Riordan, Lewis & Haden | Equity Partners (RLH) has invested in The Chartis Group, a strategy consulting firm that helps the senior executives and boards of directors of hospitals and Integrated Delivery Networks address their most important and pressing challenges.  The company assists its clients with key strategic decisions on economic matters such as developing or participating in an accountable care organisation, acquisitions of physician groups, geographic expansion of the care delivery footprint, and achieving efficient care delivery processes at each site.  Chartis’ roster of blue chip clients includes over 60 nationally renowned academic medical centres, nine of the top

Spire Capital, a lower middle market focused private equity firm specialising in investments in the business services, information services, education, media and communications sectors, has acquired Performance Assessment Network (PAN), a technology-enabled provider of human capital management assessment solutions. Spire Capital, a lower middle market focused private equity firm specialising in investments in the business services, information services, education, media and communications sectors, has acquired Performance Assessment Network (PAN), a technology-enabled provider of human capital management assessment solutions. Spire Capital and PAN management have acquired all of the issued and outstanding stock of PAN from Equifax Workforce Solutions, a subsidiary

A private equity fund managed by Blackstone on behalf of its private equity investors has acquired a controlling interest in two Maldives-based seaplane operators – Maldivian Air Taxi (MAT) and Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA). Following the transaction, Lars Erik Nielsen (founder of MAT), Lars Petré and Hussain Afeef (majority shareholders of TMA) will retain a substantial shareholding and continue to play a significant role in the companies, including serving as directors on the board.  The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Maldives is a popular tourist destination with over 1,000 islands. With a unique “one-island one-resort” concept, Maldives

Bain Capital Partners has completed the acquisition of Apex Tool Group, a tools manufacturer. The purchase from Danaher Corporation and Eaton was valued at approximately USD1.6bn. Apex Tool is one of the largest global producers of industrial hand and power tools, tool storage, drill chucks, chain, and electronic soldering products for industrial, commercial and demanding do-it-yourself applications. Based in Sparks, Maryland, the company serves a variety of markets, including automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy, hardware, industrial, and consumer retail. Apex Tool will continue to be led by Steve Breitzka as president and chief executive officer, and the current management team. “Bain

Chase Templeton Group, one of the UK’s largest private medical insurance (PMI) specialist intermediaries, has secured investment from Palatine Private Equity. Chase Templeton was founded in 2002 by Kevin Amphlett and is the major consolidator in the PMI broker sector having undertaken 10 acquisitions over the past few years. The move secures the firm’s strategy to undertake further acquisitions of PMI and employee benefit specialist services.   The company operates from offices in Blackburn and Bridgwater in Somerset and employs 50 people. Turnover is expected to reach about GBP12m by the end of 2013.   The investment is the first

The media:tech sector team at Livingstone Partners has sold Taste Festivals to IMG Arts and Entertainment, part of IMG Worldwide, the sport, entertainment and media company. Livingstone advised Taste Festivals’ parent company, Brand Events, and its investor Ingenious Media Active Capital on the transaction. Taste of London and the company’s other international festivals bring together the latest restaurants and world famous chefs to offer signature dishes and inspiration to thousands of foodies in one location over four days.  Since its launch, Taste Festivals has rapidly grown into a global phenomenon. Taste now runs annual events in 17 cities across the

Oakley Capital Private Equity has sold Emesa Group, an online consumer auction platform in the European leisure industry, to Cyrte Investments for a gross consideration of EUR95m.  Oakley Capital Private Equity originally acquired Emesa Group in March 2011 for consideration of EUR35m. The transaction represents a 3.6x gross return for the fund in less than two years of ownership, with an IRR in excess of 100 per cent.   Peter Dubens, director at Oakley Capital Private Equity, says: “Emesa has been another successful investment for the limited partnership. This is a significant disposal for the fund and delivers an attractive

A resurgence of investor confidence in public markets in the closing months of 2012 has left private equity funds facing an increasingly competitive environment for deals, according to research released by BDO’s corporate finance team. With private equity already facing a dearth of quality deals, public company valuations have risen to their highest levels since Q2 2011, meaning that vendors now have a wider choice of where they sell their business.   BDO’s research shows a clear convergence as private equity valuations fell 18.6 per cent while public market valuations rose.  The average price/earnings multiple paid in private equity transactions

Two of Kirtland Capital Partners’ portfolio companies have completed strategic add-on acquisitions. Precision Dialogue, based in Chicago, acquired Hub Marketing Solutions, while SmartSource Computer & Audio Visual Rentals, headquartered in Long Island, NY, acquired CRE Computer Rentals & AV Solutions. Precision Dialogue is an analytics-driven customer engagement firm that improves marketing ROI using customer insights to execute personalised, relevant multi-channel communications.  Hub is a provider of marketing data management and business intelligence solutions designed to enable dialogue-based customer management strategies. The Hub acquisition will add scope and scale to Precision Dialogue’s customer engagement solutions. Precision Dialogue engaged Jones Day and