Buyouts
DENMARK - Axcel buys 60% of Netcompany
Axcel has acquired 60% of the shares in IT consultancy Netcompany. The remaining 40% of the shares are still held by the company’s three founders and a number of senior executives. The three founders will remain in charge of the day-to-day management...
UK - MFI retail deal in final stages
According to the Financial Times, the board of MFI has agreed to pay a 'dowry' to Merchant Equity Partners in order to facilitate the private equity institution taking the loss-making retail chain off its hands.
UK - Private equity targets NTL
The Financial Times reports that talks between a private equity consortium and NTL's senior management are taking place today. The consortium is led by Providence Equity and also includes Blackstone, Cinven and KKR.
GERMANY - BayernLB backs temporary labour sector
Funds advised by BayernLB Private Equity have backed the management buyout of ISU Personaldienstleistungen GmbH. Together the financial investor and the company's CEO and management have acquired a 100% stake in the business.
UK - Terra Firma places bid for Thames Water
A Terra Firma-led consortium has placed its bid for Thames Water, the ТЃ7bn water company being sold by German power group RWE, according to the Financial Times.
UK - Apax nears final stages of its exit from The Stationery Office
The largest publisher in the UK by volume, which does much of the govenrment's printing, is the subject of an auction between three private equity bidders and two trade buyers, according to the Financial Times. The auction is now in its second round....
SPAIN - Ahorro Corporación acquires Axesor
The private equity fund Ahorro Corporación has agreed to buy Axesor, a company specialising in online corporate communication systems, from Capital Riesgo Internet. The final price is dependant on due diligence being carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers....
BELGIUM - 3i acquires Abx Logistics
3i has recently completed the purchase of Abx Logistics Worldwide from Ferrovie Belghe (controlled by SNCB Holding). The consideration has not been disclosed, but reports in the Belgian press suggest 3i paid EUR 80m for the logistics company.
ITALY - Permira looking to sell Grandi Navi Veloci
According to financial sources in Milan, private equity giant Permira is in talks with fund manager Investitori Associati to sell its portfolio company Grandi Navi Veloci for EUR 750m. The purchase is currently going through the due diligence on the ferry...
ITALY - Sisal SpA to be sold in EUR 1.3bn secondary buyout
The newspaper Il Sole 24Ore has reported that Sisal SpA, a portfolio company of private equity firm Clessidra, is due to be sold to another group in a secondary buyout that can reach the sum of EUR 1.3bn.
UK - Barclays Ventures backs MBO of Sitec T&C Ltd
Barclays Ventures has backed the incumbent management team of Sitec T&C Ltd investing ТЃ5m as part of a transaction that values the company at approximately ТЃ23m. Sitec is the UK's leading independent provider of rail signalling testing and commissioning...
BELGIUM - Carlyle acquires FRS Global from S1 Corporation
The Carlyle Group and technology investor Kennet Partners today announce that they have acquired FRS Global from S1 Corporation (NASDAQ: SONE). FRS Global is headquartered in Belgium and employs 190 people. It has the largest installed customer base in...
UK - Hermes backs Mayfair Gaming to acquire Beacon Bingo
Hermes Private Equity, together with Mayfair Gaming, has acquired Thomas Estates, the owner of three large Beacon Bingo clubs, and 24 Showboat adult gaming centres (AGCs), from the Thomas family. Deloitte and Linklaters advised Hermes Private Equity and...
UK - NBGI Private Equity acquires recruitment business for £11.2m
NBGI Private Equity has acquired hotgroupтs traditional recruitment consultancy business for ТЃ11.2m from Trinity Mirror plc, the UKтs largest newspaper publisher. The business has been renamed тOchre Houseт.
GERMANY - Baird Capital Partners Europe acquires Prettl
Baird Capital Partners Europe has acquired a majority stake in Prettl Appliance Systems Group. The company, which is being sold by its family owners, specialises in the development and production of control panels for white goods.
FINLAND - Sentica buys cleaning solutions business
A fund managed by Sentica Partners has acquired the entire share capital of Finnish industrial cleaning technology supplier Finnsonic Ltd.
GERMANY - BayBG and S-Partner finance StarMedTech spin-out
BayBG and S-Partner Kapital AG have together financed the management buyout of the urological laser unit of WaveLight AG. Based in Starnberg, the new company will henceforth go by the name StarMedTec GmbH. The company will continue its activities as a...
UK - Lion Capital acquires Kettle chips with KP Snacks in sight
Lion Capital made the first step on its bid to become the second largest company in the UK snacks market, behind market-leader PepsiCo. It acquired Kettle foods, the maker of Kettle Chips in a deal which values the US-headquartered company at approximately...
ITALY - Carlyle and Finmeccanica sell Avio to Cinven for EUR 2.57bn
The Italian defence group Finmeccanica, and private equity giant Carlyle Group have sold aerospace engine maker Avio to Cinven. The enterprise value of the deal is EUR 2.57bn. Finmeccanica's stake of 30% will be sold for EUR 430m. At the same time, the...
UK - Beringea sells Mergermarket to Financial Times Group
Beringea has agreed to sell portfolio company Mergermarket to the Financial Times Group, a subsidiary of Pearson Plc, the global media company. The sale is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in Q3 2006 and will generate a total...
UK - Morgan Crucible to be next private equity target?
According to a report in the Financial Times today, the industrial ceramics and defence materials maker Morgan Crucible has disclosed that it has received a takeover approach.
SWEDEN - Altor buys 80% of Dustin
Altor is to acquire 80% of the shares in Dustin, a company trading computers and computer equipment via the internet and by mail order. The remaining shares will be retained by the founders and the current owners.
UK - CBPE backs MBO of Rosemont Pharmaceuticals for £93m
Close Brothers Private Equity (CBPE) has announced that it has backed the management buyout of Rosemont Pharmaceuticals, a leading developer and manufacturer of oral liquid medicines. The purchase from previous owners, Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc, a NASDAQ-quoted...
UK - Possible Macquarie bid for Thames Water to be strengthened
Terra Firma's bid for Thames Water faces intensified competition as the Sunday Times reports that Macquarie may be teaming up with Alinta, the Australian infrastructure group to make a bid for RWE-held Thames Water.