PE Week Wire, Jan. 16, 2007

*** The 19th Annual Buyouts Symposium East will take place on April 16-18, at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. As I announced Friday at peHUB, the first two keynote speakers will be Rudy Giuliani, former NYC Mayor and presumptive presidential candidate, and Dan D’Aniello, co-founder and managing director of The Carlyle Group.

Giuliani and D’Aniello headline a group of speakers and panelists that also include Larry Schloss of Diamond Castle Holdings, Dipanjan Deb of Francisco Partners, Neil Simpkins of the Blackstone Group and Steven Klinsky of New Mountain Capital. Oh, and yours truly will be participating a debate on private equity collusion and whether or not LBO firms are ripping off shareholders – alongside Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times, Kevin Conway of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and another participant who will be announced shortly. We’ll also be hosting our first-ever Buyouts Awards Dinner.

You can get more information here, and can register online here. Early-bird registration discounts are available through the end of the month.

*** In other conference news, I’ll be in Philly this Friday for the annual Wharton Private Equity Conference. I’m moderating a panel on VC Investment in Digital Media, with an outstanding group that includes Howard Morgan of First Round Capital, Greg Blonder of Morgenthaler Ventures, Warren Lee of Canaan Partners, Patrick Kerins of NEA and Ross Goldstein of DFJ Gotham Ventures. Hope to see many of you there…

Top Three

The Carlyle Group has raised its bid for Dallas-based roofing and building products company ElkCorp (NYSE: ELK) from $38 per share to $40.50 per share. The move comes after ElkCorp received a $40 per share offer from Building Materials Holding Corp. (NYSE: BLG). The total deal is now valued at around $1.05 billion, including the assumption of $173 million in net debt. www.carlyle.com www.elkcorp.com

GS Capital Partners has agreed to acquire insurance broker USI Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: USIH) for $17 per share. The total transaction is valued at approximately $1.4 billion. www.gs.com www.usi.biz

Frontier Silicon, a London-based provider of IC solutions for mobile television and digital audio products, has raised Gbp16 million in new VC funding. Mitsui Private Equity led the deal, and was joined by Cheyne Capital Management, Plutus Capital Management and return backers Apax Partners, GLG Partners, ACT Venture Capital, Alta Berkeley and BlueRun Ventures. www.frontier-silicon.com

VC Deals

4-Antibody AG, a Basel, Switzerland-based antibody developer and optimizer, has raised around $13.66 million in additional Series A funding, bringing the round total to $18.5 million. Advent Venture Partners led the new tranche, and was joined by existing backers Life Sciences Partners, BioMedinvest AG, Grazia Equity and Mulligan Biocapital. www.4-antibody.com

iBalance Medical Inc., a Longmont, Colo.-based developer of axial knee realignment systems, has expanded its Series A round to a total of $13.5 million, according to a regulatory filing. Return backers include Sutter Hill Venture Partners and Skyline Ventures. www.ibalancemedical.com

BuzzLogic, a San Francisco-based provider of software that helps marketers monitor blogosphere conversation, has raised $9.6 million in Series A funding. Backers include Adams Capital Management, Ackerley Partners and Transcosmos Investments & Business Development. www.buzzlogic.com

Wazap AG, a gaming search engine with operations in Germany and Japan, has raised $7.9 million in second-round funding from Partech International and Wellington Partners. www.wazap.com

Junction Solutions, a Lincolnshire, Ill.-based leading provider of multi-channel retail and food and beverage enterprise software applications, has raised $7.5 million in VC funding led by MK Capital. www.junctionsolutions.com

Ovalis Inc., a Mountain View, Calif.-based developer of catheter-based products for repairing cardiac defects, has raised around $6.6 million in Series B funding, according to a regulatory filing. Return backers include Abbott Labs, De Novo Ventures and Latterell Venture Partners.

