News Archive: April 2007

Mohan Kharbanda joins Baird Private Equity
30/04/2007. Mohan Kharbanda has joined Baird Venture Partners' business services team as an executive-in-residence. He will also serve as a member of the Business Services Advisory Board for Baird Capital Partners. BVP and BCP are, respectively, the US-based venture and buy-out funds of Baird Private Equity.

Australian firm Quadrant Private Equity closes QPE No.2 on AUS$500m hard cap
27/04/2007. Sydney-based Quadrant Private Equity has closed its latest fund, Quadrant Private Equity No.2, on AUS$500m, the hard cap of the fund. QPE No.2 had a target of AUS$400m.

CDC enters into exclusive discussions to acquire Groupe Genoyer
27/04/2007. CDC Capital Investissement has entered into exclusive discussions with The Carlyle Group and Maurice Genoyer to acquire Groupe Genoyer, a provider of piping equipment for the oil, gas, water and petrochemicals industries. Groupe Genoyer anticipates 2007 turnover of over €300m.

Apax to sell Parkeon to Barclays Private Equity
27/04/2007. Apax Partners SA has agreed to sell Parkeon, a specialist in on-street parking systems, to Barclays Private Equity for a total consideration of approximately €260m. Parkeon is the former parking and ticketing division of Schlumberger (e-city).

3i sells Smart & Cook to AXA, sells stake in DocMorris to Celesio
27/04/2007. 3i has sold its stake in UK commercial insurance broker Smart & Cook as part of the sale of the company to AXA UK. The sale sees 3i make a return of more than three times its investment, according to a statement.

Venrock raises $600m for global venture investing
26/04/2007. US venture capital firm Venrock, a firm originally established as the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family, has closed its latest fund, Venrock V, on $600m. The new fund will focus on investments in the technology, healthcare, media and energy sectors.

KKR, GS Capital Partners to acquire Harman International Industries in $8bn deal
26/04/2007. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and GS Capital Partners have agreed to acquire Harman International Industries in a transaction valued at approximately $8bn. The transaction has been approved by the Harman board of directors.

Golden Gate Capital appoints Jai Hakhu as senior advisor
26/04/2007. San Francisco-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital has hired Jai Hakhu as senior advisor. Hakhu was most recently corporate vice president and general manager at Intel Corporation.

GS Capital Partners to acquire Myers Industries
25/04/2007. GS Capital Partners has agreed to acquire Myers Industries in a transaction valued at approximately $1.07bn, including the assumption or repayment of approximately $276m of debt.

Venture capital investment in China reaches $2.18bn in 2006
25/04/2007. Venture capital investment into Chinese companies reached $2.18bn in 2006, according to ChinaVenture's 2006 Venture Capital Report for the Chinese Market. The amount was up from $1.43bn in 2005.

Bayside Capital invests in Ready Pac Foods
25/04/2007. US private equity firm Bayside Capital, an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, has invested in Ready Pac Foods. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

CTEK forms strategic relationship with Access Venture Partners
25/04/2007. CTEK and US seed and early stage venture capital firm Access Venture Partners will work together to help fill the funding gap between angels and venture capitalists. They plan to invest in companies with capital efficient business models that can achieve profitability on the smallest amount of equity capital possible.

Crestview to acquire Symbion in $637m deal
25/04/2007. Nashville, Tennessee-headquartered Symbion, an owner and operator of short-stay surgical facilities across the US, has entered into a merger agreement with a newly formed subsidiary of New York-based private equity firm Crestview Partners. The transaction is valued at approximately $637m, including the assumption of debt.

KKR, Stefano Pessina make revised offer valuing Alliance Boots at £11bn
25/04/2007. US private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Alliance Boots deputy chairman Stefano Pessina have increased their offer to 1,139 pence in cash per Alliance Boots share. The new offer values Alliance Boots at £11.02bn.

Industri Kapital to sell Ceva Santé Animale
25/04/2007. Industri Kapital has agreed to sell veterinary laboratory Ceva Santé Animale to its management and an investor consortium including Euromezzanine, Natexis Industrie and Natixis Investissement. Industri Kapital has made a 3.5 times return on its investment, with an IRR of over 40 per cent, according to a statement.

