Insider trading has become the ugly stepchild of take-private buyouts, as small-market scammers have infiltrated the big kids table. Nobody involved will admit their wrongdoing, of course, but the breadcrumbs can often be found in the options trading market, where unusual activity may well reflect that some deal info was leaked by a sponsor, banker, […]
Endurance International, a portfolio company of Audax Partners, has acquired IPower Inc., in order to form a single provider of web hosting services to the SME market. LBOWire reports that the deal is valued at more than $100 million, and is structured as a recap that includes new equity and debt commitments from Cerberus Capital […]
Remember when Dow Chemical fired two executives last month for allegedly trying to stoke buyout interest in the company? Well there are now a pair of competing lawsuits about the matter, with one of the fired execs suing Dow, and Dow suing both of its former charges. Here is the digruntled exec’s suit: Dow_Suit.pdf Here […]
LumaSense Technologies Inc., a Santa Clara, Calif.
Universal American Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: UHCO) has agreed to acquire pharmacy benefits manager MemberHealth Inc. for approximately $630 million (55% cash, 45% UAF stock). The deal is being backed by a $350 million PIPE investment in UAF by Lee Equity Partners, Perry Capital, Union Square Partners Management (f.k.a. Capital Z) and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & […]
Just as private equity dominates news headlines today, the masters of the Wall Street universe 20 years ago were an investment bank (Drexel Burnham Lambert) and a form of debt with which the firm had become inextricably linked (the junk bond). They were fabulously successful for nearly 10 years, but Drexel’s high yield empire didn’t […]
Sometimes a strategic just can’t get it done alone. That may be one of the snapshot lessons from today’s announcement that Smith & Wollensky (Nasdaq: SWRG) has agreed to be taken private for $94.6 million. The upscale steakhouse operator had originally agreed to be acquired for $9.25 per share by Patina Restaurant Group, but then […]
Carex Health Brands, a portfolio company of KCA Partners, has acquired Thera-Med Inc., a Waco, Texas-based maker of hot and cold packs for pain relief therapy. No financial terms were disclosed. www.thera-med.com www.kcapartners.com
American Education Group, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based prep school acquisition platform, has launched with $35 million in private equity funding from Winona Capital Management and Chicago Growth Partners. www.americanedgroup.com
Ampac Packaging LLC, a Cincinnati-based packaging company backed by Falcon Investment Advisors and Prudential Capital Group, has acquired Mohawk Northern Plastics, an Auburn, Wash.-based manufacturer of flexible packaging for the food, beverage, home and garden and industrial markets. No financial terms were disclosed. www.ampaconline.com www.mohawkplastics.com