Last month, the Teachers' Retirement System of Illinois issued an RFP to handle legal work related to the system's private market investments. Like other Illinois TRS requests for proposal, it included the following line: Any attempt by a proposer to initiate contact with TRS staff or TRS Trustees, other than as specifically provided in this RFP, may disqualify the proposer from further consideration. Unlike other system RFPs, however, this request put the warning in bold (see bottom of page 8). Seems to be something Illinois TRS believes the private markets need made particularly clear...
Duke Street has agreed to acquire a 69% stake in Payzone Group, a UK-listed payment acceptance company. The deal values Payzone at €104 million. Duke Street will invest 45 million in equity, while Payzone's seven lenders will become shareholders -- as part of a restructuring that will cut the company's senior secured debt from approximately €300 million to €77 million.
LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – A trio of private equity firms, Advent, BC Partners and Carlyle, are set to submit bids for German cable provider Kabel Deutschland, four people familiar with the matter said. Buyouts are finding favour while market volatility undermines plans for public share sales. The business could sell for up to 5 billion euros […]
Last week, we noted an Israeli press report that Markstone Capital Partners was near a settlement with New York AG Andrew Cuomo, over its role in the state's pay-for-play scandal. Cuomo's office declined to comment at the time, but today announced that the report was legit. Israel-focused Markstone will pay back $18 million in fees related to a $250 million investment from the New York State Common Retirement Fund into Markstone's debut fund. It also has signed Cuomo's "code of conduct," which basically promises not to use placement agents for future fundraising efforts in the U.S. Not sure how much that last part matters, considering that: (A) I really can't imagine Markstone raising another fund, and (B) If Markstone does try to raise, it could focus on investors in Israel, where the code of conduct has no legal bearing.
Clarity Partners, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, is raising up to $650 million for its second China-focused fund, according to a regulatory filing. Clarity’s first China fund closed in 2007 with $220 million in capital commitments. www.claritypartners.net
HONG KONG (Reuters) – CITIC Capital, the flagship investment arm of CITIC Group, China’s No.1 financial conglomerate, said on Monday that it had completed raising $925 million for its second China buyout fund. The closing size was bigger than the firm’s original target of $750 million and the fund, named CITIC Capital China Partners II, […]
ANXeBusiness Corp., a Southfield, Mich.-based provider of networking and security managed services, has acquired S2S Communications, a provider of enterprise broadband and managed network infrastructure services. No financial terms were disclosed. ANXeBusiness is a portfolio company of One Equity Partners.
Renny DiPentima, former president and CEO of SRA International (NYSE: SRX) has joined Providence Equity Partners as a senior advisor. He will focus on the government information services sector, and serve on the board of Providence portfolio company Altegrity Inc.
SFW Capital Partners has acquired Agdata, a provider of data and analytics to agricultural and animal health manufacturers, from Carousel Capital and its founder Verl Purdy. Purdy and Carousel owned equal stakes in the company. No pricing terms were disclosed for the deal, byt SFW Capital purchased a majority ownership with management and Purdy retaining significant minority stakes. Carousel retains a lesser minority stake. Golub Capital provided leveraged financing.
Triton Partners, a Germany-based buyout firm focused on the European middle markets, has closed its third fund with €2.25 billion in capital commitments, according to eFinancialNews. It had been targeting €2 billion.