Sector
UK - Sovereign Capital announces three promotions
Sovereign Capital has made three promotions in its team: Dominic Dalli and Simon Hitchcock have been made directors and Jose Rodriguez has been promoted to investment manager.
UK - Barclays Ventures supports 99p stores expansion
99p Stores Ltd, a leading UK single price point value retailer, has announced that it plans to open up to 45 new stores throughout the UK in the next 20 months, doubling its present number of outlets. Barclays Ventures, together with other shareholders...
UK - Hg completes acquisition of Paragon Healthcare Group
HgCapital has acquired Paragon Healthcare Group from Duke Street Capital in a £322m buyout.
FRANCE - Eurazeo increases Danone stake
Eurazeo has increased its stake in Danone from 3.68% to 5.10%. The private equity house acquired the shares for EUR 375m and gained 8.59% of voting rights. Eurazeo has been a shareholder in the Euronext-listed food group for over 20 years. Last year,...
FRANCE - Alpha’s fifth fund acquires Mecatherm
Alpha Private Equity Fund 5 has announced its first investment since it closed on EUR 750m in February 2006. The fund has acquired Mecatherm from Astorg Partners, 21 Centrale Partners and Cogepa, alongside its management team. APEF 5 will hold a majority...
UK - Matrix backs MBO of VSI Ltd
VSI Ltd, a group specialising in developing and marketing 3D software, has been sold by its founder shareholders to the management team in a £6m MBO. Matrix Private Equity Partners invested £1.9m with the remaining funds comprising cash and roll-over...
SWEDEN - CapMan invests in Swedish fashion retail chain MQ
CapMan funds will acquire the majority holding in Swedish fashion retail chain MQ.
GERMANY - Maybach family to return as co-owner of MTU
The EQT IV Fund has invited the Maybach family to reinvest in MTU Friedrichshafen, which was founded by Karl and Wilhelm Maybach in 1909. No financial details of the transaction have been disclosed. EQT has also announced that it has appointed four industrial...
UK - Simon Jobson joins Close Brothers Growth Capital as investment executive
Close Brothers Growth Capital, the provider of combined equity and debt funding, has announced the appointment of Simon Jobson as investment executive.
NORWAY - Norvestor's Panorama buys Gullegget and Juvelen
Panorama has acquired jewellery retail chains Gullegget and Juvelen for an undisclosed sum. The transaction will increase Panorama's sales by around NOK 50m.
UK - Workplace health and safety innovator wins investment from The Capital Fund
Optima Diagnostics, the fast-growing supplier of user-friendly web-based health and safety management tools, has attracted £275,000 of funding, in a round led by The Capital Fund, a £50m venture capital fund that invests in fast-growth companies in...
FRANCE - Wendel looks beyond France
As Wendel Investissement finalises its flotation of Legrand, which it acquired for EUR 3.63bn from Schneider in December 2002, it has announced its move to acquire companies outside France. It currently has some EUR 1.03bn in equity to dedicate to potential...
UK - Montagu Private Equity acquires Misys General Insurance for £182m
Montagu Private Equity has signed an agreement to acquire Misys General Insurance for £182m. MGI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Misys Plc, a global business providing specialised software applications to the healthcare and banking industries. Final...
UK - IBIS Media VCTs attract investment
IBIS Capital, the specialist media corporate finance and investment business, has announced that its VCT focusing on smaller private UK media companies has attracted support from leading figures from the media and financial services industries.
FRANCE - ABN AMRO Capital and Astorg acquire OFIC
ABN AMRO Capital France and Astorg Partners have acquired OFIC for an enterprise value of EUR 210m. The buyout houses have taken equal shareholdings in the company, alongside its management team headed by Jean-Louis Roques. The deal also involves members...
FRANCE – Cinven set for UPC France mega-deal
Cinven has signed a letter of agreement with US-based cable operator Liberty Global to purchase UPC France for EUR 1.25bn. The deal is still in its very early stage, but Cinven is expected to pay a full 11.4 times UPC France’s 2005 operating cashflow,...
UK - Kirkland & Ellis makes two private equity appointments
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP has announced the appointment of two partners from Linklaters' private equity team.
UK - August Equity sells Durrants to Exponent for £82m
August Equity, previously know as Kleinwort Capital, has agreed the sale of one its portfolio companies, Discovery Group Ltd, which trades as Durrants Media Monitoring, to Exponent Private Equity in a £82m deal.
FINLAND - CapMan strengthens adviser network
CapMan has announced that Jesper Jarlbæk, Dr JT Bergqvist and Esko Mäkeläinen have been invited to join CapMan as industrial advisers as of March 2006.
UK - Coalfields Enterprise Fund invests in Durham Pipeline Technology
The Coalfields Enterprise Fund, the venture capital fund managed by Enterprise Ventures on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, has completed an investment in Durham Pipeline Technology Ltd, as part of a syndicated investment with the North...
GERMANY - Commerzbank takes MLA role on Norma buyout
Commerzbank Corporates and Markets (CBCM) has announced today that it is acting as sole mandated lead arranger and underwriter of the senior and mezzanine debt facilities supporting the buyout of Norma Group by 3i. The financing documentation was signed...
FINLAND - Nexit sells Hybrid Graphics to Nvidia
Nexit Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on mobile technologies and services, has agreed to sell its share of Finland-based graphics technology provider Hybrid Graphics to US-based 3D technology company Nvidia Corporation.
UK - Bridgepoint sells Hydrex for £106m
Hydrex Group, the specialist supplier of mobile operated equipment and associated support services for the UK rail and materials handling sector, has been sold by Bridgepoint to Quilvest and Shoaibi Group in a transaction totalling £106m.
UK - Barclays Ventures exits Media Audits Group Ltd
Barclays Ventures has realised its investment in Media Audits Group Limited, a market leader in measuring returns on advertising investment.