UK / Ireland
UK - HgCapital acquires stake in RidgeWind
HgCapital has acquired a substantial equity stake in Oxfordshire-based wind developer, RidgeWind Ltd. HgCapital’s investment includes the acquisition of a majority stake in the company, expansion capital and long-term equity for RidgeWind’s wind development...
UK - ABN AMRO portfolio company Volution acquires Manrose
ABN AMRO Capital portfolio company Volution has acquired Manrose Holdings Ltd from its private owner. This represents the first step of a buy-and-build strategy for Volution, the ventilation and heating company ABN AMRO acquired in a secondary management...
UK - Adverse rumours surround potential tertiary buyout of New Look
Reports that interest in value fashion retailer New Look is lacklustre continue to dog the auction process being run by Merrill Lynch. Apax and Permira, the current owners of New Look, had considered a float of the business but decided instead to sell...
UK - Enterprise Ventures completes further investment in H20 Networks
Enterprise Ventures has completed a further investment in H2O Networks Ltd through its Coalfields Enterprise Fund. Enterprise Ventures first invested in the company during late 2006 to finance the company’s growth plans and this follow-on round of funding...
UK - Close Ventures backs Point 35 Microstructures with £1.95m investment
Close Ventures has invested £1.95m in Point 35 Microstructures, a supplier of refurbished semiconductor wafer processing equipment. The funding round totalled £2.1m.
UK - LDC appoints Paul Johnson as head of larger mid-market team
LDC has appointed Paul Johnson to head a newly-created team which will focus on originating larger mid-market transactions. The team will target deals requiring an equity investment between £25m and £100m, the newly-instated upper reach of LDC’s underwriting...
UK - YFM provides sign manufacturer with £250,000
YFM Group has invested £250,000 in sign manufacturer D&H Sign Manufacturing Ltd through its Yorkshire and Humber Equity Fund.
UK - Enterprise Ventures invests in Chromatide Ltd
Enterprise Ventures has invested in chemical services company Chromatide Ltd through its RisingStars Growth Fund II.
UK - European Capital acquires Hillarys Blinds for EUR 337m
European Capital has announced the EUR 337m secondary buyout of Hillarys Blinds, a provider of made-to-measure blinds, from Change Capital Partners. The firm provided equity, loan notes, mezzanine debt and senior term loans, to complete the one stop...
SPAIN/UK - Palamon adds Morgan Stanley banker to its Spanish team
Pan-European private equity firm Palamon Capital Partners has hired former Morgan Stanley executive director Jaime Enrique Hugas to strenghten its activities in Spain.
UK - Apax and Permira will recap New Look if sale doesn't go through
The sale of Apax and Permira-portfolio company New Look is still on track, according to reports. Merrill Lynch is running an auction to facilitate the disposal with TPG and Warburg Pincus bidding together against BC Partners. A price tag of approximately...
UK - Mangrove Capital leads $8m series-B funding for Seatwave
Mangrove Capital Partners has led an $8m series-B funding round for Seatwave, a fan-to-fan ticket exchange. Mangrove joins existing investor Atlas Venture which provided $3m of series-A funding for the company in May 2006.
UK - Aberdeen invests £1.4m in Cyclotech
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has provided oil and gas services company Cyclotech with £1.4m of equity funding. The new capital will be used for product development, additional management appointments and new offices in Singapore and Houston.
UK - Graphite Capital backs MBO of Dominion Technology Gases
Graphite Capital has backed the management buyout of Aberdeen-based Dominion Technology Gases from its founder. Dominion is a supplier of specialist gases used for diving, welding and testing by offshore oil and gas customers. Royal Bank of Scotland provided...
UK - Shackleton in further deal with 3i
Three months after it acquired four investments from 3i, Shackleton Ventures has purchased a further portfolio of nine companies from 3i. Shackleton is a specialist secondaries venture capital firm with the ability to draw on investment of up to £20m.
UK - RBS to sell Southern Water for £4bn
Royal Bank of Scotland is to sell Southern Water for £4bn. RBS has appointed Deutsche Bank to run a process to facilitate the sale of the water company which supplies homes in Kent, Sussex and Hampshire.
UK - Kreos appoints Luca Colciago as partner
Kreos Capital, the provider of debt financing for venture deals, has appointed Luca Colciago as partner. Colciago has focused specifically on venture debt for the past seven years. He joins Kreos from Noble Fund Managers, an alternative assets manager...
UK - Terra Firma exits Thresher and pension assets of Thorn TV rental business
Terra Firma has sold the 2000-strong off-licence chain Thresher to a team of investors led by Edmund Truell. The deal includes the sale of another of Terra Firma's assets from its first fund, the pension assets of Thorn, the television rental company....
UK - CCMP Capital acquires BOC Edwards from Linde Group
CCMP Capital has acquired BOC Edwards from the Linde Group. BOC Edwards is a manufacturer of vacuum equipment used in high technology industries. CCMP Capital made the acquisition through funds managed by CCMP Capital Advisors and CCMP Capital Asia Ltd....
UK - KKR secures £11.1bn Boots deal in shareholder vote
Alliance Boots shareholders have voted in favour of KKR's £11.1bn takeover bid. Of the proxy votes cast ahead of the EGM, reckoned to be a good indicator of the EGM results, 96.3% of shareholders approved KKR's recommended offer. The first private equity...
UK - Palamon broadens governance
Palamon Capital Partners has announced a structural reorganisation in preparation for accelerated growth. Co-Founder Michael Hoffman is appointed to the new position of chairman of Palamon. Co-founder and managing partner, Louis Elson, will lead a newly...
UK - Index Ventures profits from CBS acquisition of Last.fm
Index Ventures has seen impressive returns from its year long investment in online social music network Last.fm. Founded in a Vienna basement, Last.fm is now headquartered in London and was acquired for $280m in cash by US television network CBS. It received...
UK - Aberdeen acquires £5m stake in Funeral Services Partnership
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has acquired a £5m stake in Midlands-based Funeral Services Partnership Ltd, a newco set up to create a group of independent funeral businesses.
UK - Aberdeen backs BIMBO of oil and gas tools rental company
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has backed the BIMBO of ATR Group, a business which rents specialised tools and equipment to the offshore oil and gas industry. Aberdeen invested £3.9m in equity funding to support the transaction alongside debt...