News
UK - Photo-Me likely to be private equity target
The Surrey-based photobooth maker, Photo-Me, has confirmed that it has hired JPMorgan Cazenove as a financial adviser according to the Times. The shareprice of the group has suffered in recent months, closing on Friday at 86p compared to 132p last November,...
FRANCE - Viaduc receives EUR 5m from French investors
Viaduc, the French leading online professional contacts exchange, has gathered EUR 5m from AGF Private Equity and Ventech.
ITALY - Barclays Private Equity Acquires ULKA Costruzioni Elettromeccaniche SpA
Barclays Private Equity has acquired ULKA Costruzioni Elettromeccaniche SpA, a manufacturer of solenoid pumps for coffee machines, from entrepreneur Giampiero Rossi for an undisclosed sum.
UK - Sovereign Capital recruits Phil Hinson
Sovereign Capital has appointed Phil Hinson as an assistant director. Hinson has spent the last six years with PricewaterhouseCoopers Corporate Finance where he was a founding member of the business services sector team, focusing primarily on the facilities...
UK - 3i backed TransMedics participates in first ever UK beating heart transplant
TransMedics, which received financial backing from 3i in 2003, has participated in the UK's first beating heart transplant.
UK - Skype investor joins Benchmark Capital
Benchmark Capital Europe, the early-stage technology venture capital firm, has announced that Klaus Hommels has joined the firm as its first European venture partner. Hommels will work with the firm on both new opportunities as well as Benchmarkтs current...
UK - Jonathan Bell joins LDC in Manchester
LDC has boosted its Manchester new business team with the appointment of Jonathan Bell.
UK - Blackstone to float Southern Cross Healthcare Group
The recently volatility of the markets has not deterred Blackstone from their intention to float Southern Cross. Blackstone is hoping the sale will value Britain's biggest care home group which it has owned since 2003 at about ТЃ550m, according to The...
UK - Nigel Beer joins Hotbed board
Nigel Beer, a former divisional CEO at KPMG, has joined the board of Hotbed, the private investor network. During his time at KPMG, Nigel was a partner and head of its corporate finance division in London and was also a member of its national corporate...
UK - Secondary buyout of Azzurri Communications
3i announces today that it has sold its 75% stake in Azzurri Communications, the leading UK converged voice and date communications company, to a secondary buyout vehicle backed by Prudential Ventures (PPM) in a deal valuing the company at ТЃ182.5m. 3iтs...
NL- Gilde and Van Herk Groep support third financing round for Agendia
Van Herk Group and Gilde Healthcare have provided third round financing to Dutch biotech company Agendia BV. The funds raised will be used to accelerate development of microarray-based late stage products into diagnostic tests for breast cancer and other...
UK - Pi Capital appoints Peter Brooks
Pi Capital has announced the appointment of Peter Brooks as a managing director and partner. Until October 2005, Peter Brooks was the managing partner of Sovereign Capital Partners. He joins fellow Pi partners David Giampaolo and Paul Thomas on 10 July...
NORWAY - HitecVision and Four Seasosns invest in Vector
HitecVision Private Equity and Four Seasons Venture have made an investment in pipe connector specialist Vector International AS.
NORWAY - NVCA recruits new secretary general
The Norwegian Venture Capital Association has appointed Knut Traaseth as its new secretary general. Starting today, Traaseth is joining from GCI Monsen where he has worked as director of investor relations and financial market communication. Prior to...
NETHERLANDS - Fidelity tenders VNU shares
Fidelity has given up its resistance to the EUR 29.50 per share bid by Valcon for VNU and has tendered its shares. It is understood that before this announcement, Fidelity had already reduced its share capital to below 15%.
FINLAND - VC-backed Inion signs research agreement
Finnish Inion has today announced that it has signed a cooperation and research agreement with Angiomed, a subsidiary of the life science products group, C.R. Bard Inc. Angiomed will pay for the feasibility phase of this project in the form of upfront...
UK - Advantage Capital's Qm Group appoints new head
Qm Group, the UKтs leading provider of queue management systems to retailers and banks, has further strengthened its management team with the appointment of David Pearson as its chief executive. Pearson, the former head of Sony UK, has been appointed...
UK - Return of same day registration service for limited partnerships
The British Venture Capital Associationтs technical committee has succeeded in a campaign for the return of a same day registration service for limited partnership. Originally axed due to costs in October of 2005, this is a service that is considered...
UK - Standard Life European Private Equity announces half year results
Standard Life European Private Equity Trust has released interim results showing a strong performance for the six months ended 31st March 2006.
SWEDEN - Industrifonden invests in Storegate
Industrifonden has injected capital in Storegate in return of a 20% shareholding in the company. Based in Karlshamn, Storegate was founded in 2002 and focuses on secure information storage.
FINLAND - CapMan acquires Tamro MedLab from Tamro Group
CapMan has signed an agreement to buy Tamro MedLab from Tamro Group for an undisclosed sum. It is expected that the transaction, which includes all of Tamro MedLab’s business, will be closed by July 2006.
UK - £138m debt refinancing for Tragus Group Holdings Ltd
Tragus Group Holdings Ltd, a company backed by Legal & General Ventures, has undergone a ТЃ138m debt refinancing, consisting of senior and mezzanine facilities provided by Barclays Bank Plc. The transaction has enabled Tragus to repay ТЃ45m of existing...
DENMARK - Matas shareholders to accept CVC offer
The majority of the Matas shareholders have agreed to sell the business to CVC Capital Partners for DKK 5.2bn. During a shareholder meeting, more than 2/3 of the shareholders agreed that the board of directors should continue the sales process with CVC....
SPAIN – WebCapital and Manoin64 invest EUR 400,000 in Agnitio
WebCapital SCR, managed by Riva y García Private Equity, and Manonin64 (the holding company of the Sansalvado family) have together acquired significant stakes in Agnitio SL for EUR 400,000. Agnitio SL, a spin-off from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid,...