Private Exits

Apax Partners has put Global Refund, a Swedish-based VAT refund service for tourists, up for sale with a price tag of approximately $557 million. Hawkpoint was appointed for the sale earlier in the year, and a source close to the auction said that interest so far has come predominantly from mid-market private equity houses.

Cendant Corp. sold its Global Refund subsidiary, known at the time as Europe Tax Free Shopping, for approximately $160 million in August 1999. Since then, Apax is understood to have carried out a refinancing in 2004, terms for which are not known.

Barclays Private Equity has agreed to sell German HR services provider Tuja Group to Adecco for approximately €800 million (including €200 million of assumed debt). Barclays acquired 90 percent of Tuja in early 2006 from Odewald & Compagnie.

The Carlyle Group, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Merrill Lynch have priced their secondary sale of 45 million shares of Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ), at $22.25 per share. The $1 billion deal is expected to close Monday, and reduces the firms’ combined stake in Hertz from 71.59 percent to 55.45 percent.

Dominion Enterprises, a Norfolk, Va.-based media company, has acquired Autobase Inc., an Indianapolis-based provider of marketing and sales solutions for auto dealerships. No financial terms were disclosed. Autobase had raised $8.5 million in a 2004 venture round led by Summit Accelerator Fund.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) has agreed to acquire CompBenefits Corp., a Roswell, Ga.-based provider of dental and vision benefit plans, for $360 million in cash. CompBenefits filed for a $150 million IPO in December, and listed shareholders TA Associates (24.05%), GTCR (19.25 percent), Nautic Partners (11.49 percent) and Wolverine Investment (10.42 percent).

KPS Capital Partners has sold Blue Ridge Paper Products for $338 million to Rank Group Ltd. of New Zealand. Blue Ridge is a Canton, N.C.-based manufacturer of specialty paperboard packaging products. KPS acquired a majority position in 1999, while employees hold a 39 percent position.

Macquarie has agreed to sell its 45 percent stake in Aeroporti di Roma SpA to Gemina SA for €1.2 billion, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. Aeroporti di Roma operates airports in Rome.

Meggitt PLC (LSE: MGGT.L) has completed its $27 per share acquisition of aerospace parts maker K&F Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KFI). The $1.8 billion deal represents an exit for Aurora Capital Group, which acquired K&F in 2004 and which still held 36 percent of K&F’s outstanding shares (along with certain of its cosponsors).

Mid Europa Partners and France Telecom have agreed to acquire Austrian mobile operator One for €1.4 billion. Mid Europa would take a 65 percent equity stake, while existing shareholder France Telecom would hold the remainder. Sellers include German utility E.On AG, TDC AS and Telenor AS.

New Energy Capital Corp. has sold Iroquois Bio-Energy Company LLC, a 45 million gallon per year ethanol plant located in Rensselaer, Ind., to Babcock & Brown (ASX: BNB). No financial terms were disclosed. New energy owned 57 percent of the facility, and is funded by VantagePoint Venture Partners.

Petroleum Geo-Services ASA (NYSE: PGS) has agreed to acquire MTEM Ltd., a U.K.-based provider of electromagnetic mapping services for onshore and offshore oil and gas reservoirs. The deal is valued at $275 million. MTEM shareholders include HitecVision Private Equity and Scottish Equity Partners.

Quest Software Inc. (Nasdaq: QSFT) has agreed to buy ScriptLogic Corp., a Boca Raton, Fla.–based provider of systems lifecycle management solutions for Windows-based networks. The deal is valued at $90 million in cash. ScriptLogic raised $8 million from Insight Venture Partners in 2003.

Ripplewood Holdings has agreed to sell Supresta LLC, an Ardsley, N.Y.–based producer of phosphorus-based flame retardants, to Israel Chemicals Ltd. for $352 million. Supresta was formed in July 2004, when Akzo Nobel sold its phosphorus chemicals flame retardant business to Ripplewood.

Sandvine Corp. (TSX: SVC) has acquired CableMatrix Technologies Inc., an Isreal-based provider of quality assurance solutions for broadband Internet service. It also has agreed to acquire Simplicita Software Inc., a Denver-based provider of automated security software. The deals are worth a combined $9 million, including $4.5 million in cash, 0.9 million Sandvine common shares and an earn-out of 0.6 million additional shares. CableMetric shareholders include EnerTech Capital Partners, Intel Capital, Veritas Venture Partners and Walden Israel. Simplicita shareholders include FFP Holdings.

Volt Information Sciences Inc. (NYSE: VOL) has agreed to acquire LSSi Corp., an Edison, N.J.–based provider of a national database for the directory assistance market. The deal is valued at approximately $70 million in cash. LSSI has raised around $74 million in total VC funding since 1996. Current shareholders include Warburg Pincus, Granite Ventures and Georgica Advisors.

Wolstenholme Group Ltd., a portfolio company of Rutland Partners, has sold its metallic effect pigment and metallic printing ink business to Eckart GmbH and Co. KG. The deal is worth up to £22 million, including a £20 million up-front payment. Wolstenholme will retain its black dispersions business in the U.S. and Ronald Britton in the U.K. In addition, Wolstenholme has agreed to manufacture certain products on behalf of Eckart for up to the next 18 months.