Bacterin International Holdings, a developer of bone graft material and antimicrobial coatings for medical applications, has closed a USD25m non-dilutive financing with an affiliate of OrbiMed Advisors.  The financing will enable Bacterin to execute its growth strategy through anticipated profitability. Under the terms of the agreement, Bacterin initially received USD20m and has the ability to draw down an additional USD5m based upon the achievement of mutually agreed upon revenue objectives prior to 31 December 2013.  The company received net proceeds of approximately USD10m after repayment of existing indebtedness as well as other transaction related fees and expenses.  Net proceeds will

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is to acquire David’s Bridal, a retailer of bridal gown and wedding-related apparel and accessories in North America. Leonard Green & Partners will continue as a minority partner.  The transaction values the company at approximately USD1.05bn. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed. David’s Bridal stores provide an assortment of designer wedding gowns, special occasion dresses and accessories at affordable prices. The company designs, produces and sells a wide selection of styles and sizes through a network of over 300 US and five Canadian stores. David’s Bridal’s exclusive partnership with Vera Wang, under the brand

Novetta Solutions, a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners, has acquired White Cliffs Consulting (WCC). WCC specialises in the digital discovery domain and applies multidisciplinary high-end technical analysis, software engineering, and mission engineering to the entire end-to-end Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) and cyber mission spectrum.  Based in Columbia, Maryland, WCC has grown rapidly since its inception in 2006 and today employs approximately 60 professionals. WCC’s expertise and technical capabilities will enhance Novetta’s ability to solve the challenges of a rapidly changing and evolving big data world. Novetta provides high-end, mission critical technology solutions to customers within the Intelligence, Department of Defense,

Excellere Partners, a Denver-based private equity firm focused on partnering with middle-market entrepreneurs and management teams, has completed its investment in PhyMed Management, the management services company to Anesthesia Medical Group (AMG). This represents the second platform investment in Excellere Capital Fund II. Nashville, Tennessee-based AMG is one of the largest providers of anaesthesia services in the US, with more than 60 physicians and 200 certified registered nurse anaesthetists (CRNA), serving medical facilities within Tennessee. Excellere continues to pursue investments within five targeted industries: healthcare; specialty foods; industrial technology and services; business services; and education and training. AMG’s physician leaders,

US-based companies were the most active in completing mergers and acquisitions with emerging and high-growth market companies in the first half of 2012, but deal activity dropped by 33 per cent compared with the first half of 2011, according to KPMG International’s latest Emerging Markets International Acquisition Tracker study. The semi-annual KPMG study, which tracks completed deals in which an acquirer took at least a five per cent shareholding interest, found that US-based companies completed 108 emerging and high-growth market acquisitions in the first half of 2012, down from 160 in the first half of 2011. This drop in acquisitions

Global automotive industry merger and acquisition activity slowed during the first half of 2012, according to PwC. In H1 2012, 264 deals closed with a disclosed value of USD10.6bn, reflecting a sizeable decline compared to H1 2011, which totalled 303 completed deals with a disclosed valued at USD18.8bn. "Europe is taking a toll on global M&A deal activity," says Paul Elie, US automotive transaction services leader, PwC. "Historically, Europe has been among the most active regions in automotive M&A. That said, automotive companies from emerging countries like China and India have opportunities to acquire technology or market access at favourable

Benihana, the US chain of Japanese theme and sushi restaurants, has been acquired by funds advised by the private equity group of Angelo Gordon.  Each outstanding share of Benihana common stock was acquired for USD16.30 per share in cash, valuing the acquisition at approximately USD295m.  The company is now a privately-held company and will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq national market. Richard Stockinger, Benihana’s president and chief executive officer, says: “We are extremely pleased that our stockholders approved the acquisition at a compelling cash price per share. The Benihana management team is excited to have access to the

Rutland Partners, a turnaround and restructuring investor, has sold NoteMachine, an independent automated teller machine (ATM) business in Europe, to funds managed by private equity firm Corsair Capital and NoteMachine’s management, who are retaining a significant shareholding in the company. Founded in 2006 by chief executive Peter McNamara, NoteMachine operates approximately 7,000 ATMs in the UK and more than 500 ATMs in Germany.  NoteMachine has a seven per cent share of cash withdrawals in the UK and its ATMs dispense GBP5bn of cash every year. Paul Cartwright, managing partner of Rutland, says: "The NoteMachine business we have built with Peter

Axel Springer Digital Classifieds, a strategic partnership between Axel Springer and the global growth investor General Atlantic founded in the spring of 2012, has signed an agreement to acquire allesklar.com, which operates Germany’s local portal meinestadt.de. The company is being sold by the founding Stegger family (56.1 per cent) and by Holtzbrinck Digital Strategy (43.9 per cent).   Founded in 1996, the Siegburg-based company currently employs a staff of about 300 people. Its most important asset is the local portal meinestadt.de, which attracts more than eight million unique monthly users (AGOF). Users turn to meinestadt.de for a variety of local