European Venture Capital Journal articles from February 2007

European Venture Capital Journal archives from February 2007

No way out of Africa: investing in the region is easy these days, it is the exit that remains difficult.(EDITOR'S NOTE)
February 1, 2007... The volume of private equity investment increased by 19% across Africa in 2006, according to the African Venture Capital Association and the average deal size outside of South Africa increased by over 60% to US$2.9m. This is good news for...

Going green: how private equity fell in love with clean energy.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
February 1, 2007... It has been quite a year for the green energy sector. The climate change debate that has threatened to breakthrough to mainstream consciousness for the best part of the Naughties finally did so, amid a raft (pun intended) of apocalyptic visions...

Ireland & France home to PE: the EVCA's third benchmark survey's surprising results.(NEWS ANALYSIS)(Survey)
February 1, 2007... The UK loses pole position as Ireland becomes the top spot in Europe for private equity. The UK fell from first to third place as France edged into the number two spot in The European Venture Capital Association's (EVCA) third benchmarking...

Boardrooms empty as M&A hits record highs: benchmarks smashed amid warnings for 2007.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
February 1, 2007... It was a record year for M&A activity the world over, but especially in Europe, and the appetite among corporates has still yet to be sated with predictions that 2007 will be an even busier year on the acquisitions front. According to Thomson...

PE fees double in 2006: investment banks find themselves in the money.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
February 1, 2007... Large emoluments came in a year when private equity groups executed a record US$709.8bn in deals, more than double the 2005 level. Last year also saw around 18% of all M&A activity, globally, completed by buyout funds. The year saw the two...

Investors expecting PE bonanza: exit environment is predicted to deteriorate.(private equity)
February 1, 2007... Private equity investors are bracing themselves for a bumper year as return expectations reach record levels according to research by Coller Capital, a New York and London-based secondaries firm. Almost half of LPs surveyed are estimating...

PE firms increase use of interim managers: survey reveals growing popularity of temporary CFOs and CEOs.(RESEARCH)(Private equity)(Survey)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Private equity-backed businesses are turning to interim management according to statistics produced by Ashton Penney, the private equity recruitment specialists. In 2006, to the end of November, there was a 25% rise in the firm's...

No slowdown for leverage: debt market predicted to get even hotter in 2007.(RESEARCH)
February 1, 2007... The vast majority of debt buyers believe that the coming year is going to see leverage ratios reach even higher levels than they did in 2006. Eight-seven percent of banks, 80% of corporates and 83% of hedge funds all expect an increase...

AIM raises almost 10bn [pounds sterling]: property and PE funds make up over half of new issues.(LISTING)(alternative investment market)(private equity )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Companies listing on London's AIM market in 2006 raised 9.9bn [pounds sterling], the highest total ever recorded in AIM's 10-year history according to Grant Thornton Corporate Finance. Property and private equity funds together raised over...

Stockwell float.(IPO)(Stockwell Capital investments)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Stockwell Capital investments, a new UK investment company, is to seek admission to London's AIM market with a placing of 100m [pounds sterling]. The company has been created to co-invest in private deals directly and make fund investments. ...

Augentius forms trust.(ADMINISTRATION)(acquisition of Ansbacher Fund Services)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Augentius, the private equity fund administration that spun-out of Ansbacher last summer, has formed and gained regulatory approval to set-up a trust company. Barry Carroll, senior partner of Augentius Fund Administration, said: "We have...

Inflexion sells Guinness.(VCT)(acquisition of Inflexion Private Equity and Guinness Flight Investment Management Ltd.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... UK buyouts firm Inflexion has handed over the management reigns of the 19.1m [pounds sterling] VCT Guinness Flight to Aberdeen Asset Managers. Inflexion recently closed a 165m [pounds sterling] fund and wants to concentrate on its core buyout...

Citigroup closes at US$3.3bn: second fund has good run.(FUND RAISING)(Citigmup Private Equity supplies funds for Citigroup Capital Partners II)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The US$12bn New York and London-based Citigmup Private Equity closed Citigroup Capital Partners II, a US$3.297bn fund that makes direct private equity investments in partnership with leading private equity firms. Citigroup Capital Partners...

