Sandoz has completed its USD1.525bn acquisition of specialty US dermatology company Fougera Pharmaceuticals on a cash and debt free basis. Fougera had net sales of USD 429m in 2011 in the US alone and, combined with Sandoz’s existing generic dermatology franchise, this positions Sandoz as the number one in generic dermatology medicines both globally and in the US. Fougera has strong dermatology development and manufacturing expertise, particularly in the area of semi-solid forms such as creams and ointments, as well as a well-known branded business, PharmaDerm. "We are pleased to combine Fougera’s strong portfolio and pipeline of dermatology medicines with

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, has partnered with management to complete the acquisition of Mander Portman Woodward from Apollo Global, a subsidiary of Apollo Group.  Based in London, MPW represents LLCP’s first platform investment in Europe. MPW is a provider of private education for students in their transition from secondary school into UK universities. It offers courses to over 900 students each year at its London, Cambridge and Birmingham campuses. The investment in MPW was funded from Levine Leichtman Capital Partners IV, a USD1.1bn private equity fund.  Lauren Leichtman (pictured), co-founder and chief executive of

Actis, the pan-emerging markets private equity firm, and the Government of Rwanda have confirmed the sale of Actis’s interest in Banque Commerciale du Rwanda (BCR) to Kenyan regional bank, I&M Bank, and French and German development finance institutions, Proparco and DEG. Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, John Rwangombwa (pictured), heralded the sale of the country’s second largest bank as a privatisation success story for Africa.   Actis acquired an 80 per cent interest in BCR in a 2004 privatisation, with the remaining 20 per cent interest retained by the Government of Rwanda. When Actis invested, Rwanda was a

Athens-based IT consulting and services provider Real Consulting has acquired 100 per cent of the shares in HP Mid-market Solutions from the Hewlett-Packard Group. The parties have not disclosed the purchase price. The target company has since been renamed RC Mid-market Solutions. A team led by corporate lawyer and lead partner Richard Mitterhuber advised Hewlett-Packard on all legal aspects of the transaction. Headquartered in Koblenz, RC Mid-market Solutions employs approximately 200 people. With five sites across Germany, the company specialises in dealer management systems and ERP system integration in the European automotive sector. The company has over 2,000 customers and

Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm, has acquired Cross Match Technologies, a provider of interoperable biometric identity management systems, applications and services. “Cross Match has a long history of innovation and has secured significant contracts with the most discerning government clients,” says Keith Geeslin, a partner at Francisco Partners. “Biometric technology is growing in importance, and Cross Match, with its strong management team and quality brand, is in an excellent position to capitalise on this growth.” Founded in 1996, Cross Match’s offerings include a wide range of multimodal biometric solutions, which are used to capture and process the unique

RJD Partners, a UK-based middle market private equity investors, has backed the management buyout of Harrington Brooks, a provider of debt management solutions, from Inflexion Private Equity. The buyout is being led by chief executive Matthew Cheetham, who joined the business in 2007, and finance director Terry Sweeney, who was part of the original buy-in team in 2005, both of whom will increase their stakes in the business going forward.  Debt facilities have been provided by PNC Business Credit, an asset based lender and the company’s incumbent banker Harrington Brooks is based in Sale, Manchester and was founded in 1998

Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm, has completed the acquisition of Kewill, a trade and logistics software provider. This deal represents Francisco Partners’ sixth take-private transaction in Europe since the beginning of 2009. “We see a significant opportunity for Kewill as long-term growth and increasing complexity in the trade and transportation of goods drives the need for comprehensive software solutions,” says Deep Shah (pictured), a partner for Francisco Partners. “Kewill has a robust product portfolio and an impressive client list of 7,000 customers around the world, including some of the world’s leading multinational companies such as Bayer, Black &