Invest Nebraska has participated in a $3,000,000 mezzanine financing in Omaha-based Lodo Software, a provider of digital banking solutions. The investment was led by Invest Nebraska and Treetop Ventures. The proceeds from the financing will be used for sales and marketing efforts, development of new product features, and working capital.
In the third quarter of 2013, both deals and dollars invested in Canada’s buyout and related private equity (PE) market showed growth, according to data provided by Thomson Reuters (publisher of peHUB Canada). Control-stake acquisitions, minority investments and other PE transactions totaled 68, up slightly from one year ago. Disclosed values totaled $4.0 billion, which is more than double the $1.5 billion of Q3 2012, and the highest level reached so far this year. However, to date in 2013, Canadian deal-making continues to lag activity in 2012, with 212 transactions absorbing $7.4 billion at the end of September, down 17% year over year. Click here for the complete Q3 2013 Canadian buyout-PE market report.
U.S. private equity firm The Carlyle Group has agreed to buy Diversified Global Asset Management Corp (DGAM), a Toronto-based manager of hedge funds with more than US$6.7 billion in managed and advised assets. The deal's value was not published, though one source estimated it at US$33 million, plus a possible US$70 million if performance objectives are met. Upon completion of the transaction, expected in Feb. 2014, DGAM will become Carlyle’s hedge funds platform, with George Main and Warren Wright continuing in their roles as the company's CEO and CIO, respectively. Carlyle co-founder and co-CEO David M. Rubenstein said the buy would allow his firm to offer investors "the ability to allocate across alternatives in hedge funds, private equity and real estate.” Founded in 2004, DGAM invests on behalf of institutional investors.
(Reuters) - Industrial conglomerate Danaher Corp and private equity firm Blackstone Group LP are pursuing a joint bid for chemicals manufacturer Ashland Inc's water technologies unit, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, in a deal that could top $1.5 billion.
Canada Bread Company Ltd, an affiliate of Toronto-based Maple Leaf Foods Inc (MFI: TSX), has completed the sale of its fresh pasta and sauce business Olivieri Foods to Ebro Foods SA. The acquisition price was previously disclosed as $120 million. Maple Leaf, which is backed by West Face Capital, last month indicated an interest in selling its majority stake in Canada Bread. Ebro Foods, a Madrid, Spain-based food group operating in the rice, pasta and sauces sectors, is a portfolio company of Spanish private equity firm Corporación Financiera Alba.
At least six major private equity groups are competing to buy the industrial packaging segment of Illinois Tool Works Inc, in a deal that could fetch more than US$3 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Carlyle Group LP, Blackstone Group LP, Apollo Global Management LLC, Bain Capital LLC, Ares Management LLC and a consortium of Onex Corp and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) are among the firms that advanced to the second round of bidding, the people said. Illinois Tool Works announced in September it was initiating a process to sell the industrial packaging unit, as the conglomerate continues to streamline its diversified business lines.
Penfund, a Toronto-based provider of junior capital to mid-market companies, has extended a US$60 million second lien loan to Caliber Collision Centers Inc, a Lewisville, Texas-based operator of non-franchised collision repair service facilities in the United States. The announcement came on the heels of last week's acquisition of Caliber by OMERS Private Equity for an estimated US$425 million. The company was bought by OMERS from ONCAP, which had owned Caliber since leading its management buyout in 2008. Penfund at the time of the management buyout invested US$34 million in the business.
Salt Creek Capital has teamed up with Blue & Gray Enterprises to acquire Roman Decorating Products. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Calumet City, Illinois, Roman Decorating Products is a maker of wallcovering adhesives, primers, removers and sundries.
Silverback Exploration said Tuesday that it has closed $350 million in funding from EnCap Investments. Based in San Antonio, Texas, Silverback is a newly formed oil and gas exploration company.
Hellman & Friedman has inked an agreement to buy Applied Systems from Bain Capital for approximately $1.8 billion. JMI Equity will also be investing alongside H&F. Ropes & Gray advised Bain Capital in the sale. According to terms of the deal, Applied Systems' senior management will continue to maintain a "significant ownership position" in the company. The transaction is expected to close in early 2014. Headquartered in University Park, Illinois, Applied Systems is a provider of insurance software.