UK / Ireland
Permira's Just Retirement valued at £1.1bn in IPO
Permira-backed Just Retirement has begun trading on the London Stock Exchange at £2.25 per share, giving the business a market cap of £1.125bn.
Software firm Sage dangles carrot in front of Apax's Hare
Apax Partners portfolio support group co-head Steve Hare is to leave his role at the end of this year to become chief financial officer of listed software giant Sage.
ECI sparks Harvard Engineering deal
ECI Partners has acquired a minority stake in Harvard Engineering, a developer of control systems for the lighting industry.
Mobeus and Connection toast Virgin Wines deal
Mobeus Equity Partners and Connection Capital have invested a combined £15.9m of debt and equity to support the management buyout of Virgin Wines.
DFJ Esprit’s Oxford Immunotec to float
Oxford Immunotec Global, a UK-based medical diagnostics company, has filed with the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an IPO on the Nasdaq that would value the company at up to $245.4m.
Graphite sells Park Holidays to Caledonia for £172m
Graphite Capital has sold caravan park operator Park Holidays UK to listed trust Caledonia Investments for £172m.
Octopus leads £700,000 seed round for UniPlaces
Octopus Investments has backed student accommodation booking platform UniPlaces in a £700,000 seed funding round.
Bridges backs budget hotel Qbic
Bridges Ventures has backed budget boutique hotel Qbic London City Hotel via its Bridges Sustainable Growth Fund III.
LPFA appoints Vandersluis
The London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) has appointed Robert Vandersluis, GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) director of global pension investments, as non-executive director.
Equistone makes 2.5x on sale of Allied Glass to CBPE
Equistone Partners Europe has sold Allied Glass back to previous owner CBPE Capital in a deal understood to be worth between £120-130m, generating a money multiple in excess of 2.5x.
JZCP targets Spain with new joint venture Toro Finance
Listed private equity fund JZ Capital Partners (JZCP) has teamed up with Avenue Capital Group to launch a new €400m finance company in Spain.
European Commission delays VC fund-of-funds proposal
The European Commission is to initially conduct a “feasibility study” in 2014 to explore the creation of a European fund-of-funds for venture capital.
BGF injects £2.5m into Sub10
The Business Growth Fund (BGF) has invested £2.5m in Devon-based Sub10 Systems.
Seraphim backs Aria
Seraphim Capital has led a $4m funding round for UK-based Aria Networks alongside the UK government’s Capital for Enterprise fund.
Merlin valued at £3.2bn in IPO
Blackstone- and CVC-backed Merlin Entertainments has listed on the London Stock Exchange, with shares priced at £3.15 apiece, valuing the business at £3.2bn.
GCP promotes McDonald to partner
Kirsty McDonald, GCP
Penta’s GRP receives £55m
Global Risk Partners (GRP), backed by Penta Capital, has received £55m in funding to launch as a London market consolidator.
Babson Capital provides mezz for Teachers’ Busy Bees
Babson Capital Europe has provided a mezzanine facility to support the £220m acquisition of UK nursery chain Busy Bees by Teachers’ Private Capital last week.
Permira picks up 3i’s Bestinvest
Listed-firm 3i has sold UK wealth manager Bestinvest to Permira.
Sovereign’s Eden acquires Essential Futures
UK buy-and-build specialist Sovereign Capital has backed the acquisition of Essential Futures by portfolio company Eden.
Cinven’s CPA in dividend recap
Cinven is set to reap a £180m dividend from a refinancing of just more than £600m for its portfolio company CPA Global, a UK-based intellectual property management services provider.
Private equity may bite into MPM pet foods
UK pet food firm MPM Products has hired PwC to explore funding options for the business.
Seraphim et al. back Pyreos
Seraphim Capital, Robert Bosch Venture Capital (RBVC), the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) and Siemens Technology Accelerator (STA) have invested $4m in Scotland-based Pyreos.
Ippon leads £10m investment in Midatech
Nanomedicines manufacturer Midatech has raised £10m in a funding round led by Geneva-based private equity house Ippon Capital.