Deals
UK - Kelso Place Asset Management backs Anya Hindmarch
Kelso Place Asset Management has acquired a stake in Anya Hindmarch in a transaction which values the business at approximately ТЃ20m. Over the past 12 years the business has successfully grown from its original first floor shop on Londonтs Walton Street...
UK - 3i targets Countrywide
Listed estate agency chain Countrywide has confirmed that it has received an approach from 3i. Shares in the company have risen by 13% since Thursday, giving the group a market value of ТЃ890m.
GERMANY - Burda Digital Ventures acquires computeruniverse.net
Burda Digital Ventures GmbH, a subsidiary of Hubert Burda Media, has agreed to acquire computeruniverse.net GmbH, Friedrichshof. The vendors are the company's management and private investor Participia Holding, Hamburg. The acquisition is designed to...
SWEDEN - Private-equity backed Biovitrum goes public
Biopharma company Biovitrum's share will be listed on the O-list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange as of today. The share price has been set at SEK 100, giving the company a market capitalisation of around SEK 4.3bn.
AUSTRIA - Nordwind and VMS to revive Cosmos
Specialist turnaround investors Nordwind Capital and Value Management Services (VMS) have together acquired 100% of Cosmos. Under the terms of the deal, VMS will place 100% of the shares it holds in Niedermeyer, which also operates in the consumer electronics...
ITALY - BS Private Equity acquires majority stake in Motovario
BS Private Equity, through its fund BS Investimenti IV, recently acquired a majority stake in Motovario, a manufacturer of power transmission products, from Power Transmission Finance. The consideration has not been disclosed.
GERMANY - Financial consortium exits Vestolit to Strategic Value Partners
Candover has sold PVC-producer Vestolit to Strategic Value Partners, alongside the company's management. A consortium of investors, led by Candover, acquired the company in 1999. Other groups making up the consortium were Chase Capital Partners, Foreign...
GERMANY - PPM Capital sells BST after 15 months
PPM Capital has sold BST Safety Textiles just 15 months after it acquired the company. The buyer is WL Ross & Co, a private equity firm headquartered in the US.
FRANCE - Charterhouse and Chequers reach threshold for Elior de-listing
Holding Bercy Investissement (HBI), a holding controlled by Charterhouse and Chequers, has acquired a block of 1,500,000 shares giving it 95.49% of the share capital in Elior.
UK - Risk Capital Partners hooks up with Seafood Holdings
Luke Johnsonтs private equity fund, Risk Capital Partners, has purchased a substantial minority equity stake in Seafood Holdings т a leading independent fresh fish and seafood distributor to the catering trade. The deal values the company in excess of...
FRANCE - AXA back the buyout of Champeau for the second time
AXA Private Equity has invested about EUR 10m, via its Small Caps Fund, in Champeau, the leading French manufacturer of wood roof truss systems. This is the second time the buyout house invests in this business.
FRANCE - Astorg completes secondary buyout of Staci
Astorg Partners has taken a 51% stake of marketing and stock logistics company Staci. Initiative & Finance, which had taken part in the de-listing of the business in 2004, has re-invested on this occasion.
UK - HgCapital acquires SHL
HgCapital has acquired SHL, a psychometric testing and assessment company with clients that include Abbey National, Marks & Spencer and Tesco.
UK - Och-Ziff Capital backs take-private of Whitehead Mann
City executive recruitment firm, Whitehead Mann has been acquired by Och-Ziff Capital Management in association with Palladian Investments, an investment vehicle owned by Piers Marmion.
UK - Blackstone only bidder left in final stages of auction for United Biscuits
Blackstone is the only contender left in the ТЃ1.7bn auction to acquire United Biscuits (UB), the foods company owned by Cinven, PAI and MidOcean Partners, after Premier Foods was forced to pull out as it could not raise the cash. The blow to the Premier...
SPAIN - Nazca buys El Derecho Editores
According to press reports, Nazca has agreed to buy El Derecho Editores, a company that specialises in online and offline legal information services, from its founders and management team. The purchase, expected to complete before the end of this year,...
FRANCE/ITALY - AXA Private Equity backs purchase of Guaber Household
AXA Private Equity has recently backed the purchase of a 100% stake in Guaber Household. Spotless Group, the holding of French business Eau Ecarlate and owned by its management and AXA, wholly acquired the Italian household cleaning products arm of Guaber...
UK - Octopus Investments acquires Golddigga for £18.5m
The Golddigga fashion brand has been acquired in an ТЃ18.5m buyout by its management team and Octopus Investments. Octopus led and arranged the deal, introducing buy-in candidate Daniel Morris who joined the company in June as CEO. The founder and vendor,...
FRANCE - UFG Private Equity invests in 3-in-1 laundry machine
UFG Private Equity has invested EUR 1.2m in Robotran, the developer of a new laundry machine for public launderettes.
UK - Listing of Hogg Robinson at between 140p and 220p a share
Permira is set to list Hogg Robinson, the business travel management company it has held since 2000. It is reported that it has set a price range for shares of between 140p and 220p.
UK - Cinven gains access to Gondola's books
The largest listed restaurant company in the UK, Gondola, has allowed Cinven access to its books. Cinven made a takeover approach to the owner of Pizza Express, ASK and Zizzi late last week and is considering making it a formal offer of 415p a share....
UK - LDC backs commercial mortgage lender with £27m investment
Commercial First, the specialist commercial mortgage lender, has secured the backing of private equity firm LDC to help grow the business ahead of a possible stock market flotation. Established in 2002 by financial industry experts Marty Finegold and...
UK - The Capital Fund invests £250,000 in Local Data Company
The Local Data Company, which operates the UKтs most accurate database of in-depth information on UK city centre retail businesses and other urban points of interest, has raised ТЃ250,000 from The Capital Fund. The companyтs management team will use the...
SPAIN - 3i divests stake in Kider
3i and minority shareholders have agreed to sell their combined stake of 47.4% in Kider to Caja Navarra for EUR 33.3m. The remaining stake will be held by the company’s management. The deal is part of the bank’s EUR 353m investment strategy, which will...