News/Region
ITALY – Tirrenia set to attract private equity interest
Maritime transport group Tirrenia is likely to attract offers from private equity players when it officially launches its privatisation process in the next few weeks.
UK - CVC not going to try anything new today at Sainsbury's
CVC has announced that it is to bow out of the attempt to acquire the UK's third largest supermarket chain Sainsbury's. It represents the end of an 18-month planning period for the private equity group, which first expressed its intentions to bid for...
FRANCE - UFG Private Equity boosts its investment team
UFG Private Equity (formerly known as Nord Europe Private Equity) has announced the nomination of two new investment directors.
BELGIUM - KBC invests in Multi Media Services Groep
KBC Arkiv, the joint subsidiary of KBC Private Equity and Arkimedes, has invested in Multi Media Services Groep (MMS Group), a distributor of home entertainment products such as DVDs, audio CDs and games. No further details have been disclosed. This is...
IRELAND - Permira seeks Jurys Inns business
Permira and Doughty Hanson are thought to be amongst the bidders in the final stages of the auction to buy Jurys Inns, the 20-strong budget hotel chain headquartered in Dublin. Merrill Lynch has been appointed by the Jurys Doyle Group to dispose of the...
UK - LDC appoints new investment director in Midlands
LDC's Birmingham office has strengthened its team with the appointment of Steve Aston as investment director.
UK - LDC reaps 78% IRR from PJH Group exit
LDC has exited kitchen and bathroom distributor PJH Group through a sale of the business to Globe Union, a Taiwanese-listed designer, manufacturer and supplier of kitchen and bathroom products. The deal has returned 2.8x LDC's investment equivalent to...
UK - Cinven, Macquarie and Blackstone interested in BUPA hospitals
BUPA is to put its 26 UK hospitals up for sale. It is reported that Cinven, Macquarie and Blackstone have all shown interest in the hospital assets. The news follows rumours that certain private equity groups have considered a bid for healthcare insurer...
UK - Smedvig appoints new chairman to portfolio company Streetcar
Smedvig Capital has appointed Sir Trevor Chinn as the new non-executive chairman of Streetcar, the UK’s largest pay-as-you-go car club and a recent addition to the Smedvig portfolio. Smedvig provided Streetcar with £6.4m of expansion funding in March...
UK - Sun European Partners acquires Moben, Dolphin, Sharps and Kitchens Direct
Sun European Partners has acquired the HomeForm Group, the owner of home retailers including Moben, Dolphin, Sharps and Kitchens Direct in a secondary buyout deal of undisclosed value. The deal represents an exit for Phildrew Ventures which delisted the...
UK - Terra Firma enters the fray for Boots
KKR's £10bn bid for Alliance Boots has been rocked over the weekend by reports that Terra Firma has teamed up with the Wellcome Trust to launch a rival offer. Terra Firma is reported to have asked the Boots board to allow it access to its books before...
UK - Apollo's £1bn bid for Countrywide likely to succeed
Apollo's £1bn bid for Countrywide is likely to succeed when it faces a shareholder vote on Friday. It is thought that the hedge fund Polygon, which holds a 25.5% stake in the listed-estate agency chain, will vote in favour of Apollo's 590p per share...
UK - Critical days for Sainsbury's bid
The likeliness of private equity acquiring Sainsbury's is in the balance today. With the Takeover Panel deadline set for this Friday, CVC is under pressure to up its latest 582p per share offer which is yet to be recommended by the company's board after...
FRANCE - Advent buys discount retailer Stokomani from Alpha Group
Advent International has backed the management of French discount retailer Stokomani in its buyout from Alpha Group. Stokomani is a major French end-of-line and big brand product stock clearance retailer, offering a range of 15,000-20,000 products in...
GERMANY– Odewald and Bain sell 2D to Quadriga
Following a three year holding period, Odewald and Bain Capital have sold their investment in German decorative papers printer 2D Holding to Quadriga Capital. 2D is a global printing and treating specialist for decorative paper for flooring and furniture...
UK - Richard Holway joins Regent as non-executive director
Regent Associates Ltd has announced that Richard Holway has joined the board of its parent company Regent Partners International Ltd as a non-executive director with effect from 2nd April 2007. RPI is a holding company within which Regent, a leading specialist...
UK - Gresham backs bottle manufacturer in £30m deal
Gresham Private Equity has provided a total funding package in excess of £30m to support the future growth of bottle manufacturer Esterform Packaging.
UK - Clearwater promotes Nick Jones to partner
Clearwater has marked the end of its fourth year with the promotion of Nick Jones to partner. Jones is Clearwater’s eleventh partner and is based in the London office.
UK - Linklaters appoints new partners in private equity team
Linklaters' London private equity funds team has been strengthened by the election of Nicola Hopkins and Edward Smith as partners. Hopkins and Smith each have significant experience in establishing and advising onshore and offshore private equity funds,...
SWEDEN - Segulah II LP complets re-capitalisation of Dacke PMC
Segulah III LP has completed a re-capitalisation of Dacke PMC, a provider of hydraulic equipment and engineering solution. Dacke has been able to repay a subordinated loan provided by Segulah III L.P at the time of acquisition in July 2005. The recapitalisation...
ESTONIA - Alta Capital Partners buys Polish Mieszko
Estonian Alta Capital Partners has acquired 66.18% of Mieszko, a Polish confectionary producer. The acquisition fits Alta Capital's strategy of building a portfolio of regional players in the dairy food processing and confectionary products. Alta Capital...
UK - Blackstone's Tragus out of La Tasca bidding
Blackstone portfolio company Tragus, the owner of the Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge restaurant chains has announced that it will not launch another bid for La Tasca. The AIM-listed 70-site strong Spanish restaurant chain has been the subject of a bidding...
UK - Bridgepoint set to acquire Leeds Bradford Airport
Bridgepoint has been chosen as the preferred bidder in the auction for Leeds Bradford Airport. The airport which handled 2.6 million passengers in 2005 was being sold by five councils. It is understood that Bridgepoint offered in the region of £130-£140m.
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...