Allocations
A Q&A with Brian Desmond, CSO and EVP Head of Fund Services at Horseshoe Group.
For readers unfamiliar with ILS Funds, can you give a brief summary of the asset class?
Insurance Linked Securities (ILS) are financial instruments sold to investors and whose value is affected by an insured loss event. Two examples of the financial instruments used are catastrophe bonds and collateralised reinsurance contracts.
The buyer of protection, or the entity that is transferring the insurance risk is called the cedent and the seller or writer of the protection could be an individual investor or a hedge fund. For investors in
Noerr has advised the Finnish laminates and packaging specialist Walki on the sale of the group to the private equity investor One Equity Partners.
The sellers are funds managed by CapMan Buyout, a division of the Nordic private equity company CapMan.
Walki is a manufacturer of technical laminates and packaging solutions. The group, which is headquartered in Finland, generated turnover of EUR318 million last year. In Germany Walki operates a facility in Steinfurt. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and will probably be completed in the third quarter of 2018.
Céréa Partenaire, an investment partner for agrobusiness companies, has held the first closing of Céréa Dette II with more than EUR300 million in commitments, after less than seven months of fundraising.
The fund’s subscribers are all institutional investors including insurance companies, pension funds, funds of funds and banks. Unigrains, sponsor of Céréa Partenaire, as well as all the original investors, have all invested in the new fund.
Launched in early 2015, the first generation of Céréa Dette surpassed its initial objective by more than 30 per cent securing EUR268m in commitments.
Following the same proven strategy, Céréa Dette
BlackRock is to acquire Tennenbaum Capital Partners, an investment manager focused on middle market performing credit and special situation credit opportunities.
The acquisition augments BlackRock’s position as a leading global credit asset manager and advances its goal of providing clients with a diverse range of alternative investment products and solutions to meet their evolving needs.
TCP complements BlackRock’s Global Credit business with seasoned investment talent and a strong long-term track record at a time when clients are increasingly turning to private credit as a higher-yielding alternative to traditional fixed income allocations. A key element of the transaction is the
Pioneer Square Labs (PSL) has launched PSL Ventures, a Seattle-based venture capital fund that invests in early-stage technology companies.
The USD80 million venture fund will invest in companies all over the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The fund also will participate in financings of spinouts from PSL’s affiliated startup studio.
The fund’s limited partner group is comprised of charitable foundations, institutional investment firms, funds of funds, and world-renowned technology industry executives and founders. The fund was oversubscribed and closed at the top end of its target range.
PSL Ventures is led by four managing directors: Greg
GreenCom Networks has secured a funding round led by London and Sydney-based the Macdoch Group, with a participation from existing shareholders Munich Venture Partners and SET Ventures.
The funds will be used to further strengthen GreenCom’s position as an Energy Internet of Things (IoT) provider in the European energy market and beyond.
GreenCom is providing its Energy Information Brokerage Platform to utilities and energy service companies, including OEMs of energy-relevant devices. As a company, GreenCom combines unique strengths from a deep understanding of the future energy markets and its telco technology background with the experience of managing millions of
British companies are enjoying an unprecedented period of investment from US West Coast-based firms, with 74 deals contributing to a total value of GBP1.08 billion in 2017 – the first time Silicon Valley investment into the UK has broken the billion-pound mark.
That’s according to a new report from Penningtons Manches, ‘Golden Gate to Golden Triangle’, which finds that software companies take the lion’s share of this investment, benefiting from GBP2.2 billion in funds since 2011. The number of deals from Silicon Valley into UK firms has increased by 252 per cent over that period.
Many of these companies are
RM Capital, a specialist alternative advisor and asset management business, has advised Gilkes Hydro Investments (GHI), a leading UK hydro asset owner on its 19 year, GBP43.8 million secured loan.
Provided by Aberdeen Standard Investments’ Infrastructure Debt team, the loan will support the refinancing of six operational hydro power assets located in Scotland. The investment includes both an index-linked and conventional tranche. RM Capital, the specialist alternative advisor and asset management business advised GHI on the transaction.
James Satterthwaite, Head of Distribution, RM Capital, says: “We are delighted to have advised-on, structured and placed the Loan Notes and supported
Ropes & Gray has advised Ares Management on the sale of its portfolio company Cordium – a leading provider of governance, risk and compliance services – to ACA Compliance Group, a US-headquartered leading provider of risk management and technology solutions that focus on regulatory compliance, performance, financial crime, and cybersecurity.
Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in the summer, subject to regulatory approvals, have not been disclosed.
The Ropes & Gray team was led by London-based private equity partner Kiran Sharma. Other members of the team included tax partner Brenda Coleman, private equity associates Laura Kayani,
Barclays UK has today established a new unit that will focus on developing new business lines, promoting innovation and driving returns within Barclays UK.
The new unit, Barclays UK Ventures (BUKV), will be led by Ben Davey, formerly Barclays’ Group Head of Strategy, who will also join Barclays UK’s Executive Committee.
Davey’s new team will have the mandate and space to find and develop opportunities both within and outside Barclays that have the capacity to grow Barclays UK. Those opportunities will then be captured through a combination of organic build-out, commercial partnerships and venture investments. Davey and his team
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
