Deal Round-up 20/12/01

Xantos takes E21m funding

Munich-based Xantos has raised E21m second-round funding from a consortium of investors led by Belgium’s Gimv and new investors Oxford Bioscience and Global Life Science Ventures Fund II. Existing investors Global Life Science Holding VIII, Alta California Partners, Bayern Kapital committed fresh funds.

Xantos works to discover novel drugs by combining advanced robotics and functional genomics. The new cash will be used to further develop Xantos’ technology. Gimv invests in information and communication technology, biotechnology and more traditional sectors. Gimv Life Sciences has a portfolio of more than 35 biotech companies in Europe and the USA.

AMJPE invests £550,000 in security technology

Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity (AMJPE) has invested £550,000 into Informer Systems, a company developing authentication software for the capture and comparison of biometrics such as fingerprints and smartcards for security applications.

AMJPE is a division of Aberdeen Asset Managers. The firm invests in companies operating primarily in the UK, committing between £500,000 and £15m in small and medium-sized companies.

T-Ventures invests in Boden subsidiary

T-Venture, the venture capital arm of Deutsche Telekom, has invested an undisclosed amount in Speech Design International, the newly formed subsidiary of Boden Communications. The money raised will be used to further develop the company’s voice messaging systems.

T-Venture manages a fund of around E500m and operates across Europe and the US investing in early stage technology companies that specialise in telecommunications, IT, multimedia, entertainment and security.

UK’s Astex secures £5.7m funding

Astex Technology, a drug discovery company developing X-ray crystallography technology, has secured an additional £5.7m from it consortium of existing investors, which includes Abingworth, Advent International, Alta Partners, GIMV and Oxford Bioscience Partners. The money raised will be used to further develop the company’s technology.

This latest round of financing takes the total invested in the company to £28.4m, following the initial investment of £22.7m in May 2001.