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KAP Group, an firm recognised for successfully positioning private equity managers to attract and retain institutional capital, has appointed Jessica Hacker as a project manager.
Previously with global private equity firm Warburg Pincus, Hacker served in several roles, most recently as associate of fundraising & investor relations, creating marketing collateral and diligence materials to support fundraising efforts for the firm’s flagship growth fund and two companion funds representing more than USD15 billion in institutional capital. Hacker also spent six years as senior information specialist, providing strategic market research services and macroeconomic insights to the firm’s investment professionals.
“We are
An affiliate of private equity investment firm CenterGate Capital has made an investment in TSC Apparel (TSC), a distributor of imprintable apparel products and accessories.
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, TSC is a national B2B distributor of imprintable activewear and accessories, stocking and sourcing thousands of styles of t-shirts, fleeces, headwear, sport shirts, outerwear, and accessories. TSC services its customers from its nationwide footprint of strategically located regional distribution centres. CEO Bob Winget, who has been with TSC since 2001, will continue to lead the company and serve on its Board of Directors.
“We are excited about our partnership with CenterGate and
IKB Deutsche Industriebank (IKB) and Investec Bank (Investec) have underwritten a EUR121 million senior debt financing package to support Ergon Capital Partners’ III (Ergon) acquisition of Keesing Media Group (KMG) out of publicly listed parent Telegraaf Media Group (TMG).
IKB and Investec co-arranged the senior facilities which consisted of term loans, capex/acquisition facilities and an RCF. ING and Rabobank join as early-bird Mandated Lead Arrangers (MLAs) with KBC as Joint Lead Arranger completing the bank line-up.
KMG is the market leader and largest publisher of puzzle magazines in Europe including number and word puzzles as well as puzzle apps.
Preqin’s latest overview of women in alternative assets finds that just under one in five employees at fund management firms is female. This rate varies widely by role, and consistently declines according to seniority.
The highest proportion of women is seen among junior employees, where they constitute 29 per cent of the workforce. However, in each asset class the representation of women falls according to seniority, and overall senior alternative assets staff consist of 11 per cent women. In the same way, women are best represented in investor relations/marketing teams, as high as 53 per cent at venture capital firms.
Pontifax AgTech Management (Pontifax AgTech) has held the close of its first fund, the Pontifax Global Food and Agriculture Technology Fund with commitments totalling USD105 million.
The fund attracted commitments from leading investors, comprised of financial institutions, university endowments, investment firms, large-scale growers and family offices.
Pontifax AgTech invests globally in revenue-generating businesses with proven technologies that improve the productivity, sustainability and efficiency of the agriculture supply chain. The Firm’s principals work with a proprietary network of leading growers, technology experts and strategic corporate partners to thoroughly evaluate and maximise the success of the Fund’s investments.
The announcement
Two well-known names in the structured finance market, Marc Sefton and Kieran McSweeney, have founded Aquilam Capital, which will focus on investing and lending into companies in the speciality finance sector.
This includes businesses in the consumer and SME finance, leasing and mortgage markets. Aquilam will offer both debt and equity solutions.
Aquilam Capital expects to complete six to eight quality transactions each year. Aquilam Capital will consider transactions of up to GBP25 million, although the typical range is likely to be around GBP2-GBP10 million.
Kieran and Marc have over 30 years’ combined sector experience, encompassing Barclays Capital, Morgan
Assetz Capital has facilitated trading in second-hand loan parts of GBP300 million on its secondary market since its inception.
Trades on the secondary market (or aftermarket) have given a whole new range of investors access to loans in Assetz Capital’s various non-access accounts, including the Manual Loan Investment Account, Great British Business Account and Green Energy Income Account. Secondary market trading is important for those who find they need access to their cash sooner than the end of the loan term and also to assist in them rebalancing their portfolio diversification over time.
In addition to the GBP300 million worth
Independent fund and corporate services provider, the Aztec Group, has appointed private equity specialist Dean Tower as Associate Director of its UK operations.
Based in Southampton, Tower will take on relationship management responsibilities for the delivery of fund services to a portfolio of UK-domiciled private equity funds. He will also play an integral role in both business development and strategic initiatives designed to grow and strengthen the Group’s onshore UK operations.
Formed in Jersey in 2001, the Aztec Group has had a presence in the UK since 2007, when it first opened an office in London. Three years later,
Global law firm Ropes & Gray has advised Bain Capital Private Equity on its acquisition of NGA UK – a leading UK-based software provider of payroll and HR solutions – from NGA Human Resources.
The financial terms of the proposed transaction, which is expected to close in early 2018 subject to anti-trust and FCA approvals, have not been disclosed.
The Ropes & Gray team was led by private equity partner Will Rosen, with tax partner Brenda Coleman, IP transactions partner Rohan Massey and private equity partners John Newton and Kiran Sharma, all based in the firm’s London office.
By Nick Bayley (pictured), Duff & Phelps – With less than three months until the introduction of MiFID II, in some parts of the industry there is a palpable sense of panic as the deadline looms. Following the 20 September speech by FCA Enforcement chief Mark Steward, firms can take some comfort that the FCA will not immediately enforce MiFIDII in its entirety, provided firms can demonstrate that they have taken “sufficient steps to meet the new obligations”.
Although firms might not have all their ducks in a row, there are likely to be a couple of areas they should prioritise.
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