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Rising valuations and an improving house building industry followed by a recovery in construction will see the number of deals in the building products sector increase in the coming years, according to accountancy and business advisory firm BDO.
In its report, Rebuilding for the future, which analysed 375 transactions in the sector since 2008, it found that dealflow in 2012 was 65 per cent higher compared to 2010, a low point for the sector, and that the trend was set to continue.
Distressed acquisitions have become commonplace in the past few years. This has been consistent with increasing
US venture capital firms raised USD2.9bn from 44 funds during the second quarter of 2013, a decrease of 33 per cent compared to the level of dollar commitments raised during the first quarter of 2013 but equal to the number of funds, according to Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).
The dollar commitments raised during the second quarter of 2013 is a 54 per cent decline from the levels raised during the comparable period in 2012 and marks the lowest quarter for venture capital fundraising, by dollars, since the third quarter of 2011.
The top
Private equity firm MidOcean Partners has acquired, along with Vulcan Capital and other investors, Water Pik, a marketer and supplier of branded health and wellness products.
Water Pik has become the market leader in both its oral health and replacement showerhead business segments. Water Pik’s oral health business offers a complete line of products, including its line of water flossers, a clinically proven sonic toothbrush and a full line of professional dental products. Water Pik’s replacement showerhead business leverages its technology across a broad array of platforms, including EcoFlow (water conservation) and EasySelect (adjustable in-handle water pressure and spray
BNY Mellon has been appointed portfolio administrator, trustee and custodian to BlueBay Ireland Corporate Credit I Limited, an investment vehicle intended to lend to Irish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and medium-sized corporates.
BNY Mellon will provide a one-stop administration solution to BlueBay and will act as drawdown notification agent, account bank, cash manager and issuance paying agent to the investment vehicle. In addition, BNY Mellon may act as facility loan agent for the borrowers in the project.
The investment vehicle was announced in January this year and forms part of a wider SME funding initiative referenced by
UK targeted mergers and acquisitions saw 485 deals valued at GBP40.6bn in the first half of 2013, down 16.5 per cent and 10.9 per cent by volume and value, respectively, from H1 2012 when they were 581 deals valued at GBP45.6bn, according to data released by MergerMarket.
A decline in deal value from Q1 to Q2 was responsible for the overall H1 drop. Q2 deals valued at GBP15.1bn were 40.6 per cent down from Q1 2013 (GBP25.5bn) and 46.7 per cent down from Q2 2012 (GBP28.4bn).
The UK however, became more active in the search for companies outside
Marlin Management Company has held the first and final closing of Marlin Equity IV with USD1.6bn of capital commitments.
Fund IV completed its fundraise at its hard-cap in just over four months and was more than three times oversubscribed from its initial USD1bn target.
Consistent with Marlin’s predecessor funds, Fund IV will invest in businesses that can benefit from the firm’s significant capital base, deep industry relationships and extensive network of operational resources. It will focus on industries where Marlin has developed extensive domain expertise, including technology, business services, healthcare, consumer and manufacturing, among others.
Marlin has
Independent fund administration company Apex Fund Services has appointed Gordon Shaw as chief operating officer of the Apex Group.
Shaw (pictured) was previously global head of banking and custody within the Credit Suisse alternative funds business. Prior to this, he was group chief operating officer at Fortis Prime Fund Solutions where he had responsibility for over USD100bn of assets under administration. Whilst at Fortis, Shaw worked in a number of senior positions in multiple locations in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
One of Shaw’s global responsibilities will be to increase the use of Apex’s technology based services including
Invest Hong Kong has launched its StartmeupHK Venture Programme 2013 to attract local and overseas entrepreneur-led businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong.
The programme features a global competition for innovative and high-impact entrepreneurs.
It will culminate in a week-long event in December 2013 in which 12 shortlisted finalists will be provided with access to business partners, financial capital, market knowledge and marketing opportunities. They will also compete to win prizes including free advisory services such as accounting, legal, design and branding services, plus free work/retail space provided by sponsors and programme partners.
Entries can
Despite the credit crunch hitting private equity investment companies hard, the sector has had a good 2013 so far with markets having rallied and discounts in the sector narrowing to reflect this.
Data from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) demonstrates that the average private equity investment company’s share price is up 25 per cent on average over one year, and 72 per cent over three years, outperforming the average investment company by nine percentage points and 39 percentage points respectively.
The AIC recently hosted a press roundtable lunch on the sector with Andrew Lebus (pictured), manager of
Oakley Capital Investments, the AIM-listed company established to provide investors with access to the investment strategy being pursued by Oakley Capital Private Equity, has released its pre-close statement for the six months ended 30 June 2013.
The company, through its investment in the limited partnership, has an indirect interest in each of the limited partnership’s portfolio companies representing 65 per cent of the limited partnership’s total commitments.
To-date the limited partnership has exited four of its portfolio investments achieving a gross money multiple on its cost of investment of 2.6x and IRR of 43 per cent, and returning GBP109m
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