Deals
BGF has invested in Bayfields Opticians and Audiologists. The investment will be used to support the independent opticians and audiologists group’s organic growth – including further roll-out of its audiology services – as well as its acquisition strategy to double the number of sites over the next four years.Royston Bayfield, founder and CEO of Bayfields Opticians and Audiologists, says: “In the last 15 years, the Bayfields group has grown exceptionally well, whilst keeping front of mind our values, our local relationships with clients and our high-quality expertise through our expanding team of optometry and audiology specialists.
“The deal completed in
GCA Altium, the European arm of global investment bank GCA, has seen significant appetite for cross-border deals since the UK went into lockdown on 23 March, challenging uncertainty surrounding global M&A markets during the Covid-19 pandemic.Globally, the business has signed 41 deals, more than half (21) of which have been led by the European team. Just under 50 per cent of these deals had a cross-border element and 10 of the transactions involved private equity, despite market predictions that this type of activity would be put on hold.
The majority of activity has been centred around the technology and
IW Capital has completed a GBP10 million investment round for Transcend Packaging, a specialist in sustainable packaging which is targeting the replacement of single-use plastics by making in demand paper and fibre-based alternatives. Transcend utilises state of the art digital printing and specialty coating technology allowing paper straws, cups, and food containers to fully replace their plastic counterparts. Since its founding, the company has seen significant growth and partnerships with leading consumer brands such as McDonald’s, KFC and Starbucks.
This lower mid-market investment from private equity firm IW Capital will be used to accelerate the Company’s expansion plan into new product categories
MSQ Partners, an international marketing communications group, is to buy the Be Heard Partnership (LSE: BHRD) and three of its agencies (MMT Digital, Freemavens and Agenda21), subject to shareholder approval. Be Heard has agreed to sell its creative agency, The Corner, back to its management team ahead of the transaction concluding, again subject to shareholder approval.The deal values Be Heard’s equity at around GBP6.2 million and would create a combined group with over 750 staff in the UK, Asia and the USA and be led by MSQ’s CEO Peter Reid. MSQ is backed by LDC, the established UK private equity
Allocator, an investment data and technology company, has secured a significant amount of growth capital from the leading provider of independent investment research, Morningstar, in exchange for a minority stake in the company.As part of the transaction, Brett Kaluza, Vice President of Customer Success at PitchBook has been appointed to Allocator’s Board of Directors. PitchBook is a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar and premier data provider for the private and public equity markets.
Allocator was founded by former investors in alternative funds, who recognised the need for comprehensive fund data as well as data management tools to improve the
Muzinich & Co has provided a new unitranche financing package to support Direct Healthcare Group (DHG), a portfolio company of ArchiMed – a pan-European investment firm specialising in the healthcare industry. Archimed acquired DHG in December 2019.DHG is a fully integrated developer and manufacturer of a range of innovative pressure care products designed to prevent medical issues such as pressure sores, which can lead to serious diseases. Founded in 2009, the business works with care providers in over 20 countries throughout Europe and internationally.
In May 2020, DHG acquired the Patient Handling Europe division of Swedish-listed group Handicare Group AB
Pixellot a provider of AI-Automated sports production, has completed a new round of financing by the company’s existing investors with the addition of Altshuler-Shaham, Israel’s largest investment house. The capital will be earmarked for accelerating the sales and marketing activities to address the growing need for safer, more cost-effective solutions for broadcasting and stats. This serves a particularly important need given the current evolving sports landscape in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic has immensely impacted the sports industry and has forced teams and leagues to re-evaluate the way they operate going forward. Many leagues and teams
Ridgemont Equity Partners, a middle market private equity investor, has acquired the American Safety Council (ASC), a leading national provider of mandatory training, education, and certification solutions to regulated end markets. ASC distributes 100 per cent of its life-saving content in digital format and focuses on workplace safety, driver safety and vocational certifications. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“ASC has an outstanding management team, led by John Comly, and a uniquely scaled, national platform with nearly two million customers and over four hundred online courses that help people lead safer and more productive lives,” says Rob Edwards, Partner
Trilantic Europe has supported seven add-on acquisitions across its portfolio companies since the start of 2020.Trilantic Europe’s portfolio company, Doppel Farmaceutici, agreed on 21 May 2020 to acquire 90 per cent of Dietopack, a leading Italian family-owned contract manufacturing organisation (CDMO) founded in 2000 and headquartered in Emilia Romagna.
With 60 employees, the company focuses on nutraceutical products (representing 80 per cent of revenues) and pet nutritionals, producing probiotics, vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements and high protein dietary supplements mainly distributed through pharmacies by its clients. Dietopack adopts a full-service approach and is engaged in all phases of the value
Harris Williams, a global investment bank specialising in M&A advisory services, is advising Capita plc (Capita), a consulting, transformation and digital services business, on the pending sale of Eclipse Legal Systems (Eclipse) to The Access Group (Access). Eclipse is a leading mid-market case, matter and practice management software provider operating primarily in the UK legal market. The transaction is being led by Thierry Monjauze, Mathew Tsui and John Levy of the firm’s London office.
“This transaction highlights our consistent track record in delivering successful outcomes for our clients in vertical software and demonstrates our ability to unlock significant value through
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12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
