Western Europe

Duke Street fights tooth and nail for Oasis(3)

London-based Duke Street Capital has amassed a 34 percent stake in Oasis Healthcare and increased its bid to £88.2 million, as the battle for the UK’s biggest dental business heats up.

Esprit provides extra backing for Xanadu

The European venture firm has increased its investment in Xanadu Wireless, a Dutch semiconductor business that is looking to revolutionise the wireless sensor market.

Och-Ziff will be the next to float(3)

Och-Ziff, one of the world’s largest hedge fund managers, will become the latest alternative asset manager to tap the public markets after revealing plans for a possible flotation on the New York Stock exchange.

Bear Stearns hires new head of asset management

Jeffrey Lane will replace Richard Marin as head of Bear’s asset management division, which encompasses the investment bank’s private equity arm as well as its newly established placement agent division.

S&P warns cov-loose may lead to backdoor cov-lite(2)

As the sub-prime debt crisis spreads from the US to Europe, the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s believes covenant-loose contracts, with notional maintenance tests written into contracts, may be covenant-lite “in spirit if not the letter”.

Lyceum exits nurseries business(3)

Mid-market private equity firm Lyceum Capital has completed a successful exit from UK nurseries business Asquith, after boosting earnings by 200 percent and increasing the workforce by more than half.

Prince says liquidity will continue fuelling buyout boom(3)

Citigroup chief executive Chuck Prince has reportedly said his bank is “still dancing” on the back of the buyout boom which will continue to be fuelled by deeper “pools of liquidity” than the past.

Carlyle bolsters aerospace and defence portfolio(2)

Transportation communications and systems engineering company ARINC s to be purchased by The Carlyle Group, which this week has been linked with nearly $30 billion in deals and a $300 million Euronext listing.

CDC commits $100m to two China funds as regulations tighten

CDC has committed $100 million to two China-focused funds – CDH China Fund III and CITIC Capital Partners’ maiden China fund.

Sovereign completes latest Kinetics bolt-on(3)

Sovereign Capital has continued its buy-and-build strategy for Kinetics Group, the maintenance business it created earlier this year, with the £7.25 million bolt-on acquisition of gas maintenance company TA Horn.