News Archive: May 2006

InnovationsKapital hires Martin Falkevall as investment director
31/05/2006. InnovationsKapital, a start-up and early stage venture capital firm in the Nordic region, has appointed Martin Falkevall as an investment director in their information and communication technology team based in Stockholm, Sweden.

Private equity consortium and management propose to take Kinder Morgan private
31/05/2006. Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, American International Group, The Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings, together with members of Kinder Morgan's management team, have submitted a proposal to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Kinder Morgan at a price of $100 per share in cash.

Bridgepoint buys Italian perfumery chain Limoni
31/05/2006. Pan-European private equity firm Bridgepoint has acquired Italian perfumery chain Limoni through a management buy-out involving its founder Piofrancesco Borghetti.

Thomas H. Lee Partners, Quadrangle Group to recapitalise West Corporation
31/05/2006. An investor group led by Boston, Massachusetts-based Thomas H. Lee Partners and New York City-based Quadrangle Group has agreed to recapitalise outsourced communication solutions provider West Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, all stockholders except Gary and Mary West, the founders of the company and chairman and vice chairman of the board, respectively, will receive $48.75 per share in cash.

German firm firstVentury equity appoints David Hartford as managing partner
30/05/2006. David Hartford has been named a managing partner of Heidelberg, Germany-based venture capital firm firstVentury Equity. In his new role Hartford will be responsible for managing firstVentury's US portfolio companies. He will be based in San Francisco.

Advent leads buy-out of Mexican discount retailer
30/05/2006. Mid-market buy-out firm Advent International has led the leveraged acquisition of discount clothing retailer Controladora Milano, for $200m. The acquisition was funded with $110m of equity and $90m of debt.

US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman to acquire Gartmore
26/05/2006. San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman and members of Gartmore's fund management and executive team have agreed to acquire Gartmore Investment Management from Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Financial details were not officially disclosed but various reports suggested that the deal was worth just under £500m.

3i invests in Mayborn
26/05/2006. European private equity and venture capital company 3i has agreed a recommended offer for Mayborn Group, a manufacturer and distributor of baby and household products. The offer values Mayborn's equity at £116.3m (enterprise value: £137m).

J.L. Albright Venture Partners completes second closing for Fund IV
25/05/2006. Toronto and Montreal-based venture capital firm J.L. Albright Venture Partners' new fund, J.L. Albright IV Venture Fund, has held a second closing on Can$108.5m. The final closing is scheduled for September 2006, the firm said in a statement.

Brian Goffman joins US venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group as venture partner
25/05/2006. Brian Goffman has joined Seattle, Washington-headquartered venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group as a venture partner. Madrona is a firm focused on building emerging technology companies in the Pacific Northwest. Goffman was most recently an executive at Microsoft and a principal at Austin Ventures.

US private equity firm Sentinel Capital Partners acquires Interim HealthCare
25/05/2006. Sentinel Capital Partners has acquired Interim HealthCare, a Sunrise, Florida-based provider of home healthcare and supplemental healthcare staffing services. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

CLSA Capital Partners closes Aria Investment Partners III on $330m
25/05/2006. CLSA Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Asia's brokerage and investment bank CLSA, has closed its third domestic consumption fund, Aria Investment Partners III, on $330m. Initially, the firm targeted a fund size between $250m and $300m.

Diamond Castle to acquire NES Rentals in $850m transaction
25/05/2006. New York-based private equity firm Diamond Castle Holdings has agreed to acquire NES Rentals Holdings, an aerial and general equipment rental and traffic safety services provider, in a transaction valued at approximately $850m including the assumption of certain liabilities.

PAI partners to acquire AMEC SPIE in €1bn transaction
25/05/2006. European private equity firm PAI partners has agreed to acquire AMEC SPIE from AMEC for an equity value of approximately €1.04bn.

Intersouth Partners raises $275m fund
25/05/2006. US venture capital firm Intersouth Partners has raised its seventh fund, Intersouth VII, totalling $275m. The firm said that this was the fund's first and final closing.

Carlyle to sell Rexnord Corporation to Apollo for $1.8bn
25/05/2006. US private equity giant The Carlyle Group and the management of Rexnord Corporation have agreed to sell Milwaukee, Wisconsin-headquartered Rexnord to Apollo Management for $1.825bn. The transaction is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2006.

