Exits

AGA Medical Holdings Inc., a Plymouth, Minn.-based maker of medical devices the treatment of structural heart defects and vascular diseases, raised $199.4 million in its IPO. The company priced 13.75 million shares at $14.50 per share, which was below both the original $19-$21 range and revised $15-$16 range. It now trades on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol AGAM. Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe acquired a majority stake AGA Medical via a 2005 equity recap.

Amadeus Global Travel has hired three lead underwriters for a planned 2010 IPO: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. Amadeus shareholders include BC Partners, Cinven, Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa.

American Capital has sold its equity stake in HomeAway Inc., an Austin, Texas-based operator of an online vacation rentals website, to existing shareholders. American Capital says the $15 million sale represented a $4 million gain.

American Capital has sold Imperial Supplies LLC, a distributor of facilities maintenance products, to Grainger (NYSE: GWW). No financial terms were disclosed.

AmTrust Financial Services Inc. said it agreed to initially invest $42.5 million in a joint venture to acquire struggling GMAC’s U.S. consumer property and casualty insurance business. Cerberus Capital Management maintains a minority stake in GMAC.

Ancestry.com, a Provo, Utah-based online resource for family history, has set its IPO terms to 7.41 million common shares being offered at between $12.50 and $14.50 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $614 million, were it to price at the high end of its range. The IPO is expected to price on Nov. 4. Shareholders include Spectrum Equity Investors (67 percent), Crosslink Capital (6.2 percent)and W Capital Partners (6.1 percent).

Blackstone Group is planning to float Merlin Entertainments early next year, in an IPO that could value the theme park operator at around £2 billion.

BMC Software has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Tideway Systems Limited (Tideway), a leading provider of IT discovery solutions. Tideway has received investments from Apax Partners, Accel Partners, Scottish Equity Partners, and Nesta.

Candover and Cinven are considering a full sale of portfolio company Springer Science and Business Media, after failing to sell a minority stake for approximately €500 million.

Cellu Tissue Holdings, an Alpharetta, Ga.-based maker of household and industrial paper products, has filed for a $125 million IPO. It plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol CLU, with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan serving as co-lead underwriters. Company shareholders include Weston Presidio.

Cetip, a Brazilian clearing house for fixed income securities and over-the-counter derivatives, raised approximately $508 million in an IPO. Backer Advent International sold shares in the offering.

Corinthian Colleges Inc. (Nasdaq: COCO) has agreed to buy career college operator Heald College for $395 million in cash. Heald is minority-owned by Summit Partners, and operates nine campuses in Northern California, Hawaii and Oregon.

Freedom Group Inc., a Madison, N.C.-based rifle maker, has filed for a $200 million IPO. No underwriter information was disclosed. The company is owned by Cerberus Capital Management.

Gartmore, a U.K. fund management firm that is 50 percent owned by Hellman & Friedman, is planning a London floatation.

Generac Holdings Inc., a Waukesha, Wis.-based maker of standby and portable generators, has filed for a $300 million IPO. It plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol GNRC, with J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs serving as co-lead underwriters. CCMP Capital and Unitas Capital bought Generac for approximately $2 billion in late 2006.

Global Geophysical Services Inc., a Missouri City, Texas-based provider of technology that collects seismic data for oil and gas industry, has filed for a $150 million IPO. It plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol GGS, with Credit Suisse and Barclays Capital serving as co-lead underwriters. Backers include Kelso & Co. and Wayzata Opportunities Fund. GGS filed for a $145 million IPO in 2006, but pulled the registration earlier this year.

HealthPort Inc., an Alpharetta, Ga.-based provider of healthcare IT solutions to hospitals and health systems, has set its IPO terms to six million common shares being offered at between $14 and $16 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $360 million, were it to price at the high end of its range. HealthPort is owned by ABRY Partners.

Lonza withdrew its $460 million offer to acquire Canada’s Patheon, citing the cost and the opposition of majority shareholder JLL Partners, a buyout firm which owns 57 percent of Patheon.

Minzhong, a Chinese food processing company backed by GIC and Olympus Capital, has hired JP Morgan to help it go public in Singapore.

Pacific Alliance Group has canceled a proposed sale of its 67 percent stake in Chinese baby stroller maker Goodbaby Group, which had attracted interest from private equity firms. PAG felt that the bids were too low, and now will seek new loans to help refinance Goodbaby’s debt.

Pegasus Tower Development Co., a portfolio company of Primus Capital, has sold ten multi-tenant wireless communications towers. No financial terms were disclosed.

RailAmerica Inc. (NYSE: RA), a portfolio company of Fortress Investment Group, held its IPO at $15 per share. Shares closed at $13.75 after the first day of trading.

Sinopec has offered to make a joint bid with state-run Ghana National Petroleum Corp. for Kosmos Energy’s stake in the Jubilee oilfield in Ghana, according to The Wall Street Journal. Kosmos, which is backed by Blackstone Group and Warburg Pincus, recently agreed to sell the stake to Exxon Mobile, but GNPC deemed the sale illegal.

STR Holdings Inc., an Enfield, Conn.-based maker of solar power module encapsulants, has set its IPO terms to 12.3 million common shares being offered at between $13 and $15 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $620 million, were it to price at the high end of its range. The company plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol STRI, while Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs serving as co-lead underwriters. DLJ Merchant Banking Partners is STR’s majority shareholder, while Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. also is a major holder.

VS Holdings Inc., the North Bergen, N.J.-based parent company of retailer The Vitamin Shoppe, has set its IPO terms to around 9.1 million shares being offered at between $14 and $16 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $443 million, were it to price at the high end of its range. The company plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol VSI, with JPMorgan, BoA and Barclays serving as co-lead underwriters. Vitamin Shoppe has been owned since 2002 by Irving Place Capital Management (f.k.a. Bear Stearns Merchant Banking). It had filed for an IPO in 2007, but withdrew the offer due to market conditions.

The Wicks Group of Cos. has agreed to sell online career education company Penn Foster Education Group Inc. to The Princeton Review Inc. (Nasdaq: REVU). The deal is valued at $170 million in cash.