Angel CoFund continues to back Koji Drinks

The healthy adult soft drink raises £150k as it launches in the UK

Koji Drinks, the premium, sparkling soft drinks brand, has completed a successful follow-on funding round of £150k from the Angel CoFund. Future Drinks Company, the makers of Koji, who were one of the first companies to receive funding from the Government-backed fund back in May 2012, launched Koji Drinks to the grocery trade this month.  This brings the total funding to date to £500k, following a £350k first round by the Angel CoFund, Wren Capital and Arion One.

The Bristol-based company has developed an innovative production process, unique to KOJI, that infuses a complex extract of natural fruits and botanicals into spring water producing a range of delicious soft drinkswithout the need for adding large amounts of sugar. This is in response to the growing demand for healthier adult-style refreshments. Recognising the importance of the product, the Angel CoFund, a £100m Government-backed investment fund, worked with angel syndicates to back Future Drinks in their endeavour to remove sugar and sweeteners from the soft drink market. This latest funding will be used to support the re-launch of Koji Drinks and continue the team's work.

LoneStar purchases Hydrobolt

LoneStar buys Octopus-backed Hydrobolt, in a transaction managed by Rothschild

UK headquartered LoneStar, backed by private equity firm AEA Investors, has announced that they have bought Hydrobolt, the manufacturer and distributor of high integrity fully traceable specialty fasteners, machined components, and flanges & fittings predominately servicing the global oil and gas and power generation markets. The transaction, which has been managed by Rothschild, represents an exit for the Octopus Eclipse Venture Capital Trust ('VCT') fund.

Octopus first invested in Wolverhampton-based Hydrobolt in April 2008, when the venture capital investor backed the management buy-out of Hydrobolt. Since then the company has grown substantially, both organically and via acquisition.

Certivox raises $8m in Series B financing from NTT Docomo Ventures and Octopus Investments

Corporate Venture Capital Unit of Japan's largest mobile services provider makes strategic investment to accelerate adoption of CertiVox's M-Pin Strong Authentication Platform

 CertiVox, an innovator in authentication and encryption, today announced it has raised Series B funding of $8 Million from NTT DOCOMO Ventures and current investors Octopus Investments. The investment by NTT DOCOMO Ventures is its first in Europe, signifying the innovation and strength of CertiVox's technology and its breakthrough potential to solve current problems in online authentication systems. Taken together with the company's Seed and Series A financings, CertiVox has raised $17 Million to date.

Masabi to Launch Mobile Ticketing with New York's MTA

Riders will be able to use their phones as tickets on both Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road

Masabi, the leader in mobile ticketing and payments for transit, today announced that New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has selected the company to provide mobile ticketing for both the Metro-North Railroad (MNR) and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). Masabi's mobile ticketing technology will allow riders to buy train tickets using their smartphones, anytime and anywhere, eliminating the need to ever carry a paper ticket again.

Customers will be able to quickly and securely buy and use electronic tickets for both railroads using a mobile ticketing application or website. This technology means that customers no longer have to wait in line at ticket machines, or fumble for cash to pay onboard, revolutionizing the process of buying tickets on the two largest commuter railroads in the United States.