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Weekly Deals and Funds Roundup: 21 May 200821/05/2008. 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.
Belgian private equity firm GIMV has sold its remaining stake in Belgian port operator Westerlund Group to Babcock & Brown Infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed. Westerlund Group operates marine terminals in the Ports of Antwerp (Belgium), Rouen (France) and Changshu (China). In December 2007, Babcock & Brown Infrastructure's 75 per cent owned subsidiary Benelux Port Holdings acquired a minority stake in Westerlund Group. The other shareholders, GIMV and JJ Westerlund, maintained the majority but signed an agreement with BPH to sell their stake in the company. GIMV manages around €2bn of assets.
Technology-focused venture capital and private equity investor Eqvitec Partners, through its Eqvitec Technology Fund III, has acquired the majority of Finland-based power supplies provider Powernet. Financial terms were not disclosed. Powernet designs, manufactures and sells power supplies, power supply systems and related products for the use of several industries. The company had a turnover of €13m in 2007. The management of Powernet maintains a significant ownership in the company. Eqvitec Partners advises five funds with a total capital base of €440m.
US private equity firm Blue Wolf Capital Management, together with Atlas Holdings, has agreed to acquire Nova Scotia-based pulp mill Neenah Paper and associated timberlands business, for an undisclosed sum. This is the second investment in the industry for Blue Wolf and Atlas. Last year the investors purchased a pulp and paper mill in Northern New York State that today is known as Finch Paper Holdings.
Technology-focused venture capital firm Elaia Partners has led a €10m Series B round for French consumer electric product business Wyplay. Elaia was joined by Paris-based venture firm A Plus Finance and European venture firm Sofinnova Partners, which led Wyplay's first fundraising round. Previous investments from Elaia include Ornis, Criteo, NTR Global and Total Immersion
Recruitment software business SilkRoad technology has closed a $54m equity round of capital led by new investor Foundation Capital and including existing investors Azure Capital Partners and SilkRoad Equity. Foundation Capital targets opportunities in cleantech, consumer Internet and infrastructure; telecommunications and networking; and enterprise software and on demand services. Foundation Capital firm has more than $2.4bn under management.
Biopharmaceutical company Amarin Corporation has announced a private placement of American Depositary Shares with several new institutional and accredited investors for up to $60m funded over two equal tranches. The new investors, comprise Sofinnova Ventures, OrbiMed Advisors, Thomas, McNerney & Partners, Panorama Capital, Longitude Capital and Fountain Healthcare Partners. The first $28m tranche is expected to close shortly, according to a statement. Following closing of the first tranche, the new investors will hold an approximate 45 per cent stake in Amarin.
US cancer treatment company ProCure Treatment Centers has received an additional $35m round of equity funding from Oklahoma City-based venture firm McClendon Venture Company. MVC is owned by Aubrey K McClendon, chairman and CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corporation. The $35m investment represents the second major investment in ProCure by MVC and pushes the firm's total investment in the growing proton therapy treatment company to $70m. ProCure received an initial $35m investment from MVC and several related individuals in December 2006.
Pharmaceutical software companyTalyst has received its third round of investment, totalling $20m. The funding comes from prior investors asset management firm AIG Investments, private investment group Ignition Partners and technology-focused venture firm OVP Venture Partners. Initially, $8.5m of the commitment has been funded; the balance is available for the company to call upon as needed, according to the firm. AIG Investments makes equity, fixed income, hedge, private equity, and real estate investments.
21 Centrale Partners, the French arm of Franco-Italian 21 Investimenti Group, has exited its investment in French B2B cleaning product company Hedis, with its sale to the management team supported by holding company Sofival. Financial terms were not disclosed. In July 2004, 21 Centrale Partners backed the MBO of Hedis. The company has revenues of €96m, according to a statement. 21 Centrale Partners closed its third private equity fund in November 2006 on €330m.
European technology investor Amadeus Capital Partners and Belgian private equity and venture capital firm GIMV have led a $12m financing in software company Openbravo. Spanish venture firm Adara Venture Partners also participated in the round. Amadeus was established in 1997. Investments include CSR, Optos, PacketFront, Valista and Solexa.
American Capital Stategies has committed $300m to newly-formed commercial finance company Core Business Credit. The investment takes the form of subordinated debt and equity. Core's senior management team are also investing alongside American Capital. In addition, Core has secured a $125m senior credit facility with Autobahn Funding Company, an asset-backed commercial paper conduit sponsored by DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main, making Core's total capitalisation in excess of $425m. American Capital's financial services group provides capital solutions for consumer and commercial finance, insurance and asset management companies.
