News
UK - Close Growth Capital supports £32m MBO of A-Gas from 3i
Close Growth Capital (CGC) has supported the £32m secondary management buyout of A-Gas International from 3i. CGC provided hybrid equity and debt financing for the deal. Senior debt and working capital facilities were provided by Barclays Bank. Bristol-based...
UK - Sir David Arculus joins August Equity portfolio company
August Equity's super yacht magazine publisher Boat International Media Ltd has appointed Sir David Arculus as its chairman. Arculus is currently a non-executive director at O2 Plc, Telefonica Plc and Pearson Plc. He was chairman of O2 from 2004 until...
quote'' - Jonus Bartholdson, Keystone Advisers
‘I don’t understand why long term investors presented with an interesting new fund don’t choose to invest a small amount just to be in the investor base,’ he says, speaking on LP appetite for first-time funds (see Feature, Nordic unquote" March...
COMMENT: Despite criticism, buoyant mood prevails
Bigger funds, new supplies of capital from hitherto marginal players and growth of the market globally, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. If the results of a survey co-sponsored by Simmons & Simmons and Société Générale Corporate & Investment...
GERMANY - Doughty Hanson sells Maximilianhöfe for EUR 270m
Doughty Hanson & Co Real Estate, a European real estate fund manager, has sold Maximilianhöfe, a flagship property on Munich’s Maximilianstrasse, for €270m to Quinlan Private. The site was acquired in March 2000 from the Free State of Bavaria by...
UK - 3i tops league table of most profitable investee companies
Fast Track has completed its inaugural league table for measuring profit growth of private equity-backed companies. The Sunday Times Deloitte Buyout Track 100, to be published on Sunday, ranks Britain’s 100 private equity-backed mid-market companies...
NORWAY - HitecVision opens offices in Houston
Oil and gas investor HitecVision is opening an office in Houston following increased dealflow and growing interest from investors in the US and Canada.
UK - Reed Elsevier expects private equity interest in its education business
Reed Elsevier has hired UBS to advise it on the disposal of its education division.
UK - Apollo closer to making Countrywide offer
Apollo is one step closer to making a formal bid for UK estate agency Countrywide after arranging the financing for a possible deal. It is expected to offer approximately 597p per share trumping 3i's rejected bid of 570p earlier this year.
FINLAND - CapMan announces promotions
CapMan has promoted Markku Hietala to senior partner and Johan Bennarsten, Björn Nordenvall and Tommy Valther Hansen to partners as of 14 February 2007.
SPAIN- Codere flirts with private equity again
According to market sources, gambling business Codere has hired Credit Suisse to find a partner to provide extra muscle for further acquisitions.
UK - Porton Capital portfolio company Acolyte Biomedica sold to 3M
Porton Capital has sold Acolyte Biomedica, a developer of technology to combat hospital acquired infections to 3M. Porton Capital first invested in Acolyte in 2004, participating in a £3.7m expansion round. In 2002, BioProjects International led a £2.6m...
UK - MTI, Hotbed and BASF Venture Capital invest £4.9m in DataLase
MTI Partners, Hotbed and BASF Venture Capital GmbH have invested £4.9m in series-B funding to support technology company DataLase. The company has developed a revolutionary high-quality method for applying laser-induced images for product identification,...
UK - Risk Capital Partners invests in APT Controls
Risk Capital Partners has made a significant investment in access technology company APT Controls Ltd. Risk Capital has bought around 45%, valuing the business at over £10m. APT is part of a buy-and-build strategy in the access control and security industries,...
IRELAND - Private equity backed-Smurfit Kappa in EUR 1.3bn IPO
Paper and packaging company Smurfit Kappa is to be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange in a EUR 1.3bn IPO. The company is backed by Madison Dearborn Partners, which owns a 47% stake and CVC and Cinven which own 21% each.
PORTUGAL - Inter-Risco backs car inspection business
Inter-Risco, the private equity arm of bank BPI, has invested EUR 17m in MasterTest in return for a 30% stake. The company provides car inspection services and it is based in Porto.
UK - Lion Capital set to dispose of Burton's Foods
Lion Capital is considering disposing of Burton's Foods, the maker of Wagon Wheels and Maryland Cookies which it acquired in 2000 for £130m in its former guise Hicks Muse Tate & Furst. This would be the second divestment in as many weeks for the investor,...
SPAIN - Mercapital, Ibersuizas and Vista compete for Indas
Reports in the Spanish press suggest that Mercapital and Ibersuizas have joined Vista in the competition for pharmaceutical business Laboratorios Indas. The deal is valued at around EUR 360m.
UK - BUPA next private equity target?
Market sources report that Temasek, the Singapore government investment group, is weighting up a bid for private healthcare provider BUPA. It is understood that at least one other private equity group may also be involved in a Temasek-led bid.
UK - Pantheon strengthens client services team
Pantheon has made two appointments to its client services team. Marcus Alexis joins as US head of client services and Josephine Defty joins the European client services team. Alexis was formerly at Wellington Management Company.
UK - Ingenious backs dance act the Prodigy in £2m deal
Ingenious' two music VCTs have made a joint investment of £2m to support the release of dance act the Prodigy’s fifth studio album. With a further six deals in the final stages of negotiation, Ingenious Music VCT Plc is now approaching full commitment,...
UK - CBI chief praises private equity model of business
Richard Lambert the director-general of the Confederation of British Industry praised private equity houses in a speech today. Hitting back at the recent trade union criticism which has also stirred senior Labour Party voices, Lambert asserted that private...
ITALY - Permira and Private Equity Partners exit Marazzi Group
Permira and Private Equity Partners have sold the 8.47% stake it had in tile business Marazzi. The shares were sold at the price of EUR 10.3 each.
UK - West Coast Capital offer for Blooms accepted
West Coast Capital will shortly add Blooms of Bressingham to its garden centre assets after the nursery chain's board accepted its offer. West Coast Capital led a consortium comprised of Baugur, HBOS and property entrepeneur Nick Leslau to bid £30.2m...