European Venture Capital Journal articles from May 2005

European Venture Capital Journal archives from May 2005

Euro venture, stuck in the shadows.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
May 1, 2005... Bumper fund raising times are upon us, if you're in the buyout arena at least, land just a quick flick through the funds section of this issue pays testament to that fact. European venture funds, however, are still waiting in the wings hoping...

More debt and more distress.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
May 1, 2005... The topic of debt multiples is one you can't seem to escape at the moment. Go to any conference and there's sure to be at least one session dedicated to the subject, and the issue will be raised in numerous others. The concern among many, and...

Will individuals net something of high worth?(NEWS ANALYSIS)
May 1, 2005... Whatever the current disparity in fund raising fortunes between buyout and venture investment firms in Europe, they are all seeking from the same, largely institutional investor, pot. Despite this, the make up of investors in private equity...

Corporate bonds wobbles as PE swoops.(NEWS ANALYSIS)(private equity)
May 1, 2005... The April bid by two private equity funds for Danish cleaning company ISS has increased the heat on the simmering issue of protection for bondholders in corporates targeted by private equity players. The 2bn [pounds sterling] leveraged buyout...

Partners Group opens London office.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Partners Group, the Switzerland headquartered fund-of-funds manager, has opened an office in London. Erik Kaas, a member of the executive board of Partners Group and head of markets, will head up the London office, with Stefan Naf, an executive...

Euro VC market back on track.(NEWS)(European venture capital)
May 1, 2005... Go4Venture, a fund raising specialist for European technology companies, is hailing the end of the venture capital slump in Europe, based on an increase in its industry activity indicator. Go4Venture's Headline Transactions Index, a compilation...

Making Europe a priority.(NEWS)(private equity investments in Europe)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Investing in Europe is a priority for just 4% of mid-market private equity firms, although almost 50% would consider it, according to a recent survey by Grant Thornton Corporate Finance. A lack of interest in overseas investment was cited...

Bullhound & GP Capital merge.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Bullhound, the technology research firm, and GP Capital, the technology advisory firm, have merged to form GP Bullhound, which aims to provide technology research, private placement and M&A advisory services to entrepreneurs, venture...

Lloyds TSB Corporate targets larger deals.(NEWS)(Lloyds TSB Development Capital Ltd.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Lloyds TSB Corporate has increased its investment remit to incorporate deals in the upper mid-market so it will now be competing for deals with the likes of its larger competitors Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland. One such deal the...

PEIGG releases US performance guidelines.(NEWS)(Private Equity Industry Guidelines Group)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... PEIGG, the Private Equity Industry Guidelines Group, has released reporting and performance measurement guidelines, available at www.peigg.org. The guidelines, while predominantly produced with the US private equity market in mind, have drawn...

AXA PE internationalises its activities.(NEWS)(AXA Private Equity)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... AXA Private Equity is to make the UK and Asia its two priority markets for the internationalisation of its capital venture activities and to this end has hired Ivan Bernard-Brunel to launch the business in London and Singapore. Bernard-Brunel...

UK Venture Index launched.(NEWS)(National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts)(VCR Directory)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... AUK Venture Index has been launched as a joint venture between VCR Directory and NESTA, the National Lottery funded National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. Venture Index has collected sub 1m [pounds sterling] deal information...

CSFB not spinning off DLJ PE business.(NEWS)(Credit Suisse First Boston L.L.C.)(DLJ Merchant Banking Partners)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) has axed plans to spin off DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and in so doing has lost the unit's current managing partner Thompson Dean, who plans to leave the unit later this year in order to establish an...

Dresdner sells PE to AIG.(NEWS)(Dresdner Bank AG sells its private equity portfolio to AIG Global Investors Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Dresdner Bank has sold its private equity portfolio with a commitment value of approximately 1.1bn [euro] to AIG Global Investment. "Through this transaction, we will exit nearly all of Dresdner: Bank's remaining private equity investments,"...

Close Brothers new PE group.(NEWS)(Close Brothers Group PLC)(private equity)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Close Brothers has formalised its advisory business to the private equity industry in a distinct, Private Equity Coverage Group (PECG) PECG is led by Mark Barrow and Darren Redmayne, an assistant director, and comprises a further two dedicated...

