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• HgCapital launches £50m share placing to fund investments 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. HgCapital Trust, the listed investor of HgCapital funds, has announced the launch of a £50m (€55m) share placement to raise money for investments. The firm placed the shares at 845 pence (€9.3m) per share.

• KKR leads $235m refinancing of Harden Healthcare as it pursues debt strategy 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. KKR, a private equity firm that typically invests in buy-outs, has led a $235m for refinancing for Harden Healthcare, an umbrella company with five businesses operating in the long-term and hospice care sub-sector, according to Bloomberg.

• TPG sells Asian healthcare stake for $685m 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. US buy-out firm TPG has sold its 23.9 per cent stake in Asian healthcare service provider Parkway Holdings to Indian company Fortis Healthcare for $685m. The sum reportedly represents a three times return on the firm’s initial investment in the Singapore-listed company.

• DFJ Esprit hires senior adviser for Nordic investments 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. European venture capital firm DFJ Esprit has hired Mikko Suonenlahti, who joins the team as a senior adviser, focusing on investments in the B2B and B2C software, medtech, bio-IT and energy efficiency sectors in the Nordic region.

• Carlyle's Willcom gets state fund backing 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. A bankrupt Japanese wireless communications company backed by US private equity firm Carlyle is to be backed by a government-backed turnaround fund, while rival telecoms provider Softbank Corporation and Japanese buy-out firm Advantage Partner are to invest in the company.

• Advent plans to put Poundland up for sale 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Private equity house Advent International has hired advisers to prepare a potential sale of Poundland to a rival buy-out firm or to a competitor discount retail chain, according to the Financial Times.

• Brown, Sarkozy to discuss EU private equity regulation 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy will try to map out a deal over EU fund regulation reforms, with the UK Prime Minister hoping for a compromise on measures which have been branded protectionist, according to the Financial Times.

• Local activity discovery engine LivingSocial raises $25m 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. LivingSocial, a social commerce company behind LivingSocial Deals and  Facebook applications Visual Bookshelf and Pick Your Five, has completed a $25m series B round of venture funding led by US Venture Partners, with Grotech Ventures and Steve Case's Revolution participating.

• Primary wins auction for HSBC's Amtech Group 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. HSBC Private Equity has sold portfolio company Amtech Group to mid-market investor Primary. The £35m (€38.5m) sale takes the form of a management buy-out, with £15m (€16.5m) in senior debt finance provided by Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets Acquisition Finance.

• EMI chief executive to leave 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Elio Leoni-Sceti, chief executive of troubled record label EMI, is to step down at the end of this month. The turnaround specialist was brought in to head the company in July 2008 by private equity owner Terra Firma, and will be replaced by current non-executive chairman Charles Allen.

• Goldman Sachs China chairman quits to launch PE fund 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. One of Goldman Sachs’ most senior dealmakers is stepping down to launch a multi-billion dollar China-focused private equity fund, according to Reuters. Fred Hu, a 13-year veteran of the Wall Street Bank, is to retire as partner next month, but will stay on with the firm in an advisory capacity.

• Battery Ventures hits target with $750m 11 Mar 2010. Source: Assets. Tech-focused venture capita firm Battery Ventures has closed its ninth fund, BV IX, on its $750m target. This brings total committed capital in Battery’s nine funds to nearly $4bn.

• Long-term European private equity performance remains robust 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Short-term horizons for private equity and venture capital performance have registered a slight improvement, while long-term returns enjoyed by investors remain robust, according to data for 2009 compiled by Thomson Reuters in association with EVCA.

• Creandum hires ex-Balderton Capital general partner 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Nordic venture and growth capital firm Creandum has brought Johan Brenner, previously a general partner at Balderton Capital, into the fold as a venture partner.

• Ten years to invest buy-out houses’ $500bn 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Buy-out firms may have to wait up to ten years to invest the $500bn in investor commitments they are sitting on if deals continue at the current rate, according to Bloomberg.

• Bain Capital’s Sensata in $569m IPO 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Sensata Technologies Inc, a maker of sensor and controls technology used by high-profile companies such as Ford and Samsung, has raised $568.8m from its initial public offering, with shares to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange tomorrow.

• European PE investment in 2009 down 71 per cent on boom of 2007 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Last year was a period of internal diligence and stewardship for the European private equity and venture capital industry, as investors concentrated on supporting existing portfolio of companies against a backdrop of recession and macro-economic uncertainty.

• US Treasury Secretary Geithner blasts EU regulation 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has warned the European Commission that plans to regulate the private equity and hedge fund industries could put up barriers between the continent and the US, according to the Financial Times.

• Cartilage treatment business Carticept gets $20m 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Carticept Medical Inc, a developer of products for the treatment of cartilage injuries and osteoarthritis, has completed a $20m series B financing round. New investor SonoSite Inc, a medtech company in the ultrasound space, joined return venture capital investors Domain Associates and New Enterprise Associates.

• New Enterprise Associates adds Ron Bernal as venture partner 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. New Enterprise Associates (NEA), the technology-focused venture capital firm which raised $2.5bn earlier this year, has appointed industry veteran Ron Bernal as a venture partner. In this new role, Bernal, a former entrepreneur-in-residence with NEA, will work with the firm’s enterprise infrastructure and services, electronics and energy technology teams.

• PE firms line up for UK greetings card company 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Permira, Cinven, Summit Partners and Warburg Pincus are among the private equity firms bidding for UK greeting cards retail chain Card Factory in a deal that could fetch £400m (€438.9m), according to reports.

• Citadel Capital appoints CEO for financial platform company 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. North African private equity firm Citadel Capital has appointed City of London investor Amr Seif as CEO of Finance Unlimited, its regional financial services platform investment.

• Carlyle to seek $1bn buyer for defence and aviation company Arinc 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. US private equity firm Carlyle is seeking buyers for defence and aviation company Arinc in a sale that could fetch $1bn, according to reports.