Acton Capital
| Formerly | Action Capital Partners |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founders | Christoph Braun, Paul-Bernhard Kallen, Jan-Gisbert Schultze, Frank Seehaus |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | Munich and Vancouver |
| Products | Investments, Venture capital, growth capital |
| Website | actoncapital |
Acton Capital is a German venture capital fund, founded in Munich and investing in tech-enabled startup companies in Europe and North America.[1]
History
[edit]As one of the first venture capital funds in Europe, Acton Capital invested in startups of the early Digital Economy. The first investment was online auction platform Alando in Germany,[2] acquired by eBay in 1999 for $43 million.[3] In November 2019, Acton Capital announced the closing of its fifth fund "Acton V" at $215 million.[4]
Investments and exits
[edit]Acton Capital's investment focus is on tech-enabled business models like platforms, software as a service (SaaS) or online marketplaces and in fields such as financial technology (fintech), mobility, healthcare and Direct-to-consumer or recommerce.[5] Exited investments include online marketplace AbeBooks - acquired by Amazon in 2008,[6] online retailer of pet supplies zooplus - IPO in 2008,[7] luxury fashion platform mytheresa.com - acquired by Neiman Marcus Group in 2014,[8] global online marketplace Etsy - IPO in 2015[9] and Canadian software developer Themis Solutions (´Clio`) in 2019 to US private equity firms TCV and JMI Equity.[10] The current portfolio of Acton Capital includes Software as a service company Mambu, fintech iwoca from the UK, student jobs platform Zenjob, the global information service company AlphaSights both founded in Berlin and Canadian telemedicine platform Maple.[11]
Acton Capital was part of a Series B funding round for German car subscription provider Cluno, acquired by British online car retailer Cazoo in February 2021 and early investor in the global core banking engine Mambu.[12][13] The B2B Software-as-a-service company announced a $266mn funding round by Acton Capital Partners and US investment firms EQT, TCV and Bessemer. [14]
In 2020, Acton Capital led the Series B round in London-based elderly care platform Elder Technologies Ltd.,[15] the Series A funding round in Paris-based logistics platform Convelio[16] and is invested in UK based online car retailer Cazoo, that was listed on the New York Stock Exchange at a $7bn valuation in 2021.[17]
In November 2023, Acton Capital announced the closing of its sixth Venture capital fund at Euro 225 million to invest in tech-enabled business models like legal technology, hybrid work, cyber security or AI-driven solutions. [18]
References
[edit]- ^ "German late-stage technology investment firm Acton closes fresh $200 million fund". TechEU. October 26, 2015.
- ^ "Acton: "Wir blicken nicht auf Trends, wir interessieren uns für Substanz"". BerlinValley. May 25, 2017.
- ^ "eBay wins German bid". CNN. June 22, 1999.
- ^ "Acton sammelt 193 Millionen Euro für Start-ups ein". Handelsblatt. November 6, 2019.
- ^ "Acton Capital Portfolio". actoncapital.com. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ "Amazon acquires AbeBooks". VersionOne. VersionOne. August 1, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
- ^ "zooplus goes public on Frankfurt stock exchange".
- ^ "Neiman Marcus acquires MyTheresa". The Independent. September 15, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
- ^ "Crafts website company Etsy valued at $4 billion in market debut". Reuters. April 16, 2015.
- ^ "Clio raises 330 million CAD Series D funding round". BetaKit. March 22, 2020.
- ^ "Maple raises $14.5 million to help Canadians access virtual health care". BetaKit. March 22, 2020.
- ^ "Cazoo takes drive to the Continent". The Times. February 24, 2021.
- ^ "Mambu Raises 135M at a 2B+ Valuation for SaaS Platform That Powers Banking Services/". TechCrunch. January 7, 2021.
- ^ Lunden, Ingrid (December 9, 2021). "Mambu nabs $266M at a 5.5B valuation to double down on embedded financial service and banking APIs". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ "Care start-up Elder raises £8.2m". The Times. March 22, 2020.
- ^ "Paris-based Convelio seals €9 million Series A for fine arts logistics platform and US expansion". Tech.eu. March 22, 2020.
- ^ "Why London's listing regime is not to blame for THG's troubles". November 8, 2021.
- ^ "Acton closes sixth fun". November 9, 2023.
External links
[edit]- Acton Capital (company website)
