Buyouts
ITALY - Atlantis and Orlando compete for Livingston
Turnaround groups Atlantis Capital and Orlando Italy have made an offer for airline Livingston-Lauda Air, owned by tourism player Viaggi del Ventaglio.
NL - Permira-owned Nutrilux acquires Provimi from CVC and PAI Partners
Following the announcement in January that Permira was to acquire animal feed producer Provimi from CVC Capital Partners and PAI Partners, clearance has now been received.
NL - Doughty Hanson to acquire Norit from Gilde Buy Out Partners
Doughty Hanson has announced that it is likely to reach a final agreement with Gilde Buy Out Partners regarding the sale of Norit. Gilde currently owns a 70% stake in the firm and is understood to have acquired the firm in 2003 for around EUR 150m. No...
FRANCE - Diana Ingrédients to be sold by Cognetas
European private equity firm Cognetas (formerly known as Electra Partners) has mandated both Hawkpoint and BNP Paribas to run the sale of Diana Ingrédients, according to French press reports.
FRANCE - DeA Capital invests in Générale de Santé
DeA Capital, De Agostini's listed investment holding, will take at least 35% of Santé Sarl, a holding which indirectly owns 59.8% of French listed private healthcare group Générale de Santé.
UK - Speculation surrounds 3i's bid for Foxtons
3i has reached the final stages of an auction to acquire estate agency chain Foxtons from its founder Jon Hunt. Foxtons is thought to fetch in excess of £400m via a process run by Credit Suisse. BC Partners is also in the running to acquire the asset....
UK - LDC bid for Tote blocked
The sale of state-owned horseracing bookmaker Tote to a consortium backed by LDC is reported to have been blocked by the government. Sources suggest that Gordon Brown was conscious of distancing himself from private equity in the run-up to the Labour...
ITALY - Bidders to present offers for Alitalia today
By the end of this afternoon, prospective buyers of Alitalia will present their offers for a stake of up to 39.9% in the airline. The offers should be presented by 5pm CET, along with preliminary business plans until 2012, shareholding to be purchased...
NL - Wessanen and Rabo Capital to merge frozen snack business
Royal Wessanen and Rabo Capital have come to an agreement with the intention to set up a new company that merges the activities of Habek Snacks and Wessanen in ragout rolls ('kroketten'), hamburgers, meat rolls (‘frikandellen’) and halal snacks. Wessanen...
UK - Countrywide shareholders vote in favour of Apollo offer
Apollo's offer for estate agency chain Countrywide has been approved by 98.1% of shareholders at a vote today. Apollo raised its per share offer for the listed-company by 27p yesterday in response to the arrival of a mystery third party rival bidder....
UK - Private equity eyes Virgin Radio
Reports suggest that a number of private equity groups are eyeing Virgin Radio after its present owner SMG announced it intended to sell the asset. The vendor is thought to favour an IPO process.
NORWAY - Ferd Private Euity Ferd PE II acquires European Furniture Group AB
FPEF II has aquired 100% of the shares in Swedish office furniture producer EFG from the bbe Krook family (majority shareholder), Siem Industrikapital AB, 4AP-Fonden, a Swedish National Pension Fund, and a number of other minority shareholders.
UK - Terra Firma/Wellcome Trust to access Boots books
It is reported that Terra Firma, working in association with Wellcome Trust, are inches away from making an indicative offer for Alliance Boots, and being granted access to its books. The UK chemist and retailer, formed by a £7bn merger in 2006, is the...
UK - Apollo raises Countrywide bid at last minute following rival approach
Apollo has raised its offer for Countrywide by 25p per share from 505p to 530p ahead of a shareholder vote tomorrow. The news comes following reports that a third party has launched a rival bid for the UK's largest estate agency chain.
SWEDEN - Ratos plans to invest SEK 300m for 60% of MCC
Ratos is to acquire 60% of the heating and air conditionings systems (HVAC) company Mobile Climate Control (MCC) from its founder Gunnar Mannerheim for approximately SEK 300m. The company’s senior executives will remain in their present positions. The...
UK - Glitnir backs BIMBO of TruckEast with integrated finance package
Glitnir has supported the BIMBO of Scania dealer TruckEast Ltd with an integrated finance package in a deal worth over £10m. Glitnir, a Nordic investment bank, offered a fully integrated finance solution providing both the debt and equity funding as...
GERMANY - Arques buys van Netten
Arques Industries AG has acquired confectionery firm van Netten GmbH from Zuckerfabrik Jülich AG. Within the context of the transaction, Arques acquires, among other things, an almost 100,000 square meters large property on which storage and production...
SLOVAKIA - Penta acquires Slovak Privatbanka
Slovak private equity group Penta Investments has acquired a 73% stake in Slovak Privatbanka from Austria’s Meinl Bank. The transaction value has not been disclosed but the financial investor has indicated to acquire the remaining stake by end of 2007.
GERMANY - DZ Equity Partner invests in Zarges Tubesca
DZ Equity Partner has announced it has acquired a minority stake in European manufacturer of aluminium-based platform and elevator systems Zarges Tubesca Group from Granville Baird Capital Partners. Granville Baird had recently acquired the company from...
ITALY – Tirrenia set to attract private equity interest
Maritime transport group Tirrenia is likely to attract offers from private equity players when it officially launches its privatisation process in the next few weeks.
UK - CVC not going to try anything new today at Sainsbury's
CVC has announced that it is to bow out of the attempt to acquire the UK's third largest supermarket chain Sainsbury's. It represents the end of an 18-month planning period for the private equity group, which first expressed its intentions to bid for...
IRELAND - Permira seeks Jurys Inns business
Permira and Doughty Hanson are thought to be amongst the bidders in the final stages of the auction to buy Jurys Inns, the 20-strong budget hotel chain headquartered in Dublin. Merrill Lynch has been appointed by the Jurys Doyle Group to dispose of the...
UK - Cinven, Macquarie and Blackstone interested in BUPA hospitals
BUPA is to put its 26 UK hospitals up for sale. It is reported that Cinven, Macquarie and Blackstone have all shown interest in the hospital assets. The news follows rumours that certain private equity groups have considered a bid for healthcare insurer...
UK - Sun European Partners acquires Moben, Dolphin, Sharps and Kitchens Direct
Sun European Partners has acquired the HomeForm Group, the owner of home retailers including Moben, Dolphin, Sharps and Kitchens Direct in a secondary buyout deal of undisclosed value. The deal represents an exit for Phildrew Ventures which delisted the...