Jenny Bollen

Baird Capital Partners Europe is closing its first two deals of 2007, backing the €156m management buyout of an aluminium products manufacturer, and selling a plastics manufacturer.

Lloyds Development Capital has found a replacement for Michael Joseph, who stood down as chairman of the private equity company earlier this year.

Alchemy Partners has made a return of 3.6 times its original investment in Footman James, a classic car insurer, which has just provided cover for Scooby Doo’s Mystery Machine.

Ferranti Capital, a Chinese private equity firm, has made its first investment outside China of £5.75m and is raising a fund to be listed on AIM later this year.

Ferranti Capital, a Chinese private equity firm, has made its first investment outside China of £5.75m and is raising a fund to be listed on AIM later this year.

Nordic private equity firm Industri Kapital is making its first investment this year, by buying most of the shares in a transmission equipment manufacturer owned by private equity firm CapMan.

Blackstone is adding a fourth media company to its portfolio with the $465m acquisition of Ushodaya Enterprises, an Indian newspaper publisher and television broadcaster.

Permira has made a bid for an animal feed company owned by CVC Capital Partners and PAI Partners, which would be its eighth investment in France.

UK firm Electra Private Equity is putting its safety equipment manufacturer up for sale for £500m and is thought to have attracted interest from private equity group Advent International and safety equipment companies Aearo and Norcross Safety.

Barclays Private Equity has sold a women’s wear retailer for £51.5m to a consortium led by Kaupthing Principal Investments, which is bringing in a “high profile chief executive officer” to head the business in the coming months.