European Venture Capital Journal articles from September 2008

European Venture Capital Journal archives from September 2008

The post-holiday blues: as GPs pile back into the office, the market is so quiet, they might as well still be on vacation.(EDITOR'S NOTE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With the summer drawing to a close, European private equity professionals are returning from holiday to find the industry in much the same shape as when they left it, with the economy probably even worse, and there...

Lion gobbles up FoodVest.(LONDON)
September 1, 2008... FoodVest has become one of the UK's largest leveraged buyouts of 2008 to date when it was bought by London-based Lion Capital for 1.1bn [pounds sterling] from CapVest. FoodVest was formed in 2006 when CapVest combined portfolio businesses...

Arcapita buys warehouse logistics business in 500m [euro] secondary deal.(PARIS)
September 1, 2008... Bahrain-headquartered investment firm Arcapita Bank is to acquire Compagnie Europeenne de Prestations Logistiques (CEPL), a warehouse logistics service provider, from French buyouts house Sagard and the current management, for a reported 500m...

3i in largest Spanish deal of the year.(MADRID)
September 1, 2008... Spanish construction company Acciona agreed to sell its 75% stake in funeral service company Memora Inversiones Funerarias to UK-based private equity firm 3i. The deal value is undisclosed but reports have revealed Memora was given an...

Carlyle in US$3.5bn sale.(MOSCOW)
September 1, 2008... Russian steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel has signed an agreement to buy the steel pipe and tube manufacturer John Maneely Co. from a shareholder group including private equity firm The Carlyle Group for US$3.53 bn. The deal is subject to...

Fending off the "locusts".(BERLIN)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The German cabinet has approved a new law that will protect German industries from so-called "giant locust funds" that are swarming in from Russia, China and the Middle East. The contentious law will enable Germany to stop foreign investors...

Advent sells rail giant Axtone.(WARSAW)
September 1, 2008... Buyout group Advent International has agreed the sale of Polish-based Axtone, Europe's largest rail freight buffer manufacturer to Pan-European private-equity firm IK Investment Partners, for an undisclosed sum. Axtone is the result of the...

Permira flies off with 4x return.(ZURICH)
September 1, 2008... US defence group and maker of Gulfstream business jets, General Dynamics is to buy Zurich-based business aviation services group Jet Aviation for SFr2.45bn in cash (1.5bn [euro]) from Permira, the UK private equity group. The acquisition...

The drugs don't work: the cocaine of private equity has long been blown away, so what can a struggling company do if its needs to juggle its debt or if its private equity backers want to free up some capital?(NEWS ANALYSIS)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Not so long ago, recapitalisations were described as the cocaine of private equity by Carlyle's David Rubenstein. In the feverish atmosphere of the credit boom, recaps were the industry's favourite and easiest way to...

Infrastructure needs investment: specialist funds have raised over US$13bn so far this year as private money continues to pour into the sector.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
September 1, 2008... The infrastructure market is the top of its game in 2008. UK research house Private Equity Intelligence (Preqin) has published a report which reveals that the infrastructure market has grown almost ten-fold in the past four years. This...

Turkish private equity market hit by political crisis: in February BC Partners Led the largest LBO in Turkish history when it acquired supermarket chain Migros in a US$3.2bn deal. One alleged coup later and its prospects as an emerging market have been severely dented.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
September 1, 2008... A few months ago it seemed that private equity in Turkey was beginning to emerge as a legitimate asset class, with six deals completed until July, compared to four for the whole of 2007 according to Thomson Reuters data. On paper, the country...

Credit crunch sends UK mid-market crashing into the buffers: malaise not limited to the upper end as deal flow dries up down market and firms struggle to adjust to the new banking environment.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
September 1, 2008... Until early May there was a widespread belief that mid-market buyouts were somehow going to be immune to the credit crunch. The creed, tinged with schadenfreude about the plight of mega buyouts, was dependent on the fact banks still seemed to...

Out of Ireland: for years an insular market, Irish venture capital is making the first steps towards internationalisation as it comes out of its latest fundraising cycle.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
September 1, 2008... Ireland's venture capital funds have been raising flesh capital over the last year at levels never previously witnessed, thanks largely to the driving force of government agency Enterprise Ireland, which has made available 175m [euro] in public...

