Jo Nash

Innogest raises biggest ever Italy-focused seed fund

Italian venture capital firm Innogest has overcome investor scepticism to close the biggest Italy-focused seed and early stage fund to date.

Hg makes 79% IRR on software exit to H&F(3)

London-based firm HgCapital has sold two software companies to US buyout firm Hellman & Friedman for an enterprise value of £500 million. The price is thought to represent a market multiple of four times.

Lyceum exits nurseries business

Mid-market private equity firm Lyceum Capital has completed a successful exit from UK nurseries business Asquith, after boosting earnings by 200 percent and increasing the workforce by more than half.

Colony seals biggest ever African buyout

US private equity firm Colony Capital has agreed to buy oil refining and distribution company Tamoil from the Libyan government for €4 billion. It is the biggest private equity deal to date for an African-owned company – trumping Bain Capital’s $3.5 billion buyout of Edgars in February.

Figures hint at venture comeback(3)

The venture capital industry seems to be profiting from the record levels of capital flowing into the private equity industry, even though its returns continue to lag behind the buyout funds. Jo Nash reports.

EVCA: Industry thriving across the board(3)

Record amounts of funds were raised and invested in European private equity in 2006, according to pan-European trade body EVCA, with even the venture segment showing signs of a comeback.

3i buys Eltel from IK(3)

European buyout firm 3i has bought Eltel Networks, a Nordic electricity and telecommunications business, from Industri Kapital. The sale, which generated a return of nearly 2.5 times IK’s original investment, is the latest in a series of lucrative exits for the Nordic buyout firm.

Southeast Asia seduces LPs

LPs intend to allocate more capital to emerging markets private equity funds – with southeast Asia a particularly popular investment destination.

Hg makes 79% IRR on software exit to H&F(2)

London-based firm HgCapital has sold two software companies to US buyout firm Hellman & Friedman for an enterprise value of £500 million. The price is thought to represent a market multiple of four times.

Minority shareholders biggest litigation threat

Almost half of all private equity firms in a new survey expect litigation to increase in the next two years. But the major threat is unlikely to come from regulators, as most firms seem to think.