EQT V raises 4.25bn [euro]: 420m [euro] China fund makes double.(CLOSURE)
February 1, 2007... EQT, a US$10.5bn Stockholm-based private equity group, received commitments of 4.25bn [euro] for EQT V. EQT V has commitments from both existing and new investors including institutional investors, family offices and endowments from around...

HgCapital raises renewables fund: UK firm raises 300m [euro] to power 500,000 homes.(ENERGY)
February 1, 2007... London-headquartered mid-market firm HgCapital has closed a 300m [euro] renewable energy fund which will, when fully invested, back over 1.3bn [euro] in renewable power projects, generating power for half a million homes across Europe. The...

ARGUS beats target for second fund: CEE investor raises 263m [euro].(EMERGING MARKETS)(Argus Capital Group)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... ARGUS Capital Partners, the London-based private equity investor in Central and Eastern Europe, has held a final closing of its second fund ARGUS Capital Partners II on 262.73m [euro], exceeding both its target of 200m [euro] and its hard cap...

360 circles first closing.(VENTURE)(360 Capital Partners closes 50 million euro)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... A French--Italian venture capital firm has made a first closing on 50m [euro] with investment from CDC Entreprises, Alpha Associates, Partners Group, Banca Intesa Group, Wilshire Associates, Paul Capital and Coller Capital. 360 Capital...

Platina in double fundraising.(GREEN)(services of Platina Finance)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Platina Finance, a London and Paris headquartered private equity house, has raised 56m [euro] for Mistral Wind Farms I (MWF I), and 30m [euro] for Mistral Energy II (ME II). MWF I is focused on the construction and management of wind farms...

SME investor to raise 15m [pounds sterling].(VCT)(Small and medium sized enterprises)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... British Smaller Companies VCT, a listed vehicle dedicated to investing in UK small and medium enterprises, is to raise up to 15.375m [pounds sterling] in a new placing. The offer opened in December and will close on April 5, 2007 for the...

ABN AMRO loses life sciences arm: Forbion Capital Partners raises 200m [euro].(SPIN-OUT)(divestments)
February 1, 2007... ABN AMRO Capital Life Sciences has completed its spin-out from the Dutch private equity captive, raising 200m [euro] in its new independent guise as Forbion Capital Partners. ABN AMRO and UK secondaries specialist Coller Capital are...

g2i gives thumbs up to Government: UK Chancellor promises investment in school and university research.(FUNDING)
February 1, 2007... UK Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced increased funding for research in schools and university, pledging 60m [pounds sterling] a year to universities for research with commercial potential. The move was welcomed by gateway2investment...

Funding drought hits young companies: seed investing on the decline.(RESEARCH)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Capital for very early stage UK companies is on the wane says Venture Index, the tracker of small and unquoted companies, posing a serious threat to the future of British business. The number of investments made in start-up and seed round...

730m [euro] from yard work: Industri Kapital's turnaround of Gardena pays off.
February 1, 2007... The 4bn [euro] Nordic-based, mid-market private equity firm Industri Kapital sold Gardena to Husqvarna for 730m [euro]. Husqvarna, the world's largest producer of chainsaws, lawn mowers and other petrol-powered garden equipment will buy...

Busy Bees marks fifth exit in six weeks for Gresham: the child care specialist goes for 71m [pounds sterling].(TRADE SALE)(acquisitions of Busy Bees and ABC Learning Centres)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Gresham Private Equity, which specializes in the UK mid-market, is on a role lately and Busy Bees is the group's fifth successful exit in the past six weeks. The group Gresham has recently taken profits on Whitworths, Blue Group, Individual...

Mid Europa's Estonian journey.(TRADE SALE)(acquisition of Baltic Rail Services and Estonian Railways)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Mid Europa Partners is a 33% owner of Baltic Rail Services which completed the sale for 150m [euro] to the Republic of Estonia of 66% of the share capital of Estonian Railways, which was acquired by BRS in 2001 for 64m [euro]. BRS will also...

