PE Deals

LONDON (Reuters) – Private equity groups are encouraged to take “undue risks” by high rewards, the co-founder and senior managing partner of private equity group Apax Partners Adrian Beecroft said on Wednesday. “Where our model goes wrong is the carried interest system rewards us enormously for taking undue risks — we invest 1 or 2 […]

Monomoy Capital Partners has received bankruptcy court approval to acquire the molded plastics business of Atlantis Plastics Inc. for $20.7 million. The court also signed off on AEP Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: AEPI) buying Atlantis Plastics’ plastic films unit for $87 million in cash. www.atlantisplastics.com

HONG KONG/SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s state-run pension agency said on Wednesday U.S. investment firm Oaktree Capital Management had agreed in principle to invest $3 billion in the country. The National Pension Service, which manages about 230 trillion won ($173.1 billion), said in a statement Oaktree would put about $3 billion into one of its […]

Dealscape: Welcome to Great Depression 2.0. Here come the boutique advisory and buyout shops. PR Wars: The civil kind, not ones waged against the press. I wonder if Kekst & Co. was hurt by its sale to Publicis? Or did it sell because they were slumping? Probably neither, but they've been ousted as the number one M&A PR firm by value. Brunswick pushed ‘em out, thanks to their representation on Inbev/Anheuser. But no worries, Kekst maintained the top spot for deal volume (and I'm sure that like a good PR firm they'd spin that as more important). Ha: Dealzone brings the economic humour. Question: Define a Balance Sheet. Answer: There are two sides to a Balance Sheet: the Left & the Right (Liabilities and Assets respectively). On the Left side there is nothing right. On the Right side, there is nothing left. False Optimism: Investment Pros Whisper Bottom Is Near? Really?

I recently heard a pretty scary hypothetical situation for both LPs and GPs. A financial type who will go unnamed told me: “A couple of decent sized LPs are concerned about their ability to fund capital calls if things stay ugly.” No money for capital calls? That sounds unheard of, but it could be possible. […]

And two more make 39. Catterton Partners today saw two portfolio companies file for Chapter 11: Archway & Mother's Cookie Co. and Sleep Innovations. (Snack makers beware, that's the second cookie company to go down...) I've counted 39 bankrupt buyouts year to date, which could very soon be a nice round 40 if Avista Capital Partners' defaulting company, Star-Tribune, files. There are six new additions since I last posted the list, so follow the jump to download the updated one.

Audax Group has acquired Andrews Holdings Inc. from DFW Capital Partners, Meridian Venture Partners and Theo Capital Partners. No pricing terms were disclosed. AbleCo Finance provded senior note financing, while Greyrock Capital Group provided mezzanine financing. Andrews is a Valencia, Calif.-based provider of private security and risk mitigation services.

Circle Peak Capital has invested in Mrs. John L. Strong, a maker and retailer of branded luxury stationary and home goods. No financial terms were disclosed.   PRESS RELEASE Circle Peak Capital LLC (“CPC”) announced today an investment in Mrs. John L. Strong (“John L. Strong” or “The Company”), a leading global designer, marketer and […]

e-Rewards Inc., a Dallas-based provider of online market research panels, has raised $60 million from TA Associates, in exchange for a minority ownership position.

Emerging Capital Partners has acquired a minority stake in Financial BC SA, a regional commercial bank based in the African nation of Togo, in exchange for $28 million.