Deals

A 3i Group portfolio company, the software developer Civica, has made an offer for the education unit of British government outsourcing firm Tribal, Reuters reported, citing a story in the Sunday Times. Tribal has been approached by other private equity firms interested in its health care business, Reuters said.

Wireless infrastructure developer 11i Solutions Inc. has closed on $1.8 million in convertible bridge financing from investment firm Steel Pier Capital Advisors. New York-based Steel Pier Capital Advisors is a private equity firm that partners with management to make non-control equity investments. 11i Solutions is based in Huntsville, Ala.

11i Solutions Inc. has acquired Infinity Technology Inc. Both companies are based in Huntsville, Ala. Terms of the deal were not released. New York-based private equity firm Steel Pier Capital Advisors acted as both financial sponsor and strategic adviser during this transaction.

ACON Investments has completed its purchase of Refac Optical Group from Palisade Capital Management. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Refac Optical Group was advised by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. in the transaction. ACON Investments was advised by William Susman.

Apax Partners will buy Epicor Software Corp., the listed, California-based business software firm, and Activant Solutions, with plans to combine the companies to create a global provider of enterprise applications across a number of industries. The company will become Epicor Software Corp. and will cease trading on Nasdaq. The deal’s value is about $2 billion and Jefferies & Co. Inc. and RBC Capital Markets are acting as financial advisers to Apax Partners. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal adviser to Apax Partners. It is expected that the acquisitions will close by the end of the second quarter.

Apax Partners will pay about $745 million for the Trader Corp. unit of media and marketing company Yellow Media Inc., Reuters reported. The proceeds of the sale—set to close in June—will help Yellow Media pay down debt. Trader Corp. publishes about 160 publications and 22 Web sites on automotive, real estate, general merchandise and employment, Reuters said.

California-based Appirio has acquired Infowelders, the salesforce.com consultancy business specializing on sales and services cloud development. Appiro is backed by Sequoia Capital and GGV Capital.

British insurer Aviva plans to sell its RAC roadside rescue business and has hired JP Morgan to manage the sale, Reuters reported. Private equity firms are expected to be most interested in the business, which is valued at £500 million to £600 million ($804 million to $1.12 billion), the Financial Times reported.

New York-based Blue Wolf Capital Partners has acquired American Builders Supply, a supplier of doors, windows and trusses to homebuilders in Florida. Financial terms of the deal were not released. The company’s management team invested alongside Blue Wolf. Bob Dello Russo, CEO and owner of Del-Air, Florida’s largest HVAC company, also invested and will serve on the company’s board.

Consumer-focused firm Brentwood Associates has recapitalized its portfolio company The Teaching Company Holdings Inc. with a $170 million credit facility, the firm said. The financing was provided by the Senior Secured Loan Program, which is jointly managed by Ares Capital Corporation and an affiliate of GE Capital. The recap provides Brentwood a return on its original investment without changing its ownership stake, the firm said in a statement. The Teaching Co. is based in Chantilly, Va.

The Carlyle Group has completed its acquisition of Japan’s Tsubaki Nakashima from a unit of Nomura Holdings, Reuters reported. Carlyle bought the ball bearing manufacturer for about $800 million, Reuters said, citing a source.

Cartesian Capital Group has acquired a minority stake in Turkish food service company TAB G1da. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. TAB is the largest franchisee for Burger King, Popeyes, Sbarro and Arby’s in the country, operating more than 500 restaurants in Turkey. Cartesian Capital Group manages $1.1 billion in private equity investments.

Cascadia Capital

said it advised Plasco Energy Group in its $143 million in growth equity financing. Soros Fund Management led the investment for Ottawa-based Plasco, which provides technology that transforms solid waste into green power.

Centurion Private Equity, an affiliate of Roswell Capital Partners, has signed a non-binding term sheet to provide a $15 million equity funding facility to Clean Power Concepts. Intellivest Securities arranged the funding.

Charles Cherington, the co-founder of Intervale Capital, has contributed an undisclosed amount of financing to support a management buyout of C-Quest Capital, Reuters reported. No terms were released. C-Quest Capital invests in emissions reduction projects around the world.

