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Weekly Deals and Funds Roundup: 1 October 200801/10/2008. 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.
UK mid-market firm RJD Partners has backed the MBO of IPES Holdings, a provider of outsourced fund administration services. The Guernsey-based company was originally set up as a joint venture between the founding executives Connie Helyar and Peter Gillson and a number of sponsors of private equity funds. IPES administers over 300 funds for 56 separate client groups. The MBO is the seventh investment made from the RJD Private Equity Fund II.
Growth capital investor FTVentures has invested £30m in Mu Sigma, a provider of analytical decision support services. The funding will support the expansion of Mu Sigma's analytics capabilities from its Bangalore, India, delivery centre, according to a statement. Founded in 1998, FTVentures has over $1bn under management. The firm has offices in San Francisco and New York.
Consumer private equity firm Falconhead Capital has acquired a controlling stake in womens' jeans manufacturer Not Your Daughter's Jeans. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. NYDJ's products use the company's proprietary Tummy Tuck technology, which flattens the stomach, contours the hips and lifts the buttocks, the firm said. Following the deal, industry veteran Edwin Lewis will serve as chairman and CEO of NYDJ. Falconhead invests in consumer-focused businesses in the sport, leisure, lifestyle and media categories.
Global private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has acquired a 47.5 per cent interest in Pilot Travel Centers forming an equal governance partnership with Pilot Corporation, wholly owned by the Haslam family. CVC's investment, and the new ownership structure whereby Pilot Corporation will own 52.5 per cent of PTC, facilitates the sale by Marathon Oil Corporation of its interest in PTC, which it has held since PTC was formed in 2001. Financial terms were not disclosed. CVC is currently investing from its funds CVC Fund IV, CVC Asia II, CVC Tandem Fund and CVC Asia III, with an aggregate of $19bn in equity capital.
European Capital, through its subsidiary ECAS S.à.r.l., has invested €30m in Compagnie Européenne de Prestations Logistiques, a European logistics provider. The investment supports the acquisition of the company by Arcapita Bank. CEPL management also significantly invested in the company. CEPL employs 2,200 staff in 23 sites across France and Germany. The firm has also realised a 53 per cent annual equity rate of return from the sale of its portfolio company Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings. European Capital acquired Avery in July 2006, investing €123m in a revolving credit facility, senior term debt, subordinated debt, loan equity, preference equity and common equity. European Capital focuses on pan-European equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments.
Biotechnology company MacroGenics has raised $25m in a Series D financing. The round was led by healthcare-focused investment firm Nextech Venture and included additional new investors Arcus Ventures, Innovis Investments and Eli Lilly and Company. Also participating in the financing were existing investors Alexandria Real Estate, Alta Partners, CIDC, InterWest Partners, Mitsubishi UFJ, OrbiMed Advisors, Red Abbey Venture Partners, RiverVest, Texas Pacific Group Ventures and Ventures West. MacroGenics expects to use the proceeds from this financing to fund the cancer stem cell programme it acquired through its acquisition of Raven Biotechnologies in July, according to the company.
Social news site Digg has raised $28.7m in a Series C investment round led by Highland Capital Partners. The funding also includes previous Digg investors Greylock Partners, Omidyar Network and SVB Capital. It follows the $2.8m Series A round raised in October 2005 and the $8.5m Series B round in December 2006. As a part of the funding, Richard de Silva, a partner at Highland Capital Partners, will join Digg's board of directors. Highland Capital Partners has been the lead investor in online media and internet companies including Ask.com, Lycos, MapQuest, Quigo and VistaPrint.
US private equity firm Hamilton Robinson Capital Partners, together with MEGTEC Systems management, has acquired MEGTEC from parent company Sequa Corporation. The transaction involves all MEGTEC businesses, including the printing products and industrial and environmental products groups and related services groups. MEGTEC is a supplier to the printing, web coating, packaging, wood products and other process and energy markets. The company has 14 facilities around the globe and more than 800 employees. In 2007 the company generated revenues in excess of $250m.
Healthcare private equity firm Water Street Healthcare Partners has acquired a controlling interest in home healthcare services business CareCentrix. CareCentrix manages home nursing, infusion and medical equipment services through a network of 4,000 credentialed home care providers. Water Street has partnered with healthcare companies including Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic and Smith & Nephew.
US power producer Reliant Energy has obtained commitments for $1bn in new capital to support its business to facilitate the transition. Reliant has arranged for $1bn in additional capital consisting of a commitment for a $650m term loan from GS Loan Partners and an agreement to issue $350m of convertible preferred stock to energy private equity firm First Reserve Corporation. Reliant Energy provides power to approximately 1.8 million retail electricity customers primarily in Texas and also serves commercial, industrial, governmental and institutional customers in Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC
US private equity firm The Gores Group and Siemens have completed a joint venture transaction in which Gores acquired a 51 per cent stake in Siemens Enterprise Communications. Siemens will maintain a 49 per cent ownership interest in the joint venture. Gores and Siemens plan to invest at least €350m into the joint venture in order to launch Siemens Enterprise Communications products on the market, acquire other technology platforms and further drive the expansion and transition of the business from a hardware supplier to a software and service provider, according to a statement.
