The Biggest European Venture Capital Rounds Ever
By Zoran Basich
Where does the $350 million raised by Berlin-based online food-delivery company Delivery Hero rank among the top venture deals ever for a Europe-based company?
As it turns out, it was the biggest in years.
The financing round, co-led by New York-based growth firm Insight Venture Partners, was topped only by a $585.2 million round raised at the height of the dot-com boom by a Luxembourg-based wireless services company and a $388.7 million round raised in 2009 by a German shopping center, according to Dow Jones VentureSource.
The Delivery Hero round came in well ahead of the most recent deal on the list, the $250 million raised by music-streaming service Spotify.
The massive round is in keeping with a general trend toward bigger rounds in Europe. Total venture investment for Europe-based companies in the second quarter was $2.90 billion, a 42% increase over the first quarter and a 49% increase over the previous year’s second quarter, even though the number of deals barely budged, according to VentureSource.
Europe’s venture scene is dwarfed by that of the U.S., but investors are following a similar strategy there: Go all-in for the companies likely to win their markets.
Share