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The Royal London Group (RLG) has entered into an agreement with funds advised by independent private equity firm Vitruvian Partners to support a management-led buyout of Royal London 360° (RL360°).
RLG is confident that the transfer of ownership will enable RL360° to achieve its strategic vision through a further acceleration of the growth that RL360° has experienced in recent years.
The RL360° executive management team, led by chief executive David Kneeshaw, will remain unchanged. Following completion, the company will be re-branded.
RL360° will be further strengthened through support from the global reinsurance group Munich Re, as well as
BDO has appointed Susan Walker as a senior director within the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) team based in London.
Walker has specialist experience in plc advisory and capital markets, and will help to enhance and develop this side of the M&A practice.
John Stephan, M&A partner at BDO, says: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Susan Walker as a senior director in our national M&A team. Susan will focus on plc advisory work including takeover offers, listings and M&A for public companies which reinforces BDO’s commitment to its full service offering in mid-market M&A. This important hire
Fiona Le Poidevin (pictured), chief executive of Guernsey Finance, explores how Guernsey’s investment and insurance expertise mean it is capitalising on the opportunities presented by the growth of Insurance Linked Securities (ILS).
Insurance Linked Securities (ILS) are growing in popularity among investors as an alternative asset class and with insurers as a means of accessing greater quantities of affordable risk transfer capacity. ILS permit an insurer to purchase additional protection for low frequency, high severity losses, including natural and non-natural perils, operating in the traditional insurance market, typically in the form of catastrophe ‘cat’ bonds or collateralised reinsurance. Investors are
Thomas von Koch has been appointed as the new managing partner at private equity group EQT.
Founder Conni Jonsson, who has served as managing partner since the inception of EQT back in 1994 will, in his role as working chairman of EQT Holdings AB, continue to work full time for EQT and focus on investment advisory activities and increased interaction with EQT investors.
Both von Koch (pictured) and Jonsson will be members of all relevant EQT investment advisory related committees and portfolio company review committees.
“It has been an amazing 20 years leading EQT from a single buyout
Private equity firm 21 Partners has agreed to acquire Synerlab from Ardian.
The transaction will be executed alongside Synerlab’s management team, led by its president Pierre Banzet.
Ardian will subsequently reinvest in the company in order to support Synerlab with its pan-European development, together with 21 Partners.
Synerlab is a pharmaceutical contract manufacturing firm and a European leader in the production of sterile liquid solutions which do not use preserving agents. The company has expertise in small- to large-size industrial production.
The group has a particular focus on R&D, enabling it to support its clients through the
La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and BMO Capital Partners have invested in Corporation de développement Nautilus Plus, which owns the largest corporate network of fitness centres in Québec.
The investment, made equally by la Caisse and BMO Capital Partners, will enable them to acquire a block of shares of the company and Nautilus Plus to continue expanding its network.
"This financing enables us to support a well-established Québec company that has become a leader in its industry," says Normand Provost, executive vice-president, private equity, of la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. "With its expansion
Kabbee, the price comparison service for London’s minicabs, has completed a GBP3.8m Series A funding round with a view to accelerating its growth in London and beyond.
Octopus Investments, whose past investments include Zoopla.com, Graze.com, SwiftKey and Secret Escapes, led the round, with Simon Nixon, the founder of MoneySupermarket.com, making a significant contribution.
Kabbee will aim to consolidate its position as London’s most popular minicab app by using the investment to develop its market leading technology and to build its brand. The expertise of Octopus and Nixon comes alongside existing shareholders such as Samos (Betfair, Ocado, Goal.com), Pentland (Speedo,
Gear4Music.com, an online retailer of musical instruments and equipment, is set for 50 per cent growth this year, with an increase in turnover from GBP12m to a forecasted GBP18m at the end of the financial year.
The Yorkshire-based company, which employs 100 staff, was founded in 2003 and has continued to grow at a rapid pace since receiving a GBP3.4m investment by Key Capital Partners (KCP) in 2012.
As well as a growth in sales, the company has moved into larger 135,000 sq ft premises on the outskirts of York to further expand its logistics capabilities in the UK
Ardian and Italian private equity firm Consilium SGR have sold Rollon Group to Chequers Capital and IGI SGR.
Based in Vimercate (Milan), Rollon is an Italian manufacturer of linear rails and actuators.
The group generates 80 per cent of its revenues abroad, thanks to its German, French and US subsidiaries. Sales in 2012 reached EUR54m.
The deal was structured as a management buy-out led by the current group chief executive Eraldo Bianchessi. Chequers Capital, a French investment company and IGI SGR, an Italian private equity firm, will hold a majority stake in the group.
In 2010, Ardian
Alternative assets law firm MJ Hudson has appointed two senior M&A/venture capital lawyers – Karma Samdup and Graham Nicholson.
Samdup, previously of CMS Cameron McKenna, joins as a partner of the firm to lead the venture practice.
Samdup brings to the firm his strong reputation for advising start-ups and high-growth companies, as well as angels and VCs in the technology and life sciences sectors.Samdup also has extensive experience of advising corporate and management teams on public and private M&A, private equity and venture capital transactions and joint ventures.
Previously an equity partner in SJ Berwin’s private equity group,
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