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Bichot & Associés, a corporate law firm dedicated to M&A/private equity, has advised the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC) on its investment in the company behind a new photovoltaic powerplant in Distré. CDC has taken a shareholding interest of 49% in the project with the 51% held by the QUENEA’CH group.
The new photovoltaic powerplant will have a capacity of 2MW, for a total investment of EUR6.2m financed by shareholders’ equity and debt.
Bichot & Associés’ team was led by Mathieu Odet (partner), Nicolas Bichot (partner) and Aurélie Thomas-Magnin (associate).
Odet says: "The structuring of investments in the fields
Tim Stracke, CEO of Chrono24 GmbH, has joined Munich venture capital firm Target Partners as a Venture Partner. At Target Partners, the serial entrepreneur and business angel will focus on startups and business concepts in the areas of ecommerce and software.
“I look forward to helping Target Partners build up a network with key Web and software companies in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region and the Karlsruhe area, with the goal of identifying promising investment opportunities,“ says Stracke (37) who, since 1999, has co-founded, led and sold a number of Internet companies including mentasys GmbH and Wohnen im Alter GmbH.
Stracke
The volume and value of lower mid-market investments completed during the first half of 2011 was the highest seen in any six month period since the onset of the financial crisis, according to research from Lyceum Capital and Cass Business School.
Data from The UK Growth Buyout Dashboard – a quarterly analysis of UK-headquartered private equity control deals in the GBP10 million to GBP100 million segment – shows that 41 transactions completed between 1 January 2011 and 30 June 2011. This compares to 34 investments in the previous six months (1 July 2010 – 31 December 2010), and 33
Growth Capital Partners (GCP), a provider of flexible structured equity to UK SMEs, has sold its 40% stake in Tangerine. Headquartered in Blackpool, Tangerine is the UK’s largest independent manufacturer of sugar confectionery and popcorn. It owns brands such as Butterkist popcorn, the iconic Barratt Sherbet Fountain and Dip Dabs, Henry Goode’s soft eating liquorice and Princess Marshmallows.
The sale to Blackstone Group represents a return of 4x over five years for GCP. This is the fourth realisation from GCP’s Fund II and its second exit this year. GCP closed its third fund, which was oversubscribed, at a level of
Dunedin, the mid market UK buyout house has acquired Red Commerce, a global supplier of SAP experts to international corporations and consultancies, in a GBP44 million buyout.
Dunedin has bought the company from the original founder Ezra Chapman and Inflexion, the private equity house that led a GBP15 million management buyout in 2005.
David Williams (pictured) the director of Dunedin who will join the board of Red Commerce says: “The UK is a world leader in recruitment. Red Commerce occupies an attractive position within the global ERP software systems market with a high quality, diversified and loyal customer base. The business
BaltCap, the largest private equity and venture capital investor in the Baltic countries, has invested in Ygle, the leading provider of building systems solutions in Lithuania, acquiring 60% of the company.
Ygle is the leading provider of design, installation and maintenance services of technical building systems in Lithuania. With more than 200 employees, the company has offices in five cities across Lithuania. Ygle provides services mainly for the office, retail, industrial and other special purpose buildings which require complex HVAC and other engineering solutions.
“We are pleased to choose BaltCap as our partner and believe that their
Matthew J Rizzo has joined Sidley Austin as a partner, resident in New York. Rizzo will continue to focus his practice on private equity, mergers and acquisitions and venture capital.
“Matt has broad industry experience and knowledge, which makes him an excellent choice to expand the firm’s private equity capabilities in New York,” says Scott Freeman, a global coordinator of Sidley’s M&A and private equity group. “Sidley has a respected M&A and private equity team and is committed to growing those practices in New York and around the world. Matt is a terrific addition to our New York team and
Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) has entered into a definitive agreement under to be acquired by an investor group led by affiliates of Providence Equity Partners (Providence) in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately USD1.64 billion, plus the assumption of approximately USD130 million in net debt.
Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, Blackboard’s stockholders will receive USD45.00 in cash for each share of Blackboard common stock. The transaction represents a 21 percent premium over the closing price of USD37.16 per share on April 18, 2011, the day before Blackboard publicly announced that it was evaluating strategic alternatives.
The agreement between
Signet, a USD1.5 billion fund-of-hedge-funds group based in the UK and the US, has hired Marco Meli as a senior investment specialist. Bridging the group’s portfolio management and business development functions, Meli will focus on customised investment products and investor relations in German- and French-speaking Europe.
Mel brings to Signet over a decade of experience in finance, including eight years in hedge funds. Before joining Signet he was a portfolio manager at EIM in Nyon, Switzerland, where he managed fund-of-hedge-fund portfolios for institutional investors and developed tailor-made products. He speaks three languages fluently, has a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial and
The Permira Funds and AXA Private Equity today announce the successful completion of the merger of eDreams and GO Voyages, and the acquisition of Opodo from Amadeus, to create one of Europe’s largest groups in online travel.
eDreams, GO Voyages and Opodo each has a robust growth track-record and has shown remarkable resilience by achieving growth rates of 30% during the recent downturn. All three delivered record sales and profits in 2010 and have established a strong presence in all major European markets, with Opodo being well positioned in the UK, France, Germany and in Scandinavia, eDreams in Spain, Italy
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