European Venture Capital Journal articles from July 2004

European Venture Capital Journal archives from July 2004

Banks gain ground in book debt battle.(News analysis)
July 1, 2004... In a landmark UK Court of Appeal ruling on May 26, banks gained some ground in their bitter three-year battle against preferential creditors over who has the repayment priority claim on book debt receivables in an insolvency. Amid a...

Corporate governance: liability concerns.(News analysis)
July 1, 2004... Increasing regulatory pressure is driving new boardroom mindsets in companies across Europe. In the UK, the government is proposing measures to give directors and auditors the right to place limits on their liability with individual companies....

Learning to NED.(News analysis)(non-executive director)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Te British Venture Capital Association runs a non-executive director's (NEDs) course which covers corporate governance-related issues for individuals wishing to develop/update their knowledge and skills. Ideally candidates attending the course...

Operating partners: a growing breed.(News analysis)
July 1, 2004... Operating partner is a term being used more frequently in the buyout space, but private equity firms have different takes on what the role entails. Angela Sormani looks at the rationale behind these appointments and who is driving them. ...

Gamma Capital closes 2nd fund.(Funds)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Austrian VC house Gamma Capital Partners (GCP) has announced a final close on its second fund at 17.25m [euro]. Gamma II, which is currently 40% invested, launched in October 2002 and reached first close on 10m [euro]. It has an original target...

AMJPE brokering own MBO?(News: Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity and Management buyouts)
July 1, 2004... Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity (MJPE), led by Jonathan Diggines, is in discussions to acquire the business in a management buyout from the Aberdeen group, of which Murray Johnstone became a part in 2000. Diggines and his team are...

Credit Agricole to sell to AXA PE.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Credit Agricole has entered into exclusive discussions with AXA Private Equity with a view to the disposal of part of the bank's private equity portfolio. The transaction is in line with Credit Agricole Group's strategy of reorganising its...

Daems of GIMV new EVCA chair.(News)(European Venture Capital & Private Equity)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Heman Daems, chairman of Belgium-based and listed investment firm GIMV, has taken over as chairman of the European Venture Capital & Private Equity (EVCA) for the period June 2004 to June 2005. He succeeds Jean-Bernard Schmidt, chairman and...

Maples buys Gartmore Jersey Fund business.(News)(Maples Finance Jersey, Gartmore Fund Managers International Limited)
July 1, 2004... Maples Finance Jersey, the fiduciary and administrative services affiliate of offshore law firm Maples and Calder, has bought the Jersey-based fund administration business of Gartmore Fund Managers International Limited (GFMIL). The...

Early stage tech fund handed 3m [pounds sterling] boost.(Funds)(The Lachesis Fund)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Lachesis Fund, a seed fund investing in early stage technologies in the East Midlands in the UK, has received 3m [pounds sterling] from the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA.) The now 7m [pounds sterling] fund is a partnership...

First close for German PE fund.(Funds)(private equity)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... German private equity house Triangle Venture Capital Group has announced the first close on its fourth fund. Triangle Fund IV reached the 15m [euro] mark after launching in November 2003. The firm said it expects a final close late 2004/early...

UniCredit Banca d'Impresa to work with 21 Partners.(Funds)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Italy's UniCredit Banca d'Impresa has invested 99.5m [euro] in a 100m [euro] private equity fund to invest in small and medium enterprises to be managed by Italian fund management group 21 Partners. The fund will take minority stakes in...

Euronext to launch junior market.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Euronext, the European stock exchange, is launching its own version of the London Stock Exchange's successful Alternative Investment Market (AIM), which celebrates its tenth anniversary this summer. AIM has enjoyed considerable success in...

Italy launches Mercato Expandi.(News)(Borsa Italiana S.p.A.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Italy's Borsa Italia is encouraging the funding of small cap companies with the launch of Mercato Expandi. The Mercato Expandi is designed for small cap companies operating in traditional sectors, with consolidated positions in their relevant...

State Street acquires Fondamenta.(News)
July 1, 2004... State Street Global Advisers (SSgA) has acquired 100% of Italian fund-of-funds, Fondamenta. Fondamenta raised over 160m [euro] in 2001 and has a fund structure that invests 60% to 70% in Italian private equity funds and 30% to 40% in Italian...

Capiton reveals mezzanine intentions.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Capiton, the German development capital firm which span-out of Gothaer Insurance at the end of May, has announced plans to launch a mezzanine fund. The Berlin- and Stuttgart-based firm believes the mezzanine market has significant growth...

