The University of Texas System has invested $10 million in MyEdu, an Austin, Texas-based provider of online tools to help students obtain am college degree. MyEdu previously raised $5.5 million in funding led by Bain Capital Ventures in February 2010.
Northern Trust said Monday that Robert Morgan was named to lead the Northern Trust Alternatives Group. The unit will develop and manage all alternative investment products, including hedge and PE funds of funds, for institutional and personal clients. Morgan was previously director of private equity at Northern Trust.
Kennedy Wilson Holdings Inc., an international real estate investment and services company, said it and its institutional partners have agreed to buy a loan portfolio from Bank of Ireland for $1.8 billion, Reuters reported Monday. In July this year, the Irish government halved its stake in Bank of Ireland. Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings, buyout firm WL Ross & Co., Fidelity Investments, investment firm The Capital Group and Kennedy Wilson were named as the investors by Bank of Ireland, Reuters wrote.
Atlantic Street Capital, a private equity firm focused on lower middle-market deals, has acquired Z Wireless, a retailer of Verizon Wireless voice and data communications services operating throughout the Great Plains. Terms of the deal were not released. Z Wireless is based in South Dakota.
U.S. bank Regions Financial Corp. is offering as much as $200 million to help finance the sale of its Morgan Keegan brokerage unit, Reuters reported over the weekend, citing a Bloomberg story. Regions Financial is in talks with competing groups of private equity firms about a sale. The bank bought Morgan Keegan for $789 million in 2001 and disclosed plans to sell the division in June, Reuters wrote.
Beating private equity firms such as MBK Partners, online shopping mall operator Interpark has been named the preferred bidder for Samsung Group's procurement arm iMarketKorea Inc., Reuters reported.
Mattel is paying $680 million in cash to buy HIT Entertainment from a consortium led by Apax Partners. HIT Entertainment owns preschool toy brands including Thomas & Friends and Barney. The purchase price equates to a multiple of about 9.5 times trailing earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, the company’s said in a release.
Bravia Capital and HNA Group have completed the acquisition of ACT Airlines, an air cargo operator based in Istanbul, Turkey. Terms of the deal were not released, and the airline has been renamed “MyCargo Airlines.” Bravia Capital is a Hong Kong based private equity firm. HNA Group is based in China.
Private equity firm ClearLight Partners is exiting its investment in Switchcraft Holdco Inc., selling the company to publicly traded HEICO Corp. Terms were not released. Chicago-based Switchcraft is a designer and manufacturer of electronic connectors and cable assemblies for the electronics industry.
Italian electricity grid operator Terna has finalized the sale of its second solar power project to private equity fund Terra Firma, Reuters reported Monday. The deal is valued at 264 million euro ($365 million).