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Vonage Holdings Corp., an Edison, N.J.-based provider of broadband phone services, has raised $40 million in Series C funding. 3i Group and Meritech Capital Partners co-led the deal, and were joined by return backer New Enterprise Associates. The company now has raised a total of $103 million since its 2001 inception, including a $35 million Series B deal last November. www.vonage.com
Private equity funds posted positive one-year returns for the first time since 2000, according to figures released yesterday by Thomson Venture Economics (publisher of PE Week) and the National Venture Capital Association. The data includes positive one-year returns for both buyout and mezzanine funds, but negative one-year returns for venture capital funds. www.nvca.com
MeshNetworks Inc., a Maitland, Fla.-based provider of mobile broadband network solutions, has raised over $10.6 million in Series C funding. Return backers included Redpoint Ventures, BancBoston Ventures and Apax Partners. The company now has over $48 million in VC funding since its 2000 inception, including a $26 million Series B deal in 2002 at a post-money valuation of approximately $57 million. www.meshnetworks.com
PerformanceRetail Inc., an Austin, Texas-based provider of retail industry software, has raised $15 million in third-round funding. Return backers included U.S. Venture Partners, Venrock Associates and Granite Global Ventures. The company now has raised around $50 million in VC funding since its 2000 inception, plus a $5 million private debt financing from Lighthouse Capital Partners in late 2002. www.performanceretail.com
LightPointe, a San Diego-based maker of optical wireless products based on free-space otpics technology, has raised $17 million in new venture capital funding. Rho Ventures led the deal, and was joined by fellow new investor Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. of China. Return backers included Sevin Rosen Funds, Ampersand Ventures, Telecom Partner, Cisco Systems Inc. and Corning Inc. The company now has raised over $70 million in VC funding since its 1998 inception. www.lightpointe.com
Vendex KBB, a publicly traded retailer based in the Netherlands, has received buyout offers that value the company at around €1.3 billion ($1.64 billion). Boston-based K Capital Partners, the company’s largest shareholder, indicated that it supports the company’s effort to negotiate a deal.
Enron Corp. has received U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval for its proposed $2.35 billion sale of Portland General Electric Co. to Texas Pacific Group.
Liberty Publishing Group, a portfolio company of Leonard Green & Co., has agreed to trade newspaper assets with Lee Enterprises Inc. Liberty will send to Lee ownership of South Idaho Press, The Elko Daily Free Press and five other weekly newspapers in Southern Idaho. Liberty, meanwhile, will take control of The Leader in Corning, N.Y., the Freeport Ill.-based Journal Standard and three other specialty publications.
Quadrangle Group has promoted vice presidents Michael Huber and Christopher Santana to the position of managing principal. In addition, both Henry Ormond and T.J. Vigliotta have been promoted to vice president. www.quadranglegroup.com
The Deal is reporting that John Watkins and John Van Hooser have left Telegraph Hill Partners, a private equity firm they co-founded. They are now general partners at M/C Venture Partners, which also has added former BancBoston Ventures pro John Ward as a general partner. www.mcventurepartners.com
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday launched an informal inquiry into accounting practices between 2002 and 2003 at AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AG), a Duluth, Minn.-based farm equipment maker. Earlier this week, Donald Millard resigned from his executive vice president and chief operating officer positions with AGCO, on order to launch his own venture capital and strategic investment business. www.agcocorp.com
Symbion Inc., a Nashville, Tenn.-based owner and operator of surgery centers in 18 states, will begin trading on the Nasdaq today under ticker symbol SMBI. The company yesterday priced 7.2 million shares on common stock at $15 per share (high end of its $13-$15 per share offering range), for a total IPO take of $108 million. The company had raised around $55 million in VC funding from investors like Pacific Venture Group, ABS Capital Partners, Richland Ventures, South Atlantic Private Equity Fund and Whitney & Co. www.symbion.com
