Buyouts
UK - Hotbed leads buyout of Land Rover parts supplier
Hotbed has invested ТЃ5m alongside commitments from Grove Industries Ltd and Barclays Bank to support the institutional buyout of Bearmach Plc, a supplier of parts and accessories to the global aftermarket for Land Rover. Bearmach is headquartered in...
UK - Kaupthing/Tchenguiz try to see off Tragus with £104.2m bid
The bidding war for Spanish-themed restaurant chain La Tasca escalated today as a consortium made up of Kaupthing and Robert Tchenguiz, the property entrepreneur raised its bid by 6% to ТЃ104.2m. This follows a series of bids and counter-bids between...
GERMANY - Flex Group changes hands
AXA Private Equity has acquired German manufacturer of hand-held power tools from New York based investment advisor GSO Capital Partners. The management team led by Jörg Kempfing and Dr Josef Kring also invested and will holds a minority stake in the...
UK - La Tasca at centre of bidding war
Spanish eatery chain La Tasca is at the centre of a bidding war after Tragus upped its bid in response to a competing approach from a Robert Tchenguiz and Kaupthing. Tragus, backed by Blackstone and the operator of the Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia restaurant...
NL - Iris Capital and GIMV acquire majority share in Human Inference
Iris Capital and GIMV have acquired a majority stake in Human Inference, European market leader in the field of data quality solutions.
UK - New entrant to begin battle for Boots?
Market sources suggest that German firm Celesio, a continental rival to the Alliance Boots pharmaceutical chain, has approached other buyout groups about the possibility of teaming up to launch a competing takeover bid for the listed UK retailer. Boots...
GERMANY - Essmann Group changes hands
Quadriga Capital has acquired the Essmann Group for EUR 110m from Taros Capital. Quadriga Capital will take a majority stake in the company, with management that also invested holding the balance. Taros Capital had acquired Essmann in 2000.
UK - Royal Bank of Scotland takes equity stake in £17.5m buyout of Monitor Audio
Royal Bank of Scotland has taken an equity stake in audio hi-fi and home cinema company Monitor Audio (Holdings) Ltd. The company, an existing customer of the bank has undergone a ТЃ17.5m management buyout to which RBS has supplied a complete equity,...
UK - KKR higher offer prompts opening of Boots' books
KKR has raised its bid for Alliance Boots prompting the UK chemist and retail chain to open its books. The US-private equity firm bidding in league with the deputy chairman of Boots has offered 1,040p per share, a 4% lift on the 1,000p takeover bid it...
UK - Kaupthing/Tchenguiz trump Blackstone La Tasca offer
Kaupthing Pricipal Investments has teamed up with Robert Tchenguiz to launch a rival bid for AIM-listed restaurant chain La Tasca. Earlier this week, Blackstone through its Tragus portfolio company offered ТЃ96m for La Tasca. Tragus is the name behind...
UK - Blackstone's Tragus in £96m bid for La Tasca
Restaurant Group Tragus, owned by Blackstone, has launched a ТЃ96m cash offer for AIM-listed La Tasca, the owner of 70 Spanish themed restuarants in the UK.
ITALY - Aletti acquires furniture business from Absolute
Aletti Private Equity has acquired a 70% shareholding in furniture business Arketipo from Absolute Ventures in a SBO worth around EUR 20m.
GERMANY - Odewald & Compagnie acquires IWKA Packaging
The board of the IWKA group has decided by seven votes to five, to sell its packaging division to Odewald & compagnie for EUR 255m. The outcome had been expected although the worker’s union had preferred Italian strategic investors Coesia.
SPAIN - TPG to offer EUR 4bn for Iberia
Texas Pacific Group (TPG) is said to be considering a EUR 4bn bid for Spanish carrier Iberia. However, if the offer goes ahead TPG may face competition from exisiting shareholders Lufthansa and British Airways; the latter is said to be preparing for a...
UK - NVM acquires Promanex from Sovereign
NVM Private Equity (NVM) has invested ТЃ5m in the secondary management buyout of Midlands-based Promanex Group. The deal represents an exit for Sovereign Capital, which backed the company's first buyout in 1999.
UK - Investcorp Technology Partners undertakes EUR 105m buyout of Moneybookers
Investcorp Technology Partners has undertaken the EUR 105m buyout of Moneybookers Ltd, a leading European online payment provider and the UKтs first FSA-licensed e-money issuer. As part of the transaction, Moneybookersт existing shareholders will maintain...
UK - Foresight Venture Partners invests £1.5m in BIMBO of TFC Europe
Foresight Venture Partners has invested ТЃ1.5m in the BIMBO of TFC Europe. The Heathfield-based business is a supplier and designer of injection-moulded technical fasteners and ring and spring products for the aerospace, automotive, hydraulics and petrochemical...
SPAIN - Mid-market frenzy for perfumery business
A pool of mid-market players is set to present offers for perfumery business Juteco this week. It is understood that Mercapital, 3i, Nmás1, MCH, Corpfin and Nazca are all competing for the company, worth approximately EUR 100m.
UK - Lime Rock backs $90m MBO of C&M Group
Lime Rock Partners has backed the management buyout of marine engineering company C&M Group and its subsequent acquisition of Ice Maiden, a Russian ice-breaker ship. The $90m deal included a debt package provided by Royal Bank of Scotland worth $60m....
SPAIN - iNova Capital acquires majority stake in IT business
Private equity firm iNova Capital has purchased a 56% shareholding in IT business Unitronics Comunicaciones, S.A from AlpInvest Partners, Coller Capital and the company's founders. Upon completion of the deal, the remaining shares will be split between...
UK - Apollo's Countrywide bid faces further challenge
Apollo's ТЃ1bn offer for Countrywide is expected to encounter difficulty next month when it faces a shareholder vote at an extraordinary meeting on the news that hedge fund Polygon Investment Partners has increased its stake in the UK estate agency chain...
UK - More Sainsbury's share movements
Robert Tchenguiz has raised his stake in Sainsbury's from 4.04% to 4.15%. It is thought the property tycoon is interested in working with the board of the UK supermarket giant to help it realise some of the value of its property. Tchenguiz has previous...
NL - Bridgepoint acquires Wolters Kluwer Education for EUR 774m
Bridgepoint has announced that it has acquired Wolters Kluwer Education (WKE) in a transaction which values the company at EUR 774m. Debt was provided by ING and Société Générale.
UK - Aberdeen leads ID Support Services buyout
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has led the management buyout of ID Support Services Ltd (IDSS), a group providing electronic security systems and climate control solutions. IDSS has two divisions, ID Technology Group specialises in the provision...