DEI Holdings has completed its deal to sell to private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners, the firms said in a joint statement. DEI Holdings, the electronics company that makes, among its other products, Polk Audio home theater systems, was taken private from the Pink Sheets for $4.46 per share in cash, or about $305 million. The company’s existing management will remain in place.
Merlin Media has appointed Andy Friedman to be its VP of internet initiatives. Yesterday, GTCR announced it had agreed to buy majority stakes in three radio stations from Emmis Communications. Merlin was formed to buy and operate those radio stations. Most recently, Friedman was VP of Interactive Content at Tribune.
SAN FRANCISCO, June 22 (Reuters) – Square, a start-up company seeking to change the way people pay for goods, has enlisted a board member who knows a thing or two about money. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has joined the two-year-old San Francisco company’s board of directors, Square said on Wednesday. The move represents […]
Matthew Roe will join Crescendo Biologics as its chief business officer, the company announced. The healthcare veteran comes from Genzyme Corp., where he most recently served as senior director of business development and licensing. The company has raised £4.5 million in seed funding from life sciences investors, Sofinnova Partners, Avlar BioVentures and the Rainbow Seed Fund.
Oaktree Capital Management has made a non-controlling equity investment in Sabal Financial Group, which was formerly Milestone Asset Resolution Co. Financial terms were not announced. Newport Beach, Calif.-based Sabal specializes in the acquisitions and valuation of real estate loan portfolios.
Northlight Financial has formed Northlight LP, a $100 million fund that will provide asset backed loans to middle market companies, acquire whole loans in the secondary market and purchase distressed assets in the commercial, industrial and real estate sectors. Northlight Financial will manage Northlight LP.
Milestone Partners is expected to start fundraising for its latest pool this summer, a source says. Radnor, Pa.-based Milestone, a lower middle market firm, is looking to raise $350 million, according to the source and a June 2011 document from Pennsylvania's Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS). Milestone Partners IV LP has a $450 million hard cap, PSERS says. The firm’s last fund, Milestone III, raised $240 million in 2008, while the second fund collected $120 million in 2004. Milestone II has a 24.1% IRR while the third fund has an 8.7% IRR, PSERS says (PSERS invested about $30 million in fund II and $60 million in fund III), the document says.
AOL and Fleaflicker, the fantasy football site, are no more. The Internet company sent e-mails to users on Wednesday stating that the company has been acquired by its original founder, Ori Schwartz. Terms of the deal were not publicized. As of July 22, AOL will no longer operate the Fleaflicker service, the company said.
Accel Partners has hit some serious, major home runs. Until the mid-1990s, the venture capital firm included healthcare plays in its investing strategy that focused on tech startups; just as the dot-com bubble began to inflate, Accel shifted its strategy into a more Internet-centric focus. After a lull last decade cost the venture capital firm some of its limited partners, including, reportedly, Harvard, the top-tier VC proved to its critics why it’s the cream of the crop among early-stage investors. But, in fact, Accel has always been a backer of some of America’s biggest businesses since its 1983 founding. From Wal-Mart to Facebook, Accel identified early-stage prowess at some of the most successful enterprises of the last 30 years....
The Carlyle Group and Urgo Hotels have teamed up to buy two landmark hotels in Miami Beach, Florida, paying $26.7 million. The Blue Moon Hotel and Winterhaven Hotel – both in the South Beach area – will undergo major renovations over the next six months. Urgo is based in Bethesda, Md.