Iris Dorbian
First Read ushers in the week with news that venture firms Menlo, Benchmark and First Round have reportedly sold Uber stakes worth hundreds of millions, Franklin Templeton Investments' Mark Mobius is set to retire after 30 years, and Dogecoin's market value surges past $2 billion.
Edward Don & Company, which is backed by Vestar Capital Partners, has acquired Kent, Washington-based Smith & Greene Company, a provider of food service equipment, supplies and design-build services. No financial terms were disclosed.
Second Opinion closes out the week with news that Spotify's chief content officer is out, the Justice Department is investigating the Clinton Foundation and David Letterman's first guest on his new Netflix talk show is former President Obama.
Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company Inc has sold Evansville, Indiana-based Health Resources Inc, a provider of dental benefit programs to employers in Indiana and Kentucky. The buyer was Paramount Health. No financial terms were disclosed. Cain Brothers served as financial adviser to HRI on the transaction while Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP provided legal advice.
Geometric Results, which is backed by Bain Capital Private Equity, has agreed to acquire the de Poel group of companies. No financial terms were disclosed. UK-based de Poel provides vendor neutral solutions for the procurement and management of temporary workers. GRI is a subsidiary of MSX International.
MTS Health Partners, a healthcare-focused investment bank, has hired Kazuki Kusaka as a partner. Previously, Kusaka worked at Lazard where he led the healthcare practice for 10 years.
Valentus Specialty Chemicals, which is backed by Huron Capital, has acquired St. Louis-based US Coatings Inc, a provider of protective maintenance coatings for industrial, petrochemical, and oil and gas facility maintenance applications. No financial terms were disclosed.
Marco Group International, a portfolio company of The CapStreet Group, has acquired Youngstown, Ohio-based JAD Equipment Co, a distributor of surface preparation equipment and consumables. No financial terms were disclosed.
Los Angeles-based family office Chiron Investments LLC has named John Low as chief operating officer. Low's work background includes working at such firms as Goldman Sachs, Hitchwood Capital and Karsh Capital. He first became a principal at Chiron in the first quarter of 2017.
Francisco Partners has agreed to acquire Brookfield, Wisconsin-based Connecture Inc, which provides information systems used to create health insurance marketplaces. According to terms of the deal, Francisco Partners will pay $0.35 per share for each share of Connecture common stock not held either by them or another Connecture backer Chrysalis Ventures or their affiliates. Kirkland & Ellis LP is providing legal advice to Francisco Partners on the deal while DLA Piper LLP (US) is doing likewise for Connecture.