UK / Ireland
UK - Phoenix appoints two to management committee
Phoenix Equity Partners has appointed partners David Burns and Richard Dew to its Management Committee.
UK - Praxis acquires IASL
Praxis Fund Services has announced the signing of an initial agreement to acquire rival fund administration business Investec Administration Services Ltd.
UK - Cogent promotes managing director and appoints associate
Secondaries advisory specialist Cogent Partners has announced the promotion of Bernhard Engelien to managing director and the appointment of Briac Houtteville as associate in its London office.
EUROPE - Final quarter records lowest deal value for a decade
Though it will come as no surprise that private equity investment in Europe dropped considerably in the final quarter of 2008, the scale of the decline just might; with deal value sliding 59% against the preceding three months from around EUR 20bn to...
GLOBAL - CalPERS hires investment chief
US pension fund CalPERS has appointed Joseph Dear, the head of the Washington state fund, as its new chief investment officer following a nine-month search.
UK - Cognetas in restructuring talks
It is understood that Cognetas is in talks with lenders about restructuring the debts in four of its portfolio companies, namely: SGD, the 110-year-old French glassmaker; plastic surgery group Covenant Healthcare, owner of the UK's leading breast enhancement...
US - Obama appoints VC to head Small Business Administration
Newly inaugurated US President Barack Obama has appointed Karen Mills Gordon to head up his Small Business Administration, demonstrating his faith in private equity as a driver of economic growth.
NETHERLANDS/UK - PTV fund reaches EUR150m target; expands team
Amsterdam and Cambridge based venture capital firm, Prime Technology Ventures (PTV), has reached the EUR 150m target for its latest fund and is approaching its hard cap despite the difficult fund raising climate.
UK - LCA-backed Living Villages enters administration
Living Villages Holdings Limited, a construction company specialising in low carbon properties backed by Low Carbon Accelerator (LCA), is being put into adminsitration.
UK - Permira sends capital call for NDS acquisition
Permira has sent out capital call letters to investors in order to raise $917.8m for its proposed take-private of Nasdaq-listed UK security business NDS, reports suggest.
SWEDEN/UK - EQT appoints partner
EQT has appointed Mikael Dahl as partner in its London office.
UK - EV reaps 142% IRR from H2O exit
North of England-focused investor group Enterprise Ventures (EV) has wholly exited its stake in fibre optics business H2O Networks in a management buy-back, achieving returns of 3.6x cost and an IRR of 142% over the course of the investment.
EUROPE - BioMedPartners holds first close of second fund on CHF95m
BioMedPartners has held a first close of BioMedInvest II on CHF95m.
UK - Asset based lending to increase
According to new research conducted by the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA), asset based lending is increasingly being used as a means to raise funds and capital by businesses starved of bank financing.
UK - Dow Schofield Watts holds first close of maiden fund
Dow Schofield Watts has held a first close of its inaugural fund, PHD Equity Partners No. 1 LP, on £4.68m.
UK - Delphic acquires iQur
Delphic Ltd, a provider of specialist diagnostics for HIV backed by MMC Ventures, The Capital Fund and Ulive Enterprise, has acquired the diagnostics business of biotechnology company iQur.
UK - CDC commits USD 40m to Asian SMEs
CDC Group Plc will make new commitments of USD 40m in total to two private equity funds which focus on investments in SMEs in south-east and central Asia.
FRANCE/UK - Cognetas promotes two
Cognetas has promoted Cédric Rays, based in France, and Simon Cottle, based in London, to partner and investment manager respectively.
UK - Carlyle appoints director of distressed investments
The Carlyle Group has hired Ian Jackson as director of Carlyle Strategic Partners (CSP), its global distressed and corporate opportunities group that invests in debt and equity of financially distressed companies.