Private Advisors has appointed Matthew Baker, Jennifer Buckley and Rickard Fischerstrom as managing directors in its London office.

Matrix Private Equity Partners has refinanced upmarket construction group Holloway White Allom in a deal that will lock in an 81 per cent IRR and fivefold cash multiple.

New York-based Aquiline Capital has acquired 5.1 per cent of BinckBank, an online bank for investors based in the Netherlands.

Oil and gas fund Epi-V has invested £5m (€6.25m) in Guardian Global Technology Group, taking a 44 per cent stake in the company.

US oilfield contractor Halliburton is understood to be preparing an offer of at least £15 a share for London-listed oil services company Expro, valuing the business at £1.8bn (€2.25bn).

The BBC’s commercial arm is courting a private equity tie-up to make a bid for Virgin Media Television, the owner of digital channels such as UKTV Drama, UKTV Gold and Bravo.

Shackleton Ventures, the portfolio secondaries investor set up by former Strathdon Investments executives, has made its third bulk acquisition of 3i portfolio companies inside a year.

Buyout firm Primary Capital has acquired Bedford-based toiletry maker Pacific Direct in a £20m (€25m) deal.

Doughty Hanson portfolio company Alosa is to acquire Aragonese bus operator Alosa for an undisclosed sum.

Aurora Russia, an AIM-listed investment group focused on small and mid-sized Russian businesses, has acquired Volzhski Universalny Bank, a small retail bank based in Samara, Russia.