Deals

3i Group will buy Cleveland, Ohio-based Hilite International, a maker of fuel-efficient auto parts, for an undisclosed amount, Reuters reported. The deal reportedly valued Hilite at about $300 million, Reuters said.

Actis has reached an agreement with Gas Natural Fenosa to buy a group of companies focused on the transportation and supply of electricity in Guatemala. The deal is valued at $345 million, plus assumed debt. Actis focuses on emerging market deals, and has roughly $4.6 billion under management.

Advent-Morro Equity Partners

said it has invested $5 million in La Familia, a chain of pawn shops located in Florida and Puerto Rico. Advent-Morro, of San Juan, targets the U.S. Hispanic market.

San Francisco-based mid-market firm Alpine Investors has finished a management recapitalization of Southlake, Texas-based Berkeys Plumbing and AIr Conditioning. Alpine has partnered with Seattle-based Skylight Capital to complete and help actively manage the investment. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

New York-based American Securities has completed a majority investment in SpecialtyCare, a provider of outsourced perfusion, clinical technician, minimally invasive surgical support services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Five-year-old SpecialtyCare is based in Nashville. Equity for the deal was provided by American Securities Partners V LP.

A number of U.S.-based private equity firms—including Apax, Cerberus, Mason Capital and Amber Capital—are eyeing opportunities in Spain’s ailing savings banks, Reuters reported, citing a report by financial daily Expansion. The savings banks are being forced by the Spanish government to boost their capital after years of heavy lending in the country’s decade-long property boom, Reuters wrote.An Apax Partners portfolio company, the British foreign exchange company Travelex, has acquired Brazilian peer Grupo Confidence, Reuters reported. The deal is part of Travelex’s strategy to expand into emerging markets. Terms of the deal were not released.

Apax Partners has acquired a 65 percent stake in Vocalcom, a provider of software for customer contact and call centers. The deal included share purchases and a capital increase, the firm said in a written statement. Specific terms of the deal were not released.

Apollo Global Management and Broadway Partners have offered more than $1.68 billion for Charter Hall’s U.S. real estate holdings, Reuters reported, citing a story from Bloomberg. AREA Property Partners, Boston Properties Inc. and Highwoods Properties Inc. also reportedly made separate offers for some or all of Charter Hall’s 14 U.S. properties.

Australian private equity firm Archer Capital will acquire a majority stake in V8 Supercars Australia in a deal valued at more than $317 million, Reuters reported. Archer will back Australian Motor Racing Partners to take a 60 percent stake in V8 Supercars. Racing teams and management will hold the remaining 40 percent equity interest, Reuters wrote. Archer Capital has more than $2 billion under management.

The Carlyle Group and Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Group are expected to place first round bids for a stake in Malaysian lender RHB, Reuters reported. Carlyle is expected to bid for the stake and is in discussions with other potential partners, sources with knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

CCMP Capital Advisors is buying 80 percent of Medpace via a recap. Management will own the rest, according to a statement. The transaction is valued at roughly $500 million, a person said. Cincinnati-based Medpace is a clinical research organization that provides Phase I-IV core development services for drug, biologic and device programs.

Cerberus Capital Management

has agreed to buy the global billing and payments unit of 3i Infotech. The deal includes the Regulus Group and J&B Software owned by 3i Infotech. Cerberus said it is paying $137 million. The transaction is expected to close in 60 days. Raymond James & Associates provided financial advice to 3i Infotech while Alvarez & Marsal provided accounting advice.

Charterhouse Capital Partners is taking a majority stake in the global environmental consultancy Environmental Resources Management. Under the terms of the transaction, which values ERM at $950 million, Charterhouse, a private equity investment firm focusing on Western European businesses, will acquire roughly a 65 percent stake.Clearlake Capital Group said it has recapitalized Mycom Group Ltd and added a “significant capital infusion” to help the company expand. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Mycom is a provider of wireless engineering services and OSS Service Assurance software to the telecom industry. Clearlake’s Behdad Eghbali, José Feliciano and Arta Tabaee have joined the company’s board.

China’s CNinsure Inc. has received a $953 million offer to go private, Reuters reported. The offer came from a consortium of investors, led by the company’s chief executive, including TPG Asia, Kingsford Resources Ltd, and CDH Inservice Ltd. At $19 per share, the offer represents a 44 percent premium over the company’s closing price on the day before the offer was disclosed. CNinsure is a property, casualty and life insurer.

