Industry
LP direct investment: straight to the source
Limited partners are striking out on their own to source their investments directly, with numeorus new strategies emerging
TPG's Prezzo to close 94 restaurants following CVA
Casual dining chain suffered an 8.1% drop in like-for-like sales in 2017 and owes ТЃ220m to creditors
Idinvest hires Cavalin as legal director
Cavalin will be involved in structuring and raising investment vehicles, as well as all legal concerns
Macquarie hires Intel Capital's Jorgensen
Jorgensen will support Macquarie's infrastructure technology and growth capital initiatives
Nordic tech's transatlantic ambition
Nordic startups are increasingly looking to find backers with ties to the US market to support their growth strategies
BNP Paribas launches venture fund
BNP Paribas Capital Partners' vehicle targets financial services and insurance startups
Deals accelerate in German online marketplaces
Three transactions in the space within the first two months of 2018 saw PE firms invest a combined €500m and cash out more than €700m
DLA Piper overhauls Paris office's tax team
Paris office hires nine lawyers, including three tax-focused partners and a corporate law partner
Large-cap deals drive strong start to 2018 for European PE
GPs deploy an extra тЌ7bn in aggregate value across European buyouts in the first two months of the year compared to 2017
Pantheon aims for FTSE 250 as NAV per share rises
Pantheon also announces a share restructuring and the issue of a ТЃ200m asset-linked note
Casual dining: overbooked and undercooked
British PE owners are facing challenges as the sector shows signs of strain due to oversupply and macroeconomic headwinds
Draper Esprit invests in five seed funds
Managers include Berlin-based Join Capital and Helsinki-based Icebreaker
AP7 in negotiations for fourth account manager
Procurement for final account manager is ongoing, with an announcement now depending on lawyers
Livingbridge appoints Jones
Jones joins the firm's value strategy group and will focus on insight and analytics
Cairngorm promotes two
Bayliss and Naylor-Leyland are both founding members of Cairngorm's investment team
Abraaj suspends private equity funds as founder steps down
CEO and founder Arif Naqvi passed the fund management reins to two co-chief executives
Petroleum hires Contego's Sandhu, promotes two
Sandhu will lead the companyтs finance function as well as managing portfolio companies
Montana buys Italian private equity firm Nem
Firm is deploying capital from Secondary Program III, which held its final close in 2015
LP consortium announces $1.5bn seed platform
Venture is advised by Wafra and expects to deploy $1.5bn over the next five years
Goldman's Petershill raises $2.5bn for GP stakes
One LP said the strategic partnership with Goldman might boost its access to oversubscribed funds
Phoenix promotes Sargeant and Skinner to partner
Sargeant has been working with the firm since 2007, while Skinner joined in 2015
Mayfair raises for second fund in US and Europe
GP makes an SEC filing listing commitments of $130m from US-based institutional investors
Invitalia appoints DeA Capital's Sergio Buonanno as CEO
Buonanno will replace former CEO Salvo Mizzi, who announced in November that he was standing down
Capzanine to hold final close for €950m private debt fund in Q1
Launched in Q1 2017, Capzanine 4 Private Debt fund should hold a final close in March