Market At A Glance

U.S.-based buyout and mezzanine firms continue to move forward in their fundraising drive. They have collected about $77.9 billion in capital commitments so far this year.

The latest total reflects the effort of Victory Park Capital Advisors LLC, which closed its latest fund. The Chicago.-based firm secured $480 million for VPC Fund II. The firm provides direct financing to small-cap and mid-market companies in various industries including biopharmaceutical and financial services.

Trinity Hunt Partners also raised $97.95 million for Trinity Hunt Partners IV LP. The commitments were obtained from 11 accredited investors. The fund’s target is $250 million. The Dallas-based firm invests in companies with enterprise values between $15 million and $150 million.

On the deals front, Buyouts magazine’s publisher Thomson Reuters tracked 32 deals involving U.S.-based financial sponsors from Nov. 18 to Dec. 6. The five with reported financial terms combined for $7.1 billion. Year-to-date deal volume rose to $91.3 billion.

Carlyle Group LLC and Hellman & Friedman LLC purchased Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc., a provider of research and development services, for about $3.4 billion. Bain Capital Partners LLC’s BCJ Holdings 6 also acquired Skylark Co. Ltd, a Tokyo-based restaurant company. This deal has a rank value of $3.38 billion.