DACH
AUSTRIA – IDENTEC SOLUTIONS raises EUR 10m
SAM Private Equity has led a financing round of EUR 10m in Austrian company IDENTEC SOLUTIONS. Other financial backers included gcp gamma capital partners, Sustainable Performance Group and RFID Invest. The company will use the funding to launch additional...
GERMANY – ubitexx GmbH receives funding
BayBG has invested EUR 400,000 in Munich-based ubitexx GmbH, a specialist company for professional PDA and Smartphone solutions. The funding will be used for software development and expansion of existing distribution channels.
GERMANY – vertico software raises EUR 2m
FirstVentury Equity GmbH has invested EUR 2m in Karlsruhe-based VoIP manufacturer vertico software GmbH in a first financing round. The funding was made via the venture capitalist’s aeris Technology Fund.
GERMANY – GermanCapital buys into ALNO AG
GermanCapital has acquired a minority stake in German kitchen manufacturer, ALNO AG via its bidding company Küchen Holding. The strategic investor acquired its 20.6% stake from Commerzbank AG and has now made a voluntary public takeover bid of EUR 7.20...
GERMANY - HC Starck sells for EUR 1.2bn
Financial investors Advent International and Carlyle Group have acquired H C Starck from German chemicals and pharmaceuticals group Bayer for EUR 1.2bn. Swiss bank UBS ran the limited auction process, which had attracted trade as well as financial buyers....
GERMANY – ProSiebenSat1 bidders down to three
Reports suggest that only three bidders remain in the race to acquire Germany’s largest commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat1 after CVC is said to have dropped out. Remaining known bidders are the two consortiums comprising financial investors Permira...
GERMANY – BC Partners bids for Techem
BC Partners has made an offer of EUR 52 per share for the German utility billing specialist Techem AG. The financial investor offers EUR 8 more per share than Macquarie Bank that had announced its bid of EUR 44 per share on 23 October. BC Partners’...
GERMANY – AXA Private Equity buys CABB
AXA Private Equity has acquired more than 70% of shares in German specialty chemicals company CABB GmbH. As a result previous financial investor Gilde has fully exited its investment. CABB, formerly part of the Hoechst group, had been a subsidiary of...
AUSTRIA – Bidders for BAWAG drop to four
The number of bidders for Austria’s fourth largest bank in terms of volume of assets has dropped to four after the latest round in the auction process, according to press reports. It is understood that the remaining parties include German bank BayernLB...
GERMANY – nugg.ad receives growth capital
Bmp AG and IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH have invested in Berlin-based media company nugg.ad. The financial investors each take a 17.5% stake, with nugg.ad founders holding the balance.
GERMANY – Waterland acquires second gaming arcade operator within a month
Waterland Private Equity has acquired Highway Automaten GmbH through its third fund Waterland Private Equity Fund III BV that closed on EUR 400m in April this year. The financial investor had previously acquired Löwen Play, the second largest amusement...
GERMANY – Deutsche Beteiligungs AG takes control of Homag
Schopfloch-based Homag Group AG, a manufacturer of woodworking machinery for the furniture and construction supplies industries, has been acquired by Deutsche Beteiligungs AG. The financial investor had already held a 21.4% stake and acquired an additional...
GERMANY – T-Mobile Venture Fund backs 4G Systems
The German manufacturer of HSDPA mobile terminals has completed a financing round led by T-Mobile Venture Fund. Existing investors Brockhaus Private Equity and Adinvest also participated.
GERMANY – Francotyp-Postalia to float
The German mailing systems solutions company Francotyp-Postalia is to raise up to EUR 191m on the German Prime Standard. The book-building range has been set between EUR 18-22.5, and shares are particularly aimed at institutional investors.
GERMANY – Bridgepoint aims for the Mittelstand
Bridgepoint has declared it is willing to acquire three to five Mittelstand companies in the coming months. The transactions are expected to be in the range of EUR 200m to EUR 750m.
GERMANY – Heliad invests in money and securities services
Heliad Equity Partners has taken a 49% stake in Unicorn Geld- und Wertdienstleistungen GmbH. The financial investor provided EUR 5m in equity capital and a partner loan. The company's management holds the balance.
GERMANY – Timeline set for the German private equity law
The Federal Ministry of Finance has announced that it aims to have a bill drafted by the cabinet by the middle of next year. This means that the new legislation is on course to come into force in 2008. The new legislation is highly anticipated as it will...
AUSTRIA - Private equity group expected to bid for BAWAG
Austria's fourth largest bank in terms of volume of assets, BAWAG, is expected to receive offers from at least four financial and trade buyers. Morgan Stanley has been appointed to run the auction process. Expected bidders are Austrian banks Raiffeisen...
GERMANY - Symrise to float by the end of 2006
The German flavours and fragrances company Symrise has announced that it intends to float shares worth EUR 650m in an initial public offering by the end of this year.
GERMANY - Permira exits Premiere
Permira is selling its stake in German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere. The transaction, which involves Permira's remaining 8.44% stake, is valued at approximately EUR 88m.
GERMANY - IPO for Quest for Growth portfolio company Wilex AG
Quest for Growth has announced that Wilex AG, its portfolio company, has successfully placed new shares in its IPO on the Frankfurt exchange. Wilex is a biopharmaceutical company based in Munich, which was founded in 1997 by a team of physicians and oncologists...
SWITZERLAND/FRANCE/ITALY - Argos Soditic's founder to leave the firm
According to press reports Edoardo Bugnone, founder of private equity firm Argos Soditic and a former chairman of the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA), is to leave the firm weeks after the closing of its latest fund.
GERMANY - KKR and Goldman Sachs acquire Kion forklift unit
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs Group's private-equity unit have signed an agreement to acquire the Kion forklift unit of Wiesbaden-based Linde Group, the world's largest maker of industrial gases, for EUR 4bn. The sale is subject to regulatory...
SWITZERLAND - EonTech backs EUR 4m first round for Astron-Fiamm
Early stage VC investor EonTech Ventures has teamed up with Generali Group to invest EUR 4m in a first round of funding for Astron-Fiamm Safety, a Lugano, Switzerland-based company that makes safety lighting products for the automotive industry. Trade...