International law firm Taylor Wessing has advised Blauvelt Capital Partners in making a strategic growth capital investment in Precise Component Manufacture Limited, a Cambridgeshire-based manufacturer of engineered components for companies operating in high-technology, growth sectors.

Blauvelt Capital Partners is a North American private investment partnership, specialising in supporting SME industrial businesses.

Coaching inns operator Bulldog Hotel Group has secured a £4.5m investment from BGF (Business Growth Fund) to support its planned £20 million expansion across England. The Boston-headquartered business operates seven hotels and will use the capital injection to double the number of properties in its portfolio over the next three to four years.
 
Bulldog was recently named as one of the London Stock Exchange Group’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain 2015, an annual celebration of some of the fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK.

DWF has advised RooGreen Ventures in connection with the management buyout of UK gym and health club Total Fitness.

The deal is backed by private equity firm NorthEdge Capital and RooGreen Ventures, who will reinvest in the business as part of the buyout, funding the continued refurbishment of the club estate and the funding of new business opportunities.

King & Wood Mallesons advised Five Arrows Principal Investments (Rothschild group) on the structuring of its second fund “Five Arrows Principal Investments II” (“FAPI II”).

Five Arrows Principal Investments II has completed its first closing with total commitments exceeding €493 million. Together with subscriptions from Rothschild employees, which are currently in progress, FAPI II's capital commitments stand at €508 million. This represents more than 70% of the fund's target size of €700 million.

Clifford Chance has advised Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Hermes Infrastructure, who have agreed to invest approximately £1.6 billion for the acquisition of a stake of Associated British Ports ("ABP") from Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Fund and Infracapital.

The transaction is subject to merger clearance in the EUMR and China.  The stake acquired will account for at least 30% of Associated British Ports and a further 3.33% may be acquired subject to pre-emption rights.

The Manchester office of Addleshaw Goddard has advised Peel on the reduction to 39% of its shareholding in AIM-listed Pinewood Group plc, a leading provider of services to the global film and television industry and better known as Pinewood Studios.

Pinewood has carried out a simultaneous fundraising of £30 million before expenses through a proposed placing with institutional and other investors.

Roger Hart, corporate partner at Addleshaw Goddard, advised Peel.

King & Wood Mallesons has advised PAI Partners on the structuring of its sixth fund, PAI Europe VI.

PAI Partners is a major European private equity firm and is one of the largest private equity investors headquartered in Continental Europe. Having gathered more than 150 international investors from a wide range of investor types, the fundraising exceeded the initial target of €3 billion, holding a final close of €3.3 billion.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Jardine Cycle & Carriage Limited on its acquisition of a 24.9% interest in Siam City Cement Public Company Limited (Siam City Cement) from Thai Roc-Cem Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Holcim Ltd.

The investment was made for a total consideration equivalent to US$615m.

Siam City Cement is publicly listed in Thailand, and is the second largest cement manufacturer in that market.

The Freshfields team advising on the transaction was led by Asia managing partner Robert Ashworth.

Linklaters has advised Charity Bank pro bono on the Mercers’ Charitable Foundation’s investment of £1m by way of subscription for ordinary shares in a deal announced yesterday.

YeePay Group (YeePay.com), China’s leading third party payment and internet financial platform, recently announced that it has completed a new round private equity financing, which was led by Far East Horizon Limited. Far East Horizon is a SEHK-listed leading integrated financial service provider in China.

Zhong Lun Law Firm acted as the legal counsel to Far East Horizon and provided cross-border legal services in this transaction.  The legal team from Zhong Lun was led by Anthony Zhao and Luke Zhang, and included Raphael Liu and Nina Ni, etc.