Deals
SWEDEN - Industrifonden invests in VICI Industri
Industrifonden has invested SEK 50m in VICI Industri, together with ALMI, Skaraborg Provins Bank/Danske Bank. VICI Industri has recently received new orders for roughly SEK 200m from Scania, and the investment will be used to expand production facilities.
UK - MSIF backs MBO of watch service business with £1.1m
Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF) has invested over £1.1m to support the management buyout of a Southport-based watch service business In Time Watch Services Ltd. The funding, which totalled £1.75m, will finance the acquisition and expansion...
NORWAY - Algeta raises NOK 250m in IPO
Algeta, Norwegian Cancer therepeutics successfully closed its IPO at a gross proceeds (before over-allotment) of NOK 250m. The offering was more than twice over-subscribed and was priced in the upper half of NOK 47 per share. The offering took place in...
UK - Apollo's Countrywide bid faces further challenge
Apollo's £1bn offer for Countrywide is expected to encounter difficulty next month when it faces a shareholder vote at an extraordinary meeting on the news that hedge fund Polygon Investment Partners has increased its stake in the UK estate agency chain...
SPAIN - iNova Capital acquires majority stake in IT business
Private equity firm iNova Capital has purchased a 56% shareholding in IT business Unitronics Comunicaciones, S.A from AlpInvest Partners, Coller Capital and the company's founders. Upon completion of the deal, the remaining shares will be split between...
UK - More Sainsbury's share movements
Robert Tchenguiz has raised his stake in Sainsbury's from 4.04% to 4.15%. It is thought the property tycoon is interested in working with the board of the UK supermarket giant to help it realise some of the value of its property. Tchenguiz has previous...
GERMANY - Neuhaus Partners exits Gentleware
Neuhaus Partners GmbH has sold Gentleware AG to software house b+m Informatik AG. The transaction value has not been disclosed, but company founder Dr Marko Boger remains invested with a 25% stake.
NL - Bridgepoint acquires Wolters Kluwer Education for EUR 774m
Bridgepoint has announced that it has acquired Wolters Kluwer Education (WKE) in a transaction which values the company at EUR 774m. Debt was provided by ING and Société Générale.
SWEDEN - Industry Capital sells Prevesta to Block Watne Group for SEK 1.9bn
Block Watne Group (BWG), one of Norway’s leading housebuilders and listed on Oslo Børs, has entered into an agreement with Industri Kapital's 2004 Fund to buy 100 per cent of the shares in Prevesta, Sweden’s leading producer of prefabricated houses...
UK - Aberdeen leads ID Support Services buyout
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has led the management buyout of ID Support Services Ltd (IDSS), a group providing electronic security systems and climate control solutions. IDSS has two divisions, ID Technology Group specialises in the provision...
UK - Esprit Capital Partners invests $15m in Tribold
Esprit Capital Partners has led a $15m series B funding round for Tribold, a provider of product management enterprise software developed for communication service providers. Esprit joins previous investor Eden Ventures which also participated in this...
UK - Iceni Capital completes second transaction
Iceni Capital has supported the buyout of Pell & Bales, a not-for-profit specialist marketing services company. Led by the CEO of Pell & Bales, the buyout allows the founder to retire from the company and gives the management team the capital resources...
UK - Bridgepoint acquires Fat Face for £360m
Bridgepoint has acquired clothing retailer Fat Face from Advent International in a transaction totalling £360m. The company has a turnover of £111m and a run rate EBITDA of £30.4m for the year ended 31 May 2007 and employs over 1,500 staff.
UK - Smedvig invests £6.4m in Streetcar
Smedvig Capital has invested £6.4m in Streetcar, a pay-as-you-go car club. The new capital will be used to finance Streetcar's aggressive growth plans, increasing the number of locations and the size of its fleet.
NORWAY - Radiocrafts receives growth capital from Verdane Capital
Radiocrafts AS, a leading supplier of wireless radio frequency (RF) modules to the professional market for communication in the license-free frequency bands, has received growth capital from Verdane Capital. The new funding is part of the strategy to...
UK - Apax cashes in on wafer firm
Apax Partners is believed to have made a profit of £25m on the sale of Wales-based silicon wafer reclamation group Pure Wafer.
UK – Apax and Permira seek New Look suitor
Apax Partners and Permira are reportedly expecting up to £2bn for the sale of portfolio company New Look, a UK fashion retailer. The private equity backers have mandated Merrill Lynch to explore options for the company, which they jointly hold two thirds...
GERMANY - CVC sells ista to Charterhouse for EUR 2.4bn
CVC Capital Partners has sold its stake in energy metering and billing company ista to Charterhouse Capital Partners for a total transaction value, including debt, of EUR 2.4bn. CVC acquired ista in a management buyout in June 2003.
NL - Bridgepoint to acquire Wolters Kluwer education division
Wolters Kluwer, the Dutch publishing group, is understood to have agreed the sale of its education division to Bridgepoint Capital in a deal worth more than EUR 750m.
US - Blackstone files for IPO
The Blackstone Group has filed for a partial flotation, in a move which could value it at up to $40bn. The firm filed to raise $4bn in a 221-page public offering prospectus, revealing interesting insights into its accounts in the process. Blackstone...
FRANCE - Camaieu sold to Cinven
AXA Private Equity will sell its controlling shareholding in clothing brand Camaïeu to Cinven, at a unitary share price of EUR 267. The offer values the target at EUR 1.6bn.
ITALY - DGPA Capital acquires adhesive label manufacturer
Private equity firm DGPA Capital wholly acquired Mida from a group of local entrepreneurs and private investors for EUR 7.4m. Out of that amount, one third is equity and a debt package provided by Centrobanca represents two thirds of the total deal value.
SWEDEN - Amadeus Capital Partners invest in F-round
Amadeus Capital Partners has joined Shamil Chandaria, Pod Venture Partners and HarbourVest Partners in a $12 million F round financing in Stockholm-based Transmode Holding AB. All investors in this round are previous investors in the company.
ITALY - 3i to float Giochi Preziosi in 15 months
According to Italian press reports, toy manufacturer Giochi Preziosi is to list in the Milan Stock Exchange before the end of H1 2008.