European Venture Capital Journal articles from March 2005

European Venture Capital Journal archives from March 2005

What drives entrepreneurialism? One of the main questions any VC asks when backing a company is what drives the founders behind that company. And while pure profit is cited as the main motivation for business angels and entrepreneurs, personal enjoyment follows closely.(News analysis)(Financial Services and Markets Act of 2000 )
March 1, 2005... Budding entrepreneurs look set to benefit from an influx of angel and private investment following the Government's relaxation of rules for marketing shares in unlisted companies to private individuals--see EVCJ February, page 26. The...

Polaris first close on fund 2.(Funds)(Polaris Private Equity)
March 1, 2005... Polaris Private Equity, a Danish private equity firm, has held a first closing of Polaris II with commitments of 180m [euro]. LPs in the fund include investors in Polaris I, A.P. Moller--Maersk, ATP Private Equity, Danica Pension, Danske...

Sofinnova closes fifth fund.(Funds)(Sofinnova Partners)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Sofinnova Partners has closed Sofinnova Capital V at 385m [euro], making it the largest European venture fund launched since the dot.com bubble burst. The fund was launched in September 2004 with a target size of 350m [euro] and a cap of...

Pockets deep, mountain high.(News)(European Venture Philanthropy Association raised money )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) trek of Mount Kilamanjaro took place in February and raised a minimum of 250,000 [euro] with donations still arriving. It is hoped that a third of the money raised will cover some of the...

German venture: better than you think.(News)(Venture capital companies)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Venture capital potential in Germany is not as bad as investors think claims a new report published by Munich-based private equity consultants Mackewicz & Partner. The analysis of the German VC industry is published in 'Why invest in...

AlpInvest and Lexington acquire US$1.2bn portfolio.(News)(DPL Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... AlpInvest Partners and Lexington Partners have acquired the entire private equity portfolio from DPL Inc, a diversified, regional energy company, and its subsidiaries. The purchase price and undrawn commitments of the portfolio have a combined...

AVCA yearbook in the pipeline.(News)
March 1, 2005... The African Venture Capital Association (AVCA) is launching its first yearbook and investment activity report for 2005. CDC Capital Partners is sponsoring the publications. AVCA Research and Publication partners, Thomson Venture Economics,...

BlueRun Ventures first close.(Funds)(Nokia Venture Partners)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... BlueRun Ventures, formerly Nokia Venture Partners, has reached first close on its third venture fund focused on early stage companies in the IT, mobile, and consumer electronics markets. A second closing is anticipated in the first half of...

800m [euro] for Italian market.(Funds)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Clessidra Capital Partners, the buyout fund launched by former Morgan Stanley chief and Fininvest chief executive Claudio Sposito, has reached a final close on 800m [euro], slightly short of its original 1bn [euro] target. The fund held a first...

Minerva Chambers promotes combined funds.(News)(Lorraine Newbold and Iona J. Levine)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Just as hedge funds have become recognised for attracting brilliant, maverick guys from the established investment world who relish the challenge of operating independently, now lawyers are also getting in on the act. Dr. Lorraine Newbold...

Pledge funds: facilitating fund raising?(News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A trend in the US that has yet to come to the fore in Europe is the "pledge" or "synthetic" fund phenomenon. When pledge funds have been used in the US, they tend to be a sign of a difficult market and are considered a mechanism for managers in...

IK fifth fund closes on 825m [euro].(Funds)(Industri Kapital)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Industri Kapital has officially closed its fifth fund on 825m [euro], significantly lower than its original target of 2.5bn [euro]. Industri Kapital 2004 Fund has received commitments from Nordic and international institutions, including...

Unigestion closes fourth f-o-fs.(Funds)(Unigestion S.A. launches private equity funds)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Unigestion has announced the closing of its latest private equity fund-of-funds on just over 200m [euro], beating its 150m [euro] target. Unicapital Investments IV, which was launched in 2003, offers investors two programmes: a global one,...

Polish pensions consider PE.(News)(private equity )
March 1, 2005... The Polish private equity market looks set to flourish in the next few years, mainly due to the changes in benchmarking system of Polish pension funds and establishment of a new investment vehicle which will allow Polish pension funds to invest...

