There have been 27 angel investment deals worth an aggregate EUR 275 million targeting Western European companies announced in July 2020 to date, according to Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. In terms of value, the four weeks under review is already more than double June’s EUR 128 million, with still eleven days to go until the end of the month. The improvement comes against a 36 per cent decline by volume from 42 deals in June.
The improvement by value continued when compared to July 2019 when EUR 219 million was invested across 63 deals. The increase comes as the restrictions introduced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic begin to ease slightly and dealmaking picks up again after months of suppressed activity around the world. However, it is worth noting that 64 per cent of July’s value can be attributed to the month’s largest deal. Angel investment in Western Europe rose by both volume and value to 172 deals worth EUR 765 million in Q2 2020, compared to 167 deals worth EUR 652 million in Q1 2020. On a 12-month comparison, dealmaking declined from 200 deals worth EUR 867 million in Q2 2019.
One deal accounted for more than half of total angel investment targeting Western European companies in July and was also one of two top 20 deals to target a Swedish company. Oat-based non-dairy products manufacturer Oatly raised EUR 176 million in a round of funding that involved a number of angel investors, including talk show host Oprah Winfrey, actress Natalie Portman and Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz. This deal was worth significantly more than the second-largest angel investment deal in Western Europe as German online mobile network operator zeotap completed a series C round of funding involving Eric Roza, Chris Scoggins and Taylor Barada, as well as private equity investors such as NeueCapital Partners and MathCapital Partners.
Companies based in the UK featured in eleven of the top 20 deals by value in July, while Germany was targeted in four of these and Sweden and Spain in two deals each. Interestingly, Switzerland was targeted in a single transaction in the four weeks under review as stroke treatment surgical equipment manufacturer Artirica Medical closed a series A round of funding led by 4FO Ventures, business angels, Verve Capital Partners and Venture Kick. This deal was one of 17 angel investments in Switzerland announced in 2020 to date. In the largest transaction to feature the country in the year so far, online infrastructure management software-as-a-service provider Screening Eagle Technologies raised EUR 52 million. Other Swiss targets have included Frontify, Crypto Finance, Terra Quantum, Teylor and PXL Vision. Artirica Medical’s deal placed 10th out of the 17 angel investment deals announced in Switzerland in 2020.
Globally, there have been 103 deals worth an aggregate EUR 583 million involving angel investors announced in July 2020 to date, with still eleven days to go until the end of the month. Value still has some catching up to do to reach the EUR 1,350 million invested in June 2020. In a quarterly comparison, Q2 ended better than Q1 as 604 deals worth EUR 4,470 million were signed off, compared to 573 deals worth EUR 3,774 million. The largest angel investment deal signed off worldwide in July was also the largest in Western Europe and involved Oatly raising EUR 176 million. Ten of the top 20 deals featured North American targets and six involved companies in Western Europe, while Colombia was targeted twice, and India and Singapore featured once each.
Angel investment is beginning to slowly pick up as we enter the “new normal” following the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. July is proving to be positive compared to other recent months as activity in Western Europe not only improved month-on-month but also year-on-year, providing hope for the rest of 2020. Three deals in the region topped the EUR 10 million-barrier and as the largest deal was worth over EUR 100 million, hopefully this is a positive sign that large angel investment deals will continue to be announced in the months to come.
© Zephyr