News
GERMANY – eCapital bolsters team
Münster-based venture capital firm eCapital has hired Dr Vasant Desai as venture partner. Dr Desai will increase activities in investments and will be directly involved in eCapital portfolio companies. eCapital manages three funds with capital of more...
GREECE – Government takes legislative steps to prevent Marfin building stake
Marfin Investment Group will be unable to stage a hostile takeover bid for Greek telecoms group OTE following a new piece of legislation issued by the Greek government which is to limit the stakes foreign investors can hold in strategic businesses. The...
UK - Gresham completes fourth deal in two months
Gresham Private Equity has completed its fourth deal in two months. Gresham has invested £21m in Hotter Shoes, a Lancashire-based manufacturer and multi-channel retailer of shoes. Hotter generates sales of £38m per year and aims to double its turnover...
UK - Candover and First Reserve close in on Abbot
Candover and First Reserve are still fighting it out for oil services business Abbot Group. US-based energy specialist investor First Reserve is believed to be in the lead with a 390p per share offer, compared to Candover's 370p per share offer. A 390p...
UK - Investec sees 45% IRR from Plastics Capital IPO
Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance has exited its minority shareholding in Plastics Capital generating an IRR of 45% on its three year holding period. Plastics Capital, a consolidator of niche plastics products manufacturers, floated on AIM yesterday...
HUNGARY - Riverside adds Novamed to Diatron
The Riverside Company has acquired Novamed , an Israeli company operating in the field of microbiology and infectious disease testing. The company is an add-on to the platform company Diatron , a Hungarian-based manufacturer of haematology analysers...
BENELUX - 3i Benelux makes two appointments to advisory board
3i Benelux has announced the appointment of Marc van Gelder and Marcel van Poecke to its advisory board. Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, the former Minister of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands, had joined the advisory board in February. Van Gelder and van...
SPAIN – Applus+ to invest EUR 450m in acquisitions
Carlyle-owned Applus+ has set aside EUR 450m for acquisitions. The company aims to increase its presence worldwide and strengthen those sectors in which it is already present. The investors plan to double the company’s sales and the EBITDA by 2011 and...
UK - YFM backs TBiConnect with £330,000
YFM Group has invested £330,000 from its South West Ventures Fund into business-to-business eCommerce service TBiConnect.
GERMANY – Finatem exits MBB Liftsystems
Finatem has led the sale of portfolio company MBB Liftsystems AG to Austrian Palfinger Group for an undisclosed sum. The majority shareholder Ixen Partners and another minority investor also realised their stakes on that occasion. MBB Liftsystems is a...
FRANCE - Tetco raises additional EUR 2.1m
ACE Management has invested an additional EUR 2.1m in VoIP specialist Tetco, bringing total funds raised to EUR 10m.
ITALY – Cape Live invests EUR 4.98m in Area Impianti
Cape Listed Investment Vehicle in Equity (Cape Live) has committed EUR 4.98m to environmental company Area Impianti. The deal sees Cape Live take a 10.9% stake in the company.
SWEDEN - Doughty Hanson sells Kista office portfolio
Doughty Hanson & Co Real Estate has agreed to sell its office portfolio in Kista, Stockholm for SEK 2.92bn. The portfolio has been acquired by DnB NOR Eiendomsfond I AS, a property fund managed by DnB NOR Bank ASA, DnB NOR Markets, the largest financial...
ITALY – L Capital’s Piazza Sempione opens new store
Piazza Sempione, backed by L Capital, the private equity fund sponsored by the LVMH Group, has opened a Moscow store. Milan-based Piazza Sempione, was founded in 1991 and specialises in women’s prêt-a porter clothing and accessories. The opening takes...
FRANCE - 123Venture invests in sex toys
123Venture has invested EUR 1m in a EUR 1.5m seed round of funding for YESforLOV, a cosmetics brand intended for sensual pleasure and well-being.
SWEDEN - Securitas Direct board recommends rejecting EQT's offer
The board of directors of Securitas Direct has released a statement where they recommend the share and warrant holders in the company NOT to accept ESML Intressenter AB, jointly owned by EQT V (ca 64%), Säkl AB (ca8%), Melker Schörling AB (MSAB) (ca...
SWEDEN - Credit squeeze threatens EUR 6bn Vin & Sprit sale
The sale of Vin & Sprit, owner of the Absolut vodka brand, by the Swedish government might be delayed due to current conditions in the credit market. Vin & Sprit is one of six companies which the Swedish government is planning to sell over the next few...
SPAIN – Monitor Capital acquires Spanish catering business
Monitor Capital has acquired 95% of Franquicias Hoteleras, a catering business with 15 operations in 10 of the country’s provinces.
ITALY – Innogest Capital invests EUR 2m in data management player
Italian venture capital firm Innogest Capital provided Internet intelligence company IntelligenceFocus with a second round of financing valued at approximately EUR 2m.
GERMANY – antispameurope receives expansion capital
High-Tech Gründerfonds, Neuhaus Partners, and hannover innovation funds (hfi) have invested an undisclosed sum in antispameurope GmbH. The early-stage funding will be used to invest in the company's sales and marketing abilities. antispameurope is a...
UK - Advent International completes £523.9m delisting
Advent International has completed the £523.9m acquisition of Domestic & General Group Plc (D&G) following a successful offer for its shares listed on the London Stock Exchange. D&G is the first fully-financed public-to-private transaction announced...
UK - TA Associates pulls Sophos float
TA Associates IT security portfolio company Sophos has decided not to list this week on the London Stock Exchange. The IPO would have valued the business at approximately £325m. TA Associates owns a 20% stake in the company in which it invested £41m...
ITALY – Intesa Sanpaolo sells stake in yacht maker
Intesa Sanpaolo has sold its 12% stake in yacht manufacter, Azimut-Benetti. The deal comes after the agreed investment period came to an end.
UK - Biffa rebuffs HgCapital and Montagu again
Biffa has rejected a second offer pitched at 330p per share from suitors HgCapital and Montagu Private Equity. The waste disposal company has been in the sights of the bidding consortium since early September. The latest offer values the business at £1.2bn....