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Mid-market private equity investor Equistone Partners Europe Limited (Equistone) is to acquire a majority stake in Bulgin, a UK-headquartered developer and manufacturer of environmentally sealed high-performance engineered solutions, from Elektron Technology for an enterprise valuation of GBP105 million.
Following Equistone’s investment, Bulgin will continue to be led by John Wilson, who will transition from the role of Executive Chairman to Chief Executive Officer, and its existing management team, who will acquire a minority shareholding alongside Equistone. The team will be strengthened by the appointment of Peter Williamson, who brings extensive experience of driving value in international engineering and manufacturing businesses
blufolio AG, a Swiss blockchain investment firm and manager of the Luxembourg-registered blufolio venture capital fund, has invested in Liquineq, a global payments platform start-up based in Zug, Switzerland.
Liquineq is targeting a specific segment of the global remittances market, with strong potential for growth via a strategy of third-party partnerships.
Balazs Klemm, blufolio AG founding partner, says: “We are delighted to support the growth of Liquineq, which is targeting a clear gap in the market for global remittances. We see a wealth of opportunities for Liquineq’s top-drawer management team to leverage its offering via partnerships in emerging markets and
RFA has come a long way since it first opened for business in 1989. Now the firm, which has over 800 clients, is one of the biggest cloud providers to the alternative investment sector, offering state-of-the-art cybersecurity services and fully managed IT and CTO consultancy services.
Much of RFA’s success can be attributed to the ethos of the firm, which takes a consultative, rather than product-led approach to client requirements, most of whom, as Managing Director George Ralph (pictured) points out, come via word of mouth. Ralph works alongside chairman, Richard Fleischman, president, Yohan Kim and CIO, Michael Asher.
PE
In this week’s newsletter, David Rees, Partner and Global Co-Head of Asset Management at AMP Capital discusses the discipline of bringing PE rigour to active management in the infrastructure space, and why the firm is hiring technologists to effect positive change.
Keeping with the technology theme, US Capital Global Securities has added a blockchain technology VC fund, NYCQ Fund LP, to its portfolio. The Fund holds leading names in the FinTech and blockchain infrastructure arena, including Coinbase.
In other news, Eurazeo, one of Europe’s leading PE houses, has held a final close of its latest fund, Eurazeo Capital IV,
Vestigo Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on making investments in fintech companies, and AXA Venture Partners, a venture capital fund investing in high-growth, technology-enabled companies, have closed a USD11 million financing round for Jobble, a community of on-demand workers.
The funding round was led by Vestigo Ventures and AXA Venture Partners with participation from Guardian Strategic Ventures and Harlem Capital Partners.
Founded by Zack Smith and Corey Bober, Jobble is an on-demand marketplace and management platform that connects 60 million gig economy workers in the United States seeking jobs with companies offering flexible work opportunities. As one of
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has completed the sale of TRANZACT, a provider of direct-to-consumer sales and marketing solutions for individual Medicare and Life insurance policies across the US, to Willis Towers Watson. The total purchase price was USD1.3 billion.
Under CD&R’s ownership, TRANZACT capitalised on rapid growth in its core Medicare markets. TRANZACT’s success was supported by the company’s strong leadership team, entrepreneurial culture, and significant investments in its portfolio of differentiated technology and analytics capabilities.
As a leader in direct-to-consumer insurance sales, TRANZACT today employs approximately 1,300 individuals, including 850 licensed agents. The company integrates expertise in technology, marketing,
Bluegem Capital Partners, a European mid-market fund focused on consumer brands, has acquired Pool Service, an Italian professional hair care group and owner of the Medavita brand, from the private equity house Accord Management and the Cattaneo family.
Headquartered near Milan, the group is a leading developer and manufacturer of premium professional hair care products under both own and third party brands. The most prominent of the own brands is Medavita, with a history of over 50 years and known for its high efficacy, scientific formulas of its full range of professional haircare products.
The Group has strong R&D capabilities
BGF has invested GBP6.25 million in Christopher Ward, a Maidenhead-based premium British watch brand, founded in 2005 by Mike France, Chris Ward and Peter Ellis.
Christopher Ward, which has customers in more than 100 countries, creates high-quality timepieces that combine British style and innovation with Swiss watchmaking skills. The brand specialises in mechanical and quartz watches, that are designed in the UK and manufactured in the home of horology, Biel, Switzerland.
The brand is a leading innovator in the British watch industry and this year marks the fifth anniversary of the creation of the brand’s own in-house Swiss-made movement, Calibre
Grasshopper Bank, a new commercial venture bank for innovation economy companies and the venture capital firms that fund them, has appointed Barbara Fleming as Head of Venture Capital and Private Equity Relationships.
Fleming joins from Bridge Bank, where she helped launch and expand its private equity and venture capital direct lending group. While there, Fleming lead the group’s business development efforts, product rollout, credit policy implementation, and portfolio management. She has more than 30 years of experience in a variety of business development focused banking roles, and prior to joining Bridge Bank served as Senior Vice President at Square 1
FFL Partners (FFL), a private equity firm focused on growth investments in middle market companies, has completed a majority investment in ALKU, a provider of highly specialised consulting and staffing services. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ALKU CEO and Founder Mark Eldridge and the Company’s management team have invested alongside FFL to retain a significant minority ownership stake in the business. WestView Capital Partners, an existing minority investor in ALKU, has also invested in the recapitalization.
“The acquisition of ALKU reflects FFL’s multi-year focus on identifying HR services firms with outstanding management teams, differentiated market opportunities
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