Robert Venes

The majority of private equity-backed flotations in Europe have underperformed other IPOs in recent years, according to new research.

London-based Blenheim Advisors, an advisor on debt packages for financings and refinancings, has made two appointments to meet greater demand for service from private equity firms.

Permira and Barclays Capital have reportedly made a £900m offer for listed retirement homes builder McCarthy & Stone.

The Carlyle Group has made a fourth investment from its European technology fund, taking a minority stake in German online advertising business Global Media.

The US and UK-based investor has paid £571m for 290 managed pubs from Punch Taverns, its largest deal in Europe to date.

New Venture Partners, established through secondaries specialist Coller Capital’s MBO of Lucent’s New Ventures Group in 2001, has closed its fourth fund.

Richard Nairn, formerly a manager at corporate advisory business Intelli Corporate Finance, has joined F&C Asset Management’s Edinburgh-based private equity team.

UK cinema group Cineworld, a portfolio company of US private equity firm The Blackstone Group, has announced that its £450m planned flotation later this month has been postponed.

French asset management and financial protection business AXA Group has accepted a Stone Point Capital-led bid for its reinsurance subsdiary AXA Re.

Netherlands-headquartered private equity firm Gilde and ABN AMRO Capital have sold their interests in Hebu, a Dutch hydraulic systems company, to Halder, a subsidiary of listed Belgian investor GIMV.