The number and size of US sponsor-backed going private transactions were each lower in 2012 than in 2011 and 2010, according to a report by law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges.   However, when excluding the soft first quarter of 2012, deal activity was on par with such earlier years.   Specific performance “lite” has become the predominant market remedy with respect to allocating financing failure and closing risk in sponsor-backed going private transactions. Specific performance lite means that the target is only entitled to specific performance to cause the sponsor to fund its equity commitment and close the transaction

Petra Capital Partners has completed fundraising on Petra Growth Fund III with USD230m of capital available to invest.   The fund is structured as a small business investment company (SBIC) licensed by the US Small Business Administration.   “We are very pleased with the response from our existing investors and several important new investors for Fund III and the strong support we received from the SBIC programme,” says Mike Blackburn (pictured), partner at Petra.   On 3 May Petra closed on an investment in Denver-based Highstreet IT Solutions, representing the first investment for Fund III. Highstreet was recently formed by

Avista Capital Partners’ ACP Tower Merger Sub has commenced a cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of Telular Corporation at a price of USD12.61 net per share.   The tender offer is being made in connection with the agreement and plan of merger, dated as of 29 April 2013, among Telular, ACP Tower Merger Sub and ACP Tower Holdings, which Avista Capital Partners and Telular Corporation announced on 29 April.   The Telular board of directors unanimously approved the proposed acquisition by Avista Capital Partners and recommends that Telular’s stockholders accept the offer and tender their shares

High Road Capital Partners has completed the acquisition of The Crown Group. Based in Warren, Michigan with seven manufacturing facilities across the US, The Crown Group is a provider of coating services and solutions to the automotive, agricultural, heavy truck and other industrial end markets. High Road partnered with Charter Oak Equity on the transaction.   “Crown’s disciplined and systematic operational approach, including the ability to seamlessly integrate itself in its customer’s supply chain and provide value-added logistics services, is highly valued by its customers for whom avoiding business interruption or delays is paramount,” says William Connell, High Road partner. “We

Software developer Beyond Verbal has closed a USD2.8m round of funding led by angel investor Kenges Rakishev and Genesis Angels.   Following the investment, Rakishev (pictured) is joining Beyond Verbal’s board of directors.   Beyond Verbal has launched a patented technology that can extract, decode, and measure a full spectrum of human emotions from a person’s raw voice. The firm’s technology is founded on 18 years of research by physicists and neuropsychologists, who studied more than 60,000 test subjects in 26 languages. Bundled into the company’s software are emotional detection engines that allow devices and applications to understand an individuals’

Littlejohn & Co, a private investment firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut, is to sell CTI Foods, a provider of custom food solutions to major chain restaurants in North America.   The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013.   Littlejohn acquired CTI Foods in 2010 and shortly thereafter appointed Robert (Bobby) Horowitz as the new chief executive of the business.  Littlejohn, together with the company’s management team, expanded the company into a national provider of custom, value-added food products.  During Littlejohn’s ownership, CTI built a new state-of-the-art soup plant and R&D facility, completed two acquisitions and

LiquidSpace, the web and mobile platform that finds on-demand office and meeting space, has raised a follow-on of USD1.3m to the USD6m series B funding raised earlier this year.   The funding comes from two new investors – Steelcase and CBRE Group.   As companies increasingly re-evaluate their workplace strategies, demand for LiquidSpace’s enterprise solutions continues to grow. LiquidSpace is helping large enterprises turn underused real estate into a collaborative asset with a simple internal reservation solution, while simultaneously allowing their employees to tap into a network of on-demand publicly available work and meeting spaces. LiquidSpace enterprise customers are then

Flagship Food Group has agreed to terms to acquire Atlantic Foods Group.   The transaction will bring together two businesses focused on developing, sourcing, manufacturing, and distributing a wide range of food products for retail and restaurant customers.    UK-based Atlantic Foods Group will bolster Flagships’ international presences while adding food service products and customers. The combined business is expected to generate approximately USD300m in annual turnover, operating seven facilities in five time zones.  Terms of the proposed transaction have not been disclosed.    Rob Holland, chief executive of Flagship, says: "The acquisition of Atlantic Foods Group will represent an excellent

Logistics recruitment company Templine EmploymentAgency, which is backed by private equity house Key Capital Partners, has completed the acquisition of A&A Recruitment.   Ashby-de-la-Zouch-based A&A Recruitment is a well-established agency with 27 years’ experience, a reputation for high service levels and a significant profile in the area’s industrial and commercial markets.   This is the second acquisition made by Templine in the last 12 months, following the acquisition of two 247 Staff branches in September 2012.   Following the acquisition, Templine now operates 27 branches across the UK providing temporary labour to customers in the distribution, warehousing, industrial and driving

Bunker Hill Capital, a Boston based private equity firm, has acquired Dyno Holdco, the exclusive licensee of the Singer brand for sewing accessories and one of the largest producers and marketers of holiday decorative home products in North America, from TG Capital Corp.   The exclusive license enables Dyno to sell a large and diverse portfolio of sewing products, including cutting instruments, fasteners, needles, thread and a wide variety of other sewing related notions and accessories from an iconic sewing and craft brand. Dyno’s sewing business is complemented by its holiday decorative home products that include holiday-oriented home décor, holiday