Quartilium launches mezz f-o-fs.(Funds)(Finama Asset Management)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Quartilium, the fund-of-funds team of Finama, has launched and reached a first closing on its mezzanine fund-of-funds on 50m [euro]. The fund aims to invest in 15 funds in Europe and the US, and is one of the first specialised fund-of-funds...

Shore Capital launches new VCT.(Funds)(Venture Capital Trust)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Shore Capital has launched its first VCT, the Puma VCT and aims to raise 32m [pounds sterling]. A novel feature of the VCT, which to date has not been seen in any other offerings, is the fund's commitment to wind up the VCT after five years, if...

Uni spin-outs on road to recovery.(News)(Regulations of divestiture of universities in United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Inland Revenue has clarified the availability of tax relief that has been made available to academics setting up university spin-out companies. The changes are expected to go some way to rectifying the current decline in spin-off companies...

Close gets AMJPE VCT portfolio.(News)(Venture capital trusts)
March 1, 2005... Close Venture Management has become the new manager of Murray VCT, Murray VCT 2, Murray VCT 3, and Murray VCT 4. The boards of each fund have also announced that they have served notice terminating their management agreement with Murray...

Investment documents get go-ahead.(News)(British Venture Capital Association)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Following discussions with its members regarding the preparation of a set of model investment documents, the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) has decided to go ahead to prepare these documents (see EVCJ December/January--page 5). ...

Quester to merge VCTs?(News)(Venture Capital Trusts)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The boards of Quester VCTs 1, 2 and 3, are in discussions regarding their possible merger. This follows the introduction of the new VCT tax regulations in September 2004 permitting VCT mergers and follows Chrysalis' announcement, formerly...

Ventizz closes second fund.(Funds)(Ventizz Capital Partners)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Ventizz Capital Partners, a German private equity firm, has held a final closing of Ventizz Capital Fund II with commitments of 60m [euro]. The fund closed just six months after being launched and follows on from Ventizz I, the 2000 fund,...

NVM top-up.(Funds)(Northern Venture Managers Ltd. is seeking to raise up to 10m )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Northern AIM VCT, the AIM venture capital trust managed by Northern Venture Managers is seeking to raise up to 10m [pounds sterling] by way of a series of 10% top-up share offers. The proposed fund raising was approved by Northern AIM VCT's...

NRW Bank creates venture fund.(Funds)(North-Rhine Westphalia)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) Bank has set up a 40m [euro] venture capital fund for investment in the North-Rhine Westphalia region of Germany. The fund will invest a maximum of 1.5m [euro] of expansion capital per investment round, and...

EVCA urges EU to boost VC funding.(European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association)
March 1, 2005... In his review of the Lisbon process, the European Commission's President, Jose Manuel Barroso, was resolved to kickstart Europe's flagging economy through faster economic growth, job creation and increasing innovation. He also recognised that,...

New accelerator programme launched.(News)(WirelessMatch)
March 1, 2005... WirelessMatch, an online mobile and wireless accelerator programme has launched, aiming to match early stage wireless applications, content and technology companies with private equity investment of 50,000 [pounds sterling] to 1.5m [pounds...

AXA closes third buyout fund.(Funds)(AXA Private Equity)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... AXA Private Equity has closed its third buyout fund on 500m [euro] after fund raising for three months. A number of LPs returned to AXA LBO Fund III from predecessor funds, although there were some significant differences in the make-up of...

Doughty Hanson closes fund.(Funds)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Doughty Hanson has closed its latest private equity fund, Doughty Hanson & Co IV, with total commitments of 1.5bn [euro]. This is just half of the original 3bn [euro] target it had originally hoped to raise. Doughty Hanson itself has committed...

Halder raises 155m [euro].(Funds)(Investment companies)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... German buyout specialist Halder has announced a final close on its most recent fund at 155m [euro]. The fund will continue its strategy of investing in buyouts of small to medium-sized enterprises, mainly of family-owned companies. The...

