Deal origination
Deal in Focus: GRO’s new portco DigitalRoute to follow same path as Tacton investment
GRO’s lead partner on the investment Lars Lunde speaks to Real Deals about its acquisition of the usage data management software provider
Deal in Focus: Automation a priority for Nexxus Iberia’s portco Creaciones Marsanz
Nexxus Iberia’s lead partner on the investment Juan Pedro Dávila speaks to Real Deals about its majority stake in the Spanish retail equipment manufacturer
Deal in Focus: EMH Partners eyeing up geographic expansion for newest portco
Speaking to Real Deals off the back of the firm's recent investment in Stonebranch, partner Jens Zuber says engagement with the company intensified towards the beginning of 2023
Deal in Focus: Progressio’s Archiva deal reflects focus on IT, but some sub-sectors ‘too fragmented’
Beatrice Capretti, partner at Milan-based Progressio, speaks to Real Deals about the "caution" required when shopping around for tech deals
Deal in Focus: Apiary’s 4x return on sale of entertainment touring agent TAG worth the wait
Apiary's Mark Salter and ECI's Rory Nath speak to Real Deals about the exit
Deal in Focus: Literacy Capital picks up minority stake in Live Business Group
Literacy CEO Richard Pindar tells Real Deals that the opportunity came through its advisory network
Real Deals Sustainability Report 2024
In this special report, we explore how GPs are utilising sustainability as a value creation lever
Comment: PE taps into flourishing wealth management sector
With an ageing population and burgeoning market, Houlihan Lokey’s Christian Kent discusses the rise of private equity interest in the wealth management sector
Technology Report 2024
Welcome to the first instalment of the Technology Report, which shines a light on GPs at the cutting edge of tech adoption for front-office functions, and the providers powering that transformation
Navigating AI in private equity
Frister Haveman from Gain.pro discusses the role GenAI has in the private equity market and why it should be embraced, not feared
Entering a transformative era
AI-based deal-sourcing tools can automate market mapping and company research, giving firms the time they need for higher-value activities. Ruth Eagle is head of origination at CBPE, a client of deal-sourcing platform Sourcescrub
Q&A: The digital edge
Yair Erez and David Poole, partners at Stanley Capital, discuss how the firm is using a combination of proprietary and third-party technology to accelerate target identification and expedite deal conversion
Q&A: A model idea
A bespoke solution was key for ECI’s deal origination process according to Suzanne Pike, partner and head of origination at the firm
Q&A: Building a tech Nexus
NorthEdge’s Lucie Mills and James Hales discuss how the mid-cap GP is using technology to support deal origination, identify potential deal targets and enrich various interactions
Q&A: Transforming with tech
David Floyd, vice-president at global investment firm Permira, talks to Real Deals about how the business is harnessing advanced analytics and AI to drive competitive advantage internally and in its funds’ portfolio companies
Deal in Focus: NorthEdge backs Contollo
NorthEdge director Liam May tells Real Deals that the deal origination was relationship-driven
Deal in Focus: Nordic Alpha Partners sells Spirii to Edenred
Senior partner Laurits Bach Sørensen tells Real Deals the GP’s “highly” capital-efficient strategy was key to the portco’s growth
Deal in Focus: Lightrock consortium completes take-private of Velocys
Real Deals speaks with Lightrock’s Kevin Bone to understand the dynamics behind the GP’s first take-private deal
GP Profile: Arca Space Capital
CEO Ugo Loeser tells Real Deals the PE fund is currently assessing two new deals
Deal originators part one: The art of the deal
Deal origination has come into its own as the macro environment has become challenging, prompting GPs to seek innovative strategies for deal sourcing and execution. Silvia Iacovcich examines how the originators have adapted to the new normal
Deal in Focus: Investindustrial forms Sammontana Group with €1bn revenue
The GP's founder Andrea Bonomi tells Real Deals that the GP is already looking at three US-based bolt-ons to expand the firm’s offering
Deal in Focus: BD Capital acquires controlling stake in TLC Worldwide
Andy Dawson, co-founder and managing partner, tells Real Deals the GP’s operator-led approach resulted in the partnership
Deal in Focus: Ambienta acquires Officine Maccaferri
Ambienta’s Mauro Roversi tells Real Deals the GP plans to support the firm via organic and inorganic growth
CEE Report 2024: Forging a partnership
Max Cancre, director at TA Associates, and Filip Berkowski, investment partner at MCI Capital, speak to Real Deals about how their collaboration has yielded success
CEE Report 2024: Building champions
