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Weekly Deals and Funds Roundup: 23 July 200823/07/2008. 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.
The Carlyle Group has agreed to sell US transformer company Kuhlman Electric Corporation to technology group ABB, for an undisclosed amount. Kuhlman Electric manufactures transformers for the industrial and electric utility sectors. In 2007, the company had revenues of around $250m. Carlyle acquired Kuhlman in October 1999, through its Carlyle Partners II fund. Carlyle has also acquired a 50 per cent stake in TVK Shipyard, a Turkish shipbuilder specialising in chemical tankers and other specialty vessels. This is the firm's first investment in Turkey. Financial terms were not disclosed. Carlyle has also invested $75m in Boston Private Financial Holdings, a national financial services organisation. In addition to the Carlyle investment, Boston Private intends to raise approximately $85m in a public offering of its common stock.
The Gores Group has established a strategic partnership with The Four Star Group to acquire and grow businesses in the aerospace, defence and homeland security sectors. The Four Star Group is comprised of retired U S military general officers, business executives and investment professionals, focused the origination of potential acquisition opportunities and equity investments in the aerospace, defence and security sectors. The Four Star Group will also actively participate as members of the board of directors of Gores' existing and future portfolio companies, said the firm. The Four Star Group provided advice to Gores on its recent acquisitions of Gilat Network Systems and CompuDyne Corporation.
Clean energy private equity firm Hudson Clean Energy Partners has committed an initial $75m to solar power developer Recurrent Energy. Recurrent Energy develops, owns and operates distributed solar power systems, selling clean energy to energy users via a power purchase agreement. Hudson's investment strategy focuses on high-growth, asset-based, capital-intensive segments of the clean energy value chain using commercialised technologies to extract energy from wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and other renewable sources.
Driver safety technologies company GreenRoad has closed a $17.5m Series C funding round from European technology investor Amadeus Capital Partners, with Virgin Green Fund, Benchmark Capital and Balderton Capital also participating. Following the deal, Amadeus partner Richard Anton will join GreenRoad's board of directors. Benchmark and Balderton have been investors in GreenRoad since 2006. Virgin Green Fund invested in the company in January 2008. Amadeus invests in sectors including computer hardware and software, mobile and fixed communications technologies, medical technologies and cleantech. Investments include Celltick, CSR, Optos and Solexa.
Life sciences company BG Medicine has raised $40m in its Series D financing. New investors Legg Mason Capital Management, GE Asset Management and SMALLCAP World Fund joined current investors Flagship Ventures, Gilde Healthcare Partners, Humana, and Stelios Papadopoulos in the round. The funding will enable BG Medicine to complete development and commercialisation of the company's first two diagnostic products, according to a statement. Gilde is headquartered in Utrecht, the Netherlands and has over €275m under management.
London-based private equity firm Lion Capital has announced its intention to acquire Advang Holding, the owner of Mora, a branded producer of frozen snacks and appetizers in the Benelux. Lion invests in consumer businesses. The firm was founded in 2004 and manages Lion Capital Fund I (formed in 2004) and Lion Capital Fund II (formed in 2007), totalling a combined €2.8bn of assets under management.
Africa-focused private equity firm Emerging Capital Partners has invested $30m in Salt Investment, a new Djibouti-based salt production and export company that will harvest, wash and export salt extracted from Lake Assal, the largest undeveloped salt reserve in the world. The investment was made through a Mauritius-based special purpose vehicle, which will hold a controlling stake in the company. Other investors in SI include Iroko Securities and Hardtech Group. The initial investment was made through ECP's $523m ECP Africa Fund II, which was established in December 2005 to invest throughout Africa in sectors such as telecom, natural resources, financial services, agribusiness, transportation and power and water.
Broadband company SOMA Networks has secured an additional $51m of equity financing from investors including Daiwa Securities Group, Daiwa Securities SMBC Principal Investments Co., Ridgeway Capital Partners and India Knowledge Fund, a private equity fund of Japan-based SBI Holdings and SBICAPS. SOMA is a provider of Mobile WiMAX products and professional services. The financing has been earmarked for continued expansion of international operations and deployments, according to a statement. SOMA is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Delhi, Sao Paulo and Singapore.
