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Venture capitalists put EUR951 million into 219 deals for European companies in the third quarter of 2011, a 12% drop in investment and 13% decline in deal flow over the same period last year, according to Dow Jones VentureSource.
This marks the lowest quarterly deal count for Europe since VentureSource began tracking the region in 2000.
“The ongoing European debt crisis, drop in consumer and business confidence and general uncertainty surrounding global economic conditions continue to affect levels of venture capital financing activity in the region significantly,” said Anthony Sheldon, research manager, Dow Jones VentureSource. “With no clear indication
Duff & Phelps Corporation (NYSE: DUF), an independent financial advisory and investment banking services firm, has acquired MCR. Comprised of approximately 150 employees, MCR is a UK-based corporate restructuring and turnaround firm focused on insolvency administration and independent business reviews.
For the 12-month period that ended June 30, 2011, MCR earned approximately GBP21m in revenue, excluding reimbursable expenses. The acquisition significantly expands Duff & Phelps’ presence in Europe and enhances the firm’s Global Restructuring Advisory practice. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"For more than ten years, MCR has maximised recovery for stakeholders in insolvent businesses by generating
Evercore Partners (NYSE: EVR), a leading investment banking advisory firm headquartered in New York, USA, and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited (Kotak Investment Banking), a subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited, have entered into an exclusive strategic alliance for cross-border M&A advisory services between India and the United States, the United Kingdom and Mexico.
Through this alliance, two leading investment banks will leverage their combined expertise, strong knowledge of global and local markets and deep corporate relationships to provide high-quality objective advice to their clients.
Kotak Investment Banking is a premier full-service investment bank in India offering a range of
Alternative Investment Management has hired Donna Toth as chief operating officer. Toth will be based in New York and will report directly to Jonathan Harris, president of AIM.
Prior to joining the firm, Toth was a founder and managing principal of Park Hill Group, the third-party global placement agent arm of Blackstone. There she was responsible for directing all operational and financial functions of the business.
Previously, Toth was the chief financial officer at Atlantic-Pacific Capital, a global boutique placement agent, responsible for compliance and financial reporting. Earlier, she was the controller and director of financial reporting at Ziff Brothers
Ingenious Clean Energy, a division of UK based investment and advisory group Ingenious, has launched two new Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) investment opportunities, giving individuals the opportunity to participate in sustainable businesses and projects around the UK.
The Clean Energy division, which was set up earlier this year comprising both existing Ingenious talent and external hires with strong sector experience, will raise much needed investment for this fast-growing sector while responding to the appetite amongst investors for clean energy investments, via the launch of the Ingenious Energy Efficiency EIS Fund and the Ingenious Solar UK EIS.
The Ingenious Energy Efficiency
Alternatives secondaries broker, Cattegatt Capital, is seeing continued strong deal flow from investors looking for value in more “esoteric” hedge fund strategies, as the market for the better-known funds has “priced up”.
Founded by Lars Lindqvist (pictured), Cattegatt – with a fresh USD200mn of Q4 deal flow in the pipeline – is an independent specialist broker for secondary interests in hedge funds, private equity and other illiquid assets. Cattegatt works in a corporate-finance like and hands-on manner to match sellers’ and buyers’ best interests. The firm’s client base includes many of the largest professional investors in the world, who have
Piper, a leading private equity specialist in consumer brands, has taken a significant, minority stake in bar operator Be At One.
Be At One was founded by Steve Locke, Rhys Oldfield, and Leigh Miller, three former bartenders who worked together at TGI Fridays in the 1990s, The trio spotted a gap in then market to produce the finest cocktails in London served by the best quality staff. There are currently 190 exotic drinks on the menu and the company invests GBP5.000 on truing each bartender.
Be AT One opened its first bar in Battersea in 1998. Today, the chain runs
Amplio Filtration Group has secured a EUR16 million equity investment from Ambienta SGR, a global private equity firm that invests in the environmental sector. Ambienta made the investment through its Ambienta I fund, and this leads to Ambienta SGR becoming a minority shareholder in Amplio Filtration Group.
Ambienta I, started in 2008, has EUR217.5 million of committed capital and it is ranked in the top five private equity funds globally investing in the environmental sector (2011 analysis on Prequin data).
Amplio Filtration is currently delivering double digit growth and revenues of EUR35 million expected for FY 2011 ((2010: EUR22
Conditions in the UK private equity industry are forecast to improve over the next five years as debt markets improve, buyers return to the market and private equity firms exploit large cash balances and cheap valuations to add assets to their portfolios, according to latest report from IBISWorld, the UK’s largest publisher of industry research.
Industry revenue and profitability should grow moderately in line with this. Regulation poses a threat to the industry, with banking reforms and changes to takeover laws expected to increase borrowing costs and make it harder for private equity firms to engage in leveraged buyouts. IBISWorld
Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE: CLDT), a hotel real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing in premium-branded, select-service hotels, and affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, LP, a private investment firm, have completed the acquisition of 64 hotels from affiliates of Innkeepers USA Trust.
The joint venture between Cerberus and Chatham acquired the 64 hotels, aggregating 8,329 rooms, for a total gross purchase price of approximately USD1.02 billion, including the assumption of approximately USD675 million of mortgage debt on 45 of the hotels with a weighted average interest rate of 6.71 per cent and maturing in 2017. The other 19 hotels
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