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.
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Said Monday it has agreed to buy Brit PLc for $1.88 billion. Fairfax is paying 305 pence cash per Brit share, including any final dividend for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014. Apollo Global and CVC Capital Partners own about 73 percent of Brit, a specialty insurer and reinsurer.
6 min read · 17 February 2015
The Riverside Company has invested in Bike24. Financial terms weren’t announced. Dresden, Germany-based Bike24 provides bicycle components and related equipment to consumers globally. Berenberg Bank provided financing for the transaction.
2 min read · 17 February 2015
Hilary Grove has left ABRY Partners after more than a decade with the private equity firm, four sources said.
1 min read · 16 February 2015
Hilary Grove has left ABRY Partners after more than a decade with the private equity firm, four sources said.
2 min read · 14 February 2015
Clearlake Capital Group LP said Thursday that John Ferron, a Clearlake operating advisor, has joined NetMotion as CEO. Daniel Jackson has also joined NetMotion as senior VP of sales. Seattle-based NetMotion, a Clearlake portfolio company, provides mobile security and network performance management solutions.
4 min read · 12 February 2015
Clearlake Capital Group said Thursday it has agreed to buy FrontRange Solutions. Financial terms weren’t announced. Francisco Partners acquired FrontRange in 2005. Clearlake said it is merging FrontRange with portfolio company Lumension to form Heat Software. Milpitas, California-based Heat Software provides hybrid service management and unified endpoint management solutions for businesses. Stifel acted as financial advisor to FrontRange. Wells Fargo Capital Finance, PNC Bank, Capital One and Consortium Finance provided financing.
4 min read · 12 February 2015
K&N Engineering, a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, said Thursday that Tom McGann has joined as CEO. Most recently, McGann was the President and CEO of Spyder Active Sports. Riverside, California-based K&N makes washable performance air filters and air intake systems.
2 min read · 12 February 2015
Mark Logan has joined WealthEngine as president and COO. Logan most recently was chief sales officer at BackOffice Associates. Bethesda, Maryland-based WealthEngine provides predictive marketing analytics and audience development services. The company raised an undisclosed amount of VC financing in May from investors including Novak Biddle Venture Partners, Streamlined Ventures and HKB Capital.
2 min read · 12 February 2015
QIC said it Global Infrastructure Fund has secured $528 million in commitments. Brisbane, Australia-based QIC is an institutional investment manager. Paul Costello was named independent chairman of the QIC Global Infrastructure Investment Committee.
3 min read · 12 February 2015
SoftBank Ventures Korea Corp. and Akamai Technologies have led a financing round for Saguna Networks. Financial terms weren’t announced. Saguna’s existing investors also participated. Saguna, of Yokneam, Israel, provides technology that aims to make mobile broadband simpler.
3 min read · 12 February 2015
