News
UK - Activist shareholders put pressure on 3i's Countrywide offer
It has emerged that investment group Artisan Partners and hedge fund Boussard & Gavaudan have been joined by another Countrywide shareholder, Standard Life, in opposing 3i's 490p per share offer for the estate agency chain. The three investors argue that...
UK - ISIS backs £33m buyout of AITCL
ISIS Equity Partners has backed the £33m management buyout of Anglo Irish Trust Company Ltd (AITCL). The investor provided £13m from its ISIS III fund to acquire a significant minority stake in the Isle of Man-based offshore trust and company administration...
GERMANY - Buchanan Capital Partners acquires stake in time:matters
Funds advised by Buchanan Capital Partners have acquired a majority stake in time:matters GmbH, the Neu-Isenburg-based specialist logistics company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lufthansa Cargo AG.
UK - Wellington Partners leads EUR 18m investment in Truphone
Wellington Partners has led an EUR 18m series-A funding round for London-based mobile VoIP start-up Truphone. Also participating in financing Truphone are existing investors Eden Ventures and a number of business angels, as well as Independent News and...
UK - Bank of Scotland backs MBO of Willis & Gambier
Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance has funded the £55m management buyout of Willis & Gambier Ltd, taking a minority stake in the company.
UK - Bank of Scotland backs demerger of components division from Nylacast
Nylacast has agreed a demerger of its components division with backing from Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance in a deal worth over £30m. The components division of Nylacast supplies names such as Delphi, JCB, Caterpillar and GSK with highly engineered...
UK - More bad news for Countrywide deal
Sources report that UK hedge fund Boussard & Gavaudan has amassed a 5% stake in Countrywide and intends to oppose 3i's recommended 490p per share offer.
NORWAY - Norvestor's Elixia buys Sports Club
Elixia Holding AS has acquired Sports Club AS, creating a fitness club chain with over 110,000 members in the Nordic region. Following the merger, the fitness chain will have a total of 24 clubs in various Norwegian cities and an additional 7 in Finland.
HUNGARY - GMT and Mid Europa sell Invitel for EUR 470m
GMT Communications Partners and Mid Europa Partners have announced that they have agreed to sell Hungary’s second largest fixed line telecoms operator Invitel Távközlési ZRt. to Hungarian Telephone & Cable Corp for EUR 470m. The two financial investors...
ESTONIA - Mid Europa's Baltic Rail Services sells stake in Estonian Railways
Mid Europa Partners-backed Baltic Rail Services (BRS) has completed the sale of 66% of the share capital of Estonian Railways (EVR) to the Republic of Estonia for EUR 150m. Mid Europa Partners owns 33.33% of BRS. Following the completion of the sale and...
EUROPE - IPES appoints Brennan as COO
IPES, a private equity fund administrator and outsourcing provider, has announced that Kevin Brennan is to take on the newly created role of chief operating officer. Brennan will be responsible for the design and delivery of the organisational structure...
NORWAY - Norvestor's Panorama buys jewellery chain
Norvestor’s Panorama AS, a supplier of jewellery products, has acquired Gullåren and Ivar T Holth from Petter and Thomas Holth. Jewellery chain Gullåren has a total of 42 stores and Ivar T Holth is a wholesale supplier. Norvestor IV LP holds a 71...
ITALY - Centrobanca acquires majority stake in Gatto Astucci
Closed-end fund Centrobanca Sviluppo Impresa has acquired a 61% shareholding in packaging business Gatto Astucci for an undisclosed amount.
GERMANY - Waterland appoints care sector adviser
Waterland Private Equity Investments has appointed Ir B F Dessing as industry expert to advise the investment team with its investment decisions in the care sector.
GERMANY - ANYCOM floats successfully
The producer of wireless communication accessories based on bluetooth technology has floated 690,000 new shares on the Entry Standard in Frankfurt above the issue price of EUR 8. ANYCOM receives gross proceeds of around EUR 5.5m from the IPO, and will...
ITALY - Private equity firms court Fastweb
Reports in the Italian press suggest that three international private equity firms may be interested in buying Fastweb, Italy's second-largest fixed-line telephone company.
SWEDEN - 3i makes 10x its money on Nordic Modular
3i, together with the management of Nordic Modular, has signed an agreement to sell all the shares in Nordic Modular to Kungsleden AB, a Stockholm-listed real estate company. The sale price is approximately EUR 100m and includes the subsidiaries Flexator,...
GERMANY - The Riverside Company acquires AIS Group
The Riverside Company has acquired Advanced Information Systems Group (AIS Group), a technology solutions provider to the automotive, aerospace and steel industries. Nord LB provided financing for the deal.
BELGIUM - Movetis raises EUR 49m
Drug development company Movetis NV has secured EUR 49m in a series-A round of financing led by Sofinnova Partners and Life Sciences Partners and including Sofinnova Ventures, KBC, GIMV, Quest for Growth and BIP Investment Partners.
BELGIUM - Gilde Healthcare portfolio company Ablynx signs $265m deal
Pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim and Ablynx have announced an exclusive worldwide collaboration and licence agreement worth almost $265m to discover and develop new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease using Ablynx Nanobodies®.
UK - LDC backs MBO of Cable Management Group
LDC has backed the management buyout of Cable Management Group (CMG). The investment will support new product development, expansion of export markets and future acquisitions. Headquartered in Coleshill, Birmingham, CMG is the UK market leader in the...
UK - Double appointment at MTI Partners
MTI Partners, the technology venture capital investor has made two new appointments. Sarah Bates joins the board of MTI as a non-executive director. Bates, who has a BA in Law from Cambridge University and an MBA from the London Business School, worked...
UK - West Coast Capital and Bank of Scotland Corporate to raise bid for house builder
West Coast Capital, the private equity vehicle of Scottish entrepenuer Tom Hunter, and Bank of Scotland Corporate may raise their offer for housebuilding company Crest Nicholson this week. The consortium placed a 585p per share offer for the company in...
UK - 3i's bid for Countrywide prompts disagreement
3i's recommended £940m delisting of Countrywide is the subject of shareholder and board wrangling. Last week, Artisan Partners contacted investors arguing that the 490p per share offer, which includes 0.165 shares in property website Rightmove, did not...