Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance has provided a GBP25m debt facility to support the buy-out of Enotria Group, a trade wine importer and distributor, led by chief executive Alison Levett and backed by BlueGem Capital Partners. Enotria was originally founded in 1972 by Remo Nardone and further enhanced by the acquisitions of Wheeler Cellars in 2008 and Great Western Wine in 2010. Headquartered in West London, the group’s wine portfolio is sourced worldwide directly from vineyards. Enotria employs 181 staff and in 2011 generated over GBP100m in sales.   Enotria will be acquired by BlueGem alongside its management team. BlueGem

AXA Private Equity has agreed to acquire a 45 per cent stake in Arkadin, a provider of collaboration services. The transaction, which sees AXA Private Equity working alongside Olivier de Puymorin, founder and chief executive of the company, follows the exit by the historical investors, Apax Partners, Altamir Amboise, Innovation Capital and UFG-Siparex, which supported Arkadin during the first stage of its development. The deal is subject to anti-trust agreement and is scheduled to close by the end of July 2012.   Founded in France in 2001, Arkadin provides a range of remote collaboration solutions (audio, web and video conferencing

There were 705 private equity-backed buyout deals in Q2 2012, valued at an aggregate USD60.4bn – a 37 per cent increase in deal value from Q1 2012, and a six per cent increase from the USD56.8bn in Q4 2011, according to figures from Preqin. There were 705 private equity-backed buyout deals in Q2 2012, valued at an aggregate USD60.4bn – a 37 per cent increase in deal value from Q1 2012, and a six per cent increase from the USD56.8bn in Q4 2011, according to figures from Preqin. In addition, 293 private equity-backed exits were announced in Q2 2012, with

OMERS Private Equity and AXA Private Equity have signed a definitive agreement in connection with the sale by OMERS to AXA Private Equity of a portfolio of 11 private equity fund investments, and the related unfunded commitments. The portfolio of entirely buyout funds, in aggregate, represents a total size of approximately USD850m in original commitments, in predominantly North American and global funds.   Paul Renaud (pictured), chief executive officer, OMERS Private Equity, says: “This transaction is consistent with OMERS strategic shift towards direct investing.” Following on from AXA Private Equity’s USD1.7bn acquisition of private equity assets from Citigroup in June 2011,

The tepid global economy has greatly slowed the pace of US M&A activity, as deal flow dropped by 15 per cent to 3,159 deals in the first half of 2012 from 3,729 in 2011. Deal value also tumbled by 43 per cent from the prior year. While the US economy has exhibited signs of improvement, supplemented by an increase in consumer confidence, M&A continues to be affected by volatility in the credit and stock markets and uncertainty in the global economy, particularly in the Eurozone, exacerbated by slowing GDP growth in the emerging markets and minimal to nonexistent growth in

BlackRock has entered into a definitive agreement whereby it will acquire Swiss Re Private Equity Partners, the European private equity and infrastructure fund of funds franchise of Swiss Re. BlackRock and Swiss Re have also entered into a strategic alternative investment relationship agreement, centred on BlackRock Alternative Investors (BAI), which reinforces Swiss Re’s current investments in SRPEP products and establishes other future Swiss Re commitments to the BAI platform. Operating from Zurich, Hong Kong, New York and Bratislava, SRPEP had USD7.5bn in total commitments at 31 May 2012, including a significant commitment from Swiss Re as it invested alongside its

Private equity firm HarbourVest Partners has announced that HarbourVest-managed funds together with HarbourVest Global Private Equity, a closed-end investment company, have signed a definite agreement to acquire the entities that hold Conversus Capital’s portfolio of  private equity fund interests and direct co-investments for USD1.4bn.  In conjunction with the purchase, up to 49.9 per cent of eligible Conversus unit holders may remain invested in Conversus’ investment portfolio by receiving interests in HarbourVest’s acquisition vehicle, HarbourVest Structured Solutions II, a newly-formed Guernsey limited partnership managed by HarbourVest.   Conversus Capital, like HVPE, is a listed private equity fund and is the largest

Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), a later-stage venture capital and growth equity firm, is to launch IVP XIV, a USD1 billion fund.  This is the largest fund raised in the firm’s 32-year history and brings the cumulative committed capital to $4 billion. The fund was significantly oversubscribed with IVP’s existing Limited Partners taking the vast majority of the fund. The firm’s General Partners are Todd Chaffee, Norm Fogelsong, Steve Harrick, Jules Maltz, Sandy Miller, and Dennis Phelps (pictured).  Collectively, they have more than 100 years of venture capital and operating experience.    “Over the past decade, IVP has delivered exceptional performance,”

NBGI Private Equity (NBGIPE) has acquired Horizon Care, a Midlands based specialist child care provider. NBGIPE has signalled its intention to double the size of the business through acquisitions and organic growth over the next three to five years.  Horizon Care caters for children with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties. It currently operates 13 residential care homes and three schools in the West Midlands, North West and Kent. NBGIPE has been looking to invest in the specialist children’s care market for some time, and believes Horizon Care represents a strong platform for growth as well as a great opportunity to