Merriman Holdings Inc. named Bradley Rotter to its independent advisory board. Rotter is chairman of AirPatrol Corp. and has been a public and private venture investor for 30 years. He is also an advisory board member of the hedge fund Symmetry Peak and the private equity fund Pacific Homeland Security Partners. Merriman is a San Francisco, Calif.-based financial services firm.
Seneca Partners has provided another $6 million to Adesso Solutions, a Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based provider of technology solutions for the consumer goods industry. Seneca, of Birmingham, Mich., is a private investment firm.
PE firms are on the hunt for banks again, several sources say. Interest is so great that i-bank Sandler O’Neill & Partners is handling mandates from at least 15 banks that are looking to recapitalize. And the primary source of new funds? Buyout shops. “All the small banks in the world are trying to find new capital,” says one banker. “PE is the only real money for any deal,” adds a buyout executive. Independent Bank Corp., parent of Independent Bank, and AnchorBancorp Wisconsin, which owns AnchorBank, are each in talks with PE firms for funding, sources say.
Darby Overseas Investments, the PE arm of Franklin Templeton, said that its Darby Latin American Mezzanine Fund, L.P. has sold its 37% stake in ISA Corporativo S.A. de C.V. Franklin Templeton is a San Mateo, Calif.-based investment firm with more than $644 billion in assets under management. ISA is an media company that manages advertising in subways, airports and bus stations in Mexico.
Stripes Group has taken a majority stake in Voyetra Turtle Beach, a maker of gaming headsets, via a recap. Stripes Group is a New York private investment firm. News of the deal was announced by Cascadia Capital, an investment bank, which advised Turtle Beach.
Gulf Opportunity Fund I, the $1 billion private equity fund of asset management firm Investcorp, expects to make five or six transactions in the next two years. Investcorp is also considering the launch of another fund, according to a top executive. The Gulf Opportunity Fund has already completed five transactions worth around $500 million since it was opened in 2007.
Platinum Protection has closed a round of debt financing with Boathouse Capital, a Philadelphia-based private equity firm, but has not released any figures. Platinum is a Utah-based home security with customers in 43 states. Boathouse Capital invests mezzanine debt and equity in lower middle market companies and, to date, has deployed over $1 billion.
Waha Capital, the Abu Dhabi-based private equity firm, is working on a deal in the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region with France’s AXA Private Equity, the company said. Waha also has a $500 million MENA Infrastructure Fund, which it launched in 2006 jointly with HSBC and Dubai International Capital (DIC), which is about one-third invested, they said.
Goldman Sachs’ profits relied massively on its investment unit – of a reported net income of $1.9 billion, the principal investments unit reported net revenue of $754 million including gains of $635 million from corporate principal investments. The new Volcker Rule, however, will force Goldman to sell of some its $15.3 billion portfolio.
Standard Chartered, which is working on a number of private equity deals in the Middle East at present, plans to close one for $100 million before the end of the year, the bank said. The bank is looking at deals in oil and gas, retails, telecoms, and manufacturing, according to Reuters.