Managers
Paladone, a designer and supplier of gifting products, has secured a GBP13 million minority investment from mid-market private equity investor LDC, to accelerate its international growth.
Headquartered in Brighton, Paladone specialises in the design, development and wholesale supply of licensed and own brand gifting products. Paladone has established strategic license partnerships with leading global brands including Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, Star Wars and Nintendo. Its own-label brands such as Purple Donkey and Scott & Lawson currently account for 30 per cent of revenue.
With a catalogue of more than 800 products, and offices in Los Angeles and Hong Kong,
Noerr has advised Mutares AG as Corporate Counsel with regard to the stock exchange and capital markets law on the planned IPO of its subsidiary STS Group AG and is also supporting the preparatory corporate actions at the level of STS Group AG.
Mutares was advised by a team led by partners Ralph Schilha and Julian Schulze De la Cruz.
The shares of STS Group AG are to be quoted on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company is a leading global system supplier to the car industry of soft and hard trim components for commercial
Guernsey is set to launch what it says will be the world’s first regulated green investment fund product following the publication of a set of draft rules by the island’s financial services regulator, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.
Fund managers will be able to apply for a green label for their funds if they can demonstrate compliance with defined green rules. The system will be open to all types of new and existing funds, authorised, registered, Guernsey Private Investment Funds, open-ended and closed-ended, with different levels of certification available.
“This move is part of our strategy to be the
OMERS Infrastructure, the infrastructure investment manager of OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for municipal employees in the Province of Ontario, Canada, is to sell its interests in Airports Worldwide (AWW) to Vinci Airports.
Active on two continents, AWW is a portfolio of airport assets and management contracts located in the United States, Costa Rica, Northern Ireland and Sweden.
“OMERS first invested in AWW in 2009. We have focused our efforts since that time on positioning the asset for long-term success, and are very proud of the value we have created with this investment for OMERS members. We wish the
NorthEdge Capital (NorthEdge) has supported the MBO of Prohire, a specialist provider of commercial fleet management solutions, backing the existing management team led by Managing Director Dave Barlow.
Headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent with an additional office in Tunbridge Wells, Prohire delivers fully outsourced solutions to commercial operators incorporating vehicle specification, procurement, funding and fleet management, with a focus on compliance, minimising costs and maximising vehicle and driver efficiency. The business has delivered strong historic growth and completed the acquisition of Sunrent in December 2016 – increasing the scale of its fleet to around 3,500 units. This enabled Prohire to increase turnover
BuildingConnected, a provider of software for real estate owners and general contractors to facilitate selecting contractors for construction projects, has secured USD15 million in new funding from Brookfield Ventures, Brookfield Asset Management’s new venture fund.
This investment brings the company’s total funding to USD53 million.
“It is rare to have an investor also be a customer. We are excited to have Brookfield as a partner as we seek to expand our geographic footprint and develop new and innovative products for our expanding roster of customers,” says BuildingConnected CEO Dustin DeVan. “Brookfield understands BuildingConnected’s vision to connect every business involved
Kirkland & Ellis is advising Toys’R’Us on the sale of its stores in the DACH region to Irish-British toy retailer Smyths. The transaction volume was not disclosed.
In September 2017, the US toy retail chain Toys’R’Us filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In March 2018, the company announced it would close stores in the United States and the United Kingdom and seek a buyer for its stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Toys’R’Us entered the German market in 1986 and is one of the largest toy retailers in the German-speaking countries.
Smyths Toys Superstores operates more than
Nonantum Capital Partners has closed its inaugural private equity fund at its hard cap of USD350 million in limited partner capital commitments, concluding a fundraising process that launched in January.
Formed by a group of experienced private equity and management executives as a spin-out from Charlesbank Capital Partners, Nonantum focuses primarily on investing in family businesses, corporate carve-outs, and complex situations where opportunities exist to partner with management teams to transform businesses.
Over nearly two decades, the team has successfully invested in dozens of family businesses and corporate carve-outs in the consumer, industrial, and business services sectors. Nonantum will
The Finnish credit information company Asiakastieto Group (Asiakastieto) listed on NASDAQ Helsinki, is to acquire UC AB (UC) in a deal worth EUR340 million.
Nordea owns 26.1 per cent of the shares in UC and will receive 2,303,315 shares in Asiakastieto, equivalent to 9.6 per cent of the shares in the company after completion of the transaction, and approximately EUR26 million in cash.
The transaction results in a capital gain amounting to approximatle EUR86 million for Nordea, expected to be recognised in the result in the second quarter of 2018, based on Asiakastieto’s share price as at 23 April
Sky9 Capital has completed the final closing of Sky9 Capital Fund III, with total capital commitments of USD200 million.
With support from a strong group of world-class institutional investors, family foundations and entrepreneurs, the fund invests mainly in China-based businesses with a focus on early-stage companies in the internet, enterprise, and deep technology sectors. Ron Cao, Founder & Managing Director, has over 18 years of extensive experience in venture capital and a track record of investing and growing successful China-based companies.
The Sky9 team includes an experienced group of technologists, entrepreneurs and investors who have participated previously in
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
