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Avidbank Holdings has appointed veteran finance executive Sam Bhaumik as Executive Vice President, Venture Lending Group.
“Part of our ultimate strategy for years has been venture and technology lending, but we needed to wait until we had the balance sheet, capital, infrastructure and governance before we could start the search for the right leader,” says Mark D Mordell, Chairman and CEO of Avidbank. “We are excited to have someone of Sam’s calibre and credibility, someone who shares our vision, to lead our newest division.”
“I am very excited to be joining the innovative Avidbank team to lead and build
Price f(x), a specialist in cloud pricing software, has raised EUR25 million in a Series B funding round led by Digital+ Partners, a European B2B technology growth investor, and management consulting firm Bain & Company.
Series A investors, Prague-based Credo Ventures and London-based Talis Capital, also participated in the round.
Established in 2011 in Munich, Price f(x) provides a modular SaaS solution for Price Optimization, Management (PO&M) and Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ) for enterprises of any size, based on the latest in native cloud architecture. The company currently serves over 80 global, blue-chip B2B and B2C customers across a variety of
Funds advised by Equistone Partners Europe (Equistone) have agreed the sale of a majority stake in OTTO Luft- und Klimatechnik GmbH & Co (OTTO) to Engie Deutschland (Engie), a specialist in technical building services, facilities management, industrial refrigeration technology and energy services in Germany.
OTTO, a leading specialist provider of ventilation and air-conditioning solutions, cooling technology and building automation, was acquired in May 2014 by Equistone. The financial terms of the transaction are undisclosed and completion of the sale remains subject to the approval of the relevant competition authorities.
OTTO was founded in 1967 and has established itself as
Pamplona Capital Management (Pamplona) has acquired a controlling interest in Latham Pool Products (Latham) from Wynnchurch Capital (Wynnchurch), which will remain a significant investor in the Company. The deal values Latham at USD375 million.
Headquartered in Latham, New York, Latham is a manufacturer of pool components and accessories. The company’s branded product offering includes glass-fibre pools, automatic safety covers, in-ground vinyl pool liners, polymer and steel pool wall systems, and other related accessories. The Company has over 20 manufacturing facilities and distribution centres across the US and Canada.
Russell Gehrett, Partner at Pamplona said, “We are excited to work
LeapFrog Investments has made a USD12 million investment in Softlogic Life Insurance, purchasing the shares of FMO, the Dutch development Bank.
The company is one of Sri Lanka’s fastest growing life insurers, providing locals with individual life and health, group life, and other policies. The main shareholders of the Company are now Softlogic Capital, DEG and LeapFrog Investments.
“The team, products and high growth of Softlogic Life make for an outstanding company. We are thrilled to see them join the LeapFrog portfolio,” says Dr Andrew Kuper, Founder and CEO of LeapFrog Investments. “This investment reveals our positive view of
Private equity firms are spending more budget and applying more focus on technology risk, especially cybersecurity risk, in order to maintain the highest operational standards both within their own businesses and those they invest in.
As George Ralph (pictured), Managing Director for RFA, a leading technology consulting group, explains, most PE firms tend to focus more on support service rather than the backend infrastructure, with risk management automation and compliance being two key aspects. Such is the level of diligence being applied by GPs to technology risk, hedge fund managers are increasingly turning to them for advice.
“Across our 830-odd
Through the first six months of 2017, five private equity megafunds with USD5 billion or more in AUM did a final close, accumulating USD68 billion according to Pitchbook. Looking at the year in full, a report by McKinsey & Co found that of the USD750 billion in private market assets raised, US megafund buyouts accounted for 15 per cent; up from 7 per cent the previous year.
Overall, total assets raised by megafund buyouts rose 93 per cent to USD173.7 billion compared to middle-market buyouts, which attracted USD31.8 billion; up 7 per cent on the previous year.
These megafunds, operated by
Through June 2018, the total amount of dry powder within global private equity stood at USD1.09 trillion; a vast sum, up from USD1.03 trillion at the end of 2017 according to Preqin.
This makes for compelling headlines and has fuelled interest in private equity, to the extent that it has become arguably the most important alternative investment asset class. But in some ways, this volume of dry powder has become a double-edged sword; great news for managers launching new funds, but how to put this capital to work effectively?
Pierre Vinci (pictured) is Head of Origination, Asset Based Finance, ABN
The UK and France have proven strong markets for mid-market private equity managers through September/October, but as we reach the end of the year, and as Brexit uncertainty lingers three months out from the deadline, some believe the UK deal market, in particular, will soften in early 2019.
The Q4 buyout figures for the UK are not yet known but if one looks back at earlier in the year, they suggest that GP activity has been vibrant. In Q2, 58 UK buyout transactions were completed, the most since Q2 2008, while France was home to the highest volume of deals
YFM Equity Partners (YFM) has exited its investment in GTK Limited for GBP14.3 million, to Volex Plc, generating a return of 3.4x original cost to its funds and a 36 per cent IRR.
YFM supported the incumbent management team in the primary buyout of GTK from its founder in October 2013. During the past five years, YFM has seen invested revenues grow over 60 per cent and profits have more than doubled. The growth has been driven by continued investment in the UK sales team; the opening of a new sales office in Germany; a near doubling of manufacturing capacity in
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