Cleary Gottlieb represented TPG in the sale of its majority shareholding in Mey İçki Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, Turkey’s leading spirits manufacturer, to the drinks group Diageo.   Diageo has agreed to acquire Mey İçki from TPG and Actera, a private equity group focussed on investments in Turkey, for approximately GBP1.3bn. As part of the transaction, management are re-investing in the company. The deal signed on Monday 21 February 2011. Closing is subject to regulatory approvals. TPG had initiated a dual track exit strategy, and Cleary Gottlieb also advised TPG in connection with a proposed partial floatation of Mey Içki

As 5 April approaches, some UK higher-rate taxpayers will be considering the benefits of investing in VCTs. With this in mind, the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has surveyed VCT managers to hear their views on the prospects for the sector in 2011, covering fundraising, the role of VCTs, tax issues and where VCTs are finding investment opportunities.   Research published by the AIC this month highlights the key role which VCTs still have to play in plugging the funding gap for SMEs. Interestingly, Simon Rogerson, CEO of Octopus Investments, believes that VCTs are the only real funding solution for earlier

UK mid-market private equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners has invested GBO18 million to fund the management buyout of the engineering consulting business of ERA Technology (ERA) from Cobham plc (Cobham). ERA is a specialist engineering consulting business focused on industrial markets, with a unique set of technical skills and expertise, and a strong brand dating back to its foundation in 1920. ERA provides condition assessment, materials design and testing, forensic engineering, safety assessments and failure investigation services to a wide range of private and public sector clients. Phoenix is backing a team led by Rob Dilworth, formerly a senior executive

LightSquared, the USA’s first wholesale-only integrated wireless broadband and satellite network, has closed on USD586 million of debt, led by UBS AG and JP Morgan.  LightSquared will use the proceeds of the financing for general corporate purposes, which include constructing its world-class, 4G-LTE-wholesale network. Over the last seven months, LightSquared has raised more than USD2 billion in debt and equity.   "We’re excited about our prospects of bringing the next generation of mobile broadband to millions of Americans, fulfilling the promise of the National Broadband Plan using exclusively private money,” says Sanjiv Ahuja, chief executive officer of LightSquared. “Our investors share our

GTCR has announced the final closing of its tenth buyout fund, with more than USD3.25 billion of equity capital commitments. The fund, which had a target of USD3 billion, was oversubscribed, resulting in fundraising activity culminating just seven months after the fund’s initial launch. “We are extremely pleased with the results of Fund X, especially in this challenging fundraising environment,” says Phil Canfield (pictured), GTCR Principal. “Fund X is the largest in our firm’s 30-year history, and one of our quickest to raise.” Since 1980, GTCR has invested more than USD8.5 billion in over 200 companies and has generated gross

Black Pearl Capital’s private equity fund, Black Pearl Capital Partners (BPCP), has invested in Summit Equities LLC, a US based real-estate investment company that specialises in purchasing non-performing debt instruments and commercial real-estate properties. "We’ve had great success in the UK by turning around depressed real-estate properties and we wanted to replicate that success in the US market," says Dominique Leimer, Senior Partner Black Pearl Capital. "Summit Equities has shown a deep understanding of the complex commercial real-estate market. Along with their strong relationships to local banks, they are an ideal company to align with as we continue to capitalise