Deals
SWEDEN - 3i and L Capital-backed Gant in EUR 241m IPO
Gant, backed by 3i and L Capital, has today announced the EUR 241m flotation on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The IPO provides 3i and L Capital with partial exits at this stage generating EUR 44m and EUR 76m of proceeds respectively.
FRANCE - ABN AMRO Capital and Astorg acquire OFIC
ABN AMRO Capital France and Astorg Partners have acquired OFIC for an enterprise value of EUR 210m. The buyout houses have taken equal shareholdings in the company, alongside its management team headed by Jean-Louis Roques. The deal also involves members...
NORWAY - Telenor Venture sells OilCamp
OilCamp AS has been sold to the management team and Petroleum Networks Holding AS. Petroleum Networks Holding is owned by the private equity fund Energivekst, managed by HitecVision, and has been established as the fund’s investment platform within the...
CZECH REPUBLIC - Warburg Pincus exits LSE and Prague-listed Zentiva
Warburg Pincus has exited its stake in generic pharmaceutical supplier Zentiva N.V. Globally-active pharmaceutical developer Sanofi-Aventis has acquired a 24.876% stake in the company consisting of the 19.634% stake held by Warburg Pincus, a 4.507% stake...
FRANCE - AXA PE acquires Skyrock
AXA Private Equity has just signed an acquisition agreement for an 80% stake in Skyrock Group. It has been signed in association with Pierre Bellanger, CEO of Group Skyrock and Tamago, the company held by Morgan Grenfell Private Equity and Goldman Sachs....
FRANCE – Cinven set for UPC France mega-deal
Cinven has signed a letter of agreement with US-based cable operator Liberty Global to purchase UPC France for EUR 1.25bn. The deal is still in its very early stage, but Cinven is expected to pay a full 11.4 times UPC France’s 2005 operating cashflow,...
FRANCE - IK recapitalises CEVA Santé Animale
Industri Kapital has completed a EUR 208m recapitalisation of CEVA Santé Animale, the international French based animal health care company. This is IK’s second recapitalisation in a week and follows the EUR 65m recapitalisation of Myresjöhus.
UK - Empower Interactive secures $18m private equity funding
Empower Interactive has secured $18m in a new round of funding headed by Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) and existing investors Argo Global Capital, Cazenove Private Equity, DN Capital and IDG Ventures Europe.
UK - 3i invests £21m in MKM Building Supplies
3i has invested a further ТЃ21m into MKM Building Supplies (MKM), the fifth largest independent buildersт merchant in the UK. The existing management of David Kilburn and Bill Acton retains an interest in the business and is investing alongside 3i.
UK - Oxford Capital Partners and Noble Fund Managers invest £1.25m in TXT4
Oxford Capital Partners and Noble Fund Managers have announced their investment in London-based TXT4 Ltd, a pioneer and leader in the provision of mobile response technology to advertisers. Oxford Capital Partners, acting as lead investor, and Noble Fund...
FRANCE - 3i sells interest in Groupe Vendôme to Johnson & Johnson
3i has entered into an agreement to sell its interest in Groupe Vendôme to Johnson & Johnson Consumer France SAS for an undisclosed sum. This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2006....
ITALY - Siparex Italia and Emerald invest in Vimec LBO
Siparex Italia has recently participated in the buyout of the world’s third-largest manufacturer of elevating equipment for the mobility impaired, alongside the fund Emerald. Siparex Italia has invested EUR 1.5m in a majority LBO that was completed on...
UK - Coalfields Enterprise Fund invests in Durham Pipeline Technology
The Coalfields Enterprise Fund, the venture capital fund managed by Enterprise Ventures on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, has completed an investment in Durham Pipeline Technology Ltd, as part of a syndicated investment with the North...
GERMANY - Commerzbank takes MLA role on Norma buyout
Commerzbank Corporates and Markets (CBCM) has announced today that it is acting as sole mandated lead arranger and underwriter of the senior and mezzanine debt facilities supporting the buyout of Norma Group by 3i. The financing documentation was signed...
FINLAND - Nexit sells Hybrid Graphics to Nvidia
Nexit Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on mobile technologies and services, has agreed to sell its share of Finland-based graphics technology provider Hybrid Graphics to US-based 3D technology company Nvidia Corporation.
GERMANY - Industri Kapital acquires Sport Group from ECM
Industri Kapital has signed an agreement with funds advised by ECM to acquire Sport Group, a leading European provider of outdoor sport and recreational surface systems.
AUSTRIA - Permira sells remaining AMS shares
Permira has sold its remaining shares in Austria Microsystems to Morgan Stanley for approximately EUR 180m for placement with international institutional investors. Permira had a remaining shareholding of around 34% in Austria Microsystems, an Austrian...
UK - Bridgepoint sells Hydrex for £106m
Hydrex Group, the specialist supplier of mobile operated equipment and associated support services for the UK rail and materials handling sector, has been sold by Bridgepoint to Quilvest and Shoaibi Group in a transaction totalling ТЃ106m.
UK - Barclays Ventures exits Media Audits Group Ltd
Barclays Ventures has realised its investment in Media Audits Group Limited, a market leader in measuring returns on advertising investment.
DENMARK - KT Venture Group joins $6m investment in asetek
asetek has announced that US-based KT Venture Group, Northzone Ventures, Vaekstfonden and a group of existing investors have participated in the $6m funding round in the company.
GERMANY - 3i Europe takes over major automotive supplier
3i Europe has acquired a controlling stake in German industrial supplier Rasmussen GmbH / Norma Group via a management buyout. The transaction includes all shares held by the company managers.
NETHERLANDS - Rabo Participaties invests in mushroom assimilator
Rabo Participaties has announced that it has taken a minority stake in mushroom assimilation company Van Soest Champi'mer (VSC).
BULGARIA - Mezzanine Management backs bottled water firm
Mezzanine Management, the independent mezzanine and private equity provider, has announced that its Central European fund, Accession Mezzanine Capital (AMC), has backed the institutional buyout of the Devin Group, the largest bottled water company in...
UK - Permira abandons HMV bid
Shares in HMV Group have fallen following the decision by Permira to pullout of talks to buy the firm. Last week HMV rejected the private equity house's 210p a share bid for the company, which valued it at ТЃ842.7m and followed an earlier bid of 190p....