European Venture Capital Journal articles from April 2001

European Venture Capital Journal archives from April 2001

Buyout investment keeps up pace.(United Kingdom securities analysis)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Buyout and buy-in activity at [pound]5.7 billion hit the third highest value ever recorded in the first quarter of this year. Those figures are for the UK market only and are boosted by a couple of sizeable secondary buyouts and nine public to...

LBO House of the Year.(CVC Capital Partners )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Winner: CVC Capital Partners Choosing an LBO house of the year was a particularly hard task given that a 60:40 weighting was decided upon in favour of monies invested. There are few houses that have not received the consideration of an...

Mid-market private equity house of the year.(Bridgepoint Capital )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Winner: Bridgepoint Capital Bridgepoint Capital wins evcj's 2000 Mid-market private equity house of the year award. Bridgepoint Capital, renamed from NatWest Equity Partners in May last year, has had an impressive year. It orchestrated its...

Mezzanine provider of the year.(Intermediate Capital Group)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Winner: Intermediate Capital Group In making the selections for this award a decision was made to look at dedicated mezzanine players rather than banks, which often offer mezzanine as part of their debt tool kit, rather than out of a...

LBO debt provider of the year.(Deutsche Bank)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Winner: Deutsche Bank In selecting a debt provider in leverage buyout (LBO) transactions during 2000 those banks supporting deals with total debt tranches that fall, in the main, at [epsilon]350 million or above were considered. ...

Mid-market debt provider of the year.(The Royal Bank of Scotland )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Winner: The Royal Bank of Scotland Leverage Finance First it should be noted that in selecting a mid-market debt provider transactions were decided to fall into this bracket when the bank involved operated predominantly in buyout...

Private equity law firm of the year.(SJ Berwin)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Winner: SJ Berwin In considering the criteria for judging the evcj's private equity law firm of the year in 2000 the following was settled on. The panel looked at the number of management buyouts that were advised on during the year and...

Private equity accountancy firm of the year.(KPMG )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Winner: KPMG In selecting a winner for evcj's private equity accountancy firm of the year awards for 2000 the judges considered the number of management buyouts advised on during 2000, including advisory work for investing institutions and...

Venture capital firm of the year.(3i Group PLC)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Winner: 3i Evcj's venture capital firm of the year award for 2000 was a hard category to set judging criteria for. In the end it was decided to concentrate on building a short-list from those investors that had created successful...

Asset-based finance provider of the year.(GE Capital Commercial Finance)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Winner: GE Capital Commercial Finance In judging the asset-based finance provider of the year category, the facts placed under consideration included how much has a firm's involvement in backing deals in the private equity arena had grown...

Realisation of the year.(Orchestream plc wins IPO award)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Winner: Orchestream plc Selecting a realisation of the year proved a difficult task. It would seem sensible to take a purely quantitative approach whereby the most money made in the shortest period of time takes first place. But given that...

Transaction team for Lloyds TSB CF.
April 1, 2001... Loyds TSB Commercial Finance in the UK is launching a transaction team that will report into the group's commercial director Ian Lomas. Lomas notes that the group has been providing debt finance (primarily invoice discounting and asset-based...

RSM Int'l forms Access to Capital.(international team for venture funding)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... RSM International, the global accounting and consulting firm, has formalised its activities in help companies, from early stage venture start ups to mid-sized companies, find appropriate funding sources. This formalisation has resulted in the...

PPM VENTURES OPENS IN MUNICH.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... PPM VENTURES, THE PRIVATE EQUITY ARM of Prudential plc, has opened an office in Munich. This is PPM Ventures' third European office and a team of three led by Dr Sebastian Kern will staff it. Working with Dr Kern will be investment...

What's new at Schroder Ventures?
April 1, 2001... Schroder Ventures has sold Schroder Ventures London Ltd and Schroder Ventures North America to Schroder Ventures International Investment Trust (SVIIT). SVIIT is 12.8 per cent owned by Schroders plc. The sale of Schroder Ventures North America...

BVK claims record year.(Bundesverband Deutscher German venture capital association sees increased investment volume)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... GERMANY'S VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION, Bundesverband Deutscher (BVK), says preliminary surveying shows continued growth with its 168 members having raised investment volume to DM18.9 billion by year-end 2000 up from DM13.9 billion at the...

