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Industri Kapital to acquire French Bonna Sabla from AXA Private Equity for 235m
31/08/2005. Industri Kapital has agreed to acquire Bonna Sabla, a French specialist in prefabricated concrete products, from AXA Private Equity and other shareholders, for an enterprise value of approximately 235m. 
Private equity firms sell satellite operator PanAmSat to Intelsat for $3.2bn
31/08/2005. PE houses Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Providence Equity Partners and The Carlyle Group have agreed to sell satellite operator PanAmSat to Intelsat for $3.2bn.
Houston Venture Capital Association becomes Houston Private Equity Association, names new president
31/08/2005. The Houston Venture Capital Association has changed its name to the Houston Private Equity Association to better reflect its membership.
Ontario Teachers' buys US Doane Pet Care Company for US$840m
31/08/2005. Teachers' Private Capital, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, has agreed to purchase Brentwood, Tennessee-based Doane Pet Care Company for Can$1bn (US$840m).
WestBridge Capital Partners closes second India venture capital fund on $200m
31/08/2005. Mauritius-based WestBridge Capital Partners has closed its second fund, WestBridge Ventures II, with $200m in commitments. WestBridge will continue to focus on companies that target both domestic and export markets across a variety of sectors.
Granite Ventures II closes on $350m
30/08/2005. San Francisco, California-based Granite Ventures has closed its latest venture capital fund, Granite Ventures II, on $350m. The fund will focus on investment opportunities in early-stage communications and software companies.
Electra Partners Europe and CVC Capital Partners acquire European CPI for 450m
30/08/2005. Electra Partners Europe and CVC Capital Partners have teamed up to acquire European monochrome book manufacturer CPI for 450m. The private equity firms will invest an equal share in CPI, alongside management led by Timothy Bovard, the co-founder of CPI with Cyrille Chevrillon.
BlueRun Ventures opens Shanghai office, appoints Andrew Chen
30/08/2005. Early stage venture capital fund BlueRun Ventures, formerly known as Nokia Venture Partners, has opened a new office in Shanghai, China, and appointed Andrew Chen as investment director for the office. The expansion follows the firm's recent announcement of its latest $350m fund.
Industri Kapital sells its holding in Swedish Intrum Justitia
30/08/2005. Industri Kapital, the European buy-out firm with Nordic roots, has sold its remaining holding of 9,102,686 shares in Swedish Intrum Justitia to Swedish and international institutional investors.
HMV's interest in Ottakar's could challenge planned buy-out
26/08/2005. HMV reportedly plans to make an offer for Ottakar's, the British book chain. HMV could offer up to 385p a share, valuing Ottakar's at about £84m, the Financial Times reported. The music retailer is expected to outbid Ottakar's management, which is backed by private equity investors.
Venture capital firm Mayfield Fund closes Mayfield XII on $375m
25/08/2005. Menlo Park, California-based venture capital firm Mayfield Fund has closed its latest fund, Mayfield XII, on $375m. The majority of the commitments came from long-standing limited partners.
Carlyle sells decorative laminate panels specialist Panolam to Genstar Capital
25/08/2005. US private equity giant The Carlyle Group has sold Shelton, Connecticut-based Panolam Industries International for an undisclosed amount to an investor group including Genstar Capital, The Sterling Group and management.
MidOcean Partners acquires Bezier Holdings from Electra Partners for £77m
24/08/2005. New York and London-based middle market private equity firm MidOcean Partners has agreed to acquire Bezier Holdings from London-based Electra Partners for £77m through the acquisition vehicle bezier Acquisitions. Following the transaction Electra Partners will hold a minority interest in the new company.
Wellington Partners hires clinical expert Dr Spigelman to strengthen life sciences team
24/08/2005. Munich-based venture capital firm Wellington Partners has appointed Dr Melvin K Spigelman as a new venture partner to strengthen its life science team prior to fundraising. Wellington targets 100m with its new life science fund.
