UK / Ireland
Axa Venture-backed Cognism acquires Mailtastic
In March 2020, Cognism raised $12m in a funding round led by Axa Venture Partners
PE-backed Eight Fifty Food Group buys M&M Walshe
Post-acquisition, Eight Fifty's revenues are expected to increase to approximately £1.4bn.
IK hires Aoun as head of capital markets
Aoun joins IK from KKR, where he was a principal focusing on private credit and capital markets
Q1 Barometer: Year of sustained growth finally halted in Q1
The European private equity market cooled in Q1, even before the Covid-19 crisis took hold, after an especially active Q4 2019
Cambridge Associates hires Gunnee
Gunee joins from Mercer, where he was a partner and head of fiduciary management
Eight Roads-backed Picsolve enters administration
Deloitte has been appointed to find a buyer for the whole company or for a part of it
ING Ventures leads £4m bridge funding for Countingup
Triple Point, CVentures and Big Start Ventures also co-invest in the funding round
HLM and Illumina lead $71m round for LetsGetChecked
In mid-March, the company offered its coronavirus test to Irish healthcare authorities
Towerbrook to inject €100m in BC-backed CarTrawler in debt-for-equity swap
CarTrawler has €120m of its TLB and €25m of revolving credit facility debt outstanding
Ara Partners closes debut fund on $400m
Fund makes buyout and growth capital investments in companies based across North America and Europe
E-scooter startups feel brunt of lockdowns but anticipate future upside
The coronavirus lockdown in Europe has put a brake on the transport sector - should e-scooter startups and their investors be worried?
ECI makes two senior promotions
Firm has promtoed Steve Tudge to the position of non-executive chairman, effective October 2020
Ambienta raises $150m for absolute return fund
Ambienta X Alpha is managed by a team based in London, led by chief investment officer Fabio Pecce
DC Advisory promotes five in UK and Germany teams
Promotions are across the infrastructure, debt, Asia access, and consumer, leisure and retail teams
BGF releases 2019 results, reports operating profit of £133m
BGF invested more than £200m in 45 new companies and provided a further £144m in follow-on funding
EQT Ventures leads $12m series-A for Peanut
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, engagement on London-based Peanut has increased by 30%
Andera hires Argos Wityu's Jay
Andera is currently deploying a series of funds, including BioDiscovery V and Winch Capital 4
Dawn Capital appoints Inflexion's Brown
Hannah Brown is joining from her position as assistant director at Inflexion Private Equity
FTV leads £78m round in Bought By Many
Based in London, and founded in 2012, Bought By Many is a pet insurance broker based in London
2010-vintage funds: what is still in UK portfolios
PE managers now have a number of options available to them when funds near the end of their lifespan
Altamar holds first close for €750m secondaries fund
ACP 4 targets the growing market for GP-led secondary transactions
ICG-backed Pageant Media acquires Eurekahedge for $8m
Mizuho Bank, which acquired the company in 2011, paid three times the amount it is selling it for
One third of GPs may suspend next fund marketing – survey
Investec's GP Trends survey reveals that 83% of GPs do not expect to make an exit in the next year
Aurelius's Bertram to make wholesale division insolvent, sells Wordery
Bertram temporarily closed Bertram Books as of 1 April due to uncertainty caused by the pandemic