News/Exits
UK - Investec sees 45% IRR from Plastics Capital IPO
Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance has exited its minority shareholding in Plastics Capital generating an IRR of 45% on its three year holding period. Plastics Capital, a consolidator of niche plastics products manufacturers, floated on AIM yesterday...
GERMANY – Finatem exits MBB Liftsystems
Finatem has led the sale of portfolio company MBB Liftsystems AG to Austrian Palfinger Group for an undisclosed sum. The majority shareholder Ixen Partners and another minority investor also realised their stakes on that occasion. MBB Liftsystems is a...
UK - TA Associates pulls Sophos float
TA Associates IT security portfolio company Sophos has decided not to list this week on the London Stock Exchange. The IPO would have valued the business at approximately £325m. TA Associates owns a 20% stake in the company in which it invested £41m...
ITALY – Intesa Sanpaolo sells stake in yacht maker
Intesa Sanpaolo has sold its 12% stake in yacht manufacter, Azimut-Benetti. The deal comes after the agreed investment period came to an end.
ITALY – Arca Impresa transfers control of Cemp to Indian company
Arca Impressa has transferred 100% of its stake in Cemp to ABG Engineering & Constructions in a deal based on the EUR 27m company value. The company is backed by Indian GP Tano Capital.
UK - Warburg Pincus sells LMG for £368m
Warburg Pincus has sold LMG, the owner and operator of the Nectar programme, to Aeroplan for a total consideration of £368m. Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Aeroplan is a leading loyalty marketing agency in Canada.
SWEDEN - Ratos and 3i complete refinancing of DIAB
Ratos and 3i have completed a refinancing of DIAB for SEK 1bn, of which Ratos will receive SEK 500m. The company’s strong performance in recent years enabled the refinancing, which gives the company a more efficient capital structure.
UK - LGV sells South Lakeland Group for £125m
LGV Capital has sold South Lakeland Group, the holiday park operator, to White Ocean Leisure for £125m. South Lakeland operates nine high quality timber lodge and caravan holiday parks situated in the Lake District and Morecambe Bay regions. Fallbarrow...
RUSSIA - Quadriga Capital Russia portfolio company Akella sells studio
Akella , a portfolio company of Quadriga Capital Russia and Intel Capital , has sold its “Sea Dog” in-house development studio to Prague-based 1C Publishing. The acquired team has worked on Xbox games including Sea Dogs, Pirates of the Caribbean...
UK - Barclays Ventures exits ChipsAway in £20m deal
Barclays Ventures has achieved a 3x return from the disposal of Edwin Investments Ltd. The business, which trades as ChipsAway Group, is an automotive services franchise group. It has been acquired by Myhome in a deal worth up to £20m. The exit generated...
NETHERLANDS - Shell Technology Ventures partially exits At Balance
Shell Technology Ventures has sold a minority stake in At Balance, a Dutch company that provides technology for drilling oil and gas wells. The transaction will give At Balance access to pressure equipment and services supplied by Smith, a supplier of...
UK - YFM full exit from Cozart realises 4x
YFM Private Equity has announced the full exit from its investment in medical diagnostics business Cozart Plc. Over the course of its six year involvement in the company, YFM has seen returns of 4x. Cozart has been acquired by AIM-listed Concateno Plc...
FINLAND - 3i and Profita sell Empower to AAC Capital Partners
3i and Profita Fund II Ky have sold Empower, a Finnish service provider for the energy and telecommunications sector, to AAC Capital Partners (previously ABN AMRO Capital). No financial information has been revealed. 3i first invested in the business...
FINLAND - Bridgepoint completes recapitalisation of A-Katsastus Group Oy
Bridgepoint has completed a refinancing of A-Katsastus, the Finnish vehicle distributor. The debt facility is structured as a EUR 75m term loan A; EUR 75m term loan B; EUR 75m term loan C and EUR 10m revolving credit facility. On top of this, there is...
UK - Enterprise Ventures realises 50% IRR on sale of TC Wild
Enterprise Ventures has wholly exited its stake in TC Wild Ltd, a manufacturer of forged precision rings for the aerospace, oil, gas and power generation sectors, through a management buy-back deal. The exit generated a return of 2.3x the money invested...
UK - NVM achieves 6x return from sale of Barony
NVM Private Equity has wholly exited its stake in aerosol products manufacturer Barony Universal Products in a trade sale to Questbridge, the Russia-based owners of JSE Arnest, for an undisclosed sum. The sale generated a 6x return on the money invested...
UK - Graphite realises 7.6x returns from sale of Huntress to Nomura
Graphite Capital has sold recruitment specialist Huntress Group to Nomura in a secondary management buyout. Graphite achieved total returns of 7.6x the money invested, representing an IRR of 38.5%. The value of the deal was understood to be in the region...
FRANCE - LFPI exits recycling business
La Financière Patrimoniale d'Investissement (LFPI) has sold its stake in Bartin Recycling Group, a company which collects, treats and recycles industrial waste, to larger competitor Veolia Propreté.
UK - ECI sells Bounty for £70m
ECI Partners has agreed to sell Bounty, the UK’s largest parenting club for £70m. The acquirer is Kaboose, the largest independent family-focused online media company in North America. Since funding the management buyout of Bounty in December 2004,...
UK - Phoenix-backed Gaucho scraps IPO
Phoenix Equity Partners portfolio company Gaucho has abandoned its plan to float on the London Stock Exchange. The restaurant chain has been owned by Phoenix since August 2006 when it bought it as part of a £55m secondary buyout from Barclays Private...
GERMANY – Strategic Value Partners to exit Vestolit
According to the German press, US Strategic Value Partners plans to exit Vestolit, a Marl-based producer of PVC. Strategic Value Partners bought the company from a Candover-led consortium last year.
SWEDEN - EQT lists Duni for EUR 250m
EQT-backed Duni Holding AB, the Swedish catering supplier, has been listed on OMX Nordic Exchange. The listing comprises 28,200,00 shares at SEK 50 per share representing a market-capitalisation of EUR 250m. The IPO was approximately twice oversubscribed...
UK - Promethean-backed traded endowment policy business to float
Promthean Investments portfolio company T.I.S. Group has announced its intention to seek a listing on AIM. T.I.S is a UK market leader in traded endowment policies and distributor of institutional funds. As part of the IPO, the group intends to raise...
UK - SEGF achieves 27% IRR from Hockway exit
The South East Growth Fund (SEGF) has wholly exited its stake in Hockway Ltd, a supplier of cathodic protection equipment, in a secondary management buyout for an undisclosed sum, realising an IRR of 27%.