UK / Ireland
August Equity acquires Business Systems
Geoff Love, former chief executive officer of Commify, joins the company as executive chairman
Sixth Street closes second European direct lending fund on €1bn
Predecessor fund Specialty Lending Europe I closed on €800m and had invested €946m across 18 companies
Livingbridge promotes Titmuss to partner
James Titmuss has previously worked in corporate finance at Oriel Securities and HSBC Investment Bank
Edge hires Andrews as CIO
Simon Andrews joins from BGF where he was an early-stage investor; prior to that, he worked at Octopus Ventures
Blackstone, Carlyle in talks to take Signature Aviation private
Blackstone is currently investing from Blackstone Capital Partners VIII, which closed on $26bn
Cambridge Associates hires Amatulli
Amatulli joins from Younited Credit, where she was responsible for Italian Capital Markets
Investcorp-backed Impero acquires Netop
Acquisition was made partly to internationalise Impero's business, particularly in the US
Charterhouse invests in Phastar
Phastar operates across an international network of 12 offices and employs 250 people
Legatum takes part in £60m round for GB News – report
Launched in 2019, GB News is a UK-based broadcaster that expects to launch programming in 2021
OpenGate to buy Solvay subsidiaries in Europe and US
Solvay sold its Belgium-based strontium carbonate production unit to Latour Capital in November 2020
WestBridge promotes three
WestBridge has promoted Minton and MacLeay to the position of senior investment manager, and Sinclair to investment manager
LDC invests in Omniplex
Following the transaction, the business will focus on organic and inorganic growth
Apse-backed Kallidus acquires Sapling
This is Kallidus's second acquisition following the purchase of Engage in Learning in March 2020
Equistone in talks to buy Ligentia
Sale process of the privately held company was launched in September, with Rothschild advising
Mayfair acquires Seraphine from Bridgepoint for £50m
Seraphine generated £28.1m in sales for the year to 31 March 2020 and £4.7m EBITDA
Index, General Catalyst in $100m round for Bloom & Wild – report
Existing shareholders in the business include MMC Ventures and Piper Private Equity
Covid-19 impact expected to be more severe than GFC – survey
Almost all Dechert survey respondents expect distressed deals to increase, while 82% cited more deal delays as an ongoing effect
LDC-backed Linley acquires MML's Lomond in £100m merger
Co-founder and CEO of Linley & Simpson, Will Linley, will join the board as group managing director
Inflexion acquires DWS minority from Daisy Group for £1bn
Daisy began exploring strategic options for the business with Oakley Advisory in September 2020
CD&R carves out Wolseley UK plumbing merchant business for £308m
Ferguson engaged NM Rothschild to approach potential buyers in October 2020
Waterland's Median Kliniken acquires Priory Group for £1bn
Deal is the 22nd bolt-on in Median's buy-and-build strategy since Waterland's first investment in 2011
NVM sells It's All Good to CapVest-backed Valeo Foods
IAG is the 15th food business to be acquired by Valeo Foods since it was founded in 2010
Pollen Street sells SRG to HGGC
Deal represents a full exit for Pollen Street Capital, which was invested in SRG through its third fund
Livingbridge invests in Welltel
Livingbridge intends to accelerate Welltel's growth plans by supporting its M&A programme