Staktek Holdings Inc., an Austin, Texas-based designer of memory stacking technologies, will begin trading on the Nasdaq today under ticker symbol STAK. Yesterday it priced 10 million shares of common stock at $13 per share (high end of its $11-$13 per share offering range), for a total IPO take of $130 million. StakTek was acquired last year for $125.3 million by Austin Ventures, which owned just over 90% of the company at the time of its IPO. www.staktek.com
Renovis Inc., a San Francisco-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the central nervous system, has begun trading on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol RNVS. The company priced 5.5 million shares of common stock on the Nasdaq at $12 per share (lower than its $13-$15 per share offering range), for a total IPO take of $66 million. The company raised over $91 million in VC funding since its 1999 inception, with investors including Alta Partners, Venrock Associates, Skyline Ventures, Easton Hunt Capital Partners, HealthCap, MDS Capital, Invus Group, CDIB BioScience Ventures, Flagship Ventures and HBM BioVentures. www.renovis.com
Patni Computer Systems Ltd., a Bombay, India-based software company, says that its IPO has been oversubscribed by 22 times. The offering was expected to raise upwards of $95 million, price on the Indian stock exchanges and valued the company at approximately $634 million. Patni has received private equity funding from General Atlantic Partners and General Electric. www.patni.com
Affordable Residential Communities Inc., a Denver-based operator of manufactured home communities, is planning to float 24.6 million shares in a public offering worth between $468 million and $517 million. The only selling shareholder is Nassau Capital, which owns the company alongside Thomas H. Lee Partners and UBS Capital Americas. The majority of capital raised will be used by Affordable Residential to acquire Hometown America LLC.
NEWS FROM THURSDAY 2/5
Vitex Systems Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of OLED (organic light emitting diode) displays, has held a $24 million first close on its Series B funding round. The deal was led by an undisclosed supplier of components to the flat panel display industry, and was joined by return backers Battelle Memorial Institute and Mitsubishi Corp. Equipment supply partner Tokki Corp. also participated. Vitex spun out of Battelle in 2001, and subsequently raised a $15 million round of venture funding.www.vitexsys.com
Zhone Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq : ZHNE) has paid $7 million to acquire the assets of Gluon Inc., a Petaluma, Calif.-based switch maker that went out of business last month. Gluon had raised nearly $80 million . Gluon had raised approximately $80 million in VC funding, from investors like JPMorgan Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Onset Ventures, Synektik Ventures, Texas Pacific Group, U.S. Venture Partners and Vanguard Ventures. www.zhone.com
Baird Capital Partners has acquired The Hygenic Corp., an Akron, Ohio-based maker of healthcare and fitness products. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although American Capital Strategies said it contributed to the investment with $22.75 million in the form of senior secured notes and equity. Antares Capital and Madison Capital also provided senior debt as well as a revolving credit facility.
Trillium Therapeutics Inc., a Toronto-based life sciences company focused on the immune system, has raised Cdn$6 million (approx. US$4.5 million) in additional Series A financing, brining the round total to Cdn$13.5 million (approx. US$10.11 million). Business Development Bank of Canada led the new tranche with a Cdn$3 million investment, and was joined by return backers VenGrowth Advanced Life Sciences Fund and the Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund. www.trilliumtherapeutics.com
Facet Solutions Inc., a Logan, Utah-based maker of medical devices used in facet arthroplasty, has raised over $3.37 million in Series A funding led by Spray Venture Partners.
Naverus Inc., a Reston, Va.-based software development company, has raised over $1.85 million in Series A funding led by New York-based Marathon Partners. www.naverus.com
DataCore Software Corp., a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based provider of storage control software solutions, has raised $5.8 million in Series D-1 financing. Return backers include New Enterprise Associates, Flagship Ventures and Vista Equity Partners. www.datacore.com
Oak Hill Capital Partners’ proposed acquisition of Duane Reade Inc. (NYSE: DRD) has hit a stumbling block. Reuters is reporting that investment firm Copper Arch Capital has upped its stake in the pharmacy chain to 7.8%, and has indicated that it could present opposition to Oak Hill’s $415 million acquisition. Copper Arch has cited “conflicts of interest” for its resistance to the deal, which it believes undervalues the company.
