European Venture Capital Journal articles from May 2003

European Venture Capital Journal archives from May 2003

Take two for Opera. (News).(Opera II fund launched)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Opera, the private equity fund launched two years ago by luxury goods manufacturer Bulgari, has unveiled its second fund Opera II. Following the success of its first fund, which exceeded its original target of [euro]150 million closing at...

Raising the profile of SMEs. (News).(Venture Capital Report forms alliance with Greater London Enterprise )
May 1, 2003... Venture Capital Report (VCR), a UK business angel network which merged with fellow networks Pi Capital and iGabriel last year, has formed a strategic alliance with Greater London Enterprise (GLE) and its Business Angela Network, oneLondon...

DB Capital FoFs migrates to DeAM. (News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Deutsche Bank's fund-of-funds business, which has some [euro]500 million under management has merged with Deutsche Bank's asset management division, Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM). The move follows the [euro]1.5 billion secondary purchase of...

Nordic firms consolidate. (News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Euroventures and Nordico, two of Sweden's major mid-market players have joined forces and have already secured commitments for a new fund. The firms both have similar investment strategies in corporate buyouts and expansion capital investments...

Global Asset Capital gets Viventures. (News).(acquisition from Vivendi Universal)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... US venture capital firm Global Asset Capital has won the battle to lake control of Viventures Partners, the early stage technology fund set up by Vivendi Universal in 1998. Hamilton Lane, US fund-of-funds manager active in the secondaries...

Final close for Nmas1. (Funds).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Spanish buyout specialist, Nmas l has reached a final close on its second fond, Nmas 1 Private Fund, its first to target international investors. The fund has raised o175 million surpassing its original target of [euro]150 million. The fund...

B&S reaches [euro]500m. (Funds).(B&S Private Equity Group )
May 1, 2003... Milan-based private equity firm B&S Private Equity Group has exceeded the target of its fourth fund IPEF IV reaching over [euro]500 million at its second closing. The fund is capped at [euro]550 million and will remain open for another few...

La Poste defies corporate VC downturn. (Funds).(XAnge Capital launched)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... State-run French postal group La Poste has launched a [euro]50 million venture capital fund, XAnge Capital. The fund will invest in sectors closely related to La Poste's three business areas; post, financial services and express courier, hoping...

IFEX offers new investor services. (News).(Innovation Finance and Equity Exchange launches brokerage platform)
May 1, 2003... Innovation Finance and Equity Exchange (IFEX) has launched a brokerage platform in Amsterdam and London to match small and mid-market quoted companies and entrepreneurs with potential investors via the Internet. Through the exchange,...

Budget addresses funding gap. (News).
May 1, 2003... The smaller end of the VC market is set to benefit from UK Chancellor Gordon Brown's 2003 Budget. He has proposed the creation of British Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs), private sector vehicles to inject new capital into small- and...

Venture philanthropy makes UK debut. (News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... ECI managing director Stephen Dawson has launched the UK's first general venture philanthropy charitable fund. Impetus Trust will assist charities facing major change by providing long term funding for core costs and management support. Over...

BML launches first fund. (Funds).(Bioscience Managers Limited )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Bioscience Managers Limited (BML), a corporate advisory boutique specialising in the life sciences sector, is making its fund raising debut with the launch of BML BioEquity, a [euro]150 million fund focused on investments in European and mid...

UK LBOs face tax issues. (News).(Leveraged buyouts)
May 1, 2003... UK Chancellor Gordon Brown has proposed a change in his 2003 budget that could have an impact on the tax position of leveraged buyouts. The budget contains a major change to rules on discounts and roll-up interest on shareholder loan notes. ...

Austrian tech gets boost. (Funds).(Gamma Capital Partners reaches first close of euro 10 million on its Gamma II fund)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Gamma Capital Partners (GCP) has reached a first close of [euro]10 million on its Gamma II fund, targeting technology opportunities in Austria and neighbouring countries. The fund will remain open to investors for another six months and is...

