Sofiposte, a subsidiary of the French state postal network, has raised E50m to invest in post, financial services and express courier businesses.
The firm has closed its office in the Irish capital, citing a lack of opportunities brought on by a downturn in the global economy.
The French private equity firm has already secured half the capital for a newly-launched E50m fund for small-cap French LBO opportunities.
The fund of funds division of Deutsche Bank has been merged into Deutsche Asset Management to provide the bank’s private banking clients with access to its private equity products.
Intermediate Capital Group, which in January launched a new E750m mezzanine fund, has reported an 18 per cent increase in core income on the back of strong buyout dealflow in Europe.
The fund placement boutique has appointed Kevin Newman, former head of the placement team at Lehman Brothers, as president and COO.
The private equity units of the UK and Italian banks have paid E100m for a 33 per cent stake in the Italian food group’s distribution unit.
The UK directories business has won support from Apax Partners for a bid for the Seat Pagine directories business put up for sale by Telecom Italia.
There may be nothing new under the sun but there are a number of new wrinkles cropping up in the private equity fund universe, says Joseph Bartlett.
The Spanish private equity house has raised E175m for mid-market buyouts in Spain and Portugal.