Private equity firm The Gores Group has completed the acquisition of The Hay Group, one of the leading European manufacturers of high precision forged and machined components for engines, gearboxes and axles for the automotive, commercial vehicle and bearing industries. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Founded in 1925, The Hay Group has nearly 1,600 employees between its three German manufacturing operations sites. Part of the strategy under the new ownership will be to expand The Hay Group’s operations into Asia to meet the demands and requirements of its customers.  Fernando Goni, Managing Director of The Gores Group,

Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group has received a binding irrevocable offer from Glory Ltd to purchase Talaris for an enterprise value of GBP650m.  Talaris is a global provider of cash handling equipment, servicing and software solutions and Glory is a manufacturer of money handling systems. Following consultation with the French works council, if the offer is accepted, the contemplated transaction will be subject to regulatory approvals.   Carlyle Europe Partners III, LP acquired De La Rue Cash Systems from De La Rue plc in September 2008 for GBP360m, rebranding the company “Talaris”, and focusing on the growth of

Edinburgh Research and Innovation (ERI), the University of Edinburgh’s technology transfer office, has announced a strategic alliance with MTI, the London-based venture capital fund manager which secures a GBP150 million injection to university spin out activity. Companies working through ERI, or the technology transfer offices at the University of Manchester and University College London, can access the Orion Fund, a significant venture capital fund, raised and managed by MTI. The Orion Fund will invest primarily into companies and commercialisation projects emerging from the three universities. 
 It is the technology base of the University of Edinburgh and the companies formed around that

EDG Partners, a private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, has closed its second fund, EDG Partners Fund II, LP. The fund closed above target at USD177.75 million. The new fund brings the total capital managed by EDG Partners to over USD260 million. Touchstone Group, LLC provided fundraising support to the firm. EDG Partners, with offices near Atlanta and Washington, DC, is a private equity firm that provides capital, expertise, and relationships to enable small and middle market healthcare companies to achieve their potential. Gaffney one of the founders of EDG Partners, says: "We are pleased to announce

The transaction team of C H Reynolds Corporate Finance, under the leadership of Stefan Constantin, Partner, and Robert Kraska, Director, successfully advised HeidelbergCapital on the sale of its stake in Framas Kunststofftechnik GmbH. Framas develops and manufactures high-tech soles and plastic components primarily for the sport shoe market. Main customers include Adidas and Nike as well as further leading global shoe manufacturers. With its 3,300 employees, the group generates revenues of over USD150 million. Since investing in Framas in 2008, HeidelbergCapital had actively supported the company’s worldwide expansion, including the establishment of development centres in South Korea and Germany. The

International legal practice Norton Rose LLP has advised its client Duet Private Equity on the acquisition of a controlling interest in Dashen Brewery, Ethiopia’s largest independent brewer. The value of the acquisition is USD90 million, making it the largest private equity investment in to Ethiopia to date. The investment will be used to increase the capacity at Dashen’s existing site in Gondar, Ethiopia and develop new production facilities in Addis Ababa. Last year, leading brewers Heineken and Diageo acquired the other two leading brewers in Ethiopia in transactions worth an aggregate US$400 million. Duet’s investment and partnership with Dashen will

The shareholders of Savcio today confirmed the sale of the company to ACTOM. Savcio is the largest privately owned provider of maintenance and repair services for motors and transformers in Africa. ACTOM focuses on manufacturing, distributing and contracting in the electrical engineering sector.   Private equity firms Actis, Ethos and Old Mutual, BEE shareholders Sphere Holdings and Aka Capital, and management received a conditional approval for the sale from the South African Competition Authorities.   Savcio was originally acquired from Delta Electrical Industries Limited in 2005, by a private equity consortium co-led by Ethos and Actis, with equity and considerable BEE

Hicks Equity Partners (HEP), the private equity investment vehicle of the Thomas O Hicks family, is leading an investor group that has acquired a majority interest in Directional Rentals, Inc, a privately held oilfield services company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Based in Lafayette, Louisiana with satellite locations in Houston, Texas, Casper, Wyoming and Bakersfield, California, Directional rents tools primarily to directional drilling companies for bottom hole assemblies used in onshore and offshore horizontal and directional drilling. The company’s rental equipment portfolio consists of nearly 5,000 drill collars, stabilisers and sub-assemblies in a wide range of sizes

Finam, the largest Russian brokerage and investment holding, that previously invested in Badoo and a host of other web companies, has invested USD10 million in IM+, a mobile messenger services with 17.5 million users and 800 million mobile ad impressions/month. As a part of the deal Finam and Shape Services, the company behind IM+, launch FinamShape joint venture that will release a special version of plus . im web messenger for the fast growing Russian market. "This deal is squarely in line with our fund’s new strategy which is geared towards investing in global players in the TMT sector worldwide.