Atlante Seed and Withfounders invest in Plannify

Plannify, the easiest and funniest tool to discover events in Italy and abroad, not only got an equity from the venture incubator Digital Magics and Uvet Group, but has receives further funds from Atlante Seed (Intesa Sanpaolo Group) and Withfounders (Italian investment company that has supported important business initiatives and successful startups such as Buongiorno, SaldiPrivati, Jobrapido and Glamoo) and other investors of the Digital Magics Angel Network. Digital Magics and other investors committed to subscribe a capital increase with a trance of €725,000, of which 508,250 have already been subscribed.

Massimo Fregnani, entrepreneur since over 35 years in the production and organization of events such as Notre Dame de Paris, Cirque du Soleil, Italian Sensation, enters into the shareholding of the company and assumes the role of President of Plannify. With his experience, Fregnani will support the company in the process of international expansion, contributing to the emergence of new global partnerships. The Plannify team will also increase with the entry of developers, graphic designers, content editor and accounts to develop its sales network.

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United Ventures holds second closing at €50M

United Ventures, the investment company specialized in digital technologies born from the union of Annapurna Ventures, of Massimiliano Magrini and JV Capital of Paolo Gesess, to "shake up digital entrepreneurship by spotting and promoting disruptive innovations" has raised €20M from the European Investment Fund (EIF), which is the most important institutional investor of european venture capital. With this second closing the overall raised funds of United Ventures amounts to €50M. The operation (which took place before Christmas but was announced only now), was made ​​under the Framework Programme for Competitiveness and Innovation of the European Commission CIP. EIF joins other investors in United Ventures, including the Italian Investment Fund, who committed €10M in the first closing while the remaining  €20M have been committed by Fondazione Banco di Sardegna, the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca, Banca Sella Holding and Banca Patrimoni Sella & C. "The European Fund historically has invested very little in Italy and it is the first time that it does so in a corporate vehicle," said Massimiliano Magrini, co-founder of United Ventures, which has a portfolio with four companies (20lin.es, Halldis, LOVEThESIGN and MoneyFarm).

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PrivateGriffe raises €1,2M from VAM Investments and a Club of Private Investors

Milan, January 31, 2014 - PrivateGriffe the Milan-based leading Italian online fashion market active in the online sale of luxury clothing, footware and accessories via exclusive private sales, both on-line and off-line, has closed a capital increase of €1,2M subscribed by VAM Investments along with a group of private investors.  The fund VAM Investments has invested €700k while a group of private investors selected Banca Esperia - the private bank of Mediobanca and Mediolanum advisor of the whole operation - injected €500k in the Milan-based online e-commerce fasion website.

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Suba Seeds acquires Condor Seed Production

There are not too many Italian companies that makes acquistions abroad, but there are those who do not fail to make acquisitions in an ultracompetitive market as the American one. One of these is Suba Seeds, the  Italy-based (Longiano) European leader in the production of seeds for vegetables, which bought for $6.5 million the 52% of the American Condor Seed Production, a company with headquarter in Yuma (Arizona), a producer and wholesale distributor of vegetable and herb seeds active in the same industry and specializes in the type "baby leaf". 

Suba Seeds is not new to these shots. The company, founded 40 years ago by Augusto Suzzi, has a history of mergers and acquisitions that resembles, by number of deals done, the paths of the best-known multinationals. The Italian company, which since 2011 is a true holding company, has bought several companies (including Sipas Packaging and Royal Seeds) and has created others to internationalize ( including Suba&Unico, the result of a merger, and Suba France) or to deal with other sectors (Food Suba).

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Borealis Tech Ventures: a new Venture Capital Fund for Italian Startups

Italian would-be entrepreneur are pleased to welcome Borealis Tech Ventures the new financial vehicle launched by Vittorio Bertazzoni (Smeg), Giampaolo Cagnin (Campus), Alessandro Chiesi, Francesco Mutti, Pietro Negra (Pinko) and Andrea Casalini, CEO of Buongiorno, formed along with the firm Studio AGFM Commercialisti Associati, to invest in start-ups and innovative companies together with the accelerator b-ventures of Buongiorno which wants to close a specific loop, as was able to explain the sole director Paolo Alinovi:"Borealis shareholders have decided to invest in startups chosen by the business accelerator Buongiorno and the presence of managers from different industries will allow to evaluate also proposals on which b-ventures it focuses, even outside the hi-tech sector. "

The first investment of the newborn Borealis Tech Ventures has been made among one of the five startups incubated by b-ventures, the project AeroDron, specializing in photographic surveys with the help of drones, injecting capital of €290,000 in collaboration with some angel including Emilio Attolini di Medel group and the co-founder of Buongiorno, Pietro De Nardis. The first part of the investment round in favor of AeroDron of €110,000, was supported by Capital B! controlled by Mauro Del Rio (president and founder of Buongiorno SpA). With the completion of the second tranche of the investment round, the overall investment amounts to €400,000.

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FabriQ: the social startups' incubator Made in Italy

Milan - 22nd January 2014. A space where to transform ideas into jobs, growth, social development and put them on the web. This space was inaugurated in Milan, Valtrompia Street in the area of ​​Quarto Oggiaro.

