Evolution Capital Partners, a Cleveland, Ohio-based private equity firm, has made an equity investment in American Eagle Mortgage, the fifth platform investment in Evolution’s current fund. AEM, based in Lorain, Ohio, is a mortgage lender providing loans in Ohio, Kentucky and Florida. It is a FHA/VA approved lender, specialising in first time home buyer solutions. "We are very impressed by American Eagle’s talented management team. They have proven to be a significant player in what has become a very volatile market. We look forward to partnering with management to continue to build on and expand American Eagle’s product offering," says

Sina, an online media company and mobile value-added service provider for China and global Chinese communities, has entered into a definitive agreement for a private equity placement of its ordinary shares with New-Wave Investment. New-Wave is a British Virgin Islands company established and controlled by Charles Chao, Sina’s chief executive officer, and other members of Sina’s management. At the closing, Sina will receive gross proceeds of USD180m, and New-Wave will receive approximately 5.6 million ordinary shares in Sina. The closing of the financing is subject to customary conditions. The shares issued to New-Wave will be subject to a six month

The majority of private equity executives expect economic conditions to keep deal activity and debt availability relatively low until the end of 2010, according to a survey by KPMG. Some 55 per cent of executives surveyed at the Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst Conference in New York said deal flow will remain low as buyers and sellers grapple with the effects of the economy, financing and other market issues. Only 15 per cent of the respondents said they expected good quality deals of all sizes and sectors during the coming year, the KPMG survey found. "Uncertainty continues to shackle the

Ben Merger Sub and Ben Holdings, corporations owned by funds advised by Apax Partners and formed for the purpose of acquiring Bankrate, have completed the merger of Ben Merger Sub with and into Bankrate, with Bankrate surviving. On 22 July 2009, Bankrate announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired and taken private by funds advised by Apax Partners, a global private equity firm with over USD35bn in funds under advice. The agreement called for Bankrate shareholders to receive USD28.50 per share payable net to the holder in cash, without interest and less any applicable holding

Global Capital Management’s Global Opportunistic Fund I is declaring a distribution, primarily derived from a combination of gains from divestment as well as dividends from portfolio companies. Post this distribution, the aggregate amount distributed to date would be approximately 30 per cent.   The private equity fund managed by Global invests in late stage private equity opportunities within GCC.   A significant portion of the distribution was generated from partial divestment of DEPA during the current and the last quarter at an IRR of more than 22 per cent on the transaction for the fund. The other bulk of the

Global Infrastructure Partners, a USD5.64bn infrastructure private equity fund, has entered into a definitive agreement to form a midstream natural gas gathering joint venture with Chesapeake Energy. As part of the transaction, GIP will make a USD588m cash payment to purchase a 50 per cent interest in a new entity which will include substantially all of Chesapeake’s natural gas gathering assets in the Barnett Shale and the Arkoma, Anadarko, Delaware and Permian Basins. The new entity, Chesapeake Midstream Partners, will provide fee-based gathering services to both Chesapeake and third-party natural gas producers in these important regions. Chesapeake and CMP will

Millennium Equity I has made a commitment to bring broadband technology investment to 177 underserved and unserved communities around the world as an engine for sustainable economic growth. Through their 2009 commitment to action, "Building Community Through Commerce”, Millennium, in collaboration with strategic investment partners such as Gulf Istithmaar, will invest USD371m over five years to provide broadband access to an estimated 5.3 million people. This investment in broadband technology aims to improve healthcare, education, and public safety in target communities, create sustainable jobs and spur economic growth by increasing revenue generation within the communities. Millennium announced its commitment at

Argo Capital Management’s portfolio company, On Telecoms, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Vivodi Telecom, a Greek telecommunications provider. On Telecoms is a triple play service provider in Greece offering fixed-line telephony, internet and television services. Andreas Rialas, chairman of the board of directors at On Telecoms and chief investment officer of Argo Capital Management, says: “This acquisition marks the first and important step towards the consolidation of the Greek telecommunications market. On Telecoms intends to play a leading role in the integration of the telecom and new media sector with additional transactions and partnerships. At Argo we