France
FRANCE - Siparex Croissance clocks up good performance for 2005
Sigefi Private Equity’s listed private equity vehicle, Siparex Croissance, has today announced its performance in 2005. The fund, which is quoted on Eurolist’s C compartment, recorded its best performance in five years for parent company net income...
FRANCE - Mezzanine Management appoints new director
Mezzanine Management has today announced the appointment of Henry-Louis Merieux as a director. He will be based in Mezzanine Management’s Paris office and will be responsible for originating and managing mezzanine investments in France. Merieux previously...
FRANCE - Motorola Ventures invests in IP over broadcast media provider
Motorola Ventures has injected EUR 2m for a third round of funding in UDcast. The investor joins existing shareholders CDC Entreprises Innovation, SGAM AI PE, I-Source, Baytech Venture and Mitsubishi Venture which collectively provided EUR 8.8m in two...
FRANCE - Kayentis raises EUR 2m from XAnge
XAnge has led at EUR 2m first round of funding in the software start-up Kayentis, via its XAnge Capital and XAnge Private Equity funds. Company founder and CEO Philippe Berna, business angels Jean-Louis Moses and Pierre Casse and an industrial player...
FRANCE - Wendel consortium prepares Legrand’s EUR 1.8bn IPO
Wendel Investissement is planning Legrand’s IPO, which has been valued at around EUR 1.8bn. Owing to the current good performances of the French financial markets, coupled with the fact that Legrand’s revenues are forecast to exceed EUR 3bn this year,...
FRANCE - Eurazeo to acquire Europcar from Volkswagen
Eurazeo has entered into exclusive negotiations with Volkswagen AG to acquire Europcar. The private equity house has fought off competition in two rounds of the auction run by Citigroup. Europcar is the European leader in hire cars and counts more than...
FRANCE - Avenir Tourisme purchases Yachts de Paris
Avenir Tourisme has backed the buyout of Yachts de Paris, alongside co-investor Perspectives et Participations. The buyers have taken a 30% stake in the business, while the company’s managing director, Marc Bungener, holds the balance. A private investor...
FRANCE - Activa Capital organises MBO of Logitrade
Activa Capital has organised the management buyout of Logitrade, France’s leading procurement externalisation business for non-strategic purchases. Logitrade has been purchased from its founder, Bernard Mercadier, who will remain as chairman of the...
FRANCE - Naxicap backs mannequin business
Naxicap Partners has backed the buyout of COFRAD to take a minority stake. It has invested a sum of EUR 2.6m through its funds Banque Populaire Développement and FIP Banque Populaire Proximité IDF Nord 2004. The company’s founding CEO, Serge Beltramino,...
FRANCE - Stampede over Colony’s Buffalo Grill stakes
France’s largest shareholder action group is urging the AMF (autorité des marchés financiers) to refuse Colony Capital’s attempt to delist Buffalo Grill. Colette Neuville, head of Association pour la Défense des Actionnaires Minoritaires (ADAM),...
FRANCE - Asiatex to take Petitboy out of receivership
Pau’s regulatory court has selected Asiatex to acquire Petitboy from CIC Banque de Vizille and bring the company out of receivership. The children’s clothing company has been held under observation for the past four months. Asiatex has agreed to acquire...
FRANCE - Electra sells electronic security group to Honeywell
Electra Partners Europe has today announced the sale of Gardiner Europe’s largest independent distributor of electronic security equipment, to Honeywell. Gardiner is headquartered in France and has operations in ten European countries: the UK and Ireland...
FRANCE - PPM buys jewellers from Apax
PPM Capital, a mid-market private equity specialist, has reached an agreement in principle to acquire Histoire d'Or, a leading French jewellery distributor, from a group of investors led by Apax Partners for a consideration of EUR 230m. The transaction...
FRANCE - Heinz sells seafood business to Lehman Brothers
Heinz has signed a definitive agreement to sell its European Seafood business to Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking for EUR 425m. The transaction is subject to customary EU competition review and approval. Pending regulatory approval, Heinz expects to complete...
FRANCE - European Capital invests in Tokheim buyout
European Capital, S.A. SICAR has announced today it has invested EUR 14m in the mezzanine and second lien facilities of Tokheim SAS, the leading European supplier of retail fuel systems. European Capital’s investment represents a share of the mezzanine...
FRANCE - Siparex records active 2005
Siparex has dubbed itself as the leading independent private equity investor in France’s middle market. Although investments over the past year were 11% lower than the amounts recorded in 2004, its exits have doubled and gross capital gains nearly tripled,...
EUROPE - LBO market smashes EUR 100bn barrier
2005 saw further significant growth in the European buyout market with the total value of deals topping EUR 100bn for the first time ever, according to the latest European Buyout Review due to be published in March 2006 by Incisive Media in association...
FRANCE - PE houses dig for French gold
CDC Entreprises has just acquired France’s largest chain of jewellers Marc Orian for an estimated EUR 140m, according to press reports. The Paris-based newco, Financière M.O, was taken private by Crédit Lyonnais Asset Management, now Crédit Agricole...
FRANCE - European Capital buys motorcycle specialist
European Capital has today announced the completion of its one stop buyout of Action Sport Holding, a leading distributor of motorcycle and bicycle gear and accessories in France. The group’s investment takes the form of senior term loans, mezzanine...
FRANCE - Launch of First biotech start-up funding organisation
Inserm-Transfert Initiative is France’s first ever venture company to specialise in financing early-stage health and biotechnology projects. It has been launched by Inserm-Transfert, a French company that funds project development in the human health...
FRANCE - AXA goes it alone with eBuyClub
AXA Private Equity is sole investor in the recent EUR 2m round of funding in Plebicom. Founded in December 2000, following its incubation by Teamlog, Plebicom manages eBuyClub - an online retailing club. It offers its 300,000 members reductions on products...
FRANCE - Telisma receives further EUR 3m funding
Telisma has completed a EUR 3m fourth round of funding, via its existing investors. Ventech and Innovacom have each invested EUR 1m in the company, while 3i and AGF Private Equity have take equal stakes in the balance. As a result of this third round...
FRANCE - Casino’s cafeteria business up for grabs
Five private equity houses have made bids to acquire the cafeteria business of the supermarket chain Casino, according to a recent article published in Le Figaro. Rothschild has been mandated to run the auction for the sale of the business, which is valued...
FRANCE - Butler turns down Lanson International
Following Butler Capital Partner’s (BCP) decision to abandon its bid to buy Lanson International, Boizel Chanoine stepped in with an offer. The rival champagne producer acquired France’s second largest champagne producer for an estimated EUR 520m,...