Jo Nash

Italian venture capital firm Innogest has overcome investor scepticism to close the biggest Italy-focused seed and early stage fund to date.

Many FTSE 100 chief executives are considering a move into private equity, either as operating partners, advisers or individual investors, despite misgivings about the industry’s short-termism and excessive leverage.

Leading law firm Linklaters has hired Brian Gray from rival law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, as it looks to strengthen its offering to private equity clients.

Warsaw-based Krokus Private Equity has closed its fourth fund on €100 million – exceeding its target of €75 million – as Poland becomes a more attractive destination for private equity capital.

New York-based GSC Group, an alternative asset management firm that pursues credit-driven strategies, has raised €300 million for its latest defensive collateralised debt obligation fund.

European buyout firm 3i has bought Eltel Networks, a Nordic electricity and telecommunications business, from Industri Kapital. The sale, which generated a return of nearly 2.5 times IK’s original investment, is the latest in a series of lucrative exits for the Nordic buyout firm.

US private equity firm Colony Capital has agreed to buy oil refining and distribution company Tamoil from the Libyan government for €4 billion. It is the biggest private equity deal to date for an African-owned company – trumping Bain Capital’s $3.5 billion buyout of Edgars in February.

Moscow-based Alfa Capital Partners has closed its debut private equity fund on $200 million to invest in Russia and Ukraine.

Global buyout firm Advent International has opened an office in Prague to capitalise on lucrative deal opportunities in the region – just two weeks after PEO reported that the firm is planning to open a Ukraine office in September.

Lehman Brothers, the US bank, has recruited Jayanta Banerjee from ICICI Venture to become managing director of the bank’s Mumbai private equity activities.