HSBC and Partners Group f-o-fs.(Funds)(HSBC Investment Bank)(Partners Group)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... HSBC Investment Management has teamed up with Swiss fund-of-funds manager Partners Group to launch the HSBC Partners Group Global Private Equity Fund. This is a private equity fund-of-funds aimed at private clients and smaller...

GPs say no to pensions deficits.(News)(General practitioners)
March 1, 2005... A third of mid-market GPs have said they will not invest in a company with a pensions deficit from a defined benefit scheme, according to a survey conducted by Grant Thornton Corporate Finance. In a survey of 100 fund managers involved in...

Darby buys DrKW Central Europe fund.(News)(Darby Overseas Investment Management)(Dresdner Kleinwort Benson)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Darby Overseas Investments has acquired the general partnership of the Dresdner Kleinwort Benson Emerging Europe Fund, L.P., a private equity fund focused on Central and Eastern Europe. Reasons for the disposal of the assets are undisclosed as...

Finance Wales deals double.(News)(Investment companies)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Investments by Finance Wales almost doubled during 2004 when the organisation enjoyed its busiest and most successful year to date. Figures for the year ending in December reveal that Finance Wales facilitated 294 investments ranging from...

Westport bought by Capital Dynamics.(News)(Westport Private Equity)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Westport Private Equity, the UK-based fund-of-funds, has been sold by the Man Group to Capital Dynamics, creating a fund-of-funds business with US$5.25bn under management. Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is set to close by...

Dover Street Capital VCT launch.(Funds)(Venture capital trust)
March 1, 2005... Another month, another VCT launch and this time it's the turn of Dover Street Capital, which is seeking to raise a minimum of 4m [pounds sterling] and no more than 15m [pounds sterling]. The fund will target companies that offer the...

Irish VCs expecting IPOs.(Exits)(Venture capital companies)(Initial public offerings)
March 1, 2005... Irish VCs are optimistic about the exit market over the next two years with over one-third expecting one or more investee companies to IPO by 2007. The latest survey of its members by the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA) paints a...

Bridgepoint exits Shearings in coach merger deal.(Exits)(Bridgepoint Capital sells its stake to 3i Group PLC)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A Bridgepoint-led syndicate has sold its 61.5% stake in Shearings to 3i following the merger of the company with Wallace Arnold in a 200m [pounds sterling] deal, which will create one of Europe's largest coach holiday companies. A source...

PPM sells Finnish Chemicals.(Exit)(PPM Ventures)(Finnish Chemicals Oy)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A PPM Ventures-led syndicate of investors has agreed the sale of Finnish Chemicals Oy, a producer of pulp chemicals, to Kemira Oyj, a chemicals business headquartered in Finland for E345m. This returns almost four times the original investment....

Carter & Carter IPO.(Exits)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Bridgepoint has floated Carter & Carter, a UK-based provider of outsourced support services to global automotive brands, on the London Stock Exchange. The offering of 22, 953 and 944 shares at a price of 235 pence per share has resulted in...

Industri Kapital sells Arca Systems.(Exits)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Stirling Square Capital Partners has acquired and merged Sweden's Arca Systems with Dutch portfolio company Schoeller Wavin Systems. Stirling Square will acquire Arca Systems from Industri Kapital for approximately 190m [pounds sterling]. ...

ABN AMRO sells the Publican.(Exits)(QBM Group)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... ABN AMRO Capital portfolio company QBM Group, the UK publishing and exhibitions group, has sold its licensed trade sector publishing and events assets to United Business Media for 21m [pounds sterling]. ABN AMRO Capital will receive 6.5m...

Carlyle sells MEC.(Exits)(Carlyle sold mahority holdings of MEC Holding to Messer Industrie)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Carlyle has sold its 51% stake in MEC Holding, a German welding and curing company, to Messer Industrie, for an estimated 150m [euro]. No financial details were disclosed but it has been reported that the sale generated a 2x return for...

Gala refinancing returns 275m [pounds sterling].(Exits)(Gala Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Gala Group has completed a refinancing which has repaid approximately half of the 550m [pounds sterling] invested by Cinven and Candover when they acquired the company in March 2003. As a result of the refinancing, total debt stands at 945m...

