Deals

21 Centrale Partners is expected to acquire the security unit of French papermaker Arjowiggins, after being granted exclusivity on the sale. The deal is expected to be valued at around €350 million ($447.2 million).

AmWINS Group Inc., a Charlotte, N.C.-based wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products and services, has acquired three medical stoploss wholesalers. No financial terms were disclosed. AmWINS is a portfolio company of Parthenon Capital.

Ascension Insurance Inc., a Kansas City-based insurance and employee benefits agency focused on mid-market companies nationwide, has acquired the Dennis Bartlett agency, a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based firm focused on medical malpractice. No financial terms were disclosed. Ascension Insurance is a portfolio company of Parthenon Capital and Century Capital Management.

Aspen Surgical Products Holding Inc., a portfolio company of RoundTable Healthcare Partners, has acquired of the Wound Care and Ophthalmics business of U.K.-based Unomedical Ltd. No financial terms were disclosed.

Blackstreet Capital Partners has acquired substantially all the assets of Professional Appearances Inc., a direct marketer of medical apparel and diagnostic equipment to healthcare professionals. No financial terms were disclosed. Blackstreet has renamed the company Scrubs AC Inc.

CHAMP Private Equity, an Australian affiliate of Castle Harlan Inc., has acquired a 75 percent stake in Australian financial advisor Centric Wealth. The deal was valued at A$80 million ($51.9 million).

Charter Oak Equity and RFE Investment Partners have recapitalized Brook & Whittle Ltd., a North Branford, Conn.–based printer of decorative label solutions for beverage and personal care product companies. No financial terms were disclosed. Citi Capital Strategies advised Brook & Whittle on the deal.

Clarion Capital Partners has won a bankruptcy auction to acquire the assets of fine china maker Lenox Group Inc. The deal is valued at approximately $100 million, including assumption of debt. KPS Capital Partners announced last month that it was the successful bidder for Lenox, but Clarion said the bidding process was reopened during a bankruptcy court hearing on Feb. 25.

CrossHarbor Capital Partners has been named “stalking horse” bidder in the proposed sale of equity interests in the Yellowstone Club. CrossHarbor’s bid is approximately $100 million.

Delphi has agreed to sell its steering business to General Motors, and terminated an existing agreement to sell the unit to Platinum Equity Partners. The original Platinum deal was valued at around $450 million, including assumed liabilities and a $257 million contribution from GM.

Dow Chemical Co. is in talks to sell a piece of its agricultural sciences unit to private equity firms, according to The Wall Street Journal. The entire business is valued at between $5 billion and $7 billion, with potential buyers reported to include The Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

Elevation Partners has acquired a minority stake in MarketShare Partners, a Los Angeles-based marketing analytics firm. No financial terms were disclosed. Ted Meisel, a senior advisor to Elevation and former head of search marketing at Yahoo, will join the MarketShare board of directors.

Enara Group, a U.K.-based elderly care homes operator owned by August Equity, has acquired both Country Care and five of six businesses from The Home Care Service group. No financial terms were disclosed. August Equity originally acquired Enara Group last November.

EQT Partners has offered a restructuring proposal to the lenders of EQT portfolio company Sanitec, a European maker of bathroom fixtures like sinks and toilets. The offer would include EQT injecting €100 million of equity into the company, in exchange for reducing the debt to €350 million. Sanitec’s lenders reportedly are considering the proposal, which is viewed as an opening gambit.

Evolution Capital Partners has acquired Accurate Group LLC, a Charlotte, N.C.-based provider of title insurance and settlement services. No financial terms were disclosed.

Friends Provident has ended talks regarding a sale of its 52 percent stake in F&C Asset Management, after being unable to find a suitable offer. It will now redistribute the stake to its shareholders.

Hale Capital Partners has acquired the Location Services business of Autodesk (Nasdaq: ADSK). No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which results in an independent company named LocationLogic. Autodesk will retain a minority stake.

HM Capital Partners has acquired SunTerra Resources LLC, a Houston-based oil and gas exploration and production company focused that will use under-balanced drilling techniques. No financial terms were disclosed.

JJB Sports Plc, a U.K.-based sportswear retailer, said that it was considering multiple second-round offers for its fitness clubs business.

KPS Capital Partners has agreed to buy certain assets of luxury tableware maker Waterford Wedgwood. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which includes assets within Waterford Crystal, the pottery business Wedgwood and fine china maker Royal Doulton. Not included are either German porcelain maker Rosenthal or the company’s production facilities at its Waterford crystal plant in Ireland.

LDC has sponsored a £72 million merger of portfolio company Pro-Bel with Snell & Wilcox, a portfolio company of Advent Venture Partners. LDC will hold a 60 percent stake in the combined company, a provider of services to the U.K. broadcasting market.

Marfin Investment Group, a Greek buyout firm, has agreed to acquire Olympic Airlines from the Greek government.

Marlin Equity Partners has acquired MDeverywhere Inc., a Hauppauge, N.Y.-based provider of physician revenue cycle management software services. No financial terms were disclosed.

