Frankfurt Weil Advises TCV on Investment in Mambu — the newest unicorn from Germany
Weil advised California-based growth equity firm TCV on the Series-D financing round of Mambu GmbH (Mambu). This $135 million funding round was headed by TCV as lead investor with additional investments being made by Tiger Global and Arena Holdings, as well as existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Runa Capital and Acton Capital Partners. The new capital brings Mambu’s valuation to $2 billion, making it one of only a small number of unicorn startups in Germany.
Mambu develops SaaS solutions and services for core banking systems. Its platform is used by traditional banks, fintech startups, financial institutions, nonprofits and other businesses to power their financial products and services. The fresh money will be used to further facilitate international expansion.
The Weil team was led by Frankfurt Corporate partner Christian Tappeiner and included counsel Konrad von Buchwaldt, Julian Schwanebeck (both Corporate, Frankfurt) and Konstantin Hoppe (IP, Munich) as well as associates Sebastian Brenner, Sara Afschar-Hamdi, Mario Kuhn (all Corporate, Frankfurt), Mareike Pfeiffer, Lilianna Ranody (both Employment, Frankfurt), Khatera Zuschlag (Commercial/Regulatory, Frankfurt), Alisa Preissler (Tax, Frankfurt), Bao-Ngoc Nguyen and Soeren Hansen (both IP, Munich).
TCV General Partner, John Doran who joins the Mambu board, said: “Mambu was one of the first companies to leverage the opportunity to move banking software into the cloud. The team has built a highly composable, truly cloud-native product in a multi-billion dollar, rapidly-growing market traditionally dominated by large, slow-moving on-prem vendors. We have been following Mambu’s progress for many years and are truly delighted to be able to partner with Eugene and the entire Mambu team on their journey to expand their offerings to customers worldwide.”
John Curtius, Partner at Tiger Global, said: “The shift to SaaS banking software has hit an inflection, and the strength of Mambu’s product offering perfectly positions the company to benefit from this strong secular trend. In speaking with many Mambu customers over the last several years, we were impressed by the consistently positive feedback from challenger and traditional banks alike. It is clear that Mambu’s vision is resonating with the market. We are proud to back Eugene and the top-notch team at Mambu.”
Mambu develops cloud-compatible software with which banks can handle their processes electronically and develop new financial products. In addition to the N26 smartphone bank, ABN Amro and Santander also rely on the software from the Berlin start-up founded in 2011. Mambu employs almost 500 people worldwide; after the last round of financing, the company is now valued at 1.7 billion euros.
The lead investor in the Series D financing round is the American venture capital investor TCV. In Germany, the venture capitalist has already successfully joined Flixbus and Brille.de. Internationally, the investor is involved in companies such as Netflix, Klarna, Airbnb and LinkedIn.
In addition to TCV, six other investors sat at the negotiating table. Including the new investors Tiger Global, FT Partners and Arena Holding as well as Bessemer Venture Partners, Runa Capital and Acton Capital, who were already involved in previous financings.
Consultant Technology Crossover Ventures
Weil Gotshal & Manges (Frankfurt) : Dr. Christian Tappeiner (lead), Konrad v. Buchwaldt, Julian Schwanebeck (all Corporate / M & A), Dr. Konstantin Hoppe (IP; Munich); Associates: Sebastian Brenner, Sara Afschar-Hamdi, Mario Kuhn (all Corporate / M & A), Mareike Pfeiffer, Lilianna Ranody (both labor law), Dr. Khatera surcharge (regulation), Alisa Preißler (taxes), Bao-Ngoc Nguyen, Sören Hansen (both IP; Munich)
Adviser to Tiger Global
Gleiss Lutz (Munich): Dr. Ralf Morshäuser (lead; Corporate / M & A), Dr. Johann Wagner (taxes; Hamburg), Dr. Doris-Maria Schuster (labor law; Hamburg), Dr. Jacob von Andreae (Public Law; Düsseldorf), Dr. Alexander Molle (IP / IT; Berlin), Dr. Timo Bühler (banking and finance law; Frankfurt), Dr. Tobias Falkner (Corporate / M & A); Associates: Melina Grauschopf, Dr. Johannes Weigel (Berlin; both Corporate / M & A) Dr. Hannah Bug (IP / IT; Berlin), Dr. Daniela Mayr (labor law; Hamburg)
Adviser to Bessemer Venture Partners
Jones Day (Frankfurt): Christian Krebs (Corporate / M & A) — known from the market
Consultant FT Partners
Kirkland & Ellis (Munich): Dr. Sebastian Häfele (Corporate / M & A)
Adviser to Arena Holding
K&L Gates (Berlin): Dr. Thilo Winkeler (Corporate / M & A) — known from the market
Adviser to Mambu
Vogel Heerma Waitz (Berlin): Dr. Simon Pfefferle (lead); Associate: Lorenz Frey (both Corporate / M & A) In-
house law (Berlin): Dr. Dirk Koehler
Notary
3n Berlin (Berlin): Carlos Katins
Background : Mambu has relied on a team from Vogel Heerma Waitz for legal advice for a long time. Since Series C, financing advice has also been part of it, which corporate expert Pfefferle in 2019 together with name partner Dr. Clemens Waitz led and now took over alone. The law firm, best known for its VC advice, had been recommended by another investor.
The new investor TCV was once again supported by a team from Weil Gotshal. The lead Frankfurt corporate partner Tappeiner already negotiated in December in the financing round at the Spryker trading platform for TCV. Tappeiner also advised the investor on joining the Flixbus transport company in 2019. The relationship between TCV and the US law firm has existed for more than 15 years. The contact was established at the time via the Boston location.
Tiger Global also relied on its proven team of consultants: Gleiss Lutz has been advising the New York investor on activities in Germany since 2007.
Kirkland’s German team also acquired FT Partners’ mandate through its US business. The law firm has already advised the investor several times in the USA, and it was a first for Kirkland in Germany. The Munich associate Häfele was the responsible advisor.
According to market information, Bessemer was advised by a team from Jones Day led by Frankfurt corporate partner Krebs. During the negotiations with Winkeler and K&L Gates, Arena relied on an already proven advisor who had already advised the investor on other financing rounds (Michael Forst)
