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ABS Group of Companies has concluded its acquisition of Safetec Nordic AS, with a signing ceremony attended by senior ABS, ABS Group and Safetec management in Trondheim, Norway, on 5 January, 2012.
ABS and ABS Group Chairman, Robert D Somerville, ABS Vice President David Weinstein, ABS Group CEO and President Tony Nassif and ABS Consulting President David Walker, joined Safetec CEO Jan Morten Ertsaas, Safetec Board Chairman Jon Daniel Nesje and Professor Jan Erik Vinnem to sign the agreement bringing Safetec into the ABS Consulting organisation.
The acquisition of Safetec will broaden the range of solutions and services provided to
Los Angeles private equity firm Aurora Capital Group has appointed Steven D Smith as Partner. In addition, Michael J Marino has been promoted to partner with Aurora Private Equity, while Ryan McCarthy has been promoted to partner with Aurora Resurgence.
Gerald L Parsky (pictured), Chairman of Aurora Capital Group, says: "We are very proud to make each of these announcements. The addition of Steve Smith, whose investment and leadership experience spans a highly distinguished career at UBS and DLJ in leveraged finance and restructuring, will add value not only to each of our traditional investment programs in Private Equity and
Kelso Place Asset Management, a UK-based special situations investor, has acquired a significant stake in OpenGate Capital’s fashion label Nicole Fahri.
Under the terms of the agreement, Kelso Place will use its strong track record in the luxury brand space with brands such as Smythson and Anya Hindmarch, to provide financial, strategic and hands-on, operational support to ensure the further growth of the business.
OpenGate has been making operational enhancements to Nicole Fahri since acquiring the brand in March of 2010 from French Connection plc.
"With the luxury brand expertise of Kelso Place on board and our phase one operational
Maveron LLC, a consumer-only venture capital firm with offices in Seattle and San Francisco, has named Jason Stoffer to the role of partner effective immediately. Stoffer was previously a Principal at Maveron, which he joined in 2007.
With long-term operational experience in the online education field, and nationally recognised for his acumen in the early stage for-profit secondary education, Stoffer will continue to focus on Maveron’s investments in education. He will also continue to identify and invest in key e-commerce and web-enabled consumer businesses. He is currently a board member of Gigi Hill and Latimer Education and is a Board
Tom Behlau has founded Tarpon Hill Capital, a private equity firm that will exclusively invest in next-stage companies that develop innovative technologies for regulated industries such as Life Sciences, Financial Services, and Healthcare.
Tarpon Hill will form partnerships with entrepreneurs at companies that have revenue of at least USD1 million with recurring revenue in their existing customer base. Member companies can leverage Tarpon Hill for business expansion, leveraged acquisitions, management buyouts, and shareholder recapitalisations. Beyond the capital contribution, Tarpon Hill will combine significant experience in operational management, information technology, finance, and legal matters.
Tarpon Hill is led by Tom Behlau,
TrueBridge Capital Partners, a boutique alternative asset investment firm, has closed its second venture capital and growth equity fund-of-funds, TrueBridge-Kauffman Fellows Endowment Fund II, at USD342 million, exceeding both its initial target and the size of its first fund. TrueBridge currently manages over USD700 million in assets across its funds-of-funds.
Fund II received commitments from limited partners, which include foundations and endowments, private and public pension funds, asset management firms, and high net-worth individuals. TrueBridge is strategically partnered with the Kauffman Fellows Program, an educational non-profit organisation with an 18-year history of identifying and educating the future leaders of the
The Karma Communications Group has acquired the Crayon group, a leading UK-based digital communications agency, to work alongside Karmarama, an independent integrated advertising agency. Karma Communications aims to grow into an international challenger agency group, providing clients with best-in-class creative solutions across every step of the customer journey.
The Karma Communications Group came into existence with the announcement in May 2011 of the investment by Phoenix Equity Partners, the UK-based mid market private equity investor, in Karmarama, together with its sister agencies Kream and Kaper. The group is owned jointly by Phoenix and its senior management team.
Crayon was founded
Rapid Ratings, an independent ratings, research and analytics firm, has appointed Jeffrey Gibb as Senior Vice President of Strategic Relations & Head of Legal Operations.
Gibb, a former practicing attorney, in-house counsel for GE Capital and entrepreneur, will have a multi-faceted role at Rapid Ratings. He will be primarily responsible for legal affairs and business development initiatives. Gibb will also work closely with Chairman and CEO, James H Gellert, on regulatory and legislative activities in Washington DC.
“Jeff has a wealth of experience across the legal, regulatory and investment sectors that will be of material benefit to Rapid Ratings’
Oak Hill Advisors has promoted Alexandra Jung, Adam B Kertzner, Jeffrey E Kirt and Thomas S Wong to partners of the firm. In their new positions, they will join the firm’s existing six partners in leading the firm and directing its investment activities in distressed and performing credit markets in both the US and Europe.
Glenn R August, President and founder of Oak Hill Advisors, says, “We are very pleased at the appointment of these four new Partners. Their promotion is a testament to the depth and quality of our team and our commitment to developing talent. Each of
The UK has reinforced its position as the preeminent market for private equity investment in Europe, with activity in its lower mid-market having continued its strong recovery in 2011 to pre-recession levels of almost 100 deals.
In the face of notable macro-economic challenges, the segment’s robustness was highlighted as UK aggregate buyout volumes and values increased significantly compared to the previous two years.
Lyceum Capital and Cass Business School’s UK Growth Buyout Dashboard, the quarterly analysis of UK-headquartered private equity control deals in the GBP10 to GBP100 million enterprise value space, reveals 44 per cent growth in the total
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