Consumer
UK - Gresham acquires Johnson Clothing
Gresham Private Equity has backed the mangement buyout of corporate wear provider Johnson Clothing Ltd (JCL) from Johnson Service Group Plc (JSG). The completion of the deal is subject to shareholder approval.
SWITZERLAND/FRANCE – Argos Soditic tucks into Valora
Argos Soditic has bought three food production companies from Swiss logistics and retail holding company Valora Holding AG. Switzerland-based Roland Murten AG and Kägi Söhne AG and French company Cansimag France SA have been acquired for an undisclosed...
List-en to my fund
Listed funds suffered badly on the back of the liquidity crisis and negative press in 2007, with wide discounts the norm. Could investors be missing a trick or is there good reason to shy away?
FINLAND - Investcorp acquires Asiakastieto from GMT
Investcorp togther with management has acquired Asiakastieto, Finland’s largest credit and business information company, for an undisclosed sum from GMT Communications Partners III LP.
FRANCE – Apax and LBO France back SBO of Maison du Monde
Apax Partners and LBO France have acquired a majority stake in Maison du Monde in a secondary buyout deal. The management will retain around 20% of the equity while original investor Ixen will hold a minority stake. The deal sees Barclays Private Equity,...
Q & A - The legal view
Nine months on from the first signs of a credit crunch, Nicola Bock talks to a crack group of private equity lawyers to assess where the market now stands and how things have changed
UK - Endless invests in St Neots from new fund
Endless has taken a significant minority stake in specialist print and packaging company St Neots Packaging for an undisclosed amount.
GERMANY - Square Four Investments acquires Erich Rohde KG
Square Four Investments has, together with investment bank Morgan Stanley, acquired insolvent Erich Rohde KG Schuhfabriken, a shoe manufacturer, for an undisclosed amount.
SPAIN – Caja Inmaculada acquires 25% stake in engineering firm
Caja Inmaculada (CAI) has acquired a 25% stake in engineering company ASE Soluciones through a capital expansion deal.
UK - Langholm sells Dorset Cereals
Langholm Capital has sold musli brand Dorset Cereals to Wellness Foods for ТЃ50m, generating a reported 4-fold return.
SPAIN – Tandem closes first fund on EUR 50m
Tandem Capital Gestión has reached the final closing of its first fund on EUR 50m.
NORWAY - Eqvitec backs KSD Software Norway
Eqvitec Technology Fund III has invested in KSD Software Norway AS, an Oslo-based software company.
Carry on up
It seems things could be looking up for French private equity. We are only in the early months of 2008, a year which has been roundly touted as likely to be one of the toughest and most testing for the industry for some time, yet there has already been...
DENMARK - AAC Capital and Polaris in BabySam MBO
AAC Capital Partners and Polaris Private Equity agreed to acquire a majority stake in BabySam as part of an management buyout of the business for an undisclosed value.
UK - European Capital completes £36m refinancing of Avery Weigh-Tronix
European Capital has refinanced portfolio company Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings Ltd with ТЃ36m of senior credit facilities provided by Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC. The refinancing follows the disposal of Averyтs food retail weighing business and will...
UK - Close Growth Capital acquires Blueberry from 3i for £12m
Close Growth Capital has backed the ТЃ12m secondary management buyout of ambient food supplier Blueberry Group Ltd from 3i. 3i acquired Blueberry in 2005.
FRANCE - Pragma Capital closes second fund on EUR 345m
Pragma Capital has closed its second fund Pragma II on EUR 345m. The fund exceeded its target by EUR 45m. It will seek to invest between EUR 10m and 35m in companies with a value of between EUR 50m and EUR 250m.
UK - Graphite acquires Kurt Geiger from BPE for £95m
Graphite Capital has acquired shoe retailer Kurt Geiger from Barclays Private Equity (BPE) for ТЃ95m. BPE had owned Kurt Geiger since Summer 2005 when it paid ТЃ46m for the business. Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland provided a debt package to support...
UK - August Equity portfolio company makes £19m disposal
August Equity portfolio company Planit Holdings has disposed of its computer aided design (CAD) arm Fusion to 20-20 Technologies Inc for ТЃ19m. Fusion specialises in CAD solutions for the retail industry. The sale of Fusion is in line with the original...
DENMARK - Polaris acquires Tøjeksperten for DKK 900m
Polaris Private Equity has acquired Tøjeksperten, a Danish mens clothing retailer for DKK 900m.