Insight

New York-based Chase Capital Partners this month formed a strategic partnership with Toronto-based Harrowston Inc., a publicly traded private equity group, to invest in Canadian companies, said Mathew Lori, a principal at Chase Capital Partners. According to Lori, Chase Capital and Harrowston each will commit $100 million to the joint venture, that will pursue all […]

The California Endowment of Woodland Hills, Calif., a $2.5 billion fund established in 1996, will likely begin searching for buyout and venture capital firms to begin fulfilling its 5%, or $125 million, allocation to alternative investments, said Alex Hsiao, senior investment manager. Originally slated to begin in March, the searches will begin after its July […]

The California Endowment, Woodland Hills, Calif., a $2.5 billion fund established in 1996, after its July board meeting likely will begin searching for buyout fund and venture capital firms to begin fulfilling its 5%, or $125 million, allocation to alternative investments, said Alex Hsiao, senior investment manager. The searches were originally slated to begin in […]

James Nelson is new BVCA head The British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) has appointed James Nelson, a director of F&C Ventures, to the position of chairman. He takes over from Clive Sherling, a director of Apax Partners & Co Ventures. Nelson founded F&C Ventures in the early 1980s and has played a leading role in […]

Acting on a belief that Western Canadian family businesses are ripe for the picking, and a new fund is poised to take advantage of this untapped market. Late last month, TriWest Capital Partners held a final closing on its debut fund, TriWest Capital Growth Fund Limited Partnership No. 1. The $57 million fund will focus […]

SAN FRANCISCO – Handspring, a company designing the next generation of personal digital assistants (PDAs), recently raised an undisclosed amount of capital in a first round of venture financing from Benchmark Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers. The company’s founders, PalmPilot developers Donna Dubinsky and Jeff Hawkins, plan to make a more consumer-oriented product […]

SPEF, the merchant banking subsidiary of Groupe Banque Populaires, which has a 30% share of the French SME banking market, has launched a pre-IPO fund to capitalise on the leading market position and on SPEF’s close connections with Easdaq and specialist investment bank Quartz Capital Partners. The SPEF Pre-IPO European Fund held a first closing […]

The December sale of Richard Branson’s Virgin Radio to DJ and television presenter Chris Evans must surely rank as one of the highest-profile UK private equity transactions of the year. The deal, led by Apax Partners & Co and valued at GBP85 million (ecu 126 million) debt free, succeeded in the face of a higher […]