Perseus and Renaissance Group also are running up against shareholder resistance to its proposed acquisition of Workflow Management Inc. (Nasdaq: WORK), according to Dow Jones. A group led by Springhouse Capital is contesting the acquisition, alleging that the company could substantially increase in value in the next two years.
Thorntons, a publicly traded UK chocolate maker, has walked away from talks with potential buyers, citing insufficient bids. Permira and Lehman Brothers have been reported to have participated in the now-defunct auction, which was slated to raise upwards of £120 million.
Karen Gershman will serve as interim executive director of MassPRIM, until a permanent replacement is found for departing executive director James Hearty. Gershman has served as MassPRIM’s chief financial officer since 2001. www.mapension.com
Anthony Maher, a partner with Star Venture Management, has been named chairman of the board at Alvarion Ltd. (Nasdaq: ALVR). He has served on the Alvarion board since 2001. www.alvarion.com
Robert Reynolds has joined Adams, Harkness & Hill as a managing director and head of West Coast investment banking. Reynolds, who will run the Boston-based firm’s San Francisco office, was previously with RBC Capital Markets. www.ahh.com
Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) has agreed to acquire Consera Software Corp. a Bellevue, Wash.-based maker of server resource management products. No deal terms were disclosed. Consera has raised over $7 million in venture capital funding from Ignition Partners, Intel Capital and Matrix Partners. In related news, HP also announced that it was acquiring Novadigm Inc. (Nasdaq: NVDM) for $6.10 per share of outstanding common stock. www.consera.com
Asset Acceptance Capital Corp., a Warren, Mich.-based debt management company, will begin trading on the Nasdaq today under ticker symbol AACC. Yesterday, the company priced million seven million shares of common stock at $15 per share, for a total IPO take of $105 million. Asset Acceptance lists Quad-C Management Inc. as a 56% shareholder prior to the IPO, and a 42.9% shareholder following the IPO. www.assetacceptance.com
NEWS FROM WEDNESDAY 2/4
California Treasurer Phil Angelides yesterday unveiled plans for an environmentally friendly investment initiative that he hopes will be spearheaded by the state’s two largest pension funds. The Green Wave plan would ask CalPERS and CalSTRS to invest a combined $1 billion of public equity funds into companies with strong environmental track records, and another $500 million into VC deals or funds that promote the growth of environmental technologies. The official announcement was made at the Menlo Park offices of Nanosolar Inc., a developer of flexible solar cells that has received funding from both Benchmark Capital and U.S. Venture Partners.
