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AllianceBernstein has closed its first private equity real estate fund, AllianceBernstein US Real Estate Partners, LP, with capital commitments of USD680 million.
Commitments to the Fund were received from several large, global institutional investors, including Temasek, the Singapore-based investment company, Alberta Teachers Retirement Fund, as well as institutions from the US, Hong Kong and Japan. In addition, numerous AllianceBernstein private clients and employees made commitments to the Fund. With additional co-investment capital from key strategic investors, the Fund could have approximately USD900 million of available equity.
The Fund represents an important milestone for AllianceBernstein, which formed the Real Estate Group in September
Private equity firm North Castle Partners has completed an investment in Palladio Beauty Group, in partnership with CEO and owner Philip Solomon, further extending North Castle’s presence in the personal care sector. The terms of the investment have not been disclosed.
Based in Hollywood, Florida, Palladio Beauty Group is a leading marketer of premium colour cosmetics and skincare products sold primarily through the beauty supply and professional beauty channels. Palladio’s unique ability to deliver high-quality products, rapid innovation, and exceptional customer service, all at a value price point, is the foundation of the company’s success. Palladio enjoys strong brand loyalty among
Figures published today by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) show that GBP330 million (value of new shares issued), was raised by the VCT sector during the 2011/2012 tax year compared to GBP365 million in the 2010/11 tax year and the sixth highest amount since VCTs were first launched in 1995.
Ian Sayers (pictured), Director General, Association of Investment Companies says: “This is the third year in a row that the VCT sector has surpassed the GBP300 million mark, and the sixth highest amount raised since VCTs were first formed in 1995, reflecting strong demand from investors.
“Capital
Opera Finance BV Class A noteholders have voted to accept a credit bid from Utrecht Holdings Sarl, an entity established by private equity funds separately managed by TPG Capital LP and Patron Capital GP LP IV.
The decision ends a 10-month Special Servicer led process which sought to protect the value of noteholders’ investments, after the company’s efforts to find additional equity were discontinued in June 2011. Throughout the process Cairn and Special Servicer, Eurohypo AG, have worked to provide noteholders with the flexibility and opportunity to choose a preferred option.
The acceptance of the credit-led option will allow
Queensgate Investments LLP, a new private equity real estate fund manager, set up by Jason Kow, and LJ Investment Group, has launched a new fund, the Queensgate Investments Fund I, a Luxembourg CSSF regulated Fund.
The Fund has closed with around GBP100 million (USD158 million) of direct, discretionary investment equity and advises approximately GBP400 million (USD632 million) of co-investment equity. The investors are mainly ultra high net worth families.
Queensgate Investments LLP is a joint venture between Jason Kow, former Head of Special Situation for London & Regional Properties, one of the largest privately owned European property companies, and
Stephen Hickey has joined CVC Credit Partners (CCP) as member of the Management Committee, Partner and Chief Risk Officer. He will be based in New York where he will have global responsibilities including chairing the newly formed Global Portfolio Committee, overseeing investments and the development of the firm’s business and products.
Hickey joins from Goldman Sachs where he spent 20 years in various senior roles including Global Head of Leverage Finance, Co-Head of Global Loans, Member of the Firmwide Risk and Firmwide Capital Committees and Head of Loan Sales and Secondary Trading (Proprietary Investing and Flow Trading). Steve had
Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has completed its deal with Resource America Inc to combine CVC Cordatus Group and Apidos Capital Management to form CVC Credit Partners.
Led by a team comprising Marc Boughton (CEO), Stephen Hickey (Chief Risk Officer) and Chairman Jonathan Cohen, the business comprises USD7.7bn of credit assets across 23 vehicles in the US and Europe. Gretchen Bergstresser and Jonathan Bowers will be Senior Portfolio Managers alongside Group COO, Chris Allen.
Boughton says: "both teams appreciate the significant benefits of being able to offer sponsors and companies access to a broader range of debt capital to
Quantenna Communications, Inc, a specialist Wi-Fi video networking for whole-home entertainment, has closed a USD79 million funding round led by new lead investor RUSNANO, with participation by a second new investor Bright Capital.
All existing major investors, Sequoia Capital, DAG Ventures, Grazia Equity, Sigma Partners, Southern Cross Venture Partners and Venrock Associates have also participated in the financing. RUSNANO will invest up to USD40 million and Sequoia Capital Growth Fund will contribute USD20 million.
Quantenna is experiencing insatiable demand for its disruptive Wi-Fi chipsets that offer the industry’s highest performance and coverage while providing wire-like reliability for wireless video content
The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) has published detailed analysis of the European Commission’s draft implementing rules for the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), which shows substantial policy differences between the Commission text and the advice provided by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
Key areas where the Commission text diverges substantially from the ESMA advice include third country provisions, depositaries, delegation, leverage, own funds, professional indemnity insurance, appointment of prime brokers and calculation of assets under management.
Andrew Baker (pictured), AIMA CEO, says: “This is an exercise attempting to shed more light on the process. We
Schoology, developer of a cloud-based collaborative learning platform for K-20 classrooms, has closed a new USD6 million round of financing led by FirstMark Capital, a leading NYC-based venture capital firm. Schoology has raised USD9.3 million in funding to date.
Schoology’s mission is to improve communication and collaboration inside and outside of the classroom by socially connecting educators, students and parents to a single platform with the resources they need to drive a better learning experience. Schoology bundles online learning, classroom management and social networking into one, easy-to-use, easy-to-deploy platform that is free to teachers and students. Districts can easily upgrade
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