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Opus Bank has raised $100 million in new equity financing led by Opus Bank’s founding Chairman & CEO; funds affiliated with Elliott Management Corp., funds affiliated with Fortress Investment Group; and a fund affiliated with Starwood Capital Group. The money will be used for growth efforts, including acquisitions.
Platinum Equity has acquired Bluffton, Ind.-based NESCO, a provider of fleet equipment rental, sales and services for the North American electrical transmission and distribution market. The firm bought NESCO from an investor group led by Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Co. Terms were not released.
Aircraft leasing group Avolon has sealed a $300 million equity commitment from the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. Avolon has raised a total of $1.4 billion in equity capital over the past year and a half, from investors including private equity firms Cinven, CVC Capital Partners and Oak Hill Capital Partners.
The Blackstone Group and Wells Fargo & Co. have teamed up to buy a pool of about $600 million in loans on U.S. commercial property from Allied Irish Banks, Reuters reported Friday. The deal, the most recent in a spate of such sales by Irish banks, allows the two to buy the portfolio of loans backed by hotels, office buildings and retail properties for about 15% to 20% off the face value.
A consortium led by online shopping mall operator InterPark Corp. has signed a deal to take over Samsung Group procurement arm iMarketKorea Inc. in a deal worth more than 422 billion won ($378.4 million), Reuters reported Friday. On Monday, the InterPark-led consortium beat private equity firms KKR & Co. and MBK Partners when it was picked as preferred bidder for iMarketKorea, set up by Samsung in 2000 to provide goods and maintenance services for business clients, Reuters wrote.
Google is changing up its daily deals business just as Groupon pitches its IPO to potential investors, Reuters reported Thursday. Google Offers – the fledgling daily deals business – will now distribute daily deals from at least 15 other daily deal sites, including Gilt City, kgbdeals, TIPPR, Plum District and Juice in the City, Reuters wrote. The moves gives Google the ability to expand the number of deals it offers without markedly expanding its sales force. Google tried to buy Groupon, the largest daily deal site, for about $6 billion in 2010, but was rebuffed. Groupon is now pitching an IPO to potential investors at a valuation of roughly $11 billion.
Swiss energy firm Alpiq's sale of German power engineering business Alpiq Anlagentechnik Group is attracting interest from a number of private equity firms and trade buyers, Reuters wrote Thursday. First round bids are due in mid-November.
Publicly traded LSI Corp. is paying $322 million in cash to buy SandForce Inc., a maker of flash storage processors and solid state drives. Founded in 2006, SandForce has raised money from venture capital investors DCM, Storm Ventures, Translink Capital and Canaan Partners.
Chrystal Capital Partners, a corporate finance firm based in London, has added to its team: Alex Hambro will lead offerings for family offices; Iain Manley and Glynn Reece will work on alternative fundraising projects for private and public companies.
Len Blavatnik's Warner Music Group and KKR-backed BMG Music are in the lead to win the auction for the recording and music publishing assets of EMI Group from Citigroup Inc., Reuters reported Thursday. Blavatnik appeares close to clenching a $1.5 billion deal for EMI's labels, which include Capitol and Virgin, two people told Reuters. Vivendi's Universal Music Group, the world largest music company, reportedly dropped out of the running for EMI's record label assets. Citigroup seized control of EMI in February after its previous private equity owner, Terra Firma, defaulted on a loan.