Region
Unquote has a long history of delivering in-depth coverage for each European market, from individual deals to fundraising and region-specific trend analysis. Click on the following links to access content for a specific region:
UK & Ireland DACH Nordic France Southern Europe Benelux CEE
UK - Octopus invests over £600,000 in internet technology company
Octopus Investments has completed an investment of more than £600,000 in the development of internet technology firm True Knowledge Ltd. The deal represents the first round of funding for the company.
UK - Kennet Partners appoints new director
International growth equity investor Kennet Partners has promoted Evan Frank to the position of director.
FRANCE - Argos Soditic acquires Orgasynth subsidiaries
Argos Soditic has completed the management buy-in of all of the five fine chemical and dye subsidiaries of industrial group Orgasynth.
FRANCE/ITALY - Truffle Capital takes GoAdv public
Truffle Capital has simultaneously led a capital increase and public listing of web-based media company GoAdv, in a deal which values the company at EUR 34m.
UK - NVM recoups 3x investment from Ithaca exit
NVM Private Equity has sold Ithaca Business Media in a £14.25m trade sale to United Business Media Plc’s UK-based business information division, CMP Information. The deal realised a return of 3x NVM's original investment, with an IRR of over 60% achieved...
UK - Matrix invests further £3.7m in Blaze to support acquisition
Matrix Private Equity Partners has supported existing investee company Blaze Signs Holdings in financing its acquisition of a complementary business, Active Sign Maintenance from its founders. Matrix Private Equity Partners has invested a further £3.7m....
IRELAND - Trinity Venture Capital et al. exit Havok
Trinity Venture Capital and other investors ICC Venture Capital and Iona have realised their investments in Havok, an Irish Gaming Middleware company. The business has been acquired by Intel for an undisclosed sum.
UK - Sovereign Capital portfolio company acquires Orient Gold
Sovereign Capital-backed STL, a vocational training provider, has acquired Orient Gold, a national provider of apprenticeship and adult learning. The value of the deal has not been disclosed. The new combined group has over 240 employees and over 3000...
FRANCE - Astorg refinanced Geoservices in late July
Astorg Partners secured a EUR 90m refinancing of oil exploration services company Geoservices on 20 July 2007.
NL - Candover withdraws EUR 1.5bn Stork bid
Candover has withdrawn its EUR 1.5bn offer for Stork after LME Holdings, a holding company of Icelandic food processing group Marel, declined to tender its shares. LME Holdings has recently raised its shareholding to more than 43% to block the bid,...
RUSSIA - Mint Capital invests in Russian chocolate sweets brand Fruzhe
Mint Capital has signed a $9m direct equity investment agreement with Naturalnye Produkty (Natural Products), the Russian manufacturer of chocolate sweets under the Fruzhe brand. The investment will be used to improve the company's marketing, sales and...
NORWAY - Ferd could realise historic returns if Pronova Biocare is up for sale
Ferd Private Equity is reported to be in the process of putting Pronova Biocare up for sale. Ferd acquired the pharmaceutical company in Jannuary 2004 for NOK 530m. Artic Securities, the newly established Norwegian ivestment bank, has now valued the company...
LATVIA - Blackstone leads $575m management buyout of Lattelecom
The Blackstone Group has invested $178m (Lt 90m), as part of a $575m management buyout and privatisation of Latvian telecom company Lattelecom. The sellers are the Latvian government (51%) and TeliaSonera (49%), the Swedish telecom operator. At the completion...
ITALY - Sofipa makes 40% IRR on Teckal sale
Italian mid-market house Sofipa has sold energy services provider Teckal to Manutencoop Facility Management. The enterprise value of the exit is EUR 88m, with an implied equity value of EUR 61m. The IRR on the investment is approximately 40% with a cash...
UK/US - Blackstone consortium bid for Cadbury drinks arm rejected
The Blackstone corsortium bidding for the US beverages arm of Cadbury Schweppes has had its offer rejected. Blackstone, together with KKR and Lion Capital are understood to have offered in the region of £6.5bn for the drinks business which includes the...
SPAIN - Quercus Equity closes Odeco refinancing on EUR 58.5m
Quercus Equity has recapitalised its investment in Odeco in a deal worth EUR 58.5m.
UK - Kaupthing sees 67% IRR from Costcutter exit
Kaupthing has sold Costcutter to transport and shipping group Biddy Line recouping 2x its investment on its 18 month holding period. The exit represented an IRR of 67%. Costcutter's growth has been driven by new franchise agreements and strong sector...
FINLAND - CapMan-backed OneMed makes acquisition
CapMan's portfolio company OneMed, a seller and importer of healthcare products, has acquired 75% of Hand-Prod Group, a Poland-based wholesaler of healthcare products. In addition to its mother company, Hand-Prod group consists of subsidiaries such as...
FRANCE - RFID specialist Tagsys receives $16m second tranche
RFID infrastructure business Tagsys has received the second tranche of its $35m series C funding round.
GERMANY – European Capital strengthens Frankfurt team
European Capital Financial Services has appointed Bernd Schaessburger as an investment director to its Frankfurt-based team. Schaessburger joins the team headed by managing director Robert von Finckenstein, which has been strengthened during the past...
EUROPE - SLIPE to manage CalPERS' EUR 400m mandate
Standard Life Investments (Private Equity) Ltd (SLIPE) has been selected to manage a EUR 400m mandate focused exclusively on European private equity.
UK - Foresight completes £2.8m MBI of Heritage House
Foresight Venture partners has completed the £2.8m management buy-in of Heritage House Media. Foresight led the financing, investing £1.4m through its funds Foresight VCT II and Foresight VCT III, and was joined by IBIS Media VCT and Calculus Capital,...
FRANCE - Turnaround fund Contrarian Capital invests in Eugene Perma
US-headquartered Contrarian Capital has invested EUR 20m in troubled hair products business Eugene Perma.
FRANCE - European Capital announces Soflog-Telis deal
As exclusively reported in Unquote News on 16 July, European Capital has invested in industrial logistics business Soflog-Telis, alongside existing investor 3i.