Stellus Capital Management announced the final close of its third fund, Stellus Credit Fund III LP. The company secured $725M in equity commitments for its fund, with another $225M raised for its private business development company, Stellus Private Credit BDC. With the fresh capital, the firm has about $1.8B available to invest in middle-market companies. More: - Stellus will continue to back companies in the U.S. and Canada across a broad range of industries, namely business services, consumer & retail, healthcare, industrial, and media & technology.
- SCF III’s preceding fund, Stellus Credit Fund II, closed with $478M in capital.
- The fund has already made 36 investments in portfolio firms.
- Accredited investors will be able to directly invest in portfolio middle-market companies alongside Stellus’ funds with the new private business development company.
- The firm’s assets under management totaled $2.6B.
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Washington-based automotive loan refinancing and insurance provider Caribou raised $115M in financing. The company cemented its unicorn status with a $1.1B valuation at its current Goldman Sachs Asset Management-led Series C funding round. Caribou will use the fresh capital round to bring improvements to its platform, develop new products, and increase its workforce strength. More: - Caribou, formerly known as MotoRefi, connects automobile owners with credit unions, community banks, and other financial institutions to refinance their auto loans.
- The company began operations in 2016 and has refinanced more than $1.5B in loans.
- The company reports that their clients save an average of $100 each month, cumulatively saving over $100M in total interest for consumers over the entire tenure of their loans.
- To date, Caribou has secured $190M in total funding.
- Goldman Sachs also led its $50M Series B that closed in May 2021.
- New investors Innovius Capital and Harmonic, as well as current investors Accomplice, CMFG Ventures, Curql Fund, Firebolt Ventures, Gaingels, Moderne Ventures, Motley Fool Ventures, and others, backed the financing.
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Swedish healthcare appointment scheduling, telemedicine, and online counseling platform Kry International AB reduced its workforce by 10%, the company announced in a statement released today. The company had about 1,000 employees. According to Bloomberg, the staff termination plan is part of a cost-cutting initiative aimed at appeasing its investors. Notable existing backers include CPP Investments, Fidelity Management & Research, Index Ventures, and Accel, amongst others. More: - CPP and Fidelity co-led Kry’s last fundraise, a ~$276M (€262M) Series D investment secured in April 2021.
- Last year the online healthcare provider was valued at $2B.
- The workforce reduction is a response to the tightening market conditions fueled by rising inflation and a tough capital raising environment as IPOs and exit opportunities for venture firms have reduced.
- Isabella de Feudis, the CEO of the Swedish Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, notes that startups will need to curtail their expansion ambitions and re-focus their strategies to reduce cash burn and increase profitability.
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Manchester, Sheffield, and Leeds universities, located in the northern region of the U.K., jointly formed an investment venture to back startups spun out from universities. The venture, named Northern Gritstone, has already secured ~$268M (£215M) from an initial round of funding, with a final closing target set at $623M (£500M). Former Treasury minister Lord Jim O’Neill will lead the firm as chairman, with Duncan Johnson as CEO. More: - Universities increasingly want to be an active part of commercial businesses originating from academic research projects.
- The initiative seeks to create a northern innovation hub in the Greater Manchester region by 2030, modeled on the lines of Silicon Valley, and will invest in sectors such as health technology, advanced materials, cognitive computation, and artificial intelligence.
- Several institutional investors; pension funds, including Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire pension funds; and investment groups, M&G Investments, Columbia Threadneedle, and Lansdowne Partners, backed the funding.
Zoom out: - University spin-out ventures received $3.17B (£2.54B) in funding in 2021.
- Notable universities Oxford and Cambridge have invested over $1.25B (£1B) in such companies to date.
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 A message from ADOBE COMMERCE Strong in digital commerce and a Leader in the Magic Quadrant. In the 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Commerce, Adobe was named a Leader among 17 vendors. Gartner® evaluates digital commerce vendors on their “completeness of vision” and “ability to execute.” Find out why Adobe was named a Leader for Digital Commerce among 17 vendors in the Q3 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant report. Strengths - Global reach: Adobe has the most diverse geographic presence of all the vendors evaluated in this Magic Quadrant. It also has the largest number of service partners spread across all major markets, making it easier for organizations to find partners in their local markets.
- Out-of-the-box functionality: Adobe has comprehensive OOTB functionality that can fulfill requirements from basic to medium levels of complexity. It supports multiple user roles, multistores, catalog management, marketplace integration, promotions and discounts, language, and currencies, all with good granular control. It has a native CMS (Page Builder) and a Progressive Web Apps (PWA) studio with reference storefront.
- Admin UI: Adobe has a modern and intuitive UI that can be configured based on user role. It supports multiple import mechanisms for product data, and can integrate with multiple sources and analytics tools, making it easy for admins to focus on outcomes.
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The Netherlands-based buy-now-pay-later fintech startup In3 raised $85.3M in a Series B funding round. The fundraise comes just two months after it raised $11.3M in a Series A financing in March this year. Force over Mass, Waterfall Asset Management, and Finch Capital led the funding. More: - Proceeds from the funding will be used to scale operations and increase business reach in the Netherlands.
- The company intends to launch in Germany soon, with plans in place to expand across other European countries in the future.
- The platform offers customers options to make electronic, vehicle, home decor, jewelry, and other purchases in three interest-free installments.
- In3 has partnered with over 1,500 online and offline merchants.
- The company announced its partnership with payments platform Mollie.
- The partnership gives In3 access to "millions of consumers" on Mollie's platform, while Mollie's customers will enjoy an alternate interest-free BNPL payment option.
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Finnish eCommerce aggregator eBrands announced it had secured $30M (€29M) in funding, bringing its total funds raised to date to ~$53M (€50M). The company acquires and scales Nordic eCommerce brands. Incoming funds will help back future acquisitions, expand its global presence, and double its workforce. More: - eBrands acquires direct-to-consumer brands selling sustainable, wellness, sports, lifestyle, and home products.
- It was formed in 2020 and already acquired 18 brands in the first year of operations.
- It aims to acquire 10 more brands this year.
- The funding was backed by Varma Pension Fund, Rettig Group, Veikko Laine Oy, and Icebreaker.vc, amongst others.
- The company aims to double its team from its current staff strength of 50 to 100 later this year.
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- Cell therapy focussed North Carolina-based biotechnology startup Inceptor Bio secured $37M in Series A funding led by Kineticos Ventures.
- Israeli food-tech startup Imangindairy received $15M extension funding to its seed capital, bringing the total for the round to $28M. The company produces animal-free dairy products. Target Global led the funding round.
- British SaaS software purchasing and management platform Vertice received $26M in a Series A funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners and 83North.
- Restaurant and catering food data solution provider Galley Solutions raised $14.2M in Series A financing led by Astanor Ventures with participation from existing investor Zetta Venture Partners
- Texas-based customizable orthodontic braces manufacturer KLOwen Braces secured $10.5M in Series A capital led by Columbia Pacific Advisors with participation from Jazz Venture Partners, SpringRock Ventures, and Ensemble Innovation Ventures.
- IK Partners to exit from 2Connect by selling its stake in the Netherlands-based cable and connectors manufacturing company to Rivean Capital. Financial details of the transactions were not disclosed.
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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