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ORIX Private Equity has invested in R2integrated (r2i), a digital and social marketing agency.
This investment will accelerate r2i’s growth and allow r2i to pursue acquisitions in the digital and social marketing industry within key US and international geographies.
Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, r2i is a digital agency that offers web content management, digital marketing, and social media expertise to a variety of clients from Fortune 500 companies to non-profit organisations.
The current r2i management team, including Matt Goddard, chief executive officer, Dave Taub, chief creative officer, and Chris Chodnicki, chief technology officer, will continue to lead the company, which
Victory Park Capital (VPC), an asset management firm specialising in direct credit and control equity investing in middle market and distressed companies, has named Jordan Allen as principal and chief operating officer.
Allen will oversee business operations at VPC.
“As our business continues to experience growth, so do the needs of our infrastructure and the scope and responsibilities of our management team,” says Richard Levy, managing partner. “Jordan will add an additional layer of depth by building upon the already strong foundation we have in place for our daily operations and identifying further efficiencies to support our growth.”
Before joining
Pan-European real estate investment manager AEW Europe has expanded its private equity platform with the appointment of Simon Blaxland as executive director.
AEW Europe is increasingly seeing opportunities arising from the current weakness in both the financial and real estate markets across Europe and has recently expanded its investment team to 40 dedicated professionals.
Blaxland’s appointment follows on from a number of senior hires within the firm’s private equity real estate business. Over the last 12 months, Carsten Czarnetzki, Simon Barrett, and Carolina Clemente have also joined the firm as directors within the portfolio management team.
Blaxland formerly held positions
Phoenix Fund Services’ UK funds business has grown more than 60 per cent in 2012 and now administers total funds under management of GBP850m.
Anthony Wolfe, business development director, says: “Phoenix is delighted that its UK funds business has grown so strongly in the past year in a harsh investment environment. This growth has been based upon our support of specialist fund managers who have a clear investment proposition and, despite unhelpful markets, have a strong investment track record. Phoenix looks forward to 2013 which offers the prospect of continued growth in supporting its clients’ success.”
Nearly 50 per cent of divestments in the UK over the past two years were driven by a need for a quick cash injection rather than to achieve a longer term strategic objective, according to a report from Ernst & Young.
The 2012 Global Corporate Divestment Survey reveals that respondents’ rationale for a divestment is often focused on short-term financial motives rather than the longer term strategic benefit of the business.
Seven out of ten respondents say the main factor that determines whether a business stays within a company portfolio or not are short term financial measures. For example, whether
M&A activity in emerging Europe last year was hampered by the drawn-out debt crisis in the Eurozone, political turmoil in some states and tough austerity plans introduced by local governments, according to a report from CMS and Emerging Markets Information Service (EMIS) DealWatch.
According to Emerging Europe: M&A Report 2012, the number of M&A transactions in emerging European countries in 2012 neared 2,265, an almost 40 per cent decrease in year-on-year terms.
The total value of M&A deals went down as well amounting to EUR121bn, with fewer mega-ticket deals than in the year before. Rosneft’s acquisition of TNK-BP, Russia’s largest-ever
The Beekman Group has held the final closing of Beekman Investment Partners II at USD100m in equity commitments.
"We are pleased to have raised USD100m in the current environment and to have surpassed our debut fund by over 40 per cent" says John G Troiano, founder and managing partner of The Beekman Group. "We credit our focused strategy, top quartile returns, and experienced investment team for this and appreciate the strong support from our existing limited partners and from our new investors.”
Beekman’s second fund had 90 per cent re-commitment from its first fund investors and includes a group of
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has appointed Gregory Eckersley as global head of internal equities, effective immediately.
Eckersley will be responsible, alongside senior management, for developing and implementing investment strategy for the internal equities department, as well as overseeing the activities of all internally-managed portfolios. His role will also include oversight of risk management and due diligence processes.
Based in Abu Dhabi, Eckersley will report to Mohamed Darwish Al Khoori, executive director of the internal equities department.
Eckersley joins ADIA after a long career in the financial sector that includes 16 years at AllianceBernstein. From 2006 until his departure
Addleshaw Goddard is increasing its City-based private equity capability with the appointment from Linklaters of Ben Rodham.
The hire is the latest in a string of targeted London-based investments by the firm as it builds additional capability and specialist expertise across key disciplines and chosen markets.
Rodham’s principal area of focus is advising private equity firms and other financial sponsors across all forms of leveraged M&A, disposals, restructurings and portfolio company issues. He has worked with a number of well known investors including Bridgepoint, Carlyle, Global Infrastructure Partners, Hg Capital, Montagu, PAI and Terra Firma.
Rodham has extensive experience
LNK Partners, a private equity firm focused on the consumer/retail sector, has appointed Patrick J Boroian as a partner focused on business development.
Boroian (pictured) has more than 20 years of private equity investment experience. Prior to joining LNK, he spent more than 10 years as a partner at Brockway Moran & Partners, where he led the firm’s business development activities.
Before joining Brockway Moran, he served as a general partner at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette’s venture capital affiliate, the Sprout Group, and as a managing director at DLJ Merchant Banking Partners.
Boroian started his private equity career at Odyssey
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