Turkey’s Cukurova Holding is in talks with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG Capital to sell up to 49 percent of its television channel Show TV, Reuters reported. Cukurova is selling the stake to finance tax debts. Show TV is valued at $800 million minimum, with a valuation that could rise above $1 billion based on a multiple of 12 times earnings, Reuters said.

Energy Investors Funds has bought a remaining 20 percent interest in Calypso Energy Holdings and now owns 100 percent of the company. Calypso Energy is a portfolio of 12 power generation projects, and Energy Investors Funds initially bought an 80 percent stake in the company in late 2007. Terms of the latest deal were not released.

EQT Infrastructure will pay €180 million ($252 million) to acquire the car park business from Spanish infrastructure and renewable energy group Acciona. EQT bought 29 car parks in Spain and Andorra. The deal reportedly includes €40 million of debt. The investment is the first for EQT Infrastructure in Spain.

Philadelphia-based Eureka Growth Capital has acquired Chicago-based Project Leadership Associates Inc., a provider of information technology and business strategy consulting services. Terms of the deal were not released. The firm did say that it partnered with senior management on the deal, and increased the number of Project Leadership managers who own equity in the company.

Genstar Capital portfolio company Confie Seguros, the national provider of insurance that concentrates on the Hispanic demographic, has acquired a pair of New Jersey brokerages—Royale Insurance and First Americano Insurance Agency—from founder and CEO Remberto Perez, a seasoned insurance executive who will continue as CEO of the two companies.

Golden Gate Capital will pay $470 million for California Pizza Kitchen Inc., Reuters reported. The sale price of $18.50 a share represents a 32 percent premium to the 30-day average price prior to the search for a buyer, the company announced. But the sale price does fall below the company’s 52-week high of $20 per share. Moelis & Co. served as the financial adviser to California Pizza.

Goode Partners has recapped Chuy’s Holdings, a restaurant chain focused on “home-cooked” Mexican cuisine. Golub Capital provided $67.5 million in debt financing to support the recap, according to a statement. Goode Partners is based in New York.

GoWireless Inc. has closed on a credit facility with Kayne Anderson Mezzanine Partners, designed to help fuel growth and acquisition opportunities. Financial terms were not disclosed. Las Vegas-based GoWireless is one of the largest Verizon Wireless resellers in the U.S. Kayne Anderson Mezzanine Partners manages $600 million in committed capital and invests in middle market companies.

China-focused buyout shop Hopu Investment Management Co. sold half its stake in Winsway Coking Coal Holdings for about $82 million, Reuters reported. The company is one of China’s major integrated importers and distributors of coking coal. Hopu owns almost 5 percent of the company after the sale.

Hudson Transmission Partners, which is developing the Hudson Transmission project, has closed on $850 million in debt and equity. Energy Investors Funds and Starwood Energy Group Global are providing equity financing, while the debt is coming from a consortium of institutional investors through a private placement arranged by SG Americas Securities and RBS Securities. The funds will be used to finance the Hudson Transmission project, an underground and underwater electrical cable between New Jersey and Manhattan.

Irish financial services company IFG Group has received a new takeover approach, Reuters reported, though the name of the potential buyer was not disclosed. The Sunday Times has reported that private equity firm Fiordland, which owns 18 percent of IFG Group, is the newest suitor. The Sunday Times also named private equity rival Bregal Capital as another potential buyer, saying the firm approached IFG earlier this month.

Clinical consulting and commercial services firm inVentiv Health, which is backed by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Liberty Lane Partners, said that it will acquire drug development services firm PharmaNet Development Group. Terms of the deal were kept under wraps. BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi and Jefferies Finance provided financing commitments to inVentiv Health to support the transaction.

Irving Place Capital portfolio company Multi Packaging Solutions will acquire Cartondruck AG, a company based in Obersulm, Germany. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Cartondruck is a manufacturer of packaging for the cosmetics, confectionery, consumer and health care markets in Europe and the United States. Multi Packaging Solutions makes packaging for cosmetics, health care, horticulture, media and consumer markets.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP and International Finance Corp. led a 4.4 billion rupee ($97.5 million) investment in Magma Fincorp Ltd, a non-deposit taking, non-banking finance company. Ernst & Young (Advisory) and Wadia Ghandy advised Magma on the transaction. Ernst & Young (Transaction Advisory), McKinsey & Co., Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, AZB Partners and Kotak Mahindra Capital advised KKR on the transaction.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. paid €240 million ($342 million) for Versatel, Reuters reported. Major Versatel shareholders Apax Partners with 41.7 percent, Cyrte and United Internet, with about 25 percent each, agreed to sell their shares for €5.50 apiece. The deal is set to close in the third quarter.

