Southern Europe

Private equity sees promise in mobile games market
Videogames: private equity plays to win

Web-based and mobile games have seen a rapid rise in popularity in recent years, with popular products such as Farmville even making mainstream news headlines. Private equity has kept a keen eye on the industry, and a number of firms operating in the...

French venture funds could soon run out of money
French venture: Retail funds under threat

France’s FCPI and FIP funds, two tax-efficient retail vehicles created to promote venture investments, are currently being overhauled by the legislator. While the proposed 2011 budget grants them a new lease of life, a number of changes are bound to...

unquote" Germany Report 2010

The latest unquote” Germany Report covers all the latest trends and issues affecting the German private equity and venture capital markets.

  • DACH
Candover "to exit Technogym"

Candover Investments looks likely to exit Italian equipment maker Technogym via a management buy-back to company founder Nerio Alessandri, according to reports.

Spring
Buyout values bounce back in 2010

Buyout values in the UK have bounced back in 2010, suggesting improved leverage conditions. Figures from unquote” Research suggest the market is on its way up once more. John Bakie gives an overview

emanuel-eftimiu-web
Show me the exit

Talking to a few GPs recently, there seems to be a general notion that, if not already, then we are certainly entering an exit-friendly period.

  • DACH
Private equity has been investing in online sales
Private equity looks to private sales clubs

Members-only sales clubs have been a surprisingly attractive investment target for private equity firms in 2010. Industry insiders have been branding this sector as “the new cleantech”, having seen at least 10 small to medium private equity deals...

Governments now play a vital role in seed funding
Government VCs and the venture ecosystem

Governments have been involved in funding small businesses for many years now, and government-backed VCs are a common sight in many European countries. While in the past, they might have been seen as just another source of funding for many start-up companies,...

More private equity funds are looking to exit in the next 12 months
Running for the exit?

Exit numbers are set to boom in the coming months as market conditions improve, according to research. While trade sales are very much the preferred route for private equity investors, IPOs remain unattractive. John Bakie gives an overview.

German venture has been conspicuous by its absence
German venture: A ghost town?

At the very peak of the economic boom in 2007 the German venture market looked set to take off and regain much of the ground it had lost following the dotcom crash, with large sums of capital flowing into the hands of entrepreneurial businesses. However,...