Robert Venes

AXA Private Equity and Texas Pacific Group have paid a reported €3.3bn to buy in to French broadcaster TDF, with previous majority owners Charterhouse Capital Partners and Caisse des Dépôts rolling over their proceeds and reinvesting in the business.

Global pharmaceuticals group Pfizer paid a reported $400m to acquire PowderMed, a UK DNA-vaccines company backed by Advent Venture Partners, Abingworth Management, Oxford Bioscience Partners and SV Life Sciences.

A €1bn fund dedicated to global secondaries brings Swiss asset manager Partners Group’s total fundraising to €2.6bn in the last five months.

A consortium including 3i and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has increased its offer for UK water utility AWG from £15.55 to £15.78 as banks including Merrill Lynch and Macquarie Bank show interest in the event of failure to acquire rival business Thames Water.

Abraaj Capital is in negotiations with United Arab Emirates investment firm Al Qudra Holdings regarding the sale of a major stake in the Dubai-based private equity firm.

The Bahrain-based firm has offered 12 times listed energy company Viridian Group’s EBITDA in a recommended 1,336 pence per share takeover bid.

Fifteen new investors have committed to DBFII, closing above its original target of £200m.

WL Ross has paid $37m for OCM, a manufacturer of worsted textiles, in the US financial restructuring group’s first deal in India.

The Paris-listed private equity manager invested €1.165 billion in buyouts in the year to 30 June 2006, including its acquisition of Europcar from Volkswagen.

3i, a global private equity firm, has reported £627m of realisations and £568m of investments in its pre-close period briefing. The firm expects to close its €5bn fifth European mid-market fund in the next few weeks.