Buyouts
UK - The Riverside Company acquires Dapco
The Riverside Company has consolidated its presence in the railway maintenance sector, acquiring Dapco to complement its acquisition of Nordco in July 2003.
UK - Palamon Capital Partners acquires Cambridge Education Group
Palamon Capital Partners has invested €15m to acquire a majority stake in English language teaching provider Cambridge Education Group (CEG).
NL - ABN AMRO Capital and Allianz Capital Partners acquire Sdu
ABN AMRO Capital and Allianz Capital Partners have acquired publishing and secruity identification group Sdu from the Dutch State, each taking a 50% stake in a transaction valued at €415m.
NL - ABN AMRO Capital acquires Vetus Den Ouden
ABN AMRO has acquired water sports business Vetus Den Ouden in a secondary buyout from Alpinvest Partners following an auction process.
UK - Merlin buys Tussauds for £1bn
The Blackstone Group has announced that its portfolio company Merlin Entertainments Group has acquired The Tussauds Group from Dubai International Capital for £1,028m. The acquisition makes Merlin Entertainments Group the world’s second largest visitor...
UK - HgCapital acquires Americana International in secondary buyout
HgCapital has acquired Americana International, the owner of the brands Bench and Hooch, from ISIS Equity Partners, in a deal valued at £190m.
DENMARK - CVC acquires Matas
CVC Capital Partners has purchased personal care retail chain Matas A/S and affiliated stores. The private equity house has acquired 206 stores from approximately 125 store owners and has entered into conditional agreements to acquire an additional 45...
SWEDEN - EQT acquires Scandic Hotels from Hilton
EQT V has acquired Nordic hotel chain Scandic Hotels AB from Hilton Hotels Corporation. Scandic, a brand familiar to over 90% of the population of the Nordic region, has 132 hotels and more than 23,000 rooms in 9 countries.
ITALY - Abacus Invest and MPS Venture enter the fashion industry
Private equity firms Abacus Invest and MPS Venture have jointly acquired a 45% stake in fashion business Phard SpA.
ITALY - Palamon Capital Partners acquires debt collection agency
Mid-market firm Palamon Capital Partners has acquired all shares in Milan-based debt collection agency Si Collection SpA. The vendor is Si Holding SpA, which owns Carta Si, a major issuer of credit cards on behalf of a consortium of Italian banks.
ITALY - Investindustrial buys cosmetics business
Private equity firm Investindustrial has wholly acquired Morris Profumi. The business is a Parma-based cosmetics division of German specialty chemicals player Henkel.
FRANCE - Apax backs OBO of Royer Group
Apax Partners has acquired a significant minority stake in shoes distributor Royer Group.
GERMANY - Bridgepoint acquires Dragenopharm
Bridgepoint has acquired a majority stake in generic drugs contract manufacturer Dragenopharm Apotheker Püschl GmbH for an undisclosed amount.
UK - Blackstone approaches Jupiter Asset Management
It has been reported that Blackstone has approached the management of Jupiter Asset Management about a possible buyout. The fund management group which has assets under management of £17bn is valued at approximately £1bn.
UK - Stirling Square Capital Partners acquires Public Safety Equipment
Stirling Square Capital Partners and Diamond Castle Holdings have acquired international highway safety solutions business Public Safety Equipment (PSE) in a deal reported to be worth $400m.
UK - YFM backs management buy-in of Cater Plus Services
YFM has backed the £4.3m management buy-in of catering services provider Waterfall Services Ltd, which trades as Cater Plus Services. Yorkshire Bank provided a debt package to facilitate the deal.
UK - Abderdeen Asset Managers Private Equity backs MBO of EDSR
Aberdeen Asset Managers Private Equity has backed the management buyout of EDSR, a provider of specialist services to the land decontamination sector. EDSR has a turnover of £12m and employs 30 staff.
DENMARK - EQT acquires Dako in DKK 7.25bn deal
The EQT V fund has agreed to acquire cancer diagnostics company Dako Denmark A/S for an enterprise value of DKK 7,250m. Headquartered in Glostrup, Dako’s current main shareholders include descendants of the company’s founder Niels Harboe, Novo Nordisk...
UK - Vision Capital acquires six businesses from Bridgepoint
Vision Capital has acquired a portfolio of six businesses from Bridgepoint for an undisclosed sum. The investments include Portman, a UK-business travel agency; Pirtek, a franchisor for hydraulic hose repairs, and Mastock Arable, a UK agricultural, chemical...
UK - TPG circles Apax and Permira-held New Look
New Look, the fashion retailer backed by Apax and Permira, has received offers of interest from other buyout firms including TPG. A formal sales process is yet to begin but it is understood that a secondary buyout is more likely than an IPO.
UK - 3i turns its attentions to Foxtons
3i is reported to be interested in acquiring estate agency chain Foxtons. Privately-owned Foxtons has appointed Credit Suisse to run a dual-track process to decide the asset's future.
FINLAND - CapMan acquires Walki Wisa from UPM
CapMan has agreed to buy Walki Wisa Group, a producer of wrappings and composite materials, from UPM-Kymmene.
GERMANY - GEP acquires VARTA Microbattery
Global Equity Partners has acquired VARTA Microbattery GmbH from VARTA AG for EUR 30m. Two new managing directors will support the company’s management to further expand and promote its current strength.
UK - Countrywide speculation continues
It is unclear today whether Apollo will follow up its £1.01bn indicative offer for estate agency chain Countrywide with a formal bid.