UK / Ireland
MAIP exits Red Bee Media to Ericsson
Macquarie Advanced Investment Partners (MAIP) has sold UK-based media company Red Bee Media to Swedish communications technology company Ericsson.
Isis raises £51.5m co-investment fund
Isis has raised a fund to co-invest alongside its Baronsmead VCTs. The fund comprises four limited partners and is the first time a VCT has raised an institutional co-investment fund.
Albion exits Opta for £40m, reaps 3x money
Albion Ventures has divested its stake in London-based Opta, a provider of sports data and analysis, to trade player Perform Group for £40m, reaping a 3x money multiple.
Popular high-yield bond market shrinks refinancing wall
A new report has found that amend-and-extend activity has reduced the expected 2014-2015 refinancing wall.
HIG raises €825m in just 3 months
HIG Capital has held a final close of HIG European Capital Partners II on €825m, exceeding the target of around €760m, after just three months on the road.
Frog divests GB Group
Frog Capital has sold its stake in AIM-listed GB Group, a software company specialising in ID verification.
Investec provides £110m debt package to Sun's Paragon
Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance has provided a £110m integrated debt facility to refinance the acquisition of Paragon Print & Packaging by Sun European Partners.
Blackstone and Lion eye Lucozade and Ribena
Blackstone and Lion Capital are to join forces and make a formal bid exceeding £1bn for Lucozade and Ribena, owned by GlaxoSmithKline, according to reports.
Maven injects £3.8m into Lambert Contracts
Maven Capital Partners has invested £3.8m in Paisley-based Lambert Contracts.
LDC backs £62m Angus Fire MBO
LDC’s Manchester office has supported the £62m management buyout of Angus Fire from NYSE-listed United Technology Corporation (UTC).
Q&A: Duke Street’s Buchan Scott
Q&A: Duke Street
KCP backs WHP Projects
Key Capital Partners has led a £3m investment in WHP Projects, a provider of support services to the UK mobile phone industry.
Better Capital posts 42% NAV growth
Listed private equity firm Better Capital has posted 42.08% value growth combined NAV and distribution for Fund I.
Arkex raises $15m from 4D Gea
Non-seismic geophysical imaging provider Arkex has raised $15m from 4D Global Energy Advisors (4D Gea).
Octopus backs UltraSoC
Octopus Investments has invested a further $2.3m in a series-B funding round for UltraSoC, a UK-based provider of system-on-chip infrastructure (SoC).
Heptares raises $21m from Clarus and Takeda
Venture capital firms Clarus Ventures and Takeda Ventures have backed a $21m round for UK-based drug discovery and development company Heptares Therapeutics, alongside the Stanley Family Foundation.
Tikehau takes 35% stake in Duke Street
Duke Street has sold a 35% stake of itself to Paris-based investment firm Tikehau Group in an effort to boost the firm’s deal-by-deal model.
Langholm nearing exit from Tyrrells
Langholm Capital, private equity owner of UK-based Tyrrells, is one step closer to selling the crisp maker for £100m as first round bids come to a close.
Young Associates backs $10m round for XConnect
Young Associates and existing investor Crescent Group have taken part in a $10m funding round for XConnect, a provider of federation-based interconnection and registry services.
PE-backed Aston Martin used as collateral for owner’s debt restructuring
British car-maker Aston Martin, which is part-owned by private equity firm Investindustrial, has been used as collateral by its majority backer, The Investment Dar (TID) in a fresh debt restructuring plan with creditors.
Private equity's trepidation over European shale
The US shale gas revolution has transformed the county’s energy market, not only reducing imports but also significantly decreasing the cost of gas. This phenomenon has surely raised a few European investor eyebrows, wondering how to benefit from similar...
Lyceum hires two
Matthew Norrington, Lyceum Capital
Isis invests £3.5m in MBO of Armstrong Craven
Isis Equity Partners has backed the management buyout of UK-based specialist search and intelligence consultancy Armstrong Craven with a £3.5m investment.
Endless supports James Briggs MBO
Endless has backed the management buyout of aerosol and speciality chemical supplier James Briggs.