PRINT THIS PAGE Weekly Deals and Funds Roundup: 23 January 200823/01/2008. Source: AltAssets. 
A selection of the latest deals and funds news from across the globe - essential reading for those who need to keep up-to-date with the industry's key developments. Private equity firm GTCR has entered into a partnership with Eric Ellenbogen and John Engelman to form Boomerang Media. The new company will be dedicated to the acquisition, management and exploitation of entertainment copyrights and related intellectual property across all media. GTCR plans to invest up to $200m in equity capital. Ellenbogen and Engelman founded media library Classic Media in May 2000. They also served as co-CEOs of Broadway Video Entertainment, a manager of film and television libraries. GTCR's investment in Boomerang Media will be made from the firm's $2.75bn GTCR Fund IX.
Investment firm Clearlake Capital Group, together with its affiliates, has led a $125m financing round for GoAmerica, a provider of communications solutions serving the deaf and hard of hearing. The investment consisted of $40m in equity and $30m in second-lien debt. Churchill Financial and Ableco Finance, an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, joined the financing, providing $55m of first-lien senior debt including an unfunded revolver facility. Clearlake committed $110m of debt and equity financing at signing to facilitate the transactions. As part of the deal, Steve Chang and Behdad Eghbali of Clearlake, have joined GoAmerica's board of directors. Since inception in 2007, Clearlake has led more than $400m in investments along with co-investors and has achieved two realisations.
Mekong Capital, through its Vietnam Azalea Fund, has invested more than $3m in Vietnamese pharmaceutical company Traphaco Joint Stock Company. Traphaco was previously state-owned and was equitised to operate as a joint stock company in 1999. The company operates two GMP-complied factories in Hanoi and Hung Yen. Vietnam Azalea Fund Limited is a $100m fund focusing on investment in pre-listed equitised companies in Vietnam.
German venture firm Triangle Venture Capital Group has invested €4.1m in start-up capital to real-time game engine company iOpener, a spin-off from the European Space Agency. iOpener operates out of offices in Aachen, Germany and Delft, The Netherlands. Triangle focuses exclusively on university and research spin-offs. This round is Triangle's fourth investment out of its recent Fund IV.
Small buy-out specialists Matrix Private Equity Partners has realised over 3.3 times its original investment of £2.3m through the sale of its shareholding in AIM-listed BBI Holdings, a healthcare business that focuses on diagnostics and diabetes, to Inverness Medical Innovations. Matrix funds have received £7.8m proceeds over the seven-year life of the investment, achieving an IRR of 31 per cent, according to a statement. Matrix first invested in BBI as one of three VCs that backed the MBO led by chief executive Julian Barnes in November 2000. The company floated on AIM in April 2004. Matrix is also aiming to raise £15m in an S share offer for The Income & Growth VCT, formerly named TriVest VCT. The new S Share Fund will be managed separately from the existing dual managed O Share Fund. It will be a single share class managed solely by MPEP.
North East England venture capital firm NorthStar Equity Investors has invested £850,000 in Newcastle, England-based TV technology company Quick TV. Leading a consortium of investors, NorthStar backed the business with £500,000 from its Co-Investment Fund, also attracting a further £350,000 funding for the company from private individuals and the Business Investors Group. NorthStar Equity Investors manages two funds and specialises in early stage high growth technology opportunities in the North East of England.
London and Paris-based private equity fund manager Platina Finance has exited its investment in French independent wind farm developer Société Française d'Eoliennes with its sale to Sorgenia. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In 2003, Platina invested a 25 per cent stake in SFE, which controls a development portfolio exceeding 850MW in total. The sale to Sogernia valued the business at €345m, according to a statement.
French early stage venture firm Ventech, a subsidiary of French private equity giant Natixis, has established a partnership with Chinese venture capital specialists CMHJ (China Merchant Hidden Jade), with the establishment of a dedicated China fund. The partnership will allow for limited partner investment as well as co-investment in companies chosen by CMHJ, both sponsored by Natixis. As part of the deal, Ventech's Cindy Guo and Bruno Bensaïd will join CMHJ, responsible for co-investment and managing business development, respectively. Ventech operations in China will be led by Eric Huet, general partner with and chairman of Ventech China.
