Global Corporate Venturing Awards 2015 celebrates winners 

The global corporate venturing industry turned out on Tuesday night to celebrate at an exclusive dinner and awards ceremony

On Tuesday night the fifth annual Global Corporate Venturing Awards were held, celebrating the excellence of companies and professionals in the international corporate venturing ecosystem. Organised by Global Corporate Venturing, the winners were announced at an exclusive dinner and awards ceremony on Tuesday.

This year’s winners include Qualcomm for Large Investment of the year for their investment in Xiaomi – a Chinese technology company that is now the 3rdlargest smartphone distributor, Yahoo! and Softbank Corporation backed Alibaba for IPO of the Year and Unit of the Year went to Merck Global Health Innovation Fund.

Arvind Sodhani, last year’s winner of the Powerbroker of the Year award, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in the sector. Sodhani, President of Intel Capital, oversees all venture investments, as well as all mergers and acquisitions for Intel Corporation. Another big winner of the night was DRX Capital (Qualcomm Ventures and Novartis Pharmaceuticals) taking home the gongs for both New Entrant of the Year and Fund of the Year.         

Toby Lewis, editor of the Global Corporate Venturing magazine, said of the awards: “Now in the fifth year of the Global Corporate Venturing Awards I am proud of both Global Corporate Venturing’s growing association with the major players in the industry but also the rate at which the industry is growing as a whole. We are seeing an incredible increase in the number of corporate venturing units – having doubled globally to 1200 worldwide, some are suggesting this is the tipping point for the industry.”

“As the industry develops and grows at such speed, the awards are the perfect opportunity to reflect on all that has happened in the year, evaluate the successes and celebrate them. Thanks to all attendees and congratulations to the winners. For those who were shortlisted – keep up the good work and I’m sure we’ll see you on the winners podium at next year’s awards.”

The Global Corporate Venturing Awards ceremony and dinner are part of the Global Corporate Venturing Symposium, a two-day event focused on developments in corporate venturing.

The full list of winners are as follows:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Arvind Sodhani, Intel Capital

Financial Firm of the Year: Silicon Valley Bank

Legal Firm of the Year: DLA Piper

Software Provider of the Year: Salesforce          

Consultancy Firm of the Year: PwC                       

Unit of the Year: Merck Global Health Innovation Fund

New Entrant of Year: DRX Capital (Qualcomm Ventures and Novartis)

Fund of the Year: DRX Capital (Qualcomm Ventures and Novartis)

M&A Exit of the Year: Beats - Universal Music and HTC

IPO of the Year: Alibaba - Yahoo! and Softbank Corporation

Large Investment of the Year: Xiaomi - Qualcomm Ventures

Sub $50m Investment of the Year: Instacart – American Express Ventures

Talent Award of the Year: Naspers

Aquila Capital acquires photovoltaic plant in the UK

The plant is located in Banwell, near Bristol and has an installed capacity of 7.2 MWp. It was constructed by its seller and developer New Energy for the World GmbH. The manufacturer of the park's CIS modules, whose high efficiency levels make them particularly well suited to the UK climate, is Solar Frontier.

The park has been connected to the grid since its completion in March 2015. It is classified as 1.4 under the Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) project. The UK supports the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources with a number of incentive schemes, including ROCs, which is a quota system based on market prices. Purchasers of renewable energy also benefit from tax relief. As a result, the UK saw the largest investment in photovoltaic energy in Europe in 2014.

Photovoltaic investments globally reached USD 149.6 billion last year, which was 25% higher than in 2013. The significant increase in growth was largely driven by the significant decrease in production costs of photovoltaic energy, resulting in increased competitiveness for the energy source.

Boris Beltermann, Head of Solar & Wind Investments at Aquila Capital, said: "The UK has become one of the strongest-growing markets for photovoltaic energy in recent years. Its incentive schemes for renewable energy further strengthen the investment case for photovoltaic parks in the country. Having already made significant photovoltaic investments in Germany, France and Japan amounting to an overall photovoltaic track record of 462MWp, this transaction further adds to Aquila Group's significant track record in offering renewable energy investment solutions."

Jochen Kleimaier, Founder and Owner of New Energy for the World GmbH, added: "New Energy is one of the few German companies that have been able to gain a foothold in the UK. We are very pleased that with the sale of the Banwell project to Aquila Capital we were able to win a partner of choice."

Oxford Capital appoints growth capital Portfolio Director

Oxford Capital has appointed Robin Lincoln as Portfolio Director with responsibility for portfolio management and exits from its growth company investments.  He joins from Lloyds Bank where he managed and exited the bank's equity portfolio of over 300 companies.

Robin has over 15 years of private equity and venture capital experience, gained across the spectrum of new investments, working with portfolio companies and leading exits.  Previously, he worked at HgCapital, where he founded and led the Business Services investment practice.  Robin spent his early career at ISIS Equity Partners (now Living Bridge) and qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen.  He gained a first class degree in Economics and Accounting at Bristol University.

David Mott, Managing Partner, Oxford Capital, said:

"We have continued to expand our portfolio of growth capital assets under management.  Robin's expertise in helping businesses to reach their full potential and structuring exits to deliver the best possible return for investors will be invaluable as we continue to grow our business."

Robin Lincoln, Portfolio Director, Oxford Capital, said:

"I have been watching Oxford Capital's progress as it has built an outstanding reputation as a specialist UK growth company investor.  It has a deep pool of high quality growth company investments in its portfolio, a number of which are preparing for exits while others are poised to realise their full potential. I am pleased to join the business at such an exciting time in its development and look forward to working with the team to realise the potential for investors."

Oxford Capital works in partnership with exceptional entrepreneurs and management teams to provide the capital, expertise and support they need to turn outstanding innovation into highly-successful businesses.  It has invested in more than 40 growth companies, operating in industries ranging from digital media to sustainable agriculture and medical technology.