I've been a business reporter for a while. I've covered Wall Street, venture capital and now private equity. I'm always looking for a scoop or something to talk about. I'm the eternal optimist and am still waiting for the Chicago Cubs to win the World Series. Yes, I believe.
Equistone Partners Europe said July 17 that it agreed to sell a majority stake in Caseking. Financial terms weren’t announced. Gilde Buy Out Partners is the acquirer. Caseking, of Berlin, is a European suppliers of PC gaming, eSports and tech products.
3 min read · 17 July 2018
Block.one, a blockchain platform, has raised a new investment round with the backing of Peter Thiel. Financial terms of the round were not announced. Other investors include Bitmain, Louis Bacon, and Alan Howard. The round comes just months since Block.one raised $4 billion in an ICO in May.
2 min read · 17 July 2018
Social Capital, once one of the hottest VC firms, has seen its fortune dim. At least five investors will not invest in Social Capital’s next fund, Bloomberg is reporting. The firm has seen a number of defections as Social Capital has postponed fundraising at least three times in the past year, the story said. Social Capital’s $600 million fund, closed in 2015, is 90 percent committed, Bloomberg said.
1 min read · 17 July 2018
Stone Point Capital LLC has agreed to buy a majority of Sabal Capital Partners LLC. Financial terms weren’t announced. Sabal, of Irvine, California, is a small balance debt provider and servicer.
4 min read · 17 July 2018
Salveo Capital said agreed to buy a minority stake in PathogenDx. Financial terms weren’t announced. PathogenDx, of Tucson, Arizona, provides DNA-based pathogen testing kits for the cannabis, botanical, food and agriculture industries.
4 min read · 17 July 2018
Allied Universal, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company, has acquired U.S. Security Associates for about $1 billion. USSA, of Roswell, Georgia, is a safety and security solutions provider.
4 min read · 16 July 2018
Arconic, the aerospace-parts maker, is receiving takeover interest from private equity firms including Apollo Global Management, the Wall Street Journal said. Arconic, which was known as Alcoa before the aluminum maker broke itself up, currently has a market value of $8.3 billion, the story said.
1 min read · 16 July 2018
Arif Naqvi, the founder of Abraaj Group, has reached a settlement on a claim that he bounced a $48 million check, the Wall Street Journal reported. Naqvi faced a potential three-year prison sentence if convicted on charges he issued checks with insufficient funds in Sharjah, one of the United Arab Emirates’ seven federated states, the story said. The settlement means Naqvi is avoiding prosecution, the WSJ said.
1 min read · 16 July 2018
Applied Composites Holdings LLC, a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners, said July 15 that David Horner has joined as CEO. Horner most recently served as president of Meggitt PLC’s polymers & composites division.
2 min read · 16 July 2018
KKR has agreed to buy RBmedia. Financial terms weren’t announced. Shamrock Capital is the seller. RBmedia, of Landover, Maryland, is an independent publisher of audiobooks with a catalogue of more than 35,000 titles. Goldman Sachs & Co LLC served as financial adviser to KKR, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as legal adviser. LionTree is financial adviser to RBmedia, with Cooley LLP serving as legal adviser.
4 min read · 16 July 2018
