Deal Announcement: SmartRecruiters

CHRYSTAL CAPITAL INTRODUCES CO-INVESTORS TO SECONDARY CAPITAL

Chrystal Capital Partners LLP (“Chrystal”), a Mayfair-based corporate finance and investment house, is pleased to announce that it has acted as introducer of capital to Secondary Capital on its acquisition of secondary shares in SmartRecruiters (“SmartRecruiters”), a hiring platform that covers the full spectrum of recruitment, from career sites to applicant tracking and onboarding.

“It was a pleasure to work with Secondary Capital once again. Their expertise and collaborative approach make them an outstanding co-investment partner. We look forward to continuing our successful partnership in the future.”

— James Innes, Managing Partner, Chrystal Capital

“We’re thrilled to have partnered again on this investment. The collaboration was seamless, and we value the strong relationships we’ve built with Chrystal Capital and their extensive network of Family Offices. We are excited about the future and look forward to more opportunities to work together.”

— Cedric Abitbol, Secondary Capital

About SmartRecruiters (“SmartRecruiters”)

SmartRecruiters enables hiring without boundaries by freeing talent acquisition teams from legacy applicant tracking software. SmartRecruiters' next-generation platform serves as the hiring operating system for 4,000 customers like Bosch, LinkedIn, Skechers, and Visa. Companies with business-critical hiring needs turn to SmartRecruiters for best-of-breed functionality, world-class support, and a robust ecosystem of third-party applications and service providers.

For more information about SmartRecruiters, please visit https://www.smartrecruiters.com/.

About Chrystal Capital Co-investments

Single Family Offices (SFOs) and Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs) are continually seeking access to high quality, professionally structured and well managed co-investment opportunities across a range of asset classes, without having to directly source and negotiate these opportunities. The ideal scenario enables our clients to cherry pick the investment opportunities they participate in, with limited demands on their time and resources.

Through our relationships with institutional investors, we enable SFOs and UHNWIs to gain access to attractive investment opportunities that they might otherwise not be aware of. We provide curated deal flow across a variety of sectors, asset classes and structures – all tailored to known, specified preferences.

For more information about Chrystal Capital please visit https://www.chrystalcapital.com.

About Secondary Capital (“SC”)

SC was established by veteran Private Markets Investors, active in both primary and secondary transactions since the early 2000's.

SC is aligned to a fundamental shift that companies are staying private longer and need transitional capital to provide liquidity to early investors, founders and executives.  SC, as a direct secondary specialist, provides liquidity to shareholders (founders, executives, VC funds and other early investors) of late-stage and growth companies.

For more information about Secondary Capital please visit https://www.secondary-capital.com.

For further information please contact: 
James Innes, Managing Partner
james.innes@chrystalcapital.com 
https://www.chrystalcapital.com 

Deal Announcement: Alto Pharmacy

CHRYSTAL CAPITAL INTRODUCES CO-INVESTORS TO SECONDARY CAPITAL  

Chrystal Capital Partners LLP (“Chrystal”), a Mayfair-based corporate finance and investment house, is pleased to announce that it has acted as introducer of capital to Secondary Capital on its acquisition of secondary shares in Alto Pharmacy (“Alto”), a US leading digital pharmacy.   

“Secondary share purchases in well-established, profitable and well-funded tech businesses; through founder led processes, is an area that we had been trying to gain access to for some time. Having now completed our first transaction with Secondary Capital in Alto Pharmacy we look forward to working with them with regards to their investments in other US and European based opportunities.”

— James Innes, Managing Partner, Chrystal Capital

“Chrystal Capital introduced us to a significant number of family offices and private individuals based in both the UK and Europe. They worked alongside us to present the investment case in Alto Pharmacy and it was clear that they have the trust of their network.”

— Cedric Abitbol, Secondary Capital

About Alto Pharmacy (“Alto”) 

Alto is America's leading digital pharmacy with free hand-delivery, easy-to-reach pharmacists, and automatic savings investigations. Founded in 2015, Alto’s better pharmacy model is centered on the critical role of pharmacists as the final link in a person’s health journey and combines expert pharmacist care with purpose-built technology to deliver a more convenient and affordable experience for those who need medication. To date, Alto has fulfilled more than three million prescriptions, expanded to twelve markets, and built a mobile app experience that makes it easier than ever to manage medications and chat with a pharmacist.  

