News and Analysis

Platinum Equity is in talks to acquire a 40% stake in the Arena Football League for approximately $100 million, according to The Sports Business Journal. www.platinumequity.com

Laredo Energy IV LP has raised $55 million to acquire, explore and developer natural gas resources in the Lobo Trend of South Texas. Avista Capital Partners led the deal, and was joined by existing shareholders like EnCap Investments.

Miura Private Equity, a Spanish private equity firm, has completed its first investment since the close of its fund in May. Miura has agreed to invest €30m over two years in return for a majority stake in Atrezzo Group, a provider of mannequins and accessories to fashion chains. Atrezzo’s customers include Zara, Mango, Benetton, Calvin […]

Wellman Inc. (OTC BB: WMAN) has sold its Engineering Resins business to J.H. Whitney & Co. and group management. No financial terms were disclosed. The new company will be known as Wellman Plastics Recycling, and will operator out of Johnsonville, South Carolina.

peHUB’s sister publication, Buyouts, has broken the story on two ongoing auctions: one big and one small. First off, we have AIG’s private equity assets. We knew they’d be on the block, we didn’t know who’s looking at them and whether they’d be sold piecemeal. According to the story, the business is expected to sell […]

Atalaya Capital Management has received bankruptcy court approval for its acquisition of casual restaurant operator Bennigan’s Franchising Co., which also includes the Tavern and Steak & Ale brands. The deal is expected to close by month’s end.

LONDON (Reuters) – A €970 million ($1.25 billion) loan backing the buyout of German building materials company Xella has been closed and signed as a club deal, banking sources said on Wednesday. Arranging banks provided the loan after wider syndication was cancelled due to adverse market conditions, the sources said. German conglomerate Haniel Group sold […]

It's true: Peter Kaufman is a managing director at Bacchus Capital Management, a wine-focused investment fund, and he doesn't really care for wine. He's "more of a beer and shot guy," he said at a conference earlier this year. I bring this up because Bacchus Capital announced its first investment today. The firm provided a mezzanine loan to Cameron Hughes Wine, a sourcer of super- and ultra-premium wine for stores like Sam's Club and Costco. You must be thinking, the words "premium" and Costco sure do not belong in the same sentence. Could that contradiction be a result of the Joe Six Packs on Bacchus Capital's deal team?

Cameron Hughes Wine has raised an undisclosed amount of mezzanine funding from Bacchus Capital Management, a San Francisco-based provider of mezza and equity capital to wineries and wine businesses.

Greatwide Logistics Services, a Dallas, Texas-based provider of third-party logistics, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Investcorp and Hicks Holdings had acquired a majority stake in the company for $730 million in late 2006, with seller Fenway Partners retaining a minority position. In its bankruptcy filing, the company reported around $600 million in debt. Greatwide also announced a deal to be acquired by a group of its first-lien secured lenders, including affiliates of Centerbridge Capital Partners and D. E. Shaw.