FCPI and FIP funds raise less in 2010 - Unquote

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European round-up
Accent Equity announced two buyouts in quick succession, that of Hööks Hästsport and Autotube. Equity for both was provided
by the Accent Equity 2008 fund that raised €380m at final close in 2007. Procuritas was also active, acquiring Norwegian education
service provider Sonans AS. Earlier buyouts include Fagerberg & Dellby’s purchase of BIG BAG and APELNS and CapMan’s buyout
of Pohjolan Design-Talo.
In terms of early-stage and expansion deals, the last weeks have seen a steady stream of activity. Nokia Growth Partners led a funding
round for Voddler, Industrifonden and SEB Venture Capital invested in InDex Pharmaceuticals and Lundbeckfond Ventures et al.
backed Nexstim with €11.4m. ALMI Invest continued to be an active investor.
A number of exits have also been recorded over the last weeks. Axcel announced the sale of Danish outsourcing firm Netcompany, which
generated an annual IRR of more than 50%. Altor’s sale of Ferrosan Consumer Health was another notable disposal.
■ Southern Europe unquote”
February saw a continuation of Southern Europe’s positive start to the year. Unquote” recorded 15 buyout, expansion and earlystage
deals in the region, with the bulk of these transactions taking place in Spain. Indeed, only one expansion investment was
completed in Italy, Idea Capital’s £7.5m contribution to a wider £19m capital increase for Rome-based telecoms business Telit
Communications. The habitually inert Portuguese market, meanwhile, witnessed Investing Profit Wisely’s acquisition of 45% of
technology firm Altitude Software as part of a deal valued at €24m.
Spain, however, was once again comparably active, particularly in the expansion and early-stage arenas. Technology investor
Atomico Ventures signed off modestly-sized early-stage deals with FON and Siine, while another technology backer, Inveready,
began the year as it means to go on, announcing seed investments in a string of local start-ups.
At the upper end of the scale, AXA Private Equity completed the sequel to last summer’s buyout of Autopista Trados 45, with
the acquisition of a 10% stake in CLH Group valuing the company at €3.6bn. The only February buyout involved the creation
of steel manufacturing business Bloqmarine by Mediterrània Capital (advised by Riva y García), to which the fund will commit
€15-20m over the next five years.
■ UK & Ireland unquote”
UK private equity news was dominated by what could be the final chapter of the EMI saga. Citigroup has agreed to reduce the
music publisher’s debt burden in exchange for Terra Firma’s stake in the company. The deal is thought to have lost £1.75bn for
Terra Firma, and many are now questioning the future of its outspoken chief, Guy Hands.
Though the UK & Ireland was one of the most active regions in January, private equity activity was subdued by the usual standards
of this leading market. However, this is broadly in line with market expectations for this time of year, and follows a busy December
for the industry in the UK. The sale of Office was one of the most high-profile deals in January. Silverfleet bought the footwear
retailer from West Coast Capital for around £150m. West Coast saw the firm’s EBI increase by almost 150% during the holding
period, but declined to comment further on the performance of its investment.
By far the largest deal in the UK was the acquisition of The Priory, a mental health and specialist care services provider. The
firm, which was made famous by treating various celebrity patients, was bought by Advent International from The Royal Bank of
Scotland for an estimated £925m.
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