Matilda Battersby
UK-based August Equity has just made its fifth and sixth add-on acquisitions to healthcare platform Enara Group. Investment in the healthcare sector, which is 'slightly immune' to current conditions, remains relatively buoyant.
The San Francisco-headquartered firm has reached a $6bn first close for Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners VII, which is targeting $10bn.
A $25m private equity fund formed by a group of Native American tribes, including the Colusa Indian Tribe and the Rincon Indian Tribe, has made its debut investment into a Californian card manufacturer.
British pension funds diversified their portfolios by investing 40% more in private equity and 30% more in hedge funds in 2008 over the previous year. Real estate fared less well, however, with mandates dropping by 25%.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the UK private equity firm’s credit rating from A- to BBB+, citing a “negative” outlook for the firm amid a sharp rise in leverage and a drop in liquidity.
British pension funds continued to diversify in 2008 investing 40% more in private equity and 30% more in hedge funds than in 2007. Real estate fared less well, however, with mandates dropping to levels last seen in 2003.
Julian Horn-Smith, a founding member of Vodafone, will advise the private equity firm on its telecoms, media and technology deals as it deploys its freshly closed €11bn fund.
UK private equity firm Graphite Capital has again backed the team which helped it receive 6 times its investment on LS Group in 2005 by acquiring a timber window maker called Performance Window Group. The firm hopes to use the investment to fund future add-ons within the building materials sector.
Meb Somani and Peter Ruxton have left the emerging markets firm as it realigns its strategy to focus less on oil, gas and mining and more on consumer, financial services and industrials.
The British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association is the latest to jump on the green investing bandwagon, having formed a group to promote cleantech investment. Last week KKR touted its green accomplishments at the portfolio company level.