Sector
GERMANY - Halder exits PRÜM-GARANT Holding
Halder Beteiligungsberatung GmbH has sold PRÜM-GARANT to Swiss industrial company Looser Holding AG for an undisclosed amount. Halder acquired PRÜM-Türenwerk GmbH in August 2004, and merged the company with its other acquisition GARANT Türen- und...
UK - OC&C appoints Michael Rzesnitzek as new partner
OC&C Strategy Consultants has appointed Michael Rzesnitzek as a new partner. He will start at OC&C on 1 October 2007. Rzesnitzek, a publishing expert with international experience, will bring his expertise in the media to OC&C.
UK - PAI hungry for Big Brother-maker
Production company Endemol, the name behind Big Brother and Deal or No Deal is on the block with bids expected to fetch EUR 3bn. Spanish group Telefónica announced its plans to sell its 75% stake earlier this year.
UK - TPG and Warburg Pincus team up to acquire New Look for £2bn
Texas Pacific Group and Warburg Pincus have teamed up to bid for low-cost fashion retailer New Look. Press reports suggest the TPG consortium is currently front runner to acquire the Weymouth-based retailer in a Merrill Lynch-run auction. CVC, Cinven...
FRANCE - Private-equity backed TDF buys Antenna Hungaria
French broadcasting company TDF has acquired 100% of Hungary's former national broadcasting services provider Antenna Hungaria (AH).
UK - YFM's Chandos Fund completes first deal with £2.3 investment
YFM Private Equity's latest fund, Chandos, has completed its first buyout. Chandos's first deal, a £2.3m investment in fitted kitchen specialist Harvey Jones, follows its first close on £23m in January. The fund is targeting a final close of £40m,...
LUXEMBOURG - 3i invests EUR 37m in outsourcing business
3i Growth Capital has invested EUR 37m for a minority stake in KNEIP Communication, the Luxembourg-based outsourcing partner to the investment fund industry.
UK - Alchemy interested in Torex Retail
Alchemy Partners is reported to be interested in acquiring struggling software retailer Torex Retail. Aim-listed Torex hit trouble earlier this year with a profit warning and a suspension in the trading of its shares. It is currently under investigation...
UK - BC Partners wins £400m auction for Foxtons
It is understood that BC Partners has reached exclusivity in its bid to acquire estate agency chain Foxtons. The deal values the primarily London-focussed agency at £400m. In a process run by Credit Suisse, BC Partners beat off competition from other...
DENMARK - Via Ventures invests in QAtor
Via Venture Partners has invested in QAtor - a software firm specialising in compliance and quality assurance software for the Life Science Industry. The investment will be used to further accelerate market penetration and product development.
SWEDEN - EQT and Investor AB sells Gambro Health Care to Bridgepoint
Investor AB and EQT has agreed to sell Gambro Health Care to Bridgepoint for an undisclosed sum from Gambro Holding AB. Prior to the sale EQT has held a 51% stake in the company, and Investor AB held the remaining. The sale of Gambro Healthcare is part...
UK - CVC reported to be interested in Jessops
London-listed camera retailer Jessops is the subject of takeover speculation. The company's shares are trading at a fifth of what they were worth last year following a series if profit warnings. CVC is reported to be interested in the company.
FRANCE - I-Source and 3i sell ScreenTonic to Microsoft
I-Source Gestion and 3i have sold mobile media content business ScreenTonic to Microsoft.
UK - Boots deal encounters up to £1bn unforeseen pension costs
KKR's buyout of Alliance Boots has encountered a setback in the form of an extra £1bn demanded by the trustees of its pension fund. The pension fund was reported to have a surplus just days earlier. Yesterday, the Pension Regulator called on trustees...
SWEDEN - Innovations Kapital makes 9x on sale of Spotfire
InnovationsKapital hs sold IT company Spotfire to TIBCO, a US software company, making a 9x return on investment. The sale of Spotfire marks the final close of InnovationsKapital's first fund, InnKap 1.
UK - Kelso Place acquires sub-prime mortgage broker TML
Kelso Place Asset Management has completed the acquisition of TML Financial Solutions, a subsidiary of Kensington Group Plc. The new independent company will trade under its previous name, The Mortgage Lender. The Mortgage Lender, a specialist sub-prime...
UK - Apollo to save troubled Focus DIY?
Apax and Duke Street Capital portfolio company Focus DIY is believed to be on the brink of a rescue deal with Apollo Management. The DIY retailer has struggled with its debt load for the last two years following worsening conditions in the home improvement...
UK - ECI acquires CliniSys in £61m deal
ECI Partners has acquired healthcare IT company CliniSys for £61m plus an earn out of up to £2m from its founding shareholders, some of whom are re-investing in the business. Headquartered in Surrey and with operations in Belgium, The Netherlands, France,...
UK - RBS backs £21m buyout of chemicals business Tocris
Royal Bank of Scotland has backed the £21m management buyout of speciality chemicals business Tocris Cookson Ltd from its founding shareholders. The deal sees RBS taking an equity stake in the newco having provided a combined equity and debt package....
UK - Quester and YFM in £600,000 third round for Symetrica
YFM Group and Quester join other investors NESTA, the SULIS Seedcorn Fund and Tennants Ventures on a third round of funding totalling £600,000 for gamma radiation detector specialists Symetrica. NESTA first invested in Symetrica in September 2004 in...
UK - New Look IPO off
Rumours that Apax and Permira were going to float portfolio company New Look were unfounded. The high street fashion retailer looks set to change private equity hands, with Merrill Lynch appointed to run an auction. KKR, CVC and Texas Pacific Group are...
UK - LGV seeks further asset in dental healthcare sector
It is thought that Legal & General Ventures is considering a bid for AIM-listed dental group Oasis Healthcare. The Norwich-based company's shares rose a fifth yesterday on the back of news that it had received several preliminary approaches.
GERMANY - Mauser AG changes hands in EUR 850m transaction
One Equity Partners have sold Mauser AG for EUR 850m to fellow financial investor Dubai International Capital. In May 2003, One Equity Partners had acquired the industrial packaging specialist for an undisclosed amount.