Deals
FRANCE - Possible EUR 2bn sale of FNAC
According to reports in the French press, PPR is considering selling FNAC, a nationwide books and media retailer.
ITALY - Sinergia and Parà announce acquisition of Arquati
The fund Sinergia con Imprenditori, managed by private equity firm Synergo Sgr, and industrial player Parà have jointly acquired 100% of Arquati, a group specialised in picture frame moulding, wood drapery poles and tracks for the window covering industry....
UK - Duke Street Capital acquires 2e2 from Gresham in £130m deal
Duke Street Capital (DSC), has agreed to acquire leading IT services business 2e2 in a ТЃ130m secondary management buyout from Gresham Private Equity. 2e2, which has operations in the UK, Channel Islands, Holland and the Isle of Man, operates in a number...
FRANCE - UFG joins syndicate of investors in Nemoptic
UFG Private Equity (formerly Nord Europe Private Equity) has committed EUR 2m in liquid crystal screen developer Nemoptic. The private equity firm joins the syndicate of investors which had invested EUR 9m in May 2006, bringing the new total to EUR 11m....
GREECE - Apax and Texas to reap a fourfold return with TIM Hellas auction
Apax Partners and Texas Pacific Group have put a for sale sign on their portfolio company TIM Hellas, a Greek mobile services provider. According to press reports, the buyout firms have mandated Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers to begin an auction process...
FRANCE - Ciclad takes 84% of construction equipment business
Ciclad has taken an 84% stake in Hussor, a manufacturer of concrete moulds for the construction industry.
UK - Electra Quoted Management helps fund Find Portal's acquisition of Defaqto
Electra Quoted Management Limited (EQML) is pleased to announce, that alongside FF&P Private Equity it has made a follow on investment in Find Portal Limited (Find) on behalf of funds under its management, in addition to investment in May 2005. Find has...
UK - Permira pulls Hogg Robinson IPO
Hogg Robinson, the Permira-owned business travel company, has had its proposed IPO pulled with sources citing the current state of the market.
GERMANY - Nord Holding sells Alsitan to management
Nord Holding has sold its 80% stake in Alsitan, located in Greifenberg am Amersee to managing partner Hans-Jürgen Specht and his son, Marc Specht.
GERMANY - Raiden Capital acquires KSH Capital Partners
London-based buyout house Raiden Capital Ltd has acquired KSH Capital Partners AG, a sector-specific financial investor based in Hamburg and Lübeck.
UK - 3i and Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures back series B for DeepStream
3i has joined DeepStream Technologies as new investor, leading its ТЃ8.1m Series-B equity funding. The funding will be used to expand the companyтs range of solution platforms for new markets, particularly energy management, medical and appliance sectors,...
UK - Gresham-owned Whitworths up for sale
Dried fruit packager, Whitworths, is being sold by current backers Gresham at a competitive process run by Rothschild. Several private equity firms including Lion Capital, European Capital, HgCapital and Barclays Private Equity are in the process of preparing...
UK - Bank of Scotland backs buyout of William Cook Defence
William Cook Defence Ltd (WCD), the North East-based specialist manufacturer of tracks and other engineering components, together with its subsidiary William Cook Intermodal Ltd have been acquired from William Cook Holdings Ltd, the Sheffield-based engineering...
ITALY - Carlyle to lead EUR 30bn bid for Telecom Italia businesses
According to reports in the Corriere della Sera, The Carlyle Group is planning a EUR 30bn bid for Telecom Italia's mobile telephony businesses. It will provide EUR 4bn of cash, while the other partners in the consortium, Permira and Blackstone Capital...
NL- Bencis acquires Aktiesport and Perri Sport
Bencis Capital Partners has acquired a substantial equity interest in the in the sport retails chains Aktiesport and Perry Sport through Unlimited Sports Group BV (USG).
UK - SiConnect receives £700,000 investment from Esprit
Esprit Capital Partners has led an investment round for SiConnect Ltd. The ТЃ700,000 is part of a first tranche of second fundraising which comes from Esprit's Prelude Trust Plc fund and follows earlier investments of ТЃ1.3m in March 2006 and ТЃ2.8m in...
UK - South East Growth Fund commits £250,000 to Oxford English Training Ltd
SEGF has invested ТЃ250,000 as part of a ТЃ500,000 investment round to fund the continued expansion of Oxford English Training Ltd (OETL) in mainland China. OETL is a prestigious English Language and Business Qualifications training company servicing...
GERMANY - T-Venture backs CoreOptics alongside other investors
T-Com Venture Fund has made a strategic investment in CoreOptics Inc, a developer of transponder systems. The company is headquartered in Nuremberg, with operations in New Hampshire, US. It develops high-speed optical networking applications in the telecommunications...
UK - Signet wants to hang on to H Samuel and Ernest Jones
US jewellery company Signet has stated that it intends to hang on to its 590 outlets in the UK which trade under the H Samuel and Ernest Jones names. It is understood that the UK businesses are falling behind the fast-growing US businesses.
UK - Possible take-private of Inter Link Foods?
Reports suggest that the management of Inter Link Foods are in talks with private equity firms, including 3i, HgCapital and LDC, about the possibility of delisting the company. Its shares closed at 407.5p on Friday with management anticipating to demand...
SPAIN - Diana Capital and ICO buy 12.7% of Guascor Group
Diana Capital and the Instituto de Credito Oficial (ICO) have acquired a 12.7% shareholding in Guascor Group, a company focused in the development of marine propulsion equipment and engines. Private equity firm Diana Capital and ICO, the state-owned...
SPAIN - Vista and Apax divest Itevelesa for EUR 500m
Apax and Vista Capital have sold their entire shareholding in Spanish vehicle inspection company Itevelesa to Australian investment bank Macquarie. The bank, which had been looking for opportunities in Spain since its divestment from road management company...
SPAIN - Permira secures Telepizza in EUR 850m deal
The five-month battle for Spanish pizza delivery chain Telepizza has come to an end with the winning bid of EUR 3.21 per share from Foodco Pastries and Medimosal, companies jointly owned by Permira and Telepizza founding family Ballve's investment vehicle...
SWEDEN - CapMan creates Nordic healthcare group
CapMan funds and Plena AB have signed an agreement for the acquisition of two Swedish healthcare companies SelefaTrade AB and Förbandsmaterial AB. The acquisitions have been made via the holding company that owns Finnish Tamro MedLab Oy, a business CapMan...