Amsterdam-based outfit close to Advang sale.(EGERIA HITS 500m [euro])(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Dutch mid-market buyout firm Egeria has raised its third fund, Egeria III, at its hard cap of 500m [euro], with interest from both existing and new investors taking it well past its predecessor fund size of 140m [euro]. The oversubscribed...

Kennet closes on 200m [euro]: UK technology specialist opens fund with two investments.(GROWTH CAPITAL)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kennet Partners, the technology growth equity investor, closed its third fund, Kenner III, at over 200m [euro], surpassing the 135m [euro] raised by its predecessor fund. The new fund, which is the company's...

Nordic mid-market fund raises 236m [euro]: Norvestor Equity attracts 30 investors to fifth vehicle.(CLOSE)(Norvestor Equity)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Norwegian mid-market player Norvestor Equity has closed Fund V on 236m [euro], almost 80m [euro] more than its predecessor. Norvestor V raised capital from more than 30 investors, both new and existing, both Nordic and international. The...

Access Capital beats target: French fund-of-funds raises 425m [euro] for fourth fund.(CLOSE)(Access Capital Partners)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Paris-based fund-of-funds manager Access Capital Partners has closed its Fund IV Growth Buyout Europe at 425m [euro], exceeding its initial target of 300m [euro]. The vehicle will seek opportunities in private equity funds that invest in...

Earlybird closes fourth fund at 127m [euro]: German early-stage investor misses target.(VENTURE)(VC Earlybird )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... German VC Earlybird has achieved a final closing of its new fund Earlybird IV on 127m [euro]. The firm attracted interest from a number of new institutional investors, including Japanese gas group Osaka Gas, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority...

BaltCap sells IT group.(TECHNOLOGY)
September 1, 2008... Baltic private equity house BaltCap has sold its stake in Lithuania-based IT Protraining Group to Estonian IT business MicroLink Eesti. The deal involves MicroLink acquiring an 83% equity position in the business, which sees management...

Aberdeen makes 1.8x.(SECONDARY BUYOUT)
September 1, 2008... Scottish private equity firm Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has sold portfolio company ID Support Services Holdings (IDSSH) to Penta Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount. The sale has earned Aberdeen a 1.8x return, and an IRR...

Astorg buys Photonis.(NIGHT VISION)
September 1, 2008... Paris-headquartered investor AXA Private Equity has agreed the sale of night vision specialist Photonis to French private equity firm Astorg Partners for an undisclosed sum. Astorg will become Photonis's majority shareholder alongside the...

Barclays stakes out travel.(MID-MARKET)
September 1, 2008... Mid-market private equity firm Barclays Private Equity is to acquire a majority stake in travel company ATP International Group from Lloyds Development Capital (LDC) for 73m [pounds sterling]. LDC backed a 36m [pounds sterling] management...

Healthy buyout by Advent.(CARE)
September 1, 2008... Buyout group Advent International acquired Craegmoor Healthcare Group from LGV Capital. Advent will immediately allocate 13m [pounds sterling] for a capital expenditure programme primarily targeted at improving Craegmoor's existing care...

Lion gobbles up FoodVest in 1.1bn [pounds sterling] secondary buyout: CapVest sells frozen food specialist after 2006 merger.(SECONDARY BUYOUT)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lion Capital, the London-based private equity firm is to acquire FoodVest Group in one of the largest LBOs of the year for a sum of 1.1bn [pounds sterling] from UK buyouts house CapVest. FoodVest was formed in...

Allianz makes safe sale: BARTEC acquired by Swiss mid-market outfir for 300m [euro].(TECHNOLOGY)
September 1, 2008... Swiss private equity firm Capvis has acquired the majority stake of safety technology company BARTEC from Allianz Capital Partners for an undisclosed sum, with reports suggesting a figure around 300m [euro]. German-based BARTEC was acquired...

