Takin’ it UNDER the Streets! Occupiers hit the subway. peHUB cabs home. Joy in Whoville! The Christmas Tree Tax has been chopped down Unfriendlys: Bankruptcy sale of restaurant chain getting messy Lone Wolf: Man takes a shot at our Prez Let’s Hear it for Commissioner Laimbeer! NBA pros could form own league (that’s not so good for a couple PE folks)
1 min read · 18 November 2011
Toward the end of the last decade, private equity firms were hungry for chicken. Really, really hungry for chicken. Falfurrias Capital Partners snapped up fried chicken & biscuits champ Bojangles. Sun Capital went out for Boston Market. And, Friedman, Fleischer & Lowe took home Church’s Chicken. At a time when the U.S. economy was pushing consumers downmarket - from Wal-Marts to the Dollar Store - PE firms wanted to be downstream. Thing is, says Tully Friedman, co-founder of Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, the same consumer that was increasingly likely to bring home more biscuits and birds is now likely to be doing more cooking at home and going out less frequently for dinner. “They were the last to get hit,” Friedman said of the ...
2 min read · 18 November 2011
Oh, Newt: GOP candidate took Freddie deals Good Management Wins: MLB’s best managers announced Say Whaaa? Chu says there was no political influence in Solyndra Post 9/11: Bank fraud prosecutions plummet So, What’s the future of the cloud? Here We Go: Google Music is on the way! A Kindred Spirit: Entrepreneurs seek sympathetic ear Big Pharma Still in the Money: Biopharmaceuticals sitting on pot of gold Autodesk Attracts VC Star: Former VC of the year leaves Mass Technology Development Corp Good Deals Tough to Find: Guy Hands speaks of the challenges of putting money to work in the Euro buyout market Canadian PE Takes a Tumble: Deal value drops by 40% Big Loss for AoL: President of applications and commerce and product brainchild leaves business
1 min read · 17 November 2011
PerkStreet Financial, the consumer financial services company, has welcomed a boldface-name to its board in Scott Thompson, who serves as president of Paypal. In fact, Thompson has a habit of turning up on popular companies’ boards, he’s also with the board of directors for Zuora, which announced a new funding round early Wednesday. “Thompson will be taking an active role in the continued development and execution of PerkStreet's strategy to use the power of next-generation banking to save Americans money,” according to a statement from the company. PerkStreet’s backers include Highland Capital and Globespan.
3 min read · 16 November 2011
2 min read · 16 November 2011
2 min read · 16 November 2011
I Dunno… We all liked Meryl as Anna…. Big Cake: Silver Lake looks to up the ante with competitors’ footsteps audible As Washington Kicks the Can down the road, they’ve at least likely extended the IPO window a few more weeks … But Will European contagion fears spoil the holiday party? Hungry Eyes: PE likes the looks of El Paso assets
1 min read · 16 November 2011
2 min read · 16 November 2011
New England private equity firm Providence Equity Partners led a group of investors that acquired Istituto Marangoni, the provider of educational services primarily to students in fashion and design fields. Specifics on the deal were not disclosed. Listed, Illinois-based Career Education Corp. was the seller.
3 min read · 15 November 2011
Brightroll, the provider of digital video advertising services, closed a $30 million investment from Trident Capital, which led the round, and True Ventures, Scale Venture Partners and Adams Street Partners. Existing investor Comerica Bank also contributed to the round. GCA Savvian served as exclusive financial advisor to BrightRoll in this transaction.
3 min read · 15 November 2011
