British private equity firm Apax has beaten off competition from rival buyout firm Bridgepoint to acquire the accounting arm of Evelyn Partners, in a deal valued at around £700m, according to a report by CityWire.

IK Partners’ (IK) IK X Fund is to acquire a majority stake in Driescher, a German manufacturer of high-tech medium and low voltage switches and switchgears, from the firm’s founding family who will be reinvesting in the business.

Australian vehicle leasing and management company SG Fleet has entered exclusive negotiations with Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) following a takeover proposal from the private equity firm that values the company at around AUD1.2bn (US780.1m).

Vista Equity Partners has sold an $800m minority stake in LogicMonitor, a SaaS-based hybrid observability platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI), to a consortium of investors including PSG, Golub Capital, and others.

Private investment major Apollo Global Management has acquired a majority stake in The State Group (TSG), a provider of electrical, mechanical, and automation services, as part of its Impact and Clean Transition investment strategy.

Unilever has scrapped plans to sell its €15bn ice cream division, which includes the Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, and Wall’s brands, to private equity firms, opting instead to spin off the business into a separate publicly listed company, according to a report by the Financial Times.

Private equity firm Cinven is to make a majority investment in Grant Thornton UK, one of the leading diversified professional services firms offering audit, tax, and advisory services in the UK, with the firm’s UK Partners retaining a significant holding in the business.