Deals
UK - Bank of Scotland backs buyout of William Cook Defence
William Cook Defence Ltd (WCD), the North East-based specialist manufacturer of tracks and other engineering components, together with its subsidiary William Cook Intermodal Ltd have been acquired from William Cook Holdings Ltd, the Sheffield-based engineering...
ITALY - Carlyle to lead EUR 30bn bid for Telecom Italia businesses
According to reports in the Corriere della Sera, The Carlyle Group is planning a EUR 30bn bid for Telecom Italia's mobile telephony businesses. It will provide EUR 4bn of cash, while the other partners in the consortium, Permira and Blackstone Capital...
UK - SiConnect receives £700,000 investment from Esprit
Esprit Capital Partners has led an investment round for SiConnect Ltd. The £700,000 is part of a first tranche of second fundraising which comes from Esprit's Prelude Trust Plc fund and follows earlier investments of £1.3m in March 2006 and £2.8m in...
NL- Bencis acquires Aktiesport and Perri Sport
Bencis Capital Partners has acquired a substantial equity interest in the in the sport retails chains Aktiesport and Perry Sport through Unlimited Sports Group BV (USG).
GERMANY - T-Venture backs CoreOptics alongside other investors
T-Com Venture Fund has made a strategic investment in CoreOptics Inc, a developer of transponder systems. The company is headquartered in Nuremberg, with operations in New Hampshire, US. It develops high-speed optical networking applications in the telecommunications...
UK - South East Growth Fund commits £250,000 to Oxford English Training Ltd
SEGF has invested £250,000 as part of a £500,000 investment round to fund the continued expansion of Oxford English Training Ltd (OETL) in mainland China. OETL is a prestigious English Language and Business Qualifications training company servicing...
UK - Signet wants to hang on to H Samuel and Ernest Jones
US jewellery company Signet has stated that it intends to hang on to its 590 outlets in the UK which trade under the H Samuel and Ernest Jones names. It is understood that the UK businesses are falling behind the fast-growing US businesses.
UK - Possible take-private of Inter Link Foods?
Reports suggest that the management of Inter Link Foods are in talks with private equity firms, including 3i, HgCapital and LDC, about the possibility of delisting the company. Its shares closed at 407.5p on Friday with management anticipating to demand...
SPAIN - Diana Capital and ICO buy 12.7% of Guascor Group
Diana Capital and the Instituto de Credito Oficial (ICO) have acquired a 12.7% shareholding in Guascor Group, a company focused in the development of marine propulsion equipment and engines. Private equity firm Diana Capital and ICO, the state-owned...
SPAIN - Vista and Apax divest Itevelesa for EUR 500m
Apax and Vista Capital have sold their entire shareholding in Spanish vehicle inspection company Itevelesa to Australian investment bank Macquarie. The bank, which had been looking for opportunities in Spain since its divestment from road management company...
SPAIN - Permira secures Telepizza in EUR 850m deal
The five-month battle for Spanish pizza delivery chain Telepizza has come to an end with the winning bid of EUR 3.21 per share from Foodco Pastries and Medimosal, companies jointly owned by Permira and Telepizza founding family Ballve's investment vehicle...
SWEDEN - CapMan creates Nordic healthcare group
CapMan funds and Plena AB have signed an agreement for the acquisition of two Swedish healthcare companies SelefaTrade AB and Förbandsmaterial AB. The acquisitions have been made via the holding company that owns Finnish Tamro MedLab Oy, a business CapMan...
UK - Clayton, Dubilier & Rice refinances Brakes
Brakes, a food service solution provider and portfolio company belonging to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) is the subject of a £275m refinancing. The refinancing is lead-arranged by JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, with UBS as co-manager....
UK - Bank of Scotland Corporate invests in Sunseeker International
Bank of Scotland Corporate has provided luxury yacht builder Sunseeker International with an integrated finance and debt package, taking a minority stake in the business following the transaction.
GERMANY - Nordic Capital's Nycomed acquires ALTANA for EUR 4.215bn
Nycomed, a portfolio company owned by Nordic Capital, has acquired ALTANA Pharma AG for four times its own enterprise value. Headquartered in Konstanz, the company is the pharmaceutical business of ALTANA AG's pharmaceuticals and chemicals group. If the...
NETHERLANDS - LSP leads EUR 3m investment round in BMEYE
Life Science Partners has announced that it has led a EUR 3m Series A financing round of BMEYE, a Dutch medical device company. The round was led by LSP and included a group of Silicon Valley and Dutch groups TechFund and BAT (Business Angels Technostarters)....
UK - Risk Capital Partners acquires Patisserie Valerie
Risk Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in London's famous upmarket patisserie chain Patisserie Valerie. The acquisition has been made with a view to expanding the business and taking it national. The company has revenues in excess of £8m.
UK - Bank of Scotland Corporate backs MBO of Conran Restaurants
Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking has provided a £47m integrated debt and equity package to support the existing management in the buyout of Conran Restaurants. The deal has enabled management, who have invested new cash, to significantly increase their...
UK - Sun Capital acquires Pearl Fittings representing partial exit for Endless
Endless has sold its majority stake in Pearl Fittings Ltd to Sun European Partners, the European adviser to Sun Capital Partners. The deal represents a partial exit for Endless, which first invested in the company in March 2006 since when turnover has...
SWEDEN - Accel invests EUR 4m in Swedish software business
Telepo, a Swedish software company, has raised EUR 4m in funding from Accel Partners. The Telepo Business Communication Solution integrates mobile and fixed communication, VoIP and existing enterprise voice infrastructure, using standards based protocols.
FINLAND - CapMan acquires industrial maintenance from Fortum
Funds managed by CapMan have signed an agreement with Fortum to acquire its industrial services business unit, a provider of industrial maintenance services, for an undisclosed sum.
FRANCE - CICLAD takes minority stake in internet tourism portal
CICLAD has taken a minority participation in Come To Paris, an online provider of tailored services to the tourism industry.
UK - Apax launches bid to delist unquote" publisher Incisive Media
Apax Partners has made an offer to acquire global B2B publisher Incisive Media Plc. The deal, which has been recommended by the independent directors of the business, values the London Stock Exchange-listed company’s shares at £199m, and offers shareholders...
SWEDEN - Eqvitec invests SEK 44m in Netadmin
Eqvitec Technology Fund III has agreed to invest SEK 44m in Linköping-based software company Netadmin. Netadmin has developed a system that gives network proprietors and broadband operators full supervision and control of all connected equipment, right...