Deal round-up 20/02/02

Quester leads Nomad Software second round 

Nomad Software, a leading European provider of next generation electronic payment solutions, has announced that it has received second round funding of £5m.

The company has secured funding from lead investor, Quester, along with additional backing from Advent 2 VCT and Abbey National Treasury Services, which is investing in Nomad for the first time.  Both Quester and Advent 2 VCT invested in Nomad’s first funding round in March 2000.

The injection of cash will support the expansion of Nomad’s Sales and Marketing team, and will enable it to double its investment in its product development capability. Nomad also plans to open further offices this year.

Founded in 1984, Quester is an independent venture capital company specialising in unquoted growth companies and has approximately GBP250m under management. It has teams who specialise in two areas, information and communication technologies and healthcare and life sciences.

NIF Ventures invests in Cyan Technology

NIF Ventures, Japan’s second largest independent VC firm, has joined The Cambridge Gateway Fund in backing Cyan Technology, a developer of low-power flash microcontrollers.

The two companies have between them invested £2m in second-round funding. The Cambridge Gateway Fund, together with VC fund ET Capital, invested £1.5m in Cyan Technology’s first round in July 2000.

Earlier in 2001, NIF Ventures injected £2m into Cambridge Gateway, to boost its fund to £35.3m. The two have previously co-invested in companies together, including the Cambridge-based companies Antenova, the antenna specialist, and Advanced Rendering Technology, a world leader in 3D rendering technology.

Air Liquide Ventures backs Swedish air treatment firm

Air Liquide Ventures has announced that it is to invest E0.5m in Clair International AB, a Swedish company specializing in air treatment solutions. The investment forms part of an E1m funding round. Private investors Mats Wennberg and Board Chairman Roland Nilsson have provided the remainder.

The cash injection represents Air Liquide Venture’s seventh investment to date. The fund is a E40m pan-European venture capital fund, established in 1999 by the Air Liquide Group. The aim is to provide financing for emerging growth companies in Western and Northern Europe that create new IT services for the industrial and healthcare markets. Air Liquide Ventures comprises five investment professionals based in its two offices in Paris and Stockholm.