News
NORWAY - Norvestor's Life buys 40% of Life Scandinavia
Life Health Nordic AB (Life AB) has bought over 40% of Life Scandinavia, a voluntary retail chain. Life Scandinavia’s largest owner is CEO Hallgeir Åndal, who has been appointed new CEO of Life AB.
NORWAY - PE groups prepare bids for Orkla Media
Candover, Apax Partners and Providence Equity Partners plan to bid for Norwegian Orkla Media, according to press reports. It is understood that the potential buyout could be worth over £700m.
UK - Carlyle and Atlas exit Orthogon Systems
The Carlyle Group and Atlas Venture have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to sell Orthogon Systems to Motorola, Inc. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
UK - AdaptiveMobile secures EUR 4.6m funding
Mobile security and filtering innovator AdaptiveMobile has announced that it has closed a EUR 4.6m first round of funding. Intel Capital, Intel's venture capital investment organisation, led the deal with an investment of EUR 4m. Additional commitments...
AUSTRIA - The Carlyle Group acquires UC4 Software
Financial investors PONTIS Venture Partners and Capexit have exited their joint 21% stake in UC4 Software GmbH. The electronic job scheduling specialist was sold to The Carlyle Group in a joint replacement capital and MBO transaction. The founding manager,...
NORWAY - VC-backed Edvantage group renews e-learning deal
Edvantage group has renewed a two-year NOK 1.3m e-learning deal with Det Norske Veritas (DNV). DNV has been using e-learning during the last two years as part of its efforts to effectively train employees around the world.
UK - Katalyst Ventures invests in UV technology
Katalyst Ventures, the private investor group, has announced that it has led a ТЃ319,000 funding round for GB Environmental Ltd, a company that specialises in the deployment of ultra violet (UV) technology for use in both air and liquid environments to...
GERMANY - Auctus Management acquires PharmaZell GmbH
Auctus Management has acquired Raubling-based PharmaZell GmbH from the Lubrizol Group.
FRANCE - Séchilienne-Sidec undergoes EUR 277m refinancing
Calyon has recently completed the EUR 277m refinancing of Apax Partner’s portfolio company Séchilienne-Sidec. The deal comprised credit facilities to refinance the energy production group’s existing indebtedness and its existing corporate credit facilities....
FINLAND - Sitra appoints new special adviser
Jani Kaarlejärvi has been appointed special adviser to the president of Sitra. For the past three years, Kaarlejärvi has been a researcher at the University of Sheffield and Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Germany.
NL- Rabo Innovatiekapitaalfonds invests in Organ Assist BV
Rabo Innovatiekapitaalfonds has taken an undisclosed stake in Organ Assist BV.
FRANCE - Immutep seeks EUR 13m from European VCs
French biopharmaceutical company Immutep is seeking a further EUR 13m from European investors, in addition to the EUR 5m already received from its existing investors. In December 2004, Innoven Partenaires led a EUR 2.5m second round of funding in the...
SWEDEN - Mobeon receives $13m from BrainHeart Capital and AP6
Mobeon, the mobile messaging software specialist, has secured approximately $13m from BrainHeart Capital and AP6.
UK - Northern Trust makes fund administration hires
Northern Trust has appointed Peter Brookman as head of UK fund accounting and Lynne Hill as head of UK transfer agency.
FRANCE - Duke Street Capital exits Marie Brizard
Duke Street Capital (DSC) has announced today the sale of its 69.3% stake in Marie Brizard & Roger International (MBRI) to French Spirits Group Belvédère, for a total consideration of EUR 397m. DSC took control of MBRI in May 2000 when the family-owned...
GERMANY - Brockhaus sells majority stake in DMS
Brockhaus Private Equity has exited its controlling stake in DMS Dynamic Micro Systems Semiconductor Equipment GmbH. The acquirer, Arcadia Beteiligungen, together with management, plans to support the continued expansion of the firm initiated by Brockhaus....
UK - Private equity cautious on pensions
Private equity investors are becoming increasingly cautious about investing in companies with defined pension deficits, according to a survey of mid-market private equity investors carried out by Grant Thornton Corporate Finance.
UK - West Private Equity goes independent
West Private Equity (WPE) has announced that its management team has agreed to acquire the management company of the WPE funds. Following regulatory clearance, WPE will be renamed Lyceum Capital.
NORWAY - HgCapital announces intention to take Visma private
Engel Holding AS, owned by funds managed by HgCapital, has decided to make a recommended public voluntary cash offer for all outstanding shares in Norwegian Visma ASA. The offer price, which is NOK 135 per share, values Visma at NOK 4.32bn.
GERMANY - MatlinPatterson to take over Heros
MatlinPatterson has agreed the takeover of insolvent currency transport service Heros with its creditors.
UK - Terra Firma strengthens team for Thames Water bid
John Roberts, a former chief executive at United Utilities, has joined Terra Firma as an adviser to help on its planned bid for Thames Water.
GLOBAL - JPMorgan sells private equity portfolio
Press reports confirm that Goldman Sachs Asset Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have co-led the secondary purchase of a US$925m stake in the JPMorgan Partners Global Fund from JPMorgan Chase.
UK - Black Diamond expands in UK
Black Diamond, the US alternative assets firm, is opening a new office in London.
FRANCE – Perfectis backs security group BIMBO
Perfectis Private Equity has backed the BIMBO of SEPTAM to acquire a majority stake in the newco Vesta Capital. The investment marks the private equity house’s third investment through its FCPR Perfectis II. The balance is held by incoming CEO Eric Thord...