Carlyle fund raising.(FUNDS)(Carlyle European Venture Partners)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... * The Carlyle C up has raised $10bn for investment. Carlyle Partners IV, which will invest in US buyouts, has raised US$7.85bn and Carlyle Europe Partners II, which will invest in European buyouts, has raised US$2.2bn. Investment in...

CapMan fund close.(FUNDS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... * CapMan has closed its fourth mezzanine fund, CapMan Mezzanine IV, on 240m [euro]. The fund will focus on mid market transactions in the Nordic countries, principally in the manufacturing, retail and service industries, in businesses with net...

Penta fund expands.(FUNDS)(Penta Capital)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... * Penta Capital has expanded its 125m [pounds sterling] fund, Penta Fund I, which it raised in 2000, to include three new investors that bring with them an additional 75m [pounds sterling] in capital. The three new investors are AXA Private...

ECI closes on 255m [euro].(FUNDS)(ECI Partners L.L.P.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... * ECI Partners has concluded a successful fundraising for ECI 8, closing on its hard cap of 255m [pounds sterling] in just four months after scaling back commitments. The fund is structured as a UK limited partnership and was raised in...

Advent Int'l 2.5bn [pounds sterling] fund.(FUNDS)(Advent International PLC)
May 1, 2005... * Advent International has announced the final close of its most recent global private equity fund, Advent International GPE V, on 2.5bn [pounds sterling] (US$3.3bn). The fund was significantly oversubscribed with over 4bn [euro] of interest...

PAI Europe IV reaches 2.7bn [euro].(FUNDS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... * PAI partners has reached a final closing on PAI Europe IV at 2.7bn [euro] (US$3.5bn). The fund, raised less than three years after its predecessor fund, was significantly oversubscribed and closed ahead of its original 2bn [euro] target. ...

AGF launches fourthfund.(FUNDS)(AGF Private Equity launches private equity fund AGF Private Equity Holding Europe IV )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... * French fund-of-funds manager AGF Private Equity has launched its fourth fund-of-funds: AGF Private Equity Holding Europe IV. The fund celebrated a first closing in March on 100m [euro] and has a target of 250m [euro]. The fund will...

Finadvance fundraising.(FUNDS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... * Finadvance, the small cap and mid size French buyout investor, has closed its third fund, Finadvance Capital III, on 82m [euro], ahead of its 75m [euro] target. Calyon acted as placement agent on the fund raising which saw capital raised from...

Advent targets CEE.(FUNDS)(Advent International PLC)(Central Eastern European )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... * Advent International has again closed a Central European Fund offering ahead of target. This time its third fund, ACEE III, closed on 330m [euro], and will seek investment opportunities in high growth companies across the Central Eastern...

Astorg closes fund3.(FUNDS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... * Astorg Partners, the small to mid cap French buyout investor, has closed its third fund, Astorg III, on 300m [euro]. The fund raised money from 17 institutional investors, which included AIG (US), Adam Street Partners (US), AXA (France), CDC...

Solid Capital launch fund.(FUNDS)(NeSBIC CTe Fund)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... * NeSBIC spin-off Solid Capital Partners has launched Solid Capital ICT Fund III, a 75m [euro] investment fund focused on established, private ICT companies in the Benelux region. The fund will invest later stage venture/expansion capital. ...

Egeria interim close.(FUNDS)(Egeria Capital Management)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... * Egeria Capital Management, the Dutch private equity house, has held an interim close on its second fund, Egeria Private Equity Fund II, at 293m [euro]. Two Dutch institutional investors, Ahold Pensioenfonds and Van Lanschot Bankiers have...

Covenant secondary buyout.(EXITS)(Phoenix Equity Partners sells its stake in Covenant Healthcare Inc. to Electra Partners Europe)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Phoenix Equity Partners has sold Covenant Healthcare to Electra Partners Europe for 170m [pounds sterling]. Phoenix Equity Partners established Covenant Healthcare in 2002 with healthcare entrepreneur Dr Ishak, using it as a platform to build a...

LDC sells Xpert.(EXITS)(Xpert Communications)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... DC has sold Xpert Communications, a UK technology services provider, in a 22.55m [pounds sterling] deal with Redstone plc, a listed company which specialises in networking solutions. No return details were disclosed. LDC backed a 12m...

Segulah recaps Callenberg.(EXITS)(Callenberg Group)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Segulah II has made a partial exit of Callenberg Group, a Swedish marine electrical engineering company, through a recapitalisation. The fund, which invested in Callenberg in May 2001, has returned 60% of the original investment to its LPs. The...

