News
UK - Apax in move for gardening chain Dobbies
It is believed that Apax is behind a takeover offer for Scottish gardening chain Dobbies. Apax's interest comes as a surprise: West Coast Capital owns a 10%+ stake in AIM-listed Dobbies and had been expected to try to acquire it alongside Bank of Scotland...
UK - Palamon expands investment team
Palamon Capital Partners has expanded its investment team with the appointment of JaimeEnrique Hugas as principal. Hugas, a Spanish national, joins Palamon from Morgan Stanley where he was executive director of the European Media and Communications Corporate...
UK - Risk Capital Partners acquires Druckers Vienna Patisserie
Risk Capital Partners has acquired Birmingham-based Druckers Vienna Patisserie. RCP are combining Druckers with its London-based patisserie chain Patisserie Valerie. Druckers will operate alongside Patisserie Valerie, which RCP bought in September 2006....
GERMANY - GMT buys construction information provider
GMT Communications Partners has acquired the construction information division from Springer Science + Business Media for an undisclosed amount. The financial investor currently owns Docu Group, another B2B information provider in the construction sector...
UK - LDC strengthens London team
LDC has appointed two senior investment professionals to its expanding London team. Andy Kilborn, who spent 10 years with KPMG advising on mid-market transactions, joins as investment manager and Alex Bowden, previously based at LDCтs Reading office,...
BALTIC - LP Otrais Eko Funds invest in LLC Epic Bau for EUR 150,000
LP Otrais Eko Fonds will invest EUR 150,000 in start-up company LLC Epic Bau to finance the acquisition of modern mobile concrete production machinery. The fund will obtain a 49% shareholding in the company.
FRANCE - Stirling Square sells GDT to Bridgepoint in $343m deal
Stirling Square Capital Partners has signed an agreement to sell Global Design Technologies (GDT) to Bridgepoint for $343m. GDT is a France/US-headquartered manufacturer of swaged permanent coupling systems for rigid tubing and pipes used in the aerospace,...
FINLAND - Lion Capital acquires Vaasa & Vaasa from CapVest
Lion Capital LLP has acquired Vaasan & Vaasan, a producer and distributor of branded bakery products, from CapVest Ltd. Lion Capital has previously invested in other food companies like Weetabix and Kettle Foods, and aims to leverage its experience in...
SPAIN/ITALY - TPG focuses on Iberia after failing to buy Alitalia and Qantas
Texas Pacific Group (TPG) is expected to focus all its efforts on the prospective acquisition of Iberia, after the US buyout house pulled out of the competition for both Alitalia and Australian carrier Qantas yesterday.
GERMANY - Bank of Ireland boosts Frankfurt team
Bank of Ireland has appointed Sebastian Osing and Jörg Tennemann to its Acquisition Finance team in Frankfurt. The new team members will focus on arranging funding opportunities in the German acquisition finance market. Osing joins from the M&A department...
AUSTRIA - Riverside exits PPC Insulators
The Riverside Company has sold insulators manufacturer PPC Insulators to the Italian Seves Group for an undisclosed amount. Following the transaction the Seves Group is expected to record revenues of more than EUR 400m.
UK - Barclays Ventures backs £9m air conditioning takeover
Barclays Ventures has backed the ТЃ9m takeover by Four Seasons Control Limited (FSC) of Air-conditioning and Associated Services Ltd (AAS). The deal sees the bringing together of the two air conditioning design, installation and maintenance specialists....
BELGIUM - KBC and Indufin acquire HR business alongside management
Private equity firms KBC and Indufin have wholly acquired a conglomerate of employment agencies Actief Interim, Actief Construct and Actief alongside the group's managing director Mark Maesen.
SPAIN - Clave Mayor acquires stake in audiovisual business
Following the recent wave of interest in audiovisual businesses by Spanish players, Clave Mayor has acquired a 40% stake in sector player Comercial de Contenidos Audiovisuales 2007. The company intends to position itself as the reference provider of audiovisual...
LUXEMBOURG - VOXmobile sold for EUR 80m
Listed investment firm BIP Investment Partners has sold mobile network operator VOXmobile to Mobistar for EUR 80m. Mobistar acquired a 90% stake with the balance being held by the company’s founders.
FINLAND- CapMan invests in Movial Applications
CapMan Technology 2007 fund has invested in Movial Applications, a provider of IP communication software network equipment. CapMan will hold a minority stake in the company, while the management and employees will continue to hold the majority of the...
DENMARK - CapMan acquires IT2 Treasury Solutions
CapMan Technology 2007 fund has acquired IT2 Treasury Solutions from SimCorp, a Copenhagen-listed firm. CapMan will together with the management own 100% of the company. The transaction is expected to finalise in July 2007.
SPAIN/FRANCE - CVC and PAI on row over Altadis split
Rumour has it that CVC and PAI Partners are in disagreement over how the two private equity firms will split control of the tobacco business.
UK - 39% of executives of FTSE350 companies would take their firm private
Two-fifths (39%) of CEOs and CFOs of FTSE350 companies would take their firm private given the right opportunity and price, according to new research by Close Brothers Corporate Finance. The research reveals that 95% of the FTSE350 think it is тlikelyт...
FINLAND - Via Ventures and Finish Industry Investments commit EUR 5m in OptoGaN
Via Ventures and Finish Industry Investments have committed capital in a EUR 5m round for OptoGaN, a light emitting diodes (LED) company based in Finland and Germany. The company has the technology to replace light bulbs with LED and the new funding will...
UK - ABN AMRO completes MBO of Dunlop Aircraft Tyres
ABN AMRO Capital has agreed to acquire Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd. ABN AMRO Capital will take a majority stake in the business with 74.6% ownership. The transaction is expected to complete in June subject to customary approvals. Royal Bank of Scotland...
FRANCE - Weinberg appoints head of real-estate funds
French buyout house Weinberg Capital Partners has named Laurent Halimi as partner with overall responsibility for real-estate funds.
UK - 3i in talks with Keepmoat regarding possible £800m buyout
3i is reported to be in talks with social housing builders and repairers Keepmoat about a possible ТЃ800m buyout. The Doncaster-based business recently appointed Deloitte to consider its options. Bridgepoint is also expected to show interest in the company,...
FRANCE - Argos Soditic backs MBI of Chronolyss
Argos Soditic has backed the management buy-in of Chronolyss, a company providing services to diabetic patients.