Western Europe

LP found in breach of contract

Chairman of oil group Melrose Resources, Robert Adair, will face a hearing to determine damages for failing to honour his commitment to Advantage Capital’s buyout fund.

USS grows private equity team

Former PineBridge executive Michael Dymond is the £28bn UK pension's latest hire as it further builds its alternative investment programme.

Report: Oaktree eyes Irish housebuilder

The distressed investment specialist is reportedly in talks to buy a controlling stake in troubled Irish housebuilder McInerney.

Texas Teachers co-invests $160m

The $94bn pension fund has invested alongside KKR, Warburg Pincus and Apollo in the past nine months as it expands its co-investment programme.

ACS agrees €720m sale of ports unit to JPMorgan

Spanish developer Actividades de Construccion y Servicios (ACS) has agreed to sell its ports services business, Dragados SPL, to an institutional investment group headed by JPMorgan Asset Management, according to a regulatory filing. The deal is worth some €720m.

Barclays drives away with 2.7x exit on car leaser

Morgan Stanley has acquired a 60% stake in car leasing company Zenith for £85m, representing the fourth buyout in seven years for the company.

La Caixa board meeting fails to broach Abertis buyout

A board of directors meeting held at the savings bank yesterday did not yield an announcement on a possible buyout of Abertis. Recent market speculation suggests the deal is evolving away from a buyout and into a straightforward stake sale by shareholder ACS to CVC Capital Partners.

Energy Capital hires First Reserve exec

The firm hired Rahman D’Argenio for its energy investment team in Short Hills, New Jersey. D’Argenio was previously a director at First Reserve.

VSS loses European co-head

Marco Sodi left the mid-market firm in the spring after it ‘deferred’ fundraising on a European fund that had collected $105m.

Brisa CEO wants smooth Abertis stake sale

Vasco de Mello, Brisa’s chief executive, said in a results presentation yesterday that Brisa has been in contact with Abertis regarding the latter’s plans to sell its 14.6% holding in Brisa. News of the possible sale first emerged in the context of a potential buyout of Abertis by its core shareholders and CVC Capital Partners.