I2BF, the clean technology asset management group, is raising a USD100m global renewable energy and cleantech focused venture capital fund. This comes after the successful raising of its first venture fund, I2BF Holdings One, which currently holds close to USD75m. I2BF’s Venture Fund II will invest in a diversified portfolio of early stage companies developing and commercialising cutting-edge technologies in the renewable energy industry. This includes cleantech and renewable power companies in the solar, wind, biofuels, energy efficiency and energy storage sectors, primarily targeting the developed markets of Europe and US, but will also be focused on markets such as

Private equity firm The Carlyle Group has closed its Carlyle Asia Partners III fund at USD2.55bn, which is more than 40 per cent larger than its predecessor fund, Carlyle Asia Partners II. Carlyle Asia Partners III is the third ex-Japan Asia Pacific private equity fund advised by the Carlyle Asia Partners team, bringing the aggregate committed capital to more than USD5bn. The new fund has attracted commitments from large institutional investors from around the world, including the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Carlyle established its Asian private equity operation in 1999, and the Carlyle Asia Partners group alone has

Private investment firm Sun Capital Partners says one of its affiliated portfolio companies, Elan Nutrition, has been purchased by ConAgra Foods. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Elan Nutrition is a contract developer and manufacturer of nutritional bars serving the health and wellness, meal replacement, sports nutrition, energy bar, and nutraceuticals markets. Elan Nutrition operates a 230,000 square foot facility in Grand Rapids. Matthew Garff, managing director at Sun Capital, says: "We are very pleased with Elan Nutrition’s growth trajectory since acquiring the business in May 2003, and greatly enjoyed working with its capable management team to develop the company into

Rembrandt Venture Partners has closed a second fund in the amount of USD160.5m. It will be invested in early-stage companies with ground-breaking technology offerings. The fund was oversubscribed, exceeding its initial target by USD10.5m. Rembrandt has been a participant in several recent successes in the high tech space, including Cavium, Good Technologies (acquired by Motorola), Ironport (acquired by Cisco), LGC Wireless (acquired by ADC Communications), and MetaLincs (founded by Rembrandt, acquired by Seagate). "The success of our first fund paved the way for us to raise a significantly larger amount this time around, despite the capital crunch," says Douglas Schrier,

US venture capital firms raised USD3.6bn in the first quarter of 2010 from 32 funds, according to Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association. This level marks a 31 per cent decline, by dollar commitments, compared to the first quarter of 2009, and a 44 per cent decline by number of funds. It also represents the slowest opening quarter since 1993. "There is no question that the bar has been raised for venture capital fundraising," says Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA. "Over the last two years, alternative asset allocations have declined and the exit market has suffered, putting

Angelo Gordon’s Net Lease Group has acquired the headquarters and sole North American distribution centre of Claire’s Stores, located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, for USD18.1m. Claire’s has been a portfolio investment of Apollo Management since 2007. Claire’s is a mall-based retailer of value-oriented fashion accessories and jewellery with two brands: Claire’s and Icing. It offers a mix of accessories and jewellery targeted to the lifestyles of kids, tweens, teens and young women. Teddy Kaplan (pictured), managing director and co-manager of AG Net Lease, says: "Claire’s has among the most loyal customer bases in the specialty retail space and remains an

Private equity firm Advent International has held the final close of its Latin American Private Equity Fund V at USD1.65bn. The fund, which was oversubscribed, is the largest private equity fund ever raised for Latin America. It is more than 25 per cent larger than Advent’s previous fund dedicated to the region. The fund will focus on control buyouts and expansion financings of companies across the region, investing mainly in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. It will target high-growth sectors in which Advent has expertise, including financial services, airport services, business services, retail/consumer and education. The typical equity investment will be

Private equity firm Denham Capital Management has made an equity investment in Trans-Tasman Resources, which explores and develops iron sands deposits off the North Island of New Zealand. TTR holds a prospecting permit granting exclusive mineral rights over 6,319 square kilometres of seabed in two offshore areas. TTR’s initial prospecting work, backed by a mineral resource model derived from a magnetic survey and over 200 surface and core samples, suggests that its tenements could contain a very large and very low cost iron ore resource. TTR is considering an offshore dredge mining operation combined with an offshore beneficiation plant located