Western Europe

Travers Smith promotes private equity partner

London-based law firm Travers Smith has promoted Ian Shawyer to private equity partner.

Tishman Speyer, Lehman to acquire REIT for $22bn

The acquisition of Archstone-Smith, the second largest publicly traded apartment owner in the US, will be one of the largest REIT privatisations in history.

Teachers’ London office makes first European investment

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has made its first investment in Europe since it opened its office last week, buying a large stake in Birmingham International Airport.

Goldman and Berlusconi join co-founder for Endemol deal

Goldman Sachs Capital Partners has teamed up with co-founder John de Mol and former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to buy television production company Endemol, in a €2.6 billion deal.

Blackstone snaps up Strada

Tragus, a UK restaurant chain backed by The Blackstone Group, has bounced back from the disappointment of losing out in the battle for La Tasca with the acquisition of UK restaurant chain Strada for £140 million. It is the latest buyout deal in the popular UK restaurant sector.

Terra Firma lands Pegasus for $5.2bn

Guy Hands’ buyout firm is creating the world’s third largest airplane leasing company with an enterprise value of around $7.5bn by merging Pegasus and AWAS, an existing portfolio company.

Calyon installs Bank of Ireland buyout bankers

French bank Calyon has hired six leveraged buy-out bankers from Bank of Ireland as investment banks continue to compete for the top talent in private equity.

Better the devil you know?

A new report suggests that senior management may prove the greatest bar to future public-to-private deals in the UK. The majority of senior executives at the UK’s biggest listed companies have no wish to go private – even though they accept their businesses would face fewer constraints away from the public markets.

Bernanke says bridge loans pose risks

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is the latest prominent public figure to express concerns about the private equity industry.

Global Infrastructure Partners buys port platform

Alistair Baillie, industry veteran and founder of IPH, a port infrastructure vehicle, has sold to Global Infrastructure Partners for an undisclosed sum.