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• EMI chief executive to leave 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Elio Leoni-Sceti, chief executive of troubled record label EMI, is to step down at the end of this month. The turnaround specialist was brought in to head the company in July 2008 by private equity owner Terra Firma, and will be replaced by current non-executive chairman Charles Allen.

• Goldman Sachs China chairman quits to launch PE fund 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. One of Goldman Sachs’ most senior dealmakers is stepping down to launch a multi-billion dollar China-focused private equity fund, according to Reuters. Fred Hu, a 13-year veteran of the Wall Street Bank, is to retire as partner next month, but will stay on with the firm in an advisory capacity.

• Battery Ventures hits target with $750m 11 Mar 2010. Source: Assets. Tech-focused venture capita firm Battery Ventures has closed its ninth fund, BV IX, on its $750m target. This brings total committed capital in Battery’s nine funds to nearly $4bn.

• Long-term European private equity performance remains robust 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Short-term horizons for private equity and venture capital performance have registered a slight improvement, while long-term returns enjoyed by investors remain robust, according to data for 2009 compiled by Thomson Reuters in association with EVCA.

• Creandum hires ex-Balderton Capital general partner 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Nordic venture and growth capital firm Creandum has brought Johan Brenner, previously a general partner at Balderton Capital, into the fold as a venture partner.

• Ten years to invest buy-out houses’ $500bn 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Buy-out firms may have to wait up to ten years to invest the $500bn in investor commitments they are sitting on if deals continue at the current rate, according to Bloomberg.

• Bain Capital’s Sensata in $569m IPO 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Sensata Technologies Inc, a maker of sensor and controls technology used by high-profile companies such as Ford and Samsung, has raised $568.8m from its initial public offering, with shares to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange tomorrow.

• European PE investment in 2009 down 71 per cent on boom of 2007 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Last year was a period of internal diligence and stewardship for the European private equity and venture capital industry, as investors concentrated on supporting existing portfolio of companies against a backdrop of recession and macro-economic uncertainty.

• US Treasury Secretary Geithner blasts EU regulation 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has warned the European Commission that plans to regulate the private equity and hedge fund industries could put up barriers between the continent and the US, according to the Financial Times.

• Cartilage treatment business Carticept gets $20m 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Carticept Medical Inc, a developer of products for the treatment of cartilage injuries and osteoarthritis, has completed a $20m series B financing round. New investor SonoSite Inc, a medtech company in the ultrasound space, joined return venture capital investors Domain Associates and New Enterprise Associates.

• New Enterprise Associates adds Ron Bernal as venture partner 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. New Enterprise Associates (NEA), the technology-focused venture capital firm which raised $2.5bn earlier this year, has appointed industry veteran Ron Bernal as a venture partner. In this new role, Bernal, a former entrepreneur-in-residence with NEA, will work with the firm’s enterprise infrastructure and services, electronics and energy technology teams.

• PE firms line up for UK greetings card company 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Permira, Cinven, Summit Partners and Warburg Pincus are among the private equity firms bidding for UK greeting cards retail chain Card Factory in a deal that could fetch £400m (€438.9m), according to reports.

• Citadel Capital appoints CEO for financial platform company 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. North African private equity firm Citadel Capital has appointed City of London investor Amr Seif as CEO of Finance Unlimited, its regional financial services platform investment.

• Carlyle to seek $1bn buyer for defence and aviation company Arinc 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. US private equity firm Carlyle is seeking buyers for defence and aviation company Arinc in a sale that could fetch $1bn, according to reports.

• Another exec leaves Wilshire Private Markets 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Wilshire Private Markets’ CIO Jeff Ennis has resigned, with the private equity fund of funds halting fundraising, a report by consultant Hymans Robertson has revealed.

• Limited partners warn EU over regulation 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. An investor association whose members hold over $1tr in private equity assets under management has warned EU regulators that proposed regulatory measures could close Europe off from international private equity and severely limit the prospects of European firms.

• Apollo to buy Citigroup’s real estate division 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. US private equity firm Apollo Management has agreed to purchase the real estate investment division of financial services giant Citigroup, according to Bloomberg.

• GMAC CFO heads to Providence Equity Partners 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Providence Equity Partners, a global private equity firm specialising in media, entertainment and communications investments, has hired former GMAC executive vice president and CFO Robert Hull. He will join Providence as CFO, succeeding Raymond Mathieu, who will become a managing director focused on special projects.

• SiBEAM raises $36.5m to take wireless chipset mainstream 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. California-based semiconductor company SiBEAM Inc has closed $36.5m in series D funding led by Foundation Capital. The financing will be used to push its 60 GHz wireless chipsets into the mainstream marketplace while funding future projects and further expansion.

• Biopharma company Genticel receives €13.1m to treat cervical cancer 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. French biopharmaceutical company Genticel, formerly known as BT Pharma, has secured €13.1m in funding to develop its immunotherapeutic treatments for cancers caused by the human pipillomavirus (HPV). Investors included IRDI, Amundi Private Equity Funds and InnoBio fund (CDC enterprises), in the round led by AGF Private Equity.

• UK waste management company rejects Carlyle's bid 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Sales talks between US buy-out giant Carlyle and UK private waste treatment company Shanks have broken down after the private equity firm’s 120 pence per share bid was rejected.

• Advent International poaches Carlyle investor relations executive 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Private equity firm Advent International has bolstered its ability to service investors with the hire of Robert Brown, a former managing director of Carlyle’s North American fundraising and investor relations.

• Israeli venture firm launches six new yuan funds 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Israeli venture capital firm Infinity has launched six new yuan-denominated funds through its China-Israel Infinity-I China unit in the latest example of the country's allure.