Invest-IQ

Java hosting platform Jelastic, based in the Ukraine, has raised a USD 2 mln fund from Almaz Capital and Foresight Ventures. The investment comes at a time when Java hosting is a tedious process involving a long list of compliance requirements. Jelastic’s team launched the beta version last October with the help of an initial [...]

E-commerce in Russia gets yet another boost as Mallstreet.ru gets a round of funding from multiple investors. The online shopping portal recently received a round of financing from Franco-Israeli VC firm Kima Ventures (held by Jérémie Berrebi), Fabrice Grinda, super angel from France but based in the U.S. and Amber Venture Partners out of Amsterdam. Mallstreet.ru (mallstreet.ru) [...]

Krakow-based VC firm Innovation Nest has invested close to EUR 500,000 in iTraff, the mobile applications developer that gave the world SaveUp, an image recognition app. Co-investors in this second round of funding were angel investors Rafal Han, CEO and co-founder of educational games developer HanBright, and Stephane Senkowski. The current estimated value of the [...]

Romanian entrepreneur-VC meeting platform VentureConnect has recently showcased a success story with local network training leader, BITTNET Systems. After participating in the November 2011 VentureConnect program, BITTNET successfully garnered a 24 percent equity sale to Mr. Razvan Capatina, a 10-year veteran of the marketing and advertising industry. The investment will be used to further extend [...]

Dmitry Alimov, the VC guru who previously ran ru-Net, has launched another VC fund worth USD 50 mln to focus on the Russian early-stage internet consumer market. Launched through Frontier Ventures, the fund will target Russian internet companies operating sectors like mobile applications, online travel services and online financial services.  The increased activity in internet [...]

Considered to be one of the largest PE firms in the CEE region, Enterprise Investors (EI) are gunning for a EUR 650 mln investment for its eighth and newest fund. The new fund, when active, will target Romania and surrounding countries in the region. The Warsaw, Poland-based investment management company began their first fund in [...]

Turkish mid-market investment firm, Pera Capital, has successfully closed its first PE fund at EUR 40 mln towards. The Pera Capital Partners I fund intends to hit the EUR 120 mln mark as its peak. The fund includes institutional investors and funds of funds, as well as family offices. Pera Capital (peracap.com) Typically targeting growth [...]

Rusnano has tied up with US healthcare specialist venture firm Domain Associates to co-invest up to USD 760 million to set up a medical device manufacturing and pharmaceutical facility in Russia, invest in US healthcare technology companies, and manage clinical trials of new drugs relevant for Russia. Rusnano is expected to commit USD 330 million while Domain’s [...]

Top Polish insurance company PZU is in talks with certain PE funding groups to set up a PLZ 13 bln (USD 4.13 bln) fund. Though the main targets will be European insurance companies, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation may also be invited to fund the pool. The [...]

California-based cloud computing firm Eccentex has secured USD 7.5 million in Series-A funding from a group of investors led by Russian investment company VTB Capital. Eccentex will use the money to expand the company’s operations in new geographies and continue developing case management capabilities for a broad set of industries. The investment was made by [...]

Enterprise Investors – a Warsaw based private equity firm that manages Polish Enterprise Fund VI (PEF VI), announced the launch of Wento – an investment vehicle created to manage wind firms in Poland and help the country meet EU targets for renewable energy production. Wento can draw up to EUR 40 million from PEF VI [...]

Investment and Venture Fund of the Republic of Tatarstan (IVF RT) and Russian Venture Company (RVC) – a government owned fund of funds meant to back innovative domestic companies, have come together to set up the International Venture Fund that will invest in international VC firms focused on technology companies globally. The new fund aims [...]

EPAM Systems Inc, Eastern Europe’s largest software development company, successfully completed its initial public offering of common stock at a price of USD 12 per share on Tuesday, Feb 7.  The company sold a total of 6 million shares to raise USD 72 million, falling short of the targeted 7.4 million shares at a price [...]

Fits.me, the Estonian ‘virtual fitting room’, has just raised another round of funding worth EUR 1.5 mln. The company essentially provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) using robotics to show customers how their potential purchases will fit them. Considering the fact that returns are probably one of the major concerns for online retail clothing stores, Fits.me’s business is [...]

Online sports, travel and leisure goods retailer Heverest.ru has raised a new round of funding worth USD 4.3 mln. eVenture Capital Partners and an unnamed Russian PE fund have jointly participated in this round. The funding will be used to expand their product line and increase their sales and marketing initiatives, and also upgrade their [...]

Moscow-based online hotel booking firm Ostrovok.ru has successfully raised capital from three investors last month to expand its IT developer team. The investors include Erik Blachfold of Expedia, Greg Brockway of Hotwire and Tripit, and Altimeter Capital’s Brad Gerstner. Ostrovok (ostrovok.ru) Founded in 2010, Ostrovok had earlier secured $13.6 million in July 2011 from a [...]

Stockholm-based Eastern Europe-centric East Capital has just taken advantage of the Baltic boom in real estate to set up a second property fund. Using the fund, they have invested in a logistics center in Tallinn, Estonia, for approximately EUR 24 mln, or USD 31.7 mln. The new purchase, located in the Tanassilma industrial area, spans [...]

Russian daily deal site Biglion has secured about USD 25 million in funding from prominent public and private equity investment firm Tiger Global Management. Launched in March 2010, Biglion is the leader in the domestic coupon market and has 7 million users with annual sales exceeding USD 150 million. The firm had received the first [...]

The Copenhagen based capital investor firm, Sunstone Capital, closes its third Sunstone Capital Technology Ventures Fund with EUR 85 million. European Investment Fund, Dansk Vaekstkapital, Industriens Pension and Vaekstfonden also took part in this first closing. The final closing is expected in 2012 with a target fund size of EUR 100 million. In the next [...]

Russia based Quest.li has secured new funding from Redalpine Capital I and other private investors. The Zurich based venture fund had already led Quest.li’s first seedround in early 2011.     Quest.li (questli.com) Quest.li was founded by CEO Danila Kozyatnikov in April 2011 with the seed funding of CHF 200,000 provided by Redalpine. Quest. li [...]