News
UK - Quadrangle opens London office
Quadrangle Group has opened a London office to expand the firm's private equity activities in Europe. The firm is currently investing its second private equity fund, Quadrangle Capital Partners II, which has over $2bn in committed capital. Gordon Holmes,...
NORWAY - Nordic Capital sells Nopco Paper Technology
Nordic Capital Fund III has divested Nopco Paper Technology AS, producer and supplier of additives for the pulp and paper industry, to its management and Glitnir for an undisclosed sum. Nordic Capital supported the carve-out of Nopco from Henkel back...
NL – Emerald Technology Ventures invests in fluXXion
Emerald Technology Ventures has led a EUR 6.4m financing round in Dutch micro filtration technology company fluXXion. Other investors joining the round include Capricorn Cleantech Fund, WHEB Ventures as well as existing investor Koninklijke Philips Electronics....
WORLD - Blackstone in $3bn Chinese coup
When Blackstone announced it was to list on the NYSE, it provoked much discussion, but few mused over its potential impact on Chinese-US relations. Unsuprisingly, no one foresaw China's announcement that it will invest $3bn of its $1.2 trillion foreign...
SPAIN - Clave Mayor backs software development house
Venture firm Clave Mayor has invested EUR 1m of its fund Punto Futuro in software developer Futura Acorp.
UK - Advent acquires Lloyds TSB Registrars
Advent International has acquired the share registration business of Lloyds TSB plc, Lloyds TSB Registrars, for ТЃ550m. Advent is backing the existing management team led by Managing Director David Winton. The business is headquartered in Worthing...
UK - Hermes sells Walbrook to Barclays Bank
Hermes Private Equity has sold independent fiduciary company Walbrook Group Limited to Barclays Bank PLC. Hermes backed the management buyout of Walbrook in December 2003 from Deloitte and in January 2006 Walbrook acquired the Deloitte office in Hong...
EUROPE - Private equity to take the stand
The Commons Treasury Select Committee in the UK has summoned five of Europe тs biggest private equity chiefs to attend a meeting on 20 June, which as been called a sort of тpublic hearingт in a report in todayтs Financial Times. The industry chiefs...
FRANCE - Argos Soditic pilots the BIMBO of ejection device manufacturer
Argos Soditic has acquired Alkan from MBDA France.
UK - B.P. Marsh in further backing of Hyperion
BP Marsh & Partners has announced that it has participated in a ТЃ5.5m rights issue of portfolio company Hyperion Insurance Gruop. B.P. Marsh exercised its right to participate in the issuance at a cost of just over ТЃ1.5m, retaining a 27.89% stake....
UK - M&C Saatchi enters private equity arena
UK advertising agency M&C Saatchi is launching a new division to work with private equity firms to assess brands and spot potential deals. The new division, Accelerator, will be headed by the agency's UK chief executive, Tim Duffy. Duffy said: "Private...
UK - Advent grows ICT investment team
Advent Venture Partners has announced the appointment of Paul Fisher to the ICT investment team. Fisher gained experience of early-stage transactions at First Capita, where he was Associate Director. Prior to joining First Capital, Fisher worked in...
BULGARIA - Arco acquires CableTEL for €41m
Arco Capital Corporation (ACC) has announced the €41m acquisition of CableTEL, a Bulgaria-based telecommunications company which also has operations in Macedonia. ACC is a holding company that engages in lending and acquisition activities primarily...
UK - Ladbrokes CEO quashes bid talk
The chief executive of British betting and gaming company Ladbrokes has claimed that rumours of an imminent bid for the firm are well wide of the mark. In an interesting turn of phrase, Chris Burn said the speculation was 'absolute rhubarb.' Shares...
EUROPE - Bear Stearns joins iPEIT club
The Initiative for Private Equity Investment Trusts ( iPEIT ) now names Bear Stearns Private Equity Limited as one of its members, bringing the total number of PEITs under the umbrella organisation to 11. Bear Stearns is a listed fund of funds that...
FRANCE - MBO Partenaires sells Gamfi to Leica Geosystems
MBO Partenaires has realised its interests in construction lasers manufacturer Gamfi, sold to a subsidiary of Stockholm-listed Hexagon.
GERMANY - Carlyle acquires real estate portfolio from Concordia
The Carlyle Group has acquired a portfolio of 19 properties from insurance group Concordia. The portfolio consists of assets distributed throughout Germany, with a total area of approximately 42,400 m2 which can be rented.
UK - Baird invests £13m in recruitment company Aston Carter
Baird Capital Partners Europe has invested ТЃ13m for a majority stake in Aston Carter, a UK recruitment consultancy specialising in the placement of IT professionals into the financial services sector in the UK and internationally.
UK - Cognis Capital backs BIMBO of waste services company
Cognis Capital Partners has backed the BIMBO of waste serivces company Sancerre. The deal has enabled Sancerre to purchase the high temperature incinerator and waste-to-energy plats in Fawley, Hampshire from Veolia ES (UK) Ltd. The company expects to...
UK - 3i sells stake in Corpro to SCF Partners
3i has sold its 49.5% stake in oilfield services company Corpro to SCF Partners. The exit generated an IRR of 22% for 3i, which backed the ТЃ2m management buyout of the company in 1998. Since the deal, Corpro has expanded internationally and now operates...
EUROPE - WINNERS ANNOUNCED for unquote" Central & Eastern European Awards
Unquoteт is delighted to announce the winners of the first ever awards for Central & Eastern European Private Equity, held last night at One Whitehall Place, London. The inaugural event, held in association with EBRD and sponsored by Clifford Chance,...
FRANCE - PAI wins exclusivity for 50.01% of Kaufman et Broad
PAI partners has been granted a period of exclusivity for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Euronext-listed house builder Kaufman et Broad.
CEE - AIG invests in SC Digital Cable Systems SA
AIG Capital Partners has invested EUR 45m in Romanian firm SC Digital Cable (DCS) Systems, a provider of video re-transmission services. The commitment will be funded by AIG New Europe II, a EUR 523m fund dedicated to investments in Central and Eastern...
SWITZERLAND - BVgroup acquires Lonstroff Holding AG
BVgroup has backed a management buyout of Lonstroff Holding AG from 3i. The transaction value has not been disclosed, but BVgroup will take an 80% stake in the company with management holding the balance.