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Palatine Private Equity has completed the management buyout of SMP Group, after receiving regulatory approval for the deal.
Established in 2007, SMP Group has grown into a leading international provider of fund administration and corporate and trust services. Headquartered in the Isle of Man, the company now employs over 200 people across seven global offices, which include Jersey, Switzerland, Malta, Hong Kong, Cayman Islands and the Bahamas.
The MBO comes as part of a planned leadership succession process which will see the former group business development director, David Hudson, move into the role of group CEO. He will be
IK Investment Partners’ (IK) IK VIII Fund is to acquire LAP Laser Applikationen (LAP), a provider of laser positioning systems as well as quality assurance (QA) software and hardware used during radiotherapy treatments, from capiton.
LAP was established in 1984 and provides laser measurement and projection systems used in highly attractive and diversified niche end-markets within the healthcare and industrial segments.
“With our high precision and easy to use measurement and projection systems, LAP has formed long-standing relationships with our global radiotherapy and industrial blue-chip customers. IK is the perfect partner as they have a genuine understanding of the medical technology
Private equity and M&A lawyer Matthew Bielen has joined Holland & Knight as a partner in Miami. He was previously a partner with McDermott Will & Emery. He also practiced with Kirkland & Ellis in San Francisco in the past.
“Matthew is a great fit for our growing team,” says David Barkus, co-leader of the firm’s South Florida Corporate Practice and national head of the firm’s Private Equity Team. “He has outstanding private equity transactional experience, especially in the healthcare industry, and a talent for leading complex deals for highly regarded firms. Lawyers with Matthew’s skillset and connections are rare.
Floreat has completed an investment into fintech firm CreditEnable via its Principal Investment Fund I Limited, which is headed up by Jeff Sinclair.
CreditEnable, which was recently named as one of the Inclusive Fintech 50 by MetLife foundation and Visa Inc, provides technology and credit analytics solutions for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) lenders. Focusing on expanding access and usage in underserviced areas, the firm develops credit profiling tools for SME borrowers to enable them to secure affordable debt.
Based in London with offices in Mumbai, the firm has commercial relationships with multiple lenders who represent billions of dollars
Carey Olsen’s corporate team in the Cayman Islands has advised Brazilian corporate fitness startup Gympass on its latest funding round which has secured commitments of USD300 million – investment that puts the valuation of the company at more than USD1 billion.
The company, which was founded in Brazil in 2012 and moved its headquarters to New York in 2018, has more than 40,000 gym and studio partners and provides monthly passes to over 2,000 companies in 14 countries so that they can help pay for fitness programmes and classes for workers.
Gympass’ latest funding came from Japanese investment group
Research from Cambridge Associates, the global investment firm, shows that investments by sector-specialist private equity funds outperform those made by generalist private equity funds by 4.7 per cent.
For investments made from 2001 to 2014, the average Internal Rate of Return (IRR) on investments made by private equity funds focused on a single sector was 22.6 per cent, compared with 17.9 per cent for investments made by generalist private equity funds.
When comparing returns for investments made in a single sector by a specialist fund with those made by generalist funds, the outperformance of specialists holds. As seen in the
Ardenton Capital Corporation (Ardenton) has made its fifth investment in the UK, taking a majority equity position in Manchester-headquartered Food Innovations Baking Group (Food Innovations), a manufacturer of specialist products for the home baking and retail market.
Founded in 2004, the business now has 250 employees across five sites and reports revenues in excess of GBP34 million. The deal incorporates the acquisition of Doric Cake Crafts, Doric Crimped, Doric FPD and Food Innovations.
The business has grown rapidly through acquisitions, as well as strategic investment in new technologies that support the delivery of innovative cake craft, decorations, cake boards and
Amethis, an investment fund manager focused on long-term responsible investments in Africa, has held the final close of its second Pan- African fund, Amethis Fund II, with commitments of EUR375 million from more than 70 investors in Europe and Africa, exceeding its initial target of EUR300 million.
Amethis, founded by Luc Rigouzzo and Laurent Demey in partnership with the Edmond de Rothschild Group, manages two other funds, Amethis Fund I (PanAfrican focus, EUR250 million) and Amethis Maghreb Fund I (North African focus, EUR75 million) and advises Amethis West Africa (West African focus, EUR45 million).
Limited partners include existing Fund I
Access Holdings Management Company (Access Holdings) has added Steve Chang and Andy Colmone to the firm’s team.
Kevin McAllister, Managing Partner and Founder of Access Holdings, says: “The Access Holdings team has worked with Steve and Andy for many years. We are thrilled to welcome them to our strong and growing team. Their considerable investment and operating experience will play an important role in executing our strategic vision for the firm.”
Chang joins Access Holdings as a Partner. Prior to joining Access Holdings, Chang was a Managing Director at LLR Partners, where he defined and drove value creation programs and
Intertrust, a global provider of administrative services to corporate, fund, capital markets and private wealth clients, has acquired Viteos, a provider of technology solutions for hedge funds, private equity, real estate, private debt and other alternative asset managers, from PPC Enterprises, FiveW Capital and Viteos management.
Viteos has approximately 715 employees and operates a global delivery model with its headquarters and sales team in the US supported by Centres of Excellence in India. Viteos delivered revenues of USD 52 million, 94 per cent in the US, having grown at an organic CAGR of 22 per cent over the last two
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