peHUB Wire: Monday, August 17, 2009

No column this morning, because I essentially took last Thursday and Friday off. I did speak to a couple of buyout pros while driving down the Cape, but that really does not qualify as enough research to say something insightful.

Top Three

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has agreed to invest $250 million into NCI Building Systems Inc. (NYSE: NCS), a maker of metal building components and systems. The investment would be in the form of convertible participating preferred shares, with CD&R to hold a 72% ownership stake on an as-converted, pro-forma basis.

Teachscape, a New York-based provider of professional development services for educators, has raised $16 million in Series C funding led by ABS Capital Partners. The company previouslyraised over $27 million in VC funding, from firms like Arcardia Partners, Sprout Group, Intel Capital, NewSchools Venture Fund, Quad Ventures and McGraw-Hill Ventures.

HealthPort Inc., an Alpharetta, Ga.-based provider of healthcare IT solutions to hospitals and health systems, has filed for a $100 million IPO. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol HPRT, with Deutsche Bank Securities and William Blair & Co. serving as co-lead underwriters.HealthPort is owned by ABRY Partners. www.healthport.com

VC Deals

Edo Interactive, a Nashville, Tenn.-based provider of digital payment and marketing platforms, has raised $8.5 million in new VC funding. Clayton Associates led the round, and was joined by First Avenue Partners.

Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy Inc., a Boulder, Colo.-based retail chain of integrative pharmacies, has secured $6.55 million of an $8.39 million Series G round, according to a regulatory filing.The company previously raised around $44 million, from firms likeHighland Capital Partners, Highland Consumer Fund and Physic Ventures. www.pharmaca.com

Zendesk, a Boston-based provider of an SaaS he! lp desk system, has raised $6 million in Series B funding. Benchmark Capital led the round, and was joined by return backer Charles River Ventures.

FanSnap, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based live event ticket search engine, has raised $5 million in new VC funding from Highland Capital Partners. The company previously raised over $10 million from General Catalyst Partners, and isrun by Mike Janes, former chief marketing officer of StubHub.

Embrella Cardiovascular, a Malvern, Penn.-based developer of a device for preventing dangerous debris from entering the brain during cardiovascular procedures, has raised $1.6 million in new Series B funding, bringing the round total to $6.7 million. BioStar Ventures and retur! n backer MedFocus Fund co-led the round, with Edwards Lifesciences Corp. also participating.

NewPath Networks LLC, a Seattle-based wireless infrastructure company, has secured a $10 million line of credit from Square 1 Bank. Earlier this year, NewPath raised $30 million in equity fromCharterhouse Group ($20m) and Meritage Funds ($10m).

Buyouts Deals

One Equity Partners has agreed to invest $75 million into ArthroCare Corp. (OTC BB: ARTC), an Austin, Texas-based maker of minimally-invasive surgical products. The investment would be in the form of newly-issued Series A convertible preferred stock, convertible into common stock at $15 per share.

Terra Firma Capital Partners is working with lenders of portfolio company EMI Group, to prevent a loan agreement default. Terra Firma bought EMI for £4 billion, including a £2.6 billion loan from Citigroup.

PE Exits

Aviza Technology Inc., a Scotts Valley, Calif.-based provider of semiconductor capital equipment and process technologies, has agreed to sell certain assets to Sumitomo Precision Products Co. Ltd. The deal includes $10 million at closing, and up to $41 million in earn-outs. Aviza filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June. It had become a public company via a reverse merger in 2005, but VC backer VantagePoint Venture Partners still held asignificant stake.

PE-Backed M&A

FleetCor, a Norcross, Ga.-based provider of branded fuel cards, has acquired the UK and Ireland fuel card businesses of Retail Decision. No financial terms were disclosed. FleetCor shareholders include Summit Partners, Advantage Capital, Advent International, Nautic Partners, HarbourVest Partners and Performance Equity Management.

Richardson Foods Inc., a maker of branded confectionery products, has acquired Bogdon Candy Co. from the Dynamics Confections Group. No financial terms were disclosed. Richardson Foods is a portfolio company of Founders Equity, while Dynamic Confections is a portfolio company of Dolphin Capital Group.

Firms & Funds

China Investment Corp., a China’s $200 billion sovereign wealth fund, plans to invest up to $2 billion in U.S. mortgages.

First Eastern Investment Group, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, plans to raise 6 billion yuan ($878m) in yuan-denominated funds over the next year.

Human Resources

PM Pai, former chief operating officer of solar company SunPower, has joined New Enterprise Associates as a venture partner.

Haruyasu Asakura has resigned as head of The Carlyle Group’s growth equity team in Japan, according to AltAssets. A spokesman told the publication that he plans to “join the public sector.” www.carlyle.com