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Weekly Deals and Funds Roundup: 9 July 200809/07/2008. Source: AltAssets. 
 A selection of the latest deals and funds news from across the globe - essential reading for those who need to keep up-to-date with the industry's key developments.
DEALS
Biopharmaceutical company Pearl Therapeutics has completed an $18m round of financing. This financing was executed as an extension to its first venture financing, which closed in May 2007. Participating in the round were Pearl's existing investors venture capital firms Clarus Ventures, New Leaf Ventures, 5AM Ventures as well as Nektar Therapeutics. In total, Pearl has raised $36.4m of venture and other funding.
21 Investimenti has organised an LBO for a majority stake in Italian packaging and graphics businessGPP. This transaction will be the first investment from the firm's newly formed Fund, 21 Investimenti II. GPP specialises in folding carton packaging, promotional displays and visual communication. The company generated revenues of approximately €50m in 2007, according to a statement. The firm has also agreed to spin-off the Italian ball valves division of the Velan Group. The company, renamed Valbart, is an Italian manufacturer and distributor of trunnion mounted ball valves for the oil and gas, petrochemical and power generation industries.
AXA Private Equity has agreed to sell French mayonnaise and specialty sauce manufacturer Bénédicta to ketchup giant H. J. Heinz Company. Financial terms were not disclosed. AXA acquired the company in July 2005. Bénédicta was the first to introduce table-top mayonnaise in France in 1957, followed a few years later by other varieties of sauces. In April of this year, AXA closed its AXA LBO Fund IV on €1.6. Bénédicta employs 235 people at three sites in France: Seclin, Pont-de-Briques and Rueil-Malmaison.
Wellington Partners has invested over $17m in German online gaming site GameDuell This Series B funding will be used to accelerate the company's international expansion into other European countries and the US, according to a statement. GameDuell has more than 200 media partnerships. The Berlin-based company currently employs 80 people and plans to double the workforce in the coming months. Wellington has $1.2bn under management and operates out of offices in London, Munich, Palo Alto and Zurich. The firm invests in sectors including IT, media convergence, cleantech and life sciences.
The Ventus Funds, managed by Climate Change Capital, the UK investment banking group dedicated to the low carbon economy, is to make a substantial investment in PBM Power, a company that generates electricity from waste. The investment is a £4.8m joint venture between Mid-UK Recycling, Bioflame and the Ventus Funds. The proceeds of the investment will be used to construct a 2.5 MW energy-from-waste power generation facility located on land owned and managed by Mid-UK Recycling located at Caythorpe in Lincolnshire, UK. Electricity generated from the site is expected to be equivalent to that consumed by approximately 4,200 homes. The Ventus funds are a group of three Venture Capital Trusts: Ventus VCT, Ventus 2 VCT and Ventus 3 VCT. The three funds have aggregate capital in excess of £37m.
Biopharmaceutical company ApaTech completed a $45m fundraising. The proceeds of the round, led by 3i and new venture investor HealthCor Partners, are to be invested in additional commercial resources, further clinical and new product development and a significant expansion of manufacturing capacity. ApaTech was built around bone graft technology developed at Queen Mary University of London. Technology venture capital investor MTI has returned its investment in ApaTech by selling a part of its stake. MTI has backed ApaTech since it led the Series B round in April 2004, with investments totalling £4.55m, working alongside 3i.
Finnish private equity investor Sentica Partners is acquiring industrial insulation manufacturer Arme from Panostaja, for an enterprise value of €25.5m. The CEO of Arme, Jukka Pyykönen, will remain as a shareholder with a 20 per cent stake in the company. In 2007 Arme generated net sales of €22m and employs some 250 people including subcontractors. Sentica manages funds totalling some €160m.
US mid-market firm Olympus Partners has acquired snack food company Ann's House of Nuts. Founded in 1988, Olympus invests across a broad range of industries, including healthcare services, financial services, consumer products and business services. The firm manages over $3bn on behalf of corporate pension funds, endowment funds and state-sponsored retirement programs.
