Click here for printer friendly page
Weekly Deals and Funds Roundup: 17 September 200817/09/2008. 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
French mid-market buy-out firm AtriA Capital Partenaires has taken a minority stake in Phythéa, a producer of food supplements. Financial terms were not disclosed. The investment was made from AtriA Private Equity Fund III, which closed in 2006 on €300m. Phythéa's supplements are sold in chemists and drugstores. The company reported revenues of €48m in 2007.
US private equity firm Marwit Capital has invested in Granite Seed Company, a supplier of conservation seed and erosion control solutions, in a recapitalisation exercise together with the company's founder and CEO Don Bermant. Financial details were not disclosed. The investment was from Marwit Capital Partners II, which closed last August on $183.7m. Bermant will continue to lead Granite Seed post the transaction.
American Capital has realised a gain of $36m from the sale of SSH Acquisition, a provider of environmental services, to Lake Capital. American Capital acquired control of SSH Acquisition in September 2005, investing $137m in senior term loans, senior and junior subordinated debt and convertible preferred equity and committing $10m to a revolving credit facility. Including the investments in SSH Acquisition of American Capital's affiliated funds under management, the gain totals $61m, according to a statement. American Capital, including its global fund management business, has approximately $20bn under management and over 290 portfolio companies.
Belgian venture capital firm Capricorn Venture Partners has invested in Germany-based Concentrator Optics, which makes Fresnel lenses for concentrating photovoltaics (CPV). Financial terms were not disclosed. The investment was from the Capricorn Cleantech Fund, which closed this year on €100m. The investment will help Concentrator Optics to build a manufacturing plant to produce solar Fresnel lenses up to a capacity of 100 MW in Marburg, Germany.
Cleantech venture capital firm Emerald Technology Ventures has sold its investment in Ormecon, a German advanced materials company, to Enthone, a Cookson Electronics company. Financial terms were not disclosed. Emerald Technology led the original institutional investment in Ormecon. Besides Emerald Technology, other investors in Ormecon were CDP Investissements, Zipperling Kessler & Co, SPG Sustainable Performance Group and Future Capital.
Seattle-based Big Fish Games, an online destination for games and interactive entertainment, has raised $83.3m from Balderton Capital, General Catalyst Partners and Salmon River Capital. Big Fish Games intends to use the funds raised to accelerate its global expansion. Big Fish Games works with more than 500 game developers and distributes over 1 million games per day to consumers worldwide. London-based Balderton Capital has approximately $1.5bn under management while General Catalyst manages approximately $1bn.
Envivio, a provider of IP video solutions, has raised $25m in a round co-led by private equity firms Harbourvest and Atlantic Bridge, as well as Samsung Ventures. These lead investors are joined by existing investors in Envivio, namely Crédit Agricole Private Equity, Crescendo Ventures, Innovacom (France Telecom), Harbinger Venture Management, Intel Capital, NTT Finance, Saints Capital, Sigma Designs and Solidarity Fund QFL. Envivio will use the additional funding to extend its technical leadership in IP video delivery and maintain its growth levels through increased sales and marketing activities worldwide. As part of the deal, Kevin Dillon, a partner with private equity firm Atlantic Bridge will join the board of Envivio.
Qype, a user-generated local reviews site has raised €8m in a second round led by pan-European venture capital firm Wellington Partners. Qype's two existing investors Advent Venture Partners and Partech International also participated in this round. Qype has also appointed two new non-executive directors, Wellington general partner Eric Archambeau and media veteran Pelle Tornberg. The funding will be used to support user growth on Qype. Wellington Partners has approximately €800m under management while Advent Ventures manages approximately $1bn.
UK mid-market private equity firm Lyceum Capital has agreed to acquire provider of care services in the UK, Carewatch Care Services, from Nestor Healthcare Group for £37m. Upon completion of the transaction, David Lyon, former CFO of Clinovia and Michael Horgan, a former managing director of Carewatch, will join Carewatch's management team as joint managing directors, while Ron Elder, a Lyceum industrial partner, will become chairman. Carewatch provides over seven million hours of home-based social care across the UK each year to the elderly, people with physical or learning disabilities, mental health clients and clients with long-term conditions or requiring 'end-of-life' care. Lyceum Capital has raised some £500m of equity capital, dedicated to supporting the development of SMEs, primarily in the UK.
Close Brothers has acquired the remaining 55 per cent of Spanish associate, Atlas Capital, from the management shareholders for an undisclosed sum. The business will be renamed Atlas Capital Close Brothers. Atlas Capital was formed in September 2000 with Close Brothers as a seed investor.
ArKal Medical, a medical devices firm, raised $17.5m in a Series B round led by Thomas McNerney & Partners. Existing investors, Delphi Ventures and MedVenture Associates, were also significant investors in this round. ArKal Medical is developing a novel continuous glucose monitoring system for the management of diabetes. Thomas, McNerney & Partners is a healthcare venture capital firm with approximately $600m under management. Delphi Ventures, which focuses on early stage investing in medical devices and biotechnology, has approximately $1bn in committed capital.