Cinven has upped its stake in French budge retailer Camaieu by 30 percent, paying roughly €388 million ($546 million), Reuters reported. The firm now owns about 95 percent of the company, having bought a 65 percent stake in Camaieu from Axa Private Equity in 2007 for €1.5 billion.

Dallas-based CoreXchange has closed on an undisclosed amount of funding led by ORIX Corporate Capital. Red Barn Investments, an existing shareholder, also contributed to the round. The money is designed to help CoreXchange expand its data center infrastructure, as well as expand its co-location services offerings. No terms of the deal were released.

CVC will invest 2.35 trillion rupiah ($269 million) in the cable TV and internet units of Indonesian media firm PT First Media, Reuters reported.

London-based Duke Street will pay roughly £215 million ($349 million) for Japanese noodle chain Wagamama, buying the company from rival buyout shop Lion Capital, Reuters reported. Lion Capital took a majority stake in Wagamama in a 2005 deal valued at £102.5 million.

Backed by capital from Evergreen Pacific Partners, Redmond, Wash.-based Radiant Imaging Inc. has merged with Bellevue, Wash.-based Zemax Development Corp. Radiant Imaging operates a test and measurement business for measuring light and color. Its systems are used in lab and production environments for products such as flat panel displays, laptops and LED devices. Zemax provides a platform for creating optical systems, including lenses, cameras and projectors. Evergreen Pacific Partners is based in Seattle.

Exergetic Energy, a Detroit-based energy supply company, has closed on a $10 million draw-down equity financing agreement with Boston-based Auctus Private Equity. The company will use the proceeds to underwrite the construction of a 1.5 MW solar farm facility in Desoto County, Fla.

Flexpoint Ford said it has bought a majority stake in Toplis & Harding Holdings from Silver Oak Services Partners. Toplis & Harding, or VeriClaim, provides specialized insurance claims services to insurance carriers, insurance brokers, corporations and public entities. Financial terms were not announced.

Francisco Partners portfolio company GXS has bought RollStream. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. RollStream, of McLean, Va., provides software-as-a-service to speed supply chain efficiency.

Frazier Healthcare has completed its acquisition of the Onsite Services instrument management and repair business of publicly traded CareFusion. Financial terms of the deal were not released. OnSite Services delivers education-based medical instrument repair and instrument management programs to hospital systems domestically, the company said in a statement. The deal was first announced in January.

GE Capital, through its GE Capital Financial Inc., has poured $100 million in debt financing into Five Guys Holdings Inc., the franchisor of Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The funding includes a $55 million term loan and a $45 million revolver, and will be used to finance expected growth. Five Guys was formed in 1986 and opened its first restaurant in Arlington, Va.

Green EnviroTech Holdings Corp., which is traded on the over-the-counter bulletin board, has sealed $5 million in equity funding from Centurion Private Equity, an institutional adviser managed by Roswell Capital Partners. Green EnviroTech is a plastics recovery, separation, cleaning and recycling company.

GTCR has completed its acquisition of Sterigenics International Inc., a provider of contract sterilization and ionization services for medical devices, food products and other applications. The firm bought Oak Brook, Ill.-based Sterigenics from Silverfleet Capital and PPM America Capital Partners. Terms were not released. Jefferies & Co., Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS advised GTCR on the transaction.

A Hadley Capital portfolio company, the budget eyewear maker i-deal Optics, will acquire Missouri-based regional eyewear distributor A&E Inc. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. I-deal Optics is based in Michigan.

H.I.G. Capital has recapitalized Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc., providing debt and equity financing to the company. Based in Springdale, Arkansas, Advanced Environmental Recycling is a manufacturer of wood composite decking products and a developer of polyethylene recycling technology. It is traded on the over-the-counter Bulletin Board. Terms of the deal were not released. Miami-based H.I.G. Capital has more than $8.5 billion under management.

H.I.G. Capital has acquired the marine business of Litchfield, Illinois-based Teleflex Inc. Teleflex Marine is a provider of steering and control products and accessories. Terms of the deal were not released.

Four buyout shops remain in the running for HgCapital portfolio company SLV Group, a German lighting business, Reuters reported. A sale of the company could fetch more than €400 million ($562 million), Reuters estimated. European investment firms BC Partners, Charterhouse and Cinven are all in the second round of the auction. U.S. firm Lindsay Goldberg also remains in the running.

