Exits

7 Days Group Holdings, a Chinese budget hotel chain, has raised $111.1 million in its IPO. The company priced 10.1 million American depository shares at $11 per share (the high end of its $9 – $11 range), and will trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol SVN. J.P. Morgan and Citi served as co-lead underwriters. Shareholders include Warburg Pincus and Actis.

American Express Co. has agreed to acquire Revolution Money, a St. Petersburg, Fla.-based provider of secure payments through an Internet-based platform. The deal is worth approximately $300 million. Revolution Money had raised around $100 million, from firms like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Steve Case’s Revolution LLC.

Archipelago Learning Inc., a Dallas-based provider of online education tools and services, raised around $103.1 million in its IPO. The company priced 6.25 million common shares at $16.50 per share (the middle of its $15 – $17 range), which gives it an initial market cap of approximately $414 million. Providence Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in Archipelago Learning in January 2007, for $84.5 million and held a 70.1 percent pre-IPO position.

Birds Eye Foods, a Rochester, N.Y.-based maker of frozen vegetables, has withdrawn registration for a $350 million IPO. Birds Eye owner Vestar Capital Partners agreed to sell Birds Eye to Pinnacle Brands Corp., a portfolio company of The Blackstone Group, for approximately $1.3 billion.

Blackstone Group and Lion Capital completed the sale of soft drinks maker Orangina Schweppes to Japanese brewer Suntory. Suntory will pay €2.6 billion ($3.86 billion) for Orangina, Reuters reported.

Brenntag, a German chemicals distributor owned by BC Partners, reportedly is amending its €2.5 billion leveraged loan to enable an IPO.

Champ Private Equity, the Australian affiliate of Castle Harlan, has sold United Malt Holdings to GrainCorp Ltd. (AX: GNC). The deal was valued at $655 million.

Charlesbank Capital Partners has retained North Point Advisors to help sell pizza chain Papa Murphy’s International Inc. China Forestry Holdings Group, a forestry plantation operator backed by The Carlyle Group and Partners Group, plans to raise up to $203 million via an IPO in Hong Kong next month.

Crimson Exploration Inc., a Houston, Texas-based natural gas and crude oil company, has filed for a $100 million stock offering. The company currently trades on the OTC bulletin board, but plans to list on the Nasdaq. Barclays Capital is serving as lead underwriter. Crimson is majority-owned by Oaktree Capital Management.

Dollar General Corp. priced shares in its initial public offering at $21 each, at the low end of expectations. The company is owned by KKR.

Fabrinet Inc., a Thailand-based provider of foundry services to optical component, module/subsystem and optics OEMs, has filed for a $150 million IPO. It plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol FN, with Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank Securities serving as underwriter. Earlier this year, Fabrinet canceled a proposed $250 million IPO, due to “market conditions.” Shareholders include H&Q Asia Pacific (58.3 percent pre-IPO stake), JDS Uniphase Corp. (6.5 percent) and J.F. Shea Co. (6.5 percent).

Gartmore, a U.K.-based fund manager owned by Hellman & Friedman, is planning a London flotation that would raise between £500 million and £550 million. The IPO would reduce Hellman & Friedman’s stake to a minority position. The San Francisco firm currently owns about 52 percent of Gartmore.

Goldner Hawn Private Equity has agreed to sell Vitality Foodservice Inc., a Tampa, Fla.-based dispensed beverage business, to Nestle Professional. No financial terms were disclosed.

J.F. Lehman & Co. has agreed to sell Atlantic Inertial Systems to Goodrich Corp. (NYSE: GR), for approximately $375 million. AIS is a Cheshire, Conn.-based provider of mission-critical guidance, stabilization and navigation products and systems for the military and defense market.

Lake Capital has sold Stamford, Conn.-based Archstone Consulting to The Hackett Group Inc. (Nasdaq: HCKT). No financial terms were disclosed.

Liberty Global, the international cable operator controlled by U.S. cable pioneer John Malone, has agreed to buy Germany’s Unitymedia from BC Partners and Apollo Management for $5.2 billion. The private-equity group bought Unitymedia for €1.5 billion ($2.2 billion) in 2003.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer said that it is exploring a sale of the company, in part due to looming debt payments. The storied Hollywood studio was purchased for $4.85 billion (including $2 billion of assumed debt) in 2005 by a group that included Providence Equity Partners, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, Quadrangle Group, Sony Corp. and Comcast Corp.

PAI Partners is mulling a 2010 IPO for portfolio company Chr.Hansen, which could generate upwards of €1 billion. Chr.Hansen is a Danish food ingredients company in 2005.

rue21 Inc., a Warrendale, Pennsylvania-based apparel retailer, priced shares in its IPO at $19 apiece, above the expected range of $16 to $18. The retailer sold 6.77 million shares, raising a total of $128.5 million. Funds advised by private equity firm Apax Partners, which are the largest stockholders, are not selling any shares in the IPO. Their stake in rue21 will fall to 57.9 percent from 62.2 percent.

Smedvig Capital has sold Protego Real Estate Investors, a commercial real estate fund management company formed in 2004, to Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC. No financial terms were disclosed, although Smedvig said the sale produced a 6.2x return with a 58 percent IRR.

Sun Capital Partners has sold Timothy’s Coffees of the World, Inc. to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. for approximately $157 million in cash. The firm purchased the specialty coffee supplier for $19.9 million in equity, and the sale represents a 5.25x cash-on-cash return and 186 percent IRR for Sun Capital Partners V.

TDC, the Danish telecom group owned by five private equity firms, is meeting with banks to help it sell part of the firms’ 88 percent stake (valued at around $7.4 billion). TDC backers are Blackstone Group, KKR, Permira, Apax Partners and Providence Equity Partners.

Trony Solar Holdings Co., a Chinese thin-film solar company, has set its IPO terms to 19.5 million American depository shares being offered at between $9 and $11 per share. Backers include Intel Capital and JPMorgan Special Situations.

Vestar Capital Partners has agreed to sell frozen vegetable producer Birds Eye Foods to Pinnacle Brands Corp., a portfolio company of The Blackstone Group, for approximately $1.3 billion. Birds Eye is currently in registration for a $350 million IPO, and reported around $935 million in revenue for the year ending June 30, 2009.

Warner Chilcott PLC (Nasdaq: WCRX) priced a secondary offering of 20 million common shares at $22.5 per share. Sellers included: Bain Capital (3.94 million shares, 33.82 million remaining), DLJ Merchant Banking (4.23 million sold, 35.26 million remaining), JPMorgan Capital (4.23 sold, 33.82 million remaining), and THL Partners (4.43 million sold, 33.82 million remaining).