Western Europe

Astorg buys Ethypharm(2)

French buyout firm Astorg and mezzanine provider Intermediate Capital have bought pharmaceutical company Groupe Ethypharm for an undisclosed sum.

Gresham backs bottle-maker(2)

Esterform Packaging, a UK bottle manufacturer, has received £30 million from Gresham Private Equity.

Bain and Odewald sell German printer(2)

Bain Capital and German investor Odewald have sold 2D Group, a German printing group, to Quadriga Capital.

BoI hires UK acquisition finance head(2)

The Bank of Ireland has appointed a UK head of acquisition finance as it looks to focus on leading larger transactions across Europe.

Hg strengthens renewable energy portfolio(2)

European buyout firm HgCapital has bought a French wind farm portfolio for €69 million. The deal is the latest wind farm investment for Hg’s renewable energy team.

Gordon Brothers hires restructuring specialists(2)

Gordon Brothers lures two restructuring specialists from Barclays as it sets up a new private equity fund that will invest in distressed companies.

Natural Gas snags Goldman partner(2)

Former Goldman Sachs partner Scott Gieselman joins Texas energy private equity specialist Natural Gas Partners as managing director.

Boots shares soar as bidding war erupts(2)

A Terra Firma-led consortium has made a £10.85 billion buyout offer for Alliance Boots, just hours after the UK chemist accepted a sweetened £10.6 billion bid from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. The company’s share price soared as investors anticipated a bidding war.

3i mulls £375m Erinaceous bid(2)

UK-listed private equity group 3i has been linked with a £375 million bid for Erinaceous Group, a scandal-hit property business.

VSS buys US cinema group(2)

US media and communications specialist Veronis Suhler Stevenson has bought Amstar Entertainment for its platform company Southern Theatres as the group focuses on multiple acquisitions to build value.