PRINT THIS PAGE Weekly Deals and Funds Roundup: 6 February 200806/02/2008. 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. DEALS
Atlanta, Georgia-based private equity firm Navigation Capital Partners has invested up to $20m in Exeter Finance, a Dallas, Texas-based auto finance company. Navigation now holds a majority stake in Exeter and plans an additional equity investment of up to $40m. The Goldman Sachs Vintage Fund has also co-invested with Navigation in this transaction. Navigation focuses on investment in lower mid-market niche manufacturing and services businesses primarily-based in the Southern US.
Following the first closing of the Aureos Latin America Fund on $140m, the fund has made its first investment in Mexican office equipment distribution company Docuformas. Aureos Capital has acquired a 31.25 per cent equity stake in the company for an undisclosed sum. The fund is targeting a final closing of $300m in June 2008 and focuses on investing in small to mid-cap businesses in emerging markets, making investments of between $2m and $10m in three geographical areas: Mexico, Central America and the Andean Region (including Colombia and Peru).
US private equity firm CIVC Partners and Caltius Partners have completed a $30m growth investment in technology-focused investment banking firm Pacific Crest Securities. Under the terms of the deal, CIVC and Caltius together will hold a minority ownership position in Pacific Crest. Daniel Helle, a CIVC partner, will also join Pacific Crest's board of directors.
Listed private equity firm Conversus Capital, along with four other members of a syndicate, has agreed to acquire a portfolio of private equity funds worth $189m from California Public Employees' Retirement System, including unfunded commitments of approximately $25m.
Steelpoint Capital Partners, through prAna Living, a company formed by Steelpoint and lifestyle clothing company prAna management has agreed to acquire apparel, accessories and fragrance brand Liz Claiborne for $36.5m, including a contingent cash payment of up to $4m. Steelpoint seeks investments of between $5m and $30m in mid-market companies with a minimum of $5m in revenue and enterprise values up to $200m.
US private equity firm Resilience Capital Partners has acquired the Satellite Communications business from CommScope subsidiary Andrew Corporation. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The former Andrew Satellite Communications business will be operated as a newly formed, independent company called ASC Signal Corporation, continuing operations from facilities in the US, Canada, UK, Germany and other locations around the globe. In addition, Andrew will own a minority 17.9 per cent share of ASC Signal and provide certain transition support services to the new company. Since its inception in 2001, Resilience has acquired 15 companies with combined revenues in excess of $1bn.
H.I.G. Capital and American Capital Strategies have invested a further $22m in US mattress manufacturer Spring Air. In June 2007, H.I.G. and American Capital together led the consolidation of Spring Air and its major licensees.
Lower mid-market private equity firm The Riverside Company has acquired Japanese parking lot operator Shinsouki, in the firm's first acquisition in Asia. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Shinsouki leases space and uses it to develop, operate and manage monthly and coin-operated parking lots throughout the city of Niigata under the Friend Park brand. Riverside currently has 17 offices throughout the world, including its newest offices in Tokyo and Seoul.
LPX, the Swiss-based publisher of research and indices on global listed private equity, has unveiled its latest index, LPX Direct, created in partnership with Bank Julius Baer & Co. LPX Direct is LPX's twelfth private equity index and covers only those listed private equity companies that make direct private equity investments, such as general partners and not fund of funds or quoted management companies. LPX Direct comprises companies with net assets consisting of no less than 80 per cent of direct private equity investments and that meet certain liquidity criteria. LPX was founded in 2004 and has established itself as a research and index provider for the listed private equity and infrastructure asset classes.
Emerging Capital Partners has invested $15.2m in Central African Gold, an emerging gold producer with operations in Ghana and Zimbabwe and advanced exploration properties in Mali and Botswana. ECP's investment, which makes it the largest single shareholder, was made as a cornerstone investor in a private placement of shares. CAG is ECP's fourth investment in the mining sector preceded by investments in OSEAD Maroc Mining, Mineral Deposits Limited and Anvil Mining. The investment in CAG was made through ECP's $523m EMP Africa Fund II.
Vestar Capital Partners has agreed to purchase a majority interest in healthcare services company Press Ganey Associates from American Securities Capital Partners. The Press Ganey management team, who invested alongside American Securities, will remain in place and will continue to be substantial investors in the business. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Press Ganey joins Vestar's portfolio of healthcare services companies, which includes the pending Radiation Therapy Services acquisition, National Mentor Holdings, DynaVox Systems, Essent Healthcare, Joerns Healthcare, Sunrise Medical and MediMedia USA.
