Inflexion Private Equity’s portfolio company Huws Gray, an independent builders’ merchants, has acquired Ridgeons, an independently owned timber and builders’ merchants trading from over 40 mixed branches in East Anglia. This follows a minority investment by Inflexion Partnership Capital I in Huws Gray in April 2018.   The transformational acquisition will significantly increase Huws Gray’s store base and broaden its national presence, making it the UK’s largest independent builders’ merchants. Like Huws Gray, Ridgeons has a strong focus on the growing repair, improvement and maintenance segment, as well as a large and diversified customer base of over 16,000 clients. The

SK Capital Partners, a private investment firm focussed on the specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors, has completed the acquisition of SI Group, a global developer and manufacturer of performance additives and intermediates.    The transaction includes the combination of SI Group with Addivant, an SK Capital portfolio company since 2013 and a leading global producer of specialty additives.   Headquartered in Schenectady, New York, the newly combined company will market itself under the SI Group brand and will be a global technology and industry leader in performance additives, process solutions, pharmaceuticals and chemical intermediates, with strong market positions in

Private equity firm Auxo Investment Partners has partnered with the Rink family to acquire Prestige Stamping, a Michigan-based high-speed niche manufacturer of custom engineered stampings for the fastener industry. The deal, terms of which have not been disclosed, marks Auxo’s fifth acquisition in 13 months and follows the September closing of the firm’s inaugural investment fund, Auxo Growth Holdings I LLC.   Prestige is a major player in the market for high-volume, tight-tolerance washers and similar small stampings, and manufactures over a billion washers and metal stampings annually for more than 200 customers across a diverse set of industries and

CRG, a UK specialist in the healthcare and social care staffing market, has acquired Affinity Workforce (Affinity), a provider of education, health and social care staffing from Endless, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition sees CRG shareholders Ian Munro, Tristan Ramus and Jamie Webb leading the next step of Affinity’s transformation and growth plans commenced under Endless’ ownership.    Affinity will complement the impressive portfolio of businesses within CRG by incorporating the well-established brands of CER, Monarch Education, Medicare First and Team24, together employing over 400 staff and delivering GBP100 million of revenue.   As well as scaling up CRG’s

EagleTree Capital’s private equity fund EagleTree Partners IV has acquired a majority stake in Gaylord Chemical Company, a specialist in chemical production. The Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Dennis, and other existing shareholders will retain a significant stake in the Company. Co-investors, including the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund Board and Farol Asset Management, are investing alongside EagleTree. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.   Gaylord Chemical is the world’s premier manufacturer of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), environmentally safe, non-toxic solvents with a variety of commercial applications in agriculture, microelectronics, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and other end markets.

Group of Butchers, a Dutch supplier of high-quality meat and mince-based products in which Equistone Partners Europe acquired a majority stake in January 2017, has acquired Hartmann, a family-owned German producer of meatballs and mince-based products. The deal represents Group of Butchers’ first move into the German market and strengthens the company’s position as one of the leading producers of artisan meats by extending its product range to include a number of traditionally prepared mince-based products. The financial terms of the deal are undisclosed and completion of the sale remains subject to the approval of the relevant competition authorities.  

International law firm Taylor Wessing has advised Caledonia Investments plc on the acquisition of its majority stake in Deep Sea Electronics Ltd (DSE), in a transaction that values the business at GBP162 million. Based in the UK, DSE is one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of controllers for diesel-powered electricity generators and intelligent battery chargers. Its products are used worldwide to support public sector infrastructure projects and defence applications, as well as diverse applications across industry sectors, including oil and gas, telecoms, construction, power distribution and facilities management.   Caledonia has subscribed GBP117.2 million for a 98.9 per