Deals
UK - 3i expected to sign Enterprise buyout in a month
3i has made a 605p per share offer for maintenance group Enterprise. The deal values the company at £486m and sources close to the buyout expect it to be approved and signed within a month. The current offer represents a premium of 29.5% per share before...
UK - Possible Sainsbury's deal gets even more complicated
Any formal bid for the supermarket retailer Sainsbury's looks set to face complications as news emerges that Polygon has built a 1.5% stake in the company. In the past the hedge fund has taken activist positions and helped scupper the £346m take-private...
UK - Barclays Ventures backs MBO of paper products manufacturer
Barclays Ventures has backed the management buyout of F Bender Ltd, a manufacturer of paper catering products, investing £5.25m for a significant stake. The move secures the future of the company following recent financial difficulties, and comes five...
UK - Foresight portfolio company benefits from extra funding
Foresight Venture Partners’ investment into greenhouse gas abatement project developer Sindicatum has been followed by a major private equity placement: Citigroup Venture Capital International and the Black River Commodity Clean Energy Investment Fund...
UK - 3i to bid for Enterprise
3i is in talks with Enterprise Plc, a company which provides support services and maintenance to utilities companies, local government and large corporations. It is understood that the offer will be up to 20p higher than a 575p per share bid from an unknown...
FRANCE - BNP Paribas Développement takes 15% of Matel Group
BNP Paribas Développement has acquired a 15% stake in Matel Group, a supplier of products for manufacturers of luminous signs.
ITALY - Alto Partners' new fund closes its first deal
Alto Capital II, a fund closed recently on EUR 165m, has completed its first deal.
UK - Close Growth Capital supports £32m MBO of A-Gas from 3i
Close Growth Capital (CGC) has supported the £32m secondary management buyout of A-Gas International from 3i. CGC provided hybrid equity and debt financing for the deal. Senior debt and working capital facilities were provided by Barclays Bank. Bristol-based...
UK - Reed Elsevier expects private equity interest in its education business
Reed Elsevier has hired UBS to advise it on the disposal of its education division.
UK - Apollo closer to making Countrywide offer
Apollo is one step closer to making a formal bid for UK estate agency Countrywide after arranging the financing for a possible deal. It is expected to offer approximately 597p per share trumping 3i's rejected bid of 570p earlier this year.
UK - Porton Capital portfolio company Acolyte Biomedica sold to 3M
Porton Capital has sold Acolyte Biomedica, a developer of technology to combat hospital acquired infections to 3M. Porton Capital first invested in Acolyte in 2004, participating in a £3.7m expansion round. In 2002, BioProjects International led a £2.6m...
UK - MTI, Hotbed and BASF Venture Capital invest £4.9m in DataLase
MTI Partners, Hotbed and BASF Venture Capital GmbH have invested £4.9m in series-B funding to support technology company DataLase. The company has developed a revolutionary high-quality method for applying laser-induced images for product identification,...
UK - Risk Capital Partners invests in APT Controls
Risk Capital Partners has made a significant investment in access technology company APT Controls Ltd. Risk Capital has bought around 45%, valuing the business at over £10m. APT is part of a buy-and-build strategy in the access control and security industries,...
IRELAND - Private equity backed-Smurfit Kappa in EUR 1.3bn IPO
Paper and packaging company Smurfit Kappa is to be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange in a EUR 1.3bn IPO. The company is backed by Madison Dearborn Partners, which owns a 47% stake and CVC and Cinven which own 21% each.
PORTUGAL - Inter-Risco backs car inspection business
Inter-Risco, the private equity arm of bank BPI, has invested EUR 17m in MasterTest in return for a 30% stake. The company provides car inspection services and it is based in Porto.
UK - Lion Capital set to dispose of Burton's Foods
Lion Capital is considering disposing of Burton's Foods, the maker of Wagon Wheels and Maryland Cookies which it acquired in 2000 for £130m in its former guise Hicks Muse Tate & Furst. This would be the second divestment in as many weeks for the investor,...
SPAIN - Mercapital, Ibersuizas and Vista compete for Indas
Reports in the Spanish press suggest that Mercapital and Ibersuizas have joined Vista in the competition for pharmaceutical business Laboratorios Indas. The deal is valued at around EUR 360m.
UK - BUPA next private equity target?
Market sources report that Temasek, the Singapore government investment group, is weighting up a bid for private healthcare provider BUPA. It is understood that at least one other private equity group may also be involved in a Temasek-led bid.
ITALY - Permira and Private Equity Partners exit Marazzi Group
Permira and Private Equity Partners have sold the 8.47% stake it had in tile business Marazzi. The shares were sold at the price of EUR 10.3 each.
UK - West Coast Capital offer for Blooms accepted
West Coast Capital will shortly add Blooms of Bressingham to its garden centre assets after the nursery chain's board accepted its offer. West Coast Capital led a consortium comprised of Baugur, HBOS and property entrepeneur Nick Leslau to bid £30.2m...
ITALY - Siena Venture backs local furniture business
Closed-end fund Siena Venture, managed by MPS Venture, has acquired a 41%stake in furniture business Segis SpA.
SWEDEN - Industrifonden invests SEK 7m in scuba diving company
Industrifonden has invested SEK 7m in Gothenburg-based scuba diving company Poseidon in a funding round also including Start Invest. Start Invest and Industrifonden will hold close to 50% of the shares in the business.
UK - The Capital Fund makes two investments
The Capital Fund has completed two investments. It has provided Iconium, a corporate governance and compliance software solutions-provider based in Horsham, with expansion capital of an undisclosed value.
UK - IMAC invests up to £4.15m in Community Television Networks
Ingenious Media Active Capital Ltd has completed an investment of up to £4.15m in Community Television Networks Ltd (CTN).