D-Wave Systems, a Vancouver-based company that aims to develop quantum-computing applications, said on Thursday it had received $30 million in funding from investors including the firm that manages Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's venture investments and an investment arm of the Central Intelligence Agency. The investments, from Bezos Expeditions and In-Q-Tel, mark a vote of confidence in the potential for practical applications for the emerging technology underpinning quantum computing, Reuters wrote.
3 min read · 04 October 2012
A private equity firm founded by Chinese billionaire Yu Yong and a fund backed by state-owned China Development Bank have offered to buy Australian-listed copper explorer Discovery Metals Ltd., valueng the company at about $850 million. The takeover offer for Discovery is the latest in a series of small-to-mid-sized metals and mining deals to hit Asia in the wake of sliding commodity prices.
3 min read · 04 October 2012
Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Co has agreed to buy U.S. aircraft leasing firm Jackson Square Aviation from Oaktree Capital Group, writes Reuters. Mitsubishi UFJ Lease, 20 percent owned by Mitsubishi Corp will acquire JSA International Holdings for about 100 billion yen ($1.27 billion), writes Reuters.
2 min read · 04 October 2012
Blackstone has set up a joint venture with mid-sized rival Anacap to hunt for private equity deals in Europe's embattled banking sector, a person familiar with the situation said, Reuters wrote Wednesday. The venture between the New York-listed private equity powerhouse and financial services specialist Anacap will target banking and insurance deals in areas including consumer and corporate lending.
2 min read · 03 October 2012
A consortium led by private equity firm 3i has kicked off the sale process for its majority stake in French medical-diagnostics company Labco, Reuters reported Wednesday. Paris-based Labco, in which management and a group of laboratory doctors also own a stake, could fetch around 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), which would see troubled 3i make a profit on its 2008 investment in the firm, the sources said. The consortium, which also includes investors TCR Capital, Natixis Investment Partners and CIC Finance, has hired Rothschild to handle the sale process which started this week.
2 min read · 03 October 2012
BWAY Parent Co., which supplies metal and plastic containers to the packaging industry, said it will be acquired by an affiliate of Platinum Equity for about $1.24 billion. BWAY Parent, which operates through its subsidiary BWAY Corp., said Platinum Equity would acquire it from funds managed by Madison Dearborn Partners, Reuters wrote.
1 min read · 03 October 2012
Theft and fraud protection services provider LifeLock priced its initial public offering on Tuesday below its expected range at $9, an underwriter said, Reuters reported Wednesday. The Tempe, Arizona-based firm raised $141.3 million by pricing 15.7 million shares as planned. It had intended to price at a range of $9.50 to $11.50. LikeLock is backed by venture capital firms Bessemer Venture Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
1 min read · 03 October 2012
Reuters - Best Buy Co Inc founder Richard Schulze and at least four private equity firms have started examining the books of the world's largest consumer electronics chain, early steps toward what could become a potential $11 billion buyout, according to people familiar with the matter.
4 min read · 03 October 2012
Carlyle Group said it had bought a majority stake in a commodities-trading hedge fund manager, its biggest leap yet in an expansion that has seen it diversify from private equity into other alternative asset classes, writes Reuters. Carlyle, which has $156 billion of assets under management, said it bought a 55 percent stake in Vermillion Asset Management LLC, a New York-based commodities investment manager with approximately $2.2 billion of assets under management.
3 min read · 03 October 2012
strong>Washington Post Co is to acquire a majority stake in privately held Celtic Healthcare Inc, branching even further away from its newspaper roots, writes Reuters. Based in Mars, Pennsylvania, Celtic Healthcare provides home healthcare and hospice services in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions.
2 min read · 03 October 2012