KSL Capital Partners announced that it has acquired InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Following the deal, the resort will operate as an independent resort and will remain affiliated with InterContinental Hotels & Resorts as an InterContinental Alliance Resort. The resort will be managed by KSL Resorts. KSL Capital Partners is a private equity firm specializing in travel and leisure investments. The firm has offices in Denver and New York.

Leeds Equity Partners will acquire Nobel Learning Communities Inc. in a deal valued at about $149 million. Under the terms of the deal, Nobel stockholders will receive $11.75 in cash per share, a premium of 36 percent over the company’s closing price on the day before the deal was announced. Nobel Learning is an operator of private preschools, elementary and middle schools and K-12 online distance learning. Leeds Equity is a New York-based firm focused on investing in the education, training and information services industries.

Martinrea International Inc. has teamed up with Anchorage Capital Group to buy the assets of Honsel AG, a German-based supplier of aluminum components for the automotive and industrial sectors. Martinrea and Anchorage will pay €101 million ($139 million) in cash, and the balance in assumed liabilities. The deal is expected to close in July. Martinrea will own 55 percent of the entity purchasing Honsel, with Anchorage owning the remaining 45 percent. Martinrea’s cash contribution to the purchase price will be approximately $77 million, and will be funded from credit funding sources arranged by Martinrea.

British information technology company Micro Focus International said it has been approached by private equity firms Bain Capital and Advent International, Reuters reported. The company, which specializes in mainframes, lost its chief executive last month, Reuters wrote. The company said there was no certainty that any offer for the company would result in talks.

Morgan Stanley Private Equity said it has bought EmployBridge Holding Co. Financial terms weren’t announced. Atlanta-based EmployBridge, which operates under the ResourceMFG, ProLogistix and ProDrivers brands, provides temporary staff for the specialty manufacturing, warehousing/logistics and transportation sectors.

New MainStream Capital and MBF Healthcare Partners LP are merging a pair of health care and home care assets, the firms announced. SunCrest Healthcare and Omni Home Care are being merged in a deal that will result in the sponsors having joint ownership of the combined companies. Harpeth Capital acted as financial adviser to SunCrest. Greenberg Traurig PA served as legal counsel on the transaction to Omni, and Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP served as legal counsel to SunCrest. Financing for the transaction was joint lead arranged and underwritten by affiliates of GE Capital Corp., SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and BMO Capital Markets.

Nokia and Siemens are allowing two private equity consortia to look at the books of their joint venture Nokia Siemens Networks, in an effort to sell the company, Reuters reported. The consortia are The Gores Group with Platinum Equity, and TPG Capital with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Nokia Siemens Networks has struggled to make a profit since its 2007 start, Reuters wrote.

Oak Hill Capital Partners will acquire cloud services company Intermedia.net Inc. Terms of the deal were not released. As part of the deal, Phil Koen, former chief executive of Savvis Inc., will join Intermedia as the new chairman and chief executive. Formed in 1995, Intermedia provides cloud-based business-class email services to small and medium-sized businesses. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter. Aaron Hill, Jason Stack, Adam Chewning, Chris Fritz and Annie Wang of Stifel Nicolaus Wiesel provided financial advice to Intermedia.

Oakley Capital has acquired a majority stake in Time Out’s New York business, paying £14.2 million ($23 million), six months after snagging the publisher’s London business, Reuters reported. In November, Oakley Capital bought a 50 percent stake in Time Out London, the official travel guide for the 2012 Olympics, for £11.3 million, Reuters wrote. It now owns 65.7 percent of the New York business, and plans to expand the company’s reach to 50 cities.

Copenhagen-based Orphazyme ApS, which is backed by Novo A/S and Sunstone Capital, has acquired the molecular chaperone assets of publicly traded biopharmaceutical company CytRx Corp. Formed in 2009, Orphazyme develops molecular chaperone therapies to treat rare genetic lysosomal diseases. The company could pay up to $120 million for the CytRx assets, in addition to certain royalty payments.

British specialist insurer Pension Corp. is close to sealing a £500 million ($820 million) infusion of capital, most coming from a fund spun off from Swiss luxury goods group Richemont, Reuters reported. The company said it was in exclusive negotiations with Luxemburg-listed Reinet Fund for a £400 million investment, Reuters wrote, adding that the remaining £100 million would come from existing and new investors. Pension Corp. counts Swiss Re and private equity group JC Flowers among its backers.

