The departure of Atlas may be bad news for European venture, but a variety of smaller operators are lining up to fill the funding gap.

Some positive results at the start of the year have encouraged listed private equity to speculate that the worst is finally over.

Northzone Ventures has become the first major venture firm to brave the fundraising trail for well over a year, reaching a first close on its sixth fund with €90m of commitments. The fund’s final target is €150m.

Affiliated Managers Group has agreed to acquire the business of Pantheon Ventures, one of Europe’s largest fund-of-funds managers.

David Fitzgerald, the managing director of Carlyle Europe Technology, has left the firm, Real Deals has learnt.

There are as many as 30 mid-market portfolio companies still considering a public listing as an exit option, even though the shelved floats of Travelport, Merlin and New Look have seen the public markets written off as an option for private equity.

China Investment Corporation has invested $1.5bn (€1.1bn) in the direct secondaries market, through special accounts with three firms.

Online learning sites, in various guises, have the potential for widespread take-up among schools and individuals, but venture firms must back the right horse.

Eqvitec Partners’ mezzanine team has spun out from the firm, under the banner Armada Mezzanine Capital. The Armada team consists of Pertti Nurmio, Ilkka Santti and Jan Wiklund, who were previously responsible for the mezzanine business at Eqvitec.

More than half of private equity firms are seeking to expand their sector focus in 2010, with business support services, infrastructure and logistics the most popular industries.

Citigroup is set to sell part of its investment arms, which include private equity, hedge funds and real estate, and manage $20bn (€14.3bn) of assets combined.

Deutsche Bank has launched a €300m fund to provide equity to companies in the German Mittelstand, in an attempt to address criticisms that the country’s banks are not doing enough to help businesses. The fund has a target size of €500m.

Venture capitalists invested €3.2bn into 916 companies across Europe in 2009, down 41 per cent from the €5.1bn
put into 1,234 deals in 2008, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. The €3.2bn recorded marks the worst year for European venture investment since VentureSource began tracking the region in 2000.

BaltCap has signed an agreement with the European Investment Fund to establish a €30m venture capital fund
for the Baltic region.

Sofinnova Partners has held a final close on its sixth fund with €260m in commitments, down on its revised target of €300m. The firm had originally gone on the road in 2008 chasing a €350m to €400m fund, though this was later revised down as a result of the global financial crisis.

Poll of more than 250 UK professionals shows challenging position faced by private equity industry.

The search engine giant has exercised its market power to expand relentlessly in the past decade, but it can also be a useful partner to start-ups looking for their own slice of the pie.

A large majority of LPs are planning to increase their allocations to private equity in Central and Eastern Europe over the next five years, despite the fact that just one third of investors view the region as the most attractive emerging market.

Despite having a miserable year for making new investments, with more than one quarter of UK buyout houses completing no deals in 2009, the majority of private equity executives are positive about their prospects for the coming year.

Atlas Venture has announced that it will consolidate its European and US operations into one office in Boston, raising questions marks over the firm’s future commitment to European venture.

While a number of fundraisings have made swift progress during the first weeks of the new year, GPs should not expect LP appetite to return strongly in 2010.

Private equity goes to the polls:
• Current deals will not match private equity’s golden age
• Acquisitions top 2010 agenda
• Few bargains on offer
• UK election inertia

While not yet the UK’s answer to Silicon Valley, Cambridge continues to produce world-class technology and world-beating companies.

The BVCA was the first to leap to private equity’s defence following Alistair Darling’s pre-Budget report last week, claiming the changes would damage the UK’s competitive position through high taxes.

The European Parliament’s second impact assessment into the Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive has delivered a damning verdict on the proposed legislation, highlighting huge compliance costs for private equity firms.

Central and Eastern European mezzanine debt specialist Syntaxis Capital has announced a first close on its second fund, with €140m of commitments.

The UK Government has appointed Hermes Private Equity and the European Investment Fund as fund-of-fund managers for the UK Innovation Investment Fund, following a tender process run by Capital for Enterprise.

News in brief

Three out of five European limited partners are disappointed with the recent performance of their private equity portfolios, according to the latest Coller Capital Private Equity Barometer. By contrast, three out of five North American investors declare themselves to be satisfied.

Apax is set to complete an €800m deal with China Investment Corporation that will see the sovereign wealth fund buy a stake in Apax’s management company, and take on unfunded commitments in the firm’s€11.2bn fund from other limited partners.

Taking portfolio companies global can buoy growth in a recession, but international travel comes with its own set of risks.

The Brenninkmeijer family, owners of C&A, are poised to take full control of Englefield Capital from founder Dominic Shorthouse.

News in brief

WestLB, the German bank part-owned by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is believed to be closing its acquisition finance unit.

More than one in ten UK general partners do not expect to raise another private equity fund, according to a survey conducted by Investec.

The dispute raging between Skype co-founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis and the investment group poised
to buy the VoIP service looks to have been resolved, with Index Ventures and, more particularly, Index partner Mike Volpi, now out of the bidding consortium.

Kenmore Private Equity has been placed into administration after Grant Thornton administrators Rob Caven and Martin Ellis took control of the buyout firm’s parent company, real estate investor Kenmore Property Group, last week.

It is no secret that banks conducting debt-for-equity swaps and other restructurings have denied turnaround houses
the deluge of deal flow they were all expecting this year.

A total of 730m was invested in 201 European venture capital deals during the third quarter of 2009.

Nordic investors Bure Equity and Skanditek Industriförvaltning are poised to merge, creating a firm with a market capitalisation of around SKr2.5bn (€250m).

News in brief

A quick glance at the government venture capital trust fundraising figures released last month might appear to suggest that the Venture Capital Trust funding model is in terminal decline.

Spanish mid-market private equity house Nazca has spun out from investment bank Fortis at the same time as securing secondary funding from AlpInvest.

Distressed deal flow, which had been expected by many to rocket by the end of this year, remains elusive, according to research compiled by KPMG.

Placement agent to launch online secondaries exchange.

Jon Moulton has officially launched a new firm after walking out on Alchemy Partners two months ago.

Limited partners are understood to have rejected a request from BC Partners to extend the shelf life of its €5.9bn fund by a year.

Consumer-focused Belgian mid-market firm Vendis Capital has held a first close on its debut fund with €55m of commitments. The firm is targeting €100m and expects to hold a final close by September next year.

While venture capital’s love affair with clean technology continues, there is scepticism about the asset class’s financial credentials, with one investor describing the odds of getting a return on investment as “better in Vegas”.

Cleantech experts gathered at Real Deals’ Green Recovery conference earlier this month were divided over the prospects for Copenhagen’s December Cleantech Summit.

