Sector
UK - Star Capital Partners in £141m flight simulator deal
Star Capital Partners has acquired two flight simulator operators for a total consideration of £141m. The investment is being made from its second infrastructure fund leading commentators to suggest that high demand for infrastructure assets is resulting...
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 Regulators’ Group. He will have a wide-ranging...
UK - Modus Private Equity invests £8m in packaging MBO
Modus Private Equity has invested over £8m to back the management buyout of Mondi Speciality Packaging, formerly a part of Anglo American Plc.
UK - TPG joins Sainsbury's bid team barring chance of rival bid
The CVC-led consortium preparing to launch an £11bn bid for Sainsbury's has added another member to its ranks. Texas Pacific Group, which had been in talks with Cinven and Bain Capital about a rival bid for the supermarket chain, now joins CVC, KKR and...
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 - AGF Private Equity leads EUR 6m funding in online brands retailer
AGF Private Equity (EUR 5m) and business angels (EUR 1m) have backed 24h00, an online retailer of branded clothing.
GREECE - Apax and TPG sell TIM Hellas to Naguib Sawiris
Apax Partners and Texas Pacific Group (TPG) today announced the sale of TIM Hellas Telecommunications S.A. the third largest mobile phone carrier in Greece, to Weather Investments, the vehicle owned by telecom tycoon Naguid Sawiris.
UK - Midven invests £250,000 in software company Gemba Solutions
Midven has invested £250,000 in Gemba Solutions Ltd, a provider of real time performance management software. The investment from its £20m Advantage Growth Fund gives Midven a minority holding in the company.
UK - Amadeus leads $10m funding round for Belfast-based Aepona
Existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners, Polaris Ventures and Trinity Venture Capital have participated in a $10m series-C funding round for Belfast-based Aepona. The new funding follows previous rounds in 2003 and 2005, bringing total investment...
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 - Close Brothers Corporate Finance boosts team
Close Brothers Corporate Finance has boosted its senior management team with the appointment of Henry Wells as a new director to its leisure and retail sector group.
UK - nabCapital further expands its UK acquisition & leveraged finance capability
nabCapital has made two additional appointments to its acquisition and leveraged finance team in London. Simon Rolfe has joined as an associate director from HSBC Leverage Finance and Tim Cussins from Rabobank International Leveraged Finance.
FRANCE - Auriga leads EUR 8.4m second round for Theraptosis
Auriga Partners, Seventure, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, CDC Entreprises and industrial company Blue Medical have committed over EUR 8m in the series-B financing of pharma company Theraptosis.
SPAIN - Benchmark Capital Europe backs Internet business
Alongside telecom player Swisscom, private equity firm Benchmark Capital Europe is backing Whisher, a Spanish company launching the first social network powered by a Wi-Fi network.
UK - Bridgepoint- and LDC-backed Adams to avoid administration
Bridgepoint- and LDC-backed UK retailer Adams may have attracted a suitor that would save the retailer from administration, although the buyout houses are unlikely to generate any positive returns as a result.
UK - Private equity to try something new at Sainsbury's?
CVC, KKR and Blackstone are all reported to be pondering a take-private bid for supermarket giant Sainsbury Plc. Shares in the company rose to their highest level for eight years yesterday amid speculation of a take-over.
ITALY - Aksia Capital III backs industrial player
Fund Aksia Capital III, closed earlier this week, has purchased a majority stake in Robuschi SpA, a manufacturer of industrial blowers and pumps.
UK - Simon Pearson becomes partner at Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young has announced the admission of Simon Pearson as an M&A partner. Person will be based in London and will continue to lead the Technology M&A practice for the firm.
UK - Octopus Investments backs acquisition of specialist history publishers
Octopus Investments has invested £5.5m 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 £15m, which included funding from GMAC Commercial Finance...
FINLAND - CapMan buys vehicle logistics business
CapMan has purchased a 60% shareholding in John Nurminen Oy’s Vehicle Logistics Unit. John Nurminen Oy will hold 25% of the shares in the newco.
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...
DENMARK - Gilde invests EUR 5m in Symphogen
Gilde Healthcare Partners has invested EUR 5m in biotechnology company Symphogen A/S in a second closing of the series-E round.
FRANCE - CDC Capital Investissement backs buyout of Plastiques Gosselin
CDC Capital Investissment (CDC CI) and Participex have backed the buyout of medical equipment maker Plastiques Gosselin. Following the deal, which stemmed from a UBS-run auction aimed at both private equity and industrial buyers, CDC CI took a majority...