UK / Ireland
UK - Boots deal encounters up to £1bn unforeseen pension costs
KKR's buyout of Alliance Boots has encountered a setback in the form of an extra £1bn demanded by the trustees of its pension fund. The pension fund was reported to have a surplus just days earlier. Yesterday, the Pension Regulator called on trustees...
UK - Bridgepoint secures Leeds Bradford deal
Bridgepoint has won the auction for Leeds Bradford Airport. It is paying £145.5m to acquire the asset from its five local council owners. Bridgepoint intends to invest up to £70m in the facility to try to double passenger numbers. In 2005, the airport...
UK - One Equity could value EMI at £3bn
EMI is being circled by One Equity, the private equity group associated with JP Morgan. The music publisher has been the subject of private equity speculation since last November. It was first courted by Permira which was understood to have considered...
UK - Carlyle swoops on BAE with submarine bid
As part of its efforts to acquire the refitting and refueling Devonport naval dockyard in Plymouth, Carlyle has proposed running the UK's submarine building programme at Devonport. This process currently takes place at BAE-owned Barrow-in-Furness.
UK - Final furlong in chase for Racing Post
Exponent and Veronis Suhler Stevenson have tabled a joint bid for Racing Post a Trinity Mirror publication. NM Rothschild is running the auction process and has set a deadline of May 16 for offers to be received. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum,...
UK - Electra in 5x exit from CSG via sale to Candover
Electra Private Equity has sold height safety equipment company Capital Safety Group to Candover in a $565m transaction. The deal has generated a multiple in excess of 5x Electra's investment, equivalent to an IRR of 23%.
UK - Beringea participates in £5.5m AIM placing
Beringea, the manager of the ProVen and ProVen Growth & Income VCTs, has invested in the £5.5m AIM placing by intellectual property exploitation specialists, Coolabi Plc. Beringea is one of the largest shareholders in the company.
UK - Blackstone, Bain, CVC and Cinven interested in CDR's Brakes
Clayton, Dublier & Rice has appointed JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank to sell portfolio company Brakes, the food distribution business formerly known as Brakes Bros. The transaction is expected to fetch up to £1.3bn. CDR delisted Brakes in 2002 when it had...
UK - Kelso Place acquires sub-prime mortgage broker TML
Kelso Place Asset Management has completed the acquisition of TML Financial Solutions, a subsidiary of Kensington Group Plc. The new independent company will trade under its previous name, The Mortgage Lender. The Mortgage Lender, a specialist sub-prime...
UK - Apollo to save troubled Focus DIY?
Apax and Duke Street Capital portfolio company Focus DIY is believed to be on the brink of a rescue deal with Apollo Management. The DIY retailer has struggled with its debt load for the last two years following worsening conditions in the home improvement...
UK - Marsh strengthens private equity team
Marsh has strengthened its private equity and M&A (PEMA) team with the appointment of David Pellegrino to the new role of business development leader for PEMA in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Pellegrino has relocated to London from Marsh’s New...
UK - Enterprise Ventures appoints Julian Viggars
Enterprise Ventures has appointed Julian Viggars to manage its technology investment arm. Viggars, previously technology portfolio director at EV, will head up a team of four focused on early-stage technology investment in the Northern regions and oversee...
UK - ECI acquires CliniSys in £61m deal
ECI Partners has acquired healthcare IT company CliniSys for £61m plus an earn out of up to £2m from its founding shareholders, some of whom are re-investing in the business. Headquartered in Surrey and with operations in Belgium, The Netherlands, France,...
UK - Michael Joseph joins DE Shaw
Michael Joseph has joined DE Shaw, the US investment group, to head up its London-based investment team. Joseph was previously a senior director at Lloyds TSB and LDC.
UK - RBS backs £21m buyout of chemicals business Tocris
Royal Bank of Scotland has backed the £21m management buyout of speciality chemicals business Tocris Cookson Ltd from its founding shareholders. The deal sees RBS taking an equity stake in the newco having provided a combined equity and debt package....
UK - Quester and YFM in £600,000 third round for Symetrica
YFM Group and Quester join other investors NESTA, the SULIS Seedcorn Fund and Tennants Ventures on a third round of funding totalling £600,000 for gamma radiation detector specialists Symetrica. NESTA first invested in Symetrica in September 2004 in...
UK - New Look IPO off
Rumours that Apax and Permira were going to float portfolio company New Look were unfounded. The high street fashion retailer looks set to change private equity hands, with Merrill Lynch appointed to run an auction. KKR, CVC and Texas Pacific Group are...
UK - LGV seeks further asset in dental healthcare sector
It is thought that Legal & General Ventures is considering a bid for AIM-listed dental group Oasis Healthcare. The Norwich-based company's shares rose a fifth yesterday on the back of news that it had received several preliminary approaches.
UK - LDC back buyout of MB Aerospace
LDC has backed the management buyout of engineering contractor MB Aerospace Holdings. LDC will own a majority stake in the newco, which has been formed from MB Aerospace and MB Faber, two of the main subsidiaries of 109 year-old generalist engineering...
UK - Rhone Capital exits Early Learning Centre after acquisition by Mothercare
Chelsea Stores, the owner of the Early Learning Centre children's toys retailer, has been acquired by Mothercare for £85m in cash and shares. The deal represents an exit for Rhone Capital, a private equity player which participated in the consortium...
UK - Gresham reaps 12x money on exit from Penn Pharmaceuticals
Gresham Private Equity has reaped 12x its money from its exit from Penn Pharmaceuticals. The company has been acquired by LDC in a secondary management buyout worth £67m.
UK - ABN AMRO backs £163m tertiary buyout of office supplier from Hermes
ABN AMRO Capital has acquired office supplier OyezStraker Group Holdings Ltd for £163m in a secondary management buyout from Hermes Private Equity. The deal will see ABN AMRO invest £41.2m for a majority stake in the newco with Hermes reinvesting for...
UK - ECI Partners sells Nuaire to Electra realising IRR of 80%
ECI Partners has sold ventilation system manufacturer Nuaire to Electra Partners realising an IRR of 80%. ECI acquired Nuaire in a management buyout from its founder for £38m in 2004. Electra's investment was supported by debt provided by Bank of Ireland...
UK - Grant Thornton merges with RSM Robson Rhodes to create fifth biggest accounting firm
The partners of Grant Thornton UK LLP and RSM Robson Rhodes LLP have announced their agreement to merge the two firms. The deal will create the UK's fifth largest accountancy firm behind the Big Four with a combined fee income of approximately £375m....