Berlin – At YPOG, every single day the Team works hard to help its clients achieve their strategic goals by providing comprehensive legal advice with specialization in the fields of Tax, Funds, Corporate, Litigation, Transactions, IP/IT and notarial services. In recent weeks, YPOG has again been involved in a large number of transactions in the startup sector. Among others, investors such as SEEK, APEX and Five Seasons Ventures as well as the companies Cansativa, Event Inc and re:cap recently relied on the expertise of the boutique law firm with offices in Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.
- YPOG advises SEEK on investment in expertlead
Australian investor SEEK has expanded its investment in Berlin-based HR tech startup expertlead. The financing round with a total volume of € 9.5 million included a venture debt component from Kreos Capital in addition to the equity investment from SEEK and the other existing shareholders Acton Capital Partners and Rocket Internet. A team led by YPOG partner Benjamin Ullrich advised existing investor SEEK; Associated Partner Matthias Kresser co-led the safeguarding of SEEK's interests in connection with the issuance of warrants to Kreos as part of the venture debt financing. SEEK is a diversified group of companies operating in 19 countries and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Kreos Capital has invested over €3.1 billion in more than 450 European and Israeli growth companies in the technology and healthcare sectors since 1998. expertlead intends to use the capital raised to establish and expand new and existing tools and to further develop technologies. In addition, the company plans to expand its team, which has numbered around 100 to date. There are also plans to expand the company's own offering to include a SaaS business model that will allow companies to approach millions of IT talents in a targeted and automated manner and to understand their technical aptitude. The startup's goal is to become the global leader in IT recruiting and make its selection process the global standard in tech recruiting. More information can be found here.
Team:
Funding round:
Dr. Benjamin Ullrich, Partner (Co-Lead)
Christiane Schnitzler, Associate
Bilal Tirsi, Associate
Venture debt:
Matthias Kresser, Associated Partner (Co-Lead)
- APEX invests in OroraTech
Martin Schaper and Frederik Gärtner advised APEX Ventures on its investment in the Series A financing round of Munich-based startup OroraTech. The round had a volume of €5.8 million and was led by Findus Venture and Ananda Impact Ventures. In addition to the aforementioned as well as APEX, Wachstumsfonds Bayern and business angels such as Clemens Kaiser, SpaceTec Capital and Ingo Baumann also participated. With the capital raised, OroraTech aims to expand its international customer base and further develop its technology. Forest fires destroy 30-40 million hectares of vegetation every year and cause billions of dollars in damage. Initially difficult to detect, these forest fires release around eight billion tons of CO2 – more than global automobile traffic. OroraTech is countering this increasingly devastating damage by developing its own global nanosatellite network, in addition to its platform solution, that can identify fires around the globe in near real-time. The first launch is scheduled for late 2021 and will form the basis of a thermal infrared nanosatellite constellation. By 2026, more than 100 OroraTech satellites are expected to be in orbit. More information can be found here.
Team:
Dr. Martin Schaper, Partner
Dr. Frederik Gärtner, Partner
- YPOG advises Cansativa on financing round
Benjamin Ulrich and Adrian Haase advised Cansativa on its Series A financing round. Following two previously completed financing rounds, Cansativa GmbH secured seven-figure capital financing in this Series A round. The capital comes from Greenfield Global Opportunities Fund as the exclusive investor in this round and is to be invested in the expansion of the service and fulfillment center as well as BtM contract logistics. Cansativa aims to provide market entrants with a simplified entry into the fast-growing German cannabis market. Cansativa is an industry leader in medical cannabis and currently distributes more than 100 kilograms of cannabis flowers, various medical cannabis products, and accessories and ancillary items to pharmacies across Germany each month, according to the company. In 2021, the company plans to sell over two tons of cannabis flowers for the first time, generating eight-figure sales across the company. More information can be found here.
