Sector
UK - MSIF invests £200,000 in So Protect Me
The Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF) has invested £200,000 from its Liverpool Seed Fund into card protection software developer So Protect Me.
UK - LDC-backed Epi-V completes its first investment
Specialist oil and gas private equity fund Epi-V has completed its first transaction, investing £3m in Aberdeen-based Brinker Technology. The £50m Epi-V fund was launched in August 2007 with the aim of making equity investments of between £2m and £10m...
UK - 3i appoints Ipreo chairman as senior adviser
3i has announced the appointment of Rosalyn Wilton, chairman of Ipreo LLP, as a senior adviser to its media team.
FRANCE - Online shoe shop raises EUR 4.3m
Spartoo, an online shoe retailer, is said to have raised a significant first round of institutional funding from CM-CIC Capital Privé and A Plus Finance.
FRANCE - Initiative & Finance backs MBI of ham and cheese specialist
Initiative & Finance has backed the management buy-in of Primo, a company which provides a range of food products to large retailers.
UK - Arcapita in takeover bid for Peacocks
Arcapita has made an approach to buy the discount fashion retailer Peacocks from its current backers Goldman Sachs and hedge funds Och-Ziff and Perry Capital. The three investors took Peacocks private in December 2005 in a £404m deal.
UK - Oak Hill backs £945m SBO of Firth Rixon from Carlyle and Lehman
Oak Hill Capital Partners is backing the secondary management buyout of Firth Rixson Ltd from The Carlyle Group and Lehman Brothers Co-Investment Partners. The deal values the business at £945m. Firth Rixon is a supplier of highly engineered rings, industrial...
FRANCE - Perfectis announces portfolio acquisition
Perfectis Private Equity portfolio company Philippe Manutention has completed the bolt on acquisition of Hyster Nacco Material Handling Distribution (NMHD), creating the first independant forklift retail and rental group in France.
UK - Dubai investment arm acquires SmartStream from TA Associates for £200m
DIFC Investments, the investment arm of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has acquired SmartStream Technologies from TA Associates for approximately £200m in a tertiary buyout deal.
POLAND - bmp Media Investors and Mangrove invest in Republika Kobiet
bmp Media Investors and Mangrove Capital Partners have each taken 17.5% of shares of Republika Kobiet.pl, which aims to build a web 2.0 lifestyle portal targeted at women. The deal represents Mangrove's first investment in Poland.
UK - Glitnir Total Capital backs MBO of Arthouse
Glitnir Total Capital has financed the management buyout of Arthouse Ltd, a design house supplying wall coverings, art, tiles and coving to the UK retail market. This is Total Capital’s third investment in 2007.
FRANCE/GERMANY – Deutsche Telekom to announce media broadcast unit sale
According to press reports, Deutsche Telekom will sell its German media broadcast business to TDF, which is backed by Texas Pacific and AXA Private Equity. The transaction is estimated to be worth between EUR 700m and EUR 900m. Australian Macquarie Infrastructure...
UK - Craig Armour joins LDC's new Scotland office from Penta
LDC has opened its first office in Scotland. The office, located in Edinburgh, will be headed up by Craig Armour. Armour previously spent seven years as a partner at Penta Capital, where he led buyouts in the consumer and business services sectors throughout...
FRANCE - Bridgepoint reaches squeeze-out for Alain Afflelou
A year and a half after acquiring 61% of shares, Bridgepoint has finally reached the 95% threshold needed to delist opticians chain Alain Afflelou from the French stock exchange.
GERMANY – Earlybird sells AbaXX Technology AG
Earlybird portfolio company, AbaXX Technology AG has been acquired by Dutch software company, Cordys. Earlybird and 3i provided the company with early-stage funding in 2000. Three further rounds of funding followed in which BayTech also participated.
On the road to transparency
The Walker report made some valuable recommendations but concerns and questions remain.[QQ]
DENMARK - Speaknet secures $10m from Via Venture Partners et al.
Speaknet, a Danish software company, has secured $10m from Via Venture Partners, NorthZone Ventures and Eqvitec Partners. The funding round will be used to expand internationally and to support strong customer growth in Denmark. The company is planning...
UK - Zeus acquires stake in online floral business
Zeus Private Equity (ZPE) has made the second investment from its maiden fund, taking a majority stake in online floral and gift company, Flowers Direct Ltd. ZPE’s investment will allow Flowers Direct to invest further in operational infrastructure...
UK - One Equity submits full bid for Jaguar and Land Rover
One Equity, the private equity arm of JP Morgan, is understood to be one of three groups to have submitted a full bid for Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford decided to sell its UK assets - Jaguar and Land Rover - as part of a move to reduce its debt. Ripplewood,...
GERMANY – Dubai International Capital buys Almatis
Dubai International Capital LLC has agreed to acquire specialty alumina producer Almatis from funds controlled by Rhône Capital L.L.C. and Teachers’ Private Capital. Dubai International Capital will retain the current management team and support Almatis’...