Buyouts
UK - European Capital set to acquire Whitworths
Dried fruit and nut company Whitworths is reported to be acquired by European Capital over the next week. The deal, expected to be worth around ТЃ85m, will see Gresham exit the company it has held since 2001.
UK - PAI and Blackstone acquire United Biscuits from Cinven and MidOcean
Cinven and MidOcean Partners have realised their investment in United Biscuits (UB). The UK's largest biscuit supplier, UB also has operations in France, the Netherlands and Belgium and has now been acquired by Blackstone and PAI Partners in a ТЃ1.6bn...
FRANCE - Banexi Capital Partenaires back secondary buyout of Bretèche
Banexi Capital Partenaires and Unigrains have backed the secondary buyout of Bretèche, a company which develops, manufactures and installs equipment for the food industry. The GPs took a majority stake in the business.
FRANCE - Buyout of PVC and aluminium window maker
Avenir Entreprises and Alliance Entreprendre have taken a 75% stake in Plastiferm, a manufacturer of PVC and aluminium windows, doors and shutters.
GERMANY - AXA Private Equity aquires 60% of KTP
AXA Private Equity has acquired KTP (Kunststoff Palettentechnik GmbH), a producer of plastic transport packaging solutions. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.
NORWAY - Altor buys Helly Hansen
Altor Fund II is to acquire Norwegian Helly Hansen, a supplier of technical apparel and footwear, from Investcorp for an undisclosed sum.
FRANCE - KKR invests in French flooring products business
KKR has announced it has taken a 50% stake in SIF, the holding company which owns a majority of Tarkett, a flooring products business present in over 100 countries.
UK - Hedge fund Boussard & Gavaudan takes stake in Gondola
Boussard & Gavaudan, a hedge fund with a track record of activism, is believed to have built up a 20% stake in Gondola Holdings, the restaurant operator which is the subject of a ТЃ560m take-private bid from Cinven.
SPAIN - Qualitas backs acquisition of Garnica Plywood
Private equity house Qualitas Equity Partners has acquired the entire shareholding in plywood distributor Garnica Plywood alongside its management team in a deal of undisclosed value. The growth route for the La Rioja-based company encompasses the acquisition...
SPAIN - Avanza attracts private equity interest
Several private equity firms and industrial players are interested in acquiring transport group Avanza. It is rumoured that Dougthy Hanson, Advent International and Apax Partners are among the possible private equity bidders. One of the prospective purchasers...
UK - Lyceum Capital-backed Clinovia makes fourth acquisition this year
Clinovia, an independent home healthcare provider backed by Lyceum Capital, has acquired CCS Blackpool. The purchase of CCS Blackpool, a care agency specialising in providing quality community support services to individuals in their own homes, is Clinoviaтs...
UK - FTSE 250 Informa in talks with Candover and Cinven
Informa Plc, the FTSE 250 company which provides specialist information and services for the academic and scientific, professional and commercial business communities, is in talks with Candover and Cinven about going private. The deal would see Informa...
ITALY - SG Capital buys majority stake in Co.Import
SG Capital Europe has agreed to purchase 80% of Co.Import, a retailer of accessories and small home furnishings, from its founding family for EUR 15m. The management is reportedly reinvesting EUR 3m for the remaining stake. Co.Import owns a network of...
SPAIN - All eyes on Mercapital's Occidental Hoteles
Press reports suggest that Mercapital is in advanced negotiations to finally sell its 29.5% shareholding in Occidental Hoteles. The chains Barceló, Sol Meliá and NH Hoteles have already submitted offers and the deal is likely to be completed before the...
UK - Promethean portfolio company DLG makes acquisition
Promethean portfolio company Data Locator Group (DLG) has acquired the business and assets of Wegener DM Group Plc (WDM) from the listed media group Koninklijke Wegener NV. WDM has created a database on UK consumers and their lifestyles and collects the...
GERMANY - Waterland acquires amusement arcade operator
Waterland Private Equity has backed the management buyout of Löwen Play, Germany’s second largest amusement arcade operator. The acquisition was made through Waterland Private Equity Fund III BV that closed on EUR 400m in April this year.
UK - Promethean keen on Media Square
Media Square, the listed marketing company which issued a profit warning last month, is reported to have rejected a bid by Promethean. The share price rose by 4p yesterday on the news of this bid.
FRANCE - Banexi Capital Partenaires leads the buyout of Thermes Adour
Banexi Capital Partenaires and BNP Paribas Developpement have taken a 50% stake in Spa resort manager Thermes Adour.
SPAIN - Arturo Cantoblanco courts 3i's Provimar
Grupo Arturo Cantoblanco is reportedly negotiating the acquisition of Provimar, a service provider to cruise ships and duty free stores, from 3i for EUR 18m. Property of the private equity firm for five years, Provimar reported a turnover of EUR 100m...
ITALY - Blackstone to buy Gardaland from Investindustrial
According to sources, Investindustrial is to sell leisure complex Gardaland to the Blackstone Group for a sum reported to be over EUR 500m. Gardaland is Italy's largest amusement park with approximately 3 million visitors per year and over 250 shareholders....
NL - ING to sell speciality insurance unit to Hal and Egeria
ING Group has announced that it intends to sell its speciality insurance unit Nationale Borg to HAL Investments and Egeria as part of its strategy to focus on its core insurance, banking and asset management businesses. The intended sale is subject to...
GERMANY - Investor consortium to take over renergys
A consortium of investors made up of Ramius Group, GermanCapital Morgan Stanley and Milan-based Sopaf, is to acquire renergys GmbH from venture fund GermanIncubator and a group of private investors. As part of the transaction the investors will provide...
NORWAY - CapMan to make voluntary offer for Polimoon
CapMan funds intend to put forward a voluntary offer to purchase all shares outstanding in Oslo Stock Exchange-listed Polimoon ASA for a total equity valuation of NOK 1.082bn. The offer price is NOK 27.50 per share.
UK - Macquarie bids £8bn to win Thames Water auction
RWE, the German energy group, has sold Thames Water to a consortium led by Macquarie's European infrastructure fund. The ТЃ8bn deal involves ТЃ3.2bn of debt. It is expected to close before the end of the year.