US venture capital investment in Q1 up eight per cent from same quarter last year
24/04/2007. Venture capital investment into US-headquartered companies climbed eight per cent in the first quarter of 2007 to $6.96bn from $6.42bn in Q1 2006, according to the Quarterly Venture Capital Report released by Dow Jones VentureOne and Ernst & Young. Deal count reached 584 deals for the quarter, down by 31 deals from the first quarter of 2006.

Goldman Sachs raises $20bn for sixth global fund
24/04/2007. The Goldman Sachs Group has closed GS Capital Partners VI on $20bn. Of the total amount $11bn came from institutional and high-net-worth clients and $9bn from the firm and its employees.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers launches $360m fund for China
24/04/2007. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has raised $360m for its China-focused fund and opened operations in China with offices in Beijing and Shanghai.

Apax-led consortium to sell Cartesis to Business Objects
23/04/2007. An investor group led by Apax Partners SA has agreed to sell Cartesis, a provider of business performance management software, to Business Objects in a €225m transaction. The vendor consortium did not disclose any return information.

Activa Capital Fund II closes on €315m
23/04/2007. French mid-market buy-out firm Activa Capital has closed its second fund, Activa Capital Fund II, on the hard cap of €315m. This was the first and final closing of the fund. Activa Capital Fund II was two times oversubscribed, the firm said in a statement.

Aureos launches $100m fund for Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan
23/04/2007. Emerging markets private equity fund manager Aureos Capital has launched a new $100m Central Asia Fund. The fund will focused primarily on Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

Clear Channel to sell television station group to Providence
23/04/2007. Clear Channel Communications has agreed to sell its Television Group to Providence Equity Partners for approximately $1.2bn. The sale includes 56 television stations located in 24 markets across the US.

Blackstone hires Susan Balloch
20/04/2007. US buy-out giant The Blackstone Group has appointed Susan Balloch as an executive director in the firm's private equity group. Balloch's new role encompasses overall management and administrative aspects of the group's activities.

CITIC Capital Partners Closes China Private Equity Fund on $425m
20/04/2007. CITIC Capital Partners has closed its maiden China private equity fund, CITIC Capital China Partners, on $425m. The original target size of the fund was $250m.

Cubera Secondary holds final closing on $90m
20/04/2007. Nordic private equity investment manager Cubera Private Equity has closed its Cubera Secondary fund on $90m.

Alliance Boots receives indicative proposal from Terra Firma
20/04/2007. Alliance Boots had just accepted an offer to be bought by US private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Alliance Boots deputy chairman Stefano Pessina in a transaction that values the company at approximately £10.6bn when Terra Firma, Wellcome Trust and HBOS submitted a new, higher indicative proposal.

Coller Capital closes largest secondaries fund to date
19/04/2007. Private equity secondaries specialist Coller Capital has raised the largest secondaries fund to date. Coller International Partners V closed on $4.5bn. It was originally capped at $3.75bn but the partnership agreed to raise the cap to $4.5bn, the firm said in a statement.

Ted Schlein of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers elected new NVCA chairman
19/04/2007. The National Venture Capital Association in the US has named Ted Schlein, partner of Menlo Park-based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as its 2007-2008 chairman. He succeeds Robert Grady, managing director at The Carlyle Group. The NVCA has also announced the appointment of eight new board members, who will serve a four-year term.

Cleantech venture capital investment totals $903m in Q1 2007
19/04/2007. North American and European venture investment in the cleantech category totalled $903m in the first quarter of this year, representing a 16.5 per cent increase over the $775m invested in Q4 2006 and a 42 per cent increase over the $634 million invested in Q1 2006, according to Cleantech Venture Network researchers.

Hellman & Friedman closes $8.4bn fund and agrees to buy Catalina in $1.7bn deal
18/04/2007. San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman has closed its latest fund, Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners VI, on $8.4bn. With its new fund the firm will continue to make large-scale equity-related investments of $250m to $1bn, primarily in the US and Europe.

Lion Capital appoints Mary Minnick as partner
18/04/2007. London-headquartered Lion Capital has appointed Mary Minnick as partner. Minnick is joining the firm after 23 years of management experience with The Coca-Cola Company.

US venture capital fundraising in Q1 2007 up on quarter, down on year
18/04/2007. In the first quarter of this year 56 venture capital funds raised $4.9bn, an increase of 19.5 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2006, when 56 funds took in $4.1bn in commitments, according to Thomson Financial and the National Venture Capital Association in the US. However, when compared to the first quarter of 2006, this quarter posted a 25.7 per cent decline. In fact, venture fundraising during the first three months of 2007 was at the lowest level for an opening quarter since the first quarter of 2004.

