Buyouts
ITALY - Efibanca acquires design company MGM.it
Efibanca-managed Star Bridge Social Responsible Fund has acquired an 80% stake in design company MGM.it.
GERMANY - Ripplewood interested in stricken IKB
According to press reports, US private equity house Ripplewood Holdings is interested in acquiring part or all of IKB bank, which suffered heavily from the subprime crisis. The deadline for nonbinding offers for the bank has been postponed to enable potential...
UK - ECI acquires bathroom manufacturer
ECI Partners has acquired specialist bathroom manufacturer DLP Ltd. Worcestershire-based DLP supplies adapted bathroom products for the elderly and disabled through the brand AKW MediCare.
UK - Balmoral has acquired yacht building company Oyster Marine
Balmoral Capital has acquired yacht building company Oyster Marine, one of the UKтs leading yacht builders. The value of the business, which had sales of more than ТЃ50m in its last financial year, is undisclosed. CIT Capital Finance (UK) Ltd has underwritten...
UK - Blackstone & CVC would offer M&B shareholders stub equity
According to reports, Blackstone and CVC would offer current shareholders in quoted pub group Mitchells & Butler the opportunity to hold stub equity in the new company, should they succeed in delisting the business. M&B operates the Harvester and All...
FRANCE - UFG Private Equity takes 15% in Mastrad Finance
UFG Private Equity took a 14.85% stake in Mastrad Finance, the holding company for Mastrad, via its two funds Diadème 2 and Diadème 3. The management retains 73.26% while Siparex has 11.89%.
UK - 3i acquires Ultralase in £174.5m buyout
3i has signed an agreement to acquire Ultralase, a company which offers laser correction for vision, for ТЃ174.5m from CorporaciУГn DermoestУЉtica, a Spain-based medical aesthetic business.
RUSSIA - Great Europe Deep Value invests in Nord Timber
Great Europe Deep Value Fund together with a co-investor acquired, in a MBO/MBI, Nord Timber, a company consisting of two sawmills and the right to harvest forest land of 1m hectares. This investment was structured through a newco in Cyprus.
NETHERLANDS - Emerald leads EUR 15m investment in EWT
A consortium led by Emerald Technology Ventures has acquired an equity position in privately-held Emergya Wind Technologies, a Dutch wind turbine manufacturer. In December 2007, Ludgate Environmental had invested EUR 1.43m in the company. According to...
GERMANY - Paine & Partners to acquire Stabilus from Montagu Private Equity
Montagu Private Equity plans to divest Stabilus, a manufacturer of gas springs, to funds managed by Paine & Partners, LLC. The transaction is expected to close in April 2008. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
FRANCE - Hellman & Friedman acquire 30% of GTT for EUR 330m
Hellman & Friedman has acquired Saipem’s 30% stake in Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) for EUR 330m. Gaz de France and Total retain their respective 40% and 30% stakes.
AUSTRIA – Apollo rumoured to be interested in Constantia
US private equity player Apollo is rumoured to be interested in acquiring Constantia Privatbank Aktiengesellschaft, based in Vienna. Other bidders are said to include Credit Suisse, OTP, and Vienna Insurance Group. Signing for the deal is expected in...
CEE - BC Partners et al take a 51% stake in Migros
A consortium led by BC Partners has acquired 50.83% of Migros Turk, a supermarket chain listed on the Istanbul stock market. Koç Holding provided the debt for the transaction.
FRANCE – 21 Centrale Partners takes control of La City
21 Centrale Partners has acquired a majority stake in La City following a buyout of the company. The founders will continue to manage the company.
GERMANY - Mezzanine Management invests EUR 18.6m in W.I.S
Mezzanine Management has invested EUR 18.6m in German security services provider W.I.S Group. The investment was led by Cologne-based private equity firm Argantis.
UK - Blackstone reported to be courting FKI again
Blackstone is believed to be taking a second look at London-listed engineering group FKI less than nine months after abandoning plans to launch an offer for the business. The news follows reports that heavily-indebted FKI last week received an approach...
CEE - GIMV and KBC invest together in Russia
GIMV and KBC have entered a partnership agreement for private equity investments in Russia. They will set up a new company, Eagle Capital Partners, in which both partners will have an equal shareholding. They expect to invest around EUR 30m each over...
SPAIN - Private equity interested in executive air carrier Gestair
Private equity houses are reportedly interested in investing in executive air carrier Gestair.
UK - LGV completes third realisation in a week with £300m dental disposal
LGV has sold Integrated Dental Holdings (IDH) to Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity for a reported ТЃ300m. Financing for the transaction has been provided by Bank of Ireland, Barclays, Merrill Lynch and RBS. LGV's exit from IDH represents its third in...
GERMANY/UK - Riverside portfolio company acquires UK communications firm
The Riverside Company, along with several other investors, has backed Sage Holdings in the acquisition of UK-based financial communications firm т M:Communications, and of a leading global proxy solicitation firm т D.F. King & Co., Inc. Established in...
UK - Montagu and GIP get go ahead from Biffa's board
Montagu Private Equity and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) have had their 350p per share offer for waste group Biffa recommended by the company's board. The deal values Biffa, a former division of Severn Trent, at ТЃ1.2bn. Bank of Scotland and HSBC...
ITALY - Cape acquires software company Xtel for EUR 5m
Cape Natixis acquired software company Xtel in a management buyout deal valued at approximately EUR 4.9m.
FRANCE - Industri Kapital acquires Groupe Etanco
Industri Kapital has acquired Groupe Etanco from the Lebraut family after a share purchase agreement. Industri Kapital acquired Etanco in partnership with company CEO Ronan Lebraut, members of the founding family and the management.
UK - Blackstone linked to M&B
Blackstone's name has been linked to a possible offer for pub operator Mitchells & Butlers (M&B). It is reported that Blackstone will team up with either CVC or KKR to table a joint bid for the owner of the Harvester and the All Bar One pub chains.