Cornice Inc., a Longmont, Colo.-based provider of high-capacity storage solutions for portable consumer devices, has raised $51 million in second-round funding. New investors include BA Venture Partners and GIC Special Investments, with Jim Jones of BA Venture Partners joining the Cornice board of directors. Return backers include CIBC Capital Partners, Nokia Venture Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners. The company now has raised $81 million in venture funding since its 2002 inception. www.corniceco.com
Metabasis Therapeutics Inc., a San Diego-based biotech company focused on the treatment of liver and liver-related metabolic diseases, has filed to raise $86.25 million via an IPO on the Nasdaq under proposed ticker symbol MBRX. The company has raised over $57 million in venture capital funding from firms like MPM Capital, InterWest Partners, Sprout Group, Maverick Capital, Wellcome Trust, Itochu Corp. and Pan-Pacific Venture Capital. www.mbasis.com
OpTier Inc., a New York- and Israel-based provider of IT transaction solutions, has raised $7.5 million in second-round funding from Lightspeed Venture Capital. www.optier.com
Kionix Inc., an Ithaca, N.Y.-based provider of MEMS products, has raised $28.5 million in new venture capital funding. Laurie Investments led the deal, and was joined by fellow new investors Advantage Capital Partners, Allen & Co., Enhanced Capital Partners, Gefinor Ventures, Onondaga Venture Capital Fund, Rand Capital SBIC and Tompkins Trustco Inc. Return backers included Cayuga Venture Fund, CMI International Investment Corp., Integrated Acquisition & Development Corp. and Rocktech Inc. www.kionix.com
Beyond Compliance Inc., a Calgary, Canada-based provider of Internet-based regulatory compliance solutions, has raised $1.25 million in startup funding from Altira. www.beyondcompliance.ca
Eikos Inc., a Franklin, Mass.-based maker of carbon nanotube inks for conductive coatings and circuits, has received a $1 million investment from Itochu International Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Itochu Corp. www.eikos.com
Hyalozyme Therapeutics Inc., a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of recombinant human enzymes, has raised $9.2 million in new venture funding. Grove Capital led the deal, which included an option to purchase an additional $15.9 million in warrants callable by Hyalozyme. Ritchie Capital, Cimarron Biomedical Investors and Colt Ventures also participated in the round. www.hyalozyme.com
Landmat, a Reykjavik, Iceland-based provider of mobile services and content, has received a $5 million investment from Nokia Venture Partners. www.landmat.is
H.I.G Capital has agreed to purchase the assets of Brookfield Group, a West Brookfield, Mass.-based plastic injection molding company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Brookfield filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January.
Frontenac Co. has acquired a majority stake in WNC Insurance Services Inc., a Simi Valley, Calif.-based provider of lender-placed and voluntary property and casualty insurance for financial institutions. The Chicago-based firm has teamed with company management, led by WNC Chairman Carl Herrmann Jr. and COO Carl Herrmann III. ING Capital has been tapped to serve as arranger and senior lender for the transaction.
Donald Millard has resigned from his executive vice president and chief operating officer positions with AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AG) in order to launch his own venture capital and strategic investment business. www.agcocorp.com
Brian McCall has been promoted to the partnership of international law firm Dechert LLP, where works in the London office and focuses on both M&A and corporate finance. www.dechert.com
Andrew Steurman has joined Golub Associates Inc. as a managing director. He previously served as a managing director with Albion Alliance LLC. www.golubassoc.com
Jan zur Hausen has joined DVC Deutsche Venture Capital as a partner. He had previously been an investor with Mulligan BioCapital. In other DVC news, the firm has added Thomas Limberger, CEO of GE Germany, Austria & Switzerland, to its advisory board. www.dvcg.de
Medical Media Systems Inc., a West Lebanon, N.H.-based provider of 3-D medical imaging, has purchased the assets of GHR LLC, a Cambridge, Mass.-based provider of 3-D tumor imaging. No deal terms were disclosed. Medical Media has received VC funding from Borealis Ventures, CSG Ventures, Commons Capital, FreshTracks Capital, Penninsula Capital Partners, Stanford University, Village Ventures and Worcester Capital Partners. www.medicalmedia.com
Bennett Footwear Group LLC, a portfolio company of Heritage Partners, has agreed to acquire the North American assets of Intershoe Inc. for an undisclosed amount.
Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM) has acquired RAIDCore Inc., a Nashua, N.H.-based developer of RAID (redundant arrays of inexpensive disks) and visualization software. In connection with the acquisition, Broadcom is incurring cash acquisition costs and future compensation expense in a total amount of up to $16.5 million, of which approximately $10 million will be paid in the company’s first fiscal quarter, ending March 31. RAIDcore has raised startup funding from Egan-Managed Capital and Longworth Venture Partners. www.raidcore.net
The Blackstone Group has raised over $1.02 billion for its third structured debt vehicle, a collateralized loan obligation vehicle named Monument Park CDO. www.blackstonegroup.com
NEWS FROM TUESDAY 2/3
Airgo Networks Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of wireless solutions, has raised $25 million in Series D venture funding at a post-money valuation of approximately $60.5 million. Oak Investment Partners led the down-round, and was joined by return backers Accel Partners, Nokia Venture Partners, OVP and Sevin Rosen Funds. Airgo now has raised $77 million in VC funding since its 1998 inception, including a $20 million Series C deal last spring at a post-money valuation of approximately $67.3 million. www.airgonetworks.com
TRW Automotive Holding Corp., a Livonia, Mich.-based maker of automotive components, will begin trading on the NYSE today under ticker symbol TRW. The company yesterday priced over 24.13 million shares of common stock at $28 per share (low end of a $28-$30 range), for a total IPO take of $675.9 million. Approximately $331 million will be used to repurchase shares from The Blackstone Group, which bought TRW Automotive from TRW Inc. last March. Blackstone currently owns a 78.4% stake in TRW Automotive, and is expected to own between 53.9% and 56.7% of TRW Automotive after both the IPO and stock repurchase are completed. www.trwauto.com
XenoPort Inc., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based biopharmaceutical company focused on drug absorption, has raised over $36.96 million in Series C recap funding. Return backers include Frazier & Co., Venrock Associates, Arch Venture Partners and Skyline Venture Partners. The company now has raised over $130 million in venture funding since its 1999 inception, including a $43.9 million Series E deal in 2002 at a post-money valuation of approximately $140 million. www.xenoport.com
Discretix Technologies Ltd., a Herzliya, Israel-based provider of security solutions for mobile devices, flash card storage, smart cards and wireless LANs, has raised $9.5 million in second-round funding. Pitango Venture Capital and Accel Partners co-led the deal, and were joined by fellow new investors Genesis Partners, Jerusalem Global Ventures and Poalim Ventures. Return backers included SFK Group and Eurocom. www.discretix.com
Metconnex Inc., an Ontario, Canada-based provider of integrated optical modules, has raised $8.2 million in Series A funding. St. Paul Venture Capital and Skypoint Capital co-led the deal, and were joined by Innovacom, BDC Venture Capital and the company’s founders. www.metconnex.com
Rivermine Software Inc., a Fairfax, Va.-based provider of telecom management software, has raised $5 million in Series A funding. Investors include Valhalla Partners and Columbia Capital. In related news, the company announced a name change from Telco Exchange Inc. www.telcoexchange.com
SourceIQ Inc., a , Portsmouth, N.H.-based provider of source code portfolio management software, has received an undisclosed investment from New England Partners. www.sourceiq.com
ExonHit Therapeutics SA, a Paris-based drug discovery company focused on alternative RNA splicing, has raised €8.3 million in new funding. The company now has raised a total of €55.3 million since its 1997 inception.
Cornerstone Equity Investors has agreed to sell portfolio company True Temper Corp., a Memphis, Tenn.-based maker of golf shafts. The buyers are company management and Gilbert Global Equity Partners. No deal terms were disclosed for the transaction, which is expected to close within the next 90 days. www.truetemper.com
Warburg Pincus has agreed to acquire Polypore Inc., a Charlotte, N.C.-based supplier of filtration products, from an investor group led by The InterTech Group and GTCR Golder Rauner. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, except that it is expected to close next quarter. JPMorgan Securities served as a financial advisor to Polypore on the deal.
TH Lee Putnam Ventures reportedly has offered to acquire SPI Technologies Inc., a publicly-traded business process outsourcing company based in the Philippines. Late last year, PPM Ventures Ltd. (a unit of Prudential) tried to take over SPI Tech but negotiations ultimately faltered. www.spitech.com
The Independent of London is reporting that Viacom may spin off its Blockbuster subsidiary via a public offering, after coming up empty in its bid to sell the video-rental chain.
