TransferWise raises $280M, ING launches €300M fund, Natixis takes 50% in Dalenys, FinTech Forum alumni shine: BondIT raises $14.25M, LiqEase wins Slush Shanghai etc.
TransferWise announces whopping $280M investment as early shareholders cash in
TransferWise, the international money transfer company and one of Europe’s better-known unicorns, has announced $280 million in new investment today. The Series E round is led by asset management firm Old Mutual Global Investors, and Silicon Valley VC firm IVP, and I understand also includes some secondary share dealings, meaning that not all of the cash will register on its balance sheet.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/01/transferwise-280-million/
ING launches ING Ventures: a EUR 300 million fintech fund
ING announced today it has launched ING Ventures, a EUR 300 million fund aimed at investing in fintech companies. To accelerate the pace of innovation, one of ING’s strategic priorities, ING Ventures will expand the existing portfolio of investments in the coming 4 years.
https://www.ing.com/Newsroom/All-news/Press-releases/ING-launches-ING-Ventures-a-EUR-300-million-fintech-fund.htm
Fosun Invests $14.25 Million in Israeli Fintech Startup BondIT
Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. invested $14.25 in Israeli fintech startup BondIT Ltd. BondIT Ltd develops machine learning-based analytics and automation tools for the fixed income global market.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3723757,00.html
Congratulations to FinTech Forum alumni BondIT, who presented at our first FTF On Tour | InvestTech event (Sep. 2015, London) and at the 6th FinTech Forum (Nov. 2015, Frankfurt).
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French Investment Bank Natixis Acquires 50% Stake in Fintech Company Dalenys
Natixis, a French corporate and investment bank, has acquired 50.04% stake in Dalenys, a fintech company that offers Payment Marketing solutions that aim to increase revenues for online and point-of-sale merchants.
https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2017/10/123770-french-investment-bank-natixis-acquires-50-stake-fintech-company-dalenys/
LiqEase to win Slush Shanghai pitch competition
The Slush Shanghai Pitch Competition culminated in the finals held on the Main Stage. After two days, three batches and two rounds of pitching, there was finally a winner. Slush Shanghai proudly presents that the winner of the Pitch Competition is LiqEase.
http://www.slush.org/news/liqease-to-win-the-slush-shanghai-pitch-competition/
Congratulations to LiqEase, a startup from the mediaman / massUp team which presented at the 6th FinTech Forum (Nov. 2015) and FinTech meets Travel (Sep. 2016).
Wiztopic Raises €3.7m in Funding
Wiztopic, a Paris, France-based provider of a corporate communications platform, raised €3.7m in funding. Backers included NewAlpha Asset Management, Pierre-Antoine Dusoulier, and Didier Rousseau.
http://www.finsmes.com/2017/10/wiztopic-raises-e3-7m-in-funding.html
Paydirect partners with Wirecard
Paydirekt has gained another large digital payment solutions company with Wirecard as a partner. Wirecard has become a paydirect concentrator and brought with it considerable potential in this function: 31,000 medium and larger, plus 150,000 small traders – the majority of them in e-commerce (Online).
Robo-Advisor Birdee launches on Sutor Bank platform
With Birdee, a first international Robo-Advisor goes online on the banking platform of the Sutor Bank: Birdee (Luxembourg asset manager license) offers clients in the Benelux and France investment in ETF portfolios.
solarisBank to offer digital B2B and B2C company factoring solutions
solarisBank intends to offer digital B2B as well as B2C company factoring solutions in future along with partner Frankfurt payment guarantee provider Universum Group.
https://www.it-finanzmagazin.de/solarisbank-factoring-per-universum-group-59677
Self Regulation Charter Published for European Initial Coin Offerings
A group of European industry advocates have published a proposition for a “Self Regulation Charter for European ICOs. They believe that Europe is in need of a manifesto governing Initial Coin Offerings or Initial Token Offerings (ITO).
https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2017/10/123795-self-regulation-charter-published-european-initial-coin-offerings/
THE GLOBAL FINTECH LANDSCAPE
How countries around the world are embracing digital disruption in financial services. Business Insider publishes a report on THE GLOBAL FINTECH LANDSCAPE: How countries around the world are embracing digital disruption in financial services
http://www.businessinsider.de/the-global-fintech-landscape-report-2017-10?r=US&IR=T