Enterprise Investors closes largest Central European fund.(Funds)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Enterprise Investors has reached a final close on the 300m [euro] Polish Enterprise Fund V, the largest private equity fund raised in Central Europe to date. The Warsaw-based firm launched the fund in January 2004 and reached a first close...

Adveq closes fund-of-funds.(News)(Zurich based company)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Swiss firm Adveq has closed its fourth technology fund at $325m, exceeding its target size by $25m. The Zurich-based company said PETP IV will invest primarily in venture capital funds which focus on early stage technology companies in the US....

Centurion closes maiden fund.(Funds)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Centurion Capital has reached a final close on its debut fund, achieving 150m [euro] in commitments. The fund has attracted an exclusively European base of private and institutional investors. Centurion will target mid-market companies that...

Opera and Bear Stearns strategic agreement.(News)
July 1, 2004... Opera, the private equity affiliate of Italian jeweller, Bulgari, has entered a strategic agreement with Bear Steams Merchant Banking (BSMB) that will see the two entities investing amounts of up to 200m [euro] in Italian lifestyle companies....

Electra faces Scholz & Friends minority shareholder revolt.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Scholz & Friends, the Electra-backed advertising and marketing communications agency, is lacing legal action over the squeeze-out of its minority shareholders. SdK, the German small shareholders' association, issued a statement in which it...

Lagardere gets all clear over Editis.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A Paris commercial court has given French publishing group, Lagardere, the all clear following an inquiry into the way the sale of its publishing group Editis was handled. Wendel Investissement is in the process of buying Editis for 660m...

SYIF & YABA join forces.(News)(South Yorkshire Investment Fond )(Yorkshire Association of Business Angels )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... South Yorkshire Investment Fond (SYIF) and the Yorkshire Association of Business Angels (YABA) are working together to bring finance to companies in this region. The new partnership will enable both organisations to attract a wider range of...

Close launches mega VCT.(Funds)(Close Venture Management (CVM))(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Close Venture Management (CVM) is launching its largest venture capital trust (VCT) to date. It is seeking to raise up to 45m [pounds sterling] with the aim of providing investors with a regular and predictable source of income combined with...

Baronsmead VCT 2 seeks more funds.(Funds)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ISIS Equity Partners, manager of the Baronsmead VCTs, is also taking advantage ot the predicted boom in VCT fund raising on the back of new VCT tax reliefs. At an Extraordinary General Meeting on July 14, 2004, shareholders in Baronsmead VCT 2...

NGN Capital targets biotech.(Funds)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Newcomer NGN Capital has unveiled its debut fund, NGN BioMed I. The fund will invest in the healthcare and biotech space including drug products, medical devices and the services sector. Investments will be diversified by stage, from later...

D&T trans svcs to KPMG.(News)
July 1, 2004... Deloitte & Touche has lost a core of its transaction services team to KPMG's private equity business. Four new partners have joined KPMG and the team members they brought with them brings the total number of hires from Deloitte to 16. The...

BNP Paribas reduces stakes in private equity houses.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... French bank BNP Paribas has reduced its slakes in two of its private equity arms, Banexi Capital Partenaires and Banexi Ventures. While BNP Paribas said it has no intention of fully selling the two companies, this is another reduction in the...

ABN AMRO Capital quits German market.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ABN AMRO Capital has sold its German private equity portfolio to three members of the management team. Managing director Henk Droge, along with directors Pieter Davidzon and Christof Namenyi bought the six investments for an undisclosed sum....

Strathdon merges with Invesco.(News)(INVESCO techMARK Enterprise Trust)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Technology venture capital specialist, Strathdon Investments and INVESCO techMARK Enterprise Trust have merged. The group's new investment mandate now encompasses both quoted and unquoted companies in the technology sector. The new board...

UK takeover rule changes: minimal impact.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The UK Takeover Panel has published proposals for amendments to the UK Takeover Code. Comments are requested by October 1,2004. But, according to law firm SJ Berwin, the proposed changes largely reflect recent practice adopted by the Takeover...

SES Iberian Fund I launches.(News)
July 1, 2004... SES Iberian Fund I, a cross-border Iberian-French private equity fund, is being launched by Espirito Santo Capital, the private equity arm of Banco Espirito Santo Group, and Sigefi Private Equity, the management company of Siparex Group. The...

VCs feature in Sunday Times rich list.(News)
July 1, 2004... Each year the UK's The Sunday Times newspaper puts together a list of the UK's richest people, which regularly features those in the world of celebrity sport and big business, but largely fails to acknowledge the wealth created within the world...

