Private equity firm 3i invested GBP59m during the fourth quarter, bringing the total investment in the nine months to 31 December 2009 to GBP249m. Of this investment, GBP111m was invested in the existing portfolio and the balance related primarily to capitalised interest.  Investment for the equivalent nine month period in

The Palestine Investment Fund and private equity group Abraaj Capital have completed the first closing of a USD50m private equity fund dedicated to Palestine. The private equity fund will focus on investing in small and medium-sized enterprises in Palestine across a range of sectors and stages of maturity. Abraaj is

Axiom Asia Private Capital Management Services has completed the final closing on its second fund, Axiom Asia Private Capital Fund II. The fund’s total investor commitments of USD950m represent the maximum amount the fund could raise under agreement with its investors and exceeded the initial target of USD750m. The fund

The economic downturn of 2009 severely impacted the US fundraising industry, with the amount of time taken to raise a fund increasing to an average of 18 months, twice as long as in 2005, according to a report by C.P. Eaton. More general partners remained on the road seeking a

Microvisk Technologies, a developer of patented technology for monitoring blood coagulation for patients taking the drug Warfarin, has raised GBP2m from three new investors and current private and institutional investors. Based in Wales, and originally a spin-out company of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, Microvisk became an independent company

Hutton Collins Partners has refinanced its portfolio company Windsor Limited, a Lloyds insurance broker.  The new senior debt facilities, provided by Clydesdale Bank, have enabled Windsor to repay the substantial majority of the capital used to finance the management’s take-private of the company in 2007.  Hutton Collins, which provided GBP15m

Private equity house GI Partners has backed the launch of Elystan Capital Advisers, a Munich-based investment firm targeting mortgage backed assets and the mortgage banking sector in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. GI Partners will provide investment capital from its recently closed third fund, GI Partners Fund III, which closed at

The Receivables Exchange, an online marketplace for real-time trading of accounts receivable, has closed USD17m in series C financing led by Bain Capital Ventures, with additional commitments from existing investors Redpoint Ventures and Prism Ventureworks. The Receivables Exchange pioneered the online receivables financing marketplace in 2008 with the launch of

A group of investors comprising eVenture Capital Partners, Holtzbrinck Ventures and Rocket Internet have invested EUR4m in mycitydeal.co.uk. The site offers internet users the ability to combine their group buying power to obtain offers on local activities, restaurants and nights out at low prices. The business is being introduced to

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Jonathan Grayer, former chairman and chief executive of Kaplan, have launched Weld North. Weld North will identify acquisition opportunities and invest in and operate a variety of businesses in the consumer services, education, media, personal services and marketing sectors, among others. Grayer (pictured) served as chief