Phoenix Equity Partners is reborn.(reorganized)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
April 1, 2001... Phoenix Equity Partners has resulted from the spin out of DLJ European Private Equity from Credit Suisse First Boston. The process has been under negotiation for the last four months. The announcement that Credit Suisse was to buy Donaldson...

Euro PE shows 33.3% IRR.(European private equity internal rate of return)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Private equity has shown a 33.3 per cent internal rate of return (IRR) according to recent figures unveiled at the European Venture Capital Association's (EVCA) annual investors conference in Geneva this week. The 33.3 per cent figure is...

TD Capital Comms Partners in London.
April 1, 2001... TD Capital Communications Partners, the US communications venture capital investors, has signaled its presence in Europe with the opening of a London office. Jose Brena and Douglas Rediker, both US nationals who have each spent around ten years...

IDEAEDGE AND STARTUPFACTORY LINK UP.
April 1, 2001... US-BASED IDEA EDGE VENTURES AND Nordic-based Startupfactory have set up an international partnership to benefit both parties in their chosen investment field of mobile communications. Under this international partnership agreement deaEDGE...

Dunlevie to Benchmark's Euro base.
April 1, 2001... Bruce Dunlevie, one of the founding partners of Benchmark Capital featured in Randall Stross' recent book eBoys, will be making his way to London this summer and intends to stay for a year. Before Dunlevie arrives it is likely that Eric...

ProVen PE buys stake in CIM.
April 1, 2001... ProVen Private Equity has expanded beyond its UK and US bases into continental Europe with the acquisition of a 23 per cent stake in Creative Industries Management, a Helsinki-based venture capital firm. To date, Creative Industries Management...

SEAF $2.5million for SMEs.
April 1, 2001... Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF) has launched a $2.5 million global partnership to help small and medium sized enterprises gain greater access to financing and consulting services. IFC has committed $850,000 to the $2.5 million fund and...

TARLACH MOVES TO LONDON.
April 1, 2001... STEPHAN TARLACH WILL MOVE TO LONDON in July to take control of Durlacher bmp Life Science, the recently incorporated joint venture between the German venture capital firm, bmp, and Durlacher, the technology focused investment bank. ...

More funds for biotech.
April 1, 2001... Targeting the booming UK biotech sector, The Bloomsbury BioSeed Fund (BBSF) has been launched with [pound]4 million for investment. The fund will commit up to [pound]250,000 per new enterprise. Following the sequencing of the human genome,...

MVM goes for 2nd life sciences fund.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... UK-based MVM, the specialist life science venture capital firm has announced plans to raise a second fund. MVM International Life Sciences Fund II will invest in early stage life science companies globally. MVM aims to raise a minimum of...

Life Science Partners new fund.(Life Science Partners II)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Life Sciences Partners, the Amsterdam-based provider of seed and early stage venture capital in the biotechnology, medical devices and e-health sectors has announced the launch of a [epsilon]135 million fund. Life Science Partners II is a...

Earlybird III bags $225m.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... German/US venture capital investor Earlybird has announced the final closing of its US Earlybird III LP at $35 million, following the closing of the German entity, Earlybird III KG at $190 million last August. The combined fund has now...

[epsilon]2.4BN BUYOUT FUND FOR CANDOVER.(Candover 2001 Fund)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Candover, a leading European leveraged buyout house, has announced that it will be raising a [epsilon]2.4 billion buyout fund during 2001. The fund will be called Candover 2001 Fund. It is a significant increase on the firm's previous fund,...

Energy boost for Norsk Hydro.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Norsk Hydro has set up Norsk Hydro Technology Venture (NTV), NOK350 million fund to invest in energy sector research and development projects outside of the company's own operations. The fund will be investing in projects that are of importance...

Mega mezz fund for DB Capital.(mezzanine fund; DB Capital Partners Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... DB Capital Partners Inc, a private equity affiliate of Deutsche Bank AG has set up a $1 billion mezzanine debt fund, one of the largest of its kind. The fund will be investing in North American and Western European companies seeking alternative...