First exit for the Capital Fund.(Exits)(Capital Fund has sold UK Explorer to Spectrum Interactive)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Capital Fund has sold UK Explorer, a UK provider of Internet access solutions for hotels and airports, to Spectrum Interactive, a UK payphone and Internet kiosk operator. The sale generated an IRR of 30% for the fund, a 50m [pounds...

Saft refinanced.(Exits)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Doughty Hanson has refinanced Saft, the French designer and manufacturer of high-tech battery systems for industrial applications, earning 175m [euro] for investors in Doughty Hanson & Co IV. This works out at a return of over 10% of total...

Nordic sells C More.(Exits)(Nordic Capital)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Nordic Capital and New York-based private equity firm Baker Capital have agreed to sell the shares in C More Group AB, a premium pay-TV provider, which operates the Canal+ channels in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. The company will be...

Electra sells Ashbourne.(Exits)(Electra Partners Europe)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Electra Partners Europe is selling Ashbourne Healthcare, an operator of care homes for the elderly, to Ashbourne's management, backed by Bank of Scotland Corporate. The transaction price is 280m [pounds sterling]. Ashbourne Healthcare was...

Penta celebrates La Tasca IPO.(Exits)(Penta Capital)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Penta Capital-backed tapas restaurant La Tasca has floated on AIM, raising around 19m [pounds sterling] net in its placing. Penta is expected to retain 23% after the listing, which values the company at 54m [pounds sterling]. Penta backed...

How to IPO.(Exits)(Initial public offerings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... PKF accountants and business advisers has produced a guide to help companies decide if going public is right for them and offering all the vital information about how to go about it. Going public? A guide to floating your company takes a...

Fox Paine makes Advanta exit.(Exits)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Fox Paine, the California-based private equity firm, has made a partial exit from Advanta, a Dutch agricultural seed developer, with a sale to Limagrain, a French business that produces corn, wheat, vegetable and home garden seeds. The fee was...

Burzovni Palac sold.(Exits)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Patron Capital Limited and Kilkullen Barhill has sold the Prague Stock Exchange building, Burzovni Palac, to TMW Pramerica Immobilien GmbH. Burzovni Palac, located in the centre of Prague, is a 9,500sqm office building, let to the Prague...

BC Partners sells Sanitec to EQT.(Exits)(EQT Northern Europe Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... BC Partners has sold it share in Sanitec Corporation, a bathroom ceramics manufacturer headquartered in Finland and Germany, to EQT, the Nordic private equity firm. Financial details were not disclosed. EQT IV, the 2.5bn [euro] fund which...

FLV sells assets.(Exits)(Flanders Language Valley Fund)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Flanders Language Valley (FLV) Fund, the Belgian venture firm, has finally managed to sell the majority of its portfolio. After years of trying to offload its assets following the dot.bomb, FLV has signed a framework agreement with an...

Delta and Kernel sell Farran.(Exits)(Delta Partners)(Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital)(Farran Technology is sold to Smiths Group PLC)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Delta Partners and Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital have sold Farran Technology, an Irish company that is developing millimetre wave technologies for the detection of hidden weapons and explosives and for other applications. The business has...

PPM sells Roventa.(Exits)(PPM Ventures sells Roventa Henex SA )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... PPM Ventures has agreed the sale of Roventa Henex SA, a private label watch manufacturer, to Roventa's management. PPM led the original management buy-out in 1997, backing the existing management team led by Chief Executive Marc Kueffer,...

Telecoms: corporates on the move.(Buyouts)
March 1, 2005... The relatively free rein that private equity financiers have enjoyed in M&A deals in the European telecom sector over the last four years appears to be coming to an end. Private equity players are now beginning to talk of increased buying...

Fitch questions LBO credit trends.(Buyouts)(Leveraged buyouts)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Fitch Ratings says the risk profile of European leveraged transactions has increased, following a record year for leveraged buyout (LBO) issuance in 2004. While investor demand for assets remains at such high levels, Fitch expects the...

High hopes for European high-yield.(Buyouts)
March 1, 2005... This year looks set to be another record year for the European high-yield market. A record-breaking 29.3bn [euro] of new issuance in 2004 was driven by a combination of new LBOs, recapitalisations and secondary buyouts, fallen angels, the...

