France
FRANCE - Pragma Capital wins tertiary buyout of Retif
Unquote" has learned that Pragma Capital has signed an agreement to back the tertiary buyout of display units rental business Retif.
FRANCE - LBO France acquires Piera
French buyout house LBO France has completed the buyout of Piera, a real-estate developer.
FRANCE - Osiris secures first industrial deal
Osiris Partners has backed the spin-off of Produits Plastiques Performants (3P) from listed-plastics company Plastic Omnium. The deal is Osiris' second transaction.
FRANCE - Eurazeo wins exclusivity for EUR 2.3bn tertiary buyout of Elis
Eurazeo has won a period of exclusivity for the acquisition of textile rental business Elis from PAI partners, in a deal which values the business at approximately EUR 2.3bn.
FRANCE - De Agostini buys Marathon from Bridgepoint
Bridgepoint and the management of TV producer Marathon have sold their entire stake in the company to Italian group De Agostini.
FRANCE - Dailymotion raises extra EUR 20m
Video sharing website Dailymotion has received EUR 20m in a second round of funding, according to French press reports.
FRANCE - Shoe maker Luxat subject of secondary buyout
LCL Régions Développement and Avenir Entreprises have backed the secondary buyout of Luxat, a shoe manufacturer in the Basque region.
FRANCE - CIC LBO Partners backs Sinéquanone
CIC LBO Partners has backed the buyout of Sinéquanone, a clothing chain with 220 retail points.
SPAIN/FRANCE - Imperial Tobacco offers 32% more than CVC for Altadis
Imperial Tobacco has offered EUR 50 per share for Franco-Spanish business Altadis in the latest chapter of the tobacco company saga, which has been dragging on for nearly five months.
FRANCE - Advent International backs LBO of Sophis
Advent has acquired a majority stake in Sophis, a provider of cross-asset, front-to-back portfolio and risk management solutions.
FRANCE - Crédit Agricole Private Equity invests EUR 6.6m in Legoupil buyout
Crédit Agricole Private Equity has led the buyout of modular construction specialist Legoupil Industries.
FRANCE - Aurel Nextstage invests in Colorado
CRM and call centre specialist Colorado Conseil & Formation has received EUR 2.5m from French venture and growth capital firm Aurel Nextstage.
FRANCE - Crédit Agricole Private Equity leads EUR 10.5m investment in Valorem
Via its fund Capenergie, Crédit Agricole Private Equity (CAPE) has led a first round of funding in wind farm developer Valorem, alongside Avenir Entreprises and Grand Sud Ouest Capital (GSO).
FRANCE - European Capital buys CEO's stake in Soflog
Market sources suggest European Capital has acquired a majority stake in industrial logistics business Soflog, currently backed by 3i, from its CEO Nicolas Nonon.
FRANCE - XAnge and OTC AM invest in online household goods retailer
XAnge Private Equity and OTC Asset Management have injected EUR 3.3m in Delamaison.fr.
FRANCE - UI Gestion backs management buy-in of Didactic
UI Gestion, regional fund NCI Gestion and CDC Entreprises have backed the MBI of Didactic, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of disposable medical equipment.
FRANCE - Rhône-Alpes PME Gestion backs TSV spin-off
Rhône-Alpes PME Gestion has invested EUR 850,000 in equity and convertible bonds to back the management buyout of Transformateurs Solutions Vénissieux (TSV) from Areva T&D.
FRANCE - Methane-based energy specialist Naskeo raises EUR 2.6m
Oddo Asset Management and XAnge Private Equity have each invested EUR 1.3m in Naskeo Environnement, a renewable energy solution provider.
FRANCE - French-born Virtual Logix receives $16m B-round
Formerly known as Jaluna, Virtual Logix has raised $16m from a syndicate led by Esprit Capital Partners, and including new investor Intel Capital, and existing investors Atlas Venture and Index Ventures.
EUROPE - Balderton Capital invests in TvTrip.com
Balderton Capital has invested EUR 3.5m in TVtrip.com alongside Partech International. Balderton Capital was formerly known as Benchmark Capital Europe.
EUROPE - EVCA defends private equity at European Parliament Forum
At the European Parliamentтs Financial Services Forum last night, EVCA secretary general, Javier Echarri, strongly defended the role and wider function of Private Equity. тThose who demonise Private Equity should consider the law of unintended consequences...
EUROPE - EVCA changes address
EVCA (the European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association) moves to the centre of Brussels, close to the Parliament and Commission offices, at the end of this week. EVCAтs new address will be: Bastion Tower Place du Champ de Mars, 5 1050 BRUSSELS....
EUROPE - H1 buyout deal volume up in UK and France, down in Germany
Buyout deal volume in France and the UK in H1 2007 was up on the figures for both 2005 and 2006, although German volume has slowed this year against 06. According to preliminary data from Unquote"/Private Equity Insight, 102 deals have been completed...
FRANCE - Air Liquide rumours continue
KKR is said to be interested in acquiring industrial gas giant Air Liquide, potentially a EUR 27bn deal.