DACH
GLOBAL - Private equity drawn to distressed debt
Reports suggest that private equity firms with large pots of capital from recent fundraising efforts are taking advantage of the current market conditions by acquiring increasing amounts of distressed debt from banks.
GERMANY - ATS acquires GANYMED
ATS Beteiligungsverwaltung GmbH has acquired a majority stake in GANYMED Pharmaceuticals AG by purchasing shares held by Ingro Finanz, KfW, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (LBBW), Nextech Venture, Varuma, VI Partners, WFT and a number of private investors...
GERMANY - Lone Star agrees to buy IKB
Lone Star has agreed to acquire a 90.8% stake in IKB Deutsche Industriebank, the bank which collapsed as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis, from state-owned KfW Group for an undisclosed amount.
GERMANY/SWITZERLAND – Paine-backed Stabilus acquires LinRot
Paine & Partner portfolio company Stabilus GmbH, a manufacturer of gas springs and hydraulic vibration dampers, has acquired a majority stake in LinRot Holding AG, a developer and manufacturer of linear and rotational drive units.
GERMANY – DPE acquires iloxx AG
Funds advised by DPE Deutsche Private Equity GmbH have, with retroactive effect from 1 January 2008, acquired a majority shareholding of logistics services provider iloxx AG.
GLOBAL - Carlyle's Louis Gerstner to retire
Carlyle Group chairman Louis Gerstner has announced his intention to step down from his post next month after five and a half years at the job.
GERMANY – Consortium invests EUR 750k in YOUNECT GmbH
IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, via VC Fonds Berlin, and Flore Fütterer GmbH, along with a group of business angels and company founders have invested EUR 750k in youth job portal company YOUNECT GmbH.
SWITZERLAND – Permira-backed Dreamliner sells Jet Aviation for CHF 2.45bn
According to reports, Dreamliner Lux, which is owned by Permira, has sold aeronautics service company Jet Aviation to strategic investor General Dynamics for CHF 2.45bn.
GERMANY - Wellington and 3i lead EUR 4.5m EnOcean investment
A consortium of investors co-led by Wellington Partners GmbH and 3i Group Plc has invested EUR 4.5m into EnOcean GmbH, a producer of wireless sensors.
GERMANY - Köglmayr resigns as MD of Leonardo Venture Capital
Professor Dr Hans-Georg Köglmayr, managing director and founder of Leonardo Venture Capital GmbH, has resigned from his post due to health reasons.
UK/NETHERLANDS - Private equity interest in Reed Elsevier's trade publishing unit
Several private equity firms are thought to be among the 12 bidders that have made it through to the second round of the auction for publisher Reed Elsevier's business magazines unit, which is expected to fetch between ТЃ1bn and ТЃ1.25bn.
US - Linklaters hires Jeffrey Schmidt for New York office
Linklaters has appointed Jeffrey Schmidt as partner in the New York office.
GLOBAL - Permira beefs up Asian presence
UK-based buyout house Permira has appointed longtime Goldman Sachs banker Henry Chen as its head for Greater China.
GERMANY – EVP leads EUR 5.1m investment into Signature Diagnostics
A consortium of investors led by EVP Capital Management has invested EUR 5.1m into Signature Diagnostics, a developer of predictive diagnostics products for cancer, in a series-C funding round.
GERMANY - b-to-v invests in smash24/7 GmbH
BrainsToVentures AG has invested in online paparazzi portal company smash24/7 GmbH, which focuses on news and gossip around celebrities and events.
EUROPE - Earlybird closes new fund on EUR 127m
Earlybird has held a final closing of its new fund Earlybird IV, with investors from Germany, the US, Asia and the Middle East committing EUR 127m towards the early-stage financing of young, innovative companies.
EUROPE - Apollo and Lazard join forces
US buyout house Apollo Management and investment bank Lazard have announced a strategic partnership for private equity in Europe.
GLOBAL - Private equity investments drop 40%
A new report published by International Financial Services London has revealed that private equity investments have declined by approximately 40% in the first half of 2008 compared to the corresponding period last year.
GERMANY – eCAPITAL backs 4JET Sales+Service GmbH
eCAPITAL has closed an undisclosed financing round for 4JET Sales+Service GmbH.
EUROPE - RBS et al sell ABN assets for £156m
Reports suggest that Royal Bank of Scotland, alongside Fortis and Santander bank, has sold a portfolio of seven private equity assets controlled by ABN Amro to a consortium led by Goldman Sachs in a deal thought to be worth around ТЃ156m.
GLOBAL - Secondaries market set to grow as credit crunch squeezes returns
The private equity secondaries market could see strong growth in activity in 2008 in the wake of fears of underperformance in large buyout funds, with US private company exchange Nyppex estimating that total value could reach a record breaking USD 18bn...
GERMANY – VC-backed Curacyte AG sells subsidiary
Biopharmaceutical company Curacyte AG, which is backed by firms such as TVM Capital, AlpInvest Partners and IKB Venture Capital, has sold its subsidiary Curacyte Discovery GmbH to Medicines Co for an upfront payment of EUR 14.5m and additional payments...
GERMANY – Existing investors close new funding round for Protagen AG
Existing institutional investors MIG AG, Munich, S-Venture Capital Dortmund GmbH, and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau have raised another, undisclosed round of financing for biotechnology business Protagen AG.
SWITZERLAND – Consortium invests CHF 23m into EsbaTech AG
A syndicate of incumbent investors, including SV Life Sciences, Clarus Ventures, HBM BioVentures, HBM BioCapital, Novartis Bioventures, BioMedinvest and VI Partners, has invested a further CHF 23m into biotechnology company EsbaTech AG.