Buyouts
UK - Foresight Venture Partners invests £1.5m in BIMBO of TFC Europe
Foresight Venture Partners has invested £1.5m 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.
UK - Apollo's Countrywide bid faces further challenge
Apollo's £1bn 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...
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 - 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...
UK - Iceni Capital completes second transaction
Iceni Capital has supported the buyout of Pell & Bales, a not-for-profit specialist marketing services company. Led by the CEO of Pell & Bales, the buyout allows the founder to retire from the company and gives the management team the capital resources...
UK - Bridgepoint acquires Fat Face for £360m
Bridgepoint has acquired clothing retailer Fat Face from Advent International in a transaction totalling £360m. The company has a turnover of £111m and a run rate EBITDA of £30.4m for the year ended 31 May 2007 and employs over 1,500 staff.
GERMANY - CVC sells ista to Charterhouse for EUR 2.4bn
CVC Capital Partners has sold its stake in energy metering and billing company ista to Charterhouse Capital Partners for a total transaction value, including debt, of EUR 2.4bn. CVC acquired ista in a management buyout in June 2003.
NL - Bridgepoint to acquire Wolters Kluwer education division
Wolters Kluwer, the Dutch publishing group, is understood to have agreed the sale of its education division to Bridgepoint Capital in a deal worth more than EUR 750m.
FRANCE - Camaieu sold to Cinven
AXA Private Equity will sell its controlling shareholding in clothing brand Camaïeu to Cinven, at a unitary share price of EUR 267. The offer values the target at EUR 1.6bn.
ITALY - DGPA Capital acquires adhesive label manufacturer
Private equity firm DGPA Capital wholly acquired Mida from a group of local entrepreneurs and private investors for EUR 7.4m. Out of that amount, one third is equity and a debt package provided by Centrobanca represents two thirds of the total deal value.
UK - ISIS and Invex acquire Quantix
ISIS Equity Partners alongside Invex Capital Partners have led the management buyout of Quantix Limited, a Nottingham-based provider of IT Managed Services. ISIS and Invex invested £4.8m in equity with a debt package supplied by Lloyds TSB Corporate...
FRANCE - Barclays PE backs secondary buyout of Kermel
Barclays Private Equity has led the secondary buyout of aramide fibres manufacturer Kermel, alongside management and previous investor Argos Soditic.
GERMANY - 3i acquires EDS
3i announced it has agreed to back a management buyout of Passau-headquartered Euro-Druckservice AG from Verlagsgruppe Passau GmbH. The transaction value has not been disclosed.
GERMANY - Steadfast Capital buys Kautex Maschinenbau
Steadfast Capital has wholly acquired German blow molding machines manufacturer Kautex Maschinenbau in a management buyout from Adcuram AG. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.
UK - Whitbread shares jump on private equity rumours
Shares in leisure group Whitbread rose by 11% in one day yesterday amid speculation that a private equity group is on the brink of launching a bid for the name behind the Premier Travel Inn, David Lloyd leisure, Beefeater pubs and Costa Coffee brands....
BELGIUM - Waterland takes a stake in Indicator
Waterland Private Equity Investments has announced that it has supported the management buyout of Indicator, a publisher of professional newsletters and books aimed at small and medium-sized companies and self-employed entrepreneurs. No financial details...
UK - Carlyle to delist retail outlet developer
Carlyle has made a recommended offer for retail outlet developer Freeport. The London Stock Exchange-listed company is valued at £155.3m and has been recommended by the board and agreed by a group of shareholders who between them own a 49% stake in the...
SPAIN - Mercapital to join Doughty Hanson in competition for Continental Auto
Reports in the Spanish press suggest that Mercapital has joined forces with Doughty Hanson to bid for Continental Auto, the bus division of local infrastructure and services group Actividades de Construccion y Servicios (ACS). The company is said to be...
UK - TA Associates acquires Jupiter
TA Associates has completed its largest deal in Europe by far with the £740m acquisition of asset management company Jupiter from Commerzbank. Previously, TA's largest European deal was the £100m buyout of DriveAssist UK in 2004, which it recently sold...
GERMANY - Equita acquires Stromag group
Equita Management GmbH has acquired the Stromag Group in a management buyout for an undisclosed amount. This represents the fifth investment for the Equita Fonds 3 that closed in November 2005.