RLPE makes fund debut. (Funds).(Royal London Private Equity reaches first close of 64 million pounds sterling on its debut offering)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Royal London Private Equity (RLPE) has reached a first close of [pounds sterling]64 million on its debut offering. The fund has a target of [pounds sterling]200 million, which it hopes to reach over the next 12 months. Investors in the first...

Graphite exceeds target. (Funds).(Graphite Capital announces first and final closing of its sixth fund, Graphite Capital Partners VI)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Graphite Capital has announced the first and final closing of its sixth fund Graphite Capital Partners VI with commitments of [pounds sterling]375 million. This exceeds the original [pounds sterling]300 million target. This is the first fund...

Duchess II closes at [euro]550m. (Funds).(Duke Street Capital Debt Management closes its second CDO, Duchess II)
May 1, 2003... Duke Street Capital Debt Management has closed its second CDO, Duchess II, at [euro]550 million. This is the largest European Collateralised Debt Obligation fund to close this year and brings the firm's CDO funds under management to [euro]1.55...

Tough times for Euro lev loans. (News).(Leveraged buyout market in Europe faces another tough year)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Europe's leveraged buyout market faces another tough year, according to Fitch Ratings. The modest level of activity seen in Q1 2003 with a total LBO value of [euro]6 billion supports Fitch's view that weak market conditions will extend...

Catalyst goes Dutch. (News).(Financial services investor Catalyst opens its second office in Holland)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Financial services investor Catalyst has opened its second office in Holland. Joseph Krant, former chairman of Dexia Bank Nederland, the Dutch unit of French-Belgian banking group Dexia, and Hermann Van Everdingen, also from Dexia, will both be...

[euro]49m for Lead Equities debut. (News).(Lead Equities is a first time Austrian fund)
May 1, 2003... Lead Equities, a first time Austrian fund, has exceeded its target and raised [euro]49 million for later stage investment. The firm set out to raise [euro]40 million and achieved this amount at its first closing in January this year. Investors...

Corporate venturing comeback. (News).
May 1, 2003... Over a third of major British companies expect to increase their level of corporate venturing activity over the next three years, according to research by venture consultancy Greenhouse Ventures, and Corporate Venturing UK, a DTI-sponsored...

Regional Irish seed fund launched. (Funds).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... A [euro]7 million fund has been launched to provide seed finance and mentoring to young companies in the Border, Midland and Western Regions of Ireland. The fund is a public-private partnership between the government's trade and technology...

Sale values IT Masters at $42m. (Exits).(BMC Software Inc. acquires IT Masters)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Business solutions company IT Masters has been acquired by BMC Software Inc for approximately $42 million, providing an exit for the company's VC backers. NeSBIC CTe Fund led a [euro]9 million second round financing for the company in October...

Secondary buyout of NCC. (Exits).(Barclays backs buyout of The NCC Group from ECI)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Barclays has backed the [euro]44 million secondary buyout of The NCC Group from ECI and the current management team. The independent technology assurance company supplies software escrow, independent third party protection and storage of...

Interregnum scores with uDate. (Exits).(USA Interactive buys uDate.com)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Interregnum, the information technology investment and advisory firm has sold uDate.com to USA Interactive. Derby-based uDate.com was set up three years ago as an online dating agency. Interregnum has held a small equity position in the company...

EQT sells Stenqvist to Triton. (Exits).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... EQT has realised its investment in Swedish packaging business Stenqvist in a secondary buyout transaction. German private equity firm Triton bought the company for an undisclosed sum. Stenqvist was acquired by EQT in 1999. Following EQT's...

Terra Firma struggles with Le Meridien. (Exits).
May 1, 2003... Terra Firma is struggling to rescue its portfolio company Le Meridien, the international hotel chain, from bankruptcy. Le Meridien has breached covenants on its [pounds sterling]1.12 billion leveraged debt of 2001 and the company's 12-bank...

ECI sells Lygon. (Exits).(Wolseley Centers acquires Lygon Holdings)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Wolseley Centers has acquired ECI portfolio company Lygon Holdings for an undisclosed sum. ECI was the majority shareholder in the UK-based company which supplies metal and plastic fixings, power tools and ancillary products to the construction...

