Click here for printer friendly page
Weekly Deals and Funds Roundup: 20 August 200820/08/2008. 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
Waterland Private Equity Fund has agreed to acquire JVH Gaming, which operates 45 Jack's Casino's in the Netherlands, from creditors of the company. Waterland will be joined by other buyers, the original founder of JVH Gaming and the former shareholders of Flash Casino's, a company JVH Gaming acquired last year. The acquisition will free JVH Gaming of its heavy debt burden incurred following a change in the Dutch legislation for this sector, Waterland said in a statement. Waterland has €1.4bn in funds under management. Waterland closed its fourth fund, Waterland Private Equity Fund IV, on €800m this year. WPEF IV targets control investments in medium-sized companies in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, with revenues of between €10m and €150m.
San Francisco-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital has agreed to acquire a majority interest in Romano's Macaroni Grill for $131.5m from Brinker International, an international casual dining restaurant company. Brinker will retain 19.9 per cent in the brand. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. Romano's Macaroni Grill has more than 220 locations worldwide. Golden Gate Capital has approximately $9bn of assets under management.
Los Angeles-based private equity firm Nogales Investors has made a $15m investment in retailer of children's clothing, Naartjie Custom Kids. The investment will be used by Naartjie to expand its store base in the US and to grow its e-commerce business. The investment will be made from Nogales Investors Fund II, which is designed to make investments ranging from $10m to $40m in high growth mid-market companies. Nogales Investors Fund II closed on $245m last year.
A group of energy-focused private equity funds managed by Riverstone Holdings have made a capital commitment to Titan Operating, a Fort Worth, US-based oil and gas company focused on acquisitions and development in the Barnett Shale, one of the largest unconventional natural gas plays in the US. The founders and management team at Titan have also committed to fund additional capital alongside Riverstone. Financial terms were not disclosed. Riverstone, an energy and power-focused private equity firm, has approximately $14.8bn under management.
Boston and San Francisco-based venture capital firm, HLM Venture Partners, has led a $7m Series B financing in health care information company, Medicalis Corporation. The Ontario, Canada-based Medicalis will use the funding to market its clinical decision support software. In the US healthcare industry, diagnostic imaging services generate more than $100bn in annual revenues. As part of the deal, Peter Grua, a partner at HLM will join Medicalis' board. HLM Venture provides venture capital to emerging companies focused on healthcare information technology, healthcare services and medical technology.
Wireless sensors manufacturer, EnOcean, has raised €4.5m in a venture round from Wellington Partners, 3i Group, Emerald Technology Ventures, Siemens Venture Capital, BayTech Venture Capital Beratungs and ATMOS. This brings the total amount the company has raised to €20m. EnOcean will use the funds for international market expansion and development of its wireless technology for the building sector.
ZocDoc, the service that helps consumers find and book doctor appointments online, has completed a $3m Series A round of financing led by Khosla Ventures. ZocDoc is the first consumer healthcare investment for Khosla Ventures. As part of this round, David Weiden, partner at Khosla Ventures, will join ZocDoc's co-founders Cyrus Massoumi and Oliver Kharraz on the company's board. ZocDoc will use the funding to expand its network of practitioners and lay the groundwork for a nationwide rollout.
Cleveland, US-based private equity firm Linsalata Capital Partners has acquired Hospitality Mints, a manufacturer of customised, individually-wrapped promotional mints and candies, from American Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed. Headquartered in Boone, North Carolina, Hospitality Mints serves more than 10,000 customers across foodservice, retail, and ad specialty channels, reaching restaurants, hotels, resorts, businesses, events, and grocery and party store outlets. The company's senior managers invested in the deal alongside Linsalata. Linsalata is currently investing from its sixth fund, Linsalata Capital Partners Fund V, with $425m in committed equity capital.
