Tech tracker round-up: Moneyfarm raises £40 million, Facebook banned in Papua New Guinea

Mark Shapland29 May 2018

Here the Evening Standard business team highlights all the major tech news today.

Top story sees Italian digital wealth manager Moneyfarm announce a massive investment round of £40 million led by Allianz Asset Management.

The funding, the largest round secured by a European digital wealth firm to date, will be used to pay for its expansion plans.

The investment arm of global insurer Allianz first invested in Moneyfarm in September 2016. The company’s assets under management has grown by over 50% to £400 million over the last nine months.

Meanwhie in the US investment firm KKR has confirmed it would buy BMC Software from owners including Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital, adding to a series of bets it has made on companies which provide software and IT systems for corporations.

Houston-based BMC, which provides software that helps companies organise their tech support functions, was taken private for $6.9 billion in 2013 by a group led by Bain and Golden Gate, after pressure from activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp.

The New York Post reported last week that BMC could be worth around $10 billion. The statement today gave no indication of the deal value.

KKR has invested about $26 billion in the technology sector over the past decade, and BMC will join a portfolio that includes Mitchell, Epicor and Calabrio - all firms that make software used by businesses.

KKR’s acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.

Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Macquarie and Mizuho Bank provided financing for the acquisition.

Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley were BMC’s financial advisers, while Macquarie Capital advised KKR.

Finally Papua New Guinea's government is planning a month-long national Facebook ban to research the effects the social network has on the island nation's population and to allow the authorities to identify fake accounts.

Let's see how that works out!!

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