Jenny Bollen

French private equity firm Activa Capital has added two partners to its business, as it looks to raise its latest €250m fund.

Private equity firm ECI Partners has bought a wireless network company and installed telecoms veteran Ian Brown as chief executive.

Bear Stearns Merchant Banking has sealed its first deal, paying an undisclosed sum for two Latin American consumer finance businesses.

Lucio Ranaudo has joined UK buyout firm Bridgepoint’s Milan office after five years at L Capital.

Benchmark Capital-backed social networking site Bebo has hired information technology veteran and former Google managing director Joanna Shields as president, and will move out of Benchmark’s offices this week.

3i has completed its third exit in two weeks with the $75m sale of a global positioning systems company it invested in alongside Nordic VC InnovationsKapital.

Benchmark Capital-backed social networking site Bebo has hired information technology veteran and former Google managing director Joanna Shields as president, and will move out of Benchmark’s offices this week.

The UK mid-market captive has backed its second management buyout in two months, buying more than 60 percent of an edible oils and bio-diesel company.

Macquarie Bank has teamed up with rival BC Partners to takeover Techem in Germany’s first ‘hostile’ public-to-private.

UK sugar group Tate & Lyle’s corporate venture fund has made its first investment since its 2006 launch with a £2 million stake in a food safety company.