GMT Communications Partners, a European media and communications focused private equity group, has teamed up with the management and founding chairman to invest in Seagull, a provider of computer based training systems and e-learning for seafarers worldwide.   Founded in 1996 by its chairman, Oscar Johansen, a long term maritime industry executive, and financial partner Bjørn L.G. Braathen, Seagull offers a comprehensive library of training and on-board courses for regulatory, compliance and improved seafarer knowledge, in line with the requirements of the key global seafarer regulatory bodies. This transaction sees GMT, alongside Johansen and Roger Ringstad, Seagull’s managing director, acquiring

French firm Groupe Ludendo, backed by private equity firm NiXEN Partners, has acquired iconic British toy retailer Hamleys in a deal thought to be worth GBP60m. Groupe Ludendo, which currently operates 300 toy stores in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain, will be moving into new markets adding 22 Hamleys stores to its portfolio including outlets in Denmark, Jordan, Dubai, India, Cyprus, Russia and Saudi Arabia, as well as the company’s flagship store on London’s Regent Street. “We have the utmost respect for the Hamleys brand and heritage, as well as the unique interactive retail environment of fun, entertainment and theatre

Duolingo, the free language learning service which translates websites, has raised a USD15m series B round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from existing investor Union Square Ventures. Helmed by computer scientist and crowd-sourcing pioneer Luis von Ahn, the company will use the funds to accelerate international growth and bolster its team of engineering talent. "Today more than 50 per cent of online content is available only in English, and we see this as a powerful opportunity," says von Ahn. "By harnessing the output from millions of students, we can accurately translate online content and bring the rich

HIG Capital’s Brazilian affiliate has completed the acquisition of Cel Lep Idiomas, a premium English Language Teaching (ELT) network in Brazil. Headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, and operating primarily under the Cel Lep brand name, the company operates through 17 owned schools in São Paulo and through four other licensed schools in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. Professor Walter Toledo Silva, founder of Cel Lep, says: “We are excited about the HIG acquisition. Their ability and experience in helping companies grow all over the world will help build on my legacy and accelerate the expansion of Cel

Fourth, a SaaS provider of labour, payroll, inventory and procurement systems for the restaurant/bar, hotel, contract catering and leisure markets, has acquired Adaco, a supplier of SaaS based purchasing and inventory control solutions to the hotel sector in the US and throughout the world. With over 400 customers in 54 countries and a 27 year history, Adaco will continue to operate from its Connecticut base in the US, supported by the Fourth team in London, England. The Adaco office will become the operating base for Fourth USA.   Fourth and Adaco have strong product offerings in their respective markets and

HIG Europe, the European arm of private equity firm HIG Capital, has completed the acquisitions of ARMetallizing, a Belgium based manufacturer of metallized paper, from Ackermans & van Haaren and Vacumet Paper, a Massachusetts based manufacturer of metallized paper, from Scholle. The combined group aims to be the global market leader in metallized paper for use in the beverage and consumer packaged goods markets. The group’s metallized paper is currently used as the base paper in premium beer labels, spirit labels, food packaging, consumer product packaging and gift wrap, and can be found on many household brands such as Becks

Alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group has acquired 60 per cent of Tok&Stok, Brazil’s largest specialty furniture retailer by sales, from founders Ghislaine and Régis Dubrule. Dubrule will remain chief executive of Tok&Stok following the transaction and the founders will retain a 40 per cent stake in the company. Equity capital for the transaction will come from the USD1bn pool of capital managed by Carlyle’s South America Buyout Fund and Fundo Brasil de Internacionalização de Empresas FIP (FBIE), a local fund advised by Carlyle and Banco do Brasil. The transaction is subject to approval by antitrust authorities and is expected

iWalk has closed a private series D equity financing round of USD17m led by new investor Gilde Healthcare Partners. Geoff Pardo, partner at Gilde Healthcare Partners, has joined the company’s board of directors. Existing investors, including WFD Ventures, General Catalyst Partners, and Sigma Partners also participated in the financing round. “The promise and potential of personal bionics is endless and iWalk is well positioned to push this growing market to new, exciting places well beyond traditional orthotics and prosthetic devices,” says Pardo. “We led this investment round because we truly believe that iWalk has the right mix of unique products

The Mergermarket Group has acquired Inframation Group. Livingstone advised the shareholders of Inframation on the transaction. With offices in London and New York, Inframation Group is a provider of information and senior-level events for the global infrastructure finance community with four information products: 1. InfraNews is an internationally-respected online news and research provider for the infrastructure market covering both greenfield and brownfield transactions; 2. InfraAmericas provides the same high quality service, but focuses exclusively on the US, Canadian and Latin American infrastructure finance markets; 3. InfraLatinAmerica is a source of real-time news, market intelligence, research and data for professionals with