KPS Capital Partners is to acquire American & Efird, Inc (A&E) from Ruddick Corporation (NYSE: RDK) through a newly-formed affiliate, A&E Global, for USD180.0 million, subject to certain post-closing adjustments. A&E, headquartered in Mount Holly, North Carolina, is the largest US manufacturer and the world’s second-largest manufacturer and distributor of premium quality industrial sewing thread, embroidery thread and technical textiles. A&E thread is used by producers of apparel, automotive components, home furnishings, medical supplies, footwear and certain industrial products.  A&E owns or operates 23 plants and employs 11,000 associates around the world directly or in partnership with joint venture partners.

BlackEagle Partners has acquired the Midwest operations of Lyman Lumber Company, including its Chanhassen location, Automated Building Components, Carpentry Contractors Corp., and Lyman Lumber of Wisconsin. The transaction was effective October 28, 2011. BlackEagle Partners is the owner of US LBM Holdings, a collection of eight building products distributors serving the Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic in nine states with more than 40 locations. US LBM is one of the fastest growing suppliers of building products in the United States. “With over 114 years of commitment to the building products industry, Lyman has established a terrific reputation. All of our business

Duff & Phelps Corporation (NYSE: DUF), an independent financial advisory and investment banking services firm, has acquired MCR. Comprised of approximately 150 employees, MCR is a UK-based corporate restructuring and turnaround firm focused on insolvency administration and independent business reviews. For the 12-month period that ended June 30, 2011, MCR earned approximately GBP21m in revenue, excluding reimbursable expenses. The acquisition significantly expands Duff & Phelps’ presence in Europe and enhances the firm’s Global Restructuring Advisory practice. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.  

"For more than ten years, MCR has maximised recovery for stakeholders in insolvent businesses by generating

Evercore Partners (NYSE: EVR), a leading investment banking advisory firm headquartered in New York, USA, and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited (Kotak Investment Banking), a subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited, have entered into an exclusive strategic alliance for cross-border M&A advisory services between India and the United States, the United Kingdom and Mexico. Through this alliance, two leading investment banks will leverage their combined expertise, strong knowledge of global and local markets and deep corporate relationships to provide high-quality objective advice to their clients. Kotak Investment Banking is a premier full-service investment bank in India offering a range of

Piper, a leading private equity specialist in consumer brands, has taken a significant, minority stake in bar operator Be At One. Be At One was founded by Steve Locke, Rhys Oldfield, and Leigh Miller, three former bartenders who worked together at TGI Fridays in the 1990s, The trio spotted a gap in then market to produce the finest cocktails in London served by the best quality staff. There are currently 190 exotic drinks on the menu and the company invests GBP5.000 on truing each bartender. Be AT One opened its first bar in Battersea in 1998. Today, the chain runs

Amplio Filtration Group has secured a EUR16 million equity investment from Ambienta SGR, a global private equity firm that invests in the environmental sector. Ambienta made the investment through its Ambienta I fund, and this leads to Ambienta SGR becoming a minority shareholder in Amplio Filtration Group. Ambienta I, started in 2008, has EUR217.5 million of committed capital and it is ranked in the top five private equity funds globally investing in the environmental sector (2011 analysis on Prequin data).   Amplio Filtration is currently delivering double digit growth and revenues of EUR35 million expected for FY 2011 ((2010: EUR22

Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE: CLDT), a hotel real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing in premium-branded, select-service hotels, and affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, LP, a private investment firm, have completed the acquisition of 64 hotels from affiliates of Innkeepers USA Trust. The joint venture between Cerberus and Chatham acquired the 64 hotels, aggregating 8,329 rooms, for a total gross purchase price of approximately USD1.02 billion, including the assumption of approximately USD675 million of mortgage debt on 45 of the hotels with a weighted average interest rate of 6.71 per cent and maturing in 2017. The other 19 hotels

TA Associates, a global growth private equity firm, has completed the acquisition of CoSentry, an Omaha-based provider of outsourced IT infrastructure services. TA partnered with CoSentry management to acquire the company. Financial terms of the investment have not been disclosed. Selling shareholders include McCarthy Capital, an Omaha-based private equity fund, and WaittCorp Investments, an Omaha-based investment company. Founded in 2000, CoSentry offers a full complement of business continuity and resiliency services, supporting complex IT solutions for enterprise clients. The company provides data center services (colocation, hosting, managed Internet access), managed services (24/7 help desk, network monitoring, compliance), cloud computing (virtual

Following hot on the heels of it’s acquisition of C-nario, YCD Multimedia has completed a new USD6 million fundraising round led by Carmel Ventures, Opus Capital, Pitango Venture Capital and Plenus, together with other existing shareholders. "We are delighted to have assisted this transaction and to be able to invest in the combined entity," says Avi Zeevi, C-nario’s Chairman and General Partner and Co-Founder of Carmel Ventures. "We can now combine the power of our individual strengths and core competencies to establish a leadership position in the digital signage industry. I would like to thank Tamir Ginat for leading C-nario

Pan-Africa private equity firm Emerging Capital Partners has made a US$32 million investment into IHS, a leading telecommunications infrastructure solutions provider. IHS was founded in 2001 and has grown into one of the leading tower infrastructure companies in Africa. The Company offers an end-to-end suite of telecoms infrastructure solutions and counts blue chip mobile network operators MTN, Airtel and Etisalat among its customers. IHS currently has a footprint in Nigeria, Ghana and South Sudan and plans to open offices in Uganda and Kenya early next year.   Commenting on the announcement, Isaam Darwish, CEO of IHS, says: “We are excited