UK / Ireland
GLOBAL - GE chairman keeps the pressure on private equity
In comments to the UK press, Jeffrey Immelt, the chairman of GE, has added his voice to the sceptical chorus surrounding private equity in recent months. His argument is based on a critique of the industry that sounded like the idiots guide to a buyout...
UK - YFM sees 8.5x return on IPO of Pressure Technologies on AIM
Three YFM-managed funds have seen stunning returns from the flotation of Pressure Technologies on AIM. YFM Venture Finance returns 8.5x its money, while South Yorkshire Investment Fund and Yorkshire and Humber Equity Fund have seen an IRR of 125% from...
UK - Imperial Innovations backs solar power company with £1.35m
Imperial Innovations has participated in a £1.35m funding round for solar power technology company QuantaSol Ltd. The round also included investments from Low Carbon Accelerator, NetScientific Ltd and Numis Corporation Plc.
UK - Exponent and BPE expected to acquire Midland newspaper titles
Exponent Private Equity and Barclays Private Equity are believed to have teamed up to back the management buyout of a collection of Midland newspaper titles. The deal has an estimated price tag of £190m. Titles including the Birmingham Post and Coventry...
GLOBAL - $48.5bn deal for BCE the largest ever
The investment arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Teachers Private Capital, has joined forces with Providence Equity Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire BCE, Canada's largest telecom group. The $48.5bn price-tag will make it the...
UK - Bain Capital acquires Brakes for £1.3bn
Bain Capital has backed the secondary buyout of food service distributor Brakes from Clayton, Dublier & Rice. The deal is reported to have weighed in at £1.3bn. JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank ran a process to dispose of the business which attracted interest...
UK - Carlyle targets Virgin Media
Carlyle Group is reported to be leading a bid to take-private NASDAQ-listed Virgin Media. It is understood that Carlyle is working in association with Providence Equity, KKR and Cinven and could offer up to £4bn for the company. Any deal would have to...
UK - Lyceum exits Asquith Nurseries via sale to Dawnay, Day and Swordfish
Lyceum Capital has sold Asquith Nurseries to Dawnay, Day Principal Investments and Swordfish Investments LLP for £95m. Asquith Nurseries is a children’s day nursery operator with places for up to 10,000 children across 113 nurseries and crèches nationwide....
UK - Lyceum strengthens risk management portfolio company with acquisition
Lyceum Capital risk management portfolio company National Britannia Group Ltd (NBG) has acquired Corporate Health & Safety Solutions Ltd (CHSS). CHSS is a strong player in the safety, health and environmental professional training market. It offers training...
UK - Balderton backs online advertising marketplace AdJug.com
Balderton Capital has provided AdJug.com, an online advertising marketplace, with a multi-million dollar investment. Balderton was formerly known as Benchmark Capital. The deal represents Balderton's second online start-up investment in a week - it provided...
UK - Hermes makes five new appointments
Hermes Private Equity has made five new appointments across both the direct investments and funds areas. The strengthening of the team coincides with the announcement that the BT Pension Scheme has approved £300m of backing for Hermes third direct private...
UK - LDC backs £100m buyout of British Salt from US parent
LDC has acquired British Salt Ltd in a £100m management buyout from its US parent company, US Salt Holdings. It has invested £35m for a majority shareholding. Debt funding was arranged by the acquisition finance division of Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets...
UK - Duke Street and Europa in £260m buyout of Channel Islands group
Duke Street Capital and Europa Capital have made a recommended offer for Jersey-based company C.I. Traders Ltd. The proposal values the business at approximately £260m and includes funds provided by Uberior Co-Investments Ltd, a Bank of Scotland-owned...
UK - Balderton Capital backs online debt management start-up
Balderton Capital has provided Wonga, a start-up online service for same day personal debt management, with $6m of early-stage funding. The investment will be used to accelerate platform and product development, with the goal of establishing Wonga as...
UK - Members of Technology Strategy Board announced
The eleven board members who will sit on the new Technology Strategy Board have been announced. The Technology Strategy Board, currently a DTI advisory body, will become operational as an executive non-departmental public body from 1 July 2007. The newly-appointed...
UK - Rutland expands team with appointment of Liam Camburn
Rutland Partners has appointed Liam Camburn to its investment team. Camburn qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen following which he joined their private equity transaction services team. This team ultimately transferred into KPMG.
UK - Moulton to feature in next Treasury Select Committee
The concluding part of this summer's Treasury Select Committee trilogy is to feature Jon Moulton. He will appear alongside Peter Taylor of Duke Street Capital, a representative from CVC and Blackstone's David Blitzer before the group of MPs next Tuesday....
UK - Dunedin backs £16m MBO of Fernau Avionics
Dunedin has backed the £16m management buyout of navigational equipment manufacturer Fernau Avionics from Canadian-based Glendale International Corp. Dunedin invested £8m in return for a majority stake in the newco.
UK - 3i set to profit further from NCP Services exit
Three months after selling the car park arm of NCP, 3i is to see further realisations from the divestment of NCP Services. Macquarie Infrastructure acquired NCP Car Parks in March 2007 in a £790m transaction generating returns of 3x for 3i. 3i is now...
UK - Exponent portfolio company Trainline makes £18.7m acquisition
Exponent Private Equity portfolio company Trainline, an online retailer of train tickets, has acquired Advanced Smartcard Technologies Plc (AST). The public-to-private deal values the share capital of AST at £18.7m. AST was founded in 2000 and listed...
UK - unquote" responds to critics
A random few private practitioners, labelled a ‘rogues gallery,’ was paraded at the Glastonbury music festival in the UK this weekend, as the unions continued their assault on the industry. Proving that the unions, whatever their protestations to...
UK - CVC and Permira AA to merge with Charterhouse's Saga
CVC and Permira car breakdown portfolio company the AA is to merge with Saga, the specialist financial and travel service provider to over-50s, backed by Charterhouse. The deal will create a £6.15bn service provider giant. The merger comes as a shock...
UK - Ashley Brady joins Close Brothers Growth Capital from 3i
Close Brothers Growth Capital, the one-stop shop providing equity and debt funding to mid-market companies, has strengthened its investment team with the appointment of Ashley Brady as associate director.