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Hispania Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm headquartered in Chicago, has acquired an interest in Language Stars, a provider of language instruction to the pre-school and elementary school market.
Founded in 1998 by chief executive officer Leslie Lancry, Language Stars delivers programmes in Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, German and Italian.
The company currently operates seven foreign language centres, eight satellite locations, and approximately 100 at-school programmes in the Chicago area, educating over 5,000 students each week.
The acquisition of Language Stars marks the first investment in Hispania Capital Partners’ newest fund and its first investment in the educational services
A robust recovery is underway in emerging markets private equity as investment pace is picking up significantly post-crisis and appears on track to beat 2009 totals.
In the first half of this year, investment totals stood at USD13bn versus USD8bn at this time last year, an increase of 55 per cent, according to Emerging Markets Private Equity Association.
The total value of private equity investments made in the first two quarters of 2010 was USD4.5bn more than that invested through the same period last year, led by an investment surge in Latin America and continued strong activity levels in China
The former Banc of America Capital Investors private equity team has spun off from Bank of America to form Ridgemont Equity Partners.
The principals of Ridgemont, who have invested over USD3bn in 140 companies, will seek to raise a new private equity fund in the near future.
During Ridgemont’s fundraising process, the group will have capital available to continue to pursue new investment opportunities.
In addition, the principals will continue to manage the legacy Banc of America Capital Investors portfolio on behalf of Bank of America.
Ridgemont Equity Partners will focus on middle market buyout and growth equity investments of
Arsenal Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm that invests in middle market industrial, healthcare and financial services companies, has appointed Stephen M. McLean as a partner.
McLean will strengthen Arsenal’s seven-member healthcare practice, help shape the sector investment strategy, and lead the sourcing, evaluation and management of investments.
McLean, a founding partner of Merrill Lynch Capital Partners and its successor funds, has also been an active investor and board member in the healthcare industry for the past 13 years focusing on the areas of life sciences, medical devices and information services.
"Steve has an exceptional track record of
Equity Risk Partners, an insurance brokerage and consulting firm focused exclusively on the needs of the private equity industry, has appointed Joseph Fitzpatrick as director – executive liability.
Fitzpatrick will focus his efforts on the firm’s financial institutions practice group, specifically on the brokering and servicing of hedge funds, mutual funds, alternative asset managers and other financial lines.
Fitzpatrick joins from Frank Crystal, where he was an associate director specialising in professional and management liability insurance products for major hedge fund managers including structured credit, event-driven arbitrage, global macro, real estate, equity long-short, emerging markets, activist funds and fund of
Alter Domus, an independent provider of outsourced administration services to multinationals and alternative investment funds, has opened its office in Singapore.
The firm says Singapore is fast emerging as a key destination for multinational corporations and for the fund management industry.
It views Singapore as a critical component of its strategy to become a key player in the Asian administration space.
Dominique Robyns, chief executive of Alter Domus Group, says: “Opening an office in Singapore underscores our commitment to provide comprehensive support to our clients across Asia.”
Javed Rahman, managing director of the new entity, adds: “Alter Domus has maintained
Movetis, the European gastrointestinal pharmaceutical company, has received a conditional offer from a Luxembourg incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of Shire, the biopharmaceutical company.
The offer is to acquire all outstanding shares and warrants of Movetis at an offer price of EUR19.00 in cash per share, valuing the company’s equity, on a fully diluted basis, at EUR428m.
The public tender offer is expected to start upon approval by the Belgian supervisory authority of the bid prospectus.
Movetis’ board of directors unanimously support this offer and certain shareholders, including Sofinnova Partners, Sofinnova Ventures and Life Sciences Partners, holding in aggregate 38.9 per cent
Law firm Dechert has appointed M. Holland West, a private funds and derivatives lawyer, as a partner in the financial services practice group in New York.
West was previously at Shearman & Sterling, where he was the head of its global hedge fund, private equity, derivatives and structured finance practices.
He was also previously a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft where he was the head of its asset management and derivatives practices, and an assistant general counsel at Goldman Sachs advising its capital markets, derivatives, and commodity businesses.
“Holland’s three decades of experience as a Wall Street lawyer adds
MBF Healthcare Partners, a middle market healthcare focused private equity firm, has sold Medical Specialties Distributors to private equity firm Water Street Healthcare Partners.
Medical Specialties Distributors, based in Massachusetts, is a provider of infusion products, supplies, biomedical services and technology solutions to the growing home infusion therapy market.
Medical Specialties Distributors offers customers a range of infusion equipment and disposable supplies, as well as services that encompass biomedical rental and repairs, equipment management and tracking, and formulary development.
The company employs more than 250 people, and operates eight fulfilment and service centres across the country.
"MSD has experienced tremendous
The proportion of activity coming from private equity groups fishing in each other’s portfolios for so-called “pass-the-parcel” deals has reached a record level, accounting for more than half of the almost EUR20bn of European buy-outs in the first six months of the year.
Mark Spinner, private equity partner and head of the corporate team at international law firm Eversheds, says direct investment opportunities continue to be scarce and in many cases expensive.
In addition, the increase in secondary activity has been fuelled by the fact that there are still a large number of underinvested funds raised in the boom years
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