A private equity sponsor group led by JH Partners and the Highland Consumer Fund, is acquiring a majority interest in J McLaughlin. The existing management team, which includes co-founders and brothers Jay McLaughlin and Kevin McLaughlin, as well as Steven Siegler, CEO, will continue in its current role and will retain a minority interest in the business moving forward. Headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, clothing retailer J McLaughlin, which only sells its own designs, currently has 52 stores in 18 states across the Eastern half of the United States. "We are delighted to make this investment in J McLaughlin. Its

Baird Capital Partners (BCP), the US-based buyout fund of Baird Private Equity, has acquired Digi-Star Holdings, Inc, an international manufacturer of agriculture scales and weighing equipment. Senior financing for the transaction is being provided by The PrivateBank and US Bank National Association with Fifth Street Finance Corp providing the mezzanine. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Digi-Star is headquartered in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, with an additional facility in Panningen, The Netherlands. The company’s customised weighing systems and software are incorporated into mobile farm equipment to provide precise control over input costs, monitor resource utilisation, enhance yield management

BeavEx Incorporated has secured a growth equity investment from Eos Partners and its affiliates, a New York based private investment partnership with approximately USD1.6 billion of capital under management. The equity investment will enable BeavEx to significantly accelerate its business expansion activities. The company’s management team will continue to own a significant portion of the company. This investment will be used to provide funding for BeavEx growth initiatives ranging from acquisitions to organic growth opportunities with existing and new customers. "Since its inception, BeavEx has become a leader in the local same-day, mission critical transportation services industry. Our success as

Middle market investment bank Harris Williams & Co has advised Crisis Prevention Institute, Inc (CPI), a portfolio company of The Riverside Company (Riverside), on its sale to Brockway Moran and Partners. CPI is a training organisation specialising in the safe management of crisis situations and disruptive behaviour.  The transaction closed on 18 November, 2011. Harris Williams & Co acted as the exclusive advisor to CPI. The transaction was led by Ned Valentine, Derek Lewis, John Arendale and Karl Kirkeby from the firm’s Richmond office.   Headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, CPI is the global leader and pioneer in providing crisis prevention, nonviolent

Odyssey Investment Partners has acquired TNT Crane and Rigging from MML Capital Partners. TNT is the leading mobile crane rental company serving the Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma region. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with eight additional branches in the region, TNT provides crane rental and rigging services primarily to the refinery, petrochemical, power, commercial and oil & gas end markets. The Company owns one of the largest and most diverse mobile crane fleets in the region, with cranes ranging in size from 15-tons to 800-tons. In addition, the Company offers full-service rigging

Quad Partners, a private equity firm focused exclusively on the education industry, has announced the closing of the firm’s fourth investment fund, Quad Partners IV LP (Quad IV). Quad IV closed at its hard cap of USD200 million with commitments from leading institutional limited partners. Quad Partners was founded in 2000 to make value-added private investments in the education industry. Today, Quad is one of the most active investors in privately-owned education companies in the United States. "We appreciate the continued support of our investors and the tireless efforts of our portfolio company management teams. Our strategy is to invest

Rapid7, a provider of security risk intelligence solutions, has secured USD50 million in a series C round from Palo Alto, California-based Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). The new funding will support Rapid7’s growth strategy in three main areas: hiring critical talent to accelerate product innovation, strategic acquisitions and international expansion.   “In the security battle, attackers currently have the edge and Rapid7 intends to change this by recruiting the most talented people and organisations to drive innovation. We are looking for great people that are passionate about helping customers solve the hard problems they face in security,” says Mike Tuchen, CEO

Some 291 secondary buyouts worth USD60.4bn have been announced in 2011 to date, surpassing 2010 figure in both volume and value. Transaction type has doubled market share since 2008, and the surge in secondary buyouts is likely to continue apace, with 48% of GPs expecting the number of such transactions to increase going forward, the latest Preqin research reveals. The findings come as the number and volume of post-Lehman secondary buyouts almost reach levels seen during the buyout boom of 2006-2007. Q3 2011 was one of the strongest quarters for secondary buyouts since 2007, surpassed only by Q2 2011 and

Medtronic and Bain Capital have entered into a definitive agreement under which affiliates of Bain Capital will acquire Physio-Control, a leading provider of emergency medical response technology for use in the intervention and treatment of cardio-respiratory and other medical emergencies. The stock of Physio-Control and related entities will be purchased for cash in a transaction valued at approximately USD487 million. Medtronic expects to use a portion of the proceeds to offset any potential dilutive impact from this transaction to fiscal year 2012 non-GAAP earnings per share. Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, Physio-Control is the global leader in professional emergency response products

Biocartis has completed a EUR 71 million (USD 100 million) Series C equity fund raising backed by existing investors, new investors and industrial collaborators and partners. Investors in the round were Debiopharm Group, Philips, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), the Wellcome Trust, Korys (investment holding of the Colruyt family), Valiance, Biovest, the family office of Dr Paul Janssen, IHL SA (Luc Verelst), PMV, New Rhein Healthcare, certain members of the Biocartis senior management team and the family office of founder Rudi Pauwels (Benaruca). Rudi Pauwels, the founder and CEO of Biocartis, says: “Completing one of the largest life science