Invoice discounting: growing use and sophistication. (Buyouts).
May 1, 2003... The market for factoring and invoice discounting in Europe is now worth around [euro]475 billion, according to the International Factoring Group. A financing solution traditionally associated with smaller companies, invoice discounting is a...

Slow times for UK MBOs. (Buyouts).(management buyouts)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Quarter one of 2003 saw the lowest number of completed larger UK management buyouts (with a value of over (pounds sterling)10 million) since 1996, according to KPMG Corporate Finance. There were 24 deals with a total value of [pounds...

LBO France targets smaller buyouts. (Buyouts).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... French mid-market specialist LBO France is raising a new [pounds]50 million fund called Hexagone, which will invest in buyouts with enterprise values of [pounds]10 million to [euro]50 million. Half the target amount has already been committed...

LBO syndications arranged in April. (Buyouts).(leveraged buyouts, various companies)
May 1, 2003... Bonna Sabla Mandated lead arrangers CIC and KBC Bank have completed syndication of the [euro]92.5 million senior debt supporting AXA Private Equity's MBO of Bonna Sabla from Vivendi Environment, which was completed in December 2002. The...

High yield bond issuance backing buyouts. (Buyouts).(Illustration)
May 1, 2003... Brake Brothers Mandated lead arrangers CSFB and JP Morgan have finally launched the [pounds]175 million high yield bond supporting the LBO of food service company Brake Brothers. This follows four months of negotiations to win consent from...

Duke Street opens in France. (People).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Duke Street has opened a Paris office. Frederic Chauffier, managing director of Duke Street's French activities, will run the office with an expanded team. Boris Zaitra joined Duke Street in 1999 from JP Morgan, where he worked in the M&A...

Catalyst goes Dutch. (People).
May 1, 2003... Catalyst has opened a second office in Holland. Joseph Krant, former chairman of Dexia Bank Nederland, the Dutch unit of French-Belgian banking group Dexia, and Hermann Van Everdingen, also from Dexia, will both work from the Dutch office. ...

Name change. (People).
May 1, 2003... Italian law firm Studio Legale Prosperetti has changed its name and moved offices. Portolano Colella Cavallo Prosperetti can now be found at Studio Legale, Via Catone, 300192 Rome, Italy. Telephone: ++39 06 3974 5437; Fax: ++39 06 3974-5400...

CVC appoints. (People).
May 1, 2003... CVC Capital Partners has appointed Peter Tornquist as a managing director. Tornquist has direct responsibility for the Nordic market, and will also work with CVC's other European offices on industrial transactions. He joins CVC following...

Nova Capital appoints. (People).
May 1, 2003... Andrew Paszkowski, a former Texaco divisional managing director, has joined Nova Capital Management as a portfolio director. Paszkowski will be responsible for active management of the first portfolio acquired from LICA Development Capital in...

Coller makes US debut. (People).
May 1, 2003... Secondaries specialist Coller Capital has set up its first office in the US. Frank Morgan will lead the team, reporting to Jeremy Coller. He joins from law firm Dewey Ballantine, where he was a partner. He has advised Caller Capital since its...

Renoir expands team. (People).
May 1, 2003... Renoir Partners, a global executive search firm for the emerging technologies sector, has appointed Bryan Levine as chief operating officer. This appointment is a significant boost to Renoir's executive board and will help the two year-old...

3i promotes Lobley. (People).
May 1, 2003... Ian Lobley has been appointed head of technology in France. Lobley has been with the firm as a technology investor over 15 years. He became a director in 1994 prior to 3i's IPO and most recently was responsible for 3i's information technology...

AFIC appoints. (People).
May 1, 2003... Jean-Yves Demeunynck has been appointed company secretary of the French Venture Capital Association, AFIC. He succeeds Arnaud de Dinechin. Xavier Moreno remains chief executive officer until the end of June. Before joining AFIC, Demeunynek...

Inflexion boosts team. (People).
May 1, 2003... Inflexion Private Equity has appointed Tony Caplin to its advisory panel. Caplin brings considerable experience of running public and private companies and is also deputy chairman of Barts and the London NHS Trust, one of the largest health...

