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OFI Private Equity Capital has acquired a 21.61 per cent stake in Dessange International, an operator of hair care and beauty salons.
Both the parties involved in the transaction are based in France.
The acquisition was financed by the current shareholders of Dessange along with Groupe Banques Populaires and Credit du Nord.
Following this transaction, OFI, other shareholders and the management of Dessange International will control 100 per cent of the share capital of Dessange.
Earlier in 2008 OFI acquired a 65 per cent stake in Dessange.
Dessange generated revenues of EUR53m in 2009.
Offshore law firm Appleby acted as Cayman counsel for Fook Woo Group in relation to its listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 31 March 2010.
The proceeds from the global offering amounted to HKD1.426bn.
The Hong Kong public offering was 422 times over-subscribed.
Appleby also provided BVI legal advice to Fook Woo’s BVI subsidiaries in the transaction.
The Appleby team was led by Hong Kong-based corporate partner Judy Lee (pictured), assisted by Chris Cheng.
Fook Woo is a waste paper management services provider and the largest vertically integrated paper recycler in the PRC as
Microfinance, infrastructure finance and service providers to financial services firms are among the favourite sectors of Indian private equity and venture capital investors within the banking, financial services and insurance industry, a survey by research firm Venture Intelligence reveals.
Private equity and venture capital investors are viewing investments in BFSI companies as an attractive entry point into the two key themes driving their investments in India: rising domestic consumer and infrastructure spending.
“PE investments in microfinance continued to grow right through 2008 and 2009 even as investments in other sectors witnessed a steep decline. So much so that almost all
Private equity-backed companies weathered the recession significantly better than comparable businesses, according to a study released by the Private Equity Council.
The study found that the annualised default rate for the more than 3,200 private equity-backed companies acquired between 2000 and 2009 and held through 2008-2009 was 2.8 per cent during the two-year recession.
That compares to a 6.2 per cent annualised default rate for similarly-financed businesses.
“This study is an important contribution to an informed discussion about private equity ownership,” says PEC president Douglas Lowenstein (pictured). “The low default rate is another indicator that undercuts popular myths about private
Law firm Dechert is hiring Jonathan Angell as a partner in its corporate and securities practice in London.
Prior to joining Dechert, Angell was a partner in Ashurst’s London office.
Angell will focus his practice on advising companies – both listed and unlisted – and equity finance providers on large and complex cross-border and multi-jurisdictional transactions and joint ventures, especially in the private equity and energy sectors.
His expertise in the energy sector extends to downstream oil and gas, coal bed methane, solar, carbon credits and energy regulation. He also has extensive experience advising clients on fund structures.
Angell is
European private equity investor Silverfleet Capital has hired Joanna Smith as head of marketing across Europe.
Smith, who will be based in the London office, joins from Bridgepoint Development Capital.
Neil MacDougall, managing partner, says: “Joanna’s appointment is part of Silverfleet Capital’s strategy to raise its profile across Europe. With only ten per cent of our new fund invested we want to ensure the market is aware that not only have we money to invest but that we are very actively looking for new investment opportunities.”
Before working at Bridgepoint, Smith was head of global private equity marketing at KPMG
Villani Advisors has signed an agreement to advise and originate special private placements and private equity investments with several alternative investment groups.
Combined the group represents over USD6bn and has completed more than 250 transactions in over 45 countries.
Villani Advisors’ investment partners usually fund between USD2m and USD100m per transaction, do not require control and usually close within 45 days.
The firm seeks direct equity investments into listed and private companies with a capital-funding requirement to expand business growth and Ebitda.
Enzo Villani says: “Since launching in January 2010, we’ve established some key relationships to originate and advise several
Private equity firm Hudson Ferry Capital has made an investment in Contrax Furnishings, a provider of classroom, technology and administrative furniture for educational and institutional markets.
Contrax provides design, consulting, project management, and installation services to public and private schools, colleges and universities.
William I. Latham III, chief executive, and John G. Crawford, president, acquired the business in 2001. Since that time, they have executed a geographic expansion of the company’s business to more than 20 major markets across the country.
"We are delighted to partner with the professionals at Hudson Ferry Capital. They bring a wealth of experience and
Private equity firm The Riverside Company has hired Robert Bowen to help the firm identify and grow investments in the education and training industry.
Bowen comes to Riverside with more than 40 years of experience, currently as chairman of the board at Scientific Learning after serving as chief executive there.
Bowen will work closely with Riverside’s global education and training team as senior adviser, helping to identify investment opportunities as well as providing support to existing investments in the sector.
“Bob is an education and training guru,” says Riverside co-chief executive Stewart Kohl. “Overnight, Riverside adds four decades of
Law firm Sidley Austin is adding Alex Lloyd to its Hong Kong office as a partner in the US corporate finance practice, effective 1 May 2010.
Lloyd’s practice focuses on debt and equity capital markets, including high yield debt offerings and IPOs.
He has represented issuers and underwriters in a number of high yield offerings in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea and China.
On the equity side, he has primarily focused on Hong Kong IPOs with a Rule 144A tranche, as well as other global equity issues listed in Singapore.
Lloyd’s practice covers a wide area of other capital markets activities
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