Deal round up 20/11/02

ACR backs Finnish firm Radionet

ACR Capital, the Finnish venture capital firm specialising in telecom, data communications and media companies in the Nordic region, has invested E3m in Radionet, a Finnish based wireless technology which develops outdoor wireless broadband services.

Radionet is currently developing further services on a city-by-city basis, adding to services already established in eight Finnish cities. It is also hoping to expand its services internationally, primarily in adjacent markets. ACR is the sole participant in the third round of financing, adding to earlier financing rounds led by Servisen Private Equity and Concordia Capital.

Xcellsyz completes £1.2m round

UK-based drug discovery business Xcellsyz has raised £1.2m in its first round of financing. The Newcastle-based company has been backed by Japanese company ITX Corporation and Northern Enterprise, a UK venture capital firm also based in Newcastle.

Xcellsyz will use the funds to move to new premises and to expand the company’s portfolio of cell-based drug discovery products. Xcellsyz plans to work with a consortia of drug companies to develop systems for pharmaceutical companies and will also provide a contract research service using its products.

Giza backs $10m second round

Israeli venture capital fund Giza Venture Capital has led a $10m second round of fundraising for Actimize, an Israeli developer of software to protect against credit card fraud and money laundering. The latest round included new investor Vertex Israel and Carmel Ventures.

Founded in 1999, Actimize has developed a software engine for real-time analysis of transactions. The software enables financial institutions to detect money laundering, ATM and credit card fraud as well as compliance by brokerage firms. The company has a total of 42 employees working in its R&D centre in Israel and its sales and marketing office in New York. In May 2001, Actimize received $4m in first round financing from Carmel Ventures.