France
Five Arrows Direct Lending closes on €655m
Rothschild Merchant Banking's direct lending fund for mid-market firms exceeds its €400m target
Bridgepoint preps for first credit fund launch
Firm's first debt vehicle will invest in Bridgepoint's own deals as well as third-party ones
Ardian nets $800m for US infrastructure fund
Fundraising was completed in less than six months, according to Ardian
Carvest backs MBO of consultancy Algoé
GP Carvest, the PE arm of Crédit Agricole's regional branches, takes over from CIC
Elaia Partners et al. in €4.5m round for Uwinloc
Backing will help the French provider of asset location products to expand internationally
Alliance Ventures et al. invest €10m in Kalray
French microprocessors developer Kalray received €23.6m in funding in 2017
LBO France, LFPI sell underwear retailer Eminence to trade
Delta Galil Industries, with more than $1bn in revenues, buys French underwear specialist Eminence
Ardian's Solina bolts on Essential Cuisine
Deal is the second UK bolt-on acquisition for the France-based food products company
Activa Capital backs spa operator Be Relax
Capital increase of €20m will help the French spa operator open new facilities globally
LBO France launches new Digital Health 2 fund
Venture fund, with a €150m target, will invest in European medical technology startups
PAI and Baring Asia buy WFCI from Greenbriar
PAI drew equity for the deal from its latest buyout fund, PAI Europe VII, which closed on €5bn
Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity to launch six new funds
PE branch aims to raise €3bn over the next three years, to reach €5bn of AUM by late 2021
Q1 Barometer: Mega-deals propel value to post-crisis record
Deal volume reached the second highest quarterly level in two and a half years, while aggregate value climbed to тЌ54bn
Cathay Capital, BPI France buy NeoXam in SBO
GPs buy the French financial software company from BlackFin Capital Partners
Sino-French PE relations move forward
Chinese trade buyers, GPs and LPs are increasingly active in the French market as the number of funds with Sino-French strategies increases
IK to buy Mademoiselle Desserts in SBO
GP in exclusive talks to acquire the frozen pastries company from its historical backers
Azulis Capital backs Meotec in OBO
GP acquires 22% of French consultancy Meotec, while management retains the remainder
Accel leads $3.3m seed round for Station
Webb Investment Network and Kima Ventures also take part in the funding round for Station
Omnes Capital in €3.5m funding round for Tilkee
Evolem Start, Crédit Agricole Création, Axeleo Capital and Kreaxi also take part
Ardian sells Serma Group back to Chequers
Chequers previously owned the French electronic technology company, having previously owned a stake in it between 2011-2015
Astorg to sell Metrologic to trade
French 3D measurement specialist Metrologic to be sold to Swedish Sandvik in €360m deal
Ardian enters exclusive negotiations to buy Capzanine's Opteven
GP pre-empts auction of French insurance company Opteven and takes over from Capzanine
Arkéa Capital backs Lumiplan in MBO
GP acquires a minority stake in the French communications service for trasport businesses
Kerogen leads €15m funding round for Ideol
Amundi Private Equity, Sofimac Regions and Paca Investment are also subscribing to new shares