Media
UK - BPE to buy Kaboose's UK operations in £54m deal
Barclays Private Equity has agreed to acquire Canadian family-focused online media company Kaboose's UK business, Bounty Group Ltd, in a deal valued at ТЃ54m.
UK/US - GTCR- backed Boomerang buys Entertainment Rights
Boomerang Media, a media solutions company backed by chicago-based private equity firm GTCR, has acquired the US and UK operations of Entertainment Rights, the company that owns the licensing rights to children characters such as Postman Pat and George...
GERMANY - bmp backs second mando funding round
A consortium of investors led by incumbent backer bmp and including existing investor VC Fonds Technologie and new investor ERP-Startfonds has supported Mando, a mobile television service provider, with an undisclosed a second round of funding.
UK - Foursome becomes Frog; increases funds under management
UK-based early-stage and growth investor Foursome Investments has re-branded as Frog Capital and increased the size of its fund from EUR 60m to EUR 100m - a move almost unheard of in this economic climate.
GERMANY - Candover and Cinven to divest Springer
According to reports, Candover and Cinven have appointed UBS and Goldman Sachs to approach potential buyers for publisher Springer Science and Business Media, in a deal that could fetch up to £2bn.
FRANCE - I-Source exits Advestigo
I-Source has sold copyright protection company Advestigo to Hologram industries, a global producer and distributor of high security optical solutions, for an undisclosed sum.
Beauty or the beast?
Private equity's bad rap has spread from trade unions to vendors to Brussels. The industry will overcome this for myriad reasons: its attempts to stave off negativity; its ability to efficiently execute deals and, most of all, the fact that sellers may...
UK - New group Rockley launches EUR 100m fund
Rockley Group, a new technology-focused investor founded by two established business angels, has launched its inaugural third party fund, Rockley Follow-On Fund, which will have a target of EUR 100m.
UK - CVC appoints senior adviser
CVC Capital Partners has appointed Sir Julian Horn-Smith as senior adviser in London.
Statistical slide
With both final quarter and year end statistics being published in the last month the full extent of the downturn in 2008 is revealed, but there are some rays of sunshine amidst the gloom. Ashley Wassall reports.
Time to reset the bar
Norwegian LP Argentum recently received a government rescue package of NOK 2bn in response to a dearth of capital in the PE industry. Rikke Lilla Eckhoff investigates how funds will fare in this new environment
GERMANY - HTGF invests EUR 500,000 into Liquiverse
High-Tech Gründerfonds has invested EUR 500,000 into software business Liquiverse.
FRANCE - Siparex backs Greenwich OBO
Siparex has supported an owner-buyout of management consulting partnership Greenwich Consulting, taking a 17% stake in the company. The business will be renamed TwentyOne.
UK/NETHERLANDS - HgCapital to close Amsterdam office and consumer team
HgCapital has announced that it is to close its office in Amsterdam and its London-based consumer and leisure team.
BULGARIA - 3TS Capital Partners supports Investor.bg
3TS Capital Partners, through the 3TS Cisco Growth Fund, has invested an undisclosed sum into Investor.bg AD, an online media company based in Bulgaria, taking a 17% stake in the company.
Shaken and stirred
The overcommitment policy LPs adopted in the past is gone for good. The industry is waving good-bye to the convenient means of funding future capital calls with future fund distributions
GERMANY – Bmp backs Motor Entertainment
Bmp AG has acquired an 11% stake in Motor Entertainment GmbH from I-D Media AG.
Allocation concerns dominant among LPs
A new report shows that the declining value of liquid assets and continuing dearth of divestment opportunities is resulting in increasing liquidity worries amongst limited partners. By Ashley Wassall