Chinese social networking company Oak Pacific Interactive, which has raised more than $430 million in venture capital, plans to raised about $500 million in a U.S. initial public offering, Reuters reported, citing an article by Bloomberg. Oak Pacific Interactive is backed by investors including Technology Crossover Ventures, Accel Partners, Legend Capital, Softbank and Doll Capital Management.
Lockheed Martin Corp. is selling the Pacific Architects and Engineers Inc. military services business to private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg, Reuters reported. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter. Lockheed acquired PAE in 2006. The business unit provides services in mission readiness, peacekeeping and disaster relief activities, Reuters said.
Back in Business: Fresh off his failure to carpetbag his way into office on behalf of the people of New York state, Harold Ford instead opts to become a senior client manager for Morgan Stanley Speaking Of: Wanna-be politicians, you, too, can play legislator for a day and try and budget-trim our way back to fiscal sanity Not Just PE: A Quora member poses an uncomfortable question about women and seniority at VC firms Getting the Job: How to land a gig at Microsoft, or, though Union Square Ventures
It looks like Golden Gate Capital will win its bid to buy Conexant Systems. Conexant said today that its board has deemed a bid from Golden Gate, the San Francisco PE firm, as a "superior proposal." Earlier this month, Conexant received a “revised written proposal’ from Golden Gate to buy all of its outstanding shares for $2.40 each cash, or roughly $300 million.
Private equity is hot, hot, hot for companies in the information sector. That's according to John Shea, COO of BerkeryNoyes, a New York investment bank which advises on and tracks deals in the information sector. Berkery targets the lower middle market, focusing on deals with a $25 million to $500 million enterprise value. What are information companies? Berkery defines them as a “marketplace of companies focused on the provision, management, or creation of data.” Or, more easily, all internet, media, and software businesses, Shea says.
Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR closed its 10th buyout fund with more than $3.25 billion in commitments. The fund represents the firm’s largest in its 30-year history and will target investments across financial services and technology, healthcare and information services and technology. The PE firm did not disclose its LPs in Tuesday’s announcement.
Hospital operator HCA, which is owned by investors including buyout shops Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., has set terms for an initial public offering, Reuters reported. The company plans to raise $3.7 billion, selling 124 million shares priced between $27 and $30, Reuters said. HCA owns and operates more than 160 hospitals in the United States and England, and was taken private in a $21 billion deal in late 2006.
San Francisco-based buyout shop Golden Gate Capital will pay $137 million in cash to acquire publicly traded Tollgrade Communications. Tollgate is a provider of network service assurance technology for telecommunications operators in the United States and Europe. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter. Piper Jaffray & Co. advised Tollgrade. Golden Gate Capital has more than $9 billion under management.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has offered $17 per share, or $1.73 billion, to buy chip-design software maker Mentor Graphics Corp., Reuters reported. The offer represents a 17% premium over the company’s closing price Friday. Icahn currently holds a 14.7% stake in Mentor.
Medisafe 1 Technologies Corp., which is traded on the over-the-counter Bulletin Board, has raised $5 million in equity financing from Centurion Private Equity, an institutional investor managed by Roswell Capital Partners. The new funding will help fund ongoing research and development. Medisafe develops technology to prevent unauthorized administration of prescription medications.