Deals
Global private equity secondary deal flow could fall by as much as 40 to 50 per cent this year, compared to 2019, as the repercussions of coronavirus play out over the next few quarters. But for those operating in the lower middle-market, discounted opportunities could be highly attractive.
Last year, transaction volumes exceeded USD85 billion, a jump of 7.2 per cent on 2018. But those numbers are going to look markedly different come the end of 2020, as the expected number of completed transactions fall over valuation gap fears.
Across the PE secondary landscape, it is possible that overall deal
European bolt-on activity grew rapidly in Q1 accounting for 63.4 per cent of deal volume – a new Q1 decade peak – as the Covid-19 effect has yet to show up in later quarters this year.
Private equity deal activity reached a new first quarter peak in Q1 2020, at 1,025 deals for a total of EUR132.9 billion— a year on year increase of 6.2 per cent and 40.4 per cent respectively, according to new data released by PitchBook in its latest Q1 European Private Equity Breakdown report.
We are yet to see a pandemic related slowdown in the remaining
Mid-market private equity firm Stirling Square Capital Partners has acquired Assistansbolaget Försäkring Sverige, a B2C roadside assistance provider.
The acquisition is the third platform investment in Stirling Square’s Fourth Fund, which closed at EUR950 million in January and focuses on the European mid-market. Founded by Stefano Bonfiglio and Gregorio Napoleone, Stirling Square’s portfolio includes Logent, Verescence and Vernet.
Assistansbolaget contracts directly with over 350,000 customers in an annual subscription-fee model to provide drivers with RSA services across Europe. It is a tech- and data-driven innovator operating in a stable and mature industry, the company said.
Founded in 2015, Assistansbolaget has
UK private equity house Maven Capital Partners has completed a GBP2.5 investment in Precursive, a maker of business management software. This investment by Maven will allow Precursive to pursue an ambitious growth strategy in both the UK and USA, including funding further product development and expanding its sales and marketing teams.
Founded in 2011, Precursive is a strategic partner of Salesforce, the world’s largest provider of customer relationship management software. The company helps businesses in the agency, consulting, technology, and professional services sectors operate more efficiently by automating processes such as resource management, project planning, accounting, forecasting, reporting, and client onboarding.
Private equity firm Foresight Group has sold the UK’s largest independent online retailer of golf equipment, Clubhouse Golf, to European ecommerce business, all4golf.Clubhouse has found a strong strategic partner in all4golf, and together they will look to become the pan-European market leader for golf equipment.
This represents the first exit for the GBP58 million Foresight Regional Investment fund, which supports small businesses in the North West of England and North Wales and which, since launch in 2016, has invested in 15 companies to date.
Since the fund made its original investment in February 2017, Clubhouse has more than doubled its
Private equity firm Sorfam Capital has acquired an American boatbuilding company, Century Boats, for an undisclosed amount. Sorfam purchased Century Boats’ parent company, All Craft Marine, and will continue operations at its headquarters in Zephyrhills, located just north of Tampa. Sorfam and All Craft Marine were both represented by Anchors Aweigh Capital, a boutique investment banking and consulting firm focused exclusively on the maritime industry.
Century Boats will now be led by president and CEO, Lloyd R ‘Skip’ Sorenson, who is also Sorfam’s managing partner and a fourth-generation shipbuilder who has been involved in a multitude of merger and acquisition transactions
A UK company, which is developing the next generation of spinal implants, has raised GBP830,000 in a funding round led by asset manager Mercia, to launch trials of its product in the US. Axis Spine has spent three years developing its technology, which could improve the success of spinal surgery and help people in chronic pain. It expects to secure clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) next month.
The latest funding, which comes from Mercia’s enterprise investment scheme (EIS) funds and two private investors, and has been completed in the midst of the lockdown, will allow it to
Sofinnova Partners, a European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London and Milan, has made an investment in Genespire, a Milan-based gene-therapy company developing best-in-class therapies for patients affected by genetic diseases. This is the third investment for the Sofinnova Telethon Fund, bringing the total financing of Italian startups by Sofinnova Partners to EUR25 million over the past six months. The Sofinnova Telethon Fund is the largest fund in Italy dedicated to biotechnologies, making early-stage investments in Italian companies targeting cures for rare and genetic diseases.
Genespire was spearheaded by the renowned gene therapy pioneer Professor Luigi Naldini. This
YFM Equity Partners-advised funds have sold their shareholding in GroupBC to Bentley Systems Incorporated, a global provider of software and digital twins services for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, generating a return well in excess of three-tims its original investment.GroupBC is a leading provider of enterprise-scale information management systems for construction-related projects and asset owners. Its UK-hosted Common Data Environment makes it easy for teams to collaborate, manage and share documents and data from a central, secure cloud-based platform.
YFM has been supporting the transformational growth of UK SMEs since 1982. GroupBC was backed by British Smaller
Holland Capital has sold its portfolio company Inno4Life, a manufacturer of machines for the pharmaceutical industry, to Dec Group, a Swiss powder handling and process containment equipment provider.
Inno4Life’s management will remain actively involved in the company after its acquisition, which will continue to operate under its own name following the deal.
Inno4Life is a manufacturer of complex filling and packaging machines for the pharmaceutical industry. The company delivers tailor-made solutions to its customers, which include large pharmaceutical companies.
Inno4Life searched for a strong partner to team up with in order to enable further international growth, and found this partner
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