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Merus, a biopharmaceutical company focusing on human antibody therapeutics, has secured a EUR31m extension to its series B financing round, bringing the total round to EUR47.6m.
Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC) joined as a new investor along with existing investors Novartis Venture Fund, Pfizer Venture Investments, Bay City Capital, LSP (Life Sciences Partners), and Aglaia Oncology Fund.
A representative of JJDC will join Merus’ board of directors.
Merus will use the new funds to broaden its portfolio of pre-clinical programs for the treatment of cancer patients and to bring its lead programmes into phase I clinical
Alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group has closed a EUR335m collateralised loan obligation (CLO) fund, the firm’s second new-issue CLO in Europe this year.
Carlyle GMS Euro CLO 2013-2 will invest predominantly in new issue and secondary market European senior secured bank loans. Citibank arranged the transaction.
Carlyle’s first new-issue European CLO in 2013 closed in June at EUR350m. According to S&P Capital IQ LCD, aggregate CLO issuance in 2013 in Europe now stands at approximately EUR4.5bn from 14 deals, including Carlyle GMS Euro CLO 2013-1 and 2013-2. In February 2012, Carlyle made its first CLO purchase in Europe when it
LBO France has announced the sale of Groupe Poult’s Polish activities to Bridgepoint, for an undisclosed amount.
Established in 1993 and operating under the Dr Gerard brand, the business was acquired by Groupe Poult in 2010 as part of a build up orchestrated by LBO France. Today it’s a leading biscuit producer in Poland, selling products to all retail formats, operating from three sites in the country and employing 950 people.
As part of the transformation realised by LBO France and under the ownership of Groupe Poult, the Polish business grew significantly, transitioning from a local family owned business
Rowmark, a manufacturer of highly engineered extruded plastic sheet used for engraving and specialty applications, has been acquired by Bertram Capital.
Based in Findlay, Ohio, Rowmark represents Bertram Capital’s third platform investment in the plastics industry. In addition to the equity investment in Rowmark, Bertram Capital also provided subordinated debt to finance the acquisition.
"Rowmark is an established market leader with strong brand recognition, supported by state-of-the-art manufacturing and an unmatched distribution network," says Kevin Yamashita, Partner at Bertram Capital. "Rowmark is led by a capable and experienced management team. They have built a platform with robust operating fundamentals
Custom House Global Fund Services, a provider of financial services to the alternative investment sector, has opened a New York office and expanded its business development team.
Custom House now has seven global locations, over USD40bn of assets under administration and 200 staff.
Joining Custom House in New York is Peter McCulloch and Anthony Stanziano as commercial directors. Both positions will report to Scott Price, head of sales for the Americas, who is located in the company’s US headquarters in Chicago. Internally, Greg Colanto has also been promoted to commercial director in Chicago.
“The opening of a New York office
HSBC Securities Services (HSS) has made key appointments in sales for North America and Europe.
Kevin Skorzewski joins as head of sales for North America. In this new role, Skorzewski will be responsible for building out HSBC’s securities services franchise in the region and will focus on serving the complex needs of asset managers in North America. He will work closely with the product, sales and business development functions to ensure effective delivery of its global platform to clients in the region. Skorzewski will be located in New York.
Skorzewski joins from JP Morgan Chase, where he held the role
SAP Ventures has raised more than USD650 million for a new direct investment fund, SAP Ventures Fund II.
Taken together with SAP HANA Real Time Fund, a USD405 million fund-of-funds that invests in early stage VC funds, SAP Ventures has added more than USD1 billion in new funds in 12 months.
Inclusive of SAP Ventures Fund I, a USD353 million direct investment fund launched in 2011, the firm’s total assets under management increased to more than USD1.4 billion. SAP Ventures also announced it is building out a dedicated 10-person business development team to enable its portfolio companies to easily access
Funds managed by IK Investment Partners have entered into an agreement with the Norwegian foundation Det Norske Veritas (DNV) to acquire its subsidiary DNV Petroleum Services (DNVPS).
Financial details for the transaction have not been disclosed.
Founded by the Norwegian foundation DNV in 1981, DNVPS is a provider of fuel management services for the maritime and power sectors with customers including ship owners, managers and charterers as well as power plant operators. The company primarily operates within two segments, fuel quality testing and bunker quantity surveys.
DNVPS has experienced strong growth since inception, reaching USD50m in revenue
Following the news that the US government has failed to agree a budget, Joanna Shatney, Head of US Large Cap Equities shares her views on what this means for US markets…
Haven’t we dealt with this before? With political gridlock over the 2014 budget, we have breached another US government deadline. And once we get past this issue, there is another one right behind it surrounding the need to raise the debt ceiling by mid-October.
The market was down slightly yesterday, but as we look toward the growth opportunities for the US economy and corporate profits over the next three
Alter Domus, a fund and corporate services provider dedicated to private equity houses and real estate firms, has set up operations in France through a dedicated fund administration entity.
Laurent Vanderweyen (pictured), chief executive officer, Alter Domus, says: “France is a critical market with huge potential for Alter Domus to extend its offer to our clients, building on the success of our current platforms in the Channel Islands and Luxembourg. The establishment of such operations is fully in line with our firm’s strategy to vertically integrate our value proposition and allow our clients access to local services and expertise.”
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