Deals

Boston-based investment firms ABRY Partners and Berkshire Partners have acquired the Telx Group Inc. Telx, based in New York, is a provider of global interconnection and colocation services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Evercore Partners served as financial adviser to Telx on the transaction and Paul Hastings LLP served as legal adviser.

Actis is among a group of investors buying a stake in South African vehicle tracking company Tracker, Reuters reported. Actis and others will pay 3.9 billion rand ($485 million) for the stake currently owned by investment group Remgro. The company makes equipment used to recover stolen cars. The size of the stake was not disclosed.

Dallas-based Allegiance Capital has facilitated a $22 million credit facility for its client Integrated Printing Solutions. IPS is a provider of specialty print, marketing and packaging products for the gift, pre-paid, loyalty, credit, and health care card markets. The mezzanine financing will fuel organic growth and enable the company to pursue an acquisition strategy to expand its reach in the Americas and beyond.

Alliance Warburg Capital Management and James Caparro—an ex-Universal Music executive and now chief executive of Yamani Global Equities—have made an offer to buy EMI Group’s music and publishing units. The news came via a press release, though specific details were not disclosed. Yamani Global Equities is a private equity firm focused on sports and entertainment. Sony Corp. has secured backing from Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala fund and investment bank Raine to help fund a rival bid for EMI, Reuters reported, citing the Financial Times. Other bidders include Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Citigroup is seeking $3 billion to $3.5 billion for EMI, Reuters wrote.

Amalgamated Bank said it expects to receive about $100 million in equity investments from two investors, WL Ross & Co. LLC and The Yucaipa Companies. Each are putting in around $50 million. Once the deal closes, which is expected in fourth quarter, Yucaipa (which is led by Ron Burkle) and WL Ross will each own approximately 20 percent of Amalgamated’s common stock.

Ares Capital has offered $1.55 billion for 99 Cents Only Stores, topping a $1.41 billion offer reportedly made by Leonard Green & Partners, Reuters reported, citing the New York Post. Ares reportedly offered $22 a share for the company. Shares of 99 Cents closed at $20.05 the day before the higher bid was reported.

Astorg Partners, the French private equity shop, is planning to buy the microconnections unit of French electrical connectors maker FCI from Bain Capital, Reuters reported. Astorg will reportedly finance the deal with €320 million ($436 million) in debt. The firm did not disclose the purchase price for the business unit.

Avista Capital Partners has teamed up with Carrizo Oil and Gas Inc. to buy and develop properties in Ohio’s Utica shale. The Utica shale is thought to hold large amounts of crude oil and natural gas. Avista could contribute up to $130 million to the venture, Reuters reported. Carrizo will initially own a 10 percent stake in the venture, but holds options to increase its stake to 50 percent, Reuters wrote.

Bain Capital and The Carlyle Group are among those bidding for auto parts supplier TI Automotive, Reuters reported. The company, which expects final bids sometime in October, could fetch roughly $1.5 billion. Pamplona Capital Management, a London-based buyout firm, is also reportedly involved in the auction.

Bain Capital’s planned buyout of the Japanese restaurant chain Skylark Co. was delayed after an August outbreak of dysentery at the company’s 120 restaurants, Reuters reported, citing Basis Point. The deal, with an enterprise value of about $3.7 billion, could be delayed “a few weeks,” Reuters wrote. The seller is Nomura Principal Finance.

Baird Private Equity

portfolio company American Auto Auction Group has acquired Florida auto auction operator Your Auction Inc. Terms of the deal were not released. Northwestern Mutual Capital and U.S. Bank National Association provided financing for the transaction.

Battery Ventures has acquired Houston-based Detcon, a maker of industrial-grade gas detection sensors and electronic control systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Detcon will join Battery’s recently acquired Gas Measurement Instruments as an independent operating company within Battery’s industrial safety technology platform, the firm said.

The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based mid-market firm BB&T Capital Partners has invested senior subordinated notes to support the recapitalization of Phoenix Children’s Academy by Audax Group. BB&T first invested in the company in 2008, providing it subordinated debt.

