Blackstone-owned theme park operator Merlin Entertainments, which last month put plans for a flotation on hold, is still considering the option.

Card Factory, the greeting card retail chain based in West Yorkshire, has attracted a number of bids from private equity firms, valuing the business at up to £400m (€441m).

The Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) has written to Michel Barnier, the new EU internal market commissioner, warning that the AIFM directive could cut off European private equity from the industry in the rest of the world.

Cognetas has promoted Antoine de Péguilhan to the position of investment manager.

Bayern Kapital has backed SurgicEye, an intraoperative imaging and navigated tumour surgery business, with a seven-digit series A financing round.

AGF Private Equity has led a €13.1m investment in biopharmaceutical company Genticel, formerly known as BT Pharma.

Bridges Ventures has led an investment alongside Carbon Trust Investments in AeroThermal Group, a Dorset-based developer of an innovative autoclave-based steam-treatment technology for waste.

Existing investors Accel Partners and Highland Capital Partners have made an equity investment in online used car retailer Autoquake.com as part of a £6m (€6.6m) round of funding. Kreos Capital provided a debt package as part of the deal.

The Capital for Enterprise Fund (CfE Fund), jointly managed by Maven Capital Partners, has made an investment of up to £1.4m (€1.5m) in Applied Language Solutions (ALS), a UK-based language services provider.

Team Europe Ventures has launched a €6m fund to focus on internet and mobile internet start-ups.