Close Venture makes 2.9x return on exit.(EXITS)(Close Venture Management sells its stake in Automotive Technik (Holdings) Limited to Stewart and Stevenson Services Inc. (Houston, Texas))(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Close Venture Management (CVM) has sold Automotive Technik (Holdings) Limited in a 25m [pounds sterling] deal with Stewart & Stevenson Services, a US corporation manufacturer of specialty equipment for the oilfield, defence, and power...

CBPE sells NDR.(EXITS)(Close Brothers Private Equity sells its stake in Network Disaster Recover to Phoenix IT Group plc )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Close Brothers Private Equity (CPBE) is to sell Network Disaster Recover (NDR), an independent provider of disaster recovery and business continuity services, to Phoenix IT Group plc (Phoenix), the UK 1T support services provider, for a cash...

Baring exits Allami.(EXITS)(Allami Nyomda)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Baring Corilius Private Equity (BCPE) has sold its stake in Allami Nyomda, a Hungarian printing company, back to management and its other major shareholder, Lang Biztonsagtechnologial Holding. BCPE is Baring Private Equity's central...

Ciao provides VCS with exit.(EXITS)(Ciao AG sold to Greenfield Online Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Index Ventures has sold Ciao, a Munich-based online survey company, to Greenfield Online, a US company, for US$154m (approximately 120m [euro].) Ciao was founded in 1999 and received start-up capital the same year from Hubert Burda Media and...

Barclays PE exits Cameca in secondary deal.(EXITS)(Barclays Private Equity and Perfectis Private Equity sells its stake in Cameca to Carlyle European Venture Partners)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Barclays Private Equity (BPE) and Perfectis Private Equity have sold Cameca, a French manufacturer of semi-conductor metrology equipment and scientific instruments, to Carlyle for an undisclosed sum. Carlyle and management now own a 100% stake....

Carlyle exits Apama.(EXITS)(Apama sold to Progress Software Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Carlyle has sold Apama, he UK headquartered nancial software company, to Progress Software Corporation (PSC) for around 22m [pounds sterling]. The return was not disclosed. Carlyle Europe Venture Partners first invested in Apama in February...

Bain exits Jack Wolfskin.(EXITS)(Bain Capital Inc. sells its stake in Jack Wolfskin to Quadriga Capital Management)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... US venture firm Bain Capital has sold Jack Wolfskin, a German manufacturer of clothing and equipment for outdoor activities, to Quadriga Capital. Financial details were not disclosed, although a figure of around 150m [euro] has been suggested....

Igeneon sold by VC backers.(EXITS)(Aphton Corp. acquires Igeneon AG)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Aphton Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company, has bought the venture-backed cancer vaccine developer Igeneon, based in Vienna, Austria. Igeneon received its first investment in 1999 from Novartis Venture Fund and 3i. In...

DEWB exits OASIS.(EXITS)(DEWB AG sells its stake in Oasis SiliconSystems Holding to Standard Microsystems Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... DEWB AG, the German technology investment fund, has sold its 17.5% stake in Oasis SiliconSystems Holding, a Karlsruhe-based optical networking developer, in a $94m (72m [euro]) deal. The sale to US company Standard MicroSystems Corporation...

Phoenix sells Mill House.(EXITS)(Mill House Inns Ltd)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Phoenix Equity Partners has sold Mill House Inns to its management in a secondary buyout transaction backed by the Bank of Scotland Corporate's Integrated and Acquisition Finance team. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed....

IDM exits in all share deal.(EXITS)(Immuno-Designed Molecules S.A. merges with Epimmune Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Immuno-Designed Molecules, the French biotech business, has merged with Epimmune, a US-based vaccine developer, less than a year after the company abandoned its attempt to float on the Paris Stock Exchange. The new company, to be called...

Gresham exits MSS.(EXITS)(MSS Inc. sold to Invacare Corp.)
May 1, 2005... Gresham has made a successful exit from MSS, a specialist in the development and manufacture of high quality foam pressure-reducing products for the healthcare market. The business has been sold to US-based Invacare. Gresham made a return of...

Datamars in secondary buyout.(EXITS)(Information technology services industry)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Iris Capital and Invision have led a consortium of investors in buying Swiss tech company Datamars from Innovent Capital and Zurmont Capital in a secondary buyout. The consortium of Iris, Invision, CornerstoneCapital and Universal Capital...