Sagard and Arcapita in 500m [euro] deal: biggest transaction in France sells warehouse logistics operator in CEPL.(SECONDARY)
September 1, 2008... Bahrain-headquartered investment film Arcapita Bank is to acquire Compagnie Europeenne de Prestations Logistiques (CEPL), a warehouse logistics service provider, from buyouts house Sagard and the current management. Although the value of...

Advent sells rail giant Axtone: sector leader sold to IK Investment Partners.(POLAND)(IK Investment Partners)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Buyout group Advent International has agreed the sale of Polish-based Axtone, a rail freight buffer manufacturer, to IK Investment Partners, for an undisclosed sum. Axtone was created through the merger of two Advent portfolio companies,...

Arcapita buys Freightliner.(SECONDARY BUYOUT)
September 1, 2008... UK private equity houses Electra Partners and 3i have sold UK industrial transportation company Freightliner to Arcapita, the Baharain-based investment firm, in a deal worth 434m [euro]. Electra made 71.1m [pounds sterling] from the sale of...

CapMan exits Spintop.(TECH)
September 1, 2008... Helsinki-headquartered alternative asset manager Capman has announced the sale of its stake in Swedish IT company Spintop Net-solution to Atea Sverige, a Swedish provider of infrastructure solutions and products and part of the Nordi Ementor...

Riverside exits IndustrieHansa.(AUTOMOTIVE)
September 1, 2008... Mid-market private equity firm The Riverside Company has sold its investment in IndustrieHansa Engineering and Consulting, to the German automotive and aerospace industries, Findos Investor, a mid-market private equity fund backed by German...

Silverfleet sells TMF for 750m [euro].(ACCOUNTANCY)
September 1, 2008... London-headquartered mid-market private equity firm Silverfleet Capital, formerly PPM Capital, is to make 6x return on the sale of Dutch accountancy TMF to Doughty Hanson and the management and founder shareholders of the business. The...

Smedvig sells Nordic bakery.(FOOD)
September 1, 2008... London-based private equity company Smedvig Capital has made a 10x return on the sale of Almondy, a bakery business to Swedish private equity company Segulah.

China beats the drum: the Beijing Olympics shows that China knows how to put on a show. But can China live up to the hype that it is the leading emerging market for private equity?(FEATURE: CHINA)(Cover story)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] China has changed beyond recognition since former premier Deng Xiaoping cautiously started to lift the "bamboo curtain" in the 1978. Many country's 1.3 billion inhabitants have embraced capitalism with gusto and...

Capitalism Chinese style: the People's Republic has long been receptive to Western economic ideas, and is turning to the British as it looks to establish a private equity market.(FEATURE: CHINA)
September 1, 2008... China's government is frequently lambasted in the West for its authoritarianism, its track record on human rights and its mistreatment of dissidents. However in the economic sphere, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has shown a remarkable...

Going green: climate change, energy costs and sustainability have become vital issues for businesses across the globe. Patrick McCurry looks at how European environmental due diligence is being shaped by commercial and regulatory pressures.(FEATURE: ENVIRONMENTAL DUE DILIGENCE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In May this year buyout giant KKR announced a partnership with non-profit organisation the Environmental Defense Fund to help the private equity house improve the environmental performance of its portfolio companies....

Trouble in the East: while carrying out environmental due diligence in Western Europe is generally a well established process, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) offers a different challenge.(FEATURE: ENVIRONMENTAL DUE DILIGENCE)
September 1, 2008... With increasing investment going into CEE businesses, environmental issues are often of crucial importance, not least given the lack of attention paid to industrial sites during the Communist era. Contaminated land and groundwater are...

The mother of opportunity: "there are bargains to be had," says Colin Wimsett, managing partner at Pantheon Ventures.(PROFILE)
September 1, 2008... Pantheon Ventures is a London-headquartered fund-of-funds manager that currently has over US$24bn in assets under management, offering investors regional offerings for the US, European and Asian markets, as well as a global secondary vehicle...

The reign of the sovereigns: sovereign wealth funds have emerged a legitimate force on the financial arena, but opinion is divided over whether they will be a force for good or a challenge to private equity in the battle for assets. Rob Stokes investigates.(LP ANALYSIS)
September 1, 2008... A group of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) is scheduled to gather in Chile in September to finalise a voluntary code of practice that could go some way to answering fears that they are Trojan horses for foreign governments bent on taking control...

