New York, US-based investment management firm Blackrock raised its stake in UK-based Internet media firm Blinkx to 13% amid allegations that the latter was using adware to boost its revenues.
Investors
South Africa-based AECI Ltd acquires Clariant's water treatment unit for $36.7M
AECI Ltd, the South African explosives and chemicals manufacturer, will be buying the the African water treatment business of Clariant for a price tag of $36.7 million, Bloomberg reported.
Identity authentication firm HID Global acquires New Mexico's Lumidigm
California-based identity authentication firm HID Global acquired Albuquerque, New Mexico-based authentication solutions provider Lumidigm for an undisclosed amount to extend its product portfolio and gain new secure identity solutions.
Russia's top travel search engine Aviasales nabs $10M from iTech Capital
The Number 1 travel search engine in Russia, Aviasales, has obtained a $10 million investment from iTech Capital who will take a minority stake in the company which operates under the JetRadar brand internationally, TechCrunch reported.
Skopos Financial Expands Dealer Base by More Than 120 Percent, Enters Auto Finance Markets of Seven New States
Skopos Financial, LLC, an indirect, national subprime auto finance company, today announced it has grown its base of franchise dealer partners by more than 120 percent. The company has also increased its presence across the United States with the addition of seven new states where the lender is doing business. These states include Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Colorado, South Carolina, Alabama and Illinois.
Latest News
Private equity giant KKR will be withdrawing two funds targeted for individual investors, a move that is seen as a blow to its efforts to grow its product offerings beyond institutional investors, Reuters reported.
Kantox, a peer-to-peer currency exchange platform, has obtained €6.5 million from Partech Ventures and Idinvest Partners to help improve its presence in Europe and develop its technology, the website growthbusiness.co.uk reported.
Planetary Ventures, the shell firm that Google infrequently uses for its real estate deals, has won the right to lease Moffett Field and Hangar One.
Teen apparel retailer Aeropostale, which had posted losses for four straight quarters, is reportedly mulling over a capital increase from private equity investors. Should the teen apparel retailer decide to raise capital, Aeropostale may do it via a private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal.
San Francisco, US-based big data startup Splice Machine raised $15 million in a Series B funding round led by Interwest Partners for the marketing and development of its database that can make Hadoop run in real time.
Private equity firms, including General Atlantic Partners, Actis Capital, Baring Private Equity Partners Asia and Apax Partners, are reportedly in talks with the principal owners of Credit Analysis and Research Ltd. CARE's top three shareholders are seeking to divest a 32% to 38% stake in the credit ratings company.
PlaceIQ has raised $15 million for its Series C financing round led by Harmony Partners and participated in by new investor Iris Capital as well as its previous backers in its Series B round, TechCrunch reported.
LinkedIn Corp., a professional networking site, has bought online recruiting startup Bright.com for $120 million via a combination of stock and cash. This is reportedly LinkedIn's largest acquisition and is expected to close by the first quarter of 2014.
Creathor Ventures and Northcap-backed mobile e-commerce platform Shopgate has purchased Magento developer MagCorp for an undisclosed amount. As part of the deal, MagCorp's developers will be joining the Shopgate team, TechCrunch reported.
