News
UK - University of Sheffield spin-out sold to US medical technology company
Plasso Technology UK has been acquired by US medical technology company BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company). The deal represents an exit for Plasso investors, White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund and East Hill Management Company. White Rose provided Plass...
SWEDEN - Industri Kapital sells Elektrokoppar to Liljedahlsbolagen
The Industri Kapital 1997 Fund has signed an agreement to sell 100% of its shares in the Elektrokoppar group to Liljedalhsbolagen. During Industri Kapital's ownership, Eelktrokoppar has strenghtened its product line as well as developed various niche...
UK - Bridges provides The Office with £2.2m of additional funding
Bridges Community Ventures has provided managed office business The Office with a further round of funding totalling £2.2m. The new capital has enabled The Office to purchase a fourth building.
UK - Advent International acquires Lloyds TSB Registrars in £550m deal
Advent International has acquired the share registration arm of Lloyds TSB for £550m. The deal came about after Lloyds TSB appointed Lehman Brothers to run a sale process. Advent beat off competition from Australian company Link Market Services which...
SWEDEN - Earlybird leads SEK 68.5m investment in Sidec Technologies
Earlybird Venture Capital, Industrifonden and Investor Growth Capital has invested SEK 68.5m in Sidec Technologies AB, a Swedish biotech company. In the series-B round, Investor Growth Capital and Ealybird joined Industrifonden, an existing investor....
UK - CVC reported to be interested in Jessops
London-listed camera retailer Jessops is the subject of takeover speculation. The company's shares are trading at a fifth of what they were worth last year following a series if profit warnings. CVC is reported to be interested in the company.
UK - Morrisons latest supermarket to attract private equity interest
Morrisons is the latest UK supermarket chain to have attracted private equity interest. The Bradford-based chain is the fourth largest supermarket in the UK following its takeover of Safeway in 2004. A private equity bid could value Morrisons at up to...
UK - One Equity encounters new competition for EMI takeover approach
One Equity is facing competition in its bid to acquire London-listed music publisher EMI. EMI is reported to have opened its books to US hedge fund Cerberus and Fortress Investment Group as well as One Equity, the private equity arm of JP Morgan that...
UK - Bridges leads SBO of Triage from 3i
Bridges Ventures has led the secondary buyout of IT repair company Triage Services. The deal represents an exit for 3i which backed the original £9m management buyout of the company in 1997. Kaye Enterprises and Calculus Capital also participated in...
UK - 3i to buy into architectural firm
3i is reported to be buying a minority stake in Foster & Partners, the architectural business behind the Gherkin. The deal is expected to value the company at between £400-500m.
UK - Christiian Marriott joins BPE from Mezzanine Management
Christiian Marriott has joined Barclays Private Equity as head of investor relations. He was previously at Mezzanine Management.
FRANCE - I-Source and 3i sell ScreenTonic to Microsoft
I-Source Gestion and 3i have sold mobile media content business ScreenTonic to Microsoft.
SWEDEN - Segulah recruits new partner
Segulah has recruited Percy Calissendorff as a new partner. He will join the team as of September 3rd 2007. Percy is a Swedish citizen with over ten years of private equity experience. Over the last five years, he has been a partner at UK based private...
UK - Boots deal encounters up to £1bn unforeseen pension costs
KKR's buyout of Alliance Boots has encountered a setback in the form of an extra £1bn demanded by the trustees of its pension fund. The pension fund was reported to have a surplus just days earlier. Yesterday, the Pension Regulator called on trustees...
UK - Bridgepoint secures Leeds Bradford deal
Bridgepoint has won the auction for Leeds Bradford Airport. It is paying £145.5m to acquire the asset from its five local council owners. Bridgepoint intends to invest up to £70m in the facility to try to double passenger numbers. In 2005, the airport...
UK - One Equity could value EMI at £3bn
EMI is being circled by One Equity, the private equity group associated with JP Morgan. The music publisher has been the subject of private equity speculation since last November. It was first courted by Permira which was understood to have considered...
NL - New partner at LSP
Dr Joep Muijrers has joined the Life Sciences Partners investment team as partner, operating from the Amsterdam office. Previously Muijrers was a director for corporate finance and capital markets at Fortis Merchant Banking, where he focused exclusively...
SPAIN - Applus+ up for sale (again)
CVC, Carlyle, Permira, Brigepoint, Apax Partners and Blackstone are reported to be preparing offers of around EUR 1.5bn for Applus+. The likeliest buyer, however, is Blackstone; rumour has it that the the US giant is set to launch a pre-emptive bid for...
UK - Carlyle swoops on BAE with submarine bid
As part of its efforts to acquire the refitting and refueling Devonport naval dockyard in Plymouth, Carlyle has proposed running the UK's submarine building programme at Devonport. This process currently takes place at BAE-owned Barrow-in-Furness.
CEE - Colin Hewett leaves Mid Europa
After eight years involvement with the Mid Europa team, Colin Hewett has stepped down from the investment and management committees of Mid Europa Partners. Although Hewett has decided to pursue other interests, he will continue as a consultant to the...
GERMANY - Klöckner Pentaplast changes hands for EUR 1.3bn
Cinven and JP Morgan Partners have sold German manufacturer of rigid plastic films Klöckner Pentaplast to The Blackstone Group for EUR 1.3bn, representing an 8x multiple of pro-forma EBITDA. In 2001, Cinven and JPMorgan acquired Klöckner Pentaplast...
SWEDEN - Innovations Kapital makes 9x on sale of Spotfire
InnovationsKapital hs sold IT company Spotfire to TIBCO, a US software company, making a 9x return on investment. The sale of Spotfire marks the final close of InnovationsKapital's first fund, InnKap 1.
GERMANY - NOXXON Pharma raises EUR 37m
NOXXON Pharma AG, a developer of mirror image oligonucleotide therapeutics, has closed a EUR 37m series-C financing round. The main investors are TVM Capital, Sofinnova Partners and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners. Other investors contributing...
BULGARIA - AIG acquires Bulgarian Telecommunications Company
AIG Global Investment Group has acquired a 65% stake in Bulgarian Telecommunications Company for EUR 1.08bn from Viva Ventures GmbH. The former state-owned telecommunications company is currently listed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange and AIG acquired...