The Blackstone Group is paying $295.7 million in cash, plus debt, to acquire 36 U.S.-based shopping centers from Equity One Inc. The shopping centers are located chiefly in the southeastern U.S. cities of Tampa, Orlando and Atlanta, and 20 of them are anchored by Publix Super Markets Inc. stores, Reuters wrote. Blackstone Real Estate Partners Fund VII will pay a total of $473.1 million, which includes the assumption of $177.4 million in mortgage debt, Reuters wrote. The deal will close in the fourth quarter.

Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. made an investment in Magpul Industries, a Colorado-based maker of products for firearms. Specifics of the deal were not publicized. Integris Partners acted as exclusive financial adviser to Magpul in this transaction. SunTrust Bank, Regions Bank and Triangle Capital provided financing for the transaction.

CapMan portfolio company Walki Group, a producer of technical laminates and protective packaging materials, has bought Meuwissen, a distributor of building and construction materials.

The Carlyle Group bought a 9 percent stake in financial services company India Infoline on the secondary market. Terms of the sale were not released, but, at the market price on the day the deal was disclosed, such a stake would be valued at roughly $38 million, Reuters reported.

Catterton Partners has agreed to provide an undisclosed amount of growth equity financing to ClearChoice Holdings, a developer and manager of dental treatment centers. Terms were not released. The money will be used to expand marketing and other growth efforts, ClearChoice said.

Chanticleer Holdings has bought out SG Shaw Foods from all Hooters locations in South Africa, giving the company and its limited partners majority ownership. Value of the transaction was undisclosed.

CI Capital Partners, a New York buyout shop, has acquired Galls, a $163 million revenue, full-service marketer and distributor of public safety, first responder and private security products, from ARAMARK Corp. PNC Business Credit provided financing for the transaction.

CI Capital Partners will acquire Interactive Health Solutions Inc., a provider of health and wellness solutions for terms undisclosed. MidCap Financial, Solar Capital and PennantPark Investment Corp. provided financing for the transaction. TripleTree LLC acted as financial adviser to IHS. Pepper Hamilton LLP provided legal counsel to IHS and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP provided legal counsel to CI Capital.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has completed its acquisition of Hussman International. The deal, announced in August, closed Sept. 30. Clayton Dubilier & Rice invested $195 million to acquire convertible participating preferred stock of Hussmann. The firm now has a 60 percent stake in Hussman, which makes refrigerated display merchandising equipment and refrigeration systems for the retail food industry.

The private equity arm of brokerage firm CLSA has put $22 million into Indian education company Resonance Eduventures, Reuters reported. The firm sealed a minority stake in the company. Resonance, founded in 2001, is one of India’s largest test preparation coaching institutes, focusing on entrance exams for engineering and medical sciences, Reuters wrote.

The Comvest Group has provided $20 million in debt financing to lender Merchant Cash and Capital. The funding will allow Merchant to expand its business, creating new programs. Merchant is based in New York.

Diamond Castle Holding portfolio company KDC Solar will team with SunDurance Energy and the County of Middlesex, N.J., to develop a solar installation in New Jersey. Middlesex County will increase to $1.15 million annually, for a 15-year contract, its contribution to the project once operations commence. KDC Solar is supported by an allocation of $225 million in equity from Diamond Castle, a New York-based private equity fund.

Dunedin portfolio company Practice Plan, a British provider of membership plans and other support services to dental practices, has made two acquisitions: Isoplan, a British dental plan provider, and Medenta, a leader in dental patient finance.

Dutchess Opportunity Fund has provided a £30 million ($47 million) pound extension of its Equity Line Facility to Australia-based Range Resources. The company’s principal activities are directed towards finding and delineating hydrocarbons in Puntland, Somalia; the Republic of Georgia, onshore Texas, USA and Trinidad.

Frazier Healthcare and New Enterprise Associates have partnered to buy 30 dialysis clinics from DaVita and DSI Renal, the firm announced. The resulting company, DSI, will focus on providing care for patients with chronic kidney failure or end stage renal disease. Health care executives Robert Lefton and Craig Goguen will lead the new company, serving as executive chairman and chief executive. The company’s board will include Frazier general partner Nader Naini; NEA partner Mohamad Makhzoumi; NEA general partner Ryan Drant; and Frazier principal Ben Magnano. No financial terms were released.

