Western Europe

Montagu buys hair styling business from LDC(3)

Lloyds Development Capital has made an exit from the company behind iconic hair-styling brand ghd after just 12 months, selling it to Montagu Private Equity for £160 million.

Greenhill joins JO Hambro for first UK deal(3)

The European buyout arm of US bank Greenhill has joined forces with UK fund manager JO Hambro for its first deal since closing a £106 million fund this year. The pair have bought UK snooker club operator Rileys.

Branson launches first Virgin buyout fund(2)

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is making its first ever foray into institutional private equity, raising a $400 million Virgin Green fund to invest in renewable energy opportunities.

Cerberus sells German residential portfolio for €1.6bn(3)

Pirelli RE and Deutsche Bank have agreed to buy German property group BauBeCon from Cerberus, in a transaction valued at €1.6bn.

Bank of Scotland buys LDC’s stake in property business(2)

Lloyds TSB Development Capital has sold its minority stake in UK property business Apollo Group to the Bank of Scotland.

AVCAL says “economic xenophobia” in decline(5)

Katherine Woodthorpe, chief executive of the Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, has said Australian “economic xenophobia” has lessened after the Australian Senate’s inquiry into private equity.

West Midlands ups allocation to above £500m(3)

The UK’s third largest local pension fund West Midlands Metropolitan Pension Fund will increase its allocation to private equity over the medium term to over half a billion pounds.

Branson may join Virgin Media take-private bid(2)

The hotly contested auction for cable company Virgin Media may be facilitated by shareholder Sir Richard Branson, while the number of reportedly interested bidders continues to increase.

Electra picks up £52m Premier(2)

UK buyout firm Electra Partners has agreed a £52 million take-private bid for listed fund manager Premier Asset Management, and appointed an outside non-executive director to its board.

3i makes Singaporean oil and gas acquisition

FTSE100-listed 3i has invested in two companies, one the acquisition of a Singapore-based oil and gas company Franklin Offshore, the other a venture funding round into Madrid-based internet sales website BuyVIP.