Managers
By James Williams (pictured) – The private equity secondary market has experienced significant growth in deal volumes and investor interest in recent years. According to Cogent Partners, secondaries volume was USD22.5 billion in 2010. This rose to USD27.5 billion in 2013, and reached USD42 billion in 2014. Last year, deal flow was estimated to have reached USD40-50 billion.
As SEI stated in its paper Private Equity Liquidity: A Work in Progress, (www.seic.com/enUK/im/15106.htm) the growth of the secondary market has probably had more impact on private equity liquidity than any other development to date. This then, is an area of the market that has experienced a significant deepening of liquidity.
JAC Products, a designer, manufacturer and global supplier of original equipment roof racks, cargo management systems, running boards and step rails to equipment vehicle manufacturers, has been acquired by Tulsa-based private equity fund Argonaut Private Equity.
The sale was effective 28 October 2016.
JAC Products, which has over 1,500 employees globally, was previously owned by Wynnchurch Capital. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
The management team at JAC is remaining with the company to drive the implementation of their strategic growth plans. JAC is diversifying its product mix and expanding globally in to new markets. JAC continues
GSO Capital Partners, the credit division of Blackstone, has held the final closing of its third mezzanine fund, GSO Capital Opportunities Fund III, at its hard cap of USD6.5 billion.
GSO will seek to invest the fund across a broad range of sectors and geographies, with a particular focus on the US and Europe.
GSO sourced commitments from a global investor base, including public, corporate and foreign pension funds, financial institutions, endowments, foundations and family offices.
The fund's size positions it as one of few mezzanine providers capable of committing to large sized transactions, while its flexible structure
Middle market private equity firm One Equity Partners’ portfolio company Duran Group, a global glass manufacturer for laboratory and industrial applications, has acquired Kimble Chase Life Science & Research Products.
The acquisition of US-based Kimble Chase, which has a strong position in disposable products, is a further step in building Duran Group into a leader in the laboratory and scientific glassware industry.
Headquartered in Rockwood, Tennessee, Kimble Chase is a manufacturer and distributor of laboratory and scientific glassware for the pharmaceutical, environmental, petrochemical, life sciences, education and chromatography markets. Operating facilities across three continents, the company offers a broad
Clearwater International acted as sole financial adviser to Palero Capital on the sale of 100 per cent of the share capital of Lausitzer Analytik (LAG) to SYNLAB, a portfolio company of Cinven.
LAG, established in 1993 and headquartered in Spremberg, Germany, is a laboratory testing specialist in fuel, oil and environmental testing with a leading position in Southern Brandenburg and Northern Saxony regions.
The company provides a wide range of environmental testing services including water, soil and air analysis with in-depth expertise in fuel, coal and oil analytics for clients in the mining, industrial and energy producing sectors.
Vulturis Financial Data Services has launched a venture-capital initial public offering yield index.
Based on historical data pertaining to returns of IPOs, the index weighs the average returns and exhibits the feasibility and viability of offering public stock for a start-up.
The VC IPO Yield Index shows the return of VC IPOs relative to the number of filings on a monthly basis.
The ratio uses the adjusted liquidity, or proceeds, of initial public offerings, giving founders a reference point when considering going public.
Vulturis launched the index as a tool for both angel investors and entrepreneurs to
Australian oncology-focused biotechnology company Novogen has acquired Glioblast, a privately-held, neuro-oncology focused Australian biotechnology company.
The transaction includes an upfront payment of AUD2.1 million, comprising AUD600,000 in cash and ordinary fully-paid shares valued at AUD1.5 million.
The shareholders of Glioblast will be eligible for further payments in cash or equity on the achievement of performance-related milestones.
The first two of these milestones provide for the issue of ordinary fully-paid shares valued at AUD1.25 million respectively on commencement and successful completion of a phase II clinical trial of GDC-0084, with the actual number of shares determined on the basis
Kuang-Chi Group has launched its second Global Community of Innovation (GCI) fund, which will invest up to USD250 million in companies developing technology in industries including robotics, internet-of-things, telecommunications, and digital health.
The fund has a focus on global start-ups and follows a previous investment of USD50 million in similar fields.
Through investments of the first GCI fund, Kuang-Chi has taken stakes in companies with a focus on innovative and disruptive technologies, including video intelligence provider Agent Video Intelligence (Agent Vi).
Itsik Kattan, CEO of AgentVi, says: "After Kuang-Chi became a strategic investor in Agent Vi, our cooperation
TorQuest Partners has completed the sale of Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) to Gilbarco.
Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
GTT provides priority traffic control for public transit and emergency vehicles, with a growing presence in the broader public transit market for solutions that improve public transportation efficiency, safety and on-time performance.
Michael Hollend, a partner at TorQuest Partners, says: "GTT, a TorQuest Fund II investment, demonstrated an ability to leverage its intellectual property to innovate and develop products for emergency vehicles and transit systems, in North America and abroad. On behalf of TorQuest, we would like
Meilleurtaux.com, a French provider of mortgage solutions advice backed by Equistone Partners Europe, has acquired the insurance comparison website MerciHenri.com through its holding company Finizy.
MerciHenri.com (formerly LeComparateurAssurance.com) specialises in the comparison of health, housing, car and motorcycle insurance.
Christophe Triquet, founder of MerciHenri.com, will join the management of Meilleurtaux.com to lead its property, casualty and health insurance division.
Having negotiated EUR7.2 billion of new mortgages on behalf of its clients in 2015 and recorded 2.8 million unique visits on its website in September 2016, Meilleurtaux.com has grown to become the leading French comparator of loans, both online
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12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
