News
UK - NGBI Private Equity backs £14m MBO of Change Recruitment Group
NBGI Private Equity (NBGI PE) has backed the £14m management buyout of Change Recruitment Group, an independent, Scotland-based recruitment consultancy.
UK - Inflexion Private Equity backs £13m buyout of Autocruise
Inflexion Private Equity has led the £13m buyout of Autocruise, a leading manufacturer of motorhomes in the UK. Inflexion-managed funds invested £5.9m to take a majority stake in the company. Royal Bank of Scotland also provided £8.5m of debt facilities...
UK - Ingenious Media invests £3m to enable Digital Rights Group to make acquisition
Ingenious Media Active Capital Limited has invested £3m in The Digital Rights Group Ltd (DRG) in order to enable it to acquire Portman Film and Television Ltd, a UK drama distributor.
UK - Close Ventures leads £2m follow-on funding of Xceleron
Close Ventures has invested £1.5m as part of a £2m follow-on funding round in Xceleron Ltd, a provider of early-stage drug development and assessment services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. The balance was provided by Foursome Investments,...
UK - Duke Street and Englefield exit Equity Insurance Group
Duke Street Capital and Englefield Capital have sold Equity Insurance Group to Insurance Australia Group, Australasia’s leading general insurance group, for a total consideration of £570m. The two investors delisted the insurance group, then known...
GERMANY/FRANCE – Lafarge roofing unit sells for EUR 2.4bn
PAI Partners have acquired the roofing business of French cement giant Lafarge SA for EUR 2.4bn. The enterprise value for the acquisition consists of EUR 1.96bn of net equity and EUR 420m of debt and pension liabilities. JP Morgan and Rothschild co-arranged...
UK - Standard Life European Private Equity Trust appoints new non-executive directors
The board of Standard Life European Private Equity Trust Plc has appointed Clive Sherling and Donald Workman as independent non-executive directors of the company, with effect from 1 December 2006. Sherling spent 17 years at Arthur Andersen, the last...
SWEDEN - EQT Oppportunity buys Melka Tenson and Five Seasons
The EQT Opportunity Fund has acquired sportswear companies M/T Owner (Melka Tenson) from Jacques Vert Plc, and Five Seasons from Five Seasons Inköps AB. The majority owner of Five Seasons, Gunnar Johansson, will together with management become co-owner...
SWEDEN - Industri Kapital to acquire Attendo
Industri Kapital has agreed to buy care company Attendo Group AB from the owners Bridgepoint, Mexab and Säki.
NORWAY - EQT sells Plantasjen to Apax
EQT III has agreed to sell garden centre chain Plantasjen to funds managed by Apax Partners. Under EQT's ownership, the company has tripled its revenues. The sale is conditional on approval by the relevant competition authorities.
SWEDEN - HealthCap and NBGI Ventures invest in BoneSupport
The medical technology company BoneSupport AB in Lund has received SEK 135m in growth funding. The new investors include HealthCap and NBGI Ventures, while the existing owners are Innovationskapital, Teknoinvest, FERD Venture and Vencorp Partners.
UK - Lyceum exits Clinovia through a sale to BUPA
Lyceum Capital has realised its investment in home healthcare services provider Clinovia. The Harlow-based company was acquired by BUPA for £87.7m. The returns on the deal have not been disclosed.
GERMANY – New partner joins Lovells in Frankfurt
M&A and private equity specialist Wolfgang Hess will leave Simmons’ Frankfurt office to join Lovells as a partner in January.
GERMANY – Francotyp-Postalia floats on the Prime Standard
Quadriga Capital has floated German mailing systems solutions company Francotyp-Postalia on the Prime Standard in Frankfurt. The share price was set at EUR 19 and 2.7 million new shares were offered as part of a capital increase, resulting in gross primary...
ITALY - Synergo and Change Capital Partners acquire Unopiù
Private equity firm Synergo SGR has acquired 50% of Unopiù in a club deal with Change Capital Partners. The deal value has not been disclosed.
ITALY - Advent acquires Venere.com
Advent International has acquired a majority stake in Venere.com, an online hotel reservations company, in partnership with its founders. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.
SWEDEN - Ratos-backed Lindab to float today
Trading in Lindab’s shares on the Stockholm Stock Exchange will commence today. The market capitalisation of the company is SEK 8.658bn. Lindab, which offers in-house solutions in steel and sheet metal, is one of Ratos's portfolio companies.
UK - August Equity supports £40.9m take-private of Planit
August Equity has invested £14.2m in Planit Holdings Plc, to support the £40.9m management buyout of the AIM-listed company which will herald the first public-to-private deal in August Equity’s portfolio. The public-to-private scheme is expected to...
UK - The Carlyle Group to acquire Bigmouthmedia to merge with Global Media
The Carlyle Group has acquired Bigmouthmedia, the digital marketing agency headquartered in Edinburgh and will merge the company with its existing portfolio company, Global Media GmbH, the web marketing company headquartered in Munich. As a result, Carlyle...
UK - Gresham generates 2.6x return on exit from Blue Group
Gresham Private Equity has exited Blue Group International through the sale of the business to HCL Plc (formerly Healthcare Locums Plc) in a deal worth £12m. Gresham made a return of 2.6x its investment.
UK - London Technology Fund invests in interactive 3G video platform company
Intellistream, the developer of a new turnkey solution for 3G video content delivery, has attracted funding of £355,000 from London Technology Fund and several business angels. Following the investment an experienced software executive will join the...
UK - Bridgepoint exits Longville
Bridgepoint has realised its investment in Longville, the international rental group focusing on the provision of pumping and temperature control solutions. The company has been acquired by US-based Carrier Inc, a business unit of United Technologies...
UK - KKR and Goldman Sachs to bid for EMI
EMI, the London Stock Exchange-listed music company behind Robbie Williams and Coldplay is reported to have received an approach which may lead to a take-over bid. KKR and Goldman Sachs are believed to be among the potential bidders.
UK - 3i announces team to address quoted market opportunity
3i Group Plc has created a new team to address opportunities for creating value in the European quoted markets, which may not be suited to an all cash take private transaction. This dedicated team will draw on 3i’s experience of both private equity...