Deals

3M has agreed to sell its global pharmaceuticals division in three separate deals worth a total of around $2.1 billion. First, Graceway Pharmaceuticals, a Bristol, Tenn.-based drug company owned by GTCR, will pay $875 million for 3M’s pharma operations in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. Graceway also will subsume fellow GTCR portfolio company Chester Valley Pharmaceuticals. Second, Ironbridge Capital and Archer Capital (both of Australia) will acquire 3M’s Asia-Pacific pharma operations for $349 million. Finally, Sweden’s Meda will acquire 3M Pharma’s European business for $857 million. Press reports earlier this week had indicated that Warburg Pincus and a pair of Indian drug companies had been considering bids for the assets.

Alta Communications has acquired Retail Systems Alert Group, a Newton, Mass.–based provider of extended retail market research and analysis. No financial terms were disclosed.

Amec PLC (London: AMEC), a UK-based construction company, has rejected a Gbp1.5 billion buyout offer from First Reserve Corp. and Texas Pacific Group.

Amoun Pharmaceuticals of Egypt has been acquired for approximately $460 million by Citigroup Venture Capital, Capital International Private Equity Fund IV and Concord International. The deal involves the 93% of the company’s stock that is not publicly traded. The buyers are also expected to make an offer for the remaining 7% of the shares.

Archer Capital has agreed to buy listed Australian sporting goods retailer Rebel Sport for Au$4.60 per share. The deal values Rebel Sport at approximately Au$370 million.

Austin Ventures has sponsored a recapitalization of CreditCards.com, an online destination for consumers to search, compare, and apply for credit cards. No financial terms were disclosed. In related news, former Bankrate CEO Elisabeth DeMarse was named company CEO. American Capital Strategies and CreditCard.com founder Dan Smith also participated in the recap.

Bain Capital Partners and Catterton Partners have agreed to acquire OSI Restaurant Partners Inc. (NYSE: OSI), a restaurant operator whose brands include Outback Steakhouse, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Roy’s and Carrabba’s Italian Grill. The deal is for $40 per share, or approximately $3.2 billion (including assumed debt). It is expected to close by next April, with OSI founders Chris Sullivan, Robert Basham and J. Timothy Gannon also participating. Wachovia Securities served as financial advisor to OSI.

Bain Capital and The Blackstone Group have completed their $44 per share acquisition of crafts retailer Michaels Stores Inc. (NYSE: MIK). The total deal is valued at more than $6 billion.

Baring Asia Private Equity has acquired a 25% stake in AirTAC Automatic Industrial Co., a Chinese manufacturer and distributor of pneumatic components. No financial terms were disclosed.

The Blackstone Group has completed its $6.55 per share buyout of Encore Medical Corp. (Nasdaq: WNMC). The total deal is valued at approximately $887 million.

Blue Point Capital Partners and Endeavour Capital have acquired Dri-Eaz Products Inc., a Burlington, Wash.–based provider of restorative and drying products. No financial terms were disclosed.

Broad Oak Energy Inc. of Dallas, Texas has received a private equity commitment of up to $150 million from Warburg Pincus, in order to pursue the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and gas leasehold interests in certain onshore regions of the United States.

Brockway Moran & Partners has acquired MW Industries Inc., a Logansport, Ind.-based manufacturer and catalog marketer of custom engineered mechanical components. CITIC Capital Partners and company management also participated.

Buffets Inc., an Egan, Minn.-based portfolio company of Caxton-Iseman Capital, has completed its $16.25 per share acquisition of Ryan’s Restaurant Group Inc. (formerly Nasdaq: RYAN). Leverage for the deal was arranged by Credit Suisse Securities, UBS Securities and Goldman, Sachs & Co., which resulted in a full refinancing of Buffets’ and Ryan’s existing debt; and a sale-leaseback transaction arranged by affiliates of Fortress Inv*stment Group.

Caltius Equity Partners has acquired a controlling interest in Meyer Control Corp., a Vacaville, Calif.-based instrumentation and control systems integrator, specializing in the water and wastewater industry. No financial terms were disclosed. Caltius partnered on the deal with David Bell, former president and COO of TestAmerica Environmental Services and TestAmerica Drilling Services.

The Carlyle Group and Unison Capital Group (Japan) are co-sponsoring a management buyout of Toshiba Ceramics from Toshiba Corp. Toshiba Ceramics makes silicon wafers and other materials for microchips. Toshiba Corp. will sell its 40.4% stake, with the deal valuing Toshiba Ceramics at approximately $775 million.

