Swiss energy firm Alpiq‘s sale of German power engineering business Alpiq Anlagentechnik Group is attracting interest from a number of private equity firms and trade buyers, Reuters wrote. First round bids were due in mid-November.
American Securities is in talks to buy Unifrax Corp. for a second time, sources told peHub. American Securities was expected to announce the acquisition before the end of the month, one person said. The deal has been in the works for some time but the choppy credit markets have hampered the transaction, a banker said.
An Apax Partners-led investor group, which includes Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, has completed its $6.1 billion buy of Kinetic Concepts. KCI shareholders approved the deal on Oct. 28.
Arsenal Capital Partners portfolio company Breckenridge Insurance Group, a specialty underwriting manager and wholesale insurance broker, has closed on $3.25 million in debt financing from Square 1 Bank. The company will use the funds for growth efforts. Arsenal Capital Partners is based in New York.
Audax Group portfolio company United Recovery Systems has acquired the businesses of AID Associates Inc., which runs collection services companies Plaza Associates and A.C.B. American. Houston-based United Recovery Systems provides a third-party contingency debt collection services for credit card companies, auto loan companies and retail companies. Terms were not released. Audax bought United Recovery in 2008.
Aircraft leasing group Avolon has sealed a $300 million equity commitment from the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. Avolon has raised a total of $1.4 billion in equity capital over the past year and a half, from investors including private equity firms Cinven, CVC Capital Partners and Oak Hill Capital Partners.
Bacchus Capital Management has invested in Sbragia Family Vineyards, a California (Dry Creek Valley) winemaker. Financial terms weren’t announced. Bacchus is a San Francisco firm that invests in the wine industry. Sam Bronfman II, Peter S. Kaufman and Henry F. Owsley co-founded Bacchus in 2007. Bronfman is the former chairman of Diageo Global Wines and the ex-president of Seagram Chateau and Estate Wines.
Bain Capital and BC Partners are up against domestic retailers in the €1 billion ($1.4 billion) competition to buy the Netherlands’ No. 2 supermarket chain C1000, Reuters reported. The buyout shops have entered into the second round of the sale process. Dutch groups Jumbo and Sperwer Holding are also in the running.
BIA Digital Partners II, a Chantilly, Va.- based firm focused on expansion-stage companies, led financing and provided an equity co-investment with Patriot Capital II that enabled Vantage Media and BrokersWeb to merge.
BlackEagle Partners has acquired the Midwest operations of Lyman Lumber Co., including its Chanhassen location, Automated Building Components, Carpentry Contractors Corp., and Lyman Lumber of Wisconsin.
The Blackstone Group has completed its acquisition of Emdeon Inc., a provider of health care revenue, payment cycle management and clinical information exchange technology. The deal was valued at roughly $3 billion. Hellman & Friedman will maintain a “significant minority equity interest” in Emdeon, the company said in a press release.
The Blackstone Group and Wells Fargo & Co. have teamed up to buy a pool of about $600 million in loans on U.S. commercial property from Allied Irish Banks, Reuters reported. The deal, the most recent in a spate of such sales by Irish banks, allows the two to buy the portfolio of loans backed by hotels, office buildings and retail properties for about 15 percent to 20 percent off the face value.
Cadent Energy Partners portfolio company Pipeline Supply & Service has acquired Wasatch Supply. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Wasatch provides consumable supplies and equipment to the oil and gas, pipeline and construction industries in the United States and abroad. News of the deal was announced by GulfStar Group, a Houston investment bank.
The Carlyle Group and General Atlantic are in talks to invest a combined $150 million to $200 million in Indian online retailer Flipkart, Reuters reported. The firms would pick up a minority stake in the company, which is India’s largest bookseller and also a major seller of mobile phones, music, movies and other products. Bangalore-based Flipkart had earlier raised $31 million in funding from U.S. venture capital firms Tiger Global Management and Accel Partners, Reuters wrote.
Charterhouse Group and Thompson Street Capital Partners have acquired Perimeter Technology in partnership with Cequel III, a St. Louis-based management and investment firm. Oklahoma City-based Perimeter is a provider of data center colocation and managed hosting services. Terms of the deal were not released.
Chatham Lodging Trust and Cerberus Capital Management said that they have completed their buy of 64 hotels of Innkeepers USA Trust. The total gross purchase price was about $1.02 billion. Cerberus and Chatham were locked in a bitter dispute with Innskeeper USA Trust for two months after backing out of a deal to buy the hotels at a higher price.
Clayton Dubilier & Rice has been identified as the bidder for Irish food group Greencore as reported in the Sunday Times, Reuters reported. Greencore, one of the biggest sandwich and ready-meal suppliers to Britain, received a potential takeover approach, sending its shares soaring.
