European Venture Capital Journal articles from December 2002

European Venture Capital Journal archives from December 2002

Nmas 1 inching closer to target. (Funds).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Spanish buyout specialist, Nmas I has reached a second close on its second fund, Nmas 1 Private Fund, its first to target international investors. The fund, which has a target of [euro]200 million, has raised [euro]135 million so far from...

BVCA lobbies for change. (News).(British Venture Capital Assocation report on private equity impact in the United Kingdom)
December 1, 2002... At Portcullis House (which houses the Members of Parliament's offices) on November 26, the day before the UK pre-budget report, the BRITISH VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION (BVCA) unveiled its economic impact of private equity in the UK study. ...

DBCP to make a break. (News).(Deutsche Bank's DB Capital Partners considers management buyout)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Following much speculation as to the future of its private equity arm Deutsche Bank has entered into negotiations with the management team of DB CAPITAL PARTNERS (DBCP) to carry out an MBO of its late stage direct private equity portfolio. The...

Nordic Mezzanine launches Fund II. (Funds).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Nordic Mezzanine has unveiled its most recent offering, Nordic Mezzanine FUND II specialising in mid-market buyouts and expansion capital like its predecessor fund. The investment focus of the fund will he in the Nordic region and Germany. ...

Fletcher to drive CDC forward. (Funds).(Paul Fletcher named CEO of CDC Group)
December 1, 2002... Paul Fletcher has been appointed the new chief executive of CDC Group succeeding Alan Gillespie, who leaves the group at the end of November. Fletcher will be charged with restructuring the group into two divisions, separating the investment...

Cygnus Capital launches. (News).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Lance Whitehead has left his private equity placement role at Dresdner Kleinwort Capital (DKC) to set up Cygnus Capital. At DKC Whitehead mainly raised funds for the firm's many in-house private equity and venture capital funds, to which...

Catalyst FM & R launches social fund. (News).(Catalyst Fund Management and Research)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Catalyst FUND MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH, which currently manages a financial services sector focused venture capital fund, has begun to market a new fund in the social sector, which is a joint venture with The Big Issue. Catalyst already has its...

Fitch private equity ratings. (News).(Fitch Ratings issues rating criteria for private equity collateralized funds)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Fitch Ratings has issued the first private equity collaterised fund obligations (CFOs) rating criteria. Michael Romer, senior director at Fitch Ratings, said: "Fitch's private equity CFO criteria.., looks into the risks, as well as the...

UBS Capital slows down. (News).(halts European investments )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... UBS Capital has ceased investment activity in Europe and will concentrate on managing the existing assets in its portfolio to maximise value for shareholders. Third quarter results for the portfolio were negatively impacted by valuation losses...

Rothschild enters buyout market. (Funds).
December 1, 2002... French banking group Rothschild is raising a [euro]200 million fund dedicated to mid-market buyouts. LCF Rothschild Asset Management has recruited Erick Fouque and Eric de Montgolfier, previously with Astorg Partners, to lead the new venture....

Terra Firma reaches close. (News).(Terra Firma Capital Partners II fund )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Terra Firma Capital Partners II, the first independent fund raised by Guy Hands since leaving Nomura's Principal Finance Group, has held a first closing at [euro]l billion. It's taken Hands over a year (news broke towards the end of Q2 2001) to...

Funds shun technology sector. (News).
December 1, 2002... Investor confidence in technology remains shaky as the number of completed corporate finance deals continues to fall this quarter. The number of transactions is at its lowest since the last quarter of 2001 and average deal size was a mere...

Credit Suisse rises to challenge. (Funds).(launches private equity venture and buyout fund)
December 1, 2002... Credit Suisse Germany has unveiled its latest private equity offering -- CS Venture I, a [euro]25 million fund-of-funds with a balanced focus on venture and buyout funds in Europe and the US. The investment bank is braving the tough fund...

Auriga Partners reaches final close. (Funds).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... French IT and life science investor Auriga Partners has reached a final close of [euro]l15 million on its second fund Auriga Venture II. The amount raised is almost double its first fund, which was launched in 1998 and closed at [euro]65...

3i R&D white paper. (News).(Research and development spin-offs)
December 1, 2002... In November 3i launched a white paper outlining its findings of research undertaken into the spinning out of commercial companies from R&D opportunities in academia and the R&D facilities of corporates. Laurence Garrett, director of 3i's...

Danske FoFs nears final close. (Funds).(Danske Private Equity fund-of-funds )
December 1, 2002... Danske Private Equity has raised [euro]482 million for its second fund-of-funds, Danske Private Equity Partners II. Within a month Bjorn Haugaard Rubin, managing director of Danske Private Equity, hopes to conclude talks with a final investor...

