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Matt O’Connell, former GeoEye CEO, is joining Seraphim Capital as a Partner.
O’Connell is widely recognised as a leading authority on the commercialisation of geospatial data, having led GeoEye, a global provider of geospatial intelligence solutions as CEO for 12 years. During that time O’Connell increased the enterprise value from USD30 million to USD1.3 billion creating a global leader in high-resolution earth imagery and geospatial analysis which he subsequently sold to Digital Globe. In 2015/16 he also served as CEO of OneWeb, the start-up developing a 650 satellite constellation aiming to provide low-cost internet connectivity to billions of people around
LDC, the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investor, has backed the management buyout of Lakelovers, a provider of luxury holiday cottages in the Lake District. The deal value is undisclosed.
Founded in 1977, Lakelovers is a property management and lettings agency specialising in premium holiday cottages across the Lake District. Headquartered in Windermere, the business manages more than 500 holiday properties, providing an end-to-end property management service that includes marketing, maintenance and bookings support, alongside bespoke legal, financial and regulatory advice, through its network of high-street branches.
The management buyout was led by CEO Paul Liddell who has overseen
LUX Fund Technology and Solutions (LUX FTS), a business and technology solutions provider for the alternative asset industry, has secured a Series A Financing from Credit Suisse Asset Management’s NEXT Investors, a New York-based firm that identifies minority growth equity investment opportunities in private technology and services companies.
The USD6 million investment will be used to fuel growth of Transcend, the company’s flagship SaaS-based front-to-back office automation technology platform.
“It’s time to raise the bar for hedge fund technology solutions, and we are pleased to partner with NEXT Investors to build out Transcend with new product and growth initiatives,”
Cathay Capital has held the first closing of its CarTech Fund, a new investment vehicle – and Cathay’s first RMB fund – to invest in the automotive and mobility ecosystem in China.
Launched with the support of cornerstone investors Valeo and Yangtze River Industry Fund, Cathay CarTech will rely on Cathay Capital’s global vision and unique platform to foster the development of innovative technologies and business models. The CarTech Fund will focus on China and invest a total of 1.5 billion yuan (~200 million euros) in the innovative companies within the next four years.
China is the world’s largest
Caphaven Partners, a London-based private equity firm, has acquired a significant minority stake in Deutsche Prüfservice (DPS), a German electrical testing provider. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Founded in 2015 by Christoph Ulrich Püttmann and based in Erkrath near Dusseldorf, DPS has rapidly grown to become one of the three largest providers of electrical operational safety testing. DPS currently employs more than 170 people and has over 340 customers including SMEs and blue-chip corporates listed on the German DAX. The Company is supported by an advisory and investor board, which includes Dieter Heuskel, former head of Germany
Align Capital Partners (ACP) has completed the majority acquisition of Barrow-Agee Laboratories, (Barrow-Agee), a niche market leader in the food safety and testing industry.
This represents ACP’s second acquisition of the quarter, and the fourth platform company acquisition since the firm’s first fund closed in September 2016.
Barrow-Agee is a trusted provider of microbiological and analytical chemistry testing services in support of food safety and the analysis of foods, ingredients, nutraceuticals, feeds, animal fats and vegetable oils. The Company’s Memphis, Tennessee lab provides consistent, reliable and affordable testing services for blue-chip customers who rely on the Company’s expertise to
Gresham House, a specialist alternative asset manager, has launched a new online investor portal aimed at providing the firm’s clients with a co-investment service, greater visibility into their holdings and a level of transparency on underlying private assets that is typically only seen in the public markets.
The portal will enable clients to access deal by deal co-investment opportunities in a structured and simple manner. Users will have access to information on the underlying assets, including appraisal and investment papers where available, allowing them the discretion to increase their investment into the regions, sectors or deals specific to their interests.
Private equity investments in portfolio companies are long term, with an average timeframe of 5.8 years from initial investment to exit, according to the tenth annual BVCA report on the performance of PE investments.
Compiled by EY, and covering 89 per cent of the total population of portfolio companies, being all the large, UK businesses that met certain criteria applied at the time of their acquisition by PE investors, the report reveals that current portfolio companies have been owned for an average of 4.2 years.
Under PE ownership, in aggregate the portfolio companies have increased employment, employee compensation, capital
ESPIRA Investments (ESPIRA), a newly established private equity firm focused on growth capital investments in small and medium size enterprises based in Central Europe, has held the first closing of its fund ESPIRA Fund I, which has a target fund size of EUR30 million.
An element of ESPIRA’s strategy is to invest in companies managed by balanced management teams of men and women. ESPIRA is the first private equity fund in Central Europe with such a strategy and only the second in Europe. ESPIRA was founded by two experienced investment professionals – Andrea Ferancová and Emília Mamajová.
ESPIRA Fund
Northleaf Capital Partners (Northleaf) has held the final closing of its global private credit fund, Northleaf Private Credit I (NPC I), with more than USD670 million in commitments from institutional investors.
Including recent closings of its private equity and infrastructure funds, Northleaf now manages more than USD10 billion in commitments across its global private markets investment platform.
NPC I provides investors with diversified exposure to private credit investments in North America and Europe, with a primary focus on lending to private equity-backed companies. The fund’s flexible investment strategy enables it to invest across the capital structure, including senior, unitranche, second lien, mezzanine and subordinated
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