Deals
SPAIN - Potential SOS Cuetara takeover
According to reports in the Spanish press, shares in rice and oil group SOS Cuetara were up 4.28% this week, making the company a possible target of a hostile takeover bid.
FRANCE - Chevrillon and IDI buy insurer from Barclays PE and AXA
Chevrillon & Associés and IDI have each acquired 40% of insurer Albingia, while management retained a 20% stake. The vendors, Baclays Private Equity (Barclays PE) and insurance group AXA, have sold their entire stake after a Rothschild-run auction which...
FRANCE - OTC AM invests in picture certification software CodaSystem
OTC Asset Management has contributed EUR 1.7m in a EUR 2m second round of funding for digital photography certification company CodaSystem. The additional EUR 300,000 was invested by Cap Décisif, which had already injected EUR 500,000 in 2005.
PORTUGAL - Portugal Telecom's saga continues
Portuguese news reports suggest that telecoms regulatory body Anacom does still not approve the revised recommendations from the antitrust authority on Soneacom's EUR 13.9bn takeover bid for Portugal Telecom.
SWEDEN - Bonesupport secures SEK 135m in funding
The medical technology company Bonesupport AB in Lund, which develops synthetic, injectable ceramic bone substitute, has received SEK 135 million. The new investors include HealthCap and NBGI Venture and the existing owners include Innovationskapital,...
UK - Close Brothers Private Equity backs buyout of Alex Stewart
Close Brothers Private Equity (CBPE) has backed the management buyout of Alex Stewart(Assayers) Ltd, part of the Alex Stewart Group, for an undisclosed sum. The business focuses on providing metals and minerals inspection and testing services. Debt was...
UK - North West Equity and NWBIS invest in SnG Technologies
Cheshire-based technology company SnG Technologies has received total funding of £250,000 from North West Equity Fund and NWBIS. The deal includes a further potential investment of £750,000 in aggregate based on progress within the business. SnG Technologies...
GERMANY - HC Starck sells for EUR 1.2bn
Financial investors Advent International and Carlyle Group have acquired H C Starck from German chemicals and pharmaceuticals group Bayer for EUR 1.2bn. Swiss bank UBS ran the limited auction process, which had attracted trade as well as financial buyers....
CZECH REPUBLIC – Consortium announces largest ever Central European buyout
A consortium comprising Abu Dhabi-based Al-Bateen Investment Company, Lehman Brothers Private Equity and Mid Europa Partners has acquired Radiokomunikace and a 39.23% stake in T-Mobile Czech Republic from Altima for EUR 1.2bn. ING Bank NV provided a EUR...
UK - Finance Wales announces its largest ever deal
Finance Wales has announced its largest ever deal - a £4m investment in Bluestone, a £110m unique, ‘green’ holiday village in Pembrokeshire targeting the high value, high growth short break market. The investment is over three times Finance Wales’...
SPAIN - Vueling to float in December
The Spanish stock market regulator CNMV has approved the IPO of 42.62% of low-cost airline Vueling. The share price should oscillate between EUR 24-32 and will give the company a capitalisation of around EUR 359-478m.
ITALY - Blackstone eyes Italian industrial giants
Reports in the Italian press suggest that US firm Blackstone is ready to invest in Telecom Italia and its TIM mobile unit, as well as assets belonging to electricity provider Enel SpA. Rumour has it that Blackstone's president Tony James will partner...
FRANCE - EdRIP invests EUR 10m in Groupe Sibille
Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners (EdRIP) has invested EUR 10m in industrial group Sibille, a manufacturer of electrical and automobile renovation equipment.
SWEDEN - Accent Equity divests Cefar to Blackstone-controlled Encore
Accent Equity has sold its holdings in Swedish med-tech company Cefar to US-based Encore Medical. Encore was recently bought out from Nasdaq in a public-to-private transaction led by Blackstone Capital Partners.
NL - PPM Oost invests in Stichting Diaphora
PPM Oost has invested an undisclosed sum in Stichting Diaphora, a social housing provider, which offers homes to relatively young people suffering from dementia. These housing complexes are adapted to cater for their inhabitants' needs, but allow them...
FRANCE - Doughty Hanson acquires French concrete specialist
In its second deal in France, Doughty Hanson has backed the secondary buyout of KP1, an Avignon-based manufacturer of concrete products for the construction industry.
GERMANY – BC Partners bids for Techem
BC Partners has made an offer of EUR 52 per share for the German utility billing specialist Techem AG. The financial investor offers EUR 8 more per share than Macquarie Bank that had announced its bid of EUR 44 per share on 23 October. BC Partners’...
UK - Vision Capital proposes to acquire four businesses from Northern Foods
Vision Capital has exchanged contracts for the proposed acquisition of four businesses from Northern Foods plc for a total consideration of £160m. Completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of Northern Foods' shareholders.
GERMANY – AXA Private Equity buys CABB
AXA Private Equity has acquired more than 70% of shares in German specialty chemicals company CABB GmbH. As a result previous financial investor Gilde has fully exited its investment. CABB, formerly part of the Hoechst group, had been a subsidiary of...
UK - Bridges Community Ventures invests in Whelan Refining Ltd
Bridges Community Ventures has invested £450,000 as part of a total finance package of £1.5m with Catapult Venture Managers and HSBC in Whelan Refining Ltd, a re-refiner of waste oil based in Stoke-on-Trent. The company has also received financial backing...
BELGIUM - Gilde acquires Belgium Johma and Hamal salad business
Gilde has backed the management buyout of Uniq Belgium, a producer and marketer of private label and branded spreadable salads, from UK-based Uniq PLC. The transaction signifies the first investment from the recently raised Gilde Equity Management Benelux...
NORWAY - Norvestor buys 70% of BecoTek
Norvestor IV LP has agreed to acquire a 70% interest in BecoTek. BecoTek is an integrated manufacturer and supplier of brass cages to the ball and roller bearing industry worldwide. Headquartered in Åmot, the company recorded a turnover of NOK 194m in...
SWEDEN - 3i and SEB Företagsinvest sell vaccine distributor
3i, SEB Företagsinvest and other shareholders are divesting their stakes in vaccine distributor SBL Vaccines in a sale to NASDAQ-listed Dutch biotechnology company Crucell for EUR 39.4m, excluding deferred payments and future royalties. The transaction...
SWEDEN - Argan Capital buys service provider unit from Manpower
Argan Capital has signed an agreement for the acquisition of the facility management and contact centre businesses within Manpower Business Solutions from Manpower. The companies employ approximately 1,800 staff and generate revenues of around EUR 170m....