With the fourth quarter of 2013 contributing £280 million to the 2013 technology investment totals, a number of prolific transactions were closed.
From mobile to cleantech, figures from Ascendant Corporate Finance show that ten funding rounds of £15 million and over were closed. We look back at the biggest deals of 2013 below.
Truphone (£75 million)
Back in February, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich led an investment which valued Truphone at £300 million. The deal was set to allow the business, which provides multiple international mobile numbers on a patented single SIM card, so international contacts can always reach them at a local rate, to employ 500 new staff. Truphone has offices ten offices across four continents and continues to expand globally. Clients include FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies across multiple sectors.
Read more about the deal here.
Gaelectric (£55 million)
Irish cleantech business Gaelectric was the recipient of £55 million in November, with contributions coming from BlueBay Ireland Corporate Credit, Landesbank and Nord/LB. The investment was raised to fund the rollout of wind and energy storage projects in Ireland, the UK and the US.
Read more about the deal here.
Hyperoptic (£50 million)
Quantum Strategic Partners led the large investment deal that saw London-based Hyperoptic net the funds necessary to expand its fiber-in-the-home (FTTH) to more than 500,000 homes in the coming five years. Three new non-executive directors were added to the Hyperoptic board through the deal.
Read more about the deal here.
Intelligent Energy (£32 million)
Green energy business Intelligent Energy now has plans to float on the stock market only three months after raising £32 million. In October, the company received its largest investment since setting up shop 15 years ago to help with the development of its environmentally friendly fuel cells.
Shazam (£26 million)
Shazam has been used by brands to engage viewers with advertising
Shazam has now raised £48 million of disclosed equity backing after closing its largest deal to date back in July 2013. American Movil joined a list of investors such as Kleiner Perkins, Caulfield & Byers and Acacia Capital Partners. The technology business initially developed a smartphone application which allows users to identify a song which they hear on the TV or in public. It has since moved into the TV and advertising market and is was generating $300 million of digital content sales a year through affiliate sales when it closed the fundraising.
Read more about the deal here.
Datasift (£25 million)
In December, social data platform Datasift turned to Twitter and Tumblr backers Insight Venture Partners for its Series C transaction. The funds are now being put to work growing the customer base of technology companies and agencies. The Reading-headquartered business also secured Insight Venture Partners co-founder Jeff Horing as a board member.
Read more about the deal here.
Funding Circle (£23 million)
The Funding Circle team are taking their P2P finance option overseas
Expansion into the US is now being conducted by peer-to-peer funding platform Funding Circle after its Series C round netted £23 million. Set up in 2010 by James Meekings, Samir Desai and Andrew Mullinger, the technology finance venture has now raised £35 million of investment.
Read more about the deal here.
NewVoiceMedia (£22 million)
Cloud-based contact centre service company NewVoiceMedia closed two substantial fundraisings in 2013, with its second in September pulling in £22 million. Bessemer Venture Partners led the deal and joined existing supports MMC Ventures, Eden Ventures, Notion Capital and Highland Capital Partners.
Read more about the deal here.
MetaPack (£20 million)
Former Tesco boss Terry Leahy was part of the investment syndicate which backed e-commerce and delivery technology business MetaPack in November. Leahy joined the company’s board in 2011 when he invested £2 million of his own capital. As well as going after the European, American and Asian markets, MetaPack is planning to build customer support and products as well as enhancing its cross-border capabilities.
Read more about the deal here.
Green Biologics (£15 million)
Oxford-based Green Biologics closed the biggest funding round in its history during December when Soffinova Partners were joined by Oxford Capital Partners, Capricorn Venture Partners and Swire Pacific in backing the business. To coincide with the new funding round, Green Biologics, which is involved in the conversion of biomass to renewable fuels and chemicals, confirmed that its notice of intent to purchase the assets of Central MN Ethanol Co-op through its US operation had been converted into an asset purchase agreement and approved by shareholders.
