News
EUROPE - NB Private Equity lists on SFM
Euronext-listed NB Private Equity Partners (formerly Lehman Brothers Private Equity) has announced the admission of its class A ordinary shares to the Specialist Fund Market (SFM) of the London Stock Exchange, effective this morning.
UK - Sun Capital and TDR's Pearl acquired by Liberty
Sun Capital and TDR-backed British insurer Pearl Group is to be acquired by Euronext-listed Liberty Acquisitions, a Cayman-Islands based investment business, in exchange for a ТЃ510m equity injection.
UK - Royal Mail's partial stake sale to CVC put on hold
The British government is reportedly putting on hold plans to sell part of state-owned Royal Mail, citing the depressed state of financial markets and the lack of parliamentary debate time.
BELGIUM - Candover to sell Ontex
Candover is reportedly looking to sell Ontex, a Belgium-based nappy producer valued at around EUR 950m.
UK - MCR appoints two partners
Corporate restructuring and insolvency specialist MCR has promoted Matt Bond and Sallyanne Pitt to partner.
SPAIN - First Reserve-backed 9REN completes EUR 100m financing
First Reserve Corporation-backed renewable energy producer 9REN has completed the financing of a 14.7MW photovoltaic project in Southern Spain, raising over EUR 100m.
SWEDEN - Nordic Capital-backed Thule divests US towing operations
Nordic Capital-backed Thule, a provider of sports and utility transportation equipment, has divested its North American towing systems operations, including the brand Valley, through a management buy-out.
PORTUGAL - Carlyle and Crimson form real estate joint venture
Reports suggest that Carlyle Group has established a joint venture with Iberian real estate investor Crimson Investment Management.
GERMANY - T-Venture shuffles managment
Corporate venture firm T-Venture has appointed Stephan Noll as head of the T-Mobile Venture Fund, replacing Axel Kolb, who will leave the business as of June 30 2009.
UK - Govt to create £150m fund-of-funds
The UK government has announced plans to create a ТЃ150m fund-of-funds aimed at enhancing the venture capital sector, with the aim of ultimately scaling up the fund to ТЃ1bn.
UK - Maven and Matrix back MBO of Westway
Maven Capital Partners and Matrix Private Equity have backed the management buyout of air conditioning provider Westway Cooling Limited, investing ТЃ2.55m and ТЃ1.54m respectively. The vendor rolled over ТЃ500,000 and Co-operative Bank provided term debt...
SWEDEN - SLS Invest backs Gyros with SEK 80m
Life science investor SLS Invest has, alongside Industrifonden, invested SEK 80m into Swedish biotechnology company Gyros. Following the transaction, SLS owns 88% of the company, while Industrifonden will take an 8% stake.
ITALY - Permira in negotiations over Valentino
It is understood that Permira-backed fashion Valentino house is close to signing a standstill agreement with its lending syndicate, led by Citigroup, UniCredit and Mediobanca, as it struggles to meet payments on its EUR 2.5bn debt pile.
ITALY - Bridgepoint appoints director
Bridgepoint has appointed Matteo Perale as a director in its Milan office, where he will operate within the media, technology and financial services teams.
UK - Kelso to launch new turnaround opportunites fund
London-based Kelso Place Asset Management has announced the launch of The UK Special Situations Fund IV, a new fund for turnaround opportunities in the UK targeting ТЃ75m.
FRANCE - NexStage and Elaia invest EUR 4m in Climpact
NextStage has joined returning investor Elaia Partners in a EUR 4m investment into Climpact, a provider of climate information for business intelligence.
UK - Doughty and Balderton to suffer huge losses on Setanta
Private equity firm Doughty Hanson has been forced to write off ТЃ85m against its investment in sports broadcaster Setanta, after the UK arm of the business was placed in administration last week.
UK - Permira seeks to takeover Just Retirement
Permira is reportedly considering a takeover of UK life insurer Just Retirement plc in a deal that could value the company at about ТЃ225m.
UK - BLP appoints partner in banking and capital markets department
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has hired Andrew Bamber as partner within its banking and capital markets department, effective September.
GERMANY - Steadfast Capital acquires Falk & Ross Group
Steadfast Capital has, alongside management, acquired a majority stake in clothing distributor Falk & Ross Group Europe GmbH for an undisclosed purchase price.
UK - Candover terminates takeover talks
Beleaguered buyout house Candover has announced that it has ceased all discussions relating to the takeover of its business, stating that the approaches received did not offer sufficient value to shareholders.
UK - EV leads £920,000 Xeros investment
Enterprise Ventures (EV) has led a ТЃ920,000 funding round for cleaning technology company Xeros Limited, alongside South Yorkshire Investment Fund, IP Venture Fund and business angels.
EUROPE - EVCA task force calls for EUR 1bn threshold
Two months on from the launch of the European Commission's proposed Alternative Investment Fund Manangers (AIFM) Directive, the EVCA Brussels Task Force has published its formal response, which calls for an increased in the minimum qualifying threshold...
SPAIN - PAI one of two contenders left for Cintra
According to reports, PAI Partners is one of only two contenders remaining in the race for Ferrovial's parking division, Cintra, in deal that could be worth between EUR 400-450m.