Carlyle Group and Louis Bacon, founder and CEO of hedge fund firm Moore Capital Management, are to sell commodity trader Traxys to a group of investors led by high-frequency trading firm Optiver, according to a report by Bloomberg. Dutch firm Optiver is a specialist market maker in liquid electronic markets including exchange-traded funds, while Traxys is a mid-sized physical trader with a focus on metals like rare earths, cobalt and tin. According to Traxys’ chief executive officer Mark Kristoff, the deal could see the company partner with Optiver to develop new derivatives markets for those niche metals. The deal, which

The value of Australian venture capital investments fell by around a third in 2022, mirroring slumps in listed global technology companies and venture markets, according to a report by Bloomberg.

QAD, a business software provider and a portfolio company of Thoma Bravo since being taken private by the software investment specialist for $2 billion in 2021, is to acquire employee productivity platform Redzone in a deal worth around $1 billion, according to a report by Reuters. Founded in 2013, Redzone offers enterprise software solutions primarily for the manufacturing industry, and according to QAD is on course to achieve an annual revenue rate of $100 million.  The deal will help QAD, which provides cloud-based planning and resources solutions software to manufacturing companies, expand its footprint across different sectors within the manufacturing industry.

Funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle and private equity firm Stellex Capital Management are to sell Titan Acquisition Holdings, a bi-coastal specialist in ship repair services and marine and heavy complex fabrication, to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds.   The transaction is expected to close in 2023 subject to customary closing conditions, including certain governmental approvals. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.  Titan comprises Vigor Industrial LLC, an infrastructure, defence, and maritime services company based in Portland, Oregon; MHI Holdings LLC, a ship repair, maintenance, and other ship husbandry services company based in Norfolk, Virginia;

Huatai International Private Equity Fund, Huatai Securities’ Greater China-focussed private equity investment platform, has completed an investment in Jiangsu Shekoy Semiconductor New Material Co. Ltd, taking total funding in the business in this latest round to RMB1.745 billion (£213.5m).

Ara Partners, a private equity firm that specialises in industrial decarbonisation investments, has acquired a majority interest in Wattstor, a provider of automated carbon reduction and electricity cost-saving technology for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-market industrial and commercial (I&C) end users.  janom, Wattstor’s main existing investor, is to retain a minority holding in the business. Headquartered in the UK and Czech Republic, Wattstor currently operates sites in the UK, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia and Poland, and will use the new funding to increase its European foothold, launch its Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) finance offering, boost R&D, and expand the team

The number of M&A deals targeting UK financial advisers and wealth managers has risen 11% from 398 to a record high of 440 in the past year, according to new data from international law firm Mayer Brown, with the increase being driven in large part by private-equity-backed ‘consolidators’.  These firms have been very active in acquiring smaller IFAs over recent years as they seek to build major ‘platform’ businesses in what Mayer Brown describes as a ‘highly fragmented’ sector. Mayer Brown says consolidation can deliver significant economies of scale and allow PE-backed firms to invest more heavily in technology and

Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm with a 20-plus year track record of partnering with growth-oriented companies, is to acquire a majority stake in Definiti LLC, a retirement services firm that supports more than 8,000 workplace organisations and 10,000 retirement plans across the US. 

GI Partners, a US-based private investment firm focussed on data infrastructure businesses, has acquired Rise Broadband, a provider of broadband services across 16 states in the US. GI Partners will support Rise Broadband’s rollout of fibre-to-the-home services for rural American homes and businesses. Based in Englewood, Colorado, Rise Broadband is one of the largest independent fixed wireless internet service provider in the US, serving primarily rural communities. Jim O’Brien, the Chief Executive Officer, and the current executive team will continue leading Rise Broadband.    Barclays acted as financial advisor to Rise Broadband and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner acted as legal