Caxton-Iseman Capital has agreed to acquire Valley National Gases Inc. (AMEX: VLG) for $27 per share. The total deal is valued at approximately $312 million, including around $63 million in assumed debt. Valley National is an independent U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases delivered in “packaged” or cylinder form, related welding equipment and supplies and non-pipeline propane.

Circle Peak Capital has acquired and recapitalized WealthTrust Inc., a Nashville, Tenn.-based wealth management subsidiary of Morgan Keegan & Co. and Regions Financial Corp. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which also included participation from company management and junior leverage from Falcon Investment Advisors.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is in talks to acquire the U.S. Foodservice group of Royal Ahold NV for approximately $5 billion.

Diamond Castle Holdings has agreed to acquire customer relationship services company PRC LLC from IAC/InterActiveCorp (Nasdaq: IACI). No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was done in partnership with PRC management.

Energy Capital Partners has completed its purchase of the competitive generation business from Northeast Utilities and its affiliates, representing approximately 1,442 megawatts. No financial terms were disclosed.

EQT Partners has agreed to acquire Danish furniture manufacturer Bodilsen AS for approximately $171 million from Bodilsen Holding AS, a company listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

Excel Staffing Services, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based provider of payroll and staffing solutions, has completed a $7 million recapitalization sponsored by Windstone Capital Partners. The deal included both a commercial credit line and mezzanine capital.

Fortis Private Equity has acquired Innovative Medical Solutions BV, a Dutch provider of branded medical and wellness products. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which also included participation by company management.

Four Seasons Hotels Inc. (NYSE: FS) has received an $82 per share buyout offer from Cascade Investment (backed by Bill Gates), Kingdom Hotels International (backed by Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud) and Four Seasons chairman and CEO Isadore Sharp. The total deal would value Four Seasons at approximately $3.7 billion.

Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE: FSL) shareholders approved the pending $40 per share acquisition by The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group, Permira and Texas Pacific Group. The deal is expected to close later this quarter.

The Glover Park Group, a Chicago–based lobbying and PR firm, has raised an undisclosed amount of private funding from Svoboda, Collins and Madison Capital Funding. Glover was advised on the deal by AdMedia Partners.

Golden Gate Capital has acquired Neways International, a Springville, Utah-based supplier of dietary supplements and personal care products. No financial terms were disclosed.

Golden Gate Capital has completed a recapitalization of Venus Swimwear Inc., and subsidiaries WinterSkills LLC and Venus Manufacturing. No financial terms were disclosed for the recap, which was done in partnership with company management. Venus is a Jacksonville, Fla.-based women’s swimwear company. It will now reside beneath the umbrella of Golden Gate acquisition platform Catalog Holdings Inc.

GP Investments has acquired a 14.4% stake in Brazilian shopping center developer Grupo Ecisa for approximately $45 million. In related news, a U.S.-based real estate private equity firm also will subscribe for an equal equity stake.

Graham Partners has completed a $215 million recapitalization of portfolio company Infiltrator Systems, a manufacturer of plastic chambers for onsite wastewater management systems in the septic leach-field and storm-water markets. First-lien providers include Merrill Lynch Capital, GE Antares and National City Bank, while second-lien providers include American Capital Strategies and Deerfield Capital.

GTCR has formed QFour Digital Inc., a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based acquisition platform focused on tech businesses in the online advertising and marketing services industry. Jeffrey Pullen, former COO of ValueClick, will serve as QFour’s CEO.

Hellman & Friedman and WPP are planning to bid between €800 million and €1 billion for France-based sports marketing agency Sportfive SA, according to The Telegraph of London. Current Sportfive shareholders include Advent International, EQT Partners and Goldman Sachs.

ImpreMedia LLC, a New York-based publisher of Spanish-language newspapers, has acquired Vista Magazine, a dual-language general interest publications with a circulation of one million. No financial terms were disclosed. ImpreMedia is a portfolio company of Halyard Capital and Clarity Partners.

InfrastruX Group, a Bellevue, Wash.-based provider of utility infrastructure construction and maintenance services, has acquired Hawkeye LLC, a Hauppauge, N.Y.-based provider of construction services to the utility industry and state and local municipalities. The transaction was financed through a $430 million recapitalization of InfrastruX Group, which is owned by Tenaska Power Fund.

