Firms & Funds

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE: AMG) has completed its purchase of Pantheon from Russell Investments (a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Life). The deal was valued at roughly $775 million. Pantheon is a fund-of-funds and secondary fund manager. AMG is an asset manager.

American Capital has restructured its loans and reduced its debt by $1.03 billion. At the close of the deal, the BDC said it had $1.31 billion of secured debt, $11 million of unsecured debt and $1.61 billion of securitized debt and holds approximately $240 million of unrestricted cash and marketable securities on its balance sheet.

Asia Media & Technology Capital has launched as a $500 million fund targeting media and tech opportunities in China.

Blackstone Group reportedly has agreed to manage a $2 billion Asian real estate fund for BoA Merrill Lynch.

Brooks Private Equity Associates has changed its name from Brooks Private Equity Advisors. Brooks, of Boston, is a manager of niche private equity funds-of-funds and customized programs. The change was effective June 30.

Coller Capital has agreed to acquire the private equity business of Lloyds Banking Group. Under terms of the deal, Coller will pay £332 million to a 70 percent stake in 40 investments held by Lloyds’ Integrated Finance unit. Lloyds will hold the remaining 30 percent position. Lloyds said the deal represents a “small premium” to the portfolio’s book value.

GE Capital has completed its acquisition of the factoring business of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. Financial terms were not disclosed. RBS, a U.K. bank, is disposing of non-core assets.

GI Partners and Stag Capital Partners have formed a $200 million joint venture to acquire individual, single-tenant net leased industrial properties throughout the United States.

Gilde Buy Out Partners, a private equity group in Europe and the Benelux, said it has closed its latest fund at €800 million. Gilde Buy-Out Fund IV was oversubscribed and received commitments from investors in the Asia Pacific, Europe and the U.S. MVision Private Equity Advisers acted as global placement agent and SJ Berwin was legal counsel.

GSO Capital Partners, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, has closed a new $3.25 billion fund, which will provide “capital solutions to companies in need of liquidity or significant capital structure transformation due to pending covenant violations, debt maturities or cyclical downturns.”

Infrastructure Development Finance Co. will raise up to $179 million via the sale of convertible securities to private equity firm Actis and Malaysian state finance fund Khazanah.

JMI Equity is raising its seventh fund, according to a regulatory filing. No target capitalization was listed. The Baltimore-based firm closed its sixth fund in 2007 with $600 million, and makes growth-stage investments in software, internet, health-care IT and business services companies.

Livingstone, a Chicago-based investment bank focused on the middle market, has expanded into Germany by merging with Alarius GmbH.

Nelson Peltz is raising $1.5 billion for a fund that would buy minority stakes in public companies, according to Bloomberg. It’s being marketed as a private equity fund, because the capital would be locked up longer than it would be in a traditional hedge fund.

Ryan Sprott has left DLJ Merchant Banking to form Great Range Capital, a Midwest focused private equity firm.

The SEC voted unanimously on June 29 to rein in “pay to play” practices and put restrictions on investment advisors. The rule bars an investment adviser for two years from providing services to a pension fund when the adviser makes a political contribution to an elected official who can influence the selection of advisers. The rule also sets limits on political contributions by an adviser, and bans advisers from paying third parties, such as placement agents or family members, to make contributions to seek business.