M&A Deal Summary

Cinven, Candover Investments, HarbourVest Partners and ATP Private Equity Partners Acquire Gala Coral Group

On March 7, 2003, private equity firms Cinven, Candover Investments, HarbourVest Partners and ATP Private Equity Partners acquired gaming company Gala Coral Group from Silverfleet Capital for 1.2B GBP

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Cinven’s 3rd, Candover Investments’ 1st, HarbourVest Partners’ 1st and ATP Private Equity Partners’ 1st transaction in the Gaming sector.
  • This is Cinven’s 14th, Candover Investments’ 4th, HarbourVest Partners’ 29th and ATP Private Equity Partners’ 12th largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Cinven’s 65th, Candover Investments’ 3rd, HarbourVest Partners’ 1st and ATP Private Equity Partners’ 1st transaction in the United Kingdom.
Investment Fate
  • Gala Coral Group was sold to a financial buyer in 2005 for 1.9B GBP.
  • Gala Coral Group was sold to a consortium of financial buyers in 2010.
  • Gala Coral Group merged with another company in 2016.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2003-03-07
Target Gala Coral Group
Sector Gaming
Buyer(s) Cinven
Candover Investments
HarbourVest Partners
ATP Private Equity Partners
Sellers(s) Silverfleet Capital
Deal Type Secondary Buyout
Deal Value 1.2B GBP

Target

Gala Coral Group

Essex, United Kingdom
website
Gala Coral Group Ltd. is a fast growing UK retail gaming company, Gala operates successfully in the UK bingo casino, licensed betting offices and multimedia gaming markets. It is by some margin the largest bingo operator in the UK.

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Buyer(S) 4

Buyer

Cinven

London, United Kingdom

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1977
PE ASSETS 39.0B EUR
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Cinven is a private equity firm focused on buyout investments in growing, profitable businesses located throughout Europe and North America. Sectors of interest include business and financial services, healthcare, industrial, retail, leisure, consumer, technology, media, and telecommunications. Cinven looks to invest a minimum of €200 million in companies with minimum enterprise values of €400 million. Cinven does not invest in start-ups or development phase companies. Cinven was established in 1977 and is headquartered in London.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 91 of 181
Sector (Gaming) 3 of 3
Type (Secondary Buyout) 3 of 52
Country (United Kingdom) 65 of 87
Year (2003) 2 of 4
Size (of disclosed) 14 of 61
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-03-05 Eutelsat Communications

Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

Eutelsat Communications is a satellite operator. Eutelsat provides transponder capacity for video broadcasters, European Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators, European governments, and the US government, as well as for corporate data networks and other voice and data providers. Eutelsat Communications was founded in 1977 and is based in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.

Buy €210M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-03-08 ODEON Cinemas

London, United Kingdom

ODEON Cinemas Ltd. is a cinema operator with 242 cinemas and 2,236 screens. Odeon & UCI operates in four major markets: UK, Spain, Italy and Germany; and three smaller markets: Austria, Portugal and Ireland.

Sell €628M
Buyer

Candover Investments

London, United Kingdom

website


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1980
PE ASSETS 8.7B EUR
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Candover Investments is a private equity firm that targets investments in European and Asian companies operating in broad range of industries. Candover's primary focus is on businesses located in Western Europe; including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, and Spain. However, the Firm also considers opportunities in Asia and Eastern Europe. The Firm's target investment size is €150 to €500 million in businesses valued between €500 million and €5 billion. Sectors of interest include media, financial services, support services, leisure, healthcare, technology, and industrial. Candover Investments was formed in 1980 and is based in London.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 7 of 30
Sector (Gaming) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 1 of 8
Country (United Kingdom) 3 of 9
Year (2003) 2 of 4
Size (of disclosed) 4 of 16
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-03-01 Kabel Deutschland

Unterfohring, Germany

Kabel Deutschland is the cable television operator in Germany

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-05-01 Equity Trust Holding sarl

New York, New York, United States

Equity Trust Holding sarl is a global provider of non-advisory trust and fiduciary services to multinational corporate clients, financial institutions, high net worth individuals and intermediaries.

Buy €198M
Buyer

HarbourVest Partners

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1978
PE ASSETS 86.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

HarbourVest Partners, LLC is an investment firm that makes investments in new private equity partnerships, acquires secondary interests, and makes direct investments in operating companies. HarbourVest's largest investment area is investments in private equity funds, comprising of approximately 2/3 of HarbourVest's assets. HarbourVest's direct investment group looks for investments in growth oriented businesses at a variety of stages. The Group generally targets co-investments of $5 to $100 million, growth capital financings of $5 to $40 million, or mezzanine commitments of $5 to $20 million. Sectors of interest include software, hardware, data communications, telecommunications, and financial services. HarbourVest was formed in 1997 to assume the business of Hancock Venture Partners which was formed in 1982. HarbourVest Partners is based in Boston, Massachusetts, with additional offices in London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 8 of 223
Sector (Gaming) 1 of 2
Type (Secondary Buyout) 1 of 55
Country (United Kingdom) 1 of 19
Year (2003) 2 of 6
Size (of disclosed) 29 of 68
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-01-01 Envivio

San Francisco, California, United States

Envivio is a global provider of media processing, delivery and TV service platforms. Envivio has a longstanding and broad customer base in cable, satellite, and telecom service providers, as well as major broadcasters. The wide-ranging media portfolio of end-to-end offerings includes Emmy award-winning hardware and software video compression solutions for Contribution and Direct-to-Consumer video service distribution, advertising and content personalization solutions, high efficiency Cloud DVR, and TV and video delivery platforms. Envivio was founded in 2000 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-05-13 Nuera Communications

Somerset, New Jersey, United States

Nuera Communications - a provider of Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) infrastructure solutions.

Buy $20M
Buyer
DESCRIPTION

ATP Private Equity Partners is a Danish institutional investment firm focused on investing in private equity funds across Europe, North America, and select emerging markets. The Firm is supported by ATP, Denmark's largest pension fund. In addition to investing in private equity funds, ATP also looks to for co-investment situations. ATP Private Equity Partners was formed in 2001 and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 43
Sector (Gaming) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 1 of 17
Country (United Kingdom) 1 of 2
Year (2003) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 12 of 14
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2004-12-01 Falck Holding A/S

Copenhagen, Denmark

Falck Holding A/S is a provider of rescue and safety courses. Falck’s activities are directed at preventing accidents and disease; providing assistance in situations of emergency, accidents and need; and helping people move on with their lives after illness or accidents.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Silverfleet Capital

London, United Kingdom

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1985
PE ASSETS 2.1B EUR
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Silverfleet Capital is an independent private equity firm that invests in market leading businesses in growing sectors. Silverfleet looks to acquire companies headquartered in Western Europe or US-based businesses with a substantial European presence. Target companies are typically valued between €75 and €500 million and operate in sectors spanning business and financial services, healthcare, leisure, and retail/consumer. Silverfleet Capital was formerly known as PPM Capital, operating under Prudential plc. Silverfleet has offices in London, Paris, Munich, and Chicago.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 6 of 39
Sector (Gaming) 2 of 2
Type (Secondary Buyout) 5 of 23
Country (United Kingdom) 5 of 17
Year (2003) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 20
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2002-10-01 The Jessop Group

Leicester, United Kingdom

The Jessop Group Ltd. is a provider of digital photography products.

Sell £147M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-11-01 TJ Hughes

Liverpool, United Kingdom

TJ Hughes Plc is specialize in home and fashion, fragrance and cosmetics, technology, and electrical products in the United Kingdom.

Buy £56M