Oxford Capital Partners, QNB, Ansbacher establish venture capital firm for Qatar
17/04/2007. UK science and technology venture capital firm Oxford Capital Partners, Qatar National Bank and Ansbacher have formed a venture capital business focused on developing technology within Qatar. Qatar Capital Partners manages two Qatar Science & Technology Park venture capital funds.

Pomona hires Lorraine Hliboki as director, co-investments, and partner
17/04/2007. Pomona Capital, a global private equity firm, has appointed Lorraine R Hliboki as director, co-investments, and partner. Based in New York, Lorraine will be responsible for Pomona's co-investment business, through which the firm invests in companies alongside buy-out funds.

Welsh, Carson to sell AmeriPath to Quest Diagnostics in $2bn transaction
17/04/2007. US private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe has agreed to sell AmeriPath, a diagnostic testing company, to Quest Diagnostics Incorporated in a transaction valued at approximately $2bn, including approximately $770m in debt.

Mithras Capital Fund holds first closing on £120m
16/04/2007. Newly formed private equity fund of funds management company Mithras Capital has held a first closing of the Mithras Capital Fund having secured £120m of commitments from Mithras Investment Trust and Legal & General Assurance Society.

Investor group to buy Sallie Mae for $25bn
16/04/2007. An investor group led by New York-based private equity firm J.C. Flowers & Co has agreed to purchase SLM Corporation, also known as Sallie Mae, a Reston, Virginia-headquartered student loan provider, for approximately $25bn or $60 per share of common stock.

Venture capital firms invest $130m in India in first quarter
16/04/2007. Venture capital firms invested about $130m across 20 deals in India during the first quarter of 2007, according to a study by Venture Intelligence in partnership with the US-India Venture Capital Association.

Hellman & Friedman to sell DoubleClick to Google
16/04/2007. San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, San Diego-based venture capital firm JMI Equity and DoubleClick management have agreed to sell New York-headquartered DoubleClick to Google for $3.1bn.

KKR Private Equity Investors commits $500m to acquisition of First Data Corp.
16/04/2007. KKR Private Equity Investors, a Guernsey limited partnership that participates in private equity and opportunistic investments identified by KKR, has committed to make a $300m co-investment with an affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in its previously announced agreement to acquire First Data Corp., a provider of electronic commerce and payment solutions for businesses worldwide.

GIMV backs Emerald cleantech fund with an extra €18m
13/04/2007. Belgium-based GIMV will pump another €18m into the cleantech fund of Emerald Technology Ventures, raising its total commitment to €30m. GIMV stated its ambition to become a European leader in VC-funded cleantech investments.

€329m close of TCW's European Clean Energy Fund
13/04/2007. The TCW Group has held the final close of one of Europe's largest clean energy private equity funds. The European Clean Energy Fund raised €329.2m from institutional investors in Europe, Canada and the US. The fund will provide capital for environmentally-friendly initiatives, including wind, solar, hydro-electric, geothermal and waste-to-energy projects.

Old Lane to become part of Citi
13/04/2007. Citi and Old Lane Partners, L.P. has reached a definitive agreement for Citi to acquire 100 per cent of the outstanding partnership interests in Old Lane Partners, LP and Old Lane Partners, GP, the manager of a global, multi-strategy hedge fund and a private equity fund with total assets under management and private equity commitments of approximately $4.5bn. Old Lane will operate as part of Citi Alternative Investments, Citi's integrated alternative investments platform.

Brantley Capital to sell to Venture Capital Fund of America III
12/04/2007. The preliminary voting results of a Brantley Capital Corporation special meeting of stockholders indicate that a proposal to sell all of the fund’s investment assets to Venture Capital Fund of America III, Inc., and to adopt the fund’s plan of liquidation and dissolution, was approved.

Accantia Health and Beauty refinanced by Duke Street
12/04/2007. Duke Street Capital has completed the refinancing of Accantia Health and Beauty Ltd in a package worth up to £120m.

Inflexion hires Bower
12/04/2007. Inflexion Private Equity, the UK mid-market private equity investor, has appointed Anthony Bower as an assistant director in their investment team.

