Western Europe

E&Y appoints regional private equity head

Ernst & Young veteran John Harley has landed a top private equity role and he is looking forward to helping advance the transparency debate surrounding sovereign wealth funds.

IDFC Private Equity leads $100m investment in India’s Moser Baer(3)

India’s IDFC Private Equity is leading a consortium of Singapore’s GIC Special Investments and the UK’s CDC Group to invest $100 million in the country’s largest optical storage media manufacturer Moser Baer.

New Venture Partners opens Silicon Valley office(3)

Lucent Technologies spin-out New Venture Partners will bring its corporate technology spin-out model to Silicon Valley, a move enabled by the addition of former Intel research director David Tennenhouse.

HBoS eyes European expansion via restructuring(4)

HBoS, the UK bank, has restructured its acquisition finance and structured finance teams into one leveraged finance unit as it looks to expand its European operations.

PPM Capital spins out from Pru, MacDougall lambasts Walker report(2)

PPM Capital, the European mid-market firm, has spun out from financial services company Prudential. The team’s leader Neil MacDougall is pleased to be leaving behind large corporate red tape.

Barclays makes 2.5x from shoe retailer sale

Barclays Private Equity’s sale of women’s shoe company Kurt Geiger to Graphite Capital comes despite the worrying storm clouds gathering around the UK retail sector.

Lion Capital goes camping with Belgian retailer(2)

The buyout firm is hoping to transfer its success with women’s shoes and lingerie retailers into the outdoor equipment and clothing market with its purchase of AS Adventure.

Virgin Active to appoint adviser for sale(2)

Virgin Active, the Bridgepoint and Permira-backed UK gymnasium, is considering appointing an adviser to sell the company next year.

Tchenguiz, PE eye pub chain

A day after pub operator Mitchells & Butlers revealed losses of £422m, the property tycoon is reportedly looking to team with Apax, Cinven, CVC or Permira in an effort to grab the chain.

CDC invests $30m in microfinance(3)

CDC, the UK government-backed emerging markets fund of funds, has nearly quadrupled its allocations to microfinance - the provision of small loans to entrepreneurs in developing nations.