News
UK - Permira abandons HMV bid
Shares in HMV Group have fallen following the decision by Permira to pullout of talks to buy the firm. Last week HMV rejected the private equity house's 210p a share bid for the company, which valued it at ТЃ842.7m and followed an earlier bid of 190p....
SWEDEN - IK makes 3x money on Myresjöhus recap
Industri Kapital has recapped Myresjöhus, a Swedish prefabricated house builder, it bought 12 months ago giving a return of 3x its original investment.
UK - Imperial Innovations takes stake in ParOS Plc
Imperial Innovations Ltd, the technology commercialisation company of Imperial College London, has announced that Oak Prospects Plc, an investment company formerly trading on OFEX, has completed its acquisition of Imperialтs spin-out company Parametric...
UK - CVC gets green light for F1 deal
The European Commission has approved the acquisition of the Formula One Group by funds managed or advised by CVC Capital Partners Group.
NETHERLANDS - PGGM to invest in Cyrte
Press reports suggest that Dutch pension fund PGGM will invest EUR 500m in the recently launched TMT fund managed by Cyrte Investments.
UK - iPLATO receives first round funding from The Capital Fund
iPLATO Ltd, the leader in mobile healthcare applications, has attracted first round funding from The Capital Fund, a ТЃ50m venture capital fund that invests in fast-growth companies in Greater London and whose investors include the DTI and The European...
FRANCE - Starwood Capital preparesTaittinger sale
Star GT Acquisition, the newco established by Starwood Capital for the Groupe Taittinger and Société du Louvre transactions completed in 2005, has announced its launch of the divestment process for Taittinger’s activities.
FRANCE - PE to bid for Emap assets?
According to press reports, private equity firms are expected to be involved in the bidding for Emap France, which is has been put up for sale for around EUR 600m.
UK - Dunedin posts 101% IRR on Celtic Inns sale
Dunedin Capital Partners, the UK mid-market private equity house, has announced its second realisation in eight days with the sale of Celtic Inns Holdings Ltd, the Southampton-based pubs operator, to The Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries Plc for ТЃ43.6m....
UK - SVG makes EUR 2.8bn commitment to Permira IV
SVG Capital has made a EUR 2.8 bn commitment to Permiraтs next private equity fund, Permira IV, which is targeting to raise EUR 8.5bn.
UK - No deal at House of Fraser
House of Fraser has formally announced that preliminary talks regarding a possible offer for the company have ceased.
AUSTRIA - VST secures EUR 3m mezzanine loan
Vienna-based Mezzainin Finanzierungs AG has made a EUR 3m investment in VST Verbundschalungstechnik to assist in the company's expansion plans in the Nordics.
UK - Edinburgh Robotics wins new funding
Edinburgh Robotics Ltd has secured an equity investment led by Braveheart Ventures Ltd. The investment was completed via the SMART Equity Scheme which is designed to help spin-out companies, by providing matched funding to recipients of the Scottish Executiveтs...
NETHERLANDS - Shell auction pulled over price issues
Royal Dutch Shell has decided to retain its liquified petroleum gas businesses after an auction failed to attract adequate bids. The auction, which lasted nearly 18 months, saw several industry and private equity players express an interest, including...
GERMANY - DBAG reports favourable results
Deutsche Beteiligungs AG continued the strong performance recorded last year, posting a sizeable first quarter profit. In the first three months of the new 2005/2006 financial year (31 October), this private equity company achieved a consolidated profit...
NETHERLANDS - ABN AMRO sells Radio Holland
ABN AMRO Capital and Stichting Co-Investors Radio Holland Group have agreed the sale of Dutch based Radio Holland Group to Imtech NV, for a purchase price of EUR 47m. Through this exit, ABN AMRO Capital will achieve a money multiple of 4.4x the initial...
FINLAND - CapMan exits from Mehiläinen
CapMan funds Finnventure V and Finnmezzanine III will sell their shares in Mehiläinen Oyj to H-Careholding AB, the owner of Carema. The consideration offered values the equity of Mehiläinen at EUR 152m and prior to the exit the funds have approximately...
SWITZERLAND - EVCA unveils activity figures for 2005
EVCA has annnounced its preliminary fundrasing, investment and exit figures for 2005 at its annual investors' forum in Geneva.
SWEDEN - Sweden records largest share of super growth companies
Sweden has been ranked the top European country in Grant Thornton International Super Growth Index and has the highest number of fast growing businesses. The US tops the list followed by India, Hong Kong and Sweden. Sweden climbed back up the Index to...
UK - UHY Hacker Young appoints new head of corporate finance
Peter Petyt has been named the new Head of Corporate Finance at the London office of top twenty accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.
UK - HarbourVest promotes four investment staff
HarbourVest Partners today announced the promotions of four senior investment professionals. Kevin S Delbridge was named senior managing director, Michael W Taylor was named managing director, and Julia H Ocko and Scott C Voss were promoted to principals...
UK - a2e and The Capital Fund back data management MBO
Quadrate, a leading data management software company and creator of innovative solutions that enable businesses to rapidly migrate data to and from SAP, facilitating efficient data management and reporting, has completed an MBO. Funding was raised from...
UK - Porton announces new funding for Psynova
Porton Capital is leading an investment in Psynova Ltd, the latest spin-out from The University of Cambridge. Focused on the advancement and exploitation of biomarkers for neuropsychiatric disorders, Psynova aims to develop diagnostic tests and therapeutic...
UK - Enterprise Ventures appoints new investment director
Enterprise Ventures has announced the appointment of Wayne Thomas as investment director.