⚠️ Heads up: this article is from our "experimental era" — a beautiful mess of enthusiasm ✨, caffeine ☕, and user-submitted chaos 🤹. We kept it because it’s part of our journey 🛤️ (and hey, everyone has awkward teenage years 😅).
What Happened:
London-based sustainability startup, Infogrid, is facing legal action from an investor of its takeover target, Aquicore, over allegations of inflating revenues to secure the deal.
Key Takeaways:
- Infogrid faces a lawsuit from an investor of Aquicore over fraudulent pumping up of revenues to secure a takeover deal.
- The lawsuit claims that Infogrid's true revenues were only a third of what was promised, and the business was smaller than its American target.
- Infogrid eventually raised $90 million in Series B equity and debt round in April 2023.
- The former CEO of Infogrid, William Cowell de Gruchy, resigned in 2023 and stepped down as a director in February 2024.
Analysis:
The lawsuit exposes the potential risks and consequences of alleged fraudulent practices in the startup industry. It also highlights the challenges and scrutiny faced by startup CEOs in meeting revenue projections and sustaining growth.
Do You Know?
- Aquicore is a company that measures and minimizes the energy usage of offices and commercial buildings.
- SoftBank’s Vision Fund, Spotify backers Northzone, and commercial property giant JLL are among the big-name investors backing Infogrid.