Praesidian Capital has invested $15.5 million of first lien debt in overnight shipping company Lone Star Overnight. The funding is designed to support its acquisition by a sponsor group comprising Pilgrim Capital Partners, Fort Point Capital and MRL Capital, the firm said. Lone Star Overnight is an express and ground parcel delivery company working in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

Top shareholders of Indonesia’s PT Bank Muamalat are looking to sell at least a 51 percent stake in the unlisted Islamic lender, Reuters reported. A deal for the majority stake could reach about $300 million, Reuters said, adding that PT Bank Permata, a unit of Standard Chartered, Qatar Islamic Bank and OCBC are among the potential bidders. The three shareholders looking for a partial exits are Islamic Development Bank, Boubyan Bank Kuwait and Saudi Arabia’s Atwill Holdings Ltd, Reuters wrote. Combined, the three own 75.7 percent of the bank.

Mid-market shop Ridgemont Equity Partners has acquired a majority stake in Gallus Biopharmaceuticals, a biologics contract manufacturing company based in St. Louis, Mo. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ridgemont Equity Partners is based in Charlotte, N.C.

New York-based Riveria Investment Group has taken a minority stake in staffing and recruiting company JBC Holdings. Financial terms were not disclosed. JBC will use the proceeds from the transaction to fund growth initiatives, the company announced. Formed in 2010, Riveria Investment Group focuses on mid-market investments.

A Sun Capital Partners portfolio company, Wilmington, N.C.-based VPS Convenience Store Group, has acquired Virginia Oil Co., a fuel wholesaler and operator of 17 convenience stores in western Virginia, primarily in Charlottesville. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Superior Capital Partners said it has acquired Rubex from Chemence Inc. Financial terms weren’t announced. Columbus, Ohio-based Rubex makes engineered butyl mastics, converted tapes and sealants that are used in electrical, automotive, construction and industrial applications. The acquisition is an add-on for Edge Adhesives, a Superior Capital portfolio company.

Symphony Technology Group portfolio company Netik, a financial information management provider, has acquired CorrectNet, a provider of managed client communications and delivery services and technology. Symphony Technology Group provided an undisclosed amount of capital to support this transaction. The companies did not reveal any financial terms of the deal.

Thoma Bravo has completed its buy of Tripwire. Financial details were not announced. Tripwire, of Portland, Ore., provides network security and compliance software.

Thomas H. Lee Partners has agreed to acquire Sword Insurance, a provider of software and services to the property and casualty insurance industry, from French-owned Sword Group. The deal is expected to close in June. Terms were not disclosed.

Vector Capital has increased its bid for RAE Systems Inc. to $133.9 million, or $2.25 per share, the firm announced, inching above a previous bid by Battery Ventures and SFW Capital Partners. Battery and SFW Capital submitted a proposal to buy the company for $2.20 a share.

Versa Capital Management

affiliate OCM has acquired Ohio Community Media, which owns and operates newspapers, publications and Web sites that serve communities in northern and western Ohio. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Versa is a private equity investment firm with $950 million of committed capital.

Vietnam’s Vietcombank has approached private equity funds and sovereign wealth funds as it attempts to raise $500 million, Reuters reported. The government of Vietnam had appointed Credit Suisse Group as an adviser to sell a 20 percent stake in Vietcombank and invited first round bids, Reuters wrote. The government owns 90.7 percent of Vietcombank.

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd has acquired a minority stake in in Yen Viet Joint Stock Co., a Vietnamese consumer goods firm that sells edible bird’s nest nutritional products. Terms of the deal were not released. VinaCapital is an investment management and real estate development firm in Vietnam. Formed in 2003, it has $1.7 billion in assets under management.

Waud Capital Partners’ Acadia Healthcare Co. has a deal in place with NYSE-listed PHC Inc. to merge in a deal that will result in the majority of the merged company’s shares being controlled by Acadia backers. Later, Acadia will move the company to the Nasdaq market. In connection with the transaction, Jefferies & Company, Inc. acted as exclusive financial adviser and Arent Fox LLP acted as legal adviser to PHC. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal adviser to Acadia and Jefferies Finance LLC provided financing commitments to Acadia to support the transaction.

Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe has signed investment in GlobalCollect, a provider of local e-payments. The firm is buying a majority stake from growth equity firm General Atlantic. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.