Zynga, the online gaming company behind FarmVille and Mafia Wars, has added Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. to its board, Reuters reported. Zynga is backed by venture capital investors Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and Foundry Group. Other directors include LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman.
1 min read · 05 April 2011
Park Square Capital, a provider of leveraged buyout loans, has closed an 850 million euro ($1.21 billion) fund for mezzanine loan investments, Reuters reported. The fund, Park Square Capital II, comes from a mix of unnamed investors including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and insurance companies.
2 min read · 05 April 2011
AMP Capital, a unit of Australian fund manager AMP, has raised 241 million euro ($340.9 million) for its infrastructure debt fund, Reuters reported. The fund has secured commitments from 12 institutional investors, including China Life Insurance Co., Reuters said. The company’s first investment is in a UK-based train leasing firm, and the fund will focus its investments on essential services such as water, gas, electricity, transport and hospitals.
1 min read · 05 April 2011
GNC Holdings Inc. saw its shares rise in its New York Stock Exchange debut Friday, Reuters reported. The company, a retailer of wellness and nutrition products, saw its shares reach $16.55 in early trading, after pricing at $16. Apollo Global Management, GNC's previous owner, had tried to take GNC public twice before selling the store chain to Ares Management LLC and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board in 2007, Reuters wrote. Ares planned to sell 2.4 million shares in the IPO. OTPP planned to sell 3 million shares.
2 min read · 01 April 2011
San Francisco-based venture capital firm DBL Investors has closed its second fund with $140 million. The fund is nearly double the size of the firms first fund, which closed in 2004 with $75 million. The new fund will focus on cleantech, IT, health care and sustainability-focused technology.
2 min read · 01 April 2011
Guy Hands’ private equity firm Terra Firma is considering a sale of the Odeon & UCI cinema chain, Reuters reported. The firm has been in talks with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which may advise the firm on a potential sale, Reuters wrote. The business is expected to fetch at least $1.1 billion.
1 min read · 01 April 2011
Buyout shop TPG Capital plans to sell minority stakes in itself to two sovereign wealth funds: Kuwait Investment Authority and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., Reuters reported. The private equity firm plans to use the funds to expand its existing business lines and firm-wide operations, Reuters wrote.
1 min read · 01 April 2011
Providence Equity Partners will pay roughly $1.88 billion to acquire SRA International Inc., a provider of technology and strategic consulting services, in an all-cash deal. Providence Equity Partners will pay $31.25 per share for the company, a 10.2% premium over the company’s closing price on March 31.
5 min read · 01 April 2011
Spanish builder ACS has sold its service unit Clece to private equity firms Luxpeak and Mercapital Private Equity, Reuters reported. The deal is valued at 608 million euros ($860.6 million).
1 min read · 01 April 2011
SymphonyIRI Group Inc. has raised an undisclosed amount from New Mountain Capital. Terms of the investment were not released. SymphonyIRI Group, formerly named Information Resources, provides software for market measurement and software and services designed to provide growth opportunities in marketing, sales, shopper marketing and category management. Jefferies & Company and BofA Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisors to SymphonyIRI. BofA Merrill Lynch, Jefferies Finance and BMO Capital Markets have agreed to provide debt financing.
4 min read · 01 April 2011