AFINUM ups target.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... AFINUM Management GmbH of Munich, an independent fund advisor set up last year by Dr Thomas Buhler and Dr Gernot Eisinger (see EVCJ May 2000, p6), has announced the second closing of AFINUM Beteiligungsgesellschaft at DM90 million. The original...

Northern 2 VCT increases size.(Northern Venture Managers fund)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... NORTHERN 2 VCT, THE VENTURE CAPITAL trust managed by Northern Venture Managers (NVM), has received applications in excess of [pound]10 million for its current share offer. The trust, launched in January 199 will increase its size in order to...

A first for Fondamenta.(Mediolanum State Street SGRpA)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Mediolanum State Street SGRpA has unveiled the first Italian private equity fund-of-funds. Fondamenta has raised [epsilon]160 million at its first close. With a duration of ten years, the fund is registered in Italy and is authorised by the...

A record tech fund for Trinity.(Trinity Venture Capital)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Trinity Venture Capital, part of the Reihill Venture Capital Group, has unveiled the largest technology fund in Ireland to date. Trinity Fund II has raised total commitments of [epsilon]100 million, over four times the size of its first...

ACP first close of 2nd FoFs.(Access Capital Partners closes fund)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... MANAGER AND ADVISOR OF EUROPEAN private equity fund-of-funds, Access Capital Partners (ACP) has announced the first closing of its second fund-of-funds called Access Capital Fund II (ACF II). At [epsilon]200 million, it is well on the way to...

Convergys buys Geneva Technology.(Convergys Corporation acquisition)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Technology continues to boom in Cambridge with the latest success story scooped by global billing services company, Convergys Corporation. Cambridge-based international provider of convergent billing software, Geneva Technology has merged with...

Another e-business bites the dust.(PAPERX)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... PAPERX, THE E-BUSINESS SOLUTIONS provider for the European paper industry has gone into receivership. In spite of tremendous efforts by management and constructive talks with leading industry players, PaperX has failed to raise second round...

Electra celebrates SP&S exit.(Security Printing & Systems Group Limited )(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Electra Investment Trust has announced the realisation of its entire interest in Security Printing & Systems Group Limited (SP&S) through a recommended cash offer by Globalvault plc. The proceeds attributable to Electra are [pound]26.2...

NWDC makes a secure exit.(NatWest Development Capital )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... NatWest Development Capital (NWDC) has completed the sale of Security Closures (UK) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Brooks Holdings Ltd to Orbis plc for [pound]7.35 million. Following the sale of the business to Orbis, it will be merged with...

MB Funds sells Suomen Gallup stake.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Finnish private equity and mezzanine investor, MB Funds has sold its shares in Suomen Gallup, the Finnish opinion and market research company. The holding company of Suomen Gallup group, MDC Research Group Oy, has been acquired by Taylor...

LGV makes a healthy return.(Legal & General Ventures )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Legal & General Ventures (LGV) has sold its majority holding in the Sante Finance clinics group to UHS, the listed American private hospital operator. Sante Finance was LGV's first investment in France. UHS has acquired an 80 per cent...

Caffe Nero exit by IPO.(initial public offering on London Stock Exchange)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... BancBoston Capital (BBC), the private equity investment arm of FleetBoston financial corporation, looks to have profited from its investment in Italian coffee bar chain, Caffe Nero, following the flotation of the company on the London Stock...

PROVEN MAKES ENTERTAINING PROFIT.(sells Link Licensing to Entertainment Rights PLC)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... ProVen Private Equity has made a successful realisation on its investment in Link Licensing that has been acquired by Entertainment Rights plc for [pound]15.07 million. ProVen invested a total of [pound]689,000 in the company from September...

Auto Windscreens sold for [pound]112 million.(to Lex Service PLC)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... HSBC Private Equity has sold Auto Windscreens, provider of automotive glass replacements and repairs, to Lex Service PLC for [pound]112 million. HSBC Private Equity and the senior management of Auto Windscreens bought the business from Heywood...

Bosnext and Eternity merger off.(BosNext AB)(Eternity AB)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... PLANS TO MERGE FINNISH MENIRE Corporation's portfolio company, Bosnext AB with Eternity AB via a share exchange have been cancelled. Negotiations between the two companies have been terminated. Menire and the other main owners of Bosnext...

