Deals
SWEDEN - InnovationsKapital invests SEK 25m in Ludesi
Ludesi AB, a global provider of bioinformatics solutions to the life science industry, has secured SEK 25m in funding from InnovationsKapital. Ludesi’s current investors include FöretagsByggarna and AP6.
FINLAND - Lannox receives EUR 400,000 from Finnish Industry Investment
Finnish Industry Investment has provided EUR 400,000 in funding to road construction company Lannox Oy. Founded in 2006, Lannox is based in Helsinki and the new capital will fund business development and marketing.
BELGIUM - Pro Natura acquires Biomarché
Activa Capital-owned Pro Natura, the former number two wholesaler of organic fruit and vegetables in Europe, has acquired Biomarché, the leading organic fruit & vegetable wholesaler in Belgium.
FRANCE - Avenir Tourisme and BNP Paribas Développement invest in hotels
Avenir Tourisme and BNP Paribas Développement have each taken a 10% stake in Chez France Hotels and Résidences, with a total equity investment of EUR 800,000. The sponsors also committed some convertible bonds as part of the transaction.
GERMANY - Nord Holding takes majority in PDS Group
Nord Holding has acquired a 70% stake in PDS Group, Cologne, a systems integrator for mobile data capture systems. Raimund Müller-Rau, general manager of the company, retains the 30% balance.The vendor is MUK Kapitalbeteiligungsgesellschaft, a joint...
FINLAND - CapMan sells Tiimari to Leo Longlife
CapMan funds will sell their stake in holding company Maritii Oy, which has 100% ownership of Tiimari, to Oyj Leo Longlife Plc. Prior to the exit, CapMan funds hold around 83% of Maritii, a company with an enterprise value of approximately EUR 61m.
DENMARK - Vækstfonden and SEED Capital sell AudioAsics
Analog Devices Inc has acquired venture-backed technology company AudioAsics A/S for around $19m in cash. It will pay up to $8m more for the Danish business upon the achievement of certain milestones.
UK - Barclays Private Equity takes stake in Jerrold Holdings for £113.5m
Barclays Private Equity has acquired a significant minority stake in Jerrold Holdings Ltd, a secured lender to the residential and commercial sectors, for £113.5m. The acquisition adds to Barclays Private Equity’s financial services portfolio, (which...
UK - Penta Capital leads £10m equity funding round in retail chain’s 147 UK stores
Internaçionale Holdings Ltd, the Glasgow-headquartered retailer which owns 147 Au Naturale and Internaçionale stores throughout the UK, has been acquired in a management buyout worth £45m. Internaçionale’s senior management team of Norrie Stewart,...
UK - Barclays Private Equity invests £15m in powered machine hirers merger
Barclays Private Equity has invested £15m in the merger of AFI Aerial Platforms and Uplift Platforms, hirers of powered access machines. Barclays Private Equity will hold a significant stake in the enlarged business. AFI Aerial Platforms, based in Wakefield,...
UK - Bowmark Capital acquires Design Objectives
Bowmark Capital has announced the acquisition of Design Objectives Ltd, the UK’s leading supplier of products to the rapidly growing paper crafts market. Paper crafting is principally the design and decoration of home-made greeting cards, scrapbooks...
UK - NTL deal reportedly off
Market souces report that the £10.6bn bid for NTL by a consortium of private equity groups is no longer going to go ahead.
UK - Kelso Place Asset Management backs Anya Hindmarch
Kelso Place Asset Management has acquired a stake in Anya Hindmarch in a transaction which values the business at approximately £20m. Over the past 12 years the business has successfully grown from its original first floor shop on London’s Walton Street...
UK - 3i targets Countrywide
Listed estate agency chain Countrywide has confirmed that it has received an approach from 3i. Shares in the company have risen by 13% since Thursday, giving the group a market value of £890m.
GERMANY - Burda Digital Ventures acquires computeruniverse.net
Burda Digital Ventures GmbH, a subsidiary of Hubert Burda Media, has agreed to acquire computeruniverse.net GmbH, Friedrichshof. The vendors are the company's management and private investor Participia Holding, Hamburg. The acquisition is designed to...
SWEDEN - Private-equity backed Biovitrum goes public
Biopharma company Biovitrum's share will be listed on the O-list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange as of today. The share price has been set at SEK 100, giving the company a market capitalisation of around SEK 4.3bn.
AUSTRIA - Nordwind and VMS to revive Cosmos
Specialist turnaround investors Nordwind Capital and Value Management Services (VMS) have together acquired 100% of Cosmos. Under the terms of the deal, VMS will place 100% of the shares it holds in Niedermeyer, which also operates in the consumer electronics...
ITALY - BS Private Equity acquires majority stake in Motovario
BS Private Equity, through its fund BS Investimenti IV, recently acquired a majority stake in Motovario, a manufacturer of power transmission products, from Power Transmission Finance. The consideration has not been disclosed.
GERMANY - Financial consortium exits Vestolit to Strategic Value Partners
Candover has sold PVC-producer Vestolit to Strategic Value Partners, alongside the company's management. A consortium of investors, led by Candover, acquired the company in 1999. Other groups making up the consortium were Chase Capital Partners, Foreign...
GERMANY - PPM Capital sells BST after 15 months
PPM Capital has sold BST Safety Textiles just 15 months after it acquired the company. The buyer is WL Ross & Co, a private equity firm headquartered in the US.
FRANCE - Charterhouse and Chequers reach threshold for Elior de-listing
Holding Bercy Investissement (HBI), a holding controlled by Charterhouse and Chequers, has acquired a block of 1,500,000 shares giving it 95.49% of the share capital in Elior.
UK - Risk Capital Partners hooks up with Seafood Holdings
Luke Johnson’s private equity fund, Risk Capital Partners, has purchased a substantial minority equity stake in Seafood Holdings – a leading independent fresh fish and seafood distributor to the catering trade. The deal values the company in excess...
FRANCE - AXA back the buyout of Champeau for the second time
AXA Private Equity has invested about EUR 10m, via its Small Caps Fund, in Champeau, the leading French manufacturer of wood roof truss systems. This is the second time the buyout house invests in this business.
FRANCE - Astorg completes secondary buyout of Staci
Astorg Partners has taken a 51% stake of marketing and stock logistics company Staci. Initiative & Finance, which had taken part in the de-listing of the business in 2004, has re-invested on this occasion.