Deals
UK - European Capital acquires Whitworths from Gresham for £86m
Gresham Private Equity has exited Whitworths through the sale of the business to European Capital in a deal worth ТЃ86m. The exit has generated a return of over 6x for Gresham, which acquired the company in a ТЃ15m management buyout in 2001.
FRANCE - Lion Capital sells jam maker to Activa Capital
Lion Capital has announced it has agreed to sell Materne, a leading French jam manufacturer to French mid-market buyout firm, Activa Capital.
FRANCE - Crédit Agricole Private Equity invests EUR 2m in SplitGames
Crédit Agricole Private Equity (CAPE) has completed the EUR 2m first round of funding in online video games exchange community SplitGames.
FRANCE - UFG Private Equity invests in children's shoes retailer
UFG Private Equity, formerly known as Nord Europe Private Equity, has invested EUR 1.5m in Petits Petons.
FRANCE - Activa Capital backs the buyout of Françoise Saget
Activa Capital has backed the spin-out of Françoise Saget from Yves Rocher. The deal was leveraged by a debt package underwritten by Banque Palatine.
ITALY - Doughty Hanson acquires Zobele for EUR 300m
Doughty Hanson has agreed to purchase Trento-based company Zobele from its founders for around EUR 300m, according to reports in the Italian press. Zobele is active in the development of products and solutions for pest control, healthcare and household,...
GERMANY – Intel Capital invests in BrainLAB
Intel Capital has acquired an interest in Munich-based medical technology company BrainLAB. The venture capital organisation invested $7.3m that will be used to accelerate the development of mobile point of care solutions to provide patient with consistently...
SPAIN - Baring Private Equity Partners invests in the educational sector
Baring Private Equity Partners has taken a significant stake in multilingual school Estudios Agora for an undisclosed sum. According to reports in the Spanish press, the acquisition is the first step of a buy-and-build operation which aims to create a...
UK - ECI Partners sells Kirker Travel to Kuoni
ECI Partners, has sold Kirker Travel to Kuoni for an undisclosed amount. Kirker is an independent provider of luxury holidays, offering tailor-made itineraries for holidays across 150 destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Far-East and New...
SWEDEN - Candover beds Hilding
Candover has signed an agreement to acquire Swedish mattress manufacture Hilding Anders from Investcorp for an enterprise value of SEK9.2bn (approx. €1bn).
UK - Inventages invests in CMP
Oxford-based allergy specialist CMP Therapeutics Ltd has raised another EUR 1m from Inventages Capital Investments Inc. The funds are part of a Series A round, which saw Inventages invest EUR 1m in the first tranche in December 2005. The company, which...
ITALY - Candover is the most probable buyer for Ferretti
After months of speculation about the future of Ferretti, it seems that the luxury yatch group is set to be acquired by Candover. Market sources suggest that the UK buyout house is in final talks with Permira, majority shareholder with a 70% stake. Although...
FRANCE - IPO leads AltéAd buyout
IPO, Synergie Finance and Ouest Croissanec have invested EUR 6m of equity, half of which in convertible bonds, in industrial machinery transportation and maintenance business AltéAd.
ITALY - MPS Venture et al acquire 30% stake in Gruppo SDN
MPS Venture SGR, coinvesting with Centrobanca Sviluppo Impresa and Sanpaolo IMI Investimenti per lo Sviluppo SGR has signed an agreement to acquire a 30% shareholding in Gruppo SDN. The deal value has not been disclosed. Naples-based Gruppo SDN provides...
SPAIN - TA Associates ready to pay EUR 100m for eDreams
According to press reports, US private equity house TA Associates is set to pay EUR 100m for 100% of the shares in Internet-based travel agency eDreams. A majority stake of 55% is currently owned by a group of 70 investors, including the bank Santander...
SPAIN - Catalana d'Iniciatives takes 25% in biodesel business for EUR 10.5m
Private equity house Catalana d'Iniciatives has taken a participation of 25% in Bioenergética Extremeña for EUR 10.5m. The remaining stake was split between the Hinojosa-Vacas, Bigeriego and Espinosa de los Monteros families, which have diluted their...
ITALY - Sanpaolo IMI Fondi Chiusi acquires shareholding in Blumen
Fund Centro Impresa, managed by Sanpaolo IMI Fondi Chiusi, has invested EUR 3m in return for a 32% stake in Blumen, a retailer of home and garden appliances. Blumen is based in Piacenza and had returns of EUR 15m last year. The business plan includes...
SPAIN - Baring acquires stake in Boniquet-Sparchim
Baring Private Equity Partners (BPEP), has acquired a minority stake in Laboratorios Boniquet-Sparchim. The consideration of the deal, in which Invercartera (Caixa Catalunya's private equity arm) has also invested, has not been disclosed. Boniquet-Sparchim...
SPAIN - Corpfin Capital buys majority stake in Alfe for EUR 30m
Corpfin Capital has recently acquired a participation of 56% in the capital of rental equipment company Alfe Grupo Empresarial for EUR 30m. The main activity of Alfe is the rental of machinery and equipment for both civil engineering and construction...
GERMANY – Biofrontera to float eventually
Having withdrawn at the last minute from an IPO on the Prime Standard in July this year, Biofrontera is set to float on 30 October on the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange. DZ Bank has been appointed to place the previously privately placed 443,514 shares.
GERMANY – Strong debut for Delticom
Tyre e-commerce company Delticom has floated successfully on the Frankfurt Prime Standard. With a first listing at EUR 37 per share, the 1.13m listed shares exceeded the initial issue price of EUR 36. Around three quarters of the listed shares are part...
GERMANY – Cold reception for Liponova
Biotechnology company Liponova has floated on the Entry Standard below its issue price of EUR 30. VEM Aktienbank placed the 250,000 shares as part of a capital increase. Trading opened this morning on EUR 27.40.
UK - Enterprise Ventures invests in Yuuguu
Enterprise Ventures has invested ТЃ600,000 of series-A financing in Yuuguu Ltd.
NL - Lowland commits EUR 5m to eBuddy
Amsterdam-based eBuddy, a provider of web-based messaging, has raised €5m in a first round of funding from Lowland Capital Partners. eBuddy offers an internet service which enables users to chat with AOL, MSN and Yahoo accounts without having to install...