Amalgamated Bank said Monday it expects to receive about $100 million in equity investments from two investors, WL Ross & Co. LLC and The Yucaipa Companies. Each are putting in around $50 million. Once the deal closes, which is expected in fourth quarter, Yucaipa (which is led by Ron Burkle) and WL Ross will each own approximately 20% of Amalgamated's common stock.
M&A, in the third quarter, is shaping up to be as tough as 2009, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal. One deal is showing how PE firms continue to be outbid by cash-rich strategics. In early September, ITT Corp. closed its buy of YSI (the deal was announced in July). Yellow Springs, Ohio-based YSI develops and makes sensors, instruments, software and data collection platforms used for environmental water monitoring. The company has about $300 million in annual revenue.
Church’s Chicken, a portfolio company of Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, has appointed Jim Hyatt its new CEO. Hyatt was most recently president and CEO of Cosi. He succeeds Mel Deane, who served as CEO since December 2009.
The Carlyle Group has acquired ITRS Group, a provider of trade monitoring technology and services to the financial services sector for an undisclosed sum. Equity for this investment will come from Carlyle Europe Technology Partners II (CETP II), a €530 million fund that closed in November 2008. Carlyle will support ITRS’ international expansion and is committed to broadening the company’s specialized product offering.
Reed Elsevier will pay 343 million pounds ($532.6 million) in cash to buy Accuity Holdings Inc. from Investcorp, the two firms announced Monday. Accuity is an online subscription-based data technology provider for the financial services industry.
Yahoo is considering inquiries from various parties about its future, but expects to take months make any decision, Reuters wrote. Yahoo has retained Allen & Co to help it conduct a "strategic review" after it fired Chief Executive Carol Bartz earlier this month. Private equity firm Silver Lake Partners is among the parties that have been in touch with Allen & Co, according to a Reuters source.
US-based customer intelligence solutions company Market Force Information has acquired UK customer experience improvement agency Retail Eyes. The acquisition will enable the company to focus on sustaining growth in the UK and developing the business in European markets. Market Force is a VC-backed firm. Its investors are Monitor Clipper Partners, Centennial Ventures, Boulder Ventures and Vista Ventures, as well as bank lenders.
Vista Equity Partners is acquiring Thomson Reuters' trade and risk management software business, which includes flagship product Kondor. Vista beat bids from other private equity firms including Cinven, Bridgepoint and Montagu Private Equity. The value of the sale was not disclosed, but the loan supporting the leveraged buyout is expected to be around $200 million, Reuters wrote. Thomson Reuters is the publisher of this blog.
New York-based USI Insurance Services has acquired de la Parte & Associates, a Florida-based employee benefits & insurance consulting firm. USI is a portfolio company of Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, a private equity affiliate of Goldman Sachs & Co. Founded in 1994, the company is a distributor of employee benefits insurance programs & solutions.
Paris-based business software solutions provider eFront has bagged itself a new financial partner. EFR Holdings, an acquisition vehicle controlled by global investment firm Francisco Partners, has acquired a controlling stake in the company for approximately €68 million. The new partnership will help accelerate international expansion and product innovation.