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Weekly Deals and Funds Roundup: 2 July 200802/07/2008. 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.
Nordic firm InnovationsKapital has led a SEK30m (€3.2m) financing round in horse vaccine business Isconova. The company, based in Uppsala, Sweden was established in 2000 by scientists from the Swedish Agricultural University. InnovationsKapital focuses on Nordic investments within ICT and healthcare and life sciences. The firm advises four venture capital funds aggregating €317m in committed capital.
Private equity firm HarbourVest Partners has made a significant minority investment in mobile messaging operator TynTec. The funds will assist TynTec's rapid expansion into Asia, the Middle East and Africa and will help accelerate market penetration of the company's products, according to a statement. As part of the deal, HarbourVest investment professionals Alex Rogers and Claudio Siniscalco will be joining TynTec's board of directors. Current investments in Europe from HarbourVest include Acision, Envivio, Flash Networks, Kiala, Nero, Panda Security, Servista and World Check.
European Capital, through its subsidiary ECAS S.à.r.l. has invested $25m in Groupe Unipex (formerly Atrium Innovations' active ingredients and specialty chemicals division), a global firm specialising in the manufacture and distribution of active ingredients and chemicals for the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and industrial chemical and nutrition industries. The investment was led by the Paris office of European Capital Financial Services and supports AXA Private Equity's acquisition of Groupe Unipex alongside management. In 2005, European Capital invested in mezzanine and equity alongside AXA Private Equity in French laundry company Spotless Group (Eau Ecarlate).
Cologne, Germany-based private equity firm Argantis has sold its majority stake in German road transportation business NordSüd Speditionsgesellschaft to Luxembourg private investment firm BIP Investment Partners and the corporate management team. Financial terms were not disclosed. NordSüd employs approximately 800 workers and expects annual revenues close to €80m, according to a statement.
Data management company Initiate Systems has completed a $26m financing round, led by Washington-based private equity firm Paladin Capital Group. The round also included participation from new investors Dunrath Capital, EMC Corporation and Informatica Corporation as well as existing investors, Sigma Partners, Apex Venture Partners and First Analysis Group.
Private equity investor Industrifonden has led a SEK24m (€2.5m) fundraising round in cleantech business TranSiC. TranSiC develops silicon carbide power transistors for use in electric and hybrid vehicles. The company is a spin-off from technical research at Stockholm's Royal Institute of Technology, and was set up in 2005.
UK mid-market firmPhoenix Equity Partners together with Alan Yau, has invested £21.5m in UK-based Thai restaurant chain Busaba Eathai Holdings, part of which represents the provision of substantial additional funds to enable the business to open 20 to 30 new restaurants across the UK over the next five years. As part of the deal, Stephen Gee of Phoenix will become chairman of Busaba. Phoenix's previous investments in the casual dining sector include Gaucho Group, Mill House Inns and Tootsies.
Energy technology company Fotech has secured £6.5m in venture funding from venture capital firms Scottish Equity Partners, Energy Ventures and Saudi Arabia-based Shoaibi Group. The funds will also be used to finance the acquisition of a spin-out from the University of Surrey which has developed fibre-optic sensing technologies. The Shoaibi Group was established over 30 years ago to develop and carry out industrial and commercial activities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East.
New York-based private equity firm Diamond Castle Holdings has sold Catamount Energy to Duke Energy in a deal valued at approximately $240m, plus assumed debt. Catamount Energy focuses on developing wind projects in the US and the UK. Diamond Castle acquired the company in December of 2005 for $59.25m.
Venture capital firms Earlybird Venture Capital and Delta Partners have led a €6m Series A financing round in Vienna-based medical device business Miracor. As part of the deal, Earlybird partner Thom Rasche will take a seat on the Miracor board. Miracor is the seventh technology investment made from the Earlybird 2007 Fund. Other investments include Sidec Technologies, Smava, Smoodoos, Purplelabs, LightBlueOptics and CleanMobile.
Florida-based private equity firm Palm Beach Capital has acquired workers' compensation solutions provider SUNZ Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is the tenth equity investment by Palm Beach Capital from Palm Beach Capital Fund II. The firm focuses on investment opportunities with enterprise values ranging from $10m to $100m and has approximately $200m in total assets under management.
