Maven has led the public-to-private acquisition of AIM listed LitComp, an insurance business operating predominantly in the after the event insurance market. Maven investors have taken a 40 per cent stake in the newly de-listed business. The acquisition has been made by bidco Torridon Capital and is the culmination of 15 months of work by the Maven AIM team of Stella Panu and Kimberly Martin. Having originally supported the company at the time of its admission to AIM in 2006, they felt that the market had failed to reflect the intrinsic value and growth potential of LitComp and instigated the

Evercore Partners and Trilantic Capital Partners have formed an alliance to pursue private equity investment opportunities for Trilantic’s current fund and to collaborate on the future growth of Trilantic’s business. The relationship leverages the respective strengths of each firm while maintaining each firm’s independence. Trilantic, a private equity firm focused on middle market investments in North America and Europe, has a track record of investing in and building businesses. Trilantic currently manages two institutional private equity funds with an aggregate capital commitment of approximately USD3.9bn. Evercore’s M&A and restructuring advisory business and its private equity team will support Trilantic’s future

Eurazeo’s net asset value EUR64.2 per share at 31 December 2009, an increase of 34 per cent compared to 30 June 2009 and 20 per cent compared to 31 December 2008. Consolidated revenues for 2009 were EUR3,785m, a decrease of 5.9 per cent from 2008 on a comparable basis. Patrick Sayer, chairman of the executive board, says: “In an exceptionally difficult economic environment in 2009, the important work performed by group companies for over a year is beginning to produce results with an increase of more than 30 per cent in NAV since 30 June, to EUR64.2. The fourth quarter

An affiliated fund of Southridge, an investment firm providing capital to publicly listed companies, has closed a private equity agreement for up to USD7.5m in equity financing with PuraMed BioScience. "Southridge is very pleased to provide equity capital financing for this innovative market leader in the over-the-counter consumer market for alternative health remedies," says Stephen Hicks, founding principal of Southridge. PuraMed BioScience was established to capture two opportunities. The first is to build a substantial business, beginning with three products developed by its founders: LipiGesic M for acute relief of migraine headaches, LipiGesic H for acute relief of tension headaches

Pitango Venture Capital has agreed to sell its stake in Convergin to enterprise software firm Oracle. Convergin makes software that lets telecommunications companies deliver services across multiple networks and platforms. Both Pitango Venture Capital and Convergin are based in Israel, while Oracle is based in the US. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2010. The acquisition of Convergin will complement Oracle Communications’ product suite.

HarbourVest Global Private Equity, a closed-end investment company listed on Euronext Amsterdam, had an estimated net asset value of USD699.1m, or USD8.42 per share, as at 31 January 2010.  This represents a 1.5 per cent decrease from the 31 December 2009 estimated NAV per share of USD8.55.  The decrease was driven primarily by foreign currency movements, decreases in the value of publicly-traded holdings, and ongoing operating expenses.   During January, HarbourVest did not make any new commitments or purchase additional interests in HarbourVest-managed funds. The company continued to benefit from ongoing commitments made by the actively-investing HarbourVest funds in its

Blackstone has postponed plans to float Merlin Entertainments Group just 24 hours after postponing the flotation of Travelport, casting a shadow over London’s IPO market. Opposition from City fund managers to participate in private equity-backed IPOs is one of the reasons for the postponements, the other being the lack of appetite for such flotations during a period of severe volatility in the markets, driving the Vix to three-month highs. The IPO of New Look, owned by Apax and Permira, is being reviewed today by the board of New Look, which is scheduled to launch its prospectus on Monday. Goldman Sachs

Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management, the pan-African private equity investment firm, has completed the final closing of Pan African Investment Partners II Fund with total commitments of USD492m. The funds seek attractively valued investment opportunities in companies with clear business models and a record of profits in high-growth, strong demand sectors across all regions of Africa.  The PAIP II fund is a follow-on to PAIP I, which was launched in 2003 with USD122.5m in capital.  PAIP II has completed three investments since its first closing in June 2008: • USD20m in South Africa-based power infrastructure and heavy building materials company, Buildworks Group,