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arc Asset Management, an independent management company specialized in creating and managing collective investment vehicles for SMEs and RVC InfraFund, an investment fund, established by Russian Venture Capital and SME Bank, have launched ISAM Fund SICAV-SIF. The goal of the fund is to foster transfer of technology and know-how between Italian and Russian SMEs.

PRESS RELEASE

arc Asset Management, an independent management company specialized in creating and managing Collective Investment Vehicles for SMEs, and RVC InfraFund, an investment fund, established by Russian Venture Capital and SME Bank, have launched ISAM Fund, SICAV-SIF aiming to invest into companies with a strong potential for international growth.

ISAM Fund’s goal is to foster transfer of technology and know-how between Russia and Italy, to open new markets for European, in particular to Italian, and Russian SMEs.

arc A.M. and InfraFund have joint their competencies to help SMEs, which play a crucial role in developing the economy and in creating employment, in need of additional capital to grow their international presence.

ISAM Fund will provide for a commitment of 100 million euro for equity investments into SMEs.

ISAM Fund’s portfolio companies will access new capital, expand internationally, undergo management improvement through professionalization and integration of family/managerial models and gain further product and market diversification.

Italy has a significant number of SMEs with a recognized and established know-how and made in Italy brand and competencies in need of new partnerships to strengthen their international presence and further expansion. Russia, bridge between Europe and Asia, has high growth potentials, natural resources and technical competences, needs to expand the SME segment improve the country’s industrial ranking globally by further fostering entrepreneurship (also within younger generations of entrepreneurs).

ISAM Fund aims to combine strategic skills and needs of both countries to create better opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Angelo Lazzari, CEO of arc A.M and founder of ISAM commented “The Joint Venture between arc Asset Management and InfraFund RVC is based on shared values and perspectives, the importance of which is not simply on the returns in financial terms. It’s important to stress that both Russian and European companies will benefit from this agreement, which will also strengthen the development of Russian- Italian economic cooperation.

Michael Ievenko, Investment manager of InfraFund says «Our company creates new opportunity for Russian technology companies to enter international markets and get access to European knowhow and best practices. Combined with growing demand of Russian economy for innovations and intention of European companies to expand their operations abroad it helps to build new integration points for technology markets.

ISAM Fund will invest in Russian and European, in particular Italian, SMEs with a unique approach which combines a typical private equity approach with an entrepreneurial setting, encouraging the creation of a NewCo in Russia or in Europe to satisfy domestic demand with local production and foster local entrepreneurship.

Strengthened by this mission, ISAM Fund offers investors two different investment vehicles, equity ISAM FUND SIF SMEs/PE) and bonds (ISAM FUND SIF SME/BOND). These two options offer different risk-return-ratio, to guarantee portfolio diversification and the creation of value.

UBI International, fourth Italian Bank Group, is the Depositary Bank in Luxembourg.

arc Asset Management is an independent management company, with headquarters in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, specialized in creating and managing Collective Investment Vehicles. The company is endowed with the European Passport to render its services in every country that has acknowledged the UCITS Directive.

arc Asset Management is a harmonized wealth management company offering its services to any country within the European Community. Its absolute independence from any banking, insurance or financial Group is a guarantee of high level services – free from any conflict of interest.

In 2011 arc AM has launched True Energy Fund through its Luxemburgish SICAV, IRIS SICAF-SIF.

RVC InfraFund–Infrastructural Investments of RVC (Russian Venture Capital) was launched on 24 January 2011 by RVC and SME Bank (Russian Bank for Small and Medium Enterprises Support) a subsidiary bank owned by VEB – VneshEconomBank , Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs.

RVC InfraFund plays a key role in the development of «soft» infrustracture and entrepreneurial learning for the technology focused SME segment domestically and abroad.

RVC, a government fund of funds and a development institute of the Russian Federation established on June 7, 2006, has the mission to stimulate the venture capital industry and to enhance development through the support of industrial and infrastructural services in the country, in order to increase international investors’ interest in the country. Through RVC, the Russian government intends to support its national innovation system.

