Harvest Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, has completed the acquisition of Bartlett Holdings, d.b.a. BHI Energy, from Berkshire Partners and Summit Partners. BHI Energy is an energy services company which supports the daily operations, routine maintenance and capital investment requirements of nuclear, fossil and renewable power facilities, as well as government decommissioning projects. BHI Energy’s services include radiation protection, professional and technical staff augmentation and specialty maintenance. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Robert Decensi, BHI Energy’s chief executive officer, says: “The acquisition by Harvest is a transaction that will allow BHI Energy further expansion and

Audley Capital, as investment adviser to the activist Audley European Opportunities Fund, has increased its holding of shares in AIM-listed Sable Mining Africa, a resource company focused on mining assets in sub-Saharan Africa. Audley’s move, which takes its holding in Sable Mining to some 4.1 per cent or 38,280,000 shares, comes on the back of last week’s announcement of substantial gains achieved by the fund from a major holding in Western Coal, now the subject of a takeover bid from Walter Energy.  Audley European Opportunities Fund was recently re-opened to investors and the enhanced holding in Sable Mining is the

Citadel Capital, a private equity firm in the Middle East and Africa, has reported a 7.1 per cent rise in total assets under management to USD4.0bn (EGP23bn) for the third quarter of 2010 as it recognised USD265.4m in new equity raised year-to-date. Third-party fee-earning AUM rose 6.0 per cent to USD2.0bn in the same period.   The USD265.4m in new AUM includes USD140m for the MENA and Africa Joint Investment Funds and USD100m in financing from the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation.   “With the start of operations at six greenfields so far this year, USD2.6bn in debt signed for

Suez Environnement is launching Blue Orange, an investment fund to accompany the commercial and industrial development of fledgling firms developing technologies in the environmental services sector, specifically water and waste management.  Jean-Louis Chaussade, Suez Environnement’s chief executive officer, says: "With this innovation investment fund, Suez Environnement is taking up interests in the capital of start-ups with the ultimate goal of accelerating the concrete implementation of innovative solutions and the release of new offers for all our customers on our markets. Suez Environnement’s history has already been marked by several decisive innovations. By investing in these start-ups, we are going to

Burford Capital has raised USD175m (GBP110m) to create the world’s largest dispute financier. The Guernsey closed-ended investment company is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market following from its initial public offering in October 2009. The company has now announced a placing of approximately USD175m (GBP110m), consisting of 100 million placing shares at 110 pence per share. A company statement said the placing will allow Burford Capital to continue its investment programme and solidify its position as a market leader in commercial dispute financing. The completion of the placing is subject to shareholder approval and the admission

The advisers to Polish businessman Zygmunt Solorz-Zak are talking to private equity firms over the possibility of a joint bid for telecommunications group Polkomtel worth some EUR4bn (USD5.3bn). According to the report by Reuters, Polkomtel shareholders – Polish metals miner KGHM Polska Miedz, crude oil refiner Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen and power company PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna  with a combined 75 per cent, and Vodafone owning the other 25 per cent – are all preparing to sell their stakes in the company. Solorz-Zak refused to comment on the information, when contacted by Reuters.

The value of investment fund business in Guernsey grew by GBP18.9bn (8.4 per cent) during the third quarter of this year. The increase means that there have now been five consecutive quarters of growth and it has taken the net asset value of funds under management and administration in the island to a new record high of GBP243.1bn at the end of September 2010. This is an increase of GBP61.6bn (33.9 per cent) on the same time in 2009. Peter Niven, chief executive of Guernsey Finance, the promotional agency for the island’s finance industry, says: “I am extremely pleased to

Actis, an emerging markets private equity investor, has acquired a minority stake in XP Investimentos, Brazil’s largest independent brokerage firm, through a capital injection of USD58m. Actis will work with XP to prepare it for an IPO. The transaction is subject to approval by the Brazilian Central Bank.   XP Investimentos has the largest capital markets educational programme in Brazil. More than 300,000 people have been trained by XP in topics ranging from investment basics to advanced portfolio management strategies.   This is the third investment by Actis in Brazil in the last three months. Actis invested USD58m in Brazilian

Funds advised by Apax Partners have agreed to acquire a majority interest in Advantage Sales & Marketing, a North American sales and marketing agency, from J.W. Childs Associates and BAML Capital Partners (Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity).  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. ASM, which provides outsourced sales, marketing and merchandising services to manufacturers, suppliers and producers of consumer packaged goods, has 2010 revenues of approximately USD1bn.  Upon completion of the transaction, ASM’s senior leadership team will continue to manage the company’s day-to-day operations. "ASM has established an impressive track record of generating value for its clients and customers