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Publicly traded GT Solar International said that it will pay $203 million to buy back 26.5 million shares held by its private equity investors, which include Oaktree Capital Management. The company will pay $7.66 per share, a 13% discount to the company’s close on Friday. Following the close of the deal, Oaktree Capital will own about 9.4 percent stake in the company.
Avon Products will sell its Avon Japan business to private equity firm TPG Capital for 7.3 billion yen ($90 million) in cash. Avon currently owns 74.67% of the Japan business unit, and TPG plans to launch a tender offer in Japan for all outstanding shares of Avon Japan. Avon Japan represents less than 2% of New York-based Avon’s total sales, the company said.
Tel Aviv-based Infinity Group has raised $33 million for a China-focused life science fund. The firm launched its fund – Tianjin Israel Life Science Fund – with Chinese investors Tianjin Venture Capital, Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone, Tianjin Mingxuan Investment and Tianjin Tianying Venture Capital Management.
Britain's Tesco and Singapore's Dairy Farm have put in second-round bids for the Southeast Asian assets of French retailer Carrefour, Reuters reported. The supermarket operator is selling its businesses in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Reuters previously reported that private equity fund Navis Capital and Japanese retailer Aeon would bid for some of the assets.
Chemical company Ashland said it would sell its distribution business to TPG Capital for $930 million, Reuters reported. The unit - which distributes chemicals, plastics, and other materials across North America and Europe - accounted for more than 38% of Ashland’s fourth quarter revenue. The company is selling the business unit, however, as it shifts its focus to higher-margin specialty chemicals, Reuters reported. Ashland is based in Covington, Kentucky.
Medical device maker Vascular Pathways, which recently inked $14 million in venture capital, has named Eugene Starr president and chief executive. Starr worked previously as chief executive of medical device company Venetec International, and earlier as president of Conmed’s electrosurgery division. Vascular Pathways also announced that it would move its company headquarters to Naples, Fla. The company is backed by CHL Medical Partners, Ascension Health Ventures, MVM Life Science Partners and Arcus Ventures.
Buyout shop Doughty Hanson plans to buy Britain’s Vue Entertainment for 450 million pounds ($725.6 million), Reuters reported, citing an article in Monday’s Financial Times. The founders of Vue Entertainment – which runs Britain’s largest cinema chain – own 51% of the company. Private equity firm Coller Capital and New York-based hedge fund Och-Ziff own the remaining shares, which they both plan to sell to London-based Doughty Hanson, Reuters reported.
Amid increased competition and rising valuations, some executives in China’s private equity market are stepping out of the game. Benjamin Cheng, a China partner with London-based private equity shop Actis, will retire after seven years at the firm, Reuters reported. Cheng’s retirement comes shortly after the Financial Times reported that two of the three founders of Beijing-based Hopu Investments planned to retire as the firm winds down investments, Reuters said.
After lengthy negotiations, HSBC Holdings has agreed to sell U.K.-based train leasing business Eversholt to a consortium of infrastructure funds in a 2.1 billion pound ($3.39 billion) deal, Reuters reported. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, 3i Infrastructure and Star Capital comprise the group buying Eversholt, which owns close to a third of Britain’s trains. HSBC bought Eversholt in 1997 for 726.5 million pounds.
Mail.ru, a Russian internet company that holds a 2.4% stake in Facebook, has priced its London IPO at $27.70 per share, raising $912 million, Reuters reported. Moscow-based Mail.ru sold 32.93 million shares in the IPO, representing a 17% stake in the company prior to an overallotment option, Reuters said. In addition to Facebook, Mail.ru holds stakes U.S. internet start-ups Groupon and in San Francisco-based Zynga Game Network, the maker of the popular “FarmVille” Facebook game.
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