Media
GERMANY - EUR 3.5m funding for Exit Games
Media group Bertelsmann, and private equity firms Neuhaus Partners and smac partners have made an investment in Hamburg-based Exit Games.
GERMANY - Springer Science to float
It is rumoured that Cinven and Candover are looking to float Springer Science & Business Media with a valuation of more than EUR 2bn. Investment banks Goldman Sachs, ABN AMRO and UBS are said to have been appointed to prepare the company for a stock market...
UK - GMG'sTrader Media Group to be sold to private equity?
Guardian Media Group is reported to be in discussions with Apax, Blackstone and Candover about a possible sale of its Trader Media Group. Trader is responsible for listings magazine Auto Trader and approximately 70 titles in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands...
UK - Sir David Arculus joins August Equity portfolio company
August Equity's super yacht magazine publisher Boat International Media Ltd has appointed Sir David Arculus as its chairman. Arculus is currently a non-executive director at O2 Plc, Telefonica Plc and Pearson Plc. He was chairman of O2 from 2004 until...
COMMENT: Despite criticism, buoyant mood prevails
Bigger funds, new supplies of capital from hitherto marginal players and growth of the market globally, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. If the results of a survey co-sponsored by Simmons & Simmons and Société Générale Corporate & Investment...
UK - IMAC invests up to £4.15m in Community Television Networks
Ingenious Media Active Capital Ltd has completed an investment of up to ТЃ4.15m in Community Television Networks Ltd (CTN).
UK - Apax-backed Incisive Media acquires VNU UK operations
Apax portfolio company Incisive Media has acquired the UK operations of VNU in a back-to-back transaction from 3i following its acquisition of VNU's European publishing interests. 3i completed the buyout of Netherlands-based VNU Business Media Europe...
UK - Ingenious appoints Kip Meek to its board
Ingenious, the media investment and advisory group, has appointed Kip Meek as a director to the board, effective from 1 May. Meek was until recently chief policy partner at Ofcom and was chairman of the European Regulatorsт Group. He will have a wide-ranging...
SPAIN - RCS makes EUR 1.3bn offer for Recoletos
Publishing group RCS, owner of Italian broadsheet Corriere della Sera, is reported to have made an offer of EUR 1.3bn for media group Recoletos.
FRANCE - Launch of Axonia Partners
Financial advisory boutique Axonia Partners has announced its launch. Axonia Partners is already working on several transactions, split equally between private equity clients and corporate clients.
UK - Octopus Investments backs acquisition of specialist history publishers
Octopus Investments has invested ТЃ5.5m in NPI Media Group to facilitate the acquisitions of two of its key competitors. Equity investment was provided as part of a combined deal valuation of ТЃ15m, which included funding from GMAC Commercial Finance...
GERMANY - KKR and Permira launch public offer for ProSiebenSat.1
A consortium comprising Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Permira has made a public cash offer for the remainder of the publicly traded shares of German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG. The financial investors are paying EUR 22.45 for each preferred...
GERMANY - Triangle invests in iPharro
Triangle has invested EUR 4m in iPharro Media GmbH, a spin-off from the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics located in Darmstadt. The funding will enable the company, which has developed software to identify videos much faster than in real time,...
UK - NewMedia SPARK backs MarketClusters with $3m funding round
NewMedia SPARK has led a $3m series-A funding round for MarketClusters Ltd, developer of the 'StrategyWire' intelligence platform which enables corporates to accurately filter expert opinions created in blogs and news feeds.
UK - Founder of Ingenious Media joins NESTA board
Patrick McKenna, founder and chairman of Ingenious Media and a leading figure in the creative industries, will join the 11-strong NESTA board of trustees. The board, led by chairman Chris Powell, exists to help NESTA shape and develop its strategy and...
FRANCE - AXA Private Equity backs European expansion of rich contents producer
AXA Private Equity has announced it has invested in Brainsonic, a Paris-based rich media contents producer.
UK - Ingenious VCTs back Peter Gabriel
Ingenious Media's two music VCTs have made a further joint investment, totalling ТЃ2m, to support the North American release of the next solo album of international artist, Peter Gabriel. The investment will be made through the formation of a joint venture...
EUROPE - European Buyout Review shows 2006 record year for private equity
2006 was a record year for European buyouts with the total value of deals topping over EUR 160bn for the first time ever, according to the latest European Buyout Review due to be published in March 2007 by Incisive Media in association with Bridgepoint....
NL - Apax to sell stake in PCM
Apax Partners has reportedly sold its 47.5% stake in Dutch publishing firm PCM Uitgevers to Stichting Democratie en Media (SDM), currently owner of 41.9% of the shares.
UK - Nordic Venture Partners leads £5m funding for Player X
Mobile media company Player X has received a second round of venture funding provided by new investors Nordic Venture Partners and Long Acre Partners. This follows a first round of funding in 2005 from Arts Alliance and Bullion International.
UK - KKR looks at Pearson
Pearson the media group is the subject of buyout speculation. It is reported that KKR is weighing up a ТЃ7bn bid for the publisher of the Financial Times which has its core business in educational publishing.
UK - North West Equtiy Fund invests £250,000 in medical communications company
North West Equity Fund has invested ТЃ250,000 into Cheshire-based CSF Medical Communications Limited (CSF).
UK - Wellington Partners leads EUR 18m investment in Truphone
Wellington Partners has led an EUR 18m series-A funding round for London-based mobile VoIP start-up Truphone. Also participating in financing Truphone are existing investors Eden Ventures and a number of business angels, as well as Independent News and...
GERMANY - New principal at Waterland Private Equity
Waterland Private Equity Investments has appointed Jörg Dreisow as principal of its German branch. He had previously been investment director and will now co-lead a team of six.