News
UK - Refinancing of Saga paves way for IPO
Saga, the provider of services to older consumers, has been refinanced allowing its backers, Charterhouse, to repay all the company's debt and acquire new debt on more attractive terms. The refinancing is reported to have saved £32m on interest. It is...
UK - Hastings Infrastructure Fund in £665m secondary buyout of South East Water
Hastings Fund Management, an infrastructure fund owned by the Australian bank, Westpac, has acquired South East Water from Macquarie in a £665.4m secondary buyout deal. Commentators have suggested that Macquarie's timely exit is evidence of its keenness...
FINLAND - CapMan appoints Vesa Walldén as senior partner
CapMan has announced several appointments as of October 2006. Vesa Walldén has been appointed as senior partner in the technology team, Jan Mattlin has been nominated as investment director in the buyout team, Gitte Reitz and Mari Huuhka as investment...
SPAIN - 3i exits Grupo Gesinar
Atisreal, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas Real Estate, acquired 100% of Grupo Gesinar, a player present in both commercial and residential real estate services from 3i and minority shareholders. The transaction value has not been disclosed.
ITALY - TLcom Capital realises investment in Netscalibur Italia
London-based venture capital fund TLcom Capital announced today that it has agreed to sell 100% of Netscalibur Italia to Infracom, a Milan-based private industrial group active in the telecommunications, information technology and mobility businesses....
SPAIN - 3i exits Grupo Gesinar
Atisreal, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas Real Estate, has acquired 100% of Grupo Gesinar, a player present in both commercial and residential real estate services from 3i and minority shareholders. The transaction value has not been disclosed.
SPAIN - Elio Berhanyer secures backing for its fashion business
Tailored clothing firm Artesanos Camiseros has announced its expansion plans and the partnership with private equity firm Capital Riesgo Madrid, bank Caja Madrid and Cordoba-based designer Elio Berhanyer, to create a new firm. The financial details have...
FINLAND - Conor and FII invest in Concilio Networks
Concilio Networks, a company aiming to enable VoIP benefits to every mobile handset, has secured EUR 1m from Conor Venture Partners and Finnish Industry Investment. The proceeds of the Conor-led round will be used to finalise and bring to market Concilio’s...
ITALY - PricewaterhouseCoopers opens tax and legal office in Milan
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has recently launched TLS, its new tax and legal practice in Italy. Although it will remain a separate legal entity, the new office is an official part of the PwC network.
GERMANY - Aurelia Private Equity and business angels back JobTV24
Aurelia Private Equity, alongside business angels, has provided expansion funding to JobTV24 GmbH. Notable business angels investing alongside the private equity group include Dr Roland Metzger (founder of Jobpilot.de), Tim Schwenke and Daniel Wild (founders...
GERMANY - Polytechnos to differentiate fund strategy
Having raised two hybrid funds since 1998, PolyTechnos has decided to evolve from its hybrid fund strategy and offer separate dedicated ITC and Life Science investment vehicles for its third fund generation. This move, which has been taken by other European...
ITALY - MPS Venture divests stake in Iseo
Two years after its original investment, MPS Venture has sold its entire stake in lock and hinges manufacturer Iseo Serrature back to the company's founding family for EUR 15m. Iseo Serrature is based in Pisogne (Brescia). It expects to report a turnover...
UK - Close Brothers Corporate Finance makes new appointments
Close Brothers Corporate Finance has made several senior promotions. Appointments include a further three directors in the UK, a new director in France and senior promotions in Germany. The three new UK directors are Gareth Davies, Darren Redmayne and...
UK - Endless acquires six-site Mercedes-Benz dealership
Endless is pleased to announce that it has supported the management buyout of H&L Garages Ltd (H&L) from its parent, PD Ports Group Ltd, part of quoted Australian company Babcock & Brown Infrastructure, for £8.5m. Funding for the buyout was also provided...
UK - Sir Ronald Cohen to re-enter the arena
One of the founders of Apax Partners, Sir Ronald Cohen, who left the business in 2005, is set to indirectly re-enter the private equity world. He is teaming up with Lord Jacob Rothschild to set up Portland Capital, a fund which will invest in commodities,...
UK - Palamon to acquire British payment card issuer Retail Decisions Plc
Retail Decisions Plc, a London Stock exchange-listed company which assists retailers, telecommunications companies, oil companies, e-commerce retailers and banks to prevent the fraudulent use of payment and credit cards, has received a cash offer from...
UK - Britvic offer abandoned by Permira
Permira has abandoned a planned bid for soft drinks maker Britvic. The offer would have valued the company which sells brands such as Pepsi and Tango at around £600m.
UK - Anglia water to be acquired by Colonial First State consortium
Anglia Water (AWG) has recommended a takeover approach from a consortium led by Colonial First State, the fund management arm of Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the government pensions fund of Canada, CPP Investment Board. 3i's infrastructure fund...
UK - 3i realises its investment in Vibration Technology
3i has announced the sale of its minority stake in Vibration Technology Ltd, a developer of wireless solutions for the oil, gas and mineral exploration sector, to Sercel, a division of Compagnie General de Geophysique. 3i's proceeds from the sale of £6m...
UK - Imperial Innovations backs environmental technology developer Lontra
Imperial Innovations Group Plc, one of the leading technology transfer and commercialisation companies in the UK, has invested £150,000 in environmental technology developer Lontra Ltd. This brings the total Imperial Innovations has invested in Lontra...
HUNGARY - Permira to acquire BorsodChem Nyrt
Permira has made a public purchase offer for all registered shares in BorsodChem Nyrt, which values Borsod's equity at approximately EUR 850m. The offer price per share is HUF 3,000 and is being made by First Chemical Holding Vagyonkezelö Kft, a holding...
GERMANY - Advent Venture Partners and Partech invest in Qype
Qype, a local search service offering user reviews of over 1,000 cities in Germany, has received series-A funding from Advent Venture Partners and Partech, alongside angel investors and Internet entrepreneurs.
SWEDEN - Industrifonden sells LTP for SEK 225m
Industrifonden Cimon Medical, DSM Venturing, management and other private investors have sold Lipid Technologies Provider AB (LTP) to DSM Food Specialties BV for SEK 225m. Industrifonden first invested in LTP in 2001. The company develops, produces and...
SWITZERLAND - Equita acquires PMA-Gruppe
Equita, sponsored by the Harald Quandt family, has acquired a majority interest in PMA-Gruppe from Fränkische Rohrwerke Gebr. Kirchner GmbH & Co KG. The company is headquartered in Uster.