Southern Europe
SPAIN - Impala exits Menaje del Hogar for EUR 132m
Impala Capital sold its 54% stake in electrical goods wholesaler Menaje del Hogar to UK sector player Kesa Electricals. The total exit value is EUR 135m, including EUR 35m in debt. The private equity firm had originally purchased its stake in 2003, for...
SPAIN - Carlyle acquires Applus for EUR 1.5bn
After fending off competition from BC Partners and Eurazeo, The Carlyle Group has agreed the acquisition of Applus from its shareholders Agbar, Unión Fenosa and Caja Madrid for an enterprise value of EUR 1.48bn. With headquarters in Barcelona, the company...
SPAIN - Carlyle, BC Partners and Eurazeo chase Applus+ deal
Carlyle, BC Partners and French buyout house Eurazeo are reported to have all made bids for vehicle inspection group Applus+.
SPAIN - MCH beats Magnum on competition for Eptisa
Engineering business Eptisa has received a bid of EUR 90m from MCH Private Equity, according to press reports.
SPAIN - Apax promotes Oriol Pinya to CEO
Apax Partners has promoted Oriol Pinya to the position of chief executive of the firm's operations in Spain.
SPAIN - BuyVIP receives second round of funding from 3i
A 3i-led consortium has invested EUR 7m in a second round of funding for e-commerce community BuyVIP. 3i invested EUR 5.75m, with Active Capital Partners and several business angels providing the balance.
ITALY - Finlombarda and Innogest invest EUR 1.5m in IT security business
Finlombarda Gestioni and Innogest Capital Fund have announced their joint investment in HT S.r.l, a Milan-based firm focused on the development and trading of innovative IT security intelligence products and services.
SPAIN/FRANCE - Imperial Tobacco offers 32% more than CVC for Altadis
Imperial Tobacco has offered EUR 50 per share for Franco-Spanish business Altadis in the latest chapter of the tobacco company saga, which has been dragging on for nearly five months.
ITALY - Lovells moves offices in Milan and Rome
Law firm Lovells has announced the relocation to new offices in Milan and Rome.
SPAIN - Magnum eyes construction business
Newly-established private equity house Magnum Industrial Partners is said to be nearing the final stages of the acquisition of civil construction business Eptisa. News reports suggest that the firm, currently fundraising for its EUR 800m fund, has the...
SPAIN - Ibersuizas receives attractive offer for Alcasa
Private equity firm Ibersuizas is said to have received an attractive offer for its stake in Aluminio Catalán SA (Alcasa) from industrial player Abengoa. Rumour has it that the auction process, led by corporate finance boutique Atlas Capital, also involves...
ITALY - 360° Capital Partners hires new partner
Venture firm 360° Capital Partners has hired Paolo Gesess as partner.
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 Parliamentтs Financial Services Forum last night, EVCA secretary general, Javier Echarri, strongly defended the role and wider function of Private Equity. тThose 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. EVCAтs new address will be: Bastion Tower Place du Champ de Mars, 5 1050 BRUSSELS....
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...
MALTA - GMT acquires Melita Cable Plc
GMT Communications Partners (GMT) has acquired Melita Cable Plc, the leading provider of television, broadband and telephony services in Malta, from Nasdaq-listed Liberty Global and the Gasan Group of Companies. GMT is focused exclusively on the communications...
EUROPE - No end in sight for large buyouts
тDeal sizes are increasing more quickly than fund sizes,т 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...
SPAIN - Cinven in $675m deal for USP Hospitales
Cinven has acquired USP Hospitales, an independent healthcare operator, from Mercapital for $675m. USP operates 33 facilities, including 13 hospitals and 16 outpatient centres across Spain. USP is expected to generate revenues of $280.7m and EBITDA...
SPAIN - European Capital opens Madrid office
European Capital has opened an office in Madrid to concentrate on mezzanine deals in the Iberian market. The office will be run by Luis Felipe Castellanos, BNP Paribas' former managing director and head of leveraged finance in Spain and Portugal...
SPAIN - GED bolts Icesa onto Nekar
Spanish private equity firm GED has acquired Icesa packaging through the vehicle which holds Nekar packaging, a company that GED also purchased last year for EUR 28m.
ITALY - Alcedo acquires office furniture business
Italian mid-cap private equity firm Alcedo has acquired 80% of Faram, a designer and manufacturer of office furniture and partitions.
ITALY - Pirelli and GCC create renewable energy joint venture
Pirelli Ambiente, the renewable energy arm of the Pirelli Group, and private equity firm Global Cleantech Capital (GCC) have set up Solar Utility SpA, a joint venture to invest EUR 24m in photovoltaic energy projects.
ITALY - Cornell Capital bids for medical technology business
US firm Cornell Capital Partners is rumoured to have placed a bid for Sorin, a Milan-based medical technology business, according to Italian press reports.