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.
3 min read · 03 January 2018
Armour said Jan. 3 that it has raised up to $500 million in equity commitments from an investor group led by Aquiline Capital Partners. Armour said it will use the funds to form a new reinsurance group, Armour Group Ltd, which will co-invest in global P&C run-off transactions in parallel with the group’s affiliates. The former Armour holding company is also renaming itself Trebuchet Holdings and transferring the Armour brand name to the new group.
3 min read · 03 January 2018
Siris Capital Group LLC said Jan. 3 that Bethany Mayer has joined as an executive partner. Mayer was most recently senior vice president of Keysight Technologies and president of Keysight’s Ixia Solutions group.
3 min read · 03 January 2018
Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc said Jan. 3 that it is exploring strategic options for its global batteries & appliances businesses and plans to sell the units this year. Spectrum Brands said a sale would allow it to increase its focus on its four remaining businesses: hardware & home improvement, global auto care, global pet supplies and home & garden. It did not reveal if it had hired a banker.
9 min read · 03 January 2018
Maravai LifeSciences, a portfolio company of GTCR, has acquired Glen Research Corp. Financial terms weren’t announced. Glen Research, of Sterling, Virginia, provides reagents used in the synthesis of DNA and RNA.
2 min read · 03 January 2018
Envestnet said Jan. 2 that it closed its $195 million buy of FolioDynamix. The deal was announced in September. Actua Corp was the seller.
5 min read · 03 January 2018
Thompson Street Capital Partners has invested in Gurobi Optimization LLC. Financial terms weren’t announced. Gurobi, of Houston, provides predictive analytics.
2 min read · 03 January 2018
2 min read · 28 December 2017
Stone Canyon Industries LLC said Dec. 27 that it has recapped its subsidiary SCI PH Inc, parent of BWAY and Mauser, and sold a chunk of the company to new minority investors Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Canyon Capital Advisors, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Arcadia Investment Partners LLC. The deal calls for issuing $850 million of series A preferred stock to Canyon Capital Advisors, PSP Investments and existing investors, as well as series B non-voting stock to OTPP, Arcadia and PSP. Proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes and making a distribution to existing equity holders. Stone Canyon acquired BWAY in 2016 from Platinum Equity for $2.4 billion. Stone Canyon this year then bought Mauser from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for $2.3 billion.
4 min read · 28 December 2017
Aegon said Dec. 28 that it agreed to sell a block of life reinsurance business to SCOR. The transaction covers about half of the life reinsurance business that Transamerica retained after it sold most of the life reinsurance business to SCOR in 2011. The deal calls for Aegon’s Transamerica life subsidiaries to reinsure about $750 million of liabilities to SCOR. The transaction will result in a pre-tax loss of $125 million. Aegon said it is also dissolving a related captive insurance company.
6 min read · 28 December 2017