The number of cleantech businesses listing on European stock exchanges has been thwarted by the economic crisis, but a surge in M&A activity is on the cards in 2010, according to panellists at Real Deals’ Green Recovery conference.

Italian lower mid-market buyout house Xenon Private Equity has completed fundraising for its fifth vehicle, hitting its hard cap of €150m.

Italian green fund Ambienta has reached a final close on its first fund at €217.5m, slightly down on its initial target of €250m.

Brussels regulation to cut investor choice by 35 per cent.

Hermes and the European Investment Fund are two of the fund managers understood to have shown an interest in taking on the UK Innovation Investment Fund mandate.

The European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association has called for a new risk capital action plan to provide financial and regulatory support to European venture-backed businesses.

It had to survive the collapse of Lehman Brothers, quantitative easing and bank bailouts, but after more than 12 months of hard slog, GI Partners has closed its third fund on $1.9bn (€1.2bn).

A growing number of new firms are braving the recession to try to prove themselves in the toughest economic conditions imaginable.

DFJ’s Simon Cook talks to Real Deals about buying 29 companies in one day.

Arx Equity Partners has completed an €83m first close on its third Central and Eastern European lower
mid-market fund.

The former UK and European buyout team of Fidelity Equity Partners has completed a spin-out and formed new firm Canter Equity Partners.

PAI Partners is believed to have offered to slash its latest €5.4bn fund by €2.3bn following the departure of its two most senior partners.

A testing year for portfolio companies and shareholder pressure have forced former Bank of Scotland chief executive Sir Peter Burt to accept that Promethean Investments, the AIM-listed private equity vehicle he founded in 2005, will have to be wound up.

Ariadne Capital, led by chief executive Julie Meyer (pictured), has launched the Ariadne Capital Entrepreneurs fund, with a target of £20m (€23m).

Investors in European buyouts are ploughing more equity into transactions in order to get deals away in a market that has fallen to its lowest level since 1995, according to figures compiled by the Centre for Management Buyout Research.

Inflexion Private Equity has raised a £75m (€83.6m) co-investment fund to provide additional firepower for acquisitions from the firm’s £165m vehicle raised in 2006.

Private equity firms could find themselves on a collision course with banks as general partners are forced to cherry-pick the best companies in their portfolios and cut off the weakest, according to research conducted by Ernst & Young.

The private equity industry has been left reeling following Real Deals’ exclusive disclosure of Jon Moulton’s explosive resignation letter last week. “In 31 years in private equity, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said one veteran of the buyout world.

Led by the iPhone’s wildly popular applications, mobile gaming has suddenly become the latest venture buzzword.

Though government-backed venture capital schemes have had a positive effect on company performance and job creation, this beneficial impact has been substantially more muted than that delivered by purely commercial venture capital firms, according to a recent report published by Nesta and the BVCA.

Finnish lower mid-market private equity firm Sentica Partners has held a final close on its third fund with commitments of €113m. The final tally is significantly higher than Sentica’s €100m target, and comes in one of the worst fundraising environments in memory.

After two years of intensive portfolio management, a tentative stock market rally and pressure to raise new funds means private equity firms have their eyes on the exit.

The management team of Close Growth Capital Partners has completed a spinout from parent group Close Brothers to form Growth Capital Partners.

LGT Capital Partners has held a first close on its second Crown Global Secondaries fund with $268m (€188m) of commitments. The firm is targeting a final close at $750m.

Danish fund of funds manager ATP Private Equity Partners (PEP) is planning to launch its fourth fund in the first half of next year.

JP Morgan raises $75m JP Morgan Private Equity (JPEL), the London-listed secondary private equity investor, has closed a $75m (€52.7m) fund.

A new fund founded by Ryszard Wojtkowski, a former managing director at the Carlyle Group, has been set up to focus on opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe.

Hong Kong-headquartered investor ADM Capital is targeting €300m to invest in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Turkey.

TA Associates has closed its 11th private equity fund well ahead of its target, with $4bn of commitments. The fund is a successor to TA X, which raised $3.5bn in March 2006.

French cleantech investor Demeter Partners has held a second close on its new fund, Demeter 2, with €182m in commitments.

Three and a half years after attempting a takeover of CapMan, Belgian investor Gimv has built a 4.38 per cent stake in the listed Nordic buyout house, with plans to expand this to ten per cent. Shortly after acquiring the shareholding, Gimv also committed €30m to four of CapMan’s funds.

Two thirds of senior private equity executives expect the number of private equity houses to fall significantly over the next two years, according to a survey of 136 investors across 75 UK mid-market firms, conducted by Smith & Williamson.

State-backed venture funds have lagged the performance of commercial VCs, according to research compiled by the BVCA. The research found that commercial funds started between 2002 and 2004 achieved weighted annual average returns of 7.7 per cent, compared with 1.7 per cent for all VC funds, including those backed by the government.

Capital for Enterprise has opened its doors to fund of fund managers interested in a slice of the UK’s Innovation Investment Fund, a vehicle which secured a £150m (€175m) cornerstone investment from the government in June.

M&A is not confined to big business – a prolonged recession may see a wave of venture-backed companies choosing consolidation over depreciation.

Ernie Richardson of MTI is correct in his assessment that the launch of a second 3i is unnecessary when there are a number of established organisations already starting to play the role once fulfilled by the firm (Letter to the Editor, 16 July).

21 Partners has held a first close on its fourth French private equity fund with €200m of commitments. The fund, launched at the end of 2008, is targeting a total of €500m.

The UK is home to more distressed businesses than any other country in Europe, according to research conducted by Close Brothers Corporate Finance. Almost a quarter of Europe’s distressed companies are based in the region, up from 19 per cent two years ago, and well ahead of second-placed Germany, which accounted for just 14 per cent.

Private equity professionals have always prided themselves on being master negotiators, but according to to the Centre for Economics and Business Research and the Gap Partnership, the industry can do better – £3.7bn (€4.3bn) better.

Barcelona-based venture capital firm Nauta Capital has held a €50m first close on its third fund, Nauta Capital III.

CapMan has held a final close on its Public Market Fund – its first fund dedicated to investments in listed companies – at €138m.

Italian lower mid-market player Xenon Private Equity has reached a first close on its fifth fund at €113m. It is targeting €130m and has a hard cap of €150m.

A trio of recent deals suggest that American venture players are turning their attention towards European opportunities.

Almost three quarters of UK buyout investments exited during the second quarter of 2009 ended up in receivership, according to the Centre for Management Buyout Research. A total of 108 exits were recorded by CMBOR over the three-month period, of which nine were secondary buyouts, 25 were trade sales and 74 ended in receivership.

The volume of private equity investments in the UK will pick up in the next 12 months, according to a recent survey conducted by Grant Thornton. The survey found that 57 per cent of respondents believed activity would increase over the year, while only 20 per cent expected activity to decrease.