Global Private Equity moves. (People).
May 1, 2003... Global Private Equity has moved offices to 71 Avenue des Champs-Elysees, 75 008 Paris, France. Tel: +33 1 56 43 60 90; fax: +33 1 56 43 60 99

Parier joins Activa. (People).
May 1, 2003... Activa capital has appointed Christophe Parier as investment director. Most recently Parier was an investment manager at Royal Bank of Scotland Private Equity France. Prior to that he spent three years on 3i France's MBO team. Activa...

Award for Aberforth. (People).
May 1, 2003... Aberforth UK Smaller Companies and Close Brothers won the 'Smaller Companies Fund of the Year' award and the 'VCT Group of the Year' award, respectively, at the 2003 Growth Company Awards Ceremony in April. The winners were chosen for overall...

SEP gets Bridgepoint chair. (People).
May 1, 2003... David Shaw, chairman of Bridgepoint, has joined the board of Scottish Equity Partners as non-executive director. Shaw was responsible for the formation of Bridgepoint when he led the management buyout of what was then Nat West Equity...

Freshfields partners. (People).
May 1, 2003... New partnership appointments at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer include Karen Fountain, Ferdinand Fromholzer and Frank Miller, all from the corporate finance department. Fountain specialises in the structuring and establishment of...

Bridges Community appts. (People).
May 1, 2003... Bridges Community Ventures, the UK's first community development venture capital company, has appointed Tim Lawrence, a private equity specialist with some 12 years' experience in the sector, as executive director. Prior to joining Bridges...

FLV Fund moves. (People).
May 1, 2003... FLV Fund, from April 15, 2003, is residing at; Bedrijvencentrum Rupelstreek, Antwerpsesteenweg 124,2630 Aartselaar. New numbers also apply. Tel: + 32 3 877 53 70 and fax: + 32 3 877 15 61.

Hoffmann-Fischer to TVM. (People).
May 1, 2003... Techno Venture Management, the German-US venture capital firm, has appointed Peter Hoffmann-Fischer as senior advisor - corporate finance strategy for the life science team. Hoffmann-Fischer's most recent position is as managing director...

Olisa personality of year. (People).
May 1, 2003... Ken Olisa, founder of Interregnum the technology VC and advisory firm, has been voted Real Deals! British Venture Capital Association Personality of the Year. The award reflects Olisa's long time and continuing commitment to improving the...

VenCap promotes. (People).
May 1, 2003... VenCap International plc, the private equity advisory firm, has promoted Tim Cruttenden to director, fund investments. Cruttenden is based in Oxford and leads the firm's fund investment team. He has been with the firm for nine years.

US PE returns continue to fall. (Data Room).(private equity)
May 1, 2003... Annual US private equity returns were negative for the eighth consecutive quarter, reflect falling valuations and limited exit opportunities. This is according to the year-end 2002 Private Equity Performance Index results produced by Thomson...

Buyouts dominate Italian PE scene. (Data Room).(private equity)
May 1, 2003... Italian investment in buyout transactions reached record levels in 2002 both in terms of volume and value, according to Italian venture capital association, AIFI. Start-ups, as usual, put in a mediocre performance. In 2002 Italian players...

Back to square one: asset allocation. (LP Corner).(private equity industry)
May 1, 2003... The private equity industry is in a mess; many LPs don't know whether they are coming or going. The 1997-2000 boom saw funds flood into the European private equity industry. Funds raised in 1997 reached just over 620 billion, dwarfing the 67.9...

Pension schemes: worth the worry? (Legal & Regulatory Exchange).
May 1, 2003... Pensions are a big issue across continental Europe and while all the stories, ranging from the region's ageing population to how schemes are funded, might seem to have little to do with private equity investing in fact the reverse is true. ...

Small but well formed. (Cover Story: Switzerland).(Cover Story)
May 1, 2003... With a population of just seven million, Swiss company executives have always looked beyond their natural borders to grow their companies. This is one of the reasons private equity and venture capital investors have found the country to be a...

