Deals of The Week

UK & Ireland

• SK Capital acquires Physical Properties Testers, a Halifax-based physical property test and measurement solutions provider, from Battery Ventures

• Walgreens Boots Alliance, parent of the 1,800+ store Boots pharmacy chain, has received a take private offer from Sycamore Partners, valuing the group at $10bn

• Bistrot Pierre, a chain of 18 UK-based French restaurants, has been acquired out of administration by Cherry Equity Partners, saving 400 jobs

• Kester Capital is reportedly acquiring Sota Solutions, a Kent-based IT managed services specialist with EBITDA of c.£3m

• Staycity, a Dublin-headquartered European aparthotel operator with revenue of c.€280m, has turned down a number of PE takeover approaches, opting for a c.€90m loan from OakNorth to fund growth

• Exponent has acquired Hippo Digital, a digital transformation consultancy, from GCP

• Bowmark Capital is reportedly going to market with its field service management software provider Totalmobile at a 2025 forecasted EBITDA of c.£25m

• Emona Capital, a gaming focused investor, has successfully completed the acquisition of Secret Mode, a published of indie PC and console games, from the British Sumo Group

• Sovereign Capital’s Eden Futures acquires Care Wish Limited, expanding its supported living reach in the UK

• Ergo, the Dublin-based managed-services provider with EBITDA of c.€10m, is in the market with expected interest from UK & Irish private equity

• Kester Capital invests in Re-flow, a provider of field service management software to the critical infrastructure industry

• Skincare brand Medik8, backed by Inflexion is going to market with an EBITDA of £30m+ 

• Marcura, a provider of digital solutions for the maritime industry (backed by Marlin Equity Partners), has acquired Shipster, a start-up specialising in AI-driven document intelligence

• andwis, a technical building services group backed H.I.G. Capital, acquires Rock Compliance from Mornington Partners

Central & Northern Europe

• Cinven has entered into exclusitivty with Allianz for an estimated c.€3bn disposal of Viridium Group, the German consolidator of life insurance, which it acquired for €300m in 2013

• Ardian Infrastructure’s northern European data centre business, Verne Global, is considering selling a portion of its computing services operations in Finland

• Stada, the Bain and Cinven-backed German drug-maker, planning to list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at a valuation of €10-12bn before this Easter

• The Swiss data centre operator Green, backed by InfraVia, is going to market with bids expected from Swiss Life, OMERS, EQT and CPPIB and a potential valuation around the €2bn mark

• Warburg Pincus has acquired a majority stake in the Arsipa Group, a Berlin-based specialist in the digitization of occupational medicine targeting revenue of €100m in 2025

• Comarch, the Polish multinational software company with a market cap of c.€650m, has received approval from the Polish financial regulator to de-list as part of a take private led by Cinven and the Filipiak family

• Midland IT, a German IT services provider specialising in cloud transformation and managed services, has been acquired by connexta Group (backed by Fremman Capital)

Western & Southern Europe

• Eurazeo has emerged as the leading bidder in process for France-based ultrasound equipment manufacturer Ekoscan Integrity

• Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners is nearing a deal to buy a 30% stake in French dark fibre operator Sipartech, which is valued at c..€1bn, beating Infravia and ICG in the process

• Astorg is planning to bring Solina, the French producer of food ingredients and seasoning blends with revenues of c.€1.6bn, to market in H2. Solina has grown from EBITDA of €80m+ in 2021 at Astorg’s entry to a forecasted €275m in 2025

• Sixth Street is on the verge of acquiring a 40% stake in the merged entity being formed out of Sorgenia and Italian solar energy company EF Solare, from infrastructure fund F2i, with the deal value estimated to be around €1bn

• Italian PE funds Borletti and Quadrivio are set to acquire fashion retailer TWINSET, from Carlyle at a value of €130m+

• Orienta Partners and Fondo Agroalimentare Italiano are going to market with Italian frozen baked-goods provider Antico Forno della Romagna, which has revenue of c.€40m

• Spain’s Indra Sistemas is in talks with Apax Partners to sell its technology subsidiary, Minsait, in a deal valued at over €1.5bn

Fresh Powder

• Italian outfit Riello Sgr has completed the first closing for a €300m Buy & Build Opportunities fund, with a mandate to invest in Italian SMEs across F&B, manufacturing and lifestyle & wellness

• Cervantes Capital, a Sweden-based activist firm backed by Spotify co-founder Martin Lorentzon, is seeking to raise €120m to target minority stakes in small to medium-sized listed companies

• Eurazeo raised a €3bn fund which will invest €200-350m in mid market companies across Europe & North America