Team:
Dr. Benjamin Ullrich, Partner
Dr. Adrian Haase, Senior Associate
- YPOG advises Five Seasons Ventures on investment in Her1
A Team led by partner Frederik Gärtner has advised French investor Five Seasons Ventures on its investment in the Series A financing round of Her1. The round has a volume of €5.5 million. Lead investor Five Seasons Ventures is a European venture capital fund based in Paris, aiming to become the leading FoodTech VC in Europe with an investment focus on innovative technology companies along the entire food value chain. In addition to capital, Five Seasons Ventures also offers extensive technology and food expertise as well as a large network with a wide range of industry contacts. The VC’s portfolio companies include companies such as YFood Labs, Just Spices and Air Up. In addition to Five Seasons Ventures, existing investors Rheingau Founders and IBB Ventures also participated in the round. Her1 develops and markets a new generation of all-natural nutritional supplements for women. For its formulas, Her1 uses active ingredients such as pre and probiotics and functional plant-based extracts such as baobab and pea protein. In recent months, Five Seasons Ventures has relied on the consulting expertise of YPOG also in connection with several other investments. Further information can be found here.
Team:
Dr. Frederik Gärtner, Partner
Barbara Hasse, Associate
Jonas Huth, Associate
- re:cap closes pre-seed round
Frederik Gärtner and Pia Meven advised Berlin-based FinTech company re:cap on its successfully completed €1.25 million pre-seed financing round. The round was led by Israeli VC Entrée Capital, which has also previously invested in fintech startups such as Stripe, Rapyd, Prospa and Fundbox. An internationally renowned group of business angels and founders, including fund manager Jan Beckers and Finleap CEO Ramin Niroumand, also participated in the funding round. re:cap was founded in Berlin in 2021 and is developing a groundbreaking financing solution for the European subscription economy. With re:cap's digital matching platform, institutional investors can invest in recurring revenue streams of digital companies. The company was founded by fintech entrepreneurs Paul Becker and Jonas Tebbe, who previously built fintech pioneer LIQID and FinTech consultancy &do. Further information can be found here.
Team:
Dr. Frederik Gärtner, Partner
Pia Meven, Associate
- Event Inc acquires smart and more GmbH and forms the Event Inc Group
A Team led by partners Benjamin Ullrich and Malte Bergmann advised Europe's largest corporate event booking platform Event Inc on the investment by investor Russmedia Equity Partners, the acquisition of smart and more GmbH and the formation of Event Inc Group. The financing by Russmedia Equity Partners will enable Event Inc to further drive the digitalization and consolidation of the MICE industry. A first step is the acquisition of smart and more GmbH, which specializes in strategic purchasing, and the concomitant development into the Event Inc Group. With the respective service focuses, the group offers its customers an end-to-end service from location search to event and conference purchasing to payment handling. In the future, Event Inc Group will merge the automated, innovative MICE sourcing solution of Event Inc with the key account business of smart and more GmbH. Further information can be found here.
Team:
Funding round:
Dr. Benjamin Ullrich, Partner (Co-Lead)
Dr. Adrian Haase, Senior Associate (Co-Lead)
Acquisition smart and more:
Dr. Benjamin Ullrich, Partner (Co-Lead)
Dr. Malte Bergmann, Partner
Ann-Kristin Lochmann, Senior Associate
Emma Peters, Senior Associate (Co-Lead)
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YPOG is a law firm specialized in tax and business law, active in the core fields of Funds, Tax, Banking + Finance, and Transactions. The team at YPOG represents a broad client base, which ranges from emerging technology companies and family-run SMEs to large corporations, as well as private equity, and venture capital funds. YPOG is one of the leading advisors for venture capital, private equity, and fund structuring in Germany. The firm and its partners have been recognized nationally and internationally by JUVE, Best Lawyers, Legal 500, Focus, Chambers and Partners as well as Leaders League. Today, YPOG has more than 150 experienced attorneys, tax advisors and tax specialists and a notary, in four offices, located in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, and Munich.