Sunrise Capital looks to Europe. (News).(launches private equity fund, company opens London office)
December 1, 2002... US private equity firm Sunrise Capital Partners has launched its second fund with a target of between $400 million and $600 million. Sunrise Capital Partners II is being marketed to institutions in both the US and Europe and the firm has set up...

Trinity VC closes tech fund. (Funds).(Trinity Venture Capital )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Irish VC investor Trinity Venture Capital has closed its latest technology fund, Trinity Venture Fund II, at [euro]140 million. The fund will target early and growth stage technology companies in Ireland. Investors in the fund consist mainly of...

What is the role of the NED? (News).(Non-executive director)
December 1, 2002... Following the collapse of Enron and Worldcom and the disastrous problems at Marconi and Energis, the role of the non-executive director has been hotly debated. Industty professionals remain unclear on what the primary role of an NED should be,...

Pomona Capital V beats target. (Funds).(capital investment firm tops goals for private equity funds)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Pomona Capital has closed its fifth secondary fund, Pomona Capital V, well above target at $581 million. Like its predecessors, the fund will be used to buy interests in private equity funds from limited partners looking to exit their...

New valuation guidelines for BVCA. (News).(British Venture Capital Association )
December 1, 2002... New draft reporting and new valuation guidelines were issued by the British Venture Capital Association this week. "This is part of the wider debate about transparency, clarity and consistency and we hope it is another step forward in that...

Brilleon takes on biotech. (Funds).(new Swiss capital investment fund seeks financing for biotech )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... A new Swiss firm Brilleon Capital is looking to raise [euro]150 million for a biotech-focused venture fund, Next Level. The fund will focus on early- to mid-stage investments in Europe and late stage investments in North America. Brillcon...

[pounds sterling]50m fund for London. (News).(UK provides 50 million pounds sterling regional development fund for London)
December 1, 2002... The largest of the UK government's regional development funds has been launched with [pounds sterling]50 million to invest in London-based SMEs. The Capital Fund is the seventh out of nine planned funds to become operational. The nationwide...

Bridgepoint sells Sondex. (Exits).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Bridgepoint has sold its stake in Sondex in a [pounds sterling]33 million secondary buyout transaction to Bank of Scotland corporate banking and management. Bridgepoint committed [pounds sterling]10 million to the [pounds sterling]20 million...

Investcorp acquires Aero Products. (Exits).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... US-based Trivest Partners has sold its stake in airbed manufacturer Aero Products in a secondary buyout transaction. Global firm Investcorp has acquired the company for an undisclosed sum. Trivest invested in the company in June 2001. A...

Europa Fund makes gain on CAA House. (Exits).(sells Civil Aviation Authority office building)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Europa Capital Partners has made a 6.7 per cent profit on its investment in the Civil Aviation Authority's London head office, which it owned as a partner in the Blackmoor Limited Partnership. UBS Warburg has acquired CAA House for [pounds...

Close Brothers VCT divests hotels. (Exits).(venture capital trust sells investments in Premier VCT and Hawkwell VCT)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Close Brothers Venture Capital Trust has sold its investments in Premier VCT and Hawkwell VCT, which own the 96-room Express by Holiday Inn in Bristol city centre and the 51-bed Hawkwell House Hotel in Oxford. Close Brothers originally invested...

Carlyle gets Edscha. (Exits).(German car-parts manufacturer)
December 1, 2002... Carlyle has agreed to an offer price of [euro]26.50 per share for German car-parts manufacturer Edscha. The deal provides an exit for previous investors including German VC Deutsche Beteiligungs, which stands to make a return of 25 per cent on...

Vertex profits on Midbar. (Exits).(Macrovision acquires Midhar Tech from Vertex Venture Capital)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Israeli fund Vertex Venture Capital, the majority shareholder in Midhar Tech, has realised its investment in the company. Macrovision Corporation has acquired the business for $25 million. Vertex invested $3 million in the company in 2000 with...

Bridgepoint makes partial exit. (Exits).(refinances Shearings Group)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Bridgepoint Capital has made a partial exit on its investment in Shearings Group through a [pounds sterling]65 million refinancing of the business. The deal was structured to increase management's equity stake in the business. Bridgepoint...

3i sells Cascade stake. (Exits).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... 3i has exited its investment in pharmaceutical manufacturer CASCADE Biochem through the sale of the company to Johnson Matthey. The initial purchase price of [pounds sterling]2.75 million may be adjusted up to a maximum of [pounds sterling]8...

