GEMA has acquired a majority stake in the SoundAware Group, an established provider of digital services for recognizing music, events, and media content, with its own industry-leading music recognition technology (MRT). The companies in SoundAware Group will continue to operate independently under the umbrella of GEMA. Olym advised the lead selling shareholder in this transaction.

WPG Uitgevers has sold Zwijsen Publishers, the publisher of educational resources for primary education, to Klett Group. Olym advised WPG Uitgevers in this transaction.

Dutch climate-tech IoT scale-up Sensorfact has raised a €25 million investment round from investors Blume Equity, FORWARD.one, Korys, and SET Ventures. Funds will fuel the expansion into new markets as Sensorfact optimises its current product suite. Sensorfact’s solution provides manufacturers the tools to monitor electricity, gas, water, and compressed air usage, optimise operations to make them more efficient and predict maintenance needs. We advised FORWARD.one, Korys and SET Ventures on this investment.

TU Delft spin-off Villari has secured a seed investment of €2.5 million by lead investor FORWARD.one and co-investors InnovationQuarter Capital and Delft Enterprises. Villari successfully developed innovative sensor technology to detect and monitor small fractures or “fatigue cracks” in steel structures. The monitoring of even the tiniest cracks is crucially important for steel assets that experience intense loads, like bridges with frequent traffic, or industrial cranes lifting heavy weights around the clock. Olym advised lead investor FORWARD.one on this investment.

YARD ENERGY has acquired a stake in Big Ass Battery, a Dutch high-tech scale-up that develops and builds energy storage systems. In addition, YARD ENERGY is providing growth financing. Big Ass Battery, based in Nuenen (NL), stands out for its innovative energy storage systems that are built entirely in-house. We advised YARD ENERGY, a venture capital investor in scale-ups playing a vital role in the energy transition.

Vitestro, developer of an autonomous blood drawing device, has completed a EUR 12 million Series A financing round. California-based Sonder Capital led the funding round alongside existing investors and new private investors with experience in the clinical laboratory and MedTech industry. The proceeds will be used to accelerate product development, prepare EU market authorization, and initiate production. Olym advised Sonder Capital on this investment.

Spotler Group, a company that has invested in building and developing a portfolio of leading digital marketing and communications technologies that simplify the complexity of multi-channel marketing, sales and customer service, has acquired Sooqr, a company that has an all-in-one conversion suite of tools for site search, recommendations and merchandising. By joining the Spotler Group, Sooqr will further enhance the personalised eCommerce capabilities of Squeezely, another company that Spotler Group bought in 2021. By bringing together Sooqr and Squeezely’s capabilities, the Spotler Group aims to create an emerging all-in-one Customer Data Experience Platform (CDXP). This will enable retailers to leverage insight into customer behaviour, preferences and buying patterns to personalise the end-to-end shopping experience and improve customer engagement, conversion rates and revenue, all in the same platform. Olym advised the selling shareholders on this transaction.

Groupe Berkem, a leading player in bio-based chemicals and listed on Euronext Paris, has acquired i.Bioceuticals, Inc., the leading and exclusive North American distributor of nutritional ingredients, from the Dutch company INC (International Nutrition Company). Olym advised INC on this transaction.

Voff Premium Pet Food, a European leader within natural premium pet food, has acquired Energique. Energique specializes in the production, distribution and sale of raw pet food for cats and dogs. We advised the selling shareholders on this transaction.

BDR Thermea Group, a European manufacturer and distributor of domestic and commercial water and space heating systems, has acquired heat network company Fortes Energy Systems, thereby expanding its portfolio of energy transition solutions for customers. Fortes Energy Systems is an internationally active specialist in collective heat and cold networks for residential, utility and industrial use. Its solutions combine a comfortable indoor climate, high hot water comfort, optimal system efficiency and low energy consumption. We advised the selling shareholders on this transaction.