We review the latest investor news on new funds and private equity deals that have emerged in November.

We review the latest investor news on new funds and private equity deals that have emerged in November.

The MCH fund is flexing its muscles: it is finalising the purchase of Altafit gyms.

Private equity funds are betting more and more strongly on fitness. The latest operation is the purchase of Altafit, the first chain of low-cost gyms, by the private equity fund Altafit. MCHThe deal has attracted the interest of a number of private equity funds in an increasingly concentrated and profitable sector. The deal is valued at between €40M and €60M.

Founded in 2011, Altafit is the largest Spanish operator by number of gyms in the low-cost segment. It currently has more than 40 centres in almost all regions of the country, with more than 370 employees and a turnover in 2016 of more than €25M, 19% higher than the previous year. This year it expects to have more than one million customers.

With the entry of MCH, Altafit will obtain the necessary resources to continue expanding throughout Spain, with the aim of opening between 5 and 6 gyms a year. In fact, a few months ago they launched the strategy of opening premium establishments under the Myst Gym Club logo, of which they currently have 2: one in Madrid and another in Santander.

ICG launches €5.2bn Senior Debt Partners debt fund

British venture capital firm Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) has announced the launch of a new €5.2bn vehicle, with €4.2bn already committed, to invest in Europe in mezzanine business, a hybrid between debt and equity. This is a type of vehicle that is not very common in the Spanish market, where the debt fund business is not as developed as in other European countries due to the traditional dependence on bank financing. For this reason, and given that domestic competitors are much smaller in size, Spain will become one of the most likely sources of investment in this new vehicle.

However, as is usual for this type of fund manager, ICG does not have a specific investment amount per region (capital allocation), but invests according to opportunities. The investor base is primarily institutional, especially international pension funds.

Inveready raises €16M for its debt fund Inveready Convertible Finance

Invereadyhas raised €16M to date for Inveready Convertible Finance, a debt fund aimed at investing in startups listed on alternative stock markets through the subscription of bonds convertible into shares. The private equity manager expects to count again with the backing of the European Investment Fund, which would guarantee 50% of the amount of the operations.

The amount raised so far represents 40% of the fund's target size of €40M and has been raised by investors in other funds of the fund manager, family offices that had not yet joined the firm and, above all, by professional associations, pension funds and other institutional investors.

The fund expects to close its first investments soon: two in companies listed on the Alternative Stock Market (MAB) in Spain and two in companies listed on the French Alternext. Inveready expects the fund to close the year with €20M and raise the same amount in 2018.

The Botets invest in biotechnology with HealthEquity

The Botet family, ex-owners of Caprabo, have entered the venture capital fund HealthEquitymanaged by the Official College of Physicians of Barcelona (COMB) and the financial services firm Riva and Garcia. The entrepreneurs participated in the latest capital increase of the investment vehicle, which amounted to €1M last July, through their family office Jormavi.

HealthEquity has a size of €11M, although it aims to reach a volume of €15M. Its investors, in addition to COMB, include the Catalan pharmaceutical companies Ferrer and Esteve, Crèdit Andorrà, the Catalan Institute of Finance and the Ministry of Economy through the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI). In total, public contributions amount to nearly €5M.

The fund, which has already disbursed close to 70% of its capital in a total of 6 investments and successive capital increases in these companies, focuses on early stage projects in the healthcare sector: medical devices, biotechnology and healthcare services.