Sensing a continuing demand by limited partners to invest in distress, Greenwich, Conn., buyout shop Littlejohn & Co. is raising a $500 million side fund for non-control deals. The firm, a specialist in distress investing, has already held a first close of $16.1 million for the Littlejohn Opportunities Fund LP, a regulatory filing from January [...]

Holmdel, N.J.-based Cosmetic Essence, which is backed by private investment firm Littlejohn & Co., has named Peter Martin as its chief executive officer. Martin served in various roles at Captive Plastics from 1996 to 2008, most recently as president and C.E.O. Cosmetic Essence provides contract manufacturing and supply chain management services for the cosmetics, personal care and household products industries. Littlejohn is based in Greenwich, Conn.

Debt refinancing dominated U.S. leveraged lending in the first quarter, according to data collected by Thomson Reuters LPC, a sister service of peHUB that tracks the loan market. Refinancings include dividend recapitalizations to pay dividends to sponsors as well as straightforward refinancings designed to lower a borrower’s interest rate or extend debt maturities.

Soundview Maritime LLC, a private equity funded owner and operator of mid-sized container ships, has added maritime industry veteran Moritz Mittelbach as an advisor. Mittelbach worked most recently with Rickmers Holding GmbH, a group with activities in liner shipping, ship-owning, and ship management. Investors Littlejohn & Co. and Northern Shipping Funds formed Soundview in 2010. Greenwich, Connecticut-based Littlejohn & Co. is currently investing from Littlejohn Fund IV, L.P., which has more than $1.3 billion in capital commitments.

Keystone Automotive Operations Inc., the Pennsylvania-based maker of specialty automotive equipment and accessories, has reached agreements with affiliates of Platinum Equity and Littlejohn & Co. to reduce its outstanding debt by $295 million. Kirkland & Ellis, Miller Buckfire & Co., and FTI Consulting provided advice to Keystone; Willkie Farr & Gallagher provided advice to the PE firms.

Littlejohn & Co. has completed its sale of coffee roaster and distributor Van Houtte. The investment firm, based in Greenwich, Conn., sold the company to publicly traded Green Mountain Coffee Roasters for 915 million Canadian dollars ($902 million). Littlejohn took Van Houtte private in a 2007 deal valued at 600 million Canadian dollars. Van Houtte is based in Montreal.

Greenwich, Conn.-based Littlejohn & Co. has acquired Henniges Automotive Holdings from Wynnchurch Capital Partners. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Henniges, based in Farmington Hills, Mich., manufactures automotive sealing systems for doors, windows and trunks. Wynnchurch Capital is based in Rosemont, Illinois, and has more than $1 billion under management.

Littlejohn & Co. has closed its fourth fund with $1.34 billion, exceeding the firm’s original target of $1.25 billion. Roughly 80% of the capital in Littlejohn Fund IV L.P. will go toward control investments, with the remainder invested in distressed opportunities, the firm said. Park Hill Group served as placement agent for Greenwich, Conn.-based Littlejohn.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. agreed to acquire all the outstanding shares of LJVH Holdings Inc. (Van Houtte), from an affiliate of Littlejohn & Co. LLC for C$915 million, or $890 million, based on the exchange rate as of Sept. 13. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2010. Van Houtte is [...]

Littlejohn & Co. has completed its acquisition of CTI Foods Inc. from CIC Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. CIC Partners formed CTI Foods in 2003, via the acqusition and merger of SSI Food Services and S&S Foods LLC from J.R. Simplot Company. The Wilder, Idaho-based company already had a processing facility in California, and later would [...]