When socialists attack: calls for a unified regulatory body for private equity and a cap on leverage by Danish MEP Poul Nyrup Rasmussen sparked uproar.(LEGAL AND REGULATORY)
September 1, 2008... As they packed up and headed for their holiday villas this July, Europe's legislators may have had a faint sense of unease at one piece of unfinished business. Proposals to introduce stricter regulation to the private equity and hedge fund...

EVCA overhauls board.(TRADE ASSOCIATION)
September 1, 2008... The European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA) has unveiled 11 new members of its board of directors, replacing current members who have either reached the end of their tenure or are stepping down. The new directors are...

Weinberg adds to RE team.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] French private equity firm Weinberg Capital Partners has appointed Yann Ballan as vice-president with responsibility for the acquisition and management of real estate assets. He will work alongside Laurent Halimi,...

SGAM recruits alternatives investment head.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Societe Generale Asset Management (SGAM) has named Olivier Leclerc as CEO of its subsidiary, SGAM Alternative Investments. Leclerc started his career at INSEE (French National Institute for Statistics and...

Kenmore expands Stockholm branch.(PEOPLE)(Kenmore Property Group appoints Jonas Ramstedt )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kenmore Property Group has hired Jonas Ramstedt as investment manager of its Stockholm office. His primary responsibility will be to identify and undertake new investments in the Nordic region. Ramstedt joins...

Inflexion names Grice as Pims chairman.(PEOPLE)(Ian Grice)(Inflexion Private Equity)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] UK mid-market house Inflexion has appointed Ian Grice as chairman of Pims Group, a UK market leading waste water support services company. Inflexion led the MBO of the Group in March 2008. Grice has extensive...

Ernst & Young builds restructuring group.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lee Watson has joined Ernst & Young Restructuring as a partner, joining after 12 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He will be primarily focused on advising lenders across a range of UK and European restructuring...

ORIX opens in London.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... US venture debt provider ORIX Venture Finance has opened its London office, appointing Rob Young as principal to lead the firm's European venture lending effort. He will work closely with Henry O'Connor, managing director in the Washington, DC...

Carlyle adds MD to financial services team.(PEOPLE)(James F. Burr )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... US private equity outfit the Carlyle Group has installed James F. Burr as a managing director in the firm's global financial services group. He will be based in New York City. He joins from Wachovia Bank, which he joined in 1992 and has...

Nordic Mezzanine hires analyst in Finland.(PEOPLE)(appointment of Linnea Karlsson )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Linnea Karlsson has joined Nordic Mezzanine's Helsinki office as an investment analyst. Her main task is analysing the target companies during the due diligence process. Prior to joining Nordic Mezzanine, she was with ProMan Oy, a corporate...

Citadel opens in Dubai.(PEOPLE)(Citadel Capital)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The former European head of private placements for Citigroup Stephen A. Murphy is to head up the new Dubai office of Middle Eastern private equity firm Citadel Capital. The office will be a subsidiary called Citadel Capital Institutional...

AXA looks to Swiss market.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Paris-head-quartered private equity firm AXA Private Equity has opened a new office in Zurich in response to private equity investment opportunities among investors in the Swiss market. The Zurich office will...

Capital Dynamics opens office in Munich.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Capital Dynamics, the private equity fund of funds manager, has opened an office in Munich following increased demand from German investors in products and services offered by the firm. The office is being headed up by one founders of...

GE Real Estate names European MD.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GE Real Estate has appointed Thierry Leleu as managing director, Europe for its new global investment management platform. Leleu has been GE Real Estate's European General Counsel since April 2006 and has been...

Rutland adds.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... UK mid-market firm Rutland has recruited Kajen Mohanadas to its investment team. Mohanadas joins from CIBC World Markets where he was an investment banking analyst. Before that he worked in Ernst & Young's transaction advisory services...

Advent adds to tech team.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... UK venture capital firm Advent Venture Partners has appointed Mike Chalfen as a general partner in the technology team, joining Peter Baines, Frederic Court and Martin McNair. Chalfen was previously at Apax Partners where he was a partner...

