News
GERMANY - Steadfast Capital buys Kautex Maschinenbau
Steadfast Capital has wholly acquired German blow molding machines manufacturer Kautex Maschinenbau in a management buyout from Adcuram AG. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.
UK - IQ Capital participates in £1m funding for Short Fuze
IQ Capital Fund, an early-stage fund launched in December 2006, has made its first investment co-leading a £1m funding round with CREATE Partners for electronic game design company Short Fuze. Short Fuze will use the new capital to accelerate the commercial...
UK - LDC portfolio company Ellis Fairbank makes acquisition
LDC porfolio recruitment company Ellis Fairbank has acquired a London-based executive search and selection firm in a move which will increase its annual net revenue by £3m and provide a strong foothold in new sectors. The deal, which was part-funded...
UK - Whitbread shares jump on private equity rumours
Shares in leisure group Whitbread rose by 11% in one day yesterday amid speculation that a private equity group is on the brink of launching a bid for the name behind the Premier Travel Inn, David Lloyd leisure, Beefeater pubs and Costa Coffee brands....
FRANCE - Rexel launches EUR 1.015bn IPO
Private equity-backed electrical equipment distributor Rexel has submitted details of its planned IPO to the French financial market authorities.
BELGIUM - Waterland takes a stake in Indicator
Waterland Private Equity Investments has announced that it has supported the management buyout of Indicator, a publisher of professional newsletters and books aimed at small and medium-sized companies and self-employed entrepreneurs. No financial details...
SWEDEN - Amadeus joins $12m funding in Transmode
Amadeus Capital Partners has contributed to the $12m F round financing in Transmode Holding AB, a Stockholm-based supplier of optical networking equipment for metro Ethernet networks.
UK - ProVen portfolio company to merge with Channel 4 learning
Beringea-managed ProVen VCT's portfolio company Espresso Group has agreed with Channel 4 to merge Channel 4 Learning into its portfolio of businesses. The transaction is subject to Espresso shareholder approval and is expected to complete before Easter....
Quote '' - Alan Duncan, UK Shadow Secretary of State for Trade, Industry & Energy
Speaking exclusively in the next issue of Private Equity Europe , Alan Duncan affirmed Conservative support for private equity but also sounded a note of caution: 'I don’t believe that we need to see more regulation, but I do believe that we...
UK - Private equity leaders hold private meeting with UK Treasury
Heads of some of Europe ’s largest buyout houses held private discussions with a UK Treasury aide in an effort for the Government to stave off political pressure. The aide, Shriti Vadera, a former investment banker and currently an adviser to UK...
UK - Carlyle to delist retail outlet developer
Carlyle has made a recommended offer for retail outlet developer Freeport. The London Stock Exchange-listed company is valued at £155.3m and has been recommended by the board and agreed by a group of shareholders who between them own a 49% stake in the...
ITALY - Argan and Merrill Lynch considering N&W flotation
Press reports suggest that Argan Capital and Merrill Lynch are considering the IPO of its vending machine interest N&W Global Vending this year.
FRANCE - New player in French mezzanine - Audacia
Charles Beidbeder has announced the launched of Audacia, a new structure providing warrant-less mezzanine directly to French SMEs.
FRANCE - IPO announces 2006 results
Small-cap listed fund IPO has disclosed its performance figures for 2006.
EUROPE - Covenant-lite loans stoke heavy fears
Reports of banks accepting “covenant-lite” loans to win deals has worried industry professionals. “It is due to an oversupply of capital and a very clear sign of an overheated market,” one banker said. “It is a bad structure and will come unstuck...
SPAIN - Mercapital to join Doughty Hanson in competition for Continental Auto
Reports in the Spanish press suggest that Mercapital has joined forces with Doughty Hanson to bid for Continental Auto, the bus division of local infrastructure and services group Actividades de Construccion y Servicios (ACS). The company is said to be...
UK - TA Associates acquires Jupiter
TA Associates has completed its largest deal in Europe by far with the £740m acquisition of asset management company Jupiter from Commerzbank. Previously, TA's largest European deal was the £100m buyout of DriveAssist UK in 2004, which it recently sold...
UK - BVCA announces members of its High Level Working Group
The BVCA has announced the members of its new High Level Working Group. Industry heavyweights including Baroness Hogg, the chairman of 3i; Adrian Beecroft, the deputy chairman of Apax, Bridgepoint managing partner William Jackson and Anne Glover, the...
AUSTRIA - CVC Capital Partners eyes up Böhler Uddeholm
CVC Capital Partners has confirmed that it is considering a takeover of the listed Austrian steel group Böhler Uddeholm. Rumours suggested that the financial investor was already in negotiations to purchase the near 21 per cent strategic holding owned...
GERMANY - Equita acquires Stromag group
Equita Management GmbH has acquired the Stromag Group in a management buyout for an undisclosed amount. This represents the fifth investment for the Equita Fonds 3 that closed in November 2005.
FRANCE - Weinberg pilots secondary buyout of Via Location
Weinberg Capital Partners has taken a majority stake of truck rental business Via Location. The deal means an exit for Edmond de Rothschild Capital Partners (ERCP).
FRANCE - MBO Partenaires invests in dried fruit distributor
French mid-cap private equity firm MBO Partenaires has backed the buyout of Daco, a distributor of dried fruits.
CEE – Royalton generates 3.6x money multiple on sale of Ella Bank
Dedicated Central and Eastern European investor Royalton Capital Investors has sold its entire stake in Ella Bank to generate a return of 3.6x money invested and an IRR of 39%. The Hungarian retail bank was sold by Royalton and EDHI to AXA Holdings Belgium....
SWITZERLAND - LSP and BiomedInvest lead EUR 7.2m financing round
In a first round of funding, Life Sciences Partners III, BiomedInvest AG and Novartis Venture Fund have invested EUR 7.2m in Okairos AG. The financing will enable the company to demonstrate proof of concept of its adenovirus-based technology in several...