Shape Up The Nation, a provider of social networking-based online health and wellness services, has raised USD5m of series A funding from Cue Ball Capital and Excel Venture Management, in partnership with management members. “This new investment reaffirms the exciting opportunity for our Software as a Service health and wellness platform and is a milestone on our path to becoming the leading online hub for wellness activities and programming. Cue Ball and Excel each bring a unique base of experiences and relationships that will augment our already meteoric growth,” says Mike Zani, chief executive of Shape Up The Nation. Founded

Felicis Ventures, founded four years ago as an angel fund by Aydin Senkut, has launched its first institutional fund in the amount of USD40m.  Felicis Ventures was oversubscribed by 33 per cent with an investor syndicate that is more than 90 per cent institutional. "Felicis Ventures will continue to invest in groundbreaking startups in the consumer Internet and mobile sectors where there is room for tremendous growth," says Senkut. "In the past we have correctly identified big winners in key markets ahead of most other players – great examples include Mint in online finance, Brightroll in video monetization, Powerset and

FP-EF Holding, an affiliate of technology-focused private equity fund Francisco Partners, completed its acquisition of EF Johnson Technologies. Under the terms of the merger agreement approved by stockholders, FP-EF Holding has acquired all of the outstanding shares of EF Johnson Technologies, based on a price of USD1.50 per share in cash. "EF Johnson has a long history of providing quality products and services to customers in its core markets," says Ashutosh Agrawal, principal at Francisco Partners. "We are looking forward to partnering with the company’s management team to provide our customers with leading products, and the industry’s best customer experience."

GMT Communications Partners and Veronis Suhler Stevenson, private equity investors in the media and communications sector, have sold Pepcom to Star Capital Partners for an undisclosed sum. Pepcom is Germany’s sixth-largest cable TV operator, with more than 630,000 subscribers of video, broadband and voice services. Both GMT and VSS were the control investors in Pepcom, holding equal stakes in the company amounting to an 81 per cent interest, with the remaining 19 per cent in the hands of Pepcom’s senior management and other individual shareholders. Under the terms of the agreement, senior management will rollover a substantial part of their

The merger and acquisition deal activity in the global transportation and logistics sector was strong in the second quarter of 2010, according to reports from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The pace of quarterly deal activity generally remained above the post-bubble lows of 2009. In Q2 2010 there were 29 announced deals, a quarterly total that far exceeds the pace of 2009, for a total announced deal value of USD13.1bn. The M&A activity in the global industrial manufacturing industry showed marked improvement from the first quarter of 2010, with an increase in both deal volume and value in the second quarter of 2010. There

HarbourVest Global Private Equity had an estimated economic net asset value of USD727m or USD8.76 per share at 31 July 2010.  This represents a 2.5 per cent increase from the 30 June 2010 estimated economic NAV per share of USD8.55.   This change resulted from positive foreign currency movement, increases in the values of publicly-held securities, and a valuation increase related to the May 2010 acquisition of Shenzhen Development Bank by Ping An Insurance Group. HarbourVest’s direct fund and fund of funds holdings continue to reflect predominantly 31 March 2010 valuations. HarbourVest funded or accrued USD9.4m of capital calls in

Irving Place Capital, a middle-market private equity firm, has agreed to acquire Pet Supplies Plus, the third largest pet retailer in the US. Irving Place Capital will be investing in partnership with Pet Supplies Plus’ chief executive Harvey Solway, chief operating officer Dominic Buccellato and chief financial officer Richard Valade. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010. Founded in 1988, Pet Supplies Plus currently operates 240 franchised stores in 22 states, primarily in the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast. Following the transaction, 92 stores will be converted to company-operated stores, with the remaining stores continuing as

The substantial withdrawal of bank finance seen over the course of the last three years has created a financing vacuum in the UK corporate lending market, and constrained lending practices continue to frustrate business leaders and entrepreneurs.  The downturn, which commenced in 2007 and which has had such an impact on the financial services industry, has led to a fundamental erosion of trust and confidence, and investors are today seeking a differing quality of engagement, new structures and new products.  This new paradigm is creating significant investment opportunities for private capital, according to Cresco Capital. Founded by equity and lending