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.
TIBCO Software Inc. said Monday that it named Tom Berquist its chief financial officer. Berquist was most recently CEO of Saba Software. TIBCO is a portfolio company of Vista Equity Partners.
2 min read · 26 October 2015
Commerce Signals said Monday it raised $4 million in a Series A round led by OpenAir Equity Partners. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Commerce Signals is a data collaboration company serving retailers, mobile operators, banks and payment networks.
4 min read · 26 October 2015
Education Growth Partners said Monday it sold portfolio company Sightlines LLC to The Gordian Group. Financial terms weren’t announced. Guilford, Connecticut-based Sightlines helps colleges and universities manage their facilities and reduce operating costs by providing analyses such as (1) building asset management, (2) maintenance and operations, and (3) energy usage.
4 min read · 26 October 2015
Searchlight Capital Partners L.P. has agreed to buy a majority stake in Roots Canada Ltd. Financial terms weren’t announced. Founded in 1973 by Michael Budman and Don Green, Roots is a leading lifestyle brand in Canada that sells leather bags, footwear, jackets, apparel, athletic wear, accessories, and home furnishings. Budman and Green will remain shareholders.
3 min read · 26 October 2015
Intercontinental Exchange said Monday that it has agreed to buy Interactive Data Corp. (IDC) for about $5.2 billion. Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus are the sellers. Bedford, Massachusetts-based IDC provides financial market data, analytics and services to financial institutions and active traders. IDC shareholders will receive $3.65 billion in cash and $1.55 million in ICE shares. PE HUB reported Oct. 21 that ICE, along with Markit Group, submitted final bids for IDC. Wells Fargo Bank, National Association and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are providing financing. Broadhaven Capital Partners provided financial advice to ICE while Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Credit Suisse advised Interactive Data.
8 min read · 26 October 2015
Sunbelt Transformer, a portfolio company of Grey Mountain Partners, said Monday it acquired Delta Testing Services Inc. Financial terms weren’t announced. Bakersfield, California-based Delta Testing is an electrical services company.
2 min read · 26 October 2015
Alpaca said Monday that it raised $1 million in seed funding from venture capitals and angel investors. San Mateo-based Alpaca is developing a trading platform, Capitalico, that aims to let beginning traders build their own trading algorithms without any programming. Alpaca investors include the Innovative Venture Fund, Archetype Ventures, Shinji Kimura and BIP Systems.
2 min read · 26 October 2015
Clearlake Capital Group L.P. has agreed to buy Pomeroy. Financial terms weren’t announced. Clearlake is creating the Pomeroy Group of Companies and merging Pomeroy with portfolio company, Tolt Solutions. Hebron, Kentucky-based Pomeroy provides IT infrastructure solutions and managed services. Natixis and Brightwood Capital Advisors is providing financing. William Blair advised Pomeroy while PJT Partners advised Tolt.
4 min read · 26 October 2015
Naspers Ltd. said Monday it sold its stakes in Netretail and Heureka to Rockaway Capital for $201 million. Netretail is an online retailer based in the Czech republic, while Heureka operates online comparison search engines in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
3 min read · 26 October 2015
Eric Becker’s first requirement when starting Caretta Partners LLC, a Chicago-based growth private equity firm, was to invest only in companies that matter.
3 min read · 26 October 2015
