Soligenix, a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, has entered into common stock purchase agreements with existing and new investors totalling approximately USD5.16m. Soligenix’s North American commercial partner, Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, participated in this financing. Upon closing of the private placement, Soligenix will issue approximately 25,178,180 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase up to approximately 15,106,910 shares of Soligenix common stock for an aggregate price of approximately USD5.16m. The expiration date of the warrants will be accelerated if the company’s common stock meets certain price thresholds and Soligenix would receive additional gross proceeds of approximately USD4.23m if all are exercised. National Securities

NovaSparks, a provider of data packet processing solutions, has secured series A financing of USD2m from venture capital firm Partech. Partech invests in technology and internet firms, including Business Objects, DailyMotion, Informatica and Digitick.  Jean-Marc Patouillaud, partner at Partech, joined the NovaSparks board of directors earlier this year. NovaSparks offers sub-microsecond latency. Its technology is designed to dramatically reduce the latency involved in market data ticker plant and packet distribution. It increases processing speeds for the latency-sensitive high frequency traders of investment banks, hedge funds and proprietary trading firms. “We are very excited to be involved with NovaSparks at a

HarbourVest Global Private Equity, a closed-end investment company, had an estimated economic net asset value of USD717.0m or U.S.D8.64 per share as at 31 May 2010, unchanged from the 30 April 2010 estimated economic NAV per share. While valuation increases for underlying holdings resulted in a USD0.22 increase per share (based on 31 March 2010 valuations), this gain was fully offset by public holding valuation decreases, foreign currency movement as the euro depreciated 7.4 per cent against the US dollar, and operating expenses.   On 26 May, HarbourVest invested GBP10.0m (USD14.5m) in HarbourVest Senior Loans Europe, a new fund managed

BNC Bancorp, the parent company of Bank of North Carolina, has closed on a USD35m private placement anchored by Aquiline Capital Partners, a New York based private equity firm investing in financial services. Aquiline purchased shares of BNC Bancorp common stock and preferred stock at USD10.00 per share. Other investors, including certain members of the company’s board of directors, also purchased the company’s common stock at USD10.00 per share. The capital raise will support BNC’s expansion in North Carolina and neighbouring states. Aquiline’s investment represents approximately 24.9 per cent of BNC’s shareholders equity. The total Aquiline investment in BNC is

Albion Ventures has exited its investment in RFI Global Services following the sale of RFI to Underwriters Laboratories for an undisclosed sum. RFI is a provider of testing, approval and consultancy services to the technology market, including data security, cellular, wireless and smart card technologies. The company tests and certifies new generations of payment devices, including contactless cards and terminals as well as broader mobile payment systems. RFI will be integrated into Underwriters Laboratories’ verification services business. Underwriters Laboratories, based in Illinois, specialises in safety testing and certification, with over 20 billion UL Marks issued to customers in over 100

A survey of European ABS investors published by Bishopsfield Capital Partners reveals a positive consensus supporting increased issuance in the asset backed securitisation public market.  The survey of 26 investment managers and investment advisers active within the European ABS market shows that caution among issuers and arranging banks for new public issuance does not extend to investors. Sixty two per cent of respondents believe new issuance will be higher over the next 12 months than in the past year, while 80 per cent believe new issues will achieve stable or tightened credit spreads.  Given the spread range on three to

Private equity firm Risk Capital Partners has taken a majority stake in DWS Bodyworks, a crash repairer in London. DWS repairs passenger cars and light commercial vehicles for insurers from 15 bodyshops located around the M25. It services almost all the major UK insurance underwriters, and carries out roughly 50,000 vehicle repairs a year. Risk Capital Partners has partnered with Steve Field, DWS chief executive, to take control of the business from Dave Smithyes, who founded DWS 26 years ago and will remain as a director and minority shareholder.  Field says: “I am delighted to partner with Risk Capital to