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5 Things We’d Buy Now if We Were Mark Zuckerberg
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 You want winning? That’s winning. The question now is what he’ll do with the tens of billions of dollars he stands to collect over the coming years. Much of it he’ll give away. Zuckerberg is among dozens of billionai... |
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Sterling Infosystems, which is backed by Calera Capital, has acquired Acxiom Information Security Services. The seller was Acxiom Corp. Financial terms weren't announced. Acxiom Information Security is a background screening company. Read more » |
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Aquilex Holdings said Friday that it has financially restructured its debt and is now majority owned by Centerbridge Partners. Also, Aquilex CEO and President Bill Varner is retiring while Donovan Boyd was named chairman of the board. Rothschild provided financial advice to Aquilex, while Alvarez & Marsal was restructuring advisor. Aquilex provides maintenance, repair and industrial cleaning solutions to the energy industry. Read more » |
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peHUB Second Opinion 2.3
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 Superbowl: A look at Eli Manning vs. Tom Brady off the field. Reversing Course: Now Susan G. Komen says they will fund Planned Parenthood. Showing the Love: The Carlyle Group, which is preparing to go public, removes an arbitration provision that bans shareholders from filing class action lawsuits. Sharing Minutes: Ting is a bad name but a great idea for the wireless industry, says Light Reading. No Diversity: Women dominate Facebook's 845 mln users but you can't find one on FB's board. And FB was worth $94 billion in auction on the private market yesterday. Also, Slate wonders if Facebook is really a good business. The Day the Music Died: Today, in 1959, Buddy Holly was killed. Rave On! R.I.P.: Steven Appleton, Micron Tech's CEO, dies in a plane crash. No Shushing During Commercials: Here are the 21 rules of surviving a Super Bowl Party. Ugly Ducklings: Silicon Valley's dirty little secret is that the startup boom is really... Read more » |
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Thompson Street Capital Partners announced Friday that they closed their third fund at $350 million. Investors for TSCP III mainly came from their second fund. St. Louis-based Thompson Street invests in service, manufacturing and distribution busineses. Read more » |
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A Sobering Look At Facebook
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 The world’s biggest social network is expected to seek a $75 billion to $100 billion valuation in its IPO, the most anticipated stock offering from Silicon Valley since Google Inc went public in 2004. At Granite Investment Advisors in New Hampshire, Chief Investment Officer Scott Schermerhorn has already been fielding queries from clients eager to g... |
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Job of the Week: Anyone for Secondaries?
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 Look no further than our first private equity job of the week (details below, including our estimate for salary and bonus). This feature will center on what we think is an exciting career prospect in private equity or venture capital for either junior and senior level professionals. For this first edition we are showcasing a job posting from secondaries pioneer Coller Capital, which has openings advertised fo... |
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Poll Results: Readers Startled by How Much Facebook Revenue Comes from Zynga
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 Was it the fact that Facebook claims to have connected more than 100 billion friends as Dec. 31? That Marc Zuckerberg's salary will drop to $1 in 2013? That Facebook's IPO filing caused the SEC web site to crash? It was none of these. The most surprising issue was that Zynga is responsible for 12% of Facebook revenue. Nearly 33% of voters picked this revelation as the most intriguing. But just barely. For most of Thursday, Facebook's $3.9 billion war chest was running as the most surprising fact to emerge from the IPO filing. That didn't last. In the end, Facebook's cash came in a very close second with 32.1%. Read more » |
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French construction group Vinci and a partnership between U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group and the Qatar Investment Authority are leading bidders for a 40% stake in Turkish airport operator TAV Havalimanlari Holding, Reuters reported Friday. TAV is valued at roughly $2 billion, Reuters wrote.
