Managers
Private equity firm ClearLight Partners has sold Taymax Group Holdings (Taymax) to Trilantic North America for an undisclosed sum.
Based in Salem, New Hampshire, Taymax is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisees in the Planet Fitness system. Taymax owns and operates more than 50 Planet Fitness clubs in the greater San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, Toronto and Ottawa regions. Planet Fitness is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centres in the United States by number of members and locations. Its mission is to enhance people’s lives by providing a high-quality fitness experience
Browne Jacobson has advised on the successful management buy-out of technology services business DSP Database Managed Services.
The deal was backed by YFM Equity Partners (YFM) the specialist private equity fund manager, and Santander Growth Capital.
Corporate Finance Associate Paul McCannah led on the deal for Browne Jacobson, advising both vendors and the management team led by CEO Simon Goodenough, with Emma Hinton, banking partner, leading on the debt funding for DSP.
Established in 1999 DSP is one of the UK’s leading providers of ‘Next Generation’ Database and Data Platform Managed Services across Oracle, Microsoft and Open Source
HELP Inc, the owner and provider of PrePass weigh station bypassing and other truck safety and toll payment technologies, is partnering with infrastructure investment firm Alinda Capital Partners.
HELP, a non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity, is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of an equal number of State government agency and trucking industry representatives, ensuring that solutions and services that support and enhance public safety are balanced between safety and freight efficiency. Upon receiving HELP Board approval in late May, Alinda completed the acquisition of HELP’s contractor, CVO Holding Company, LLC, which will continue to provide contractual services to HELP.
Brixton-based event lead capture company Akkroo has closed a GBP1.75 million funding round led by Conviction Investment Partners (CIP), with participation from previous private investors.
In line with CIP’s ‘just in time’ capital funding model, this raise forms the first part of its Series A round and the business will have access to further capital of an equal or greater amount in 12 months’ time. The company will use the funds to increase its marketing activities and significantly expand its US operations.
Formally launched in 2013 as a spin-out from RMP Enterprise, Akkroo enables sales and marketing teams
International private equity firm, Cinven’s Sixth Cinven Fund has entered into exclusive discussions to acquire AXA Life Europe (ALE), a European life insurance company, for a consideration of EUR925 million.
ALE primarily manages guaranteed, unit-linked life insurance products (known as ‘Variable Annuities’) for its customer base across Germany, the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. ALE manages circa 248,000 policies, circa EUR8 billion of assets and has circa EUR5 billion of reserves of which circa 70 per cent is related to German policies. It has been closed to new business since 2017. Furthermore, ALE is a reinsurer of AXA’s Japanese variable
HIG Capital’s portfolio company Valtris Specialty Chemicals (Valtris), has acquired INEOS ChloroToluenes (ICT) and INEOS Baleycourt (Baleycourt) from INEOS Enterprises.
The combination creates a global specialty chemicals business with a broad product portfolio, strong technical capabilities and world-class customer service.
With production facilities in Belgium and the Netherlands, ICT is a leading producer of chlorinated toluenes and related derivatives that are used in coatings, flavour & fragrance, personal care and pharmaceutical applications. Based in northeast France, Baleycourt produces high-quality products that serve the polymer additives, lubricant, renewable energy and food markets.
Paul Angus, CEO of Valtris commented, “ICT
High-growth Miss Group, a web hosting company, has secured a GBP6.4m investment from BGF to accelerate its international expansion strategy.
The group will use the funding to build further scale through driving organic growth and acquisition of web hosting companies in new and existing markets.
Founded by serial entrepreneur Mattias Kaneteg and headquartered in Manchester, Miss Group provides a range of services predominately to SMEs, including domain registration, site building, website hosting and email management.
Since its launch in 2014, the group has opened more than 70,000 accounts, established offices in Stockholm, Miami and Sofia and have also
Nexus Labs, a medical education startup, has completed a seed funding round to launch its first product, SurgicalTeaching.com, a digital platform aimed at enhancing the learning experience of students and doctors around the world.
The funding came from the GM&C Life Sciences Fund, managed by Catapult Ventures; and Alderley Park Ventures, managed by BioCity.
Surgical Teaching aims to simplify the theoretical and practical learning experience of medical students and doctors. Through combining CGI animations, real-life video footage and user performance analytics, Surgical Teaching complements medical school curriculum and helps to prepare students for both their examinations and life as
Oddbox, a London-based independent ‘wonky’ fruit and veg box scheme, has reached its crowdfunding target in record time to enable it to expand its service.
The company initially hoped to raise GBP350,000 but managed GBP520,000.
The purpose-driven business has captured people’s imagination by offering a quality, sustainably-sourced product which is conveniently delivered to your door. Oddbox’s weekly boxes are filled with delicious wonky and surplus fruit and veg that have been rescued from farms and would otherwise have been wasted. It pays farmers a fair price for their produce and donates up to 10 per cent to tackle food
San Francisco Equity Partners (SFEP) has acquired a majority stake in Portland-based Brazi Bites, a US producer of naturally gluten-free Brazilian-style cheese bread.
The new partnership aims to develop new business around the strength of the Brazi Bites founding team that has been leading a movement among consumers toward authentic, ethnic, better-for-you frozen foods offerings.
“San Francisco Equity Partners is the ideal partner for Brazi Bites based on their experience guiding authentic consumer brands to a broader audience,” says Junea Rocha, Co-Founder and CEO of Brazi Bites. “The popularity of our Brazilian Cheese Bread line has positioned the company
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