August Equity gains 42.3m [pounds sterling].(SECONDARY)(acquisitions of August Equity and Securistyle Holdings )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... August Equity sold Securistyle Holdings in a 42.3m [pounds sterling] secondary buy-out financed by the Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance. August Equity invested 11.3m [euro] to finance the management buy-out of Securistyle from Dublin-based...

Another restaurant for Gresham.(SECONDARY)(acquisition of Town Centre Restaurants and Gresham)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The UK mid-market specialist has backed the secondary buy-out of Town Centre Restaurants from HBOSIF, in a deal with a total funding package of 48m [pounds sterling]. Gresham exited Individual restaurant Company in November 2006 through the...

Sitka Health makes 4x investment.(TRADE SALE)
February 1, 2007... Concanteno is to buy Altrix Healthcare for 80.6p per share representing an enterprise value of 11m [pounds sterling]--a gain of over four times Sitka health Fund VCT's original investment. Sitka invested 400,000 [pounds sterling] in Altrix in...

3i makes 10x money on Nordic Modular: Kungsleden pays 100m [euro].(TRADE SALE )(acquisitions of 3i and Kungsleden AB)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... 3i, a European private equity and venture capital company, together with the management of the Nordic Modular, sold all the shares in Nordic Modular to Kungsleden, a Stockholm-listed real estate company. The sale price is approximately 100m...

Mid Europa sells Invitel for 470m [euro]: HTCC becomes more powerful.(TRADE SALE)(Mid Europa Partners)(Invitel Tavkozles)(Hungarian Telephone and Cable Corp.)
February 1, 2007... GMT Communications Partners and Mid Europa Partners expect to raise 52m [euro] through the sale of 66.66% of the share capital of Matel Holdings, owner of Invitel Tavkozlesi, Hungary's second largest fixed line telecoms operator, to Hungarian...

CVC's 1.3bn [euro] exclusive exit for Eurazeo: the Paris Stock Exchange's loss is CVC's gain.(SECONDARY)(CVC Capital Partners Ltd.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... CVC Capital partners, a US$15bn private equity house has been granted exclusivity on the acquisition of Frankin group, a European truck and van long term leasing company. The offer values Frankin at 1.35bn [euro]. Eurazeo, the 6bn [euro] listed...

Candover, 3i and JPMP sell Vetco Gray for US$1.9bn: GE's oil and gas division by a foothold in Houston.(TRADE SALE)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... In a deal expected to complete this month, a private equity syndicate Candover, 3i PMorgan Partners sold Vetco Gray to GE's Oil & Gas division for US$1.9 billion on a debt-free, cash-free basis. The sale of Vetco Gray, and the spin out of...

ABN soars with Eagle sale: refuse truck maker sold.(ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (Amsterdam, Netherlands) sold Dennis Eagle Group to Ros Roca)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... ABN AMRO has sold Dennis Eagle Group, a UK producer of refuse collection vehicles (RCV), for an undisclosed sum to Ros Roca, a Spanish waste processing company. The firm generated a 3x money multiple on its original investment with an IRR...

Digica delivers for Bridgepoint: Computacenter in 42m [euro] acquisition.(TRADE SALE)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... UK mid-market houses Bridgepoint Capital and Lyceum Capital have realised their investment in Digica, a Nottingham-based IT infrastructure services provider, by selling it to larger rival Computacenter in a 42m [euro] deal. Computacenter,...

Bridgepoint acquires: Permira sells Rodenstock.(SECONDARY)
February 1, 2007... German manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses for spectacles Rodenstock has been acquired by European private equity firm Bridgepoint from Permira for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is subject to approval of the competition authorities. ...

Close Brothers sells Moody's: Investcorp in with a US$311m bid.(SECONDARY)
February 1, 2007... Investcorp, the US$10bn hedge fund and private equity firm, will acquire Moody International from Close Brothers Private Equity for US$311m including debt to be repaid at closing. UK-headquartered Moody is a global provider of inspection...

