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.
J.C. Penney Co Inc said activist investor Bill Ackman, who has been pressuring the struggling department store operator to oust its chairman and chief executive, has resigned from the board, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 13 August 2013
Advent International has agreed to sell Domestic & General to CVC Capital Partners. Financial terms weren't announced. Company management is also investing. U.K.-based Domestic & General provides extended warranty plans for white and brown goods, and central heating installations. Goldman Sachs advised Advent while Jamiesons provided financial advice to company management.
3 min read · 13 August 2013
Wanderu has raised $2.45 million round of funding led by Alta Ventures Mexico. Investors include Jeff Clarke, Orbitz' chairman; Bill Kaplan, chairman of Her Campus; Semyon Dukach; and, Drummond Road Capital. Boston-based Wanderu reportedly aggregates schedule and pricing information from bus and train companies.
3 min read · 13 August 2013
LeadiD said Tuesday it raised an additional $1 million in capital from Genacast Ventures. LeadiD authenticates lead origin and history and the authentication platform of choice for firms of all sizes. Genacast was lead investor of LeadiD's initial $1.7 million seed round.
3 min read · 13 August 2013
GridGain Systems said Tuesday that Andy Sacks was named EVP of sales, Lisa Bergamo is VP of marketing, and Jeff Stacey as global head of business development. GridGain recently closed $10 million in funding led by Almaz Capital with contributions from previous investor RTP Ventures.
3 min read · 13 August 2013
Renewable Resources Group has acquired Sun World International. Financial terms weren't announced. Black Diamond Capital Management was the seller. Bakersfield, Calif.-based Sun World grows, markets and breeds produce such as seedless grapes, sweet peppers, stonefruits and other fruits and vegetables.
3 min read · 13 August 2013
VeliQ has closed on a $9 million Series B round of financing led by Northcap, with T-Venture Holding to follow-up on its 2011 seed investment. Rotterdam-based VeliQ provides mobile device management software.
4 min read · 13 August 2013
USA Compression Partners said Tuesday it agreed to buy $187 million of compression assets owned by S&R Compression. S&R Compression will receive 20% LP interest in the pro forma partnership. S&R Compression is majority owned by Argonaut Private Equity, an affiliate of George B. Kaiser. USA Compression is a portfolio company of Riverstone Holdings. Located primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, the assets sold are used in connection with crude oil production and include 983 compression units with total horsepower of approximately 138,000.
9 min read · 13 August 2013
CloudPhysics said Tuesday it closed $10 million in Series B funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Previous investors the Mayfield Fund, Mark Leslie, Peter Wagner, Carl Waldspurger, Nigel Stokes, Matt Ocko and VMware co-founders also participated in this round. Mountain View, Calif.-based CloudPhysics provides operations management for virtualized workloads.
4 min read · 13 August 2013
The Carlyle Group said Tuesday that Susan E. Arnold has joined the firm as an Operating Executive in the global consumer & retail group. She begins her duties in September. Arnold is the former President of Proctor & Gamble’s $50 billion global business unit.
2 min read · 13 August 2013