Real Deals speaks to MidEuropa’s operating partner Alain Beyens about how the Central Europe private equity firm taps into its local expertise to create international success
CEE Report 2024: Getting down to work
Pawel Gierynski and Stephen Richmond of Abris Capital Partners talk to Real Deals about capitalising on opportunity in Central Europe with market knowledge, technology and ESG
TMT Report 2024: Wired for investment
Chris Baker, Aylesh Patel and Oliver Schofield, investors at leading UK midmarket private equity firm LDC, on why TMT businesses remain an attractive opportunity for private equity and the key trends driving M&A in the sector
CEE: Road to recovery
Deal activity in CEE reignited in 2023 as the instability from the previous years started to dissipate. But will the recovery continue this year? Shivani Khandekar investigates
TMT Report 2024: Turn the page
Amid increasing interest from tech investors in B2B information services, Xhulio Ismalaj explores the subsector
TMT Report 2024: PE investors go back to basics
Within TMT, tech tailwinds continue to attract PE to the space despite a valuation correction. GPs are now focused on revenue-generating businesses more than ever. Taku Dzimwasha investigates
Real Deals TMT Report 2024
Exploring the transformative trends and compelling stories shaping private equity in the TMT sector
Deal in Focus: PSG Equity acquires Visit Group majority stake for €100m
The buyer’s managing director Edward Hughes tells Real Deals it is the eighth investment from the firm’s PSG Europe II fund
Roundtable: Special situation market players find special purpose
With UK corporate insolvencies high, the special situations community looks to step up to the plate. But will 2024 be the year of the turnaround?
Investors to boost acquisitions in 2024
Ocorian’s 2024 outlook reveals that investors are increasing their risk appetite
End of Year Review: Ulrik Smith, FSN Capital Partners
Ulrik Smith, co-managing partner at FSN Capital Partners, sees decarbonisation continuing to shape the PE landscape in 2024
GP Profile: Maven Capital Partners
Partner Tom Purkis sits down with Real Deals to reflect on the SME investor’s journey and his ambitions for the new year
End of Year Review: Krzysztof Kulig, Innova Capital
Krzysztof Kulig, senior partner at Innova Capital, discusses latest fund Innova/7, benefits of nearshoring for Poland, and PE’s growing role in managing its investments
End of Year Review: Dirk Markus, Aurelius
Dirk Markus, founding partner at Aurelius, tells Real Deals that PE has gone back to basics as financial engineering drops in importance
Industrials Report: Powering ahead
Mark Howden and Will Scales, investment directors at LDC, discuss how industrials businesses are taking advantage of opportunities for growth while navigating challenges, including supply chain risk and skills shortages
Industrials Report: A sector in a state of flux
The industrials sector faces a myriad of challenges from supply chain disruption to sustainability pressures. Taku Dzimwasha explores whether the sector remains attractive to PE investors
Deal in Focus: Future Business Partnership becomes majority shareholder of Naïf Care
Co-founder and managing partner Tracey Huggett tells Real Deals the impact PE firm acquired all external shares from Doen Participaties and early angel investors
Real Deals Industrials Report 2023
As the industrials sector undergoes transformative change, private equity firms are targeting businesses and subsectors where they can add the right elements to create value
How Bregal achieved dragon status with €1.59bn EA exit
Real Deals catches up with BU’s co-founder and managing partner Florian Schick to learn about last month’s mammoth deal
Roundtable: How GPs are getting deals done
Deal originators from across the PE spectrum sit down to discuss how they’ve adapted to the current challenging environment
Consumer Report 2023: How PE is finding healthy returns in wellness
Despite a decrease in private equity investment within the consumer sector as a whole, the wellness sub-sector continues to display resilience, writes Xhulio Ismalaj
Consumer Report 2023: GPs boxing clever to find deals in challenging market
The consumer sector has been hit hard by tighter macroeconomic conditions. But pockets of opportunities exist if GPs know what to look for, as Shivani Khandekar reports
Real Deals Consumer Report 2023
Amid tough macroeconomic conditions, creative GPs are bobbing and weaving to find deals in the consumer sector
Limerston-backed Forensic Access acquires FTS
The firm has completed five bolt-ons since Limerston’s investment
Astorg-backed portco bolts on duo
Normec closed two deals in the environmental and water-testing services space
Nordic Summit: The region of choice for private equity
Reals Deals held its inaugural Nordic Summit on 10 October. Speakers at the event discussed opportunities and challenges for private equity in the region. Xhulio Ismalaj reports
Roundtable: How can the UK midmarket be saved?
