Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP), a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, has invested in Blue Ridge ESOP Associates (Blue Ridge), in partnership with the existing owners and management team. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Iconic British ceramics brand Emma Bridgewater has secured an GBP8 million investment from BGF.

Forager, a technology company providing cross-border solutions to the logistics industry, has secured USD10 million in a Series A financing round led by US Venture Partners (USVP) with participation from existing investors Chicago Ventures and new investor Soma Capital. 

TA Associates, a global growth private equity firm, has completed a strategic growth investment to join Basil Technology Partners (Basil) as an investor in Accion Labs (Accion), a digital-focused software product engineering company specialising in emerging technologies. 

Thomson Reuters has acquired Pondera Solutions, a provider of technology and advanced analytics to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in healthcare and large government programs, from Impact Venture Capital.

VoxSmart, a specialist in communications surveillance technology for Financial Markets, has secured a strategic funding round of GBP5.5 million (USD7.2 million) from NatWest. 

Specialist merchant bank, James Stocks & Co is o acquire the business and assets of Forum Capital International Limited (Forum), a corporate finance boutique which provides M&A and fundraising services to the SME sector.

Hamilton Lane Advisors, a leading PE advisory firm with more than USD421 billion in advisory assets and north of USD66 billion in discretionary AUM, has filed an 8K with the Securities Exchange Commission, having entered into a USD75 million Multi-Draw Term Loan and Security Agreement with First Republic Bank. 

GRO Capital has agreed to become the new majority shareholder and provide further capital into Queue-it, a virtual waiting room software application, to accelerate growth.

ARX Equity Partners has sold its investment in Slovenian healthcare services provider Diagnosticni Center Bled doo (DCB), generating an overall 3.6x cash-on-cash return multiple and an IRR exceeding 25 per cent.