New Enterprise Associates names Patrick Kerins general partner
24/05/2006. US-based firm New Enterprise Associates has appointed Patrick Kerins as general partner. Kerins joins NEA's technology team focusing on information technology investments with particular emphasis on enterprise software, network infrastructure and internet companies. He will work primarily from the firm's Virginia office.

SpaceVest Capital renames itself REDSHIFT Ventures
24/05/2006. SpaceVest Capital has renamed itself REDSHIFT Ventures. The firm will continue to invest in companies that are commercialising advanced technologies including wireless, networking, microelectronics and software applications for high growth markets.

Music publishing veteran Leslie Bider joins Elevation Partners
24/05/2006. Leslie E Bider, former chairman and CEO of Warner/Chappell Music, has joined Elevation Partners as their new executive-in-residence. Bider will assist the firm in evaluating investments, primarily in the music industry and related areas, and he may become involved in the management of any investments the firm makes in this sector.

Christopher Perriello joins Paul Capital Partners
23/05/2006. Christopher Perriello has joined Paul Capital Partners as a principal in the firm's New York Office. Perriello will focus on investing in private equity firms, contributing to all aspects of manager selection, due diligence and the structuring of investments.

UK firm Doughty Hanson to acquire Ireland's TV3
23/05/2006. UK-based private equity firm Doughty Hanson & Co has agreed to acquire 100 per cent of Ireland's commercial television channel TV3 from existing shareholders CanWest, ITV and a consortium of private investors. The transaction values TV3 at €265m. Doughty Hanson will invest €140m of equity.

State of Maryland Venture Fund names Christopher McCleary to board of advisors
23/05/2006. The State of Maryland Venture Fund has appointed Christopher McCleary, director at Ohio-based venture capital firm Blue Chip Venture Company, to its board of advisors and investment committee.

Updata Partners appoints Greg Olear as vice president, finance
23/05/2006. US technology venture capital firm Updata Partners has appointed Greg Olear as vice president, finance. Olear joins Updata Partners from Digital 5, where he served as vice president of finance.

Ron Heinz and Brandon Tidwell to join Canopy Ventures Investments
22/05/2006. Ron Heinz and Brandon Tidwell have joined Canopy Ventures. Canopy Ventures has appointed Ron Heinz as executive manager and Brandon Tidwell will act as general counsel and director of finance.

OVP Venture Partners VII holds first closing on $207m
22/05/2006. US early-stage venture capital firm OVP Venture Partners has held a first closing on OVP Venture Partners VII with $207m of committed capital. The original target of the fund was $200m. A final closing is expected later this year.

3i sells stake in Tensar to US-based Tensar Corp.
22/05/2006. 3i has sold its minority stake in engineering solutions provider Tensar, to US-based Tensar Corp. in a £68m deal. 3i will receive proceeds of £22m which represent a three times money multiple, according to the firm.

Clairvest completes second closing of new $300m private equity investment pool
22/05/2006. Clairvest Group Inc. has announced it has completed the second closing of Clairvest Equity Partners III Limited Partnership.

Private equity consortium buys VNU
22/05/2006. Valcon Acquisition, a company controlled by AlpInvest Partners, The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group, Hellman & Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Thomas H. Lee Partners, has declared its public offer for media giant VNU unconditional after 78.70 per cent of VNU's share capital was tendered or committed during the acceptance period that ended on 19 May 2006.

Advent International acquires RWE Solutions Group from RWE
19/05/2006. Mid-market buy-out firm Advent International has agreed with RWE Energy to acquire RWE Solutions Group. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Parag Saxena, Alessandro Piol, Howard Goldstein launch Vedanta Capital
19/05/2006. Venture capitalists Parag Saxena, Alessandro Piol and Howard Goldstein, formerly of Invesco Private Capital, have launched Vedanta Capital.

Carlyle raises $436m mezzanine fund
18/05/2006. US private equity giant The Carlyle Group has raised $436m for its first fund dedicated to mezzanine investments. Carlyle Mezzanine Partners was set up to invest in debt and equity securities of third-party leveraged buy-outs, recapitalisations and growth financings.

Peter Bell joins Highland Capital Partners as venture partner
18/05/2006. Venture capital firm Highland Capital Partners has appointed Peter Bell as a venture partner. In his new role, Bell will identify investment opportunities and lead investments in the technology sector.

Spur Capital Partners closes $200m fund of funds
18/05/2006. Spur Capital Partners has closed its second fund of funds on $200m. The firm initially targeted a fund size of between $175m and $200m. The first closing was held on $148m in October 2005.