DeviceVM, a California-based software company, has raised $15m in a Series C round led by New Enterprise Associates. Existing investors including Storm Ventures, DFJ Dragon, Tim Draper, and Larry Augustin also participated. DeviceVM's software is called Splashtop and allows users to use their computer while it is booting up. The funding is to help DeviceVM scale up and meet worldwide demand. New Enterprise Associates has $8.5bn in committed capital. DFJ Dragon is a China-based venture capital firm and is the exclusive China affiliate fund for early stage investments of Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
Vapotherm, a developer of therapy products for the respiratory industry, has secured $20.5m in equity financing led by GE Asset Management, with the participation of Cross Creek Capital and Integral Capital Partners. All three are new investors in Vapotherm. Existing investors of Vapotherm, QuestMark Partners and Kaiser Permanente Ventures, also participated in the round. The financing will support Vapotherm's growth plans.
New York-based private equity firm Goode Partners has invested in Strike Holdings, the owner and operator of bowling and entertainment properties headquartered in New York, for an undisclosed sum. The investment will help fund Strike's geographic expansion. Strike operates six properties: Bowlmor Lanes and the adjacent Pressure event facility in New York City, Strike Bethesda in Bethesda, Strike Long Island in New Hyde Park, Strike Miami in Miami, Strike Cupertino in Cupertino and Strike Orange County in Tustin. The Company is primarily focused on the sophisticated adult retail customer and the corporate event and private party market, with a secondary focus on family recreation. Goode Partners focuses exclusively on investment opportunities in the retail, restaurant, apparel, direct marketing and branded consumer products sectors.
Clean energy investment company Leaf Clean Energy Company has completed a $10m Series A financing in MaxWest Environmental Systems, that provides waste-to-energy gasification technology using waste streams including municipal solid sludge, agricultural waste and other biomass-based material. 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.
US venture group DW Healthcare Partners has invested $10m in BGS Pharmacy Partners, an alternate care pharmacy company based in Texas. The funding will be used to finance acquisitions and development. DW Healthcare will deploy additional capital to further support BGS Pharmacy, the firm said. DW Healthcase is based in Salt Lake City and invests in companies in the medical device, product, services and specialty distribution sectors
Envysion, a managed video service provider has closed a third round of equity investment, raising $3m from its existing investors, bringing total funds raised to $12.5m since February of 2006. The round was led by Columbia Capital, with participation from High Country Ventures, Bear Equity and a number of the company's early angel investors. The majority of the capital will be devoted to the ongoing enhancement of the Envysion video product and to the acceleration of Envysion's sales and marketing efforts. Columbia is a Washington-based investment advisor managing approximately $3b.
NitroSecurity, a provider of security solutions, has secured $10m in a round of financing led by NewSpring Capital with the support from NitroSecurity's previous investors, First Analysis and Brookline Venture Partners. NitroSecurity will use the new monies to fund market expansion through sales, marketing and channel growth, as well as new product development.
Trilliant, a company that adds intelligence and communication capability to utility networks, has secured $40m financing from MissionPoint Capitol Partners and Zouk Ventures. MissionPoint and Zouk are venture capital firms that focus on low-carbon and clean energy markets. The proceeds from the financing will be used to accelerate Trilliant's continued growth and market expansion globally. In conjunction with this investment, Trilliant also appointed Mark J Lewis and Anthony Fox to its board.
Clear, the fast pass for airport security, has secured $44.4m in venture funding led by new investor Spark Capital. This round also included another new investor Syncom Venture Partners and existing investors Lockheed Martin, GE Security, Baker Capital, Lehman Brothers, and Clear founder and CEO Steven Brill. Clear will use the financing to expand membership growth and expand its signature fast lanes this fall and beyond with airport installations expected in new major markets across the US. Boston-based Spark Capital has $622m under management, while Maryland-based Syncom has approximately $400m under management.
FIRMS
Candover has established a CEE presence to boost its activities in the region. The firm said it would release further details when it also announces its financial results next week.
Covidien, a provider of healthcare products, has established a venture capital arm, Covidien Ventures. Covidien Ventures will invest in areas of strategic importance to the company with the goal of providing early exposure to innovative technologies and enhancing market intelligence in healthcare products. Covidien Ventures will be managed by Daniel T Sheehan, who recently joined Covidien from Affinity Capital Management.
Copyright © 2008 AltAssets
|
