Gryphon Investors is in talks to buy Ann's House of Nuts Inc. from Olympus Partners, according to Buyouts. Ann's House of Nuts, founded in 1973, sells trail mixes and nuts under the Ann's House, Ann's House of Nuts and Nature's Harvest brands, according to the story. The company also provides private-label nuts for wholesale clubs and other outlets, including Costco Wholesale Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal could close by the end of the month, Buyouts said.
Arlington Capital Partners has put Ad Venture Interactive on the block, sources say. Chicago-based Lake Capital is in talks to buy the firm, peHUB has learned. BMO Capital Markets is arranging a $74 million financing to support the sale, according to Standard & Poor's Leveraged Commentary and Data. BMO is believed to be also advising on the Ad Venture Interactive process, sources says. Ad Venture Interactive, or AVI, is an interactive lead generation business that focuses on particular verticals including education, senior living and self-improvement. Arlington Capital's investment dates back to late 2005, when the PE firm acquired a majority stake in Plattform Holdings from owner Michael Platt and his wife, Tamie (Michael Platt founded the company in 1988 as a media placement agency). The Platts retained some ownership while other members of Platt's management team also bought equity, according to press reports from that time. It is unclear how much money Arlington invested.
Is Playboy in play? Naw. News that Playboy Enterprises had hired a pair of advisors has some wondering if the magazine publisher might actually be sold. Yesterday, Playboy’s special board committee said it had retained Raine Securities and Kaye Scholer as financial and legal advisors. Lest anyone has forgotten, a few months ago there was an apparent bidding war for Playboy. In July, Hugh Hefner, the perennial playboy who founded the magazine, made a $5.50 a share offer for all the stock of the company he doesn’t own. FriendFinder Networks Inc., owner of rival skin mag Penthouse, then swooped in with a $6.25 a share offer for Playboy.
The Gores Group LLC acquired substantially all of the assets and assumed certain liabilities from National Envelope Corp. through a Section 363 transaction under of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The acquired Frisco, Texas-based company makes 37 billion envelopes each year. The bankruptcy court approved the transaction on Aug. 23.
London-based private equity investor Actis LLP acquired Vlisco Group for $151 million. Vlisco designs, makes and distributes 51 million yards of branded fabric a year for consumption primarily in West and Central Africa. The seller was Gamma Holding NV.
Kevin Albert has left Elevation Partners to join Pantheon, a PE fund-of-funds investor. Albert will be a partner at Pantheon and global head of business development. Albert joined Elevation Partners in 2005 as an MD where he helped raise the firm's first fund to invest in media and entertainment businesses. Affiliated Managers Group bought Pantheon in June.
Catterton Partners acquired a controlling stake in Alasko Foods Inc., a Montreal, Canada-based marketer of frozen fruits and vegetables. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Foster's Group Ltd, Australia's largest brewer, said it rejected a private equity offer worth up to $2.5 billion for its wine unit as too cheap and would continue with the split of its beer and wine businesses. The bid for wine surprised investors who have been focusing on potential buyers for the more lucrative beer business, and boosted the share price almost 6 percent on Wednesday to its highest since January 2008. Sales of Foster's wine, including Beringer, Penfolds and Wolf Blass, have been hit by a deep U.S. recession and a trend away from low-end, bulk wines in Australia. The strong Aussie dollar AUD= has also been a drag, slashing the value of U.S. earnings.
Carestream Health, an Onex Partners's portfolio company, confirmed Tuesday that it has bought Quantum Medical Imaging. Financial terms of the deal, which closed Friday, were not announced. The seller was Riverside Partners. News of the Quantum Medical sale was reported by peHUB last week. The transaction did not result from an auction process. Carestream and Quantum have known each other for years, a source says.
(Reuters) -- ResCare Inc said it agreed to be acquired by Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp in a cash deal that values the U.S. provider of home care to the elderly and disabled at $390 million, after Onex sweetened its initial bid by 65 cents a share. The $13.25 a share deal price represents a premium of 6 percent to ResCare's Friday close and a 30 percent premium to its closing on Aug. 13, the last trading day before Onex first offered to buy the company. The deal permits ResCare, which also offers education, vocational training and job placement opportunities for all age groups, to solicit superior proposals from third parties during a 40-day "go shop" period ending Oct. 16.