Luisa Beltran

NovaQuest Capital Management LLC said Nov. 20 that its first dedicated private equity fund has closed on its $275 million hard cap. NovaQuest Private Equity invests in opportunities that aim to reduce the total cost of care, meet unmet medical needs, reduce unnecessary procedures, improve efficacy (therapeutics or prevention) and / or improve the quality of life. Eaton Partners was placement agent.

Advisor Group, a portfolio company of Reverence Capital, agreed to buy Ladenburg Thalmann in a deal valued at about $1.3 billion. Ladenburg Thalmann is a network of five independent broker-dealers. Alex Yavorsky, Ray Bader and Yash Mathur of Jefferies advised Ladenburg on the process, while Alison Ressler, Jared Fishman and Jordan Bunn of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP served as their legal counsel. Eversheds Sutherland, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and Greenberg Traurig LLP were the attorneys for Advisor Group/Reverence Capital. Bank of America, UBS Securities, Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities and Goldman, Sachs & Co have committed to provide financing for the deal.

Baring Private Equity Asia said Nov. 19 that it agreed to buy Lumenis in a deal valued at over $1 billion. Lumenis is an Israeli medical device and equipment company. XIO Group is the seller.

Gemini Trust Co LLC said Nov. 19 that it has acquired Nifty Gateway. Financial terms weren’t announced. Nifty Gateway is a platform for non-fungible tokens. Gemini Trust is the cryptocurrency exchange founded by the brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

The New York Attorney General is investigating WeWork, Reuters reported. The NYAG is examining is whether WeWork’s founder and former chief executive, Adam Neumann, indulged in self-dealing to enrich himself, the story said.

Some of the same Wall Street firms that tanked the dream of home ownership for millions of American families are now the country’s biggest landlords and are "shamelessly" profiting off the destruction they caused, wrote Sen. Elizabeth Warren in a Nov. 18 post on Medium. Warren, who is running for president, said PE firms likeBlackstonewent on a “shopping spree” in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, snatching up apartment complexes and single-family homes that had been foreclosed.

Apollo Global Management has put Qdoba Restaurant Corp up for sale, Bloomberg reported, citing Qdoba’s CEO. Qdoba could sell for more than $550 million, including debt, the story said.

Great Hill Partners LP said Nov. 19 that Heather Fox Ewing has joined the firm as director of talent.

Monroe Capital LLC said Nov. 19 that four executives have joined its opportunistic private credit team. They include: Jason Starr, Darrick Ginkel, Joseph Valickus in the New York office; and Chris Spanel in the Chicago office.