Nordics
DENMARK - EQT sells Contex to Ratos for $240m
EQT has agreed to sell Contex Holding , a developer, manufacturer and supplier of innovative 2D and 3D digital image solutions, to Ratos for $250m.
DENMARK - watAgame secures $3m for web 2.0 game from Accel Partners et al.
WatAgame has secured a $3m funding round from Accel Partners for its social networking game, goSupermodel, for teenage girls centered around fashion and user generated content. Seed Capital and Vækstfonden have also participated in the investment round.
NORWAY - VIA Travel set for record year
FSN Capital-backed travel agency VIA Travel is set to deliver record-breaking results for its investors ahead of an expected IPO on the Oslo Stock Exchange in October 2007. It is anticipated that the business will list with a value of NOK 1.3bn. FSN Capital...
NORWAY - TH!NK attracts $60m investment
TH!NK Global, a Norwegian producer of environmently friendly cars, has completed a private placement of $60m from several investors including, DFJ Element and RockPort Capital Partners. Other private high-net worth Norwegian investors including Petter...
SWEDEN - Industrifonden participates in SEK 20m round in Osteria Sverige
Industrifonden has invested SEK 6m in a SEK 20m round in Osteria Sverige, a company that is in the process of starting to produce and sell oysters.
SWEDEN - CapMan and 3i exit Avitec AB
CapMan funds and 3i have exited their investment in Avitec AB. Avitec has been acquired by ECI, the UK-based private equity investor. Avitec manufactures repeaters for mobile telecommunications networks.
SWEDEN - Proventus invests SEK 70m to save J.Lindeberg
Proventus has agreed to invest SEK 70m in fashion company J.Lindeberg. The deal gives Proventus a 35% stake in the business which has recently experienced difficulties between founder Johan Lindeberg and the current owners. Following the new investment,...
FINLAND - Navicore is acquired by Wayfinder
Navicore, the provider of interactive on-board navigation products for smart phones and Nokia Internet tablets, has been sold to Wayfinder.
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 Parliament’s Financial Services Forum last night, EVCA secretary general, Javier Echarri, strongly defended the role and wider function of Private Equity. “Those 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. EVCA’s new address will be: Bastion Tower Place du Champ de Mars, 5 1050 BRUSSELS....
DENMARK - PharmaZell acquires GEA Pharmaceutical
AUCTUS Management portfolio company PharmaZell GmbH has acquired a controlling stake in GEA Pharmaceutical from Sandoz. GEA Pharmaceutical focuses on the development of solid finished dosage forms, offering all services related to pharmaceutical development...
FINLAND - Bridgepoint portfolio company makes Belgium acquisition
Bridgepoint-owned A-Katsastus Oy, the Finnish vehicle inspection group, has acquired Belgium’s vehicle inspection company Autoveiligheid NV for an undisclosed sum. The company had net sales of nearly EUR 30m last year and carried out over 800,000 inspections....
SWEDEN - Litorina Kapital makes 4x on exit from SWE-DISH
Litorina Kapital has sold SWE-DISH Satellite Systems AB to Datapath Inc for $56m in cash. The deal has generated returns of 4x Litorina's investment. SWE-DISH is a supplier of mobile satellite communications equipment and related services for broadband...
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...
EUROPE - No end in sight for large buyouts
”Deal sizes are increasing more quickly than fund sizes,” said John Barber, managing partner at Citi Private Equity at a luncheon today. Though more prevalent in the US than in Europe, the phenomenon should allow the record fundraisings to find suitable...
SWEDEN - Attendo acquires MedOne
Industri Kapital backed healthcare company Attendo has acquired MedOne, a Finnish provider of outsourced healthcare and social services. Attendo now has operations in every Nordic country. MedOne is projected to generate revenues of EUR 110m in 2007....
BELGIUM/SWEDEN - EQT sells deSter to Gate Gourmet
EQT, through its funds EQT I and EQT III, has agreed to sell deSter Holdings B.V. to Gate Gourmet, a provider of airline catering and provisioning services. EQT-owned Duni AB, headquartered in Sweden, acquired deSter in 1999 and since then has substantially...
DENMARK - Carlyle acquires TDC headquarters
The Carlyle Group has announced the acquisition of the headquarters of TDC, the communications group at the centre of an attempted take-private by NTC, the acquisition vehicle of a consortium of private equity firms. The headquarters include 19 buildings...
NORWAY - Norlandia Omsorg acquires healthcare staffing agency Achima
Norlandia Omsorg, the care home company owned by FSN Capital, has acquired healthcare staffing agency Achima. Achima is a leading provider of temporary staff to the public and private healthcare industries in Norway and Sweden.
SWEDEN- Altor acquires NorthStar Battery Company
The manufacturer of high performance batteries and standby power systems, NorthStar Battery Company, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by the Nordic private equity fund Altor Fund II.
DENMARK - Procuritas sells EXPAN
Procuritas has sold EXPAN, a Danish construction company, to CRH Denmark A/S, part of the international construction company CRH.
GLOBAL - KKR to float
KKR is to follow in the steps of its rival Blackstone by floating on the New York Stock Exchange. KKR filed an initial public offering registration with the SEC on Tuesday and will seek to raise $1.25bn in new capital from the flotation. However, unlike...
SWEDEN - Priveq invests in Sydtotal
Priveq has agreed to become the new main shareholder of Sydtotal, a ventilation installation specialist in Southern Sweden. Sydtotal’s founders and current shareholders are retaining 40% of the compnay. The restructuring of ownership is part of Sydtotal's...