Hard to get out of chemicals.(Exits)
July 1, 2004... Only 22 out of 94 major European private equity chemicals investments in the last decade has have led to an exit, according to a recent report by Ernst & Young. And in spite of substantial investment into the sector over the years, private...

Alchemy sells high street jewellers.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Alchemy Partners, the UK private equity house, has sold its 43.5% stake in jewellery retailer Goldsmiths, making a profit of about 50m [pounds sterling]. The company was bought by Icelandic retailer Baugur for 110m [pounds sterling], which will...

Bridgepoint sells USC in secondary buyout.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... UK clothing retailer USC has been sold private equity group West Coast Capital in a secondary buyout transaction. Bridgepoint originally backed the company with two financing rounds in September 1997 and October 1999. Financial details have not...

ECI exits MM Group.(Exits)(ECI Partners)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ECI Partners, a UK mid-market buyout firm, has sold its 92.5% stake in MM Group, the UK's fourth largest provider of outsourced call centre services. The share in the Bristol-based company has been acquired by French telemarketing firm SR...

Jamba! provides return for Summit.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Summit Partners has relinquished its 56% stake in Berlin-based wireless content services provider Jamba, making a significant return on its investment. The business was sold for $273m to Verisign. Summit Partners invested $40m in Jamba! in...

AXA Private Equity sells stake in Macif Group.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... AXA Private Equity is selling its majority stake in Cornhill France to the Macif Group for an undisclosed sum. The current management team will remain shareholders in the business alongside Macif. The sale of Cornhill France is the first...

Close Brothers sells Capital Incentives to strategic buyer.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Close Brothers Private Equity (CBPE) has sold its 50% stake in Capital Incentives & Motivation, a UK incentive and performance motivation business based in Chester. The company was acquired by Accor Services, one of the world's largest...

Gresham exits Standard Newspapers.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Gresham has sold its stake in Standard Newspapers, achieving a multiple of 2.9 times its original investment. The group was founded in September 1994 when Gresham bought out the Tamworth Herald's interest in the Herald Observer Newspapers and...

Nordic Capital to sell Wilson Logistics to TPG.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Nordic Capital is to sell Wilson Logistics Group to The Netherlands-based mail, express and logistics company TPG, for an enterprise value of SEK2.35bn. Nordic Capital formed Wilson Logistics group in July 1999 through the acquisition of three...

CapMan sells Sweco interest.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Finnventurc IV, Finnventure V and Finnmezzanine II, funds managed by CapMan, have sold their shares in Sweco AB through a book building. The funds' combined ownership in Sweco was around 9%. The funds received around SEK145m from the sale. ...

Vectura IPOs.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Vectura, which is developing an inhaler treat impotence, has raised between 20m [pounds sterling] to 25m [pounds sterling] on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market, which signals the beginning of an exit for a consortium of...

3i floats e2v.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... e2v, a developer and manufacturer of high tech electronic components and subsystems, which it supplies into niche markets within the medical and science, aerospace and defence and the commercial and industrial sectors, is to list on the London...

Jefferson Smurfit sell down mooted.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Jefferson Smurfit, the Dublin-based paper and packaging manufacturer taken private by US buyout shop, Madison Dearborn, almost two years ago, is selling Munksjo, its Swedish paper business, through an auction organised by UBS. The sale...

Northern Venture Managers exits TJ Brent.(Exits)(Management Buy-Out)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... UK venture capital firm Northern Venture Managers (NVM) has sold its stake in infrastructure contractor TJ Brunt for an undisclosed fee. May Gurney, the construction services business, now holds a 100% stake in the Cornwall- headquartered...

Zentiva IPOs.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Zentiva has announced the successful pricing of its IPO, securing a partial exit for investor Warburg Pincus. The offer price has been set at CZK485 per ordinary share. Based on this price the market capitalisation of the company is expected to...

Azimut to IPO.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Azimut, the Italian asset management group has opened the road show for its IPO, which should lead to an exit for its private equity backer, Apax Partners. Azimut has set a price range of between 4 [euro] and 75 [euro] per share for a total sum...

OpenPSL exit for Apax.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... OpenPSL, a channel partner in the UK for major vendors such as HP, IBM, Oracle and Veritas, has been sold to Bell Microproducts, which is listed in the US, by its private equity backer, Apax Partners. Bell Microproducts has acquired the...

Fillfactory makes gain for investors.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Lead co-investors Prelude Trust and IT Partners have sold portfolio company Fillfactory to Cypress Semiconductor Corp of the US for 100m [euro] in cash. Both firms will realise over 10m [euro] on the sale, which represents ten times the...