The management fee for buyout funds has dropped by an average of 20 basis points compared to firms’ previous vintages, according to research from Preqin. Venture investors have also been forced to lower their prices, with management fees coming down by 15 basis points.

The number and aggregate target value of private equity funds on the road has fallen by around ten per cent between the start of Q2 2009 and Q3 2009, according to Preqin.

Holland Venture has announced the establishment of its fifth private equity fund, with a target of €70m, aimed at expansion and buyout investments in the Benelux countries.

For the first time since it was founded in 2000, turnaround private equity specialist Kelso Place will be opening up a fund to institutional investors. Kelso’s fourth fund, UK Special Situations Fund IV, is targeting £75m (€87.3m), with a first and final close slated for September.

EVCA has published a draft Code of Conduct for placement agents as the industry continues to come under attack.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been waging war against the placement agent fraternity ever since a “pay to play” scandal was uncovered at the $122bn (€87.7bn) New York Common Retirement Fund.

It was fitting that the 200th edition of Real Deals should include an insightful review of 3i. October 1999 was probably the last point where 3i was still operating to its original remit.

Balderton Capital is set to close its latest fund with $485m (€348m) in commitments, just $15m shy of its original $500m target. The firm had previously held a $430m first close in January after two months on the road.

The UK government has created an innovation investment fund to invest in technology-based businesses with high growth potential.

UK mid-market buy-and-build specialist Sovereign Capital has held a first close on its latest private equity fund. The fund aims to raise £350m (€400m) and has secured around £140m in commitments so far.

Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners has held a €175m first close on its Winch Capital 2 growth capital fund, already exceeding the €165m final close reached for the fund’s predecessor in December 2005.

Pomona Capital has closed its seventh secondaries fund on $1.3bn, exceeding its original $1bn target by a hefty 30 per cent despite challenging market conditions.

In the first of a special series on venture hubs, Real Deals profiles Munich, arguably Europe’s largest centre for VC activity.

Italian investment firm Montezemolo & Partners has set a target of €350m for its second private equity fund.

Direct secondaries investor Cipio Partners has held a ¤61m first close on its sixth direct secondaries fund, which has a €200m target. Investors include both institutions and family offices.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System has adjusted its allocations for its $183bn (€131m) investment portfolio, raising its investment target exposure to private equity to 14 per cent.

Large US companies with significant involvement in the banking system are set to face fundamental changes in the business environment in which they operate.

Gimv has received a further €60m for the second close of its Gimv-XL fund, with new commitments from Dexia Bank, ING Belgium and Ethias.

KKR has abandoned plans for a New York Stock Exchange flotation, opting instead to list in Amsterdam.

Mutual fund group Fidelity Investments is planning to close its private equity arm.

The Brussels Task Force, a group of senior private equity professionals assembled by EVCA and the other national associations to engage with European policy-makers, has criticised the European Commission’s draft Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers for failing to adequately differentiate between asset classes.

As many as one in ten limited partners will default, according to Coller Capital’s latest Global Private Equity Barometer.

It was once avoided like a bad smell, but environmental concerns mean that biogas plants are becoming an increasingly important part of the energy mix.

Advent Venture Partners has formalised the shift in its ICT activities to growth capital investing this month, following the management buyout of The Foundry, a London-based visual effects software developer.

Europe’s largest national private equity and venture capital associations have vowed to unite more closely to fight the threat of Europe-wide legislation against the asset class.

Italy’s biggest insurer, Generali, has launched a private equity firm focusing on emerging Europe alongside PPF, the Czech financial group created in 1991 by billionaire Petr Kellner.

Robeco Private Equity has held a first close of €50m on its Robeco Responsible Private Equity Fund
II.

Direct secondaries specialist Verdane Capital has held a first close on its seventh fund, with commitments of around SKr650m (€63m).

LODH Private Equity, an arm of the Swiss private bank Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, has closed its latest fund of funds on CHF776m (€512m), falling short of the €600m it was expected to raise.

MCapital, the investment manager set up by former Merrill Lynch man Mark Devonshire, has launched a European and Asian Special Situations Fund, targeting $500m (€350m).

Amanda Capital has fallen short of its €150m target for its latest fund of funds, raising €90m.

Anacap Financial Partners has raised a €575m fund to acquire financial services businesses in Europe. The news comes just weeks after the firm became the first private equity group to buy a UK bank, acquiring leisure and property lender Ruffler Bank.

The senior management of the Aberdeen Asset Managers Private Equity growth capital team have completed a spinout from their parent group to form Maven Capital Partners.

European buyout funds fell in value by 31 per cent in 2008, as the effects of the global economic downturn reverberated across the asset class.

As if dealing with underperforming portfolio companies wasn’t enough, a desolate exit environment is placing further strain on venture firms’ resources.

Spanish mid-market firm Impala Capital – originally founded by Spanish businesswoman Ana Patricia Botin, Carlos Guerrero and Gonzalo Diaz-Rato under the name Suala in 2000 – is understood to be under pressure after failing to raise more than a quarter of the original fund target on its second fund.

French buyout house backs Swedish mid-market newcomers.

Russian investment group Digital Sky Technologies has taken a 1.96 per cent stake in Facebook for $200m (€142m), giving the social networking site an implied valuation of $10bn (€7.1bn).

Max Planck Innovation, the technology transfer arm of Germany’s Max Planck Society, and Life Sciences Partners have co-launched a€100m venture fund for investments into pharmaceutical businesses.

Trade bodies including the BVCA, IT group Intellect, the BioIndustry Association and NESTA sent a proposal to Lord Mandelson last month highlighting the need for a new £750m government-sponsored fund of funds to stimulate the declining venture capital industry.

Howard Snell and Giedrius Pukas have left Troika Dialog. Snell, the chief executive of Troika Dialog’s UK business, has resigned, while Giedrius Pukas, the managing director of Troika Capital Partners, is leaving to launch his own firm.

Fundraising in the European mid-market is expected to be down by as much as a third on 2008 levels this year, as firms delay launches and investors grapple with liquidity
and portfolio allocation issues.

George Coelho, the venture virtuoso with the Midas touch, is now focused on turning cleantech specialist Good Energies’ investments into gold.

The CBPE Capital team has reached a £270m (€300m) first close on its eighth fund – its first since spinning out from Close Brothers Group in late 2008.

Finnish private equity firm Sentica Partners has de-merged into two companies, separating its lower mid-market buyout activities from its small cap business.

3i has unveiled plans to raise £732m (€800m) in an underwritten rights issue. The capital-raising will allow the firm to reduce its net debt to £1.1bn, from around £2.1bn at the end of 2008.

