The Carlyle Group has acquired a 48% stake in Bahcesehir Koleji, a private education provider in Turkey. The existing shareholders, the Yucel and Karatas groups, will remain as significant investors in Bahcesehir. Financial terms of the transaction, which closed on 27 Tuesday December, 2011 were not disclosed. Established in 1994, Bahcesehir Koleji, part of Bahcesehir Education Group, has risen to become one of the largest providers in the nursery, primary and secondary school segments of Turkey’s emerging private education sector. In August 2011, Bahcesehir operated 20 primary schools and 11 secondary schools, serving approximately 12,000 students.   Enver Yucel, Chairman of

The total value of UK mergers, acquisitions, flotations, rights issues and placements was GBP229 billion for 2011, an increase of 11 per cent on 2010, according to Experian Corpfin. The overall volume remained fairly constant, dropping by only two per cent. The value of UK Large transactions (those exceeding £100m in value) where a consideration was disclosed was up by 13 per cent to GBP201 billion in 2011, with the volume of transactions (300) identical year-on-year.   BDO International has been the most active financial advisor by volume with 83 deals, while Citigroup topped the value league with deals worth

Olympus Partners has acquired NPC International, Inc (NPC), the largest Pizza Hut franchisee and the largest franchisee of any restaurant concept in the United States. The company operates 1,153 Pizza Hut units (approximately 19 per cent of the domestic system) in 28 states with significant presence in the Midwest, South and Southeast.   Olympus has a long history of investing in successful restaurant franchisees, including previous investments in the Taco Bell, KFC, Wendy’s, Chili’s and Golden Corral systems. Paul Rubin (pictured) of Olympus Partners says: “We are excited to be partnering with Jim Schwartz, Troy Cook and the rest of

The Gores Group, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, through an affiliate, has signed an agreement to acquire 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 have not been disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in February of 2012, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approval. Founded in 1925, The Hay Group is headquartered in Bad Sobernheim, Germany, and has nearly 1,600 employees between its three German manufacturing operations sites (Bad Sobernheim, Bockenau and Lüchow). Part of

Savena Group and Sfinc Group, the European providers of food ingredient mixes, have agreed to a merger of the two companies. The combination will nearly double the size of Savena, which will become Savena Sfinc, and significantly increase its geographic footprint. The combined group will become a leading provider of food ingredient mixes in Europe. Both management teams have the support of their respective financial investor: IK Investment Partners (Savena), as a majority shareholder, and AXA Private Equity (Sfinc).   Savena and Sfinc design and produce ingredient-based culinary products for clients across Europe. Both groups have a robust growth track-record

Private equity firm Stirling Square Capital Partners has acquired a majority interest in Italy’s Viscolube, a major European player in the used oil recycling sector. The stake is being acquired from Giorgio Carriero and his family, who will retain a minority interest. Carriero, who had previously acquired a minority stake owned by ENI S.p.A., will continue as President of Viscolube. The acquisition is the first for Stirling Square’s recently appointed Special Opportunities team, which is led by Manilo Marocco. The Special Opportunities team shares the same pan-European outlook as the First and Second Fund team at Stirling Square but concentrates

Private equity emerging markets investor Actis has invested USD71 million in Endurance Technologies Limited, a leading Indian auto component manufacturer. Endurance manufactures aluminium die castings, suspensions, transmissions and brakes with a specific focus on the motorcycle and scooter market and high end engine and transmission components for passenger and commercial vehicles. It is amongst the largest Indian auto components businesses and has a proven track record of growth. The majority of the company’s revenues come from two-wheeler and three-wheeler vehicle manufacturers including industry leaders such as Bajaj, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters and Royal Enfield.  In the passenger car

GMZ Energy has secured USD14 million in Series C financing. The new investment was led by Mitsui Ventures and includes I2BF Global Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures (a joint venture of GE, NRG Energy and ConocoPhillips), Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and BP Alternative Energy. With the new funding, GMZ will expand its engineering and go-to-market capabilities as the company moves into production of a new class of renewable technologies.   GMZ specialises in direct heat-to-electricity conversion, applying an advanced nanotechnology process to produce high-performance and economically viable thermoelectric material. The GMZ material unlocks the potential of primary heat sources like

Golden Seeds has closed its second fund with USD26.5 million in committed capital for investments in early stage, high growth companies across at least three sectors, including technology, life sciences and consumer goods. The fund already boasts eight portfolio companies: AboutOne – online household management system; Cognition Therapeutics – drug discovery for Alzheimer’s disease; Hatsize – cloud-based training and demonstrations of complex technologies; LARK – sleep system that helps you wake better, and sleep better too; Open Road Integrated Media – digital publisher and multimedia content company; RuMe – manufacturer and distributor of fair trade reusable fashion items; Style for