Deals
ARX Equity Partners and Darby Private Equity, together with food industry executive Gerard Lenihan, have completed the buyout of Gramex 2000 Kft.
Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Gramex is a Hungarian manufacturer and bottler of non-alcoholic beverages, providing products under its own brands, as well as in partnership with local and international retailers and A-brand producers.
ARX, Darby and Lenihan intend to grow Gramex in the coming years organically, via regional expansion.
Among other previous executive roles, Lenihan was also the CEO in a private equity-backed management buyout in Hungary in 1996.
Huron Capital Partners has formed a partnership with industry executive Phil Bomrad to build a platform company in the energy services industry.
Through a holding company, Albireo Energy, Huron will invest in and partner with regional and niche energy service providers to build a business in energy efficiency and grid services for commercial and institutional buildings.
The new company will provide holistic energy solutions to building owners that lower operational costs and the environmental impacts of their buildings.
"We are excited to partner with Phil on this exciting opportunity," says Jim Mahoney of Huron. "There has been significant growth
High Road Capital Partners has completed the acquisition of New York-based General Tools & Instruments, marking High Road Capital Partners Fund II’s third platform acquisition.
Founded in 1922, General Tools & Instruments is a designer and developer of precision specialty hand tools and handheld test instruments for consumers and professionals.
General Tools & Instruments’ products are available in big-box and specialty retailers including Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears, Ace Hardware and True Value Hardware stores, and through industrial distributors such as Grainger, MSC Industrial Supply and McMaster-Carr.
“General Tools & Instruments has a solid position as a leading provider
Tikehau Investment Management has arranged a bond financing allowing MK2 Group to diversify its funding sources and continue its development.
This transaction is fully subscribed by Novo 2, one of the two funds created by a consortium of insurance companies, to provide up to EUR1bn in total funding to mid-market corporates in France.
Created in 1974 by Marin Karmitz, MK2 Group has become one of the leading movie theatre chains in Paris, operating 65 screens within 12 multiplex cinemas. Its development plan is organised around three activities: operating movie theatre, marketing films and communication agency activities.
Nathanaël Karmitz,
London-based alternative investment manager GMI (Global Maritime Investments) is planning a series of private equity partnerships focused on ship purchase and fleet management.
The move reflects a significant 10 to 15 per cent uptick in the prices of new vessels which have been flat for three years and GMI believes prices have a lot further to rise.
GMI, which has also offices in Athens, Cayman, Cyprus, Monaco and Singapore, was founded in late 2005 becoming the only manager to trade the volatility in global shipping rates by arbitraging the inherent mispricing in Forward Freight Agreements (FFAs) via the derivatives
Private equity leaders anticipate another year of moderate deal flow volume, according to the fifth annual PErspective Private Equity Study by BDO USA.
Coming off of a year when rising valuations limited fund managers’ ability to source and close deals, only 15 per cent of private equity fund managers – regardless of fund size – predict they will close more than five deals in 2014. That represents a drop from 2013, when 22 per cent of fund managers anticipated closing more than five deals.
Despite this bearish view, fund managers are hopeful that they will deploy more capital in
Peer-to-peer lending company Lending Works has closed a GBP3.5m seed funding round led by David Kyte, founder of The Kyte Group.
Kyte was a founder trader and former board member of the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE), now known as NYSE Liffe and in 1985, he founded The Kyte Group, one of the world’s first algorithmic trading and clearing houses.
Kyte says: “The retail banking sector as we know it is fractured; so, as a financial services innovator-turned-investor, a P2P lender developing leading proprietary technology is a natural destination for my investments.
“Innovative technology is
European private equity transaction volumes bounced back in Q4 following a weak Q3, according to the European Private Equity Barometer, published by unquote” and SL Capital Partners.
A total of 326 deals were completed, the highest total since the final quarter of 2012, with the total value of EUR23.6bn up 40 per cent on the EUR16.9bn transacted in Q3.
This value uplift was largely driven by the buyout space, where mid-market deals led the way with volumes at a three-year high. These mid-market deals were the core growth driver during the year in Europe, representing 60 per cent
Japanese trading firm Mitsui has agreed to join The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) as investor in Cotton Way.
Cotton Way is a Russian commercial laundry and textile management company.
Mitsui will contribute to improve the operation and management of Cotton Way by introducing international best practices and offering experience and knowledge.
This transaction will be the first investment deriving from the Russian-Japanese Investment Platform (RJIP) which was created by RDIF, Vnesheconombank (VEB) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in 2013.
Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, says: “Mitsui’s investment in Cotton Way
Syntaxis Capital, a provider of mezzanine finance in Central Europe, has completed an investment in BIK Brokers, a Polish motor insurance broker.
The investment from Syntaxis will support an ambitious growth strategy for the Gdansk-based broker.
BIK is a commercial wholesale insurance broker in Poland. The company acts as an intermediary between its wide range of blue-chip clients (car fleet management firms, leasing companies, vehicle manufacturers or corporates) and insurance providers in Poland.
For its clients, BIK helps analyse, structure and secure third party liability insurance, CASCO cover and claims management, in addition to providing a range of
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