Bridgepoint sells Erftcarbon.(EXITS)(Tokai Carbon Company Ltd. acquires ERFT-CARBON)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Bridgepoint has sold its 85% shareholding in ERFT-CARBON, a German producer of graphite and carbon products, to Japanese company Tokai Carbon Co. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed and the deal is subject to final approval...

Hardide floats on AIM.(EXITS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Hardide, a provider of surface engineering technology, has floated on AIM with a market capitalisation of over 12m [pounds sterling]. Technology business angel network Oxfordshire Investment Opportunity Network (OION) helped secure 300,000...

El exits Orange Romania.(EXITS)(Enterprise Investors)(France Telecom S.A. acquires Orange Romania)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Enterprise Investors (EI) has realised its investment in ge Romania, the mobile telephone operator. The business has been sold to France Telecom, Orange's strategic investor and majority shareholder, for US$523m. The Polish Enterprise Fund,...

BC Partners to sell Polyconcept.(EXITS)(Investcorp Bank B.S.C. acquires Polyconcept USA)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Investcorp and Polyconcept management are to acquire Polyconcept from BC Partners in a secondary buyout transaction. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. The completion of the transaction is subject to antitrust...

Apax gets Molnlycke Health Care.(Nordic Capital, Apax Partners acquired)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Nordic Capital is selling M61nlycke Health Care to Apax Partners in a secondary buyout transaction. Financial details of the deal are undisclosed. Closing of the transaction is subject to the approval of European and US competition authorities....

PPM sells Astron Group.(EXITS)(R.R. Donnelley and Sons Co. acquires Astron Group)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... PPM Ventures has agreed the sale of The Astron Group, a document BPO provider, to RR Donnelley & Sons Company for 520m [pounds sterling]. The deal returns well over five times the original investment and represents PPM Venture's second...

Cinven sells Dynacast and McKechnie.(EXITS)(Melrose Resources PLC acquires Dynacast and McKechnie groups)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... AIM-listed investment company Melrose is acquiring the Dynacast and McKechnie groups from Cinven for 429m [pounds sterling]. Melrose will fund the reverse takeover through a share placing, which will raise around 200m [pounds sterling], placing...

Barclays sells DCK stake.(Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance acquires DCK-Concessions from Barclays Private Equity and Invex Capital )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Barclays Private Equity and Invex Capital have sold their stakes in DCK-Concessions to Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance in a 55m [pounds sterling] deal. The exit generated an IRR of 50% for Barclays Private Equity. The 44m [pounds...

CapMan sells Setec.(acquired Gemplus International SA )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CapMan has sold portfolio company Setec to a Luxembourg-based company Gemplus International SA, which is listed on Euronext Paris. The transaction value was for 30m [euro] and 19 million Gemplus shares at a value of 1.92 [euro] per share. ...

Flender exit for CVC.(Siemens acquires Flender Holding GmbH from CVC Capital Partners)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CVC Capital Partners has sold its interest in Flender Holding GmbH, a leading suppliers for gear systems, to Siemens for 1.2bn [euro]. In September last year, CVC Capital Partners was understood to be looking to sell the business and Kohlberg...

Strix sold to ABN AMRO Capital.(Montagu Private Equity)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Montagu Private Equity has realised its investment in kettle control manufacturer Strix Group Limited in a secondary buyout transaction to ABN AMRO Capital. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed. Montagu Private Equity invested in...

Partial exit for CapMan of Tamore.(Intressenter AB acquired )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CapMan has made a partial exit of its investee company Tamore by selling Tamore's business involved in the supply of school products, teaching aids and furniture for schools and kindergartens and publisher of digital and printed forms,...

Advent Int'l sells Aviagen.(Erich Wesjohann GmbH & Co KG acquires Aviagen International Group)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Advent International has sold Aviagen International Group to Erich Wesjohann GmbH & Co KG, currently a 21% stakeholder in Aviagen. The purchase price has not been disclosed. Advent International acquired Aviagen in May 2003 in a secondary...

IK sells Laho.(Barclays Private Equity acquires Industri Kapital from Laho Equipement)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Industri Kapital has sold its interest in Laho Equipement, the third largest construction equipment rental company in France, to Barclays Private Equity in a tertiary buyout. Unusually for a buyout where both buyer and seller is a private...

