Robert Venes

New Venture Partners, established through secondaries specialist Coller Capital’s MBO of Lucent’s New Ventures Group in 2001, has closed its fourth fund.

The US and UK-based investor has paid £571m for 290 managed pubs from Punch Taverns, its largest deal in Europe to date.

Netherlands-headquartered private equity firm Gilde and ABN AMRO Capital have sold their interests in Hebu, a Dutch hydraulic systems company, to Halder, a subsidiary of listed Belgian investor GIMV.

Benson Elliot Capital Partners, the new private equity real estate vehicle of former Doughty Hanson property chief Marc Mogull, has launched in London with €264m of commitments to its first fund.

The European venture arm of IT media group IDG has become independent of its parent with backing from Partners Group and Access Capital Partners. The firm has been renamed Acacia Capital Partners.

European mezzanine provider Intermediate Capital Group also put a record amount of capital to work in the fourteen months to 2005, arranging or providing £899m of debt financing.

London-based Benchmark Capital Europe has hired Klaus Hommels, formerly of BV Capital, Apax Partners and AOL, as its first European venture partner.

Leisure parks in Europe attract customers from across the world. US and European private equity firms, it seems, are also along for the ride. By Robert Venes.

Helsinki Stock Exchange-listed investor CapMan has sold its 30 percent interest in listed information systems provider Sentera generating proceeds of €12.8m.

US-based real estate fund manager Starwood Capital has sold the French champagne interests that it acquired in its €1.2bn purchase of Groupe Taittinger last July.