European Venture Capital Journal articles from March 2001

European Venture Capital Journal archives from March 2001

Winner and losers.
March 1, 2001... The financial markets have entered awards season and European Venture Capital Journal (EVCJ) is no exception. Next month's edition will contain the winners and runners up in the following categories. LBO House of the Year, Mid Market Private...

3i and Ratos in Atle buy.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... 3i, the European venture capital firm, and Ratos, a private equity firm listed on the Swedish Stock Exchange, have made an offer for Atle, a leading quoted Swedish private equity investor. This will be 3i's fourth acquisition of an independent...

KBC launches biotech fund.(KBC Private Equity Fund Biotech)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... KBC, the Belgian bank, has opened subscriptions to its first private equity fund focused on the worldwide biotech sector. The fund will be a closed end listed investment vehicle and will be listed on the First Market of Euronext in Brussels...

No resolutions at MGPE.(Morgan Grenfell Private Equity)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Question marks continue to hang around Morgan Grenfell Private Equity. Namely, what, if anything, will it make on its shareholding in EM TV, which resulted from a cash and share settlement received for a 12.5 per cent stake in SLEC it sold the...

DKC to double PE exposure.(Dresdner Kleinwort Capital, private equity)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Dresdner Kleinwort Capital (DKC), under the global direction of Christopher Wright, has plans to double the private equity exposure of its parent, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, over the next two to three years. Currently, the group's exposure...

SJ Berwin completes Euro coverage.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... SJ Berwin will have completed the gap in its European private equity offering when its Paris office is opened in the coming weeks. The law firm has chosen to hire George Pinkham and Sylvie Vansteenkiste from Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbroon....

Room for UK PTP market to grow.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... AVERAGE P/E RATIOS FOR UK PUBLIC TO private (PTP) deals were lower than for the UK buyout market as a whole last year, according to research conducted by the Centre for Management Buyout Research (CMBOR). CMBOR also found that the average UK...

Debt and mezzanine league tables for 2000.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... NOTE: THOMSON FINANCIAL SECURITIES Data requires that to qualify for inclusion in its league tables a firm leads on a minimum of two deals Lead mezzanine arrangers on UK buyouts The Royal Bank of Scotland shunted up from third...

West Coast Capital launches.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... West Coast Capital, a [pound]200 million fund, has been launched to invest in retail, property, leisure and technology. West Coast Capital, based on the west coast of Scotland, is not open to external investors and is currently made up of over...

Royal Bank Ventures launches.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Royal Bank Ventures, a technology venture capital fund, is the latest addition to The Royal Bank of Scotland's private equity offering. Bill Troup is the managing director of the new team, which currently stands at three. Royal Bank...

UK business angels invest record amount.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... UK business angels are stepping up their level of investment in startup companies, according to the latest annual report on business angel activity produced by the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA). Total investment of [pound]28.3...

UK is most entrepreneur friendly.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... The UK is the most entrepreneur environment, according to an annual pan-European benchmark survey conducted by Arthur Andersen and GrowthPlus. The scores per country are outlined below. The highest possible score achievable was 60. The survey...

Euro VC's want into corporate venturing.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... The European corporate venturing scene is suddenly hot property as evidenced by the bodies crammed into CMS Cameron McKenna's office on February 15. The breakfast seminar, co-hosted with First Stage Capital, was titled "Corporate Venturers --...

Madrid JV for NewMedia SPARK.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... NEWMEDIA SPARK HAS LAUNCHED SPARK Inversiones. SPARK Inversiones is a Madrid-based joint venture company that has been established by Kiriako Vergos and NewMedia SPARK to invest in early stage technology companies in Spain, Portugal and Latin...

Softbank close to fund close.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Softbank UK Ventures, the 50:50 joint venture between Softbank and News Corporation, expects to close fund raising on its $450 million fund by the end of the first quarter. The fund's first closing -- with about 85% of the monies raised -- was...

US venture investment tails off in Q4 2000.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... US VENTURE INVESTMENT FIGURES TAILED off in the final quarter of last year, according to the results of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Money Tree Survey in Partnership with Venture One. In that quarter, $13.7 billion was raised in 853 venture...

Interregnum doubles team.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Interregnum has doubled its numbers by hiring nine new staff over the last six months: not a move you would expect from an investment firm that has seen its share price drag since floating on AIM in March last year. However, Interregnum has...

