France
Citizen Capital et al. exit Trace in €40m trade sale
Citizen Capital, Entrepreneur Venture and NextStage have sold their stakes in Trace TV, a French media brand and pay-TV channel operator, to Swedish broadcaster Modern Times Group (MTG).
HitecVision sells Valco Group France to Argos Soditic
Divestment from HitecVision's fourth fund
Innovation Capital holds first close on €40m
Innovation Capital has held the first close for its Services Innovants Santé et Autonomie (SISA) fund, a vehicle aimed at the “silver economy”, on €40m.
Argos Soditic sells Alkan to TCR, IDI
Argos Soditic has sold Groupe Alkan, a French manufacturer of equipment for the aeronautical defence industry, to TCR Capital and IDI.
Privatisation: private equity's next big opportunity?
As Europe recovers from years of financial instability, many governments across the continent are looking to offload assets in a bid to reduce deficits. Could these potential upcoming state sell-offs provide an opportunity for private equity? Alice Murray...
Deal in Focus: Ardian backs €1.96bn Vinci Park buyout
France had not been home to a private equity transaction worth more than €1bn since the summer of 2011 – a dry spell broken in February, when Ardian entered exclusive talks with construction and concessions firm Vinci to back the buyout of its Vinci Park...
Banexi sells Tedemis to Criteo
Banexi Ventures Partners has sold French email marketing company Tedemis to Nasdaq-listed Criteo, a French advertisement targeting business backed by several venture firms.
Viveris and Rhône-Alpes launch R2V fund with €25m
Viveris Management and Rhône-Alpes Création have announced the launch and first close of their joint R2V fund with €25m of commitments already secured.
Ardian backs Micropross
Ardian has acquired a 49% stake in Micropross, a French supplier of products and testing solutions for the smartcard industry.
BPI France and Emertec invest €2.6m in Ijenko
BPI France and Emertec Gestion have injected €2.6m into Ijenko, a French provider of home energy management technology.
Demeter and Emertec back Qualisteo with €2m
Demeter Partners and Emertec have invested €2m in Qualisteo, a French smart-grid specialist.
HBM leads €41m round for AAA
HBM Healthcare Investments has led a €41m funding round for Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA), a French biopharma company specialising in molecular nuclear medicine.
Hellman & Friedman's GTT launches IPO
Hellman & Friedman-backed Gaz Transport & Technigaz (GTT), a French marine technology and engineering company, plans on raising up to €675m in an IPO on the Euronext Paris.
Omnes divests Melkonian in SBO
Omnes Capital has sold Melkonian Group, a French provider of mining equipment, to BPI France, Amundi Private Equity Funds and Sofipaca.
Jaïna and Ecomobilité back OuiCar
Jaïna Capital and Ecomobilité Ventures have invested €3m in OuiCar, the French operator of a platform for peer-to-peer car rental services.
ICG picks up Equistone's APEM
Equistone Partners Europe has sold its majority stake in APEM Group to minority shareholder Intermediate Capital Group (ICG).
LBO France exits Sonovision in trade sale
LBO France has reaped a 2.1x money multiple on the sale of Sonovision Group, a Paris-based provider of logistics and document engineering services for the space industry, to French industrial firm Ortec Group.
Rekindling VCs' passion for online dating
As the internet dating industry enjoys its busiest period, with singletons rushing online to prevent a lonesome Valentineтs Day, Ellie Pullen asks if European venture is ready to rekindle its romance with the sector
Innovacom invests €1m in PredicSis
French firm Innovacom has injected €1m of early-stage funding into PredicSis, a Brittany-based big data predictive analysis start-up.
Trade buyer appetite boosts mid-cap valuations
Mid-cap valuations
Siparex raises €200m for MidMarket III fund
French GP Siparex has held a final close for its MidMarket III vehicle on €200m, exceeding its €150m target. Greg Gille reports
Q4 Barometer: dealflow bounces back
Following a weak Q3, the final months of 2013 marked the strongest quarter of the year, according to the latest unquoteт Private Equity Barometer, published in association with SL Capital Partners.
Alven invests €1.5m in Wisembly
Alven Capital has made an investment of €1.5m in Wisembly, a French provider of mobile software for meetings and conference calls.
VC-backed Crossject to list on NYSE Alternext
French medical device company Crossject, backed by a consortium of local venture capital firms, is hoping to raise up to €12.9m in its IPO on the NYSE Alternext Paris.