UK venture capital firm Bridges Ventures has invested a first tranche of £1m in gym provider The Gym. Bridges Ventures invests in companies that are located in the most under invested areas of the UK or that can achieve strong social impacts in sectors such as healthcare, the environment and education. The Gym's first location is in Hounslow, London, in the Blenheim Centre, a £220m mixed use development comprising of retail, leisure, housing and additional community facilities. Bridges Ventures key backers include Sir Ronald Cohen, co-founder and former chairman of Apax Partners, 3i and Tom Singh of New Look.
Independent animation network aniBoom has closed a $10m Series B round of funding led by venture capital firmDraper Fisher Jurvetson and DFJ's Israeli arm DFJ Tamir Fishman Ventures, with participation from existing investor, Israeli venture capital firm Evergreen Venture Partners. The company will leverage the new financing to expand operations, fund short form premium content for web and mobile platforms, and develop original animation series for television, according to a statement.
Miami-based private equity firm Bayside Capital has acquired a majority stake in Pendum, a US provider of cash automation and armored transport solutions. The investment will help Pendum to invest more aggressively in technology, tools and resources, according to a statement. Bayside is an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital and has over $3.5bn of committed equity capital.
New York-based private equity firm Baker Capital, along with other shareholders, has sold its stake of approximately 40 per cent, in IQNavigator to GTCR Golder Rauner, and the management of IQNavigator. Baker Capital made the investment in October of 2001 and was the largest shareholder. Other investors included The Hillman Company, Sequel Venture Partners and Raeder Venture Fund. Baker Capital has $1.5bn under management and focuses investments on digital communications, technology and media.
Arcapita Ventures has led a $37m round of investment in Aspen Aerogels, a provider of advanced insulation materials. Joining Arcapita in the round were existing investors Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, Reservoir Capital Group and Rockport Capital Partners. Arcapita Ventures is the venture capital arm of Arcapita Bank. The firm focuses on growth stage enterprises across the US in the healthcare, IT and industrial technology sectors.
Compass Group Diversified Holdings, a subsidiary of Diversified Holdings, has agreed to sell its majority owned subsidiary, Aeroglide Holdings to Buhler Holding for $95m. CDGH will receive approximately $85.6m of total proceeds from the sale, after payment to minority shareholders and payment of all transaction expenses. Aeroglide was acquired by the CDGH on 28 February 2007 for approximately $60m.
Belgian private equity firm GIMV, through its Dutch subsidiary Halder, has acquired a majority shareholding in Dutch clothing company Bandolera Holding. Following the deal, company management will continue to hold a considerable minority shareholding. Bandolera consists of the fast-growing clothing brands Bandolera and NTS, supported by about 50 Bandolera and five NTS stores. The company has 135 employees, and in 2007 realised a consolidated turnover of €52m, according to a statement. GIMV invests in information and communication technology, life sciences and cleantech as well as in growth financing and MBOs of companies in more traditional sectors.
Nordic private equity firm CapMan has sold its stake in Swedish IT company Spintop Netsolution to Atea Sverige. Spintop delivers products and services which streamline the client's IT infrastructure management. The CapMan funds, CapMan Equity VII A, C and Sweden, invested in the company in May 2006. The firm's Nordic Private Equity Partners II fund has also sold its stake in children's clothing company Reima Holding to Pohjola Capital Partners. The firm invested in Reima-Tutta in April 1997.
Private equity firm One Equity Partners has invested $110m in New York-based health services holding company Prodigy Health Group. CI Capital Partners acquired Meritain Health (formerly North American Administrators), a Buffalo, New York-based third-party administrator of healthcare plans in December of 2004 and subsequently formed Prodigy. To date, One Equity Partners has invested approximately $3.5bn to acquire over thirty companies in a variety of industries including defence, chemicals, healthcare, technology and manufacturing.
MatlinPatterson Global Opportunities Partners III, through MP Arrow III, has acquired an 85 per cent interest in Arrow Air Holdings. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Arrow provides cargo logistics services under the name Arrow Cargo. The company provides scheduled air cargo logistics services between the US, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, operating nine cargo aircraft. MatlinPatterson is a $9bn global private equity franchise.
CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company focusing on therapies for central nervous system disorders, has closed a $25m Series B financing. New investor life sciences venture capital firm Care Capital led the round, which included previous investorsPappas Ventures, Domain Associates, Pearl Street Venture Funds and Triathlon Medical Ventures. As a part of the financing, Care Capital partner Richard Markham will join the CoLucid board of directors.
