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Ogier has advised Friends Life Group Limited, a London-listed Guernsey company, on its acquisition by Aviva, a deal which has created the UK's largest insurance, savings and asset management firm.
The combined group will have some 16 million UK customers – equivalent to about one in four households – and around GBP340 billion of assets under management. The GBP5.6 billion takeover of Friends Life is the largest insurance deal in the UK since the merger of CGU and Norwich Union in 2000, which created Aviva.
Ogier has been working with international law firm Linklaters LLP to bring the transaction
Inverness Graham has successfully sold AdvancedCath, a leading designer and manufacturer of catheter systems, to TE Connectivity Ltd for USD190 million in an all-cash transaction.
The sale marks the fourth portfolio company exit for Inverness Graham in just over one year.
AdvancedCath designs and manufactures advanced catheter systems used in complex interventional procedures, for its medical device OEM customers. Inverness Graham acquired AdvancedCath in 2011 in a proprietary, "non-banked" transaction as a result of a search with the same industry experts that assisted with the successful platform-build and exit of previous Inverness Graham portfolio company ExtruMed. The AdvancedCath platform
Newly formed investment group, DW3 Products Group (DW3), which is backed by private equity firm NorthEdge Capital, has acquired Window Widgets, and Eclectic Systems.
Window Widgets was founded in 2004 and has become the first port of call for key components for the window, door and conservatory sectors. Eclectic Systems is best known for developing the fast-growing, revolutionary Residence 9 (R9) window system. The two businesses have been acquired from Dan Gill, who will now take on the role of CEO of the DW3 Products Group Window Division and join the main DW3 Board.
The acquisitions bring the total
Law firm Howard Kennedy’s VCT team has advised on 27 offers in 2014/15 with a combined market value of GBP370m, which have so far raised GBP300m. Just 33 VCTs in total came to market in the 2014/15 tax year.
Keith Lassman, Partner and Head of Capital Markets at Howard Kennedy, says: “For the past 17 years we have led the market advising VCTs. This year we have advised on 27 of the 33 VCTs to come to market, representing over 80 per cent of the market. Howard Kennedy is the go to law firm and sponsor for VCTs.”
Howard Kennedy
NorthEdge Capital (NorthEdge), a private equity firm focused on investing in companies in the North of England, has promoted Emma Rawlinson to Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Rawlinson, an experienced chartered accountant and debt advisory practitioner, has been an integral member of the NorthEdge team, operating as Finance Director since the company’s inception in 2009. Em Rawlinson ma originally joined from Deloitte where she was a Manager in the Debt Advisory department, responsible for developing the firm’s National Debt Advisory business.
In her role, Rawlinson will continue to work alongside NorthEdge’s senior management team with responsibility for the operational side
Private equity investment firm HarbourVest Partners has established an office in Toronto, with Senia Rapisarda joining as a Principal to lead the local presence in Canada.
HarbourVest currently manages USD1.5 billion on behalf of several institutional Canadian investors. Senia Rapisarda has been working with HarbourVest for over a year on a consulting basis to explore the Canadian market opportunity and help develop plans for a local presence.
“We are very pleased to announce our latest global office in Toronto and to welcome Senia Rapisarda to our team. Senia brings significant Canadian growth equity investment experience to our team and
David Maughan has been appointed Managing Director within Navigant’s Valuation & Financial Risk Management practice. He will lead transaction advisory efforts for Navigant Capital Advisors, the Firm’s registered broker-dealer subsidiary.
Maughan has broad expertise across several industries with a focus on financial services companies. Maughan, based in New York, will work across Navigant’s industry sectors to advise clients on buy and sell-side opportunities.
“David’s financial services expertise is well aligned with our objectives to extend loan valuation capabilities into transaction advisory services, and enables us to help our clients with investment and sales opportunities through Navigant Capital Advisors,” says Richard
PeerIQ, a financial information services company that connects peer-to-peer ("P2P") lending to the capital markets, has raised USD6 million of seed funding.
Uprising and John Mack, former chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley, led the round and were joined by Vikram Pandit, former Citigroup CEO; Arthur Levitt, former SEC Chairman; Dan Doctoroff, former CEO of Bloomberg LP; and Eric Schwartz, former co-CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, among other prominent capital market and technology investors.
PeerIQ will use the funds to further build out its risk analytics platform, grow its institutional investor client base, and expand its team.
PeerIQ's analytics
HIG Europe (HIG) has acquired Fågelviksgruppen (FVG), a Nordic taxi services provider, which through its well-known and trusted brands and technology serves taxi firms in all the major cities in Sweden and Norway.
FVG has over 30 years built up a market leading position in all market segments – consumer, corporate and public contracts. It pioneered new technology such as apps and B2B process integration and expects to reach nearly SEK5,500 million turnover in the current financial year.
HIG will partner with the existing management team which will benefit from HIG’s operational, strategic and financial know-how as it continues to
Prosper Marketplace has secured a USD165 million Series D financing, led by Credit Suisse NEXT Investors, part of Credit Suisse Asset Management.
Additional participants included JP Morgan Asset Management, SunTrust Banks, a subsidiary of USAA, BBVA Ventures (BBVA’s representative office in San Francisco), Neuberger Berman Private Equity Funds, Passport Capital, Breyer Capital, and others. The latest funding will support the company’s continued growth, expansion, and development of a national brand as it builds new products and services for the marketplace’s borrowers and investors.
The funding comes on the heels of a record quarter, with nearly USD600 million in loans originated
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