Southern Europe
SPAIN - Talde announces record profits
Spanish private equity group Talde Promoción y Desarrollo, S.C.R., S.A. obtained record profits in 2005 of EUR 6.9m, more than triple the EUR 2.1m registered the previous year. At its meeting yesterday, the company’s Board of Directors agreed to propose...
ITALY - €375m MBO of Seves Group
Ergon Capital Partners, Vestar Capital Partners and Athena Private Equity have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Florence-based Seves Group, the global leader in glass insulators for power transmission and glass bricks for interior design. The...
PORTUGAL - Explorer Investments and MCH acquire Nutricafés
According to reports in the Spanish press, the Portuguese private equity firm Explorer Investments and the Spanish group MCH Private Equity have acquired 100% of Nutricafés. The group was purchased from Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Sumolis, which bought...
ITALY - Siparex Italia and Emerald invest in Vimec LBO
Siparex Italia has recently participated in the buyout of the world’s third-largest manufacturer of elevating equipment for the mobility impaired, alongside the fund Emerald. Siparex Italia has invested EUR 1.5m in a majority LBO that was completed...
ITALY - TVM leads EUR 10.5m funding for BioXell
BioXell has raised EUR 10.5m in financing through an extension of the Series C round concluded in October, 2004. International life science investor TVM Capital led the financing, while BB Biotech, Index Ventures and Life Science Partners also increased...
SPAIN - Nazca makes 8.5x money on Svenson sale
Nazca Capital, one of the most active private equity firms in the Spanish market, has closed a deal with Investindustrial to sell its remaining 67.8% shareholding in the European hair-treatment leader for EUR 82m. The transaction was structured as a secondary...
SPAIN - TPI Yellow Pages up for grabs
Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica has announced plans to sell off its 60% stake in its TPI Yellow Pages subsidiary. BNP Paribas has been selected to manage the sale process.
ITALY - Sanpaolo IMI and Quadrivio invest in ework
Nord Ovest Impresa (the closed-end fund managed by Sanpaolo IMI Fondi Chiusi SGR) and Quadrivio New Old Economy Fund (managed by Quadrivio SGR) have invested EUR 11m in the employment agency ework. The current managers Pino Cova and Marco Davi will remain...
SPAIN - Impala Capital and Charterhouse create world's largest natural stone company
Funds advised by Impala Capital Partners (previously Suala Capital) and Charterhouse Capital Partners have reached an agreement with the shareholders of Grupo Levantina to create the world’s largest natural stone company. The total value of the transaction...
SPAIN - Permira and Ballvé make offer for Telepizza
According to reports in the Spanish press, the president of Telepizza, Pedro Ballvé, has teamed up with Permira to make a public bid for the company.
ITALY - BS buys Arena from Investitori
BS Private Equity has taken over 100% of the Arena Group from Investitori Associati, worldwide leading company in the sports/waterwear category.
SPAIN - Talde and Highgrowth take majority stake in Teytel Group
The venture capital groups Talde and Highgrowth Partners have together acquired a majority stake in Teytel group, a producer of infrastructure solutions in the telecommunications sector. The total value of the investment has not been disclosed.
SPAIN - Highgrowth forms partnership with French ICSO
Highgrowth, the management company of the private equity fund Fonsinnocat, has signed an agreement with the French fund ICSO Gestion to invest in small-to-medium sized companies in Catalonia and the south-east of France. ICSO Gestion, based in Toulouse...
PORTUGAL - KPMG acquires Change Partners Corporate Finance
Lisbon-based Change Partners Corporate Finance has recently been acquired by KPMG and fully integrated into the firm's international network.
SPAIN - EIF and CDTI launch new investment programme
The EIF (European Investment Fund) and CDTI (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial) have today announced the launch of a new type of investment mandate. The programme is the culmination of over a year of collaboration between CDTI and the...
EUROPE - LBO market smashes EUR 100bn barrier
2005 saw further significant growth in the European buyout market with the total value of deals topping EUR 100bn for the first time ever, according to the latest European Buyout Review due to be published in March 2006 by Incisive Media in association...
ITALY - Industria & Finanza acquires 18% of Eurovision Partecipazioni
The Italian private equity group Industria & Finanza SGR has acquired around 18% of the broadcasting group Eurovision Partecipazioni. Other shareholders include Sandro Parenzo, who holds the majority interest, and Alerion, which also owns 18%.
SPAIN - INVERJAÉN invests in Ambientes Infantiles
Seville-based Ambientes Infantiles has received funding from Inverjaén. The investor has taken a 47.16% equity stake in the firm as a result of the deal.
SPAIN - Catalana d'Iniciatives acquires Cadena Q
Catalana d’Iniciatives has led the EUR 20m MBI of the clothing retail chain Cadena Q. Other investors include the private equity fund EBN Vaccaria FCR, the founding family of Cadena Q and two external executives. Catalana and EBN invested EUR 10m and...
SPAIN - FON secures EUR 22m from blue chip investors
FON, a company focused on creating a global network of shared Wi-Fi connections, has announced that it secured EUR 18m in funding from Index Ventures, Google, Sequoia Capital and Skype. Index Ventures led the round.
ITALY - MCC-Sofipa invests in Vending System Italia
MCC Sofipa SpA, the private equity fund managed by Gruppo Capitalia, has acquired 70% of Vending System Italia SpA. The total value of the transaction has not been revealed although MCC Sofipa invested EUR 8.5m of equity through Sofipa Equity Fund. The...
European tech M&A soars, says research
The number of acquisitions during 2005 within the European technology sector has outstripped the previous high of 2004 and recorded a staggering 103% increase in deal value, according to the latest findings from Regent Associates' 'European Technology...
3i acquires Spanish cafe chain
3i has signed an agreement to buy a 47% stake in the coffee shop chain Café & Té from the founder Gustavo Ron, who will retain a 51% interest in the business.