Groupe RG, a portfolio company of private equity investor Abénex, has refinanced its senior acquisition debt and mezzanine with a more flexible and less expensive new debt structure, allowing it to increase its financial capacity to seize external growth opportunities. The new debt mostly consists of a transferable senior debt provided by the existing banks of the group (LCL, BNP Paribas, Société Générale) together with Crédit Agricole Centre Est as well as the debt fund Artemid.   A deconsolidating factor line was also set up alongside this facility by GE Factofrance.   With a network comprising 29 agencies and warehouses

Leading global investment firms have committed to continue investing in the UK’s tech sector saying that London will remain an important destination for investment despite the vote to leave the European Union. Venture capital houses such as Index Ventures, Octopus Ventures, Balderton Capital and Hoxton Ventures are among a wider group of investment firms to pledge their continued support for the UK’s tech sector, with many citing London as an important hub for future growth.   In the first six months of 2016 British companies attracted USD1.3 billion in venture capital funding, matching the USD1.3 billion raised in the same

Clearwater International has been mandated by Papierfabrik Palm to support the company in developing and implementing a favourable mid-term financing structure. Based on a tailor-made financing concept, Clearwater International coordinated a competitive process with several international banks and managed the structuring of a refinancing comprising a term loan and a revolving credit facility with a total volume of EUR450 million and a tenor of 4.5 years.   Family-owned Papierfabrik Palm, based in Aalen-Neukochen (Germany), is one of the leading companies in the European paper industry. The company is divided into the paper division with its five paper mills for the

Clearwater International has advised Union Square, a provider of information management software to the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries, on its sale to Deltek. Union Square, founded in 2000, has become the leading supplier of business and project information management software across the entire AEC supply chain. Headquartered in Nottingham, the business has experienced strong international growth in Australia and recently expanded operations into Europe and Canada. The business has recently been named as one of Britain’s most inspirational companies in The London Stock Exchange’s annual Inspire Britain report. The acquisition by Deltek, the leading provider of software and

Apricus Biosciences has entered into a common stock purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund.   Aspire Capital will complete an initial purchase of 2,531,645 shares of common stock for proceeds of USD1.0 million and has committed to purchase up to USD6.0 million in additional shares of common stock over the next 24 months at prices based on the market price at the time of each sale.   No warrants are associated with this agreement.   "This agreement with Aspire Capital will enable Apricus to sell shares from time-to-time on market-based terms to a committed, long-time investor," says Richard Pascoe, CEO

BTG Global Advisory (BTG GA), an international alliance of independent restructuring and financial advisory firms, has expanded its global reach with the appointment of Matuson & Associates, a restructuring and insolvency firm focused on preserving and maximising enterprise value, based in South Africa. Matuson & Associates is a South African turnaround and business rescue practice. It was founded in 2009 and has a multi-disciplinary team of 14 professionals with vast experience across sectors including retail, automotive, property and mining.   Matuson & Associates provides a wide range of services including business advisory services, valuations, interim and crisis management, as well

Beringea Growth Finance has realised an ‘attractive’ return following the acquisition of Speciality European Pharma (SEP) by life science investor Juno Pharmaceuticals. In December 2014 Beringea Growth Finance agreed a GBP4.7m 4-year term loan to SEP. Beringea Growth Finance is part of Beringea, the transatlantic investor in high growth businesses and the loan was made from the ProVen VCTs managed by Beringea. This loan enabled SEP to repay an earlier facility with Clydesdale Bank and to build upon European growth. With Juno’s acquisition of SEP, this loan has been repaid early, generating healthy returns for the ProVen VCTs.   Speciality