Deals
NL - 3i to acquire Business Media Europe from VNU
3i has announced that it has reached an agreement in principle to acquire substantially all of VNU Business Media Europe (BME), a Dutch careers classified and B2B magazines group, from VNU.
UK - Gresham backs MBO of Town Centre Restaurants from Bank of Scotland Corporate
Gresham Private Equity has backed the secondary buy-out of Town Centre Restaurants (TCR) from Bank of Scotland Corporate, in a deal with a total funding package of £48m. With over 50 sites in the UK's busiest town and shopping centres, Town Centre Restaurants...
UK - Barclays Private Equity backs £28m MBO of Artigiano
Barclays Private Equity has backed the £28m management buyout of Scala Collections Ltd, the direct retailer of Italian designed ladies’ clothes, shoes and accessories which trades as Artigiano. As part of the deal, Barclays Private Equity will take...
POLAND – ARGUS acquires GTX Hanex Plastic
ARGUS Capital Partners have acquired a majority stake in Polish manufacturer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) performs, bottles and film, GTX Hanex Plastic, for an undisclosed sum from Montluc Holdings. Following the buyout the financial investor intends...
UK - Primary Capital refinances YO! Sushi
Primary Capital has refinanced portfolio company YO! Sushi, the Japanese conveyor-belt restaurant brand it backed in a £10m management buyout in 2003. Over the last three years, YO! Sushi has expanded to 26 sites across the UK and eight international...
SWITZERLAND – SIRS-Lab raises EUR 10m
Affentranger Associates have led a EUR 10m funding round in SIRS-Lab alongside bm-t Beteiligungsmanagement Thüringen and Swiss institutional investors. The funding will be used to bring new molecular diagnostics to the market.
SWEDEN - EQT V hits EUR 4.25bn
EQT has closed its latest fund on EUR 4.25bn. EQT V attracted 25% of money from the Nordic region, 30% from the UK and Continental Europe, 25% from North America, and the remaining 20% from the rest of the world. New commitments came from Australia, Canada...
SPAIN - Ahorro Corporación invests in Biodiesel Alicante
Ahorro Corporación has agreed to purchase 20% of Biodiesel Alicante from Grupo Nátura. The consideration has not been disclosed.
SPAIN - Caixaholding backs baby food producer
According to reports in the Spanish press, Caixaholding has purchased 35% of Nafree for approximately EUR 1.25m. Private equity firm Molins Capital Inversión is reported to have invested as well, providing a total of EUR 50,000.
FRANCE - Canadian Telecom Media Fund invests EUR 8m in CheckPhone
Telecom Media Fund, a joint fund of Trio Capital and la Caisse de dépôts et placement du Quebec, has invested EUR 8m ($10.2m) in France-based VoIP security software developer CheckPhone.
UK - 3i sells Precise Media to Phoenix Equity Partners for £42m
3i has sold UK media monitoring agency Precise Media to Phoenix Equity Partners for £42m. The sale generated an IRR of 101% and a multiple of 3.2x for 3i, which backed the BIMBO of the company (then known as KBBI) in April 2005. During the holding period,...
AUSTRIA - Cerberus takes BAWAG in Austria's largest ever buyout
A group of investors led by US-based Cerberus Capital Management has agreed to purchase BAWAG P.S.K. from trade union OeGB.
SWEDEN - Doughty Hanson sells Tumba Centrum for SEK 550m
Doughty Hanson & Co Real Estate has agreed to sell Tumba Centrum to Citycon for SEK 550m. Tumba Centrum is a 32,000 square metre shopping centre, which also includes the municipal library and art gallery as well as municipal offices and residential apartments....
FINLAND - Aspida secures EUR 500,000 in funding
Finnish Industry Investment and private investors have invested EUR 500,000 in software company Aspida Oy.
UK - August sells Securistyle to BoSIF
August Equity has sold UK hardware manufacturer Securistyle Holdings in a $42.3m secondary buyout to Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance. August had invested £11.3m as part of a management buyout from Dublin-based Allen McGuire in November 2003.
FRANCE - Butler and Cita sell 1001 listes to TF1 for EUR 20m
Butler Capital Partners and Cita Gestion have sold their entire 95% stake in 1001 Listes, a website which coordinates the purchase and delivery of wedding gifts, to Teleshopping, a shopping channel of the TF1 group, for about EUR 20m.
UK - Noble Fund Managers leads £2.6m investment in Optasia Medical
Noble Fund Managers has led a £2.6m investment in Optasia Medical Ltd alongside Saffron Hill Ventures. The new capital will be used to accelerate the introduction into clinical practice of Optasia's radiography-based CAD tools for musculoskeletal diseases.
SPAIN - Catalana d'Iniciatives divests stake in Ritz Hotel
Private equity firm Catalana d'Iniciatives has sold its 34.9% shareholding in Barcelona-based Ritz Hotel.
GERMANY – European Capital acquires Metall Technologie Holding for EUR 106m
European Capital has acquired the European manufacturer of high-end heat treatment industrial furnaces, Metall Technologie Holding for EUR 106m. Post close, the financial investor will own approximately 83% of the shares with the management team holding...
SPAIN - Doughty Hanson buys Avanza for EUR 600m
Doughty Hanson's Madrid branch has completed its first deal by acquiring transport group Avanza.
SPAIN - ERA Biotech raises EUR 1.4m from private equity investors
Bioproductivity company ERA Biotech has raised EUR 1.4m to finance its activities related to the manufacture of recombinant proteins in cultured cells.
FRANCE - Charterhouse buys Vivarte from PAI for EUR 3.5bn
Charterhouse has reportedly agreed to back the secondary buyout of clothing and shoes distributor Vivarte, in a deal worth over EUR 3bn.
GERMANY – KKR and Permira win auction for ProSiebenSat1
A consortium comprising Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Permira Advisers has acquired a 50.5% stake in German broadcaster ProSiebenSat1. The value of the transaction is believed to be over EUR 3bn. Following the acquisition, media analysts expect the...
UK - TDR Capital in bid to delist portable accommodation company
TDR Capital has made a recommended cash offer for Wraith Plc, a supplier of portable accommodation and related site services based in Lincolnshire. The 105p per share offer represents a market capitalisation of £30.29m and a 15.4% premium to the closing...