Iris Dorbian
OAG, a portfolio company of Vitruvian Partners, has appointed Gehan Talwatte as a non-executive chairman. Talwatte is the former CEO of Ascend. UK-based OAG is a provider of flight information.
Avast, which is backed by CVC Capital Partners and Summit, has acquired London-based Piriform, a provider of device performance optimization software. No financial terms were disclosed.
Moscow and Berlin-based Finstar Financial Group, an international private equity firm, is planning on investing $150 million into fintech startups over the next five years. Finstar will target three to six deals per year, investing between $500,000 to $30 million apiece. Also, the capital will be used for research and development for Finstar's portfolio companies.
Clearlake Capital Group LP has named Patrick Gilligan as a managing director focused on investor relations and marketing and Xavier A. Gutierrez as a managing director focused on operations, client services and other strategic initiatives. Also, the firm has appointed Colin Leonard as a partner and James Pade as a principal. And, Paul Huber and Nate Mejías have been promoted to vice president. Prior to joining Clearlake, Gilligan was a managing director at Park Hill Group while Gutierrez served as chief investment officer of Meruelo Group and president and chief investment officer of Meruelo Investment Partners.
Twin Brook Capital Partners, Angelo, Gordon & Co's middle market direct lending subsidiary, has closed its second direct lending fund at $2.3 billion in equity.
Gamut Capital Management has agreed to acquire La Vergne, Tennessee-based JPW Industries, a producer of machinery and equipment. No financial terms were disclosed. In addition to the transaction, Stephen Van Oss, an operating partner at Gamut, will join JPW’s board of directors as a non-executive chairman. Goldman Sachs served as financial adviser to Gamut while BB&T Capital Markets did likewise for JPW.
First Read starts the day with news that IBM posts declining revenue for the 21st consecutive quarter, Ed Sheeran temporarily bolts from Twitter after his cameo appearance on "Game of Thrones" gets mixed reviews and EnerVest in talks to salvage two struggling funds.
Advent International-backed Sovos Brands has closed its previously announced acquisition of New York-based Rao's Specialty Foods Inc, a maker of pasta sauce. No financial terms were disclosed. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as exclusive financial adviser to Rao's Specialty Foods on the transaction.
Infogix Inc, a portfolio company of Thoma Bravo, has acquired Data Clairvoyance, a data strategy consultancy. No financial terms were disclosed.
Arlon Group has acquired a minority stake in Betânia, a dairy company in Brazil. In conjunction with the investment, Bruno Martins Silva of Arlon has been added to Betânia's board of directors.