In the first quarter, US and European private equity funds held more closings and raised more capital than in the same period last year, but more than half the capital raised in each region went to a small contingent of firms. US private equity funds raised USD38.1 billion for 136

Piper, a private equity specialist in consumer brands, has taken a significant minority stake in Loungers, the operator behind the highly successful Lounge café-bar chain.   Loungers was founded in 2002 by a trio of longstanding friends, Alex Reilley, Jake Bishop and Dave Reid, who saw an opportunity to create a new chain of informal, neighbourhood

Mistral Equity Partners, a private equity firm focused on the consumer, retail and consumer media sectors, has invested growth capital in XpresSpa, a leading airport retailer of spa services and spa and travel related products, with thirty-eight locations in the United States and the Netherlands. "This concept pioneered and defined

Shoosmiths’ Birmingham corporate team has advised MML Capital Partners on the sale of Virginia-based Cableform Inc to Hubbell Inc. This is the fourth consecutive deal completed by Shoosmiths on behalf of MML within the last ten months, having simultaneously advised on the sale of  Rotary Precision Instruments to German manufacturer,

High Street Capital has partnered with the TLC Companies’ CEO Tim Coughlin and other members of the management team plus Cohesive Capital Partners, to fund the TLC’s growth plan and provide liquidity for its owners. High Street Capital will be working closely with the management team to acquire additional clients,

Maven Capital Partners has provided a GBP3m funding package in support of the MBO of Cat Tech International from US environmental services business Clean Harbors Inc. Operating from offices in UK, Bulgaria, Sweden, China, Singapore and Thailand, Cat Tech is a leading provider of industrial services to oil refineries and

Private Equity firms invested about USD1,886 million across 90 deals during the quarter ended March 2012, according to a study by Venture Intelligence. The investment amount was almost half that was invested in the same period last year (USD3,614 million across 107 transactions) and represents the third consecutive quarter of

New York Life Capital Partners, a private equity affiliate of New York Life Investments, has successfully closed of its third mezzanine fund. NYLCAP Mezzanine Partners III, LP held its final close on 30 March, 2012, with total commitments of USD980 million, more than a 20 per cent above its predecessor fund.