Sector
UK - Goldman Sachs eyes Kingfisher
Goldman Sachs Private Equity is considering a bid for DIY retailer Kingfisher following the firms announcement that it had cut its debt and revalued its property assets. Its debt now stands at £1.29bn, down from £1.35bn last year, with its property...
SWEDEN - Investor Growth Capital invests $14m in Tobii Technology
Investor Growth Capital has completed a $14m round of venture capital funding in Tobii Technology . The investment will be used to accelerate the company's rapid growth, enhance product development and expand global sales and marketing efforts.
UK - Kaupthing/Tchenguiz trump Blackstone La Tasca offer
Kaupthing Pricipal Investments has teamed up with Robert Tchenguiz to launch a rival bid for AIM-listed restaurant chain La Tasca. Earlier this week, Blackstone through its Tragus portfolio company offered £96m for La Tasca. Tragus is the name behind...
UK - C Squared Holdings receives £250,000 from The Capital Fund
Dynamic communications agency C Squared Holdings Ltd has received £250,000 from The Capital Fund. Alongside its investment, The Capital Fund has nominated Simon Marguis, who completed due diligence on its behalf, as non-executive director to the board...
UK - Advantage Capital invests in Butters Group
Advantage Capital has just completed an investment in Butters Group, a supplier of house and garden plants retailers in the UK.
UK - NVM acquires Promanex from Sovereign
NVM Private Equity (NVM) has invested £5m in the secondary management buyout of Midlands-based Promanex Group. The deal represents an exit for Sovereign Capital, which backed the company's first buyout in 1999.
AUSTRIA - UC4 Software acquires AppWorx
The Carlyle Group portfolio company UC4 Software GmbH has acquired software company AppWorx Corporations. The transaction value has not been disclosed but Carlyle provided UC4 with fresh capital to finance the acquisition. Following completion of the...
UK - Next target for private equity
Retailer Next saw it shares jump 77p to an all-time high of £23.05 following chatter of a possible private equity bid. The company's results last week revealed a business in rude health, prompting the speculation. However, the lack of freehold property...
UK - Finance Wales leads £600,000 funding round for opto-electronics company
Finance Wales has led a £600,000 funding round for opto-electronics company Trace Technologies Ltd. Trace Technology's new software Photonic Interconnect System Designer (PISD) will enable the time taken to fit fibre optic cabling into aircraft to be...
UK - More Sainsbury's share movements
Robert Tchenguiz has raised his stake in Sainsbury's from 4.04% to 4.15%. It is thought the property tycoon is interested in working with the board of the UK supermarket giant to help it realise some of the value of its property. Tchenguiz has previous...
GERMANY - Neuhaus Partners exits Gentleware
Neuhaus Partners GmbH has sold Gentleware AG to software house b+m Informatik AG. The transaction value has not been disclosed, but company founder Dr Marko Boger remains invested with a 25% stake.
UK - Aberdeen leads ID Support Services buyout
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has led the management buyout of ID Support Services Ltd (IDSS), a group providing electronic security systems and climate control solutions. IDSS has two divisions, ID Technology Group specialises in the provision...
UK - Esprit Capital Partners invests $15m in Tribold
Esprit Capital Partners has led a $15m series B funding round for Tribold, a provider of product management enterprise software developed for communication service providers. Esprit joins previous investor Eden Ventures which also participated in this...
UK - Bridgepoint acquires Fat Face for £360m
Bridgepoint has acquired clothing retailer Fat Face from Advent International in a transaction totalling £360m. The company has a turnover of £111m and a run rate EBITDA of £30.4m for the year ended 31 May 2007 and employs over 1,500 staff.
NORWAY - Radiocrafts receives growth capital from Verdane Capital
Radiocrafts AS, a leading supplier of wireless radio frequency (RF) modules to the professional market for communication in the license-free frequency bands, has received growth capital from Verdane Capital. The new funding is part of the strategy to...
UK – Apax and Permira seek New Look suitor
Apax Partners and Permira are reportedly expecting up to £2bn for the sale of portfolio company New Look, a UK fashion retailer. The private equity backers have mandated Merrill Lynch to explore options for the company, which they jointly hold two thirds...
NL - Bridgepoint to acquire Wolters Kluwer education division
Wolters Kluwer, the Dutch publishing group, is understood to have agreed the sale of its education division to Bridgepoint Capital in a deal worth more than EUR 750m.
ITALY – AIFI to release 2006 results on Monday
The Italian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AIFI) is to release its 2006 results during its annual conference in Milan.
SWEDEN - Amadeus Capital Partners invest in F-round
Amadeus Capital Partners has joined Shamil Chandaria, Pod Venture Partners and HarbourVest Partners in a $12 million F round financing in Stockholm-based Transmode Holding AB. All investors in this round are previous investors in the company.
AUSTRIA - Holding at gamma capital partners changes its name
gamma capital partners has announced that the name of its GES gcp Enterprise Software Group GmbH has changed to Infoniqa Holding GmbH. The Infoniqa Holding GmbH is the managing and leading entity of the Infoniqa group.
UK - Consortium to bid for Trader Media Group
CVC, Apax and Blackstone are believed to have submitted a bid for a minority shareholding in Trader Media Group, the newspapers, magazine and online unit of Guardian Media Group, whose flagship titles include The Guardian and the Observer. The flagship...
UK - Alchemy facing legal battle with worker's union
The Transport and General Worker's Union (T&G) has submitted a claim against Alchemy Partners over treatment of staff at plastics firm Storeys Industrial Products in Essex. The T&G claims that Alchemy failed to hold a consultation process on the redundancies...
UK - ProVen portfolio company to merge with Channel 4 learning
Beringea-managed ProVen VCT's portfolio company Espresso Group has agreed with Channel 4 to merge Channel 4 Learning into its portfolio of businesses. The transaction is subject to Espresso shareholder approval and is expected to complete before Easter....
UK - Carlyle to delist retail outlet developer
Carlyle has made a recommended offer for retail outlet developer Freeport. The London Stock Exchange-listed company is valued at £155.3m and has been recommended by the board and agreed by a group of shareholders who between them own a 49% stake in the...