SME Bank has been implementing the state SME Lend­ing Support Program since 2004, and acts as the conduit of government funding for SMEs throughout Russia.

Lucia Langella-Rahn
Head of UK Media and Investor Relations

[email protected]

ARC Asset Management
111, Avenue de la Faiencerie
L-1511 Luxembourg
Phone +352 26 360983
Fax +352 26 360984
Mob +44 (0) 7786 070 301

The post arc AM and RVC Infrafund Launch Isam PE Fund appeared first on peHUB.

Springfield Homecare Services, part of Springfield Healthcare Group, has completed the acquisition of Positive Life Choices, a domiciliary care business based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Springfield Homecare is a provider of domiciliary care in Yorkshire and Humberside and is backed by Business Growth Fund.

PRESS RELEASE

Business Growth Fund (BGF) backed Springfield Homecare Services Ltd, part of Springfield Healthcare Group, has completed the acquisition of Positive Life Choices (PLC), a domiciliary care business based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Springfield Homecare is one of the largest independent providers of domiciliary care in Yorkshire and Humberside.
PLC represents the first acquisition that Springfield has made using BGF capital.
Springfield financed the acquisition following two investments totaling £4.4 million, which were made by BGF in June 2012.
The deal will add approximately 2,000 hours of care to Springfield Homecare, which gives the business a new presence in the North East and strong relationships with a number of new local authorities. It also increases the number of employees in Springfield Homecare to over 800 and turnover of the overall Group to greater than £13 million per annum.
The acquisition will allow Springfield to submit a variety of local authority tenders to get approval onto new framework agreements and also offers the potential to expand PLC’s services into Durham, Sunderland, Stockton, Northumberland and other neighbouring areas.
Based in the outskirts of the city centre to the north east of Newcastle, PLC specialises in the provision of care services to individuals with learning disabilities (LD) and currently covers Newcastle, Gateshead and Darlington. PLC also provides care services to older people, those with physical disabilities, mental health problems and sensory impairments and works within the supported living, domiciliary and respite care sectors.
The company was founded in 2007 by husband and wife team Ian and Amanda Dickinson and has grown steadily, employing 90 staff with a turnover of approximately £1 million per annum.
Of BGF’s total £4.4 million investment, £1.47 million has already been used to fund the development of The Grange Care Village in Seacroft, Leeds, which is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2013.
Graeme Lee, founder and CEO of Springfield Healthcare commented:
“I am delighted to announce our acquisition of Positive Life Choices. This marks the start of an exciting period of growth into the North East for Springfield Home Care, alongside its existing progress within Yorkshire and Humberside.
“BGF’s funding is enabling us to source similar excellent opportunities across Yorkshire and the North East where we can invest quickly, professionally and in alignment with existing management teams.”
Richard Taylor of BGF commented:
“We’d like to congratulate Graeme Lee and Amanda Dickinson on the completion of this acquisition, which is a significant milestone for Springfield’s growth plan.
“For businesses determined to grow quickly, a strategic acquisition can be a transformative moment. However buying another company requires deep pockets and the experience to integrate two organisations in a way that realises their combined potential. Some growing companies have the ambition to expand this way, but lack the means to do it.
“Funding also remains a major challenge for businesses with an acquisition target in mind – even if bank debt is available, it may not be the best way to finance the deal. In practice, equity capital is far less restrictive than bank debt, where the borrower is subsequently required to perform to very tightly defined criteria.
“BGF growth capital is well suited to supporting growth through acquisition and it is a key area where we can offer support to business owners.”
-Ends-
Contacts:
Emily Weston, Equity Dynamics – 07825 326 442
[email protected]
Notes to editors:
About Springfield Healthcare Group:
Springfield Healthcare Group is a Care Home operator and one of the largest independent providers of domiciliary care in Yorkshire and Humberside. Led by Yorkshire based Group CEO, Graeme Lee, Springfield was established in 1967 as a single family-run care home and has since grown steadily ever since. Springfield now provides care to nearly 2,000 clients each day and will employ over 1,000 staff by the end of the year.
About Business Growth Fund:
Business Growth Fund has been established to help Britain’s growing smaller and medium sized businesses. Growth potential is the key criteria. BGF will invest between £2m and £10m per business in return for a minority equity stake and a seat on the board for a BGF director. BGF will provide long-term equity investment for those growing companies that today do not have access to this source of capital. As such BGF hopes to be a catalyst for growth among smaller UK companies.
BGF is an independent company with capital of up to £2.5 billion, backed by five of the UK’s main banking groups – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, and Standard Chartered. BGF is managed completely autonomously with an independent management team.
BGF is one of a range of initiatives designed to forge a new relationship between the banking sector and UK businesses, and BGF works in close collaboration with the British Bankers’ Association as well as other key business organisations across the UK.
Key facts and figures:
80 people at 7 offices across six UK regions
Approx. £130 million of growth capital invested in 25 companies from 17 sectors
3,364 currently people employed by BGF backed companies
Targeting investment of c £200 million in 2013
More than money for investee businesses, for example BGF has placed 17 highly experienced non-executive chairman and non-executives.

