Firms & Funds

Actis Capital LP of London selected FirstRain Inc. for use in its investment research process. FirstRain is a California-based provider of real-time business intelligence solutions that has VC backers including Ampersand Ventures, Diamond Ventures and Oak Investment Partners.

AES Solar, a joint venture between publicly traded AES Corp. and private equity firm Riverstone Holdings, has raised €103 million ($135 million) for a portfolio of solar photovoltaic projects in Italy. Specific terms of the financing were not released. Riverstone Holdings is an energy and power-focused private equity firm with roughly $17 billion under management.

French buyout shop Astorg is planning to raise €1 billion ($1.31 billion) for new deals, Reuters reported. The firm plans to hold a close in mid-January for the fund, its fifth. Astorg invests primarily in French companies in the €100 million to €800 million euro enterprise value range, Reuters said.

Private equity fund-of-funds KCC Management has spun off from Key Capital Corp. and has been renamed Cuyahoga Capital Partners. The new firm will be led by managing partners Chris Hanrahan and Bart Shirley. Cuyahoga Capital is based in Cleveland.

New York-based Monomoy Capital Partners said it has closed its second restructuring fund, Monomoy Capital Partners II LP, with $400 million in commitments. The fund exceeded the firm’s initial $350 million target, and included investments from unnamed pension funds, fund-of-funds and endowments.

South Korea’s National Pension Service is planning to form a private equity fund with local conglomerates including KT Corp. and SK Group, Reuters reported, citing a South Korean newspaper. South Korea’s national pension is the fourth largest in the world, and will focus its private equity investments in overseas resources and in green industry investments, Reuters said. Stone Point Capital said it had closed its fifth buyout fund at $3.5 billion. Trident V LP exceeded Stone Point’s target of $2.25 billion, a statement said. Greenwich, Conn.-based Stone Point focuses on financial services. Lazard Frères & Co. acted as placement agent while Debevoise & Plimpton was their law firm.