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

Private equity investor Calculus Capital has made a significant investment in Benito’s Hat.   The deal represents the first investment in the restaurant sector for Calculus.    Benito’s Hat, a Mexican-themed fast casual restaurant business with four sites in central London, was named after extravagant Mexican president Benito Juárez. Founder Ben Fordham opened Benito’s first site on Goodge Street in London in 2008 with a little help from friends and family. Since then three more sites have been opened in Covent Garden, Oxford Circus and, most recently, King’s Cross. The investment by Calculus will help facilitate the roll-out of more

OMERS Private Equity (OPE), the private equity investment arm of the OMERS pension plan, has completed the purchase of Civica from 3i and funds managed by 3i for an enterprise value of GBP390m.   Civica is a provider of software systems, cloud-based IT services and technical outsourcing, primarily to public sector organisations in the UK and around the world. Civica has extensive capabilities and presence across local government, education, social housing, healthcare, and emergency services. The company employs over 2,000 staff, around 60 per cent of which are based in the UK.   OPE will support the management team as

DB Private Equity, the private equity platform of the asset and wealth management division of Deutsche Bank Group, has invested in mobile commerce specialist Celltick.   In February, Celltick announced record revenue in 2012 with focus on mobile initiated commerce utilising its mobile home screen marketing technologies. The company creates publishing inventory of various mobile devices’ home screens while closing the loop between mobile marketing and the final commerce transaction resulting from a marketing promotion.   By the close of 2012, Celltick powered billions of mobile initiated commerce transactions for virtual and physical goods serving over 140 million active consumers