Blackstone Group stops Cafe Rouge IPO: LGV sells for 267m [pounds sterling].(SECONDARY)
February 1, 2007... Legal & General Ventures has sold Tragus, a UK-based casual dining group to Blackstone for 267m [pounds sterling]. Tragus is one of the largest midmarket restaurant chains in the UK with over 160 sites across the country. It is the owner of...

UK reaches new heights: private equity picks up in second half of 2006 for a record year.(DATA ROOM)
February 1, 2007... The UK private equity market recorded its best year ever according to buyouts data provider CMBOR, with 25bn [pounds sterling] raised across approximately 650 deals. The value figure is slightly up on 2005's 24bn [pounds sterling], which...

Buyout giants show the money: fees rise as private equity firms make record level of investment.(Banking)(Statistical table)(Company rankings)
February 1, 2007... As outlined on p8, the fees paid by private equity firms in 2006 outstripped even the eye-watering amount they handed over in 2005. Permira's bill of US$305m in 2006 makes the US$181m Cinven paid to reach to reach the top of charts in 2005 look...

Waterland hires two: Dreisow Dressing take positions.(Waterland Private Equity Investments B.V. appointed Jorg Dreisow and B.F. Dessing)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... To support its own growth Waterland appointed Jorg Dreisow, until recently Investment Director, as principal of the German branch, Waterland Private Equity GmbH. He will co-lead the team of six. Prior to joining Waterland, Dreisow was head of...

Phoenix promotes.(promotion of Chris Hanna and John Rastrick)(Phoenix Equity Partners)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Phoenix Equity Partners, the UK mid-market private equity firm, has handed Chris Hanna a promotion to partner. He joined the firm at the beginning of 2006 from Henderson Private Capital, bringing with him over 10 years of experience in the UK...

SJ Berwin loses three to Kirkland.(appointments)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Kirkland & Ellis has expanded its fund formation team in London by raiding SJ Berwin with the hiring of three partners, Mark Mifsud, Richard Watkins and Justin Dolling from SJ Berwin. Mifsud has been at SJ Berwin since 1995 and concentrates on...

Hire Fidelity.(Fidelity Ventures appoints Karen Slatford )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Tech investor Fidelity Ventures has added to the pool of talent in its London office by appointing Karen Slatford as a venture partner. A former vice president and general manager in charge of business-to-business (B2B) worldwide sales and...

GI Partners' IR director.(PEOPLE)
February 1, 2007... US firm GI Partners has recruited Kristen Mary as director of investor relations. Previously she was a partner at placement agents MVision Private Equity Advisers in London since 2001, and prior to this spent five years in the global...

New Nordic face for 3i.(appointment of Jonas Risberg )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... 3i has made Jonas Risberg a partner in it global venture business, with responsibility for sourcing IT and communications investment opportunities in the Nordic region. He joins from Swedish early stage VC firm InnovationsKapital, where he was...

ACP Mezz installs non-exec director.(ACP Mezzanine)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... ACP Mezzanine, the AIM-listed mezzanine investor, has appointed Jeff Bennett to the board as a non-executive director. Bennett has over 18 years of non-investment grade financing experience, most recently at Morgan Stanley where he was a...

Jeffries lands HSBC trio.(Jefferies investment )(appointments)
February 1, 2007... Jefferies investment bank has made three senior appointments in the firm's transportation, oil service and infrastructure group, all in the London office and all joining from HSBC. The new managing directors include Anne-Christin Dovigen, Nick...

AIG does double: leverages loans team gets boost.(AIG Global Investment Group appointed Margarita Sabarny and Rebecca Reeve for European Leveraged Loan Group)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... AIG Global Investment Group (AIGGIG) has strengthened of its European Leveraged Loan Group, with the appointment of Margarita Sabarny and Rebecca Reeve to its London office. Sabarny joins the European Leveraged Loan Group as a Credit Analyst...

