Deals
NL - Lehman considers fund-of-funds IPO
Lehman Brother Private Equity has announced it is considering a Euronext Amsterdam listing for a fund-of-funds. Should the launch go ahead, Lehman will invest a substantial portion of its own funds in the vehicle, commit all capital raised through the...
ITALY - Alto Partners exit fashion business Gruppo Arcte
Fund Alto Capital II - managed by private equity firm Alto Partners - has announced the sale of its 90% stake in Gruppo Arcte to the Mariella Burani Group. The buyer is one of the largest Italian luxury groups, with a market capitalisation on the Italian...
FINLAND - 3i acquires 25% of DNA for EUR 140m
3i has acquired 25% of the shares in Finnet OY, a Finish mobile operator, for EUR 140m. Following the deal Finnet OY is to be renamed DNA. 3i's stake will be reduced to 13% after the anticipated merger of five local operators and DNA. The 25% stake has...
UK - CCMP Capital acquires BOC Edwards from Linde Group
CCMP Capital has acquired BOC Edwards from the Linde Group. BOC Edwards is a manufacturer of vacuum equipment used in high technology industries. CCMP Capital made the acquisition through funds managed by CCMP Capital Advisors and CCMP Capital Asia Ltd....
DENMARK - EQT acquires Cimbria
The EQT Opportunity Fund has agreed to acquire a majority of the shares in the Danish industrial engineering Company Cimbria A/S.
SWEDEN- Nordic Capital acquires Thule Group from Candover
Nordic Capital VI has acquired Thule Group from Candover. Thule Group is a sports utility transportation solution provider with revenues of SEK 6bn.
UK - KKR secures £11.1bn Boots deal in shareholder vote
Alliance Boots shareholders have voted in favour of KKR's ТЃ11.1bn takeover bid. Of the proxy votes cast ahead of the EGM, reckoned to be a good indicator of the EGM results, 96.3% of shareholders approved KKR's recommended offer. The first private equity...
UK - Index Ventures profits from CBS acquisition of Last.fm
Index Ventures has seen impressive returns from its year long investment in online social music network Last.fm. Founded in a Vienna basement, Last.fm is now headquartered in London and was acquired for $280m in cash by US television network CBS. It received...
SPAIN/FRANCE - CVC goes solo for Altadis bid
Following recent rumours of disagreements between CVC and PAI Partners in relation to their joint bid for tobacco business Altadis, CVC is said to be preparing an offer on its own.
UK - Aberdeen acquires £5m stake in Funeral Services Partnership
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has acquired a ТЃ5m stake in Midlands-based Funeral Services Partnership Ltd, a newco set up to create a group of independent funeral businesses.
POLAND - Argan acquires majority stake in AAT Group
Argan Capital has acquired Polish distributor of security products and systems, AAT Group. Following completion of the transaction, Argan will hold a majority stake in the business. Established in 1995, AAT has a broad product offering which includes...
UK - Aberdeen backs BIMBO of oil and gas tools rental company
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has backed the BIMBO of ATR Group, a business which rents specialised tools and equipment to the offshore oil and gas industry. Aberdeen invested ТЃ3.9m in equity funding to support the transaction alongside debt...
UK - Blackstone-backed Tragus acquires Strada for £140m
Tragus, the restaurant group owned by Blackstone, has added high street pizza chain Strada to its portfolio in a ТЃ140m deal. The acquisition represents an exit for entrepreneur Richard Caring and will enlarge Tragus's offering by 55 sites. Tragus owns...
UK - Apax in move for gardening chain Dobbies
It is believed that Apax is behind a takeover offer for Scottish gardening chain Dobbies. Apax's interest comes as a surprise: West Coast Capital owns a 10%+ stake in AIM-listed Dobbies and had been expected to try to acquire it alongside Bank of Scotland...
UK - Risk Capital Partners acquires Druckers Vienna Patisserie
Risk Capital Partners has acquired Birmingham-based Druckers Vienna Patisserie. RCP are combining Druckers with its London-based patisserie chain Patisserie Valerie. Druckers will operate alongside Patisserie Valerie, which RCP bought in September 2006....
GERMANY - GMT buys construction information provider
GMT Communications Partners has acquired the construction information division from Springer Science + Business Media for an undisclosed amount. The financial investor currently owns Docu Group, another B2B information provider in the construction sector...
BALTIC - LP Otrais Eko Funds invest in LLC Epic Bau for EUR 150,000
LP Otrais Eko Fonds will invest EUR 150,000 in start-up company LLC Epic Bau to finance the acquisition of modern mobile concrete production machinery. The fund will obtain a 49% shareholding in the company.
FRANCE - Stirling Square sells GDT to Bridgepoint in $343m deal
Stirling Square Capital Partners has signed an agreement to sell Global Design Technologies (GDT) to Bridgepoint for $343m. GDT is a France/US-headquartered manufacturer of swaged permanent coupling systems for rigid tubing and pipes used in the aerospace,...
FINLAND - Lion Capital acquires Vaasa & Vaasa from CapVest
Lion Capital LLP has acquired Vaasan & Vaasan, a producer and distributor of branded bakery products, from CapVest Ltd. Lion Capital has previously invested in other food companies like Weetabix and Kettle Foods, and aims to leverage its experience in...
AUSTRIA - Riverside exits PPC Insulators
The Riverside Company has sold insulators manufacturer PPC Insulators to the Italian Seves Group for an undisclosed amount. Following the transaction the Seves Group is expected to record revenues of more than EUR 400m.
UK - Barclays Ventures backs £9m air conditioning takeover
Barclays Ventures has backed the ТЃ9m takeover by Four Seasons Control Limited (FSC) of Air-conditioning and Associated Services Ltd (AAS). The deal sees the bringing together of the two air conditioning design, installation and maintenance specialists....
BELGIUM - KBC and Indufin acquire HR business alongside management
Private equity firms KBC and Indufin have wholly acquired a conglomerate of employment agencies Actief Interim, Actief Construct and Actief alongside the group's managing director Mark Maesen.
SPAIN - Clave Mayor acquires stake in audiovisual business
Following the recent wave of interest in audiovisual businesses by Spanish players, Clave Mayor has acquired a 40% stake in sector player Comercial de Contenidos Audiovisuales 2007. The company intends to position itself as the reference provider of audiovisual...
LUXEMBOURG - VOXmobile sold for EUR 80m
Listed investment firm BIP Investment Partners has sold mobile network operator VOXmobile to Mobistar for EUR 80m. Mobistar acquired a 90% stake with the balance being held by the company’s founders.