Phoenix Venture Fund has recapped Xplore Technologies Corp., a maker of tablet computers. The deal involves the conversion of roughly $9.5 million of debt into Series D convertible preferred stock, the company said. The deal is designed to bolster Xplore’s balance sheet and provide additional liquidity. Xplore was formed in 1996 and is traded on the over-the-counter bulletin board.
Private equity firms Apax Partners and EQT are each preparing to offer 1.25 billion euros ($1.66 billion) for German discount clothing retailer Takko, Reuters reported. Takko is currently owned by buyout shop Advent International. The price of the offer is roughly 10 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, Reuters said. Rival private equity firms TPG Capital and PAI were previously in the running for Takko, but dropped out, Reuters said.
Xe Services, the security firm formerly known as Blackwater, has been acquired by an investor consortium led by private equity firms Forte Capital Advisors and Manhattan Partners. Xe, which has been criticized for its activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, provides training and domestic and international security services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
European private equity shop Montagu Private Equity said that it will acquire Moss, Norway-based Helly Hansen Pro. Financial terms of the deal were not released. HH Pro provides survival and personal protection suits for the offshore and shipping markets.
South Korea canceled the sale of its $6 billion stake in Woori Financial Holdings, nixing what would have been the country’s largest ever financial sector privatization, Reuters reported. The government said it would consider other alternatives, including a private contract and block sale, Reuters said.
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. is in talks with other buyout shops to sell portfolio company Husky Injection Molding Systems for as much as $2 billion, Reuters reported. Apollo Global Management and the Carlyle Group are among the firms expressing interest in Husky, Reuters said.
Everyday it seems like Riverside Co. is announcing another deal. Today, the PE firm said it had sold GTI Diagnostics to Gen Probe for $53 million. Yesterday, Riverside said it had invested in Sunrise Windows. Busy seems to be Riverside' s mantra. The PE firm has so far done eight acquisitions and five exits in fourth quarter, says Graham Hearns, Riverside's spokesman. This compares to Riverside five acquisitions and one exit in fourth quarter 2009. The buyout shop expects to exit another deal and make three to four more acquisitions before the end of 2010, Hearns says.
Enhanced Equity Fund has invested in Specialty Therapeutic Care, a Houston specialty pharmacy that serves patients with chronic bleeding disorders. Financial terms weren't announced. Enhanced Equity Fund, of New York, is a PE firm.
An investor group, that includes Oaktree Capital Management and Avenue Capital Group, has completed its buy of Sea Island Co. Financial terms weren't announced. Sea Island is a Georgia resort and real estate development company. The sale to Avenue and Oaktree was reportedly pegged at $200 million.
Sun Capital Partners said Thursday that it has acquired the business and assets of DSM Special Products. Financial terms were not announced. The seller was Royal DSM N.V. while Emerald Performance Materials, a unit of Sun Capital, is the buyer. DSM Special Products, of the Netherlands, makes toluene oxidation products. Sun Capital is a Boca Raton, Fla.-based PE firm.