The energy transition powered a recovery in European venture capital in the first quarter of 2024, as investors directed more funds to startups focused on solving the climate crisis, according to Dealroom’s Europe Q1 report.

US middle-market private equity firm Vestar Capital Partners has closed a $1.2bn single-asset continuation vehicle for its stake in Circana, a global consumer behaviour adviser, with Blackstone Strategic Partners and HarbourVest Partners acting as lead investors in the transaction.

Concord, a US investment group backed by Apollo Global Management, has raised its bid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund to $1.5bn, surpassing a competing offer from Blackstone and initiating a bidding war, according to a report by the Financial Times.

Funds advised by private equity firm Triton have agreed to sell EQOS, a European specialty installation and service company providing critical infrastructure, to Eiffage Énergie Systèmes, part of French construction group Eiffage. 

IK Partners’s IK Partnership II Fund has acquired a minority stake in A-SAFE, a UK designer, manufacturer and distributor of industrial polymer safety barrier systems, from the company’s management team, led by Co-CEOs James and Luke Smith. 

Manchester-based private equity firm Palatine has exited specialist fleet solutions provider NRG Riverside via a sale of the business, following significant investment in its people and operations, to Astatine Investment Partners, a specialist PE investor focused on infrastructure investments.

Private equity firm PAI Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Audiotonix, a UK designer and manufacturer of professional audio mixing consoles and equipment, from Ardian, who will retain a minority stake alongside management. 

Investment funds managed by global private investment firm KKR will acquire Immedica Pharma, a Swedish pharmaceutical company focused on the commercialisation of medicines for rare diseases and specialty care products.