An affiliate of Acon Investments, a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm, has signed a definitive agreement to sell 100 per cent of SAE Towers to KEC International of India for USD95m (excluding working capital adjustments) on a debt-free, cash free basis. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with production facilities in Monterrey,

H.I.G. Bayside Capital, an affiliate of private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, has closed H.I.G. Bayside Loan Opportunity Fund II, a special situation loan fund focused on distressed transactions. The fund closed on 30 July 2010 and has total aggregate commitments of USD1.1bn, exceeding its USD1bn target. The fund will have

Private equity investor Next Wave Partners has funded the merger of market research consultancies SPA and Future Thinking, formerly known as The Oxford Research Agency. The newly formed agency will boast a GBP13m+ turnover and an international network of offices in London, Paris, New York and Oxford. As part of

DN Capital, a media and technology early stage and growth capital investor, has led a EUR7m growth investment in Mister Spex, Germany’s largest online retailer of eyewear. French investment company Xange Capital also participated in the round together with existing investors Grazia Equity, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Team Europe Ventures and Astutia.

Endomagnetics, a medical device company that helps surgeons track the spread of breast cancer, has raised GBP770,000 from a syndicate led by UCL Business and Sussex Place Ventures.  The financing coincides with the appointment of Dr Eric Mayes as chief executive of this recent spin-out from University College London and

Red Bend Software, a provider of mobile software management, has acquired VirtualLogix, a provider of real-time virtualisation technology for mobile handsets in which DFJ Esprit was a significant minority shareholder.   The addition of VirtualLogix’s products and team enables Red Bend to enter the high-growth mobile virtualisation market and broaden

Alethia Biotherapeutics, a Montreal-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of monoclonal antibodies, has closed a CAD9.6m series A round of financing. Alethia will use the proceeds to advance its lead pre-clinical programmes into clinical development over the next 18 months. Co-led by AgeChem Venture Fund and existing investor BDC

Mountain Hawk Energy, a company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of coal bed methane in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, has acquired a 50 per cent share of the Clabaugh coal bed gas field from Marathon Oil.  Mountain Hawk Energy is wholly-owned indirectly by Yorkville Advisors’ managed fund, YA

Venture capitalists in Canada expect their industry to contract further while those in emerging markets, including China, India and Brazil, expect to see theirs expand over the next five years, according to a survey by Deloitte, Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and several other industry associations. According to