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TowerBrook Capital Partners is emerging the frontrunner in the auction for ventilation and heating systems manufacturer Volution. The company is currently owned by AAC Capital Partners, Reuters reported Friday. AAC, the UK team of the former buyout arm of ABN Amro, acquired Volution in 2006 from Montagu Private Equity, Reuters wrote.

Design-focused flash sales site Fab.com has acquired NYC-based FasionStake. Terms of the deal were not released, though the company said that FashionStake founders Vivian Weng and Daniel Gulati will join Fab.com. FashionStake is an online marketplace for independent designers. Fab.com is backed by more than $50 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Ventures, First Round Capital, Baroda Ventures, SoftTech VC, and A-Grade Investments, an angel fund co-founded by actor Ashton Kutcher and friends Guy Oseary and Ron Burkle.

AVG Technologies NV, a Netherlands-based maker of Internet security software, has filed with U.S. regulators to raise up to $125 million in an initial public offering. The company has raised money from Intel Capital, Grisoft Holdings and private equity firm TA Associates.

Vestar Capital Partners has promoted Andrew Cavanna and Brian O’Connor to managing director; John Stephens was promoted to principal, and David Kestnbaum was promoted to vice president. Cavanna joined the firm in 2006 and is a member of its healthcare team. O’Connor is a member of Vestar's Consumer team. He joined the firm in 2000. The firm also announced that Norman Alpert was named head of Vestar’s Consumer Sector. Alpert is a managing director and one of the founders of the firm.

London-based private equity and investment firm Pamplona Capital Management has added Brian Ratzan as partner and head of U.S. private equity. Ratzan joins the firm from Vestar Capital, where he was a managing director.

Kelso Place Asset Management, the UK-based special situations investor, has acquired a “significant stake” in British fashion brand NICOLE FARHI. OpenGate Capital acquired NICOLE FARHI in March 2010 from French Connection plc. Terms of the investment were not released.

ING has hired Goldman Sachs to handle the sale of its Asian operations, Reuters wrote Friday. The value of ING’s Asian business has been estimated by some analysts at more than $6 billion, Reuters reported.

San Francisco-based data analytics company Splunk Inc. has filed with regulators to raise up to $125 million in an initial public offering, Reuters reported Friday. The company, which has raised money from August Capital, Ignition Partners, JK&B Capital and Sevin Rosen Funds, said it will use proceeds from the IPO for acquisitions and technology investments. In a preliminary prospectus, the company said that Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan and BofA Merrill Lynch were lead underwriters to the IPO, Reuters wrote.

Publicly traded patent holding company Acacia Research Corp. is paying $160 million to acquire ADAPTIX Inc. ADAPTIX has a portfolio of 230 issued and pending patents focused around 4G wireless technology.

Consumer focused venture firm Maveron has promoted Jason Stoffer to partner. Stoffer joined the firm in 2007, and was previously a principal. Maveron has offices in San Francsico and Seattle.