European venture capital fundraising down on quarter and year
18/05/2006. European venture capital firms raised €470.7m in nine funds in the first quarter of 2006, according to Dow Jones VentureOne. The Q1 total was only about half the amount raised in the first quarter of 2005 (€913.3m) and 42 per cent down from the €807.4m raised in Q4 2005.

Riverside closes healthcare and technology-focused private equity fund on $225m
17/05/2006. Riverside Partners has closed its third private equity fund, Riverside Fund III, on $225m. The target of the fund was $175m.

One Equity Partners to sell US company Progress Rail to Caterpillar
17/05/2006. One Equity Partners, a private equity affiliate of JPMorgan Chase & Company, has agreed to sell Progress Rail - an Albertville, Alabama-based supplier of aftermarket services to the railroad industry - to Caterpillar.

Parallel Investment Partners closes $231m fund
17/05/2006. Dallas, Texas-headquartered Parallel Investment Partners has closed its second fund, the Parallel 2005 Equity Fund, on $231m. Parallel will use the fund to invest in recapitalisations, growth-capital investments and opportunistic buy-outs involving privately held companies.

Venture capital firm Truffle Venture hires Mark Bivens as investment manager
17/05/2006. Mark Bivens has joined European venture capital firm Truffle Venture as investment manager. Bivens will work with general partner Bernard-Louis Roques on venture investments in the IT sector.

German private equity fundraising and investment up in Q1 compared to a year ago
17/05/2006. German private equity firms raised more capital and invested more capital in companies in the first quarter of 2006 than in the first quarter of last year, according to the German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association BVK.

Key Principal Partners holds first closing of KPP Investors III on $435m
17/05/2006. Cleveland-based private equity firm Key Principal Partners has announced the first closing of KPP Investors III on $435m. The hard cap of the fund will be $500m. KPP expects to close the fund in the third quarter of this year.

Canada's TorQuest Partners closes second private equity fund on $550m
17/05/2006. Canadian private equity firm TorQuest Partners has closed its second fund, TorQuest Partners Fund II, on Can$550m.

Blackstone closes $1bn mezzanine fund
16/05/2006. US buy-out giant The Blackstone Group has closed its latest mezzanine fund, Blackstone Mezzanine Partners II, with available capital of $1.06bn, bringing the total mezzanine funds under management to $1.6bn.

Natural Gas Partners hires Mark Doering as venture partner
16/05/2006. Private equity firm Natural Gas Partners has appointed oil and gas entrepreneur Mark A Doering as a venture partner.

Carlyle, Oranje-Nassau Groep to acquire Dutch Stahl Holdings
16/05/2006. US private equity giant The Carlyle Group and Dutch investment firm Oranje-Nassau Groep, wholly owned by the French-listed investment group WENDEL Investissement, have agreed to acquire Netherlands-headquartered Stahl Holdings from Investcorp. The value of the transaction is approximately €520m.

PPF Investments appoints new CEO
15/05/2006. PPF Investments has appointed Michal Šušák as its new CEO. Šušák joins from Credit Suisse where he was a managing director in its investment banking division.

European venture capital investment tops €1bn in Q1
15/05/2006. In the first quarter of 2006 venture capital investment in Europe grew to €1.02bn from €999m in Q4 2005. This was the largest aggregate investment in Europe in four quarters, according to the European Venture Capital Report released by Dow Jones VentureOne and Ernst & Young. The Q1 2005 figure was €1.04bn.

CMEA Ventures hires John Haag as CFO and COO
15/05/2006. CMEA Ventures, a US venture capital firm focusing on information technology, life sciences and alternative energy companies, has appointed John L Haag as chief financial officer and chief operating officer.

Industri Kapital acquires Minimax from Investcorp
15/05/2006. European private equity firm Industri Kapital has agreed with Investcorp to acquire Minimax, a Germany-headquartered full service provider of fire protection systems and services. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Norwegian firm Norvestor Equity closes Norvestor IV on €167m
12/05/2006. Oslo-based Norvestor Equity has closed its fourth fund, Norvestor IV, on €167m. Commitments came from Norwegian and international investors, including DnB NOR, Telenor, KLP, Gjensidige and Bear Stearns.