OPR names new financial head.(appointment of Jean-Francois Trapp)(Oostvogels Pfister Roemers)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Law firm Oostvogels Pfister Roemers (OPR) has installed a former partner of Noble & Scheidecker, a Luxembourg business law firm, as head of its finance group. Jean-Francois Trapp's main practice areas include banking & finance and corporate...

Advent names Oxo chair.(appointment of Dr. Reinhard Gradl as executive chairman )(Advent International)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Advent International is to appoint Dr. Reinhard Gradl as executive chairman of the Oxo Group. He has over 30 years experience in the international chemical industry in Europe, the USA and Asia, including holding senior positions at Hoechst in...

Conlan of Paramount importance.(appointment of John Conlan as chairman)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... PPM Capital has hired John Conlan as chairman of Paramount Holdings, the owner and operator of UK restaurant brands Chez Gerard, Bertorelli and Caffe Uno. Conlan is a 30 year veteran of the leisure industry. He founded First Leisure in...

CVC adds to Paris office.(appointment of Patrick Verschelde)(CVC Capital Partners)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... CVC Capital Partners has appointed Patrick Verschelde as industrial partner in the firm's Paris office. Verschelde was most recently chairman and CEO of Adisseo, the animal nutrition business bought from Aventis, which was acquired by...

Innovations goes West.(Imperial Innovations Group appoints Harvey West )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Imperial Innovations Group, the listed technology commercialisation and investment company, has installed Harvey West as executive chairman of HydroVenturi, a renewable energy company formed by Imperial Innovations and based on research carried...

Vision Capital appoints Voyle.(appointment of Gareth Voyle as a chairman)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Food sector stalwart Gareth Voyle has been named as the chairman of a portfolio of food businesses recently acquired from Northern Foods by Vision Capital, the UK secondaries investor. Vision paid 237m [euro] in November 2006 for four...

Alternative hire for Citigroup.(Citigroup Germany appoints Mathias Giebken)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Citigroup Germany has installed Mathias Giebken as head of institutional sales Germany and Austria, for alternative investments. Giebken will cover various products, focusing on private equity, real estate, structured investment vehicles and...

IPES creates COO role.(IPES appoints Kevin Brennan)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... IPES, the private equity fund administrator and outsourcing provider, has appointed Kevin Brennan to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer. As COO, he will focus on the design and delivery of the organisational structure needed to...

Paternoster completes line-up.(Paternoster appoints David Still )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Paternoster, the insurance company launched to take responsibility for the risks associated with companies' final salary/defined benefit pension schemes, has put in place the last piece of the jigsaw by naming David Still of Prudential as its...

Westchester merger creates new partner.(Westchester Technology Advisors)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Westchester Technology Advisors, UK technology M&A advisors, has merged with Ronin Partners, a business to provide M&A and fundraising advice to companies operating in the telecoms and media sectors. Marc Shaw, the founder and principal of...

Sovereign promotes duo.(promotions)(Sovereign Capital)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Sovereign Capital, the UK private equity buy-and-build specialist, has promoted two members of its team, Jose Rodriguez and Paul Egan, to the positions of assistant directors. Rodriguez joined the firm in 2004 and has been actively involved...

Milanese addition for Bridgepoint.(appointment of Lucio Ranaudo )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... UK mid-market firm Bridgepoint has appointed Lucio Ranaudo as a director in its Milan office. Ranaudo joins from L Capital, the French private equity fund backed by LVMH and Groupe Arnault. There he was the director responsible for Italy. Prior...

Unigestion creates marketing role.(appointment of Jean-Francois Hirschel )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... UNIGESTION, the Swiss asset management company, has recruited Jean-Francois Hirschel for the newly created position of head of global marketing. Hirschel began his career in 1993 in the performance measurement and client reporting group of...

John Snow at Cerberus Capital: Feinberg and Quayle too.(PEOPLE)(John Snow)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... John Snow, who sewed as 73rd Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America, was appointed chairman of Cerberus Capital Management. Cerberus Capital CEO Steve Feinberg, and chairman of Cerberus Global Investments, and former Vice...

