Exits

3i Group has kicked off the sale of its portfolio company Azelis, a Belgian chemical distributor, Reuters reported. 3i Group, which is based in London, has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to help with the sale. The firm bought Azelis in 2007 for about €315 million, Reuters wrote.

Connecticut-based Altus Capital Partners completed the sale of its D.S. Brown Co., a provider of safety-critical transportation infrastructure products, to Gibraltar Industries, Inc. According to a statement from Altus, the 28 months of the PE firm’s ownership, D.S. Brown increased its revenues by 35% and its EBITDA by 133 percent. Specifics of the transaction were not publicized.

Bayside Capital-backed Pendum LLC signed an agreement to sell its cash logistics business to Loomis Armored US LLC. The transaction will include Pendum’s armored transportation and cash-in-transit services operations. The deal is expected to close April 30. Pendum will retain its core maintenance business.

Bravo Brio Restaurant Group Inc. has priced a secondary public offering of 4.1 million shares at $16.25 per share. Selling shareholders include affiliates of two private equity firms: Bruckmann Rosser Sherrill & Co. Management and Castle Harlan Inc.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, The Carlyle Group and Bank of America Merrill Lynch sold a combined 50 million shares in Hertz Global Holdings Inc., about 24 percent of their holding in the company, Reuters reported. The partial exit by the company’s three top shareholders sent shares down 3 percent in after-market trading, Reuters reported. After the stock sale, the three together would continue to hold a 39 percent stake in Hertz.

Guy Hands’s private equity firm Terra Firma is considering a sale of the Odeon & UCI cinema chain, Reuters reported. The firm has been in talks with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which may advise the firm on a potential sale, Reuters wrote. The business is expected to fetch at least $1.1 billion.

British shop Doughty Hanson is considering an initial public offering for portfolio company Avanza Group, Reuters reported. Doughty Hanson bought the Spanish bus company in 2006, and has hired JP Morgan to advise on options, Reuters said. The company is worth a reported £900 million ($1.3 billion).

Dubai International Capital LLC, the private equity investment arm of Dubai Holding, will sell its 45 percent stake in valve maker KEF Holdings Inc. for $178 million, Reuters reported. Based in the United Arab Emirates, KEF Holdings sells valves for the oil and gas sector. The exit is part of a larger deal in which Tyco International Ltd will pay $300 million for a 75 percent stake in the company. Dubai International acquired the stake in 2008 for $126 million, Reuters said.

Dunkin’ Brands Inc. is considering an initial public offering of about $500 million in the second half of 2011, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. The IPO could be as large as $750 million, one of the sources said. Two of the sources said that there is disagreement among the sponsors over the company’s valuation. Dunkin is backed by Bain Capital, The Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners.

British vacuum technology maker Edwards has set a price range of 200 to 270 pence for its London listing, Reuters reported. The company is currently owned by private equity groups CCMP Capital and Unitas Capital. Edwards will sell roughly 35 percent of the company during the offering, Reuters reported.

General Electric Co. said it will pay about $3.2 billion for a 90 percent ownership in electrification and automation equipment maker Converteam, Reuters reported. GE is buying the company from a group of shareholders that includes Barclays Private Equity and LBO France, Reuters said. Converteam’s senior management will retain a 10 percent stake in the company.

GNC Holdings Inc. saw its shares rise in its New York Stock Exchange debut, Reuters reported. The company, a retailer of wellness and nutrition products, saw its shares reach $16.55 in early trading, after pricing at $16. Apollo Global Management, GNC’s previous owner, had tried to take GNC public twice before selling the store chain to Ares Management LLC and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board in 2007, Reuters wrote. Ares planned to sell 2.4 million shares in the IPO. OTPP planned to sell 3 million shares.

German property group GSW, which is owned by Goldman Sachs’ Whitehall Fund and buyout firm Cerberus Capital, is planning an initial public offering for the second quarter, Reuters reported. This is the company’s second attempt at a public listing. The company shelved plans for an IPO in May because of concern over the Greek debt crisis.