For more information about Alto Pharmacy, please visit https://alto.com/. 

About Chrystal Capital Co-investments 

Single Family Offices (SFOs) and Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs) are continually seeking access to high quality, professionally structured and well managed co-investment opportunities across a range of asset classes, without having to directly source and negotiate these opportunities. The ideal scenario enables our clients to cherry pick the investment opportunities they participate in, with limited demands on their time and resources. 

Through our relationships with institutional investors, we enable SFOs and UHNWIs to gain access to attractive investment opportunities that they might otherwise not be aware of. We provide curated deal flow across a variety of sectors, asset classes and structures – all tailored to known, specified preferences. 

For more information about Chrystal Capital please visit https://www.chrystalcapital.com. 

About Secondary Capital (“SC”) 

SC was established by veteran Private Markets Investors, active in both primary and secondary transactions since the early 2000's. 

SC is aligned to a fundamental shift that companies are staying private longer and need transitional capital to provide liquidity to early investors, founders and executives.  SC, as a direct secondary specialist, provides liquidity to shareholders (founders, executives, VC funds and other early investors) of late-stage and growth companies. 

For more information about Secondary Capital please visit https://www.secondary-capital.com. 

 
For further information please contact:  
James Innes, Managing Partner 
james.innes@chrystalcapital.com  
https://www.chrystalcapital.com  

Deal Announcement: Velocity Black

 Chrystal Capital Partners LLP (“Chrystal”), a Mayfair-based corporate finance and investment house, is pleased to announce that Velocity Black (“Velocity”), a leading digital concierge company that delivers travel, entertainment, shopping and dining offerings to consumers globally, has been sold for a reported USD296m to Capital One (NASDAQ: COF; $42.5bn market cap) .

Chrystal was one of the early investors and subsequently raised over £22m for Velocity across its Post-Seed, Series A and Series B rounds. The raises were supported by a combination of High Net Worth's and family offices from our global network. Importantly the company also attained Enterprise Investment Scheme authorisation meaning investors that too EIS were able to capture all their capital gains tax free.

“We are delighted to have supported Velocity with its critical growth capital during the early years of its technology development.  Alex and Zia have been pioneers in using AI to disrupt a large addressable market and the success of their vision has clearly been borne out in the value Capital One have ascribed to the business.  The 100% sale of Velocity to Capital One marks the end of a highly successful journey for our investors who backed Velocity through multiple rounds at valuations significantly below the ultimate acquisition price.”

— Kingsley Wilson, Investment Partner

About Velocity Black

Founded in 2014 on the principle that time is our most precious asset, Velocity deploys cutting edge technologies and human experts to transform how high performance people discover and enjoy their world.  They help their  members do and be more in the digital age.

Velocity has built a unique customer experience — its proprietary platform deploys cutting edge technology and human experts to offer inspiration, recommendation and fulfilment in one place, making it an integral part of customers’ lives.  It harnesses the power of artificial intelligence,  the warmth of human experts and the convenience of the latest interfaces to help high performance people actualise the full potential of their lives.  They curate the best life has to offer, then their engine puts it at their members’ fingertips. Welcome to the conversational interface.

To learn more about Velocity Black, visit https://velocity.black/. 

About Chrystal Capital Digital Economy 

We work with companies that are using technology combined with a scalable business model, to significantly influence an existing market.

We believe that Digital Marketplaces and eCommerce businesses are attractive to investors due to the speed and scale to which they can grow by offering a clear customer proposition, with transparent pricing and ease of delivery. They are more capital efficient than traditional companies and can quickly command a dominant market position that is difficult to usurp.

Digital Marketplaces and eCommerce propositions have been a high priority for any tech savvy investor over the past decade – with those who have invested benefiting from the positive market forces that have surrounded the shifts in behaviour of the buyers and sellers of products and services.

Whether operating in a large established market or a niche it has been repeatedly seen that one company can dominate the landscape in a very short period of time. Due to the virtuous circle that is created between the buyers and sellers these companies with ever increasing brand presence can be difficult to dislodge.

For more information about Chrystal Capital please visit https://www.chrystalcapital.com.

