Today’s News

Graphite Capital is backing the £86m management buy-out of the NES Group from its founders, Geoff Lloyd and Bryan Sullivan, along with Bridgepoint, the private equity group. NES is a UK global technical recruitment business providing professionally qualified contract staff to blue chip clients across the world in the oil and gas, infrastructure, rail and power sectors. It also has an IT staffing and accredited training operation in the UK.

Gilde Buy Out Partners, the Dutch mid-market house, has reached a final close of Gilde Buy Out Fund III with total commitments at the original target of €600m.

Two private equity firms are through to the final round of bidding for BMG, the music publishing division of German media group Bertelsmann. Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and US buyout firm GTCR Golder Rauner are both reported to have tabled bids of between €1.3bn and €1.5bn.

Blackstone is reported to be looking to dunk an offer of £1.7bn into the auction for the UK’s United Biscuits.

Virgin Active, the UK health and fitness group, has signed an agreement to acquire Holmes Place’s UK business. The transaction, which values the group at £650m, involves Bridgepoint and Permira funds reinvesting in Virgin Active by taking a minority stake.

Imperial Innovations, the list technology transfer and commercialisation company of Imperial College London, has appointed Russell Cummings to the board of directors as chief investment officer.

Electricité de France (EdF), Europe’s largest power company, is reported to be selling its venture arm, EdF Capital Investissement. The group hopes to complete a sale before the end of the year.

UK mid-market firm Baird Capital Partners Europe has expanded its UK team to 14 with the addition of two new members: Dennis Hall and Simon Coote.

Waterland Private Equity Investments, the Belgian private equity firm specialising in controlling investments in quality companies active in fragmented growth markets, has sold its stake in Catalpa Kinderzorg, the Dutch market leader in child and nursery care, to Bencis Capital Partners, a Dutch private equity company.