DACH
On the fast track east
Austria has lagged behind its DACH neighbours in terms of activity. However, its slow-but-steady approach has seen it weather the recent market blip - and now it has cast its eyes east
GERMANY - Neuhaus Partners finances Telcast
Neuhaus Partners has, together with business angels Stefan Wiskemann and Ulrich Brunet, invested an undisclosed sum in media company Telcast Media Group GmbH.
EUROPE - New fund Vitruvian closes on EUR 925m
New middle-market private equity firm, Vitruvian Partners, has closed its maiden fund, Vitruvian Investment Partnership (VIP), on EUR 925m, exceeding its EUR 900m target.
GERMANY - Target Partners announces first closing of Fund II on EUR 61.5m
Target Partners, a Munich-based venture capital firm, today announced the first closing of its new fund, Target Partners Fund II, on EUR 61.5m. Private individuals, family offices and institutional investors made commitments, including Morgan Stanley,...
GERMANY - CGS Management buys Rieter Automatik GmbH
CGS Management has acquired the pelletizing machinery business Rieter Automatik GmbH from Rieter Holding AG with retroactive effect as of January 1, 2008 for an undisclosed amount.
SWITZERLAND - Zurmont Madison Private Equity acquires SMB SA
Zurmont Madison Private Equity L.P. has acquired the metallurgy specialist SMB SA as part of a succession solution for an undisclosed sum. In the course of the change of ownership, Raymond-Jean Lacoste will join the company as of mid-March as the new...
GERMANY – Index Ventures & Wellington Partners invest $80m in Adconion
Index Ventures led a series-C round of funding for online advertising networks business Adconion Media Group, and was joined by existing investor Wellington Partners, with the total sum amounting to $80m.
AUSTRIA/FRANCE - 21 Centrale Partners and Quadriga inject capital into Palmers
21 Centrale Partners and Quadriga are backing Austrian women's underwear manufacturer Palmers Textil AG to acquire French company Lejaby SAS, for EUR 32.5m in cash, from US-based The Warnaco Group. A further interest-free note of EUR 12.5m is due by the...
SWITZERLAND - Lion Capital acquires 32% stake in Hiestand
Lion Capital has agreed to acquire a 32% stake in Hiestand Holding AG, a publicly-traded company listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange. The Hiestand Group is an international service provider of convenience deep-frozen bakery products, in Switzerland, Germany,...
GERMANY – NORD Holding acquires Teupen
NORD Holding has acquired a majority stake in Teupen Maschinenbau GmbH, a provider of mobile height access technology. The investment will be used to fund further growth of the company, which is based in Gronau and was founded in 1977. The company expects...
GERMANY - Waterland sells sds business services for EUR 46m
Waterland Private Equity Investments has sold sds business services GmbH to Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) Inc for EUR 46m, with ACS also assuming liabilities to purchase sds.
GERMANY - Ripplewood interested in stricken IKB
According to press reports, US private equity house Ripplewood Holdings is interested in acquiring part or all of IKB bank, which suffered heavily from the subprime crisis. The deadline for nonbinding offers for the bank has been postponed to enable potential...
GERMANY - Novo Nordisk Biotech Fund brings total raised in Affimed to EUR 30m
Novo Nordisk Biotech Fund has committed EUR 5m to a second closing of a series-B funding round for Affimed Therapeutics AG, bringing the total raised at this stage to EUR 30m.
GERMANY – DEWB to sell stake in 4flow for EUR 6.5m
Deutsche Effecten- und Wechsel- Beteiligungsgesellschaft AG has sold its 44.4% shareholding in 4flow AG, Berlin, to the company's management for EUR 6.5m. The purchase price will be paid in several tranches.
GLOBAL - Bear Stearns acquires Macquarie arm
LSE-listed fund-of-funds Bear Stearns Private Equity (BSPEL) has offered A$115.5 for Macquarie Private Capital Group (MPCG), an ASX-listed private equity fund-of-funds.
GERMANY - Paine & Partners to acquire Stabilus from Montagu Private Equity
Montagu Private Equity plans to divest Stabilus, a manufacturer of gas springs, to funds managed by Paine & Partners, LLC. The transaction is expected to close in April 2008. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
GERMANY - High-Tech Gründerfonds invests in Contros Systems & Solutions GmbH
Seed investors High-Tech Gründerfonds, MAZ level one and business angel Paal Nordby from Norway have provided funding for CONTROS Systems & Solutions GmbH, a Kiel-based developer, producer and distributor of underwater sensor systems to detect hydrocarbons,...
AUSTRIA – Apollo rumoured to be interested in Constantia
US private equity player Apollo is rumoured to be interested in acquiring Constantia Privatbank Aktiengesellschaft, based in Vienna. Other bidders are said to include Credit Suisse, OTP, and Vienna Insurance Group. Signing for the deal is expected in...
GERMANY - SKAPITAL invests 1.5m EUR in Gründerfonds Bielefeld-Ostwestfalen
SKAPITAL Unternehmensbeteiligungsgesellschaft, a subsidiary of Sparkasse Bielefeld, Sparkasse Detmold and Sparkasse Herford, has invested EUR 1.5m in Gründerfonds Bielefeld-Ostwestfalen, a fund advised by eCAPITAL entrepreneurial Partners AG, based in...
GERMANY - Mezzanine Management invests EUR 18.6m in W.I.S
Mezzanine Management has invested EUR 18.6m in German security services provider W.I.S Group. The investment was led by Cologne-based private equity firm Argantis.