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.
Frazier Healthcare said Wednesday that Chris Karkenny has joined its growth buyout team as an operating partner. Karkenny previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Apria Healthcare.
3 min read · 16 April 2015
The Blackstone Group reported $1.6 billion in first quarter economic net income, or $1.37 per unit, up 99 percent from $813.9 million in economic net income, or 70 cents per unit, for the same time period in 2014. Total revenue surged 66 percent to $2.5 billion in first quarter from $1.5 billion in first quarter 2014. Blackstone’s total assets under management rose 14 percent to $310.45 million, the release said.
3 min read · 16 April 2015
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners said Wednesday that John O’Neill has recently joined the firm and is managing its London office. O'Neill, a managing director, will lead the firm's efforts in investment opportunities throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. He was previously a partner at Graphite Capital.
2 min read · 16 April 2015
COBI said Wednesday it raised more than $4 million from European investors Capnamic Ventures, Iris Capital and Creathor Venture. Private investors from COBI's seed round of financing also participated. COBI, of Frankfurt, Germany, has developed a modular system to digitally upgrade bicycles to smart bikes.
5 min read · 16 April 2015
WME|IMG said Wednesday that it has agreed to buy the Professional Bull Riders Inc. Financial terms weren’t announced. Pueblo, Colorado-based Professional Bull Riders is a bull riding circuit that features more than 300 bull riding events globally. WME|IMG is backed by Silver Lake.
3 min read · 16 April 2015
SolAero Technologies Corp., a portfolio company of Veritas Capital, has agreed to buy Alliance Spacesystems LLC. Financial terms weren’t announced. Los Alamitos, California-based Alliance makes and designs composite structures for spacecraft.
2 min read · 16 April 2015
Versa Capital Management LLC said Wednesday that it has completed its previously announced buy of The Wet Seal Inc. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the deal on April 1. Crystal Financial, a portfolio company of Solar Capital, is providing a $15 million loan to Wet Seal, an apparel retailer that targets young women.
3 min read · 16 April 2015
Goldman Sachs Private Capital and Bain Capital Ventures have led a $25 million round for Billtrust. Hamilton, N.J.-based Billtrust provides automated invoice-to-cash solutions for businesses.
2 min read · 16 April 2015
American International Group Inc. said Wednesday that it has acquired a minority stake in K2 Intelligence. Financial terms weren’t announced. New York-based K2 is an investigative consultancy that provides expertise on cyber investigations and defense, anti-money laundering and regulatory compliance, complex investigations and disputes, data analytics and visualization, and integrity monitoring and compliance.
2 min read · 16 April 2015
Over 2,000 executives descended on the Waldorf Astoria and Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida for ACG InterGrowth. But most of the talks was about the fate of GE Capital.
3 min read · 15 April 2015
