Deals

Advantage Capital Partners has committed an undisclosed amount of capital to Grameen America, a nonprofit microfinance organization focused on those living below the poverty line in the United States.

Apax Partners, BC Partners and Providence Equity Partners reportedly are among the bidders for corporate investigations company Kroll, which is being auctioned off by Marsh & McLennan Cos.

Apollo Management has made a bid for fast-food restaurant chain operator CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKE), rivaling an existing offer from THL Partners. CKE also said it has received a $12.25 per share buyout offer from Western Acquisition Holdings.

Apollo Management’s $635 million acquisition of theme park operator Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN) has failed to gain the necessary support from Cedar Fair shareholders. The two parties have agreed to terminate the $11.50 per share deal, which would have had a total value of $2.4 billion (including refinancing of existing debt). Cedar Fair will pay Apollo a $6.5 million termination fee.

AXA Private Equity reportedly is in talks to buy online travel company Go Voyages from Groupe Arnault for between €300 million and €350 million.

Better Capital has acquired the U.K. subsidiary of Reader’s Digest out of administration. The deal is valued at £13 million.

Blackstone Group reportedly is considering a bid for German department store Kaulhof, which is owned by Metro group.

Blackstone Group has agreed to invest around $50 million into Jagran Prakashan (BO: JAGP), an Indian print media company.

Blackstone Group and The Wellcome Trust have launched a joint bid for bank branches being sold by RBS for more than £1 billion. There are at least four other bidders.

Blackstreet Capital Partners has acquired a controlling interest in Western Capital Resources Inc. (OTC BB: WCRS), an operator of 55 cash advance locations in the Midwestern United States and 34 prepaid wireless outlets. No financial terms were disclosed.

California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (Nasdaq: CPKI) is seeking buyers. The restaurant chain’s current market cap is just over $500 million.

Carlyle Group, Cinven, CVC and General Atlantic reportedly are prepping binding bids for port and shipping agent Inchcape Shipping Services. Seller Istithmar is seeking more than $700 million.

CCMP Capital has completed its acquisition of a 37 percent stake in Oklahoma City-based oil and gas producer Chaparral Energy, for $345 million.

Centerbridge Partners has entered the auction for jewelry chain Zale Corp. (NYSE: ZLC), according to The New York Post. The paper also said that fellow bidders Apollo Management and Sun Capital Partners have fallen out of contention, after “low ball” offers.

Cerberus Capital Management has agreed to acquire defense contractor DynCorp International Inc. (NYSE: DCP), for $17.55 per share (49 percent premium to the closing price the day before the deal was announced). The total deal is valued at $1.5 billion, including assumed debt.

Crescent Financial Partners has invested $10 million for a minority stake in Prominent Pictures LLC, an independent film production company.

Denham Capital has invested an undisclosed amount of equity into Trans-Tasman Resources Ltd., an Australian company that explores and develops iron sands deposits off of New Zealand.

EducationDynamics, a provider of marketing services to the education sector, has acquired Education Connection, a resource that helps prospective students find suitable colleges, from Kaplan. No financial terms were disclosed. EducationDynamics is a portfolio company of Halyard Capital.

Exponent Private Equity has agreed to buy Gorkana, a journalist database for PR pros, according to PaidContent. The deal is valued at under £25 million, with Exponent merging Gorkana with existing portfolio company Durrants.

GMR Group, an Indian infrastructure and energy conglomerate, reportedly is looking to raise $100 million in new private equity funding for its power group. The unlisted unit recently raised $200 million from Temasek Holdings.

Green Bank, a Houston-based bank focused on the middle-markets, has raised $115 million in private equity funding from Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, Harvest Partners and Pine Brook Road Partners. No one firm will own more than 24.9 percent of Green Bank’s common stock through the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval.

HSBC has received multiple bids for its U.K. train leasing company, which comes with an asking price of approximately $3.1 billion. Suitors include CVC Capital Partners and a consortium of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, 3i Infrastructure and Star Capital.