The Jordan Co. has agreed to acquire Reinhold Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: RNHDA) for $12.50 per share, or an aggregate value of approximately $41.3 million. Reinhold Industries is a Santa Fe, N.M.-based manufacturer of custom composite components and sheet molding compounds. It was advised on the deal by TM Capital.

Linde AG has agreed to sell forklift division KION Group to KKR and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners for Euro 4 billion (including Euro 400 million of assumed liabilities).

Lion Chemical Capital has agreed to acquire the EPDM and Rubber Chemicals businesses of Chemtura Corp. (NYSE: CEM). No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, although Chemtura did say that the units have annual revenues of approximately $300 million.

Macquarie Infrastructure Partners has agreed to acquire Halterm Ltd., operator of a shipping terminal at the Port of Halifax, Canada. The deal is valued at approximately Cnd$172.75 million.

Resilience Capital Partners of Cleveland has completed its acquisition of SpecialtyChem Products Corp., a Marinette, Wis.-based chemical company that had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 12. No financial terms were disclosed.

River Associates Investments of Chattanooga, Tenn. has agreed to acquire Wheaton Science Products from Alcan Inc. (NYSE: AL). Wheaton is a Millville, N.J.-based maker of equipment for scientific laboratories. No financial terms were disclosed for the sale, which is expected to close later this month.

The Riverside Company has agreed to acquire ONI SGPS SA, the wire-line telecom unit of Portuguese utility Energias de Portugal. The deal is valued at Euro 160 million, and is expected to close early next year.

Paintearth Energy Services Inc., a manufacturer of production enhancement equipment for North American oil and gas producers, has acquired two business units of Integrated Production Services, a division of Complete Production Services Inc. The acquisition was financed via a Cnd$8.2 million equity and subordinated note investment led by VenGrowth Private Equity Partners. Existing shareholder Canadian Medical Protective Association also participated.

Private equity firms reportedly are abandoning their efforts to acquire France-based sports marketing agency Sportfive SA, due to opposition from France’s Football Authority. Interested firms had included Hellman & Friedman (teamed with WPP), Apollo, Cinven and Permira. Only strategic bidders remain. The deal is expected to be worth between €800 million and €1 billion.

SBS Broadcasting, a Luxembourg-based broadcasting company controlled by Permira and KKR, has completed its acquisition of the Radio Express network in Bulgaria. No financial terms were disclosed.

Sun Capital Partners and Golden Gate Capital have agreed to acquire retailer Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: EBHI) for $9.25 per share (12% premium to 4-week closing average). The total deal is valued at approximately $614 million, including around $328 million of debt to be repaid. It is expected to close in Q1 2007. Goldman Sachs served as financial advisor to Eddie Bauer.

Thoma Cressey Equity Partners has completed its acquisition and subsequent merger of VisionSolutions and iTera Inc., in order to create a provider of solutions to the System I market. No financial terms were disclosed.

TotalStone, a Millstone Township, N.J.-based warehouse distributor of Owens Corning Cultured Stone, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from Brookstone Partners.

United BioSource Corp., a Bethesda, Md.-based provider of evidence-based services and information to the pharma and life sciences markets, has acquired BioCor LLC, a Yardley, Pa.-based provider of clinical data services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. No financial terms were disclosed. United BioSource is backed by Grotech Capital Group, J.W. Whitney and Oak Investment Partners.

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has agreed to sell the former MCI’s division serving corrections facilities to Global Tel*Link Corp., a portfolio company of The Gores Group. No financial terms were disclosed.

Vivendi SA invited KKR to discuss a possible $50 billion buyout of the media conglomerate, but the talks ultimately fell apart, according to the NY Times. Hurdles to such a deal would include potential tax liabilities and French regulations that prevent foreign firms like KKR from holding majority stakes in broadcasters like Vivendi unit Canal Plus.

Warburg Pincus has reached an agreement with First Data International (NYSE: FDC) to buy German transaction processing company EasyCash. No financial terms were disclosed. When First Data acquired GZS Gesellschaft für Zahlungssysteme GmbH in June, the FCO stipulated that GZS divest EasyCash to a third party as part of the merger control clearance.

Warburg Pincus has taken a stake in 7 Days Inn Group, an economy hotel chain in China, according to SinoCast.

York Label, an Omaha, Neb.-based manufacturer of pressure-sensitive labels, has acquired SK Label Co., an El Dorado, Calif.-based label supplier to the wine, food and beverage industries.No financial terms were disclosed. York Label was formed earlier this year by Wind Point Partners, in tandem with CEO Rich Egan.