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.
American Capital Ltd. said Wednesday that it is undertaking a full strategic review of alternatives for the company, including a sale. It has hired Goldman Sachs & Co. and Credit Suisse Securities as financial advisors. American Capital said it expects to disclose publicly the initial results of its strategic review no later than Jan. 31.
5 min read · 30 November 2015
Vista Equity Partners has acquired simultaneously MarketLive Inc. and Shopatron. Financial terms weren’t announced. MarketLive provides digital commerce software and services for retailers, catalogers, direct marketers and manufacturers. Shopatron supplies cloud-based, distributed order management solutions. Both transactions are slated to close by year end.
4 min read · 30 November 2015
Groupon Chairman and Co-founder Eric Lefkofsky has returned to his position of Managing Partner at Lightbank. Lefkofsky is a co-founder of Lightbank, a Chicago VC firm that he launched in 2010.
2 min read · 30 November 2015
Regimen Partners said Thursday that Michael Walsh joined as EVP, Corporate development. Bill Murray also joined the firm as a Director, Private equity. Walsh spent almost two decades as Chief Financial Officer at Burnaby's Creation Technologies while Murray has worked at National Bank Financial and Versant Partners.
2 min read · 30 November 2015
Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic agreed to acquire a 49 percent stake in Network International from The Abraaj Group. Financial terms weren’t announced. Emirates NBD will continue to own a 51 percent stake in the Company. Network International, of Dubai, is a payment solutions provider in the Middle East and Africa. Perella Weinberg Partners, Morgan Stanley and Citi provided financial advice to Warburg/General atlantic.
6 min read · 30 November 2015
Draper Oakwood Royalty Capital said Tuesday it has launched and will seek to invest in growth companies in exchange for a share in future revenues. London-based Draper plans to begin investing next year and won’t be raising a fund. Instead, the firm will work with a handful of institutional investors.
2 min read · 25 November 2015
PhishLabs said Tuesday that it closed a $7 million Series B investment from Fulcrum Equity Partners. Charleston, South Caroline-based PhishLabs provides cybersecurity services.
3 min read · 25 November 2015
Peak Ventures has invested in Homie. Financial terms weren’t announced. Angel investor, Mike Levinthal, also invested. Salt Lake City-based Homie provides a peer-to-peer marketplace where buyers, builders, and sellers of homes can meet, negotiate, and transact.
3 min read · 25 November 2015
Iguaz.io said Wednesday that it raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Magma Venture Partners. JVP and strategic investors also participated. Herzliya, Israel-based Iguaz.io provides data management and storage solutions for Big Data.
2 min read · 25 November 2015
Olympus Partners has sold Professional Service Industries Inc. to Intertek Group plc. Financial terms weren’t announced. Intertek, in October, said it agreed to pay $330 million for PSI. Oak Brook Terrace, Illinois-based PSI is a consulting engineering and testing firm. Lazard Middle Market advised PSI while Greenhill & Co. provided financial advice to Intertek.
2 min read · 25 November 2015
