Italian electricity grid operator Terna has finalized the sale of its second solar power project to private equity fund Terra Firma, Reuters reported Monday. The deal is valued at 264 million euro ($365 million).
1 min read · 24 October 2011
AdMedia Partners announced Friday that it acted as financial advisor to retail marketing agency GA|PRC Group in its acquisition by RFE Investment Partners and equity partners Caymus Equity Partners and Starboard Capital Partners. Debt financing was provided by Fifth Third Bancorp and CapitalSouth Partners. Terms of the sale were not released.
4 min read · 21 October 2011
The Audax Group has exited its investment in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Great Expressions Dental Centers, selling the company to OMERS Private Equity. Terms of the deal were not released. Audax acquired a majority interest in the company in May 2008.
2 min read · 21 October 2011
Buyout shops Advantage Partners, Bain Capital and Olympus Capital have been shortlisted as bidders for for Japanese software developer Yayoi, Reuters reported Friday. The company, which is owned by MBK Partners, could fetch more than $650 million. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, which also placed a bid, is not among second-round bidders, Reuters wrote.
1 min read · 21 October 2011
Buyout giant Blackstone Group is paying $1.08 billion for the suburban office portfolio of Duke Realty Corp. The portfolio includes 82 suburban office properties located in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Minneapolis, Orlando and Tampa, Reuters reported.
1 min read · 21 October 2011
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is placing an early bet on a slowdown in the Chinese economy, and plans to expand into Hong Kong in the next six to nine months with its $2 billion special situations unit, Reuters reported, citing a story in the Financial Times. The buyout group's plans follow news that top TPG Capital dealmaker Weijian Shan has raised $875 million for a distressed asset fund to invest in Asia under his PAG group.
2 min read · 21 October 2011
Liquidnet Inc., a venue for institutions to anonymously trade public stocks, was sued by Wedbush Securities Inc. for allegedly stealing trade secrets to start a rival business trading shares of private companies, Reuters reported. The company announced earlier this week that it would move into trading private company stock, making it a competitor to private exchanges like SecondMarket. The Wedbush lawsuit comes three days after Liquidnet hired Lou Kerner, formerly a Wedbush vice president of equity research covering social media and e-commerce, to spearhead the new business, Reuters reported.
3 min read · 21 October 2011
Shane Robison, Hewlett-Packard's chief strategy and technology officer has retired, becoming the latest senior executive to leave the company, Reuters reported. Robison, 57, will step down on November 1, ending an 11-year term at the company, which is now pondering a sale or spinoff of its core personal computing division and trying to assure skeptical investors it can restructure to return to growth, Reuters wrote.
2 min read · 21 October 2011
In Japan's largest buyout since the financial crisis, Bain Capital announced that it will pay $2.1 billion to buy restaurant chain Skylark from Nomura Holdings and other investors, Reuters reported. Nomura Principal, the private equity unit of Nomura, originally invested in Skylark in 2006 through a management buyout with UK private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.
2 min read · 21 October 2011
Redwood City, Calif.-based Dermira has raised $42 million in Series A financing to back the acquisition, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics in dermatology. Investors include Bay City Capital, New Enterprise Associates and Canaan Partners. In conjunction with the financing, Dermira also said that it has acquired Valocor Therapeutics, which has a pipeline of development stage dermatology programs for the treatment of acne, inflammatory skin diseases, and other conditions.
3 min read · 21 October 2011
