Diamond Microwave Devices, a spin out from the diamond electronics team in Element Six Technologies, has closed a GBP1.3m equity investment from a consortium consisting of Oxford Technology Management, YFM, the ERA Foundation and two private investors. During the course of 2009, DMD has made various performance breakthroughs in its diamond-based transistor technology and this investment round will be used to develop and build power amplifier modules for customer trialling during 2010. The DMD diamond transistor technology will enable the move to low cost, lightweight solid-state amplifiers in high power, high frequency applications such as radar, communications, Satcoms, and electronic

The Private Equity Foundation has joined forces with European buyout firm Cinven to give follow-on funding to its portfolio charity, School-Home Support.  It brings PEF’s total contribution to School-Home Support to over GBP900,000, which is enabling the charity to double the number of pupils it helps to make the most of their education by 2012. Of the latest GBP265,000 donation, GBP165,000 has been provided by PEF and GBP100,000 by the Cinven Foundation. PEF’s original grant of GBP650,000 was made in March 2008.  School-Home Support, which believes that learning is a child’s freedom, runs a national programme, putting independent highly trained

Sina, an online media company and mobile service provider for China and the global Chinese communities, has completed the subscription for ordinary shares by New-Wave Investment pursuant to an agreement signed in September 2009. New-Wave is a British Virgin Islands company established and controlled by Charles Chao (pictured), Sina’s president and chief executive, and other members of Sina’s management. New-Wave subscribed for and purchased approximately 5.6 million ordinary shares of Sina. Sina received gross proceeds of USD180m, which it plans to use for future acquisitions and general corporate purposes. "The closing of the USD180m private equity financing marks a historical

Schibsted is selling its shares in Basefarm to private equity fund Reiten Capital Partners VII. The new majority owner, which is acquiring 72 per cent of the shares, has ambitious plans for the internet operations company.   “This is a milestone in the company’s almost ten-year history as a specialist in the operation of internet applications. We are getting a solid new owner which will bring us financial and strategic expertise, as well as an even better opportunity to realise our ambitions,” says Grethe Viksaas, chief executive of Basefarm.   In addition to Reiten’s holding, the other shares will be

Origo Sino-India and Origo Resource Partners have acquired a 21 per cent stake in Gobi Coal and Energy for an aggregate amount of USD15m.    OSI has invested USD4.5m for an approximate 6.4 per cent shareholding and ORP has invested USD10.5m for an approximate 14.9 per cent shareholding.  Upon completion of the transaction, OSI and ORP’s combined shareholding will be the largest equity interest in Gobi.  Gobi has significant coal resources in Mongolia and is positioned to supply fast growing demand from clients in both western and north eastern China. It is a privately owned coal company headquartered in Ulaanbaatar

Consulting and investment company Firm Economics has formed CubeLogic, a firm that combines a major offshore development centre in Brazil with a team of risk specialists. Firm Economics is owned by industry veteran David Priestley, founder of Raft International, and Terry Boyland, a former J.P Morgan global business manager. The new company will be chaired by Priestley. He will be joined by chief technology officer Lee Campbell, Riyaz Mulla who will manage the offshore services operations in India and Brazil, and Romil Shah leading business consulting services. Priestley says: "Lee, Riyaz and Romil were part of the management team at

Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners has completed the final closing of its Winch Capital 2 development capital fund for EUR250m. This follows a first closing on 30 June 2009 for EUR175m.   The firm managed to raise EUR250m in less than eight months.   Pierre-Michel Passy (pictured), chairman of Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, says: “We were targeting a second closing around EUR200m. In only four months we went above the hard cap of EUR250m. The new institutional investors were won over not only by the team and the relevance of its approach but also by the economic interest of

Heritage Capital, the merchant banking division of family-owned Banque Heritage of Switzerland, has launched its first Latin American office in São Paulo, Brazil. The firm’s objective in the region and in Brazil is to offer merchant banking advisory services to the ever-increasing segment of growth-stage, middle-market companies and mid-sized financial institutions throughout Latin America. Joseph Dryer (pictured), group managing director and joint chief executive of Heritage Capital, says: “We are very excited by the possibilities this region holds. Our decision to make São Paulo our base is due to Brazil’s very large economy with its growing manufacturing and export industries.