Firms and Funds

Oxxon Therapeutics, a UK therapeutic vaccine company, has been acquired by Oxford BioMedica in a deal that values the business at £16m. It was backed by ISIS Capital, MVM Life Science Partners, NIF Ventures, NeoMed and Quester.

French buyout firm Edmond de Rothschild Capital Partners (ERCP) has made its first exit with the sale of luxury childrens’ fashion brand Bonpoint to EPI, the investment vehicle owned by the Descours family. ECRP made a 3x return on the sale.

ProVen VCT manager Beringea and Chrysalis VCT have sold Ma Potters, the UK restaurant chain, for £14.5m to Tragus, the owner of the Café Rouge and Bella Italia chains controlled by Blackstone. The sale has generated a 2.5x return for both firms.

UK-based secondaries investor Vision Capital has sold Cerbo Group, a Swedish supplier of pharmaceutical packaging, to Nolato, a Swedish high-tech polymer manufacturing group, for £32m. The sale is the final disposal from the portfolio of assets acquired by Vision Capital in February 2003 from Morgan Grenfell Equity Partners funds

Target: Veeco Inc. Price: Undisclosed Sponsor: Lineage Capital Financial Advisor: Seller: BG Strategic Advisors, Sun Mergers and Acquisitions Legal Advisor: Seller: McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter; Buyer: Ropes and Gray Debt Provided By: TD Banknorth Sometimes you have to lose to win. That’s what Boston-based buyout shop Lineage Capital learned in its recently closed purchase […]

As private equity becomes a household word, more and more investors of merely modest wealth want in on the action. Canadian money manager Kensington Capital Partners is ready to play facilitator. The firm is readying a public offering for a private equity fund of funds that it would operate alongside its privately raised funds. The […]

Target: Trussbilt LLC Price: Less than $50 million Sponsor: Sentinel Capital Partners Sellers: Management and private investors Financial Advisor: Sellers: Bayview Capital Group Legal Counsel: Sponsor: Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Sellers: Winthrop & Weinstine P.A. Research on the U.S. prison population suggests that Sentinel Capital Partners has made a smart bet with its investment in […]

Optimisim about emerging markets private equity appears to be continuing. EMPEA last week released its data tracking fundraising for emerging markets-dedicated private equity.  2006 saw 162 PE funds raise over $33 billion for emerging market regions, a 29% growth from 2005 levels of $26 billion and 5x the $6.5 billion raised in 2005. All regions witnessed at least double […]

Technology VC Creandum has closed its second fund on €82m, attracting investment from the European Investment Fund (EIF), the Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund, Skandia Liv, Argentum and Finnish Industry Investments.

UK secondaries venture investor Shackleton Ventures has acquired four investments from 3i. Investing through the Shackleton Secondaries LP fund, the companies purchased operate in the information technology, communications and healthcare sectors. Included in the package is Global Computer Holdings Limited, a provider of specialist inventory management facilities worldwide for IT hardware manufacturers, maintainers, resellers and […]