Technology and life sciences venture capital firm Amadeus Partners and Imperial College London have launched a second knowledge transfer partnership to identify opportunities in the UK medical technology sector.

Almost half of limited parters surveyed by research house Preqin are actively considering purchasing fund interests on the secondaries market within the next two years

The Rockley Group is raising a $100m (€73m) venture capital fund for investments in Shandong Province, China

European venture capital investment levels declined 35 per cent in the first quarter of 2009

Curzon Park Capital has been established to manage the £20m (€22m) Sustainable Technology Fund, which spun out from E-Synergy earlier this year.

Atomico Partners, the vehicle managed by Skype co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus
Friis, is in the process of raising a $266m (€195m) fund.

Arcano Capital has launched a renewable energy fund of funds, Arcano Earth Capital, with a final target of between €200m and €250m.

Carlyle has agreed to pay $20m following an investigation into alleged corruption at New York’s $122bn Common Retirement Fund.

Almost two thirds of managers still believe that private equity is a more attractive form of ownership than the public markets, according to a survey of 475 management candidates conducted by Real Deals, in association with executive recruitment business Directorbank.

Vente-Privee still ahead of the pack as rival online discount clothing retailers across Europe scrap over market share.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has requested up to €730m from LPs to support struggling companies in its 2005 European buyout fund.

Finance Wales has announced the launch of a new £150m (€170m) fund to support the growth of Welsh businesses. The new fund – which will employ EIB capital – will also use a further £60m from the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh European Funding Office and other sources.

SVG Capital, the listed vehicle that is the largest investor in Permira’s funds, has suspended commitments to third party managers “until the company is in a position to offer a return of capital to shareholders”.

Abbott Capital Management has reached its target for its sixth private equity fund of funds, raising more than $1bn

German venture capital firm Target Partners has held a final close on its second fund with €113m in commitments, just short of its initial €120m target. The firm held a €61.5m first close in March 2008.

Venture debt provider Kreos Capital has introduced five new institutional investors into its third fund, Kreos III.

An oil price that has fallen from $150 per barrel to $50, and the most bearish fundraising market in recent memory has not stopped First Reserve, the private equity energy specialist, from closing its twelfth fund at close to $9bn.

The buyout community has voiced its displeasure at the latest proposals for regulation of private equity and hedge funds put forward by the European Commission, describing the directive as “disproportionate, inappropriate and anticompetitive”.

HSBC has reached a first close on its HSBC Environment Infrastructure Fund at €117m.

HarbourVest Partners has held a final close on its latest secondaries fund, Dover Street VII, on $2.9bn (€2.2bn).

In our issue of 9 April 2009 (and on our website) we published an article entitled “Pre-pack pressures” in which we falsely stated that the same management team as had led Rileys Limited into financial difficulties has now bought back the business.

European Capital is believed to have been put up for sale by its US parent. American Capital plans to use proceeds to pay down debt.

The UK private equity industry condemns Alistair Darling’s decision to hike taxes and abandon a £1bn private sector initiative for recovery.

A change of regime at the White House, combined with a growing public awareness of the urgent action required to combat destructive climatic change, means that the clean technology sector, which had already been receiving increasing attention over the past two years, has now jumped to the top of the political agenda

Government-backed emerging markets investor CDC Group has revealed the first decline in its portfolio value for seven years. Unrealised valuation reductions led to a decline in net assets of £359m (€404m), reflecting the “extraordinary turmoil in global capital markets”, according to CDC chief executive Richard Laing.

Goldman Sachs has closed its latest secondaries fund on $5.5bn (€4.2bn).

The bearish fundraising market has taken its toll on venture capital trusts over the past 12 months, with only £153m (€172m) raised, a 30 per cent fall from the £220m raised in the previous year.

Online auction site eBay is planning to spin off VoIP provider Skype and list shares in the firm in the first half of 2010.

The value of UK private equity write-offs almost doubled from £900m in 2007 to £1.7bn last year, figures compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the BVCA have revealed.

Over three quarters of LPs currently active in emerging markets plan to increase the number of managers they back over the next five years, according to an emerging markets private equity survey conducted by EMPEA and Coller Capital.

Nordic investor struggles to €118m close on inherited fund.

Fund of funds team eyes third-party money and acquisition targets.

Swiss private equity asset manager Capital Dyamics  has taken control of HRJ Capital’s fund of funds business, after having reached an agreement with the US firm and Silicon Valley Bank, the holders of its debt.

Climate Change Capital is understood to be aiming to raise up to €500m for a private equity fund targeting investments in European renewable energy.

The global private equity fundraising market slumped to its lowest level in almost six years in the first three months of 2009. Just 71 funds reached a final close, raising an aggregate $45.9bn, according to Preqin. This is the lowest figure recorded since the final quarter of 2003, when just 131 funds raised $34bn.

Search engine giant Google has launched Google Ventures, a $100m (€75m) vehicle to invest in early-stage businesses.

The collective might of sovereign wealth funds has increased to $3.22trn, despite a global recession. While individual funds have been hit hard by economic collapse, a constant stream of new entrants means the aggregate buying power of the sovereign wealth sector has continued to grow.

Foursome Investments has re-branded as Frog Capital and increased the size of its fund from €60m to €100m. The name change comes in the wake of the arrival of Mike Reid as managing partner from 3i Growth Capital last October.

Technology-focused Nordic private equity firm Eqvitec has held a final close on its third mezzanine fund at €103m.

Specialist mezzanine provider Syntaxis Capital is believed to have launched its second fund, targeting €250m for investment in the Central and Eastern European mid-market.

Turnaround veteran David Buchler, the man reponsible for turning around the fortunes of Premiership football club Tottenham Hotspur, has launched Merchant Asset Partners and is chasing £500m (€534m) for a one-off fund targeting UK distressed deals.

East Capital is set to launch a $100m (€77m) fund to target investments in undervalued companies in Russia and Eastern Europe.

South African billionaire Johann Rupert has teamed up with managers from Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Partners to acquire the investment bank’s private equity business, five months after it collapsed on September 15 last year.

The BVCA has called on UK chancellor Alistair Darling to join the private equity cause in the battle against pan-European regulation of the asset class.

Plunging portfolio valuations, a lack of exits and reduced refinancings have seen private equity returns suffer a double-digit slump over the last year, according to data released by EVCA and Thomson Reuters.

Limited partner appetite for the secondary purchase of LP interests in private equity funds has climbed steeply, as investors flock to the market in the hope of picking up assets at vast discounts to NAV. A survey of 220 LPs, conducted by Preqin, found that 23 per cent of respondents expected to buy interests on the secondaries market in 2009.

