TLC Laser Eye Centers said Wednesday that George Neal was named CEO. Neal was previously a division VP, global sales and international mareketing with Abbott Medical Optics. TLC, which is backed by Charlesbank Capital Partners and H.I.G. Capital, provides LASIK and refractive eye care services. PRESS RELEASE TLC Laser Eye Centers, North America’s premier provider [...]

It’s looking glum in the M&A world as deal values for first quarter transactions dropped 53%. But the value of PE-backed transactions actually rose, according to Thomson Reuters.

Depending on when private equity and venture capital firms made investments in the college textbook publishing space, they’re either hitting the books, or getting hit by them.

Charlesbank Capital Partners’ CSI Leasing should be ripe for a potential deal opportunity, Hub sister pub Buyouts reports… Should Horatio be on the case?

Brazos Private Equity Partners will acquire the stake in Vision Source, the optometric franchise, that was acquired by HIG Capital and Charlesbank Capital Partners just 18 months ago. The sponsors reorganized TLC Vision after the company filed Chapter 11. Specifics on the deal were not made public. PRESS RELEASE: H.I.G. and Charlesbank Sell Interest in [...]

The Carlyle Group has taken a controlling stake in WorldStrides, a student travel organization. Financial terms of the deal, which closed yesterday, weren’t disclosed. Charlottesville, Va.-WorldStrides provides supplemental educational student travel programs. The sellers were Charlesbank Capital Partners and Silverhawk Capital Partners, who will each continue to own stakes in WorldStrides.

DEI Holdings has completed its deal to sell to private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners, the firms said in a joint statement. DEI Holdings, the electronics company that makes, among its other products, Polk Audio home theater systems, was taken private from the Pink Sheets for $4.46 per share in cash, or about $305 million. The company’s existing management will remain in place.

Lextron Inc., the Colorado-based animal health product distributor, has acquired Animal Health International from Charlesbank Capital Partners. The exit comes after a six-year hold for the Massachusetts-based private equity firm. Charlesbank Capital Managing Director Brandon White worked on the investment in Animal Health International for the private equity firm.

DEI Holdings, the California-based maker of consumer electronics products, was acquired off the Pink Sheets last week by Charlesbank Capital Partners in a $285 million deal. The deal includes a 35-day go-shop for DEI. Charlesbank has secured committed debt financing from General Electric Capital Corporation and OPY Credit Corp., an affiliate of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Greenberg Traurig, LLP is acting as legal advisor to DEI Holdings in connection with the transaction. Goodwin Procter LLP is acting as legal advisor to Charlesbank.

Today, we finally have more information about the sale of Vision Source to Brazos Private Equity Partners.

Charlesbank Capital Partners and H.I.G. Capital revealed Wednesday that they are the sellers of Vision Source, which is a unit of TLC Vision. Brazos, a Dallas PE firm, announced they invested in Vision Source last week, but didn’t give out much information. Brazos said they made a “significant” investment in Vision Source.