HBG Holdings, the Dubai-based private equity firm, has agreed with NCB Capital Company to sell a strategic stake in its management company, for an undisclosed amount. NCBC is a subsidiary of The National Commercial Bank of Saudi
Arabia. Under the terms of the deal, the shareholding is to be acquired through Oryx Regional Private Equity Fund, a fund managed by NCBC. As a result of this transaction, Oryx will become one of the largest shareholders in the HBG management company and act as anchor investor in its $200m pan-regional private equity fund. Oryx will also be represented on the board of directors and executive committee of HBG.
TVC Capital, a San Diego-based private equity firm focused on software acquisitions and investments, has acquired IT company Del Mar DataTrac from Fiserv. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Del Mar DataTrac provides back-office lending software solutions designed to automate the residential mortgage lending process, serving over 300 mortgage banking firms throughout the US. TVC seeks opportunities with companies generating revenues of $3m to $20m.
Italian venture firm Innogest Capital has agreed to sell its 20 per cent stake in Singular ID, following the acquisition by pharmaceutical packaging company Bilcare Singapore. Financial terms were not disclosed. Innogest invested in Singular-ID in July 2007. The firm attained an IRR of close to 200 per cent on its initial investment, according to a statement. Singular ID, with offices in Padua and Singapore, commercialises magnetic tagging technology for use against counterfeit products, contract manufacturing overruns and grey market diversion. Innogest has over €80m under management and offices in Turin, Milan and Padua.
Fonomat, a network of GSM services retailers controlled by Spanish private equity firm GED, has acquired Romanian mobile phone retail chain Plus GSM. The deal was carried out through the GED Eastern Fund II for Eastern Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed. The company has a total of 54 establishments in the Transylvania and Muntenia regions, with 240 employees and an estimated turnover of more than €12m for 2007. GED manages a total fund volume of around €350m through several vehicles: GED Eastern Fund II, GED Iberian Fund I, GED Sur, and GED Real Estate Eastern Investments. Their area of operation is south-east Europe and the Iberian Peninsula.
European private equity firm Argos Soditic has acquired French logistics company Mertz alongside a newly recruited manager and Jérôme Begey, the company's director of operations, from IGF Capital Retournement, shareholders in Mertz Conteneurs and the Mertz family. The size of the transaction was not disclosed. Argos Soditic focuses on MBOs and MBIs in small and medium-sized companies across Europe, but primarily in France, Italy and Switzerland.
Cologne, Germany-based private equity company Argantis has acquired the majority of the shares of security firm W.I.S. Holding & Co. , for an undisclosed amount. The former shareholders will continue to retain an interest in the company and the management is also to acquire shares as part of an MBO. The company has more than 4,000 employees at 27 sites throughout Germany. In 2008 it expects to achieve a turnover of approximately €117m, according to a statement. Argantis makes selective investments through MBOs, acquiring family-owned companies and corporate spin-offs with annual sales revenues in the €30m to €200m bracket.
French private equity firm 21 Centrale Partners has acquired a majority shareholding in clothing company La City through a primary LBO in partnership with the founders, who will continue to manage the group. Financial terms were not disclosed. 21 Centrale targets growth buy-outs in the French mid market. The firm raised its third private equity fund in November 2006 with commitments of €330m.
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Italian investment banking boutique Finanziaria Internazionale to acquire a 16.4 per cent stake in Agorà Investimenti. Agorà controls 38.9 per cent of the shares of listed company Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo - SAVE, which has a market capitalisation of €612m, operating in the airport sector in transport infrastructure and services for travelers. Following the completion of the transaction, Agorà will be 50.1 per cent owned by Finanziaria Internazionale, while Assicurazioni Generali will own 33.5 per cent and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure will own 16.4 per cent. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure is part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and acquires infrastructure assets globally.
Nordic private equity firm CapMan is building a Nordic logistics group by merging the Swedish company Globex and Norwegian companies Cargo Partner and STS Group. The new company will be named Cargo Partner Group. The new group will be headed by Konrad Kuhlman, the former managing director of Norwegian logistics company Nor-Cargo. Globex, Cargo Partner and STS have an aggregate turnover of around €150m, according to a statement. The group has offices in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the UK. The investment in the company is made by CapMan Buyout VIII and CapMan Mezzanine IV funds, in which CapMan is a substantial investor. The funds will hold approximately 65 per cent of the new company and the former owners of Globex, Cargo Partner and STS will have a combined holding of 15 per cent.
