AXA Private Equity has raised EUR1.75bn for infrastructure investment, comprising EUR1.45bn in fund commitments in AXA Infrastructure Fund III and more than EUR300m in co-investments.   AXA Private Equity now has USD31bn managed or advised in Europe, North America and Asia.   The amount represents AXA Private Equity’s largest infrastructure fund to date. AXA Private Equity Infrastructure now has more than EUR3bn of assets under management.   A quarter of the new fund has already been committed across four high profile transactions, including the acquisition of a stake in utility company Enovos from ArcelorMittal and also Poweo’s operational French wind

JH Partners, a private equity firm specialising in investing growth capital in consumer-focused companies, has agreed to sell its portfolio company CHEFS Catalog to Target Corp.  Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close within 30 days, have not been disclosed. CHEFS Catalog is a direct-to-consumer specialty retailer of cookware, bake ware, cutlery, kitchen tools and cooking utensils. JH Partners acquired Colorado-based CHEFS Catalog from The Neiman Marcus Group in 2004.  Upon completion of the transaction, Target will combine CHEFS Catalog with the acquired assets of Cooking.com to create a new, wholly-owned subsidiary of Target aimed at expanding the company’s presence in the growing cooking and kitchenware market.  Both

NVM Private Equity has sold one of its long-standing investments, Interlube Systems, to a subsidiary of US based The Timken Company. The sale represents a money multiple of 3.0x on NVM’s original investment. Interlube is based in Plymouth, UK, and manufactures and markets automated lubrication products for use in commercial vehicles, cranes, quarries and heavy-duty production lines. Timken is based in Ohio, US, and engineers, manufactures and markets mechanical components and high-performance steel. Timken has been steadily adding to its portfolio of businesses and sees Interlube as compatible to its core product lines and power transmission acquisitions.
 NVM invested in

Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital (Chrysalix EVC), a cleantech venture capital firm and a member of the Chrysalix Global Network (CGN), has made an investment in MineSense Technologies, a provider of sensor-based sorting systems to pre-concentrate low-grade ores in the metal mining industry. The series A round was done exclusively by Chrysalix EVC and marks the first time the firm has invested in a start-up dedicated to mining technology. “Mining has always been a highly energy-intensive industry. However, it faces mounting challenges with declining ore grades and less favourable ore bodies, further exacerbating energy use and squeezing margins. Now is a

Marley Coffee has settled over USD1 million in debt and trade payables, removing these obligations from its balance sheet, in exchange for the issuance of shares of its common stock to Ironridge Global IV, an institutional investor specialising in direct equity investments in consumer product companies. Ironridge previously purchased certain debts of the Company held by third party creditors, which make up the amount settled. The Company continues to pursue an aggressive growth strategy to meet surging customer demand. This transaction is intended to increase Marley Coffee’s future cash flows and strengthen its balance sheet, which will in turn give

French company EyeTechCare has secured a third round of funding amounting to EUR10m. Bernard Chauvin, a private investor, has taken an equity stake in the company alongside the two of the existing investors which also contributed to this round of funding: the capital investment company Omnes Capital (formerly Crédit Agricole Private Equity) and the Lyon-based insurer SHAM. Since its last round of funding in 2010, EyeTechCare has completed the EyeMUST 1 trial, which tested the EyeOP1 device on around 60 glaucoma patients in nine centres in France. In May 2011, EyeTechCare obtained the CE mark, allowing the company to start

Maven Capital Partners, a venture capital trust, private equity and alternative asset manager, has made a partial exit from its investment in Homelux Nenplas via the sale of the Homelux Division to US firm QEP Company. Homelux is a supplier of tile accessories to the DIY and professional market. Specialising in the marketing and merchandising of kitchen and bathroom products, the business supplies home improvement outlets across the UK, Europe and North America. Since Maven invested in the management buyout of the business in 2006, in a transaction led by Andrew Ferguson of Maven’s Birmingham team, the company has grown