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• UK’s Duke Street buys majority holding in Payzone 08 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. UK private equity firm Duke Street has acquired a 69 per cent stake in Payzone Group, a European consumer payments acceptance network, in a €104m deal.

• Bridgepoint acquires chemical analysis company LGC for £257m 08 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. UK private equity house Bridgepoint has acquired LGC, a provider of chemical and biological analytical services and reference materials, from LGV Capital for £257m (€292.8m).

• Matrix Private Equity Partners expands team with new investment manager 08 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Small London-based buy-out specialist Matrix Private Equity Partners has expanded its team with the appointment of Christopher Price, who joins the firm from Foresight Group as an investment manager.

• Montagu lines up €2bn BSN Medical IPO 08 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. European mid-market firm Montagu Private Equity is eyeing an initial public offering for German bandages maker BSN Medical that values the company as high as €2bn, according to the Financial Times.

• CITIC Capital raises $925m for second Chinese buy-out fund 08 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Private equity house CITIC Capital Partners - a division of China’s leading financial conglomerate, CITIC Group – has closed its second China buy-out fund on $925m.

• Asia’s Affinity looks to raise its largest buy-out fund 08 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Asia-focused private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners is planning on a new multi-billion-dollar buy-out fund to take advantage of more deals in the region, according to Reuters.

• Moulton makes maiden Better Capital deal 08 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Private equity veteran Jon Moulton has completed the first deal of his new turnaround firm Better Capital by acquiring aerospace components supplier Gardner Group from rival Carlyle for £20m (€22.8m).

• Permira agrees on debt restructure for Borsodchem 08 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Permira, a UK buy-out firm, has agreed terms with China’s Wanhua Industrial over a restructuring of Hungarian chemicals company Borsodchem’s €1.1bn debts, according to the Financial Times.

• LDC leads UK mid-market growth table 05 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has been ranked as one of the most successful mid-market private equity firms in the UK at growing its companies. Ten of the firm’s portfolio companies made a league table of 100 mid-market private equity-backed companies in Britain with the fastest rate of growth, according to results compiled by Deloitte and the Sunday Times.

• India’s Ascent Capital collects $350m for first fund since spin out 05 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Ascent Capital Advisors India has closed its Ascent India Fund III on $350m, which it will invest in growth capital opportunities, according to VCCircle.

• Terra Firma in crisis as EMI makes £1.5bn loss 05 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Terra Firma’s EMI woes have deepened with the publication of the UK record company’s accounts for the year to March 2009 reportedly revealing losses of £1.5bn (€1.7bn), representing one of the largest ever losses for a private equity-backed company.

• Energy-focused PE firm Riverstone closes $200m offshore wind energy deal 05 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Riverstone Holdings, an energy and power-focused private equity firm, has completed the acquisition of offshore wind farm servicer Seajacks International, paying $207m from its most recent renewables fund.

• Investors commit $60m to MicroVest fund to benefit working poor 05 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. MicroVest Capital Management has closed MicroVest II, a private equity fund targeting microfinance institutions worldwide. The fund, which closed on $60m and began investing in early 2009, will serve as a capital intermediary between investors and financial institutions that serve the working poor.

• Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund takes off with Gatwick stake 05 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund has acquired a stake in London’s Gatwick airport, according to reports. The state fund is said to have acquired a 15 per cent stake in the airport from owners Global Infrastructure Partners, the independent fund that acquired Gatwick for £1.5bn (€1.7bn) in October last year.

• Adams Street hires Coller Capital principal 05 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Diversified private equity player Adams Street Partners has hired Pinal Nicum, who joins from the industry’s biggest secondaries player, Coller Capital. Nicum is now a partner in Adams Street’s London office, working in the firm’s secondaries team.

• Blackstone, Resolution mull RBS branches bid 05 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. US private equity giant Blackstone and FTSE 100-listed turnaround investor Resolution Group are in the running to join National Australia Bank in a possible bid for 318 Royal Bank of Scotland branches which are being sold off, according to reports.

• Cinven, Debenhams boss line up £500m DFS bid 05 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Cinven has teamed up with Rob Templeman, the boss of UK department store chain Debenhams, to consider a £500m (€574m) bid for Britain's biggest sofa chain DFS, according to the Daily Telegraph.

• Morgenthaler Ventures hires Nobel Laureate to identify life sciences investments 04 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Morgenthaler Ventures, which is currently investing from its ninth venture capital fund, has added Nobel Laureate Thomas R Cech as a special adviser to its life sciences team.

• Climate Change Capital backs solar silicon slurry recycler Metallkraft with €10m 04 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Climate Change Capital Private Equity (CPE), a €200m fund dedicated to investments in clean technology companies, has led a convertible bond issue in Metallkraft, a Norwegian company that has developed a patented process to recycle spent slurry used in cutting solar silicon wafers.

• LensVector focuses on expansion with $30m venture backing 04 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. LensVector Inc, a maker of solid-state optical components for camera phones, laptops and other consumer electronics, has closed $30m in a series C financing round, bringing the total financial backing of the company to more than $50m. Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) led the new funding and joins existing investors Menlo Ventures, Samsung, Silicon Valley Bank, Mitsui and Kodak.

• IPEV elects chairman for second term 04 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. The International Private Equity & Venture Capital Valuations Guidelines (IPEV) board, a body that sets guidelines for valuing private equity portfolios, has elected Herman Daems to run a second term as chairman.

• Scope steps in to €7m insole company investment 04 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Swedish private equity company has invested €7m into Footbalance System, a Finnish producer of customised insoles.

• Dragon invests in Medical recruitment company BIMBO 04 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Hamilton Bradshaw, the staffing and real estate-focused private equity firm founded by Dragons’ Den star James Caan, has backed the buy-in management buy-out (BIMBO) of medical recruitment company DRC Group. The transaction, which was initiated by Hamilton Bradshaw managing director Tristan Ramus, involves the firm combining with DRC’s current management team, led by CEO Imraan Ladak, to acquire 90 per cent of the business.