UK / Ireland
UK - BDO promotes two
BDO Stoy Hayward has created two new roles within its corporate finance department, promoting Andrew Ware to national head of advisory services and Graham Elsworth to national head of transactional services.
UK – Private equity excluded from RBS auction
Royal Bank of Scotland has sent the sales memorandum for its insurance businesses to trade bidders only and excluded all private equity houses from the auction process.
UK - European Capital to buy-back shares
European Capital is to buy-back up to €30m of its own shares. The move follows press reports which suggested its one-stop buyout offering was to cease activities. Subsequent to the reports European Capital strenuously denied this was the case and re-affirmed...
UK - Barclays acquires 38% of MRH
Barclays Private Equity has acquired a 38% stake in MRH (GB) Ltd, an owner and operator of petrol filling stations, for an undisclosed sum.
UK – Apax seeking non-European partner
Market rumour suggests that Apax Partners is set to sell a 10% stake in its management company to another investor. Reports indicate that the purchaser is domiciled outside the UK and could be Abu Dhabi’s main sovereign wealth fund or a similar investor...
GLOBAL – Carlyle signs MoU with Chinese provincial government
The Carlyle Group and the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (SDFTEC) under the Shandong Provincial Government in China have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop trade cooperation and stimulate investment in the...
UK - MSIF's Mezzanine Fund in £1m buyout of Sterling Scaffolding
Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF) has invested £350,000 from its Mezzanine Fund to support the £1m buyout of scaffolding supplier Sterling Scaffolding Services Ltd.
UK - Merseyside Mezzanine Fund puts £400,000 into Sovex
Merseyside Special Investment Fund's £20m Mezzanine Fund has supported Sovex Ltd, a company that designs, manufactures and installs vehicle loading systems and conveyors, with a £400,000 investment.
EUROPE – Keravac joins Campbell Lutyens from Calyon
Unquote” can reveal that Jean-Phillppe Keravec is to join private equity advisory firm Campbell Lutyens in June as a partner. Keravec joins the practice from Calyon’s private placement team.
UK - Aberdeen Asset Managers appoints investment manager
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has appointed Robert Griffiths as investment manager in the Midlands and South West team.
UK - Longbow Capital backs CyDen in £2.8m funding round
Existing investor Longbow has led a £2.8m series-C funding round for CyDen Ltd, a medical devices developer, alongside Unilever Ventures.
UK - GIP closes $5.64bn fund
Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) has closed its first fund on $5.64bn. This is GIP's first third-party fund, having previously invested from the balance sheet of founding institutions Credit Suisse and General Electric.
GLOBAL – Morgan Stanley close USD 4bn fund
Morgan Stanley has announced the closing of a USD 4bn private equity fund dedicated to infrastructure projects. The fund far exceeded its initial USD 2.5bn target and is one of the largest infrastructure funds raised to date.
UK - Private equity interest for RBS’s insurance arm
The auction of Royal Bank of Scotland’s insurance arm is due to begin this week and is expected to field a large collection of financial and strategic investors alike.
UK - Seraphim puts £2m in Aria Networks
Seraphim Capital has invested £2m in Aria Networks, a developer of next-generation artificial-intelligence software.
UK - Doughty Hanson appoints Adam Black
Doughty Hanson & Co has appointed Adam Black, who will take responsibility for sustainability matters within the firm.
UK - Graphite hires four
Graphite Capital has hired Kane Bayliss, Mark Hall and Omar Kayat as investment managers, and Mudassir Khan in a financial anlaysis role.
UK - Dunedin recaps Capula
Dunedin portfolio company Capula, an independent provider of IT automation solutions to the energy, utility and nuclear markets, has undertaken a £6m recapitalisation.
GLOBAL – Cerberus seeks Eastern alliance
According to sources Cerberus Capital Management, is in the midst of talks with Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC about a possible co-operation agreement. The talks come on the heels of CIC’s investment in Blackstone last year, under the terms of which...
UK - Travers Smith promote new head of private equity
Travers Smith has promoted Philip Sanderson to head of private equity. He will assume the position as of 01 July 2008.
UK - Vitruvian acquires Tinopolis plc
Vitruvian Partners has reached an agreement with Tinopolis, a TV production company, to acquire the business for a total consideration of approximately £44.7m.
UK - GMT appoints two
GMT Communications Partners has appointed Ian McKenzie as senior adviser and Maria Trokoudes as senior associate.
UK/GERMANY - Exponent investee company buys Hobsons
Target Holdings Ltd, a recruitment business and portfolio company of Exponent Private Equity, has acquired UK- and Germany-based graduate recruitment business Hobsons Plc for £26m.
UK - Banexi invests in Reevoo
Banexi Ventures Capital has invested in review collection and publishing site Reevoo alongside existing investors. This is the second institutional round of funding for the company, following on from an investment in 2006 from a consortium of investors...