Masdar Clean Tech Fund and Virgin Green Fund Have acquired DuraTherm, a petroleum and metal recycling business based in Texas. Financial terms were not disclosed. DuraTherm addresses a variety of waste streams, including oil-contaminated drill cuttings, refinery wastes, petrochemical wastes, hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, spent catalysts and other petroleum-compatible residuals. The Masdar Clean Tech Fund is a $250m investment vehicle made up of commitments from Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Consensus Business Group, Credit Suisse and Siemens. Virgin Green Fund has been established to invest in companies in the renewable energy and resource efficiency sectors, primarily in the US and Europe, targeting expansion and growth capital opportunities.
European private equity firm Waterland Private Equity Investments has acquired a majority stake in German golf facility GolfRange. GolfRange serves over 55,000 customers in nine locations in seven German cities. Waterland is active in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany with €1.4bn under management. The firm focuses on consolidation strategies, investing in fragmented growth markets in the services sector that are undergoing transformation as a consequence of one or more of the following trends: outsourcing and efficiency, aging population, leisure and luxury and sustainability. The firm operates from offices in Bussum, Antwerp and Düsseldorf.
Social advertising business Xtract has closed its Series B round of funding with €7.5m from Nordic early stage technology investors Creandum, ETF III advised by Eqvitec Partners and InnovationsKapital. In May of this year Nordic technology investor Creandum invested €3.5m in Xtract, alongside Eqvitec.
German private equity firm ECM Equity Capital Management has acquired, together with management, Swiss potato-based food company KADI Financial terms were not disclosed. The company has a workforce of some 170 people and reported revenues in excess of €34m in 2007. ECM manages the German Equity Partners private equity funds with aggregated equity commitments in excess of €450m. The investment focus of the firm is on mid-sized companies in the manufacturing and service sectors and the retail trade.
US private equity firm Kohlberg & Company has agreed to acquire the automotive glass and services business from specialty materials manufacturer PPG Industries for $330m. Following the deal a new company will be formed, which will be majority owned by Kohlberg, with PPG taking a 40 per cent stake. The automotive glass and services business supplies automotive windshields, windows, sunroofs and assemblies for auto and truck manufacturers, and it supplies and distributes replacement automotive glass products for use in the aftermarket. It also provides insurance claim services through its LYNX Services subsidiary, glass management software through its GTS subsidiary, and e-business solutions through its GLAXIS division.
The Riverside Company has acquired SPX Air Filtration Limited, a subsidiary of SPX Corporation. The company manufactures and distributes a broad range of air filtration, primarily in Europe. The transaction is the sixth of the year for the Riverside Europe Fund III and the 15th overall for Riverside in 2008.
German private equity firm bmp has led a third financing round for digital media advertising business nugg.ad, together with European Founders Funds and VC Fonds Technologie and existing investors bmp Media Investors and Media Ventures. Following the round, the stake in the company held by bmp Media Investors will amount to 18.88 per cent.
Norwegian private equity firm Norvestor Equity, through its Norvestor V fund has agreed to acquire 70 per cent of the Wema Group, the holding company of Wema System, Wema International and Wema Overseas. Wema supplies diesel and AdBlue level sensors to the heavy truck industry. The company had turnover of NOK240million (€30m) in 2007, according to a statement. Norvestor invests in growth companies in Norway and the Nordic region.
Cologne-based private equity firm Argantis has acquired a majority stake in Frostkrone Engel-Food Tiefkühlkost GmbH in Rietberg and Frostkrone Tiefkühlkost Produktions- und Vertriebsgesellschaft through an MBO. The company's revenues in 2007 totaled €30m, according to a statement.
Growth capital firmFTVentures has invested $14.4m inWelton Street Holdings, the parent company of Welton Street Investments and Welton Street Advisors. Welton Street Holdings specialises in the development, distribution and asset management of tax-efficient real estate investment products. The growth equity investment will be used to expand the distribution of the Life Income Funds of America and Tenant-in-Common securities, according to a statement. FTVentures invests in software and business services companies.
FUNDS
InReturn, a joint venture of Dutch and Kenyan enterprises, and Dutch development organisation Cordaid have launched a new investment fund. InReturn East Africa Fund I will invest in about 20 SMEs in East Africa. Lead investor Cordaid committed €2m and fund manager InReturn committed €300,000 to the fund. The total fund size will be at least €10m and is the first public-private investment fund with Cordaid as a social investor and InReturn as fund manager and investor.
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