Vector Capital, a private equity firm specialising in the technology sector, has completed its acquisition of Trafficmaster in a take-private transaction valued at approximately USD145m. Trafficmaster is a provider of intelligent vehicle services which aim to enhance driving experience and improve business performance by saving companies time and money. While Trafficmaster was previously listed on the London Stock Exchange, 70 per cent of the company’s revenue was generated by its significant operations in the US. David Fishman, a partner at Vector Capital who will join Trafficmaster’s board of directors, says: "We look forward to partnering with an exceptional management team

Salamanca Capital Investments, the Mayfair-based investment advisory business and part of the Salamanca Group, has acquired Barcelona Marina.  Known locally as Marina Port Vell, the Marina dominates the heart of Barcelona. Salamanca has acquired the Marina from Global Via whose parent company, FCC, is one of Spain’s largest construction companies. It is understood that FCC is in the process of disposing of a number of non-core assets. Salamanca will work with the Spanish Port Authority to turn the Marina into the home of some of the world’s largest privately owned yachts, with some berths catering for vessels of up to

Genstar Capital, a private equity firm based in San Francisco, has acquired Evolution Benefits, a provider of benefit card payment services for healthcare and employee benefits accounts. Financial terms were not disclosed. Evolution Benefits serves approximately 3.5 million people throughout the US. The company’s patented technology allows consumers to access their funds in flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement accounts, health spending accounts and qualified transportation accounts through special purpose prepaid Visa or MasterCard cards. Genstar is a middle market private equity firm that focuses on investments in selected segments of the healthcare, financial services, software and industrial technology industries. Evolution

The Sterling Group, a Houston-based private equity investment firm, has completed the acquisition of B&G Crane Services. The acquisition was financed with equity primarily from Sterling Group Partners II and debt financing from Wells Fargo Capital Finance, BNP Paribas, Capital One Leveraged Finance and Whitney Bank. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, B&G specialises in providing fully operated and maintained crane services, heavy rigging and specialty hauling services in the Louisiana Gulf Coast region. The company has a fleet of over 100 cranes ranging from six to 825 tons in capacity and a truck fleet of over 50 vehicles. B&G’s primary

Pearson, the education and information company, is acquiring Wall Street Institute from an affiliate of the The Carlyle Group and Citi Private Equity for USD92m in cash. Wall Street Institute provides spoken English training for adults through a proprietary learning model combining web-based content, class-based instruction and digital and printed learning materials. Wall Street Institute currently has approximately 340 franchised learning centres in 25 territories across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. Its major markets currently include France, Italy, Turkey, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. It also directly operates a small number of learning centres,

Vestar Capital Partners V and Health Grades, a healthcare ratings organisation, have entered into a definitive agreement for an affiliate of Vestar to acquire all of the outstanding shares of HealthGrades for USD8.20 per share. The amount represents a premium of approximately 32 per cent over HealthGrades’ 30-day average closing stock price, and a premium of approximately 29 per cent over the closing price of HealthGrades’ common stock on 27 July 2010. The aggregate purchase price for the equity of HealthGrades is approximately USD294m, which consists of approximately 35.9 million shares, inclusive of all shares of common stock outstanding, securities