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Global merger and acquisitions activity in the first three quarters of 2012 added up to USD1,426.5bn, down by 19.4 per cent on the same period in 2011 (USD1,769.3bn), and representing the second lowest total since Q1-Q3 2009 (USD1,142bn), according to mergermarket.
Q3 2012 totalled USD433.5bn, down 20.2 per cent from Q2 2012 (USD543bn), resuming the free-fall briefly paused by a rally in Q2.
European deals in Q3 2012 had a total value of USD99.2bn, down 46.1 per cent from Q2 2012 (USD183.9bn) and a 40 per cent decrease on Q3 2011 (USD165.2bn). It was the lowest quarterly total for Europe
An affiliate of private equity firm Roark Capital Group has acquired Massage Envy, the largest provider of massage therapy and facial treatments in the US.
"We are thrilled to have Roark as a partner as we continue to grow the Massage Envy brand," says Dave Crisalli, Massage Envy’s president and chief executive. "Roark’s strong operational approach and deep consumer and franchise experience makes them an ideal partner for our leadership team, regional developers, franchisees and team members."
Ezra Field, managing director of Roark Capital, says: "Massage Envy has become a category-defining consumer wellness brand. We are very excited to partner
Morgenthaler Private Equity (MPE) has sold Avtron Industrial Automation (AIA), a provider of highly engineered control and automation solutions, to Nidec Corporation.
AIA’s products and systems are key components for the precise control of the motion of heavy industrial equipment in applications such as oil and gas drilling rigs, port cranes and hoists, mining shovels and draglines, maritime vessel propulsion systems, steel rolling mills, and paper machines.
Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Dennis Anderson, president of AIA, says: "AIA will strengthen Nidec’s industrial motor business in North America. In particular, AIA’s rich engineering resources and customer
Diverse and minority-owned private equity firms have produced superior investment returns over a sustained period benchmarked against the general PE industry, according to a report commissioned by the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC).
NAIC is the industry association representing diverse and minority-owned private equity firms and firms focused on the US emerging domestic market (EDM).
The report, Recognizing The Results, was released at NAIC’s 42nd Annual Meeting & Convention in Palm Beach, Florida.
Recognizing The Results compared the audited financial returns of NAIC firms against the broader private equity market across four industry benchmarks for the period 1998 –
Merger and acquisition deal flow into Europe is set to grow towards the end of 2012 and into 2013 as overseas buyers, including those in Asia Pacific, North America and South America, target discounted European M&A opportunities, according to Clifford Chance.
Arndt Stengel, M&A partner in Frankfurt, says: "We expect to see a rise in European M&A activity driven by increasing investment opportunities in Europe. High quality assets are becoming available at competitive valuations as European sellers, including distressed sellers, are disposing of non-core assets. This is attracting larger international buyers with a strong cash position, looking for the right
Actis, the pan-emerging markets private equity firm, has confirmed an investment of USD32m in the Asiri Group, a 604-bed private hospital group in Sri Lanka.
Asiri is spread across three sites in Colombo and two sites in the southern city of Matara.
Healthcare is a key focus for Actis as emerging market consumers increasingly seek high-quality medical products and services. Actis’s South Asia team has gained extensive experience in the sector with investments in the largest hospital chain in Gujarat, Sterling Add-Life; clinical research company Veeda; and India’s leading generic pharmaceutical company, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.
JM Trivedi, head of South
BlackRock has appointed James Wilkinson as European chief investment officer for the firm’s recently launched global real estate securities platform.
With over 15 years of experience in investing in real estate, Wilkinson (pictured) will be responsible for building and leading an investment team for BlackRock’s real estate securities group in Europe.
Wilkinson will join the team in January 2013 and will report to Mark Howard-Johnson, global head of the real estate securities group.
BlackRock launched the new platform in June with the appointment of Howard-Johnson and Sherry Rexroad, who joined as US chief investment officer.
The platform seeks
Northern-based mid-market private equity firm NorthEdge Capital has appointed Phil Frame as senior investment executive based at the company’s Manchester office.
Frame (pictured) was most recently assistant director at Altium Capital for three years and previously spent four years at KPMG after graduating from The University of Manchester. He will be responsible for originating and working on the full range of target transactions across the region.
Ray Stenton, partner at NorthEdge, says: “We are delighted to welcome Phil onboard as his experience in investment banking complements the team’s existing expertise. Following James Hall’s recent arrival, Phil’s appointment will further
Recognition of Guernsey’s expertise as a finance centre continues to build in the Far East, according to Fiona Le Poidevin, chief executive of Guernsey Finance, the promotional agency for the island’s finance industry.
Le Poidevin (pictured) was speaking at the culmination of a week-long trip to Hong Kong that saw her meet with some of the Guernsey-based businesses which have offices in the jurisdiction, as well as attend the three-day SuperReturn Asia conference – billed as Asia’s leading private equity funds event.
Le Poidevin said her visits to the Hong Kong operations of Louvre Group, Mourant Ozannes, Newhaven Trust and
Gresham, the UK mid market private equity firm, has completed the GBP25m management buyout of Investis, a UK provider of digital corporate communications for public companies.
At the same time, the investor relations business of Hemscott has been acquired by Investis from Morningstar.
Gresham intends to use its investment in Investis as a platform to accelerate the development of new digital products, to extend its reach to new customers in new geographies and to make acquisitions both in the UK and internationally. It will take advantage of Investis’ market leading position in digital corporate communications for listed companies including
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