OMERS Private Equity, the private equity arm of the OMERS Worldwide group of companies, and a consortium equity group, including the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, have sold Cari-All Group Inc to German based cart manufacturer Wanzl Metallwarenfabrik GmbH. Founded in 1969, Cari-All is the leading manufacturer and distributor of shopping carts, shelving and backroom equipment to retailers across North America. Since OMERS Private Equity acquired Cari-All in 2005, the Company has strengthened its position in the North American cart market through a number of strategic initiatives, including bolstering the management team, improving operational efficiencies and growing through

Correlation Ventures has closed its initial USD165 million venture capital fund, 10 per cent above the USD150 million target. The firm leverages its analytics to offer entrepreneurs and lead investors co-investment decisions within two weeks. Limited partners include leading endowments, foundations, pensions, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals, including over 30 venture capital peers who invested personally. Correlation Ventures, with offices in San Diego and Palo Alto, California, is creating a portfolio of over 50 US private companies and has a broad mandate to invest in all stages and industry sectors, including information technology, life sciences, and clean-tech. Launched in late

Lawyers from Walker Morris have acted for Barratts Trading Limited on its acquisition of the majority of the Barratts and Priceless shoe chains from administrators. The acquisition follows the appointment of administrators, Deloitte LLP, to the Barratts Priceless group of companies on 8 December 2011. Barratts Trading Limited has acquired 89 Barratts and Priceless stores, together with the ecommerce business of Barratts Priceless Limited, from the administrators, Deloitte LLP. The new business will trade under the Barratts name. As a result of this deal, 1,184 jobs will be saved across UK, the Republic of Ireland and at the Bradford Head

FedBid, Inc, which operates the FedBid online marketplace at www.FedBid.com, has secured the first investment made by the Revolution Growth fund, which was launched in December 2011 by Steve Case, Ted Leonsis and Donn Davis. Revolution Growth is now the largest investor in FedBid. Leonsis has been named Chairman of the Board of FedBid, effective today, working closely with FedBid CEO, Ali Saadat, to accelerate FedBid’s growth and reach. FedBid and Revolution Growth also announced that General George Casey, the former Chief of Staff of the US Army, and Mark Walsh, co-founder and CEO of GeniusRocket and former CEO of

Funds managed by Blackstone are forming a partnership with PQ Energy to acquire or to develop power generation facilities throughout Europe. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, PQ Energy is led by a seasoned management and technical team. The team has extensive power project development and operating experience as well as a strong track record of identifying and investing in power generation assets and creating significant long-term value. Blackstone’s funds have partnered with PQ Energy to provide necessary investment capital to the European power sector at a critical time when traditional sources of power supply have fundamentally changed due to the addition

ABS Group of Companies has concluded its acquisition of Safetec Nordic AS, with a signing ceremony attended by senior ABS, ABS Group and Safetec management in Trondheim, Norway, on 5 January, 2012. ABS and ABS Group Chairman, Robert D Somerville, ABS Vice President David Weinstein, ABS Group CEO and President Tony Nassif and ABS Consulting President David Walker, joined Safetec CEO Jan Morten Ertsaas, Safetec Board Chairman Jon Daniel Nesje and Professor Jan Erik Vinnem to sign the agreement bringing Safetec into the ABS Consulting organisation. The acquisition of Safetec will broaden the range of solutions and services provided to

Kelso Place Asset Management, a UK-based special situations investor, has acquired a significant stake in OpenGate Capital’s fashion label Nicole Fahri. Under the terms of the agreement, Kelso Place will use its strong track record in the luxury brand space with brands such as Smythson and Anya Hindmarch, to provide financial, strategic and hands-on, operational support to ensure the further growth of the business. OpenGate has been making operational enhancements to Nicole Fahri since acquiring the brand in March of 2010 from French Connection plc. "With the luxury brand expertise of Kelso Place on board and our phase one operational

Tom Behlau has founded Tarpon Hill Capital, a private equity firm that will exclusively invest in next-stage companies that develop innovative technologies for regulated industries such as Life Sciences, Financial Services, and Healthcare. Tarpon Hill will form partnerships with entrepreneurs at companies that have revenue of at least USD1 million with recurring revenue in their existing customer base. Member companies can leverage Tarpon Hill for business expansion, leveraged acquisitions, management buyouts, and shareholder recapitalisations. Beyond the capital contribution, Tarpon Hill will combine significant experience in operational management, information technology, finance, and legal matters. Tarpon Hill is led by Tom Behlau,

TrueBridge Capital Partners, a boutique alternative asset investment firm, has closed its second venture capital and growth equity fund-of-funds, TrueBridge-Kauffman Fellows Endowment Fund II, at USD342 million, exceeding both its initial target and the size of its first fund. TrueBridge currently manages over USD700 million in assets across its funds-of-funds. Fund II received commitments from limited partners, which include foundations and endowments, private and public pension funds, asset management firms, and high net-worth individuals. TrueBridge is strategically partnered with the Kauffman Fellows Program, an educational non-profit organisation with an 18-year history of identifying and educating the future leaders of the