News
ITALY - Sofipa SGR makes partial exit from Colony Sardegna
Sofipa SGR, the private equity arm of Group Capitalia, has made a partial exit from its hotel management interest Colony Sardegna by selling a 49% stake. It is understood that the divestment has generated a money multiple of around 1.5x.
POLAND - Carlyle opens office in Warsaw
Carlyle has opened an office in Warsaw to source investments in Central and Eastern Europe, further proof of the growing strength of the region. The team will be headed by Ryszard Wojtkowski who has been recruited from CEE specialist Enterprise Investors....
SWEDEN - Creandum makes new appointment
Creandum has recruited Daniel Blomquist to join its investment team as an associate. Daniel is former vice president of marketing at the telecom software company Ascade, and will work with new investments from Creandum II, the SEK 750m fund targeting...
SWEDEN - Northzone and Amadeus acquires EPiServer for $23.5m
Northzone Ventures and Amadeus Capital Partnres have together with Peter Larsson acquired a majority stake in EPiServer for $23.5m. Peter Larsson joins the company as CEO. The founder, Mikael Runhem remains as shareholder and will be the compnay's CTO....
SWEDEN - STING backs Plasmatrix Materials and Bio Servo Technologies
STING Capital has invested in Plasmatrix Materials AB, a Swedish nanomaterial developer, and Bio Servo Technologies, a biotechnology company. Both companies received SEK 1.5m each.
DENMARK - SEED Capital invests in Valderm
SEED Capital Denmark and other private investors have invested in Valderm, a Danish pharmaceutical company which specialises in developing psoriasis treatment. The company's product is still in its pre-clinical trial stage, but is expected to be on the...
GERMANY - HgCapital exits Schenck Process via sale to Industri Kapital
Industri Kapital has acquired Schenck Process, a provider of industrial weighing, feeding, screening and automation equipment, from HgCapital. HgCapital bought Schenck in 2005 from D ürr AG and has grown the workforce to approximately 1,800 employees....
UK - Duke Street considers re-acquiring Esporta
Duke Street Capital is one of a number of private equity firms considering a bid for Esporta, the chain of gyms placed in administration last week. Duke Street owned Esporta from 2002-2006 before selling it to funds managed by the Halabi family for an...
SWEDEN - Segulah makes two appointments
Segulah has taken on two new recruits. Lennart Kalén, the former CEO of Dahls Sweden and currently a member of the board of the Segulah Investment Advisor, has been appointed as industrial partner and will be active in evaluating new investments and developing...
UK - Sagitus Partners backs MBO of kitchen and bathroom distributor
Sagitus Partners has backed the management buyout of kitchen and bathroom distributor James Theobald Ltd. The deal was supported by debt provided by Clydesdale Bank. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
UK - Protego Real Estate appoints Alexandra McGhee
Protego Real Estate Investors has appointed Alexandra McGhee as associate - business development. McGhee joins from Bank of Scotlandтs Integrated Finance team. Prior to this, she worked at Henderson Global Investors as finance manager to its Pan-European...
UK - MMC Ventures invests £2.4m in Small World
MMC Ventures (MMC) has invested ТЃ2.4m in Small World Ltd, a money-transfer business operating along corridors between Western Europe and developing countries.
FINLAND - Via Venture Partnres and Inventure invests EUR 3m in Beneq
Via Venture Partners and Inventure Oy have together with previous investors invested EUR 3m in Beneq, a Finnish nanotechnology equipment supplier. The new round of financing enables development of the organisation and international growth.
UK - Hotbed backs Intempo with £1.825m of growth capital
Hotbed has provided Intempo Digital Ltd, a digital radio and iPod docking company, with ТЃ1.825m of growth capital. The investment from Hotbed is part of a total ТЃ11.8m of new funding the company has secured, with Bank of Scotland providing working capital...
CEE - Enterprise Investors' Sklepy acquires competitor
Enterprise Investors’ portfolio company Sklepy Komfort has acquired its trade rival in a PLN12m (EUR 3.2m) deal. Sklepy is Poland’s largest retailer of carpets and flooring, and was wholly acquired by Enterprise in April for EUR 64m. Topwert Œwiat Dywanów...
UK - Ingenious backs second album in £500,000 deal
Ingenious' two Music VCT funds have invested approximately ТЃ500,000 to back the second album of three-piece girl band Sirens. The deal is a joint venture with Kitchenware Records Ltd.
UK - BOSIF pulls out of running for Erinaceous
Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance has pulled out of the running to acquire Aim-listed property services company Erinaceous. BOSIF's offer had valued Erinaceous at approximately ТЃ320m. In the last month, BOSIF has acquired two other property services...
UK - Hammonds boosts private equity team with appointment of Mark Robson
Mark Robson has joined Hammonds as partner in its London office. Robson joins from Travers Smith, where he was a senior assistant in the private equity group within the firmтs corporate department. The new appointment to the private equity team at Hammonds,...
GERMANY - Carlyle and Advent exit HT Troplast
The Carlyle Group and Advent International have sold HT Troplast to Bahrain-based investment firm Arcapita for an undisclosed amount. In January 2005, Carlyle and Advent had acquired the company from RUETGERS AG.
UK - BOSIF backs £783m MBO of community regeneration specialist
Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance has backed the ТЃ783m management buyout of community regeneration specialist Keepmoat Plc. The privately held Plc was divested by private shareholders via an auction process run by Deloitte. Bridgepoint and 3i had previously...
UK - South Yorkshire Investment Fund backs plastic packaging company
South Yorkshire Investment Fund has provided William Beckett Plastics, a specialised plastic packaging company for the cutting tool industry with ТЃ100,000 of growth capital funding.
UK - Blackstone eyes New Look
It is understood that New Look is likely to be acquired by Blackstone. Apax and Permira, New Look's current owners, are reported to be in talks with Blackstone about the deal. The news of a secondary buyout follows a pulled auction process earlier this...
CEE - AIG acquires 90% stake in BTC
AIG Capital Partners has acquired a 90% stake in Bulgarian Telecommunications Company following approval from relevant regulatory authorities. AIG will launch a tender offer for the remainder of the company’s shares, which are currently listed on the...
UK - Bridges Ventures invests £1.35m in Sealskinz
Bridges Ventures has backed the management buyout of SealSkinz, a Norfolk-based manufacturer of unique waterproof socks and gloves designed for bikers and hikers. Bridges is investing ТЃ1.35m alongside a management team to buy the company from its parent...