., Austin, Texas-based Mobile payments provider, announced it has received strategic investments from Mike Maples Jr., managing partner of Maples Investments, and Todd Smith, founder of Tivoli.
Maples and Smith join MPOWER Ventures partners Roy Sosa, Bertrand Sosa and Jorge Vergara as investors in MPOWER Mobile.
The proceeds will support the company’s expansion into key markets and continued technology development.
In conjunction with the investment, Smith will support the company by providing strategic guidance on technology development for the company’s suite of mobile payments applications and Maples Jr. will contribute to the development of key markets and strategic partnership opportunities.
Backed by MPOWER Ventures, a socially committed venture fund, MPOWER Mobile is an international mobile payments company dedicated to delivering financial services through the mobile handset – including the ability to send money, accept payments and make purchases – to consumers anywhere in the world.
Commenting on the deal, Bertrand Sosa, Founding Partner of MPOWER Ventures, said: “These contributions of investment, expertise, and time, will fuel MPOWER Mobile’s ability to maintain the pace of innovation required to establish a leadership position in the rapidly evolving mobile payments market”.
FinSMEs
22/10/2009

Spain, Castilla y León Capital Desarrollo I acquired 22,5% of metal producer Endaki Tecnocast S.L.

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Ahorro Corporación Desarrollo, through the investment vehicle Castilla y León Capital Desarrollo I, acquired 22,5% of metal producer Endaki Tecnocast S.L., headquartered in La Robla, León, Spain.Endaki Tecnocast has invested €35m in order to create a new facility dedicated to providing products to the eolic industry. The new facility, which will start operating in early 2010, will have a surface of over 20.000m2 and will generate 60 jobs in La Robla.

Endaki Tecnocast is expected to reach a productive capacity of 30.000 tonnes a year.

KPMG, Garrigues Abogados and Asesores Tributarios served as advisors for the transaction.

Castilla y León Capital Desarrollo I, F.C.R. is a €67m risk capital fund created in 2008 and focused on investing in companies based in Castilla y León,  in order to grow and expand, develop their technological capacities and improve their competitiveness.
Investors in the fund include ADE Financiación, Caja España, Caja Duero, Caja de Burgos, Cajacírculo, Caja de Segovia y Caja de Ávila. 

FinSMEs

22/10/2009

Belgium, Vendis Capital Raises € 55M to Invest in Distribution Non-Food Companies

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Vendis Capital raised € 55m to close the first round of its venture capital fund investing in distribution companies that focus on non-food and consumer brands in Europe
The fund, which targets to raise €100m, will provide growth and buy-out capital to companies through investments varying between €5m and €15m.
Vendis Capital was founded by the former management team of retail holding Mitiska including Michiel Deturck, Luc Geuten, Cedric Olbrechts and Willem Van Aelten.
FinSMEs
21/10/2009

Belgium, Capricorn Venture Partners launched Health-tech Fund

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Capricorn Venture Partners, a pan-European manager of venture capital funds seeking to invest in technology based growth companies, launched the €120m Capricorn Health-tech Fund (CHF).
The human health-technology sector comprises a diverse range of products and services including biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical drugs, vaccines, medical devices, medical imaging, diagnostics, nutraceuticals and functional foods. The fund will invest in European early to mid stage companies whose business and products relate to the prevention, the diagnosis or the treatment of diseases.
Leuven, Belgium-based Capricorn Venture Partners is currently investing out of its €112m Capricorn Cleantech Fund. This fund invests in European growth companies developing innovative breakthrough technologies in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency, water purification and re-use, bio based material conversion and biorefinery platforms, clean air, climate change, green chemistry and advanced materials, materials recovery and recycling.
The investment team of Capricorn is composed of experienced investment managers with deep technology expertise and a broad industrial experience.
In preparation of raising and managing the new fund, the firm has expanded its senior team with:
– Dr Frank Bulens,
– Ir Els Hubloux,
– Dr Els Vanheusden.
The investment activity will start following the first closing of the new fund, which is planned to take place at € 30m. 
FinSMEs
21/10/2009

