Artis Partners Closes First Quarter With Three Deals and Fund Exit Advisory Launch

Artis Partners, specialists in sell-side M&A and growth financing for technology companies, advised on three deals and expanded its breadth of services in its first quarter since formation.  Across the period, the investment bank advised on StormFisher Hydrogen’s US$50 million commitment from Hy24’s Clean Hydrogen Infrastructure Fund, Worldpay’s acquisition of AI-native fraud prevention fintech Ravelin, and IG Group’s £160 million purchase of commission-free investing platform Freetrade.

Additionally, Artis Partners formally launched its fund exit advisory practice, supporting larger VC and growth equity funds such as Molten Ventures plc seeking to drive impactful portfolio exits. Adoption of Artis two-stage exit preparation framework helped Molten achieve seven notable portfolio exits since early 2024, participating in 20%+ of all meaningful exits ($150m+) among European VCs during that time, according to Artis estimates.

“We have embedded the discipline of exit preparation, sometimes over years, before a successful transaction, into our core workflow as a fund. Our partnership with Artis has been instrumental in developing and executing this systematic approach, which consistently delivers superior outcomes for our funds, investors and the entrepreneurs we back,” said Richard Marsh, Molten’s Chief Portfolio Officer.

The investment bank was launched in December 2024 by Victor Basta, Steve Bachmann, and Dorian Maillard, leveraging decades of experience in strategic M&A advisory. Focused on B2B SaaS, fintech, deep tech, and healthcare technology, Artis advises growth-stage technology companies across Europe and the US, navigating complex market dynamics to achieve successful, high-value exits and growth financings.  

“Our tried and tested exit preparation framework, which we developed more than 10 years ago at INSEAD and have refined since, sits at the heart of the strategic work we do. By helping companies stress test their positioning, front-run key deal issues and tailor outreach to potential acquirers, our goal in every self-sale agreement is to ensure a company is bought, rather than sold,” said Victor Basta, co-Managing Partner of Artis Partners.

“We are off to an incredibly strong start in a strategic M&A market that is now rebounding. Artis is already one of the most active advisors in our key sectors, and we expect several more deals to close in the coming months,” concluded Stephen Bachmann, co-Managing Partner of Artis Partners.