Hermes behind the brand: chief executive Rod Selkirk takes EVCJ behind the giant's doors.(PROFILE)(Interview)
February 1, 2007... Hermes is one of the best-known pension fund managers in the UK, with around 250 clients and almost 100bn [euro] under management. It is owned by the BT Pension Scheme, Hermes' largest client, which recently decided to up its allocation to...

Unstoppable force: the bull market continued for European leveraged finance in 2006, with unprecedented demand for debt resulting in the cheapest, most aggressively structured LBO financings ever seen in Europe. Although concerns are mounting that such excessive levels of debt will result in a rash of future defaults, there currently seems no end in sight to the exuberant lending climate.(LBO FINANCING)(Collateralized debt obligations)
February 1, 2007... Last year was yet another landmark year for Europe's leveraged finance market, with the volume of deals, investor liquidity and structural aggression surpassing even the substantial records achieved in 2005. LBO financing volumes have rocketed...

Media studies: private equity investors have often been interested in publishing and print media companies because their strong cash flows can enable high levels of leverage. But recent activity has focused increasingly on business-to-business publishing, which many find more attractive than the consumer press.(PUBLISHING)
February 1, 2007... In early 2006 the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) group halted the sale process of its regional newspaper chain because, it said, the offers were too low. Some see the failure of that transaction as an illustration of a wider move by...

The marriage of science and business: biotech and drug companies hugely loss making for long periods of time. As the research efforts of pharmaceutical companies are innefficient most have to look to venture-backed biotech firms to feed their product pipelines. But many venture investors feel the need participation from the public markets to grow these companies to their full potential.(BIOTECH & LIFE SCIENCES)
February 1, 2007... About US$80bn worth of pharmaceutical sales will face patent expiration by 2009 forcing the pharmaceutical giants to feed their hungry product pipelines as drugs go generic. Undoubtedly, this is good news for biotech and biopharmaceutical...

2006-the year of more: Deborah Poole, a partner at Walkers discusses 2007's record cash levels.(LEGAL AND REGULATORY)
February 1, 2007... Last year can be summed up in a single word: "more". The market saw the establishment of more alternative investment vehicles offshore and the more varied use of those vehicles. Last year saw an increase in the number and value of buyouts...

LBO syndications arranged December and January.(BUYOUTS)
February 1, 2007... Azelis TARGET NATION: ITALY DATE ANNOUNCED: 15/12/06 DEAL TYPE: TERTIARY BUYOUT ACQUIRER(S): 31 TOTAL VALUE: UNDISCLOSED MANDATED ARRANGER(S): DRESDNER KLEINWORT, MIZUHO CORPORATE BANK FINANCING: 315M [euro] ...

Refinancing.(BUYOUTS)
February 1, 2007... Dinosol TARGET NATION: SPAIN DATE ANNOUNCED: 14/12/06 SPONSOR(S): PERMIRA MANDATED ARRANGER(S): CAJA MADRID, BANK OF SCOTLAND AND SG FINANCING: 488M [euro] Spanish retailer Dinosol's (formerly Ahold Sepermercados)...

Calendar.(BUYOUTS)(Calendar)
February 1, 2007... FEBRUARY 5-7 FEBRUARY Company Valuation Modelling London Contact Kerryn Caldicott Telephone +44 (0)20 7827 4174 Email kerryn.caldicott@terrapinn.com 8-9 FEBRUARY Mergers & Acquisitions Masterclass ...

Seeking buyers.(Table)
February 1, 2007... SEEEKING BUYER Seeking buyers includes listings of all European companies that have announced plans since December 2, 2006 until January 19, 2007 to sell divisions, stakes or their entire company. It also includes purported sales...

Announced deals.
February 1, 2007... ANNOUNCED DEALS Announced deals includes listing of private equity and venture capital transactions involving European targets announced between December 2, 2006 to January 19, 2007. The listings are ordered by target nation, and...

