Deals
UK - Blackstone and CapVest court Unilever's frozen foods
Unilever is selling off its frozen foods division in an auction which is expected to value the Birds Eye and Findus producer at approximately £1bn, according to the Times. The auction is being run by Goldman Sachs with Blackstone and CapVest favourites...
UK - Close of Caudwell deal approaches
Caudwell, the phone group which includes the Phones 4 U chain, is now in exclusive negotiations with BAIN Capital and Doughty Hanson according to the Times. John Caudwell is selling the Carphone Warehouse's main rival for a figure thought to be close...
UK - TutorVista secures £1.1m funding from Sequoia Capital
TutorVista, a leading online personal tutoring service, today announced it has secured £1.1m in series A round funding. The round was led by Sequoia Capital India, who have also funded Google and includes prior angel investors.
FINLAND - Eqvitec sells Saraware
Wipro Technologies has signed an agreement to acquire Eqvitec-backed Saraware Oy in an all cash deal. With a consideration of EUR 25m, the transaction includes upfront cash payment and debt takeover in addition to earn-outs on achieving targeted financial...
SWEDEN - Amadeus and Creandum invest in Edgeware
Edgeware has secured SEK 17m from new investor Amadeus Capital Partners and SEK 11m from existing investor Creandum.
FRANCE - Sagard acquires pharmaceuticals distributor
Sagard has taken a majority stake in Depolabo, the leading French distributor of pharmaceuticals, alongside its management. Previous investor Steinbeck Holding retains a minority stake in the company.
UK - Costcutter backed by Kaupthing
Kaupthing Principal Investments has completed an investment in Costcutter, the convenience food retailer, in a transaction that values the group at approximately £100m. Kaupthing has taken a 20% stake in Costcutter as a result of the deal.
UK - Blackstone delays IPO of Cineworld
Blackstone is to postpone the floatation of Cineworld due to stock market volatility. It purchased the 820 screen cinema giant from UGC in 2004. The decision to list Cineworld, which was expected to be worth £400m on the market, was made on 10 May since...
FRANCE - AXA Private Equity and Jaccar invest in ship builder
AXA Private Equity and Jaccar have each taken a 40% stake in Piriou, while the company's management retain the balance.
FRANCE - Vulcanic changes hands
AXA Private Equity has sold its interest in Vulcanic Group, a European electrothermics and instrument transformer manufacturer, to 21 Centrale Partners and the company's management for EUR 82.5m
FRANCE - Stone Point Capital backs AXA RE's spinout
AXA has announced the signing of a definitive agreement to cede AXA RE, its mid-sized reinsurer, to a syndicate of investors led by US private equity firm, Stone Point Capital.
SPAIN - Monitor Capital buys 95% of the restaurant chain Pinocchio
The private equity firm Monitor Capital has acquired 95% of the shares of the Spanish food chain Pinocchio, which operates ten restaurants and pizzerias in Montecarlo, Madrid and Valencia.
UK - Matrix backs Pasta King
Matrix Private Equity Partners has financed the MBO of Pasta King alongside management and HSBC (Exeter) which provided senior debt and a invoice discounting facility.
NETHERLANDS - Halder acquires Hebu in secondary buyout
According to press reports, Halder has acquired a 77,5% stake in hydraulic systems and components business Hebu from Gilde Investment Management and ABN AMRO Capital.
NORWAY - Ferd buys retail chain Nille
Ferd Private Equity Fund II has acquired 70% of the shares in Nille AS and Per Aarskog AS. Mons and Mathias Aarskog will continue to own 30% of the new holding company.
FINLAND - Digi TV Plus secures EUR 38m funding
Digi TV Plus has received EUR 38m in a funding round led by Baker Capital and including Provider Venture Partners. The company has previously secured seed financing from Provider Venture Partners.
UK - Ingenious backs Independiente with new album deal
Ingenious, the largest independent source of A&R investment in the UK, has announced that it has made its second investment from its music fund, Ingenious Music VCT Plc, by backing Martina Topley-Bird’s second album. Martina Topley-Bird’s first album,...
FRANCE - Pechel to invest in Rasec
Pechel is set to invest in Rasec through its fund Pechel Industrie. Previous investors 3i and ABN Amro Capital will not be renewing their commitment on this round of financing.
NETHERLANDS - Gilde to exit Peijnenburg
Gilde Participaties has announced that it is negotiating the sale of Koninklijke Peijnenburg BV to Lotus Bakeries BV. Koninklijke Peijnenburg is market leader in the Netherlands in the market for gingerbread products.
GERMANY - inge AG receives fresh funds
A syndicate of investors has supplied EUR 6m in growth financing to Clean Technology company inge AG. Siemens Venture Capital, SAM Strategic Asset Management, Stone Fund N.V. and strategic investor Taprogge Watertech GmbH all participated in the round.
FRANCE - ABN Amro Capital backs tertiary LBO of Outinord
ABN Amro Capital has acquired a majority stake in steel formworks solutions provider Outinord from Siparex and Spef Venture, for an undisclosed sum.
FRANCE - Ipnotic Telecom raises EUR 9.6m
A syndicate of investors including Turenne Capital, CM-CIC Capital Privé, CDC Entreprises Innovation and A Plus Finance have injected EUR 9.6m in a first round of financing for Ipnotic Telecom
UK - Photo-Me likely to be private equity target
The Surrey-based photobooth maker, Photo-Me, has confirmed that it has hired JPMorgan Cazenove as a financial adviser according to the Times. The shareprice of the group has suffered in recent months, closing on Friday at 86p compared to 132p last November,...
GERMANY - KKR sells mannesmann plastics machinery
KKR and Siemens have agreed to sell Munich-based mannesmann plastics machinery to Madison Capital Partners. US-based Madison, together with the company's management, will purchase 100% of the shares in the world's largest plastics and rubber processing...