IIFCL and 3i partner for Indian infrastructure financing
12/04/2007. India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited and 3i Group have entered a strategic partnership on infrastructure financing to service long term equity and debt financing needs of infrastructure projects in India.

CVC Asia Pacific stakes a foothold in Singapore
12/04/2007. CVC Asia Pacific has opened the doors on its new Singapore office. The firm said that their Singapore operations will enable CVC to more effectively target and invest in companies in South East Asia and demonstrates its commitment to the region.

Sun European Partners acquires HomeForm Group
11/04/2007. Sun European Partners, the European adviser to Sun Capital Partners, Inc., has acquired the HomeForm Group, a UK specialist retailer of fully-fitted home improvement products through its brands Moben and Kitchens Direct, Sharps, and Dolphin.

Sun Capital Partners V closes on $6.0bn
11/04/2007. Sun Capital Partners, Inc., a US private investment firm focused on leveraged buy-outs, equity and debt, has announced the closing of Sun Capital Partners V, L.P., a $6.0bn leveraged buy-out fund. The firm said that subscriptions for Fund V surpassed their original $4.0bn target due to demand from existing and new US and international limited partners.

OpenView Venture Partners and ABRT Venture Fund join forces on investing in Russia and East-Central Europe
11/04/2007. OpenView Venture Partners of Boston, MA and ABRT Venture Fund of Moscow, Russia, have formed a new partnership investment program looking to identify and invest in software and information technology companies in Russia and East-Central Europe.

PGGO takes a secondary stake in Alothon Capital Partners
10/04/2007. Partners Group Global Opportunities Limited has closed on three new direct equity investments: Univision Communications Inc., Roadlink USA and GNC, as well as one new private debt investment in Feretti SpA. In a statement, PGGO said it has also acquired a secondary stake in Alothon Capital Partners, L.P, as well as making new primary fund commitments to Dubilier and Rice Fund VII L.P., Fenway Partners Capital Fund III, L.P. and Avista Capital Partners, L.P to diversify their portfolio.

Q1 fundraising continues to speed in the US
10/04/2007. Coming off a record breaking fund-raising year for 2006, US private equity houses have continued their rapid pace, raising $44.3bn among 68 funds in the first quarter of 2007, according to Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst. This is up 67 per cent from the 46 funds that raised $26.6bn in the first quarter of 2006.

Advent acquires Stokomani
10/04/2007. Advent International has acquired a majority stake in Stokomani, the French discount retailer, from Alpha Group. The acquisition has been made in partnership with Stokomani’s management team led by Emmanuel Pelillo, managing director and Jean-Jacques Namani, president.

Thoma Cressey Bravo acquires Embarcadero Technologies
10/04/2007. US-based Embarcadero Technologies, a provider of strategic data management solutions, and private equity investment firm Thoma Cressey Bravo, have entered into a definitive agreement under which Embarcadero will be acquired by Thoma Cressey Bravo in a transaction valued at approximately $200m.

Polaris Venture Partners appoints Lindsay Barnett and Joanna LaPlaca as directors of portfolio recruiting
10/04/2007. Polaris Venture Partners, a US venture capital firm with $3bn under management, has appointed Lindsay Barnett and Joanna LaPlaca to identify and recruit senior executive talent for the firm's portfolio companies.

ECM exits Eismann to management
10/04/2007. Equity Capital Management, a German investment company based in Frankfurt, and co-investor Parcom Ventures B.V., a subsidiary of Dutch ING group, has sold Eismann to its management team.

CAM NewMarkets Partners formed with CAM NewMarkets I
10/04/2007. CAM NewMarkets Partners is a new US-based joint venture between CAM Private Equity, the European private equity fund-of-funds manager, and NewMarkets Partners, a private equity firm founded by former investment professionals of the International Finance Corporation.

Aureos Capital launches $300m Latin America Fund
10/04/2007. A $300m Latin America Fund has been launched by Aureos Capital, a private equity fund management company specialising in unlisted mid-cap businesses across Latin America, Asia and Africa. The new pan-regional fund, the Aureos Latin America Fund, has a net target IRR of 20 per cent, and will target Mexico, the Central America Region, and the Andean Region.

Enterprise Investors finds Komfort in Poland
09/04/2007. Polish Enterprise Fund V and Polish Enterprise Fund VI – private equity funds managed by Enterprise Investors – have finalised their purchase of the Komfort retail chain. PEF V and PEF VI have bought out 100 per cent of the Komfort retail chain for a total of €64m, with half the transaction amount financed with acquisition debt.

