News
FRANCE - Industri Kapital acquires Groupe Etanco
Industri Kapital has acquired Groupe Etanco from the Lebraut family after a share purchase agreement. Industri Kapital acquired Etanco in partnership with company CEO Ronan Lebraut, members of the founding family and the management.
SWEDEN - Eqvitec hires Hadar Cars
Eqvitec Partners has strengthened its Swedish operations by hiring Hardar Cars as an investment director. He joins the firm from Teknoinvest where he has worked since 2004.
UK - Blackstone linked to M&B
Blackstone's name has been linked to a possible offer for pub operator Mitchells & Butlers (M&B). It is reported that Blackstone will team up with either CVC or KKR to table a joint bid for the owner of the Harvester and the All Bar One pub chains.
LATVIA - TeliaSonera challenges Blackstone's Lattelecom bid
According to press reports, TeliaSonera yesterday challenged Blackstone’s bid for Lattelecom, the Latvian telecommunications company. Blackstone offered to acquire the business in September 2007 for $575m, but the new Latvian government (appointed after...
FRANCE – Sofimac and SGPE Lead OBO of APIA
Sofimac and SGPE both lead an OBO of APIA with an investment of EUR 1.05m each. Also investing were Centre Capital Development with EUR 350,000, Neoveris who invested EUR 300,000 and Centre Loire Expansion to the tune of EUR 100,000. Apia recorded a turnover...
UK - Skype-engineers ASI invest in Kindo
Ambient Sound Investments (ASI), Skype's founding engineers, have provided family network website Kindo with seed financing. ASI joins other seed investors including Saul and Robin Klein of The Accelerator Group (TAG), and Stefan GlУЄnzer, first investor...
SWEDEN/GERMANY - EQT to pay EUR 20.6m in fines to German Competition Authorities
EQT has been forced to pay EUR 20.6m in fines for its portfolio company Munksjö Paper GmbH by German competition authorities, Bundeskartellamt.
SPAIN - TPG backs BA's shareholding in Iberia
Texas Pacific Group and British Airways (BA) have together acquired a further 0.2% stake in Spanish air carrier Iberia for EUR 4m. The purchase increases BA's stake to 10.1%.
FINLAND - Axel Technologies attracts financing from Nexit Ventures
Axel Technologies, a developer of mobile TV technologies, has attracted a financing round from Nexit Ventures and existing investor Finnish Industry Investments Ltd.
DENMARK - KKR et al. backed-TDC enters strategic partnership with Ericsson
Danish telecommunications business TDC, jointly owned by Apax Partners, The Blackstone Group, KKR, Permira Advisors and Providence Equity Partners, has entered a strategic partnership with Ericsson.
SOUTH AFRICA - SA private equity has backing of regulators; should continue growth
"Private equity and especially venture capital should be underpinning the investment drive into South Africa," according to the director general of South Africa's National Treasury, Lesetja Kganyago, speaking at the unquote" South Africa Private Equity...
UK - HSBC Private Equity backs the buyout of Transmission & Distribution Group
HSBC Private Equity has supported the buyout of Transmission & Distribution Group (TDG). TDG specialises in providing condition monitoring systems for electrical utilities and heavy industry. TDG is the parent company of Diagnostic Monitoring Systems...
SPAIN - Magnum acquires EUR 200m logistics firm
Magnum Industrial has signed the agreement for the acquisition of an 80% stake in infrastructures logistics firm Pretersa-Prenavisa.
UK - DFJ Esprit and BOSGE provide PacketExchange with $12m series-B funding
Existing investors DFJ Esprit and Bank of Scotland Growth Equity have invested $12m in PacketExchange as part of a series-B funding round for the wide-area internet exchange service company. In conjunction with the funding, PacketExchange also announced...
ITALY - Weather investments may see private equity investment
Telecom holding Weather Investments, controlled by Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris, could see the entry of a private equity player in the weeks to come.
SPAIN - Talde-backed Biópolis expands its capital
Talde Gestión backed biotechnology company Biópolis will undertake a capital expansion to acquire new facilities and increase production.
FRANCE – Sofimac and CDC Entreprises invest EUR 2m in Onixxa
Sofimac Partners and CDC Entreprises have jointly invested EUR 2m in Onixxa. Founder Phillippe Andrieu retains a majority stake in the company following the deal.
ITALY - Unipol Banca enters the world of private equtiy
Unipol Banca has launched new private equity player Unipol Private Equity with the support of Unipol Merchant.
UK - DFJ Esprit realises investment in buy.at through sale to AOL
DFJ Esprit has sold its interest in e-commerce marketing business buy.at through a sale of the business to AOL. buy.at will operate as a wholly-owned business unit of Advertising.com, part of AOLтs Platform-A organisation. buy.at, recently named the UKтs...
UK - LDC backs MBO of JCC Lighting
LDC has financed the management buyout of JCC Lighting, a global lighting fixtures group, for an undisclosed sum. LDC has invested a figure of less than ТЃ10m for a majority equity stake in the business. Royal Bank of Scotland provided a debt package...
NETHERLANDS - Prime Technology invests EUR 6.5m in eBuddy
Prime Technology Ventures has invested EUR 6.5m in eBuddy, a provider of web and mobile instant messaging, in second-round funding. In 2007, Lowland Capital Partners had provided a EUR 5m Series-A financing round to the company.
FRANCE – Nempartners acquires 5.1% of Proméo
Nempartners acquired 5.1% of Groupe Proméo via its Nem Invest fund. The Ganiveq family retains a majority 41% while Batipart has a 30% stake. Proméo recorded a turnover of EUR 84.3m in 2006 and achieved 20% growth in 2007 recording a turnover of EUR 125m....
NORWAY – 3i acquires Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients for $395m
3i has backed the buyout of Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients, an Oslo-based supplier and developer of pharmaceutical ingredients and division of NYSE-listed Alpharma Inc, for $395m.
FRANCE – Acto Mezzanine stages final close on EUR 187m
Acto Mezzanine completed the final close of Acto Mezzanine FCPR on EUR 187m ahead of its target size of EUR150m. Insurance company Groupama committed approximately 40% of the fund’s total, while the balance was financed by French institutional investors,...