Cipio Partners names Maximilian Schroeck managing partner, opens US office
24/08/2005. Cipio Partners, an international private equity investment firm focused on the acquisition and management of direct investment portfolios in the secondary market, has appointed Maximilian Schroeck as managing partner to head up the firm's newly opened office in San Jose.
Wind Point Partners VI closes above target on $700m
24/08/2005. Wind Point Partners has closed Wind Point Partners VI on $700m, well above its original $500m target. The capital will be invested into between ten and 15 companies, Wind Point said in a statement.
APEP holds first close on first institutional fund of funds on 400m
23/08/2005. Allianz Private Equity Partners, the fund of funds arm of the Allianz group, has held a first close on the APEP Dachfonds GmbH & Co KG on 400m. It is APEP's first fund of funds offered to institutional investors outside the Allianz group. APEP Dachfonds has a target of 750m and will invest in buy-out and venture opportunities globally.
Parallel Investment Partners is new name for SKM Growth Investors
23/08/2005. US private equity firm SKM Growth Investors has renamed itself Parallel Investment Partners. 'Parallel' stands for the firm's long-established track record of aligning its interests with business owners, investors and deal sources, the firm said in a statement. Parallel will continue to sponsor recapitalisations and invest in growth capital and buy-outs involving growing, lower middle market companies.
Permira and KKR to acquire European commercial company SBS Broadcasting
22/08/2005. Europe-based private equity firm Permira and US buy-out giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. have agreed to acquire European commercial television and radio broadcasting company SBS Broadcasting in a transaction valuing SBS at approximately 2.094bn. The two private equity firms will pay SBS 1.691bn in cash for all of SBS's assets, and assume its liabilities, resulting in a total transaction value - excluding minorities - of approximately 1.864bn.
Candover sells aviation service group Swissport International to Ferrovial for CHF1bn
22/08/2005. Candover has sold its investment in aviation service group Swissport International to infrastructure and services companies Ferrovial for an enterprise value of CHF1bn (646m).
Graphite appoints David Williams and Mike Innes to strengthen management team
22/08/2005. UK mid-market private equity specialist Graphite Capital has recruited David Williams as a partner and Mike Innes as an investment director.
Doughty Hanson sells Knowles Electronics to Dover Corporation for $750m
22/08/2005. UK-based private equity firm Doughty Hanson & Co has sold Itasca, Illinois-based Knowles Electronics to Dover Corporation for $750m. The firm's return on its equity investment in Knowles Electronics is 1.7 times.
3i realises investment in Swedish biotech company Arexis
22/08/2005. 3i Group, along with syndicate members, SEB Fφretagsinvest, InnovationsKapital and Industrifonden, has agreed to divest its 26 per cent undiluted stake in Swedish biotech company Arexis in an acquisition by European biotechnology firms Biovitrum. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Advent International acquires UK-based AIRCOM International
22/08/2005. Advent International has acquired AIRCOM International - a provider of wireless network planning, optimisation and performance management products and services to mobile telecoms operators - from management and Nokia. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Dawnay, Day Principal Investments and Hilco win KarstadtQuelle department stores
19/08/2005. UK-based Dawnay, Day Principal Investments has teamed up with Hilco UK to acquire 75 department stores from German department store and mail order company KarstadtQuelle for a reported price of just under 500m.
PAI partners to acquire Global Plastic Closures business of Crown Holdings
19/08/2005. PAI partners has agreed with Crown Holdings to acquire its Global Plastic Closures business for an enterprise value of approximately $750m.
Permira to buy UK Gala stake, valuing company at £1.89bn
19/08/2005. Europe-based private equity firm Permira is to buy an equity stake in the bingo and casino company Gala in a deal which values the group at £1.89bn. Funds advised by Permira will invest approximately £200m to become a joint and equal investor in Gala alongside current owners Candover and Cinven. A refinancing of the company's debt has also been undertaken as part of the transaction.