Yazam sold to US technologies.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... YAZAM, THE PROVIDER OF SEED-STAGE funding and business development services to emerging Internet and technology start-ups, has been sold to US technologies, which funds and manages early stage and emerging growth technology companies, for an...

Baring Vostok has $102m for NIS investments.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Baring Vostok Capital Partners (Baring Vostok), a subsidiary of Baring Private Equity Partners, is well on its way to achieving its $150 million to $200 million target, having raised $102 million in commitments so far. The investment...

2nd fund for UOB and Hermes.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Hermes Private Equity Management and United Overseas Bank Group have launched a second investment vehicle through the joint-venture set up between the two companies last year. The UOB Hermes Asia Technology Fund, which has a target size of...

MTI4 closes on [pound]104m.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A year on from its first close, MTI has announced the third and final closing of its fourth fund, MTI4. Total commitments bring the total fund size to [pound]104 million, well above its original target of [pound]50 million to [pound]75 million....

Advent International closes media fund.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Global private equity investor, Advent International has announced the final closing of its Digital Media & Communications III (DMC III) fund at $345 million, exceeding its original target of $300 million. Like its predecessors, DMC III is...

EQVITEC exceeds target at first close.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... FINNISH TECHNOLOGY VENTURE CAPITAL firm, EQVITEC Partners Oy has announced the first closing of its EQVITEC Technology Fund II at [epsilon]132.5 million, exceeding its original target of [epsilon]125 million. A final close is anticipated...

Apax Partners' mega fund.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Leading global private equity firm, Apax Partners has reached its target of [epsilon]4 billion with the oversubscribed first closing of its pan-European fund, Apax Europe V. One of the largest funds in Europe, the investment vehicle is...

Catalyst tests water for 2nd fund.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... European online financial services venture capitalist, Catalyst Fund Management and Research has started marketing for its second fund, with a maximum target twice the size of its [pound]40 million maiden fund, European Financial Services...

An appetite for Advent.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... UK venture capital manager, Advent Venture Partners has announced the final closing of its new venture fund, Advent Private Equity Fund III at [pound]300 million, following a successful first close at the end of last year at [pound]162 million....

GSC aims for Europe's largest mezz fund.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... GSC PARTNERS EUROPE IS WELL ON ITS way to achieving its goal of raising the largest European mezzanine fund, having successfully raised $660 million at its second closing. GSC European Mezzanine Fund was launched in March last year,...

Schroder eyes MedNova exit.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... US-based healthcare company, Abbott Laboratories has taken an equity stake in Irish medical device company, MedNova, one of Schroder Venture's start-ups. Abbott now has the option to acquire the company, depending on the approval of US...

El realises Polish investment.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... French retail bank, Credit Agricole has agreed to acquire a 75 per cent stake in Lukas, a Polish leader in consumer credit. The sale provides an exit for Enterprise Investors, whose Polish Private Equity Funds I & II held a 28 per cent stake in...

Bmp's first Polish exit.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Berlin-based venture capital firm bmp has sold its shares in Polish service provider, Internet Data Systems (IDS), at a profit of almost 100 per cent in just over a year. Polish software house, Softbank has acquired bmp's 10.74 per cent...

CANDOVER SELLS SHEPPERTON.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Buyout specialist, Candover has realised its investment in Shepperton Studios, the film and television studio facilities company. Pinewood Studios has bought Candover's interest for [pound]35 million. 3i will be the majority shareholder in...

Cabot Square makes profit on PHL.(Platform Home Loans Ltd.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... "Since the acquisition, the amount of loans and mortgages serviced by PHL has increased by 60 per cent and its customer base has doubled." Private equity and principal finance house, Cabot Square Capital has sold the business and mortgage...

ZapitOver and out.(wireless internet cot.com chuts down)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Wireless-Internet enabled delivery service, ZapitOver Ltd. has joined the ever-increasing list of failing dot.coms and is closing down at the end of this month. Set up at the end of August last year as a joint venture between 86 Ltd. and...

GIMV BENEFITS FROM TELENET.(sells Telenet stake to Callahan Associates)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Gimv, Belgian risk capital provider has sold its shareholding in Telenet, the Belgian communications company, to Callahan Associates, the global development and operations company. Total transaction value was [epsilon]391 million. Gimv will...