The gap between vendor and buyer price expectations that has frozen private equity deal activity since the credit crunch could be bridged within the next year, reveals a Deloitte survey.

3i is understood to have moved into the final stages of a global venture capital sell-off as the firm continues in its bid to cut a £1.8bn (€1.9bn) debt mountain.

Some very bad news for some very big players has left observers questioning the value of the once-vaunted investment trust.

Private equity’s failure to act has left it reeling on the canvas. The Brussels Task Force’s last-ditch attempt at preserving industry self-regulation is too little, too late.

The Carlyle Group has closed its second mezzanine investment fund with $553m (€440m) in commitments. The fund is significantly larger than its predecessor, Carlyle Mezzanine Partners I, which was closed on $436m in 2006.

Apax Partners has sold a 7.7 per cent stake in its management company to Singaporean sovereign wealth subsidiary GIC Special Investments and the Australian government’s Future Fund. A further 2.3 per cent is believed to remain up for grabs.

US president Barack Obama has proposed to more than double the tax rate on carried interest, in the first step in a clampdown on excessive remuneration at private equity firms.

The continental European buyout market has tumbled to its lowest level for seven years, with total deal values down 60 per cent in 2008, according to the Centre for Management Buyout Research.

Index Ventures has held a first and final close on its latest venture capital fund with €350m of commitments.

Risk Capital Partners has closed its first institutional fund with a total of £75m (€84m) of commitments. The firm has raised £50m from third party limited partners, in addition to £25m from its founders – Luke Johnson and Ben Redmond.

Angel investors Andrew and Robert Rickman have launched a new venture firm, the Rockley Group, currently raising a €100m vehicle.

But it’s business as usual for the quoted equities team, says Alan Mackay

Populus survey reveals widespread venture pessimism.

Danske Private Equity has held a €600m second close on its latest fund of funds, already reaching its target for the entire fund. Danske Private Equity Partners IV is continuing to seek capital and is expected to hold a final close by June 2009.

Siemens has launched Siemens Global Innovation Partners I, a fund of funds that will primarily target the venture capital industry, as well as making select investments with growth capital managers.

French venture house Elaia Partners has formed a strategic partnership with Neotec Capital Riesgo, a Spanish government-backed investment vehicle that focuses on the technology sector through investments into Spanish and European venture capital funds.

Axa Private Equity and the industrial company Tozzi Group have established a joint venture to invest in the Italian renewable energy sector.

Candover has become the latest private equity house to be forced to cut the size of its fund. The firm’s listed investment trust, Candover Investments, can no longer honour the €1bn slug it had promised to provide Candover’s latest €3bn vehicle.

Nexit Infocom II has received an additional €10m in commitments from new Finnish Industry Investment-managed fund of funds Kasvurahastojen Rahasto Ky, taking the total amount captured by the wireless and mobile investment vehicle to €85m.

Private equity increases productivity faster than other forms of ownership, according to a study released by the World Economic Forum.

Pinova Capital, a new, Munich-based private equity firm founded by four 3i veterans, has raised €96m towards its debut fund, targeting €150m. The firm held a first close in December on €50m and aims to reach a final close later this year.

Icelandic investment group Baugur’s main subsidiary BG Holdings, which holds stakes in UK retail names including House of Fraser, Hamleys and Aurum, has gone into administration.

HgCapital is closing down its consumer and leisure investment division to focus on industrials, TMT, healthcare and business services.

James Wheeler and Michael Gebauer have spun out from interim management provider Ashton Penney to launch Pilot Partners, a company specialising in providing leadership for private equity investments and businesses in distress.

French growth equity firm NextStage has held a first close on its Champion Small Cap II fund with €61m of commitments.

Atlas Venture has held a final close on its eighth fund with $283m (€219m) in commitments, well below its original $400m target. As a result, the firm has slimmed down its team of partners, with Ahmet Ozalp leaving the Boston office and Martin Gibson stepping down in London. Atlas previously raised $385m in 2006.

Vision Capital has held a final close on its latest direct secondaries fund with €680m of commitments. The fund is double the size of its predecessor and took just under a year to raise.

Streaming could supplant iTunes as the consumer’s preferred way of listening to music, with two venture-backed firms hoping to kick-start the revolution.

Almost two years after the BVCA asked Sir David Walker to undertake an independent review of disclosure and transparency in private equity following a series of public and political maulings, it is clear that private equity has not risen far in the popularity stakes.

Amadeus Capital Partners co-founder Hermann Hauser has stated that venture capital investment appetite has declined significantly in recent months, with firms cutting back burn rates and holding onto cash.

Arcapita Ventures is planning to hold a final close on its second venture capital fund with between $400m (€310m) and $500m in commitments by the end of the first quarter.

Italian mid-market private equity firm PM & Partners has closed its second fund on €340m, exceeding its €300m target.

Oxford Capital Partners and Pi Capital have announced the formation of a strategic partnership.

Close Ventures has spun out from parent company Close Brothers, just weeks after it emerged the investment bank’s buyout arm had also become independent.

Private equity houses across the globe are currently sitting on over $1trn of dry powder at a time when leverage to finance transactions is at an all-time low, according to research firm Preqin.

Balderton Capital defied the fundraising drought with a $430m (€330m) first close on its latest venture capital vehicle earlier this month.

Widespread redundancies have struck fear at the heart of private equity. But shake-out brings opportunity, and as the golden handcuffs loosen, more investors are preparing to jump ship.

The global focus on energy efficiency has led to some innovative devices being made for home use, with several venture-backed technologies leading the way.

While there are some pockets of optimism, the mood in south-east Europe is as languorous as the rest of the continent. Samuel Barton reports from Zagreb.

Building strong and open relationships with the media will stand private equity firms in good stead if they ever have to be the bearers of bad news.

London-based Earth Capital Partners is planning to raise $5bn (€3.9bn) in five years to invest in projects and firms with a focus on climate change and energy security.

The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts has partnered with Proctor
& Gamble to help create the company’s next generation of product designers. T

TTP Ventures is to manage a new £30m (€34.6m) Enterprise Capital Fund, with £20m being provided by the government. The vehicle will invest in UK-based early-stage IT and clean technology businesses, and will target investments of up to £2m.

Finnish private equity firm Sentica Partners has reached a first close of €50m on its latest lower mid-market fund. Sentica aims to hold a final close on €100m.

US distressed investment specialist Oaktree Capital Management has raised €1.6bn for European opportunities.

3i, the Carlyle Group and European Capital have become the first private equity firms to announce major job cuts, as the global economic crisis continues to take its toll on the industry.

Close Brothers Private Equity has quietly claimed its independence from one of the oldest banking names in the city, as exclusively revealed by Real Deals last week. The firm has been renamed CBPE Capital and is targeting between £450m (€350m) and £500m for its latest fund.