Pharmaceutical company Gemin X Pharmaceuticals has closed a $38m tranched Series C financing. The financing was led by the Caxton Advantage Life Sciences Fund and Caxton Global. All previous Gemin X investors also participated in the financing, including Sanderling Ventures, H.I.G. Ventures, CDP/Vantage Point, ProQuest, Merlin BioMed Group, HBM Partners, Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, SoftBank Life Science, Business Development Bank of Canada, Solidarity Fund QFL and Pinnacle Bioventures.
Geophysical imaging technology company ARKeX has raised $30m in an investment round led by Ferd Venture and including existing investors Energy Ventures, Scottish Equity Partners and members of ARKeX senior management. This is the third round of funding raised by ARKeX since 2004. The company will use the funds to expand the operational capabilities of its airborne BlueQube gravity gradiometry imaging service and to accelerate production of its proprietary technology, the Exploration Gravity Gradiometer, according to a statement.
Mid-market private equity firm Boston Ventures has acquired Oakstone Publishing, a publishing business that serves the medical education and corporate wellness industries. Financial terms were not disclosed. The firm targets investment in the information and publishing, entertainment, media, and communications sectors. Boston Ventures' other investments in the publishing sector include its current portfolio companies, Home Pages and New Track Media, a publisher of special interest consumer magazines such as 'Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting'.
Private equity firm The Riverside Company has realised its investment in the Universal Air Filter Company. The firm made the investment from its Riverside Capital Appreciation Fund 2003, and generated a 109 per cent IRR and a return of 4.8 times through the sale. UAF manufactures customised air filtration products used in electronics equipment applications requiring forced-air cooling. The firm, through its Riverside Micro-Cap Fund has also acquired vitro diagnostic company GTI Diagnostics. GTI develops, manufactures and markets medical diagnostic test kits for the transplantation, blood bank and coagulation laboratories, which are used in over 400 laboratories across the US. Riverside has nearly $2bn under management, across nine funds.
Recycled rubber powder manufacturer Lehigh Technologies, manufacturer of engineered rubber powder, has closed a $34.5m financing. The round was led by European venture capital firm Index Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers alongside existing investors including NGP Energy Technology Partners and Florida Gulfshore Capital. In conjunction with the financing, Neil Rimer from Index Ventures and Ellen Pao from Kleiner Perkins will join the Lehigh board of directors.
US growth equity firmFrontier Capital Software has provided $7.75m in expansion funding to DAXKO. DAXKO provides operations and financial management software for nonprofits, with a particular focus on YMCAs. Frontier Capital focuses on business service companies. The firm provides $5-10m per investment in companies throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic US.
New York-based private equity Leeds Equity Partners has sold sales performance business Miller Heiman to US mid-market firm Sterling Investment Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Leeds Equity acquired Miller Heiman in 2005 in an LBO in partnership with General Electric Pension Trust and the CEO of Miller Heiman. Leeds Equity Partners manages funds focused on investments in the education, training and information and business services industries.
Swedish broadband supplier PacketFront has closed a €26m financing round, completed by the existing stakeholders European Equity Partners, Amadeus Capital Partnersand TLcom Capital. European Equity Partners provides capital to companies in Northern Europe who are seeking their first round of external funding. The firm focuses on telecoms and IT opportunities and has recently begun actively pursuing investments in healthcare.
Psychiatric patient evaluation business MedAvante has closed a $20m financing by investment banking firm Goldman, Sachs & Co. and healthcare investment firm Trevi Health Ventures. The company will use the capital to fund the expansion of its existing patient evaluation platform, according to a statement. Trevi Health Ventures has over $100m under management, and provides development and growth capital for private healthcare companies with emphasis on medical devices, biopharmaceuticals and healthcare services.
Listed private equity company Ratos's Danish subsidiary Contex Holding has agreed to acquire US scanning business Ideal Scanners Distribution. The acquisition will be a net-asset deal. Ratos has a 98 per cent holding in Contex Holding, and will not be providing any additional capital in conjunction with the acquisition, according to the firm.
US private equity firm Stone Point Capital, through its Trident IV fund, has agreed to invest approximately $205m in equity and $335m in debt to acquire a 51 percent majority interest in IT service provider Fiserv's insurance businesses. The current management team and employee base will continue with the company, which will be known as Fiserv Insurance Solutions. Stone Point Capital primarily targets investments in the insurance and financial services industries, including insurance underwriting, distribution and services, benefits and healthcare, asset management and retirement savings, and banking and depository institutions.
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