Managers
NEM Ventures, a venture capital and investment arm of the NEM blockchain ecosystem, has launched its NEM Ignite Incubator Programme to provide mentoring and financial support for early-stage blockchain projects. NEM Ignite will help cultivate the growth of meaningful ideas into viable companies that enhance the NEM ecosystem and technology adoption. NEM Ventures will assist incubatees by fostering connections between cohort participants, prominent partners and industry professionals, while helping founders develop their objectives, plans and technology to execute on their vision. Acceptance into the programme includes moderate financial assistance in the form of investment to help participants get started with pre-seed
AUA Private Equity Partners’ portfolio company, Gourmet Culinary Partners, has acquired Holiday Foods, and the recruitment of a senior executive management team to lead the integration and execution of the GCP platform. The GCP senior executive leadership will work closely with existing divisional leadership teams to execute on the company’s regional and national platform. Holiday Foods TM, a developer and marketer of appetisers and hors d’oeuvres with national distribution, was acquired from Schwan’s Company.
AUA Private Equity has completed five acquisitions in the specialty prepared foods segment with a focus on creating the leading manufacturer of appetisers, hors d’oeuvres, breakfast foods, side
Coutts, the Private Banking arm of NatWest, together with BGF, are working on plans to launch The UK Enterprise Fund to bring additional funding and support to entrepreneurs across the UK.
The partnership will build on Coutts and BGF’s existing platforms, drawing on the significant scale and financial firepower of the two companies. It will identify and address equity gaps across the whole of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, with specific initiatives and programmes for female-led businesses and aimed at increasing the diversity of management teams.
The launch of the partnership coincides with the one-year anniversary of the Alison Rose Review of Female
Global private equity firm OpenGate Capital’s portfolio company Duraco Specialty Tapes (Duraco), a manufacturer of pressure-sensitive tapes, has acquired Infinity Tapes, a manufacturer of customised adhesive products, from a private seller. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Infinity Tapes, headquartered in Lawrence, Massachusetts, is a manufacturer of double coated tapes, silicon coated liners and tamper evident products in the transit packaging and industrial end markets. Infinity Tapes has a workforce of approximately 45 employees and will continue to be led by President Craig Allard as a division of Duraco.
The addition of Infinity Tapes expands Duraco’s product offering in
Bregal Sagemount, a growth-focused private equity firm, has completed the final closing for Bregal Sagemount Fund III (Fund III) at the Fund’s hard cap of USD1.5 billion, exceeding its USD1.35 billion target.Fund III will continue the investment strategy Bregal Sagemount has pursued since its inception in 2012 and focus on providing flexible capital and strategic assistance to market-leading companies in high-growth sectors across a wide variety of transaction situations.
Gene Yoon, Founder and Managing Partner of Bregal Sagemount, says: “We are grateful for the support and trust from our existing investors and are pleased to welcome a select number of
Keystone Capital’s portfolio company, MERGE, has completed the acquisition of the Sandbox Group (Sandbox), an independent, full-service, strategic and digital agency based in Chicago. The combination forms one of the largest independent agencies in North America with more than 600 employees in seven locations across the United States and Canada.
Keystone initially acquired MERGE, a premium creative technology agency, in December 2018. The Company’s capabilities include business & digital strategy, marketing execution, analytics, experience design, technology development, and media services. MERGE delivers customer engagement solutions across market sectors with specific expertise in healthcare and financial services. MERGE is headquartered in Chicago
Graycliff Partners has sold NAL Group, a provider of last mile logistics and on-premise installation services, to CRST International, Inc. NAL Group primarily serves large ecommerce and omnichannel retailers, providing a full suite of final mile delivery, installation and assembly, and complementary support services across North America.
Graycliff first invested in NAL Group in October 2016. Graycliff teamed with management to identify and execute growth initiatives and in 2018 led the company through a transformative acquisition. Graycliff worked with the team to successfully integrate the businesses and drive customer, service offering and geographic expansion. The merger created a combined company capable
Actis, an investor of private capital into global emerging markets, is establishing a USD250 million pan-African data centre platform.The buy and build platform will comprise of independently owned, carrier neutral, data centres across key African markets. The first of these investments has now completed, with Actis taking a controlling stake in Nigeria’s leading, independent, co-location business, Rack Centre.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest data centre market outside South Africa and provides a launchpad for the platform’s further expansion.
Rack Centre owns and operates a certified Tier III data centre in Lagos. It has the largest installed capacity in West
ESO has provided a EUR20.0 million Senior Secured Loan to WERU Group, a portfolio company of funds advised by HIG Capital. The loan proceeds will be used to refinance existing facilities as well as support WERU Group’s further growth plans.
“We are very happy in supporting a true German market leader backed by a high-quality sponsor. We are also very pleased in leveraging our capabilities in completing the first transaction out of our European Lending Fund I providing SMEs with Senior Secured Capital Solutions,” says Christian Fritsch, Partner at ESO.
Klaas Reineke, Managing Director at HIG Capital, says: “The
Fourshore Partners (Fourshore) has acquired North State Acceptance (NSA), a specialty finance company that purchases and services retail instalment sales contracts from automobile dealerships.NSA is a leading provider of indirect subprime auto financing and direct consumer loans, enabling emerging credit consumers in Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions to purchase automobiles or obtain financing through a network of dedicated independent auto dealers and 12 branch locations. Led by long-term industry veterans, North State utilises an effective business model leveraging branch locations to ensure rigorous underwriting, efficient servicing and collections, and attractive asset and financial performance through multiple economic cycles.
“We are excited
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
