Southern Europe
BELGIUM / ITALY - Cognetas announces disposal of Azelis and Aliplast
Cognetas, formerly known as Electra Partners Europe, is reportedly selling two portfolio companies for a combined EUR 745m.
BELGIUM / ITALY - 3i invests EUR 30m in Electrawinds
3i has announced that it has acquired a minority stake in Electrawinds, an independent renewable energy company, for EUR 30m.
SPAIN - Parques Reunidos to go under the hammer next January
The sale process of Parques Reunidos may be reaching its final stage.
PORTUGAL - BPI Private Equity backs professional cleaning business
BPI Private Equity has announced the purchase of a 30% shareholding in Grupo Serlima.
SPAIN - Primmera acquires Recycling Hispania
Private equity firm Primmera Inversiones en Desarrollo has acquired 100% of Recycling Hispania for approximately EUR 6m. The company, with headquarters in Madrid, carries out glass cleaning and collection services and it is one of the main players in...
SPAIN - Doughty Hanson and Apax in competition for Avanza
Reports in the Spanish press suggest that the final dispute for Avanza is between Apax Partners and Doughty Hanson. The firms are said to have submitted the most attractive bids to acquire the majority of the shares in the transport group from its founders....
ITALY - Lay Line Genomics attracts private equity interest
Biopharmaceutical company Lay Line Genomics has reached an exclusive licensing agreement with Dutch biotech group PanGenetics for the development of the antibody Hu-alphaD11, a product with similar analgesic properties to those of morphine but less agressive...
SPAIN - Baring and Inova Capital buy stake in Sidsa
According to reports in the Spanish press, Inova Capital and Baring Private Equity Partners have purchased a minority stake in semiconductor manufacturer Sidsa.
ITALY - Capeq Partners and Natexis Cape exit Sial
Private equity firms Capeq Partners and Natexis Cape have announced the sale of their entire stake in dehumidifier manufacturer Sial to Swedish sector player Munters. It is understood that the deal is worth around EUR 19.4m.
ITALY - PM & Partners receives offers for AEB
PM & Partners, the advisers for Luxembourg-based vehicle Emerald, is understood to be evaluating offers for AEB, one of the fund's portfolio companies. Rumour has it that the counsel is looking to sell the company for no less than EUR 90-100m.
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.
ITALY - Strategia Italia closes its third deal
Strategia Italia SGR has via its closed-end fund Fondo Nord Ovest completed the investment in packaging manufacturer MPG.
ITALY - Synergo and Change Capital Partners acquire Unopiù
Private equity firm Synergo SGR has acquired 50% of Unopiù in a club deal with Change Capital Partners. The deal value has not been disclosed.
ITALY - Advent acquires Venere.com
Advent International has acquired a majority stake in Venere.com, an online hotel reservations company, in partnership with its founders. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.
PORTUGAL - Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados moves office
Law firm Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados has moved to a new address.
SPAIN - SI Capital launches renewable energy investment arm
Barcelona-based SI Capital has created a private equity firm to invest in the renewable energy sector. This is the first initiative in the sector in the Catalonia region.
PORTUGAL - CEO of BANIF to launch new private equity firm
According to market sources Gonçalo Pereira Coutinho, CEO of investment bank BANIF Investimentos, is set to launch a new private equity firm.
ITALY - Venture Capital helping to reduce unemployment
During the Finance & Knowledge conference, organised by Finlombarda last week, the head of AIFI has said that the VC industry is creating a substantial number of job vacancies. According to Giampio Bracchi, it is understood that around 46,000 new jobs...
ITALY - Blackstone to scoop Italian telecom firms
After Blackstone's frontman Tony James confirmed the firm's interest in bidding for Telecom Italia, it is reported that the US buyout house is eyeing other Italian companies in the communications sector.
PORTUGAL - Gesventure discusses business angels activity tomorrow
VC fund manager Gesventure is organising its 8th annual meeting tomorrow in Lisbon. Anthony Clarke, president of the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) will be one of the speakers at the event, which will discuss the current state of the business...
ITALY - Advent portfolio company Argenta merges with Cafebon,
Argenta Group, an Italian vending-machine services company controlled by Advent International has announced that it has merged with Cafebon, a Lombardy-based vending-machine operator.
SPAIN - Potential SOS Cuetara takeover
According to reports in the Spanish press, shares in rice and oil group SOS Cuetara were up 4.28% this week, making the company a possible target of a hostile takeover bid.
PORTUGAL - Portugal Telecom's saga continues
Portuguese news reports suggest that telecoms regulatory body Anacom does still not approve the revised recommendations from the antitrust authority on Soneacom's EUR 13.9bn takeover bid for Portugal Telecom.
SPAIN - Vueling to float in December
The Spanish stock market regulator CNMV has approved the IPO of 42.62% of low-cost airline Vueling. The share price should oscillate between EUR 24-32 and will give the company a capitalisation of around EUR 359-478m.