Italian PE to benefit from corporate law reform?(Buyouts)(Private Equity)(Portolano Colella Cavallo)(Associazione Italiana del Private equity e Venture Capital)
March 1, 2005... AIFI has formed a study group committee, co-ordinated by Francesco Portolano of the law firm Portolano Colella Cavallo, which will analyse the impact on the Italian private equity market of the new corporate rules on corporate groups. The main...

LBO syndications arranged February.(Buyouts)(Leveraged buyouts)
March 1, 2005... Arca Systems Target nation: The Netherlands Date announced: 09/02/05 Deal type: Secondary buyout Acquirer: Stirling Square Capital Partners Total value: 190m [euro] Mandated arranger: NIB Capital Financing: 300m...

Coral Eurobet.(Refinancings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Coral Eurobet's 1.045bn [pounds sterling] recapitalisation has closed oversubscribed. Allocations are being finalised. Bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers are Bank of Scotland and Lehman Brothers. Deutsche Bank and UBS joined as...

Demag.(Refinancings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Demag Investment's 940m [pounds sterling] recapitalisation has received a mixed response since its launch via mandated lead arrangers Commerzbank and HVB. A small number of participants in the original deal are known to have dropped out of...

EurotaxGlass's.(Refinancings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... BNP Paribas has been mandated to arrange a 165m [euro] loan backing the recapitalisation of automotive information provider EurotaxGlass's. Sponsors Hicks Muse Tate and Furst hope to release equity from the deal, in which they have been...

Focus.(Refinancings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Focus' 210m [pounds sterling] recapitalisation after its disposal of Wickes to Travis Perkins will launch imminently, via mandated lead arrangers Bank of Scotland and ING. Senior debt comprises a 96m [pounds sterling] seven-year term loan...

Gala refinancing returns 275m [pounds sterling].(Refinancings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Gala Group has completed a refinancing which has repaid approximately half of the 550m [pounds sterling] invested by Cinven and Candover when they acquired the company in March 2003. As a result of the refinancing, total debt stands at 945m...

Hirslanden Holdings.(Refinancings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Hirslanden Holding's SFr980m all-senior recapitalisation has launched to subunderwriters, via mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners JP Morgan and UBS. Debt comprises a SFr450m seven-year term loan A at 225bp over Libor, a SFr225m...

Hogg Robinson.(Refinancings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... SG has won the mandate to arrange a 340m [pounds sterling] recapitalisation of corporate travel company Hogg Robinson's 180.7m [pounds sterling] financing that backed Permira's acquisition of the company in 2001. Bank of Scotland, Calyon, RBS...

Novacap.(Refinancings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... French chemicals company Novacap is in the market with a 125m [pounds sterling] recapitalisation of the facility that backed Bain Capital's buyout of the company in 2002, via mandated lead arranger SG. The all-senior facility comprises a...

Pizza Express.(Refinancings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... PizzaExpress's recapitalisation of its 440m [euro] loan will close oversubscribed this week after a strong response to its waiver request from existing lenders. Mandated lead arrangers HSBC, Lehman Brothers and RBS arranged the original...

Saft.(Refinancings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Doughty Hanson is to return 175m [euro] to investors in its latest private equity fund, Doughty Hanson & Co IV, following the successful recapitalisation of Saft, a market leader in the design and manufacture of high tech battery systems for...

Zena.(Refinancings)(Grupo Zena)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... ING is mandated to arrange the 150m [euro] recapitalisation loan for Grupo Zena, a CVC company. CVC acquired Zena in March 2001. The company is the leading Spanish multibrand food chain with 328 outlets. Source: IFR Loans

Private equity-backed takeovers subject to EU Competition law.(Buyouts)(European Union)
March 1, 2005... Attendo Private equity backer: Bridgepoint Business description: Care homes Deal value: SEK2.2bn Notified: 07/02/05 Provisional deadline: 14/03/05 Cleared: n/a Bridgepoint is acquiring a majority shareholding in...

Germany: looking up.(Data Room)
March 1, 2005... The investment climate in the German private equity market is taking a turn for the better, according to recent figures for 2004 from the German private equity and venture capital association, the BVK. "The consolidation of the private...

