Private equity firm Z Capital Partners has acquired a 24.97 per cent stake in Affinity Gaming, a casino operator with wholly-owned casino operations in Nevada, Missouri and Iowa, becoming its largest shareholder. "We have great respect for Affinity Gaming and its strong commitment to guests, employees, and partners," says James

BV Investment Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, has sold its portfolio company Northstar Travel Media, to The Wicks Group of Companies. This is the fourth exit in 2012 for BV Investment Partners. Northstar is a business information and marketing solutions provider to the USD964bn global, travel, tourism, and meetings

MVC Capital, a publicly traded business development company that makes private debt and equity investments, has closed the sale of SHL Group, a MVC portfolio company, to The Corporate Executive Board for USD660m in cash, subject to customary pre and post closing adjustments. SHL provides workplace talent assessment solutions, including

Eoxis acquired a portfolio of 20 MW solar photovoltaic projects in Italy from SunEdison between Q1 and Q2 2012. The portfolio includes four projects, which were connected by the end of 2011 and which are located in the regions of Puglia and Campania. The assets will be monitored, maintained and

Aureos Capital, a small and mid-cap private equity fund manager, has made an investment in Clinique Biasa, a private hospital and clinic providing medical services in Togo, West Africa. The investment has been made by the Africa Health Fund, which is managed by Aureos Capital. The fund’s objective is to

Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance has provided a GBP25m debt facility to support the buy-out of Enotria Group, a trade wine importer and distributor, led by chief executive Alison Levett and backed by BlueGem Capital Partners. Enotria was originally founded in 1972 by Remo Nardone and further enhanced by the

AXA Private Equity has agreed to acquire a 45 per cent stake in Arkadin, a provider of collaboration services. The transaction, which sees AXA Private Equity working alongside Olivier de Puymorin, founder and chief executive of the company, follows the exit by the historical investors, Apax Partners, Altamir Amboise, Innovation

There were 705 private equity-backed buyout deals in Q2 2012, valued at an aggregate USD60.4bn – a 37 per cent increase in deal value from Q1 2012, and a six per cent increase from the USD56.8bn in Q4 2011, according to figures from Preqin. There were 705 private equity-backed buyout