Clare Burrows

French-Chinese firm Cathay Capital Private Equity has bought French chemical manufacturer Minafin, with a view to expanding the business into China.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has brought in reinforcements including Japanese trading house Itochu as it closes in on a $7.2bn acquisition of oil and natural gas explorer Samson Investment Company.

CVC Capital Partners has made an initial approach to insurance provider Phoenix Group Holdings regarding a buyout. Phoenix's share price surged on Monday having fallen by almost a third in the past year.

Private equity group Neuberger Berman has closed its first fund of funds since spinning out of failed investment bank Lehman Brothers, raising $720m, of which half has already been deployed.

Amundi Private Equity Funds has spun out another unit one month after offloading its North African private equity business to Abraaj Capital. The latest unit to win independence focuses on Central and Eastern Europe and will be called Value4Capital.

The Business Growth Fund has added three new members to its Birmingham investment team, the latest in a slew of hires that have taken its headcount past 50.

After only six months of fundraising, venture capital firm Index Ventures has closed its biggest fund yet at £430 million, according to the firm, thanks to significant re-ups from LPs.

Private equity firm RJD Partners has made a 2.7x return on its investment Translinc, a fleet management company based in the UK.

Warburg Pincus has teamed with GS Capital Partners to acquire online service provider Endurance from private equity group Accel-KKR in a secondary buyout worth $1bn.

Company managers believe private equity has improved or kept stable performance at their businesses, according to a BDO survey, although a quarter of respondents said their capital structure was inappropriate for the current environment.