Sector
UK - Sainsbury's consortium under pressure to make formal bid
The CVC-led consortium considering a bid for the UK's third largest supermarket chain, Sainsbury's, is under pressure to announce a formal bid before the Easter weekend. Together CVC, KKR and TPG have been looking at the asset since February and have...
UK - Hotbed leads buyout of Land Rover parts supplier
Hotbed has invested ТЃ5m alongside commitments from Grove Industries Ltd and Barclays Bank to support the institutional buyout of Bearmach Plc, a supplier of parts and accessories to the global aftermarket for Land Rover. Bearmach is headquartered in...
SWEDEN - Industrifonden invests SEK 9m in satellite receiver Lyngbox
Industrifonden has invested SEK 9m in LyngBox Media AB, a company that develops a new type of digital boxes intended for satellite reception of TV programmes. The Lyngbox is automatically updated by the internet with data on all the world’s different...
ITALY - BS Private Equity sells nursing home group
BS Private Equity has sold all its shares in nursing home group Segesta alongside the company's founder and CEO. The buyer is French mental healthcare provider Korian.
NL - Iris Capital and GIMV acquire majority share in Human Inference
Iris Capital and GIMV have acquired a majority stake in Human Inference, European market leader in the field of data quality solutions.
UK - New entrant to begin battle for Boots?
Market sources suggest that German firm Celesio, a continental rival to the Alliance Boots pharmaceutical chain, has approached other buyout groups about the possibility of teaming up to launch a competing takeover bid for the listed UK retailer. Boots...
GERMANY - Pace raises EUR 3m
eCapital has led a EUR 3m financing round in high-end engineering software developer Pace GmbH. IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft and Strategic European Technologies also participated in the round.
UK - Baird generates 2.2x on exit from Specialist Heat Exchangers
Baird Capital Partners Europe has generated 2.2x its money on its exit from Specialist Heat Exchangers Ltd (SHE). The designer and manufacturer of cooling systems for the automotive and industrial sectors has been acquired for ТЃ9m by Dynamic Technologies...
UK - August Equity makes four internal promotions
August Equity has made four promotions. Sam Watkinson, who joined August Equity in August 2005, has been promoted to director. Watkinson is responsible for managing the deal origination activities across the four sectors which the firm focuses on т healthcare,...
UK - KKR higher offer prompts opening of Boots' books
KKR has raised its bid for Alliance Boots prompting the UK chemist and retail chain to open its books. The US-private equity firm bidding in league with the deputy chairman of Boots has offered 1,040p per share, a 4% lift on the 1,000p takeover bid it...
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 ТЃ1.29bn, down from ТЃ1.35bn 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 ТЃ96m 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 ТЃ250,000 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 ТЃ5m 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 ТЃ23.05 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 ТЃ600,000 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 ТЃ360m. The company has a turnover of ТЃ111m and a run rate EBITDA of ТЃ30.4m for the year ended 31 May 2007 and employs over 1,500 staff.