Value creation
Deal originators part two: crafting a successful buy-and-build
In the second part of our deal originators series, Shivani Khandekar examines the significance of deal sourcing and integration in successful buy-and-builds
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
UK regional dealflow: future growth stars?
After a lacklustre end to 2024, dealflow across the UK has enjoyed a strong start to the new year, with deal volumes up across almost all of the UK’s regions. Julian Longhurst charts the last 12 months in numbers
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: Triton’s Norstat exit preparation started on ‘day one’
"Identify likely buyers early" is the firm's approach, Triton partner Daniel Björklund tells Real 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
Climatetech’s second wind
Climatetech has emerged as a pivotal sustainability investment theme for private equity. Xhulio Ismalaj explores the journey climatetech businesses have been through in the midmarket and finds out why the future for the subsector remains hopeful
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
Deal in Focus: Omni notches strong return with Vivup sale
The GP had not planned to exit so soon but an unsolicited bid from Great Hill Partners prompted it to consider the deal, partner Elissa von Broembsen-Kluever tells Real Deals
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
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
The Private Equity Value Report 2024
Charting the fastest-growing private equity-backed companies in the UK, in association with BDO
GP Profile: Palatine tops £1bn for total funds raised
Founder Gary Tipper talks to Real Deals after the GP achieved the landmark and gives his forecast for the remainder of the year
Fund in Focus: How Axcel closed its largest fund to date
Despite its success, Axcel VII was impacted by the market conditions and the denominator effect, managing partner Christian Schmidt-Jacobsen tells Real Deals
Deal in Focus: NorthEdge backs Contollo
NorthEdge director Liam May tells Real Deals that the deal origination was relationship-driven
Deal in Focus: Bridges Fund Management exits Vegetarian Express
Partner Emma Thorne tells Real Deals the GP first initiated an exit process in early 2020 but it was shelved when the pandemic struck
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
Exclusive: Capvis pivots its investment strategy after calling off fundraise
The Swiss GP is transitioning to a deal-by-deal model to exclusively pursue succession-oriented transactions, managing partner Daniel Flaig tells Real Deals
GP Profile: Core Equity
Real Deals catches up with ex-Bain Capital alum and Core Equity co-founder Thomas De Waen to discuss the atypical GP’s strategy and why it prefers to stay away from PE’s traditional pass-the-parcel model
GP Profile: Arca Space Capital
CEO Ugo Loeser tells Real Deals the PE fund is currently assessing two new deals
GP Profile: Perwyn
Managing partner Andrew Wynn speaks to Real Deals about what makes the perfect deal and the firm's new office in Milan
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
Deal in Focus: Enterprise Investors raises a glass to JNT Group sale
EI’s value creation thesis allowed to reposition the company and shift its perception, which resulted in scaling JNT’s market share from single digits to almost 20% in volume terms, partner Sebastian Król tells Real Deals
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
Organic Growth: Foresight and Partners Group reveal their tech playbooks
In this Organic Growth special, we speak to Foresight and Partners Group about how the GPs’ value creation strategies led to their successful exits of Fresh Relevance and Civica respectively
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
Main Capital expands to Switzerland with new investment
The GP’s portfolio company Aunetic has bolted on LARI Digital
Deal in Focus: BGF swiftly exits Scottish IT firm to LDC
According to BGF’s Richard Pugh, rapid progress in the business meant all parties were able to realise their objectives ahead of schedule
Deal in Focus: Eurazeo exits €1bn ophthalmology platform
Francesco Orsi of Eurazeo sits down with Real Deals to discuss the GP’s value creation strategy, which included a new product launch and expansion into China
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
Deal in Focus: GED Capital sells Procubitos Europe to Magnum
The blend of organic and inorganic growth saw the firm quadruple its revenues, Enrique Centelles Satrústegui, GED Capital tells Real Deals
Deal in Focus: Lionrock acquires Haglöfs from Asics
The firm’s European head Tom Pitts tells Real Deals the brand has been in the GP’s sights for years
Value Creation Conference 2023: Firms must now consider entire spectrum of levers
At last month’s two-day conference, panellists discussed their value creation strategies in an environment defined by lower growth and higher costs
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
Archimed acquires two dermatological specialists
The GP has merged Symbio and Proinnovera to create Symbio Proinnovera
Sullivan Street Partners: The art of fostering businesses
A portfolio company culture built on trust and transparency is key to value creation, Richard Sanders, founder and managing partner tells Real Deals
Permira acquires pharmaceutical services firm Ergomed
The GP’s pharma portfolio companies include Cambrex, Quotient Services and Neuraxpharm
Real Deals Consumer Report 2023
Amid tough macroeconomic conditions, creative GPs are bobbing and weaving to find deals in the consumer sector
Comment: Preserving options and value
With GPs facing limited exit options and LPs demanding liquidity, Meg Wilson, partner at EY-Parthenon, explores how PE houses can keep their options open and preserve, protect and underpin value
Fortino Capital acquires Addactis
The GP will ramp up the firm’s transition to become a B2B SaaS specialist
Apollo-backed Lottomatica Group acquires SKS365
The firm expands its Italian presence with the acquisition
Carlyle-backed Ocmis acquires three irrigation companies
The firms have been merged to form a European mechanical irrigation group
Nazca Capital-backed Zunibal acquires stake in AI platform
The deal will strengthen Cambrian Intelligence’s position within the digitalisation industry
SVP acquires APCOA Parking Holdings
The PE firm has acquired Centerbridge Partners’ majority stake and those of other minority stakeholders
Cinven acquires majority stake in Synlab AG
The GP’s offer represents a 42% premium on the firm's XETRA closing share price
Alantra PE-backed Surexport completes trio of bolt-ons
The portfolio company welcomes Solana, AG Group and Flor de Doñana to its network
Tenzing grabs stake in Totara
The deal will strengthen the growth and development of the LMS software provider firm
BGF acquires multimillion-pound stake in Artus Air
The GP plans to strengthen the firm’s technical expertise and innovative touch towards the acceleration of net-zero targets
Westbridge-backed APEM Group acquires Aspect Ecology
The add-on represents the sixth bolt-on since Westbidge’s initial investment two years ago
Novator Ventures-backed Sidekick Health acquires Aidhere
With the acquisition, the firm aims to expand into the US landscape of digital therapeutics
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
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...
Qualitas does double co-investment
The Spanish fund-of-funds has invested in FCDE’s Lindera and Vendis’s Meubelzorg
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
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
Equistone’s CH&CO in double bolt-on
Independent caterer CH&CO has combined with Blue Apple and Pabulum
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
Horizon-backed Dains makes fourth acquisition
The accountancy has purchased public sector and not-for-profit VAT and employment tax specialists PSTAX and S3TAX
Tenzing-backed Altum buys Link Luxembourg
Transaction highlights private equity’s continued push in the fund administration space
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.
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.