France
FRANCE - Crédit Agricole to launch co-investment activity
Crédit Agricole Private Equity is launching a co-investment activity that will take minority equity stakes alongside European and North-American investment funds.
FRANCE - Newfund holds first close on EUR 63m
Newfund Management, the new private equity company created in 2007 by Francois Véron, has held the first close of its maiden fund, Newfund 1, on EUR 63m. Newfund 1 is expected to gather EUR 80m with a hard cap of EUR 100m.
FRANCE – Truffle supports EUR 1m Photon investment
Truffle Capital and EDF-Energies Nouvelles have invested EUR 1m into Photon Technologies, a solar installation company.
FRANCE – Eurazeo profits fall
Listed investor group Eurazeo has recorded net income of EUR 243.1m in the first semester of 2008, three times lower than the corresponding period last year.
FRANCE - OFI close to completing Léon privatisation
OFI Private Equity is edging closer to completing its take-private of restaurant chain Léon de Bruxelles, having upped its stake to 90.01%.
FRANCE - Pragma stages buyout of Texa
Pragma Capital has completed a tertiary buyout of insurance company Texa from Abénex Capital for an undisclosed sum.
FRANCE - Emertec president retires
Emertec Gestion president Philippe Capdevielle has retired after ten years in the role. The position will be taken up by Bernard Maitre who, along with the investment team, will continue to oversee the management of the first three funds. The team will...
GLOBAL - First Reserve to invest in nuclear venture
According to reports, US group First Reserve, which specialises in the energy sector, will reveal plans later this week for an investment worth hundreds of millions of dollars into Accord Nuclear Resources, a nuclear fuel venture headed by two uranium...
EUROPE - SL Capital reaches fourth closing on EUR 520m
SL Capital Partners has reached the fourth closing of its European Strategic Partners 2008 (ESP 2008) fund-of-funds on EUR 520m.
FRANCE - Abénex Capital and Ixen purchase Buffalo Grill
Abénex Capital and Ixen have completed a secondary buyout of restaurant chain Buffalo Grill from Colony Capital and Eurazeo.
FRANCE - PIPE deals up 100%
With market valuations down buyout houses in France are increasingly targeting investments in public companies. France has already seen 11 pipe deals completed so far this year; more than twice the five deals recorded in 2007.
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.
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.
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.
FRANCE - Noble Ventures invests EUR 7m into Ipanema
Noble Ventures has invested EUR 7m into traffic management systems provider Ipanema Technologies.
FRANCE - Sagard cedes CEPL for EUR 500m
Sagard has signed a definitive agreement to divest portfolio logistics company Compagnie Européenne de Prestations Logistiques (CEPL) to Arcapita, a Bahrain-based investment firm, in a secondary buyout valued at around EUR 500m.
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.
FRANCE - AXA PE ups stake in Carbone Lorraine
AXA Private Equity has increased its holding in listed electrical and materials company Carbone Lorraine from 10.5% to 11.43%.
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.
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.