Maranon Capital said Wednesday it invested in Performance Health and Wellness Holdings to back its acquisition by Gridiron Capital and company management. Akron, Ohio-based Performance Health designs, makes and markets rehabilitation and wellness products. Maranon said it arranged and led a syndicate which provided mezzanine debt and an equity co-investment.

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners has acquired McKenzie Sports Products, a manufacturer and distributor of taxidermy supplies. McKenzie was a portfolio company of Gridiron Capital. Harris Williams & Co acted as the exclusive advisor to McKenzie. The transaction was led by the firm’s Richmond and Minneapolis offices. PRESS RELEASE Harris Williams & Co., a preeminent middle [...]

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners has bought McKenzie Sports Products from Gridiron Capital. The deal closed March 30. Financial terms weren’t announced. News of the sale was announced by Harris Williams which advised Gridiron. McKenzie makes and distributes taxidermy supplies. PRESS RELEASE Harris Williams & Co., a preeminent middle market investment bank focused on the advisory [...]

Catch up on what your colleagues found most interesting on peHUB this week. Posts that garnered the most pageviews from regular readers from June 6 to June 10 focused on compensation data; venture returns at UTIMCO; most active PE buyers for Q2; Austin Ventures decision to hire a chief compliance officer; Gridiron Partners holding a first close; outrage over Lynn Tilton’s plans to take one of her companies into bankruptcy; and more.

1. Slideshow: Who Makes The Most Money Of All?, by David Toll

2. Slideshow: UTIMCO’s Top 5 Venture Capital Investments, by Mark Boslet (subscribers only)

3. Slideshow: Q2’s Most Active Buyers, by Bernard Vaughan (subscribers only)

4. Excerpt: Sub Debt Coming in More Flavors, by Steve Bills

5. TPG Capital Is Planning $1B BDC, by Steve Bills

6. Why Did Austin Ventures Hire A Chief Compliance Officer?, by David Toll

7. Job Moves: Kleiner Lures Huang from Vivo, CalPERS Gets Real, Founders Fund CFO Moves On, More, by Joanna Glasner (subscribers only)

8. Lynn Tilton Blasted for Bankruptcy Conflicts, by Tom Hals, Reuters

9. Conn. Firm With Ties To Pro Sports Holds $147M First Close: Source, by Bernard Vaughan

10. Cerberus’ Feinberg Foresees Smaller Funds, by Megan Davies, Reuters

Gridiron Capital, a firm that applies lessons from sports to private equity investing, recently held a first close on its second fund at $147 million, a source familiar with the fundraising effort told Buyouts. The firm is seeking $400 million for the fund, Gridiron Capital Fund II LP, although it will raise as much as [...]

Kevin Jackson has joined Gridiron Capital as a vice president. He previously was a senior associate with at CCMP Capital.

TharpeRobbins Company Inc., a developer of employee attraction and retention programs, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from Gridiron Capital. The deal also included one-stop debt and equity co-investment from Maranon Capital.

McKenzie Sports Products LLC, a portfolio company of Gridiron Capital, has acquired Van Dyke’s Taxidermy Inc. from Cabela’s Inc. (NYSE: CAB). No financial terms were disclosed. Van Dyke’s is a Woonsocket, S.D.-based provider of taxidermy products and supplies.

Yellowstone Landscape Group Inc., a Dallas-based portfolio company of Gridiron Capital, has acquired Floridian landscaping company Dolphin Landscape. No financial terms were disclosed.

Quietly, Pacific Southwest Ventures has joined the likes of Gridiron Capital, Huntsman Gay Global Capital and HRJ Capital. What the firms all have in common is that they have onetime pro athletes on their rosters. Without any fanfare, placekicker Billy Cundiff, who is currently listed as a free agent, joined Pacific Southwest as an associate [...]