CVC Capital Partners
has made an offer for the insurance arm of Royal Bank of Scotland for about £4 billion ($6.5 billion), Reuters reported, citing the Mail on Sunday. RBS Insurance, Britain’s No. 1 motor insurer trading under the Direct Line and Churchill Brands, is up for sale to appease European regulators after a taxpayer-funded bailout of RBS during the 2008 crisis left it 83 percent state-owned, Reuters wrote.
Empire Investment Holdings portfolio company Polyester Fibers has closed on a new three-year, $25 million credit facility with PNC Bank. Empire created Polyester Fibers, a diversified market leader in the non-woven industry, by integrating various business units acquired from both Leggett & Platt and Ahlstrom Corp.Encompass Supply Chain Solutions Inc., a provider of forward and reverse logistics for electronics products and replacement parts, has completed its acquisition of the assets of Encompass Group Affiliates Inc. Terms were not released. The board of Encompass Supply Chain Solutions includes representatives from Sankaty Advisors, the credit affiliate of Bain Capital.
Private equity investor Equity International has committed $75 million to SAMHI, a developer and owner of hotels in India. Based near Delhi, SAMHI is focuses on the development, acquisition and ownership of select-service, business-class hotels across India.
GE Energy Financial Services and German fund KGAL are investing a combined 111.1 million euro ($157 million) into a solar power plant using molten salt energy storage in Badajoz, Spain. The investment is GE Energy Financial Services’ first in a concentrated solar power plant using molten salt storage.
GlaxoSmithKline is hoping to receive second round bids for a clutch of its non-prescription drugs by mid-November, Reuters reported. Bain Capital and The Blackstone Group, which has partnered with Prestige Brands, are seen as the front-runners and most likely participants for the second round of the sale, Reuters wrote.
The Gores Group, via its Gore Logistics Holdings LLC, has acquired supply chain company Clark Holdings, the company announced. The deal closed on Nov. 4. Gores Group has offices in Los Angeles and Boulder, Colo.
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., once the Unites States’ largest supermarket owner, has lined up $490 million in financing for its plans to emerge from bankruptcy as a private company, Reuters reported. The debt and equity financing will come from Yucaipa Companies, an investment vehicle of billionaire Ron Burkle; Goldman Sachs Asset Management; and Mount Kellett Capital Management.
Great Point Partners, a Greenwich, Conn.-based firm focused on health care investments, has put an undisclosed amount into Aris Teleradiology. Hudson, Ohio-based Aris was formed in 2007 and provides radiology services to hospitals, imaging centers, and radiology groups. Terms of the deal were not released.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has increased his stake in WebMD Health Corp., Reuters reported. In a regulatory filing, the fund-manager revealed a stake of 9.49 percent in the company, up nearly 1.5 percentage points, from the shareholding he declared on Oct. 21, Reuters wrote. Icahn’s stake now is the largest single position in the company.
Industrial Growth Partners has acquired Ideal Clamp Products in a management buyout transaction. Headquartered in Smyrna, Tenn., the company is a manufacturer of worm drive and specialty hose clamps and couplings used in a wide variety of end markets and applications.
Industrial Opportunity Partners, an operations-focused private equity firm based in Evanston, Ill., has acquired the Light Duty Filtration assets of Cummins, a leader in the design, manufacture, distribution, and service of engines and related technologies. IOP has renamed the business Kuss Filtration. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
A consortium led by online shopping mall operator InterPark Corp. has signed a deal to take over Samsung Group procurement arm iMarketKorea Inc. in a deal worth more than 422 billion won ($378.4 million), Reuters reported. The InterPark-led consortium beat private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and MBK Partners when it was picked as preferred bidder for iMarketKorea, set up by Samsung in 2000 to provide goods and maintenance services for business clients, Reuters wrote.
Investcorp’s U.S.-based real estate arm has made two recent equity investments. The firm has closed on the purchase of a seven-story Park Tower office complex in Long Beach, Calif., for an undisclosed sum and also the $37 million acquisition of the Bethesda Health City building in Boynton Beach, Fla.
JLL Partners is acquiring American Dental Partners for approximately $398 million, including $81 million in currently outstanding debt. American Dental Partners provides business services to dental group practices. The company is affiliated with 27 dental group practices, which have 282 dental facilities in 21 states.
Kennedy Wilson Holdings Inc., an international real estate investment and services company, said it and its institutional partners have agreed to buy a loan portfolio from Bank of Ireland for $1.8 billion, Reuters reported. In July, the Irish government halved its stake in Bank of Ireland. Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings, buyout firm WL Ross & Co., Fidelity Investments, investment firm The Capital Group and Kennedy Wilson were named as the investors by Bank of Ireland, Reuters wrote.
