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Milbank has advised SMBC Aviation Capital (SMBC AC) on its purchase of Goshawk Management Limited and its subsidiaries and associated assets from NWS Holdings Limited and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited for an enterprise value of USD6.7 billion.
As part of this transaction SMBC AC will acquire a portfolio of 176 owned and managed aircraft. The combined business will have a portfolio of 709 owned and managed aircraft and an additional $13 billion of orders from Airbus and Boeing. The combined business will be the second largest leasing company (by number of aircraft) globally.
Hiro Capital has invested in Skybound Entertainment in a significant, undisclosed round led by Knollwood Advisory with participation from Boost VC, and follow-on participation from Com2uS and Skydance Entertainment.
Skybound Entertainment is home to acclaimed franchises including The Walking Dead, Invincible, and Impact Winter.
Skybound brings together creators across its multi-faceted business, including comics, interactive games, audio, film, and television (traditional and digital platforms), licensing, and merchandising. Skybound has successfully franchised some of its biggest IP by connecting creators and their content to new platforms and audiences.
FirstClose, a fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, has closed a $35 million investment from growth equity firm Lateral Investment Management to accelerate its product and growth strategies.
FirstClose provides underwriting workflow automation technology, point-of-sale software, and data services for the U.S. home equity and mortgage markets. FirstClose will use the funds to expand its ever-growing financial services footprint to leverage property data intelligence, industry-leading partners, and groundbreaking technology to enable lenders to compete for and close consumer loans unlike any other solution in the industry.
Manhattan West, a global strategic investment firm offering an integrated platform of investments and services, has completed a growth equity investment in Vino Vault via the Manhattan West Private Equity Fund, and is now the company’s largest shareholder.
Following five successful acquisitions, and the hiring of Jeff Smith as Chief Wine Officer, Vino Vault will leverage Manhattan West’s investment to continue capitalising on the highly-fragmented wine storage market. Vino Vault offers a comprehensive wine storage network for general enthusiasts and serious collectors, providing a full suite of services, including concierge-style wine storage, expert inventory organisation, collection analysis and turnkey auction
Lightrock, a global private equity platform that backs purpose-driven entrepreneurs tackling the world’s biggest challenges, has closed a new $300 million growth equity fund for Latin America.
Headquartered in London, UK, Lightrock currently has over $3 billion in assets under advice invested in 14 countries across Europe, the USA, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
For the new Latin America fund, Lightrock’s anchor capital provider is LGT Group, one of Europe’s leading financial institutions with $295 billion in assets under management. However, this latest fund also sees Lightrock welcome local investors, including Bradesco’s and XP Inc.’s fund of funds, BNDES, as
Apex Group is to acquire the fund services and third-party management company (Manco) business operations of Maitland International Holdings (Maitland), an international fund services provider.
Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners has invested in DT One, a global B2B digital micropayments platform powering cross-border transfers of mobile top-ups, data bundles, gaming pins and gift cards.
DT One plans use the new funding to further expand its global footprint by continuing its organic expansion, invest further into product development and commercial excellence, and pursue new acquisitions and partnerships.
Software services investor Hg has agreed the sale of itm8, a supplier of IT services for private businesses and the public sector in Europe, to Axcel, a Nordic private equity fund.
itm8 has a team of more than 1,100 IT experts, supporting more than 4,200 customers within four business-critical areas: Cloud Services, Digital Transformation, Application Services and Cyber Security.
itm8 (formerly IT Relation) has more than doubled in size since Hg first invested in 2018, as measured by revenues, employees and the size of its customer base.
Flying Fish Partners (Flying Fish) has held the final closing of its second venture fund, Flying Fish Partners II (Fund II) with $70 million in committed capital.
Flying Fish invests in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) sector.
Flying Fish makes seed-stage investments in software and mixed hardware and software companies that use AI or ML as foundations to their businesses, provide AI and ML products and services, or provide tools to AI and ML practitioners. Flying Fish has already made 10 investments in Fund II.
Black Bay Energy Capital (Black Bay), a private equity firm focused on the North American energy sector, has acquired a majority interest in Advanced Industrial Devices (AID) from Rock Island Capital (Rock Island).
AID a provider of electric motor automation and control solutions for oil and gas and industrial applications, will continue to be headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma and led by Russell Claybrook, Chief Executive Officer.
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