KBC Private Equity, the private equity financier of the KBC group, is to partner with the Lenaerts-Blommaert group, based in Temse, Belgium. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The group sells and leases mobile units and machinery and equipment for the building sector and industry. In 2007 the company recorded a turnover of €22.5m. The current managing director, Annette Lenaerts, will continue to head the company and will direct its development going forward. KBC Private Equity provides growth capital to and finances acquisitions of medium-sized companies for amounts between €2m and €50m, primarily in Belgium and CEE.
Medical device company Ultheraa has received $22.5m in a Series B round that was led by venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates. Existing investor 3i also participated in the round. Ulthera develops, sells and markets therapeutic ultrasound-based medical devices into the medical aesthetics market. The company was founded in 2004 and spun-off from Guided Therapy Systems; a Mesa, Arizona-based ultrasonic medical technologies company. NEA manages approximately $8.5bn in committed capital.
Technology-focused private equity firm Francisco Partners has acquired Salt Lake City, Utah-based software company AdvancedMD Software, for an undisclosed sum. As part of the deal the CEO role will be assumed by John Trzeciak, a healthcare advisor to Francisco Partners. Francisco Partners has $5bn of capital under management. The firm targets control investments in private companies, with transaction values ranging from $30m to $2bn.
European buy-out firm Argos Soditic has sold French sportswear company Dorotennis to clothing group BCBG Max Azria. In 2006, the firm announced the closing of a new €275m fund, Argos Soditic V, which has carried out nine transactions to date. These include four MBOs; Driver/Sitour, GPP, FHB and Orsyp, two BIMBOs: Axyntis and Marie Laure, one spin-off: Alkan and two MBIs: Chronolyss and Mertz.
Accession Mezzanine Capital has invested some €60m from its AMC Fund II across the CEE region. The investment was spread across six transactions and included: a mezzanine loan and equity to support Mid Europa Partners' buy-out of LuxMed and Medycyna Rodzinna, a mezzanine debt facility to finance pan-European growth of Hungarian-based healthcare service provider Euromedic, a loan to support Lion Capital's buy-out of Russian fruit juice company Nidan Soki, a mezzanine loan to support AKJ Capital's buy-out of Polish IT distributor SAD, a mezzanine loan to finance the buy-out of Serbia Broadbandby Mid Europa Partners and an equity contribution to Ceres, an industrial farms operator in Bulgaria. AMC Fund II held its first closing in March 2007, on €100m.
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has sold pre-school nursery company Tender Loving Childcare to Busy Bees, for an undisclosed amount. The firm invested £1.7m of development capital in TLC in October 2000 to fund a chain of purpose built nursery facilities. Further expansion funding of £1.4m was invested between 2002 and 2004. Aberdeen Asset Managers Private Equity Division is a division of Aberdeen Asset Managers. The division has total funds under management of £251.5m.
Nordic asset management firm CapMan, through its CapMan Buyout VIII fund, alongside Roope Lehtinen and company's management. has entered into an agreement to acquire Finnish television content and commercial film production company Varesvuo Partners, for €11m. The company's subsidiaries include Moskito Television, Kaivopuiston Grillifilmi and Angel Films. The company produces programmes for all of Finland's free to air TV channels and pay TV channels as well as commercial films for advertisers and international customers. CapMan Buyout makes both equity and mezzanine investments in mid-market buy-outs across the Nordic region.
Munich and Boston-based venture capital firm TVM Capital has acquired a ten per cent stake in German pharmaceutical company Riemser Arzneimittel. Financial terms were not disclosed. The company has 450 employees across four manufacturing plants. The company develops and produces a line of dermatology, cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory, oncology and dental care pharmaceuticals. As part of the deal, TVM partner Dr Christoph Schroeder, a former management executive of BASF Pharma, will join the board of directors.