Jim Orlando has joined BCE Capital as a managing director focused on the telecom and IT sectors. He most recently served as a principal with Battery Ventures, before being laid off last fall. www.bcecapital.com
James Hearty, executive director of MassPRIM, will resign Friday, according to The Boston Globe. Hearty had been essentially replaced last summer by Mass. Treasurer Tim Cahill, but the replacement candidate was ultimately rejected and Hearty agreed to stay aboard until either March 31 or the hiring of a successor.
Paul Oakley has been promoted to the partnership of law firm Sullivan & Worcester, where he focuses on M&A and venture capital financings. He had previously served as a Boston-based associate. www.sandw.com
Chip Seelig, a former partner with Goldman Sachs, has joined Soros Capital Management, according to the Financial Times.
Steven Berrard, co-founder of New River Capital and former CEO of Blockbuster Entertainment Group, has been named an independent board director with troubled HealthSource Corp.
Verity Inc. (Nasdaq: VRTY) has agreed to acquire Cardiff Software Inc., a Vista, Calif.-based supplier of technology that automates data collection and data processing. The all-cash transaction is valued at $50 million, with RBC Capital Markets advising Cardiff and Thomas Weisel Partners advising Verity. Cardiff has raised around $27 million in venture funding since its 1991 inception, including an infusion in late 2000 that valued the company at over $90 million. Investors included HarbourVest Partners, Granite Ventures, DICOM Group PLC and Adobe Ventures.
www.cardiff.com
Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM) has acquired RAIDCore Inc., a Nashua, N.H.-based developer of RAID (redundant arrays of inexpensive disks) and visualization software. In connection with the acquisition, Broadcom is incurring cash acquisition costs and future compensation expense in a total amount of up to $16.5 million, of which approximately $10 million will be paid in the company’s first fiscal quarter, ending March 31. RAIDcore has raised startup funding from Egan-Managed Capital and Longworth Venture Partners. www.raidcore.net
David L. Babson & Co., a Springfield, Mass.-based investment management firm, has raised $265 million for a new mezzanine debt and private equity fund. The vehicle is named Tower Square Partners, and will provide capital for LBOs, recaps and growth financings of small- and medium-sized business. www.dlbabson.com
The Financial Times is reporting that European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is planning to raise $1 billion for its second Asian buyout fund. www.cvceurope.com
Southern Cross, a buyout shop focused on Latin America, reportedly has received a $40 million capital commitment from the Chilean pension fund managers.
The Deal is reporting that German private equity shop Argantis GmbH has held a €100 million first close on its new fund. The firm, which was established by banks Sal. Oppenheim Jr. & Cie KgaA and IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, will focus on the middle market.
GTx Inc., a Memphis, Tenn.-based biopharma company focused on therapeutic products for men’s health, will begin trading on the Nasdaq today under ticker symbol GTXI. The company priced 5.4 million shares yesterday at $14.50 per share (offering range $13-$15) for a total IPO take of $86.5 million. The company has received private equity backing from Oracle Partners and MB Venture Partners. www.gtxinc.com
NEWS FROM MONDAY 2/2
Warburg Pincus has acquired a controlling interest in Ireland-based packaging company Clondalkin PLC for €630 million (approx. $809 million). Clondalkin had been a public company until 1999, at which point it was taken private by an investor group led by Candover Investments PLC for €550 million. www.clondalkin-group.com
Private Equity Week is reporting that Bain Capital will close its San Francisco office, effective this June. Read more in today’s print edition, or in the protected Weekley Headlines section of www.pewnews.com.
Private Equity Week is reporting that Finland’s Local Government Pensions Institution plans to build a $125 million U.S. venture capital program with a fund-of-funds to be managed by Wellesley, Mass.-based Grove Street Advisors. Read more in today’s print edition, or in the protected Weekley Headlines section of www.pewnews.com.
