Southern Europe
PIP in $40m secondaries deal
Pantheon International Participations PLC (PIP), Pantheon’s quoted private equity fund-of-funds investment trust, has committed $40m to buy a portfolio of 25 buyout global funds with more than 400 portfolio companies.
AIFMD – Parallel LP funds and the importance of PR
Susannah Birkwood speaks to HarbourVest's Amanda McCrystal and EVCA's new chairman, Karsten Langer, in Barcelona, about the implications of the AIFMD on the private equity industry.
Southern Europe unquote" June 2011
Spanish VCs were urged to emulate US firms at the ASCRI's 25-year anniversary conference.
Spanish VCs urged to emulate US firms
Susannah Birkwood reports direct from the 25-year anniversary conference held by ASCRI, the Spanish private equity association.
Weil poaches Clifford Chance’s fund formation team
Weil Gotshal & Manges has appointed four new partners to create a fund formation group in London.
Management due diligence: Power to the people
The strength of a management team is roundly considered the single most important factor in determining the success of a private equity deal. So why is management due diligence the process to which most acquirers pay the least amount of attention? Susannah...
Private Equity Art Exhibition raises more than £20k
Following recent media scrutiny of private equity deal-doing, the industry looks once again in dire need of hiring a PR guru to protect its public image.
AXA pays $1.7bn for Citi’s 207 LP stakes
Large transactions continue to drive the market, fueling suspicion that this year’s total will surpass last year’s record $20bn. Kimberly Romaine reports
N+1 in talks to buy Corporación IBV
N+1 Private Equity is in talks to buy most of the portfolio of industrial holding company Corporación IBV, according to sources cited by Spain’s El Confidencial.
CAN backs Laboratorios Ojer Pharma with €500,000
Corporación Caja Navarra (CAN), the private equity arm of Caja Navarra, has invested €500,000 in biotech company Laboratorios Ojer Pharma in return for a 11.22% in the business.
Unigestion hits €190m for secondaries; €70m for Environmental Fund
Unigestion has reached a final close of €190m for its Secondary Opportunity Fund II LP, unquote” can reveal.
Apax, CVC and KKR in talks to acquire 20% of Caser
Private equity firms Apax Partners, CVC Capital Partners and KKR are at a critical stage in their talks with Caser about purchasing a 20% stake in the Spanish insurance firm.
CVC seeks Colomer buyer
CVC Capital Partners is searching for a buyer for its Spanish portfolio company, Colomer Group, a manufacturer of hair and nail care products.
Active invests €1m in Restalo.es
Technology investor Active Venture Partners has injected €1m into Spanish online restaurant bookings platform Restalo.es via a capital increase.
Riverside's Karsten Langer becomes EVCA chairman
The general assembly of the European Venture Capital Association (EVCA) has elected Karsten Langer, partner of The Riverside Company, as its chairman for the year to June 2012.
Tandem Capital fund closes down
Spanish private equity firm Tandem Capital has announced that it will be ceasing all operations of its €40m fund next month.
AC Desarrollo acquires 21% of Postigo
AC Desarrollo, the private equity arm of banking group Ahorro Corporación, has acquired a 21.28% stake in Spanish road safety firm Grupo Postigo via a capital increase.
Stirling Square exits Metroweb
Stirling Square Capital Partners has sold Italian fibre-optics network operator Metroweb to infrastructure fund F2i and bank Intesa Sanpaolo - a deal understood to be worth €436m.
Discipline key to success in Nordics
“The mid-market has been remarkably well disciplined in the last couple of years in the Nordics,” Gustav Bard, MD of 3i Nordics said this morning in Stockholm. “Such restraint will help make this a very good vintage,” he continued, speaking at...
Explorer Investments closes fund at €270m
Portuguese private equity firm Explorer Investments has held a final close of its third fund at €270m.
Mezzanine: Waiting for the rain
Mezzanine players have endured a drought for some time now. The first rain clouds may just have appeared on the horizon, as Emanuel Eftimiu finds out.
Blackstone et al consider BMN investment
Blackstone, Lone Star and Cerberus are among the private equity firms which have offered to invest in major Spanish financial group BMN.
Large exits up 60% year-on-year
So far, 2011 has seen a surge in exit activity for private equity funds, with large-scale divestments seeing a significant recovery in particular. John Bakie gives an overview