Graycliff Partners has completed a mezzanine investment in Naumann Hobbs Material Handling. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Naumann Hobbs is a full-service material handling equipment distributor and aftermarket service provider. Graycliff provided subordinated debt financing in support of a recapitalisation of the company. Graycliff, a middle market investment firm, was founded in November 2011 by the former management team of HSBC Capital, the US and Latin American private equity investment group at HSBC. Graycliff will continue its mezzanine investment strategy in Graycliff Mezzanine II by partnering with profitable mid-sized businesses providing capital for acquisitions, management buyouts, recapitalisations, growth and development. The

Nautic Partners has completed the sale of Aavid Thermalloy to an investor group led by Audax Private Equity. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Headquartered in Concord, New Hampshire, Aavid is a designer and manufacturer of high-performance thermal management products. Aavid’s products are used to dissipate heat and maintain optimal temperatures of electronic components that are used in servers, telecommunications equipment, transportation systems and industrial electronics. “We are very fortunate to have partnered with an outstanding management team at Aavid,” says Doug Hill (pictured), managing director of Nautic. “During the last two years the company has experienced

CitySprint has acquired Eagle Express Worldwide Couriers, its seventh acquisition since it was backed by UK mid-market private equity house Dunedin in December 2010. This comes at a time of high transactional activity for Dunedin, which in the past two weeks has announced its exit from conference and training venues business, etc.venues, and the management buyout of Premier Hytemp which Dunedin backed in a GBP34.5m transaction.   Nicol Fraser, partner at Dunedin who sits on CitySprint’s board, says: “This acquisition demonstrates Dunedin’s ongoing commitment to supporting the growth of our portfolio companies. We have now completed a total of 14

Huron Capital Partners’ portfolio company, Hughes Associates, has acquired Anoba Consulting Services, a niche engineering firm specialising in probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) and other risk-modelling services.  Mandated by the federal government, PRA uses highly analytical software programmes and risk models that allow nuclear power plants to assess the underlying operational risks in their business and the potential impact of catastrophic events. Prior to the acquisition, Anoba had been a key strategic partner for Hughes, often serving as a subcontractor on its nuclear power generation consulting projects. The transaction brings Anoba and Hughes together and expands Hughes’ capabilities in the rapidly

Dallas-based private equity firm Highlander Partners has acquired Custom Window Systems (CWS), a designer, manufacturer and marketer of impact-resistant and non-impact windows and doors, primarily serving Florida and other coastal markets in the Southeastern US.  CWS will continue to operate under its existing name and operating structure.  Greg Schorr, a senior adviser for Highlander, will join CWS as the president and chief executive officer. Schorr was formerly the president and chief operating officer of the parent company of Simonton Windows.  John Cwik, the company’s founder, president and chief executive, will continue to work with CWS in a consulting and advisory

Brynwood Partners VI has sold its investment in Sun Country Foods to Continental Mills. Terms and conditions of the transaction have not been disclosed. Sun Country Foods, headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts with a manufacturing facility in Manhattan, Kansas, manufactures and markets the iconic Kretschmer Wheat Germ brand. Founded in 1936 by Charles Kretschmer, the brand has a 90 per cent market share in the US wheat germ category and is offered in two flavours: Original Toasted and Honey Crunch. Sun Country Foods was formed by Brynwood VI in 2011 to acquire the Kretschmer Wheat Germ brand from The Quaker Oats

Monroe Capital has funded a unitranche credit facility and equity co-investment to support the recapitalisation of Playtime by private equity sponsor Geneva Glen Capital. Based in Englewood, Colorado, Playtime is a provider of interactive healthy play areas and playground equipment for indoor, outdoor and water play. The company markets, designs, manufactures and installs custom soft sculpted play areas in many market segments including shopping centres, restaurants, airports, stadiums, childcare centres, healthcare centres, fitness centres, churches, resorts, recreation centres, water parks, and museums. Founded in 2001, Playtime has completed thousands of installations in all 50 states and 20 countries. Theodore L

HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) is to take a direct stake of approximately USD95m, and also have an interest of approximately USD12m through other existing commitments to HarbourVest managed funds, in the assets of Conversus Capital. This transaction is expected to add approximately USD0.20 to HVPE’s NAV per share.   Conversus, like HVPE, is a listed private equity fund and is the largest publicly-traded portfolio of third party private equity funds globally, with a mature, broadly diversified portfolio of over 200 private equity fund interests.  In July 2012, HarbourVest Partners announced a definitive agreement, through an acquisition vehicle, to acquire

Dallas-based private equity firm Lone Star Investment Advisors has sold Petroplex Acidizing to One Rock Capital Partners.  Aided by Lone Star, Petroplex expanded its major customer accounts, added product offering for key customers and more than doubled annual sales over five years, which represents a compound annual growth rate of 18 per cent. The sale of the company resulted in a 50 per cent IRR and 6.24x cash-on-cash return to Lone Star. Founded in 1981 by Larry Foster and headquartered in Texas, Petroplex is the largest provider of acidizing and chemical stimulation treatments for oil, gas and injection wells located