Maria Callaway

AJ Bell: Hg Capital Trust (HgT ) Manager Hg to sell F24 AG to private equity firm Altor Equity Partners HgT on Monday noted that its manager Hg will sell F24 AG, a software-as-a-service provider, to investor Altor Equity Partners. The London-based investment vehicle, that provides access to the private equity investments of manager Hg, said the sale by Hg values HgT 's investment in F24 AG at around £18.4 million. ‘This would represent an uplift of £800,000 (4% or 0.2 pence per share) over the carrying value of £17.6 million in the net asset value of HgT at 31 March 2024,’ the London listing explained. HgT said the terms of Hg’s F24 AG sale to Altor Equity Partners have not been disclosed. Altor Equity Partners is a private equity firm focused on investing in and developing medium-sized companies. Professional investors only. Capital at risk. For more information on HgT or Cadarn Capital, please contact [email protected]. https://lnkd.in/egssPseg

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It’s always nice to see lower mid market PE firms successfully raising capital. Yes, fund raising since beginning 2023 has shifted quite strongly into much larger hands making fund raising harder for the smaller funds. However, this news from Apiary Capital LLP shows that the mid market continues to have a compelling investment story to tell and owner-managed companies in this space that are looking for capital to grow should be encouraged. #privateequity #midmarket Stuart Clowser Francesca Merlini https://lnkd.in/ezdjEw3D

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🌱🥩 PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM COMITIS CAPITAL ACQUIRES UK TOFU LEADER THE TOFOO CO The Tofoo Co has been acquired by German private equity firm Comitis Capital, which has taken a majority stake in the business, while the previous Japanese investor has exited Co-founders Dave Knibbs and Lydia Smith will continue as investors in the business and steer its next stage of growth in the UK and international markets. “The Tofoo Co has plans to grow further – both with existing and new customers and channels – and needed a strong and proactive partner to help that growth journey,” said Smith. “Comitis is a great fit as that partner for this next chapter of Tofoo Co’s growth journey.” “David and Lydia have built a remarkable enterprise that is ready for the next phase of growth. The Tofoo Co represents a great addition to our portfolio, covering the thriving plant-based food market,” said Comitis Capital managing partner Nikolaus Bethlen. The acquisition comes after The Tofoo Co had enlisted Piper Sandler to conduct an auction process for the Yorkshire-based business in April. Smith and Knibbs established The Tofoo Co in 2016 and capitalised on the rising interest in vegan food in the UK. Its products are stocked at every major retailer in the UK, and are used by foodservice giants like Starbucks, Holiday Inn, wagamama and itsu. The company has now overtaken Cauldron as the second-largest meat-free brand in the UK (with 10.5% of market share), behind only Quorn Foods. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/emvU-x9m #GreenQueen #plantbasedmeat #vegan #foodsystems #sustainability

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In the News | Fairtree acquires minority share in MidSquare Capital We are delighted to share that Fairtree Capital, our holding company, has acquired a minority equity stake in MidSquare Capital, a boutique asset manager specialising in cryptocurrency and decentralised finance. Kobus Nel, Fairtree Group CEO, commented: “Although Fairtree Capital is only acquiring a minority stake in MidSquare, we are excited to invest in this highly respected team of investment professionals. Their extensive experience, industry-leading expertise in asset management, and conviction in the investment potential of digital assets are invaluable in navigating the complexities of the constantly evolving digital asset space. The partnership is founded on shared values, including our commitment to investment excellence. We look forward to travelling this journey with MidSquare.” Read the full press release> https://lnkd.in/e49tEDPn #Fairtree #ValuesDrivenInvesting #InvestmentExcellence

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The recent drop in UK gilts tells us that foreign investors who buy most of our government debt think that UK Plc is too risky, unproductive, unattractive facing structural challenges that our government was incapable of addressing. Labour had 14 years in opposition to work out a new plan for socially progressive economic plan with a hard headed approach to public policy reform. Instead, Rachel Reeves gave us a growth-free budget, which left her just £9.9 billion of headroom against her fiscal rules despite raising £40 billion in new taxes. Worse, with an interest bill of £100 billion-plus a year to service, rising gilt yields have wiped out the headroom. So, her promise to never raise taxes again turns out now to be highly spurious. Expect, therefore, “emergency taxes” to address “unprecedented” market pressures that cause inflation to rise and borrowing costs increase. We need wide spread public sector reform, a smaller state, less generous benefits and a more benign approach to needs of SMEs in all sectors.

