Weld North has acquired a majority stake equal of approximately 70 percent in Organic Avenue, an organic juice and food business. The investment follows a minority stake taken in the company in June 2012.

Justin Serrano has joined Weld North, an investment company backed by KKR, as an MD. Serrano will be responsible for identifying and managing investments in education. He was most recently President of Kaplan K12 and College Prep Programs at Kaplan Test Prep. PRESS RELEASE Weld North LLC, an investment company founded by former Kaplan, Inc. [...]

Private equity firms are going to have their work cut out for them, if Jana Partners and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan get their way. The pension and the hedge fund teamed to buy a stake in recent market benchmark under-performer and multi-faceted education and financial services publishing giant McGraw-Hill and decide that the company [...]

Weld North Holdings, a partnership between former Kaplan Chief Jonathan Grayer and buyout shop Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., has closed its first deal: the acquisition of e-learning company e2020 Inc. Terms of the deal were not released. Sari Factor, managing director for education at Weld North, will become CEO of e2020, the firm said. The company, formed in 1998, provides online courses for K-12 students through a software-as-a-service model. The courses can be used for anything from advanced placement to so-called “credit recovery,” to help students who have fallen behind with course credits.

Steven Berger has been named vice chairman and CFO of Weld North, a consumer-focused investment platform recently launched by KKR and former Kaplan CEO Jonathan Grayer. Berger is the former head of Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking, and most recently was founding partner of Richmond Park Partners.