Rutland to sell Interfloor to EAC in £84.1m secondary buy-out
19/08/2005. UK private equity partnership Rutland Partners has agreed to sell Interfloor Group to a management team backed by European Acquisition Capital in a secondary buy-out for a consideration of £84.1m.
TA Associates hires Harry D Taylor and Nigel M Howard
18/08/2005. US private equity firm TA Associates has appointed Harry D Taylor and Nigel M Howard as vice presidents. They will be based in the firm's Boston office. Taylor will specialise in investments in technology-based growth companies, while Howard will focus on investments in the financial services, business services and consumer sectors.
Lone Star reportedly plans to sell Korea Exchange Bank
18/08/2005. US private equity firm Lone Star plans to sell its controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank, the Financial Times reported. The divestment could value KEB at more than $6bn.
Blackstone appoints Javed Khan as deputy managing director for new Mumbai office
18/08/2005. US buy-out giant The Blackstone Group has appointed Javed Khan as deputy managing director of the firm's recently established India office in Mumbai. Previously Khan was a director with DLJ Merchant Banking.
KKR and Silver Lake to acquire Agilent's semiconductor unit for $2.66bn
17/08/2005. US buy-out giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and technology-focussed private equity firm Silver Lake Partners are to acquire Agilent Technologies' Semiconductor Products Group for $2.66bn. KKR and Silver Lake are equal partners in the transaction.
Q2 Canadian venture investment activity up 53 per cent on year to Can$627m
17/08/2005. Canadian venture capital investment activity grew strongly to Can$627m in the second quarter of 2005, up 53 per cent from the Can$409m invested by the industry in the second quarter of 2004 and also up sharply from the Can$326m invested in Q1 of 2005, according to Canada's Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.
Advent International acquires majority stake in German stationery group Herlitz
16/08/2005. Advent International has acquired a 65 per cent interest in Herlitz, a German manufacturer and supplier of stationery and papeterie products, from a consortium of banks, which assumed their stake in the company following a financial restructuring in 2001. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
US Trinity Ventures IX closes on $300m
16/08/2005. Menlo Park-based Trinity Ventures has closed Trinity Ventures IX on $300m. The fund will invest in the software, networking systems, and services sectors with a particular emphasis on IT security, business and consumer online services, digital media and mobile technology. It is expected to invest between $2m and $20m in approximately 30 companies.
Warburg Pincus closes $8bn global PE fund as latest in series of mega funds
15/08/2005. Warburg Pincus has held a final closing of Warburg Pincus Private Equity IX on $8bn. The firm's new fund will invest in companies across core industry sectors in North America, Europe and Asia and in early stage, growth and late stage businesses.
UK mid-market buy-out specialist ECI Partners backs £52m Racal Acoustics MBO
15/08/2005. UK mid-market buy-out specialist ECI Partners has backed the incumbent management team of Harrow-based Racal Acoustics in their £52m MBO. This investment represents ECI's first investment in the defence sector.
Asian fund Navis Capital Partners closes on $315m hard cap
15/08/2005. Navis Capital Partners has closed its latest private equity fund, Navis Asia Partners IV, on the hard cap of $315m. The new fund will focus on mid-sized control buy-outs in South and Southeast Asia. Navis Asia Partners IV has already made investments in four companies.
European secondaries specialist Headway Capital Partners appoints Toon as CFO
15/08/2005. London-based private equity secondaries specialist Headway Capital Partners has appointed David Toon, a qualified chartered accountant, as chief financial officer.
Blackstone hires Chip Schorr as a senior MD in the PE Group with tech focus
15/08/2005. The Blackstone Group has appointed Chip Schorr as a senior managing director in the firm's Private Equity Group. Based in New York, he will oversee technology-related investments. Prior to joining Blackstone, Schorr was with Citigroup Venture Capital Equity Partners in New York for nine years.
Permira buys majority stake in Swiss firm Jet Aviation
12/08/2005. Pan-European buy-out firm Permira has bought a majority stake in Swiss aviation services business Jet Aviation. Financial details have not been disclosed.
