Daniel Ryan has joined venture firm Split Rock Partners as an entrepreneur-in-residence. Ryan served previously as executive vice president and general manager of the network security unit at McAfee. Previously, Ryan was president and chief executive for Secure Computing. In his new role at Split Rock, Ryan will evaluate a range of opportunities in enterprise security and cloud services. Split Rock has offices in Minneapolis and Menlo Park, Calif.
3 min read · 17 March 2011
Arcapita Bank has agreed to buy a majority stake in clothing retailer J. Jill from private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. Golden Gate Capital will remain a minority shareholder of the company. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Golden Gate Capital bought the J. Jill apparel brand from Talbots Inc. in 2009, paying approximately $75 million. Arcapita is an investment bank headquartered in Bahrain.
3 min read · 17 March 2011
Daily coupon and deals website Groupon could be valued as high as $25 billion in an initial public offering, Reuters reported, citing a Bloomberg story. The I.P.O. could happen this year, and would likely value the company at a minimum of $15 billion, Reuters wrote.
1 min read · 17 March 2011
Olympus Partners has sold Arkansas-based K-Mac Holdings Corp., the third-largest Taco Bell franchisee in the United States. Olympus acquired K-Mac and its 144 stores at the end of 2004. Details of the exit were not released, though the firm said it earned a return of more than eight times the initial equity investment. Founded in 1988, Olympus Partners is a Stamford, Conn.-based private equity firm focused on middle market management buyouts and expansion capital.
2 min read · 17 March 2011
Harken Capital Advisers has hired Scott Holley as a vice president, responsible for opportunity sourcing, due diligence and marketing, the firm said. Most recently, Holley was a consultant with OC&C Strategy Consultants, where he worked with corporate and private equity clients on merger due diligence, integration, and strategic planning projects. Harken Capital provides fund placement and advisory services to private equity and venture capital firms.
2 min read · 17 March 2011
Swedish buyout shop EQT is expecting three offers from potential buyers of its portfolio company Kabel Baden Wuerttemberg, Reuters reported. EQT has plans to float the cable operator, but will consider bids from private equity firms CVC and Hellman & Friedman as well as Liberty Global, Reuters said. EQT is reportedly asking for at least 3 billion euro ($4.2 billion) for the company.
2 min read · 17 March 2011
Australian brewing company Foster’s Group will vote April 29 on the proposed spin-off of its wine unit – a business with net assets of about $2.8 billion, Reuters said. The beer and wine businesses are both expected to attract private equity firms as well as trade buyers, Reuters said. Foster’s turned away buyout shop Cerberus Capital last September, when it offered $2.5 billion for the wine business.
2 min read · 17 March 2011
Buyout shop Nordic Capital is planning to list Swedish auto parts company FinnvedenBulten, Reuters reported. The firm has brought on Swedish banks Handelsbanken and Carnegie to act as its financial advisers. An exact date for the initial public offering was not released.
1 min read · 17 March 2011
Petry Media Inc., which is backed by private equity firm and holding company Patriach Partners, has named Doug Fierro to the post of chief executive. Previously, Fierro served as the president and chief executive of WMI, a sales and marketing services company working across digital media, magazines, television and newspaper. He also worked previously in various management positions at Primedia, American Express Publishing and Hearst.
3 min read · 16 March 2011
Private equity-backed Informed Medical Communications – a provider of peer-to-peer medical forums, training services and integrated medical communications for the biopharmaceutical industry – has merged with healthcare training company IC Axon. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Edison, New Jersey-based Informed Medical Communications is backed by firm Frazier Healthcare. Montreal-based IC Axon was advised by Fairmount Partners. Excel Partners advised Informed Medical.
3 min read · 16 March 2011
