Jo Nash

Apax Partners has reportedly been forced to postpone its bid for UK media business Emap while it struggles to find a bank prepared to underwrite the bid.

NIBC, the Dutch bank backed by US private equity firm JC Flowers, has suffered €137 million of losses on US asset-backed securities. Earlier this year it abandoned plans for an initial public offering.

London-based Duke Street Capital has amassed a 34 percent stake in Oasis Healthcare and increased its bid to £88.2 million, as the battle for the UK’s biggest dental business heats up.

Duke Street Capital and a consortium of other buyout firms has had its £260 million bid for UK retailer CI Traders accepted – soon after the company rejected a bid from Alchemy Partners.

New York-based hedge fund Highbridge Capital Management has reportedly hired former Goldman Sachs director Scott Kapnick to launch its private equity business. It is the latest example of the increasing convergence between the two asset classes.

KKR’s Euronext-listed vehicle, KKR Private Equity Investors, has invested or committed $4.3 billion in just ten months, the firm said today.

Can portfolio companies be both environmentally responsible and commercially attractive? Jo Nash investigates.