Venture capital firms IDG Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures and Founders Fund Management have agreed to sell their stake in Friendster, a US-based online social network company, to MOL Global. MOL Global is a Malaysia-based affiliate of online payment solutions provider MOL AccessPortal Berhad. MOL Global has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of Friendster for approximately USD100m. Morgan Stanley is acting as financial adviser to Friendster. The acquisition will enable MOL to strengthen its end-to-end content, distribution and commerce network in Asia.

Affiliates of Patriarch Partners have entered into an agreement to recapitalise and acquire a majority interest in Dura Automotive Systems. Under the agreement, Patriarch will invest up to USD125m of capital and will take a controlling stake in Dura. This transaction completes the transformation of Dura, a company that emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2008, into an automotive supplier with a strong balance sheet and a broad low-cost global presence. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including German regulatory approval. Patriarch also intends to pursue an integration of Global Automotive Systems, another Patriarch-affiliated company, with

RPM Ventures, a seed and early-stage venture capital firm, has closed its second venture capital fund, RPM Ventures II. The firm reached its target goal of USD60m with commitments from a mix of foundations, fund of funds, large family offices, and partners from venture funds. Building on the success of its first fund, RPM will continue to invest principally in information technology and physical sciences companies from across the country whose primary customer is the Midwest industrial base. It will also continue to target companies based on research at major universities in the Midwest. "We believe that achieving our fund

Gartmore Group, a traditional equity and alternative asset management firm, has priced its initial public offering of ordinary shares at 220 pence per share. Based upon the offer price, the market capitalisation of Gartmore at the commencement of conditional dealings will be approximately GBP676m.   The offer consists of 127.3 million new ordinary shares and 27.3 million existing ordinary shares (prior to the exercise of the over-allotment option), in total representing in aggregate 50.3 per cent of 307.3 million ordinary shares in issue.   As stabilising manager, UBS has been granted an over-allotment option by certain selling shareholders of up

Haymarket Financial, a specialty lending platform, has launched into the European financing markets.    Headquartered in London, HayFin is a privately owned, independent commercial lending institution funded by USD700m of permanent capital, led by TowerBrook Capital Partners. Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Omers Private Equity have invested alongside TowerBrook.   HayFin’s core objective is to provide growth capital, acquisition capital and restructuring capital in order to address the financing gap faced by medium sized companies in the UK and Europe. HayFin also has a proprietary investment business and manages money on behalf of institutional clients.   In spite of recent

Syntaxis Capital has completed the first close of its second Central European mezzanine fund with aggregated commitments of EUR140m, just over half its targeted amount. SMF II follows on the firm’s maiden fund which reached final close at the end of 2008 collecting just under EUR120m in aggregate commitments and is now largely invested. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the anchor of the Syntaxis’s first fund, also anchored the second alongside the European Investment Fund. Other commitments were received from Fund I limited partners re-upping into Fund II, as well as from new investors. Syntaxis Mezzanine Fund II’s

Navigation Capital Partners, an Atlanta-based middle market private equity firm, has acquired the assets and associated liabilities of Prepaid Solutions USA via newly-formed entity Prepaid Solutions. Prepaid Solutions USA was a division of West Suburban Bank, a Chicago area-based community bank and wholly-owned subsidiary of West Suburban Bancorp. WSB’s Prepaid Solutions USA division was founded in 2001. Prepaid Solutions is a payments company offering prepaid/debit solutions for corporate America, self-banked and under-banked consumers. Solutions include payroll, general-purpose reloadable, performance, incentive, reward and gift. Navigation Capital has appointed Ken Goins and Eric Ohlhausen as the new chief executive and chief financial

Infiniti Capital will be working with Chengdu-based Green Leaf Film Studios and five-time Oscar winner Richard Taylor to raise USD200m to USD400m in a new fund called Panda Screen Productions. The fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of film, television and related special projects with strong merchandising and ancillary revenue potential. “We have all been excited by the opportunities and capabilities we have seen in China and have decided to bring together the combined benefits of top industry talent and production savings in a focused offering,” says Kenji Steven, chairman of Infiniti Capital. Infiniti Capital’s Hong Kong subsidiary, Infiniti

The UK’s development finance institution, CDC Group, has committed EUR10m to an investment fund that will back renewable energy projects in India and other developing countries in Asia.  CDC’s financial commitment to Berkeley Energy’s Renewable Energy Asia Fund will support the fund’s investments in private sector companies aiming to tap into the growing demand for clean energy infrastructure in Asia.   CDC has committed its capital alongside five other experienced emerging market investors, allowing the fund to raise EUR50.7m for future investments in green energy. The fund will use the capital to make equity investments of between EUR5m and EUR15m