The post BGF’s Springfield Homecare Services Acquires Positive Life Choices appeared first on peHUB.

HgCapital has announced a final close of its latest private equity fund, HgCapital 7. The 2 billion ($3.06 billion) pound fund will provide broad coverage of the Northern European mid-market through its four sector teams, dedicated portfolio management group, and investment offices in London and Munich.

PRESS RELEASE

HgCapital today announces the 15 April 2013 final closing of its latest private equity fund, HgCapital 7. The £2 billion fund will provide broad coverage of the Northern European mid-market through its four sector teams, dedicated portfolio management group, and investment offices in London and Munich.

Prior to the launch, HgCapital set the hard cap at £2 billion in accordance with its investment strategy, diversification targets and capacity to invest and manage its portfolio to achieve optimised returns for investors. HgCapital maintained this hard cap despite the fund being significantly over-subscribed.

HgCapital 7 is supported by a number of the industry’s most respected institutional and private investors. The fund’s commitments are well diversified by geography, investor type and commitment size, with the largest commitment coming from HgCapital Trust plc with a £200 million investment in the fund.

Craig Donaldson, Partner and Head of Business Strategy and Client Services said: “We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from investors and we are thankful that our clients have helped position us for success. Ultimately, HgCapital 7 will be measured not by its fundraising success, but rather the returns generated for our clients.”

Proskauer LLP provided legal advice and Credit Suisse Group advised on the fundraising.

– Ends –

For further details:

HgCapital
Craig Donaldson
+44 (0)20 7089 7926
Maitland
Peter Ogden
+44 (0)20 7379 5151

About HgCapital

HgCapital is a sector focused private equity investor in the European mid-market. We focus on investments with an enterprise value in the range of £20-£500 million. Our business model combines sector specialisation with dedicated, pro-active support to our portfolio companies as well as ample resource across all phases of the investment process.

The post HgCapital Closes Euro Buyout Fund appeared first on peHUB.

If you’ve spent some time exploring the world of free PC paint programs, then you’ll know that most of them look much like any other application. There are menus here, ribbons there, toolbars, flyouts — it’s all very familiar, if not particularly likely to inspire your creativity.

The OpenGL-based SpeedyPainter, though, takes a different approach. It strips the interface down to the basics, reducing all the usual distractions to the absolute minimum, and instead concentrates on delivering a clean, simple and straightforward painting experience.

At first glance this may look just too limited. The program arrives in the form of a 1.87 MB download, for instance, so you probably won’t be expecting the longest of feature lists. And the opening interface doesn’t exactly look polished; it’s just a few buttons, sliders and other controls, scattered around the edge of the painting area.