Kidd & Co., a mid-market investment firm, has sponsored the recapitalization of Numet Machining Techniques Inc. in partnership with founding shareholders Mark Roscio and Tony Neto. Stratford, Conn.-based Numet is a manufacturer of precision machined parts, kits, and assemblies for jet turbine engines for commercial and military aircraft. Terms were not released.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is in talks to buy most of Samson Investment Co., a privately held U.S. oil and gas company, Reuters reported. The private equity firm is not likely to want Samson’s Gulf of Mexico assets, one of the sources said. While the whole company could be worth $8 billion to $10 billion, KKR’s bid without the Gulf of Mexico assets is likely to be in the range of $7 billion, Reuters wrote.
KPS Capital Partners is paying $180 million to buy American & Efird Inc. from Ruddick Corp. Holly, N.C.-based American & Efird is a manufacturer and distributor of industrial sewing thread, embroidery thread and technical textiles.
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners portfolio company Pacific World Corp. has completed its buy of the W.E. Bassett Co. Financial terms weren’t announced. W.E. Bassett supplies beauty care implements such as tweezers and eyelash curlers as well as foot care products.
New York shop Metalmark Capital has acquired a majority stake in Glen Allen, Va.-based Bostwick Laboratories Inc., the firm announced. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bostwick Laboratories is a provider of urologic anatomic pathology laboratory services. The Metalmark investment will help Bostwick with growth efforts and to expand development of its pathology laboratory services, which specialize in the monitoring and diagnosis of cancer.
MidCap Financial, a commercial finance company focused on middle market health care companies, has acted as sole bookrunner, lead arranger, documentation agent and administrative agent in a senior secured credit facility in support of a leveraged recapitalization and growth equity investment in Professional Orthopedic and Sport Physical Therapy by Great Point Partners. GPP, based in Greenwich, Conn., is a health care investment firm with approximately $450 million of equity capital under management.
New York-based MidOcean Partners has acquired Global Knowledge, a Cary, N.C.-based company that annually provides business training to more than 250,000 people within companies and government organizations via training centers and the Internet. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Monarch Alternative Capital
has agreed to invest $50 million equity in Veritas Financial Partners. Veritas, of Boca Raton, Fla., provides senior secured loans to mid-market businesses.
New York-based buyout shop Monomoy Capital Partners has acquired Oneida Ltd, the maker of flatware and dinnerware. The investment is the first deal out of the firm’s second fund, Monomoy Capital Partners II. Terms were not released. Oneida was formed in 1880, and makes flatware and dinnerware for consumers and the food service industries.
Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia has acquired a controlling stake in Korean restaurant franchiser Nolboo, Reuters reported. According to media reports, the deal was valued at roughly 120 billion won ($108 million). Nolboo has about 700 restaurants across Korea, China, Singapore and Thailand.
Malaysian buyout firm Navis Capital has acquired Australian firm Photon Group‘s Field Marketing & Retail Agencies division for A$146.5 million ($152 million), Reuters reported. Navis also agreed to sell its safety footwear asset Kings Safetywear to U.S. diversified manufacturer Honeywell International for $338 million.
Canadian pension fund Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System has sealed additional financing for its acquisition of Scotland-based shipping services company V.Group, Reuters reported. HSBC and Citi joined the Royal Bank of Canada in underwriting a $260 million loan for the acquisition. OMERS acquired V.Group in July from private equity firm Exponent for $520 million backed by leveraged loans solely underwritten at the time by RBC, Reuters wrote.
Opus Bank has raised $100 million in new equity financing led by Opus Bank’s founding chairman and CEO, funds affiliated with Elliott Management Corp., funds affiliated with Fortress Investment Group; and a fund affiliated with Starwood Capital Group. The money will be used for growth efforts, including acquisitions.
Global fund manager Partners Group has provided mezzanine financing for the acquisition of a portfolio of high quality hotels located in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
Pfingsten Partners has acquired Arrowhead Electrical Products, a Blaine, Minn.-based global distributor of aftermarket alternators, motors and other rotating electrical products and components for the mobile equipment marketplace. The transaction closed on Oct. 31, marking the ninth platform investment for Pfingsten’s $525 million Fund IV.
Phoenix Asset Management has acquired DAVID Corp., a provider of risk management and insurance software and services. Terms of the deal were not released. Phoenix is a private equity firm focused on mid-market investments.