Illume Software Raises an Additional $1 Million to Launch iZUP

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Illume Software, a developer of location-critical software solutions, has raised $1m in additional funding after previously closing $2.4m in investment in February 2009.
All funds have been raised from a syndicate of industry experts and private investors.
The funds will help drive the development of Illume’s core technologies and specifically launch Illume’s flagship product, iZUP™, a new mobile solution to reduce cell phone related distracted driving.
iZUP will be available as a free preview version later this fall and will launch officially in December on Windows Mobile, Google Android, and Blackberry handsets.
Founded in Boston in 2008, Illume Software is led by experienced mobile telecom, Internet and media veterans and boasts an advisory board of prominent business, political, financial and technology leaders. 
FinSMEs
21/10/2009

Tarsa Therapeutics Raises $24M

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Newly formed Tarsa Therapeutics, Inc. announced the closing of a $24m Series A financing from a syndicate of three venture capital funds specializing in the life sciences including MVM Life Science Partners, Quaker BioVentures and Novo A/S.
Simultaneously, Unigene Laboratories, Inc. (OTCBB: UGNE) and Tarsa Therapeutics, Inc. announced that Unigene has licensed its Phase III oral calcitonin program to Tarsa.
Calcitonin is a peptide hormone that slows the rate of bone destruction. It is approved for the treatment of osteoporosis but its use has been limited as it is currently available only in intranasal and injectable forms. The oral formulation that Unigene has licensed to Tarsa has the potential to offer a new therapeutic option for osteoporosis patients as the first FDA-approved and commercially available oral formulation of calcitonin.
As part of the agreement, Unigene will own 25% of Tarsa on a fully diluted basis and will be eligible to receive milestone payments based on the achievement of certain sales benchmarks, as well as royalties on product sales. On the other hand, Tarsa will be solely responsible for the costs of the global Phase III clinical program that has recently been initiated and also has reimbursed Unigene for its Phase III expenditures to date.
Tarsa also announced that David Brand has joined the company as President, CEO and Director.
The Board of Directors of Tarsa will be headed by Chairman Dr. Bednarski and includes Unigene’s Dr. Levy, Tarsa CEO Mr. Brand, Dr. Matthew Rieke, Partner at Quaker BioVentures and Dr. Martin Edwards, Senior Partner at Novo A/S.
Tarsa will be based in Philadelphia, PA. 
FinSMEs
21/10/2009

San-Mateo-based RedSeal Raises $12M

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RedSeal Systems, Inc., a San Mateo, CA-based vendor of security posture management software that enables organizations to assess and strengthen their cyber-defenses, has raised $12m in a financing round led by OVP Venture Partners with participation from Venrock, Jafco Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and Leapfrog Ventures.
This investment brings the total amount of capital raised by RedSeal Systems to approximately $43m.
In Addition, Mark Ashida, managing director at OVP Venture Partners and former general manager of enterprise networking and authentication for Microsoft, has joined RedSeal’s board of directors. 
FinSMEs
21/10/2009

Tower Cloud Closes $20M Venture Capital Funding

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Tower Cloud, Inc., a provider of backhaul services to wireless carriers, closed a $20m equity round.
The round included funding from the company’s current investors, including Sutter Hill Ventures and El Dorado Ventures, and from a new investor group led by Cam Lanier including Ballast Point Ventures, Kinetic Ventures, Knology, Inc., ITC Partners Fund, Noro-Moseley Partners, and The Burton Partnership.
The funds will be used to fund expansion into Atlanta, GA and exploit other growth opportunities.
Founded in 2006, Tower Cloud, which currently operates backhaul networks in the greater Orlando, FL and Miami, FL markets and is in the process of constructing a new network in Atlanta, GA, is headquartered in St. Petersburg, FL.
FinSMEs
21/10/2009