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Austin Ventures has named Andrew Busey, former general manager and vice president at Zynga, as a venture partner. At the firm, Busey will help identify early stage investments. Austin Ventures has $3.9 billion under management. Read more » |
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Strategic Value Partners, a global investment firm with offices in Greenwich (CT), London, Frankfurt and Tokyo has reached a final close of Strategic Value Special Situations Fund II at $918 million. The Fund had an original target of $600 million. SVP focuses on distressed, event driven and turnaround investments. PRESS RELEASE Strategic Value Partners (SVP), a leading global investment firm focused on distressed, event driven and turnaround investments, today announced the final closing of Strategic Value Special Situations Fund II (“SVSS II”) at $918 million. The Fund had an original target of $600 million. SVSS II will follow the same strategy as its highly successful predecessor, SVSS I, by investing in dis |
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Platinum Equity has completed the sale of 3B to Binani Industries Limited. Headquartered in Battice, Belgium, 3B produces fiberglass composite materials and is a supplier to the automotive, wind energy and other industries. With the sale of 3B, Platinum has completed five divestitures in the last four months - Canvas Systems in January 2012, The San Diego Union-Tribune in December 2011, and AEES and Peak Technologies in October 2011. PRESS RELEASE Platinum Equity announced today it has completed the sale of 3B - The Fibreglass Company (”3B”) to Binani Industries Limited. Platinum did not disclose terms of the agreement. |
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THL Credit has backed Express Courier’s acquisition of EagleOne, a provider of same-day courier services in Southern United States. THL Credit and its managed fund, THL Credit Greenway Fund LLC, provided senior subordinated debt capital as part of the acquisition. Express Courier, a portfolio company of The Riverside Company, is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, and specializes in same-day and regularly scheduled delivery of time-sensitive or confidential materials across a range of industries. PRESS RELEASE THL Credit, Inc. TCRD +0.61% (”THL Credit”) today announced that it participated in the financing of Express Courier International, Inc.’s |
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PerkinElmer, a company focused on improving the health and safety of people and the environment, has elected Peter Barrett to the company’s board of directors. Barrett is a partner at Atlas Venture, an early stage technologies and life sciences venture capital fund. PRESS RELEASE PerkinElmer, a global leader focused on improving the health and safety of people and the environment, today announced that Peter Barrett, a partner at Atlas Venture, an early stage technologies and life sciences venture capital fund, has been elected to the Company’s Board of Directors, in anticipation of a current Board member reaching retirement age. “We are very excited to have Peter joining our Board,” said Robe |
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Ottawa-based Shopify, an ecommerce platform used to create and power online stores, has acquired Select Start Studios, also based in Ottawa. The strategic acquisition will allow the company to execute its mobile growth strategy, and is its first major investment since raising $15 million in Series B funding in October 2011. Shopify has so far received $22 million in Series A and B funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital, Felicis Ventures, and Georgian Partners. PRESS RELEASE Shopify, the leading ecommerce platform used to create and power online stores, today announced it acquired award-winning Select Start Studios Inc. (”S3″) |
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Prospect Medical Holdings has acquired Nix Health Care System, a company that offers San Antonio and the surrounding communities a vast array of medical services ranging from primary care and surgical services to behavioral and rehabilitation services. Prospect Medical Holdings is a healthcare services company headquartered in Los Angeles and backed by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners. PRESS RELEASE Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. (”Prospect” or the “Company”), today announced the closing of its acquisition of Nix Health Care System (”Nix Health”). Under the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement entered into on December 23, 2011, Prospect has acquired su |
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Auxogyn, a privately-held company focused on advancing women’s reproductive health, has closed the final tranche of its Series A financing, bringing total funding to $20 million. Investors in the round include Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, TPG Biotech and Merck Serono Ventures. PRESS RELEASE Auxogyn, Inc., a privately-held company focused on advancing women’s reproductive health, today announced the close of the final tranche of its Series A financing, bringing the total funding to $20 million. The initial tranche was placed in May 2010, and investors in the round include Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, TPG Biotech and Merck Serono Ventures. “Over the cou |
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OpenX Technologies, a global provider of digital advertising technology, has appointed senior online advertising industry executive Eric Rosenthal as general manager of the company’s enterprise business. OpenX Technologies is based in Los Angeles and is backed by investors including Accel Partners, Index Ventures, SAP Ventures, AOL Ventures, Mitsui & Co. Global Investment Presidio Ventures and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures. PRESS RELEASE OpenX Technologies, Inc. (OpenX), the world’s leading independent provider of digital advertising technology, today announced the appointment of senior online adverti |
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More potential buyers lined up for the assets of insolvent refiner Petroplus on Thursday, with private equity group Goldsmith registering interest in all five of its plants, writes Reuters. Swiss-based Petroplus is filing for insolvency after battling with high debt and poor refining margins. Reuters - More potential buyers lined up for the assets of insolvent refiner Petroplus on Thursday, with private equity group Goldsmith registering interest in all five of its plants. Swiss-based Petroplus, Europe’s largest independent refinery by capacity, is filing for insolvency after battling with high debt and poor refining margins. The company was forced to close three of its refineries, including Petit Couronne in |
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Hong Kong’s Hutchison 3G will buy Orange Austria from France Telecom and a private equity fund in a deal valued at 1.3 billion euros ($1.7 billion) including debt, writes Reuters. The deal by the unit of Hutchison Whampoa follows a cluster of outbound M&A transactions from Asia in early 2012 as firms with large cash piles and low debt buy assets in Europe, where economies are struggling with the debt crisis, writes Reuters. Reuters - Hong Kong’s Hutchison 3G will buy Orange Austria from France Telecom and a private equity fund in a deal valued at 1.3 billion euros ($1.7 billion) including debt, expanding the corporate footprint in Europe of one of Asia’s richest m |
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peHUB First Read
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 Don't Worry: No ads after IPO Facebook promises Unique Problem Solvers: Seven most interesting startups Global M&A Bombs: Lowest YTD levels since 2003 Silicon Valley Magic: Marc Andreessen's top tech tips in the startup ecosystem Lessons From a Tech Star: Seven tips on building a startup culture Dow Jones Poaches Bloomberg Exec: Former CEO of Bloomberg Ventures joins the home of the Wall Street Journal Yammer Time: Crazy growth from the enterprise social network Viva Las Vegas: Billionaire businessman Trump endorses Romney in Sin City Courting Petroplus: More than 40 bidders have expressed an interest in its Coryton site Blackstone in Talks with Brocade but striking a deal may prove difficult Read more » |
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Frack, Baby, Frack!
