UK / Ireland
UK - NorthStar invests £420,000 into MySapient
NorthStar has invested £420,000 as part of a £610,000 funding round for virtual gaming site MySapient.com, with the management and directors of the company providing the balance.
EUROPE - Clemens Vedder branches out into private equity
Clemens Vedder's Goldsmith Investments has launched a private equity fund targeting EUR 700m to EUR 1bn of assets.
UK - Impax invests £4m into New Earth Solutions
Returning investor Impax Asset Management has invested a further £4m into recycling company New Earth Solutions, taking its stake in the business to above 16%.
GLOBAL - Siemens launches venture capital fund-of-funds
Siemens Venture Capital GmbH has launched Siemens Global Innovation Partners I GmbH & Co. KG (SGIP I), a $200m fund-of-funds that will invest in venture capital funds worldwide as well as select growth capital funds.
UK - ECI supports Axell acquisition
ECI Partners has backed portfolio telecommunications equipment company Axell Wireless, a provider of wireless coverage solutions, in its acquisition of Israeli competitor Dekolink.
UK - LDC hires investment director
LDC has hired Catherine Houghton as investment director in the firms Manchester office.
UK - Doughty supports $4m Clearpace funding
Doughty Hanson has participated in a $4m funding round for archive store specialists Clearpace Software, alongside other existing investors.
UK - AIM VCTs struggle
According to figures released by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), VCTs which invest in AIM quoted businesses have returned on average just 50% of capital invested over the past five years, and just 54% in 2008.
UK - Private equity to target consumer sector P2Ps
A new report reveals that 94% of private equity houses are likely to consider take-private deals over the next two years, with quoted companies in the consumer sector seen to be the most conductive to such transactions.
Packing up
Industry professionals concur that times are tough. They cannot agree on the best solutions; nor can they entirely understand the options for troubled assets
Shaken and stirred
The overcommitment policy LPs adopted in the past is gone for good. The industry is waving good-bye to the convenient means of funding future capital calls with future fund distributions
2009 already written off
Europe will not see signs of a return to economic health until 2010 at best, suggests a new survey