Hold onto your mutual funds. The asset management sector might soon play host to another M&A deal, as sources say that Lovell Minnick Partners is thinking about selling ALPS Holdings. For the unfamiliar, ALPS Holdings is a third-party administrator that provides back office services like distribution and accounting to exchange-traded funds and mutual funds. Lovell MInnick bought a majority stake via a recap in 2005, and has since helped ALPS make a pair of bolt-on acquisitions: Hedge fund administrator Price Meadows in 2008, and the the Liberty All-Star closed-end fund business from Bank of America in 2006. Five years is the typical hold time for Lovell Minnick, and sources say that the firm is open to overtures (although it hasn't yet hired a banker). “ALPS will certainly sell but only when the price is right,” one private equity executive tells peHUB.
Kraco Enterprises, a distributor of automotive aftermarket floor mats, has agreed to acquire Auto Expressions, the automotive aftermarket accessories business of Shell subsidiary Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. No financial terms were disclosed. Kraco is a portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners.
CombineNet, a Pittsburgh-based provider of sourcing and optimization technologies, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Alta Communications.
(Reuters) – French buyout firm PAI Partners bought lab testing business Laboratoire Cerba from rival IK Investment Partners as private equity snapped up yet another healthcare business. Scandinavian buyout firm IK said on Wednesday that PAI, which recently floated Danish food ingredients group Chr. Hansen, had agreed to buy the business for an undisclosed sum. […]
The Cook & Boardman Group, a portfolio company of Blue Point Capital Partners, has acquired SBS Commercial Door & Hardware, a distributor of commercial doors, door frames, architectural hardware and related accessories. No pricing terms were disclosed. RBC Bank provided leveraged financing.
PNC Equity Partners has acquired Oracle Elevator Co., a Dover Plains, N.Y.-based provider of elevator services. The seller was Jupiter Partners, while Oracle was advised by Sperry, Mitchell & Company. No financial terms were disclosed.
Norma Group, a developer of metal and plastic engineered joining technology solutions, has acquired R.G. Ray Corp., a maker of heavy duty engineered clamps. No financial terms were disclosed. Norma Group is a portfolio company of 3i Group. Biard advised R.G. Ray on the sale.
Transom Capital Group has acquired Uncle Milton Industries Inc., a maker of toys like the Ant Farm brand ant habitats. No financial terms were disclosed. Uncle Milton was advised on the deal by Sherwood Partners.
BWAY Holding Co. (NYSE: BWY), a North American supplier of general line rigid containers, said that its shareholders have approved a $20 per share buyout offer from Madison Dearborn Capital Partners. The deal values BWAY at approximately $915 million (including assumed debt). Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank Securities will provide leveraged financing.
Aspen Surgical Products Inc., a portfolio company of RoundTable Healthcare Partners, has agreed to acquire the surgical blades and scalpels business (Bard-Parker) of Becton, Dickinson and Company. No financial terms were disclosed.