Partial exit for BC Partners.(acquires Partnerships in Care Limited from General Healthcare Group)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Cinven has agreed to buy the UK psychiatric care business, Partnerships in Care Limited, from General Healthcare Group, a BC Partners owned company, for 801m [euro] in cash. The investment comes from Cinven's third fund, the 4.3bn [euro] 2002...

Graphite sells Ridgmont.(Ashbourne Healthcare acquires Ridgmont Care Homes from Graphite Capital)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Graphite Capital has sold its interest in Ridgmont Care Homes to Ashbourne Healthcare for 88m [pounds sterling]. Graphite Capital bought a 78% holding in Ridgmont in 2001 when it backed the 17m [pounds sterling] secondary buyout led by Roger...

Charterhouse sells Tussauds.(Dubai International Capital acquires Tussauds Group from Charterhouse Capital Partners)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Charterhouse Capital Partners has sold its interest in the Tussauds Group to Dubai International Capital in a secondary buyout deal worth 800m [pounds sterling]. In 1998 Charterhouse Capital Partners (then known as Charterhouse Development...

Barclays PE & 3i sell stake in INBIS Group.(AssystemBrime SA acquired, Barclays Private Equity and 3i Group PLC)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Barclays Private Equity and 3i have sold their interest in INBIS Group, a provider of independent design and engineering support services in Europe, to AssystemBrime SA, a leading industrial engineering company based in France. No financial...

3i exits Morgan McKinley.(Imprint Search & Selection plc acquires)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... 3i has sold its stake in Morgan McKinley, a recruitment business, to London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market-listed Imprint Search & Selection plc for 24m [pounds sterling]. 3i has made 9.2m [pounds sterling] on the deal, with a...

Sigma Technology floats Vividas.(fionds raised)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Sigma Technology gained a rapid exit on its August 2003 investment in Vividas Group when Vividas listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market on March 31. Vividas raised 5.5m [pounds sterling] before expenses through an...

EQT sells Dometic in secondary deal.(BC Partners acquires)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... EQT has sold its interest in Dometic, the manufacturer of innovative leisure products such as refrigerators, awnings, air conditioners and stoves for caravans, campers and boats, to BC Partners in a secondary buyout worth 755m [pounds...

Bowmark out of Living Ventures.(Bowmark Capital)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Bowmark Capital, formerly known as Sagitra Private Equity, has sold its 30% interest in Living Ventures as part of a 26m [pounds sterling] deal between Living Ventures and The Restaurant Group. The deal has resulted in The Restaurant Group...

Normet sale.(Eqvitec Partners Oy, CapMan Oy)(acquisitions)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CapMan and Eqvitec have sold their interest in Normet Corporation, which they first acquired in 1999 from Orion Corporation. Terms were not disclosed, except to note that the company employee shareholders also sold their stakes alongside CapMan...

Captives and conflicts: JPMorgan's decision in March to spin off JPMorgan Partners is confirmation for some market observers that in-house private equity operations and banks do not mix. However, other institutions remain committed to direct investing and are successfully managing the potential client conflicts and earnings volatility that captive units can entail.(BUYOUTS)
May 1, 2005... The pace of bank exits from direct private equity investing has dramatically increased in the past two years, especially in the large cap end of the market. JPMorgan's revelation in March that it will spin off its private equity leviathan...

Euro buyouts break records.(mergers and acquisitions reports)(Illustration)
May 1, 2005... Europe's buyout market is booming and continues to break records, according to research published by the Centre for Management Buy-Out Research (CMBOR), which found 80.2bn [euro] worth of deals were undertaken in 2004, some 50bn [euro] of this...

Secondary LBO paper trades rationally.(BUYOUTS)(Leveraged buyouts)
May 1, 2005... Pricing monitored by ELLI, Standard & Poor's European Leveraged Loan Index, has found that trading in secondary paper is trading in line with ratings, such that BB credits are consistently being bid above B credits. While this might seem an...

SCM predicts record year for Euro buyouts.(BUYOUTS)
May 1, 2005... SCM Strategic Capital Management has predicted a record year for fired raising in 2005 with funds such as BC Partners, Bridgepoint, Candover, Cinyen, CVC, Electra, HgCapital and Montagu all in fund raising mode. SCM also predicts the five...

