News
UK/US - 3i appoints Willem Mesdag to US growth capital board
3i has appointed Willem Mesdag to the board of directors of its US growth capital team. A former Goldman Sachs banker, Mesdag is a managing partner of US-buyout group Red Mountain Capital Partners.
AUSTRIA - Capital Management Partners exit Unterland
Capital Management Partners, a turnaround specialist, has sold Unterland Flexible Packaging AG to Mondi Plc. The value of the transaction is said to be EUR 76m.
GERMANY - Hörmannshofer changes hands
BayernLB has acquired German insulation specialist Hörmannshofer from AXA Private Equity. The transaction value has not been disclosed. Management also invested and hold a minority stake. In 2002, AXA Private Equity and management acquired Hörmnannshofer...
UK - Admiral Group pulls plug on Confused.com sale
Motor insurance firm Admiral Group has rejected demands made by a number of private equity suitors bidding for its online arm, Confused.com. In a statement, the company said that private equity involvement would 'weaken the board's flexibility to determine...
UK – Entries open for the Unquote Awards 2007
The unquoteт Private Equity Awards 2007 will be held on 28 November at The Royal Horticultural Halls in London, SW1P. Now in its third year, the event brings together more than 500 industry professionals to celebrate the strides the industry has made...
UK - Endless strengthens team with three appointments
Endless has hired three former members of 3i - Peter Yendell, Ian Brown and Andrea Douglas. Yendell joins Endless in the new role of chairman. He was formerly a partner in 3i's growth capital business. Brown joins Endless as head of portfolio management...
FINLAND - Bridgepoint portfolio company makes Belgium acquisition
Bridgepoint-owned A-Katsastus Oy, the Finnish vehicle inspection group, has acquired Belgium’s vehicle inspection company Autoveiligheid NV for an undisclosed sum. The company had net sales of nearly EUR 30m last year and carried out over 800,000 inspections....
UK - MSIF backs Mersey glass firm in £4m deal
A new company set up and funded by Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF) has acquired Lattimer Group, a glass firm, from Hamspon Industries Plc, the international aerospace and precision engineering group. Lattimer Holdings Ltd, whose head office...
SWEDEN - Litorina Kapital makes 4x on exit from SWE-DISH
Litorina Kapital has sold SWE-DISH Satellite Systems AB to Datapath Inc for $56m in cash. The deal has generated returns of 4x Litorina's investment. SWE-DISH is a supplier of mobile satellite communications equipment and related services for broadband...
UK - Catalyst Corporate Finance expands team
Catalyst Corporate Finance has expanded its research team with the recruitment of Simon MacMichael as senior researcher and Rob Pearce as M&A analyst. MacMichael joins Catalyst from Fast Track where he was senior business research manager researching...
UK - Government report on private equity to be delayed
The House of Commons' Treasury Select Committee will delay until October recommendations on changes to the governance of the pirvate equity industry in the UK. The House of Commons was originally expected to publish a report before the annual summer...
UK - NBGI reaps 6x return on outdoor clothing exit
NBGI Private Equity has reaped 6x its investment on the sale of outdoor clothing retailer Mountain Warehouse. Mountain Warehouse has been acquired by its management team in a ТЃ15m tertiary buyout deal with backing from Kcaj, the investment company of...
UK - Rutland acquires Attends from 3i for EUR 93.5m
Rutland Partners has acquired Attends Healthcare Holdings Ltd from 3i for EUR 93.5m. Attends is the trading name of the European operations formerly known as PaperPak which 3i acquired in a EUR 95m deal in 2002. Rutland has invested approximately ТЃ21.5...
EUROPE - H1 buyout deal volume up in UK and France, down in Germany
Buyout deal volume in France and the UK in H1 2007 was up on the figures for both 2005 and 2006, although German volume has slowed this year against 06. According to preliminary data from Unquote"/Private Equity Insight, 102 deals have been completed...
UK - HIG Capital hires Paul Canning from Gresham
Paul Canning has joined HIG Capital from Gresham Private Equity. Earlier this week, HIG Capital announced the final close of its European-focused fund on its hard cap of EUR 600m. The vehicle will invest in companies with an enterprise value of no more...
MALTA - GMT acquires Melita Cable Plc
GMT Communications Partners (GMT) has acquired Melita Cable Plc, the leading provider of television, broadband and telephony services in Malta, from Nasdaq-listed Liberty Global and the Gasan Group of Companies. GMT is focused exclusively on the communications...
NL - Five enter the final bid for SigmaKalon auction
It is widely reported that BC Partners, PAI Partners, TPG and Warburg Pincus have made it through to the final round of Bain Capital’s $2.87bn auction for Dutch paint maker SigmaKalon. Sherwin Williams, a US-based paint company, will also enter the final...
GERMANY - Industi Kapital sells DSI to CVC
Industri Kapital has sold DYWIDAG- Systems International (DSI) to CVC Capital Partners for an undisclosed sum. Industri Kapital acquired DSI in 2005 from the insolvent Walter Bau AG and subsequently pursued a buy-and-build strategy.
FRANCE - Air Liquide rumours continue
KKR is said to be interested in acquiring industrial gas giant Air Liquide, potentially a EUR 27bn deal.
UK - ISIS environmental portfolio company completes £2m acquisition
ISIS Equity Partners portfolio company SLR Consulting has completed its first major acquisition with the purchase of Insite Environments. SLR Consulting is an environmental consultancy in which ISIS acquired a minority stake in 2004, investing ТЃ4.85m...
EUROPE - No end in sight for large buyouts
тDeal sizes are increasing more quickly than fund sizes,т said John Barber, managing partner at Citi Private Equity at a luncheon today. Though more prevalent in the US than in Europe, the phenomenon should allow the record fundraisings to find suitable...
UK - Glitnir funding team grows with appointment of Jean-Pierre Albin
Glitnir has continued its growth in the UK market with the appointment of Jean-Pierre Albin as a director of long term market funding. Albin, formerly of the syndication desk at Mizuho International in London, has been recruited to work in the Bank's...
NL - Esprit Capital Partners leads EUR 2m round for semiconductor company
Esprit Capital Partners has invested a further EUR 900,000 in Xanadu Wireless BV in a EUR 2m funding round. The balance was provided by existing investors GIMB and Motorola Ventures.
UK - BVCA and TUC attend roundtable talks
At the invitation of TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber, this morning representatives from trade unions and the BVCA met for a roundtable discussion at Congress House. At the invitation of the BVCA, another meeting is planned for the autumn. The tone...