European venture capital firm GLSV hires Dr McCormack and Dr Jung
12/05/2006. Global Life Science Ventures has hired Dr Stephen McCormack as principal and Dr Kuno Jung as investment manager. Both served as CEOs of biotech and medtech companies immediately before joining GLSV. Dr McCormack and Dr Jung will be based in Zug, Switzerland.

AGF Private Equity hires Thierry Laugel
12/05/2006. AGF Private Equity, a subsidiary of the AGF insurance company, member of the Allianz Group, has appointed Thierry Laugel as partner within the venture capital team where he will work in the field of life sciences.

Willis Stein & Partners to sell Baker & Taylor for $455m
12/05/2006. Chicago-based Willis Stein & Partners has sold its portfolio company Baker & Taylor to a company organised by Castle Harlan. The transaction is valued at approximately $455m.

Mark Barrenechea to join US firm Garnett & Helfrich Capital
11/05/2006. US firm Garnett & Helfrich Capital has appointed Mark J Barrenechea, executive vice president and chief technology officer for technology company Computer Associates, as a director. In his new role Barrenechea will help expand the firm's investments into Europe and Asia in the emerging segment of venture buy-outs.

Value of VC investments in Canadian companies up in Q1, fundraising declines
11/05/2006. In the first quarter of this year the total reported investment made by venture capital funds into Canadian companies amounted to $390m, up 13 per cent from the $344m in Q1 2005, according to Canada's Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and CVCA research partner Thomson Macdonald. However, the number of transactions declined to 165 this quarter from 179 transactions during the first quarter of last year.

UK private equity firm Gresham appoints Mike O'Brien as investment executive
11/05/2006. UK mid-market private equity firm Gresham has appointed Mike O'Brien as an investment executive in the investment team. Gresham has separate investment and portfolio teams.

Lehman Brothers reportedly plans to raise $3bn fund
11/05/2006. Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking, part of the private equity business of global investment bank Lehman Brothers, targets $3bn for its next fund, sources told Reuters.

US Tennenbaum Capital Partners hires Stephen Moyer
10/05/2006. Santa Monica, California-based firm Tennenbaum Capital Partners has appointed Stephen G Moyer as a director. Moyer was previously director of research at Imperial Capital, where he focused on high yield, distressed, convertible, bank debt and equity securities.

Industri Kapital sells Enermet Group to Bayard Group
10/05/2006. Industri Kapital, Fortum Oyj and MB Funds have agreed with Bayard Group to sell Finland-headquartered Enermet Group for an enterprise value of approximately €90m.

Waterland closes third mid-market fund on €400m
09/05/2006. Waterland Private Equity Investments has closed its latest fund, Waterland Private Equity Fund III, on €400m, the hard cap of the fund. WPEF III launched in November 2005 with an initial target of €300m.

Millennium Technology Value Partners closes new technology venture capital fund
09/05/2006. Millennium Technology Value Partners has closed its latest fund on $130m, above the original target size of $100m. TVP is the fourth fund in the Millennium family of private equity funds.

PAMA to merge into Asian operations of EMP Global
09/05/2006. Washington, DC-based emerging markets specialist EMP Global has acquired a stake in the PAMA Group. EMP will merge the PAMA organisation with its own to develop a new pan-Asian private equity business in the buy-out and growth capital areas, focusing on the middle market.

Partners Group closes Partners Group European Mezzanine 2005 above target on €265m
08/05/2006. Zug, Switzerland-headquartered alternative asset manager Partners Group has closed its Partners Group European Mezzanine 2005 fund on €265m, the hard cap of the fund. The original target size was €200m.

Germany's VCM Capital Management hires Peter Schwanitz
08/05/2006. Germany and US-based fund of funds manager VCM Capital Management has appointed Peter Schwanitz as a managing director. Schwanitz will be responsible for the buy-out segment and, due to his institutional background, will also work on institutional marketing and client relationships.

3i hires Akshaya Bhargava to head new focus on outsourcing
08/05/2006. 3i has appointed Akshaya Bhargava to build a new team to focus on a two-pronged strategy of identifying investment opportunities and leverage offshore business process outsourcing for its portfolio companies.

Rutland floats H&T Group on AIM with enterprise value of £91.9m
08/05/2006. UK private equity firm Rutland Partners has realised its investment in H&T Group for cash through an AIM listing. The enterprise value of H&T on flotation is £91.9m and the market capitalisation is £54.2m.

