News/Deals
UK - HgCapital backs £178m MBO of Goldshield Group
HgCapital has backed the £178m management buyout of listed generic drugs company Goldshield Group.
UK - Accel and Index sell Playfish for up to $400m
Index Ventures and Accel Partners have wholly exited social gaming portfolio company Playfish via a trade sale to Electronic Arts for a consideration of up to $400m, including a $100m earnout.
BELGIUM - Montagu closes ADB deal
Montagu Private Equity's acquisition of airfield lighting specialist ADB Airfield from Siemens, first reported by unquote" in September this year, has closed.
ROMANIA - Lime Rock makes $25m Expert investment
Energy-focused investor Lime Rock Partners has invested $25m in Expert Petroleum, a Romanian oil and gas business.
POLAND - Advent makes PLN 405m offer for Wydawnictwa
Global buyout house Advent International has announced a public tender offer to acquire Polish educational publisher Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, in a deal that would value the company at around PLN 405m.
UK - YFM makes follw-up investment in Cornish Sea Salt
YFM Group, via its South West Ventures Fund, has further invested an undisclosed amount in salt company Cornish Sea Salt Co.
GERMANY - Golden Gate's acquisition of Infineon’s WLC business closes
Golden Gate Capital's EUR 243m acquisition of Infineon's wireline communications business, reported in unquote" in July, has officially closed.
BELGIUM - Vesalius leads EUR 5.3m Promethera funding
A venture syndicate led by Vesalius Biocapital has invested more than EUR 5m in biotechnology firm Promethera Biosciences in a series-A funding round.
UK - GI Partners backs Urban & Civic
Trans-Atlantic private equity house GI Partners has backed the establishment of UK real estate holding Urban & Civic.
GERMANY - Advent sells Herlitz to Pelikan for EUR 45m
Advent International has divested its 66% stake in stationary company Herlitz through a sale of the business to strategic buyer Pelikan International Corporation Berhad for EUR 45m.
UK - DN backs Target 250
Venture investor DN Capital has provided b2b technology lead generation business Target 250 with its first institutional round of funding.
SWEDEN - Accent backs Bergteamet
Accent Equity has invested an undisclosed sum in Swedish mining contractor Bergteamet.
SWEDEN - Altor secures largest chunk of pharmacy network after wave of sell-offs
Buyout house Altor Equity Partners now controls the dominant player in the newly de-monopolised Swedish pharmacy market, acquiring two of the eight clusters being sold by the government as part of a wave of sell-offs that have raised close to SEK 6bn.
FRANCE - Naxicap and SCR power SolarQuest with EUR 1.2m
Naxicap Partners and SCR Provenceale et Corse, a subsidiary of Banque Populaire Provençale et Corse, have provided SolarQuest, a turnkey solar instillations company, with EUR 1.2m.
SWEDEN - Segulah sells Isaberg Rapid to Esselte
Swedish buyout house Segulah has sold staple manufacturer Isaberg Rapid to US-based office supplies company Esselte, owned by Boston-based private equity firm J.W. Childs Associates. Segulah is said to have made a "very good" return on the exit.
UK- Permira in exclusive talks for Montagu's Survitec
Permira is reportedly in exclusive talks to acquire survival equipment maker Survitec from Montagu Private Equity, having gained sole access to the company's books in the last week.
UK - NorthStar leads £850,000 round for WorkCast
NorthStar Equity Investors (NSEI) has led a £850,000 funding round for online webcasting company The WorkCast Corporation.
SWEDEN - Priveq and Investor in SEK 3.5bn Orphan exit
Swedish private equity house Priveq and industrial holding Investor Growth Capital has sold drug company Swedish Orphan International to Biovitrum in a SEK 3.5bn deal.
SWEDEN - STING Capital backs Peepoople
Swedish venture fund STING Capital has, together with business angels, invested an undisclosed sum in Peepoople, a developer of single-use, biodegradable bags designed to provide access to affordable hygienic sanitation in third world countries.
GERMANY - Apax, EQT and Warburg in race for EUR 2bn ratiopharm
According to reports, global buyout houses Apax Partners, EQT and Warburg Pincus are among the bidders for generic drug manufacturer ratiopharm group, which is being sold by VEM Vermoegensverwaltung and is valued at above EUR 2bn.
RUSSIA - Siguler Guff takes stake in MDM Bank
US-based private equity firm Siguler Guff has acquired a minority stake in MDM Bank, one of Russia's largest private banks, for an undisclosed amount.
UK - MidOcean restructures bezier group
MidOcean Partners has restructured its portfolio company bezier group, a retail marketing agency, in a deal that will see a new management team appointed and new equity injected into the business to the tune of £6.5m.
GERMANY - Creathor backs EUR 4m Cevec investment
Creathor Venture Fonds and NRW Bank have co-led a EUR 4m investment in biotechnology company Cevec Pharmaceuticals, alongside a syndicate of private and institutional investors, including the venture capital branch of Sparkasse KoelnBonn and KfW bank's...
FRANCE - AGF et al. complete EUR 20m TravelHorizon transaction
AGF Private Equity and CM-CIC Capital Privé have joined returning investor Wellington Partners in a EUR 20m investment in online travel operator TravelHorizon.