Deals
Wasserstein & Co, on behalf of its private equity fund Wasserstein Partners III, has acquired all of the assets of Recorded Books from Haights Cross Communications (HCC), a K-12 educational and library publisher.
Northwestern Mutual and Lexington Partners are co-investing in the transaction with Wasserstein & Co.
With operations in the US, UK, and Australia, Recorded Books offers more than 13,500 exclusive unabridged audiobooks to the library, school, and retail markets. In addition, Recorded Books offers libraries more than 100,000 eBooks through its proprietary OneClick Digital platform, and 12 electronic resources including Zinio, a multi-platform distribution service for digital
American Securities, a US private equity firm, has acquired SeaStar Solutions in partnership with the company's management team from an affiliate of HIG Capital.
SeaStar is a manufacturer of precision-engineered vessel control systems and other specialised applications in marine and industrial end markets.
Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
SeaStar’s marine products include hydraulic steering, electronic steering (CAN Bus), joystick controls, mechanical steering, shift and throttle cables and controls, and replacement engine parts. SeaStar's industrial products include thermal solutions for the transportation and defence industries, and aftermarket components for outdoor power equipment.
SeaStar
Dallas-based Transition Capital Partners (TCP) has closed on the sale of its portfolio company, LT Energy Services, to B/E Aerospace, a manufacturer of aircraft cabin interior products.
The sale was part of B/E Aerospace’s previously announced acquisition of two oil field service companies for USD265m.
Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive sell-side financial advisor to LT Energy Services and Locke Lord LLP acted as corporate legal counsel.
Acquired by TCP in April 2012, LT is headquartered in Houston and provides rental equipment and accommodation systems to major oil & gas producers. Under TCP’s ownership and direction, LT expanded
Zopa, Europe’s largest peer-to-peer lending company, has closed a GBP15m (USD25m) funding round from Arrowgrass Capital Partners.
Zopa enables savers to receive better rates by lending money to people looking for low cost loans.
Its customers have lent over GBP455m through the platform.
Zopa will use this new round of investment to support growth and to increase awareness of Zopa’s rates and service among a wider audience of UK consumers.
Arrowgrass Capital Partners is a European focused alternative asset manager, headquartered in London, with assets under management of approximately USD4.6bn. Henry Kenner, CEO of Arrowgrass, has joined
Diversified Foodservice Supply Inc (DFSI), a KRG Capital Partners Fund IV portfolio company, has acquired Mill Hardware & Food Service.
The addition of Mill Hardware to the DFSI portfolio adds scale to the organisation and improves the customer offering for chain restaurants and their associated franchisees.
Mill Hardware will continue to operate as a leading brand in the combined company and joins other DFSI brands AllPoints Foodservice Parts and Supplies, Franklin Machine Products (FMP), and Tundra Restaurant Supply as major brands owned by DFSI.
“Mill Hardware is recognised in the industry as a superior service provider and is
Retail, real estate, utilities and pension fund activity were not enough to fill the gap left by a dearth of mergers and acquisitions deals in Canada's oil patch and mining companies.
Even life sciences chipped in with large deals in Q4, but it was not enough to prevent 2013 being the slowest year since 2009, according to PwC's latest Capital Markets Flash.
Overall in 2013, 2,500 deals worth USD162bn were announced.
Nicolas Marcoux, Canadian deals leader, PwC, says: "We started 2013 with optimism since equity and debt were both available and the economic backdrop was improving."
Marcoux
Intelligent Fingerprinting, a British company developing the world’s first handheld fingerprint-based drug screening device, has secured GBP750,000 in funding from a consortium of private US-based investors.
The funding boost will be used to support the final stages in the development of the company’s non-invasive drug screening technology, which uses the Intelligent Fingerprinting analysis technique to screen for multiple drugs of abuse and provides results in less than ten minutes.
It follows an earlier investment of GBP2m from US backers in 2012. In the past 15 months Intelligent Fingerprinting has also secured almost GBP700,000 in government-funded grants.
Dr Jerry
Global crowd funding platform Indiegogo has raised USD40m in Series B funding.
The financing will be used to continue making key hires, expand globally and improve the user experience.
The round is led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), with additional funding from existing investors Insight Venture Partners, MHS Capital, Metamorphic Ventures and ff Venture Capital.
As the world’s largest crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo has hosted more than 190,000 campaigns from nearly 190 countries. In the past two years, funds raised on Indiegogo have grown by 1,000 per cent and the company has
Madison Reed has raised USD12m in a Series B round of funding led by Norwest Venture Partners (NVP).
Previous investors, True Ventures and Maveron, also participated in this round.
The company, which launched today, leverages e-commerce technology to deliver salon-quality hair colouring formulas, immediate, personalised hair assessment, and at-home delivery to consumers.
"We found a way for women to have it all—the premier salon experience they deserve with the at-home convenience they need," says Amy Errett, Madison Reed CEO and co-founder. "This investment enables us to make quality and ease in hair colouring a reality for any woman.
HIG WhiteHorse has arranged and provided a GBP29m unitranche debt financing for Steelite International, a provider of tableware for the international hospitality industry.
HIG WhiteHorse has implemented a flexible debt financing to allow Steelite to build on its current market position and support management in taking full ownership of the company.
Kevin Oakes, chief executive at Steelite, says: “HIG WhiteHorse has demonstrated a good understanding of our business during this process. We are looking forward to continuing this partnership as we take our next strategic steps.”
Haseeb Aziz, managing director at HIG WhiteHorse, says: “Steelite is a successful
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