Deals
NORWAY - Verdane Capital invests in Fjord Media
Fjord Media, a developer and seller of routing, signal processing and optical transmission equipment to the broadcast, multimedia and telecom industries, has attracted growth capital from Verdane Capital. The funding will be used to expand its sales and...
UK - US private equity groups circle Northern Rock
US private equity group Lone Star is thought to be interested in Northern Rock, the beleaguered Newcastle-based bank. Lone Star joins a host of US buyout firms also thought to be sniffing around. JC Flowers is already carrying out due diligence on the...
UK - Inflexion acquires Orchard Electronic on behalf of portfolio company Aspen
Inflexion Private Equity has completed the acquisition of printed circuit board manufacturer Orchard Electronic on behalf of portfolio company Aspen Pumps, a producer of condensate pumps, for an undisclosed sum.
UK - Pension disagreement to overturn Sainsburys deal for a second time?
Failure to reach an agreement with the trustees of Sainsbury's pension fund is threatening to scupper Delta Two's potential takeover of the supermarket chain. It is understood the trustees are asking for an additional ТЃ1.75bn, ТЃ750m more than Delta...
TURKEY - KKR completes $1bn+ shipping company buyout
KKR -owned newco Trieste Bidco Denizcilik ve Tasimacilik A.S. has acquired 97.6% of the shares in U.N Ro-Ro Isletmeleri A.S. and majority shareholdings in each of its three affiliates (together the U.N. Ro-Ro Group). The transaction values the U.N Ro-Ro...
UK - 3i increases stake in AES Engineering to 40%
3i has made a further investment in AES Engineering Ltd, the holding company of the AESSEAL Group, a mechanical sealing business. 3i first invested in AES in 1996. This secondary investment increases its equity stake to 40% and values the business at...
SPAIN - Danish business angel backs Wamba with EUR 3m
Social community site Wamba has received EUR 3m in funding from Morten Lund, a well-known business angel who previously invested in Estonian software business Skype.
UK - Katalyst-backed E-Therapeutics to float on AIM
Drug discovery company E-Therapeutics is planning a flotation on AIM later this month. The Newcastle-based company, which counts new therapy candidates in 11 clinical areas including MRSA, asthma and diabetes amongst its portfolio, is backed by Katalyst...
DENMARK - NorthCap Partners invests in Visiopharm
NorthCap Partners has invested an undisclosed sum in Copenhagen-based software company Visiopharm.
SWEDEN - Industrifonden leads $6m investment in ChromoGenics
ChromoGenics, a Swedish developer of electrochromic technology, has closed a $6m second round of funding lead by Industrifonden. Industrifonden invested $3m, while existing investors Volvo Technology Transfer and Innovationsbron also participated in the...
UK - Ingenius invests £824,000 in debut album by The Orange Lights
Ingenius has invested ТЃ824,000 to back the debut album by The Orange Lights, a five-piece band formed by Paul Tucker, the ex-Lighthouse Family Songwriter.
UK - NiTech Solutions benefits from £800,000 of second round funding
PUK Ventures has invested ТЃ800,000 in mixing technology developer NiTech Solutions.
GERMANY – capiton acquires FBS
capiton AG has acquired a majority stake in the business unit construction systems division (FBS) from Freudenberg & Co. KG. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed. L-Eigenkapitalagentur (L-EA) and management also invested and take a significant...
NETHERLANDS - LSP invests in Skyline Diagnostics
Life Sciences Partners and the Erasmus MC Biomedical Fund have co-led a series-A funding round for Skyline Diagnostics BV. No financial details have been disclosed. The new capital will enable the company to bring its first product, the Acute myeloid...
FRANCE - LMBO backs spin-off of Future France
In a deal valuing the business at a maximum of EUR 18m, LMBO has backed the management buyout of publisher Future France from its parent company Future Plc.
UK - Sovereign reaps 11.9x return from veterinary services exit
Sovereign Capital has reaped 11.9x its money through the flotation of veterinary services consolidator CVS Group on AIM. The IPO gave CVS a market capitalisation of ТЃ105.7m.
ITALY - Aksìa Group and Quadrivio partner for Emmeci buyout
Aksìa Group and Quadrivio have joined forces for the buyout of printing business Emmeci from Europe Capital Partners IV, a fund managed by LBO Italia.
FRANCE - Banexi CP and Céréa Capital lead tertiary buyout of Saveur
Banexi Capital Partenaires and Céréa Capital have acquired a combined majority stake in food ingredients business Groupe Saveur, as part of a tertiary buyout.
UK - Close Growth Capital acquires stake in £26m-turnover Eldapoint
Close Growth Capital has acquired a 30% stake in Eldapoint Ltd, a manufacturer of anti-vandal cabins and a providers of shipping container storage, handling and repair services. The management team retains 70% of the equity. Barclays provided a term loan...
FRANCE - Apax acquires facility management specialist
Apax Partners SA has completed the acquisition of facility management specialist Faceo group for an undisclosed sum.
UK - Graphite trebles its money on Applied Energy exit
Graphite Capital has wholly exited its stake in ventilation, heating and water heating products manufacturer Applied Energy in a trade sale to Glen Dimplex. Graphite is understood to have trebled its money through the exit, the value of which was undisclosed....
UK - Phoenix-backed Gaucho planning IPO
Phoenix Equity Partners portfolio company Gaucho is scheduled to list next month. The restaurant chain has been owned by Phoenix since August 2006 when it bought it as part of a ТЃ55m secondary buyout from Barclays Private Equity. It is anticipated that...
UK - 3i makes £870m indicative bid for listed oil services business
3i is in talks with oil services business Abbot Group about a potential take-private deal. The indicative offer of 375p per share values Abbot at approximately ТЃ870m. 3i has been granted limited access to Abbot's books.
UK - Liverpool Seed Fund invests £250,000 in health screening company
The Merseyside Special Investment Fund's Liverpool Seed Fund has completed an investment of ТЃ250,000 in health screening company Gemini Biomedical Ltd.