Technology-focused private equity firm Accel-KKR has acquired a significant equity stake in Alexander Gallo Holdings, a privately-held court reporting and litigation support services company. The equity stake was purchased as part of Alexander Gallo Holdings' acquisition of The Hobart West Group. Financial terms were not disclosed. Accel-KKR recently closed its third private equity fund, Accel-KKR Capital Partners III, on its hard cap of $600m.
Aureos Central Asia Fund has invested $10m in the Kazakh equipment leasing company Leasing Group, taking a controlling stake in the company. Aureos Capital targets small to mid-cap businesses in emerging markets. Leasing Group provides financial leases for equipment such as transportation vehicles, construction and mining equipment and specialised manufacturing equipment. This is the first investment for Aureos's Central Asia Fund. The fund invests in small and mid-cap companies in Central Asia. It is targeting investments of between $2m and $10m.
New York private equity fund Monomoy Capital Partners has acquired the equity and operations of L&P Plasticsfrom Leggett & Platt. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. L&P Plastics is a non-core operating division of Leggett & Platt, and designs, engineers and manufactures custom plastic components for the power tool, medical device, furniture and automotive industries. The deal is the fourth Monomoy acquisition in the past four months, following Carlton Creek Ironworks, the Boston Apparel Group and Katun Corp.
CEE-focused private equity firm ARX has completed the acquisition of textile rope company LANEX and climbing equipment business SINGING ROCK. The combined businesses have estimated sales of €42m in 2008. Both LANEX and SINGING ROCK are headquartered in the Czech Republic. ARX has also exited from DONIT TESNIT via its sale to an affiliate of Mohar Satler Investments. The deal generated a return of three times the investment and an IRR of 58 per cent, according to the firm. ARX operates from offices in Bucharest, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw. The firm focuses on later stage investments such as expansion financing, MBOS, MBIs and industry consolidation transactions.
Suvidhaa Infoserve has received funding from Indian venture capital firm Reliance Technology Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners India. Suvidhaa will use the new capital to expand its portfolio of service offerings into vertical markets throughout India and enhance business development and marketing efforts, according to a statement. Reliance invests in emerging and high-growth technologies in sectors including IT, ITES, hardware and semiconductors, media and entertainment and telecom.
London and New York-based private equity firm TowerBrook Capital Partners has agreed to refinance Odlo Sports Group, a European designer, manufacturer and distributor of functional sports clothing. Towerbrook acquired the company in April 2006. In total, new debt facilities of CHF86.7m were agreed and comprise of senior bank debt of CHF61.7m and a revolver of CHF25m. Odlo has a production facility in Romania and sales subsidiaries in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria and the Benelux. TowerBrook has $4bn of capital under management. The firm has offices in London and New York and focuses on investments in North American and European companies.
Wind Power Holdings, the parent company of wind technology company Northern Power Systems has completed an additional round of financing worth $37m to support the growth and development of the company's wind turbine business. The capital was raised in a placement of Series A preferred stock with institutional and other accredited investors, and led by venture capital firm RockPort Capital Partners and Allen & Company. RockPort and Allen & Company join Century America , Baker Investments and other investors in the effort to raise the initial capital used to fund the August acquisition of the Northern Power assets. To date, an aggregate of approximately $56m has been raised to fund the acquisition, growth, and development of Northern Power.
Barclays Ventures has invested £5.5m in UK electronic manufacturing services business AWS Group. AWS employs over 400 people in the UK and Slovakia, and provides outsourced electronic manufacturing services for industries including medical, defence, aerospace and transport. Barclays Ventures invests equity of up to £20m in private equity transactions. Wholly funded and owned by Barclays Bank, it supports MBOs, MBIs, expansion capital and equity release transactions.
UK private equity firm Close Brothers Private Equity has sold chemical developer BWA Water Additives to United International Bank, an investment bank based in Bahrain, for an undisclosed sum. CBPE originally backed the MBO of BWA from Chemtura in May 2006 alongside a management team led by chairman and CEO Dr David Cartmell. The firm has made a return on the deal of 3.5 times, according to a statement. The sale of BWA by CBPE follows on the back of its recent investment in the £129m MBO of Warwick International at the end of August.
Solar energy services provider Solar Power Partners has closed approximately $100m of equity and debt financing to date. The company also expects to close an additional $60m in committed project financing in 2008. SPP's investors and lenders include: United Commercial Bank, Globespan Capital Partners, The Enlightened World Foundation, Carrelton Asset Management, Dry Creek Ventures, Silicon Valley Technology Group and, most recently, Energy Investors Funds, a private equity investor in the US power market. Proceeds from the various financings are for nationwide corporate expansion, project development, and equity participation in SPP's proprietary special purpose vehicle solar energy funds, the company said.
