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Jersey Finance has welcomed the vote on the compromise agreement for the Alternative Investment Fund Managers EU Directive that was reached by European Parliament.
Geoff Cook, chief executive of Jersey Finance, says Jersey will meet the agreed criteria for ongoing market access into Europe.
“This is fantastic news for our funds industry, and removes any uncertainty that has existed in the market place while the Directive was under discussion. Jersey is also confident that it will be among the first jurisdictions to obtain a passport for non-EU alternative investment funds and managers, when it is introduced in 2015.
“Additionally, the
Movirtu, a supplier of network infrastructure solutions for mobile operators servicing rural poor communities in Africa and South Asia, has raised USD5.5m series A investment to support its expansion and extend its product portfolio to high growth applications for developed markets.
The investment was led by TLcom Capital with the participation of existing investor Gray Ghost DOEN Social Ventures Coöperatief.
TLcom Capital’s managing partner, Maurizio Caio, has been appointed to Movirtu’s board of directors.
Movirtu provides mobile technology and business models to wireless telecommunication service providers. Its mobile phone product Cloud Phone works like web based email, allowing subscribers
AGCO, Your Agriculture Company, a manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, has agreed to acquire Sparex and its trading subsidiaries from Rubicon Partners Industries for GBP53m.
Sparex is a distributor of accessories and tractor replacement parts serving the agricultural aftermarket.
Headquartered in Exeter, UK, Sparex has operations in 17 countries and exports to over 75 countries.
The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2010 once competition authority approval is obtained.
"Sparex is an excellent fit with AGCO and will allow us to extend our reach in the agricultural aftermarket and provide our customers with an even wider
Bowmark Capital, a mid-market private equity firm, has recruited two members to its investment team.
Richard Mathews has joined the firm as a partner and Dylan Bourguignon as an investment director.
Mathews brings with him more than ten years’ experience of private equity investment with HgCapital, where he was latterly responsible for the firm’s consumer and leisure investments team. He began his career as a strategy consultant with Braxton Associates before joining HgCapital in 1998.
Bourguignon has been a UK mid-market private equity investor since 2004, having previously worked at NBGI Private Equity and Cognetas, where he executed and monitored
Macfarlanes has advised Azini Capital Partners on the formation of Azini 2, a USD100m fund which has been backed by Lexington Partners, a manager of secondary private equity and co-investment funds.
The fund has acquired two partnerships from Apax Partners. The two partnerships own interests in 16 technology companies in Europe and the US.
The fund retains significant reserves to allow Azini Capital to provide additional funding to support the ongoing development and growth of the portfolio companies.
Macfarlanes’ funds partner Stephen Sims says: “We expect that this type of bespoke fundraising will become increasingly popular as sellers refocus
The Swiss Funds Association has welcomed the European Parliament’s decision to pass the EU Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers.
The SFA says that compared with the draft presented in April 2009, the directive in its present form contains two significant improvements from the Swiss perspective.
Under the AIFM Directive there remains the possibility for portfolio management and/or risk management for an alternative investment fund established in the EU to be delegated to a Swiss-domiciled manager, provided the latter is subject to FINMA supervision.
In addition, Swiss asset managers may at a later date acquire authorization in respect of marketing
New European Union-wide rules on the marketing of alternative investment funds overcame the final hurdle this afternoon when the European Parliament adopted, by 513 votes to 92 with three abstentions, the Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers.
The directive will impose registration, reporting and initial capital requirements on all funds not covered by the Ucits directives on the cross-border marketing of retail funds, as well as rules on asset stripping aimed at private equity firms and provisions that would require the deferment of a substantial part of the remuneration of alternative fund managers.
It also includes provisions that will tighten
The Isle of Man has launched a new private equity proposition which offers opportunities for the establishment of a private equity fund set up as a specialist fund.
This fund will have fees levied by Isle of Man based fund administrators and investment managers which would be exempt from VAT in the Isle of Man.
The specialist fund structure will have a minimum investment of USD100,000 and requires a regulated administrator. There is no mandatory custodian requirement or direct asset manager.
The structure offers zero corporate tax for the specialist fund and for Isle of Man domiciled managers and
Los Angeles-based investment firm Pacific Capital Group has appointed Robert Hertzberg, former Speaker of the California State Assembly, as venture partner.
Hertzberg, an attorney, will continue to work as senior partner at Mayer Brown.
He is co-founder and a director of G24 Innovations, a solar technology company based in the UK, and first vice chairman of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.
Hertzberg was twice unanimously elected Speaker of the California State Assembly and served in the California Legislature from 1996 to 2002.
Hertzberg says: "I am very excited to work with Gary and his portfolio companies on a
Private equity investments by number of companies has increased worldwide for the fifth consecutive quarter, up six per cent from Q2 2010 and the highest number of companies since Q4 2008, according to research by Thomson Reuters.
Asia is the only region which has seen a quarterly decline, down 14 per cent from Q2 2010 and at the lowest level since Q3 2009.
Activity in Europe and the Americas has both increased from Q2 2010, up 14 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.
Three firms share the top spot for the highest number of buyout investments: Riverside Company, Goldman
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