Get started, though, and you’ll find SpeedyPainter offers far more capabilities than you might expect. Wacom tablet support means you can vary stroke size and opacity with your pen pressure, for instance. A versatile color picker can pop up at your cursor position for quick and easy access. There are rotate, flip and crop tools; you get layer support and a selection tool; there’s even a perspective grid overlay to help you produce more realistic images.

These tools have plenty of functionality, too. So you could just draw a crop rectangle and apply it, just as you’d expect. But you can also rotate it, or pan the image underneath, to help you select the exact area you need. (And just wait until you see what you can do with the Perspective Grid…)

But this is rarely, if ever confusing, because as you choose individual options, so the program will display simple on-screen prompts to explain what you can do. While more detailed help on the various hotkeys is only ever a click away.

And once your masterpiece is complete, SpeedyPainter won’t just save the image. It also captures each stroke as you work, and can export the results as an AVI file (480p, 720p, 1080p), a great way to see how the picture was produced. Don’t take our word for it: browse the official gallery and see for yourself.

Photo Credit: Galushko Sergey/Shutterstock

Banshee is a music player with an old history. It left its mark on the open source community by showing that different concepts could work for the same kind of software.

As you can imagine, there are quite a few music players available for Linux. Most of them will offer a standard number of functionalities, but a small part of them are actually better than… (read more)

Foxit Corporation has unveiled a dramatically updated version of its free PDF reader. Foxit Reader 6.0.2 adds PDF creation tools to the freeware software’s roster for the first time, plus unveils a revamped ribbon-based toolbar modelled on Microsoft Office 2013.

Also added to version 6.0 are PDF sign — support for handwritten signatures, the ability to create and insert stamps, read and search PDF Portfolios and integration with Evernote. The features see Foxit Reader 6.0 square up to pioneering freeware tool Nitro Reader 3.5.

The most radical new feature in Foxit Reader 6.0 is its comprehensive set of PDF creation tools. Users can now create PDFs directly from Word, PowerPoint and Excel via an add-on that appears in the Office ribbon. The new build is also capable of converting documents from hundreds of file types into PDF directly, plus bundles a virtual PDF printer driver for creating PDFs from any application, including unsupported ones.

Foxit Reader 6.0 is also capable of scanning documents directly into editable PDFs, whiles users can even generate new PDFs through content stored on the Windows clipboard.

The new build also sports a radically revamped look, designed to mimic the stripped back appearance of Microsoft Office 2013. This has led to a major reorganisation of existing ribbon tabs, with the addition of a new dedicated Share tab where users can easily share PDF documents via email, Facebook/Twitter and — new to version 6.0 — Evernote, for example.

Also added to version 6.0 is an additional way of signing documents, allowing users to bypass the existing DocuSign feature. A new PDF Sign feature allows users to create a handwritten signature, either from a previously scanned image file, the clipboard or by scribbling on-screen. Multiple signatures are supported.

Users can now also “stamp” documents with a number of pre-defined designs split into three categories: standard, “sign here” and dynamic. Users can view these via the Comments tab or open a new dedicated Stamps palette window. New stamps can also be created from scratch using existing image files.

The new version is joined by Foxit PhantomPDF Standard 6.0.2, which introduces paragraph editing, PDF form creation, the ability to edit scanned documents, drag-and-drop pages between documents, bundled desktop PDF index, improved file compression and PDF A, E and X Creation and Validation. PhantomPDF also gains the PDF Sign, support for reading and searching PDF portfolios and radical redesign found in Foxit Reader 6.0.

Foxit Reader 6.0.2 is available as a freeware download for PCs running Windows XP SP3 or later.Foxit PhantomPDF Standard 6.0.2 is available as a free trial download. PhantomPDF is available in two editions (the entry level PhantomPDF Express product has been dropped now its core functionality is incorporated into Foxit Reader), with the Standard edition costing $89, and the Business edition retailing for $129.

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