Middle East & North Africa

Halabi mulls suing Duke Street over Esporta

French bank Société Générale’s failure to syndicate a £330 million loan backing Esporta pulled the plug on the property tycoon Simon Halabi’s acquisition vehicles. Halabi is considering suing Duke Street Capital, Esporta’s previous owner, and the prior management of the company.

Moore opens London office

Moore, a back office services provider, has hired Simon Chadwick from Bear Stearns to spearhead its drive in London and Japan.

Ford sells Aston Martin to international consortium

UK motorsport veteran has teamed up with a US banker and two Middle Eastern private equity funds to win the $850 million race for Aston Martin.

Actera exceeds target by 30% to raise $475m

Turkish mid-market buyout firm Actera has raised the largest fund in the country from investors including sovereign wealth fund GIC and Canadian pension fund Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

VenCom makes 9x return on LED company

Chicago-based investment firm VenCom has sold lighting company IO to Cooper Industries, a US manufacturer, for $16.5 million, netting the firm a nine times on its original investment.

Debt turmoil hits Esporta(3)

French bank Société Générale, having failed to syndicate a £330 million loan backing Simon Halabi’s acquisition of Esporta from Duke Street Capital, has pulled the plug on the property tycoon’s deal vehicles - although the gyms continue to trade profitably, administrators say.

Venture Partners Botswana to raise €150m fund

African buyout firm Venture Partners Botswana has fully invested its first fund and it is looking to raise €150m for its second. The fund recently bought a stake in US insurer AON’s Botswana arm.

Pan-African infrastructure fund receives $250 million investment(2)

The recently unveiled Pan-African Infrastructure Development Fund has received a significant investment from the South African Government Employees’ Pension Fund.

Sainsbury’s considers Qatari £500m equity increase(2)

Qatari investment arm Three Delta is likely to increase the equity component of its offer for FTSE 100-listed Sainsbury’s to meet concerns of the board that the company will be over-leveraged.

Darby launches $248m central, eastern Europe mezz fund(2)

Franklin Templeton Investments’ buyout arm has launched the largest mezzanine fund in central and eastern Europe.