Sequoia and Citrix join forces.(Sequoia Software Corp.)(Citrix Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Nasdaq-listed Sequoia Software Corporation has entered into a merger agreement with Citrix Systems Inc, which will see Sequoia's venture capital backers exit their remaining holdings in Sequoia, which floated in May last year. In May last...

SECONDARY BUYOUT FOR SOUDRONIC.(Soudronic AG)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Doughty Hanson has realised its investment in Soudronic, global manufacturer of turnkey systems for the metal packaging industry and of high technology laser welding equipment for the automotive industry. Gilde Buy-Out fund of the...

Memscap braves IPO.(initial public offering)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Software company Memscap, a leading provider of MEMS-based solutions for the wireless and optical communications markets, has floated on the Nouveau Marche in Paris. The IPO raised approximately [epsilon]101.2 million in proceeds. Brobeck Hale...

People moves.
April 1, 2001... New partner at BPEP Baring Private Equity Partners (BPEP) has appointed Gail Guerin as senior partner responsible for marketing. She joins from Hamilton Lane Advisors, Pennsylvania, where she was a managing director. She will report to...

Opportunity knocks, loudly.(venture capital companies)(financial holding companies)
April 1, 2001... Despite relatively low barriers to entry to parts of the financial services sector, venture capitalists are by and large continuing to steer clear of investing in companies operating in this sphere. Of those that are confirming an interest the...

Investing in Internet infrastructure.(venture capital companies)
April 1, 2001... Louise Bowman reports on one grouping of venture capitalists in Europe that have a lot to be optimistic about, despite the lengthening of their investment horizons What a difference 18 months make. A couple of years ago private equity...

Secondary players: update.(investments)
April 1, 2001... Economics have colluded to bring about conditions in which secondary players expect to see their chosen market boom. At the same time awareness has been raised of the existence of secondary players and the liquidity they can bring to the...

The Netherlands: worldwide appeal.(financial history)
April 1, 2001... The Netherlands has built a solid reputation within the international venture capital community, thanks to a stable economy and a rich entrepreneurial culture that has nurtured leading multinational giants Shell, Unilever, Philips, DSM and...

Tax and regulatory developments in the Netherlands.
April 1, 2001... Investor taxation -- carried interest The system for taxing individuals who are a resident of the Netherlands has been changed drastically under the 2001 Tax Reform. Under the previous system, which was in effect through December 31, 2000,...

Swets & Zeitlinger.(Dutch publishing company)
April 1, 2001... Eric van den Eijnden, partner of NeSBIC Investment Fund, outlines the receipe for success of Swets & Zeitlinger, the global information distributor Swets & Zeitlinger is in the unique position of never having actually needed to attract...

Temporary managers: here to stay?(venture capital companies and temporary management)
April 1, 2001... Hugh Baird, who leads the Analysis and Turnaround Team in the UK for W&S Transition and Interim Management, an independent provider of temporary management solutions, looks at what skills temporary management can bring to venture capital...

A vision for the future.(Roger Maggs of Celtic House)(Interview)
April 1, 2001... Roger Maggs, founder and general partner of seed investor Celtic House, has been involved with the company since its inception in 1994. He talks about how the company started out with a $25 million fund in 1996 and currently has $1 billion...

Royal Bank of Scotland Leverage Finance Group.(Jim Stevens)(Interview)
April 1, 2001... Jim Stevens, one of the four managing directors in Royal Bank of Scotland's Leverage Finance Group, talks to evcj about future plans for the business after the integration of NatWest Acquisition Finance and an active year in 2000 for the group....

Deal of the month: Cellzome.(financing from Index Ventures)
April 1, 2001... Anthony O'Connor talks to the functional protemics company, Cellzome, and Index Ventures, the Swiss-based venture capital firm, which led the company's latest financing round Cellzome GmbH, a functional proteomics company, has raised...

Doughty Hanson buys LM Glasfiber.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Doughty Hanson & Co has acquired the Danish manufacturer of wind turbine blades, LM Glasfiber. The value of the deal, which is subject to the approval of competition authorities, has not been disclosed. Doughty Hanson aims to support the...

