Symington’s Ltd, the convenience food manufacturer, it has completed the acquisition of family owned baking business Victoria Foods.  The deal brings together two major suppliers in the UK home baking sector and is a major boost for driving value and investment into a category estimated to be worth GBP576 million.   Victoria Foods has built up an enviable reputation for high quality, innovative, cake and baking mixes, including mixes for desserts and beverages over the last three decades. The portfolio ranges from own label brands, creations featuring favourite childrens’ characters, and mixes in association with leading brands including Jane Asher,

Power Plus Communications AG (PPC), a leading provider of broadband powerline communication systems for smart metering and smart grids, has raised EUR12 million growth capital in a round of funding by Siemens Financial Services’ (SFS) Venture Capital unit and British Gas with participation from existing investor Climate Change Capital Private Equity (CPE).  The strategic investment aims to accelerate PPC’s market growth in Europe and in the Middle East and establish its role in the transformation of the German energy system. Meanwhile, SFS and British Gas are strengthening their portfolio of advanced information and communications technology solutions for smart grid and

Business Growth Fund (BGF), which was established to help the UK’s fast growing smaller and medium sized businesses, today announced two investments totalling GBP4.4m into Springfield Healthcare Group, the largest independent provider of domiciliary care in Yorkshire and Humberside.  The investments of GBP2.5m and GBP1.9m respectively were made into Springfield Homecare and Seacroft Care Village.   This follows BGF’s investments of GBP4 million into Primrose, a rapidly growing online retailer of garden products; and GBP3 million into the Cennox Plc group of companies (including ATM Parts and Mainet), which provides services to the ATM (cash machines) sector.  These four investments

Frontier Capital has held the final closing of its third private equity fund, Frontier Fund III, with USD250 million in capital commitments. The fund exceeded its initial target of USD200 million thanks to strong support from existing investors along with new commitments from other leading institutional investors including public and private pensions, fund of funds and family offices. “We are thrilled by the continued support we’ve received from our existing partners and very pleased to welcome several strong additions to our investor base,” says Richard Maclean, Managing Partner. “Our success in raising Fund III is a testament to our focused

Evergreen Pacific Partners (Evergreen) has acquired Thermal Dynamics, an Ontario, California-based supplier of advanced technology heat exchangers for the automotive, truck, motorcycles, and military equipment industries. Evergreen’s acquisition will provide Thermal Dynamics access to significant capital and strategic resources positioning the company for further growth. The Thermal Dynamics’ senior management team will remain in place and work with Evergreen to expand market share and continue the development of new products.   “Through the support of Evergreen’s financial resources and operating backgrounds, as well as their impressive track record of success, we are laying the foundation for our continued success and

Dallas-based private equity firm glendonTodd Capital has acquired Aztec Systems, Inc, a provider of enterprise technology solutions to hundreds of US middle-market companies. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. As one of the largest providers of managed services in the Southwest, Aztec’s approach focuses on four core practice areas – Microsoft Business Solutions, Data Center Solutions, Infrastructure Solutions and Software Development. Recently ranked 27th in revenue on Bob Scott’s 2012 Top 100 VARS list, Aztec Systems, Inc. (Aztec) is in its 20th year of providing high-impact business solutions to over 700 middle-market clients across the south-central region of

Germany’s private equity investors are currently very cautious about new investments. Deals in the German private equity market are correspondingly rare. Company valuations are too high, while access to external finance remains difficult. However, there are signs that the market could have bottomed out. Those are the key findings of the private equity panel polled three times a year by CMS Hasche Sigle and FINANCE. The survey covers some 40 private equity firms, with partners being asked anonymously about their assessment of the market. "The German economy is still in excellent shape despite all the risks. That also applies to