Iris Dorbian

Babson Capital Management LLC said on Wednesday that it has made an equity co-investment to support One Rock Capital Partners’ buy of Summit Research Labs. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Huguenot, New York, Summit is a producer of ingredients used in antiperspirants.

RCAP Holdings said on Wednesday that it has signed a merger agreement to acquire all of the outstanding equity of First Allied Holdings, a San Diego, CA-based independent retail financial services organization. This merger also includes The Legend Group, a subsidiary of First Allied. No financial terms were disclosed. Also, as part of the transaction, Lovell Minnick Partners will sell its majority stake in First Allied and retain a minority interest in the combined company.

Aviance Capital Partners, LLC, a Naples, FL-based private investment advisory firm, has named Lynn Petkus as director. In this new position, Petkus will oversee the firm's sales, marketing, business development and client service activities.

Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., an energy investment banking firm, said on Wednesday that it has named Scott W. Archer as managing director in investment banking. In his new role, Archer will specialize in midstream and MLPs at the energy investment banking firm. Prior to joining TPH, Archer worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Global Energy & Power Group.

Conductor, a New York-based provider of SEO technology, said on Wednesday that it has named Jim Caci as its CFO. Prior to joining Conductor, Caci was the CFO of AvePoint. Conductor is backed by Investor Growth Capital, FirstMark Capital and Matrix Partners.

Harris Williams & Co., a middle market investment bank, said on Wednesday that it has opened a new office in Frankfurt, Germany. Managing Director Jeffery Perkins will head the new office, which will focus on M & A deals in Europe.

ClearLight Partners, LLC said on Wednesday that it has agreed to sell The Outsource Group to Parallon Business Solutions, a subsidiary of HCA Holdings. No financial terms were disclosed. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this month. Cain Brothers & Company, LLC and Armstrong Teasdale, LLP advised ClearLight during this transaction. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, The Outsource Group is a provider of revenue management services in the healthcare sector.

Century Midstream, a new company created in partnership between a veteran management team and First Reserve, a private equity firm focused on energy, officially launched on Wednesday. First Reserve will back Century with up to $500 million in equity capital. Also, Joseph A. Blount, Jr. joins the company as CEO while John Howard serves as president and COO. Based in Houston, Texas, Century Midstream will focus on acquiring, developing, owning and operating midstream assets.

Domain Associates, a venture capital firm that invests in life sciences technologies, said on Wednesday that it has promoted Nimesh Shah to partner. Prior to working at Domain, Nimesh was part of the investment team at the venture firm, Cutlass Capital, and a member of the medical device research team at Alex. Brown & Sons (now Deutsche Bank).

Milestone Partners said on Tuesday that last month it completed its sale of Mariner Finance to an unidentified investment group. No financial terms were disclosed although the company did reveal that the transaction generated a return five times in excess of Milestone's invested capital. Stephens, Inc. and Janney Montgomery Scott LLC served as financial advisors for Milestone for the transaction. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Mariner provides consumer loans in seven states from New York to Tennessee.