PE Week Wire — 9/25/06

CVC Capital Partners has agreed to buy DCA Group Ltd. (ASX: DVC), an Australian nursing home and radiology clinic operator, for Au$1.7 billion (US$1.3 billion). www.dcagroup.com.au

NovaCardia Inc., a San Diego-based drug company focused on cardiovascular disease, has raised $48 million in Series B funding. Skyline Venture led the deal, and was joined by InterWest Partners and return backers Domain Associates, Forward Ventures, Montreux Equity Partners and Versant Ventures. www.novacardia.com

Lehman Brothers has closed its Co-Investment Partners fund with $1.6 billion in capital commitments. The fund will make minority plays of between $5 million and $150 million in transactions led by other private equity firms. It already has committed around $330 million to 10 deals. www.lehman.com

Ecast Inc., a San Francisco-based operator of a broadband-enabled touchscreen media network, has raised $20 million in new venture capital. Focus Ventures led the deal, and was joined by return backers Mobius Venture Capital, Crosslink Capital, DCM and El Dorado Ventures. The company has raised over $80 million in total VC funding since its 199 inception. www.ecastnetwork.com

ContextWeb Inc., a New York-based provider of real-time contextual advertising solutions, has raised $15.5 million in Series C funding. Draper Fisher Jurvetson led the deal, and was joined by fellow return backers DFJ Gotham Ventures, Updata Partners and DFJ New England. www.contextweb.com

Compellent, an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based provider of data storage and data management solutions, has raised $15 million in new venture capital. Nomura International led the deal, and was joined by return backers Cargill Ventures, Centennial Ventures, Crescendo Ventures and El Dorado Ventures. It has raised more than $53 million in total VC funding. www.compellent.com

Nexaweb Technologies Inc., a Burlington, Mass.-based company focused on helping enterprises deploy Web 2.0 applications, has raised $10 million in Series B funding. Return backers include Egan-Managed Capital, Masthead Venture Partners and Velocity Partners. www.nexaweb.com

Full Capture Solutions Inc., an East Hartford, Conn.-based provider of predictive solutions for the insurance industry, has raised $7 million in Series B funding. Greylock Partners led the deal, and was joined by return backer Ignition Partners. www.fullcapture.com

Mobile Cohesion, a Belfast, Ireland-based provider of partner relationship management solutions for the telecom industry, has raised $4.8 million in second-round funding. Enterprise Equity led the deal, and was joined by Viridian Growth Fund and return backers Accel Partners and Cross Atlantic Partners. www.mobilecohesion.com

Merchant Equity Partners has agreed to acquire loss-making UK furniture retailer MFI Retail from MFI (LSE: MFI) for just