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DrinkWell, a low-calorie alcohol retailer, has secured a £1 million investment from a private investor to fuel its expansion plans.
The funding will enable the Manchester-based eCommerce retailer to scale, growing its team, while investing in product development including the launch of two new brands, Lean Brew IPA and Traces Wine. In addition, DrinkWell has plans to add several new features to its retail business, expand into the European market and invest in marketing to further build its brand, plus drive recruitment, creating jobs across various areas of the business.
Over the last decade DrinkWell founder, Tom Bell, has
Pipeline Technique (PTL), a specialist in the onshore and offshore infrastructure welding, coating, and technological engineering sector, backed by private equity firm Bluewater, has acquired a trio of energy infrastructure businesses from Stanley Black & Decker.
This marks the second acquisition of 2022 for PTL – in April, the company acquired Global Project Services.
PTL, which is backed by specialist energy private equity firm Bluewater, has acquired a group of three companies from Stanley Black & Decker: CRC-Evans, Pipeline Induction Heat (PIH), and Stanley Inspection (including MicroAlloying, part of Stanley Inspection).
The acquisition creates a global specialist in
Barings has appointed Ken Griffin as the firm’s Head of Insurance Solutions, effective immediately. Griffin will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of customised solutions to meet the needs of Barings’ insurance clients globally.
With a total insurance AUM of $223.3 billion, the Barings Global Insurance Solutions team harnesses a range of tools and resources across insurance portfolio management, risk management, quantitative solutions, and regulatory accounting to create client-specific solutions. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Griffin will report to Gordon.
Griffin has worked in the insurance and investment industries for over three decades. Prior to joining Barings, he served
Alto Capital IV, a private equity fund managed by Alto Partners, has sold its portfolio company Tricobiotos to Alfa Parf Group (Alfaparf), an Italian specialist in the professional hair care market.
This is the third exit for Alto Capital IV after OFI (nutraceuticals, sold to Farmaceutici Procemsa in December 2020) and CEI Group (heavy trucks spare parts, sold to White Bridge Investments in June 2022). The average gross IRR for the first three exits is over 40% with a Fund DPI ratio of 73%.
In July 2022 the fund also signed binding agreements to sell portfolio company Bia (cous cous
ArabyAds, an AdTech company in the MENA region, has raised $30 million in pre-Series B funding round from AfricInvest, a pan-African investment platform managing multiple alternative asset classes including private equity, venture capital and private credit.
ArabyAds will use the new financing to expand its footprint and further invest it to accelerate its technological advancement and talent acquisition to support the growth.
The transaction marks the eighth investment for AfricInvest’s Maghreb Private Equity Fund IV, which provides growth capital to small and mid-cap companies to expand regionally and across the African continent, spurring productivity growth and sustainable job
RiverGlade Capital (RiverGlade), a healthcare-focused private equity firm, has closed its latest fund, RiverGlade Capital Fund II (Fund II), which was over-subscribed and exceeded both its target size and initial cap with $453 million of total capital commitments.
RiverGlade’s founders have invested in healthcare services together for over 20 years and will continue to remain focused on healthcare investing in the lower middle market by partnering and supporting founders and management teams of exceptional companies that are driving outcomes for patients, providers, payors and the communities they serve.
Fund II is RiverGlade’s second institutional fund, following a $325 million debut
Pharos Capital Group (Pharos), a private equity firm based in Dallas and Nashville, has sold its stake in portfolio company TechLab, a developer and manufacturer of rapid, non-invasive diagnostic tests for infectious disease, intestinal inflammation, and parasitology, to SSI Diagnostica, a portfolio company of the private investment firm Adelis Equity (Adelis).
Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
SSI Diagnostica is a developer and manufacturer of diagnostics products based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SSI Diagnostica’s global distribution network and production capability will complement TechLab’s US and global operations to grow the scale of the combined company’s diagnostics business. TechLab
Real assets investment specialist PATRIZIA has completed the merger of SAREN Energy with Kvitebjørn Varme AS (KVAS), a district heating operator in Tromsø, northern Norway.
SAREN Energy, which is owned by PATRIZIA investors, including PATRIZIA European Infrastructure Fund II (EIF II), is now one of the largest district heating operators in Norway delivering up to 525 GWh of energy per year.
Following the merger, the combined entity comprises three EfW facilities and a district heating network and will deliver a diverse revenue stream from selling heat, steam and electricity in both southern and northern Norway. The assets are strategically
Liquidnet, a technology-driven agency execution specialist, has appointed Nichola Hunter as Global Head of Sales for Fixed Income. In rapidly evolving markets, Hunter will be responsible for growing client relationships through the delivery of tailored and innovative solutions.
Based in London, she reports directly to Liquidnet’s Global Head of Fixed Income, Mark Russell.
Hunter brings over 25 years of experience in banking and electronic trading. She has played a significant role in driving the evolution of the fixed income market. Prior to Liquidnet, she was Head of Rates at MarketAxess, a firm she joined following the acquisition of LiquidityEdge LLC, where
Thrive Foods (Thrive), a portfolio company of Entrepreneurial Equity Partners (e2p), a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on the food and consumer packaged goods industries, has acquired Freeze-Dry Foods (FDF) from Cumming Capital. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Founded in 1968, FDF is a contract manufacturer of freeze-dried products, including pet treats, proteins, and food ingredients.
Thrive Foods is a manufacturer of freeze-dried products including fruits & vegetables, proteins, pet treats, probiotics, enzymes, and prepared meals. Thrive currently has facilities in Modesto, California and American Fork, Utah, and serves as a technical expert and flexible
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