Iris Dorbian
Centre Partners has acquired a majority stake in Sun Orchard. No financial terms were disclosed. Rabo Securities USA served as financial advisor to Sun Orchard on the transaction. Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, Sun Orchard is a provider of juice and beverage products for the food service sector.
First Read kicks off your New Year with news Alibaba rival Wanda E-commerce raising $161 mln at $3 bln valuation, the biggest cyber-security threats of 2015 and investors bought into nearly $250 bln in global IPOs in 2014.
Wasserstein has agreed to sell High Pressure Equipment Company to Graco for $160 million. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015. Houlihan Lokey was financial advisor to HiP. Based in Erie, Penn., HiP is a maker of valves, fittings, tubing and accessories for high pressure applications.
Canadian private equity firm Onex has made an undisclosed investment in Advanced Integration Technology. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, AIT is a provider of automation and tooling, maintenance services and aircraft components for the aerospace sector.
Ballantyne Strong has named Samuel C. Freitag as chairman of its board of directors. The appointment became effective January 1, 2015. Freitag replaces William F. Welsh, II, who has stepped down as chairman while continuing as a member of its board of directors. Freitag is a former president of private equity fund manager McCarthy Capital Corp. Ballantyne Strong is a provider of digital technology solutions.
First Read is already in 2015 in our minds with news debt investors prepare to profit from oil price collapse, United Airlines and Orbitz sue the founder of Skiplagged.com and Silicon Valley found plenty to cheer and fear in 2014 IPO market. Happy New Year!
Modernizing Medicine, which is backed by Summit Partners, has closed its buy of Aesyntix Health. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Roseville, Calif., Aesyntix is a provider of billing solutions for medical practices.
Brookdale Senior Living has added William G. Petty, Jr. to its board of directors. Petty is a founding partner of Beecken Petty O'Keefe & Company, a healthcare-focused private equity firm. Brookdale is an operator of senior living communities in the U.S.
RCS Capital Corp. has named Mark Auerbach as chairman of its board of directors. The appointment becomes effective immediately. Auerbach replaces Nicholas S. Schorsch who is leaving both his posts as a member of the board of directors and its chairman. Also leaving RCS Capital's board of directors is William M. Kahane.
Pohlad Family Capital Fund and an unidentified family office investor have acquired stakes in PLR IP Holdings, which owns the instant photography Polaroid brand. The sellers were Knightsbridge Capital Partners and PBE Corp's Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee. No financial terms were disclosed. Polaroid is backed by Gordon Brothers and Hilco Consumer Capital.