manoj.b@eempl.com

It was a good year for private equity M&A with volume increasing in the U.S., according to data from Dealogic.

Lion Capital expects to make more than 4.5x its investment with the sale of Bumble Bee Seafoods, according to a memo obtained by Buyouts.

The $8.7 billion sale of PetSmart has been heralded as the year’s largest LBO of an American company, but the buyers, led by BC Partners, are investing 21 to 23 percent of the deal value. Some say this is at the low end of the equity range firms usually kick into their deals.

VSS Managing Partner Jeff Stevenson, along with Traveller Capital Advisors, tried to acquire the remaining stakes held by LPs of Veronis Suhler Stevenson’s third buyout fund, but the deal got pulled.

Vista Equity Partners isn’t skimping on its buy of Tibco Software.

GPs are a suspicious lot, but their suspicions are not unfounded.

The Blackstone Group has held recent talks to sell Apria Healthcare Group, three sources said.

Two private equity executives told Buyouts that PitchBook Data is on the block, but the CEO of the research company said it is not for sale.

Joseph Ibrahim has left The Riverside Company, Graham Hearns, a Riverside spokesman, confirmed.

Portfolio Logic, the Washington D.C. investment firm from Jeffrey Zients, has put PSA Healthcare up for sale, five sources said.