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 It sounds as if the President is going to lend more support to natural gas extraction, AKA “fracking,” through which the fuel is more easily extracted from geographic regions that rendered machinery incapable of mining in the past. And, as if they needed a break, some of the biggest and best-backed PE firms in the country are set to benefit from it the most... |
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Ron Peele was named chief operating officer of Surefire Social. He is also an investor in Surefire Social, an Internet marketing platform. Peele was a founding investor and CFO of Revolution Health. Prior to that, he helped launch and build the AOL/Time Warner venture capital group. Read more » |
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Vincent Policard joins KKR as a director in the firm's infrastructure team. Policard, who will be based in London, will be responsible for originating and executing transactions in the European infrastructure sector. He joins from Morgan Stanley where he was part of the infrastructure fund team. Read more » |
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ORIX Venture Finance has made an equity investment in Kemp Technologies alongside Edison Ventures and Kennet Partners. peHUB reported in January that Kemp had raised $16 million in new funding, which included $7.5 million from Edison Ventures. Kemp makes server load balancer appliances. Read more » |
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peHUB Second Opinion 2.2 (Groundhog Day’s Edition)
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 I'm Always Right: The Reformed Broker complains that "No One is Ever Wrong Anymore." But you are wrong, just not me. Deal: Amazon buys TeachStreet and the company will become part of Amazonlocal. No Disclosure: Several major U.S. companies have been hacked but won't admit it. And, Brazil hackers hit HSBC banking sites. It's a Split: Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow and predicts six more weeks of winter. But Staten Island Chuck didn't. Thar She Blows: An Alaska volcano forms a lava dome which raises the warning level. American Exceptionalism or Not: Would you buy the United States if it were stock? After the Decision: Susan G. Komen got hacked last night and Mayor Bloomberg offers $250K to Planned Parenthood to make up for the missing funds. Making Friends: Rapper Ja Rule hangs out with Alan Hevesi and Dennis Kozlowski behind bars. Read more » |
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United Silver Corp., a mining company based in Vancouver, has finalized its agreement with New York-based private equity firm Hale Capital Partners, which has issued USC $6 million in secured convertible notes. Proceeds of the loan will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. PRESS RELEASE: United Silver Corp. (”USC” or the “Company”) CA:USC -1.37% (otcqx:USCZF) and Hale Capital Partners (”Hale” or the “Lender”) are pleased to announce that, subject to final approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”), they have successfully closed their previously announced financing transaction. USC is now in a position to begin its four-year explo |
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Polaris Venture Partners has invested $4 million in Aria Retirement Solutions. Aria Retirement, a provider of guaranteed retirement income services, will use the funds to expand its tech platform for independent RIAs. Read more » |
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Private Equity Takes Steps to Fight Bad Rep–UPDATED
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 First up is the Private Equity Growth Capital Council, the advocacy organization that represents the industry. Are PE firms merely corporate raiders whose only intent is to destroy jobs and reap huge profits? Of course not, the PEGCC says. The group maintains that the PE industry is "simply misunderstood, and actually helps boost the economy by strengthening companies and creating jobs," according to The Hill. Read more » |
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Asia: Facebook’s Next Challenge
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 A block on access in China, court cases in India and rivalry from other services elsewhere in the region stand between Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook and more than 700 million users. “The size of our user base and our users’ level of engagement are critical to our success,” Facebook... |
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