GE has completed its acquisition of Lineage Power Holdings from Los Angeles-based private equity firm The Gores Group. Lineage Power is a provider of high-efficiency power conversion infrastructure technology and services for the telecommunications and data center industries. GE agreed in January to buy Plano, Texas-based Lineage for $520 million.
4 min read · 02 March 2011
Buyout shop Lightyear Capital plans to raise $1.1 billion for its latest fund, Reuters reported, citing a regulatory filing. Lightyear Fund III LP raised $150 million so far through UBS Securities, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week. The minimum investment is $10 million, Reuters said. Lightyear is led by former PaineWebber chief executive Donald Marron.
2 min read · 02 March 2011
European private equity firm BC Partners is close to raising almost 3 billion euros ($4.15 billion) for its ninth fund, Reuters reported. The firm is expected to hold a first close of the fund in the next week. The firm has been targeting a total of about 5.9 billion euros, in keeping with its eighth fund raised in 2005, Reuters said.
2 min read · 02 March 2011
Two former partners with D.E. Shaw and Goldman Sachs have teamed up to raise a $500 million China-focused private equity fund, Reuters reported. Meng Liang, a partner and Greater China CEO for hedge fund D.E. Shaw, recently resigned from the firm to join with Kevin Zhang, a former Goldman Sachs partner and co-head of its Asian Special Situations Group.
3 min read · 02 March 2011
South African investment firm Brait is raising as much as $864 million in a public offering, and nixing its private equity business model in favor of public capital markets, Reuters reported. Brait said its new model would allow it to raise money more quickly and hold investments longer than traditional private equity firms, Reuters wrote. The firm will use the new funds to invest in two privately held South African firms, retailer Pepkor Holdings and food manufacturer Premier Group.
2 min read · 02 March 2011
Escondido Resources II LLC, a fund backed by private equity commitments from EnCap Investments L.P., has sold 11,050 acres in the Eagle Ford Shale for $115.3 million. The transactions closed in December 2010. Midland, Texas-based Escondido Resources is focused on the development of conventional and unconventional reserves in South Texas.
3 min read · 01 March 2011
Alternative investment firm EBF & Associates has closed its value and real asset opportunities fund, Merced Partners III L.P., with $567 million. The fund tops the firm’s previous fund, which closed in 2007 with $474 million. Based in Minnetonka, Minn., EBF currently manages $1.8 billion in capital.
2 min read · 01 March 2011
CriticalMass, a dedicated workspace for start-ups, has launched at the Cambridge Innovation Center. CriticalMass is supported by several New England venture firms, including Bain Capital Ventures, Charles River Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Highland Capital Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners.
5 min read · 01 March 2011
MESA Global, a New York-based, entertainment-focused merchant bank and business services firm, has named Jacob Brody to the newly created post of head of business and community development. Previously, Brody covered startups, venture capital, digital media, technology and public policy as a writer for the blog VentureBeat. At MESA, he will scout for companies that are poised for growth and exploring strategic options, the firm said.
2 min read · 01 March 2011
San Francisco-based Genstar Capital has promoted Roman Margolin and Eli Weiss to vice presidents at the firm. Both were previously senior associates. Genstar Capital focuses on middle-market private equity deals in life sciences, healthcare, financial services, software, and industrial technology.
2 min read · 01 March 2011