EWM doubles Rutland's investment. (Exits).(Bank of Scotland acquires Rutland's stake in EWM Group )
December 1, 2002... Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking has acquired Rutland Fund Management's stake in EWM Group via a secondary buyout worth [pounds sterling]67.5 million. The bank has provided an integrated package of debt and equity to back chief executive...

All is not lost on Utfors. (Exits).(Telenor acquires Utfors telecommunications company)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Two months after filing for financial restructuring Utfors, the Swedish telecoms company, has been bought by Norwegian communications operator Telenor for SEK264 million ([euro]30 million). Finnmezzanine Fund II, managed by CapMan, had written...

Piper Private Equity sells stake in Sofa Workshop. (Exits).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Piper Private Equity has disposed of its I minority stake in the Sofa Workshop Group following the [pounds sterling]12.25 million sale of the business to MFI Furniture Group. Piper made a series of development capital investments between 1990...

AMJPE exits Sureclean. (Exits).(Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity sells equity in Sureclean waste management company)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity has successfully realised its investment in Sureclean, an industrial cleaning and environmental waste management services company. AMJPE's 35 per cent holding in the company has been acquired by Umax...

Warsaw exchange provides exit. (Exits).(Enterprise Investors and CSFB Central European Merchant Partners divest interest in Grupa Kety aluminum manufacturer )
December 1, 2002... Enterprise Investors and CSFB Central European Merchant Partners have sold their remaining interest in Polish aluminium producer, Grupa Kety, on the Warsaw stock exchange. The sale generated proceeds in the region of $17.5 million for...

Homebase: shareholders reap rewards. (Exits).(Great Universal Stores acquires Homebase)
December 1, 2002... Homebase has delivered an impressive return for its investors at a time when many are struggling to find buyers for their businesses. GUS, which owns the Argos retail chain, has acquired the business for around [pounds sterling]900 million....

Private equity-backed takeovers subject to EU competition law. (Buyouts).
December 1, 2002... Nycomed Nordic Capital has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Nycomed, the European market-driven pharmaceutical company, to a company owned by CSFB Private Equity, Blackstone Capital Partners and NIB Capital Private Equity NV....

Refinanced. (Buyouts).(Shearings Group resturctures financing, Bridgepoint Capital lessens investment, remains a majority stockholder)
December 1, 2002... Shearings Group Bridgepoint Capital has made a partial exit on its investment in Shearings Group through a [pounds sterling]65 million refinancing of the business. The deal was structured to increase management's equity stake in the...

Transparency: can you handle it? (LP Corner).(private equity industry analysis)
December 1, 2002... Transparency is a guaranteed talking point as far as the private equity industry is concerned. Until summer last year, the annual performance figures published by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and the European Venture Capital...

Italy: LBOs come of age. (Legal & Regulatory Exchange).
December 1, 2002... From a legal and fiscal point of view, the Italian private equity market is going through a phase of reorganisation following significant regulatory innovations introduced over the years. The most significant concerning LBOs will come into...

US fund raising gets weaker. (Data Room).(venture capital funding slows. Venture Economics activity reflects trend)
December 1, 2002... Private equity and venture capital fund raising is hard, everybody knows this but if anyone is in the slightest bit of doubt they should check out Venture Economics/ NVCA US venture and buyout/mezzanine fund raisings so far this year. The...

US exits remain few. (Data Room).(IPO market forecast dim, benefits for venture capital community questioned)
December 1, 2002... The consensus view is that global IPO markets will not bc back in a meaningful way during 2003 or 2004. It remains to be seen whether the venture community will benefit from brief openings. As can be seen from the table below there were 34 IPOs...

Duke Street appts. (People).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Duke Street Capital has added two new investment managers to its London team. Corinne Margerit previously worked for Credit Suisse First Boston where she spent five years in corporate finance in London and New York specialising in healthcare....

New director at CapMan. (People).(Matti Copeland named investment director)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Matti Copeland has been appointed investment director of CapMan's buyout business unit. Most recently he was managing partner at Aura Capital and prior to that held management positions in the banking sector at Sampo Bank, Merita-Nordbanken and...

Wellington expands. (People).(Michael Wolfle joins as venture partner)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Michael Wolfle, former sales director of ProSieben Media is joining Wellington Partners as a venture partner. He will be supporting over 20 portfolio companies with a focus on sales and marketing. Wolfle is also a member of the supervisory...

Carlyle names chairman. (People).(IBM chairman and CEO Louis Gerstner)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Louis Gerstner is to become chairman of the Carlyle Group effective January 7, 2003. In this capacity, Gerstner will commit around 20 per cent of his time providing strategic guidance on Carlyle's global business activities, giving management...