Progreso Financiero has sealed a $30 million mezzanine debt facility from listed company BlackRock Kelso Capital Corp. Progreso Financiero, using a proprietary risk scoring system, provides loans without collateral to clients who lack a credit history. The company, formed in 2005, has lent out $210 million, mostly in microloans to the Hispanic community.
Private equity firms The Riverside Company and Halder have acquired KEYMILE-Group. The secondary buyout is the 21st acquisition for Riverside in 2011, and its third investment in Germany this year. Former investor HANNOVER Finanz Group, as well as former CEO Dr. Ing. Ziaedin Chahabadi, sold their stakes to the private equity firms. Riverside is the new majority shareholder, Halder holds a substantial share and KEYMILE management has increased its previous shareholdings.
Rockbridge Growth Equity, a Detroit firm, has led the buy of Purchasing Power. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Falcon Investment Advisors, which was also part of the deal, provided junior capital financing. Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group and Fortress Credit Corp. led a $127 million credit facility to back the deal. Atlanta-based Purchasing Power provides a program that lets consumers buy products using payroll deduction.
Marine firm Siem Kapital and fund manager North Atlantic Value will pay £32 million ($52 million) in cash to buy GTL Resources, the owner of an ethanol and bio-refining company, Reuters reported. Siem and NAV will pay one pound a share for GTL, which produces more than one million gallons of ethanol per year through its subsidiary, Illinois River Energy.
The Stephens Group, a Little Rock, Ark.-based firm, is taking a majority stake in Summit Industrial Construction. Atlanta-based Summit is a heavy industrial construction company focusing in the power, chemical, paper, plastics, minerals and mining, and food/beverage markets. Terms were not released.
Sterling Partners is paying $46 per share, or $590 million, to buy MOSAID Technologies Inc., the company announced. The offer represents a 45.3 percent premium to the company’s closing price in August. MOSAID licenses patented intellectual property in the areas of semiconductors and communications, and develops semiconductor memory technology.
Svoboda Capital Partners portfolio company Databank IMX has acquired Information Access Systems. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Orlando, Fla.-based IAS is a systems integrator specializing in enterprise content management solutions.
Sycamore Partners has acquired a 51 percent stake in Mast Global Fashions, Limited Brands Inc.‘s apparel sourcing division, Reuters reported. The private equity firm plans to run the sourcing and production business as a stand-alone company. Terms were not released. Limited will retain a 49 percent stake in the business.
TA Associates has completed its buyout of CoSentry, a data center, cloud computing and managed service provider. Sellers were McCarthy Capital and WaittCorp Investments, the investment company of Gateway Computer co-founder Norm Waitt. Terms were not released.
Tar Heel Capital has backed a management led-buyout of LiveChat, which gives the company’s founders a 60 percent stake. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Naspers was the seller. LiveChat, with offices in Chapel Hill, N.C. and in Poland, provides chat software for e-commerce sales and support.
Mobile broadband solutions company Tekelec is to be acquired by a consortium led by Siris Capital Group and including affiliates of The ComVest Group, funds and accounts managed by GSO Capital Partners, Sankaty Advisors, ZelnickMedia and other Siris limited partners and affiliates. The transaction is valued at approximately $780 million.
THL Credit has completed two investment transactions in the third quarter: to recapitalize and provide expansion capital to Airborne Tactical Advantage Co., and to provide backing for the strategic investment in The Studer Group. THL Credit Greenway Fund, THL Credit’s managed fund, also invested in each of these transactions.
Germany’s biggest steelmaker, ThyssenKrupp, invited private equity buyers to a road show about a sale of its stainless business, Reuters reported. Among the firms invited to participate were The Apollo Group, The Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Reuters said.The operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange has agreed to support Maple Group‘s C$3.8 billion ($3.8 billion) buyout proposal after a prolonged takeover battle and a failed attempt to merge with the London Stock Exchange, Reuters reported.
Trilantic Capital Partners
has acquired Implus Corp., a leader in the footwear, outdoor and fitness accessories markets in a management buyout.
Private equity firms Trilantic Capital Partners and Sagard are seen as likely to post final offers for Sara Lee Corp.‘s French baked goods unit, Reuters reported.
India’s Videocon Industries is looking to sell a 25 percent stake in its direct-to-home broadcast services business for roughly $75 million to $100 million. The company has hired UBS to help it find an investor, and is reportedly in talks with private equity firms, Reuters wrote. Potential investors include ICICI Venture.
Wi-Lan Inc. has no plans to sweeten its hostile takeover bid for rival Canadian patent licensing firm Mosaid Technologies after U.S. private equity firm Sterling Partners topped its $532 million offer last week, Reuters reported. Mosaid agreed to be acquired by Sterling for C$590 million ($581 million), or C$46 a share.