Sector
SWEDEN - Northzone invests $10m in Xcerion AB
Northzone Ventures has invested $10m in Xcerion AB to launch its collaborative XML Internet OS. Xcerion aims to distribute the OS and accompanying applications free as a service over the internet.
UK - Close Ventures backs £6.7m buyout of Compass Supply Solutions
Close Ventures has invested up to ТЃ6.7m into Chichester Holdings Ltd to back the management buyout of Compass Supply Solutions Ltd (Compass).
FRANCE - Candidates prepare bids for Saur
LBO France, Terra Firma, AXA Private Equity and Eurazeo are said to mulling bids for water utility company Saur, according to reports in the French press.
FINLAND - Eqvitec injects EUR 2m in customer analytics solution provider
Via its fund Eqvitec Technology Fund III, The venture sponsor has invested EUR 2m in the first round of funding for Xtract, a Helsinki-based software developer.
FRANCE - Emertec generates at least 88% IRR and >3x on latest sale
Grenoble-based Emertec Gestion has generated an IRR of 88% and a money multiple in excess of 3x, following the sale of Eco Alternative to a large industrial company.
FRANCE - CAPE invests in Environnement Conseil Travaux
Crédit Agricole Private Equity has made a growth capital investment in ECT, a company which stock industrial waste and treats polluted grounds.
GERMANY - EUR 3.5m funding for Exit Games
Media group Bertelsmann, and private equity firms Neuhaus Partners and smac partners have made an investment in Hamburg-based Exit Games.
SPAIN – ACP leads EUR 2m financing of Buyvip.com
Barcelona-based venture capital investor Active Capital Partners has led a round of funding in Buyvip.com, an e-commerce business offering a range of brand products at discounted prices.
DENMARK - CVC acquires Matas
CVC Capital Partners has purchased personal care retail chain Matas A/S and affiliated stores. The private equity house has acquired 206 stores from approximately 125 store owners and has entered into conditional agreements to acquire an additional 45...
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 ТЃ4.3m 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 ТЃ12m 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 ТЃ1m 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 - 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 ТЃ346m 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...