Dealflow.es #425: idealista acquired. Civitaris raised €50m. Plus Partners.
Dealflow.es #425: idealista acquired. Civitaris raised €50m. Plus Partners.Welcome to the #425 edition of the Dealflow.es: a weekly summary of everything that happened in the Spanish startup and tech investing ecosystem.
This week’s newsletter is sponsored by DoiT:
Startup funding news 💸According to Bankinter data, Spanish startups are experiencing a resurgence in investment after a slowdown in 2022-2023. In the first half of 2024, startups secured over €1.28 billion across 185 deals, surpassing the €1.035 billion in the same period in 2023 British investment firm Vitruvian Partners has increased its stake in Civitatis with an additional €50 million investment, following a €100 million investment made 2022. Civitatis, based in Madrid, offers over 90,000 activities in 160 countries and served more than 10 million customers in 2023. The company has been profitable since its inception. More info here Navarra-based foodtech company MOA, developers of protein alternatives, raised €3 million, led by Icos Capital. More info here Madrid-based last mile B2B marketplace Catcher raised €3 million from Sabadell VC, Audentes Capital, Faraday Venture Partners and CIMA Capital. Catcher connectss delivery drivers with restaurants to optimise delivery services Madrid-based Directo raised $1 million from French VC firm Kima Ventures, Calafia and other investors. Directo’s main product is a Chrome extension that helps travelers save money on hotels and Airbnbs by booking directly. More info here Other rounds of funding:
M&A news 🚀The acquisition of idealista by Cinven was oficially announced:
Netex, a Spanish e-learning company, is starting the process to delist from BME Growth following a successful takeover bid by BD Capital. The voluntary takeover bid, announced in April, aimed to acquire 90% of Netex shares at €4.50 each, valuing the company at €38.7 million A judge has authorized the sale of electronic voting company Scytl to the Argentinian Grupo Comitia for €3.5 million. This decision follows the liquidation process Scytl faced after financial difficulties Softonic acquired French B2B software recommendations platform Appvizer Datos 101 acquired security company STR Sistemas Investor & accelerator news 🚀Plus Partners is a new VC firm launched by Oriol Juncosa (previously of Encomenda and Nauta) and Enrique Linares (co-founder of Letgo), with a target size of €40 million. More details here and here Moira Capital Partners registered a new vehicle to invest between €5 and €25 million in a startup focused on improving water quality using electroporation and advanced oxidation technologies Spanish investors active abroad:
Startup news 💡We Are Knitters is apparently facing financial difficulties post-pandemic. After experiencing a surge in sales during covid lockdowns which brought revenues to €15 million, the company closed last year with €6.8 million in sales. The company has renegotiated their debt with banks and received capital injections from investors, including top executives from the Ibex 35. Despite these challenges, CEO Pepita Marín asserts that the company’s future is secure, with stabilized sales and a return to profitability. Pepita also appeared in this interview last week The board of Holaluz has initiated legal actions against the investment funds opposing its management, Axon Capital Partners and Geroa. The conflict arose due to disagreements on the company's direction and governance. Holaluz accuses these funds of seeking to block strategic decisions crucial for the company's future. The company also announced last week that it has secured temporary financial relief PLD Space announced a €10 million investment in the launch base of its Miura 5 rocket located at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana Basque startup Berba Translations, which had closed a financing round of €1 million a year ago, has entered liquidation Smartick acquired a stake in Micole, a school search platform, valuing Micole at €8 million. This partnership will integrate Smartick's Monk tool into 3,000 Micole-associated schools in Spain and Latin America. Smartick, bootstrapped, does €10 million in revenue Profile of Scopely and one of its co-founders, Spaniard Javier Ferreira. Scopely, a major player in the video game industry with Spanish roots, was recently acquired by Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group for $4.9 billion. More than 40% of Scopely’s global employees are in Spain, in Barcelona and Sevilla The European Commission selected Multiverse Computing to develop artificial intelligence using the quantum supercomputer Marenostrum Spanish cloud services firm Jotelulu plans to invest €10 million in expanding its technological infrastructure Ex-employees of startups founded by Pablo Fernández, such as Clikalia, Clicars, and Clidrive, have established 17 new companies. Fernández, a serial entrepreneur, has invested in 80 projects, contributing to a significant multiplier effect in the startup ecosystem Big company & policy news 🤓Expedia has decided to lay off more than 100 employees in Spain, around a quarter of its workforce, as part of a global cost-cutting plan due to increasing competition in the tourism sector Criteria has increased its stake in Telefónica to 9.9% and aims to reach 10.1% Telefónica Brasil acquired a minority stake of over €4.6 million in local company CRMBonus Interesting reads 🤓Uri Tintore (Belvo) published “The state of A2A payments worldwide and its future in Latin America” Alberto Molpeceres (Devengo) posted an interesting thread about how SEPA, and financial transactions in general, work Thanks for reading Dealflow.es Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
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