Deals
ITALY - Palamon Capital Partners acquires debt collection agency
Mid-market firm Palamon Capital Partners has acquired all shares in Milan-based debt collection agency Si Collection SpA. The vendor is Si Holding SpA, which owns Carta Si, a major issuer of credit cards on behalf of a consortium of Italian banks.
ITALY - Investindustrial buys cosmetics business
Private equity firm Investindustrial has wholly acquired Morris Profumi. The business is a Parma-based cosmetics division of German specialty chemicals player Henkel.
UK - Quester invests £2.4m in web-based education company
Quester has invested £2.4m in UniServity Ltd, a provider of web-based learning platforms to the education sector. The capital raised from the company's first institutional funding round will provide UniServity with additional working capital to consolidate...
UK - Quester invests £2.4m in web-based education company
Quester has invested £2.4m in UniServity Ltd, a provider of web-based learning platforms to the education sector. The capital raised from the company's first institutional funding round will provide UniServity with additional working capital to consolidate...
FRANCE - Apax backs OBO of Royer Group
Apax Partners has acquired a significant minority stake in shoes distributor Royer Group.
UK - Bridgepoint exits ethnic food supplier WT Foods
Bridgepoint has sold ethnic and speciality foods supplier WT (Holdings) Ltd Group to GraceKennedy Ltd. Jamaica-listed GraceKennedy is the third largest company in the Carribbean with interests in food, retail, distribution and banking. The returns the...
GERMANY - Bridgepoint acquires Dragenopharm
Bridgepoint has acquired a majority stake in generic drugs contract manufacturer Dragenopharm Apotheker Püschl GmbH for an undisclosed amount.
UK - Blackstone approaches Jupiter Asset Management
It has been reported that Blackstone has approached the management of Jupiter Asset Management about a possible buyout. The fund management group which has assets under management of £17bn is valued at approximately £1bn.
UK - Stirling Square Capital Partners acquires Public Safety Equipment
Stirling Square Capital Partners and Diamond Castle Holdings have acquired international highway safety solutions business Public Safety Equipment (PSE) in a deal reported to be worth $400m.
UK - YFM backs management buy-in of Cater Plus Services
YFM has backed the £4.3m management buy-in of catering services provider Waterfall Services Ltd, which trades as Cater Plus Services. Yorkshire Bank provided a debt package to facilitate the deal.
UK - Advent Venture Partners invests $5m in Fizzback Group
Advent Venture Partners has invested $5m in The Fizzback™ Group, an instant customer feedback provider. This round of funding will accelerate Fizzback’s marketing and product development and enable the company to grow its team to cope with strong...
UK - Abderdeen Asset Managers Private Equity backs MBO of EDSR
Aberdeen Asset Managers Private Equity has backed the management buyout of EDSR, a provider of specialist services to the land decontamination sector. EDSR has a turnover of £12m and employs 30 staff.
DENMARK - EQT acquires Dako in DKK 7.25bn deal
The EQT V fund has agreed to acquire cancer diagnostics company Dako Denmark A/S for an enterprise value of DKK 7,250m. Headquartered in Glostrup, Dako’s current main shareholders include descendants of the company’s founder Niels Harboe, Novo Nordisk...
SPAIN - Nazca to sell its tapas restaurant chain
Spanish press reports suggest that private equity firm Nazca is to sell Lizarran Tapas Selectas, its tapas restaurant business, to sector player Comess Group.
UK - Octopus generates 98% IRR on exit from clinical trials recruitment company
Octopus Investments has sold clinical trials recruitment business James Harvard International, and James Harvard Japan to Hays Plc. Hays has paid £24m initial cash consideration, with a further earn-out estimated to be £19m over three years. This exit...
UK - Bowmark's School Travel Group makes fourth acquisition
Bowmark Capital has completed its fourth acquisition in the school travel sector. The School Travel Group (STG), the platform business that Bowmark established in 2004, has acquired Kuoni Travel’s School and Student Tours business.
ITALY - Z-Cube invests in pharma business
As a lead investor, Z-Cube has invested EUR 3.2m in pharma business PharmEste alongside Quantica SGR, Zernike Meta Venture and State Street Global Investment SGR (SSGI).
UK - Dunedin completes two full exits
Dunedin has fully realised its investment in two portfolio companies generating returns of 4.3x from asset-based lender Davenham and 3.6x from business travel group Portman.
UK - Vision Capital acquires six businesses from Bridgepoint
Vision Capital has acquired a portfolio of six businesses from Bridgepoint for an undisclosed sum. The investments include Portman, a UK-business travel agency; Pirtek, a franchisor for hydraulic hose repairs, and Mastock Arable, a UK agricultural, chemical...
UK - TPG circles Apax and Permira-held New Look
New Look, the fashion retailer backed by Apax and Permira, has received offers of interest from other buyout firms including TPG. A formal sales process is yet to begin but it is understood that a secondary buyout is more likely than an IPO.
UK - Investcorp to recoup £150m on 10-year Welcome Break investment
Investcorp is to receive a payout of £150m from its portfolio company Welcome Break. The realisation follows a £300m recapitalisation that values the motorway service company at approximately £500m.
UK - Chrysalis VCT backs Rhino Rugby
Chrysalis VCT has taken a 6.25% stake in Rhino Rugby, the official supplier of training equipment to the English and Welsh Rugby Unions.
UK - 3i turns its attentions to Foxtons
3i is reported to be interested in acquiring estate agency chain Foxtons. Privately-owned Foxtons has appointed Credit Suisse to run a dual-track process to decide the asset's future.
FINLAND - CapMan acquires Walki Wisa from UPM
CapMan has agreed to buy Walki Wisa Group, a producer of wrappings and composite materials, from UPM-Kymmene.