UK / Ireland
GLOBAL - RIT Capital Partners increases its stake in Millennium Group
RIT Capital Partners Plc, the investment trust of Sir Jacob Rothschild, and Sir Ronald Cohen's, the former founding chairman of Apax, have increased their shareholdings in Millennium Group Holdings Ltd.
UK - Braveheart demands access to ANGLE books
Early-stage technology investor Braveheart has requested that ANGLE, the AIM-listed technology commercialisation company, open up its books to allow the investor the opportunity to conduct due diligence with a view to a possible take-private.
GLOBAL - ArcelorMittal launches cleantech fund
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, has launched a EUR 100m venture capital fund to invest in clean technologies.
GLOBAL - CP Eaton beefs up team
Placement agent CP Eaton Partners has appointed Jerry Elliot, Peter Martenson, Nina Frandson, Dan Meade and Brian Newman.
UK - Vesbridge backs Corvil funding
Vesbridge Partners has joined ACT Ventures and Apax Partners in a USD 12m funding round for Corvil Ltd, a developer of new generation technolog of IP packet networks.
UK - Sovereign strengthens investment team
Sovereign Capital has appointed Taha Hasan as investment manager and Tom Matthews as investment executive.
UK - Amadeus leads USD 16m funding round for Secerno
Amadeus Capital Partners has led a USD 16m series-B funding round into software company Secerno Ltd alongside existing backers Eden Ventures and Spark Ventures.
UK/GERMANY - First London to launch EUR 50m fund
First London Securities has reached an agreement with Humbolt-Innovation GmbH to establish a joint EUR 50m fund designed to invest in spin-out companies from the Berlin Humbolt university.
UK - Advent et al make further investment in OpenCloud
Existing investors Advent Venture Partners, No 8 Ventures and Motorla Ventures have supported a USD 10m series-B funding round in telecommunications software developer OpenCloud Ltd. Silicon Valley Bank provided a debt package to support the deal.
UK - Cohen and Jefferies invest in International Asset Management
Apax Partners co-founder Sir Ronald Cohen and Jeffries Group have backed the management in their buyout of hedge funds manager International Asset Management (IAM) from Dutch bank Fortis Investment.
UK - Penta acquires IDSS
Penta Capital has acquired support services group IDSS Holdings Ltd for an undisclosed sum.
GLOBAL - Buying from private owners most lucrative
Private equity firms make the most impact on buyouts they source from private owners, rather than those of formerly listed companies, though both outperform companies that are not backed by private equity at all, according to a report from Ernst & Young.
UK - Core Capital and Aberdeen merge
Core Capital, which manages seven VCTs, and Aberdeen Growth Capital, which manages five VCTs as well as a range of other third-party private equity funds, have merged their businesses.
UK - Bowmark generates 63% IRR on sale of travel group
DLJ Merchant Banking Partners has acquired Education and Adventure Travel (EAT), the UK school travel group, from Bowmark Capital for £100m. Bowmark generated an IRR of 63% and a multiple of 4x on the sale of the business.
UK - Doughty Hanson completes 20:20 refinancing
Doughty Hanson has completed a refinancing of mobile phone distributor 20:20 Mobile Group.
UK - Laxey Partners acquires TDG in £203m deal
Laxey Partners has agreed to buy the remaining shares it does not already own of transportation company TDG Plc in a £203m deal.
UK - MML backs buyout of EIC
MML Capital Partners, formerly Mezzanine Management, has led a £40m buyout of EIC, a provider of mechanical and electrical services to the public and private sectors. The Royal Bank of Scotland provided senior debt for the deal.
UK - QIA looking for new partners for Four Season Healthcare
The Quatari Investment Authority (QIA) is talking to potential new partners about ways to recapitalise troubled nursing home operator Four Seasons Healthcare. Buyout house Blackstone and Infrastructure investor Macquarie are said to be among the firms...
UK - Octopus-backed AVM acquires Matrix Displays
Octopus-backed Audio Visual Machines Ltd (AVM), a supplier of integrated audio visual and video conferencing systems, has acquired audio visual services provider Matrix Display Systems Ltd in an all cash deal for an undisclosed sum.
UK - Pentech to raise £45m fund
Pentech Ventures is believed to be raising a new £45m fund, to be launched this summer.