Deals
UK - Exponent backs buyout of marine services provider V.Holdings
Exponent Private Equity has supported the management buyout of V.Holdings, a marine services provider and international provider of energy outsourcing solutions. Close Brothers Private Equity, an investor since 2003, has reinvested some of the proceeds...
GERMANY - HgCapital invests in German Biogas
HgCapital has invested more than EUR 50m in German company Aufwind Schmack GmbH Neue Energien. The financing will allow Aufwind Schmack to accelerate its project development activities and finance its biogas and wind project construction and operation....
UK - Gresham's recommended offer for ICM in the balance
Gresham's recommended offer for business availability provider ICM Computer Group is facing competition from trade rival Phoenix. Gresham won a Close Brothers-run auction to lead the mangement buyout of the listed company last Friday since when Phoenix...
UK - Bain and Apollo to be Sainsbury's second suitors?
It is reported that Bain Capital and Apollo Management are to team up to launch a rival bid for Sainsbury's.
FRANCE - Consortium wins Saur exclusivity
A syndicate led by state-backed CDC and including industrial company Séché Environnement and AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) has won exclusivity in an auction for water business Saur. According to reports in the French press, the price obtained by...
UK - Duke Street acquires Burton's Foods from HM Capital
Duke Street Capital has acquired Burton's Foods from HM Capital. Duke Street saw off competition from the likes of 3i and Legal and General Ventures to win the £287m-turnover company in an estimated £210m deal. HM Capital had held Burton's since 2000...
SPAIN - Vista acquires pharma business for EUR 360m
Vista Capital has wholly purchased pharmaceutical business Laboratorios Indas from the Arochena family for around EUR 360m. It is understood that the private equity firm has faced competition from its peers Mercapital, Nmás1 and Ibersuizas, before signing...
GERMANY - Emerald Technology Ventures makes two exits
Emerald Technology Ventures, formerly SAM Private Equity, has exited two separate investments in German clean technology companies. The financial investor recently divested its remaining holding in Schmack Biogas, nine months after the company’s IPO...
GERMANY - Vita 34 to float end of March
SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement mbH, has announced it will float its portfolio company Vita 34 International AG on the Prime Standard in Frankfurt on 27 March. Concord Effekten has been appointed as lead manager and Deutsche Apotheker –...
UK - CBPE exits UTI
Close Brothers Private Equity has announced the sale of United Transport International Limited to InterBulk Investments plc for £80m. The transaction is CBPE's third realisation in 5 months, its previous one being the EUR 311m sale of Moody International...
SWEDEN - Industrifonden and Via Venture Partners invest SEK 20m in ComActivity
Industrifonden and Via Venture Partners have invested SEK 20m in ComActivity, an enterprise computing company. ComActivity supplies cost effective, future proof, web based, user-friendly and flexible enterprise solutions. The company has developed a new...
UK - Midven backs Alzheimer's disease testing company with £1.25m
Midven has lead a £1.25m funding round into Cytox, a Birmingham medical sciences company which is developing a diagnostic test to facilitate the early identification of Alzheimer’s disease. NESTA and a group of serial angel investors were the other...
UK/IRELAND - Madison Dearborn, CVC and Cinven in partial exit from Smurfit Kappa through IPO
Madison Dearborn Partners, CVC and Cinven are to reduce their combined stake in cardboard box manufacturer Smurfit Kappa following a joint listing on the London and Dublin Stock Exchanges. The pricing of the shares in the grey market ahead of the official...
UK - Synergis leads investment into heart disease diagnosis company
Synergis Technologies has led a funding round for Petrra Ltd.
SWITZERLAND - NEXThink received CHF 6m
Auriga Partners alongside Venture Incubator have invested CHF 6m in Swiss software developer NEXThink.
GERMANY - Cogentas portfolio company acquires gkk DialogGroup
Scholz & Friends Group, a Cognetas portfolio company, has acquired Frankfurt-based gkk DialogGroup (gkk), a provider of communication services. Scholz & Friends, an advertising and marketing group, established a joint venture with gkk in early 2005 called...
UK - Tudor Investment Corporation backs software start-up with £3m
Tudor Investment Corporation has invested £3m in Trampoline Systems, a London-based enterprise software start-up. Trampoline is the first European Enterprise 2.0 software developer to receive major investor backing. The investment enables Trampoline...
UK - The Carlyle Group invests in world-scale bioethanol plant
The Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings, an energy-focused private equity firm, have agreed to acquire and invest in Ensus Ltd and provide funding for the development of the company’s first bioethanol plant in the UK. Ensus plans to establish itself...
UK - Cadbury demerger presents opportunity for Blackstone and Lion?
It is reported today that Blackstone and Lion Capital are considering a bid for the beverage arm of Cadbury Schweppes following news that the company has appointed its bankers to prepare for a demerger of its drinks and confectionary arms.
SPAIN - Diana Capital pockets 36% IRR with Grupo Recyde sale
Diana Capital has completed its first exit by selling its automotive component, a 23% interest Grupo Recyde, to sector player Cie Automotive for EUR 19m.
SPAIN - Highgrowth makes 1.6x return with Dimat sale
Highgrowth Partners has sold the 32.65% stake it held in communications and networking solutions company Dimat SL. The company designs and manufactures communication and networking solutions for the international power utilities market.
UK - 3i splits NCP with sale to Macquarie
3i has demerged portfolio business National Car Parks into two separate entities. The car parking operating side has been acquired by Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund II in a £790m transaction. Meanwhile, 3i will retain NCP Services, an outsourced...
NL- Esprit Capital Partners sells NetEconomy to Fiserv
Esprit Capital Partners has sold NetEconomy, a provider of information technology services to the financial industry, to Fiserv for an undisclosed consideration.
NL - GIMV acquires Prolyte through Dutch subsidiary Halder
GIMV has acquired, through its Dutch subsidiary Halder, a majority shareholding in Prolyte, the European market leader in movable aluminium constructions for the entertainment and exhibition industry. Prolyte was owned by the managers and founders of...