European venture capital investment into Mediatech companies was back on track in the first quarter of 2008, after a poor showing during the final quarter of last year. In total, €321.2 million was invested in European Mediatech companies during Q1 2008, more than double the €154 million invested during Q4 2007. Deals were up almost 50% between the two quarters, from 59 to 88.

Not only was Mediatech investment during Q1 at its highest level in over two years, Mediatech also increased its contribution to Europe’s overall venture capital activity. In Q1 Mediatech investment represented over a fifth of all deals and 23% of total investment, breaking through the previous high of 19% of total investment during Q3 2007.

Q1 Mediatech deals were evenly split between Content and Service Providers and Enablers, with 44 investments in each category. Breaking the quarter’s deals into sub-sectors, Advertising captured both the most money and the most dealflow, with 15 deals and €90.7 million in disclosed investment. The majority of this amount is attributable to a single investment, the quarter’s largest: in February Index Ventures and Wellington Partners invested €53.9 million in German online advertising network Adconion Media Group. Other notable digital advertising companies receiving VC investment during the quarter include Israel’s Universal Ad, which makes it easier for bricks-and-mortar retailers to run promotions; and Pudding Media, another Israeli startup, which inserts ads into phone calls.

The Mediatech sub-sector generating the second-highest number of deals in Q1 2008 was Community & Sharing, with 12 companies receiving investment, including Wengo, a French web site where visitors can find other users who are willing to dispense advice on a variety of topics for a per-minute fee. In February Wengo received €6 million from Neuf Cegetel and Ventech. Mobile community services were well-represented, with Mobango, a mobile social network, and Momail, a mobile email and messaging application, both receiving funding during the quarter.

The United Kingdom accounted for one-third of all deals but half of all disclosed Mediatech VC investment in Europe during the quarter. This is because excepting Adconion, the five largest investments in Q1 2008 all involved UK startups: Scottish game developer Realtime Worlds and financial services comparison website MoneyExpert raised €31.6 million each; Complinet, a provider of corporate compliance software, raised €23.5 million; and content delivery network Velocix (formerly called Cachelogic) raised €17.1 million. Germany attracted the second-largest volume of Mediatech investment during Q1 2008, with 18% of both the quarter’s deals and of the total sum invested.

The top European Mediatech investor in Q1 2008 was Balderton Capital, which invested in five Mediatech deals during the quarter, followed by Eden Ventures with four investments.

PharmaSwiss, the Slovenia-based third party pharmaceutical sales and marketing outsourcing company, has raised £27.8m (€35m) from Enterprise Investors. PharmaSwiss specialises in providing integrated services to research-based pharmaceutical multinational corporations and biotechs, as well as hospitals, clinics, doctors and pharmacies. The funding will be used to launch operations in Hungary, Romania and Poland, with development plans for expansion to Russia and Turkey in following years.

Actelis Networks, the US and Israel-based provider of carrier ethernet over copper networking equipment, has raised $15m (€9.5m) from existing investors Global Catalyst Partners, Dupont Capital, Carlyle Venture Partners and ATA Ventures. Actelis Networks has developed a product suite that allows both service providers and enterprises to deliver affordable, next-generation broadband services.

Openbravo, the Spain-based developer of professional open source enterprise management solutions, has raised $12m (€7.6m) in second round funding from new investors Amadeus Capital, GIMV and Adara Venture Partners, and return investor SODENA (Sociedad de Desarrollo de Navarra). Openbravo has developed a fully integrated, web-based ERP system that is sector agnostic. The funding will be used to accelerate the company's global software roll-out.

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U3 Pharma, the Germany-based developer of cancer treatment drugs, has been acquired by Daiichi Sankyo for £119m (€150m). U3 Pharma is developing drugs that are to be used as stand-alone therapeutics and key components of combination therapies.

General Wireless, the Sweden-based provider of cross-communication solutions for PC and mobile, has been acquired by Mobispine for an undisclosed amount. General Wireless has developed eSMS, which comprises of a suite of PC plug-ins and carrier-grade platform MMP. The acquisition will allow Mobispine to offer a broader product portfolio, which the company believes will reinforce its position in the market.

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GlycoVaxyn, the Switzerland-based biotechnology company, has appointed Philippe Dro to the position of chief executive. Prior to joining the company, Dr Dro was chief executive and chairman of Endoart, which was acquired by Allergan. Before that, Dr Dro was a founder member and chief operating officer of AXOVAN, which was acquired by Actelion. Dr Dro has also held senior positions at Antares Pharma, Skyepharma and Sandoz Pharma (now Novartis).

Ace BioSciences, the Denmark-based pharmaceutical company, has appointed Peter Birk to the position of chief scientific officer. Prior to joining the company, Dr Birk was vice president of Pharmexa, where he had been employed since 1997. During his time at Pharmexa Dr Birk held a variety of roles, including: head of both the immunology and molecular biology R&D departments, and head lead on collaboration projects. Before this, Dr Birk held positions at Statens Serum Institut, where he developed tuberculosis vaccines.

Seatwave, the UK-based fan-to-fan ticket exchange site, has appointed Aksel Van der Wal to the position of chief financial officer. Prior to joining the company, Mr Van der Wal was chief financial officer of Vodaphone's Global Business Development unit, a position he held for five years. Before that, Mr Van der Wal was employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, working in the company's international corporate tax department in the Netherlands and Venezuela.

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QuantaSol, the UK-based developer of solar cells, has revealed to Library House that the company is seeking to raise £4m (€5m) for prototype development for single and tandem solar cells. Mr Kevin Arthur, the chief executive and director of QuantaSol, also stated that the company intends to seek an additional round of funding in 2009, in which the company will look to raise £10m (€12.5m). This additional round of funding would be used to implement high volume production.

Greenvironment, the Germany-based developer of biogas heat-and-power-plants, has informed Library House that the company is currently fundraising and is seeking to raise £4m (€5m). Mr Matti Malkamäki, the group managing director and director of business development of Greenvironment, revealed to Library House that the funding would be used for company expansion and hiring of additional staff. Mr Matti stated that the company is looking to exit via an IPO within three to four years, but would also consider exiting via a trade sale if the market was favourable.

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