Having received all the regulatory approvals needed to create their combined asset management arm, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale are incorporating Amundi on 31 December 2009 and starting operations on 1 January 2010. Georges Pauget, chief executive officer of Crédit Agricole, will be chairman of the board of directors. Séverin Cabannes, deputy chief executive officer of Société Générale, will be vice chairman and Yves Perrier (pictured), head of asset management and institutional services at Crédit Agricole and chairman and chief executive officer of CAAM Group, will be Amundi’s chief executive. The board comprises 15 members, two-thirds of whom are appointed

An affiliate of New York-based private investment firm CI Capital Partners has acquired Transplace, a provider of non-asset based third party logistics and transportation management services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2000 by six of the largest freight carriers in the US, Transplace helps its customers manage complex logistics and shipping needs by providing customised solutions through a proprietary web-based platform. The company provides full transportation outsourcing, carrier contracting and negotiation, and freight brokerage services to a diversified blue chip customer base. Transplace generates revenue in excess of USD700m from approximately 650 customers. Tom Sanderson, Transplace’s

State Street has signed an acquisition agreement with Intesa Sanpaolo, one of Italy’s premier banking groups, to acquire its securities services business, ISPSS, for approximately EUR1.28bn (USD1.87bn) in cash at closing. State Street expects to support the acquired ISPSS balance sheet with approximately EUR560m (USD800m) of additional capital at the closing. ISPSS is a provider of securities services in the Italian market and has a significant presence in the Luxembourg market.  State Street would acquire the global custody, depository banking, correspondent banking and fund administration portions of the ISPSS business. In addition, assuming the cash balances in the business are

Matrix Private Equity Partners has invested GBP4.3m in the management buyout and recapitalisation of Iglu.com, the UK’s largest ski and fastest growing cruise holiday travel agent.  Matrix provided both the equity and the debt for the transaction, which is its second new investment in four days.   Iglu.com founder and managing director Richard Downs identified the potential for an internet travel agency specialising in ski holidays in 1998. In 2005 Iglu.com entered the cruise holiday sector.   Mark Wignall, chief executive of Matrix Private Equity Partners, says: “Amidst a dearth of M&A activity the small buyout market wheel keeps on

BridgeCo, a provider of networked entertainment technology, has received a USD7.5m investment to support the rapid growth in connected home audio. The financing was led by existing investor Earlybird Venture Capital and private investor Christian Wenger, along with a new private investor Brian Long (pictured), a general partner with private equity firm Atlantic Bridge. A 2009 report, published by Eureca Research, projects the connected home audio market to grow by over 300 per cent in 2010. BridgeCo’s financing will serve to accelerate the company’s technology development, support its growth and fund the expansion of the company’s customer base and global

Robert Coleman, chief executive officer of Six3 Systems, and private equity firm GTCR have acquired BIT Systems. In April 2009, through the CEOVisions Acquisition Services programme, Cook M&A Advisory Services partnered Coleman (pictured) with GTCR to form Six3 Systems, a company focused on building a government services platform specialising in national security and defense intelligence. CEOVisions is a service designed to partner executives who have an investment thesis with PEGs to build industry-leading companies.   The acquisition of BIT Systems is Six3’s second acquirement since its inception in April 2009. BIT Systems is an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance company that

Venture capital investments in green energy are shifting toward advanced technologies as well as less capital-extensive technologies, according to analysis by Frost & Sullivan. The green energy sector was a recipient of growing investments from the VC community until the economic downturn, following which the investments shrank in 2009. Government policies and funding have played an important role in mitigating the intensity of such trends. "Government policies and funding are two of the main driving forces for developments and investments in renewable and alternative energy technologies," says technical insights research analyst Elaine Chan. "Stronger government focus worldwide has been spurred

The European Investment Bank has pledged to make a EUR5m anchor investment in the first venture capital fund to target investments in export-oriented IT companies being launched in the Palestinian territories. The EIB’s commitment was announced at a signature ceremony in Ramallah supported by the Palestinian Prime Minister and attended by Hassan Abu Libdeh, Minister of the Economy, and Mashhour Abu Daqqa, Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology.   Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority Salam Fayyad (pictured) said: “Palestine is open for business. We support the Middle East Venture Capital Fund efforts to contribute to economic growth in