Angela Sormani

Chicago-based mortgage lending specialist Innovative Capital Advisors (ICA), has partnered with Chicago-based HSA Commercial Real Estate, a full-service real estate firm, to launch ICA Real Estate Equity Fund I, a $50 million investment fund seeking commercial real estate acquisition and investment opportunities. The fund is being managed by Peter Mavrogenes, senior managing director and CEO of ICA, and Tim Blum, executive vice president of HSA Commercial. Both are finance and real estate veterans and principal investors in the fund’s first installment.

North American lower mid-market buyout fund of fund manager RCP Advisors has closed its seventh vehicle RCP Fund VII LP with $300 million in committed capital. RCP works with buyout fund managers with funds of between $100 million and $1 billion in committed capital. All of RCP's investment activities are focused exclusively on North American lower middle market buyouts.

KKR has appointed Tony De Nunzio CBE as a senior advisor to the firm. He is currently the non-executive chairman of Maxeda, a Netherlands-based retail group, which he led as chief executive officer from 2005 to 2011. In his new role, De Nunzio will also serve on the firm's private equity portfolio management committee, which interacts with company management and monitors all of KKR's private equity investments.

Scottish venture capital and growth equity firm Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) has led an initial £3m pound investment in Exco InTouch, a provider of mobile patient communication and management solutions for the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector. The company will use the funds to accelerate growth.

London-based private equity firm Silverfleet Capital has agreed a majority investment with Aesica Pharmaceuticals replacing that of LDC. Members of Aesica’s executive team will reinvest a significant amount of money for a large minority stake. Debt is being provided by Lloyds, HSBC and Yorkshire Bank.Headquartered near Newcastle, UK, Aesica has the expertise to both develop and manufacture primary (API) and secondary stage (finished product dosage forms) pharmaceuticals.

European private equity firm BeCapital has raised 150 million euros for its first fund which will focus on expansion capital investments in cleantech companies. The fund closed well above the 100 million euros initial target. Launched by BeCitizen, Cobepa and La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild, BeCapital attracted interest mostly from European families with well diversified industrial and geographical backgrounds.

Albion Ventures has sold The Place Sandwich VCT Limited, the owner and operator of the 37-bedroom Bell Hotel in the medieval Cinque Port town of Sandwich, UK to Shepherd Neame Limited, Britain’s oldest brewer, for 3.6 million pounds. Funds managed or advised by Albion Ventures backed the acquisition of the historic hotel in January 2005, when a total of 3.1 million pounds was been invested.

London-based Vision Capital has announced a partnership with US private equity group Speyside Equity to acquire stakes in two of its portfolio companies. Vision Capital will acquire a majority stake in German-based United Initiators and a minority stake in US based Sweet Ovations.

Redwood City, California-based iControl Networks has appointed Robert Hagerty as the company's new CEO. Hagerty will replace co-CEOs Jim Johnson and Paul Dawes, both of whom will remain with iControl in leadership positions. Investors in iControl include Charles River Ventures, Cisco, Comcast Ventures, Intel Capital, the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers iFund, Rogers Communications and Tyco International.

Yieldex, a provider of inventory and revenue management solutions for digital publishers, has raised $10 million in its third round of venture capital funding. Triangle Peak Partners and Hearst Interactive Media led the round. Existing Yieldex investors Sequel Venture Partners, Madrona Venture Group, and FFP Holdings also participated in the round, as did previous investor Amazon.com, Inc. Yieldex raised $12 million in its Series A and B Rounds.