News
UK - Blackstone to float Southern Cross Healthcare Group
The recently volatility of the markets has not deterred Blackstone from their intention to float Southern Cross. Blackstone is hoping the sale will value Britain's biggest care home group which it has owned since 2003 at about £550m, according to The...
UK - Nigel Beer joins Hotbed board
Nigel Beer, a former divisional CEO at KPMG, has joined the board of Hotbed, the private investor network. During his time at KPMG, Nigel was a partner and head of its corporate finance division in London and was also a member of its national corporate...
UK - Secondary buyout of Azzurri Communications
3i announces today that it has sold its 75% stake in Azzurri Communications, the leading UK converged voice and date communications company, to a secondary buyout vehicle backed by Prudential Ventures (PPM) in a deal valuing the company at £182.5m. 3i’s...
NL- Gilde and Van Herk Groep support third financing round for Agendia
Van Herk Group and Gilde Healthcare have provided third round financing to Dutch biotech company Agendia BV. The funds raised will be used to accelerate development of microarray-based late stage products into diagnostic tests for breast cancer and other...
UK - Pi Capital appoints Peter Brooks
Pi Capital has announced the appointment of Peter Brooks as a managing director and partner. Until October 2005, Peter Brooks was the managing partner of Sovereign Capital Partners. He joins fellow Pi partners David Giampaolo and Paul Thomas on 10 July...
NORWAY - HitecVision and Four Seasosns invest in Vector
HitecVision Private Equity and Four Seasons Venture have made an investment in pipe connector specialist Vector International AS.
NORWAY - NVCA recruits new secretary general
The Norwegian Venture Capital Association has appointed Knut Traaseth as its new secretary general. Starting today, Traaseth is joining from GCI Monsen where he has worked as director of investor relations and financial market communication. Prior to...
NETHERLANDS - Fidelity tenders VNU shares
Fidelity has given up its resistance to the EUR 29.50 per share bid by Valcon for VNU and has tendered its shares. It is understood that before this announcement, Fidelity had already reduced its share capital to below 15%.
FINLAND - VC-backed Inion signs research agreement
Finnish Inion has today announced that it has signed a cooperation and research agreement with Angiomed, a subsidiary of the life science products group, C.R. Bard Inc. Angiomed will pay for the feasibility phase of this project in the form of upfront...
UK - Advantage Capital's Qm Group appoints new head
Qm Group, the UK’s leading provider of queue management systems to retailers and banks, has further strengthened its management team with the appointment of David Pearson as its chief executive. Pearson, the former head of Sony UK, has been appointed...
UK - Return of same day registration service for limited partnerships
The British Venture Capital Association’s technical committee has succeeded in a campaign for the return of a same day registration service for limited partnership. Originally axed due to costs in October of 2005, this is a service that is considered...
UK - Standard Life European Private Equity announces half year results
Standard Life European Private Equity Trust has released interim results showing a strong performance for the six months ended 31st March 2006.
SWEDEN - Industrifonden invests in Storegate
Industrifonden has injected capital in Storegate in return of a 20% shareholding in the company. Based in Karlshamn, Storegate was founded in 2002 and focuses on secure information storage.
FINLAND - CapMan acquires Tamro MedLab from Tamro Group
CapMan has signed an agreement to buy Tamro MedLab from Tamro Group for an undisclosed sum. It is expected that the transaction, which includes all of Tamro MedLab’s business, will be closed by July 2006.
UK - £138m debt refinancing for Tragus Group Holdings Ltd
Tragus Group Holdings Ltd, a company backed by Legal & General Ventures, has undergone a £138m debt refinancing, consisting of senior and mezzanine facilities provided by Barclays Bank Plc. The transaction has enabled Tragus to repay £45m of existing...
DENMARK - Matas shareholders to accept CVC offer
The majority of the Matas shareholders have agreed to sell the business to CVC Capital Partners for DKK 5.2bn. During a shareholder meeting, more than 2/3 of the shareholders agreed that the board of directors should continue the sales process with CVC.
SPAIN – WebCapital and Manoin64 invest EUR 400,000 in Agnitio
WebCapital SCR, managed by Riva y García Private Equity, and Manonin64 (the holding company of the Sansalvado family) have together acquired significant stakes in Agnitio SL for EUR 400,000. Agnitio SL, a spin-off from the Universidad Politécnica de...
UK - NBGI Private Equity appoints Lawrence Dean
NBGI Private Equity has announced that Lawrence Dean will be joining as investment manager. Dean holds nine years of corporate finance experience, having started his career with SBC Warburg (now UBS) and most recently working on the investment banking...
UK - Sitka Health Fund VCT plc announces positive performance
Sitka Ltd, manager of the Sitka Health Fund VCT (Sitka VCT) has announced results for the year ending 31st January 2006, with the net asset value per ordinary share reaching 89.7p. It has invested a total of £7.2m in 16 different companies and has managed...
UK - Barclays Capital appoints new head of corporate communications
Barclays Capital has announced the appointment of Siobhan Loftus as a director and head of corporate communications. She will be responsible globally for public relations, internal communications, advertising and brand. She will also be responsible for...
UK - August Equity backs MBO of Rixonway Kitchens
August Equity has announced that it has supported the management buyout of Rixonway Kitchens Ltd via the newco Rollfold Group Ltd for an undisclosed sum. This is the eighth investment from August Equity Partners IV.
FRANCE - Weinberg Capital Partners makes its first investment
Weinberg Capital Partners (WCP) has announced an agreement to acquire 70% of Pharmaceutical company Pharma Omnium International.
ITALY - Bridgepoint acquires Italian perfumery group Limoni
Perfumery chain Limoni, the Italian market leader with a network of 400 stores and a consolidated turnover of € 304 million (13.6% up on 2004), has been acquired by Bridgepoint through a management buy-out involving its founder Piofrancesco Borghetti....
FRANCE - AXA Private Equity set to secure first French take-private of 2006
AXA private Equity has announced an agreement to purchase MAAF Assurances SA's 85.45% share of TLD Group. The French buyout house will also acquire an extra 9.58% from minority shareholders who have irrevocable agreed to tender their shares in AXA's simplified...