Menire to gain more Moving Skills.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Finnish investment company, Menire has sold its holding in e-learning company, Moving Skills AB to Bonnier Media AB. The transaction is part of a technical restructuring, whereby Moving Skills' business activities will be transferred to a new...

People moves.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Team expands at Interregnum Interregnum, the IT investment and advisory firm has announced four appointments in its research and consulting and venture marketing divisions. Arthur Hochberg has been recruited as associate director. He...

ENGLAND London: A more sophisticated player.(London is a major venture capital center)
March 1, 2001... Over the past couple of months, there has been much talk of the invasion of the US early stage venture capital firms, bringing over Silicon Valley-style investment to the European market and using London as a launch pad into Europe. The arrival...

Leisure: Playing hard.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... The leisure sector has already proved to be a fertile source of private equity activity this year. Deals have been either launched or anticipated in a wide variety of industries from health clubs to hotels to bookmakers and film studios. But in...

Western VC's breed Asia's entrepreneurial culture.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Being the home to one of the world's most dynamic economies Asia has been increasingly attracting western venture capital firms that have contributed to change drastically the attitudes of both entrepreneurs and big corporations, writes Paola...

Doubling the load.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Christopher Wright has been the global head of private equity at Dresdner Kleinwort Capital (DrKC) for almost four years, having joined Kleinwort Benson Limited to co-establish its office in Los Angeles in 1981. He is based in New York and...

WP Carey.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Anne Coolidge arrived in London in April 1999 armed with little more than the belief that WP Carey's successful business in the US could be replicated in the UK and eventually across Europe. Much of the early months were spent explaining what...

Venation: going global.(funding from Softbank UK Ventures)
March 1, 2001... Content networking company, Venation has secured its 'first [pound] million round of funding from Softbank UK Ventures, the 50:50 joint venture between Softbank and News Corporation, and from BT's corporate incubator Brightstar. Both Softbank...

Lenzing PTP for CVC.(CVC Capital Partners)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Lenzig, the Austrian manufacturer of viscose fibres, is to be acquired by CVC Capital Partners, subject to regulatory approval. Via Zellulosefaser Beteiligungsgesellschaft, a company is which CVC Capital Partners has a majority stake, is...

Synexus MBO for AMJPE.(management buyout, Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity (AMJPE) has invested [pound]4 million in the management buyout of Synexus. Synexus is Europe's largest site management organisation that recruits patients for large-scale clinical trials. Synexus...

[epsilon]920m MBO of Picard.(Picard Surgeles bought by Candover and Chevrillon & Associates)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Candover and its French partner firm Chevrillon & Associes will acquire leading French frozen food retailer Picard Surgeles from Carrefour for [epsilon]920 million. Candover and Chevrillon & Associes are leading a consortium of investors...

HSBC seals MBO for Bond iT.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Bond iT Limited has been spun out of its parent company Avocet Hardware, which is part of the Masco group of companies. Bond iT is a leading supplier of sealants in the UK and includes among its customers independent retailers, builder's...

Nomura continues to pull the pints.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Nomura's Principal Finance group has added to its already large portfolio of pubs with the acquisition of 988 Bass-owned pubs. Nomura narrowly beat off Legal & General Ventures - see feature on the leisure sector this issue, p40. Of the...

Principal Hotels secondary MBO.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... It's been a busy year so far for Nomura's Principal Finance group, which also bought the Principal Hotels chain for [pound]255 million at the end of January. The transaction was in the form of a secondary buyout since Nomura bought the group...

3i backs The Mill MBO.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... James Morris, Robin Shenfield and Pat Joseph, the original founders of The Mill, have acquired the group in a management buyout worth [pound]24 million. 3i and The Royal Bank of Scotland will fund the total transaction. 3i has invested...

Clydesdale Financial leaves Next.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Clydesdale Financial, the consumer credit division of Next plc has become the subject of a management buy-in led by Barclays Private Equity. Barclays Private Equity holds 90 per cent of the equity in the business and the management 10 per cent....

Future Dynamic secures funding.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Catalyst Fund Management & Research has provided an undisclosed amount of following on funding for Future Dynamics, a supplier of electronic straight through processing products for the derivatives industry. ABN AMRO Capital is an existing...