RingCentral Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based provider of enterprise telecom services, has secured $6.25 million of a $12.89 million Series A round, according to a regulatory filing. Backers include Khosla Ventures and Sequoia Capital. The company was founded in 1991, and was owned by Motorola between 1998 and 1999. www.ringcentral.com

OkCupid, an online dating site, has raised $6 million in angel funding, according to GigaOm.

Silistix, a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of software and related circuit designs for on-chip communications solutions, has held a $6 million final close to its Series A round. Backers include Intel Capital, British Smaller Technology Companies VCT, The Northwest Business Investment Scheme, Seven Spires Investment, Partnerships UK and The Manchester Technology Fund. Silistix is a spinout from the University of Manchester. www.silistix.com

Music Nation, a New York-based artist development company that is launching an online video music competition, has raised $5.5 million in Series A funding. Greylock Partners led the deal, and was joined by Point Judith Capital. www.musicnation.com

Xradia Inc., a Concord, Calif.-based manufacturer of x-ray imaging systems for 3D tomography and nanotech applications, has raised $4 million in VC funding from Harris & Harris Group. The investment is part of a larger Series D round, but no additional details were disclosed. www.xradia.com

Blue Heron Biotechnology Inc., a Bothell, Wash.-based provider of gene synthesis services, has raised around $3.68 million in Series D funding, according to a regulatory filing. Shareholders include Crabtree Ventures, Integra Ventures and Invitrogen Corporation. www.blueheronbio.com

Boxxet, an online content aggregator that uses human input, has raised $900,000 from Ascend Venture Group. www.boxxet.com

Presence Networks, a UK-based provider of secure IM services, has raised Gbp250,000 from The Capital Fund. www.presence-networks.net

AcuFocus Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based maker of ocular implants to treat presbyopia, has raised an undisclosed amount of equity funding from Bausch & Lomb. The deal also includes an option whereby B&L would purchase AcuFocus, which has raised over $38 million in VC funding from firms like Versant Ventures, Three Arch Partners, SV Life Sciences, Pequot Capital, Carlyle Venture Partners and Accuitive Medical Ventures. The most recent VC funding round, in 2003, came with a post-money valuation of approximately $89.5 million. www.acufocus.com

Buyout Deals

The Carlyle Group has raised its bid for Dallas-based roofing and building products company ElkCorp (NYSE: ELK) from $38 per share to $40.50 per share. The move comes after ElkCorp received a $40 per share offer from Building Materials Holding Corp. (NYSE: BLG). The total deal is now valued at around $1.05 billion, including the assumption of $173 million in net debt. www.carlyle.com www.elkcorp.com

GS Capital Partners has agreed to acquire insurance broker USI Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: USIH) for $17 per share. The total transaction is valued at approximately $1.4 billion. www.gs.com www.usi.biz

Chrysalis Capital Partners has offered to acquire Malden Mills Industries Inc., a Lawrence, Mass.-based maker of Polartec fleece apparel. The move comes just days after Malden Malls agreed to be acquired by Gordon Brothers Group, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to facilitate the sale. Both offers are worth around $44 million.

LS Power Equity Partners has agreed to acquire six U.S. natural gas fired plants from Mirant Corp. (NYSE: MIR) for approximately $1.41 billion. www.lspower.com www.mirant.com

Bear Stearns Merchant Banking reportedly has agreed to acquire the Latin American consumer finance subsidiaries of Wells Fargo & Co. for an undisclosed amount. www.bsmb.com

United Utilities PLC has agreed to sell its BPO subsidiary Vertex Data Science Ltd. to Oak Hill Capital Partners, GenNx360 Capital Partners and Knox Lawrence International. The total transaction is valued at Gbp217.5 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of March. www.vertex.co.uk

McCarthy Capital of Omaha has sponsored a buyout of Vornado Air LLC, an Andover, Kansas-based manufacturer of branded room comfort appliances. No financial terms were disclosed. www.vornado.com