US firm ComVentures appoints Rodi Guidero as chief counsel
05/05/2006. US early stage communications venture capital firm ComVentures has appointed Rodi Guidero as chief counsel. Guidero will be responsible for managing the structure and execution of ComVentures' investments and investment liquidity. He will also oversee the firm's general legal affairs.

Synesis Life secures backing from Warburg Pincus, RBS, JPMorgan
05/05/2006. Synesis Life, a provider of solutions to the pension and annuity liabilities marketplace, has secured financial backing from Warburg Pincus, Royal Bank of Scotland and JPMorgan.

Spire Capital Partners forms Ariston Global Partners
05/05/2006. New York-headquartered private equity firm Spire Capital Partners has partnered with Steve Dubnik and Kevin Dickens to form Ariston Global Partners. Dubnik and Dickens are co-CEOs of Ariston.

Private equity consortium ups bid for Dutch media giant VNU
05/05/2006. The private equity consortium trying to buy Haarlem, the Netherlands and New York, US-headquartered media giant VNU has increased its offer price from €28.75 to €29.50 per common share. The offer price per preferred share has been increased from €13 to €21. The new aggregate value of the transaction is approximately €8.7bn, including net indebtedness.

US venture capital funds raise 69 per cent more capital in Q1 06 than in Q1 05
04/05/2006. US venture capital firms raised $4.26bn in the first quarter of this year, a 69 per cent increase over the $2.52bn raised in the first quarter of 2005, according to Dow Jones VentureOne. However, the amount also represented a 40 per cent decrease from the 7.13bn raised in Q4 2005.

AGF Private Equity hires Jean Plamondon as investment director
04/05/2006. Jean Plamondon has joined AGF Private Equity, a subsidiary of the AGF insurance company, member of the Allianz Group, as investment director within the fund of funds team. Plamondon will be active in primary and secondary fund investments and co-investments in LBOs.

HgCapital sells Travelsphere for £144m
03/05/2006. HgCapital, the European sector-focused private equity investor, and other shareholders, have sold Travelsphere Holdings to Electra Partners Europe for a total consideration of £144m. Following the sale, HgCapital's investment in Travelsphere will have returned £50.1m to clients, according to HgCapital.

Nautic Partners acquires Big Train company
03/05/2006. Nautic Partners, in partnership with Big Train management, has acquired Big Train, a Foothill Ranch, California-headquartered manufacturer and distributor of powdered and liquid beverage products. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Australia's CHAMP Ventures closes new fund above target on Aus$300m
03/05/2006. CHAMP Ventures, the mid-market private equity specialists of the CHAMP Group, has closed its new fund, CHAMP Ventures Investment Trust Numbers 6A and 6B, on Aus$300m. CHAMP Ventures was originally targeting A$250m.

Montagu Private Equity to acquire LOGSTOR from Axcel, Polaris and FIH
03/05/2006. Pan-European buy-out firm Montagu Private Equity has agreed to acquire Denmark-headquartered LOGSTOR from Danish industrial investment company Axcel, Danish private equity firm Polaris Private Equity and Danish bank FIH.

Candover expands team to develop its pan-European business
03/05/2006. European buy-out specialist Candover has appointed Humphrey Cobbold, currently director of strategic development at Trinity Mirror, as origination director, with responsibility for coordinating Candover's deal sourcing activities.

Chrysalis closes $300m fund
02/05/2006. Chrysalis Capital Partners, a US firm focused on distressed and special situation investments, has closed its first institutional fund, Chrysalis Capital Partners, on $300m, the hard cap of the fund. The fund was launched in autumn 2004 with an original target of $200m.

SV Life Sciences hires David Guyer and Bruce Peacock as venture partners
02/05/2006. Life sciences-focused venture capital firm SV Life Sciences Advisers has appointed Dr David R Guyer and Bruce A Peacock as venture partners, based on the East Coast.

Media buy-out specialist VSS closes fourth fund on $1.3bn
02/05/2006. Media buy-out firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson has closed its fourth private equity fund, VSS Communications Partners IV, on $1.3bn. The fund was oversubscribed, VSS said in a statement.

Lazard Private Equity withdraws support for Waterstone's bid
02/05/2006. HMV Group has confirmed that Lazard Private Equity 'has withdrawn its support for Tim Waterstone's attempt to acquire Waterstone's'. Lazard Private Equity and Tim Waterstone offered to pay £280m (equivalent to approximately 70p per HMV share) for the books retailer.