Quester divests OD2.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Quester portfolio company OD2 has been acquired by business-to-business digital media company Loudeye Corp for $20.7m in cash and shares with a further $17.5m over the next 18 months and a right to earn up to an additional $18.8m in upside. ...

DMT disappoints with market debut.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Private equity-backed Italian digital television group DMT has seen its share price drop on its first day of trading in Milan. Italian private equity group Convergenza and Banca Intesa are among the company's shareholders. Financial details of...

HgCapital makes big gain on Xyratex IPO.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... HgCapital has made $145m on its investment in UK-founded Xyratex, following its IPO on Nasdaq. The company was priced at $14 a share representing a market cap of $400m. HgCapital invested around $90m in the provider of storage subsystems and...

Terra Firma exits Wizard Inns.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Terra Firma Capital Partners has sold UK pub company Wizard Inns to the UK's biggest regional brewer, Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries (WDB), for 89.9m. [pounds sterling] Terra Firma, led by chief executive Guy Hands, was managing Wizard...

IP2IPO to buy TTV?(Exits)(Terra Technology Ventures)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Terra Technology Ventures, the dependent UK early stage tech investor, is reportedly being sold to incubator fund IP2IPO. The London-based company is expected to be acquired by the end of July. A price has not yet been disclosed. Managing...

LDC sells Ethel Austin to ABN AMRO.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... LDC, formerly Lloyds TSB Development Capital, has sold its 67.5% stake in UK discount clothing retailer Ethel Austin to ABN AMRO Capital. In a 122.5m [pounds sterling] deal, ABN AMRO Capital has acquired 56% of the Liverpool-based company,...

3i exits Ben Sherman.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Ben Sherman, the UK fashion designer, has been sold by 3i to US clothes maker, Oxford Industries, for 80m [pounds sterling]. The trade sale earned 3i, which had a 65% stake, 46m [pounds sterling] following its initial 4m [pounds sterling]...

Alchemy floats mining company.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Alchemy Partners has raised 16.1m [pounds sterling] through the IPO of ATH Resources, one of the UK's largest coal producers, on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM.) With shares priced at 1.36[pounds sterling],...

IPO of Immuno-Designed Molecules postponed.(Exits)
July 1, 2004... Immuno-Designed Molecules, a biotech company specializing in cancer treatments, has aborted its planned IPO, scheduled for an offering of 10.5 [euro] to 12.20 [euro] per share on the Paris Bourse. The IPO was planned to take place on June 16...

CVC exits Halfords via IPO.(Exits)
July 1, 2004... CVC Capital Partners has floated Halfords, the motoring and bicycle parts retailer it bought from Boots plc in July 2002, on the London Stock Exchange. CVC Capital Partners bought the business from Boots for 410m [pounds sterling] in cash...

Apax & Kennet sell Ubizen.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Apax Partners and Kennet Venture Partners have sold their holdings in Ubizen, the Belgium-based provider of managed security solutions, to Betrusted, a global provider of security and trust services. Apax and Kennet bid for a 34.7% stake in...

Doughty Hanson IPOs Umbro.(Exits)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Doughty Hanson has made a partial exit from its April 1999 investment in Umbro, the marketer and full line supplier of branded and licensed soccer products, through an IPO on the London Slock Exchange. Doughty Hanson paid 90m [pounds sterling]...

KKR buys ATU.(Exits)(Auto-Teile-Unger)(Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts and Company L.P.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... KKR is to acquire a 100% of the issued share capital of Auto-Teile-Unger (ATU), the German car parts retailer, in a $1.75bn (1.45bn [euro]) deal. Doughty Hanson, which purchased a 72% share in the company in a 900m [euro] transaction in...

Understanding value generation in buyouts: Achim Berg of Witten/Herdecke University and McKinsey's Frankfurt office and Oliver Gottschalg of INSEAD's Buyout Research Group * outline their findings.(Buyouts)
July 1, 2004... European buyout firms are currently facing high levels of competition. The pressure to perform has never been so intense. Vendors have gained experience in divestment negotiations and institutional investors have become more sophisticated and...

Tech funds favour buyouts.(Buyouts)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Buyouts represented around 40% of overall volume of technology investment in 2003, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers' global technology industry group. The European Technology Investment Report revealed technology private equity...

