Western Europe

Boots pension trustees win £1bn pledge from KKR(3)

Alliance Boots pension scheme trustees have reached a settlement from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts which secures the scheme for the next ten years. The agreement comes two days before the trustees reportedly planned to challenge KKR’s accepted takeover bid.

Innogest raises biggest ever Italy-focused seed fund

Italian venture capital firm Innogest has overcome investor scepticism to close the biggest Italy-focused seed and early stage fund to date.

Istithmar to buy $950 million Barneys(2)

Clothing company Jones Apparel Group is in talks to sell luxury department store Barneys New York to Istithmar for $950 million (€714 million). The Dubai-based firm has been active in the New York real estate market lately.

Hg makes 79% IRR on software exit to H&F(3)

London-based firm HgCapital has sold two software companies to US buyout firm Hellman & Friedman for an enterprise value of £500 million. The price is thought to represent a market multiple of four times.

BP pension fund hires private equity specialist(2)

Energy giant BP has created a new position to oversee its pension fund’s private equity investments. Ex-BA trustee Vicky Wilson will form part of a new-look team at the head of the $27 billion fund.

Blair says tax breaks for private equity raise ’real issues’

As senior buyout firms go before the UK Parliament’s Treasury Select Committee, UK prime minister Tony Blair has pledged a review into the taxation of private equity to be published at the time of the Pre-Budget Report.

Stirling Square bolts on Austrian firm to 3SI(3)

Stirling Square Capital Partners, a mid-market buyout firm backed by Citigroup, has moved to consolidate the financial security market by making a European bolt-on acquisition for portfolio company 3SI Security Systems.

Istithmar to buy $950 million Barneys

Clothing company Jones Apparel Group is in talks to sell luxury department store Barneys New York to Istithmar for $950 million (€714 million). The Dubai-based firm has been active in the New York real estate market lately.

CDC invests in emerging markets microfinance group

UK government-backed fund-of-funds CDC Group has invested in a microfinance fund, which provides banking services to emerging markets. Microfinance has grown more than seven times in the last ten years.

UK ’the biggest onshore tax haven in the world’(2)

As the private equity industry prepares to face its critics today, some industry observers are warning that the substantial tax breaks enjoyed by practitioners on their carried interest could be their Achilles heel.