AcuNetx Inc. (OTC BB: ANTX) of Superior, Colo. announced that it is seeking “private equity capital to bring its workplace and highway safety products to market this year.” The move is part of a broader corporate restructuring. www.acunetx.com

PE-Backed IPOs

Switch and Data, a Tampa, Fla.-based provider of Internet exchange infrastructure, has set its proposed IPO terms to around 11.67 million common shares being offered at between $14 and $16 per share. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SDXC, with Deutsche Banc Securities and Jefferies & Co. serving as co-lead underwriters. Switch and Data shareholders include CapStreet Group, Seaport Capital Partners and Tudor Ventures. www.switchanddata.com

PE-Backed M&A

Atelje Margaretha, a Swedish mail-order embroidery products, has agreed to acquire Swedish mail-order clothing company Ashild. No financial terms were disclosed. Atelje Margaretha is a portfolio company of Litorina Kapital.

PE Exits

CSR PLC (LSE: CSR) has acquired NordNav Technologies AB and Cambridge Positioning Systems Ltd. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which will help CSR provide low-cost GPS for mass-market mobile phones and personal navigation devices. Sweden-based NordNav had raised VC funding from 3i Group, InnovationsKapital and Siemens Business Accelerator. UK-based CPS shareholders included 3i Group, Alta Berkeley Venture Partners, Capitalia Sofipa, CapMan, Ericsson Venture Partners, Cipio Partners, Intel Capital, Prelude Ventures, Siemens Venture Capital and Telesystem-Argo Global Capital. www.csr.com www.nordnav.com www.cursor-system.com

Firms & Funds

Golub Capital has closed its fifth fund with $1 billion in capital commitments. The firm had held a $700 million first close in October. Limited partners include St. Paul Traveler’s Insurance, Alfred I. Dupont Trust, Private Advisors, the University of Richmond, and the Carpenter Co. Pension Plan. www.golubcapital.com

Zabeel Investments of Dubai has acquired an undisclosed equity stake in Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj Capital. No additional details were disclosed. www.abraaj.com

Milestone Capital Partners is changing its name to Blackstreet Capital Management, according to LBO Wire. The move comes one year after the firm spun out from Milestone Merchant Partners, and is being done to prevent confusion with fellow buyout firm Milestone Partners. www.milestonedc.com

Heller Ehrman LLP announced that it plans to open an office in London later this year. It would be the law firm’s first European office, and fourth outside of the United States. www.hellerehrman.com

Human Resources

John Browne has joined Apax Partners as non-executive chairman of its advisory board. Browne announced last week that he would step down as CEO of BP PLC in July. www.apax.com

Marios Fotiadis has joined Enterprise Partners Venture Capital as a managing director focused on opportunities in the life sciences spaced. He previously was a venture partner with Advent International and, before that, was CEO of Achillion Pharmaceuticals. www.epvc.com

Saul Klein has joined Index Ventures as a London-based partner, according to Financial News Online. He is a former Skype executive who previously co-founded Video Island.

Fenway Partners has promoted Aron Schwartz to managing director. He joined the firm in 1999. www.fenwaypartners.com

HarbourVest Partners has promoted Hemal Mirani to managing director of the firm’s Hong Kong subsidiary, HarbourVest Partners (Asia) Ltd. www.harbourvest.com

Waud Capital Partners has promoted David Neighbours to the position of vice president. He joined the firm in 2003 as an associate, and was later promoted to senior associate. His current board seats include Hospitalists Management Group, Regency Hospital Company and True Partners Consulting. www.waudcapital.com

Richard Steinman has joined Greenhill & Co. as a managing director focused on advisory opportunities in the retail sector. He previously led the global retail group at Morgan Stanley. www.greenhill-co.com

Dinan & Co. has promoted Tom Main and Jeremy Wallace from senior associate to partner. Both have been with the firm for the past ten years. www.dealassist.com