A unit of GE Energy Financial Services is putting $50 million into London-listed clean energy producer Greenko, Reuters reported. The infusion will help the company with its goals of providing 1 gigawatt of operational wind capacity by 2017. Greenko is based in India, and was formed in 2006.

Los Angeles-based Gores Group has furthered its investment in Tiburon Inc., completing payment of an undisclosed amount of debt. Gores Group bought Tiburon in 2007. The company makes automated public safety and security products for law enforcement, fire and rescue and corrections agencies.

Guggenheim Partners is paying $440 million in cash to buy EquiTrust Life Insurance Co. from publicly traded insurance holding company FBL Financial Group, the company announced. EquiTrust Life sells fixed and indexed annuities and life insurance nationally.

Headland Capital Partners has acquired a 26.45 percent equity stake in Singapore-based Miclyn Express Offshore Ltd for $141 million. through its Headland Private Equity Fund 6 LP. MEO is a provider of offshore vessels to the oil and gas industry in Southeast Asia, Australia and the Middle East with a fleet of over 120 vessels comprising offshore support vessels, tugs, barges and coastal survey vessels.

Headland Capital Partners portfolio company Unison eTech has acquired 100 percent ownership of HKR from its founding shareholders. HKR is South Korea’s leading manufacturer of expansion joints, crossovers and intercoolers, which are used in the construction of power plants, petrochemical plants and LNG vessels. Unison is a South Korean company, which was acquired by the Headland Private Equity Fund 6 LP in May.

Toy company Jakks Pacific has rejected a $670 million buyout offer from Oaktree Capital Management, Reuters reported. Oaktree sent a letter to Jakks in mid-September outlining the $20-per-share offer. Malibu, Calif.-based Jakks called the bid “inadequate.”

JMI Equity has made a strategic investment in Studer Group, an outcomes-based healthcare performance improvement firm. JMI Equity is a growth equity firm focused on investing in software, Internet, business services and healthcare IT companies. Founded in 1992, JMI Equity has invested in more than 100 businesses in its target markets and has more than $2.1 billion of committed capital under management.

Belgian bank KBC has agreed the sale of its KBL private banking unit for €1.050 billion ($1.42 billion) to Qatari-backed Luxembourg firm Precision Capital, it said, falling €300 million short of previous plans for the sale.

KPS Capital Partners has acquired the assets of United Copper Industries Inc. Financial terms of the deal were not released. United Copper is a manufacturer and distributor of building wire and cable used in the construction of industrial, residential and commercial buildings.

The Indian subsidiary of Madison Street Capital has acquired a minority stake in Radiance Corporate Solutions. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Lucknow, India-based Radiance provides specialized training, recruitment, and personnel outsourcing services.

Monroe Capital has provided $27.5 million in financing to support the acquisition of Fabco Automotive by Wynnchurch Capital. Fabco makes specialty gearbox, axle and transfer case products for all-wheel drive, medium and heavy duty vehicles.

British bank venture NBNK has submitted a second-round bid for about 630 Lloyds Bank branches, Reuters reported. Sun Capital and Co-Operative Financial Services have yet to put in second-round offers. The branches—put up for sale following a British government bailout during the credit crisis—are expected to fetch some £1.5 billion ($2.3 billion). Britain ended up with a 40.6 percent stake in Lloyds following the bailout, Reuters wrote.

New Mountain Capital portfolio company SNL Financial is to acquire Highline Data from Summit Business Media. The acquisition will boost SNL’s position as a leading U.S. insurance financial information provider across the property and casualty, health and life insurance sectors.

U.S. private equity firm North Street Capital will pay €32 million ($43.5 million) to buy the Spyker luxury sports car business from Swedish Automobile. Cash-strapped Swedish Automobile, which owns car maker Saab, put up several assets for sale recently, attempting to stave off bankruptcy, Reuters wrote. A previous deal for Spyker fell though earlier this year.

A NVM Private Equity Ltd portfolio company, Kitwave Ltd, a wholesaler of tobacco, alcohol, confectionery and soft drinks, has acquired Automatic Retailing, a seller of confectionery and soft drinks to the automatic vending industry. Britain-based NVM Private Equity in March invested £7.5 million ($11.5 million) in Kitwave to support the company’s strategy of growth through consolidation.

