Nordics
NORWAY - STF and Northzone back Innotech Solar with EUR 6m
Swedish venture capital fund Sustainable Technologies Funds and Norway-based technology investor Northzone Ventures has invested EUR 6m into Innotech Solar AS (ITS), a clean energy company.
GLOBAL - Cipio promotes Meyel
Global secondary direct specialist Cipio Partners has promoted Diana Meyel to the position of partner.
SWEDEN - RWE Innogy invests SEK 12m into Mantex
The venture capital arm of German energy company RWE Innogy has invested SEK 12m into Swedish clean tech business Mantex AB.
EUROPE - 3i appoints two new non-executive directors; halves debt
Private equity group 3i has appointed John Allan and Alistair Cox as non-executive directors on its board, effective 1 September and 1 October respectively.
EUROPE - Palamon appoints new adviser
London-based mid-market investor Palamon Capital Partners has appointment Dr Richard Wolman to its board of advisers.
EUROPE - Cinven's Hall steps down
Buyout giant Cinven has elected Hugh Langmuir to managing partner, replacing Robin Hall, a veteran of the firm who will take on the role of executive chairman.
UK/GERMANY - WHEB Ventures reaches £90m third close
WHEB Ventures has achieved a third closing of its second clean technology fund, WHEB Ventures Private Equity 2 LP, at ТЃ90m (EUR 105m).
EUROPE - AXA PE signs UN responsible investment principles
French mid-market buyout house AXA Private Equity has signed the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) initiative, issued by the United Nations.
EUROPE - EVCA placement code highlights need for transparency
In response to the ongoing reverberations relating to the New York kickback scandal the EVCA has published a draft code of conduct for placement agents, which highlights the need for greater transparency within the sector.
SWEDEN - Bank takes over ex-Nordic Capital owned Plastal units
Swedish bank Handelsbanken, which underwrote Nordic Capital's EUR 352m buyout of automotive industry player Plastal Holding in 2005, has now taken over the Belgian, Norwegian and Swedish units of the group which went bankrupt in March this year.
NORWAY - Viking appoints partner
Norwegain venture capital firm Viking Venture has hired Eiving Bergsmyr as partner.
NORWAY - HitecVision hires senior partner
HitecVision has hired corporate financier Pål Reiulf Olsen as senior partner.
EUROPE - IK appoints Ryum Larsen to executive committee
IK Investment Partners has appointed investor relations head Mads Ryum Larsen to its executive committee.
Jockeying for position
A private equity landscape in subsidence, a barren fundraising market and stateside-kickback scandals: placement agents are having to change their modus operandi. By Ashley Wassall
Trouble ahead
Industry LPs reveal their sombre side, predicting that a quarter of all private equity fund managers will go out of business and a tenth of investors could default on capital calls. By Ashley Wassall
Caution ... is key
Director of private equity at SVG Advisers, Sam Robinson, speaks on LPs' decreased appetite for risk and the need to make vehicles more efficient in this economic climate. By Sam Robinson, SVG Advisers.
LP/GP relations - No more Mr Nice Guy?
There is a general feeling that all is not well in LP land, with fees increasingly becoming an area of concern and a swathe of defaults thought to be around the corner. AVCJ chairman emeritus Dan Schwartz discusses the issues facing institutional investors...