Deals

3i Group has completed its acquisition of debt management business Mizuho Investment Management from parent company Mizuho Corporate Bank. The deal was valued at £18.3 million ($29.3 million).

AEA Investors portfolio company BI Inc. has merged with the GEO Group in a deal valued at roughly $415 million. The deal closed Feb. 10, according to the investment bank Harris Williams, which advised BI. Boulder, Colo.-based BI provides technology, treatment and monitoring services for the corrections industry. GEO also supplies corrections, detention and residential treatment services for federal, state and local government agencies. AEA, of New York, is a mid-market firm.

Arsenal Capital Partners, a New York-based, mid-market firm, announced that its portfolio company KGS-Alpha Capital Markets LP has completed a follow-on equity offering of more than $75 million, bringing KGS-Alpha’s total equity raised to more than $150 million. The new investment was primarily funded by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, which has more than $30 billion in net assets. Arsenal Capital Partners, which led the initial equity investment into KGS-Alpha in August 2010, also participated. KGS-Alpha is focused on delivering mortgage-backed, asset-backed and agency debt securities trading and product structuring services to the institutional market.

European buyout firms AXA Private Equity and Permira will pay €500 million ($682.4 million) to buy travel Web site Opodo from Spanish company Amadeus, Reuters reported, citing an article in the French daily Les Echos. Paris-based AXA Private Equity manages and advises on roughly $25 billion in assets.

San Mateo, Calif.-based Bertram Capital has recapitalized ProconGPS Inc., a Knoxville, Tenn.-based maker of GPS tracking products and payment protection systems to the subprime vehicle finance industry. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Bertram Capital has more than $850 million in capital under management.

Blackstone Group is among the final bidders for the $9.5 billion US shopping mall assets owned by Australia’s Centro Properties Group, Reuters reported. The field has narrowed to three consortia, including NRDC Equity Partners and Lend Lease Corp.; and a team formed by Morgan Stanley’s real estate fund and Starwood Capital Group, Reuters said. Final bids were expected toward the end of February.

Blockbuster Inc. is planning to put itself up for sale after failing to raise more cash from creditors, Reuters reported, citing a story in the Wall Street Journal. The company, which filed for bankruptcy last year, is planning to solicit buyers through an auction, Reuters reported. Carl Icahn and a consortium led by hedge fund Monarch Alternative Capital are the leading contenders, Reuters wrote.

Castanea Partners has acquired a majority stake in footwear designer and marketer Donald J. Pliner. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Formed in 1989, Donald J. Pliner is based in New York. Founded in 2001, Castanea Partners is a $575 million fund based in Newton, Mass.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice will pay $64 per share for health care and physician services company Emergency Medical Services Corp. The companies valued the deal at $3.2 billion. The $64-a-share price is 9 percent below EMS’s closing price of $70.66 on the last day of trading before the deal was announced.

Clear Channel Communications Inc., the San Antonio-based media company taken private in 2008 in a $17.9 billion leveraged buyout by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, wants to change its loan terms on its $20.6 billion of debt. It said it plans to amend its credit agreement to delay maturities on borrowings as well as get permission to sell $750 million of bonds that aren’t due for another 10 years to repay $500 million of loans.

Clessidra is dropping plans to bid on RCS MediaGroup’s $50-million-stake in Italian Internet company Dada, Reuters reported. RCS, the publisher of Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, started due diligence on its 50.7 percent Dada stake in October, Reuters wrote. The Carlyle Group is rumored to be interested in the Dada stake, as are Germany’s United Internet and France’s Digital Virgo, Reuters reported.

Conexant Systems, a chip maker, said it has received an unsolicited bid from Golden Gate Capital to buy all of its outstanding shares at $2.35 to $2.45 per share in cash. In January, Conexant entered into a deal with Standard Microsystems Corp., which has offered to buy Conexant for about $284 million, including debt. SMC agreed to pay $1.125 in cash and a fraction of a share of SMSC common stock equal to $1.125. Conexant’s board has determined that Golden Gate’s offer is a “superior proposal” and authorized the company to enter into discussions with the firm.

A group of private equity investors, including Direct Principal Investments, a division of Britain’s HSBC plc, have acquired a majority interest in Tanzania’s Chemi & Cotex Industries, Reuters reported. Satya Capital and Kenya-based Catalyst Principal Partners are part of the investor consortium. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Chemi & Cotex manufactures toothpaste, cosmetics and food products.

Energy Investors Funds portfolio company Landfill Energy Systems has acquired Innovative Energy Systems. Oakfield, N.Y.-based Innovative Energy Systems owns and operates a portfolio of nearly a dozen landfill gas-to-energy projects in New York and Vermont. Formed in 1987, Energy Investors Funds are focused on the independent power and electric utility industry. The firm has offices in Boston, New York and San Francisco.

