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Neuberger Berman Group has held the final close of NB Secondary Opportunities Fund III (SOF III), its third global private equity secondary fund, which closed at USD2bn, surpassing its target of USD1.6bn.
SOF III is the successor to NB Secondary Opportunities Fund II, which had commitments of USD1.7bn.
SOF III seeks to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns through the purchase of seasoned private equity investments from investors seeking liquidity. SOF III has a global mandate and will pursue secondary opportunities in private equity funds, direct investments, co-investments and structured private equity opportunities.
SOF III's investment team is led by
Zombie funds continue to plague the hedge fund world and are gradually extending their reach into the private equity market notes Jonathan Sablone (pictured), founder and chairperson, Nixon Peabody’s Private Funds Dispute Group.
As Reuters alluded to recently, data provided by Preqin suggests that private equity firms have up to USD116billion of assets trapped in these funds, so-called because they are akin to the living dead i.e. the funds are inactive, the value of the assets have remained largely dormant for years, yet managers are still collecting their management fees. A similar situation continues to persist in the hedge fund
UK mid-market private equity specialist Graphite Capital has sold Park Holidays UK, Britain's fourth largest operator of static caravan parks, to Caledonia Investments, a UK investment trust company, for GBP172m.
The sale brings the total value of disposals made by Graphite since October 2012 to over GBP1bn. Graphite has sold seven companies over this period realising GBP579.3m of equity proceeds from an initial cost of GBP202.3m and generating a total return of 2.9x cost.
Park Holidays UK owns 21 freehold and two leasehold caravan parks with nearly 9,000 pitches in southern England. The group sells caravans to owners and
CCS Healthcare has entered into an agreement with Merck Sharp & Dohme (Sweden) to acquire the pharmaceutical skin care product and trademark Propyless.
Propyless is a lotion, based on active substance propylene glycol, used for dry skin, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. Introduced in the late 1980s it is a well-known registered trademark in the Swedish market.
“Propyless is a leading product in its niche on the Swedish market and fits well with our targeted growth strategy. It complements well our current pharmaceutical and skin care offering,” says Jonas Nilsson, CEO of CCS Healthcare.
With sales of approximately SEK500m
When it comes to the effects of ‘one-size-fits-all’-regulation for boutique asset managers, off the peg doesn’t suit everyone. The very nature of regulation has changed. It’s grown, become global, and moved from being a check box exercise to being the rigid harness that restricts the movements of financial firms, says Ed Lopez (pictured), executive vice president, SunGard’s Asset Management business…
With that said, no one would seriously argue for a return to laissez-faire regulation and governance. And the newly empowered regulators are proving that a new broom sweeps clean with firms frequently being investigated and fined from for transgressions ranging
The Honest Company has secured USD25m in a financing round led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) and joined by ICONIQ Capital, with participation from existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and General Catalyst Partners.
The new round of funding adds to USD27m raised previously and will accelerate growth initiatives including international expansion, new product development and innovation, enhanced distribution capabilities, and greater accessibility to the brand.
“The overwhelmingly positive response to both our recent launch in Canada and the availability of Honest products from our retail partners is a testament to the vast unmet global need for safe everyday family
Grifols is expanding its portfolio by acquiring Novartis' diagnostic products for transfusion medicine and immunology in a deal worth USD1.675bn.
The deal, which will be structured through Grifols' diagnostic division and a newly created 100 per cent Grifols-owned subsidiary, includes Novartis’ NAT technology (Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques), instrumentation and equipment for blood screening, specific software and reagents.
The assets acquired include patents, brands, licenses and royalties, together with the production plant at Emeryville (California, US) and commercial offices in US, Switzerland and Hong Kong (for the Asia-Pacific region) among others.
Grifols estimates pro-forma total annual revenues to approach
Equistone Partners Europe has completed the sale of Yorkshire-based glass container manufacturer Allied Glass, which sees CBPE Capital reacquire a former portfolio business.
Equistone’s Fund III supported the management team when it acquired a majority share in 2010 as part of a GBP75m management buyout.
The company, which employs over 660 people across two factory sites in Leeds and Knottingley, is the UK’s fourth largest glass bottle manufacturer by volume and a leader in specialist bottle serving the high-end global spirits industry. Allied specialises in the production of complex bottles and supplies containers to world-leading brands including Johnny Walker,
Paul Hastings advised Astorg Partners in connection with the sale of OGF, a French funeral services company, to funds managed by Pamplona Capital Management, an investment company.
This transaction was the second-largest LBO acquisition in France in 2013.
Astorg Partners is an independent French capital investment firm that manages EUR2bn and invests in manufacturing or service companies, very often family-owned, with high growth potential.
Astorg Partners was also advised by Ashurst and Cravath Swaine & Moore on financing issues.
Pamplona was represented by the Paris and London Offices of Allen & Overy, and the management of OGF, which
Jersey-based specialist fund services firm Ipes has bolstered its senior management team with two new hires.
Jonathan Buesnel has been appointed as the new business/technical director while David England has taken up the position of compliance manager for Ipes Jersey.
Having been appointed to the board of Ipes Jersey, Buesnel will be responsible for managing the new business take on process whilst providing technical oversight.
Buesnel has more than 17 years offshore experience in the financial services sector. He joins Ipes from Moore Management where he was responsible for business development and client relationships having previously been a
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