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🇬🇧 NEW: Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) has won exclusivity to buy British estate agency chain Lomond Group and is finalising a private debt package, structured off £45m EBITDA, for the transaction. Backed by Lloyd's private equity arm LDC, Lomond has embarked on a dizzying roll-up spree since it was formed in 2021, completing more than 60 acquisitions. For 9fin subscribers at: https://lnkd.in/eRrWqwtR Get in touch at [email protected] for a free trial. #privatecredit #privatedebt #privateequity

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This morning a private equity consortium announced a recommended £5.3 billion cash offer for the London-listed asset manager Hargreaves Lansdown. The offer gives a generous premium of 54% to the share price on 11 April, when the consortium approached the target board, but only 16% over the last share price before the approach was disclosed. Moreover, the price/earnings multiple (to 30 June 24) of 16 times is relatively modest – for example, RBC took over Brewin Dolphin at 22 times earnings in 2022. The consortium has received “hard” undertakings to accept the offer in respect of just 20% of Hargreaves Lansdown’s share capital, so there is some room for a competing bid here. #manda #mergersandacquisitions #londonstockexchange #privateequity #hargreaveslansdown

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UK DFMs have been steadily reducing UK home bias since a peak of ~70% in 2000 when the UK's index weight was ~10%. Now a typical equity allocation has a UK weight of ~30% today, compared to an index weight of ~4%. Looking back: why was the home bias so high to start with? Looking forward: should SAAs have high, mid or no bias? In our multi-asset indices for GBP investors launched back in 2020, we thought/think "twenty is plenty," so bake in a 20% UK equity allocation within the equity basket as a strategic neutral. There are three reasons why it makes sense to include a UK allocation from a multi-asset perspective: 1. UK end clients are familiar with and focus on FTSE 100 and UK equity market performance and related funds. 2. Whilst SPIVA studies show that for US equities - it's hard to beat the index, the same study shows that within UK equities - esp small caps - there is solid potential for alpha. 3. UK equities have decorrelated from world equities (esp since 2015) so much so that they now represent an excellent true (risk-based) diversifier to pair with US/global equity funds. 1. Read the article https://lnkd.in/e5NQzaRK 2. Watch our 3q24 Outlook: World in Transition https://lnkd.in/egamfpYW 3. For UK advisers seeking support for their investment proposition, please contact us: https://ow.ly/V83e50QyetY #elston #multiasset #investmentsolutions

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Carey Olsen has noted a number of key findings in Corvus Group's insightful report, which reinforces how Guernsey is a cost-effective and operationally efficient alternative to Luxembourg for raising European capital.   - Passported Luxembourg structures are "a very costly and administratively complicated option with no unique upside following completion of the distribution phase". - The administrative costs of establishing a passported Luxembourg structure and engaging a third party AIFM could easily reach €3 million over the lifetime of a fund, impacting fund and carried interest returns. - Only 3% of EU funds are registered for sale in more than a handful of Member States, and the cost of registering a non-EU fund in those Member States is small. - Distribution pathways for non-EU funds via Article 42 notifications/registrations are tried and tested and work well. To find out more about Guernsey funds and the AIFMD 2, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eqk6BEEh   Corvus Group's cost-benefit analysis of passported Luxembourg structures vs. non-EU sponsors using NPPR can be viewed here: https://lnkd.in/eRUAip7q   #EuropeanCapital #Funds #AIFMD #NPPR #Guernsey 

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Britain's largest investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown agreed to a $6.9bn takeover by an international consortium comprising of CVC, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Swedish private equity firm Nordic Capital. "HL is on an important journey to transform the saving and investing experience for clients and make it easy to save and invest for a better future. While the Independent HL Board has been pleased with the progress made by the new management team, the Independent HL Board believes that the Cash Offer represents an attractive opportunity for HL Shareholders to realise an immediate and certain cash value for their investment at a level which may not be achievable until the execution of the strategy is delivered over the medium to longer term, and therefore intends to unanimously recommend HL Shareholders vote to approve it. We are pleased to see that the Consortium is aligned that HL has an important purpose making it easy for the UK consumer to save and invest for a better future," Alison Platt, Hargreaves Lansdown Chairman. Hargreaves Lansdown (led by Alison Platt and Dan Olley) is advised by Fenchurch Advisory Partners, the lead financial adviser (led by Kunal Gandhi, Rob Williams, Graham Marchant and Joshua Needham), Barclays (led by Alisdair Gayne and Adrian B.), Deutsche Numis (led by Charles Farquhar, Daniel Werchola and Derek Shakespeare), Morgan Stanley (led by Gillian Sheldon, Ben Grindley, Adrian Doyle and Nishil Bhagani), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (led by Stephen Hewes and Claire Wills) and Brunswick Group (led by Nick Cosgrove and Joanna Donne). ADIA (led by Hamad Shahwan AlDhaheri, CFA) advised by Goldman Sachs (led by Mark Sorrell, Nick Harper and James Lucas) and Linklaters. CVC Capital (led by Peveril Hooper) is advised by Latham & Watkins and FGS Global (led by Guy Lamming, Mike Turner and Anjali Unnikrishnan). Nordic Capital (led by Emil Anderson) is advised by Kirkland & Ellis (led by Kieran Maclennan, Dipak Bhundia, David Higgins, Chris Connolly, Victoria Legg, Christopher Shield, Leon Daoud, Ben Burton, Prem Mohan, Dr. Thomas S. Wilson, Athina Van Melkebeke, Peter Abbott, Siv Devakumar, Max Harris, Anand Damodaran, Amy Fox, Agne (AJ) Eriksson and Lisa Zhang). #MergersAcquisitionsDivestitures #PrivateEquity #Software

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Apollo eyes $5bn for evergreen fund - https://lnkd.in/e_qwHWYz TOP STORY: Apollo Global Management is targeting over $5bn for a new fund focused on deals sourced through its high-grade capital solutions business, according to a report by Bloomberg UK.

