Closing Circle aims at building the largest European community of dealmakers

May 21, 2012 - PRLog -- Paris, France                                  

After launching in France, Germany and the UK in January 2012, Closing Circle (www.closingcircle.com) is now open to all European countries with the ambition to become the first social network for the investment and M&A market in Europe.

‘I am very proud of the growth in our member base. Closing Circle continues to see interest from Investment and M&A companies and professionals, with the member base growing every day,’ says Closing Circle founder David Chouraqui.  

‘Our members are private equity firms, family offices, institutional investors, funds of funds, M&A advisors, lenders, transactions services and strategy consulting companies. They all are established firms with a strong track record of transactions.’

Firms such as Apax Partners, KPMG, The Gores Group, Riverside Europe Partners, Lincoln International, European Capital, Bryan, Garnier & Co, Qualium Investissement, Better Capital, Bencis Capital Partners, BlackFin, Verdoso, Apposite Capital, Arcano Corporate Finance, da vinci Capital, Easton Corporate Finance, Mountain Cleantech, Mayland, Izurium Capital, M&A International, Serena Capital, GEREJE Corporate Finance, Aloe Private Equity, Vulcain, AEC Partners, Ohana & Co, Consulnor, HDR Partners, Nordic Corporate Finance, Phidelphi Corporate Finance and many more have already joined the Circle.

An international platform, Closing Circle registers firms based in Europe or with a strong appetite for the European market. Current member firms are based in France, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Israel, Turkey, Russia, China, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the US.

‘In those troubled economic times, we believe the investment and M&A sector can play a major role in the recovery of the European economy fueling growth through capital injection and M&A transactions.’ says David. ‘What all our members have in common is that they actively participate in dealmaking and we wanted to provide them with a tool that would bring them together and facilitate their connections.’

At this stage, Closing Circle proposes 2 services:
-   A membership for qualified companies that subscribe to grant access to the community and the platform to their employees. Interested professionals and companies can apply on www.closingcircle.com to join.
-   Sponsorship offers for firms willing to advertise and promote their services to the community.

Building up a network of dealmakers and capital providers, Closing Circle will eventually connect this community to businesses with financing and M&A needs and looking for investors, lenders, advisors and consultants.

Members are as enthusiastic about the service as David is about the growth:

•   Fernando Goni, Managing Director at The Gores Group from London, UK:
‘Closing Circle is an innovative tool to network and connect with other dealmakers.’

•   Virginie Lazes, Head of Corporate Finance at Bryan, Garnier & Co from Paris, France:  
‘With an interface that feels as natural as Facebook’s or LinkedIn’s, Closing Circle is an online facilitator that makes potential clients or counterparts a few clicks away.’

•   Matthias Just, CEO at Mayland from Düsseldorf, Germany:
‘Powerful and well designed search engines to easily find investors, advisors, lenders and consultants by relevant criteria.’

•   Robert Falk, Managing Director at Bencis Capital Partners from Amsterdam, Netherlands:
‘Very innovative, promising and interesting initiative.’

•   Unai Castañón at Arcano Corporate Finance from Madrid, Spain:
‘Closing Circle has an excellent platform to expand our contacts, reaching partners and investors in the domestic and international markets, enhancing potential transactions worldwide.’

•   Michaël Schor, Managing Director at Vulcain from Paris, France:
‘Vulcain’s professionals have been using Closing Circle since inception, and it proved to be an extremely efficient platform making it easier and faster to connect with clients, get informed of ongoing and potential transactions, and find financial resources among lenders.’

•   Benoit de Fonds Montmaur at GEREJE Corporate Finance from Paris, France :
‘Clear and easy to use.’

‘I’m hoping more dealmakers see that,’ Chouraqui says. ‘The Circle is the network they need to facilitate how they connect and to help them close deals.’


About Closing Circle
Closing Circle allows members to connect and communicate with other dealmakers, easily develop and manage business relationships, promote company activity to generate business opportunities, and inform and be informed of other members’ activities and latest transactions.

Firms are selected based on activity and size for the subscription-based platform. Members benefit from the combined functionalities of a professional social network, robust searchable database and an interactive news service.

Following his studies, David was hired by international private equity firm, The Gores Group in their newly established London office. While at Gores, David found it took several years for the company to develop their M&A network and close significant deals in Europe.

Knowing networking was a key factor for successfully closing deals and passionate about web technologies and social networks, he left Gores in 2010 to create Closing Circle.


For more information on Closing Circle, contact David Chouraqui at press@closingcircle.com or visit www.closingcircle.com.