EMP Latin American Management through the AIG-GE Capital Latin American Infrastructure Fund has fully divested its 9.7 per cent shareholding in gas transportation company Transredes - Transporte de Hidrocarburos. LAIF sold the entirety of its stake to state-owned YPFB through the Bolivian stock exchange for $46.6m Transredes was created in the 1996 privatisation of Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos with 3,000 km of gas and 2,800 km of liquid pipelines, transports most of the gas and liquids in Bolivia and holds a meaningful ownership in the Bolivia to Brazil pipeline. Since its inception in November 1996, LAIF has invested approximately $817m in 24 companies throughout the Latin America region, which are engaged in a variety of infrastructure sectors.
Edmond de Rothschild Capital Partners is taking a majority stake in French heat pump business AJ tech through an LBO in conjunction with Joël Amisse. The company has sales in excess of €30m, according to a statement. The AJ Tech deal marks Edmond de Rothschild Capital Partners' third investment for the firm's ERLF II fund, which closed on €300m during the fourth quarter of 2007. The firm, alongside other investors, including European venture firm Life Sciences Partners has also agreed to sell their stake in biotechnology company U3 Pharma in a deal that values the company at €150m. Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, though its BioDiscovery 1 and BioDiscovery 2 funds led the second financing round in 2003 and participated in the subsequent one in 2006, which was led by LSP. The deal returned a multiple of just over four times its initial investment, according to a source close to the deal.
Airbourne broadband provider Row 44 has closed a financing round of over $21m, led by Boston-based firm PAR Capital Management. Row 44 is scheduled to perform commercial trials with Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines in North America this summer, according to a statement. PAR Capital has over $1.5bn in assets under management and focuses on investments in consumer-related industries.
Mimosa Systems, a provider of live content archiving solutions, has closed $17m in mezzanine financing. California-based venture firm Focus Ventures led the funding round, joined by current investors August Capital, Clearstone Venture Partners, JAFCO Ventures and Mayfield Fund. Focus Ventures invests in privately held, expansion stage technology companies.
Software engineering and IT consulting provider EPAM Systems, has completed a $50m minority investment round. Renaissance Capital, an investment banking firm focused on Europe, the Middle East and Africa, acted as a sole advisor on the transaction. Renaissance Investment Management and alternative investment managerDa Vinci Capital acted as lead investors, with additional capital raised through private equity firm Euroventures Capital. Last year EPAM surpassed the 2007 annual revenue target of $100m, according to a statement.
Specialist pharmaceutical business Novasys Medical has secured $49.5m in Series D preferred stock financing. The round was led by new investors healthcare-focused venture firm Versant Ventures, with ThreeArch Partners and Skyline Ventures also new investors. The round also included participation from existing investors Affinity Capital Management, Alloy Ventures, Delphi Ventures, GBS Venture Partners, INVESCO Private Capital, JP Morgan Partners (managed by Panorama Capital) and ONSET Ventures. Versant Ventures specialises in early stage investments in medical devices, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, healthcare services and healthcare IT.
Palo Alto, California-based software company Increo Solutionshas closed a seed round of financing from venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Financial terms were not disclosed. As part of the deal, Tim Draper, founder and managing director of DFJ, will join Increo's board of directors. Increo develops tools to help companies address their business communication requirements. DFJ has approximately $6bn in capital commitments.
Private equity firm J.H. Whitney & Co. has joined with the existing management team to acquire Arizona, US-based road and bridge builder FNF Construction, for an undisclosed amount. In addition to J.H. Whitney, the investor group includes FNF's existing management team. FNF provides construction contracting services and focuses on infrastructure projects including building roads, highways, bridges, airports and large commercial site developments. J.H. Whitney is currently investing its sixth private equity fund, J.H. Whitney VI, which closed in 2005, on $750m
Emerging Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing across the African continent, has made a $47.3m investment in Tunisian personal care company Société d'Articles Hygiéniques. The funds will be used to expand operations in SAH's existing North African markets, and also to enter into new markets, according to a statement. The investment in SAH was made through a consortium of two ECP managed funds: ECP Africa Fund II and the ECP MENA Growth Fund. ECP Africa Fund II was established in December 2005 to invest throughout Africa in sectors such as telecom, natural resources, financial services, agribusiness, transportation, and power and water. The ECP MENA Growth Fund was established in September 2007 to make growth equity investments in the Middle East and North Africa regions.
ECORE International, a manufacturer and marketer of environmentally sustainable products and solutions, has received $29m in equity financing from Philadelphia-based venture firm Element Partners. Element Partners invests in high-growth companies with cleantech solutions to global resource and environmental constraints. ECORE recycles 80 million pounds of tire rubber each year, helping conserve more than 1 million barrels of oil in the process to convert pliable treads into durable products for the construction, consumer, commercial, industrial, sports, fitness and recreation markets. Element Partners targets investment in the cleantech sector, with a specific focus is on products, services and technologies in the energy and power, water, environmental, materials and chemicals, and manufacturing and industrial sectors.
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