Eastgate Capital Group, the private equity subsidiary of NCB Capital, has invested Rs100m ($2.3m) in Indian financial services company Avendus Capital. The primary objective of this investment is to strengthen the institutional broking franchise of Avendus Capital and fuel Avendus' international expansion with a special focus on USA and Europe, according to a statement. Currently, Avendus Capital has its offices in Mumbai, Bangalore and New York. ECG has $800m of commitments under management across three funds. The current investment in Avendus Capital is from the firm's Eastgate Global Emerging Markets Fund.
Australian private equity firm Anacacia Capital has completed an add-on acquisition for portfolio company Norwest Productions, a professional audio service provider. The company has acquired productions services company Oceania Audio New Zealand and Melbourne-based McLean Audio Services. With these acquisitions Norwest now has offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Wellington, Beijing and Shanghai. Sydney-based Anacacia targets investments in SMEs based in Australia or New Zealand.
Advent International has sold European online hotel reservations company Venere.com to Expedia. Advent took a majority stake in Venere.com in November 2006 and completed the add-on acquisition of online hotel and accommodation booking agency Worldby.com, in February 2008. This exit is the latest led by Advent's Milan office. Advent sold Gruppo Argenta, an Italian vending machine operator, in December 2007.
UK technology investor London Technology Fund has completed an investment in Dexela Limited, a company developing 3D imaging technology known as Tomosynthesis, initially focused on the early detection of breast cancer. LTF was part of a syndicate, including Close Ventures, which invested over £2.6m. LTF targets high growth technology companies based in Greater London. The firm can invest in a series of tranches over a number of years alongside other investors, contributing from £50,000 up to a maximum of £1.5m in a single company from its own resources. To date, LTF has completed 15 investments in seven companies, acting as a key investor to help secure over £17m of funding for London-based high technology companies.
Hamburg-based private equity investor Granville Baird has acquired a majority stake in Meier Vakuumtechnik as part of an MBO. Meier specialises in the development, production and sales of equipment for manufacturing photovoltaic panels. The company has around 140 employees and will achieve a turnover of about € 50m in 2008, according to a statement. Granville targets investments in the German mid-market. The firm advises funds totalling €630m.
Fidelity Equity Partners has completed a £33m MBO of Picsolve International, a photographic systems and services provider for leisure attraction operators, from Meridian Equity. The investment was supported by a senior debt package of £13m provided by The Royal Bank of Scotland. Fidelity focuses on LBO investments in Europe and North America. Following the deal, Fidelity partners Nick Martin and Fidelity vice president Stephen Findlay will join Picsolve's board of directors.
Asian growth venture capital firm SAIF Partners, through its SAIF Partners III fund has acquired 2.59 million shares in China TransInfo Technology Corp., a provider of public transportation information systems technology and comprehensive solutions for $15m. The company plans to use the proceeds from the private placement for general working capital purposes, expansion of current business areas and possible acquisition opportunities, according to a statement. SAIF has $2.2bn under management and invests primarily in China.
Hansa Hydrocarbons, a London-based exploration and production company has received a $100m funding commitment from US private equity firm Avista Capital Partners, for the purpose of acquiring and developing oil and natural gas properties in the North Sea and Northern Europe. Avista targets investments in energy, healthcare and media companies.
Houston-based private equity firm The CapStreet Group has completed its recapitalisation investment in Trinity Steel Fabricators. Financial terms were not disclosed. Trinity Steel provides structural steel fabrication services to the petrochemical, energy, diversified chemical, power and construction and engineering industries. The company maintains three fabrication plants located in Trinity, Tomball, and Lufkin, Texas. CapStreet has committed capital in excess of $450m. The firm focuses on investments in lower mid-market companies located primarily in Texas and other Sunbelt states.
Phoenix Equity Partners has backed the MBO of management of hotel booking agency Expotel and the simultaneous acquisition of NIS Europe for an aggregate consideration of £38m. The firm will take a 59 per cent shareholding in the combined group. The investment in Expotel and NIS is the 11th acquisition by the firm's £375m Phoenix Equity Partners 2006 Fund. Phoenix recently acquired fashion brand LK Bennett.