Permira is allowing its limited partners to cut their commitments to its latest €11bn fund by as much as 40 per cent. The move follows requests from SVG Capital, Permira’s cornerstone investor.

The Carlyle Group is understood to have closed its latest private equity fund, falling just shy of its $15bn (€11.7bn) target with a $14bn final close.

The UK government is planning to launch a £1bn venture capital fund to support the struggling technology start-up market. It is understood that the state-owned fund will also attempt to raise money from the private sector, including universities and corporates.

Amadeus has a proven eye for a winner, so its latest big investments have been causing a commotion in the venture community.

Fund manager Robeco, a division of Rabobank, has begun raising its second responsible private equity fund of funds, with a €250m target.

Bridges Ventures has raised a £4.25m fund that will be invested in social enterprises.

American Capital has revealed plans to acquire the one-third stake in European Capital that it does not already own.

Nordic Capital has closed its seventh fund with €4.3bn of commitments, surpassing its original €3.7bn target.

EQT has closed its debut infrastructure fund at €1.2bn, above its initial target of €1bn.

Lord Drayson, London Minister for Science and Innovation and co-founder of biotech company Powderject, has called for institutions that withdrew from venture capital investment in the wake of the dotcom crash to renew their support for the UK venture industry.

The election of Barack Obama to the US presidency could provide the UK with the opportunity to increase its share of the global private equity industry, according to BVCA chief executive Simon Walker. If Obama presses ahead with plans to reclassify carried interest as income, US buyout houses may choose to relocate to London, he said.

Aviva Investors has launched the Aviva Investors European Renewable Energy Fund. The fund specialises in European renewable energy infrastructure projects, and has a target of at least €500m.

The International Private Equity & Venture Capital Valuation Board (IPEV) has reaffirmed its support for the fair value methodology of valuing private equity portfolio companies.

Horizon Capital has reached a final close on its latest emerging Europe fund, with total commitments of $390m (€307m) – triple the size of its predecessor.

The launch of UK wave power front-runner Pelamis could lead to more venture investment in a hitherto neglected area of cleantech.

Life Sciences Partners has held a first close on its fourth fund with €75m in commitments.

Longbow Capital has become the latest venture house to adopt the Enterprise Investment Scheme fund structure, launching two new EIS vehicles last month.

The founding team of online messaging company MessageLabs is to launch a new venture capital technology fund and advisory business, Notion Capital.

The Carbon Trust and the Qatar Investment Authority have announced the creation of a £250m (€315m) Qatar-UK Clean Technology Investment Fund.

The UK government has abandoned plans to privatise state-owned emerging markets fund of funds investor CDC, according to the organisation’s chief executive Richard Laing.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has postponed its planned initial public offering until next year.

Herkules Capital has closed its third fund on NKr6bn (€700m), making it the largest Norwegian private equity vehicle ever raised.

The Blackstone Group and 3i have revealed substantial losses in their latest interim results, published last week.

Bridgepoint has closed its fourth European private equity fund on €4.8bn. Bridgepoint Europe IV, which is almost double the size of its €2.5bn predecessor, was launched in October 2007 and hit its €4bn target in March this year. The fund remained open until the end of October to allow existing investors to increase the size of their commitments.

Spanish lower-mid market firm Realza Capital has held a final close on its debut fund with €170m in commitments, substantially exceeding its €120m target.

The Carlyle Group has closed its second European technology fund with €530m of commitments. Despite a gloomy outlook for fundraising, Carlyle Europe Technology Partners II surpassed its €500m target and is more than double the size of its predecessor.

While the mood at this year’s EVCA Venture Capital Forum was encouraging, better data is required to fully restore LP interest in the asset class.

Pohjola Private Equity has held a €70m first close on its second mezzanine fund of funds.

Arx Equity Partners has completed an €83m first close on its third lower mid-market fund focused on Central and Eastern Europe. The fund has a target of €125m and a hard cap of €150m. LPs in the fund include the EBRD, the European Investment Fund, Alpha Associates, Amanda Capital, Hansa Fund and Investkredit Bank.

Israeli investment house Cukierman & Co is launching a private equity fund of up to €200m to focus on renewable energy projects, principally in EU countries.

Former Citigroup chief executive and chairman Sanford Weill is rumoured to be planning to raise a private equity fund targeting distressed financial institutions.

After receiving a disappointing verdict on its battle to bid for Lehman Brothers’ investment management division last week, the Carlyle Group has now been forced to seek legal recourse in another mega deal.

German direct secondaries specialist Smac partners, a spin-out from Siemens Corporate Venture, has closed its latest venture capital direct secondaries fund with an undisclosed commitment from a single limited partner.

The crisis currently gripping the Icelandic economy is expected to generate some significant opportunities for European private equity. The country’s beleaguered financial institutions currently own swathes of the UK high street. Buyout houses, turnaround specialists, distressed debt funds and direct secondaries firms are all eagerly circling this unexpected mid-season sale looking for potential bargains.

Electra Partners has acquired Axa Private Equity’s stake in German private equity house Steadfast Capital’s debut fund.

Pechel Industries Partenaires has held a final close on its third fund with €165m of commitments.

EQT has opened an office in Warsaw, its first in Central and Eastern Europe. The firm has hired Piotr Czapski, a local telecoms veteran, to lead the new team. Czapski is the former Eastern Europe technology head at McKinsey and is a board member at local telco giant Netia.

Venture-backed Seatwave and Viagogo battle it out for supremacy in the secondary ticketing market as a downturn looms.

Nextech Venture has reached a final close on its third fund, its first dedicated to oncology investment, with €47m in commitments.

The Royal Society has held a first close on its philanthropic Enterprise Fund with £5m (€6.35m) in commitments.

France is the most favourable market for private equity investment, according to EVCA’s latest benchmarking study, carried out in collaboration with KPMG.

Turnaround specialist turns to ultra-high-net-worths for capital as it prepares for a glut in deal flow.

The next private equity mega deal is at least three years away, according to a poll of European general partners conducted by Real Deals.

Nmás1 is to call off its acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in French fund of funds Access Capital Partners, blaming the world financial crisis. Nmás1 had agreed to buy a 35 per
cent stake from Nordic investor CapMan and a 15 per cent stake from the fund’s managers.

Global economic turmoil has struck at the heart of private equity fundraising. The amount raised in Q3 2008 was the lowest in three and a half years, according to research from Preqin.

Danny Rimer of Index Ventures and MySQL’s Marten Mickos discuss the secrets of one of European venture’s greatest ever exits at the annual Seedcamp event.

21 Investimenti, the Benetton family’s private equity vehicle, has held a final close on its latest fund with €280m in commitments.

