Robert Venes

Despite the possibility of a rival offer from a local business and delays in regulatory approval, Carlyle remains positive that its $375m offer for Chinese construction company Xugong will be the first majority acquisition of a Chinese state-owned enterprise by a private equity firm.

Stockholm-headquartered private equity firm CapMan has corralled €440m of commitments for its eighth buyout vehicle, ahead of its original €375m target.

The Stavanger, Norway-based private equity firm has already invested approximately 20 percent of its fourth vehicle, which focuses on growth capital and buyout investments in the oil and gas sector in Europe and the US.

Stockholm-headquartered private equity firm Nordic Capital has paid an undisclosed sum to acquire Dangaard Telecom, Europe’s largest distributor of mobile phones.

Matthieu Baret, formerly of Italian telecom Italtel and Bernauld Arnault’s Europeatweb, has been appointed partner in Paris-based AGF Private Equity’s venture capital team.

Paris-based private equity secondary specialist Triago-X has appointed Javier Echarri, Oliver Laury and Vincent Remay as company directors as it approaches a listing on Euronext.

Bedminster Capital Management has reached its original $200m target with the first closing of SEEF II, a new vehicle focused on investments in Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Serbia and Croatia and other south eastern Europe markets.

Many professionals remain confident that the M&A market will remain busy, with over 70% of European private equity firms mulling concerns that overleveraged buyouts will reduce returns in the future.

A German business daily has reported that the country’s finance ministry is considering a potentially damaging tax on earnings generated by local venture capital and private equity firms.

London-listed European mezzanine provider ICG is growing rapidly - despite being more selective on deals than ever. Robert Venes reports.