Wellington sparkles in Silicon Valley.(US MOVE)(Company overview)
September 1, 2008... German VC Wellington Partners has appointed Eric Ly, the co-founder Linkedln, as a venture partner. Based in Silicon Valley, he will help Wellington in the area of Internet services, with particular emphasis on social networking and social...

Landsbanki opts for kindness in London.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Asset manager and leveraged finance provider Landsbanki Commercial Finance has relocated business development director Neil Kindness to its London office. Kindness is a 25 year veteran in the asset based lending...

Sovereign in triple hire.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] UK buy & build specialist Sovereign Capital, the UK private equity buy & build specialist, appointed Taha Hasan as an investment manager and Tom Matthews as investment executive. Hasan joins from Summit Partners...

DN Capital moves State side to California.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... London-headquartered venture capital firm DN Capital has opened an office in Palo Alto, California in the US to help European portfolio companies expand into the US. Steve Schlenker, managing partner and co-founder of the VC house, which...

Leverage veteran hired by Impetus Trust.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] John Leach, a former head of Barclays Capital's European sponsor coverage business, has been named as an investment director of venture philanthropy organisation, Impetus Trust, for whom he will work on a pro bono...

GIMV hires partner.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... Belgian private equity firm GIMV has appointed Hansjorg Sage as partner and head of the information & communication technology team in German speaking countries. Sage was formerly a director in 3i's global venture capital team where he...

Palamon adds partner.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... Mid-market player Palamon Capital Partners has appointed Jonathan Heathcote as a partner. He joins from European Acquisition Capital, where he spent nine years, ending his time there as a partner. Prior to this he was a senior engagement...

Nova in double promotion.(PEOPLE)(Nova Capital Management promoted Kathryn Jones and Llewellyn John)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Nova Capital Management, the specialist acquirer of private equity and corporate portfolios, has made two promotions over the summer, with Kathryn Jones and Llewellyn John being made associate partners. Since...

Inflexion ring the changes.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... Inflexion Private Equity, the UK mid market private equity firm, has appointed two new members to its investment team and made three internal promotions. Andrew Leek has been appointed as assistant director, and joins from Alchemy Partners...

Lincoln strengthens M&A team in London.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... US mid-market investment bank Lincoln International has installed Julian Tunnicliffe as managing director of industrials M&A in the London office. Before joining Lincoln, he headed the European industrial and environmental technologies...

Gottlieb gets into Hotbed.(PEOPLE)(appointment of Julius Gottlieb)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Private investor syndicate Hotbed has named Julius Gottlieb, director of project finance at Lend Lease, as a non-executive director. Gottlieb was until recently finance director at Morley Fund Management and was...

Investec unveils double hire.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Specialist bank Investec Investment Bank and Securities has made two appointments over the summer: Gareth Taylor has joined as a director in the corporate finance division to lead Investec's coverage of private...

Octopus recruits.(PEOPLE)(Octopus Investments Ltd appoints Matthew Setchell )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Octopus Investments Ltd, a UK alternative investment specialist, has hired Matthew Setchell as investment manager. Reporting directly to Stuart Nicol, director of Intermediate Capital, Setchell will be tasked with...

Squire Sanders strengthens Moscow team.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... Law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey has a new face in its Moscow office following the appointment of associate Anatoly Gakenberg, who joins from Israeli legal outfit Kuzin, Gakenberg, Berezovsky, where he was a partner. Gakenberg joins...

NVM names new financial controller in Newcastle.(PEOPLE)(NVM Private Equity Limited)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Small cap private equity investor NVM Private Equity Limited has recruited David Inman as financial controller, based in its Newcastle Office. Inman replaces Mauro Biagioni who has moved to the role of investment manager in the firm's Reading...

Aurora Russia hires Deloitte CIS veteran.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... Aurora Russia Limited, the AIM-quoted investment vehicle focused in Russian SMEs, has named Dan Collinson Koch as a non-executive director. He is currently the chairman of Deloitte & Touche CIS, having held positions as CEO and managing...

