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.
Jeff Paradise has joined Dashlane as Chief Marketing Officer while Chuck Kimble was named Vice President of New Business. Paradise was previously CMO of Mindspark, a unit of IAC. Kimble most recently was at Square where he led the company’s strategic partnerships. Dashlane, a password manager, has received $30 million in funding from Rho Ventures, FirstMark Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners.
3 min read · 13 May 2015
Michael Masters has joined Zebra Imaging as chief marketing officer. Masters previously worked at Concur Technologies. Austin-based Zebra Imaging designs, develops and makes 3D holographic displays for 3D visualization applications.
2 min read · 13 May 2015
Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners and Energizing Co. have formed Energizing Infrastructure LLC. Stonepeak has committed to contribute up to $250 million to the financing platform. Energizing Infrastructure will serve as a project financing platform for Energizing Co.’s current and future power grid modernization projects in North America.
2 min read · 13 May 2015
Centrillion Technologies said Tuesday that it named Dr. James Zhang as its new Chief Strategy Officer. Zhang is joining Centrillion’s executive team and will be responsible for corporate strategy, strategic business development, investor relations, and Asia Pacific operations. Zhang was a founding partner at Formation 8 and is also a senior advisor and Venture Partner of China based GRC SinoGreen Fund. Centrillion Technologies is a genomic technology company.
2 min read · 13 May 2015
Advent International said Tuesday it has agreed to buy Ammeraal Beltech from Gamma Holding, a holding company owned by Gilde Buy Out Partners and Parcom Capital Management. Financial terms weren’t announced. Ammeraal Beltech, of the Netherlands, makes, distributes and services conveyor belts for use in light industries, including food processing, automotive, logistics and textiles. William Blair advised Gamma while Jefferies provided financial advice to Advent.
3 min read · 13 May 2015
Mednax Inc. said Tuesday it agreed to buy Virtual Radiologic Corp. (vRad) in a deal valued at $500 million. The seller was Providence Equity Partners. Eden Prairie, Minnesota-basd vRad is radiology physician services and telemedicine company. vRad’s current management team will remain with the company as part of Mednax. Credit Suisse provided financial advice to vRad while Kirkland & Ellis LLP was their law firm. McDermott, Will & Emery acted as legal advisor to Mednax.
6 min read · 13 May 2015
Centerbridge Partners LP said Tuesday they have completed their acquisition of Great Wolf Resorts Inc. The seller was Apollo Global Management. The deal was reportedly valued at $1.35 billion. Great Wolf is a U.S. operator of indoor water parks. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Goldman, Sachs & Co advised Great Wolf. Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc., and Nomura Securities International Inc. provided financial advice to Centerbridge.
3 min read · 13 May 2015
Crunch Franchise said Tuesday that it opened a new location in the Carmel Valley section of San Diego. New York-based Crunch, a gym, is backed by New Evolution Ventures and Angelo, Gordon & Co.
3 min read · 12 May 2015
Verizon Communications Inc. said Tuesday it agreed to buy AOL Inc. for $50 a share, or about $4.4 billion. Tim Armstrong, AOL chairman and CEO, will continue to lead AOL operations after closing. AOL’s key assets include its subscription business as well as content brands like The Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Engagdet. LionTree Advisors, Guggenheim Partners and Weil, Gotshal & Manges advised Verizon. Allen & Company LLC and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz provided advice to AOL.
6 min read · 12 May 2015
MediaGamma said Tuesday that it closed a seed round of funding. Financial terms were not disclosed. Investors include UCL Business PLC and a syndicate of tech-sector focused angel investors from both advertising technology and finance backgrounds. London-based MediaGamma is an automated futures and options exchange for digital advertising.
3 min read · 12 May 2015
