Gunmaker Sturm Ruger & Co. said it was looking at the accounts of up-for-sale rival Freedom Group but said it was unlikely it would make a bid, Reuters reported. Sturm Ruger Chief Executive Michael Fifer said Freedom could be an acquisition opportunity and his company was looking at their books but he expects a deal to be grossly overpriced. Freedom Group, owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, had sales of $931.9 million in 2012. Cerberus has come under pressure from the public as well as investors in its funds to sell Freedom Group after an AR-15 type Bushmaster rifle manufactured by the company was used in last year's Newtown school massacre.
2 min read · 01 May 2013
Leo Hindery's InterMedia raised its offer for cable network Outdoor Channel Holdings Inc to $237 million in cash, outbidding a rival offer from Stan Kroenke's Kroenke Sports & Entertainment LLC, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 01 May 2013
Online payment network Dwolla has pulled in $16.5 million in a third funding round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, according to VentureBeat. Previous investors Village Ventures, Thrive Capital, and Union Square Ventures also contributed. Dwolla raised its $5 million Series B round in February 2012.
3 min read · 01 May 2013
Life sciences-focused software company Veeva Systems is planning an initial public offering that could come in the third quarter and has selected banks to lead the deal, writes Reuters. Veeva Systems received $4 million in funding from venture capital firm Emergence Capital in 2008.
1 min read · 01 May 2013
Engineering turnaround specialist Melrose Industries said it would sell its North American hardware company for $200 million in cash to Tyman, writes Reuters. AIM-listed Tyman said it would seek to move to the main market along with the acquisition, which is expected to complete by July.
1 min read · 01 May 2013
A private equity group made up of Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital Corp has emerged as the lead contender to buy BMC Software Inc for more than $6.5 billion, writes Reuters. Bain and Golden Gate, which made a binding bid for the business software maker on April 22, offered more than a rival consortium of KKR & Co LP, TPG Capital LP and Thoma Bravo LLC, writes Reuters.
3 min read · 01 May 2013
(Reuters) - An investor in Uber, the fast-growing alternative taxi service, has reached out to a venture capital firm about a potential new funding round that could value the company at $1 billion or more, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters.
2 min read · 30 April 2013
Jawbone acquired BodyMedia Inc, the maker of weight-monitoring arm bands, for more than $100 million, Reuters reported Tuesday. The deal will help Jawbone's efforts to bolster its position in the wearable technology market, with nearly 300 pending and issued patents. Pittsburgh-based BodyMedia's 60 employees will join Jawbone as part of the deal. Jawbone, which is based in San Francisco, did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction, but a person close to the company said the deal was for "north of $100 million." Jawbone, which also makes wireless headsets for mobile phones, has raised more than $210 million in funding to date. In its most recent funding round, in December 2011, the company raised $40 million from Deutsche Telekom, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and private investor Yuri Milner.
2 min read · 30 April 2013
Verizon said on Tuesday it plans to invest $100 million in solar power and fuel cells at 19 facilities in seven U.S. states to cut its carbon footprint and make its operations more resilient to storms and other disasters, Reuters reported. The energy project should be complete by next year, with installations at corporate offices, call centers, data centers and central offices of the telecommunications giant in Arizona, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina. The fuel cells will be powered by natural gas, which emits less climate-warming carbon dioxide than diesel or petroleum when burned, said James Gowen, chief sustainability officer for Verizon Communications Inc.
2 min read · 30 April 2013
Private equity firm Baring Asia is in advanced talks with the Indian arm of French cement maker Lafarge SA to invest about $240 million for a minority stake, Reuters reported Tuesday. Lafarge, which has four cement plants in the country, is reportedly raising capital in the Indian arm to fund expansion.
1 min read · 30 April 2013
