James Taylor

Government approval of the Macquarie-led consortium’s A$11.1bn bid for Qantas, an Australian airline, might not be sufficient to get the deal approved by shareholders.

Montagu Private Equity has sealed a lucrative exit from Cory Environmental, a waste management company, after selling the business to a group of infrastructure investors.

The impressive long-term returns generated by the top-performing funds are not only compelling investors to increase their allocations to private equity; they may also provide an eloquent response to recent criticisms of the industry, according to the pan-European trade body.

US buyout firm Apollo Management may follow Blackstone’s lead by listing on the New York Stock Exchange, according to reports.

Shareholders in Partners Group, the Swiss alternative asset manager, are set for a €43 million payout after the company enjoyed a highly successful first year as a listed entity.

CCMP Capital Advisors, a US-based buyout firm with a long track record in Asia, has won the €685m auction for BOC Edwards, a vacuum equipment business with a large customer base in the region.

Alliance Boots has rejected a £10 billion buyout proposal from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts following a board meeting today, after heavy trading saw its shares climb higher than the mooted bid level this morning.

Darwin Private Equity, a new mid-market fund launched by three former large buyout specialists, has received the backing of Lord Rothschild’s vehicle RIT Partners.

Candover, the UK-listed private equity investment trust, backed calls for greater disclosure as it reported increased profits and net assets in 2006. However, it believes transparency must have its limits.

The European Venture Capital Association has raised concerns about UK regulator the FSA’s recent discussion paper about private equity and warned that some groups are conducting a “witch-hunt” against the industry.