Firms & Funds

Bank of America plans to spin off its last large private equity fund, BAML Capital Partners, which has more than $5 billion in assets, Reuters reported, adding that the bank has no plans to make new buyout investments. The newly spun-off fund will manage the bank’s private equity assets for a fee, and will wind down the positions over a period of time, Reuters said.

The Carlyle Group distributed a whopping $6.4 billion to investors during the first quarter, Reuters reported. Carlyle reportedly told investors about the distribution amount, the most distributed in a quarter, in a recent letter, Reuters wrote. It is more than the $7.5 billion that the firm distributed in all of 2010. News of the distribution was first reported by Bloomberg.

The Carlyle Group and TPG Capital are in talks to launch a joint effort to buy a $1.5 billion stake in Malaysia’s RHB Capital, Reuters reported. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank owns the stake. The buyout firms have hired an investment bank to advise them on the potential offer, though the name of the bank was not released. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch are running the auction for Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Reuters said.

French financial holding company Eurazeo will pay €132 million ($184.4 million) to buy OFI Private Equity, Reuters reported. Eurazeo will offer 10 of its shares for every 54 shares in OFI. The offer values OFI at €10.52 per share, representing a 14 percent premium to the company’s stock price on the day before the deal was announced, Reuters wrote.

Goldman Sachs’s private equity funds will pay up to $291.6 million for a 19.9 percent stake in Enstar Group, a company that invests in insurance and reinsurance companies and portfolios, Reuters reported. GS Capital Partners has invested $110.2 million to date in Enstar. The funds plan to invest additional money, following approval by regulators and Enstar shareholders, Reuters reported. Bermuda-based Enstar focuses on companies and portfolios that are no longer writing new policies, known as being in “run off.”

Finnish private equity firm Intera Partners Oy has closed its Intera Fund II Ky with €200 million ($291.3 million). Intera said it will continue to invest primarily in Finnish companies with growth potential in their domestic market, or the potential to expand abroad. The firm typically targets profitable companies with turnover between €10 million and €100 million. The firm closed its first fund in 2007.

L Capital, a private equity manager backed by French luxury goods giant LVMH, has launched a $650 million private equity fund for consumer deals in China, India and Southeast Asia, Reuters reported. The fund, L Capital Asia, will take minority stakes in retail, food and beverage and beauty and wellness companies, Reuters wrote. The fund expects to invest $200 million this year, and will reportedly announce one Chinese and one Indian fashion company investment by late June.

Montagu Private Equity, the former European buyouts business of HSBC, has raised €2.5 billion ($3.6 billion) for new deals, Reuters reported. The firm’s fourth fund attracted investment from pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds from the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Reuters wrote. The firm surpassed its initial €2.5 billion target, and will invest in deals worth between €100 million and €1 billion.

Newly formed Montana Capital Partners AG has launched to provide liquidity and asset management services for private equity investors, the firm announced. Based in Baar, Switzerland, the firm’s services will include liquidity solutions such as secondary investment programs and the creation of securitized structures and asset management services.

Oxford Finance, a company that makes loans to life science and health care companies, has raised $460 million from Sumitomo Corp. and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, Reuters reported. Oxford Finance has been majority-owned by Sumitomo since 2004. The company will use the new money, in part, to expand its portfolio.

Private equity asset management firm Paul Capital Advisors has announced a management-led change in ownership, and will now be known as Top Tier Capital Partners. Both Paul Capital Advisors and the Bank of Ireland have sold their respective equity interests in the firm.

Shareholder Representative Services, a four-year-old, San Francisco-based service provider that represents shareholders in the post-closing period after a company has been acquired, has expanded into life sciences. Leading the practices is Don Morrissey, who in the past has served as senior vice president of corporate development at Replidyne and vice president of legal affairs and business development at Caliper Life Sciences. Morrissey was also previously an attorney at Cooley LLP.

Xpert Financial, which is developing secondary trading and direct-to-investor fundraising platforms, has established new term sheet and valuation controls for private companies seeking to raise capital from private market investors. The controls are part of its XPO platform for private companies and shareholders.