For further information please contact: 
James Innes, Managing Partner
james.innes@chrystalcapital.com 
https://www.chrystalcapital.com 

Deal Announcement: Cera Care

CHRYSTAL CAPITAL INTRODUCES FAMILY OFFICES AND UHNWI CO-INVESTORS INTO CERA CARE ALONGSIDE GUINNESS VENTURES

Chrystal Capital Partners LLP (“Chrystal”), a Mayfair-based corporate finance and investment house, is pleased to announce that it has brought co-investors from its family office and UHNWI network into Cera Care (“Cera”); a digital-first healthcare-at-home service delivering care, nursing, telehealth and repeat prescription services in people’s homes, via technology.

The funds, invested via a UK nominee structure, will be managed by Guinness Ventures (“Guinness”), an existing investor in Cera Care having invested via the Guinness EIS fund. Other notable investors in this round include; Credo Ventures, Kairos, Jane Street Capital and Schroders Capital.

“We believe that there is significant value to be had for our network to invest in businesses of scale, alongside institutional capital. There is a gap in the market where existing investors, for a variety of reasons, cannot participate in follow-on rounds. We have a focused list of current opportunities and would welcome conversations with those that find the idea of a low cost entry point, into top tier opportunities, alongside ‘Blue Chip’ operators, appealing.”

— James Innes, Managing Partner, Chrystal

“We are pleased to announce that we have now closed this round of financing. Thanks to the help of Chrystal we can continue to support Cera Care in bringing their vision of in-home care to life. Chrystal were instrumental in taking much of the strain of the marketing and deal transaction processes.”

— Shane Gallwey, Head of Ventures, Guinness Ventures

About Cera

Cera, founded in 2015, provides elderly and vulnerable communities with care in their own homes, and allows families to arrange the care. As one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies, they are redefining healthcare by moving more and more services out of hospitals and into people’s own homes. Their smart, digital technology leverages data and machine learning to empower those providing care, whilst improving outcomes for those receiving it.

For those delivering care, Cera reduces the burden of ‘pen and paper’ working and remove unnecessary administrative work, empowering them to do what they do best: care.

For those receiving care at home Cera are able to monitor their condition digitally, predicting and preventing changes in their condition and responding to any deterioration 30-fold faster than traditional methods, reducing hospitalisations, and keeping people well in their homes.

For more information, see https://ceracare.co.uk/

About Guinness

Guinness has invested into growth businesses since 2010, providing capital to a wide range of UK companies backing outstanding entrepreneurs and businesses with disruptive and ambitious growth plans. They have successfully supported the growth of over 100 companies since 2010 and are always excited to meet passionate entrepreneurs.

For more information, see https://www.guinnessgi.com/

About Chrystal

Chrystal is an entrepreneurial corporate finance and investment house with an established global network of Single Family Offices, Ultra High Net Worth Individuals and private equity co-investment partners. We act as a conduit between our network members, providing bespoke solutions for their capital and investment objectives.

Our core sectors are Digital Economy, Health & Wellness, Sustainable & Impact Investments, and Natural Resources.

Our service areas are Advisory, Principal Investments and Co-investments.

For further information please contact:

James Innes
Managing Partner
james.innes@chrystalcapital.com
https://www.chrystalcapital.com

Deal Announcement: carwow

CHRYSTAL CAPITAL ACTS AS FINANCIAL ADVISOR TO CARWOW

Chrystal Capital Partners LLP (“Chrystal”), a Mayfair-based corporate finance and investment house, is pleased to announce that it has advised Carwow to bring in GLy New Mobility Fund, a prominent international investment group, as part of a larger raise alongside leading UK private equity groups Balderton, Accel and Vitruvian.

“Carwow is disrupting the European consumer car market through its innovative offering and technology stack. To complete a fund raise in challenging markets is a testament to the strength of their high growth, high margin business that is both proven and scalable.”

— James Innes, Managing Partner, Chrystal

“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.“The Chrystal team worked relentlessly to introduce a broad range of strategic investors. Their reach was international and through their background in digital marketplaces they were able to communicate a clear investment case.””

— James Hind, CEO, carwow

About Carwow

UK-based Carwow is the largest online marketplace for brand new cars in Europe and is backed by several leading institutional venture capital firms including Balderton, Accel and Vitruvian Partners, as well as Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler AG.

