Distressed Investment

Yates Group, the UK wine bar chain, is being acquired by property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz just nine months after being backed by private equity firm GI Partners.

The mid-market firm has closed its fifth private equity fund, with nearly all previous investors returning for another helping.

The Boston-based private equity firm will recap the media entertainment company in a transaction valued at $175 million, as rumors swirl about a possible counter-bid on UK entertainment firm HIT.

Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group has closed its seventh primary fund of funds vehicle on $1.2bn shortly after wrapping up a $1.5bn secondary vehicle.

Vincenzo Morelli, a former CD&R executive and latterly a consultant at turnaround specialists Alvarez & Marsal, has joined Texas Pacific Group in London.

Venture capitalists last year raised 170 funds totalling $17.6bn, $3.4bn more than the previous two years combined, while buyout and mezzanine funds attracted $45.8bn in 103 funds.

The Santa Monica, California firm’s newest fund will focus on long-term, special situations, including turnarounds, restructurings and bankruptcies.

The New York middle-market turnaround specialist raises more than double its previous fund and surpasses its initial target of $350 million.

The New York firm acquires Scientific Protein Laboratories, a maker of ingredients for end-use pharmaceuticals, in its fifth portfolio acquisition for its debut fund, closed last June.

The French industrial group unloads two California assets.