UK / Ireland
Secondaries players hold fire despite copious dry powder
Market is likely to pause until Q2 2020 valuations are released, potentially leading to a flurry in Q4
Searchlight-backed GRP bolts on two insurance brokers
Company is seeking targets with £1-10m EBITDA for its insurance brokerage buy-and-build strategy
YFM hires BDO's Wrench
Wrench has taken the position of investment director in the firm's London office, investing in SMEs
Bridgepoint-backed Fishawack acquires Skysis
Unquote understands the combined entry multiple of both Skysis and Fishawack was 12.8x
Oakley exits Inspired Education
Oakley II held a final close on €524m in December 2014 and has since made five realisations
StepStone closes fourth secondaries fund on $2.1bn
SSOF IV's investment strategy focuses on the inefficient segments of the secondaries market
Q&A: Cambridge Associates' Featherby on PE's time to shine
Very few managers will have net benefited from this crisis, says Featherby, but PE could still showcase its ability to outperform
How private equity is helping fight the Covid-19 outbreak
A round-up of initiatives by GPs across Europe – and their portfolio companies – to help their communities
Maven VCTs lead £3.5m round for Nano
Foresight Group, which is an existing investor in the company, also participates in the round
Palatine invests in Acora
Acora was sold in an auction, which saw Inflexion Private Equity and LDC make bids
PE-backed pubs and restaurants looking for silver linings
UK-based pubs and restaurants have so far remained somewhat resilient, but the situation is still precarious
BVCA proposes £500m early-stage funding facility
Submission proposes a bridge funding facility in the form of a convertible loan of up to £5m per company
Inflexion donates £2.5m to support Coronavirus relief
GP launched its foundation in 2018 and donates 1% of its profits from funds to the organisation
Insight Partners XI closes on $9.5bn
Fund deploys equity tickets in the $10-350m range in startups operating across the software industry
YFM closes Buyout Fund II on £80m
GP plans to make investments this year and expects prices to drop "somewhat" in the current environment
Lakestar leads $13m series-A for Yapily
Lakestar is currently investing its third early-stage-dedicated fund and its first growth fund
Warburg Pincus leads $80m series-C for Privitar
Warburg Pincus is currently investing from its Global Growth Fund, which closed on $14.8bn
Elysian sells Wellbeing for 4.5x return
Wellbeing is a provider of radiology and maternity software that manages patient workflow and data
The Deals Pipeline
A fortnightly highlight of deal processes underway and involving PE, either on the buy- or sell-side, across Europe
KKR invests up to $500m in Kilter
Kilter Finance makes investments from its own balance sheet and is funded by its management team
MMC leads $7m series-A for Ably
MMC Ventures invests from its MMC Greater London Fund, which closed on £52m in May 2019
Welcome aboard: PE recruitment amid coronavirus
PE-focused recruiters and some GPs themselves are figuring out ways to progress recruitment processes, but challenges remain
VC, growth activity collapses in March amid Covid-19 outbreak
European VC and growth capital dealflow was no more sheltered than its buyout counterpart
CVC closes fifth Asia-Pacific fund on $4.5bn
Both new and returning institutional investors participated in the fundraise for the Asia fund