Technology: stick with it or stay away? Andrew Sheehy asks what European LPs are making of the whirlwind reshaping the technology industry. (Cover Story: Technology).
May 1, 2003... Europe's technology investing venture industry still has a hangover from the party held during the late 1990s. It was an euphoric time that saw some venture funds returning their capital within 12 months. Meanwhile, technology entrepreneurs and...

The lone rangers? (Cover Story: Financial Services).
May 1, 2003... Many early stage players have lost their appetite for the financial services sector since for them it is fundamentally a technology-driven market. But later stage opportunities are attracting more interest as banks look to consolidate spending...

Calendar.
May 1, 2003... 13-14 May Symposium on Mezzanine Finance. New York. Contact: Louise Vogel @@ +1 508 529 2455 4-6 June Annual EVCA Symposium. Vienna. Contact: Charlotte Amiri @@ +32 2715 0020 www.evca.com 11-12 June ...

Seeking buyers April.
May 1, 2003... Seeking buyers April Seeking buyers includes listings of all European companies that have announced plans since March 31, 2003 unit April 25, 2003 to sell divisions, stakes or their entire company. It also includes purported sales...

Announced April deals.(Announced deals includes listings of private equity and venture capital transactions involving European targets)(Illustration)
May 1, 2003... Announced April deals Announced deals includes listings of private equity and venture capital transactions involving European targets that were announced from March 28, 2003 to April 25, 2003. The listings are ordered by target...

Innovation in a harsh market. (Overview).
May 1, 2003... Barred exit routes and plunging company valuations make it a difficult time to be an early stage investor in any country. But in France planned legislative changes and new deal opportunities could help lift some of the gloom. Louise Cowley...

Buyouts: leading the French PE field. (Overview).
May 1, 2003... Spin-offs from struggling corporates kept dealmakers in France busy last year and contributed to a record year for buyouts. Louise Cowley talks to some of the major players and asks; can the flow of transactions can be sustained this year to...

Selection of a fund-of-funds manager. (Sponsored Article).
May 1, 2003... After aggressive growth from 1995 to 2000, both in terms of capital under management and amount invested, the year 2002 has continued to decline on a European basis. During the last ten years, there were some significant achievements; *...

Fondinvest capital. (Sponsored Profile).(Advertisement)
May 1, 2003... Fondinvest Capital is a portfolio-management company created in 1994 and specialising in private equity fund-of-funds activity. Fondinvest is a pioneer in this business in Europe as it created one of the first private equity fund-of-funds. ...

ICT venture capital investors and their ability to manage change. (Sponsored Article).
May 1, 2003... Few would argue that today we live and work in a period of instability. The markets are wayward, the consequences of the second Gulf war on the international economy are uncertain, corporate scandals have shaken investors' trust in...

Part'Com Management. (Sponsored Profile).
May 1, 2003... Part'Com Management is one of Europe's most experienced venture and development capital investors in the Media & Entertainment, Communications and IT industries. Established in 1986 in Paris, the Part'Com team has managed over 175 investments...

What of the future for private equity in Continental Europe? (Sponsored Article).
May 1, 2003... Dominique Nouvellet, founder and CEO of Sigefi Private Equity (Siparex Group), asks It is undoubtedly a bit presumptuous to anticipate the future of an industry that is pragmatic, if nothing else, and whose players are flexible and...

The FCPR and the limited partnership: a tale of two fund structures. (Sponsored Article).
May 1, 2003... As told by Benjamin Aller, partner SJ Berwin, Paris These are the best of times and the worst of times to structure a private equity investment fund in Europe. On one hand, the laws of almost every European country contemplate one or more...

SJ Berwin. (Sponsored Profile).
May 1, 2003... For the third year in a row, SJ Berwin has won the prestigious European Venture Capital & Private Equity Journal award for Private Equity Law Firm of the Year. SJ Berwin has one of the leading corporate and commercial law practice in...

Sigefi Private Equity (Siparex Group). (Sponsored Profile).(Advertisement)
May 1, 2003... Founded in Lyon 25 years ago, Sigefi Private Equity is one of the leading private equity management companies in France. Far from being a financial institution, Sigefi Private Equity is a company. It emerged in one of France's regions and grew...