Deals
SPAIN - DLJ acquires 25% stake in Santillana
According to a note from the Spanish regulator CNMV, DLJ South American Partners has acquired a 25% stake in education publishing house Santillana from its parent media group Prisa, in a deal that values the company at around EUR 1bn.
UK/EUROPE - Wellington leads $16m Livebookings funding
Pan-European venture capital firm Wellington Partners has led a $16m funding round for online restaurant marketing and reservations service Livebookings, along existing investors.
FRANCE - NextStage makes EUR 1m Expertissim investment
NextStage has invested EUR 1m in Expertissim, an online art retail platform.
BULGARIA - Advent to take majority interest in Devin
According to reports, Advent International has agreed to purchase close to a 75% stake in water bottler Devin from Austria's Soravia Group, in a deal valued at EUR 21-22m.
NETHERLANDS - Fortis PE wholly acquires Kuiken
Fortis Private Equity has increased its 22% stake in Dutch construction equipment company Kuiken to 100% in a restructuring deal.
RUSSIA - Capman backs Papa John's
CapMan Russia Fund has acquired a 49% stake in US Pizza chain Papa John's Russian franchise.
UK - Permira to acquire Just Retirement for £225m
Permira has reached agreement with the board of listed UK life assurance group Just Retirement regarding a £225m takeover deal.
GERMANY - Warburg Pincus sells EUR 290m Easycash
Warburg Pincus has sold payment services provider Easycash to strategic investor Ingenico, in a deal that values the business at EUR 290m.
UK - August acquires Funeral Services Partnership
August Equity has completed the acquistion of Funeral Services Partnership (FSP) and committed £23m to finance a buy-and-build strategy to expand the company throughout the UK.
AUSTRIA - Buy Out Central Europe acquires majority of listed UIAG
Buy Out Central Europe has acquired 62.5% of listed investor Unternehmens Invest AG from Cross Industries for an undisclosed sum.
NETHERLANDS - Gilde Healthcare supports EUR 16.6m Agendia funding
Gilde Healthcare Partners has participated in a series-E funding round worth a little under EUR 17m for biotechnology firm Agendia.
AUSTRIA - Capexit sells phion stake to Barracuda for EUR 1m
Capexit has sold the remainder of its interest in listed IT service provider phion to Barracuda Networks, in deal worth just over EUR 1m.
UK - Curzon Park Capital leads £1.3m Lysanda funding
Curzon Park Capital, via its Sustainable Technology Fund, has led a second round of funding worth more than £1m for automotive systems specialist Lysanda, alongside LogiSpring and private investors.
FRANCE - Odysee and AVM acquire AutoReflex in EUR 15m deal
It is understood that Odysée Venture and AVM Associati have acquired an 85% stake in online publishing firm AutoReflex, in a deal that values the company at EUR 15m.
BELGIUM - Montagu to acquire ABD Airfield from Siemens
Montagu Private Equity is finalising the purchase of ADB Airfield Solutions (ADB), the airfield lighting business of Siemens, for an undisclosed sum.
GREECE - Argo-backed On Telecoms acquires Vivodi
On Telecoms, a telecommunications business backed by UK-based investor Argo Capital Management, has acquired broadband services provider Vivodi Telecom.
FRANCE - LBO France set to acquire Geoxia
LBO France is set to purchase Geoxia, a construction company, in a secondary buyout from Natixis subsidiaries NI Partners and Initiative & Finance.
UK - LDC backs £11m carve-out of Homeserve Emergency Services
LDC has backed the management buyout of the emergency services division of listed home assistance membership business Homeserve plc, in a deal worth £11m.
NETHERLANDS - Point One leads $3m Recore funding
Point One Innovation Fund has led a $3m round of financing for semiconductor business Recore System, along side government-backed investor PPM Oost.
GERMANY - Cinven and Candover could sell majority Springer stake
According to reports, buyout houses Cinven and Candover have signalled a willingness to part with a majority stake in academic publisher Springer Science and Business Media.
GERMANY - Permira sells EUR 177m Freenet stake
Permira has reduced its stake in listed telecommunications business Freenet through a placement of just over 19 million shares, equating to 15% of the company's share capital, in a deal worth approximately EUR 177m.
UK - NVM reaps 8x return on DxS sale
NVM Private Equity has exited its investment in DxS, a personalised medicines specialist, via a trade sale to sample and assay technologies giant Qiagen, reaping a return of 8x money on an intitial cash payment of $75m.
GERMANY - HBM et al. invest in Sloning
HBM BioVentures, LBBW Venture, DEWB and KfW have followed up their investment in biotechnology company Sloning BioTechnology.
GERMANY - BC Partners to float Brenntag
According to sources, BC Partners is preparing to float distributor Brenntag GmbH in early 2010, which could raise as much as EUR 1.5bn.