Iris Dorbian
Investment bank PJT Partners Inc has named James Costos to its board of directors. The appointment became effective February 7, 2017. Costos is the former U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra under President Obama. Prior to his ambassadorship, Costos worked at HBO where he was the vice president of global licensing and retail.
First Read starts this snowy morning with news the NY Times and Spotify start partnership, accused fraudster Shkreli is involved in a new company seeking $1 mln and UFO disclosure activist starts GoFundMe campaign.
EnsembleIQ, a portfolio company of RFE Investment Partners, has hired Len Farrell as its chief financial officer. Previously, Farrell worked at Virginia Tile Company. Based in Chicago, EnsembleIQ is a business-to-business media, information and research resource for the global retail industry.
Meltwater, a provider of media intelligence solutions, has secured $60 million in funding. The investors were Vector Capital and Silicon Valley Bank.
In Second Opinion, Seattle cuts ties with Wells Fargo over its role in helping finance the Dakota Access pipeline, Intel will invest $7 billion in a factory in Arizona and the New York Times is offering digital subscribers free access to Spotify if they sign up.
Sperry, Mitchell & Company has promoted Daniel Officer to managing director. Officer has received numerous awards for his work at SMC, which includes Dealmaker of the Year by the Association for Corporate Growth in 2015.
Gatekeeper Systems Inc, which is backed by Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company Inc, has acquired San Diego-based Carttronics Inc, which helps retailers improve their profitability. No financial terms were disclosed.
Starcrest Capital Partners has closed its second China real estate fund at $181 million, according to an SEC filing. Based in Shanghai and Hong Kong, Starcrest Capital is a private equity real estate firm.
Market Track has acquired Brandtale, a platform for digital branded content and native advertising competitive intelligence. No financial terms were disclosed. Market Track is backed by Aurora Capital and Cambria Group.
San Francisco-based Vector Capital has raised $1.4 billion for its fifth private equity fund, beating its $1.2 billion target.