Sector
FRANCE - Siparex backs Greenwich OBO
Siparex has supported an owner-buyout of management consulting partnership Greenwich Consulting, taking a 17% stake in the company. The business will be renamed TwentyOne.
NORWAY - Northzone et al. back ChapDrive with NOK 52m
Existing investors NorthZone Ventures, Hafslund Ventures and Energy Capital Management (formerly StatoilHydro Ventures), alongside new backers StatoilHydro and Innvovation Norway, have invested NOK 52m into Chapdrive, a developer of patented systems for...
UK - MMC makes £2m Small World investment
MMC Ventures has invested £2m into retail financial services provider Small World Financial Services Group.
UK/NETHERLANDS - HgCapital to close Amsterdam office and consumer team
HgCapital has announced that it is to close its office in Amsterdam and its London-based consumer and leisure team.
UK - 3i-backed Civica makes two acquisitions
3i-owned software solutions provider Civica, through its subsidiary Civica Pty Ltd, has acquired Queensland-based Practical Computer Services Pty Ltd and the local government business of electionz.com, based in New Zealand.
EUROPE - Clemens Vedder branches out into private equity
Clemens Vedder's Goldsmith Investments has launched a private equity fund targeting EUR 700m to EUR 1bn of assets.
UK - Doughty supports $4m Clearpace funding
Doughty Hanson has participated in a $4m funding round for archive store specialists Clearpace Software, alongside other existing investors.
ITALY - Kingsbridge approached by fashion holding
According to reports private equity house Kingsbridge has been approached by fashion business IT Holding regarding a potential EUR 100m investment.
BULGARIA - 3TS Capital Partners supports Investor.bg
3TS Capital Partners, through the 3TS Cisco Growth Fund, has invested an undisclosed sum into Investor.bg AD, an online media company based in Bulgaria, taking a 17% stake in the company.
UK - Private equity to target consumer sector P2Ps
A new report reveals that 94% of private equity houses are likely to consider take-private deals over the next two years, with quoted companies in the consumer sector seen to be the most conductive to such transactions.
FRANCE - Neptune Technologies backs EUR 3m Squid Solutions funding
Neptune Technologies and Banque de Vizille, along with a number of private investors, have invested EUR 3m into Squid Solutions, a customer intelligence software company, in a first round of financing.
Packing up
Industry professionals concur that times are tough. They cannot agree on the best solutions; nor can they entirely understand the options for troubled assets
Shaken and stirred
The overcommitment policy LPs adopted in the past is gone for good. The industry is waving good-bye to the convenient means of funding future capital calls with future fund distributions
2009 already written off
Europe will not see signs of a return to economic health until 2010 at best, suggests a new survey
LUXEMBOURG - DEFI et al. back DS Care funding
Swiss investor DEFI Gestion SA, Luxembourg-based Luxempart and French fund Sinequanon have invested a combined EUR 20.2m into healthcare provider DS Care in a second round of funding.
FRANCE - AXA Private Equity increases stake in Spotless
AXA Private Equity has acquired a further 50% in portfolio company The Spotless Group, a producer and distributor of homecare and cleaning products, taking its holding in the business to 65.6%.
UK - Administrations double in Q4
Further evidence of the growing impact of the economic downturn on businesses was provided today by new figures published by the Insolvency Service, which reveals that the number of administrations in Q4 2008 across England and Wales doubled in comparison...
SWEDEN - Chalmers leads SEK 4m funding round for Capee
Chalmers Innovation Seed Fund has invested SEK 4m into cleantech business Capee Group, alongside Förvaltnings AB Brunnen, Start Invest and Innovationsbron.
ITALY - DGPA acquires 65% stake in Production
DGPA has acquire a 65% stake in industrial group Production, with the remaining stake is held by the funding owners Gianni and Rosario Imperatore and the management.
DENMARK - Essex-backed Symphogen raise EUR 33m; merges with Receptor BioLogix
Essex Woodland Health Ventures, together with existing investors, has raised EUR 33m for portfolio biopharmaceuticals company Symphogen A/S and simultaneously merged the business with fellow portfolio company, Receptor BioLogix, in an all shares transaction.
EUROPE - Baugur to collapse
Baugur is set to go into administration after its main banker, Landsbanki, ended restructuring talks with the once-prolific Icelandic investor.
RUSSIA - PPF to acquire 51% stake of Eldorado
Czech Republic-based private equity firm PPF Group is said to be in the process of acquiring a 51% stake in Russian electronics retailer Eldorado.
SPAIN - Bullnet backs Códice Software
Bullnet Capital has invested in software developer Códice Software.