cnolan

A new fund, Atlon Capital Partners, has formed to focus on middle-market buyouts in France. The firm was started in October by Thibaut de Chassey and Edouard Thomazeau, both previously partners at French midmarket firm AtriA Capital Partenaires. Alton Capital Partners will focus on companies with an enterprise value between 30 million Euro and 150 million euro.

CryoLife Inc., a tissue processing and medical device company focused on cardiac and vascular surgery, has sealed up to $20 million in debt financing from GE Capital, Healthcare Financial Services. The revolving credit facility will be used for working capital, acquisitions and other corporate purposes, the company said. The financing is an expansion of the company’s previous facility of $15 million and expires in October 2014.

Arle Capital Partners, the former buyout arm of Candover Investments, has reignited talks to sell Capital Safety Group, Reuters reported, citing the Financial Times. Last month, Arle Capital stopped preparations for a sales auction due to turmoil in European markets. Capital Safety, a UK-based safety harness maker, is valued at up to 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) including debt.

Len Blavatnik's Warner Music Group, the frontrunner in the sale of music group EMI's assets, has walked away from the auction, Reuters reported Monday, citing a piece in the Financial Times. Blavatnik, whose Access Industries group bought Warner Music earlier this year, had looked set to win from Citigroup a $1.5 billion (939.3 million pounds) deal for EMI's labels which include Capitol and Virgin, Reuters wrote.

Marine firm Siem Kapital and fund manager North Atlantic Value will pay 32 million pounds ($52 million) in cash to buy GTL Resources, the owner of an ethanol and bio-refining company, Reuters reported. Siem and NAV will pay one pound a share for GTL, which produces over one million gallons of ethanol per year through its subsidiary Illinois River Energy.

The Carlyle Group has hired Sanghyun Lee away from buyout fund Affinity Equity Partners, tapping him to lead its Korean investments, Reuters reported Monday. Lee, a Korean native who led such investments as Korean skincare company TheFaceShop for Affinity, will be a Seoul-based managing director for Carlyle Asia Partners, Reuters reported.

Private equity group CVC Capital Partners has made an offer for the insurance arm of Royal Bank of Scotland for about 4 billion pounds ($6.5 billion), Reuters reported, citing the Mail on Sunday. RBS Insurance, Britain's number one motor insurer trading under the Direct Line and Churchill Brands, is up for sale to appease European regulators after a taxpayer-funded bailout of RBS during the 2008 crisis left it 83 percent state-owned, Reuters wrote.

Sterling Partners is paying $46 per share, or $590 million, to buy MOSAID Technologies Inc., the company announced Friday. The offer represents a 45.3% premium to the company’s closing price in August. MOSAID licenses patented intellectual property in the areas of semiconductors and communications, and develops semiconductor memory technology.

GE Energy Financial Services and German fund KGAL are investing a combined 111.1 million euro ($157 million) into a solar power plant using molten salt energy storage in Badajoz, Spain. The investment is GE Energy Financial Services’ first in a concentrated solar power plant using molten salt storage.

KPS Capital Partners is paying $180 million to buy American & Efird Inc. from Ruddick Corp. The firm is acquiring American & Efird. Mt. Holly, North Carolina-based American & Efird is a manufacturer and distributor of industrial sewing thread, embroidery thread and technical textiles.