Exits
VC-backed Horizon Discovery plans £25m IPO
Horizon Discovery Group, a Cambridge-based biotech backed by DFJ Esprit and Roche Venture Fund among others, is planning to raise £25m in its IPO on the AIM segment of the London Stock Exchange.
Emeram acquires HgCapital’s Americana
German private equity house Emeram Capital Partners has acquired Americana International, the owner of fashion brand Bench, from HgCapital.
KKR’s Pets At Home IPO to value company at £1bn
KKR-backed Pets At Home has set the price range for its IPO on the London Stock Exchange, valuing the company at more than £1bn.
Citizen Capital et al. exit Trace in €40m trade sale
Citizen Capital, Entrepreneur Venture and NextStage have sold their stakes in Trace TV, a French media brand and pay-TV channel operator, to Swedish broadcaster Modern Times Group (MTG).
HitecVision sells Valco Group France to Argos Soditic
Divestment from HitecVision's fourth fund
Piper shears Celtic from its portfolio
Brand-focused investor Piper Private Equity has sold sheepskin apparel retailer Celtic & Co back to its founders.
Argos Soditic sells Alkan to TCR, IDI
Argos Soditic has sold Groupe Alkan, a French manufacturer of equipment for the aeronautical defence industry, to TCR Capital and IDI.
Edge sells Working Partners, Beast Quest to portfolio company
Edge Investments has sold its stakes in Working Partners and Beast Quest to its portfolio company Coolabi in an all-share transaction.
Montagu acquires Dorc from Rabo Capital
Montagu Private Equity has acquired Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center (Dorc) from Rabo Capital, the private equity division of Rabo Bank.
Arle floats DX Group
Arle Capital Partners-backed DX Group has priced its IPO on AIM and will start trading this week.
Banexi sells Tedemis to Criteo
Banexi Ventures Partners has sold French email marketing company Tedemis to Nasdaq-listed Criteo, a French advertisement targeting business backed by several venture firms.
LDC unpacks £100m from Benson sale
LDC has sold its stake in packaging company Benson Group for £100m to NYSE-listed Graphic Packaging International.
Upcoming IPO to value Warburg-backed Poundland at £750m
UK discount retailer Poundland, backed by Warburg Pincus, has announced its intention to list on the London Stock Exchange.
VC-backed King files for $500m IPO
King Digital Entertainment, the venture-backed UK games developer behind Candy Crush Saga, has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a $500m IPO on the NYSE.
Wheb exits AMCS
Wheb Partners has sold its stake in Advanced Manufacturing Control Systems (AMCS), an Irish provider of technology solutions to the waste and recycling sector.
TPG’s Lenta to raise up to $1bn in IPO
Russian hypermarket chain Lenta, backed by TPG Capital and VTB Capital Private Equity, plans on raising up to $1bn in its IPO on the London Stock Exchange and Moscow Exchange.
Gresham sells LAS Claims Management for £35m
Gresham Private Equity has sold LAS Claims Management to LSE-listed The Innovation Group in a £35m deal.
Large-cap segment boosts DACH deal totals
Buyout activity was buoyed by a handful of large-cap deals in 2013. But is there hope for a brighter future further down the value scale? Amy King reports
Riverside exits Vokes-Air Group
Riverside has divested Swedish air filtration company Vokes-Air Group to German trade buyer Mann+Hummel.
Hellman & Friedman’s GTT launches IPO
Hellman & Friedman-backed Gaz Transport & Technigaz (GTT), a French marine technology and engineering company, plans on raising up to €675m in an IPO on the Euronext Paris.
GTCR picks up Vitruvian’s Callcredit
US-based private equity firm GTCR has acquired Leeds-based Callcredit Information Group from Vitruvian Partners.
Accel-backed GetJar sold in trade sale
Accel Partners-backed GetJar, a Lithuanian app recommendation business, has been sold to Chinese mobile company Sungy Mobile for $5.3m in cash.
CEE: Activity picks up despite ongoing fundraising woes
An uptick in dealflow in the second half of last year has left local players hopeful for a more sustained recovery. Greg Gille reports
ICG picks up Equistone’s APEM
Equistone Partners Europe has sold its majority stake in APEM Group to minority shareholder Intermediate Capital Group (ICG).