NY-Based HealthGuru Media Raises $3.2M

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HealthGuru Media, a health website for 18 to 40 year olds and provider of health videos online, announced that it has raised $3.2m in its Series C financing round led Castile Ventures, with participation from existing investor Village Ventures.
Skip Besthoff, General Partner at Castile Ventures, will join the company’s Board of Directors.
According to an official statement, the funds will help the New York-based company expand its channels for traffic acquisition and ramp its revenue generating capabilities.
The HealthGuru content library has over 1,000 videos covering 75+ health conditions, and is the most watched health content on both YouTube and MySpace TV.
FinSMEs
21/10/2009

Chango Raises $750,000 Series A Financing

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Toronto, Canada-based Chango has completed a $750,000 series A financing round led by iNovia Capital with participation from Extreme Venture Partners.
Chango has developed an innovative advertising solution that provides a valuable service to website visitors arriving from search engines by displaying ads that are highly relevant to their past search queries. In contrast to other solutions, loyal readers arriving at the website directly are shown only the high quality content they have come to expect from the publisher.
The proceeds will be used to support an expansion of publisher reach and further development of the Chango platform.
FinSMEs
21/10/2009

Copanion Raises $10.2M

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Copanion, Inc., an Andover, MA-based provider of document automation solution, has closed a $10.2m round of venture capital funding, co-lead by Commonwealth Capital Ventures and Pilot House Ventures Group.
The proceeds will fund expansion into new market segments for its SaaS-based document automation solution.
As part of the financing round, Edward Jennings, Copanion’s former SVP of marketing and sales, has assumed the role of CEO. Founder Steven Ladd has stepped down as CEO and moved into an advisory role—responsible for new market development.
As stated by Jennings, the company has aggressive plans to expand its sales and marketing efforts.
“With development of the core technology largely complete, we will now focus on expanding our go-to-market initiatives to increase revenue in the tax market and explore several other markets”, he said.   
FinSMEs
21/10/2009

UK, New Funds to Deliver 14,000 Apprenticeships for Small Businesses

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Twelve organisations have won a share of £7m of Government funding to set up Apprenticeship Training Associations (ATAs) and Group Training Associations (GTAs).
These new associations will help a range of organisations, especially small businesses, to offer over 14,000 apprenticeship places for young people over the next three years.
The apprenticeships, which will focus on opportunities for 16 to 18-year-olds, will be offered in industries vital for the country’s economic growth, including environmental, creative, engineering, manufacturing, logistics and business administration.
Apprenticeship Training Associations (ATAs) are companies or partnerships acting as a recruitment agency, placing apprentices with “host” employers. If the business is unable to continue supporting the apprentice for any reason, he/she will return to the ATA and will be re-assigned to another business.
In addition, the funding will also help develop and expand new Group Training Associations (GTAs). For small businesses which might not have the capacity to provide their own training, a GTA helps them to share expertise with other employers and develop their own dedicated training.
The fund has encouraged GTAs to be developed in sectors which currently have low numbers of apprentices.
The nine ATAs and 3 GTAs will provide over 3,000 apprenticeship starts this academic year.
FinSMEs
21/10/2009

USA, Diapers.com Raises $30M to Accelerate Growth

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Quidsi, Inc. announced that its parent company Diapers.com has closed a $30m Series E financing round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) with participation from existing investors Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and MentorTech Ventures.
Launched in 2005, Diapers.com has evolved from a website focused just on baby essentials to a one-stop shop for everything baby, selling everything from diapers and formula to strollers and car seats.
The news funds will be used to secure Montclair, NJ-based Diapers.com’s position as the leading online baby retailer.
As stated by Marc Lore, Co-Founder and CEO of Diapers.com, the company will use “these new funds to further our mission, which has always been simple. Make life a little easier for new parents. That means carrying everything they could possibly need or want, get it to them faster than anyone, charge low prices and most importantly, deliver the best customer service, bar none”.
NEA partner Tony Florence will join the Quidsi, Inc. board in conjunction with the financing.
FinSMEs 
21/10/2009
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