Iron Data, an Atlanta-based portfolio company of Thompson Street Capital Partners, has acquired CAVU Corp., a Raleigh, N.C.-based provider of regulatory software for government agencies in North America. No financial terms were disclosed.

JW Asset Management has acquired Arbor Pharmaceuticals, a Raleigh, N.C.-based pediatric drug developer. No financial terms were disclosed.

KKR reportedly is in talks to acquire a 68 percent stake in Indian back-office service provider Firstsource Solutions (BO: FISO), for approximately $250 million.

Landis+Gyr, a Switzerland-based provider of electricity metering and smart meter solutions, has raised $165 million in private equity funding led by DLJ Merchant Banking Partners.

Liberty Dialysis LLC, a Mercer Island, Wash.-based operator of dialysis centers, has raised an undisclosed amount of new private equity funding. KRG Capital Partners led the round, and was joined by return backers Bain Capital Ventures and Ignition Partners. The company previously raised more than $30 million.

Lilliput Kidswear, an Indian apparel maker, has raised $86 million from Bain Capital ($60 million) and TPG Growth ($20 million), in exchange for a “significant minority stake.”

Lineage Power Holdings Inc., a portfolio company of Gores Group, has completed its acquisition of PECO II Inc. (Nasdaq: PIII), a Galion, Ohio-based provider of engineering and on-site installation services related to communications power systems and power distribution equipment. The deal was valued at around $16.7 million, with PECO stockholders receiving $5.86 per share.

Lone Star Funds has completed its take-private acquisition of hotel owner and operator Lodgian Inc. (NYSE: LGN) for approximately $270 million (including assumed debt). Lodgian stockholders received $2.50 per share.

Lubrizol (NYSE: LZ) has joined the bidding process for German additives group Cognis, which is being sold by Permira and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners for approximately €3 billion.

Mason Dixon Energy, a Bridgeport, West Va.-based provider of land services to oil and gas companies east of the Mississippi River, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from Hudson Ferry Capital.

Munchkin Inc., a North Hills, Calif.-based maker of infant and toddler products, has sold a “significant minority stake” to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan for an undisclosed amount.

New Vitality, a Farmingdale, N.Y.-based direct marketer of premium nutritional supplements and personal care products, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from Baird Capital Partners.

Oak Hill Capital Partners has agreed to acquire ViaWest Inc., a provider of mission-critical technology infrastructure services, from Trinity Equity Investors, Goldman Sachs and Quilvest. No financial terms were disclosed.

Paul Capital Healthcare has acquired from Dyax Corp. (Nasdaq: DYAX) the rights to royalties and other payments related to the commercialization of Xyntha by Pfizer Inc. The deal is valued at $12 million, including a $10 million up-front payment. Xynthia is a recombinant factor VIII product for patients with hemophilia A.

RFID Invest, an investment firm focused on RFID technology, has acquired InSync Software Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based maker of RFID and sensor-based application software. No financial terms were disclosed. InSync had raised more than $12 million in funding from firms that include Intel Capital and Rustic Canyon Partners.

Roark Capital Group has acquired Wingstop Restaurants Inc., a Richardson, Texas-based chain of more than 650 chicken wing restaurants in operation or in development. No financial terms were disclosed.

Roll Coater Inc., a portfolio company of Willis Stein & Partners, has acquired the coil coating assets of Material Sciences Corp. The deal was valued at $10 million.

Roofing Supply Group, a wholesale distributor of roofing supplies, has acquired the roofing division assets of Oklahoma City-based Northwest Roofing Supply Inc. No financial terms were disclosed. Roofing Supply Group is a portfolio company of The Sterling Group.

Saratoga Investment Advisors and CLO Partners have agreed to purchase a minority stake in business GSC Investment Corp. (NYSE: GNV), as part of a $55 million recapitalization plan to help the company grow its mid-market lending business.

