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Private equity and venture capital news from France

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• AXA cleans out portfolio with Spotless sale 04 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. AXA Private Equity, the French private investment arm of the insurance group, has put laundry and cleaning products maker Spotless up for sale, according to the Financial Times.

• Argos Soditic makes 4.5 times return from Dinno Santé sale 03 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Argos Soditic has sold portfolio company Dinno Santé to the health division of gases producer Air Liquide, generating a 4.5 times return for the European private equity firm.

• Sofinnova Partners picks up €260m for sixth fund 26 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. European venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners has closed its sixth fund, Sofinnova Capital VI, on €260m, following what the firm describes as its most successful year.

• Antin Infrastructure Partners raises further €215m, half way to €1bn target 20 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. Paris-based Antin Infrastructure Partners has raised an additional €215m for the second close of its fund, which now totals €515m. Antin expects a third close in the first quarter of 2010 and is hoping to meet its target of €1bn when it finally closes off to investors.

• BlackFin reaches €60m for first close 19 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. Newly-formed French private equity firm BlackFin Capital Partners has announced the first close of its debut fund. The firm has raised €60m so far from institutional investors and French family offices for its BlackFin Financial services Fund, which has a target of €300m.

• NBGI's first French fund increased to €100m 15 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. NBGI Private Equity (NBGI), a firm typically investing in small and medium-sized UK-based companies, has increased the size of its first fund dedicated to France to €100m.

• Oaktree set to take over perfume bottle maker SGD 14 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. US distressed fund manager Oaktree Capital is closing in on a deal to take over SGD Group, a maker of perfume bottles for designer brands including Chanel and Dior, according to the Financial Times.

• EyeGate Pharma raises $22.6m for dry eye treatment 11 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. Eyegate Pharma, a privately-held ocular therapeutics developer, has secured $22.6m in series D financing. New investors in the round were Natixis Private Equity (NPE) and Emerging Capital, alongside existing investors Ventech, Innoven Partners and Medicis Capital.

• AXA takes stake in vocational trainer Cegos Group 07 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. European firm AXA Private Equity has taken a 15 per cent stake in the Cegos Group, a European provider of vocational training services.

• Sofinnova Partners exits Novexel in $505m sale to AstraZeneca 04 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. Sofinnova Partners has sold portfolio company Novexel to pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca in a trade sale, generating $505m, including earn-out payments of up to $75m, for the French venture capital firm.

• Insurer Allianz France in talks to sell private equity division AGF 21 Dec 2009. Source: AltAssets. Insurance company Allianz France is in talks over the sale of its French AGF Private Equity division to IDI, also a private equity firm.

• Cleantech investor Demeter Partners reaches €203m fund close 17 Dec 2009. Source: AltAssets. French cleantech-focused private equity firm Demeter Partners has announced the final close of its Demeter 2 fund on €203m. Launched in November 2008 and achieving a first close at €125m, the final amount of capital raised exceeded the firm’s target of €200m.

• Kurma Biofund collects €50m for first close, forms alliance with Imperial Innovations 08 Dec 2009. Source: AltAssets. Newly launched venture capital fund Kurma Biofund has secured €50m for its first close, whilst also forming a strategic partnership with Imperial Innovations, an AIM-listed investment company responsible for the building and realisation of the value of intellectual assets emanating from Imperial College London.

• PAI Partners agrees to cut fund by half, continue investing 04 Dec 2009. Source: AltAssets. French private equity firm PAI Partners has agreed with its investors that PAI Europe V will continue its operations, after months of indecision over whether the €5.4bn fund would cease operations.

• French PE firm Finadvance backs RAC France MBO 02 Dec 2009. Source: AltAssets. French private equity house Finadvance has backed the management buy-out of automobile service company RAC France. RAC France was previously owned by insurance company Aviva, who acquired it as part of a purchase of RAC in 2005.

• Law firm Dechert strengthens private equity capabilities with new hire 26 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. Law firm Dechert has named ex-Proskauer Rose partner Olivier Dumas as a partner in its financial services practice group in Paris.

• Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners collects €250m for latest fund 25 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, a Paris-based private equity firm, has collected €250m for its Winch Capital 2 development capital fund, reaching its hard cap. The fund held an initial close in June on €175m.

• KKR, Wendel sell off Legrand shares 25 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. US private equity giant KKR and Paris-based firm Wendel have announced the sale of a substantial portion of their stake in French plug and switch manufacturer Legrand. The firms said they would be offloading 30 million shares of the company, representing an 11 per cent total stake.

• Investors push for bigger concessions in PAI fund cut talks 18 Nov 2009. Limited partners in PAI Partners’ €5.4bn buy-out fund have opposed the firm’s offer to let them halve their commitments, saying it does not go far enough. According to Reuters, a group of investors including the $123.8bn Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the second-largest investor in the fund, are pushing for reductions of up to 63 per cent, which would cut the fund down to €2bn.

• PAI Partners considers Chr. Hansen IPO 17 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. French private equity firm PAI Partners is reportedly considering the sale of a stake in Danish bioscence company Chr. Hansen in an initial public offering that could be worth up to €1bn.

• Fund of funds Fondinvest welcomes new partner 10 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. Fondinvest Capital, a Paris-based private equity fund of funds manager, has hired Catherine Lewis La Torre as a partner

• European private equity firm Permira shuffles Paris team 06 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. European private equity firm Permira has shuffled its Paris team with the promotion of Benoit Vauchy as head of the French capital’s office. Vauchy takes over from Philippe Robert who has decided to retire at the end of the year.

• PAI offers to cut €5.4bn buy-out fund in half 04 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. French private equity firm PAI Partners has made an offer to its limited partners to cut its fifth buy-out fund from €5.4bn in half to €2.7bn, and to change its governance in favour of investors, according to reports.