FORWARD FEATURES CALENDAR

Managers

Smartkarma, the premier collaborative marketplace for Asian investment research and analysis, has closed its second strategic funding round, raising USD4.7million USD to further expand its investment research offering. Smartkarma’s platform officially launched from closed beta in April 2016. This funding will be used to build on a number of key milestones already achieved during its first year of operations. These include usage by 140 global professional institutions, a 267 per cent year on year growth in platform activity, and a sharp acceleration in the number of insight providers joining the platform.   The latest round brings the total capital raised
Parthenon Capital Partners, a leading middle market private equity firm with offices in Boston and San Francisco, has held the final closing of Parthenon Investors V with USD1.0 billion in commitments.  PCP Fund V exceeded its initial fund target of USD850 million and hit its “hard cap” of USD1.0 billion. “We appreciate the overwhelming support we received from our existing limited partners and are also pleased to bring an outstanding group of new investors into the Parthenon family,” says Brian Golson, managing partner and co-chief executive officer. David Ament, managing partner and co-chief executive officer, adds: “We’re pleased that investors
UK mid-market private equity house Dinedin has backed the buyout of Kingsbridge Risk Solutions (Kingsbridge), an insurance broker for contractors and corporates.   The transaction, sees Livingbridge, the mid-market private equity firm that backed Kingsbridge in January 2014, fully exit the business.   This is Dunedin’s second investment in the financial services sector this year, following the buyout of Alpha Financial Markets Consulting in February 2016.   Founded by the current CEO Steve Wynne in 2001, Kingsbridge specialises in providing insurance services that are tailored to meet the needs of contractors, freelancers and independent professionals, as well as the compliance
Baird, an employee-owned, international financial services firm, and BR Partners, an independent investment bank in Brazil, have formed a strategic alliance for investment banking services, with an initial focus on cross-border mergers & acquisitions (M&A) between Brazil and Europe, and Brazil and the US.  Through the alliance, the two leading investment banks will enhance their respective M&A offerings by leveraging each bank’s strong knowledge and deep corporate relationships within each’s respective regions.    Baird and BR Partners have had a strong working relationship for the past several years. Most notably, last year the two firms co-advised Affinia Group Inc. on
Pan-European mid-market investor Aurelius is acquiring the commercial activities of the Abelan Group (Abelan) in Germany and the Netherlands.  In 2015, the acquired activities generated revenues of approximately €50 million. The completion of the transaction is scheduled for the end of June 2016; the financial terms of the deal are undisclosed.    The acquired activities consist of:  A paper mill in Viersen, Germany: At its German facility the Company produces special grades of cardboard for use in the manufacture of solid board boxes, tubes and mandrels, corner pieces, cones, separators and many other applications for the hygiene, tissue and other
Chrysalix Venture Capital and RoboValley are launching a new fund, with a target size of EUR100 million, aimed at driving the global robotics revolution.  The RoboValley Fund will draw on tare he collective expertise and broad international networks of both Chrysalix and RoboValley to identify, invest in and commercialise breakthrough robotics technologies. "Global technology in robotics is advancing very quickly yet today there is no international pure-play venture capital fund focused on robotics and so closely aligned with a robotics ecosystem. Many breakthrough technologies are stranded in universities and national labs with insufficient early-stage funding available to help them commercialize
United Flexible, (United Flexible), a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners, is to acquire Kreisler Manufacturing Corporation (Kreisler) for USD18.00 per share.  Headquartered in Elmwood Park, NJ, Kreisler is a manufacturer of precision metal components and assemblies for use in commercial and military aircraft engines as well as industrial gas turbines. The agreement to acquire Kreisler will further United Flexible’s strategy of becoming the preeminent designer and manufacturer of high pressure and high temperature gas and fluid conduits into mission critical systems for OEMs. The combined company will have approximately 700 employees. John Devine, CEO of United Flexible, says: “With
Abac Solutions Manager has held the final closing of its maiden fund Abac Solutions (SCA) SICAR  which targets mid-market investment opportunities in Spain.  The Fund closed after receiving capital from a well-balanced mix of institutions, including pension funds, endowments, financial institutions, fund of funds and family offices.  The Fund has had strong support from the investor community and has been able to attract a number of reputable global institutional investors, overcoming a challenging market environment to raise the largest first time fund in Southern Europe since the “Global Financial Crisis”. Of the capital raised, approximately 60% was committed from European
svt Group has acquired AIK Flammadur Brandschutz (AIK), a manufacturer of passive fire protection products and systems. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Established in Seevetal/Hamburg in 1969, svt is a leading passive fire protection and restoration management company in Germany. The Group operates in two segments – passive fire protection (“PFP”) and restoration management (“RM”), which share know-how and experience. svt has in total a network of 22 branches in Germany, local presence in Poland and Russia and a large international partner network. IK Small Cap I Fund, advised by IK Investment Partners, is majority shareholder
Joolz, one of the fastest growing premium pushchair brands in the infant and juvenile industry, has received a minority investment from Gimv, a Belgium-based investment firm, to support the company’s further geographical expansion, both in Europe and abroad, as well as the launch of new products. ROTH Capital Partners served as exclusive financial advisor to Joolz. “ROTH did an extensive international search in Europe, the United States and Asia. Based on ROTH’s experience with fast growing consumer brands and in particular, those within the infant and juvenile sector, we were highly confident they would find the right partner for Joolz.

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