Accenture supports Appliancezone.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Accenture Technology Ventures and NeSBIC have invested E7 million in Appliancezone in a second round funding. Appliancezone is an ecommerce solutions provider for the consumer electronics and domestic appliance market, which essentially means...

Burgundy Global secures [pound]5.1m.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Burgundy Global, the UK'S leading chauffeur and executive car business, has received a [pound]5.1 million funding package from a consortium of European investors led by Pi Capital, Fortknox Ventures and eTechnologyVCT plc. The funds will be...

VTSI takes euro13.5m from MPE.(Verigen Transplantation Service International, Mercury Private Equity)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Verigen Transplantation Service International (VTSI) has received a [epsilon]23.7 million investment led by Mercury Private Equity. VTSI is a Germany company based in Leverkusen engaged in tissue engineering technology and has developed a novel...

Seeking buyers.
March 1, 2001... Seeking buyers includes listings of all European companies that have announced plans since 27 January 2000 until 22 February 2001 to sell divisions, stakes or their entire company. It also includes purported sales efforts that have appeared in...

Announced December deals.
March 1, 2001... Announced deals includes listings of private equity and venture capital transactions involving European targets that were announced from 21 January 2000 to 29 February 2001. The listings are ordered by target nation, and alphabetically within...

To merge or not to merge.(venture capital companies)
March 1, 2001... Patrick McCurry reports on the merger versus alliance debate and looks at which routes Europe's legal firms have taken and why. As continental Europe becomes a growing market for private equity services the big UK and US-based law firms are...

Bridging Europe's divisions.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Anthony O'Connor assesses some of the hurdles that European private equity lawyers will have to overcome in the coming months and years Europe's main private equity and venture capital players have a keen eye on many European jurisdictions...

LEAGUE TABLE EXPLANATORY NOTES.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... In compiling the top 25 law firms involved in management buyouts full credit for the total deal value has been given to every law firm involved in each transaction, where the law firm acted for the acquiror. In effect this means credit can be...

European Leveraged buyouts worth [epsilon]10 million or above announced between 1/1/99 and 31/12/00.(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... European Leveraged buyouts worth [epsilon]10 million or above announced between 1/1/99 and 31/12/00 Date Ann Status Target Name Target Ultimate Parent 05/01/99 C...

Bowing out by buying out.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Darryl Cooke, head of ABC Private Equity at Addleshaw Booth & Co, and Andrew Burrows, director of The Centre for Management Buy-out Research, review the PTP dominated UK buyout market in the year 2000 and assess the outlook for the year ahead....

Structuring and marketing a pan-European private equity fund.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Marwan AI-Turki and Marc van Campen of Baker & McKenzie's European venture capital group outline the issues The growth and greater maturity of the venture capital and private equity markets in Europe over the last few years have given rise...

How to implement a standard US venture capital term sheet in Germany.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Partners Dr Hubert Besner and David M Ayres at Brobeck Hale and Dorr in Munich, and Munich and London, respectively, outline the issues It has often been said that Silicon Valley venture capitalists (VO's) will not invest in a company they...

Leveraged buyouts in Spain.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Jose Maria Alvarez and Estibaliz Aranburu at Gomez Acebo & Pombo discuss the legal environment for management buyouts in Spain. One of the most substantial changes to occur in the European M&A market during the last five years has been the...

Cross border private equity transactions.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... David Baylis at Hammond Suddards Edge explains the keys to achieving successful cross border deals. The pressure to develop on a pan European and indeed global scale is being felt by businesses of all sizes and in most sectors. Lawyers and...

How do traditional Anglo-Saxon legal tools need to be adapted to private equity deals on the Continent?(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Alison Hampton, a partner in the private equity practice of Lovells' London office, in association with private equity partners in Lovells' offices in Frankfurt, Milan, Paris and (following the recently announced merger with Ekelmans Den...

The Netherlands.(recent Dutch legal and tax developments concerning private equity investments)
March 1, 2001... Ronald JB Wijs, Mieke van Schuppen and Marco de Lignie of Loyens & Loeff examine recent legal and tax developments concerning private equity investments in the Netherlands. During the last year the Dutch private equity industry has grown at...

Structuring pan-European private equity funds.
March 1, 2001... Bridget Barker and Mark Baldwin of Macfarlanes outline the issues Private equity funds in Europe had a record year in 1999, with [epsilon]25.4 billion being raised. It seems likely that the record will have been broken again in 2000. Money...