By Andrei Skvarsky. Debt investor Permira Debt Managers (PDM) has continued its strategic line of investing in technology-focused companies by making a loan recently to global sports media technology firm Deltatre to help it to refinance a debt and support its buyout of a software company. Continue Reading
Category Archives: News
Sberbank mulling over change of name – CEO
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank CEO Herman Gref on December 11 confirmed rumours that the giant Russian banking group is considering renaming itself by keeping the word “bank” out of the group name though it would still have the word in the name of its purely financial unit. Continue Reading
Russia business training programme co-run by Sberbank, Google brings together 400,000
By Andrei Skvarsky. About 400,000 Russians have finished or are currently taking five-month free online business courses for small enterprises and would-be entrepreneurs that are co-run and co-sponsored by Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank and Google. Continue Reading
PDM makes refinancing loan to French software firm
By Andrei Skvarsky. London-based debt investor Permira Debt Managers (PDM) is currently making a debt refinancing loan to DL Software, a French software publisher for small and medium-sized businesses. Continue Reading
Sberbank to study blockchain more before adopting it – CEO
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, is researching blockchain technology but still does not use it in practice, CEO Herman Gref said this week. Continue Reading
Arab development bank acquires stake in African multilateral lender
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), an institution owned by 18 Arab countries, has acquired a stake in the multinational Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB). Continue Reading
Deals worth billions of dollars made during 53-nation Africa Investment Forum
By Andrei Skvarsky. Billions of dollars’ worth of deals were clinched during Africa Investment Forum, an event in Johannesburg on November 7-9 that brought together more than 1,000 people from 53 countries, including 23 non-African states, African Development Bank (AfDB) said. Continue Reading
Brock Pierce to be among 60 speakers at 4-day blockchain forum in Hollywood in December
High-profile cryptocurrency entrepreneur Brock Pierce will be the keynote speaker at the planned BWC South blockchain educational conference in Hollywood on December 2-5, which will hear about 60 other speakers and have a range of networking and entertainment activities on its programme. Continue Reading
Sberbank, S. Korea’s Hyosung set up R&D centre to create ‘next-generation ATM’
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank and South Korean industrial conglomerate Hyosung have set up a research and development centre in Russia to modernise Sberbank’s network of cash recycling ATMs, machines that can take deposits as well as dispense cash. Continue Reading
World Blockchain Forum in New York to bring together over 150 firms
More than 150 companies are going to take part in the 4th World Blockchain Forum (WBF), a conference in New York on November 8-9, 2018, that will take up issues such as blockchain finance, cryptocurrencies and token economics. Continue Reading
Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, Merrill Lynch, UBS, RenCap, Sova, Wood organising IPO for Belarus grocery chain
By Andrei Skvarsky. Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan Securities are acting as joint global coordinators for a planned initial public offering of shares (IPO) next month by Eurotorg, the largest grocery retailer in Belarus. Continue Reading
PDM provides Trilantic Europe with loan for buying out talent management firm
By Andrei Skvarsky. Debt investor Permira Debt Managers (PDM) has provided private equity firm Trilantic Europe with a loan for the acquisition of YM&U, a talent management company that was formerly called James Grant Group but was renamed during a rebranding simultaneous with the buyout. Continue Reading
Sberbank launches Russia’s first ETF
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, the biggest Russian lender, has launched the first Russian exchange-traded fund with the ETF beginning to trade on Moscow Exchange on September 17, the bank and exchange have announced. Continue Reading
Russian startup among MIT-based accelerator’s selectees for course
By Andrei Skvarsky. Button Blockchain Technologies, a Russian-staffed but US-domiciled startup developing a cryptocurrency wallet for retail users and corporate blockchain solutions, was among firms selected by an accelerator based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a class that ran last month. Continue Reading
Sberbank joined by Silicon Valley accelerator to look for promising Russian startups
By Andrei Skvarsky. Silicon Valley-based accelerator 500 Startups has joined Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank in a programme to finance and promote Russian tech startups. Continue Reading
