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Money market funds are a relatively new development in South Africa having first appeared in the country in 1995. And already the sector has attracted ZAR240 billion; this figure amounts to just under a quarter of the South African unit trust industry and is a similar ratio to that in Europe and the USA. According to Sean Segar, Head of Product at Nedgroup Investments, Cash Solutions, this popularity is because of the convenience of money market funds and the many benefits that they offer over traditional bank deposits…
As interest rates remain stubbornly low at near 40-year lows, investors are
Actis, the pan-emerging markets private equity firm, has confirmed an investment of USD68m in CNA, a provider of English language training in Brazil.
A portion of the investment will be funded from Actis’s new global fund, Actis 4.
CNA was established in 1970 and is now among the four largest private suppliers of English language training in Brazil with more than 500 schools nationwide and over 400,000 textbook kits sold per year.
CNA’s customer base includes children and teenagers but its primary target audience is young adults keen to improve their career prospects by learning English.
Actis
North Castle Partners has completed an investment in Curves International, the largest fitness club franchisor in the world with approximately 7,300 locations in 90 countries of clubs specifically designed for women.
North Castle is a private equity firm focused exclusively on health, wellness and active living companies. The terms of the investment by North Castle and its co-investors were not disclosed.
"As a firm focused on businesses that promote health, wellness, and active living, an investment in Curves was natural for us," says Chip Baird, North Castle’s founder and managing partner. "We are excited to partner with the company’s founders,
Maven Capital Partners has sold WEMS International to WHEB Partners and members of the WEMS management team, realising the investment made in June 2010 by Maven on behalf of the Capital for Enterprise Fund A.
WEMS (formerly Adam Communication Systems International) is a UK based provider of building energy management systems (BEMS) and associated energy management services. WEMS products and services allow customers to reduce energy costs, carbon emissions and to comply with increasing levels of legislation in this area over recent years.
Stockport based WEMS was established in 1990 and has many thousands of installed energy management systems within
Brazil Hospitality Group is launching a private equity fund (FIP), which will be the company’s priority vehicle for investments in greenfield projects.
The operation complies with CVM Instruction 391/03 and is targeted at qualified investors, with the minimum subscription amount being BRL1m.
Named BHG Modal Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes em Hotelaria, the FIP will add speed and investment volume to the nationwide expansion strategy outlined by BHG for the hospitality sector.
"We are starting with BRL150m, but the operation aims to raise up to BRL400m for investments in the development of greenfield hotels, one of the key growth drivers
AXA Private Equity has arranged a EUR37m mezzanine tranche alongside Capzanine to finance the acquisition of Village Center by private equity firm 21 Centrale Partners and Promeo, the company’s founding shareholder.
Village Center operates 33 campsites in France, comprising 13,500 pitches and 7,800 mobile homes. The group’s activities also include the sale of residential mobile homes, as well as the distribution of off-season stays through its subsidiary Kawan.
This transaction follows the partnership signed on 1 August 2012 between Village Center and Vacances Directes, a 21 Centrale Partners portfolio company, to create Europe’s leading outdoor accommodation group, with 38
Private equity firm Avista Capital Partners has appointed Brian A Markison as a healthcare industry executive.
Markison has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceuticals sector, most recently as president and chief executive officer of Fougera Pharmaceuticals, a dermatology-focused pharmaceuticals company that was spun off from Nycomed in 2011 and sold to Sandoz, the generics division of Novartis, in July 2012.
Thompson Dean, co-managing partner and chief executive officer of Avista, says: "We have known and worked with Brian for years, and we are delighted to have him join our team. The healthcare sector has been a core
Behrman Capital, a private equity investment firm based in New York and San Francisco, has formed Behrman Capital PEP, a USD1bn, six-year investment partnership that was formed primarily to acquire the five remaining investments in Behrman Capital III.
The transaction provided immediate and full liquidity to all of the 2000-vintage fund’s limited partners.
At the same time, PEP will allow investors in Behrman Capital IV, a 2007 vintage fund that more recently invested in two of these companies, to see their investments fully mature.
In addition, approximately 25 per cent of aggregate commitments to PEP will be devoted to add-on
Flybridge Capital Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm, has expanded its New York City offices with the addition of several investment team members.
Matt Witheiler (pictured), a principal with the firm previously based in Boston, has moved to New York joining general partner David Aronoff who established the firm’s New York City office earlier this year.
Caitlin Strandberg, who previously worked in business development at New York City based start-ups LearnVest and Behance, has joined the firm’s New York office as an associate.
“Over the past few years, our involvement with the New York start-up community has increased significantly, with
Wireless Energy Management Systems International (WEMS), a Stockport, UK-based provider of the world’s first fully wireless and web-enabled building energy management system, has sold a majority equity stake and raised growth capital in a GBP13m financing led by private equity fund manager WHEB Partners and including Hermes GPE through the Hermes GPE Environmental Innovation Fund.
The company’s wireless building management systems (BMS) technology brings down installation and monitoring costs for commercial energy management solutions. This allows retailers, telecoms companies and other companies with estates of small commercial buildings to achieve annual energy savings of 15 to 30 per cent without
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