Private equity firm Encore Consumer Capital has completed the sale of its portfolio company Juice Tyme, a manufacturer and marketer of shelf-stable, bag-in-box juice and beverage concentrates for use in foodservice dispensing machines, to Highlander Partners.   Scott Sellers, managing director of Encore Consumer Capital, says: “This is a bittersweet day for Encore. We are pleased with the successful exit of Juice Tyme and feel that Highlander will be a great partner to carry the company forward. However, we will miss working with Juice Tyme’s talented and dedicated management team. It has been a pleasure working with them as they

Private equity firm Parthenon Capital Partners has completed its acquisition of Bracket from Express Scripts Holding Company.   Bracket, a specialty services provider, assists pharmaceutical companies and CROs maximise clinical data integrity and ultimately achieve greater certainty in trial outcomes with a unique range of solutions that span both eClinical and Scientific Services. With more than a decade of experience, Bracket’s team of experts has worked on more than 1,100 successful trials across 47 therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on the central nervous system.   “As an independent company, Bracket will now have the autonomy, flexibility and resources to

Nordstjernan is to sell 100 per cent of the shares in KMT Group to American Industrial Partners (AIP).   KMT designs and manufactures products using ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) pump technology in industrial manufacturing, surface preparation, and food processing applications.   Headquartered in Baxter Springs, Kansas, KMT has more than 400 employees and a turnover of approximately USD160m. Its products are available in more than 60 countries and are manufactured at facilities in the US, Sweden and China.   AIP will acquire KMT for an enterprise value of USD147.5m, representing a 6.4x multiple of adjusted 2012 EBITDA.   Tomas Billing, chief executive

Ernst & Young’s global technology update for the second quarter of 2013 shows a mixed picture, with private equity (PE) deal-making soaring while corporate deal-making continued a three-quarter-long slide.   At USD33.4bn, the aggregate value of all disclosed-value deals is essentially flat year-over-year (YOY) and down eight per cent sequentially from Q113. Deal volume in Q213 fell to the lowest level since 2010 with 627 deals, down 14 per cent YOY and five per cent sequentially.   In contrast, PE volume increased for the second consecutive quarter, up 10 per cent YOY and 24 per cent sequentially. PE’s aggregate value

Independent debt advisory firm Tomorrow Partners has signed three transactions over a busy summer period, following the recent launch of its high yield advisory service.   The firm advised Lion Capital and its portfolio company HEMA, the Dutch retailer, on a successful “amend and extend” of circa EUR900m of senior, second lien, mezzanine and PIK facilities which closed on 1 August 2013.    The HEMA deal followed Tomorrow Partners advising HSS, a hire services company backed by Exponent, on raising add-on financing for its acquisition of the UK platforms business of Haulotte Group, which closed on 30 June.   More

Private equity firm Wynnchurch Capital has acquired Imperial Group from Accuride Corporation, in partnership with BMO Mezzanine Fund and a management team led by chief executive officer Terry Wogan.   Imperial is a metal fabricator supplying light and medium gauge fabricated metal components, precision metal stampings, and value-added assemblies serving heavy truck, bus, and industrial OEMs. Imperial has operations in Portland, Tennessee, Decatur, Texas, Denton, Texas, Dublin, Virginia, and Chehalis, Washington.   “Imperial has built an impressive franchise in the metal fabrication industry and is well positioned to take advantage of the anticipated recovery in its end markets. Our goal