UK / Ireland
Graybella Capital pushes back first close for new fund to Q3
VC is using an SPV to still invest in companies and plans to merge it with the fund later
WGAM buys minority stake in Validus
Validus is a financial risk management firm with offices in the UK in London and Eton
Highland Europe leads £18.9m round for Modulr
Existing investors including Frog Capital and Blenheim Chalcot also participate
BDC IV holds first close
To date, the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana has invested ТЃ50m in BDC IV
Cathay Capital raises €500m for Innovation II fund
Fund targets startups operating in a wide variety of sectors, with a focus on artificial intelligence
Cathay Capital closes Midcap II on €800m
Fund targets companies based in Europe, Asia and North America with high-growth potential and expansion plans
Inflexion-backed Global Reach acquires Encore FX's Canada operation
On 30 March 2020 Encore FX filed an assignment in bankruptcy in Canada with EY as the trustee
Merian Chrysalis leads £30m in Featurespace
Following completion, IP Group will hold a direct undiluted beneficial stake of 19.7%
3i posts 6% gross return for PE, down from 20% for FY 2019
3i made three new investments in the financial year for a total of ТЃ413m and completed 13 bolt-ons
Piper promotes McAlpine to investment manager
McAlpine has previously worked at strategy consultancy Parthenon-EY and at Oakley as an analyst
SCP acquires Bain Credit-backed TM Lewin
SCP acquires the business as a going concern, taking over the entire store network
UK CFOs anticipate 1-2 year's slip in exit timetables - survey
Of the 144 CFOs surveyed by Unquoted Advisory, 52% say investors have been "very supportive"
Axa Venture-backed Cognism acquires Mailtastic
In March 2020, Cognism raised $12m in a funding round led by Axa Venture Partners
PE-backed Eight Fifty Food Group buys M&M Walshe
Post-acquisition, Eight Fifty's revenues are expected to increase to approximately ТЃ1.4bn.
IK hires Aoun as head of capital markets
Aoun joins IK from KKR, where he was a principal focusing on private credit and capital markets
Q1 Barometer: Year of sustained growth finally halted in Q1
The European private equity market cooled in Q1, even before the Covid-19 crisis took hold, after an especially active Q4 2019
Cambridge Associates hires Gunnee
Gunee joins from Mercer, where he was a partner and head of fiduciary management
Eight Roads-backed Picsolve enters administration
Deloitte has been appointed to find a buyer for the whole company or for a part of it
ING Ventures leads £4m bridge funding for Countingup
Triple Point, CVentures and Big Start Ventures also co-invest in the funding round
HLM and Illumina lead $71m round for LetsGetChecked
In mid-March, the company offered its coronavirus test to Irish healthcare authorities
Towerbrook to inject €100m in BC-backed CarTrawler in debt-for-equity swap
CarTrawler has тЌ120m of its TLB and тЌ25m of revolving credit facility debt outstanding
Ara Partners closes debut fund on $400m
Fund makes buyout and growth capital investments in companies based across North America and Europe
E-scooter startups feel brunt of lockdowns but anticipate future upside
The coronavirus lockdown in Europe has put a brake on the transport sector - should e-scooter startups and their investors be worried?
Ambienta raises $150m for absolute return fund
Ambienta X Alpha is managed by a team based in London, led by chief investment officer Fabio Pecce