The carwow platform helps consumers learn about the available vehicles in the market, connecting them directly to dealers who provide offers for their chosen vehicle type. This helps consumers to get the best visibility on the markets, comparing prices, financing, delivery times and dealer quality. Whilst on the other side of the marketplace, dealers are able to capture demand from across the country with qualified leads. carwow also makes a significant and growing portion of its revenues from alternative sources, including their ‘Sell Your Car’ product, bolstered by the acquisition in June 2021 of Wizzle, as well as from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) advertising on their platform, and from their YouTube channel.

For more information, see https://www.carwow.co.uk/

About Chrystal Capital

Chrystal Capital is a corporate finance and investment house with an established global network of Single Family Offices, Ultra High Net Worth Individuals and private equity co-investment partners. We act as a conduit between our network members, providing bespoke solutions for their capital and investment objectives.

Our core sectors are Digital Economy, Health & Wellness, Sustainable & Impact Investments, and Natural Resources.

Our service areas are Advisory, Principal Investments and Co-investments.

For further information please contact:

James Innes Managing Partner

james.innes@chrystalcapital.com

https://www.chrystalcapital.com

Deal Announcement: MPX Bioceutical Corp

MPX Raises US$40 Million Secured Convertible Loan to Fund Capacity Development of MPX Assets and Acquisitions

MPX Bioceutical Corporation (“MPX” or the “Company”) (CSE:MPX) (OTC:MPXEF) is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed a US$40,000,000 secured convertible original issue discount loan (the “Convertible Loan”) financing (the “Offering”) maturing on May 25, 2021 (the “Maturity Date”). While non-interest bearing, the Convertible Loan has been issued at a discount price of US$812.06 per US$1,000 of principal and will accrue value at a rate of 7% per annum compounding on a quarterly basis until the Maturity Date. The Convertible Loan has been issued through a wholly-owned Luxembourg subsidiary of MPX (“MPX Luxembourg”). 

Use of Proceeds

The proceeds of the Offering will be used primarily for accretive activities including capacity expansion, acquisitions, and to support activities involved with securing new cannabis extraction, production and dispensary licenses in various jurisdictions in both the United States and Canada.

In addition, US$9,500,000 will be reserved for payment of the seller notes due on June 30, 2018 in respect of the acquisition of 99% of the membership units of GreenMart of Nevada NLV, LLC in December 2017.

“The pace of growth in our industry continues to accelerate with several U.S. states launching new cannabis legalization programs, the Canadian provinces designing and implementing retailing initiatives and acquisition opportunities arising on both sides of the border and, indeed globally. We have been introduced to multiple expansion opportunities and will be providing our shareholders and the market with an update on our progress on several of these in the next few days”

— W. Scott Boyes, Chairman, President and CEO of MPX

“We are also witnessing the emergence of significant consolidation activity as several larger North American industry participants have made announcements regarding transactions that would result in larger national, or international, footprints for the combined entities. Larger cannabis entities will facilitate more effective brand awareness, product development and cost efficiencies. These are exciting times for our industry and having access to capital is critical for MPX to exploit the growth opportunities presented by this market. This current funding was arranged in a few short weeks without the need for the involvement of an investment bank demonstrating the confidence of shareholders and the capital markets in MPX’s business plans, its execution to-date and its growth trajectory”

— Mr. Boyes

About MPX Bioceutical Corporation

MPX, an Ontario corporation, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries in the U.S., provides substantial management, staffing, procurement, advisory, financial, real estate rental, logistics and administrative services to three medicinal cannabis enterprises in Arizona operating under the Health for Life (dispensaries) and the award-winning Melting Point Extracts (high-margin concentrates wholesale) brands. The successful Health for Life brand operates in the rapidly growing Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area.  With the acquisition of The Holistic Center, MPX adds another operating medical cannabis enterprise to its footprint in Arizona.

GreenMart of Nevada NLV, LLC (“GreenMart NV”) is an award winning licensed cultivation, production and wholesale business, licensed for both the medical and “adult use” sectors in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is already selling wholesale into the Nevada medical cannabis market. GreenMart NV has also optioned suitable locations and intends to enter the higher-margin retail arena by applying for at least two dispensary licenses in the Las Vegas market which will operate under the “Health for Life” brand.

In Massachusetts, MPX is building out and will operate a cultivation and production facility as well as up to three dispensaries and manages three full service dispensaries and one producer in Maryland.

The Company also leases a property in Owen Sound, Ontario, for which an application to Health Canada has been made for a cannabis production and sales license. In addition, the Company will continue its efforts to develop its legacy nutraceuticals business.