Eamon

3i Group PLC and other shareholders signed a contract to sell Panreac To Illinois Tool Works Inc. Panreac is a Spanish manufacturer and supplier of chemicals. The transaction will provide 3i more than a 2x return on its investment. In 2005, 3i invested about €25 million for a 75 percent stake in Panreac.

NetSteps, a Pleasant Grove, Utah-based maker of business applications for real-time management of direct sales channel companies, hired Kevin Vitale as chief executive officer. He was Wall Data Inc.’s president and CEO. Gemini Investors LLC also made an unspecified investment in NetSteps. The Wellesley, Mass.-based shop typically invests $3 million to $8 million per transaction.

Montagu Private Equity LLP, a U.K.-based mid-market European private equity concern, hired KPMG to review its Maplin Electronics portfolio company. The process could mean the sale of the retailer, people familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Friday. Montagu added Maplin Electronics to its portfolio in September 2004 for £244 million.

SportsMEDIA Technology Corp. secured $12.5 million in growth capital funding from Vicente Capital Partners. The Durham, N.C. provider of graphics, statistics and video used for sports broadcasts, plans to use the capital to accelerate the launch of new products and to switch current products to its next generation software platform.

(Reuters) – Billionaire investor Ron Burkle plans to appeal a Delaware court ruling that upheld an anti-takeover “poison pill” put in place by bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). Burkle, whose Yucaipa Companies firm owns 18.8 percent of Barnes & Noble’s shares and is its second largest shareholder, is locked […]

White Deer Energy L.P. agreed to invest $60 million in PostRock Energy Corp. (Nasdaq: PSTR) in exchange for preferred stock and warrants. PostRock explores, develops and produces oil and natural gas primarily in the Cherokee Basin of Kansas and Oklahoma. It will use the funds to reduce its debt and to fund growth. White Deer is an energy-focused private equity firm. It set up a reserve of $30 million to potentially make additional investments in PostRock.

An affiliate of Wicks Group of Cos. LLC bought Antenna Audio Inc., Antenna Audio Ltd. and subsidiaries from Discovery Communications. Antenna provides audio and multimedia content at museums, exhibitions, historic sites and other venues.

First Nickel Inc. completed a $5 million financing deal with Resource Capital Fund IV LP. The bridge loan facility matures Dec. 31, 2013. First Nickel, which is a Canadian mining company, plans to use the funds to start capital development activities at its Lockerby Mine.

Bob Geldof (rock star and philanthropist) and Mark Florman are working together to launch a buyout fund that seeks to raise $750 million, Financial News reported. The vehicle will make investments in Africa and will target agribusinesses, financial services and telecommunications companies, according to a statement from NL EVD International. Florman previously worked for U.K. buyout shop Doughty Hanson.

Satellite broadcaster BSkyB completed the sale of its Easynet business-to-business telecommunications unit for 100 million pounds ($153.9 million) to Lloyds Banking Group’s the private equity arm Lloyds Development Capital.