Private Equity News & Analysis

Mercapital backs textiles merger

Spanish private equity firm Mercapital has invested E40m in KA Group’s European expansion program.

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Mercapital, the Spanish private equity firm, has invested E40m in Spain’s leading interior decoration company, KA Group. KA Group is a newly-merged entity, formed by the merger of KA International, a Spanish retail chain of textile fabrics and home furnishing, and CRH, a hotel decoration specialist.

KA Group hopes to expand its operations via the creation of 400 new stores over the next five years. Target countries include France,  Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Portugal and USA.

Following the E40m investment, Mercapital will have a 45 per cent stake in KA Group.

Mercapital is Spain's leading venture capital firm. Following the December 2000 closure of the E600m Mercapital Spanish Private Equity Fund II (MSPEF II), it now has E1bn under management. The funding for MSPEF II was split evenly between US, UK and EU institutions. Investors include Goldman Sachs, NIB Capital, Standard Life, GE Equity, AXA Investment Managers, Access Capital Partners, Royal Bank of Scotland and Merrill Lynch.

Mercapital invests in a broad range of companies across IT, hotel management, logistics and hospital management and numerous other sectors.