News
UK - TA Associates delays SmartStream float
The bookbuilding period on TA Associate's flotation of software portfolio company SmartStream has been extended until next week. Conditional trading was expected to start today. News of the delay follows a reduction in the price of the offering by £100m...
BELGIUM - KBC Private Equity invests EUR 3m in VMD
KBC Private Equity has invested EUR 3m in VMD to enable it to acquire Laboratoires Biové. VMD and France-based Laboratoires Biové are both manufacturers of veterinary medicines.
ITALY - Clessidra backs acquisition of logistics player
Through its portfolio company Elia, buyout house Clessidra backed the acquisition of logistics business Ambrosetti Autologistic.
UK - Sovereign Capital completes portfolio acquisition
Sovereign Capital portfolio company Alkare Holdings Ltd, a Swansea-based residential health provider for people with mental health needs and learning difficulties, has completed the acquisition of Cardiff-based Positive Lifestyles Ltd for an undisclosed...
RUSSIA - Aurora Russia invests a further £10m into Kreditmart
Aurora Russia has invested a further £10m into Kreditmart, a finance company that distributes mortgages, equity release loans and other consumer finance products. The company was set up by Aurora Russia, which invested £12.5m in 2006.
NORDIC - unquote” Private Equity Congress & Awards – 30 October
unquote” is delighted to announce its 3rd annual Nordic unquote” Private Equity Congress & Awards on 30 October 2007, in Stockholm.
CEE - Enterprise Investors partially exits Magellan in an IPO on the Warsaw Stock Exchange
Enterprise Investors ' Polish Enterprise Fund IV has partially exited its stake in Magellan in an IPO on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
FRANCE - Banexi CP takes 35% of France Géothermie
Banexi Capital Partenaires has backed the owner buyout of France Géothermie, a manufacturer of geothermic and aerothermic pumps.
FRANCE - Bongrain sells its Gastronomie division to 21 Centrale Partners
21 Centrale Partners has secured the spin-off of Euronext-listed food producer Bongrain's non-dairy activity.
FRANCE - Barclays Private Equity wins Karavel-Promovacances auction
Barclays Private Equity has backed the management buyout of online tour operator Karavel-Promovacances from Opodo, which is re-focusing on selling flights.
UK - Barclays realises IRR of 22% from MBB of Benlowe Group
Barclays Ventures has exited its stake in joinery products manufacturer Benlowe Group in a deal which has generated returns of 2.16x the investment and an IRR of 22%.
NL - HgCapital acquires Fabory for EUR 345m
HgCapital has acquired Fabory (formerly Borstlap Group), a distributor of industrial fastners, from AAC Capital Partners (formerly ABN AMRO Capital) in a deal which values the company at EUR 345m. Bank of Scotland provided a financing package to support...
UK - Imperial Innovations takes 38% stake in EVO Electric
Imperial Innovations has invested £375,000 as part of a £1.5m round of funding in EVO Electric Ltd, a developer of electrical motors and generators, and increased their stake in the company to 38%.
UK - Graphite achieves 3x return from Golden Tulip sale
Graphite Capital has wholly exited its stake in the UK subsidiary of budget hotel group Golden Tulip in a trade sale to Whitbread plc worth £44m; generating a return of 3x its investment.
UK - Kolade tells conference it's time to separate fact from fairytale
Wol Kolade, chairman of the BVCA, today called on the private equity industry to fight back against the myths that surround it. Speaking at the Capital Creation conference in Monte Carlo, he said it was time to ‘separate the facts and figures from the...
RUSSIA - DFJ and VTB team up to launch Russian venture capital fund
Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), the international high-technology venture capital firm, has partnered with Russian commercial banking group VTB to form a new Russian venture capital fund, DFJ-VTB Aurora. The team will manage a family of funds, which are...
UK - gateway2investment expands focus to bridge 'investment gap'
Gateway2investment, the start-up investment programme which currently focuses on technological investments, is expanding its service to encompass all sectors of the economy.
UK - Graphite sells hotel chain for £44m
Graphite Capital has sold budget hotel group Golden Tulip to Whitbread Plc for £44m. Golden Tulip manages five 3-star Tulip Inn hotels and one 4-star Golden Tulip hotel in the UK with a total of 770 rooms. It also has nine more hotels in the planning...
DENMARK - DSM Venturing leads EUR 6.8m investment in Upfront Chromatography
DSM Venturing has led a EUR 6.8m investment round together with existing investors, InnovationsKapital and NBGI Ventures, in Upfront Chromatography, a Danish biotechnology company. The new funding will be used to scale up the sales force, especially in...
UK - Lyceum sells NBG for £91m
Lyceum Capital has wholly exited its stake in National Britannia Group, a specialist provider of health and safety compliance services, in a trade sale to Connaught Plc worth £91m.
UK - Pension Corporation makes play for telent Plc
Pension Corporation has made a 600p per share offer for telent, the only part of former industrial giant Marconi that remains independent. The deal represents a market capitalisation of £389m and has been recommended by telent's board. The trustees of...
GERMANY - Doughty Hanson appoints new principal
Doughty Hanson and Co Real Estate have announced the appointment of Martin Brendal as a principal.
SWEDEN - Industrifonden invests SEK 10m in Coresonic
Industrifonden has invested SEK 10m in Coresonic, a Linköping-based semiconductor company. The investment will be used to develop the company’s products and further penetrate the market.
UK - Octopus opens office in Leeds
Octopus Private Equity has announced the opening of its first regional office in Leeds.