Permira names China head.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] UK LBO giant Permira has made Henry L. Chen head of Greater China. He will be responsible for running the firm's new Hong Kong office and for developing Permira's activities in the region. Chen spent nine years...

PE ignores financial sector: economic turmoil the perfect time to invest.(DATA ROOM)
September 1, 2008... The investment potential of financial services providers is being ignored by private equity says data published by German research and consultancy house, the Center of Private Equity Research (CEPRES). Looking at 21,000 private equity...

Wanted: Chinese funds: investors looking for local GPs are being forced to turn to European firms with Chinese presence.(DATA ROOM)
September 1, 2008... European LPs are struggling to commit to Chinese private equity despite the vast majority expecting their allocations to increase. In a survey by Epiven, a European private equity advisory firm specialising in China, 88% of limited partners...

Eastern European fundraising up 300%: emerging markets report identifies top markets.(DATA ROOM)
September 1, 2008... The amount of private equity money heading towards Central and Eastern Europe increased by 300% in 2007 according to analysis from Swiss alternative asset advisory firm Strategic Capital Management (SCM). In an exclusive for EVCJ, the...

North West market plummets: region experiences worst quarter for three years.(DATA ROOM)(Financial report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The second quarter of 2008 has seen the North West UK private equity market drop to half of what it was in the first quarter of this year. It is the most dismal result since the fourth quarter of 2005 according to CMBOR, a provider of analysis...

LBO syndications arranged.(BUYOUTS)
September 1, 2008... Advang Holding TARGET NATION: NETHERLANDS DATE ANNOUNCED: 17/07/08 ACQUIRER: LION CAPITAL TOTAL VALUE: UNDISCLOSED ARRANGER: RABOBANK FINANCING: 190M[euro] Lion Capital has mandated Bank of Ireland, Barclays and...

Refinancings.(BUYOUTS)(Three Delta)
September 1, 2008... 20:20 Mobile TARGET NATION: UK DATE ANNOUNCED: 04/07/08 SPONSOR: DOUGHTY HANSON ARRANGER: RBS FINANCING: 45M [pounds sterling] 20:20 Mobile Group has completed its financial restructuring. The restructuring includes...

Seeking buyers.(Table)
September 1, 2008... Seeking buyers includes listings of all European companies that have announced plans since June 17, 2008 to August 19, 2008 to sell divisions, stakes or their entire company. It also includes purported sales efforts that have appeared in the...

Announced deals.
September 1, 2008... Announced deals includes listings of private equity and venture capital transactions involving European targets announced between June 18, 2008 and August 20, 2008. The listings are ordered by target nation, and alphabetically and have been...

Private equity lessons: Orit Gadiesh, chairman of the management consultancy Bain & Company, and Hugh MacArthur, the leader of Bain's global private equity practice, explain why the way private equity firms respond to market and economic uncertainties is instructive throughout the business cycle.(COMMENT)
September 1, 2008... With credit markets in turmoil, announcements of big new private equity (PE) deals that dominated business headlines in recent years have slowed to a trickle. But the slumping economy is making the powerful, if less-heralded, disciplines the...

Editor's note.(Editorial)
September 1, 2008... Dear Readers, The European Venture Capital Journal has been producing a support services supplement for many years. This is the first year that this special report has been distributed to the readers of its sister titles VCJ and BUYOUTS...

American offshoring: US PE firms' appetitie for outsourcing rises.(UNITED STATES)(Company overview)
September 1, 2008... The economic benefits of specialisation have been understood ever since the pre-financial era of barter. In today's globalising economy, specialisation in the form of outsourcing is taking ever more complex shapes, as the multiple factors of...

SS&C takes on the giant's back office so that it can focus on 'core' activites.(CASE STUDY)
September 1, 2008... The hundreds of billions of dollars handled by the many manufacturing, investment and asset management teams under the General Motors umbrella are subject to extensive outsourcing programmes. Indeed the company has been a pioneer in adopting...

A focused & niche market approach still works: Executive Chairman of IPES on boutique administrators.(SPONSORED ARTICLE)
September 1, 2008... IPES was the first administrator to offer a truly niche market service provision for private equity houses when it started up operations in 1998. The industry has grown and developed but basically clients are still looking for the same varied...