IK Investment Partners is to sell Europris, the leading Norwegian integrated mixed discount retailer focused on non-food retail, to Nordic Capital. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. IK acquired Europris in September 2004, at which time the Company consisted of a wholesale business, a penny store concept and a franchise operation with a network of 136 stores across Norway. During its ownership, IK has successfully transformed Europris into an integrated wholesale/retail business and doubled chain revenues close to EUR 500 million in 2011. IK has, together with management, also implemented a number of strategic initiatives and operational

Maven Capital Partners (Maven) has realised a return of 1.7x on its initial investment from the sale of its holding in ATR Group via a secondary buyout funded to the private equity manager NBGI. ATR is a market leading provider of rental services for specialist plant, equipment and consumables, with an extensive client base of offshore and onshore energy services maintenance contractors operating in highly regulated environments. The group provides a comprehensive range of added value support services, including health and safety compliance solutions and the inspection and certification of equipment.

 Maven client funds invested in the MBI of ATR

Private equity firm Teakwood Capital has acquired staff paging and management systems specialist Long Range Systems Inc (LRS). LRS is best known for its patented “coaster pager” that most people have received when waiting for a table or an order at a restaurant. LRS currently serves customers across twenty industries, from restaurants, hospitals, daycares, and amusement parks to churches and retirement homes. LRS has millions of devices deployed globally at approximately 75,000 locations. The Company has offices in ten countries spread across six continents. LRS systems demonstrate fast payback and high return on investment by delivering streamlined operations, improved service,

NBGI Private Equity has backed the management buyout of ATR Group, the Aberdeen-based oil & gas rental services business. An equity and debt financing package of over GBP20m has been put in place, with significant capital allocated to fund the growth strategy of the business.  

 A market leader in the rental of specialised tools and equipment principally for the offshore oil & gas industry, ATR also provides a comprehensive range of added value support services including outsourced fleet management, health and safety compliance, and inspection and certification of equipment. ATR Group has a long-standing, loyal blue-chip customer base and

The Management team of Natixis Capital Partners has successfully concluded a Management Buy-out and effective 1 March, 2012, will operate fully independently under the name Captiva Capital Management (Captiva). The buy-out team has been working together since 2001, and has developed strong relationships with leading institutional investors, including pension funds, insurance companies and financial institutions. To date, Captiva has invested EUR 1.3 billion of equity capital in the real estate sector on behalf of its institutional clients, either directly or through specialised investment platforms. Those investments include over 1,500 properties across Europe worth more than EUR8 billion. Building on this

GeneWeave Biosciences, developer of a platform for the rapid detection of infectious disease, has raised USD12 million in a series A round of venture capital led by Decheng Capital. Existing investors Claremont Creek Ventures and X/Seed Capital also participated in the round. The company also announced that Min Cui (pictured), Managing Director at Decheng Capital, will join the company’s board of directors. Steve Tablak, the CEO of GeneWeave Biosciences, says the latest infusion of capital will be used to complete the development, validation and clearance of the initial test for the company’s platform. The company has developed a breakthrough molecular

Monroe Capital has provided a USD37.1 million unitranche facility and an equity co-investment to support the acquisition of LAI International by RLJ Equity Partners. LAI International is a provider of comprehensive precision engineered finished parts, components and subassemblies for aerospace, power generation, defence, medical, electronics and other advanced technology industries. The company’s best-in-class manufacturing solutions are essential to the performance of airframes, aircraft engines, gas turbines, defence systems and other mission-critical applications. Rufus Rivers, Managing Director of RLJ Equity Partners, says: “Monroe Capital demonstrated their ability to provide flexible capital as our capital structure was modified during the due-diligence process.

Ochre House, the recruitment process outsourcing and talent management business backed by NBGI Private Equity (NBGIPE), has acquired the two strategic resourcing firms in the Middle East and North Africa, TAAHEED and Carmichael Fisher.  The acquisition will significantly expand Ochre House’s international capabilities in response to increasing client demand.  “We are already one of the fastest growing talent management businesses in Europe and Asia and have an established partnership with one of the US’s leading players, Pinstripe,” says Chris Herrmanssen, CEO.  “Acquiring the Dubai-based TAAHEED and its sister company, Carmichael Fisher, provides us with a key piece of the jigsaw

HIG Europe (HIG), the European arm of global private equity firm HIG Capital, and FNZ Holdings Ltd (FNZ), a provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions to the financial services sector, have entered into an agreement with growth equity firm General Atlantic whereby General Atlantic will acquire a minority stake in FNZ alongside HIG and the management team. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. HIG backed an MBO of FNZ in early 2009 and the Company has since experienced rapid organic growth supporting its existing blue-chip clients such as Standard Life and Axa as well as new