The year ahead: Peter Linthwaite, chief executive of The British Private Equity and Venture capital Association (BVCA) takes a look at upcoming challenges.(COMMENT)
February 1, 2007... This year will be an important one for the UK private equity and venture capital industry. The last two years have seen unprecedented growth in all aspects of the industry's activities--fund raising; investment; and exits. The profile of the...

And the winner is ... EVCJ's Awards had Bremner, birds and fortunes.(EDITOR'S NOTE)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Though our gongs have been coveted for the past seven years, I would like to thank those of you that joined us at our inaugural awards dinner on 31 January at the Dorchester Hotel. As our industry grows and becomes more sophisticated, the...

2006 in review: last year was a record-breaking one for European buyouts, thanks to a benign economic climate, highly liquid debt markets and massive fundraising by private equity houses. But there was also increased interest shown in private equity by regulators and fears, in some quarters, that high debt levels could pose problems in the future.(BUYOUTS)(Chronology)
February 1, 2007... At the end of 2005 increasing valuations for European companies and high debt multiples led some in the market to forecast a tumble in buyout fortunes for 2006. But it didn't happen. Instead, returns remained strong, European buyout houses...

Looking forward: how big can deals be?(BUYOUTS)
February 1, 2007... Many in the buyout industry say they do not believe 2007 will surpass last year. This is because in 2006 a range of factors, including benign macroeconomic conditions and highly liquid debt markets, came together to produce fertile ground for...

Ernst & Young.(SPONSORED PROFILE)
February 1, 2007... Giving our clients an edge: Ernst & Young's private equity team continues to grow across Europe and we have increased our share of deals and our private equity-related revenues by 40% in the past 12 months. We now have 5,307 Transaction...

Achieving accountable growth: the challenge for 2007 by Simon Perry, Global Head of Private Equity, Ernst & Young.(SPONSORED ARTICLE)
February 1, 2007... Last year was one of the best ever for private equity. There were more and bigger deals than ever before, and PE owned businesses turned in a better performance than their publicly-owned peers. The BVCA says PE owned firms grew exports by 6%...

VC: a year in review: Europe's VC community had high hopes for 2006 after a lousy five years, but things didn't quite pan out the way they expected. However, an increased investment pace and a renewed focus on early stage investment suggests their confidence is far from shattered.(venture capital companies)
February 1, 2007... This time last year, Europe's venture capitalists were possibly the most optimistic they had been in several years. The sale of voice over internet protocol telephony player Skype to eBay for 2.1bn [euro] a few months earlier had provided a...

Outlook for 2007: fundraising drought signals shake-out.(VENTURE CAPITAL)
February 1, 2007... If 2006 was a bit of a disappointment, what does 2007 hold in store for Europe's VCs? After the excitement many felt going into 2006 and then the disappointment by the beginning of the second half as exits and fundraising started...

Financial Sponsor of the Year--large fund: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.(AWARDS 2006)
February 1, 2007... Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. wins the award for the financial sponsor of the year for a large fund for its outstanding track record in European investments and its innovative fund raising through its IPO on Euronext. "KKR is delighted to...

Financial Sponsor of the Year--mid-sizes fund: HgCapital.(AWARDS 2006)
February 1, 2007... HgCapital's ongoing mid-market buyout focus in the Benelux countries, Germany and the UK resulted in seven realisations and five new investments in 2006. Together with the successful raising of two new funds, its track record has won the...

VC House of the Year--Life Sciences: Abingworth.(AWARDS 2006)(venture capital)(Abingworth Management Ltd.)
February 1, 2007... Transatlanctic biotech specialist Abingworth wins EVCJ's 2006 award for VC House of the Year--Life Sciences following another successful year of investments, exits, hires and fund raising. Founded in 1973, Abingworth invests across all stages...

VC House of the Year--technology: 3i.(AWARDS 2006)(3i Group PLC)(venture capital)
February 1, 2007... 3i wins VC House of the Year: Technology following 12 months which saw it make a series of both investments and successful and profitable exits in the technology sector across the Continent. The year was a mixed one for European venture, with...