The Mezzanine team at AXA Private Equity has arranged and subscribed the financing for the acquisition of Unither Pharmaceuticals by Equistone Partners Europe. Unither is being acquired by Equistone, alongside historical shareholders ING Parcom Private Equity, CM-CIC Investment and Picardie Investment. Unither Pharmaceuticals was originally purchased in 1993 from a Sanofi’s factory employing 17 people in Amiens, France. It is now a global manufacturer of unidose packaging for European pharmaceutical laboratories, and generic products, particularly eyewashes, saline solutions and anti-asthma drugs in sterile single-dose units and stick-packs.   With four industrial sites and an R&D centre, Unither generated revenues of

Patron Capital, the pan-European private equity group, has acquired, together with its new joint venture partner, Halcyon Hotels and Resorts, over 30% of the Von Essen Group portfolio from its administrators; the acquired assets formed a sub-brand within Von Essen known as the Luxury Family Hotels collection. Four of the assets were owned until 2005 by Nigel Chapman, Halcyon’s Chief Executive, who together with Patron Capital is committed to returning them to their former glory and restoring the Luxury Family Hotels brand.   The seven hotels being acquired have a total of 211 keys, with a restaurant and spa/leisure facilities

Vinci Partners, a Brazilian Investment Management firm headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, has selected SunGard’s Investran to help automate partnership accounting and performance reporting across its private equity investment portfolios. SunGard’s Investrant supports the entire investment lifecycle, from fundraising through reporting and portfolio monitoring. It automates front-, middle- and back-office processes for private equity and alternative investment firms. Investran will help Vinci streamline its back office operations by monitoring cash flows and tracking its portfolio performance, investor reports and investor capital account balances. It will also facilitate firm-wide reporting and be used for performance and exposure reporting for accurate and

Investment Management Group (IMG) has completed its acquisition of an approximately 70% per cent stake in a retail park to be built in Tver, Russia, on behalf of its Russia Development Fund. The retail park, developed by Normal Asset Management (NAM), will be the largest modern shopping centre of its class to be built in Tver, a city located 134 km northwest of Moscow. The project will consist of two “big box” anchors: a hypermarket operated by Globus, a German retailer, and a DIY store operated by French group Leroy Merlin, which will be connected by a retail gallery. The

Forbion Capital Partners has announced the first and final closing of its second FCF 1 Co-Investment Fund at approximately USD50m. The fund aims to invest additional capital, alongside its existing funds, in several late stage FCF 1 portfolio companies that are close to an exit. Forbion’s first FCF 1 Co-Investment Fund of €54m closed in September 2010, and has made six investments to date, two of which have already been sold, repaying the entire fund up to two times. These exits include Biovex, sold to Amgen in January 2011 for up to USD1bn and Pathway Medical, sold in September 2011

Niagara LaSalle Corporation (Niagara LaSalle) has been acquired by strategic buyer Optima Specialty Steel, Inc. Niagara LaSalle is a portfolio company of private equity firm Kohlberg & Company. Harris Williams & Co. acted as the exclusive advisor to Niagara LaSalle. The transaction closed on 5 December, 2011 and was led by Mike Hogan (pictured), Ned Valentine, John Arendale, Dave Kennedy and Doug Kinard from the firm’s Richmond office along with Jeremy Eberlein from the firm’s Cleveland office.   Niagara LaSalle is North America’s largest independent manufacturer of high quality engineered cold finished steel bars, serving a broad range of customers in

JWI Capital, a Cleveland, Ohio based investment firm, has completed a controlling equity investment in Weaver Express Blower Services, an installer and manufacturer of compost-based filter socks and other compost-based products for erosion and sediment control applications. Weaver’s compost-based filter sock products and services primarily focus on eliminating or minimising sediment run-off from construction sites. Weaver also provides other environmental services such as stream bank restoration, and steep slope stabilisation by utilising "green" bio-engineered technology. Weaver Express was founded in 2000 by Kevin and Keith Weaver, who have retained an ownership position in the business and will continue to work for

The Aureos Africa Health Fund has invested USD2.75 million in a Kenyan healthcare devices company, Revital Healthcare EPZ Limited (Revital). Revital is based in Mombasa and specialises in the manufacture of single use auto disable hypodermic syringes (AD Syringes). AD Syringes are a key weapon in reducing the transmission of HIV and other blood-borne diseases as they disable after a single use, guaranteeing that they cannot be reused. Their use is mandated by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation.   In addition to the production of AD Syringes, Revital produces a range of other disposable medical products.   The Africa

Atlante Ventures Mezzogiorno, the Intesa Sanpaolo Group’s venture capital fund, is betting on Italian technological innovation and investing EUR4.6 million in three young companies based in Southern Italy: Pantea, Samares and SpinVector.   The three businesses, selected according to their extensive growth potential and goals of becoming leading companies in the coming years, share some fundamental characteristics: they are high-tech firms and plan to invest in Southern Italy, the part of the country for which the fund was created.   If Admantx, the investment of EUR2 million signed last summer, is also considered, the total investment commitments assumed by Atlante

SES Holdings Ltd (Saxon) has merged its rig business with the business of the Schlumberger Rig Management Group. Under the terms of the transaction, 14 Schlumberger land drilling rigs and crews in Oman, Pakistan, and Venezuela will become part of Saxon’s expanded international operations. Saxon will also provide technical drilling contracting support to existing Schlumberger joint ventures and operations in Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Iraq, and Venezuela (Lake Maracaibo). The transaction represents Saxon’s first entry into the Middle East and North Africa region; thereby growing and diversifying the business in key international markets. The transaction not only provides Saxon with increased