Icagen Inc., a Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based drug company focused on modulating ion channel activity, has raised $19.52 million in Series H and Series G-1 funding. Return backers include Alta Partners, Venrock Associates, HBM, Chinese Development Industrial Bank, Quintiles Transnational and JPMorgan Partners. The company now has raised over $90 million in venture capital funding since its 1992 inception, including a $23 million infusion in early 2001 at a post-money valuation of approximately $225 million. www.icagen.com
Polychromix Inc., a Woburn, Mass.-based developer of wavelength management solutions for optical networking, has raised over $8 million in Series B funding. Seed Capital Partners and Vanguard Ventures co-led the deal, and were joined by fellow return backers Navigator Technology Ventures, Pyramid Technology Ventures, Bain & Co. and Hale & Dorr. New investor Siemens Venture Capital also participated. www.polychromix.com
Identify Software Ltd., a Raleigh, N.C.- and Israel-based provider of application support software, has raised $15 million in new venture capital funding. Star Ventures and Evergreen Partners co-led the deal, and were joined by Earlybird, Formula Ventures, Infinity Funds, Intel, Mofet, NIF Ventures, UBS and Vertex Venture Capital. The company was known as Mutek Solutions Ltd., until a 2002 name change. www.identify.com
Bluesoft Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based, has raised $5.7 million in Series B funding. STAR Ventures and Comverse Investments co-led the deal, and was joined by the Intel Communications Fund. www.bluesoft-inc.com
IPolicy Inc., a Fremont, Calif.-based network security company, has raised $26.11 million in Series A funding. The deal was co-led by WK Technology Fund, Clearstone Venture Partners and Dali Hook Partners. www.ipolicynetworks.com
OmniTrust Security Systems Inc. (f.k.a. Probix Inc.), a Mountain View, Calif.-based provider of content security services, has raised $6 million in new venture funding. New strategic investor Nomura Research Institute was joined by return backers Walden International, Global Catalyst Partners, Lucent Venture Capital, Diamond Capital Co. and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital. www.probix.com
Perseus and The Renaissance Group have agreed to acquire Workflow Management Inc. (Nasdaq: WORK) for $4.87 per share of outstanding common stock. The public-to-private deal price represents more than a 5% discount of Workflow’s stock price as of market close last Friday. www.workflowmanagement.com
TriMas Corp. has acquired Theodore Bargman Co., an Albion, Ind.-based lighting products maker that was most recently controlled by private equity firm The Riverside Co. No deal terms were disclosed. www.trimascorp.com
Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. (Nadaq: LTUS) has extended the deadline for completing its sale to Centre Partners from February 27 to March 12. Centre Partners last year agreed to buy Garden Fresh – the operator of Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants – for $16.35 per share.
Barclays Private Equity has backed a £100 million management buyout of Cabot Financial from Credit Suisse First Boston.
Advent International has acquired OCA SA, an Argentina-based courier company, according to various press reports. No deal terms were disclosed.
Kevin Hennessey has been named a managing partner with Alley Ventures LLC, a VC firm developed by Minnesota healthcare trade association Medical Alley. Hennessey will run the new firm’s early-stage venture fund, after having served as a venture partner with Mayo Medical. He also co-founded InCube Ventures.
www.medicalalley.org
Peter Currie, a general partner with General Atlantic Partners, has joined the board of directors at Critical Path Inc. (Nasdaq: CPTH). www.criticalpath.net
Technology Crossover Ventures has held a $900 million final close for its fifth fund. www.tcv.com
The Chicago Tribune is reporting that a local nonprofit group named Chicago Community Ventures is looking to raise a $30 million to $50 million VC fund. The capital would be used to invest in companies located in minority- and woman-owned businesses throughout the country, and in low-income areas within Illinois.
Infrasource Services Inc., an Aston, Pa.-based specialty contractor for the utility transmission and distribution infrasutrcure sectors, has filed to raise $287.5 million via an IPO on the NYSE under proposed ticker symbol IFS. The company was formed in May 2003 by Oaktree Capital Management and GFI Energy Ventures in order to acquire Infrasource and certain subsidiaries from Exelon Enterprises Co. www.infrasourceinc.com
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