Allocations
UK mid-market private equity specialist Graphite Capital has sold Park Holidays UK, Britain's fourth largest operator of static caravan parks, to Caledonia Investments, a UK investment trust company, for GBP172m.
The sale brings the total value of disposals made by Graphite since October 2012 to over GBP1bn. Graphite has sold seven companies over this period realising GBP579.3m of equity proceeds from an initial cost of GBP202.3m and generating a total return of 2.9x cost.
Park Holidays UK owns 21 freehold and two leasehold caravan parks with nearly 9,000 pitches in southern England. The group sells caravans to owners and
CCS Healthcare has entered into an agreement with Merck Sharp & Dohme (Sweden) to acquire the pharmaceutical skin care product and trademark Propyless.
Propyless is a lotion, based on active substance propylene glycol, used for dry skin, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. Introduced in the late 1980s it is a well-known registered trademark in the Swedish market.
“Propyless is a leading product in its niche on the Swedish market and fits well with our targeted growth strategy. It complements well our current pharmaceutical and skin care offering,” says Jonas Nilsson, CEO of CCS Healthcare.
With sales of approximately SEK500m
The Honest Company has secured USD25m in a financing round led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) and joined by ICONIQ Capital, with participation from existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and General Catalyst Partners.
The new round of funding adds to USD27m raised previously and will accelerate growth initiatives including international expansion, new product development and innovation, enhanced distribution capabilities, and greater accessibility to the brand.
“The overwhelmingly positive response to both our recent launch in Canada and the availability of Honest products from our retail partners is a testament to the vast unmet global need for safe everyday family
Grifols is expanding its portfolio by acquiring Novartis' diagnostic products for transfusion medicine and immunology in a deal worth USD1.675bn.
The deal, which will be structured through Grifols' diagnostic division and a newly created 100 per cent Grifols-owned subsidiary, includes Novartis’ NAT technology (Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques), instrumentation and equipment for blood screening, specific software and reagents.
The assets acquired include patents, brands, licenses and royalties, together with the production plant at Emeryville (California, US) and commercial offices in US, Switzerland and Hong Kong (for the Asia-Pacific region) among others.
Grifols estimates pro-forma total annual revenues to approach
Equistone Partners Europe has completed the sale of Yorkshire-based glass container manufacturer Allied Glass, which sees CBPE Capital reacquire a former portfolio business.
Equistone’s Fund III supported the management team when it acquired a majority share in 2010 as part of a GBP75m management buyout.
The company, which employs over 660 people across two factory sites in Leeds and Knottingley, is the UK’s fourth largest glass bottle manufacturer by volume and a leader in specialist bottle serving the high-end global spirits industry. Allied specialises in the production of complex bottles and supplies containers to world-leading brands including Johnny Walker,
Paul Hastings advised Astorg Partners in connection with the sale of OGF, a French funeral services company, to funds managed by Pamplona Capital Management, an investment company.
This transaction was the second-largest LBO acquisition in France in 2013.
Astorg Partners is an independent French capital investment firm that manages EUR2bn and invests in manufacturing or service companies, very often family-owned, with high growth potential.
Astorg Partners was also advised by Ashurst and Cravath Swaine & Moore on financing issues.
Pamplona was represented by the Paris and London Offices of Allen & Overy, and the management of OGF, which
Alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group has completed the acquisition of the Red Oak power generation facility located in Sayreville, New Jersey.
The acquisition was executed in conjunction with Cogentrix Energy Power Management, which was acquired by Carlyle funds in late 2012, and brings the total number of power generating facilities acquired since then to 11 with an aggregate enterprise value of more than USD1.2bn. Financial terms were not released.
Robert Mancini, Carlyle managing director and chairman of the board of Cogentrix, says: “This acquisition is a great opportunity to create value for our fund investors by taking advantage
Private equity and alternative asset manager Maven Capital Partners has participated in the GBP55m investment in Global Risk Partners (GRP), led by Penta Capital, providing GBP5m of the funding.
This deal represents another opportunity for Maven client funds to invest in private equity transactions led by Glasgow-based Penta. Maven previously invested as part of a syndicate in the 2010 acquisition of online insurance provider esure, which earlier this year undertook a successful IPO, and the 2011 buy-and-build platform Six Degrees Group.
GRP has been set up by chief executive David Margrett who had a series of senior roles at
Technology dealmakers may be showing a little spring in their step heading into 2014, according to the latest M&A Leaders Survey issued jointly by M&A law firm Morrison & Foerster and technology research firm 451 Research.
In their latest canvass of tech industry insiders, MoFo and 451 Research found participants modestly bullish about the pace of mergers and acquisitions, both in recent months and looking ahead.
Forty per cent said the past six months generated more deal activity than at any point in the past two years, compared with 36 per cent saying the same period produced less M&A
Having emerged from the global recession and its aftermath, the real estate private equity sector is finally positioned for growth in 2014, according to EY’s latest global market outlook.
"Five years on, and following a long recovery, global real estate is now entering a broad up-cycle and, having learned some important lessons during the downturn, private equity funds are heading down a path toward growth. What remains to be seen is if they are in for a brisk morning walk or just a Sunday stroll," says Mark Grinis, EY's global real estate fund services leader.
The strategies being deployed
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