Updata Partners hires Jon Seeber as associate
09/04/2007. Updata Partners, a US information technology-focused venture capital firm with $400m in funds under management, has hired Jon Seeber as an associate.

Odyssey Investment Partners buys US Tank Rental Division
06/04/2007. Odyssey Investment Partners, a middle-market private equity fund with $1.2bn under management, has acquired the Tank Rental division of NES Rentals Holdings, Inc. for approximately $196m.

Coller Capital acquires 45 per cent stake in Shell Technology Ventures Fund I
05/04/2007. Royal Dutch Shell has sold 45 per cent of the newly created Shell Technology Ventures Fund I, an independent energy technology fund, to secondaries specialist Coller Capital. Shell will remain the majority shareholder in the fund.

Natural Gas Partners hires Scott Gieselman as managing director
05/04/2007. Natural Gas Partners has hired Scott A Gieselman as a managing director. Gieselman will join the firm's efforts in sourcing, structuring and executing the firm's investment and capital market transactions.

MVC Capital appoints Warren Holtsberg to the fund's board of directors
05/04/2007. MVC Capital, a business development company that provides long-term debt and equity investment capital to fund growth, acquisitions and recapitalisations of companies in a variety of industries, has appointed Warren E Holtsberg to the fund's board of directors.

Braveheart acquires WL Ventures
05/04/2007. Braveheart, the technology commercialisation and investment management company, has acquired all of the share capital of WL Ventures, an investment business which has a portfolio of minority holdings in a number of privately held technology companies.

Warburg Pincus to acquire 25 per cent stake in Metavante Corporation for $625m
04/04/2007. Marshall & Ilsley Corporation has announced that it will split Marshall & Ilsley Corporation and Metavante Corporation into independent public companies. Warburg Pincus has agreed to invest $625m to acquire an equity stake of 25 per cent in Metavante Corporation, a banking and payments technologies provider.

AXA Private Equity acquires majority stake in FLEX Group
04/04/2007. AXA Private Equity has acquired a majority stake in FLEX Group, a German manufacturer of hand-held power tools, from New York-based investment advisor GSO Capital Partners. The remaining stake has been bought by the current management team.

French CEL Partners holds first closing on China fund
04/04/2007. China Equity Links, a French private equity fund dedicated to investments in China, has held a first closing on €43m. The fund - with a target size of €70m - was launched in summer 2005. It will focus on the industrial and services sectors in China.

OpenView appoints George Roberts as venture partner
04/04/2007. OpenView Venture Partners, an expansion stage venture capital fund established in 2006 with a focus on software, internet, and technology-enabled companies, has appointed George Roberts as a venture partner.

US venture-backed IPOs raise $1.2bn in Q1
03/04/2007. A total of 13 US-headquartered venture-backed companies completed IPOs in the first quarter, raising $1.2bn, up from $599.2m in Q1 2006, according to the Quarterly Liquidity Report from Dow Jones VentureOne. The number of IPOs was the same as in Q1 2006.

Charles River Ventures closes thirteenth fund
03/04/2007. Early stage venture capital firm Charles River Ventures has closed its thirteenth fund, Charles River Partnership XIII, on $285m. The fund will continue to focus on investing in new ventures in the technology marketplace.

Venture-backed M&A activity declines in Q1 2007
03/04/2007. Venture-backed M&A activity declined significantly to 62 transactions in Q1 2007 from 104 in the same quarter last year, but increased slightly from the 57 transactions completed in Q4 2006, according to the Exit Poll report by Thomson Financial and the National Venture Capital Association.

KKR to acquire First Data in $29bn deal
02/04/2007. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. has agreed to acquire First Data Corp., a provider of electronic commerce and payment solutions for businesses, in a transaction valued at approximately $29bn.

Gordon Brothers closes $350m private equity fund, hires new investment directors
02/04/2007. Gordon Brothers International, a retail restructuring specialist and liquidity solutions provider for retail and industry, has closed a $350m private equity fund. The fund targets majority and minority investments.

27/04/2007. 

30/04/2007. UK mid-market private equity firm Gresham Private Equity has sold Tredegar, South Wales-based Penn Pharmaceuticals to LDC in a deal worth £67m. The deal generated a return on investment of 12 times, according to a statement.