EFR Holdings SAS, an acquisition vehicle controlled by funds affiliated with Francisco Partners, acquired on 23 September, 2011 a majority of the share capital and voting rights of eFront SA, a business software solutions provider dedicated to the financial industry, listed on the Alternext Paris market of NYSE Euronext (ALEFT). EFR Holdings

Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group has acquired ITRS Group, a global provider of real-time monitoring systems for the world’s financial institutions, in partnership with its founders and management. Financial terms have not been disclosed.   ITRS is a fast-growing, multi-award winning technology provider, primarily focused on supplying the

 Investec Specialist Bank’s (‘Investec’) Fund Finance team has provided a EUR15 million loan to F&C European Capital Partners LP (F&C), a private equity fund of funds focusing on the European mid-market of private equity including buyout, mezzanine and co-investments.   The three year loan facility is provided to the F&C

Private equity firm The Gores Group, through an affiliate, has signed an agreement to acquire Alpheus Communications, one of the largest fibre network and data centre operators in Texas. he Gores Group intends to combine Alpheus with First Communications, an existing Gores portfolio company. Genesis Park, LP and El Paso

Private investment firm First Reserve Corporation has made an investment in Amromco Energy, the largest and leading independent oil and gas producer in Romania. The investment is the first stage in First Reserve’s plans to build an oil and gas platform in the Central and Eastern European region.   Amromco

 SPA Future Thinking has acquired full-service market research consultancy Essential Research for an undisclosed sum.   Essential is a specialist in the media, communications, technology and entertainment sectors with a client portfolio that includes the BBC, Microsoft and O2. It offers a range of qualitative, quantitative and hybrid research methodologies

Mid-market private equity firm Palamon Capital Partners has agreed the sale of cadooz AG to Nasdaq-listed strategic buyer, Euronet Worldwide (Euronet), a leading global electronic payments provider and distributor, headquartered in Leawood, Kansas, USA.  The details of the transaction were not disclosed.   cadooz, headquartered in Hamburg, is Germany’s largest

PeerApp Ltd, a leading provider of transparent Internet caching and content delivery platforms, has closed a growth equity investment led by Summit Partners.   Also participating in the round are Cedar Fund, Evergreen Partners, Pilot House Ventures Group and existing investors in PeerApp. The funds will be used to accelerate

BV Investment Partners has signed a definitive agreement to sell Vision Communications, a Louisiana based communications and broadband services provider, to EATEL.   Vision provides a comprehensive suite of residential and commercial communications services, including digital video, high-speed Internet, local and long distance telephone, alarm monitoring, and commercial data services.

ProVen Health VCT, managed by Beringea LLP, has sold its investment in Onyx Scientific in a transaction that valued the company at GBP4.6m.   Onyx Scientific provides a wide range of chemical services to the life sciences industry. In particular, its key focus is scaling up the synthesis of new