News
FINLAND - Sentica buys cleaning solutions business
A fund managed by Sentica Partners has acquired the entire share capital of Finnish industrial cleaning technology supplier Finnsonic Ltd.
SPAIN - 3i sells its stake in TCB
Private equity firm 3i has sold its 30% stake in logistics operator Group TCB (Terminal de Contenidors de Barcelona), to the family Pérez Maura, owner of shipping management group Pérez y Cía. The deal value has not been disclosed.
UK - Clayton, Dubilier & Rice strengthens European team
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc (CD&R) has announced that Marco Herbst has joined the firm as a senior principal. Herbst, formerly of Duke Street Capital, will be based in CD&R's London office.
SWEDEN - Bank of Scotland opens offices in Stockholm
Bank of Scotland has announced the opening of its new corporate banking office on Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm. The office will offer corporate banking services including acquisition finance, corporate banking, real estate finance, infrastructure finance...
FINLAND - CapMan records 24% increase in capital under management
CapMan has reported that its capital under management has increased by 24% in the first half of 2006 from the comparative period last year. Its capital under management totalled EUR 2,322m on 30 June 2006 compared to EUR 1,872m on 30 June 2005.
UK - Corbett Keeling appoints new chairmen
Corbett Keeling, the specialist management buyout adviser, is pleased to announce that it has had a record period in its financial year ended 31 July 2006. This is mainly due to multiple successes in its core area of advising management teams on financing...
UK - Sir James Crosby joins Bridgepoint Advisory Committee
Bridgepoint, the European private equity firm, has appointed Sir James Crosby to its European Advisory Committee. Sir James recently stepped down from the board of HBOS Plc where he had been chief executive since 2001. He had previously been CEO of Halifax...
GERMANY - Tax reform could increase risk of insolvency
According to a front-page report in German financial newspaper Handelsblatt, the German corporate tax reform could seriously worsen conditions for private equity groups operating in the country. Peer Steinbrück's move to abolish tax relief on corporate...
GERMANY - BayBG and S-Partner finance StarMedTech spin-out
BayBG and S-Partner Kapital AG have together financed the management buyout of the urological laser unit of WaveLight AG. Based in Starnberg, the new company will henceforth go by the name StarMedTec GmbH. The company will continue its activities as a...
FINLAND - 3i appoints Hannu Isohaaro as country manager in Finland
Hannu Isohaaro has been appointed country manager of 3i Nordic in Finland as of July 2006. He will replace Ere Kariola, who has moved to a new role as senior adviser of 3i Nordic plc.
UK - Lion Capital acquires Kettle chips with KP Snacks in sight
Lion Capital made the first step on its bid to become the second largest company in the UK snacks market, behind market-leader PepsiCo. It acquired Kettle foods, the maker of Kettle Chips in a deal which values the US-headquartered company at approximately...
ITALY - Carlyle and Finmeccanica sell Avio to Cinven for EUR 2.57bn
The Italian defence group Finmeccanica, and private equity giant Carlyle Group have sold aerospace engine maker Avio to Cinven. The enterprise value of the deal is EUR 2.57bn. Finmeccanica's stake of 30% will be sold for EUR 430m. At the same time, the...
UK - Beringea sells Mergermarket to Financial Times Group
Beringea has agreed to sell portfolio company Mergermarket to the Financial Times Group, a subsidiary of Pearson Plc, the global media company. The sale is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in Q3 2006 and will generate a total...
UK - Pinsent Masons strengthens corporate finance team
Pinsent Masons has announced a fourth major corporate signing in Manchester with the move of highly regarded corporate finance specialist, Chris Moss, to the firm as a partner.
UK - Morgan Crucible to be next private equity target?
According to a report in the Financial Times today, the industrial ceramics and defence materials maker Morgan Crucible has disclosed that it has received a takeover approach.
SWEDEN - Altor buys 80% of Dustin
Altor is to acquire 80% of the shares in Dustin, a company trading computers and computer equipment via the internet and by mail order. The remaining shares will be retained by the founders and the current owners.
SWEDEN - SciBase secures SEK 100m in growth funding
SciBase AB, a Swedish medical technology company, has secured a SEK 100m investment. The investors include Investor Growth Capital, SEB Företagsinvest and CapMan. Following the transaction, the three venture capital groups control 80% of the company.
SWEDEN - 3i's Alimak Hek buys Australian rental fleet operator
3i’s portfolio company Alimak Hek has bought Australian rental fleet operator Conrent for SEK 88m from Coates Hire Limited. Conrent rents and installs man and materials hoists and mast climbing work platforms.
UK - Ingenious backs Travis album
Ingenious has announced that its Music VCT funds have made their latest investment by backing Travis’ fifth album, currently scheduled for release later this year. Travis has been working on their forthcoming album with producer Nigel Godrich who has...
UK - Frontier Capital Management appoint chief operating officer
Frontier Capital Management has announced the appointment of Colin Hodges as its chief operating officer. Frontier was founded by Michael Azlen in 2004 in order to deliver a unique multi asset fund to the institutional, high net-worth and private banking...
UK - CBPE backs MBO of Rosemont Pharmaceuticals for £93m
Close Brothers Private Equity (CBPE) has announced that it has backed the management buyout of Rosemont Pharmaceuticals, a leading developer and manufacturer of oral liquid medicines. The purchase from previous owners, Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc, a NASDAQ-quoted...
UK - Warburg Pincus announces appointment of Charles Miller Smith
Warburg Pincus has announced that Charles Miller Smith has become a senior advisor to the firm. He will be based in London and will participate in the firm's European investment activities.
UK - Ventus invests in Craig Wind Farm Ltd
The Ventus group of funds have invested £2.7m in Craig Wind Farm Ltd. The proceeds of the investment will be used to construct a 10 megawatt wind farm on Craig Farm, an active sheep farm in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Electricity generated from the site...
UK - Summit sells shareholding in Global Address
The Summit Group, the independent venture capital business specialising in seed and development capital, and its 41.5% owned investment company, Summit Alpha, announce the sale of their investment in Global Address (formerly Optima Database Management...