Iris Dorbian
First Read wakes you up on this balmy Christmas Eve with news the U.S. economy has posted its strongest growth in more than a decade, Tinder is being used to ID suspected thieves and five ways Santa uses big data. Happy Holidays!
First Reserve has bought Navigator Energy Services, a Dallas-based midstream services provider. The value of the acquisition is up to $250 million.
AltheaDx, a molecular diagnostics firm, has filed for an IPO. The number of shares that will be sold as well as the stock's pricing terms have yet to be set. AltheaDx plans on listing its stock on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "IDGX." Citigroup and Jefferies are the lead underwriters. AltheaDx's backers include Telegraph Hill Partners.
Roche has acquired Bina Technologies, a Redwood City, Calif.-based big data science platform. No financial terms were disclosed. Bina's backers included Sierra Ventures and AME Cloud Ventures.
AssuredPartners, a portfolio company of GTCR, has acquired Sheehan Insurance Group. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Haymarket, Virginia, Sheehan Insurance Group specializes in insurance coverage for businesses.
Generation Growth Capital has sold Quality Assembly & Logistics to QAL President and CEO Guy Meyerhofer. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Marinette, Wisconsin, QAL is a provider of contract manufacturing services for equipment manufacturers in the medical equipment and fire suppression industries.
Morgenthaler Private Equity has acquired Bowles Fluidics Corp. No financial terms were disclosed. MPE will partner with Bowles management on the transaction. Madison Capital Funding, Hancock Capital Management and Hartford Investment Management Company provided financing for the deal. BakerHostetler advised MPE while SC&H Capital and Venable were financial and legal advisors, respectively, to Bowles. Based in Columbia, Maryland, Bowles is a maker of fluid distribution products.
NEP Group, which is owned by Crestview Partners, has acquired Faber Audiovisuals. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in the Netherlands, Faber, which was previously owned by Foreman Capital, is a provider of audiovisual production solutions.
First Read hides from the winter rain this morning with news Sony is threatening to sue Twitter over tweets with hacked e-mails, F-Squared Investments settles $35 mln SEC fine and 2014 was an especially bad year for bitcoin.
Cinven has acquired Northgate Public Services. The seller was Northgate Information Solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in the UK, NPS is a provider of integrated software, outsourcing and IT services for the public sector.