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Weekly Deals and Funds Roundup: 13 August 200813/08/2008. 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
UK turnaround specialists RCapital has acquired recruitment firm TPP for an undisclosed sum. TPP is best known for its work within the not-for-profit sector. RCapital was formed in 2004 by Jamie Constable and Peter Ward as a private investment boutique specialising in growth and turnaround investment for the SME sector within the UK and Europe.
US-based mid-market private equity firm ClearLight Partners is to sell provider of healthcare education, US Education for $290m to DeVry, also an education provider. US Education has 17 campuses serving 8,700 students through certificate and degree programmes in nursing, ultrasound and radiography technology, surgical technology, veterinary technology, pharmacy technology, dental hygiene and medical and dental assisting. ClearLight has approximately $600m under management.
The Riverside Company has acquired Tensator Group, a UK-based manufacturer of retractable barriers that help people queue in airports and other areas. The deal is the firm's 19th acquisition of 2008 and the eighth from its €315m Riverside's Europe Fund III, which closed in 2007. Riverside invests in companies at the smaller end of the mid market, focusing on companies valued under $150m. The firm has approximately $2bn under management.
ESBA Tech, a developer of antibody fragment therapeutics, has raised £23m in a Series B venture round from a syndicate of investors including SV Life Sciences, Clarus Ventures, HBM BioVentures, HBM BioCapital, Novartis Bioventures, BioMedinvest and VI Partners. This follows the company's £31m Series B round, which closed in August 2006 and has enabled the company to move its lead molecule, ESBA105, into clinical trials, the firm said.
California, US-based venture capital firm Technology Crossover Ventures, has acquired a minority stake in internet marketing firm Intelligent Beauty. As part of the deal, John Drew, general partner at TCV will join Intelligent Beauty's board. Intelligent Beauty has 185 employees and targets the modern consumer's beauty needs through the internet. TCV focuses on late stage technology companies. It has approximately $7.7bn under management and has made investments in over 170 companies.
Seattle-based venture capital firm Maveron, led a group investors to invest $16m in functional food company NextFoods, and its new GoodBelly brand of probiotic fruit drinks. Maveron, co-founded by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, has approximately $850m under management and 23 active portfolio companies. The firm makes investments of up to $20m in each company.
Massachusetts-based start-up Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, has completed a second closing of its $25m Series C financing round, raising $15m, led by existing investors Mediphase Venture Partners, CMEA Ventures, Fidelity Biosciences, Flagship Ventures and Skyline Ventures. Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals was established in August 2006 to advance and commercialise the synthetic chemistry platform developed by chemist, Dr Andrew Myers of Harvard University. The initial focus of the company is on the discovery of novel antibiotics to treat drug-resistant infections.
BaltCap's, Baltic SME Fund has sold a majority stake in Baltic IT training and consultancy firm IT Koolituskeskuse OÜ, to AS MicroLink Eesti, an Estonian IT firm. BaltCap focuses on mid-market expansion capital and buy-out investments in the Baltic states. To date BaltCap has managed four private equity and venture capital funds with total capital of €130m and has made 37 investments out of which 23 have been fully exited. Last year, the management team of BaltCap completed a 100 per cent buy-out of the private equity firm from Evli Group and CapMan.
Aureos Capital's East Africa Fund has sold its stake in East African pharmaceutical group, Shelys Africa to South African pharmaceutical manufacturer, Aspen Pharmacare Holdings for an undisclosed sum. Shelys manufactures and distributes over-the-counter medicine and pharmaceutical products and reported revenues of approximately $38m in 2007. Aureos, which invested in Shelys in 2003, invests in small to mid-cap companies in emerging markets and has approximately $710m in assets under management. The firm is raising funds for its $100m Aureos Central Asia Fund, $300m Aureos Latin America Fund and $400m Aureos Africa Fund.
HD Biosciences, a China-based biology contract research organisation, has closed a Series A financing, led by Morningside Venture and Lilly Asian Ventures and syndicated with Pfizer Venture Investments. HD Biosciences will use the proceeds to fund the expansion of its high throughput screening program and build new capabilities in vivo biology and DMPK bio-analytical services.
Clean energy investment company, Leaf Clean Energy Company, has completed a $20.9m financing in Energia Escalona, a special purpose entity formed to construct and operate a 9.3 MW capacity run-of-river hydroelectric facility on the Las Minas River near Veracruz, Mexico. Leaf Clean Energy, is a $400m publicly traded clean energy investment company. Leaf was incorporated for the purpose of acquiring interests in, owning, operating and managing clean energy companies and projects primarily in North America. Leaf is advised by Energy & Climate Advisors, a joint venture between EEA Group and Shaw Capital
Nebraska-based private equity firm Tenaska Capital Management has formed Voyager Midstream, a Houston-based company that will develop, acquire and manage midstream natural gas industry assets. Voyager Midstream will be led by Dr Tom Shaw, a geologist with more than 15 years experience in oil and gas exploration and production and six years developing natural gas storage facilities. Tenaska Capital has approximately $3bn in assets under management.
