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Riviera Travel has secured an investment from Phoenix Equity Partners ("Phoenix"), a UK-based middle-market private equity firm. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Riviera, founded in 1984, will be led by David Clemson who joined the business in 2008 and continues as Managing Director. Michael Wright, the founder of Riviera, will remain with the business as a non-executive director and as a significant shareholder.
Headquartered in Burton-upon-Trent, Riviera has grown impressively over the past few years, where it has delivered turnover growth of over 20% per annum. In 2014, Riviera carried over 115,000 passengers.
Riviera operates in the
The Angel CoFund has made a GBP250,000 investment into OwnFone, bringing the personalised phone company’s funding round to GBP786,000.
The Angel CoFund’s 50th investment sees is fund co-invest with the London Business Angels, Renaissance Capital Partners and mobile expert Nigel Litchfield, who also joins the OwnFone Board.
Launched in November 2011, the Angel CoFund invests alongside syndicates of business angels, and has already invested over GBP22m alongside more than GBP90m from business angels and other investors, making it the most active early stage fund in the country. OwnFone is the 50th business to be backed by the CoFund, which has
Ariadne Capital, which invests in digital technology start-ups, has just closed a GBP500,000 funding round for Taggstar making it the 8th company in its portfolio and its 4th deal in 2014.
Taggstar is also backed by Sir Stuart Rose, Rob Hersov, and Nigel Taee.
Taggstar is designed to allos shoppers to benefit from social trends by seeing how many others are buying a particular product at the same time as they shop, highlighting when it's selling fast, giving them confidence to purchase.
Taggstar will continue its rapid expansion with retailers and travel sites. Over the past year, Taggstar has worked
Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) has promoted Ted Coons and Daniel O’Keefe from principals to general partners, while Sean Giese has been promoted from vice president to principal.
Coons and O’Keefe are based in the New York TCV office. Giese is located in TCV’s Palo Alto headquarters. The moves expand on TCV’s commitment to growing teams of world-class technology investment professionals in its New York and Palo Alto offices.
Jay Hoag, TCV founding general partner, says: “Ted, Dan and Sean have been instrumental in contributing to the growth and success of our portfolio companies. We are thrilled to see these three
Mooreland Partners has acted as the exclusive financial advisor to AdKarma LLC on its sale to blinkx.
The acquisition of AdKarma, a rapidly growing video supply side platform located in Columbia, Missouri, marks the 19th transaction advised by Mooreland Partners this year. The transaction further solidifies Mooreland Partners' position among the most active advisors to the digital media sector.
"blinkx stands to benefit from AdKarma's strong relationships with over 300 publishers representing in excess of 20,000 websites," says Peg Jackson, Managing Director, Mooreland Partners. "This acquisition will significantly bolster blinkx's position within the programmatic segment of the digital video advertising
Private equity firm Agilitas has acquired Financiere Ionisos SAS (Ionisos), one of Europe’s leading providers of cold sterilisation services, from Naxicap Partners, for an undisclosed consideration.
Ionisos is the leading provider of cold sterilisation services in France and Spain. It is the only company licensed in France to offer all three cold sterilisation technologies: gamma irradiation, beta irradiation and Ethylene Oxide. Its services are used by multinational and local companies for the sterilisation of single-use products. These include medical devices, pharmaceutical, food and pharma packaging and cosmetics products. The business has annual revenues exceeding EUR20 million.
Since 2007, AtriA
Private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP) has completed a recapitalisation of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners IV portfolio company Global Franchise Group (GFG).
"We are pleased to have completed this divided recapitalisation for GFG, which provided working capital and paid a shareholder dividend," says Arthur Levine, president of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners.
Levine says: "This is the second time in the last two years GFG was able to recapitalize its balance sheet, demonstrating the company's superior financial performance, cash generating ability and strong base of franchise brands."
Recapitalization by private equity groups such as LLCP is a common practice.
UK private equity house Maven Capital Partners (Maven) has funded a replacement capital transaction in Westway Services Holdings (Westway).
Maven originally supported an MBO of the London-based facilities management business in 2009 and has since helped grow Westway’s footprint throughout London and the South East.
The GBP3.6 million recapitalisation of Westway, which is Maven’s 10th Private Equity transaction this year, has not only delivered a 1.6x money multiple return for Maven client funds prior to any future equity realisation, but has also increased Maven’s equity stake in the business.
Founded in 2001, Westway provides installation, commissioning, maintenance and
High Road Capital Partners has sold portfolio company Handi Quilter marking the third exit for the firm’s debut fund, High Road Capital Partners Fund I, LP.
North Salt Lake, Utah-based Handi Quilter is a leading developer and manufacturer of mid- and long-arm quilting machines for the consumer quilting market. The company was acquired by Blue Point Capital Partners. Transaction terms were not disclosed.
“In the three years High Road owned Handi Quilter, revenue grew by 76% and EBITDA by 87%,” says Bob Fitzsimmons, High Road’s Managing Partner. “Handi Quilter exemplifies our strategy of buying niche leaders and working
An affiliate of HIG Capital has purchased the majority of the assets associated with Ferro Corporation’s (NYSE: FOE) Polymer Additives Division (PAD).
PAD will be rebranded and operate as Valerus Specialty Chemicals (Valerus).
Headquartered in Independence, Ohio, Valerus is a leading provider of specialty chemicals that impart critical attributes to polymers, including resiliency, flame retardancy and ease of processing. The Company has a very diverse and broad product line with over 250 active SKUs of polymer modifiers, lubricants and stabilisers. Valerus holds a strong reputation within the industry for consistently delivering reliability, quality and product innovation. The Company is expected
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