Six hundred and fifty square meters, of which 500 are for offices and rooms of the companies as well as an auditorium for conferences and events, welcoming 15 new start-ups, new ideas and new companies on social, environmental and cultural themes. The project, designed by the City of Milan, is developed and will be managerd by Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini and Impact Hub Milano.

"After incubators born with universities - said the Councillor for Economic Development and Labour Cristina Tajani - we chose to invest spaces and resources in this project with a strong social vocation which, through the use of new technologies, wants to offer services and employment opportunities in a suburb from the geographical point of view, but central to the priorities we have set ourselves in this second phase of the mandate. " The opening of the space was also an opportunity to launch the new competition announcement of the City for € 140,000 through which will be selected  the top 5 companies which will be given the opportunity to access a  free incubation path with 9 months duration.

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H-Farmventures invests in Bauzaar

Treviso (Italy), 16 January 2014 - New investment for H-FARM, the Venture Accelerator which has decided to focus on the enthusiasm and initiative of Matteo Valente and Domenico Gimeli, two young guys who have launched an innovative e-commerce platform for the sale and distribution of food for dogs and cats: Bauzaar.

Bauzaar was born from an idea of the two fouders Domenico Gimeli (27) and Matteo Valente (27) during a stay in the US when they visited a  Valente's uncle. Once at his place, a package was delivered: food for his pets. Shortly after they discovered a website offering users the service of organized deliveries and thought right away about its advantages: it was then that the idea to found the company came on their mind.

They both left their jobs: Matteo Valente (Co-Fonder & CEO, Head of Marketing) was

Campaign and a Brand Manager at Zalando Italia while Domenico Gimeli (Co-Founder & CFO) was Senior Consultant at Ernst&Young. Two important jobs but when you have an idea which starts to obsess you night and day and you dream about it each night, you have to put yourself at play and take on the risks.

Risks yes, but planned, since the two guys spent hours and hours studying the market potential in order to develop the business plan for their project. They combined two growing markets:

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Campania Innovazione and 56 Cube team up to back the italian startups' ecosystem

Campania Innovazione, regional agency for the promotion of research and innovation, and 56CUBE, venture incubator of innovative startups digital forge a partnership agreement to define and promote interventions on the territory able to stimulate the culture of research and innovation in entrepreneurial regional, enhance specific skills and facilitate access to markets and international networks.

The collaboration between Campania Innovazione and 56CUBE aims to detect the needs, requirements and demands of enterprises, young entrepreneurs, startuppers, professionals, talents and creators of Campania, in terms of regional policies, measures and initiatives for the scouting of technological ideas and financial support and training for new digital businesses. 

With this agreement, the incubator of Salerno adheres to the newly established regional network of incubators, coordinated by Campania Innovazione, to make the system experiences, know-how and expertise of all those organizations, public and private, involved in supporting the creation of enterprise, providing the support and provision of innovative services.

There are 25 structures, including classic and emerging models, which operate in Campania to support innovation, creation and development of new digital business (incubators, PSTs, fab labs, accelerators, service centers). More than 80 incubated companies, 36 non-incubated, but accompanied, 89 occupied spaces and 86 available between incubators, science and technology parks.

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Ambienta SGR announced second closing of "Ambienta II" at €200,2M

After the first successful closing of the fund "Ambienta II", at €147M reached at the end of October 2013 (read here), Ambienta SGR has announced the second closing of the fund occurred on 20th December 2013 at €200,2M. New subscribers of the fund are pension funds, both Italian and from Nordic european countries. Even though the subscription started by a few months, Ambienta II has covered two-thirds of the amount set as a target, with additional and significant expressions of interest for the remaining accessions. Subscriptions were received from 20 investors, both from those who have already invested, as well as Italian (Enasarco, Cassa Commercialisti e Cassa Forense) and international (finnish Seafarer's Pension Fund, assisted by Certrior Capital) new subjects. These include pension funds, insurance companies, funds of funds and family offices. Investors from Europe and North America accounted for nearly 40% of the total raised capital.

When the total target - set at €300M - will be reached, Ambienta II will be the biggest european fund dedicated to environmental protection. 

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Catania capital of online museums: PhotoSpotLand acquires Museumland

Founded in Catania in 1999 (one of the first Italian startups) Museumland, the worldwide portal for museums and cultural destinations, has been acquired by PhotoSpotLand, a Catania, Italy-based startup headed by the entrepreneur and photographer Mario Bucolo.

PhotoSpotLand will use the Museumland portal as a "product", with its 20 thousand museums in 142 countries, which will allow the company approaching the target of cultural tourism, creating synergies between culture, photography and travel lovers, and also rendering possible services of tickets sale for museums, archaeological sites and exhibitions, tour bookings, merchandising and all services (transportation, package tours, hotels) that are related to cultural tourism.

Museumland is turning back "de facto" to its origins, or better said to its founder, since it was founded by Mario Bucolo (who then sold it in 2007) on the basis of his more than twenty years activity (since 1991 onwards) in marketing and communications of museums (it is was also nominated for the presidency of ICOM Italy) which was among the first to advise museums (in dozens of international conferences) in how and why to have a presence on social media and start blogging. But the connection with Museumland regards also the director of content and social media of PhotoSpotLand, Mrs. Cinzia Costanzo, who at the time headed the portal of the museums.

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