N&Q: Family/family office deals; family in lawsuit against startup

Family investment deals

JAB Holdings, the investment group of the Reimann family, has acquired Au Bon Pain bakery chain through a subsidiary, Panera Bread. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Knoll Capital Management, the investment firm of New York-based investor Fred Knoll, has backed a biotech group called Exicure with an $11.2 million funding round with three other investors.

Silver Fox Partners, a family office set up just this year by Anne Mulcahy, the former CEO and chairwoman of the Xerox Corporation, has bought a stake in Renegade Brewing, a Denver-based craft beer company. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Czech family office Consilium has bought a minority stake in a Czech biotech company called BioVendor Group. Consilium was set up by Tomas Nemec, who was the co-owner of tire manufacturer, CGS, which was sold to Swedish group Trelleborg in 2015.

Teal Investments, a recently set up US private investment group, has acquired Riddle & Bloom, which specializes in helping brands connect with next-generation consumers. Teal was established by Ben Sutton, Jr., who founded ISP Sports.  

US-based Macnguyen Family Office, the private investment business of Curtis Macnguyen, who made his money in hedge funds, has backed a biotech startup called Fortuna Fix. Macnguyen and two other investors participated in a Series B round for Fortuna worth $25 million.

Family lawsuit against startup

The venture capital part of the Pritzker Group, which manages the money of Tony and J.B. Pritzker, is involved in a lawsuit against a startup called Outcome Health, according to reports. Pritzker Group Venture Capital along with funds managed by Goldman Sachs and a Google-linked venture capital group called CapitalG allege in the suit that Outcome Health misled them when they invested in the group.

“Had they ‘known the truth about … Outcome Health, they never would have made their investments,’ the investors allege. ‘Plaintiffs now hold securities that may be worthless’,” said the Chicago Tribune article.  An attorney for Outcome Health was quoted in the same article as saying the lawsuit’s claims have no merit.