With the midmarket at a crossroads, a group of private equity experts explore how it can overcome the challenges and emerge stronger
Real Deals UK Midmarket Report 2023
This timely special report explores the ways in which the UK midmarket can emerge from a difficult period stronger than ever
Adapting to the dealmaking drought
With dealflow slowed to a trickle, Real Deals investigates how GPs are adapting their strategies to stay relevant in the market. Shivani Khandekar reports
Special situations GPs gear up for surge in activity
The wave of corporate insolvencies in the UK provides plenty of opportunities for special situations GPs, but there are also pitfalls to be avoided. Taku Dzimwasha investigates
Humatica Corner: Scaling healthcare – multiplying the multiple
Healthcare has become an attractive investment sector for private equity, driven by market size and efficiency improvement potential. However, building a healthcare platform can be tricky...
Finding opportunities amid uncertainty
According to Lincoln International’s Phillip McCreanor, new drivers motivating sellers coupled with softening macro pressures are behind signs of improvement for the M&A market
Verdane energises UrbanVolt
The European growth GP has invested €26m in clean energy company UrbanVolt via its impact fund
Archimed acquires Instem
The healthcare-focused GP’s £203m recommended cash offer agreed by Instem board
FSI does Nice deal
Italian GP invests in home and building management company Nice
Deal in Focus: SEP exits Tryzens in WestBridge-backed MBO
WestBridge’s Ed Minton discusses how his team won the competitive process by developing a strong relationship with Tryzen’s management team
Yield of dreams
With private credit funds stepping up to the plate to provide debt financing in the mid-market, Jennifer Forrest speaks to these lenders on how they’re able to lend more, what this means for evolving deal structures and refinancing processes ahead of exits
Italy: A family affair
With a smaller GP base than many of its European peers, the uncrowded nature of Italy’s PE market may in fact be its saving grace, writes Xhulio Ismalaj
Iberia: Open for business
Spain and Portugal have emerged as fertile grounds for private equity investment in recent times. GPs continue to view the region favourably despite macro volatility slowing down deal activity, as Shivani Khandekar reports
So far so slow: The 2023 mid-market deal report
While the summer period is seeing a prolonged dealflow lull, Real Deals reflects on the themes and trends seen in the first half of the year, and looks at where difficulties and opportunities may lurk for the remainder of 2023
Business Services Report 2023
In this special report, Real Deals speaks to key market participants to discover why business services is such an attractive sector for private equity players, and where the best opportunities lie
Accel-KKR invests in Ocuco
The eyecare software company has received €60m of growth equity investment
Deal in Focus: Quadrivio wholly acquires TPC from Bluegem Secondary
Buy-side partner Stefano Malagoli tells Real Deals that the Italian GP paid a single-digit Ebitda entry multiple for the UK business
Real Deals Healthcare Report 2023
Welcome to Real Deals' 2023 Healthcare Report, which explores how private equity can be a force for good when it comes to investing in the space in Europe.
Private Equity Awards 2023: Winners announced
Real Deals’ 22nd annual Private Equity Awards ceremony recognised Europe's very best private equity transactions and the most successful firms and advisers.
Private Equity Awards 2023: Advisory and Specialist shortlists announced
Real Deals is delighted to unveil the firms shortlisted for the Advisory and Specialist award categories at the upcoming Private Equity Awards.
Podcast: Breaking down barriers
Real Deals editor Greg Gille is joined by David Wardrop, partner at Rutland Partners, to discuss how investors can break through to owner-managers and start building that relationship on the best possible footing.
Private Equity Awards 2023: two weeks left to enter Advisory, ESG, D&I and Specialist categories
Nominations for the Advisory, ESG, D&I and Specialist categories categories are closing on Friday 3 February 2022 - enter today to celebrate your firm's success.
Private Equity Awards 2023: House and Deal shortlists announced
Real Deals is delighted to unveil the firms shortlisted for the House of the Year and Deal of the Year categories at the upcoming Private Equity Awards.
Private Equity Awards 2022: Winners announced
Real Deals’ 21st annual Private Equity Awards ceremony recognised Europe's very best private equity transactions and the most successful firms and advisers.
Private Equity Awards 2022: Shortlists announced
We are pleased to announce the shortlists for the Deal of the Year and House of the Year categories.
Private Equity Awards 2021: Winners announced
Real Deals’ 20th annual Private Equity Awards ceremony recognised Europe's very best private equity transactions and the most successful firms and advisers. Here are the winners announced during our physical event on Friday 10 September...
Private Equity Awards 2021: shortlists announced
We are pleased to announce the shortlists for the Deal of the Year and House of the Year categories.
Private Equity Awards 2020: Winners announced
Real Deals’ first virtual Private Equity Awards ceremony recognised Europe's very best private equity transactions and the most successful firms and advisers. Here are the winners.