Luisa Beltran

Babson Capital invests in Dunn Paper's add-on deal

Babson Capital Management said Monday it provided debt and made an equity co-investment to support Dunn Paper Inc.’s buy of the Specialty Mills business from Clearwater Paper Corp. Financial terms weren’t announced. The deal includes five Clearwater Paper mills. Dunn Paper is a portfolio company of Wingate Partners.

Norwest Venture Partners buys WineAccess

Norwest Venture Partners has acquired WineAccess Inc. Financial terms weren’t announced. Jim Weinrott, WineAccess’ founder and CEO, will maintain a meaningful stake. WineAccess is a direct-to-consumer wine ecommerce company. Sanjay Chadda, Matthew Kratter and Michael Petsky of Petsky Prunier provided financial advice to WineAccess.

Brandon Capital MRCF fund raises $154.4 mln

Brandon Capital said Monday that its Medical Research Commercialisation Fund closed at AU$200 million (US$154.4 million). Existing MRCF Investors AustralianSuper and Statewide Super participated. Hesta, an existing investor in Brandon funds, took part as well HOSTPLUS. Around AU$50M of the new fund will be reserved for 20 to 30 very early seed stage investments in biotech or medical device technologies.

Roark in talks to expand pet exposure with Pet Supermarket

Roark Capital Group is in talks to buy Pet Supermarket Inc., according to a source and an FTC filing.

Does Roark want to buy Pet Supermarket? Woof!

Roark Capital Group is in talks to buy Pet Supermarket Inc, according to a source and an FTC filing.

Duke joins Carlyle as an Operating Executive

The Carlyle Group said Thursday that Mike Duke has joined as an Operating Executive in the Global Consumer & Retail group. Duke is the former President and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores.

KKR's second direct lending fund raises $1.34 bln

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said Thursday that its second direct lending fund closed at $1.34 billion. KKR Lending Partners II LP began soliciting third party capital in 2014 and held a first close in June. KKRLP II received backing from public pensions, insurance companies, private banking platforms, family offices and individual investors, KKR said.

Waterland Fund VI raises 1.55 bln Euros

Waterland Private Equity Investments said Thursday that it closed its sixth institutional fund, Waterland Private Equity Fund VI, at 1.25 billion Euros (US$1.34 billion), while WPEF VI Overflow Fund collected 300 million Euros (US$321.8 million). WPEF VI will make control investments in medium-sized companies located in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. MVision Private Equity Advisers was the placement agent while Clifford Chance provided legal advice.

Pepperdata raises $15 mln

Pepperdata said Thursday it raised more than $15 million in a strategic and venture financing round led by Wing Venture Capital. Existing investors including Signia Venture Partners and Yahoo Chairman Maynard Webb participated. New strategic investors Citi Ventures and Silicon Valley Data Capital also invested. Sunnyvale, California-based Pepperdata provides Hadoop cluster optimization software.

Ascension Insurance buys Belvedere Pacific Insurance

Ascension Insurance Inc. has acquired Belvedere Pacific Insurance Services Inc. Financial terms weren’t announced. Corte Madera, California-based Belvedere is an employee benefits and insurance brokerage firm. Ascension is a portfolio company of Parthenon Capital and Century Capital Management.