Tony Metzner is joining St. Louis-based venture capital and small business finance firm Advantage Capital Partners. Metzner brings 15 years of experience in finance and risk management earned at several accounting, auditing and consulting firms, including Ernst & Young and Deloitte.
For the third time in its history, OpenLink Financial is being sold to a PE firm. The Carlyle Group said Monday that it has agreed to sell OpenLink to Hellman & Friedman. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Carlyle owned a majority of OpenLink and sold all of their stake, one source says. OpenLink management also owned a stake and is retaining a holding, the person says. Credit Suisse and Crescent Mezzanine are providing financing for the deal. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
Consolidated Precisions Corp., the California-based company that makes products for commercial aerospace and defense markets, will be recapitalized by PE firm Warburg Pincus. Arlington Capital Partners, the Washington DC-based private equity firm, is CPP’s current sponsor. Terms of the transaction were not publicized.
Blue Wolf Capital Partners has invested in Pharmaceutical Strategies Group. Financial terms weren't disclosed. PSG, of Plano, Texas, is an independent pharmacy benefits consulting firm.
This year should be the best for PE investments in financial services since the financial crisis, according to Freeman & Co. So far in 2011, there have been 69 PE transactions in financial services. But only 48 disclosed their valuations, Freeman said. Whatever the number, the deals totaled $14.9 billion during the first half of 2011, said Freeman, a New York IB that focuses mainly on financial services. Last year, there were about the same number of deals, 70, valued at $10.1 billion, Freeman said. The average deal size this year was $309.4 million, a 39% increase from the $222.7 million posted during the first half of 2010.
Buyout shop OpenGate Capital has completed its purchase of the Waukesha, WI-based dairy processing plant and related assets from publicly traded Dean Foods Co. OpenGate acquired the “Golden Guernsey” and “La Vaca Bonita” brands as part of the transaction. Terms of the deal were not released. OpenGate Capital is based in Los Angeles, Calif.
BMG Rights Management will pay about $300 million to buy Los Angeles song publisher Bug Music, beating out bidders including American Idol creator Simon Fuller, Reuters reported. Bug Music owns the rights to songs including "What a Wonderful World" and "Under The Boardwalk." The company is currently owned by Spectrum Equity Investors. BMG Rights is a joint venture of giant German media company Bertelsmann and private equity firm KKR.
Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. filed with regulators Friday to raise up to $150 million in an initial public offering, Reuters reported. In November 2007, Restoration Hardware had agreed to be taken private in a transaction led by CEO Gary Friedman and private-equity firm Catterton. The home furnishings retailer will use the proceeds primarily to repay debt.
Seven Peaks, the owner of Utah’s largest water park, has acquired the assets of regional daily deals website CityDeals. Terms were not released. CityDeals was reportedly struggling to stay in business before the acquisition, according to the Deseret News. Seven Peaks was one of the company’s largest creditors prior to the deal.
FriendFinder Networks Inc., the publisher of adult magazine Penthouse, said it will buy social commerce website JigoCity for up to $65 million in stock and warrants, Reuters reported. JigoCity is owned by BDM Global Ventures. FriendFinder operates a slew of social networking websites, including adultfriendfinder.com and cams.com.