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Forbion has raised more than €2bn across a pair of new funds targeting VC and growth dealmaking Forbion beat its target for both its €1.2bn Forbion Growth Opportunities III fund and its €890m Forbion Ventures VII vehicle, bringing its total assets under management to about €5bn. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eN5HVdFD #privateequity #fundraising #news Robbert van de Griendt

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TDR To Become Asda’s Majority Owner After Agreeing To Buy Zuber’s Stake It has been confirmed today that private equity firm TDR Capital will acquire Zuber Issa’s shares in Asda. His brother Mohsin will remain a co-owner of the supermarket they bought along with TDR in 2021. Set to be completed Q3 2024. TDR will then own 67.5% of Asda, Mohsin (22.5%) and Walmart (10%). The transaction further dismantles the business relationship between Zuber and Mohsin, at a time when Asda is losing market share. Mohsin denied rumours of a fallout with his brother, saying on the BBC that the pair “get on exceptionally well”. Commenting on today’s news, Gary Lindsay and Tom Mitchell, Managing Partners of TDR Capital, said: “By combining our investment and sector expertise with Asda’s heritage of delivering value for customers, we have already made significant progress in transforming Asda … As majority owners, we will continue to work closely with the Asda management team and colleagues across the business to support the ambitious strategy, which we believe is the right one to continue to move Asda forward.” Asda’s Chairman, Stuart Rose, commented: “On behalf of the Board, I welcome TDR’s increased investment in Asda – which is a clear sign of its commitment to the business … The Board and shareholders continue to put in place the building blocks to position Asda for long-term success, and that is good news for colleagues, customers, suppliers and other business partners.” Meanwhile, Mohsin said: “Today’s announcement further underlines my own and TDR’s confidence both in Asda and the UK consumer market. As a shareholder group, we are excited about the growth journey we are on … I also want to add my personal support and best wishes for Zuber’s plans as we continue our successful family partnership, working as partners on our personal co-investments, family office philanthropy and Issa Foundation projects.” Zuber concluded: “With the divestment of my Asda shares, I will now turn my attention towards leading and managing the remaining EG UK forecourt sites that I have personally acquired, and spend more time on my charitable endeavours. I am pleased to see TDR increasing its investment in Asda. With Mohsin and TDR’s ongoing focus and shareholding, I am confident that Asda will achieve its growth ambitions.” NamNews Implications: * This means more of a PE influence on how Asda is run… * i.e. see The Implications of Private Equity Takeover of a Mult (Link in comments below) * And why not reassess your retailer handling by business model? – See Tailoring Major Customer Management by Business Model (Vive la Difference?) (Link in comments below) #PrivateEquity

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🚨 The Most-Read ESG Deal This Week: UBS Advises on £500m Ares Management Corporation Investment in RSK Group - Deal Summary FULL ARTICLE LINK BELOW ⬇ Krugman Insights offers Reliable and Comprehensive Insights across M&A, Investment Banking, Private Equity, and Asset Management. 🔎 Financial Advisors on the Deal: UBS 🔎 Key Stakeholders: RSK Group (Company), Searchlight Capital Partners, Ares Management Corporation (Investors) 💡RSK Group secures a £500m investment led by Searchlight Capital and Ares Management. This strategic investment will drive RSK's ambitious 2030 Global Strategy, focusing on organic growth and acquisitions. Alan Ryder, CEO of RSK, emphasized the importance of this partnership in achieving their long-term vision of becoming a global leader in sustainable solutions. The transaction highlights the growing importance of sustainable practices and is expected to significantly boost RSK’s growth and innovation. ✅ READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: https://lnkd.in/eBfWsQ-h ✅ TRY 30 DAYS FREE: https://lnkd.in/eBHYx37M #RSKGroup #UBS #SearchlightCapital #AresManagement #MergersAndAcquisitions #InvestmentBanking #StrategicInvestment #Sustainability #FinancialAdvisory #GlobalGrowth #EnvironmentalSolutions

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Private equity fund managers are coming under mounting pressure from their investors to begin striking deals after a sluggish two years hampered by political turmoil and lofty interest rates, advisers have said. While deal value ticked up through 2024, backers of top private equity funds are taking a “sterner” tone with fund managers after a slow period in which firms have largely held off both selling assets and putting dry powder to use, lawyers told City AM. Dealmaking increased 36 per cent by value in the first nine months of 2024 after a slow 2023, driven by a narrowing of valuation expectations between buyers and sellers and bullish sentiment translating “more directly into deal activity”, according to EY. However, after two years of quiet deal flow patience from private equity funds’ investors, known as limited partners (LPs), is wearing thin and firms are agitating for PE houses to begin striking deals, lawyers and bankers say. Read the full story here 👇 https://lnkd.in/e2AahJqq

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