Market At A Glance

There was a surge of fundraising activity during the past two weeks, which brought the year-to-date tally to about $42.1 billion.

Blackstone Group LP led the way with the much anticipated close of Blackstone Capital Partners VI LP. The fund closed at $13.5 billion. The fund has a lowered target of $15 billion. The original goal was $20 billion.

New York-based Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, which invests in financial services companies, also raised $475.6 million for Aquiline Financial Services Fund II. Forty investors contributed to the vehicle, according to a Securities and Exchange filing. The fund’s target is $2 billion.

Dallas-based Lone Star Funds held another interim close for Lone Star Fund VII at $1.1 billion, and the firm secured $1.6 billion for Lone Star Real Estate Fund II, according to Private Equity Insider.

Thomson Reuters, Buyouts publisher, tracked 20 LBO deals during the past fortnight. Four deals reported financial terms for a combined $386.67 million. These transactions brought year-to-date deal volume to $28.3 billion.

The period’s largest deal was by Thoma Bravo LLC’s portfolio company Vision Solutions Inc. It acquired Double-Take Software Inc. The transaction has a rank value of $134.4 million. Sun Capital Partners Inc.’s Exopack Holdings Corp. affiliate was involved in another deal. It purchased some assets and liabilities from Bemis Co. for $81.2 million.