Brussels to hold watching brief after toned-down reports voted through parliament.

The European private equity industry should prepare for one of its toughest years of fundraising yet, according to a straw poll of ten placement agents conducted by Real Deals.

At the end of last month, the Federal Reserve loosened long-standing restrictions on investment in the banking world, in the hope of attracting private equity capital into the cash-hungry sector.

Central and Eastern European private equity firm Enterprise Investors has closed a new growth capital fund for the region at its €100m hard cap.

Next month, changes crystallised in the Companies Act 2006 come into effect, removing the need for an expensive and long-winded legal process in LBOs.

Kennet and Atlas Venture’s €22m investment in NTRGlobal in June is symptomatic of a surge in venture appetite for software-as-a-service.

Arcis Group has raised a €354m fund, which will be used to complete LP and direct secondaries.

Pentech Ventures has reached a final close on its second fund at £45m (€57m). The new vehicle significantly exceeded its target, according to Pentech’s Eddie Anderson.

Duke Street Capital has been forced to pay £8m (€10.1m) to cut the pensions deficit of Focus Wickes, the DIY chain that the firm sold to Cerberus Capital more than a year ago.
It is understood that this is the first time that the pensions regulator has targeted a private equity owner retrospectively.

Fortis Investments has launched a €400m fund to invest in clean energy companies, with a focus on wind, hydroelectric, solar power and biomass.

Azini Capital Partners has acquired Lynx Capital Ventures from Bear Stearns.

Crédit Agricole Private Equity has launched a co-investment arm that will take minority equity stakes of up to €15m alongside European and North American buyout houses.

Darwin Private Equity has fallen short of the £250m (€314.2m) target set for its inaugural fund, which has closed with £217m of commitments.

After more than a year of negotiations with its parent company, Aberdeen Asset Management Private Equity has finally put its troubled history to rest, spinning out to form a new independent buyout business: Spirit Capital Partners.

Global financial markets have been placed in turmoil as Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch rushes into a $50bn (€35bn) takeover by the Bank of America.

A far-reaching report into private equity in Europe, under discussion within the European Parliament for two years, has reached a “favourable” conclusion for the industry.

Europe’s mid-market houses turn Asia’s economic powerhouse to their advantage.

Early starters in mobile VoIP are battling to grab market share. The advent of Apple’s 3G iPhone has now upped the stakes.

But political unrest could threaten private equity’s answer to the credit crunch.

The German cabinet has agreed to bring in laws to protect domestic companies from foreign buyers that could exert political influence.

Cinven has acquired a 50 per cent stake in debt advisory and management firm Indicus Advisors for an undisclosed sum.

Bank of Scotland is raising a £400m (€496m) fund from private investors that will be used to buy stakes in portfolio companies owned by the bank’s integrated finance unit.

Earlybird has closed its fourth fund with €127m of commitments, falling short of its €150m to €200m target.

Apax Partners is understood to be close to clinching a deal with three Asia-Pacific institutions.

Eqvitec has reached a first close on its third mezzanine fund, with €64m of commitments.

Bridgepoint-backed shoe retailer Faith looks set to become the latest retail casualty after lead bank Barclays declined the private equity firm’s debt-for-equity swap offer, opting instead to put the business up for sale.

Altor has held a first and final close on its third private equity fund at its €2bn hard cap.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has sold interests in 21 portfolio companies managed by AAC Capital to a consortium led by Goldman Sachs. RBS bought LP positions in the assets when it acquired ABN alongside Fortis and Santander for £71bn last year.

Norwegian private equity firm Norvestor Equity has closed its fifth fund at €236m, ahead of its €225m target.

Apollo Management has revealed a series of moves into the European private equity market, including a strategic partnership with Lazard.

Partech International Partners, the latest in a string of transatlantic divorces, has reignited the question of whether long-distance relationships can last.

Paris-based venture house Partech International Partners has spun out from its US parent.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is poised to follow rival Blackstone on to the public markets, with an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.

Nmás1 Private Equity has acquired a 50 per cent stake in European fund of funds manager Access Capital Partners in a €33m deal.

LODH Private Equity, a subsidiary of Geneva-based private banking group Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, has held a €300m first close on its fourth fund of funds.

Venture Capital Trusts are poised to receive millions of pounds from the taxman following HM Revenue & Customs’ announcement that VCTs will be allowed to claim back overpaid VAT on management fees.

Braveheart may still table an offer for AIM-listed tech investor Angle, despite the company withdrawing from takeover discussions. In a strongly worded response to Angle’s decision to stop negotiations, Braveheart has said that it is still “considering its options”.

Changes to the way credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s rates leveraged loans have provoked an angry response from the private equity industry.

The Blackstone Group has launched a business division focused on the cleantech sector.

Vendor financing, deemed outmoded and unnecessary during the height of the buyout boom, is now back in vogue as vendors try to sweeten deals and buyers search for alternative sources of finance.

Traditionalists and revolutionaries battle to shape the future of online viewing.

Pronounced currency swings and private equity’s rapidly expanding borders have put exchange rate risks in the spotlight. But they can be managed.

Executive search firm Intramezzo has launched a talent-backed investment fund. The Tagged Executive Programme will introduce repeat entrepreneurs who are looking to back themselves in their next venture, to equity and debt providers.

Despite the credit crunch, the enterprise value growth of private equity-backed businesses has continued to outperform the public markets for the third consecutive year, according to Ernst & Young’s global study of the 100 largest private equity exits in 2007.

Wellington Partners and DN Capital have both opened US offices based in Palo Alto, California.

Yorkshire & Clydesdale, Barclays and HSBC have been rated as the most active lenders to buyouts of companies in the £5m (€6.25m) to £15m deal market since the onset of the credit crunch.

The private equity arm of Greek investment bank NBGI has launched a small buyout operation in France, following the success of its roll-out in the UK market in 2000.

The Danish private equity and venture capital association, DVCA, has unveiled a set of transparency guidelines for buyout houses operating in Denmark.

While the risk of systemic failure has so far been contained by central bank intervention, how much further values might fall is harder to say.

The co-founder of Balderton reveals why he thought the time was right to quit the top-performing VC and join clean tech investor Good Energies. 

The European Investment Fund has joined forces with a number of financial institutions and the Portuguese State to launch the Portugal Venture Capital Initiative (PVCi), a €111.3m dedicated fund of funds and co-investment programme. The EIF was originally targeting €100m.

Denham Capital Management has closed Denham Commodity Partners V at its $2bn (€1.27bn) hard cap, exceeding its $1.75bn target. More than 90 per cent of Denham’s existing investors participated. Limited partners primarily consisted of endowments, foundations and wealthy individuals.

