Iris Dorbian
Harbert Management Corp., an independent investment management firm in Birmingham, Alabama, said on Friday that it has named David Crosland as managing partner of Harbert Private Equity Fund III, LP. Also, Steve McGrath is joining Crosland as a principal. Both will be based in the firm's Atlanta office. Prior to joining the company, Crosland was founding partner of Atlanta Equity Investors. McGrath, also formerly with Atlanta Equity Investors, will be joining Crosland as a principal.
Ascension Insurance said on Friday that it has hired Miles Gurley as a commercial account executive at the company's Greensboro, NC office. In his new position, Gurley will work on insurance and loss control solutions for clients in the construction and motor sports industries. Ascension Insurance is a portfolio company of Parthenon Capital and Century Capital Management.
Apcera has named Jan Plutzer as its chief operating officer. In her new role, Plutzer will assume responsibility of company operations and report to Derek Collison, CEO. Apcera is a San Francisco-based software company backed by Kleiner Perkins, True Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and Data Collective Venture Capital.
Playnomics, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of marketing and data science for games, said on Friday that it has named Jay Cohen as its chief revenue officer. Most recently, Cohen served as president of development at Jerry Bruckheimer Games. Playnomics is backed by FirstMark Capital, Vanedge Capital, XSeed Capital, MetamorphicVentures, Accelerator Ventures, and TriplePoint Capital.
Trunity Holdings said on Thursday that it has completed a private placement of $3.575 million. The strategic financing was led by Pan-African Investment Company, LLC, a New York City-based private investment firm. Also, Pan-African Investment Company's CEO Dana Reed will join Trunity's board of directors. AGCM acted as the exclusive placement agent for the offering, while Mitchell Baruchowitz, who heads private capital for ACGM, was lead banker for the transaction. Based in Newburyport, Mass., Trunity Holdings is the producer of the Trunity eLearning Platform, which provides learning solutions for schools, corporate enterprises and government agencies.
Bermuda-based catastrophe reinsurer Arden Holdings Ltd. has agreed to sell its remaining subsidiaries, Atrium Underwriting Group Ltd. and Arden Reinsurance Company Ltd. to Enstar Group Ltd. Atrium will be acquired for approximately $183 million while Arden Reinsurance will be acquired for approximately $79.6 million. Both transactions are expected to close by the end of 2013. Among Arden's early investors were The Blackstone Group, Texas Pacific Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners, Oak Hill Capital Partners, Olympus Partners, Bain Capital, SAB Capital and Eton Park Capital Management.
Brand Networks, a Boston-based provider of software solutions and digital marketing services, said on Thursday that it has raised $68 million in financing from private equity firm AEA Investors. Investment bank Petsky Prunier acted as financial advisor to Brand Networks for the transaction.
Industrial Opportunity Partners said on Thursday that its portfolio company, Carlson Systems, a distributor of product assembly components, has acquired Western Tool Supply. No financial terms were disclosed. Headquartered in Salem, Ore., Western Tool is a distributor of tools and supplies that serves the needs of construction, industrial, and woodworking customers.
Chicago-based venture capital firm New World Ventures said on Thursday that it has named Carter Cast and Dave Habiger as venture partners. Cast is the former CEO of Walmart.com while Habiger is the former CEO of Sonic Solutions. Also, Kevin Willer, the former president and CEO of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, has joined the team as strategic advisor to the company.
J. Robert Tyler III has joined Williams Mullen as a partner in the firm's corporate and private equity law practice. Most recently, he worked as a partner at Poyner Spruill. William Mullens is a law firm with offices in North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C.