Oak Hill Capital Partners

has put $55 million into Southern Air Holding, the companies announced. Oak Hill Capital has been a majority investor in Southern Air since 2007. The new infusion will help Southern Air with its fleet renewal plans and will be used for continued growth.

Onex Corp. said it has closed its $871 million acquisition of JELD-WEN Holding. The deal was originally announced in May. JELD-WEN, of Klamath Falls, Ore., is a door maker.

Pamlico Capital led a $28 million round for T2 Systems, a provider of a software-as-a-service for parking management. The company’s management team also contributed to the round. T2 was formed in 1994. Its chief executive, Mike Simmons, will retain “significant ownership” and will continue to manage the company, the company said in a written release. Pamlico Capital is a private equity firm founded in 1988 that invests in growing middle market companies. Pamlico Capital , based in Charlotte, N.C., seeks growth equity and buyout investments in industries including business and technology services, communications and health care. Specific details of the funding were not released.

Parthenon Capital Partners, Lovell Minnick Partners and Fisher Lynch have completed the acquisition of H.D. Vest Financial Services from Wells Fargo. Terms of the deal were not released. Irving, Texas-based H.D. Vest is a broker/dealer providing investment and financial advisory services to retail investors through tax professionals.

Global fund manager Partners Group has led the mezzanine investment in restaurant franchiser Australian Quick Service Restaurant Holdings, an operator of over 620 quick service restaurants under the Red Rooster, Oporto and Chicken Treat brands.

British buyout shop Penta Capital has provided £60 million ($94 million) in backing to support the launch of Six Degrees Group, formed by British entrepreneur Alastair Mills. Six Degrees, which says it already has about 100 staffers and more than 1,200 business customers, is focused on managed data services.

Permira and Wisconsin Rapids-based Renaissance Learning entered into an amendment to their original merger agreement. Permira will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Renaissance Learning for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $455 million. With offices in New York and Menlo Park, Permira has had a presence in North America since 2002. Renaissance Learning represents the second North American investment for Permira in 2011.

Global contract research company Pharmaceutical Product Development has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by The Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.9 billion, after which PPD will be a private company.

Canadian venture capital and diversified investment firm Pinetree Capital has taken a stake in Vanoil Energy Ltd, acquiring of 1,000,000 common shares and 500,000 common share purchase warrants in the listed oil and gas company that has properties in Alberta, Kenya and Rwanda.

Praesidian Capital

has provided $6.6 million in debt financing to K1 Speed Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based operator of indoor go-kart racing tracks. The senior debt will be used to open new locations in Santa Clara, Calif., and Austin, Texas.Attleboro, Mass.-based Precision Engineered Products is acquiring Boston Endo-Surgical Technologies, a maker of spinal and orthopedic surgical instruments. Terms of the deal were not released. Precision Engineered Products is a portfolio company of The Jordan Company and Nautic Partners.Publicly traded Prospect Capital Corp. provided $23 million in debt financing to support the recapitalization of Anchor Hocking, a company controlled by affiliates of Monomoy Capital Partners. Prospect Capital also served as facility agent in a $45 million term loan financing for Anchor, the firm announced. Achor designs and manufactures glass products for the retail, food service, and OEM channels.

A Prospect Partners portfolio company Walker, Mich.-based Pipp Mobile Storage Systems, has acquired the handling, storage, and packing company Capsa Solutions of Columbus, Ohio. Pipp sells shelving and other storage products for retail, hospitality, food service, and commercial office clients. Chicago-based Prospect Partners invests in smaller lower-mid-market companies.

Providence Equity Partners has completed its acquisition of Blackboard Inc. The cash deal was valued at $1.64 billion in enterprise value, plus the assumption of $136 million in debt. The purchase price, at $45 per share, represented a 21 percent premium over the company’s closing price in April. Barclays Capital acted as financial adviser to Blackboard.

QED Connect has entered into an agreement to acquire 75 percent of Kaleidoscope Venture Capital. Kaleidoscope’s satellite communication division, Kaleidoscope-TV, delivers DIRECTV programming through its proprietary roof top central dish system.

A Riverside Partners portfolio company, Tech Valley Communications of Albany N.Y., a regional fiber optic network., has acquired Lebanon, N.H.-based segTEL, which provides fiber optic services in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine. Q Advisors LLC, an investment banking boutique based in Denver and San Francisco, acted as exclusive financial adviser to segTEL in connection with the transaction.