European firm IK Investment Partners has bought Offshore Incorporations from Carlyle Group, Reuters reported. Terms of the deal were not released, though previous reports estimated the deal at as much as $300 million.

Infrastructure India Holdings Fund LLC has acquired a 6.3 percent stake in Aegis Logistics Ltd, Reuters reported. The proceeds will help Aegis with its port terminal infrastructure projects, the company said. Under the terms of the deal, Aegis sold 2.12 million shares to the firm, at a price of 322 rupees ($7.20) each.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. will buy Pfizer’s Capsugel business for $2.375 billion in cash, the firms said. Capsugel generated about $750 million in revenue in 2010, the statement said. Pfizer’s financial advisers for the transaction were Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and Guggenheim Securities, LLC. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP and White & Case LLP acted as legal counsel for Pfizer. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal counsel for KKR.

Pennsylvania-based L2 Capital Partners will acquire Landfill Service Corp., a New York-based supplier of landfill products and equipment. McGladrey Capital Markets worked on the transaction and was exclusive adviser to Landfill Service Corp. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Leonard Green & Partners, which is considering a takeover of BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc., has entered into a confidentiality agreement with the retailer, Reuters reported. BJ’s Wholesale announced in February that it was exploring the possibility of a sale. BJ’s is the third-largest U.S. wholesale club retailer behind Costco Wholesale Corp. and Sam’s Club, which is a unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Reuters reported.

A pair of firms, Luxpeak and Mercapital Private Equity, have bought the service unit Clece from the Spanish builder ACS, Reuters reported. The deal is valued at €608 million ($860.6 million).

Macquarie Capital has provided Mine Site Technologies, a maker of mining communication networks and products, with growth capital to support the company’s operations. Specifics were not publicized. MST was advised by KPMG Corporate Finance and Minter Ellison. Mallesons Stephen Jaques acted as legal advisor to Macquarie Capital on the transaction.

London-based Mid Europa Partners has acquired a 49.05 percent stake in the Central and Eastern European road freight operator Waberer’s. Waberer’s is largest road transport company in Hungary and one of the largest in Europe and generated revenue last year of €331 million, or $467 million.

Nautic Partners has acquired Dallas-based Reliant Hospital Partners, an operator of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. The company operates seven facilities and has two additional hospitals under development. Terms of the acquisition were not released. Nautic Partners has more than $2.5 billion under management.

Navis Capital Partners has acquired a stake in Malaysia’s Kinderdijk Group, a distributor and retailer of lifestyle and baby care products, Reuters reported. Kinderdijk distributes popular brands including Mattel/Fisher Price and MacLaren. Terms of the deal were not released. Malaysia-based Navis, which manages about $3 billion, made the investment out of its $76 million Malaysian Growth Opportunity Fund I.

Neff Capital Management has launched Nordic Global Airlines Ltd, an all-cargo airline based in Helsinki, Finland. The airline aims to begin service later this year. Finnair Cargo, a subsidiary of the Finnish national carrier, and Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co. are minority investors in the company. Neff Capital is based in Miami.

New Mountain Capital has invested an undisclosed amount in SymphonyIRI Group Inc. Terms of the investment were not released. SymphonyIRI Group, formerly named Information Resources, provides software for market measurement and software and services designed to provide growth opportunities in marketing, sales, shopper marketing and category management. Jefferies & Company and BofA Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisers to SymphonyIRI. BofA Merrill Lynch, Jefferies Finance and BMO Capital Markets have agreed to provide debt financing.

PineBridge Gateway Partners, which invests across Turkey, the Middle East, Africa and the former Soviet Union, has invested an undisclosed amount in Ulusal Faktoring, a non-bank financial services company in Turkey. Istanbul-based Ulusal provides financing to small and medium-sized companies in Turkey. No terms of the deal were released. PineBridge Gateway Partners is a unit of PineBridge Investments.

Plasco Energy Group, an Ottawa-based converter of waste into renewable energy, has raised C$140 million ($143 million) in new equity funding. Soros Fund Management led the round, which will help fund commercial projects in Canada, the United States, China and other countries. The company closed a $110 million round in July 2010, led by Ares Management.

