Investors are looking forward to 2010 as a year of moderate economic growth, benign inflation and solid returns in global equities, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch survey of fund managers for December. Optimism about the economy strengthened this month. A net 80 per cent of respondents expect the world

RLJ Equity Partners has acquired a significant ownership interest in LAI International, a manufacturer of precision engineered components for a variety of industries including power generation, aerospace and defence, and healthcare. The announcement, in partnership with Spell Capital, comes five months after the close of RLJ Equity Partners Fund I

Colony Capital and Eurazeo have welcomed the decision of Accor’s board of directors to approve the plan to separate the group’s two businesses, hotels and prepaid services, into two independent listed entities. Each entity will have its own strategy and benefit from the resources necessary for its own development. Eurazeo

Characterised by election fever, 2010 will see changes to the flow of funds, an increase in the use of Ucits wrappers by hedge funds and an opportunity for growth with defined contribution pensions, according to Tom Brown, European head of investment management at KPMG. Brown says there is a risk

Edhec-Risk Institute has launched a risk and investment management programme after a survey found that further education was needed to close the gap between real-word practice and research. The Executive MSc in Risk and Investment Management will provide experienced practitioners with a 17-month part-time programme. It builds on the results

Four Seasons Group, an air conditioning building services group, has acquired JCW for an undisclosed sum. JCW is a heating, ventilation and air conditioning business operating in the UK from the South West across to Cambridgeshire. Barclays Ventures made an initial investment in Four Seasons Group in May 2007 and

HarbourVest Global Private Equity, a closed-end investment company listed on Euronext Amsterdam, saw a 6.2 per cent increase in its net asset value in November.  The estimated NAV at 30 November 2009 is USD696.9m or USD8.40 per share, compared with USD7.91 per share at 31 October 2009. The previous month

Matrix Private Equity Partners has funded the GBP12m management buyout of CB Imports, a UK importer and distributor of artificial flowers and floral sundries.  This is the fourth transaction that Matrix has completed since the summer, following the MBO of Westway Cooling and the realisations of Tottel Publishing and Pasta

Benson Elliot Capital Management, a private equity real estate firm, has completed a EUR6m office-to-hotel conversion programme at the Deutsch-Japanisches Center in Düsseldorf.  The project transformed 5,000 square metres of office space into 85 executive hotel rooms and 650 square metres of convention space that can accommodate up to 1,000