GTCR has completed its sale of Fairmount Cheese Holdings Inc. to Saputo Inc. The $270.5 million deal provided an exit for GTCR, which formed Fairmount in 2003 as a means to acquire and consolidate companies in the specialty cheese industry. China’s Henan Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Inc., which is backed by the private equity unit of Standard Chartered plc, plans to raise 3.5 billion yuan ($533.72 million) in an initial public offering, Reuters reported, citing a story in the Shanghai Securities News. Golden Dragon is China’s largest precise copper tube producer, Reuters wrote. The company is also backed by Lehman Brothers Holdings and Goldman Sachs.

HgCapital is planning to sell talc mining and processing company Mondo Minerals, Reuters reported. The firm has hired Lazard to help sell the business, which it values between €300 million and €400 million ($425 million to $565 million). HgCapital acquired Amsterdam-based Mondo in 2007. No terms of the original sale were disclosed.

Florida-based H.I.G. Capital has sold its claims vendor management services company Allegient Systems to Bottomline Technologies, a listed, New Hampshire-based provider of collaborative payment, invoice and document automation solutions. Terms of the transaction were not publicized.

Huron Capital has exited its investment in Quest Specialty Chemicals, earning 4.1x its original investment, the firm said. Huron exited as Quest was recapitalized by Audax Group, Moelis Capital Partners, and Quest management. Terms of the deal were not released. Huron invested in Quest from The Huron Fund II LP, a $185 million fund raised in 2005.

Kraton Performance Partners, the listed, Houston-based company, will have six million of its shares coming to market through affiliates of TPG Capital and JP Morgan Partners LLC. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co., and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. will be the bookrunning managers of the offering.

Lombard Investments said it had sold its 23 percent stake in S. Pack & Print Public Co. Ltd. to Oji Paper Co. Ltd. Lombard, a firm with offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong and San Francisco, said it realized a 3.5x return on the sale.

French buyout shop PAI Partners is considering a sale of its majority stake in electrical and mechanical engineering group Spie, Reuters reported. PAI Partners bought a controlling stake in Spie in 2006 for around €1 billion ($1.41 billion).

Saban Brands, the U.S.-based brand management company, could bid for Hit Entertainment, the Apax Partners-run entertainment rights manager that owns rights to kids’ shows including “Thomas the Tank Engine,” an article at Marketwatch said. Since reclaiming the rights to his “Power Rangers” phenomenon last year from Disney, Haim Saban, founder of Saban Brands, has looked to expand on his stable of rights.

Shutterfly has agreed to buy Tiny Prints. The deal includes $141 million in cash and roughly 3.9 million shares of Shutterfly stock. Tiny Prints, of Sunnyvale, Calif., provides cards, invitations, personalized stationery and photo books. Tiny Prints has reportedly received funding from Technology Crossover Ventures and growth equity firm Summit Partners.

British online payments provider Skrill Holdings plans to raise up to £184 million ($295 million) in its upcoming initial public offering, Reuters reported. The company is pricing its shares between 235 pence and 335 pence each, Reuters said. The IPO is expected to be completed the week of April 11. Skrill is majority owned by private equity group Investcorp Technology Partners.European firm Stirling Square Capital Partners agreed to sell portfolio company Microtecnica to the aircraft parts supplier Goodrich Corp. in a deal valued at €330 million ($466.8 million), Reuters reported. Stirling Square Capital Partners had bought Microtecnica, a maker of actuation systems for the aerospace industry, in July 2008 from a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., Reuters said. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2011.

TVC Capital has sold portfolio company Accordent Technologies Inc. to publicly traded communications company Polycom Inc. for $50 million in cash. Accordent is a maker of video content management and delivery technology.

Walter Investment Management Corp. said it has agreed to buy Green Tree Credit Solutions in a deal valued at $1.065 billion. St. Paul, Minn.-based Green Tree is a loan servicer. Walter Investment will issue about 1.8 million shares of stock to Green Tree, assume about $20 million of Greentree existing debt and issue $765 million of new debt. Centerbridge Partners is the seller. The deal is expected to be completed in third quarter. Credit Suisse advised Walter Investment while Morgan Stanley advised Green Tree. Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as financial adviser to the seller.

Western Presidio has sold portfolio company Summit Energy Services to Schneider Electric, an energy management firm. Terms of the transaction were not specified and advisers on the deal were not disclosed.