Buyouts
UK - Exponent acquires Cardsave from RJD, Morley Fund Managers and LDC
Exponent Private Equity has acquired Cardsave, a supplier of credit card terminals and services to independent retailers. The company was bought from a consortium of shareholders which included RJD Partners, Morley Fund Management and LDC. Lloyds TSB...
UK - Bowmark acquires Las Iguanas from Piper Private Equity for £27m
Bowmark Capital has acquired Las Iguanas, a chain of Latin American restaurants, in a £27m buyout. The transaction provided an exit for Piper Private Equity, which invested £3.4m in the business in July 2002. Piper has reaped returns of 6x its investment...
FRANCE - UI Gestion backs F2A's secondary buyout
UI Gestion has acquired a majority stake in ventilation equipment manufacturer F2A, previously backed by Finadvance and Ciclad.
SPAIN – Clave Mayor leads buyout of Natural Food
Clave Mayor has wholly acquired Natural Food alongside industrial backer George Stravrakakis.
UK - Blackstones quits plans to delist FKI
Blackstone has ended talks with engineering group FKI about a possible £768m take-private deal. The London-listed group announced that it was in contact with a suitor in May this year.
FRANCE - Eurazeo and its LPs invest EUR 500m equity in Elis deal
French buyout house Eurazeo and Eurazeo Co-Investment Partners (ECIP) provided around EUR 500m in equity out of a total transaction value of EUR 2.28bn for the tertiary buyout of textile rental business Elis.
UK - Virgin Media auction delayed
The auction that would see Virgin Media taken private has reportedly been delayed. The communications group cited turbulence in the debt markets as the reason for the postponement. A deal may not now complete until early 2008.
UK - West Coast Capital has three days to make rival offer for Dobbies
West Coast Capital has been given three days by the Takeover Panel to make a rival offer for Dobbies. The Scottish gardening chain is currently the subject of a £15 per share recommended bid by Tesco. The UK retailing giant owns 32% of the shares with...
UK - Street Capital backs buyout of PCTI Solutions
Irish private equity investor Street Capital has backed the buyout of software business PCTI Solutions Ltd. PCTI is an electronic document management service provider to the UK primary healthcare sector.
UK - BOSIF participates in £925m acquisition of David Lloyd Leisure
Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance (BOSIF), together with London & Regional Properties (L&R), has provided an integrated debt and equity package to facilitate the Next Generation Clubs (NGC) £925m acquisition of David Lloyd Leisure Ltd (DLL) from Whitbread...
ITALY - Barclays Private Equity acquires catering business
Barclays Private Equity has completed the management buyout of Gemeaz Cusin Ristorazione and Scapa Italia from the Accor Group. It is understood that the sale of the two businesses is part of Accor's disposal strategy of non-core Italian assets to focus...
GERMANY – NORD Holding acquires Julius Heywinkel GmbH
Nord Holding Unternehmensbeteiligungsgesellschaft mbH has acquired the Julius Heywinkel Group from the Wilhelm Karmann Corporation for an undisclosed sum. The management also invested and will retain a minority stake in the company.
GERMANY – AUCTUS acquires electronics GmbH
AUCTUS Management GmbH has acquired a majority stake in German electronic manufacturing services electronics GmbH. The transaction value has not been disclosed.
UK - Duke Street Capital completes delisting of CI Traders
Duke Street Capital and Europa Capital, the European real estate fund manager, have completed the acquisition of CI Traders through Sandpiper, a newly incorporated Jersey-based company. Based on the offer price of 100p per share in cash, CI Traders has...
UK - BPE exits Direct Group through £40m sale to LDC
Barclays Private Equity has sold Direct Group, a provider of corporate and affinity services to the insurance sector, to LDC for £40m. Direct Group provides a range of services to insurers and corporate partners, including policy administration and fulfilment,...
UK - Rutland to acquire Pulse Home Products for £51.5m
Rutland Partners is to acquire Pulse Home Products Ltd and the business of certain other domestic appliance brands from Alba Plc for £51.5m. The transaction is conditional, inter alia, on the approval of Alba shareholders at an EGM. Rutland is investing...
UK - BOSIF backs £410m SBO of Apollo from LDC
Bank of Scotland Corporate has backed the £410m secondary management buyout of property services company Apollo from LDC. Bank of Scotland provided an integrated debt and equity package to support the incumbent management team, which along with key employees,...
UK - FF&P takes majority stake in furnishings business Oka
Fleming Family & Partners Private Equity has acquired a majority stake in upmarket furnishings business Oka. The deal has enabled the founders of the Oxfordshire-based retailer to realise some value.
UK - Graphite Capital backs £22m buyout of Third Space
Graphite Capital has backed the management buyout of a premier London health and fitness club, The Third Space Group, for £22m. Founded in June 2001, the Soho-based gym and health centre now has close to 4,300 members. Its facilities include a medical...
GREECE - Global Finance exits ice cream chain
Buyout house Global Finance has sold ice cream chain Dodoni to NBGI Private Equity. The divestment by Global Finance was the first ever secondary buyout to take place in Greece.
ITALY - Alto Partners acquire minority stake in Rancilio
Alto Capital II acquired a 16.67% stake of Rancilio from its founders.
FRANCE - Apax still involved in GFI tug-of-war
Apax Partners has increased its shareholding in Euronext-listed computer services company GFI Informatique from 9% to 14.4%. An offer for the entire share capital of the business was made by Japanese IT and communications company Fujitsu in May and remains...
UK - Phoenix bags sailing clothes maker Musto
Phoenix Equity Partners has acquired a majority stake in Musto, the specialist clothes business which caters for the sailing, equestrian, shooting and fishing communities. The deal values Musto at £40m. Musto has also developed a range of casual clothing...
UK - Foresight exits Oasis Healthcare via sale of shares to Duke Street Capital
Duke Street Capital has acquired £8m worth of shares in AIM-listed dental care provider Oasis Healthcare Plc from Foresight Venture Partners. The deal generated a total return on investment of 5.1x for Foresight 3 VCT Plc. Duke Street Capital had been...