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Weekly Deals and Funds Roundup: 28 May 200828/05/2008. 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.
Funds managed by the Buchanan Capital Partners have acquired a majority stake in German mineral water company Aqua Vital Quell- und Mineralwasser. Financial terms were not disclosed. Following the deal, company founder Peter Lázár will retain a financial interest in the company. Buchanan manages funds that invest in companies in the German-speaking region. The firm takes out minority stakes in mid-size firms or acquires a majority holding within the framework of a buy-out. The firm is a member of the German finance house Buchanan Capital Group.
South Eastern Europe-focused private equity fund Copernicus Capital Partners has exited its investment in Serbian professional security business Progard Securitas. With 3,000 employees, Progard recorded sales of approximately €15.5m in 2007. The sale gives Copernicus a return of over 3.2 times its original investment, generating a net IRR of over 35 per cent, according to the firm. Copernicus invested in Progard in December of 2003.
Hamburg-based private equity firm HSH Private Equity has acquired fashion manufacturer gardeur. The German manufacturer has 1,800 employees. It reported earnings of €104m in 2007. HSH purchased 100 per cent of the shares of gardeur, but the details on purchase price were not disclosed. HSH Private Equity is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSH Nordbank. The firm targets investments in Germany and Northern Europe and has funds under management totalling over €200m.
US private equity firm FdG Associates has sold performance footwear accessories company Implus Foot care to New York-based private equity firm AEA Investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. FdG Associates led the recapitalisation of Implus in 2001, with the sale returning over five times the original investment, according to the firm. Implus was one of the first acquisitions from the firm's first fund, FdG Capital Partners. The firm's second fund, FdG Capital Partners II, closed in 2005 on $310.5m.
Aureos Latin America Fund (ALAF) has invested $5m in Mexican transportation equipment leasing company Analistas de Recursos Globales. This is the second deal closed by ALAF since its inception in December of 2007. ALAF is a fund in the process of finalising its second closing towards its target of $300m. ALAF looks to invest in small to mid-cap businesses in emerging markets. Aureos is also in the process of raising a $100m Central Asia fund and a $400m Africa-focused fund.
Tenaska Capital Management, the manager of the US energy-focused private equity fund Tenaska Power Fund, has agreed to acquire US peaking plant Rolling Hills Power Generation Facility from Dynegy, for $368m. The plant is a natural gas-fired peaking facility that began commercial operation in 2003. Last month the Tenaska Power Fund sold gas-fuelled power plant Holland Energy to Indiana electric cooperatives Wabash Valley Power and Hoosier Energy for $383m.
North American solar energy services provider SunEdison has closed $131m of private equity and $30m of debt financing with new and existing investors over the past six months. Investors include private equity investors Greylock Partners, HSH Nordbank, Applied Ventures, Black River Commodity Clean Energy Investment Fund, MissionPoint Capital Partners and Allco Renewable Energy.
Private equity fund Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Partners IV has agreed to acquire Angelica, a provider of textile rental and services to the healthcare industry, in a deal worth a reported $209m. The firm will acquire the company for $22 per share in cash, a premium of 34 per cent over the weighted-average closing share price for the 30 days ending 22 May 2008. The Angelica board has also recommended that company shareholders approve the agreement. Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Partners is part of Lehman Brothers' global private equity business. Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Partners IV closed in June 2007 on $3.3bn.
Salt Lake City, US-based private equity firm Peterson Partners and corporate training business FranklinCovey have agreed to establish a new company, Franklin Covey Products, which will purchase substantially all of the assets of FranklinCovey's Consumer Solutions Business Unit. The new company will be controlled by Peterson Partners, who will acquire the CSBU assets for $32m in cash. Peterson Partners specialises in investing in small to mid-sized companies. Founded in 1995, the firm has managed over $400m, through five funds.
Wireless electric metre company SmartSynch has raised $20m dollars in expansion financing. New investor Credit SuisseBattelle Ventures, Beacon Group, Endeavor Capital Management, GulfSouth Capital, Innovation Valley Partners, Kinetic Ventures, OPG Ventures and Siemens Venture Capital. To date, SmartSynch has raised $80m since its inception in 2000.
