Some 19 venture capital trusts changed management group in 2009, with the majority of these due to management buy outs among a number of VCT management groups, according to the Association of Investment Companies. One of these became self-managed and a further five VCTs merged.   In addition, 14 VCTs

The predominance of US-based M&A deal activity has pushed US law firms back into a dominant position in mergermarket’s third quarter M&A value league tables. Propelled by their roles advising US companies on the spate of deal-making activity in the healthcare and technology sectors, firms like Skadden Arps, Simpson Thacher

CBio, an Australian-based drug development company, has completed a AUD10mn capital raising ahead of a planned share market listing later in 2009. The capital raising was underwritten to AUD6m by financial services house Novus Capital which acted as financial adviser and underwriter and will be advising CBio in the IPO

Solvate, a micro-staffing firm that helps business owners and executives to delegate their work, has raised USD2.3m in series A financing from DFJ Gotham and RRE Ventures. "Solvate makes it easy for companies to tap into a pool of experts with experience that is relevant to their business, so they

Low Carbon Accelerator’s unaudited net asset value was GBP38.68m or 44.9 pence per ordinary share at 31 August 2009, a 1.8 per cent increase on the pro forma 31 May NAV of 44.1p per ordinary share. Dr Steve Mahon, chief investment officer for Low Carbon Investors, the investment manager for

TJ Hughes, the big brand discount department store backed by European private equity firm Silverfleet Capital, has completed a hat trick of openings across the Midlands with the unveiling of a new store in Walsall just north of Birmingham. The retailer also opened stores in Hanley on 8 September and

The typically quiet summer months were slower than usual for US private equity fundraising with 72 funds raising USD25.2bn in the third quarter, a 70 per cent decline from the same period last year, according to Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst. Through the first nine months of 2009, 265 private

Private equity firm Celtic Therapeutics Holdings will invest up to USD15m in the development of Spirogen’s lead cancer drug, SG2000. Spirogen expects to continue clinical development of SG2000 in an upcoming National Cancer Institute-sponsored multi-centre phase II study of SG2000 in the US in resistant and refractory ovarian cancer.  SG2000

Dolphin Equity Partners has agreed to sell its portfolio company Gomez, a provider of Web application experience management, to Compuware, an application performance management software company. The USD295m cash acquisition is expected to close in November 2009. Dolphin is Gomez’s largest shareholder and first invested in the company in 2000,