Iris Dorbian
New York-based investment firm Vontobel Asset Management has named Rajiv Jain and Dr. Philipp Hensler as co-CEOs. The appointment becomes effective July 1, 2014. Jain is a 20-year veteran of the firm while Dr. Hensler is the former CEO of Oppenheimer Funds Distributors. Also, Heinrich Schlegel, the firm's long-time CEO, will become chairman of the board of directors.
BioLight Israeli Life Sciences Investments Ltd. said Wednesday that it has closed a $4 million private placement with two unnamed institutional investors. This transaction comes on the heels of the firm raising NIS 19 million in equity financing. Based in Tel Aviv, BioLight invests in biomedical innovations.
JPMorgan Chase said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its physical commodities business to Mercuria Energy Group Limited for $3.5 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2014.
Five Point Capital Partners and GSO Capital Partners have acquired a 50 percent stake in Twin Eagle Resource Management from Chesapeake Energy Corp. and LS Power Group. No financial terms were disclosed. Also, Five Point, GSO and Twin Eagle's management have committed to invest up to an additional $200 million to support Twin Eagle’s next growth phase. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Twin Eagle is a natural gas and power marketing company.
Middle market private equity firm GI Partners has named David Smolen as general counsel and chief compliance officer. Prior to joining GI Partners, Smolen worked at Silver Lake where he served as senior counsel and chief compliance officer. Smolen will be based in the firm's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.
L Capital Asia, a private equity fund backed by LVHM, has invested about NTD 750 million in DR. WU. Based in Taiwan, DR WU is a clinical skincare brand.
Thoma Bravo has agreed to buy TravelClick from Genstar for $930 million. The deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2014. Evercore served as financial advisor to Genstar and TravelClick while Ropes & Gray was legal advisor. TravelClick is a provider of cloud-based solutions for the hospitality sector.
CVC Capital Partners has acquired a controlling stake in Da Niang. No financial terms were disclosed. The seller is Wu Guoqiang, founder of Da Niang, who will continue as a shareholder. Based in China, Da Niang is a quick-service restaurant operator.
GTCR has teamed up with Carl Hull and Eric Tardif to launch Maravai Life Sciences. Based in San Diego, Calif., Marvai will focus on acquiring companies and products in the diagnostics and life sciences sector. Hull and Tardit are the former CEO and senior vice president of Gen-Probe respectively. GTCR has committed to investing up to $300 million in Maravai.
New York-based private equity firm Oak Hill Capital said Tuesday that it has hired Brian N. Cherry as a partner. The appointment is effective immediately. Previously, Cherry worked at J.H. Whitney & Co. where he served as a senior managing director.