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.
Brandwatch said Thursday it raised $33 million in a Series C funding round led by Partech Ventures. Existing investors Highland Europe and Nauta Capital also participated. New York-based Brandwatch, a social intelligence company, provides a platform that gathers online conversations and provides tools to analyze them.
4 min read · 29 October 2015
IBM said Wednesday it agreed to buy The Weather Company's B2B, mobile and cloud-based web properties, including WSI, weather.com, Weather Underground and The Weather Company brand. IBM isn’t buying The Weather Channel TV segment. Instead, the Weather Channel will license weather forecast data and analytics from IBM. Financial terms weren’t announced. The Weather Channel is backed by NBC Universal, the Blackstone Group and Bain Capital.
5 min read · 29 October 2015
Frazier Healthcare Partners said Thursday it closed its first sector-specific fund at $262 million in capital commitments. Frazier Life Sciences VIII L.P. will invest in companies developing novel therapeutics. With offices in Seattle and Menlo Park, California, Frazier provides growth capital to healthcare companies.
3 min read · 29 October 2015
Monroe Capital LLC said Thursday that it has hired Mark Sturrock, who will lead its origination efforts in Canada. He will be based in Toronto. Previously, Sturrock was a Senior Managing Director at Salus Capital Partners LLP.
2 min read · 29 October 2015
Apollo Global Management LLC has completed its buy of OM Group Inc. for $34 a share. The deal was announced on June 1. Platform Specialty Products Corp is buying OM Group's Electronic Chemicals and Photomasks businesses, excluding certain assets in Malaysia. Apollo is also acquiring the remaining three OM Group businesses, which include the Magnetic Technologies, Battery Technologies and Advanced Organics. Credit Suisse and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. provided debt financing.
4 min read · 28 October 2015
Leeward Renewable Energy LLC, a portfolio company of ArcLight Capital Partners LLC, has acquired the U.S. wind assets of Infigen Energy. Financial terms weren’t announced. The deal includes Infigen's U.S.-based asset management and operations business. UBS Investment Bank advised Infigen.
2 min read · 28 October 2015
EzCater said Wednesday that Bob Cruickshank was hired as its CFO, while David Meiselman was named Chief Marketing Officer. Dave Goodwin has also joined as Vice President of National Sales. Boston-based EzCater is an online marketplace for business catering.
3 min read · 28 October 2015
MabSpace Biosciences Co. Ltd. said Wednesday that it completed a $15 million Series A financing round. Lilly Asia Ventures was the sole investor of the Series A. Suzhou, China-based MabSpace is focused on the discovery and development of antibody-based therapeutics.
2 min read · 28 October 2015
TPG said Wednesday that Jon Winkelried was named Co-CEO. Winkelried will work alongside TPG Co-Founder and current CEO Jim Coulter. David Bonderman, who co-founded TPG with Coulter, will continue in his role as Co-Founder and Chairman of TPG. Winkelried previously served as the President and Co-COO of Goldman Sachs. He will assume his role in early November and be based in TPG's San Francisco office.
4 min read · 28 October 2015
Nautic Partners LLC said Wednesday that it has acquired Aerostar Aerospace Manufacturing LLC. Financial terms weren’t announced. Management is also investing. Phoenix-based Aerostar makes high-complexity, close-tolerance machined parts used in commercial aircraft, primarily in engines and in auxiliary power units. National Bank of Arizona provided financing for the transaction. Greene Holcomb Fischer advised the company.
3 min read · 28 October 2015