SolarReserve, a developer of solar power plants, has raised $140m in a round led by the renewable energy private equity group within Citi Alternative Investments, Sustainable Development Investments (SDI), and Good Energies, a private investor in the solar industry. Other investors include US Renewables Group, the founding investor in SolarReserve, along with PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund, Nimes Capital and Credit Suisse. SolarReserve is a Santa Monica , California-based energy company and holds the exclusive worldwide license to build state-of-the-art Solar Thermal Electric Generation (STEG) plants.
TVM Capital has sold Direvo Biotech to Bayer HealthCare for €210m. Direvo Biotech's proprietary protein engineering platform uses high throughput technologies for the rapid discovery and optimisation of biopharmaceuticals. Bayer Healthcare plans to integrate Direvo Biotech's research and development personnel into Bayer Schering Pharma's global drug discovery organisation. Direvo is a spin-out from Evotec, which also was financed by TVM Capital. TVM Capital invested in Direvo in 2000. The TVM Capital Life Sciences Practice has €820m under management.
Warburg Pincus has invested $300m in Competitive Power Ventures Holdings, a North American power industry development and asset management company. CPV currently has nearly 8,000 MW of conventional generation projects in various stages of development with plans for approximately 1,100 MW to move into construction during the next 12 months, and approximately 1,200 MW each year thereafter. Wind power development plays a significant role within CPV's portfolio. The company has nearly 5,000 MW of wind power projects in development with plans for more. Warburg Pincus has approximately $35bn of assets under management.
Hispania Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Chicago, has sold Samy Companies, a provider of shampoo products to Hoyu Co, a privately held hair care products company based in Japan. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Samy is Hispania's second exit, following the sale of PrensAmerica in 2005. Hispania invested in Samy in 2004. Hispania manages approximately $100m and focuses on mid-market companies that are either predominantly Hispanic-owned or managed or providing goods or services to Hispanic consumers throughout the US and Puerto Rico.
Israel-based venture firm 7 Health Ventures has invested in Tulip Medical's round A fundraising. Financial terms were not disclosed. As part of the deal, Dr. Dalia Megiddo, founder and managing partner at 7 Health Ventures, will join Tulip's board of directors. Tulip Medical is a medical device company that is developing solutions for the worldwide overweight and obesity problems.
The private equity arm of regional investment bank EFG-Hermes has invested $65m in Gulf Housing Solutions. GHS acquires, develops, sub-leases and manages staff accommodation facilities for the construction industry and the hospitality sector in the UAE. EFG-Hermes Private Equity will be the largest shareholder in the company and will be actively supporting the company's management in their expansion strategy in the UAE and other countries in the Gulf, the firm said in a statement.
SolarReserve, a developer of utility scale renewable energy solar power plants, has closed a second round of funding totalling $140m. The additional funds will enable the company to advance its development of more than 5,000 MW of utility scale power plants in locations across the globe, each ranging in size from 50 MW to 300 MW, according to a statement. The financing was led by the renewable energy private equity group within Citi Alternative Investments, Sustainable Development Investments and Good Energies. Other investors include US Renewables Group, the founding investor in SolarReserve, along with PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund, Nimes Capital and Credit Suisse.
Nujira has closed an $18m Series C round, led by new investors BankInvest Group and New Energy Solutions Fund. The round sees further investments from existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners, 3i, Cambridge Capital and Cambridge Angels. BankInvest New Energy Solutions venture fund was established in 2002 by the BankInvest Group. Nujira's focuses on improving the energy efficiency of cellular network base stations and digital broadcast transmitters by reducing the amount of waste energy dissipated as heat.
US private equity firm Axia Capital Partners has completed the sale of the assets and business of Hydroid to Kongsberg Maritime, a division of Kongsberg Gruppen, for approximately $80m and an earn-out based on Hydroid's 2008 and 2009 operating performance. Hydroid is a manufacturer and supplier of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) for military and commercial markets. The company recorded sales in 2007 for approximately $20m.
HBG, whose stakeholders include NCB Capital, a subsidiary of the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia, has acquired nine million shares, or ten per cent, of Oman-based financial firm MFC, worth approximately $9.7m. The shares were acquired in strategic blocks from existing shareholders. This acquisition makes HBG one of the largest shareholders in MFC, according to a statement. HBG intends to invest over $2bn in its current investment cycle and is evaluating a number of transactions in the region. HBG will also increase its exposure to the financial services sector, the firm said.
Technology-focused venture capital firm Munich Venture Partners, has led an investment of several million Euros in German software and solution provider Communology. The firm joined existing investors S-VC, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbauand founders Thomas Kähler and Frank Bell, in this second round of financing. Going forward the company's focus will be on the rapidly growing market segments of mobile social communities, mobile marketing and mobile instant messaging. Munich Venture Partners invests in high tech start-ups in the information, communication and energy technology space.
FUNDS
Kensington Capital Partners, a Canadian private equity investor and fund of funds manager, has committed $2.5m to Walden Venture Capital VII, a venture capital fund managed by San Francisco-based Walden Venture Capital. The investment was from Kensington Global Private Equity Fund, Kensington's first retail fund which closed on $22.7m last year. Kensington has received commitments of over $385m for private equity investments through its fund of funds and direct co-investment programmes. Walden Venture Capital specialises in the digital media, consumer and enterprise services, and ecommerce sectors.
Copyright © 2008 AltAssets
|
