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Picochip, a supplier of femtocell technology and silicon, has completed a USD9m debt facility with Silicon Valley Bank, the commercial banking division of SVB Financial Group.
The facility consists of a USD4m three-year term loan and a two-year USD5m working capital line of credit.
The combined facility will provide Picochip with access to additional working capital to support the company’s growth strategy.
“Picochip is constantly driving to develop and commercialise innovative approaches to mobile voice and data services, with femtocells deploying and LTE following. We believe this debt facility will serve as a solid foundation for our rapid growth,
Private equity firm Riverside is expanding its efforts to invest in clean technology companies as the firm anticipates strong growth in alternative energy and energy efficiency markets.
Riverside has hired associate Evelyne White to explore opportunities within the cleantech sector.
White works with Riverside’s local origination and transaction teams to build institutional knowledge in the sector, as well as to identify, evaluate and execute investments in the space.
“Riverside has a time-tested approach to all the sectors in which it has worked,” says White. “We identify the best and most unique companies in a growing industry, and work alongside management
Private equity firm Pomona Capital has hired Sebastien Bowen in London team as an investment director to focus on secondary investment analysis and deal sourcing in Europe.
Bowen has over eight years of primary and secondary fund investing experience.
Prior to joining Pomona Capital, he was a director at MetLife Investments and was previously at Axa Private Equity in London where he spent most of his career.
Bowen joined Axa Private Equity in 2002 where he focused predominantly on primary and secondary private equity opportunities in Europe.
Other recent additions to the Pomona Capital global team include Vivian Mandis, who
The quarter ending 30 June 2010 marked the continuation of a five-quarter trend of positive returns in private equity and venture capital funds, according to Cambridge Associates, a provider of research and investment advice to institutional investors and private clients.
Earnings in both types of funds were down from the prior quarter, however, marking the third consecutive quarter-to-quarter decline for these alternative assets.
Private equity outperformed venture capital during the second quarter. Both earned better returns during the period than the major public market indices, which suffered their first negative quarter in a year. Funds in the private equity index
GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, has joined a USD8m funding round for CoolPlanetBioFuels, a start-up company developing a technology that converts low-grade biomass into high-grade fuel and carbon that can be sequestered.
The venture capital investment was led by North Bridge Venture Partners, which had also led CoolPlanet’s financing round last year.
Additional financial details were not disclosed. CoolPlanet’s research and development facilities are located in Camarillo, California.
"GE’s technical and market resources could accelerate our development well beyond the impact of the company’s financial investment," says Mike Cheiky, CoolPlanet’s president and chief technology officer.
"CoolPlanet’s low-capital
Private equity firm Advent International has acquired Tinsa, a Spanish property valuation firm, from its founding partners.
Advent International has taken a 94.5 per cent majority stake in the business, with the remaining capital held mainly by the management team.
The transaction is valued at EUR100m and has been approved by the Bank of Spain.
Founded in 1985, Tinsa specialises in property valuation, analysis and real estate advisory services.
In 2010, the company expects to carry out over 240,000 valuation reports – representing a total valuation volume of more than EUR160bn – and forecasts a turnover of EUR80m.
Until now,
Small and medium-sized businesses in Francophone West Africa will receive commercial investment thanks to a EUR8m investment by CDC, the UK’s development finance institution.
CDC’s EUR8m commitment is to the Fonds Cauris Croissance II, a private equity fund run by Cauris Management, a West African team based in Togo and Cote d’Ivoire.
FCC II will also invest in promising business in other countries such as Senegal, Benin, Mali and Burkina Faso.
CDC’s commitment has helped FCC II raise a total of EUR45m from investors, including other development finance institutions and local private investors. The fund aims to raise a total
Marketo, a provider of revenue performance management solutions, has secured additional funding to fuel its growth.
Institutional Venture Partners, which has also funded Netflix, Twitter and Zynga, led the USD25m investment with participation from previous investors InterWest Partners, Storm Ventures, and Mayfield Fund.
The new funding will be used to further accelerate Marketo’s product, technology, and market development initiatives.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with a top-tier venture firm like IVP,” says Phil Fernandez, president and chief executive of Marketo. “We have more customers, more and better products, and faster growth than anyone else in our category. Now, with
Dutchess Capital has recently provided equity line facilities for several more mining and resources companies.
They include GBP5m for Baobab Resources, CAD10m for Nordic Oil and Gas and CAD10m for Houston Lake Mining.
Earlier this year, Dutchess provided GBP10m in ELF financing for Sunkar Resources and USD35m for AsherXino.
For 2010, Dutchess has provided a total of USD79m for mining and resources companies.
Douglas D’Agata, Dutchess Capital research director, says: “For the past several years, aggregate global demand for natural resources has tracked the hyper growth of the world’s emerging economies. The BRIC nations, as well as countless smaller players,
Choice Care Group, Sovereign Capital’s portfolio healthcare company, has acquired Excel Support Services, which provides supported living for people with learning disabilities.
Founded in 2005, Excel has grown significantly in the past few years. It operates from two regional offices in Bracknell, Berkshire and Sandwell, West Midlands.
Excel aims to support the adults and young people it cares for to live as independently as possible so they have control over their own lives.
With the acquisition of Excel, Choice, which operates 39 residential homes for adults with mental health disorder, learning disabilities and complex needs within Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire and
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