Sterling Infosystems, Inc, a company owned by management and private equity firm Calera Capital, has acquired BackCheck.  BackCheck, a provider of background checking products and services, is the market leader in Canada and one of the largest providers in the United Kingdom. Sterling, already one of the largest background checking companies in the world, is now the largest within North America and is well positioned for future growth. William Greenblatt, Founder and CEO of New York City-headquartered Sterling, says: "BackCheck and Sterling will bring together the strengths of two organisations that are leaders in their respective markets. Both organisations have a

AllianceBernstein has closed its first private equity real estate fund, AllianceBernstein US Real Estate Partners, LP, with capital commitments of USD680 million.  Commitments to the Fund were received from several large, global institutional investors, including Temasek, the Singapore-based investment company, Alberta Teachers Retirement Fund, as well as institutions from the US, Hong Kong and Japan. In addition, numerous AllianceBernstein private clients and employees made commitments to the Fund. With additional co-investment capital from key strategic investors, the Fund could have approximately USD900 million of available equity. The Fund represents an important milestone for AllianceBernstein, which formed the Real Estate Group in September

Private equity firm North Castle Partners has completed an investment in Palladio Beauty Group, in partnership with CEO and owner Philip Solomon, further extending North Castle’s presence in the personal care sector.  The terms of the investment have not been disclosed. Based in Hollywood, Florida, Palladio Beauty Group is a leading marketer of premium colour cosmetics and skincare products sold primarily through the beauty supply and professional beauty channels. Palladio’s unique ability to deliver high-quality products, rapid innovation, and exceptional customer service, all at a value price point, is the foundation of the company’s success. Palladio enjoys strong brand loyalty among

Opera Finance BV Class A noteholders have voted to accept a credit bid from Utrecht Holdings Sarl, an entity established by private equity funds separately managed by TPG Capital LP and Patron Capital GP LP IV.  The decision ends a 10-month Special Servicer led process which sought to protect the value of noteholders’ investments, after the company’s efforts to find additional equity were discontinued in June 2011.  Throughout the process Cairn and Special Servicer, Eurohypo AG, have worked to provide noteholders with the flexibility and opportunity to choose a preferred option.   The acceptance of the credit-led option will allow

Queensgate Investments LLP, a new private equity real estate fund manager, set up by Jason Kow, and LJ Investment Group, has launched a new fund, the Queensgate Investments Fund I, a Luxembourg CSSF regulated Fund. The Fund has closed with around GBP100 million (USD158 million) of direct, discretionary investment equity and advises approximately GBP400 million (USD632 million) of co-investment equity. The investors are mainly ultra high net worth families.   Queensgate Investments LLP is a joint venture between Jason Kow, former Head of Special Situation for London & Regional Properties, one of the largest privately owned European property companies, and

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has completed its deal with Resource America Inc to combine CVC Cordatus Group and Apidos Capital Management to form CVC Credit Partners. Led by a team comprising Marc Boughton (CEO), Stephen Hickey (Chief Risk Officer) and Chairman Jonathan Cohen, the business comprises USD7.7bn of credit assets across 23 vehicles in the US and Europe. Gretchen Bergstresser and Jonathan Bowers will be Senior Portfolio Managers alongside Group COO, Chris Allen. Boughton says: "both teams appreciate the significant benefits of being able to offer sponsors and companies access to a broader range of debt capital to

Schoology, developer of a cloud-based collaborative learning platform for K-20 classrooms, has closed a new USD6 million round of financing led by FirstMark Capital, a leading NYC-based venture capital firm. Schoology has raised USD9.3 million in funding to date. Schoology’s mission is to improve communication and collaboration inside and outside of the classroom by socially connecting educators, students and parents to a single platform with the resources they need to drive a better learning experience. Schoology bundles online learning, classroom management and social networking into one, easy-to-use, easy-to-deploy platform that is free to teachers and students. Districts can easily upgrade

Bunge Limited, a global agribusiness and food company, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Climate Change Capital Group Limited (CCCG), the parent company of Climate Change Capital Limited (CCC), a UK-regulated sustainable asset manager and advisor.  James Cameron (pictured), CCC’s Vice Chairman, will replace Vivienne Cox as Chairman. Mark Macleod, CCC’s Chief Financial Officer and acting Chief Executive Officer, will continue as CFO and Director. Alfred Evans will become CEO. Since 2005, Evans has advised Bunge on its internal emission reduction initiatives, overseen emission reduction services provided by Bunge’s Ecoinvest Carbon subsidiary and served as Chief Investment Officer for

Ancor Capital Partners has sold Tritrax Healthcare Services, a home health-care services provider to Dallas/Fort Worth area geriatric patients, to Jordan Health Services, a statewide provider of adult home health services. "The focus of our growth plan in the home care sector at Ancor is in paediatric care, and we were pleased to find a strategic buyer such as Jordan who valued the Tritrax employees and its reputation in the industry," says Timothy J McKibben, managing director at Ancor. "We are excited about the opportunities that are in front of us in the paediatric sector and look forward to building