Platinum Equity said it has bought a majority stake in Keystone Automotive Holdings, parent of Keystone Automotive Operations. To get the stake, Platinum and other bond holders converted debt to equity and bought additional common stock through a rights offering on March 29.

Praesidian Capital invested $19 million of second lien debt in The PromptCare Cos. and its sister company PromptCare Home Infusion LLC. The financing will support the acquisition of Pro2 (a provider of specialty respiratory products and services) and recapitalize its balance sheet. PromptCare is a portfolio company of MidMark Capital.

Providence Equity Partners

will pay roughly $1.88 billion to acquire SRA International Inc., a provider of technology and strategic consulting services, in an all-cash deal. Providence Equity Partners will pay $31.25 per share for the company, a 10.2 percent premium over the company’s closing price on the day before the deal was announced.

Swedish private equity firm Ratos will buy the cinema business of Finnish media group Sanoma in a deal valued at €116 million ($164.4 million), Reuters reported. The deal is subject to authority approvals in Finland and Latvia, Reuters wrote.

Regency Energy Partners has agreed to raise $204 million in equity. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, Tortoise Capital Advisors and Fiduciary Asset Management are buying roughly 8.5 million of Regency common units.

The Riverside Company added Mitco Inc. to its DuBois Chemicals asset. Based in Grand Rapids, Mich., Mitco is the third add-on acquisition for Cincinnati, Ohio-based DuBois. Riverside partnered with KeyBank (as agent), U.S. Bank and TriState Capital Bank, which provided all of the financing for the transaction. Jones Day provided legal counsel on the deal.

Riverwood Capital and FTV Capital have invested another $15 million in Globant. Buenos Aires-based Globant provides software product development and IT maintenance outsourcing.

Private equity firms have teamed up with several listed hotel chains in the second round of bidding for Chinese hotel group Shanghai Motel Management Co., Reuters reported. China Lodging Group Ltd bid with Bain Capital LLC, General Atlantic and local private equity firm CDH Investments, Reuters said. The Carlyle Group and Warburg Pincus are also reported to be teaming up with hotel chains in competing bids.

Mid-market shop Stony Point Group has acquired Aerospace Distributors Inc. and its subsidiary Graco Supply Company Inc. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Graco is based in Fort Worth, Texas, and is focused on chemical management and vendor-managed inventory services for the commercial, military and general aviation markets. Stony Point is based in Asheville, N.C.

Summer Street Capital Partners has acquired Apple Valley Waste, a provider of solid waste collection, recycling and disposal services across three counties in West Virginia and Maryland. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Buffalo, N.Y.-based Summer Street Capital Partners was formed in 1999 and has roughly $300 million under management. The firm is focused on small-market companies.

Publicly traded SWS Group Inc. has raised $100 million in new financing from Hilltop Holdings Inc. and Oak Hill Capital Partners. Under the terms of the deal, the two firms will contribute $50 million each in debt financing. Simultaneously with the loan, SWS Group will issue a warrant to each of Hilltop and Oak Hill Capital. Upon exercise, Hilltop Holdings and Oak Hill Capital each will own approximately 17 percent of the company. Dallas-based SWS Group provides investment and financial services through its subsidiaries.

British housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has sold its North American business to TMM Holdings, which is run by funds affiliated with TPG Capital and Oaktree Capital Management, for $955 million to cuts its debt and pension deficit, as well as focus on its core UK housing business.

The Warburg Pincus portfolio company Cortview Capital Securities has added new offices in Atlanta, Bellevue, Wash., Memphis and metropolitan Chicago (Sycamore, Ill.). Michael Lacovara, the company’s CEO and president, said the move is part of the company’s strategy to continue its expansion and offer more opportunities to mid-market clients.

Warburg Pincus will acquire Rural/Metro Corp., a provider of ambulance and private fire protection services. The firm will pay $17.25 per share for the company, a 37 percent premium over its closing price on its last day of trading before the deal was announced. The deal is expected to close at the end of June 2011.

Waud Capital Partners portfolio company Acadia Healthcare Co. acquired Youth & Family Centered Services Inc. Terms were not disclosed. Youth & Family, Austin, Texas, operates 13 behavioral health care facilities for youths and adolescents in eight states. The combined company will manage more than 1,700 patient beds and generate more than $260 million in annual revenue.