Deal Round-up 15/01/02

3i takes stake in Aventis spin off

3i has bought a 30 per cent stake in Covidence, the German clinical research spin off from Aventis, the French drugs company. Aventis retains a 40 per cent stake in the unit, with management owning 30 per cent. Based in Frankfurt, Covidence has 120 staff.

Covidence will account for around 10% of Aventis’ clinical research. Its global drug development site is based in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and it also has regional centres for clinical development in Paris and Kawagoe, Japan. The new company will offer all aspects of clinical research from tracking efficacy and side effect data analysis to the preparation and application of drug approvals with regulatory authorities.

Lloyds TSB Capital buys into Caspian Publishing

Lloyds TSB Development Capital (LDC) has bought a 43 per cent stake in Caspian Publishing, valuing the company at around £10m. Caspian's titles include Real Business, Real Deals and Real Finance.

LDC invests in UK mid-market transactions, and in the first half of 2001 invested £112m in 26 companies and has a portfolio worth around £1.25bn.