Nordics
ICELAND - Icelanders create green investment company
Glitnir, FL Group and VGK Hönnun Engineering have founded an investment company, Geysir Green Energy, with the objective of investing globally in renewable energy projects with basis of geothermal sources.
FINLAND - Sitra changes its English name
Finland's Sitra has changed its English-language name to Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund as of 1 January 2007. The new English name will replace the previous name, which was the Finnish National Fund for Research and Development Sitra.
SWEDEN - Segulah buys 50% of Kemetyl
Segulah has acquired 50% of Kemetyl, a supplier of car care products to gasoline stations. Segulah III and Pemco, the owner, have a shareholder’s agreement ensuring Segulah III de facto control.
FINLAND - CapMan’s real estate fund acquires Kalevankatu 20
CapMan Real Estate I has acquired the property and lot located at Kalevankatu 20 in Helsinki from the Local Government Pensions Institution for an undisclosed sum. Kalevankatu 20 is located in the Kamppi district of central Helsinki and comprises approximately...
FINLAND - CapMan to acquire Komas Oy
CapMan has agreed to acquire Komas Oy from private equity investor Midinvest Management and other owners of the company. No details regarding the transaction price will be disclosed.
SWEDEN - EQT V hits EUR 4.25bn
EQT has closed its latest fund on EUR 4.25bn. EQT V attracted 25% of money from the Nordic region, 30% from the UK and Continental Europe, 25% from North America, and the remaining 20% from the rest of the world. New commitments came from Australia, Canada...
SWEDEN - Doughty Hanson sells Tumba Centrum for SEK 550m
Doughty Hanson & Co Real Estate has agreed to sell Tumba Centrum to Citycon for SEK 550m. Tumba Centrum is a 32,000 square metre shopping centre, which also includes the municipal library and art gallery as well as municipal offices and residential apartments....
FINLAND - Aspida secures EUR 500,000 in funding
Finnish Industry Investment and private investors have invested EUR 500,000 in software company Aspida Oy.
SWEDEN - Swedish funds invest SEK 4bn in Q3
Swedish private equity and venture capital groups invested SEK 4bn in 139 transactions in Q3 2006, according to a report issued by the Swedish Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (SVCA).
SWEDEN - CapMan invests EUR 1.4m in QuickCool
Funds managed by CapMan will invest EUR 1.4m in Swedish medtech company QuickCool AB, a developer of a new method to prevent brain damage by cooling of the brain. CapMan Life Science IV Fund will have a 25% stake in the company. The majority of the remaining...
EUROPE - EVCA publishes 2006 benchmarking study
EVCA has published its third annual benchmarking study, a piece of research which compares the tax and legal environments for private equity and venture capital across 25 European countries.
SWEDEN - Segulah buys Isaberg Rapid
Segulah has acquired Isaberg Rapid, a wholly owned subsidiary of the listed investment company Industrivärden. Isaberg Rapid focuses on the manufacturing and marketing of staplers and staples, under the brand name Rapid. In 2005, it recorded revenues...
SWEDEN - Risberg joins 3i from InnovationsKapital
3i has hired Jonas Risberg as partner to its global venture business. Risberg will be responsible for investing in IT and communications businesses in the Nordic region. He was previously partner at InnovationsKapital, where he focused on investing in...
DENMARK - Erhvervsinvest sells Roshield for EUR 34.7m
Erhvervsinvest has sold Odense-based Roshield to TenCate for EUR 34.7m. Roshield supplies products that are ready to be installed in vehicles.
DENMARK - CapMan exits ECO-DAN
CapMan funds have sold the activities in ECO-DAN A/S, a Danish provider of guidance systems used for precision farming, to a European manufacturer of agricultural equipment. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2006.
EUROPE – Kenneth Leet to lead European Investment Team of Cerberus
Cerberus Capital Management has announced that Kenneth H M Leet has joined Cerberus European Capital Advisors as president. Leet’s previous positions include an 18-year tenure as partner in the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs.
SWEDEN - Ashurst opens Stockholm office
Law firm Ashurst will open in Stockholm in January 2007. The office will be headed by Jonas Bergh, who is currently the senior partner of AJB Bergh Advokatbyrå AB (AJB). All members of AJB will join Ashurst and in addition Mats Rooth, a senior finance...
SWEDEN - EQT Oppportunity buys Melka Tenson and Five Seasons
The EQT Opportunity Fund has acquired sportswear companies M/T Owner (Melka Tenson) from Jacques Vert Plc, and Five Seasons from Five Seasons Inköps AB. The majority owner of Five Seasons, Gunnar Johansson, will together with management become co-owner...
SWEDEN - Industri Kapital to acquire Attendo
Industri Kapital has agreed to buy care company Attendo Group AB from the owners Bridgepoint, Mexab and Säki.
NORWAY - EQT sells Plantasjen to Apax
EQT III has agreed to sell garden centre chain Plantasjen to funds managed by Apax Partners. Under EQT's ownership, the company has tripled its revenues. The sale is conditional on approval by the relevant competition authorities.
SWEDEN - HealthCap and NBGI Ventures invest in BoneSupport
The medical technology company BoneSupport AB in Lund has received SEK 135m in growth funding. The new investors include HealthCap and NBGI Ventures, while the existing owners are Innovationskapital, Teknoinvest, FERD Venture and Vencorp Partners.
SWEDEN - Ratos-backed Lindab to float today
Trading in Lindab’s shares on the Stockholm Stock Exchange will commence today. The market capitalisation of the company is SEK 8.658bn. Lindab, which offers in-house solutions in steel and sheet metal, is one of Ratos's portfolio companies.
NORDIC - Nordic unquote" honours local players with awards for top achievements
The Nordic region's record year in private equity was celebrated at the inaugural Nordic unquote" Private Equity Awards 2006, sponsored by SEB, at the dinner held at Grand Hotel in Stockholm on 28 November. The event was hosted by Swedish current affairs...
SWEDEN - 3i and SEB Företagsinvest divest stakes in SBL Vaccines in sale to Crucell
3i and SEB Företagsinvest, alongside other shareholders, are divesting their stakes in SBL Vaccines, a Swedish vaccine distributor in a sale to NASDAQ listed Dutch biotechnology company Crucell. The sale price is EUR 39.4m, excluding deferred payments...