Providence hires former chairman of US FCC Powell as advisor
12/08/2005. Providence Equity Partners, the US media and communications buy-out specialist, has recruited Michael Powell as a senior advisor. Powell, the son of former US secretary of state Colin Powell, was until recently the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Morgan Stanley closes debut Asia fund with commitments of $515m
11/08/2005. Investment bank Morgan Stanley has raised its first Asian private equity fund with commitments of $515m. Some $450m was raised from third parties and the balance from the bank and its employers, according to reports.
US New Leaf Venture Partners closes $310m healthcare fund
11/08/2005. New Leaf Venture Partners, the life science venture firm spun out of the Sprout Group, has closed a $310m fund dedicated to investing in clinical stage biopharma products, early stage medical devices and molecular diagnostics.
US venture firm CMEA names Haseltine as senior life sciences advisor
11/08/2005. CMEA, the US IT and life sciences venture firm, has named William Haseltine as a senior life sciences advisor. Haseltine is chairman and chief executive of Human Genome Sciences and has founded no less than seven biotechnology companies.
Advent to sell German pharmaceutical group Viatris to Meda
10/08/2005. Advent International has agreed to sell German pharmaceutical group Viatris to Swedish specialty pharma company Meda for 750m.
Trident Capital enters into strategic partnership with Mustang Ventures to explore Chinese market
10/08/2005. Trident Capital is entering into a strategic partnership with Mustang Ventures, a new US venture capital firm investing in technology and technology-enabled service companies in China. Trident is investing $10m in Mustang I, the firm's initial venture capital fund.
US LS Power Equity Partners closes $1.2bn fund ahead of original $750m target
09/08/2005. The LS Power Group has held a final closing of LS Power Equity Partners on $1.2bn. The fund will invest in the power industry, with a particular focus on acquiring power generation and related assets in the United States. The fund closed well above its original $750m target.
Apax to sell NORDSEE to Nomura International and Kamps Food Retail Investments
09/08/2005. A consortium led by Apax funds is to sell Bremerhaven-based fish restaurant chain NORDSEE to Japanese bank Nomura and Kamps Food Retail Investments for an undisclosed amount.
3i enters Indian market with $45m investment in Nimbus
08/08/2005. Private equity and venture capital firm 3i has entered the Indian market with a $45m investment in Nimbus Communications, a Mumbai-headquartered media and entertainment company. The investment is the largest ever-private equity investment in the Indian media and entertainment industry, according to 3i.
Permira reportedly in talks to buy Gala stake from Cinven and Candover
08/08/2005. European-based private equity firm Permira is in advanced talks to buy a large minority stake in Gala, the Financial Times reported. The UK leisure gaming group is owned by European buy-out firms Cinven and Candover. The offer would value Gala at about £1.9bn.
Bridgepoint's WT Foods sells Noon Products to Ireland-based Kerry Group
08/08/2005. Bridgepoint portfolio company WT Foods has sold its unit Noon Products, a producer of ethnic, chilled ready meals, to quoted global ingredients, flavours and consumer foods business Kerry Group for £124m. Bridgepoint acquired WT Foods Group in a £102m buy-out and stock exchange de-listing in 2001.
Private equity groups sell ProSiebenSat.1 in 2.5bn deal
05/08/2005. US media entrepreneur Haim Saban and a group of private equity investors including Bain Capital Partners, Hellman & Friedman, Providence Equity Partners, Putnam Investments, Quadrangle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners have sold their controlling interest in German private TV broadcasting company ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG to German publishing group Axel Springer. The deal is valued at around 2.5bn.
MezzVest closes MezzVest II with LP commitments of 570m
05/08/2005. MezzVest, the mezzanine finance division of funds advisory firm CapVest, has closed its second mezzanine finance fund, MezzVest II, with an investment capacity of 1.5bn over the next four to five years. Investors in the fund include AIG, insurance companies and - to a smaller extent - endowments, pension funds, banks, governments and funds of funds.