Swiss biotechnology company Telormedix has closed a Series A equity investment round raising CHF21m (€13.1m). The round was supported by an international syndicate of investors, led by Swiss venture firm Aravis. Proquest Investments , also co-invested in their first investment in Europe. The round was further supported by a syndicate of investors including BSI, Nextech Venture and Generali Insurance Group. Aravis, focuses on investments in biotechnology and renewable energy companies. The firm has a presence in Cayman, Switzerland, Singapore and Menlo Park, California.
European venture capital firms Amadeus Capital Partners and Wellington Partners have invested $18m in a Series B round financing in EnQii Holdings, a manager of digital out-of-home advertising and merchandising networks. Following the investment, Roy Merritt, partner at Amadeus, and Wellington General partner Frank Boehnke, will join the board of the company. The investors will join existing investor Ithmaar Bank, Kingdom of Bahrain. Carolyn Prowse, a managing director from Ithmaar Bank, will also join the board.
Nitec Pharma, a Switzerland-based specialty pharmaceutical company has closed a CHF24m financing round led by new investor TVM Capital with participation from a principal investing arm of Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bank London, and also existing investors NGN Capital, Global Life Sciences Venture and Atlas Venture.The new funds will be used for the development and commercialisation of product Lodotra, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Drug development company APT Pharmaceuticals has completed a $32.3m Series B financing, led by healthcare venture capital firmThree Arch Partners and joined by additional new investors InterWest Partners and Pinnacle Ventures. Existing investors Charter Life Sciences, Great Point Partners, Versant Ventures and Vivo Ventures also participated in the round. The Series B financing will fund further development of the company's pipeline programmes in serious lung diseases, the company said.
Biotechnology company Link Medicine Corporation, has raised $40m of Series C equity, led by biotechnology investors Clarus Ventures and SV Life Sciences. Clarus is based in Cambridge and San Francisco and presently manages over $1.2bn across two life sciences-dedicated funds. SV Life Sciences provides finance to businesses at all stages of development and across the human life sciences sector, from biotechnology and pharmaceuticals to medical devices and instruments, to healthcare information technology and services.
Canadian growth investor Richardson Capital has invested CAN$39m in flight simulation equipment business Mechtronix World Corporation. In addition to RCL, Mechtronix's shareholders include company founders and management team, along with the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec. RCL is the private equity division of Richardson Financial Group and currently manages over CAN$1bn in assets through its two private equity funds. The firm targets investments in sectors including agriculture, oil and gas exploration, financial services and property management.
The Riverside Company has acquired DuBois Chemicals, a manufacturer of specialty chemicals and solutions for manufacturing problems and lean initiatives. DuBois is the third investment from the firm's newest fund, Riverside Capital Appreciation Fund V. This acquisition is the result of a corporate carve-out from DuBois' previous owner, JohnsonDiversey. Riverside has also acquired Eemax, a manufacturer of the devices for commercial, industrial and residential markets. The deal is the 25th acquisition for the firm this year.
Mid-market private equity firm Riverside Partners has also sold its portfolio company, MicroCal, to GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company. MicroCal develops and manufactures microcalorimeters that provide detailed information on the structure, function and binding properties of a wide range of biomolecules such as proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and antibodies. Riverside Partners is currently investing its Riverside Fund III. The fund focuses on growth-oriented companies in the healthcare and technology industries.
Private equity firm Olympus Partners has acquired business development company Allied Capital Corporation's equity interest in Norwesco, a manufacturer of polyethylene storage tanks for the agricultural and industrial markets. Allied Capital realised a gain on its equity investment in Norwesco of approximately $86m. In connection with the transaction, Allied Capital participated in Norwesco's new senior credit facility for $39m. Olympus Partners manages over $3.1bn on behalf of corporate pension plans, public retirement systems, university endowment funds and the executives of Olympus' portfolio companies.
Energy Capital Partners and ADA-ES have established Crowfoot Development, a joint venture focused on the production of activated carbon for the mercury emissions control market for coal-fired power plants. Previously, ADA-ES announced the commencement of construction of an AC production facility in the US, which Crowfoot is constructing in northwest Louisiana through its wholly-owned subsidiary Red River Environmental Products. The first production line of this facility will be capable of producing 125 to 175 million pounds of AC per year and ADA-ES and ECP will provide the equity capital required to construct the first production line.
Sun Capital Partners, a private investment firm specialising in LBOs, has sold insurance plan administrator HealthPlan Holdings to healthcare private equity firm Water Street Healthcare Partners. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Sun Capital has offices in Boca Raton, Los Angeles and New York, as well as affiliates with offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
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