Media M&A activity set to increase in 2005.(Data Room)
March 1, 2005... The number of M&A deals in the European media sector is set to increase in 2005 according to a report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers Corporate Finance. Media Insight estimates that 2005 will see over 110 media transactions, compared...

Israeli high tech attracts funds.(Data Room)
March 1, 2005... Time Israeli venture market put in an impressive performance in 2004. Over the year, 428 high tech Israeli companies raised US$1.46bn from local and foreign venture investors, a 45% increase from the US$1.01bn raised in 2003, according to a...

VCTs: spoilt for choice?(Data Room)(Venture Capital Trusts)(Illustration)
March 1, 2005... Research by Noble, the VCT specialist, reveals that 88% of IFAs believe that increasing numbers of advisers are recommending VCTs to their clients for this tax year. However, over half (58%) claim they are becoming increasingly confused by the...

VCT ratings aid investors.(Data Room)(Venture Capital Trusts)(Illustration)
March 1, 2005... Allenbridge Tax Shelter Report has started to post VCT ratings on its website www.tax-shelter-report.co.uk. Each rating will have a comment about the VCT and give an opinion and rating from the analysts at Allenbridge. David Knight,...

A record year for European mezzanine.(Data Room)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The European leveraged credit market witnessed unprecedented levels of demand for junior debt paper in 2004. Fitch rated 5.8bn [euro] of new mezzanine issuance in 2004, comfortably exceeding the previous record year of 3.5bn [euro] in 2002. ...

The dash for cash: with so many large and upper mid-market European funds embarking on the fund raising trail this year, investors look set to be spoilt for choice about where to commit their buyout allocations. But will they get into the funds they want?(LP Corner)
March 1, 2005... The current fund raising market is a bit like the old adage about waiting for a bus: you wait for ages and then several come along all at once. "Last year was pretty poor for fund raising," says Rhonda Ryan of Insight Investments. "We just...

Keeping up standards? What accounting standards private equity funds use may seem a rather dry and technical topic. But accounting changes facing the industry could lead to significant problems in the way funds communicate their activities to investors.(Legal and Regulatory Exchange)
March 1, 2005... The concerns centre on a new framework of international accounting standards that applies to accounting periods beginning in January this year. These international financial reporting standards (IFRS) are an attempt to create one single set of...

Re-awakening the bear: fuelled by strong and consistent economic growth, private equity activity in Russia has grown dramatically over the last 12 months with a number of new funds being raised and firms opening up offices in Moscow. But investing in Russia still remains a highly risky proposition. Tom Allchorne weighs up the pros and cons.(Russia)
March 1, 2005... "Successful private equity needs macro-economics and micro-economic factors. These include political stability, sophisticated capital markets, corporate governance, strong entrepreneurial structure, and proper benchmarking. Other factors...

Aiming high in the low countries: the private equity market has been anything but flat over the past year in the Benelux with a raft of large, highly leveraged and often complex transactions.(Benelux)
March 1, 2005... Private equity has been making headline news in the Benelux--not least because the Dutch publishing company PCM Uitgevers was among the region's legion of landmark LBOs last year. This year looks set to be no less eventful with financial...

Under observation: the days of privileged private equity sales involving just one potential buyer can now be consigned to history if the growth of transaction support services is anything to go by. James Brandman takes a look at the development of the industry.(Transaction support)
March 1, 2005... The fact that Europe's private equity universe has become so much more competitive over the last few years means that buyout professionals are getting very little, if any, discount on the prices they are prepared to pay for their investments....

Calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
March 1, 2005... 9 March Pensions--the new deal-breaker? London +44 (0)1908 248 159 9-11 March Buyouts Symposium East 2005. New York City +1 917 408 5254 Robert.Mills@Thomson.com 14 March Debt Financing in the...

ICG founder retires.(People)(Intermediate Capital Group)(Tom Bartlam)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Tom Bartlam, the founder and managing director of Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) is to retire in April, subsequent to the announcement of ICG's results for the year ending January 31, 2005. He will remain on the board as a nonexecutive...