Buyouts
UK - Further activity in the gym industry
The Sunday Times reports that there is to be further consolidation in the gym industry as the owners of both Esporta and Cannons look to sell their businesses. Esporta is held by Duke Street Capital which is expected to be able to sell the company for...
UK - Candover to bid for Trinity Mirror's newspapers
According to a report in the Observer, Candover is expected to emerge as a bidder for Trinity Mirror's newspapers that include the Daily Mirror, the Liverpool Echo and the Sunday Mirror. The announcement last week that the group was to conduct a strategic...
NL- KKR, Silver Lake and AlpInvest to acquire Philips' chip division
Royal Philips Electronics has announced that it has signed an agreement with KKR, Silver Lake Partners and AlpInvest Partners NV regarding the sale of an 80.1% stake in Philips' Semiconductors business. Philips will retain a 19.9% stake in the business....
UK - Signet Group eyed by Apax and KKR
Apax and KKR are reported to be considering a bid for Signet Group Plc, the company which owns the H Samuel and Ernest Jones shops in the UK and Kay Jewelers in the US.
UK - Qatar and UBS enter race for Thames Water
According to the Financial Times today a new competitor has entered the running to acquire Thames Water. Qatar's state-owned investment fund is reported to have teamed up with UBS's Global Infrastructure fund to make a bid for the company which could...
NETHERLANDS - Cinven and Warburg Pincus to acquire Essent Kabelcom
Cinven and Warburg Pincus have announced that they have reached an agreement to acquire Essent Kabelcom from Essent NV for EUR 2.6bn. The acquisition follows the recent agreement for Cinven and Warburg Pincus to acquire Casema, another Dutch cable company...
UK - Investec Private Bank funds acquisition of Sugar Puffs
Investec Private Bankтs Growth & Acquisition Finance division has backed Big Bear Ltd in the acquisition of the Sugar Puffs cereals and Harvest cereal bars businesses. Investec initially backed Big Bear with a composite senior, mezzanine and minority...
UK - Phoenix backs secondary MBO of Gaucho Grill
Phoenix Equity Partners has structured and led the funding of a ТЃ55m secondary buyout of Gaucho Grill in partnership with the management team of the business led by Zeev Godik, the founder and chief executive. Gaucho, the Argentinean restaurant group,...
ITALY - Stirling Square backs MBI of Metroweb SpA
Stirling Square Capital Partners, the pan-European private equity firm, has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Metroweb SpA. from Milan-based utility AEM SpA. Stirling Square is backing a team of experienced telecom managers...
SPAIN - Carlyle courts Ason
The Carlyle Group and Layetana, a Catalan real estate company, are considering a bid for Spanish real estate group Ason, according to Spanish newspaper Cinco Dias. Bids are due next week for the firm, which is expected to be valued at about EUR 700m....
FRANCE - 21 Centrale Partners in Batisanté secondary buyout
21 Centrale Partners has bought health and safety services provider Batisanté from CDC Entreprises, following an auction process run by Transaction R.
UK - European Capital to close UK deals
According to the Financial Times, European Capital is due to complete two management buyouts this week, whilst simultaneously being in talks with British Airways to purchase its Air Miles business.
UK - Permira acquires All3Media generating 5.5x returns for Bridgepoint
Permira has acquired a majority stake in All3Media from Bridgepoint in a deal which values the company behind Richard & Judy, Hollyoaks, Midsomer Murders amongst others, at ТЃ320m. The deal represents an exit for Bridgepoint which has made a money multiple...
GERMANY - Steadfast Capital acquires Peine Group
Steadfast Capital, alongside the company's management, has acquired Peine Group. The Wilhelmshaven-based company is a producer of business and formal wear for men.
UK - Phoenix acquires NFT Distribution
Phoenix Equity Partners announces that it has reached agreement on the proposed acquisition of the business and assets of NFT Distribution (NFT) from Northern Foods Plc in a ТЃ51.2m management buyout. Contracts have been exchanged and completion is expected...
UK - Caudwell phone group sold to Providence Equity Partners and Doughty Hanson
The Times reports that this week will see the official announcement that John Caudwell's mobile phone empire has been sold to Providence Equity Partners and Doughty Hanson.
UK - Private equity wants to muscle in on Severn Trent's planned IPO of Biffa
Severn Trent's planned IPO of its Biffa waste business later this year is no longer a certainty after a team formed by KKR and Apollo Management expressed an interest in acquiring Severn Trent. The bid for the company would be in the region of ТЃ5bn....
ROMANIA - GED completes Romanian deal
GED Private Equity, a mid market investor in Iberia and South Eastern Europe, has acquired a majority stake in four Romanian mobile phone distributors in a EUR 4.5m deal. The investor plans to consolidate and rebrand the companies at the beginning of...
UK - New developments in Birds Eye auction
The ТЃ1.2bn Birds Eye auction is reported by the Sunday Times to have a new competitor following the teaming up of Kerry Foods with Blackstone and JP Morgan Partners. Kerry Foods is Ireland's eight largest listed company and is one of the largest suppliers...
UK - Hermes set to acquire Beacon Bingo chain
According to a report in the Sunday Times, the private equity arm of Hermes is set to acquire Thomas Holdings, the parent company of the Beacon Bingo chain.
SPAIN - Carlyle and Vista Capital acquire Iberostar for EUR 800m
Carlyle Group, which had already signed an agreement of intention to purchase tour operator Iberostar, has partnered with Vista Capital, the private equity firm backed by the Banco Santander, in an acquisition deal reportedly worth EUR 800m.
UK - LDC acquires digital dictation specialist BigHand
Digital dictation specialist BigHand is targeting rapid global growth after being bought by a management team backed by LDC. London-based BigHand supplies software that allows users to dictate directly onto their firmтs computer network from anywhere...
SPAIN - Advent acquires Euroloc
The global private equity firm Advent International has announced the acquisition of Euroloc de Maquinaria S.L., a leading equipment rental company serving the Spanish construction sector, from Fides Capital and family shareholders.
GERMANY - Brenntag goes to BC Partners
Bain Capital has sold chemical distribution firm Brenntag GmbH to BC Partners for an undisclosed sum. The deal remains subject to approval from the cartel authorities. Bain Capital intends to retain a minority shareholding in the company following the...