Last word

• 3i is not expected to win the race for Erinaceous, UK property services company. London-listed 3i is understood to have carried out due diligence on the firm, which encountered problems last year following a fraud investigation, and made a very low offer as an insurance policy in case no other bids arise. Earlier reports suggested 3i was considering a £300m (€442.7m) bid for Erinaceous, near to its current market cap. However, the firm is now believed to consider a bid of that price as too high, hence the low offer. Bridgepoint was previously reported to have shown interest in Erinaceous, but has no previous interests in the sector. HBOS is another candidate but could yet be trumped by property investor Vincent Tchenguiz.

• Compass Partners is in the process of selling Fläkt Woods, a Swiss fan maker and one of the three remaining portfolio companies in its debut fund. Steven Waters, partner and founder at Compass Partners, said that the firm has hired Goldman Sachs regarding monetising its investment in Fläkt Woods, formed from the merger in 2002 of Fläkt and Woods Air Movement.The move follows the recent sale of Eco, a heat-transfer coils and coolers manufacturer, to Finland’s Luvata for an undisclosed sum. Human resources business Drake Beam Morin and fitness club Elixia remain in the US917m debut fund, which has now more than returned its original capital to investors. As a result, said Waters, the firm will now begin marketing a new fund with a similar target size to its predecessor.

• Blackstone, which is readying itself for a US$4.75bn IPO, has told the SEC that it is appointing to its board Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney from law firm Ogilvy Renault, in addition to Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild and William Parrett, who is stepping down as chief executive from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.