In brief top news

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Allianz Capital Partners, the in-house private equity arm of the eponymous German insurer, has identified a flotation as the best exit route for its local portfolio company MAN Roland Druckmaschinen.

In March, Allianz agreed to take 65% of the shares in the MAN Roland holding company with German industrial group MAN retaining 35% of its subsidiary through this vehicle.

The owners said they intended to further develop MAN Roland, the world’s second largest manufacturer of printing units and service provider in this area, and “to consummate an IPO in several years”, according to Allianz’s lawyers, Shearman & Sterling.

  • SDU, the Dutch state-controlled publisher, is the subject of takeover talks involving equity groups including 3i and Apax Partners, according to the UK daily The Times citing sources. Apparently, the private equity houses have been in touch with Belgian-Dutch bank Fortis, which is handling the auction.

The sale is expected to raise more than £300m (US$562m), the newspaper said.

  • Gartmore Investments, a UK-based investment management company reportedly being bought by buyout firm Hellman & Friedman, is trying to raise up to US$423m for its third private equity fund of funds, according to a regulatory filing seen by Private Equity Week, a sister paper to IFR Buyouts Europe.

It already has secured around US$100m in capital commitments, PE Week said.

Gartmore Private Equity was formed in 1991 and invests in both funds and direct co-investments on behalf of its clients.

  • Having just closed its first fund, AnaCap Financial Partners, a private equity firm focused on European financial services companies, has added three members to its strategic advisory board.

Andrew Jackson, founder of Intermediate Capital Group; Michael Callen, former head of Citicorp Worldwide’s corporate unit and also a board member of AMBAC Financial Group and Intervest; and Rudi Doerr, former group vice-president of GMAC Europe, have all signed up to join AnaCap, which closed its first fund at €300m in April.

  • Harry Klagsbrun, head of asset management at Swedish bank SEB, has agreed to join local buyout firm EQT from October 1. Klagsbrun will become a senior partner in EQT’s Stockholm office after five years as executive vice-president at SEB.

He was previously chief executive at Alfred Berg Group from 1995 to 2000 and was responsible for corporate finance at Handelsbanken from 1989 to 1995.