Ken MacFadyen

European venture capital has often been categorised as a can’t win endeavour. Index Ventures’ Neal Rimer believes the market is just getting started. Ken MacFadyen reports.

The Carlyle Group is the latest to jump into infrastructure, joining JPMorgan as one of the latest converts to target the asset class.

Darby Overseas Investments has bolstered its bench, hiring Michael Barth as a managing director. Barth is joining the firm after a stint as the head of Dutch development bank FMO.

Alan Patricof is leaving Apax Partners after 35 years at the firm to launch a new venture capital fund, Greycroft Partners. Patricof’s new initiative will tackle opportunities in the digital media space.

Lombard Investments is raising its third private equity fund dedicated to Asia, with backing for the vehicle coming from CalPERS and The Asian Development Bank (ADB).

New York-based Lincolnshire Management has ended its nearly seven-year investment in flatbed trailer manufacturer Transcraft Corp., emerging out of a market downturn with a $71m sale to publicly held Wabash National.

Amid the US political debate over P&O’s sale to DP World, Dubai International Capital’s acquisition of UK engineering firm Doncasters is now also the target of a US national security probe, according to reports.

Hicks Muse Tate & Furst has changed its name to HM Capital Partners. The move comes more than a year following the departure of Tom Hicks, the erstwhile front-man of the Dallas-based group.

Energy Capital Partners is seeking up to $2.25 billion for its debut fund, more than twice as much as originally expected when Goldman Sachs vet Douglas Kimmelman launched the firm last summer.

Bear Stearns Merchant Banking identified a gap in the US middle-market debt financing space, and has launched a new company with Churchill Capital to address the need.