Oliver Smiddy

The financial advisory group’s merchant banking division raised €259 million for its latest European mid-cap secondary fund, comfortably surpassing its €200 million target.

The private equity duo part-financed one of the biggest deals so far this year using debt provided by six banks, proving lending appetite exists for even multi-billion dollar deals.

A lack of exits, one-off refinancing fees and the poor performance of portfolio company ASEC Holding led to the firm posting a net loss of $26.4m, a 43% increase year-on-year.

The conclusion of probate issues following the death of co-founder Nigel Doughty in February has paved the way for Doughty Hanson to restructure and begin raising its next fund.

Coller Capital’s latest secondaries fund, which like its predecessors has an extremely flexible mandate, raised more than its targeted amount in 15 months on the road.

Charterhouse reportedly fought off competition from rivals CD&R and EQT, as well as trade player Honeywell International, to acquire the German safety equipment maker in a tertiary buyout.

In a sign of the growing importance firms attach to operational value creation, LBO France has bolstered its team with seasoned industrialist Gilles Taldu joining as a partner.

Canadian energy specialist ARC Financial Corp has hit a hard-cap of $1bn for its seventh fund, bringing its total assets under management to more than $3.7bn.

UK mid-market firm Inflexion Private Equity has trebled its money following the sale of debt management group Harrington Brooks to buyout peer RJD Partners.

There has been a pronounced increase in the number of dividend recapitalisations as firms seek alternative means to realise value from their investments, according to a Moody’s report.