Listed Japanese conglomerate, Marubeni Corporation, is to divest Spaldings to UK-based investment firm, Inspirit Capital. Established in 1956, Spaldings has grown to be one of the UK and Ireland’s largest distributors of tillage aftermarket equipment, as well as an emerging player in professional groundcare, forestry and industrial products. Inspirit Capital is a London-based investment firm that specialises in acquiring businesses that are no longer core to their parent company’s strategic objectives and require a different ownership structure to achieve their full potential. As part of the transaction, the business will also benefit from a funding line with Leumi ABL in

OptiGroup, a portfolio company of private equity firm FSN Capital has agreed to acquire 100% of the shares of MaskeGruppen AS from Maske Holding AS. As a leading full-service distributor of facility supplies, healthcare products and industrial packaging, MaskeGruppen will complement and further strengthen OptiGroup’s service offering for B2B customers.  The acquisition, which is subject to approval by the Norwegian Competition Authority, is expected to be completed in the coming months. The purchase price has not been disclosed.

Oakley Capital’s (Oakley) Oakley Capital Fund IV (Fund IV) is to sell its stake in Contabo, a cloud hosting platform. The exit will generate a gross return in excess of 10x MM and over 100% IRR to Fund IV. As part of the transaction, Oakley Capital Fund V (Fund V) will acquire a minority stake in Contabo alongside majority investor KKR, to benefit from the anticipated future growth of the business.   Fund IV first invested in Contabo in 2019 alongside proven hosting entrepreneurs Thomas Strohe, Jochen Berger and Thomas Vollrath who introduced the opportunity to Oakley.  The strategic partnership

Nordstjernan has made a commitment to invest in the industrial company engcon, a manufacturer of tiltrotators with a global market share of approximately 45%. The company was founded in 1990 with the ambition to change the world of digging through product innovation and focus on end-users. engcon develops solutions that contribute to increased resource efficiency, safety and profitability.    Nordstjernan’s investment amounts to approximately SEK350 million, equating to 5% of the company’s shares, and will be carried out in connection with the listing of engcon on Nasdaq Stockholm.

Kartesia, a European specialist provider of capital solutions for small and mid-sized companies, has sold a majority stake in Portsur Castellón, a Spanish dry bulk terminal (Portsur) to Gimeno Servicios Portuarios, a subsidiary of Grupo Gimeno. Portsur specialises in the steevedoring, storage, mixing & blending and transportation of all types of dry bulks that serve the hinterland of Castellón port, or for export purposes. Main bulks include all raw materials used in the production process of the ceramic tile industry of Castellón, such as clay and feldspar, but also clinker for cement production, pet coke, fertilisers, agri-bulks and general freight.

GLy New Mobility Fund, a global mid-to-late-stage private equity fund backed by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, has completed an investment in Vayyar Imaging, a 4D imaging radar-on-chip solution provider based in Israel. The $108 million round was led by Koch disruptive technology and joined by investors including Atreides Management, Battery Ventures, Bessemer Ventures, More VC, Regal Four, and Claltech.

KX Power (KXP), a London-based battery storage developer announces has formed a joint venture with BlackRock Real Assets to develop, build and operate battery storage projects across the UK. The investment is being made by the BlackRock Global Renewable Power III (GRP III) fund and will support the build out of up to 2GWh (Gigawatt hours) of battery storage assets across the UK. This investment is GRP III’s first into the UK’s battery storage market and brings together BlackRock’s infrastructure expertise and KXP’s extensive experience developing BESS assets to create a portfolio of advanced energy storage systems supporting the UK’s