Deals
UK - Birds Eye auction not as well attended as hoped
Sources report that only a small number of private equity firms have submitted bids to the Goldman Sach's run auction for Unilever's Birds Eye brand.
UK - Barclays Ventures backs £26m MBO of KIG Holdings Ltd
Barclays Ventures has backed a £26m management buy out of KIG Holdings Ltd, a leading supplier of secondary steelwork branded products, primarily providing safe access solutions, structural fittings and steelwork fixings.
ITALY - 21 Investimenti buys stake in B-Pack Due
Treviso-based private equity firm 21 Investimenti has acquired a share in the capital of B-Pack Due, a company producing packaging material for the food, textile and medical sectors, for an undisclosed sum.
BELGIUM - Ablynx raises EUR 40m in C financing round
Ablynx, a company specialising in the discovery and development of Nanobodies, a novel class of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, has announced the successful closing of its series C financing round raising EUR 40m.
UK - Hotbed, Quester and Bank of Scotland invest in metal-coating company
Hotbed, Quester and Bank of Scotland Corporate's Growth Equity team have led a £10m funding round for Keronite. The three investors contributed £2.7m, £1.3m and £2m respectively.
NETHERLANDS - Peakadilly closes series A financing at EUR 14.5m
Peakadilly NV, the predictive protein biomarkers company, has today announced the final close of its series A financing, raising a further EUR 8.5m and bringing the total raised to EUR 14.5m. Investors in the second close of the series A financing were...
FRANCE - Lafarge sale draws interest
Ahead of the deadline for bid submissions on 6 September, a dozen private equity firms are reportedly set to take part in the auction for two thirds of Lafarge's roofing business. One or two trade buyers are also said to be preparing a bid.
UK - Private equity rumours surrounding SMG unfounded
The Financial Times reports that the Scottish media company, SMG, is likely to turn down last week's takeover approach from Northern Irish rival, UTV. The rumours surrounding SMG and private equity do not apparently have any serious foundations.
NETHERLANDS - Rabo Participaties acquires stake in Renhard BV
Rabo Participaties has acquired a participating interest in Renhard BV, which is the holding company of TCL Installatietechniek BV, in order to enable the merger of TCL and BV Warmte Technisch Buro J Giesbers & JJ van der Graaf. Giesbers & van der Graaf...
UK - Dubai International Capital acquires Travelodge from Permira
Permira has realised its investment in Travelodge, selling the operator of 291 hotels to Middle Eastern private equity firm, Dubai International Capital (DIC) for £675m. DIC beat private equity rivals Cinven and BC Partners and trade buyer Whitbread...
UK - Endless exits Encanta via sale to Exponent porfolio company, Magicalia
Endless has announced the disposal of Encanta Media Ltd for £2.72m to Magicalia, an on-line publishing business and one of Exponent Private Equity's portfolio companies.
UK - Dunedin backs £30m secondary MBO of Capula Ltd
Dunedin Capital Partners has announced that it has led the secondary management buyout of Capula Ltd, the UK’s leading independent provider of real time IT solutions to the energy and utility markets, from Bridgepoint. Dunedin backed the management...
GERMANY - fg microtec to expand in Japan
A syndicate of existing investors has provided a further EUR 2m to fg microtec in order to fund its expansion in Japan.
UK - Paladin Associates to back Caffe Nero
The Financial Times reports that Paladin Associates is to back the founder of Caffe Nero, Gerry Ford, to take the 260-store coffee shop chain private. Caffe Nero's share price rose 11% on the news that the company had received an informal takeover approach....
TURKEY - Turkish exit for Advent International
Advent International and its Turkish investment partner, Turkven Private Equity, have sold their 50% holding in Turkish packaged bread producer, Unmas, to the shareholders of their strategic partner, Doruk, for $18 million.
ITALY - Electra Partners to sell Azelis
According to reports in the Financial Times Deutschland, Electra Partners has appointed BNP Paribas to handle the sale of Azelis, an Italian wholesaler of chemicals.
FINLAND - Ratos to buy Perlos Healthcare in EUR 67m deal
Ratos has signed an agreement to buy 78% of Perlos Healthcare. The cash and debt free purchase price of Perlos’ healthcare business by the new company is worth approximately EUR 67m.
DENMARK - Axcel buys 60% of Netcompany
Axcel has acquired 60% of the shares in IT consultancy Netcompany. The remaining 40% of the shares are still held by the company’s three founders and a number of senior executives. The three founders will remain in charge of the day-to-day management...
UK - MFI retail deal in final stages
According to the Financial Times, the board of MFI has agreed to pay a 'dowry' to Merchant Equity Partners in order to facilitate the private equity institution taking the loss-making retail chain off its hands.
UK - Private equity targets NTL
The Financial Times reports that talks between a private equity consortium and NTL's senior management are taking place today. The consortium is led by Providence Equity and also includes Blackstone, Cinven and KKR.
FRANCE - Netvibes raises EUR 12m in its second round
Netvibes, a personalised home-page website, has raised EUR 12m in its second of financing. The financial investors are Index Ventures, which had already taken part in the first round in March this year, and US venture capitalist Accel Partners.
GERMANY - BayernLB backs temporary labour sector
Funds advised by BayernLB Private Equity have backed the management buyout of ISU Personaldienstleistungen GmbH. Together the financial investor and the company's CEO and management have acquired a 100% stake in the business.
UK - Terra Firma places bid for Thames Water
A Terra Firma-led consortium has placed its bid for Thames Water, the £7bn water company being sold by German power group RWE, according to the Financial Times.
UK - Apax nears final stages of its exit from The Stationery Office
The largest publisher in the UK by volume, which does much of the govenrment's printing, is the subject of an auction between three private equity bidders and two trade buyers, according to the Financial Times. The auction is now in its second round.