European venture firm Balderton Capital has agreed to increase its investment in independent music publisher Kobalt Music Group from £4.4m to £7m. The agreement will also see Tim Bunting, partner at Balderton Capital and an ex partner of Goldman Sachs, join the board of Kobalt. Early stage firm SPARK Ventures originally provided significant seed investment to Kobalt in 2001. Kobalt administers more than 100,000 copyrights worldwide on behalf of over 700 clients, including Gwen Stefani, Moby, Barry Manilow and Nine Inch Nails.
China Israel Value Capital has agreed to lead a $10m investment round in Chinese consumer electrics company Keen High Technologies. The investment is to be made from the CIVC PE Fund, a partnership between SCGC from China and PNV from Israel. The fund is headquartered in Shenzhen China, with 13 regional offices across China and an office in Herzeliya, Israel. CIVC invests in mature Chinese companies, in high growth markets.
UK small buy-out specialist Matrix Private Equity Partners has realised over 3.2 times its original investment in European B2B marketing services business Gyro . Matrix received £2.4m from the sale following an investment in 2005, generating an IRR of 50 per cent. This is the third successful full cash exit for MPEP inside a month following its recent realisations in BBI Holdings and Ministry of Cake. Matrix has also launched a new VCT and is planning 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.
Baring Private Equity Asia has invested in disposable medical device company Amsino Medical Group, the parent company of Amsino International. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. With this investment, Baring Asia becomes a significant minority shareholder in Amsino. The company will use the proceeds from Baring Asia to increase its production capacity and enhance operational efficiency, according to a statement. Baring Private Equity Asia is an independent private equity firm specialising in growth capital financings and buy-outs of mid-sized companies in Asia, principally in China, India and Japan. It advises funds with $2.4bn under management.
Parthenon Capital, a private equity firm with offices in Boston and San Francisco, has completed an investment in Bryant & Stratton College, a provider of post-secondary career education. Following the deal, Bryant H Prentice III, the company's former majority owner and the current senior management team will remain significant shareholders in the company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Parthenon specialises in investment in business services, financial and insurance services and healthcare.
Energy Investors Funds a private equity fund manager that invests in the US energy and electric power sector, through its United States Power Fund III, together with Enpower, a California-based owner-operator of energy assets, has completed the acquisition of Landfill Energy Systems and certain of its affiliates. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The existing management team of LES will continue to run the company and will maintain a minority ownership interest. LES owns and operates a portfolio of 18 landfill gas-to-energy projects located in nine states across the US.
Mid-market private equity firm Axia Capital Partners, has completed its acquisition of full service contract manufacturing company Cable Design and Manufacturing, forming Segue Manufacturing Services. Axia Capital syndicated an LBO to acquire the assets of CDM and appointed Peter Frasso, former COO of FEI, as CEO of Segue. CDM's former owner and CEO, Bill Roderick, will retain a significant equity position in the newly formed company and lead the sales and engineering organisations. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Bank of Scotland Corporate's Growth Equity team and Oxford Investment Opportunity Network have launched a co-investment programme that will provide a new source of funding for innovative companies. OION selects and introduces high growth, innovative technology companies from across the UK. Under the terms of the programme the bank has made available £2m to invest during 2008 alongside investor members of OION and its sister investment networks, Thames Valley Investment Network and Oxford Early Investments. The Bank of Scotland's Growth Equity team typically makes equity investments of between £1m and £7m across a range of sectors. In another deal, Bank of Scotland Growth Equity, together with European technology venture firm DFJ Esprit, Draper Fisher Jurvetson's venture capital partner in Europe has led a $12m Series B funding round in internet exchange company PacketExchange. In conjunction with the funding, PacketExchange also announced the appointment of Rick Mace to CEO.
FUNDS
GIMV has committed $15m to the new venture capital fund FinTech GIMV Fund, which will solely focus on investments in Japanese ICT and life sciences companies and also overseas technology companies that want to develop their business in Japan. In an initial closing FinTech GIMV Fund raised $55m, of which GIMV committed $15m as a sponsor. The other investors in the first closing of the fund are Development Bank of Japan, FinTech Global Incorporated and BASF Ventures. The fund is targeting a total size of $100m. The fund will be independently managed by FinTech Global Capital, founded by former managers of NIF Ventures.
Copyright © 2008 AltAssets
|
