Industry
French Tech initiative launches visa programme
France's new "tech visa" is designed to attract talent and investment into the country's startup space
Natixis hires two in Milan
Investment bank boosts its coverage and M&A branch in Milan with two senior appointments
Investcorp completes purchase of 3i's debt management arm
Deal marks the asset manager's largest strategic investment to date, almost doubling its AUM
How many more generalists can the Nordic PE market bear?
Competition for capital and assets in the Nordic region has skyrocketed to the point of possible oversaturation
Freshfields poaches five Paris-based partners from Ashurst
Guy Benda, Nicolas Barberis, Yann Gozal, Laurent Mabilat and Stéphanie Corbière leave Ashurst
Arle Capital to close in Q1 2017
Fund manager of listed LP Candover Investments recently divested stakes in two listed portfolio companies
UK consumer deals slump as GPs heed Brexit warnings
Strong consumer spending figures in the months following the EU referendum have not translated to increased PE investment in the sector
Quiet start to 2017 for DACH buyouts following Q4 flurry
Number of large German deals saw the DACH region outpace its European neighbours at the end of 2016, in terms of aggregate value
Catalyst hires Silk and Cox
London-based corporate finance outfit adds Alex Silk and Shannon Cox to its team as principals
In Profile: Ardian
Celebrating its 20-year anniversary in 2016, the GP has differentiated over time with funds covering multiple investment approaches
Maven to manage £58m for Northern Power House fund
Fund will buy ТЃ50,000-2m equity tickets in small-and medium-sized businesses
UK LPs expect distributions to drop in 2017 – Rede survey
Investors remain hungry for PE exposure as placement agent Rede Partners launches biannual report on LP sentiment towards PE
Debt advisory: Holding the cards in sell-side processes
Advisory firms often hold all the cards when pre-emptively introducing potential lenders to future sales processes
Bruno leaves Clessidra after eight years
Departure follows the recent depearture of the GP's former chairperson, Francesco Trapani
Debt advisory: Building bridges between sponsors & lenders
Debt advisory role is growing increasingly prevalent in the European mid-market private equity space
MBO Partenaires appoints Xavier de Prévoisin to partner
De Prévoisin becomes the French buyout firm's sixth partner
Lonsdale promotes Evans to partner
Ben Evans becomes a partner after eight years at the PE firm
Nordic onshoring remains elusive without political assurances
Tax transparency in the Nordic region will only improve slowly without political assurances
Keensight hires Cohen as partner and COO
Arnaud Cohen joins the French outfit after a long stint in EY's transaction advisory services team
New government may jeopardise Romanian progress
Results of December election follows year of record Romanian M&A activity and strong PE performance
In Profile: Apax Partners
GP closed its ninth fund in 2016 on its hard-cap of $9bn and recently made high-profile exits including the 2015 IPO of Auto Trader
Luxembourg the post-Brexit "jurisdiction of choice"
Country's RAIF structures, coupled with Britain's "wait and see" status, are luring more funds to Luxembourg
Q4 Barometer: Large-cap deals boost value in a shrinking market
Spike in megadeals boosted aggregate deal value in Q4, though volume was down 20% year-on-year
21 Centrale organises succession with Barbier promotion
Founding managing partner Gérard Pluvinet will step down to join the supervisory board in 2019