Chris Witkowsky
European Capital Limited and American Capital received proceeds of $118.5 million from exiting their investment in Qioptiq, a global specialist in the photonics industry serving the commercial, defense and aerospace markets. The exit represents a 1.7x money multiple on their investment. The exit comes as Qioptiq's major shareholder, Arle Capital Partners, has sold 100 percent of its shares to Excelitas Technologies.
The Abraaj Group has sold Tunisian pharmaceutical company Opalia Pharma S.A. to Recordati, an international pharmaceutical company listed on the Italian stock exchange. Abraaj invested in Opalia in 2009 and the deal marks the firm's first realization in the Tunisian market.
Sheridan Legacy Group, a Chicago-based middle-market firm, has acquired Progenicare, which provides autologous stem cell therapies to orthopedic surgeons and hospitals in the western U.S, through a growth equity recapitalization.
As our week comes to a close, First Read brings you reports of a solar boom in Japan, concern over a bubble developing in the U.S. stock market and what happened when Cisco lost a $1 billion deal with Amazon.
Waterton Global Resource Management is approaching a second close on $600 million for its second mining and metals fund, which is targeting $750 million.
As Halloween night approaches, Second Opinion brings you ghoulish news about bond king Bill Gross feeling guilty about his wealth, the FAA relaxing rules around using electronic devices on planes and employees from Google, Oracle and Red Hat reportedly sent to help the government fix its healthcare website.
Hotel chain Extended Stay America Inc said it expects to sell 28.3 million common shares at $18-$21 each in an initial public offering, valuing the company at as much as $4.2 billion.
Crown Holdings, a manufacturer of packaged products for consumer marketing companies, has agreed to acquire Mivisa Envases, a Spanish maker of two- and three-piece food cans and ends, for €1.2 billion from The Blackstone Group, N+1 Mercapital and management. Citigroup Global Markets acted as financial advisor to Crown and provided committed financing for the transaction.
Brookfield Asset Management has held a final close on $7 billion on its Brookfield Infrastructure Fund II. Fund II will invest in infrastructure, with a focus on transportation, renewable power, utilities and energy assets in North and South America, Europe and Australasia. Brookfield beat its $5 billion target for the fund.
Olympus Partners is selling its investment in Neptune Finance, a business Olympus formed to create a diverse portfolio of senior second loans in 2008 to take advantage of the decline in senior loan pricing. Olympus more than doubled its investment in Neptune over the period, though terms of the sale were not disclosed. Olympus also did not disclose the identity of the buyer.