Cipio Partners

Brightpearl said it raised a $15 million round led by Cipio Partners and joined by existing investors MMC Ventures and Notion Capital.

View the latest capital raises

Cipio Partners said July 3 that its latest fund has closed with 174 million pounds ($225.5 million) in commitments. The largest institutional investors of Cipio Partners Fund VII SICAR include the European Investment Fund, UBS Asset Management and Austria’s Capital Bank - GRAWE Gruppe AG. Cipio, of Munich/Luxembourg, is a European secondary direct and growth capital investment firm.

The €174 million direct secondaries fund has already made three investments.

Cipio Partners said Monday that it sold its portfolio company Cint AB to Nordic Capital. Financial terms weren’t announced. Stockholm-based Cint is a software developer.

European online optical retailer MyOptique Group has secured additional investment for its Series C round. The backing came from two new investors - Korys and Beringea with additional funding from existing investor Cipio Partners and Silicon Valley Bank.

Longer holding periods have created ‘a pent-up demand’ for liquidity, Cipio says.

Essilor International has agreed to buy MyOptique Group. Financial terms weren’t announced. Sellers include Acton Capital Partners, Beringea, Cipio Partners, Index Ventures, Korys and Highland Capital Europe. London-based MyOptique is an online optical retailer.

The Swedish buyout firm has grown its operations team from one partner to five members as it continues to invest its €3.5bn Fund VIII.

Volume in the secondary market is up as crossover investors hunt unicorns. Venture may find the new liquidity addictive.

The new funding round follows the release of data showing that UK venture posted an average one-year IRR of 22.9% in 2013.

Wellington Partners and Gilde Healthcare have co-led an investment round in Munich, Germany-based Definiens. Existing investors Cipio Partners and TVM Capital also participated.

SharesPost Investment Management has launched SharesPost 100 Fund, which will focus on late-stage pre-IPO companies. It is open to all investors who can make a minimum investment of $2,500. SharesPost Investment Management is an affiliate of financial marketplace SharesPost.

MyOptique Group said Monday that it has received eight million pounds in financing. Acton Capital Partners, Highland Capital Partners and Index Ventures led the round with participation from new investors Cipio Partners and GP Bullhound Sidecar. According to the company, the capital infusion will be used to boost its expansion plans. Also, MyOptique Group has named Maurice Helfgott, founder and chairman of Amery Capital, as chairman. Jamie Murray Wells has left his post as MyOptique's director and chairman. Based in London, MyOptique Group is an online optical retailer.

LPs need to be pushing harder to realise value from venture funds that are 10-12 years old, a report suggests – which may be good news for secondaries players.