Consumer
Private equity misses out on Lucozade, Ribena sale
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has agreed to sell popular drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena, which had attracted interest from buyout houses including Blackstone and Lion Capital, to Japanese trade player Suntory for £1.35bn.
MMC Ventures backs Boticca series-A
MMC Ventures has taken part in a £2.5m series-A funding round for Boticca, a London based e-commerce site for luxury fashion accessories, alongside a number of high-net-worth individuals.
TDR works out David Lloyd deal
TDR Capital has acquired the entire share capital of health, sport and leisure group David Lloyd Leisure (DLL).
Amundi et al. invest €1.3m in Envie de Fraises
Amundi Private Equity Funds, Generis Capital Partners and Calao Finance have injected €1.3m into Envie de Fraises, a French online clothing store for pregnant women.
PE-backed Copytrend Group buys printing company
Constellation-backed Copytrend Group has bought a majority stake in Intelligent Printing Solution Group (IPS), a provider of outsourced document management solutions.
Verdane acquires four companies from eEquity for SEK 150m
Norwegian secondaries direct investor Verdane Capital has acquired a 15-30% stake in four Scandinavian e-commerce companies held by Swedish investor eEquity.
Palatine backs Icelolly MBO
Palatine Private Equity has backed the £17m management buyout of UK-based holiday price comparison provider Icelolly.
Rutland Partners acquires Bernard Matthews
Turnaround investor Rutland Partners has invested in UK-based turkey producer Bernard Matthews Holdings.
PE-backed Delicpol acquires Cuprod
PE-backed Polish confectionery business Delicpol has bought fellow Polish confectionery maker Cuprod with the support of Axa Private Equity and Resource Partners.
Bridgepoint buys AHT Cooling in €585m SBO
Bridgepoint has acquired AHT Cooling Systems, an Austrian manufacturer of refrigerators, from Quadriga Capital and Partners Group for €585m.
MML backs Tournus Equipement SBO
MML Capital Partners has acquired a stake in Tournus Equipement, a French manufacturer and distributor of stainless steel equipment for professional kitchens, from Qualium Investissement as part of a secondary management buyout.
Target Ventures backs Babadu
Russian venture capital firm Target Ventures has invested “several million dollars” in Babadu, a Russian e-commerce platform for children’s products.
Rocket Internet founders back 3 businesses with new fund
Rocket Internet's founders Oliver and Marc Samwer are understood to have invested a total of $5m in online start-ups Lingoda, GirlMeetsDress and Videdressing.com via their new €150m Global Founders Capital (GFC) fund.
BGF invests £2.8m in Arran Aromatics
The Business Growth Fund (BGF) has invested £2.8m and taken a minority stake in Arran Aromatics, a Scottish luxury toiletries company.
PE backers looking to divest Burton’s Biscuits
Burton’s Biscuit Company, owned by Apollo Global Management and Duke Street, is up for sale with a price tag of £350m, according to reports.
Risk Capital acquires Cruise.co
Risk Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in Cruise.co, a UK-based owner of online cruise holiday websites.
Homburg & Partner Q&A: Customer segmentation
Alexander Lüring (pictured) and Simone Staudt from marketing and sales consultancy Homburg & Partner speak to unquote” about the importance of understanding portfolio company customers, and how to boost overall growth through customer segmentation...
Risk Capital backs Red Hot World Buffet
Risk Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in UK-based restaurant group Red Hot World Buffet.
BGF backs Xercise4less with £5m
The Business Growth Fund (BGF) has injected £5m into Xercise4less, a fitness chain founded by ex-rugby player Jon Wright.
Phoenix looks to offload LK Bennett
Phoenix Equity Partners is in the initial stages of divesting high-end retailer LK Bennett as it sounds out City advisers.
Hellman’s WRI buys HostelBookers.com
Hellman & Friedman-backed Web Reservations International (WRI) has acquired HostelBookers.com.
OFT furniture probe embroils PE-backed retailers
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is investigating six furniture retailers, two of which are understood to be Sun European-backed Dreams, and Advent-owned DFS.
Karmijn Kapitaal rescues MD Group out of bankruptcy
Dutch private equity house Karmijn Kapitaal has bought lingerie company MD Group out of bankruptcy, together with its former owner Marlies Dekkers.
Alder backs Powerbox
Alder has invested in Sweden-based Powerbox International, a manufacturer and distributor of power converters and associated products.