Danske Private Equity is moving towards a final close on its fourth small and mid-cap buyout fund of funds at an €800m hard cap.

Edmond de Rothschild has announced the final close of its latest dedicated life sciences fund Biodiscovery 3 with €150m of commitments.

The level of leverage applied to European private equity deals valued at up to €500m is continuing to climb despite a drain on liquidity, according to new research from ratings agency Standard & Poor’s.

Axa Private Equity welcomed back 95 per cent of its existing investors to hit a €1.6bn hard cap on its fourth-generation LBO fund.

At the end of May, Four Seasons Health Care became the latest high-profile victim of troubled financial markets. The UK’s largest nursing and care homes group was reported to be set to hit trouble over its £1.5bn (€1.9bn) debt mountain, £1.24bn of which is due to be refinanced on 2 September.

The European Investment Fund has joined forces with a number of financial institutions and the Portuguese State to launch the Portugal Venture Capital Initiative (PVCi), a €111.3m dedicated fund of funds and co-investment programme. The EIF was originally targeting €100m.

The US was once the holy grail of European venture-backed business. But several US start-ups have recently reversed the trend by moving to the old Continent.

Lending to poor people – or, in banking jargon, credit-impaired low-income groups – isn’t exactly flavour of the month.

Already an established part of the direct M&A market, insurance is starting to feature in secondaries as a means of untangling tail-end portfolio sales.

Exceeding its fundraising target was the easy part. Now for the US-style returns.

The Environmental Technology Fund’s recent £110m (€139m) close of its maiden fund has highlighted the ever-growing interest in clean technology investment opportunities, with the sector fast cementing its position as the third pillar of the venture world.

Summit Partners has closed its maiden Europe-focused fund with €1bn of limited partner commitments. The firm has also raised $825m (€520m) for its fourth subordinated debt fund, which will co-invest alongside the firm’s equity funds.

The UK arm of energy-focused investment bank Simmons & Company International has announced a first close of its debut private equity co-investment fund for the energy sector. The fund has€87.5m of commitments.

Private equity is finding it more difficult to trump trade buyers as price/earnings multiples on private equity deals slumped by 16 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

German private equity firm CFH has closed Technolgie Grunder Fund Saxony with ¤60m of commitments.

A record $1.33bn (€840m) was invested in European early-stage technology in the first three months of 2008, according to research from Calibre One. The tally significantly exceeds the previous high of $1.02bn, which was reached in the first quarter of last year.

Greater London Enterprise’s acquisition of regional fund manager YFM Group is a breakthrough for early-stage investing in the UK.

There have been fresh calls for greater levels of disclosure in the buyout industry after the publication of the first annual reviews since the Walker report was published.

DN Capital has reached a first close of €50m for its second early-stage and growth equity fund, despite losing cornerstone backer Citigroup, which provided half of the capital for GVC I.

Advent International has become the first in a wave of mini mega-funds to hit its target, closing its sixth global buyout fund at €6.6bn. GPE VI exceeded its original €5bn target by more than 30 per cent and was oversubscribed to the tune of more than €10bn.

Two European mezzanine funds have closed significantly above target, as institutional investors clamour to take advantage of favourable debt funding conditions.

A raft of government initiatives are helping Spain’s somnolent biotech industry to catch up with its racier European cousins.

Virtualisation companies are the hottest prospect among venture firms at present. US investors have stolen a march, but Europe’s VCs are catching up fast.

What a difference a year makes. When the great and the good of European private equity last gathered for SuperReturn 2007 in Frankfurt, the industry was still blessed with the Midas touch. The biggest concern for delegates was how to defend their public and political perception in the face of unrelenting success.

Listed investor prepares to roll venture unit into growth cap.

SCM Strategic Capital Management’s latest terms and conditions report finds that despite global economic jitters, big buyout bosses are still in the driving seat.

The latest funding raised by Aldebaran is a sign that the age of mass market, domestic robots is just around the corner.

Early-stage specialist insists it is not abandoning its roots with new fund.

A damning report finds that German business managers do not have
what it takes to run a successful private equity-backed business.

Online rental sites caused high street DVD chains a few headaches, but with video-on-demand, the entire industry will soon face its Armageddon.

While mega-firms are forced to slash targets, several upper mid-market houses plan to double the size of their funds.

IQ Capital is perhaps the best endorsement of the UK’s Enterprise Capital Funds scheme. One year on, its management team has set up on its own.

The grandfather of Silicon Valley, and the man who invented the venture capital model as we know it, talks books, boats and biotech.

As market conditions deteriorate, private equity firms must take a more hands-on approach to managing portfolio companies.

Foresight prepares to put £500m to work in environmental infrastructure.

Europe’s private equity industry is finding that its skills can be put to use outside the world of commerce. But venture philanthropy poses many new challenges.

The success of university spin-outs can be greatly enhanced by early contact with investors and successful entrepreneurs.

A new breed of specialised venture firms are preparing to take on the generalists.

LPs and company directors say private equity’s governance model is exemplary at portfolio level and mixed at fund level. But the industry’s “intellectual father” says the advantages are being eroded

A rejuvenated life sciences sector is set to catalyse Irish VC fundraising.

To date, the danger of cloning has been mainly a moral, or at least biological, issue. But Web 2.0 has now made it a top concern of venture capitalists.

Underwriting banks are stuck with six months of unplaced loans, as the arithmetic on H1 deals fails to add up for CLOs.

Marco Pinciroli turns his back on BC Partners to launch EUR80m Italian VC fund

Trinity Venture Capital is considering listing on London’s AIM and the IEX in Dublin, as Irish venture capital firms struggle to raise funds.

Spain may not be associated with technology, but government support is making it more appealing. The latest Tech Tour spotted Iberia’s talent.

Protectionism, strikes, pollution and rocketing oil prices: just some of the challenges facing private equity firms – if their aviation deals ever take off.

Just 13 months after backing mobile internet advertising company ScreenTonic, 3i and I-Source Gestion exited their investment in a sale to Microsoft.

Tudor Investments, a US hedge fund, is making waves in a most unlikely place: the European venture capital market. The firm has completed at least six venture capital-style deals in Europe over the past year.

As the Mid-Market category at this year’s Private Equity Awards proves, the asset class is undoubtedly “Better for Europe”.

After 18 months of legal wrangling, Danish telco TDC remains a listed entity. Europe’s biggest buyout could yet become an expensive mistake.

Just as buyout houses abandon their long-time favourite, care homes, private hospitals have started to emerge as the new private equity sweet spot.

Media giant, Bertelsmann, strikes €1bn deal with Morgan Stanley and Citigroup to make private equity-style acquisitions

With a €10bn fund around the corner, chief executive Martin Halusa says the time has come to focus exclusively on buyouts