UK / Ireland
UK - Arcapita in takeover bid for Peacocks
Arcapita has made an approach to buy the discount fashion retailer Peacocks from its current backers Goldman Sachs and hedge funds Och-Ziff and Perry Capital. The three investors took Peacocks private in December 2005 in a £404m deal.
UK - Generation Investment Management combine with KPCB to fund green business
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and Generation Investment Management (Generation) have announced a global collaboration to find, fund and accelerate green business, technology and policy solutions with the greatest potential to help solve the...
UK - Oak Hill backs £945m SBO of Firth Rixon from Carlyle and Lehman
Oak Hill Capital Partners is backing the secondary management buyout of Firth Rixson Ltd from The Carlyle Group and Lehman Brothers Co-Investment Partners. The deal values the business at £945m. Firth Rixon is a supplier of highly engineered rings, industrial...
UK - Phoenix to sell handbag maker Radley for £150m
Phoenix Equity Partners has put its up-market hangbag portfolio company Radley on the block. It is understood that the business it acquired in February 2006 for £45m could fetch up to £150m at auction. Exponent Private Equity, MidOcean Partners and...
UK - 3i-backed Chorion acquires The Copyrights Group
Chorion Ltd, the UK-based owner and manager of classic and contemporary literary-based brands owned by 3i, has acquired The Copyrights Group Ltd, an independent licensing business, for an undisclosed sum. 3i delisted Chorion in a £134m transaction in...
UK - Gresham establishes Energy and Environmental team
Gresham has announced the creation of a dedicated energy and environmental team that aims to build on the successful investments the firm has already made in these sectors. The team will be headed up by Andy Marsh and Christian Bruning.
EUROPE - Family offices back private equity
A new study by the European Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (EVCA) and the IMD Business School of Lausanne shows that family offices have become an integral part of the European private equity investor community and that a trend of increasing...
UK - SEGF achieves 27% IRR from Hockway exit
The South East Growth Fund (SEGF) has wholly exited its stake in Hockway Ltd, a supplier of cathodic protection equipment, in a secondary management buyout for an undisclosed sum, realising an IRR of 27%.
UK - Ernst & Young appoints Gary Davison to lead new debt advisory business
Ernst & Young has hired Gary Davison to head the launch of its new specialist debt advisory business in Manchester.
UK - Dubai investment arm acquires SmartStream from TA Associates for £200m
DIFC Investments, the investment arm of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has acquired SmartStream Technologies from TA Associates for approximately £200m in a tertiary buyout deal.
UK - Denton Wilde Sapte hires leveraged finance specialist Martin Brown
Denton Wilde Sapte has hired leveraged finance specialist, Martin Brown. The appointment brings the practice's partner headcount to five. Brown joins from White & Case, where he spent two years working with a number of international banks. Previously,...
UK - PPM completes spin-out
Insurance giant Prudential has sold its private equity arm, PPM Capital, to management following protracted negotiations.
UK - Glitnir joins CIT on £75m debt for Betts deal
Glitnir has joined CIT Leveraged Finance as mandated lead arranger in the £75m debt package to fund the £110m secondary buyout of toothpaste tube manufacturer Betts Global Ltd by Gresham Private Equity. Syndication is expected to launch this week.
UK - ECI backs £52m buyout of Kelvin Hughes
ECI Partners has backed the £52m buyout of navigational technology business Kelvin Hughes from Smiths Group Plc, the listed technology company. The purchase price comprises £48m which was paid in cash on completion of the purchase and a deferred payment...
UK - YFM backs Drivestyle with £200,000
The Yorkshire and Humber Equity Fund (YHEF), a regional venture capital fund managed by YFM Group, has invested £200,000 in Williams of Harrogate, a luxury car dealership that trades under the name Drivestyle.
UK - Senior ICG manager to retire
ICG has announced that Sara Halbard, senior portfolio manager at ICG's fund management subsidiary ISML, will retire in June 2008.
UK - White Rose backs Pro-Cure Therapeutics with £550,000 of funding
White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund, managed by Aberdeen Asset Managers, has invested £250,000 as part of a £550,000 funding round for Pro-Cure Therapeutics Ltd, a company which is developing potential treatments for prostate cancer from stem cell research.
UK - KSL Capital Partners to open London office
KSL Capital Partners, a Denver-based private equity firm, is to open a London office. KSL specialises in travel and leisure investments, backing hospitality, recreation, real estate and travel service companies amongst others.
UK - Final stages of Jaguar Land Rover auction faces pension trouble
The final stages of the auction to divest Ford's Jaguar and Land Rover divisions are being hindered by a reported £1bn deficit in the group's pension fund. The shortfall means that Ford is likely to have to sweeten the deal for Tata and One Equity Partners,...
UK - Glitnir Total Capital backs MBO of Arthouse
Glitnir Total Capital has financed the management buyout of Arthouse Ltd, a design house supplying wall coverings, art, tiles and coving to the UK retail market. This is Total Capital’s third investment in 2007.
UK - Lyceum Capital to acquire AIM-listed Synexus in £18m deal
Lyceum Capital Partners has announced a recommended cash offer of 78p per share to shareholders for Synexus Clinical Research Plc. AIM-listed Synexus is the largest European-headquartered business recruiting patients for late phase clinical trials on...
UK - Close Growth Capital acquires clingfilm company
Close Growth Capital has provided a hybrid debt and equity package to support the £20m+ management buyout of Wrap Film Systems, a provider of clingfilm dispensers to the catering industry and consumers. The deal represents an exit for the company's founder.
UK - Amadeus and JVP lead series-D funding round for Celltick
Amadeus Capital Partners and Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) have co-led a series-D financing round for mobile marketing company Celltick Technologies Ltd.
UK - Sovereign acquires childcare training provider
Sovereign Capital has enlarged its Employability and Skills Group (ESG) portfolio company with the addition of childcare traning provider Triangle Training. Midlands-based Triangle Training was founded in 1999 and offers apprenticeships, advanced apprenticeships...