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Krones AG has acquired a majority stake in Till GmbH to strengthen its technology portfolio.
Headquartered in the Bavarian town of Neutraubling, Krones is one of the world's leading manufacturers of beverage filling and packaging technology. Till GmbH develops systems for digital direct printing on containers. The founders of Till GmbH will continue to play an operational role in the firm.
A team from CMS led by Munich-based partner Dr Martin Kolbinger advised Krones AG on all legal aspects of the transaction.
The Krones Group plans, develops and manufactures machines and complete lines for process, filling and packaging technology. The
Advisory firm Clearwater International has advised Business Collaborator on its sale to private equity house YFM Equity Partners and the Management Team, led by Chairman Richard Beaton and CEO Sanjeev Shah.
Business Collaborator is at the forefront of providing Building Information Modelling (BIM) software tools, designed to ease the transition of asset construction and maintenance projects to an interactive paperless environment. The Reading-based SaaS business has over 16 years of experience and 160,000 users of its software worldwide.
The investment from YFM will see Business Collaborator exit UNIT4, a Netherlands-based global software company with operations in 26 countries worldwide,
Law firm Eversheds has advised Phoenix Equity Partners (Phoenix) on the acquisition of day nursery provider, Just Childcare Limited (Just Childcare).
The acquisition represents an initial investment alongside the founders of Just Childcare to support the future development of Just Childcare.
Just Childcare operates six day nurseries in the Northwest of England, with a seventh to open shortly. Phoenix hopes to use the acquisition of Just Childcare as a platform from which to build a leading business in this sector through bolt-on acquisitions and new openings, for which it is committing substantial additional funding.
The team was led
Invest in Africa (IIA) has signed a USD1 million African Development Bank (AfDB) grant that will enable it to support a unique business skills training programme for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana.
IIA will use the grant provided by the AfDB's Fund for Private Sector Assistance (FAPA) to implement a Business Linkage Programme designed to upgrade the capabilities of selected SMEs registered on IIA's recently launched African Partner Pool (APP) online directory.
The Business Linkage Programme is the next phase of the APP: an online directory supporting local businesses to gain visibility and connect with international
The Carlyle Group and Old Mutual Private Equity are to acquire 100% of South African tyre retailer and wholesaler Tiger Automotive (TiAuto) from Ethos Private Equity and the founders.
Funding for this investment will come from the Carlyle Sub-Saharan Africa Fund and Old Mutual Private Equity Fund IV, and TiAuto founders will also re-invest equity in the company. The transaction is expected to close in early 2015, subject to regulatory approvals.
TiAuto, which operates the iconic “Tiger Wheel & Tyre” brand as well as the new “Tyres & More” retail store format, is a retail and wholesale distributor of
Appear Here, the UK’s largest online marketplace for retail space, has raised USD7.5 million of new funding, in a round led by venture capital firm Balderton Capital.
This significant new investment follows 18 months of dynamic growth from Appear Here, which has facilitated over 500 short-terms lets in the last 12 months and now has over 600 properties available to hire at prime locations across the United Kingdom.
Appear Here was founded in 2012 by Ross Bailey, a 22-year-old entrepreneur who started out with his own pop-up shop on Carnaby Street, selling limited edition T-shirts to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.
Less than four-in-ten (37%) of UK small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) have entered new markets over the past year compared to 53% in 2013, according to a new study launched by Albion Ventures.
This suggests that more opportunities exist in their core areas of operation than 12 months ago.
The research shows that almost half (43%) of SMEs experienced a range of problems in trying to enter new sectors and geographies, underlining how difficult it can be. Specific challenges they have faced include a lack of expertise around their target market (16%), finding the competition too strong (11%) and
Silicon Valley Bank has appointed Wibke Pendse as Managing Director of Private Equity Finance and Banking for the UK.
Pendse joins the UK branch from Silicon Valley Bank’s headquarters in California where she was responsible for managing an extensive portfolio of private equity client relationships
In this new role, Pendse will lead the growth of the Private Equity Finance and Banking business in the UK, offering private equity and venture capital firms a range of banking and finance services, including capital strategies and solutions, global banking and rich industry connections and insights.In addition to expertise in the innovation sector, SVB’s
Creo Medical has closed a GBP3.5m funding round, led by Finance Wales, angel investors and the Angel CoFund.
The Government-backed Angel CoFund joins existing investors Finance Wales, the Arete Angel syndicate and individual business angels, including lead angel Mark Farmer, bringing the total Creo investment received to date to GBP7.9m. This is the second co-investment deal between the Angel CoFund and Finance Wales this year.
Since 2009, Creo Medical has developed innovative medical devices. This funding will be used towards the continuing development of the CROMA platform – the first new electrosurgical system in a generation – specifically with
The introduction of the AIFMD has fuelled strong growth in European fund domiciles, with the number of alternative investment funds increasing by 10% since 2010, and assets under management increasing by 13%.
That’s according to a report published by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, carried out by Oliver Wyman.
“The introduction of the AIFMD increased the attractiveness of European onshore domiciles,” comments Marc Saluzzi, Chairman of ALFI. “Whilst many were against it when it was first introduced because of the fear of high compliance costs and additional complexity, this piece of regulation has brought significant benefits, allowing
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