Apax Partners acquires Iberian bakery company Panrico
04/08/2005. Global private equity firm Apax Partners has acquired a majority shareholding in Iberian bakery company Panrico from the Costafreda family, La Caixa and other minority shareholders.
CHAMP II Australian buy-out fund closes on AUS$950m
03/08/2005. US middle-market buy-out specialist Castle Harlan and its Australian affiliate CHAMP have raised their second buy-out pool of funds CHAMP II with aggregate commitments of A$950m. Demand for the fund was significantly more than the amount raised, Castle Harlan said in a statement. The original target was AUS$750m.
Sharp increase in number and volume of recapitalisations in Western Europe
03/08/2005. European private equity firms sharply increased their borrowing in the first half of this year, signalling the enduring appetite of credit markets to provide finance for leveraged transactions. There were 74 LBO deals in the first six months of 2005 worth a combined 25bn, compared with 48 deals worth 12.5bn in the same period of 2004, according to Fitch Ratings.
Carlyle and Eurazeo sell French clay tile manufacturer Terreal to LBO France for 860m
02/08/2005. US private equity giant The Carlyle Group and France-based Eurazeo have agreed to sell Terreal to LBO France in a deal valued at 860m. Terreal makes clay construction products for roofs, structural work, wall claddings and decoration environmental protection.
Veronis Suhler Stevenson sells Hanley Wood to JPMorgan Partners
02/08/2005. US media buy-out specialist Veronis Suhler Stevenson has sold its b-to-b media business Hanley Wood to an investment group led by JPMorgan Partners. The investment group also includes Wasserstein & Co. and current and former Hanley Wood management. Terms of the deal make it the second largest b-to-b media acquisition in US history, according to Hanley Wood.
US venture capital short-term performance fluctuates in first quarter of 2005
02/08/2005. Short-term US venture capital performance showed signs of fluctuation at the close of the first quarter of 2005 with a decline in the one and five-year investment horizons and an improvement in the three-year horizon, according to Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association.
Advent acquires Romanian decorative paints producer Dufa for 15m
02/08/2005. Advent International has acquired Romanian decorative paints producer Dufa from existing Romanian and German shareholders in a 15m equity transaction. The deal includes the acquisition of all intellectual property rights and product brands.
HgCapital invests in Irish wind farm Sorne Wind
02/08/2005. European mid-market specialist HgCapital has invested in Sorne Wind - which has developed and is constructing the 32MW Sorne Hill wind farm in County Donegal, Ireland - in the private equity investor's second wind farm investment in less than a year.
US Summit Partners buys minority ownership interest in hedge fund Coast
02/08/2005. Boston-based private equity and venture capital firm Summit Partners has bought a minority ownership interest in Santa Monica-headquartered Coast Asset Management, an alternative investment manager serving institutional and high net worth investors. Summit Partners led the $126.8m investment and now holds a stake equal to approximately one third of the firm.
ONO, JPMP, Providence, Quadrangle and Thomas H. Lee acquire Auna for 2.25bn
01/08/2005. Spanish broadband service provider Grupo Corporativo ONO has teamed up with JPMorgan Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Quadrangle Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners to acquire 100 per cent of Auna TLC, the fixed line and cable business of the Auna Group, for approximately 2.25bn.
Carlyle to acquire Insight Communications for $710m
01/08/2005. Insight Acquisition Corp., led by affiliates of The Carlyle Group and Insight Communications co-founders Sidney R Knafel and Michael S Willner, is to acquire all of the publicly held shares of Insight Communications.
Value of Q2 private equity transactions in Europe hits record 33.5bn
01/08/2005. The total value of private equity transactions in Europe hit a record 33.5bn in the second quarter of 2005, compared to 21.6bn recorded in the first quarter of 2005, and 24.2bn the second quarter a year ago, according to the Private Equity Barometer Q2 2005, published by Incisive Media and sponsored by Candover.
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