The Swedish group EQT has acquired Taiwanese TV channel operator Gala TV, Reuters reported. EQT’s Greater China II fund bought the company with its chief executive, Lin Poa-Chuan, as co-investor, Reuters said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

San Francisco-based Golden Gate Capital has acquired consulting and managed services provider CedarCrestone. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Alpharetta, Ga.-based CedarCrestone was formed in 2005. Golden Gate plans to create partnerships between CedarCrestone and Sierra Systems, another Golden Gate portfolio company in the consulting sector.

Haddington Ventures will buy the Continental Gas Storage Deutschland GmbH unit of Continental Gas Storage BV through its fund Haddington Energy Partners IV LP. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Haddington Ventures is based in Houston.

H.I.G. Europe, an arm of buyout shop H.I.G. Capital, will buy Aircom International Group from Advent International, the firm said in a release. UK-based Aircom provides network planning and optimization services for the mobile telecom industry. Financial terms of the deal were not released.

Huron Capital Partners said it has recapped Victoria Packing and committed $35 million to close the deal. Other terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed. Huron, which targets lower middle market companies, said Victoria’s existing management and other industry executives took part in the deal. Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Victoria produces and markets specialty Italian food products.

J. Crew Group, which has received a $2.86 billion buyout offer in November from private equity firms TPG and Leonard Green & Partners, wrapped up its “go shop” period with no new offers, Reuters reported. The company had been in talks with parties including Sears Holdings Corp., Urban Outfitters Inc. and at least two private equity firms, but none resulted in an offer, Reuters said.

L Capital, the investment firm co-funded by luxury group LVMH, is in talks to buy a stake in Indian jewellery retailer Gitanjali, Reuters reported. The deal is estimated between $100 million and $125 million, Reuters said.

Lightyear Capital will acquire real estate investment management firm Clarion Partners from ING Group. Lightyear is partnering with the management of Clarion Partners on the buyout. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Founded in 1982, Clarion Partners has more than $22 billion in assets. Lightyear is based in New York.

LLR Partners has invested an undisclosed amount of growth capital in United Seating & Mobility, a provider of rehabilitation products and wheelchairs. The funding will help United Seating & Mobility pursue future acquisitions, among other growth strategies. Philadelphia-based LLR Partners has more than $1.4 billion under management.

Magic Johnson Enterprises and Ron Burkle’s The Yucaipa Cos. have made an investment in Vibe Holdings, which owns Vibe magazine and the “Soul Train” TV show and library. Financial terms were not announced. Earvin “Magic” Johnson will become chairman of Vibe Holdings. InterMedia Partners, a New York firm, currently owns Vibe.

Monitor Clipper Partners has acquired a minority interest in ScriptSave. Tucson-based ScriptSave provides customized prescription drug benefit products for consumers, which are delivered through retail pharmacies, health insurance companies and employers. McColl Partners LLC, an independent investment banking firm specializing in middle-market companies, served as financial adviser to ScriptSave. Monitor Clipper Partners is based in Cambridge, Mass.

Odyssey Investment Partners portfolio company One Call Medical has acquired Express Dental Care for an undisclosed amount. Parsippany, N.J.-based One Call is a provider of medical cost containment projects. Express Dental is a national dental network designed to address the workers compensation, auto and liability industries.

Paris-based PAI Partners has completed its $909 million acquisition of Swissport, a provider of ground services for the aviation industry. PAI bought Swissport from Spanish company Ferrovial.

Dallas-based Pepperwood Partners will invest up to $40 million in debt or equity financing in Cinsay Inc., an Austin-based developer of video, advertising, and e-commerce enterprise platforms. Terms of the financing were not disclosed. The funding will help Cinsay bolster its marketing and sales capabilities, the firm said. The funding was expected to close within two months.

Rhône Capital has completed its acquisition of UTEX Industries Inc., buying the company from Audax Group. Houston-based UTEX is a designer and manufacturer of specialty sealing solutions for oil and gas drilling. Audax acquired UTEX in May 2007. Financial terms of the deal were not released.

Orlando-based Tavistock Group has bought the 151-room St. Regis Hotel property in Atlanta for an undisclosed price. Starwood Hotels & Resorts will continue to manage the property, which opened in April 2009 and was developed by the SR Hotel Development Co. LLP. Tavistock Group also owns the Isleworth and Lake Nona Golf & Country Clubs in Orlando, Fla., the luxury resort community of Albany in the Bahamas, and is currently building a 7,000-acre master-planned medical city in central Florida.

New York-based Veritas Capital has completed its $525 million acquisition of CPI International. CPI is a provider of microwave, radio frequency, power products for defense, communications, medical, scientific and other applications. CPI is based in Palo Alto, Calif.