UK / Ireland
IRELAND - NCB invests €2.5m in Zamano
NCB Ventures, via its Ulster Bank Diageo Venture Fund, has invested in listed mobile data services company Zamano in a deal valued at EUR 2.5m.
UK - Maven's Capital for Enterprise invests £2m into Pentagon
Maven Capital Partners, via its Capital for Enterprise Fund, has invested £2m into chemical manufacturer Pentagon Chemicals.
UK - Carbon Trust invests £4m in New Earth Solutions
Carbon Trust Investments has invested £4m in waste treatment and renewable energy company New Earth Solutions.
UK - Epi-V invests £7m in Moorland Energy
Specialist investor Epi-V has invested a further £7m in Moorland Energy, an upstream exploration and production company.
UK - Francisco Partners to acquire Cybit for £23m
Global private equity firm Francisco Partners has reached agreement on the take-private acquisition of London listed technology company Cybit Holdings plc, in a deal valuing the business at almost £23m.
EUROPE - Yield of dreams: unquote” explores high yield
The European high-yield market has opened once again, but, given its failings in the past, can the market shake off its reputation as a short-lived phenomenon and become a viable financing option for buyouts? To read Emanuel Eftimiu's feature see below,...
UK - Beringea invests £1m into TH_NK
Beringea, via its ProVen VCT fund, has made a £1m investment into digital agency TH_NK.
UK - Bridges Ventures backs Babington MBI
Bridges Ventures has backed the management buy-in of vocational training company Babington Business College, in a deal of undisclosed value.
UK - Electra-backed Premier makes £23m acquisiton
Electra Partners-backed fund manager Premier Asset Management has completed the acquisition of the management contracts for two OEIC fund umbrellas from Aberdeen Asset Management, for a total consideration of £23m.
UK - Lyceum-backed Synexus acquires ClinPharm
Lyceum Capital-backed Synexus, an international clinical trials specialist, has acquired Germany-based ClinPharm in a deal of undisclosed value.
UK - Vitruvian Partners acquires CIG
London-based Vitruvian Partners has acquired a majority stake in Callcredit Information Group (CIG), the credit referencing and marketing services subsidiary of building society Skipton, for an undisclosed sum.
UK - Apax to acquire Marken in £975m deal
Apax Partners has agreed to aquire Marken, a specialist in clinical drug trial logistics, from management and mezzanine lender ICG in a deal reportedly valued at £975m.
UK - Curzon Park leads £1m funding round for Q Chip
Cleantech venture investor Curzon Park Capital has led a £1m funding round for bioencapsulation technology specialist Q Chip Life Sciences, alongside Finance Wales.
GLOBAL - Hudson reaches USD 1bn target for maiden fund
Hudson Clean Energy Partners reached its USD 1bn target for its maiden fund Hudson Clean Energy Partners LP, having secured USD 1.024bn in commitments.
UK - Patron completes £42.5m takeover of Powerleague
Existing shareholder Patron Capital Partners has completed the takeover of listed company Powerleague plc, the largest owner and operator of 5-a-side football centres in Europe, in a deal of £42.5m.
GLOBAL – CIC provides Apax with liquidity boost
Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC), may invest up to EUR 800m in Apax' EUR 11.2bn fund. The move is not intended to boost the vehicle's size, which last year became Europe's largest private equity fund. Instead it is believed to...
EUROPE - Candover to “substantially” reduce fund
Following nearly 12 months of difficulties that stemmed from its parent's liquidity issues at the beginning of the year, Candover has today announced it will "substantially reduce" the size of its 2008 Fund, which had targeted EUR 5bn and reached a first...
UK - Carbon Trust et al. invest £2.7m in Whitfield Solar
Carbon Trust Investments and a private syndicate of new investors have co-led an investment of close to £3m in solar energy technology company Whitfield Solar, alongside existing investors the Cascade Fund and Kilsby Ltd.
UK/ITALY - Permira's BirdsEye and Lion's Findus interested in Findus Italy
According to reports, Permira-backed Birds Eye Iglo and Lion Capital's Findus Group are among the interested bidders for Unilever's frozen food unit Findus Italy.
EUROPE - EVCA report shows sharp rise in turnaround deals
While investment activity in 2009 has slowed significantly, new research published by the EVCA today shows that the downturn has provided a sharp rise in turnaround opportunities, which were up 40% in the first nine months of this year against the same...
GLOBAL - LPs sound warning over private equity performance
A new report has provided a damning assessment of LP confidence in private equity as an asset class, revealing dissatisfaction over performance and new demands in relation to due diligence and reporting. By Ashley Wassall
UK- August Equity completes Hat Trick exit
August Equity has exited its 45% stake in portfolio company Hat Trick, the television production company responsible for programmes such as 'Have I Got News For You' and 'Whose Line Is It Anyway', via a management buy-back led by co-founder Jimmy Mulville.
EUROPE - Mourant acquired by State Street to create PE servicing giant
European fund administrator Mourant International Finance Administration has been acquired by financial services giant State Street Corporation for an undisclosed sum.
UK/US - Marathon holds $400m first close on US toxic asset fund
London-based Marathon Asset Management has held a $400m first close of its public-private toxic asset fund, an initiative engineered by the US government to buy up troubled assets from banks that has so far seen $5bn raised by eight seperate fund managers.