Social web browser Flock has completed a $15m Series D round of venture funding led by Fidelity Ventures. Previous lead investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Catamount Ventures and Shasta Ventures also participated. Fidelity Ventures invests in the consumer, communications, systems and software markets. The firm manages over $800m from offices in Boston and London.
Chicago-based private equity firm Lake Capital has made an investment in technology field services company Tolt Service Group. Financial terms were not disclosed. Lake Capital manages more than $1.3bn. The firm typically commits between $50m and $75m per investment.
Credit Suisse and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System have invested $11m in private equity fund managers, Early Stage Partners and Mistral Equity Partners. Early Stage Partners provides early stage capital to companies primarily located in Northeast Ohio, primarily in the life sciences; technology sectors. Mistral Equity Partners targets buy-out and growth-oriented investments, with a focus on the consumer and media industries. The $102m Ohio-Midwest Fund is a joint venture between Ohio PERS and Credit Suisse and is a fund of funds that invests in private equity funds that focus on the Ohio and Midwest regions. In May 2007, Ohio PERS expanded the fund from $51m to $102m in May 2007, with Ohio PERS contributing $100m and Credit Suisse contributing approximately $2m.
The co-investment team of private equity investor Capital Dynamics has substantially exited its investors' holdings in gas-carrying ship builder TGE Marine through the company's IPO on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market. The IPO returned more than twenty times the firm's original investment, according to a statement. Capital Dynamics invested in TGE in 2006, having introduced TGE as a lead investor opportunity to Caledonia Investments TGE is a leader in the design and construction of gas-carrying ships. Following MBO in 2006, Capital Dynamics's co-investment team had a 10.1 per cent stake in the company, with Caledonia owning 49.9 per cent stake. TGE and its investors raised £67m from the IPO.
Emerging markets private equity investor Actis has sold its stake in Chinese solar energy business Shunda Holdings, for an undisclosed sum. Actis led an investment in Shunda in 2006. The investment is an extension of Actis's early investment in China's solar energy industry, which began in 2005 when Actis invested in Suntech. To date, Actis has an office of 14 professionals in Beijing. Investments in China include CNOOC, Mengniu, Suntech and Grentech.
UK mid-market private equity firm Graphite Capital has sold orthopaedic device business Summit Medical, generating a return of more than three times the original investment, according to the firm. Graphite led a £17m BIMBO in 2001. The firm manages more than £1.2bn of funds for institutional and private shareholders. Graphite's most recent fund closed on £555m in May 2007.
Nordic early stage technology investor Creandum has invested €3.5m in the Finnish social advertising intelligence business Xtract , together with existing investor Eqvitec Partners. Eqvitec led a €2m fundraising round in 2007, through its Eqvitec Technology Fund III.
Pelago, a Seattle, US-based technologies company, has closed a $15m Series B financing round. The fundraising round was led by T-mobile Venture Fund and also included the corporate venture arm of Reliance ADA Group, Reliance Technology Ventures and Palo Alto-based DAG Ventures. Investors from Pelagos's $7.4m Series A, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Trilogy Equity Partners and Bezos Expeditions also participated. Pelago to use the raised capital for technology invests and partnerships to deploy its service across North America and overseas markets, according to a statement.
Mobile applications business Ontela has secured funds from Steamboat Ventures alongside existing investors. Steamboat was joined by Hunt Ventures, Oak Investment Partners and Voyager Capital who contributed $4.5m in the first series of fundraising in November of 2006. Steamboat Ventures is a global venture capital fund that invests in global media, consumer and technology countries in the US and Asia.
French private equity firm Viveris Management has sold assets managed by its oldest Innoveris FCPIs (Fonds Communs de Placement dans l'Innovation) to Headway Investment Partners. The sale included the minority shareholdings in six companies held by the FCPIs. Viveris will continue to manage some of the investments on behalf of Headway, while some of the investments will be managed by Paris-based private equity firm LC Capital. This follows Headway's acquisition of eight other assets from FCPIs managed by Seventures in June of 2007. Headway is a private equity secondaries and special opportunities fund advised by London-based Secondary Specialist Headway Capital Partners.
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