Sentinel Capital Partners, a buyout shop focusing on the lower-middle market, has recapitalized National Spine & Pain Centers, providing an undisclosed amount of funding. Rockville, Md.-based National Spine provides management services to physicians specializing in interventional pain management procedures.

London-based Silverfleet Capital has agreed a majority investment with Aesica Pharmaceuticals replacing that of LDC. Members of Aesica’s executive team will reinvest a significant amount of money for a large minority stake. Debt is being provided by Lloyds, HSBC and Yorkshire Bank. Headquartered near Newcastle, Aesica has the expertise to both develop and manufacture primary (API) and secondary stage (finished product dosage forms) pharmaceuticals.

State Street has acquired Complementa Investment-Controlling AG, an investment performance measurement and analytics firm based in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The acquisition also includes wholly owned subsidiary Allocare AG, a leading Swiss asset management software provider.

Chicago-based Svoboda Capital Partners has partnered with management, Ellipse Capital and Northstar Capital to recapitalize GPA, a 71-year-old substrate manufacturer that makes everything from pressure-sensitive label paper to films for commercial printers. PNC Bank provided a senior debt facility and Northstar provided subordinated debt for the deal.

Turnbridge Capital has recapitalized Flare Industries, the company announced. Details of the funding were not released. Flare Industries is based in Austin, Texas, and designs, manufactures and installs combustion and pollution control technology and equipment. Turnbridge is an energy-focused private equity firm with offices in Dallas and Houston.

Rosemont, Ill.-based U.S. Foodservice, an operator of 64 test kitchens in the United States, has announced its new name, US Foods, and is undertaking a rebranding of the business. It will launch a line of new products and is working to provide customers with more intuitive tools and technologies. The company is jointly owned by funds managed by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc. and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

Santa Monica, Calif.-based Veggie Grill has raised $11 million in new equity funding. As part of the deal private equity firm Brentwood Associates also agreed to provide additional funding over the next year-and-a-half. Veggie Grill is a restaurant chain focused on American comfort food.

London-based Vision Capital has announced a partnership with US private equity group Speyside Equity to acquire stakes in two of its portfolio companies. Vision Capital will acquire a majority stake in German-based United Initiators and a minority stake in U.S.-based Sweet Ovations.

Vivimed Labs, an Indian drugmaker, has raised 1.27 billion rupees ($25.8 million) from two private equity investors, Reuters reported. NYLIM Jacob Ballas India Fund has invested 670 million rupees through compulsory convertible preference shares, which would be converted in 18 months at a price of 315 rupees per share, the drugmaker said in a statement. Kitara Capital invested 600 million rupees to buy equity at 327 per share, it said.

Warburg Pincus has invested an undisclosed amount of growth capital with Cortview Capital Securities, a middle-market broker dealer. The money will be used to support the sales and trading needs of Corview’s clients, the company said. Cortview was launched in September 2010, and is based in Richmond, Va.

Warburg Pincus has made a $150 million investment in Explora Petroleum, a newly formed oil and gas exploration company focused exclusively on the Norwegian continental shelf.

Westview Capital Partners, the Boston-based private equity firm, is providing a recapitalization to LDiscovery LLC, a Virginia company that provides discovery technology, the company announced. Specifics of the transaction were not revealed.

WestView Capital Partners has made a minority investment in Resource Interactive. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Columbus, Ohio-based Resource is an interactive marketing agency. BlackArch Partners advised Resource Interactive.

W.P. Carey & Co., the New York-based sale-and-leaseback deals specialist, has acquired a fund that owns 20 wholesale stores in Italy from Metro AG, in a deal valued at €300 million ($408 million).

Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co. are readying Yahoo’s books and preparing to provide potential buyers with financial information about the company, Reuters reported. Potential buyers include buyout shop Silver Lake Partners and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Zenith Infotech, a publicly traded company specializing in remote monitoring and management, cloud computing and other technology for IT service providers, has spun off its managed services business, Zenith RMM. The newly independent business has also recently inked a growth equity investment from Summit Partners. As a result, Summit’s John Carroll and Jason Glass were named to the Zenith RMM board of directors. Details of the financing were not released.