Permira provides loan to support Inflexion/Bollington Wilson union
By Andrei Skvarsky. London-based private debt company Permira Debt Managers (PDM) has acted as the sole senior secured lender to support partnership between two British companies, private equity firm Inflexion and insurance broker Bollington Wilson, which was bought out by Inflexion several months ago. Continue Reading
S. African blockchain startup wins MIT/Mastercard Foundation prize for financial inclusion
By Andrei Skvarsky. South African startup Wala, which runs a blockchain platform for instant micro-payments, has won a $100,000 prize for “innovation in financial inclusion” from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Mastercard Foundation. Continue Reading
Brochure released with full agenda of Connected Claims Europe forum
The organisers of the Connected Claims Europe conference in London on October 29-30 have released a brochure with the complete agenda and speaker line-up for the forum, which is going to deal with the re-engineering of claims, innovative technologies and other key issues. Continue Reading
Tolar sells blockchain licence to Bahrain govt
By Andrei Skvarsky. Tolar, a one-year-old blockchain and cryptocurrency developer group based in ex-Yugoslav states, has signed a deal licencing the Bahraini government to use an advanced technology based on its flagship blockchain project. Continue Reading
Sberbank to integrate investment arm with corporate business unit
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has announced it will integrate its investment arm, Sberbank CIB, with its Corporate Business unit. Continue Reading
Tangier royal event guests include head of bank that has funded much of Morocco economy
By Andrei Skvarsky. The guests at a July 30 ceremony in Tangier celebrating Moroccan King Mohammed VI’s 19th anniversary of enthronement included the chief of the African Development Bank (AfDB), which has put more than $10bn into the Maghreb country’s economy over the past half-century. Continue Reading
Cryptos, blockchain high on agenda for Aug 16 FinTech Canada forum
Big companies such as Google, IBM, MasterCard and Amazon will be represented at FinTech Canada, a conference in Toronto on August 16 with an agenda largely taken up by cryptocurrency and blockchain issues. Continue Reading
Permira provides Bridgepoint with loan for buying out French retailer
By Andrei Skvarsky. Investment group Permira Debt Managers (PDM) has announced that one of its funds is acting as the sole lender to buyout firm Bridgepoint in the acquisition of Private Sport Shop, one of France’s largest sports equipment online retailers. Continue Reading
CORRECTION: Sept 11 Stockholm conference to discuss blockchain use in energy, real estate industries, media
(Correcting date to September 11 from November 11 in headline and lead). Experts, businesspeople and others specialising or interested in blockchain and cryptocurrencies are getting together at a planned conference in Stockholm on September 11 to discuss subjects including the use of blockchain in industries such as energy, real estate and newsmaking. Continue Reading
UPDATE 2: London to host two tech-focused European insurance forums in October
(Quoting changed codes for attendance fee discounts). Use of digital technology in insurance will be discussed in detail at two European conferences in London this October that are being organised by Insurance Nexus, a London-based intelligence company that is part of British-registered FC Business Intelligence. Continue Reading
Rhode Island hosting Opal conferences on cybersecurity, payment technologies
Newport, Rhode Island, is the site of two more financial conferences this week organised by Opal Group besides a family office event that has just ended – Cyber Security Summit 2018 and Financial Innovation and Payments Summit 2018, both being held on July 18-20. Friday’s agenda for the Cyber Security Summit includes panel sessions on… Continue Reading
Blockchain, cryptos to be among topics at Rhode Island family office forum
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies will be among a multitude of subjects to be raised at the Family Office & Private Wealth Management Forum in Newport, Rhode Island, on July 16-18. Continue Reading
Sberbank subsidiary: Security firms technologically behind cybercriminals due to bureaucratic, legal constraints
By Andrei Skvarsky. Cybercriminals across the world are technologically “a step ahead” of cybersecurity firms as the latter are handicapped by bureaucratic formalities and legal requirements, according to the head of a cybersecurity subsidiary of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank. Continue Reading
Blockchain/crypto event to be hosted by crypto-friendly France
The blockchain/cryptocurrency theme, which has been discussed at numerous meetings across the world, is going to be raised again in a month’s time, this time round in an increasingly crypto-friendly country – at Blockchain and Bitcoin Conference France on July 18. Continue Reading