Belgian venture capital firm Capricorn Venture Partners has led a £4.5m investment in Alaska Food Diagnostics. The other investors are Capricorn Venture Partners, ICOS Capital, Quest for Growth and Richmond Park Capital. The Capricorn-led syndicate joins existing investors Porton Capital and Ploughshare Innovations. Leuven, Belgium-based Capricorn Venture Partners is an independent manager of venture capital funds focused on innovative European companies with technology as competitive advantage.
Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking, one of the seven asset classes of Lehman Brothers' global private equity business, has acquired a minority stake in a manufacturer of high performance bicycle components, SRAM. Headquartered in Chicago, SRAM expects its 2008 revenues to be approximately $500m. The company markets its products under the SRAM, RockShox, Avid, Truvativ, and Zipp brand names. Since 1986, Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking has raised and managed four institutional funds and several employee investment vehicles, with total committed capital in excess of $8bn. Lehman Brothers' global private equity business, oversees approximately $35bn across 38 different fund strategies and seven asset classes.
Investor Growth Capital, the venture capital arm of Investor , the listed industrial holding company in the Nordic region, has invested $15m in cell-phone recycling company ReCellular, in a Series B venture round. The investment adds a cleantech company to Investor Growth's portfolio, and will enable ReCellular to expand operations. As part of the deal, Noah Walley and Albert Kim will join ReCellular's board of directors. Investor Growth's portfolio is valued in excess of $800m.
The Riverside Company, has acquired Wiz Korea, a pre-school education franchise holder. Financial terms were not disclosed. Wiz Korea oversees more than 60 franchisees under the brand Wiz Island, an international school dedicated to teaching preschool-aged children between two and seven years old. The deal is Riverside's 20th acquisition of 2008 and was made from the firm's Riverside Asia Fund I.
Private equity firm RJD Partners has led a MBO of provider of outsourced fund administration services, IPES Holdings. IPES offers administrative services to the sponsors of private equity funds. IPES administers over 300 funds for 56 client groups. It employs 120 staff in Guernsey, Jersey and London and has approximately $40bn of assets under administration. RJD Partners invests in UK companies that are worth up to £75m and are in the service and leisure sectors. The investment is RJD's seventh from their second fund, which closed on £180m last year.
Washington DC-based investment firm Perseus has led a $160m equity financing of a new, natural gas-powered vehicle in the US for taxi and paratransit use. Other investors included natural gas provider Clean Energy Fuels Corp and the company's co-founder T Boone Pickens. The funding will be provided to The Vehicle Production Group, the original equipment manufacturer of the multi-purpose vehicle. Perseus has offices in Evergreen, Colorado, New York and an affiliate office in Munich. The firm manages seven investment funds with capital exceeding $2bn.
Financial services-focused private equity firm Lightyear Capital has agreed to make a significant investment in Higher One Holdings, which provides electronic financial disbursement and payment solutions for universities and their students. Financial terms were not disclosed. Lightyear's investment in Higher One is part of a leveraged recapitalisation through which Lightyear will repurchase shares from existing investors and become Higher One's largest shareholder. Founded in 2000 by three Yale students, Higher One serves roughly 185 schools with 1.5m students. Based in New York, Lightyear, has approximately $3bn under management.
Serentis, a UK-based biopharmaceutical company has closed a £10m financing, expanding the total of its Series A financing to £15.3m. In July 2007, Serentis announced a £10.3m Series A financing co-led by MVM Life Science Partners, Apposite Capital and Novo. The planned second tranche of £5m has been expanded to £10m supported by the same co-lead investors and new investor Healthcare Private Equity, the Scottish Widows healthcare venture fund. East Hill, the Boston-based venture capital firm which became a shareholder in Serentis in September 2007, also participated in the round. The funding will be used to advance and expand Serentis' dermatology pipeline, according to a statement.
Nordic private equity investors Industrifonden, and Eqvitec, have invested SEK40m (€4.3m) in Netadmin Systems, a Swedish software developer that automates business and operation processes in broadband networks. The funds will be used for Netadmin's international expansion, primarily in Europe. Industrifonden has SEK3.5bn of assets of which approximately SEK1.5bn is invested in more than 100 companies. Eqvitec advises six funds with a total capital base of €500m.
CEE-focused buy-out firm Mid Europa Partners has acquired Centrum Medyczne , a private healthcare provider in Poland that operates 15 branded clinics and cooperates with over 300 affiliated private healthcare providers throughout Poland. Financial terms were not disclosed. Mid Europa currently advises and manages funds of approximately €3bn. The firm operates from offices in London, Budapest and Warsaw.
UK private equity buy-and-build specialist Sovereign Capital has committed £20m to Renovo Services Group, a new group established to consolidate the providers of maintenance services to social housing landlords in the south of England and Wales. Renovo will focus on the provision of reactive gas, electrical and building fabric maintenance services. Sovereign has recruited Phillip Russell, formerly managing director of Morrison Facilities Services, as CEO of Renovo. With £450m under management, Sovereign Capital invests in lower mid-market UK companies requiring £5-20m of equity.