Silver Lake Partners has acquired a 60 percent stake in payment processing company Mercury Payment Systems, for an undisclosed amount.

Stone Point Capital and Hellman & Friedman have agreed to acquire Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc., a Memphis, Tenn.-based provider of claims and productivity management solutions to corporate and institutional clients. The deal is valued at $1.1 billion, with sellers including Fidelity National Financial, THL Partners and Evercore Capital Partners.

Studio Moderna Holdings, an electronics and consumer products retailer in Central and Eastern Europe, has raised an undisclosed amount of minority funding co-led by Insight Venture Partners and Templeton Strategic Emerging Markets. JH Partners also participated.

Summit Materials, an acquisition platform in the building materials market, has acquired Cornejo & Sons, a Wichita, Kansas-based producer of gravel, asphalt and ready-mix concrete. No financial terms were disclosed. Summit was formed last fall by The Blackstone Group, Silverhawk Capital Partners and former BHP Billiton CEO Charles Goodyear. It has up to $780 million in capital commitments.

Summit Medical, a U.K. medical supply platform sponsored by The Riverside Co., has acquired German orthopedic implant supplier Eska Implants AG. No financial terms were disclosed.

Summit Partners has invested $30 million into Indian seed company Krishidhan Seeds Ltd., in exchange for a minority ownership stake.

TA Associates has acquired a minority stake in Aurora Networks, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based developer of advanced optical transport systems for broadband networks. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, in which TA bought shares from existing Aurora shareholders. Specific sellers were not identified, but aurora has raised more than $60 million from firms like Sprout Group, Battery Ventures, ComVentures and Castile Ventures.

Temasek Holdings has agreed to invest $200 million into the power unit of India’s GMR Infrastructure (BO: GMRI).

Telecorps, a provider of entertainment production and post-production equipment rental and related services, has acquired postproduction facility Laser-Pacific Media Corp. from Eastman Kodak. No financial terms were disclosed. Telecorps is a portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital.

Three Rivers Operating Co., an Austin, Texas-based upstream oil and gas company, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from the Riverstone/Carlyle Energy and Power Funds. Three Rivers also announced that it would purchase certain assets of Chesapeake Energy in the Permian Basin of West Texas and Southeast New Mexico.

Unilever is preparing to put its Italian frozen foods unit up for sale next week, with an asking price in excess of €600 million. Expected bidders include Lion Capital and Permira.

U.S. Renal Care Inc. has agreed to acquire Dialysis Corp. of America (Nasdaq: DCAI) for around $112 million, or $11.25 per share. U.S. Renal Care shareholders include Cressey & Co., Salix Ventures and SV Life Sciences.

VantaCore Partners, an acquisition platform focused on core mineral assets like quarries, has raised $100 million in private equity funding from Trilantic Capital Partners. It also has secured a $15 million acquisition facility and $27 million senior secured credit facility from PNC. VantaCore previously raised funding from Kayne Anderson, Tortoise Capital Resources Corp. and Hartz Capital Investments.

Warburg Pincus has joined Hellman & Friedman and Silver Lake Partners on a joint bid to acquire Interactive Data Corp. (NYSE: IDC).

Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe has agreed to acquire a majority stake in GlobalCollect, an Amsterdam-based provider of local e-payment solutions for international customer not-present channels. The seller is General Atlantic. No financial terms were disclosed.

WestView Capital Partners has sponsored a recapitalization of Peerless Industrial Group Inc., a Winona, Minn.-based manufacturer of chains, fittings, wire forms, tire chains wire rope and cordage. No financial terms were disclosed.

Yankee Group, a Boston-based market research company, has raised $10 million in new private equity funding from majority shareholder Alta Communications. The capital will be used to support “the strategic expansion of its research on the impact of global connectivity.”

Yucaipa Cos. has joined film producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein on a $600 million bid for studio Miramax, which is being sold by Walt Disney Co. Other bidders include Gores Group and Platinum Equity.