Business Growth Fund (BGF) and NVM Private Equity (NVM) have committed GBP10m of growth capital to acquisitive Northern pub chain, Wear Inns.  BGF has invested GBP8m and NVM has invested a further GBP2m in the business, which it has backed since start-up in 2006.  BGF will take a minority stake in the business and will join the existing board.   Founded in 2006 by local entrepreneurs John Weir (CEO) and John Sands (Chairman), Wear Inns focuses on the acquisition and management of freehold community pubs across the North East and Yorkshire.  The estate currently comprises 15 sites, including The Townhouse

AXA Private Equity, a European diversified private equity firm, will arrange a EUR22 million mezzanine tranche alongside Euromezzanine to support the acquisition of Stokomani by Sagard, the French investment fund. Stokomani is being acquired by Sagard from Advent International, a leading global buyout firm. The transaction is expected to complete in June. Stokomani is a leading French discount retailer of high-end brands. Throughout its network of 37 stores, Stokomani offers a wide range of branded goods at attractive prices, from clothing, sportswear, beauty and healthcare, toys and homeware. This unique concept, developed by CEO Jean-Jacques Namani, has seen the company

The Aureos Southern Africa Fund LLC (ASAF) has sold its stake in South African brick and clinker aggregate manufacturing group, SA Block (Pty) Ltd. SA Block manufactures bricks and clinker aggregate from clinker, the ash by-product produced when coal is burnt for electricity, thereby recycling what would otherwise be environmental waste. The clinker supplied by SA Block has unique advantages to manufacturers of concrete products.   ASAF is managed by Aureos Southern Africa Managers Ltd, a subsidiary of Aureos Capital Limited, a leading private equity fund management company specialising in investing in small and mid-cap companies in global growth markets.

Lyceum Capital-backed energy consultancy firm M&C Energy Group is set to be sold to trade buyer Schneider Electric, a French-headquartered multinational energy management company.   Contracts have been exchanged and the deal, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, is expected to complete in Q2 2012.   M&C was acquired by Lyceum Capital in December 2009 and, under the growth investor’s ownership, has acquired five complementary businesses in the UK, Germany, Hungary, the US, and Australia, expanded into major growth markets, and significantly grown its base of large corporate clients from 50 to over 700.   Dunfermline-headquartered M&C has operations

Kayne Partners Fund has partnered with Airborne Biometrics Group (FaceFirst). Kayne Partners is the growth private equity group of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, a USD15 billion alternative investment firm. This investment in FaceFirst is Kayne Partners’ third investment in the last two months. Founded in 2007, FaceFirst has developed an innovative technology providing government grade, real-time facial recognition wrapped into a turnkey package that can be deployed across a wide array of industries and end uses, including airport security, retail theft deterrence, VIP customer recognition, and counterterrorism. FaceFirst’s technology can process millions of facial comparisons per second at the lowest

HgCapital, the European sector-focused private equity investor, has acquired Qundis Group, a German foremost provider of submetering devices and systems for consumption-dependent billing of heat and water. HgCapital will acquire the company from financial investor Capcellence and Qundis management team, pending approval by the antitrust authorities. The Qundis management team will reinvest a substantial portion of their stake as part of the transaction.   Qundis was created in 2008 by the merger of QVEDIS (previously part of Siemens) and KUNDO SystemTechnik. Headquartered in Mühlhausen, the company has approximately 220 employees and currently provides submetering systems to a highly fragmented customer

Sagard, Jean Jacques Namani (President of Stokomani) and his management team have signed an agreement to acquire, from Advent International, Stokomani, the leading French discount wholesaler of leading brands. This transaction should be finalised by June 2012. The value of the transaction was undisclosed. For over 50 years, Stokomani has been the leading French specialist discounter of end‐of‐line products. Through its network of 37 stores, Stokomani offers a large range of constantly renewed brand name goods at attractive prices in the clothing, sportswear, beauty and healthcare, home ware or toy sectors. It is based on this unique concept, developed by

Cummins Inc has signed an agreement to acquire the heavy duty emissions control business of 3i-backed Hilite International. Headquartered in Marktheidenfeld, Germany, Hilite is a global supplier of leading automotive system solutions. The purchase price was undisclosed. Hilite’s emissions control unit is a world-class technology leader in the design and assembly of exhaust dosing systems for on- and off-road heavy duty vehicles. The business accounts for approximately 25 percent of Hilite’s revenues. It is a market leader offering superior solutions which enable its customers to meet increasingly strict global emissions standards. Following the sale, Hilite will focus on its core

Novartis has signed a definitive agreement to acquire specialty dermatology generics company Fougera Pharmaceuticals. Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis will acquire the business, which is based in Melville, New York, for USD1.525 billion in an all-cash transaction.   The sellers are comprised of a consortium of private equity funds led by Nordic Capital, DLJ Merchant Banking (a Credit Suisse affiliate) and Avista Capital Partners. The acquisition creates another strong global growth platform for Sandoz, the generic pharmaceuticals division of Novartis. Based on 2011 IMS data, the combined businesses will become the No1 global company in generic dermatology medicines,