Sector
UK - Bridgepoint exits ethnic food supplier WT Foods
Bridgepoint has sold ethnic and speciality foods supplier WT (Holdings) Ltd Group to GraceKennedy Ltd. Jamaica-listed GraceKennedy is the third largest company in the Carribbean with interests in food, retail, distribution and banking. The returns the...
UK - YFM backs management buy-in of Cater Plus Services
YFM has backed the £4.3m management buy-in of catering services provider Waterfall Services Ltd, which trades as Cater Plus Services. Yorkshire Bank provided a debt package to facilitate the deal.
UK - Abderdeen Asset Managers Private Equity backs MBO of EDSR
Aberdeen Asset Managers Private Equity has backed the management buyout of EDSR, a provider of specialist services to the land decontamination sector. EDSR has a turnover of £12m and employs 30 staff.
UK - DLJ Merchant Banking Partners makes new appointments
DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (DLJMBP), the private equity affiliate of Credit Suisse, has appointed Allen M Yurko as an industrial partner. Based in London, he will work with Colin Taylor, managing director and head of DLJMBP Europe.
UK - TPG circles Apax and Permira-held New Look
New Look, the fashion retailer backed by Apax and Permira, has received offers of interest from other buyout firms including TPG. A formal sales process is yet to begin but it is understood that a secondary buyout is more likely than an IPO.
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 - Bank of Scotland invests in Rocela Growth
Bank of Scotland Corporate has invested more than £1m in Edinburgh-based software consultancy business Rocela through its growth equity division. The new capital will be used to support overseas expansion plans.
BELGIUM - Fortis acquires majority stake in automotive supplier Penne
Fortis Private Equity has acquired a majority stake in Penne NV, an Aalst-headquartered automotive supplier.
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...
DENMARK - Nordic Capital sells Dangaard to Brightpoint
Nordic Capital has agreed to sell wireless handset distributor Dangaard Telecom A/S to Nasdaq-listed Brightpoint Inc.
FRANCE - Neuf Cegetal buys venture-backed Erenis
French telecom business Neuf Cegetal announced today it had agreed to acquire Erenis, a telephony and internet services provider backed by Iris Capital, AGF Private Equity, Credit Agricole Private Equity, Net Partner and CDC.
SPAIN - Doughty Hanson boosts its real estate team
Fernando San Juan has recently joined Doughty Hanson's real estate team in Madrid.
UK - Atlantic Bridge Ventures leads £265m acquisition of telecom products business
Atlantic Bridge Ventures has led a consortium of private equity buyers in the acquisition of LogicaCMG's Telecoms Products business for a cash consideration of £265m. Telecom Products, to be renamed Acision, is a provider of converged mobile messaging...
UK - Possible Sainsbury's deal gets even more complicated
Any formal bid for the supermarket retailer Sainsbury's looks set to face complications as news emerges that Polygon has built a 1.5% stake in the company. In the past the hedge fund has taken activist positions and helped scupper the £346m take-private...
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...
GERMANY - Doughty Hanson sells Maximilianhöfe for EUR 270m
Doughty Hanson & Co Real Estate, a European real estate fund manager, has sold Maximilianhöfe, a flagship property on Munich’s Maximilianstrasse, for €270m to Quinlan Private. The site was acquired in March 2000 from the Free State of Bavaria by...
UK - BUPA next private equity target?
Market sources report that Temasek, the Singapore government investment group, is weighting up a bid for private healthcare provider BUPA. It is understood that at least one other private equity group may also be involved in a Temasek-led bid.
SPAIN - Catalan entrepreneurs create new firm
A group of Catalan managers, connected to industrial players Sacresa, Simon and Nutrexpa, have joined forces with Privat Bank to establish two private equity funds with investment capacity of EUR 20m each.
UK - The Capital Fund makes two investments
The Capital Fund has completed two investments. It has provided Iconium, a corporate governance and compliance software solutions-provider based in Horsham, with expansion capital of an undisclosed value.
UK - IMAC invests up to £4.15m in Community Television Networks
Ingenious Media Active Capital Ltd has completed an investment of up to £4.15m in Community Television Networks Ltd (CTN).
NORWAY - FSN Capital buys a 47% stake in private care company
FSN Capital II has agreed to acquire 47% of the shares in healthcare provider Norlandia Omsorg AS. The deal will enable Norlandia Omsorg to strengthen its market position and grow organically and via acquisitions.
UK - Cognetas ends talks with fashion retailer Alexon
Market sources report that talks between the independent directors of fashion retailer Alexon and a management buyout team have ended. The team, believed to be backed by Cognetas, failed to reach an agreement on price.
UK - Shackleton acquires four companies from 3i
Shackleton Ventures, the newly formed secondaries venture capital firm has agreed to purchase four investments from 3i. Shackleton was formed in July 2006 and can drawn on up to £20m of funds from its European fund-of-funds investor.