3i has acquired a 45 per cent stake in Soya Concept, a women's clothing company based in Denmark. Soya Concept sells women's clothing to more than 1,000 independent clothing retailers across Scandinavia, Benelux and Germany. The company is based in Sønderborg, Denmark, and employs a staff of 35. Current investments in the consumer and retail sector include AP Bags, Agent Provocateur and Hobbs.
Growth private equity and buy-out firm TA Associates has completed a minority recapitalisation of Chicago-based boutique value manager Keeley Asset Management Corp., and its sister company Keeley Investment Corp. Keeley Asset Management manages equity for corporations, pension plans, foundations, endowments and individuals. Keeley Investment Corp. is a registered broker-dealer that underwrites and distributes the Keeley family of mutual funds. To date, TA Associates has invested more than $2.5bn in financial services and financial technology companies such as Advisory Research, Affiliated Managers Group, AIM Management Group and Thomson Advisory Group.
The European managing partners of venture capital firm Partech, Philippe Collombel and Jean-Marc Patouillaud, have backed the buy-out of Partech International Partners, the European arm of the business. The buy-out is supported by Partech investors including CIC, 123Venture, Masseran, AGF Private Equity, CDC Entreprises, Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance and SGAM Alternative Investments. According to a statement, PIP will continue the strategy of investing in IT, media and internet companies. The firm will be investing the recently raised Partech Funds V in Europe and in North America, as well as overseeing all the European investments of the previous Partech funds, which include portfolio companies AirWide, B3G Telecom, DailyMotion, DiBcom, Goojet, JobPartners, Qype and Total Immersion.
Private investment firm Sageview Capital has made an investment of $100m in EverBank Financial Corp. EverBank and its subsidiaries, is a privately-held thrift holding company headquartered in Florida, offering banking, lending, and investment products and services The capital will be used to support continued significant growth in EverBank's core banking and mortgage business lines, according to a statement. Sageview will become the largest stockholder of EverBank. The company has over $6bn in assets under management. Sageview was founded in 2006 by former KKR partners Edward A Gilhuly and Scott M Stuart.
Churchill Equity has sold Houston-based industrial services provider Tepsco to Bilfinger Berger, for an undisclosed amount. Churchill Equity targets investment in mid-market companies throughout the US and Canada with revenues typically between $30m and $300m.
Private equity firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has led a $29m financing round in social gaming service Zynga. Institutional Venture Partners also participated in the round, along with from previous investors Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group and Avalon Ventures. The funding will be used to accelerate Zynga's creation of next generation social games, according to a statement. Kleiner Perkins partner and former co-founder and chief creative officer of Electronic Arts, Bing Gordon, will take an active director role in building the company. In addition, Zynga announced today that is has acquired social network game YoVille.
Copenhagen-based biotech company Fluxome Sciences has received an investment of €13m from current investors Seventure Partners, IncubaVenture and Vecata, alongside new investor European cleantech fund Capricorn Cleantech Fund. Fluxome uses its proprietary microbial metabolic engineering technology platform to build cell factories for the production of a broad range of commercially important nutraceutical ingredients. Capricorn invests in European growth companies in a broad range of cleantech areas. Capricorn Cleantech Fund held its first closing in November 2006. The fund has over €100m under management.
An ownership group comprised of Carlyle Venture Partners, Wachovia Capital Partners and Spire Capital Partners has sold Sonitrol Corporation for $275m. The company provides security monitoring services, access control and fire detection systems to commercial customers in North America. Sonitrol has revenue totaling approximately $110m, according to a statement. Wachovia Capital Partners is the principal investing arm of bank holding company Wachovia Corporation. The firm has a portfolio of $1bn of invested capital and an expectation of investing $250m to $350m annually.
Century Park Capital Partners has acquired Moss, a provider of tensioned fabric solutions to the exhibit, event, and retail interiors industries. Moss is headquartered in Lincolnwood, Illinois and has locations in Belfast, Maine; Salt Lake City, Utah and Las Vegas, Nevada. The investment was made from the firm's latest fund, Century Park Capital Partners II.
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