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.
Apparel retailer Wet Seal Inc has hired restructuring lawyers to help it with a potential bankruptcy filing, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
1 min read · 09 January 2015
AssuredPartners, which is backed by GTCR, has acquired BRG Insurance and Bonds. Financial terms weren’t announced. Lake Mary, Fla.-based BRG specializes in insurance protection programs for contractors, manufacturers, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, strip malls, building owners, medical offices, and storage facilities.
2 min read · 09 January 2015
Francisco Partners has invested in eSolutions. Financial terms weren’t announced. Esolutions said that Gene Creach, its current president, will succeed founder and current CEO Bill Creach as chief executive officer following the close of the transaction. Olathe, Kan.-based eSolutions provides healthcare technology and analytics solutions. TripleTree acted as the exclusive financial advisor to eSolutions.
3 min read · 09 January 2015
Dianne’s Fine Desserts, which is backed by Superior Capital Partners, has acquired Daystar Desserts. Financial terms weren’t announced. Richmond, Va.-based Daystar develops and bakes branded and private label cheesecakes, bar cakes, mason jar cakes and individual desserts for retail, grocery and in-store bakery channel customers.
2 min read · 09 January 2015
BP Natural Gas Opportunity Partners L.P. (BP Partners), a private equity fund sponsored by T. Boone Pickens, has committed $20 million to Pinnacle Midstream. Houston-based Pinnacle acquires and develops midstream assets and provides related services in key natural gas producing basins in the U.S.
2 min read · 09 January 2015
DiaCarta said Friday it raised $8 million in Series A financing from BVCF (BioVeda China Fund). Hayward, Calif.-based DiaCarta is a molecular diagnostics company.
2 min read · 09 January 2015
The Beekman Group LLC has closed its third fund at $230 million. Beekman Investment Partners III LP will invest in lower middle-market services companies with enterprise values ranging from $15 million to $75 million in three focus industry sectors – consumer, healthcare and business services. Beekman’s prior fund collected $100 million in 2012.
3 min read · 09 January 2015
Ascension Ventures, Heritage Group and Kaiser Permanente Ventures are investing in Ingenious Med, which is backed by North Bridge Growth Equity. Atlanta-based Ingenious Med provided a cloud-based patient encounter platform that aims to automate physician and care team workflow at the point of care. North Bridge acquired a majority stake in the company in 2014 and remains lead investor.
5 min read · 09 January 2015
Fountain Healthcare Partners announced the initial close of its second fund €85 million (US$100.7 mln) of committed capital. Fountain Healthcare Partners II LP, a dedicated life science venture capital fund, will focus on specialty pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and diagnostics.
3 min read · 09 January 2015
Hua Medicine said Thursday it closed $25 million in Series B financing led by Ally Bridge Group. New investors Frontline BioVentures and TF Capital joined in the round, as well as existing Series A investors ARCH, Venrock, Fidelity, WuXi Ventures, and SAIL. Shanghai-based Hua Medicine is a clinical-stage biotechnology company.
5 min read · 09 January 2015
