On December 14, 2015, China and the United Arab Emirates (the "UAE") officially announced the launch of the China-UAE Investment Cooperation Fund (the “Fund”), witnessed by the top leaders from both countries. The Fund is jointly established by China Development Bank Capital Corporation Ltd. (CDB Capital), the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi. The Fund will invest into energy, infrastructure, high-end manufacturing, clean energy and other high-growth industries.

DLA Piper has advised Aviva Ventures, a new venture capital business launched earlier this month, on its part in the £2 million seed investment of Cocoon Alarm Limited - a technology company which provides internet enabled home security from one device without the need for additional sensors.

Hill Dickinson corporate partner Craig Scott has advised Liverpool-based Document Direct on a further £300,000 investment from The North West Fund for Venture Capital, managed by Enterprise Ventures.

It is the second round of funding for Document Direct from The North West Fund, which invested £400,000 in March this year, and underpins the progress the business has made. Hill Dickinson advised Document Direct on both transactions.

Stephenson Harwood advises Cubitt House on securing growth capital

Stephenson Harwood has advised the shareholders of Cubitt House on the sale of a majority stake to private investors who will acquire a majority stake in the business and provide funding to facilitate future expansion.

Cubitt House owns and operates four high quality pub restaurants in some of central London’s most desirable neighbourhoods:

* The Thomas Cubitt, Elizabeth Street, Belgravia
* The Alfred Tennyson, Motcomb Street, Belgravia

Summit Partners, a global growth equity firm,  has today announced its USD 55 million investment in Danish SaaS company Siteimprove, a leading provider of web governance software.

After twelve years of strong organic growth, profitability and global expansion, the current owners sought an experienced global partner able to support Siteimprove as it continues to scale internationally.

On 21 December 2015, the resolution by the extraordinary General Meeting of Deutsche Postbank AG (“Postbank”) of 28 August 2015 was registered in the commercial register of Postbank in Bonn. Thereby, the remaining 3.2% minority shareholdings in Postbank have been transferred to Deutsche Bank. The cash compensation has been set at €35.05 per share in accordance with the requirements of the German Stock Corporation Act. Upon registration, Postbank has become a wholly owned subsidiary of
Deutsche Bank.

DLA Piper has advised First Solar, Inc., an international supplier of photovoltaic system solutions, on its investment in Younicos AG, a leading supplier of grid and energy storage solutions.

This deal forms part of the 50 million USD growth capital financing that comes from a consortium of First Solar, Inc., Grupo ECOS, a private equity firm specialising in sustainable investments, and an undisclosed strategic lead investor. The aim of this financing round is to enable the company to further scale its development of intelligent energy storage solutions.

Setterwalls has advised Priveq Investment Fund IV in connection with its investment in House of Ports, a company that offers services in relation to trademarks and domain names.

The team was led by Mattias Detterfelt and Linn Jonsson primarily assisted by Cathrine Abadji, Tobias Öd and Vala Karimi. Kristina Einarsson and Dan Örnfjäder has assisted Priveq with the financing of the acquisition.

Osborne Clarke has advised Gastrofix on the closing of its Series A financing round. The Berlin-based ePOS company - which has developed a disruptive point-of-sale (POS) system for Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod - has raised $4 million from Entrée Capital.

Leeds-based smart home security company, Cocoon Alarm Ltd,  has announced that it has secured a £2 million seed investment from Aviva Ventures and Breed Reply Investments, following on from an original investment by Breed in February 2015.

Cocoon’s innovative technology provides home security from one device without the need for additional sensors. It uses Subsound™ technology to detect subtle sounds and vibrations from activity in any room and on any floor.