Moody’s Investors Service has cut the corporate family rating of Clear Channel Communications to Caa3, which is nine steps below investment grade. The company was taken private last year for $17.9 billion by Bain Capital and THL Partners.

MSouth Equity Partners has sponsored an acquisition of LMS Intellibound Group Inc., a provider of outsourced managed labor services, primarily to the grocery and food service sectors. No financial terms were disclosed, except that MCG Capital Corp. sold its position for $40.5 million.

North Castle Partners has formed Mineral Fusion Natural Brands LLC, a platform company focused on the all-natural cosmetics, hair-care and body care market.

Northern Link, a Scotland-based private equity firm, has acquired a majority stake in salmon producer Lighthouse Scotland. The deal was valued at £17 million.

Olympus Partners has acquired Holopack International Corp. from The Hanson Corporate Group. No financial terms were disclosed. Holopack is a Columbia, S.C.-based contract manufacturer of blow-fill-seal packaging products, and will change its name to The Ritedose Corp.

Ports America, a portfolio company of Highstar Capital, has agreed to invest $150 million to update a section of Oakland, California’s port. The investment would be part of a 50-year deal that would allow Ports America to operate out of the Oakland site.

Premier Foods, a U.K.-based foods group, confirmed plans for a £404 million capital raise, which would be used to help reduce a £1.8 billion debt-load. Buyers include Warburg Pincus.

Rabo Equity Advisors, the agriculture and food sector focused private equity firm, has announced its debut investment. The firm said it would invest Rs 45 crore in Hyderabad based agri-biotech firm Sri Biotech Laboratories India Ltd. Sri Biotech is is involved in manufacturing and marketing of bio-organic agri inputs which are used for crop nutrition and crop protection.

Regency Energy Partners (Nasdaq: RGNC), Alinda Capital Partners and an affiliate of GE Energy Financial Services are forming a joint venture to finance and construct Regency’s Haynesville Expansion Project, a North Louisiana pipeline that will transport gas from the Haynesville Shale. Regency will contribute its Regency Intrastate Gas System in North Louisiana, for a 38 percent stake. Alinda will contribute $126.5 million in cash for a 12 percent stake, while GE will contribute $526.5 million for a 50 percent stake.

Roark Capital has invested an undisclosed amount of equity in Simply Floored, an Atlanta-based provider of home improvement services. In related news, Simply Floored has acquired Wilserv Corp., a provider of energy efficiency products and services for existing homes in the Southeast United States.

Sagem Communications, a portfolio company of Gores Group, has agreed to acquire the broadband and WiMax unit of Gigaset Communications, a subsidiary of Arques Industries AG and Siemens AG. No financial terms were disclosed.

Safilo SpA, an Italian eyewear maker, is in talks with several private equity firms for a capital recap that would dilute the current position of primary shareholder 3T. Possible buyers include Bain Capital, CVC and PAI Partners.

SunGard Data Systems Inc. has acquired Performance Pathways Inc., a Mechanicsburg, Penn.-based provider of instructional management software for K-12 school districts. No financial terms were disclosed. SunGard was acquired for $11.4 billion in 2005 by Bain Capital, Blackstone Group, GS Capital Partners, KKR, Providence Equity Partners, Silver Lake Partners and TPG Capital.

Sunrise Telecom Inc. (OTC BB: SRTI), a San Jose, Calif.–based provider of test and measurement solutions for telecom, cable and wireless networks, is exploring strategic options that could include a sale to private equity firms. It has retained Cabrillo Advisors as a strategic advisor.

Takett, a flooring and sports surfacing company that is 50 percent owned by KKR, has agreed to acquire Brazilian flooring company Fademac from Etex Group for an undisclosed amount.

Terra Firma Capital Partners has written down its investment in EMI, the music group that it bought in June 2007, by half.

TowerBrook Capital has agreed to acquire a 62.5 percent stake in French auto parts distributor Autodistribution Group, as part of a debt-for-equity swap. TowerBrook will invest 88 million, while AG’s prior owner, Investcorp, will invest €22 million to retain a 16 percent position. And additional €50 million will be made available for future acquisitions. Olivier Roux, an operating executive with TowerBrook, will take over as CEO.

TriNet Group Inc., a portfolio company of General Atlantic, has agreed to acquire human resource outsourcing services provider Gevity HR Inc. (Nasdaq: GVHR). The deal is valued at $98 million in cash, or $4 per share.

Virgin Media has put its content business on the block, according to The Times of London. The unit could generate up to £500 million.

Westwood One (OTC BB: WWON) has agreed to a restructuring plan that includes private equity firm Gores Group increasing its stake in the radio broadcaster to 72.5 percent. Gores originally invested $100 million via a PIPE last year, and now would provide another $25 million in equity.

Wilks Broadcast Group LLC, a platform acquisition company of The Wicks Group of Cos., has acquired three Denver-area radio stations from CBS Corp. The deal was valued at $19.5 million in cash, and included KWLI-FM, KIMN-FM and KXKL-FM. In early 2007, Wilks Broadcast bought seven stations from CBS in Kansas City and Columbus, Ohio, for $138 million.