LBO syndications arranged in June.(Buyouts)
July 1, 2004... Astron Target nation: UK Date announced: 14/04/04 Deal type: Secondary buyout Acquirer: Edotech Total value: 192m [pounds sterling] Mandated arrangers: RBS (bookrunner) and Bank of Scotland Financing: 180m...

Refinancings.(Buyouts)
July 1, 2004... Almatis Syndicate lenders to Almatis' $267.5m debt are considering a waiver request that will see an early recapitalisation of the group. The original deal, which is split between $237m in senior debt and $33.5m in mezzanine debt, was...

Private equity-backed takeovers subject to EU competition law.(Buyouts)
July 1, 2004... Autobar Private equity backer: Charterhouse Capital Partners Business description: Catering products company Deal value: Approx 800m [euro] Notified: 17/05/04 Provisional deadline: n/a Cleared: 17/06/04 ...

Secondary buyouts announced June.(Buyouts)(Illustration)
July 1, 2004... Secondary buyouts announced June Date of original Company name Company business Original deal & country description deal value 1997 USC Clothing and Undisclosed ...

Buyouts with European targets May 24 to June 24, 2004.(Buyouts)(Illustration)
July 1, 2004... Buyouts with European targets May 24 to June 24, 2004. Target Date Target industry announced name sector 24/5/04 Britton Group PLC Paper and...

Ellens to LSP.(People)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Daan Ellens has joined Life Sciences Partners. He was previously CEO of Rhein Biotech until it merged with Berna Biotech. He will step down from his current role of COO at Berna Biotech.

New recruit at Fondamenta.(People)(Fondamenta)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Alberto Argnani, formerly with Deloitte, has joined the team at Italian fund-of-funds, Fondamenta, with specific responsibility for the direct investments of the fund. Fondamenta, which was recently acquired by State Street Global Advisers...

O'Melveny & Myers appts.(People)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Andrew Carpenter and Stuart Hills are joining O'Melveny & Myers as partners in its London office. Andrew Carpenter has joined as a partner in the private equity and M&A practices and Smart Hills as a partner in the finance practice. The two new...

ECI boosts team.(People)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ECI Partners has appointed Charlie Johnstone as business development manager. He will work closely with James Stewart, who manages the group's hands-on chairman and MBI programmes. His role will complement Stewart's direct origination programme...

Van Toor to GLSV.(People)(Global Life Science Ventures)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Global Life Science Ventures (GLSV) has appointed Dr Bert SJ van Toot as investment manager. As a member of the GLSV investment team, Dr van Toor will operate from the company's Zug office in Switzerland. He will be actively involved in...

D&T losses to KPMG.(People)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Deloitte & Touche has lost a core of its transaction services team to KPMG's private equity business. Four new partners have joined KPMG, plus their team members which brings the total number of hires to 16. The four partners, Rustom...

Lehman Brothers recruits.(People)
July 1, 2004... Lehman Brothers has made two senior appointments to its European real estate private equity group. Gerald Parkes is joining as managing director and head of the group and Mark Newman, a managing director of Lehman Brothers, is appointed to the...

Erste Bank moves.(People)(Erste Bank Acquisition Finance)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Erste Bank Acquisition Finance, Central Europe, moved to new offices on June 21, 2004. The new' office address is Bud_jovicka 1912, 140 00 Prague 4 (_eska spo_itelna building.) The new mailing address is PO Box 838, 113 98 Prague 1.

Thiery joins Englefield.(People)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Englefield Capital has appointed Marc Thiery, who was most recently a managing director at Allianz Private Equity Partners. Based in London, Thiery will work with founding partners, Dominic Shorthouse, Etienne de Villiers, Eric Waiters, Adam...

New face at Nova.(People)(appointments, resignations and dismissals)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Patrick Austen, a former executive director for CRBFL private investment trust, has joined Nova Capital Management, the specialist management company for private equity and venture capital portfolios. Austen brings extensive operational...

Gemini expands.(People)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Gemini Israel Funds has expanded its investment team by recruiting Cannel Sofer as a full-time venture partner. Sorer joins Gemini's existing venture partners, Orna Berry, a former chief scientist of the Israeli government, and Shahar Kaminitz,...

Cesari joins Vestar.(People)
July 1, 2004... Mario Cesari has joined Vestar Capital Partners Europe as an executive director in Paris. Cesari holds an MSc in industrial engineering from Milan's Politecnico and an MBA from INSEAD.

Mercapital appoints.(People)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Claudio Aguirre Peman has joined Mercapital as vice president and member of the board. Aguirre was previously president of Merrill Lynch Espana where he was responsible for the investment banking division for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. In...