MBO for Perry Motor Sales.(Paul Millard and Ken Savage take over auto dealer)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... The Perry Motor Sales car dealership, which has a [pound]280 million turnover, has been bought by two of its senior management in a structured buyout financed primarily by Bank of Scotland. Managing director, Paul Millard, and finance...

Nordic Capital buys 50% of Marioff.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Nordic Capital has signed an agreement with Goran Sundholm, the founder of Marioff Corporation, to acquire 50 per cent of the fire extinguishing solutions company. This acquisition will be financed by a FIM100 million investment from...

Trim buy and merger.(merger with Mayflower Technical Services )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Trim Engineering Group, bought by Lloyds TSB Development Capital and Bridgepoint Capital, will take part in a merger with Mayflower Technical Services to create a leading design and manufacture company in the transport industry. The new company...

IIpea-Holm gets 5yr IPO horizon.(initial public offering)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Italian manufacturer of plastic and rubber gaskets for cars and electronics company, Ilpea-Holm has received expansion financing of [epsilon]350 million from a group of Investors. The investors are Ivestitori Associati III. Banca Commerciale...

LBO for Enterprise Solutions.(leverage buyout led by Apax Partners)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Sweden's Enterprise Solutions, the indirect sales channel, has been the subject of a leverage buyout led by Apax Partners. The deal is worth [epsilon]528 million. Clifford Chance acted as legal adviser to Apax and Arthur Andersen as...

MBO for Lafarge Specialty Materials.(management buyout )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... The Royal Bank of Scotland Leveraged Finance Group has backed the management buyout of Lafarge Specialty Materials by Advent International, CVC and The Carlyle Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney have...

4th round for Synt:em.(funding lead by Lombard Odier & Cie and BankInvest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Lombard Odier & Cie and BankInvest co-lead a [epsilon]22 million investment in System, developer of novel drugs candidates targeting central nervous system diseases. Other subscribers to this round included previous investors Apax Partners &...

Seed for Tinubu Square.(funding from Sitka Partners and Chrysalead)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Tinubu Square, the French-based European business to business transaction and credit management company, has received [epsilon]4 million in seed funding from a group of investors including Sitka Partners, Chrysalead and European business...

SpiroGen raises [pound]1m.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Cambridge Research BioVentures (CRB), in collaboration with Cambridge Research and Innovation Ltd (CRIL), has provided the majority share in a joint investment of [pound]700,000. Bloomsbury Investment Capital, the company responsible for...

CyberCity attracts 2nd round.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Denmark's CyberCity, acquired in March by a syndicate of investors led by Advent International, has attracted a second round investment of $53 million. Lehman Brothers Communications Fund, Merrill Lynch Private Equity, Danske eVentures and Four...

[epsilon]40m for CityReach.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... UK-based Internet hosting company, CityReach International, has secured [epsilon]40 million in a fourth round of financing from previous investors, Investcorp, Battery Ventures, M/C Venture Partners and JP Morgan Partners. CityReach...

ArztPartner gets follow-on funding.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... PolyTechnos Venture-Partners has advised fund Enabling Technology LP lead a follow-on investment in the Germany company, ArztPartner almeda AG. Also participating this round were Burda Betiligungs Holding GmbH and private investors. ...

Marketlink raises $4m.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Hungarian customer call centre operator, Marketlink has received $4 million in expansion financing from Hungarian Equity Partners. Hungarian Equity Partners, a private equity fund advised by MAVA Capital, has invested in Marketlink in...

BlazePhotonic [pound]9m in first round.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... UK-based BlazePhotonics, a photonic crystal fibre producer, has received its first round of funding. Celtic House Investment Partners led the [pound]9 million first round funding for University of Bath spinout, BlazePhotonics. Quester...

Commtag attract $5m.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Commtag, a wireless technology company, has attracted $5 million in expansion financing from Amadeus Capital Partners. Amadeus Capital Partners has provided the $5 million funding to support the continued development of the company's new...

Announced March deals.
April 1, 2001... Announced deals includes listings of private equity and venture capital transactions involving European targets that were announced from 21 February 2001 to 20 March 2001. The listings are ordered by target nation, and alphabetically within...