News
FRANCE - Towerbrook makes 3x from sale of InfoPro to Apax
Towerbrook Capital Partners has generated 3x its money on the sale of professional information group InfoPro Communications to Apax Partners SA.
UK - Graphite Capital sells Avery Healthcare to Southern Cross for £96.5m
Graphite Capital has sold its majority shareholding in Avery Healthcare to Southern Cross Healthcare Group realising returns of 2.7x. The deal values Avery, which owns and operates care homes for the elderly, at ТЃ96.5m. Southern Cross is buying 16 of...
UK - HgCapital acquires stake in RidgeWind
HgCapital has acquired a substantial equity stake in Oxfordshire-based wind developer, RidgeWind Ltd. HgCapitalтs investment includes the acquisition of a majority stake in the company, expansion capital and long-term equity for RidgeWindтs wind development...
UK - ABN AMRO portfolio company Volution acquires Manrose
ABN AMRO Capital portfolio company Volution has acquired Manrose Holdings Ltd from its private owner. This represents the first step of a buy-and-build strategy for Volution, the ventilation and heating company ABN AMRO acquired in a secondary management...
UK - Adverse rumours surround potential tertiary buyout of New Look
Reports that interest in value fashion retailer New Look is lacklustre continue to dog the auction process being run by Merrill Lynch. Apax and Permira, the current owners of New Look, had considered a float of the business but decided instead to sell...
UK - Enterprise Ventures completes further investment in H20 Networks
Enterprise Ventures has completed a further investment in H2O Networks Ltd through its Coalfields Enterprise Fund. Enterprise Ventures first invested in the company during late 2006 to finance the companyтs growth plans and this follow-on round of funding...
NORWAY - Ferd Ventures invest EUR 2m in Kvaleberg
Ferd Ventures has invested EUR 2m in Kvaleberg, a mobile software company located in Oslo. The investment will be used to accelerate international growth.
FRANCE - AXA Private Equity backs buyout of payment software business
In a management buyout, AXA Private Equity has acquired the majority of the shares of Welcome Real-time, a provider of payment software for financial institutions and payment networks.
NL - Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics launches IPO
VC-backed human gene therapy specialist Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (AMT) has launched an offering of up to 5 million new shares, for a price range of EUR 8-10.
UK - Close Ventures backs Point 35 Microstructures with £1.95m investment
Close Ventures has invested ТЃ1.95m in Point 35 Microstructures, a supplier of refurbished semiconductor wafer processing equipment. The funding round totalled ТЃ2.1m.
UK - LDC appoints Paul Johnson as head of larger mid-market team
LDC has appointed Paul Johnson to head a newly-created team which will focus on originating larger mid-market transactions. The team will target deals requiring an equity investment between ТЃ25m and ТЃ100m, the newly-instated upper reach of LDCтs underwriting...
UK - YFM provides sign manufacturer with £250,000
YFM Group has invested ТЃ250,000 in sign manufacturer D&H Sign Manufacturing Ltd through its Yorkshire and Humber Equity Fund.
UK - Enterprise Ventures invests in Chromatide Ltd
Enterprise Ventures has invested in chemical services company Chromatide Ltd through its RisingStars Growth Fund II.
FRANCE - European Capital invests EUR 55m in Go Voyages
European Capital has invested EUR 55m in senior and junior mezzanine bonds and preferred and common equity in travel agent Go Voyages. The company was the subject of a buyout supported by Financière Agache Private Equity earlier this year.
UK - European Capital acquires Hillarys Blinds for EUR 337m
European Capital has announced the EUR 337m secondary buyout of Hillarys Blinds, a provider of made-to-measure blinds, from Change Capital Partners. The firm provided equity, loan notes, mezzanine debt and senior term loans, to complete the one stop...
SPAIN/UK - Palamon adds Morgan Stanley banker to its Spanish team
Pan-European private equity firm Palamon Capital Partners has hired former Morgan Stanley executive director Jaime Enrique Hugas to strenghten its activities in Spain.
FINLAND - CapMan strengthens its Real Estate team
Jorma Lehtonen has been appointed as CapMan Real Estate’s fund director and will be responsible for the investment activities of private equity real estate funds. In addition he will act as deputy to Markku Hietala, managing director of Realprojekti Oy....
SWITZERLAND - Adveq establishes US presence
The Swiss fund-of-funds manager Adveq has announced it is to open an office in New York. A number of the firm's investment team will transfer from the Zurich office to New York, where they will be joined by two new members, Lee Gardella and Steven Yang....
UK - Apax and Permira will recap New Look if sale doesn't go through
The sale of Apax and Permira-portfolio company New Look is still on track, according to reports. Merrill Lynch is running an auction to facilitate the disposal with TPG and Warburg Pincus bidding together against BC Partners. A price tag of approximately...
UK - Mangrove Capital leads $8m series-B funding for Seatwave
Mangrove Capital Partners has led an $8m series-B funding round for Seatwave, a fan-to-fan ticket exchange. Mangrove joins existing investor Atlas Venture which provided $3m of series-A funding for the company in May 2006.
UK - Aberdeen invests £1.4m in Cyclotech
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has provided oil and gas services company Cyclotech with ТЃ1.4m of equity funding. The new capital will be used for product development, additional management appointments and new offices in Singapore and Houston....
UK - Graphite Capital backs MBO of Dominion Technology Gases
Graphite Capital has backed the management buyout of Aberdeen-based Dominion Technology Gases from its founder. Dominion is a supplier of specialist gases used for diving, welding and testing by offshore oil and gas customers. Royal Bank of Scotland provided...
CEE - Warburg Pincus in $100m financing round for IMB
Warburg Pincus has participated in a $100m equity financing round for IMB Group Public Ltd, the Ukraine's leading consumer lender. Warburg Pincus contributed $43.8m, with the balance of the investment committed by existing investors Horizon Capital, East...
NL - Lion Capital acquires HEMA
Lion Capital has acquired Dutch retailer HEMA from Maxeda. The deal is subject to regulatory approval, expected before the end of July 2007.