UK government-backed private equity emerging markets fund of funds investor CDC Group has committed €7m to Advans SA SICAR, a specialised venture capital company, which invests mainly in greenfield microfinance institutions in Africa and Asia. CDC's investment will support Advans in extending its network of microfinance institutions in Asia and Africa. Advans is headquartered in Luxembourg and was created in August 2005, with committed capital of €14.1m. CDC has net assets of £2.7bn.
Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank, has invested €20m for a 14.6 per cent stake in Mainstream Renewable Power, a developer and operator of renewable energy plants in Europe, the US, South America and Australia. The board, management and staff of Mainstream and also close associates of the company have invested an additional €20m in the company. Mainstream is planning a major fundraiser later this year, with Barclays Capital committing to invest a further substantial amount at that stage. As part of the deal, Mark Brown, head of Barclays Capital commodities principal investment team has been appointed to the board of Mainstream. The funds raised by Mainstream are for international development opportunities, said the firm.
ThermaSource, a provider of drilling, engineering and consulting services to the geothermal energy sector, has raised $41.5m from private equity firms Riverstone Holdings, US Renewables Group and Rustic Canyon Partners. ThermaSource will use the funds raised to finance the acquisition of geothermal drilling rigs. In February last year, Riverstone and US Renewables invested $20m in ThermaSource. Riverstone, US Renewables and Rustic Canyon respectively have approximately $8.5bn, $575m and $900m under management.
Chicago-based private equity firm, Wind Point Partners, has acquired Ryt-Way Industries, a Minnesota-based contract manufacturer and packager serving the food industry. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition was in partnership with David Finch and George Bayly. As part of the deal, Finch will join Ryt-Way as CEO and Bayly will become chairman. Wind Point manages funds totalling approximately $2.5bn.
UK private equity firm NBGI Private Equity, has backed the buy-out of selected assets from Food & Drink Group, the bars and restaurant group that owns the Jamies wine bar and Henry J Beans brands. NBGI is backing Nick Tamblyn, who will become CEO of the Food & Drink Group. As part of the deal, Nick Gibbons of NBGI will be joining the board. Financial terms were not disclosed.
ScanCafe, a photo scanning and restoration service provider, has secured a Series B round of financing for $4m, led by Sigma Partners, an early stage venture capital firm. ScanCafe also secured an additional $1.5m in debt. ScanCafe will use the funding to add bench strength to the company, invest in new technology and expand its global reach. Sigma Partners closed its eighth fund, Sigma Partners 8, on $500m in September 2007.
Follica, a developer of therapies for androgenetic alopecia and other hair follicle disorders has secured a Series B round of financing for $11m. Polaris Venture Partners, led the financing and existing investors InterWest Partners and PureTech Ventures participated. Dr Kevin Bitterman, principal at Polaris joined the board of Follica, which includes Daphne Zohar, PureTech Ventures managing partner and Chris Ehrlich, general partner, InterWest Partners.
Dutch cleantech venture capital firm Icos Capital has invested in ReSteel, a European base metals recovery company. Financial terms were not disclosed. The funding will be used to facilitate ReSteel's European roll-out, according to a statement. Amsterdam-based Icos focuses on the cleantech sector, making investments from its Icos Cleantech Fund I, which launched in 2006.
Red Mango, a brand of frozen yogurt from South Korea that has become a popular franchise in the US, has secured a Series A round of funding for $12m, led by CIC Partners, a private equity firm based in Dallas, Texas and veteran retail executive John Antioco. Red Mango will use this investment to further develop its brand, optimise its store concept and complete its management team. CIC Partners has invested in more than 40 companies in industries including energy, food, retail and healthcare with combined revenue of more than $4bn.
Texas-based venture capital firm, Austin Ventures has acquired provider of lifting products and services for the rigging industry, Delta Rigging & Tools. Financial terms were not disclosed. Austin's investment professionals Joe Aragona and Scott Donaldson will join Delta's board. Austin has $3bn under management.
Australian AMP Capital Investors has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Indian construction company Gayatri Infra Ventures for approximately $25m. GIV is developing one toll road and four annuity projects and is bidding for additional road concessions in India. AMP Capital has approximately A$104bn in assets under management and A$3.5bn in infrastructure investments in Asia-Pacific and Europe.
Israel-based mobile TV chip maker Siano Mobile Silicon has secured a third round of funding of $17.5m led by DFJ Tamir Fishman Ventures, the Israeli partner of the US based global venture capital Draper Fisher Jurvetson. DJF was joined by existing investors from previous rounds, JVP, Star Ventures, Walden Israel, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Inventec Appliances. Siano has now raised $52m in three rounds of funding.
FUNDS
Australian AMP Capital Investors expects to have a first closing on its $750m Asian Giants Infrastructure Fund on 29 August 2008. The fund will invest in unlisted companies involved in the development, ownership or operation of infrastructure related sectors such as transport, power, energy and telecommunications. A total of 70 per cent of the fund will be invested in India and China and no more than 30 per cent will be invested in South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. The fund is targeting an IRR of at least 20 per cent, the firm said in a statement. AMP Capital has approximately A$104bn in assets under management and A$3.5bn in infrastructure investments in Asia-Pacific and Europe.
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