Hotbed appts director. (People).(venture capital company names Bernard Dale as director)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Bernard Dale is to become a director of Hotbed, the private equity and venture capital firm launched earlier this year. He joins from LDC, the venture capital arm of Lloyds TSB Bank where he was a senior director. He previously spent 8 years...

New partner at LogiSpring. (People).(Jean-Yves Quentel joins venture capital firm)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... LogiSpring, a Geneva-based venture capital fund investing in supple chain and logistics technology companies has appointed Jean-Yves Quentel as partner. Quentel joins from ETF where he was a director based in the firm's Paris office. He brings...

Moving to Milan. (People).(Rome-based law firm Monaco e Associati opens Milan office )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Italian law firm Monaco e Associati is extending its reach. The Rome-based firm will be opening a new office in Milan in the New Year. Associate Massimiliano Talli will move from Rome to the Milan office to join a six-strong team and raise the...

Colley leaves Callahan. (People).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... David Colley, founding partner of the European arm of Callahan Associates, has left to join UK interactive technology company Media Logic as CEO. Colley tasked with making Media Logic a global force in interactive services and spearhead...

Cook joins Callahan. (People).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Brian M Cook has joined Callahan as CFO and partner. Cook was formerly MD and CFO at Kirch Holding in Munich. Prior to this he was head of European corporate banking and portfolio management at CSFB (Europe) in London, having joined the company...

Tenon Liv grows. (People).(Tenon Livingstone Guarantee's Marcus Moir relocates from London to Reading office )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Marcus Moir, Tenon Livingstone Guarantee (TLG) principal and management board member, has relocated from London to strengthen the firm's Reading office. Moir has been with TLG in London since 1992 and heads the firm's support services team.

Fletcher new CDC CEO. (People).(CDC Group plc)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Paul Fletcher is the new CEO of CDC Group plc, following in the footsteps of Alan Gillespie who leaves CDC on November 30. Fletcher, appointed to CDC Group board in 2001, has been MD for CDC's business in Africa since 2000 and has also been...

CBPE hires 2. (People).(Close Brothers Private Equity)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Close Brothers Private Equity has appointed Ted Bell and Mathew Hutchinson as investment managers, to expand the team to 13 executives. Bell spent three years at 3i where he specialised in buyouts and growth capital investments and prior to...

Secondary investing: the PE industry's silver lining? (Cover Story: Secondary Investors).(Private equity)
December 1, 2002... As many GPs struggle to raise capital there's one corner of the private equity industry where funds are regularly coming in with commitments over their target. The flood of secondary positions currently for sale may seem to merit the spiralling...

Austria: a land of small- to medium-sized opportunities. (Cover Story: Austria).(Challenge to investment opportunities in domestic market is to improve legal and regulatory environment)(Illustration)
December 1, 2002... There are plenty of investment opportunities in Austria and a growing number of domestic investors readily placed to take advantage of them. The real challenge for this market, however, is to improve the legal and regulatory environment to the...

Israel: business as usual? (Cover Story: Israel).(New investments in Israel have fallen in 2002; shortage of funds results in popularity of syndication)
December 1, 2002... Deal flow is plentiful in Israel and technology has always been rich, but there is a shortage of funds for investment. Given the political instability of the region and a subsequent reluctance on the part of foreign institutional investors to...

Making the grade. (Cover Story: Spain).(Stumbling block is not lack of opportunities, but convincing entrepreneurs to accept financing and getting the right valuation for companies)(Illustration)
December 1, 2002... Fund raising has been aggressive in the Spanish market this year and not always an easy ride. But all this money needs a home. Deal flow looks set to increase in 2003, but will it be enough for the steadily increasing number of players looking...

Calendar.
December 1, 2002... 2002 9 December Public to privates London +44 20 7915 5055 www.iir-conferences.com/privateequity 10-11 December Private equity deal structuring London +44 20 7915 5055 ...

Seeking buyers November.(Listings of European companies that announced plans since October 28, 2002 until November 22, 2002 to sell divisions, stakes or entire company)
December 1, 2002... Seeking buyers November Seeking buyers includes listings of all European companies that have announced plans since October 28, 2002 until November 22, 2002 to sell divisions, stakes or their entire company. It also includes purported...

Announced November deals.(Private equity and venture transactions are listed)
December 1, 2002... Announced November deals Announced deals includes listings of private equity and venture capital transactions involving European targets that were announced from October 25, 2002 to November 25, 2002. The listings are ordered by target...