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Goldbridge Capital Partners, an asset management boutique focused exclusively on European sub-investment grade credit, has appointed Neal Kutner as head of business development.
Kutner was most recently managing director at BNY Mellon Asset Management where he was responsible for fundraising activities across Switzerland and Austria and was based in Switzerland.
Gina Germano, managing partner and chief investment officer of Goldbridge Capital Partners, says: “We believe Neal’s proven track record of fundraising and the strength of his longstanding client relationships will make a significant contribution to the growth of our business as the current European sub-investment grade environment continues to
Private equity firm Keensight Capital is in negotiations with Reed Elsevier for the sale of FircoSoft, a specialist in watch list filtering solutions.
The proposed transaction is expected to be concluded in the coming weeks, pending the completion of a consultation with the works council of FircoSoft.
Created in 1990 and based in Paris, FircoSoft provides software solutions which allow its clients to filter financial transactions against sanctions and watch lists in order to ensure compliance with existing regulations while meeting Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.
In the context of the company’s spin-off from the Sword Group, Keensight
Castanea Partners has invested in Aurora Brands, the owner of two American luxury home and lifestyle brands – MacKenzie-Childs and Jay Strongwater.
Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Aurora, New York, MacKenzie-Childs specialises in the luxury home furnishings and personal accessories market. The brand has a multi-channel sales presence, including a direct to consumer business, wholesale distribution in luxury department stores and independent home retailers, and three branded retail stores.
Founded in 1995 and headquartered in New York, NY, Jay Strongwater is a luxury brand in home and personal accessories. The company has established a reputation throughout the world
State Street Corporation has appointed Bob Keogh as head of alternative investment solutions (AIS) for the Asia Pacific region.
Based in Hong Kong, Keogh will assume responsibility for the hedge fund, private equity and real estate businesses in Asia Pacific.
He has more than two decades of experience in financial services, the last 14 of which have been in the hedge fund industry. He was previously senior managing director for State Street’s hedge fund servicing business based in Europe.
Keogh joined State Street in 2012 from Goldman Sachs as part of State Street’s acquisition of Goldman Sachs Administration
The Chiesi Group has launched a venture capital fund, Chiesi Ventures, via a collaboration with A M Pappas & Associates.
Chiesi Ventures will complement the strategic interest of the Chiesi Group in the area of rare diseases by investing in early stage opportunities and expanding the Chiesi network in the US among universities, venture capital investors, rare disease patient organisations and entrepreneurial companies developing treatments for rare diseases.
Chiesi Ventures will have offices in Boston (Massachusetts), Research Triangle Park (North Carolina) and Parma (Italy) and will focus on investment opportunities in the US and Europe. It will operate as an
8 Miles, a pan-African private equity firm, has acquired a 25.1 per cent stake in Eagle Chemicals Group, a producer of resin and polymer products.
The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Eagle Chemicals Group was established in 1958 and now manufactures over 20 product categories including alkyds, acrylics, epoxy resins, saturated polyesters and ink coatings. The company has three state-of-the-art factories and two tank farms located in Egypt, employs approximately 600 people and produces approximately 100,000 tons per annum of chemical products.
Eagle Chemicals exports its products to more than 50 countries spanning Africa,
The gradual economic improvement in Europe, increasingly liquid debt markets and stronger IPO market conditions supported an increase in exit activity of PE-backed businesses in 2013.
That’s according to EY’s ninth annual European PE exits study. Last year saw 77 exits in the population covered by the study versus 61 in 2012.
The report, Taking stock: how do private equity investors create value? A study of 2013 European exits, examines the outcomes and methods of exits from a consistent population of large, PE-owned European businesses, numbering 604 between 2005 and 2013.
It showcases the return of exits via
Social impact fund Impact Ventures UK (IVUK) has earmarked GBP2 million for investment in a joint venture (JV) with Glasgow-based social enterprise Homes for Good (Scotland) CIC.
The JV will create a portfolio of newly refurbished properties dedicated for people in social housing need across the Greater Glasgow region.
Established by social entrepreneur Susan Aktemel in February 2013, Homes for Good is Scotland’s first lettings agency to specialise in supporting low-income tenants. IVUK’s investment will enable the company to develop the next phase of its strategy and become the first socially-focused landlord in the private rental space.
Aktemel says:
BuyAndSellItAll Inc has adopted a new management approach to private equity because it believes that the traditional angel investing model is broken.
The firm has structured itself as an investment company with a hands-on management philosophy.
Operating as the parent, BuyAndSellItAll currently owns three home-grown operating companies, Automall Network, Transition Squad and TheyWroteOffMyCar.com, as part of its investment portfolio.
The company plans to focus its energies on growing the existing businesses while investing in two to three very early stage synergistic start-ups per year over the next few years.
With the mantra of "Start->Grow->Exit" as its philosophy,
Beringea, the growth capital investor that manages the ProVen Venture Capital Trusts, has made a USD4 million (GBP2.4 million) commitment to InContext Solutions as part of a USD12 million round.
In Context is a web-based company providing three dimensional virtual store research, simulations and software to manufacturers and retailers, including blue-chip customers such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Dannon.
Beringea’s US affiliate, Beringea LLC, also participated, leading the round with its USD5 million (GBP3.02 million) investment, with further funding from US-based Plymouth Venture Partners, Hyde Park Venture Partners and other inside investors.
With this latest funding, InContext Solutions
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