Firms & Funds

Access Capital Partners of Paris has closed its third European mid-market buyouts fund-of-funds with €307 million in capital commitments.

Apollo Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: AINV) is planning a secondary public offering of 16 million common shares.

Citigroup Private Equity has closed Citigroup Capital Partners II, a $3.297 billion direct private equity fund that will act alongside other private equity firms.

Dewey Ballantine LLP and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP have called off their proposed merger. In a joint statement, the firms said: “While both firms tried their best to work through these challenges, we were unable to bring the merger to completion. No one issue led us to this point, and each firm leaves this process with great respect for the leaders and partners of the other.”

Equity International, the real estate private equity firm affiliated with Sam Zell’s Equity Group Investments, has closed its third fund with $300 million in capital commitments.

Forbion Capital Partners has launched as a spinout of the life sciences VC team of ABN Amro Capital. Its initial fund is €200 million, with ABN Amro holding a 25% stake and Coller Capital underwriting the remainder.

Goldman Sachs has closed its first GS Infrastructure Fund with more than $6.5 billion in capital commitments (including $750 million from Goldman Sachs). The fund will target opportunities in traditional infrastructure sectors, including transport infrastructure (i.e., toll roads, airports and ports) and regulated gas, water and electrical utilities.

Golub Capital has closed its fifth fund with $1 billion in capital commitments. The firm had held a $700 million first close in October. Limited partners include St. Paul Traveler’s Insurance, Alfred I. Dupont Trust, Private Advisors, the University of Richmond, and the Carpenter Co. Pension Plan.

GSC Group of Florham, Park, N.J. has closed its third distressed debt fund with $530 million in capital commitments.

Heller Ehrman LLP announced that it plans to open an office in London later this year. It would be the law firm’s first European office, and fourth outside of the United States.

HM Capital Partners has selected JPMorgan to provide fund administration services. As part of the deal HM Capital’s existing fund administration team will become part of JPMorgan Private Equity Fund Services, and will continue to support HM Capital as a third party administrator.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has opened an office in Hong Kong. David Patrick Eich, a partner focused on private equity, has relocated from London to run the office.

The Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) has issued an RFP for a non-discretionary private equity advisor.

RBC Capital Markets has completed its acquisition of Daniels & Associates, an M&A advisor to the cable, telecom and broadcast industries. No financial terms were disclosed.

Milestone Capital Partners is changing its name to Blackstreet Capital Management, according to LBO Wire. The move comes one year after the firm spun out from Milestone Merchant Partners, and is being done to prevent confusion with fellow buyout firm Milestone Partners.

Monomoy Capital Partners has closed its inaugural turnaround fund with $280 million in capital commitments. Limited partners include Drum Capital, Bear Stearns Asset Management, Horizon 21 (formerly Swiss Re), Oppenheimer & Co., St. Paul-Travelers, and Morgan Creek Capital. MVision Private Equity Advisors served as placement agent.

ProQuest Investments has closed its fourth fund with $425 million in capital commitments. The firm focuses on venture capital opportunities in the healthcare space, and has offices in Princeton, N.J., San Diego and Montreal.

Quantum Energy Partners, a Houston-based private equity firm focused on the energy sector, has closed its fourth fund with $1.32 billion in capital commitments. Champlain Advisors served as placement agent.

Robert W. Baird & Co. has launched a corporate restructuring I-banking group that will provide equity and debt financing and M&A advisory services to financially-distressed mid-market companies, as they seek to reorganize. It will be led by William Welnhofer, formerly a principal with Starshak Welnhofer & Co.

TriLyn LLC and Investcorp have held a $100 million for close on TriLyn-Investcorp Mezzanine Partners I, a fund that will make structured mezzanine and other high-yielding debt and preferred equity deals in U.S. commercial and residential real estate. The initial $100 million came from Investcorp, its clients and the Bank of Scotland. Additional capital commitments of up to $50 million may be sought by the partners. TriLyn and Investcorp intend to leverage the fund, which will create approximately $300 million to $400 million of total capital.

The Washington State Investment Board gave preliminary approval for a $500 million commitment to KKR’s first fund focused exclusively on Asian buyouts. WSIB has committed $4.1 billion to KKR since 1982, producing $6.2 billion in realized proceeds and $4.4 billion in profits. The overall relationship’s IRR is 20.2 percent.

Zabeel Investments of Dubai has acquired an undisclosed equity stake in Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj Capital. No additional details were disclosed.