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The Irish Stock Exchange has published a series of revisions to its listing rules, which are effective from 24 September 2009.
Kinetic Partners says the revisions are a welcome and timely move by the exchange and are in keeping with its commercially aware approach to the listing regime, and its tendency to adapt quickly to changing market trends.
The exchange has also taken the opportunity to include in the new code certain policy notes that have been issued over the last number of years, including previously introduced changes related to custody requirement, counterparty risk and revisions around financial information and
Gavin St Pier, a leading figure in the fiduciary and professional services sector, has taken up the role of non-executive chairman at The Mercator Group.
St Pier (pictured right) will work with the Mercator board to develop and promote the independent Guernsey business of 30 years standing.
A chartered accountant, chartered tax adviser and barrister, St Pier was one of seven directors involved in the management buy out of Walbrook Group from Deloitte. He later became a director of Barclays Wealth after it acquired Walbrook.
He was previously a partner of KPMG and Deloitte, is a former chairman of the
The number of global M&A deals announced in Q1 to Q3 2009 is the lowest since Q3 2003, while deal values are at their lowest since Q1 2003, according to a report by mergermarket.
Activity to date is at 5,914 transactions valued at USD978.9bn, a decline of 41 per cent and 48 per cent respectively for the same period in 2008.
In Europe, the 2,248 transactions valued at USD236.2bn announced so far this year is a decrease of 70 per cent by value and 48 per cent by volume from the same period in 2008, in which 4,308 deals
Guernsey saw a continuing reduction in both banking and investment funds business during the three months to the end of June, according to Guernsey Finance.
However, the island seems to be faring better than some of its competitors and local practitioners are reporting increased activity in more recent months as the general economic outlook shows signs of brightening.
Peter Niven, chief executive of Guernsey Finance, says: “The global economic downturn has been adversely impacting business flows for the past year. With both the banking and funds figures showing attrition in the three months to the end of June we can
Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group has appointed Gregory L. Summe as vice chairman of global buyout, a newly created position.
He will report to global head of buyout Daniel F. Akerson.
Summe comes to Carlyle from Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, where he is a senior adviser. He begins his new duties in early October and will be based in Washington, DC.
Akerson says: “We are pleased to welcome Greg to Carlyle. An important lesson of the financial crisis is that operational expertise is critical to both preserving and creating value in a portfolio company. As a former chief
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has appointed Lee Stern, previously a managing director at GSO Capital Partners, as a director of the firm responsible for originating and structuring mezzanine investments.
Based in New York, Stern joins KKR Asset Management.
Henry R. Kravis and George R. Roberts (pictured), co-founders of KKR, said: “With more than two decades of experience in mezzanine finance, private equity and investment banking, Lee is an excellent addition to our global mezzanine efforts. As we expand our strategy to invest across the capital structure – from senior debt to equity – his expertise will be extremely valuable.”
Mezzanine debt
Emerging Capital Partners, an international private equity firm focused on investing across the African continent, has committed USD25m to Wananchi Group, an East African media and telecommunications company specialising in pay television and high-speed internet services in Kenya and Tanzania.
ECP’s equity investment will be used to upgrade and expand the company’s existing network infrastructure, thereby enabling Wananchi to provide East Africa’s first triple-play service, consisting of digital pay television, high-speed internet and voice-over-IP services.
Wananchi presently serves the retail and corporate markets in Kenya and Tanzania through its consumer and corporate divisions. Wananchi’s consumer division operates under the
Excalibur, the medical sciences investment house founded by Professor Sir Christopher Evans, has expanded its business operations in Australia, Europe and the Middle East.
Excalibur has acquired fund management and advisory firm International BioScience Managers, built by Jeremy Curnock Cook (pictured).
As a result of this acquisition, Excalibur now owns a 50 per cent stake in International BioScience Managers in Australia through which it plans further expansion. International BioScience already manages a profitable life sciences fund and is expected to shortly become part of the Excalibur Group. The group is working on new funds to address opportunities in the
BlueCrest Capital Management has appointed Steve Smith as portfolio manager for the USD2.3bn AllBlue Fund.
The fund invests exclusively across a portfolio of funds managed by BlueCrest, including BlueCrest Capital International and BlueTrend.
Smith will also assume overall responsibility for global sales and client service teams and will join the firm’s executive committee.
Smith joins BlueCrest having spent several years at Credit Suisse, where he was most recently leading the global liquid alternatives team within the asset management division. He has a strong derivatives background having started his career at Bankers’ Trust and SBC O’Connor, and has significant experience
Amalgamated Bank has formed Amalgamated Capital, a New York-based division that will provide senior cash flow debt financing to lower middle market companies.
The new division, which will be under the direction of leveraged finance professional Timothy G. Clifford, will target leading private equity firms and other investors who focus on acquiring and growing middle market companies.
Derrick D. Cephas (pictured), Amalgamated’s president and chief executive officer, says: "This new lending platform is an important step for us as a bank and for the markets we will be serving. Because of dislocations in the capital markets system at the present
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