Listed private equity firm Ratos, together with other owners, is to refinance portfolio company Bisnode, a European supplier of digital business information and services. Ratos will receive a cash payment of approximately SEK605m (€64m) from the firm's 70 per cent stake. Bisnode has approximately 3,000 employees. The company recorded sales in the first nine months of 2007 of SEK4bn.
ISIS Equity Partners, investing funds from the Baronsmead VCTs, has completed the £7m MBO of children's play area company Playforce. For Isis, previous transactions in these sectors include daycare provider kidsunlimited and library management software company, MLS. ISIS typically invests in transactions where the transaction size is between £5m and £75m in companies with profits in excess of £1m.
3i has invested an undisclosed sum for a minority stake in Futaste (formerly known as Futian) ,Pharmaceutical Co., a Chinese producer of the natural sweetener Xylitol. Futaste was established in Yucheng, Shandong Province, China in March 1993. The business has an annual processing capacity of 20,000 tons of xylose and 35,000 tons of xylitol. In a separate transaction, 3i also invested $97m in GAIN Capital Group, an independent provider of online foreign exchange trading services for individuals and institutions. GAIN is a privately held company and was founded in 1999.
Singapore asset manager Templeton Asset Management, through its Templeton Strategic Emerging Markets Fund II has invested HK$74m (US$9.5m) through the acquisition of 45,600,000 new H Shares of Hong Kong listed automobile aftercare company Launch Tech Company, in a deal worth HK$1.63 per share. Templeton has 13 offices located throughout the emerging markets including Singapore, Shanghai, Seoul, Hong Kong, Mumbai, South Africa, Turkey, Austria, Poland, Russia Brazil and Argentina.
US private equity firm Resilience Partners has acquired the Wheel Bearings business of Delphi Corporation, for up to $44.2m. The sale follows Delphi's bankruptcy proceedings and is subject to the approval of the US Bankruptcy Court. Resilience has offices in Cleveland, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan. The firm targets lower mid-market companies in underperforming, corporate divestiture and turnaround situations, typically with revenues of between $25m to $250m.
Boston-based private equity firm WestView Capital Partners has led investment in Gold's Gym franchise Titan Fitness. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In conjunction with the financing, Titan has acquired 14 fitness clubs in North Carolina and Minnesota and expects to grow its Gold's Gym portfolio to more than 60 locations across the US within the next five years, according to a statement. Other investors included Cleveland, Ohio-based private equity fund National City Equity Partners.
Swedish early stage venture capital firm Industrifonden alongside Arvid Svensson & Ekstranda Media and Nordic venture firmVia Venture Partners has invested SEK35m(€3.7m) in DJ Tonium, a Swedish developer of handheld DJ players. Via Venture Partners will become a new shareholder in the company, in which the other investors are already shareholders. Tonium has raised a total of SEK50m in venture capital since it was founded in 2005.
Spanish mid-market private equity firm Nazca Capital has agreed with the
García Villalobos family, proprietors of specialised food transportation business Transportes Garcia Villalobos, to merge with logistics company Plataforma Frigorífica to create a new food logistics group. The merged company has a combined turnover of over €40m, and employs 380 workers, according to a statement. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, although sources close to the deal have placed the deal size at around €30m. The source also confirmed that all Transportes García Villalobos shareholders hold the same stake as before the merger.
BlackEagle Partners, a private equity firm focused on turnarounds and special situations, has acquired selected assets of car parts manufacturer Rockford Products. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. BlackEagle targets underperforming and distressed businesses, non-core subsidiaries and companies operating in out of favour industries, with an enterprise value of less than $200m.
US buy-out and venture firm Morgenthaler Partners has recapitalised Avtron Manufacturing, a multi-business company that designs and manufactures technical products via three operating divisions: aerospace, load banks and industrial automation. As part of the deal, senior members of the management team, led by chief executive officer Bob Fritz, will be significant equity holders in the company. Morgenthaler partners, Alfred Stanley and Peter Taft, will serve on the Avtron board of directors. Morgenthaler's buy-out group focuses on the mid-market with transaction values between $50m $250m.
Copyright © 2008 AltAssets
|
