Anheuser-Busch InBev and CVC Capital Partners have completed the sale of AB InBev’s Central European operations to funds advised by CVC for an enterprise value of approximately USD2.2bn. Additional rights to a future payment are estimated to be as much as USD800m, contingent on the CVC funds’ return on their initial investment. Included in the sale are AB InBev’s operations, to be renamed StarBev, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. As part of the agreement, StarBev will brew Stella Artois, Beck’s, Löwenbräu and Spaten and distribute Hoegaarden and Leffe in the above countries under

The online B2B audience targeting platform and advertising network Bizo has completed a USD6m round of equity financing led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Existing investors Venrock, Vulcan and Ascent also participated. Bizo will use the funding to accelerate its growth in the B2B audience data space by increasing its sales and marketing teams and investing in product development to further refine the capabilities of its proprietary Bizographic Targeting Platform. The platform allows B2B marketers to learn more about the business-oriented demographics of their audience and target them more precisely, while preserving their anonymity. American Express, Hoover’s and JPMorgan Chase are

Stockport-based WFEL, a provider of tactical military bridging systems and a specialist defence manufacturer, has secured an increase in its banking facilities from GBP20m to GBP30m. As part of the refinancing WFEL, backed by mid-market private equity house Dunedin in a GBP48m buyout in 2006, has replaced Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander with Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets acquisition finance and has retained Barclays in its banking syndicate. Currently WFEL is expanding its operations to accommodate a recently awarded five year contract to repair and refurbish US deployed mobile military bridges. It has also extended its offering to include training and revision

Plantronics has sold Altec Lansing, the Audio Entertainment Group segment, to an affiliate of Texas-based private equity firm Prophet Equity for approximately USD16.2m in cash. The transaction was completed on 1 December 2009. The change in the consideration from USD18m as previously announced to USD16.2m reflects the change in the estimated value of net assets being delivered at closing together with the negotiated after-tax value of income in November. Under the terms of the sale, Plantronics will retain certain Altec Lansing assets and liabilities, including accounts receivable, accounts payable and certain other liabilities. As a result, Plantronics expects these net

Vision Opportunity China Fund, a closed-ended fund that invests in companies with operations principally within Greater China, has reported a 71.7 per cent rise in net asset value to USD2.09 per share for the year ended 30 September 2009. As at 30 September 2009, the company’s NAV was USD138,649,851. During the financial year 2009, Vision realised approximately USD34.5m of proceeds from assets purchased for approximately USD25.6m, representing a return of approximately 34.7 per cent. Since inception in November 2007, the company has realised approximately USD46m of proceeds and approximately USD13m in realised gain, representing a return to the company’s shareholders

Ansca Mobile has received USD1m in backing from Merus Capital, the venture capital fund founded by ex-Google and ex-Microsoft executives. Ansca Mobile creates products that allow people to create and share applications designed for the Apple iPhone. It plans to use the funding to expand company operations in both the development and dissemination of its mobile app building products. "We will bring in more world-class engineers to help us deliver on our vision," says Carlos Icaza, Ansca Mobile co-founder and chief executive. "Our mission is to lower the barrier for developing mobile apps and making it accessible to a much

Intuit has signed a definitive agreement to sell Intuit Real Estate Solutions to Vista Equity Partners for approximately USD128m in cash. Vista Equity Partners is a private equity firm with more than USD2.5bn in committed equity capital, focused on investments in software and technology-enabled businesses. IRES, formerly known as Management Reports, is part of Intuit’s global business division and is a provider of software and services to companies in the real estate management and investment industry. Based in Highland Hills, Ohio, it has approximately 340 employees in its worldwide offices, serving more than 1,700 customers. “Intuit Real Estate Solutions is

Private equity firm Resilience Capital Partners has acquired Victor Oolitic Stone, a provider of Indiana limestone to the dimensional stone marketplace. This transaction marks the first acquisition under Resilience’s previously announced industrial minerals platform, North Coast Minerals. Victor Oolitic primarily sells into four end markets: institutional (churches, universities, government), high end residential (USD5m to USD50m homes), commercial (malls, hotels, office buildings) and residential (accents, window sills, flagstones and keystones). Victor Oolitic uses two distribution channels: cut stone fabricators, and brick and masonry yards. Resilience Capital was named the successful bidder in the company’s chapter 11 section 363 auction held on