News
UK - Penta Capital exits Out of Town Restaurants
Penta Capital has sold Out of Town Restaurant Group (OTRG) to its former owner. The deal is reported to be worth less than ТЃ5m. Lawrence Wosskow founded OTRG in 1998 and has now re-acquired it.
UK - Graphite Capital backs £22m buyout of Third Space
Graphite Capital has backed the management buyout of a premier London health and fitness club, The Third Space Group, for ТЃ22m. Founded in June 2001, the Soho-based gym and health centre now has close to 4,300 members. Its facilities include a medical...
UK - Esprit joins forces with global venture firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm responsible for backing Hotmail and Skype in the past, has acquired a strategic stake in Esprit Capital Partners. Esprit will rebrand as тDFJ Espritт and members of DFJтs Silicon...
UK - CIT announces senior appointments
CIT Group Inc has announced two senior level appointments within its London Commercial Finance business. Graham Randell has been promoted to senior managing director, CIT Commercial Finance Europe. He will continue to oversee the development and expansion...
FRANCE - Management demands stricter debt terms on OGF deal
In the recent EUR 780m secondary buyout of French funeral business OGF, backed by Astorg Partners and Vestar Capital, management has ensured the mezzanine lenders are subject to a two-year hurdle.
SWEDEN - Telenor's offer for Canal Plus rejected by KKR and Permira
According to Swedish press reports, Telenor's offer for KKR and Permira-owned Canal Plus has been rejected. Telenor has been rumoured to have been interested in the Nordic part of the European TV giant for some time, and this is the third time Telenor...
GERMANY - 3i Infrastructure invests in Oiltanking
3i Infrastructure has acquired a 45% stake in Oiltanking Singapore Ltd, Oiltanking Amsterdam BV and Oiltanking Malta Ltd (the OT companies) for a total price of $305m. The investment comprises an equity consideration of EUR 115m and a debt package worth...
BELGIUM - Axcel portfolio company Esko acquires Artwork Systems
Esko, a Belgian packaging pre-production company controlled by Danish private equity fund Axcel, has acquired a 76.69% stake in Artwork Systems from its founding shareholders. The shares were sold at for EUR 11.50 per share in cash, valuing the company...
SWITZERLAND - BC Partners exits Hirslanden hospitals in $2.36bn deal
BC Partners is reported to have agreed the sale of its Swiss hospitals business Hirslanden. It is understood that South African company Medi-Clinic will acquire Hirslanden in a $2.36bn deal. BC Partners has held the company since December 2002, when it...
GREECE - Global Finance exits ice cream chain
Buyout house Global Finance has sold ice cream chain Dodoni to NBGI Private Equity. The divestment by Global Finance was the first ever secondary buyout to take place in Greece.
ITALY - Alto Partners acquire minority stake in Rancilio
Alto Capital II acquired a 16.67% stake of Rancilio from its founders.
UK - Unquote" Awards one more week to enter!
The deadline for the unquoteт Private Equity Awards 2007 is next Friday, 10 August. The event will be held on 28 November at The Royal Horticultural Halls in London, SW1P. Now in its third year, the evening brings together more than 500 industry professionals...
FRANCE - Apax still involved in GFI tug-of-war
Apax Partners has increased its shareholding in Euronext-listed computer services company GFI Informatique from 9% to 14.4%. An offer for the entire share capital of the business was made by Japanese IT and communications company Fujitsu in May and remains...
CEE - AIG Investments sells Jetfinance International to BNP Paribas
AIG Investments has sold JetFinance International, a Bulgarian specialised consumer finance company, to Cetelem, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas.
UK - Phoenix bags sailing clothes maker Musto
Phoenix Equity Partners has acquired a majority stake in Musto, the specialist clothes business which caters for the sailing, equestrian, shooting and fishing communities. The deal values Musto at ТЃ40m. Musto has also developed a range of casual clothing...
UK - Midlands-based Wenham Major acquires HKM accountants
Wenham Major, the Birmingham-based accountancy firm founded 140 years ago, has acquired Leicester-based HKM accountants. The deal has created one of the largest independent accountancy and business advisory firms in the Midlands.
UK - Foresight exits Oasis Healthcare via sale of shares to Duke Street Capital
Duke Street Capital has acquired ТЃ8m worth of shares in AIM-listed dental care provider Oasis Healthcare Plc from Foresight Venture Partners. The deal generated a total return on investment of 5.1x for Foresight 3 VCT Plc. Duke Street Capital had been...
SPAIN - Kimia receives EUR 2m in backing from Debaeque
Media content developer Kimia Solutions has received EUR 2m in a series-A financing round led by Debaeque Venture Capital.
SWEDEN - Rutland Partners exits Svensk Pantbelåning AB
Rutland Partners has sold Svensk Pantbelåning AB, a Swedish pawn broker, to Preato Capital, Finland’s largest pawn broker.
UK - CBCF appoints new MD for leisure and retail sector group
Close Brothers Corporate Finance has bolstered its senior management team, appointing Michael Dubois as the new managing director of its leisure and retail sector group.
GERMANY - BayernLB strengthens portfolio company
BayernLB Private Equity has made two add-on acquisitions to its portfolio company ISU Personaldienstleistungen GmbH. The two purchases, temporary employment agencies Fischer & Funke Gesellschaft für Personaldienstleistungen mbH and AFM Gesellschaft für...
UK - ICG backs Marken in SBO from 3i
Intermediate Capital Group has provided equity and mezzanine financing to support the management buyout of biopharmaceutical logistics business Marken from 3i. The value of the deal was not disclosed. Marken's management hold a majority stake in the newco....
UK - Terra Firma seals EMI deal
Terra Firma has secured music publisher EMI in a ТЃ2.4bn take-private deal. 90% of shareholders agreed to sell their shares to Terra Firma ahead of today's final deadline. The meeting of this threshold obliges the remaining shareholders to sell their...
DENMARK - Medtronic's neurology products to be acquired
Water Street Healthcare Partners, the Chicago private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, has acquired a majority stake in Alpine Biomed for an undisclosed sum, to enable the company’s purchase of neurology diagnostic product line...