UK MBO market still buoyant.(market buyouts)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... There were 35 buyouts in Q1 2005 with a total value of E4.78bn, according to KPMG's Private Equity Group. Charles Milner, head of corporate finance at KPMG, said: "After the upturn in 2004, the market has now plateaued out at a healthy level of...

LBO syndications arranged March 16 to April 22.(leveraged buy out)
May 1, 2005... BCS (from Hogg Robinson) TARGET NATION: UK DATE ANNOUNCED: APRIL 7 DEAL TYPE: SECONDARY BUYOUT ACQUIRER: DUKE STREET CAPITAL TOTAL VALUE: 85M [pounds sterling] MAN DATED ARRANGERS: CALYON, SG FINANCING: N/K ...

Refinancings.(BUYOUTS)
May 1, 2005... Debenhams TARGET NATION: UK DATE ANNOUNCED: APRIL 8 ACQUIRER: CVC, MERRILL LYNCH PRIVATE EQUITY, TEXAS PACIFIC MANDATED ARRANGERS: CITIGROUP, CSFB, MORGAN STANLEY, MERRILL LYNCH FINANCING: 1.8BN [pounds sterling] TO 2BN...

Private equity-backed takeover subject to EU competition law.(BUYOUTS)(Astron Group)
May 1, 2005... Astron Group PRIVATE EQUITY BACKER: PPM VENTURES BUSINESS DESCRIPTION: DOCUMENT BPO PROVIDER DEAL VALUE: 520M [pounds sterling] NOTIFIED: N/K PROVISIONAL DEADLINE: N/K CLEARED: UNKNOWN AS YET PPM Ventures has...

EVCJ Awards 2004.(PEOPLE)(European Venture Capital Journal)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Jon Edington, 3i VC house of the year [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Maggie Morrissey, KPMG Private equity accountancy firm of the year [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] John Leach, Barclays Capital LBO debt provider of the year...

CBCF rebrands.(PEOPLE)(Close Brothers Corporate Finance)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Close Brothers Corporate Finance (CBCF) has appointed Mark Barrow as head of its Private Equity Coverage Group (PECG). Barrow is a director at Close Brothers and has eight years of experience in advising private equity groups. Recent deals...

Alvarez & Marsal recruits.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Alvarez & Marsal, the professional services firm, has named Peter A. Briggs, a managing director specialising in corporate restructuring and crisis management, as head of the firm's operations in Germany and Central and Eastern Europe. ...

PwC poaches Sprague.(PEOPLE)(Alison Sprague apointed at PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Dr Alison Sprague has joined PricewaterhouseCoopers from KPMG, where she led the information communications and entertainment media advisory team. Sprague joins Tom Hoehn, Brett Savill, David Lancefield and Bill Robinson as senior members...

Sofinnova mp.(PEOPLE)(Appointed Jean Schmitt to managing partner)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Sofinnova Partners has appointed Jean Schmitt to managing partner. Schmitt, 39, joined Sofinnova Partners' Information Technology team as a partner in December 2001. He is particularly interested in opportunities in new technologies in the...

Cipio Partners appts.(PEOPLE)(Cipio Partners)(Appointments)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Cipio Partners has made three appointments to the Munich office. Roland Dennert and Fabian Ruechardt have been recruited as principals and Gerhard Miller as an associate. Dennert has over six years of experience in private equity, leading...

ABN AMRO promotes.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... ABN AMRO Capital has made two senior promotions within its UK business, with Paul Southwell appointed as deputy chief executive and Paul Moxon appointed director. Southwell has 15 years' experience in the UK private equity industry and was...

Hicks Muse appts.(PEOPLE)(Hicks Muse (Europe))(Appointments)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Hicks Muse (Europe) has appointed Javier Ferran and George Sewell as directors. Prior to joining Hicks Muse (Europe), Ferran, a Spanish national, held several senior positions at Bacardi Group for 20 years, looking after the group's key markets...

Partners Group in London.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Partners Group has opened its new office in London. Erik Kaas, member of the executive board of Partners Group and head of markets is the partner in charge of the London office. Prior to joining Partners Group in 2001, Kaas spent eight years at...

Nikko appts.(PEOPLE)(Appointed Mark Gomar as principal)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Nikko Principal Investments Limited, the European proprietary investment arm of Nikko Cordial Corporation, has appointed Mark Gomar as principal. He will take prime responsibility to develop NPIL's investment activities in continental Europe....