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James Williams, Hedgeweek
"We see the funds industry as continuing to contribute to the overall offering of financial services. There remains good interest in the BVI product and we envisage that will continue," asserts Glenford Malone, Director, Investment Business Division, BVI Financial Services Commission, when asked to comment on the growth of the BVI's funds industry.  Like every fund jurisdiction, the estimated 40 per cent drop in new fund launches in the hedge fund industry last year negatively impacted the BVI. And as the costs of running a hedge fund business increase, some are choosing to call it a day and revert to
Barings has acted as mandated lead arranger of a senior secured credit facility to support Battery Ventures' portfolio company Forterro. Forterro is a group of European enterprise resource planning (ERP) software companies serving small- to medium-sized enterprises across a variety of sectors.   The company will use the credit facility to refinance existing debt and to fund the acquisition of BPSC, a Polish provider of ERP software solutions for manufacturing, wholesale and retail customers.   "Battery Ventures appreciates the contributions of Barings' European private finance team in supporting Forterro on these strategic growth initiatives," says Morad Elhafed, partner at Battery
Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending is beginning to see a flight to quality as the growth rate of the industry slows and weaker platforms exit the market, according to direct lending specialist BondMason. BondMason’s Market Report 2017, a summary of the latest trends in the P2P market, shows the UK direct lending market accounted for GBP3.2 billion of lending in 2016, up 39 per cent on 2015, but down from 91 per cent growth for the same time period between 2014 and 2015.   Stephen Findlay (pictured), CEO, BondMason, says: “The direct lending industry continues to grow at an impressive rate. What
Avenir Capital, an Australian-based, global value manager, is Fidante Partner’s newest boutique investment management partner. Nick Hamilton, general manager at Fidante Partners, says: “Avenir Capital is an exceptional investment manager. Avenir’s investment approach has been developed from its private equity heritage that we believe provides the foundation for long-term investment success. “By combining Avenir’s investment capability with our Australian and international distribution channels, we are confident that the fund will continue to prosper over the coming years.”   Formerly head of product and marketing, Hamilton was promoted to general manager of Fidante Partners Australia in September 2016. He has a nearly
ZEAL Investments (ZI) has invested GBP1 million in the Free Postcode Lottery (FPL), a free to play online lottery platform funded by advertising. The deal, which marks ZI’s first investment, is c coup for the seed funder, which only launched officially in November 2016 and has already announced a partnership with start-up accelerator MassChallenge.   ZI, part of the ZEAL Network SE group, was launched to help prospective lottery start-ups and entrepreneurs grow and disrupt the industry.   Founded in 2011, FPL has become the top free to play, ad-funded lottery in the UK. With over 300,000 current daily active
One of Enstar Group’s wholly-owned subsidiaries has signed an agreement to reinsure RSA Insurance Group UK’s employers’ liability legacy business. Enstar’s subsidiary will assume gross insurance reserves of approximately GBP957 million (approximately USD1.2 billion), relating to 2005 and prior year business, which primarily consists of UK employers’ liability reserves.   Net insurance reserves are approximately GBP834 million (approximately USD1.0 billion) and the reinsurance premium payable to Enstar’s subsidiary is GBP799 million. The transaction is subject to finalising and effecting certain security arrangements.    Following the initial reinsurance, which will transfer the economics of the portfolio up to the policy’s limits, the parties
Unigestion and Akina are to merge their private equity businesses to create a specialist in global small and mid-market private equity. The company will have USD6 billion in assets under management and 54 dedicated professionals located in Geneva, Zurich, London, New York and Singapore.   The combination brings together two complementary private equity platforms with experienced professionals sharing the same investment philosophy in the small and mid-market segment.   Akina’s expertise in identifying investment opportunities in European markets through a high conviction top-down/bottom-up investment process complements Unigestion’s global reach and risk management expertise.   Christophe de Dardel, Unigestion’s head of
Civitas Capital Group has strengthened its sales team with the promotion of two existing members of staff and the addition of two new hires. Irene Shen has been promoted to director, sales and investor relations. In her new role, Shen is responsible for expanding Civitas' presence in the alternative investment space in Asia, as well as coordinating the development of new products in the region. Shen has been with Civitas since August 2011.   Manuel Ortiz has been promoted to head of EB-5 sales and investor relations. In his new role, Ortiz is responsible for developing and managing global investor
The Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF), established by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the China Investment Corporation (CIC), has sold a portion of its stake and played a significant role in the initial public offering (IPO) of Detsky Mir, a children’s goods retailer in Russia. This IPO is the first exit from an investment for RCIF.   RCIF supported the company’s growth leading up to the IPO and contributed to enlarging its shareholder base. RDIF also attracted its international partners to the transaction, including leading Middle Eastern, European, Asian and US investment funds.   As a result of the
Offshore law firm Mourant Ozannes has advised China CITIC Bank Corporation and The Export-Import Bank of China on facilities with a total commitment of around USD2.63 billion for a consortium led by Apex Technology, PAG and Legend Capital Management. The facilities support the consortium's acquisition of Lexmark International, a US-incorporated printer and software manufacturer.   Lexmark was acquired in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of approximately USD4 billion. The acquisition closed in November 2016 and is the second largest outbound acquisition in the technology sector ever completed by a Chinese investor and the third largest US public takeover

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