The Boston-based private equity firm Riverside Partners has invested $34 million in Welocalize, a 13-year-old, Frederick, Md.-based startup that sells consulting, translation, localization, testing solutions and enterprise translation management tools and employs 400 people in 9 offices around the world. PRESS RELEASE: Riverside Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm announced today that it has invested […]
Just shy of four years after investing in the Miami-based deli meats manufacturer National Deli, the Chicago-based private equity firm Arbor Investments has sold its stake to Chattanooga, Tenn.-based River Associates Investments for 2.7x its investment. The parties withheld terms of the sale. PRESS RELEASE: Chicago, Illinois-based Arbor Investments announced that it has sold its portfolio company […]
Last week, I was in Dallas for the Buyouts conference and there was much talk about all the dividend recaps companies are taking. Some think all the recaps means there's a bubble in the high yield market while others believe PE firms are being smart about the payouts they're getting. There have been several dividend recaps recently, including HCA's plans to pay a $2 billion dividend to its shareholders (KKR and Bain Capital). Dunkin' Brands is also raising $2 billion to fund a $500 million dividend to its PE backers (Bain, Carlyle and Thomas H. Lee). Still, not all deals gets done. Consider Burlington Coat Factory, which is owned by Bain Capital. Burlington was planning to raise $1.5 billion in new debt, which included $500 million in notes and a $1 billion term loan. About $300 million was expected to go to Bain via dividend.
Hovde Private Equity Advisors said Monday that it has invested $11 million in FirstAtlantic Financial Holdings, which owns FirstAtlantic Bank, of Jacksonville, Fla. Hovde, a Washington D.C. PE firm, said its investment could go up to $25 million over time but will not exceed 24.9% ownership in the bank. Joseph James, of Hovde Private Equity, was elected to the bank's board.
Riverside Co. said Monday that it has completed the sale of Hardware Resources, a Bossier City, La.-based maker of cabinet and vanity supplies, to Harbour Group. Financial terms weren't announced. The deal produced a 24% gross IRR and 3.8x gross on cash-on-cash return, Riverside said. Harbour Group, of St. Louis, is a privately owned company. Riverside Co. is a PE firm. Harris Williams provided financial advice to Hardware Resources.
HSBC Capital, through its HSBC Private Equity Partners II fund, has acquired Compton, Calif.-based Venture Aircraft. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Venture Aircraft is a manufacturer of precision crafted sheet metal and machined components for the aerospace industry. HSBC Capital is the U.S. and Latin America private equity division of HSBC Group, and has more than $1.5 billion under management.
We finally have some news on Novell. Today, PE-backed Attachmate Corp. agreed to buy Novell for $6.10 a share, or $2.2 billion. Novell also inked a deal to sell certain intellectual property assets to CPTN Holdings, which is a consortium of tech companies organized by Microsoft, for $450 million. The $6.10 a share offer represents a 9% premium to Novell's closing share price on Friday.
Macquarie Infrastructure Partners has acquired two landfill gas-to-energy facilities from Montvale, New Jersey-based Ridgewood Renewable Power. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Macquarie Infrastructure Partners has more than $5.5 billion in committed capital across two funds.
UPS has agreed to sell its logistics technologies unit to Thoma Bravo, a San Francisco PE firm. Financial terms were not announced. The logistics technologies unit, based in Baltimore, Md., creates high-tech transportation routing and fleet management systems.
Middle-market buyout shop American Securities has paid an undisclosed amount for a controlling stake in Arizona Chemical. Jacksonville, Fla.-based Arizona Chemical refines pine chemicals for use in printing inks, paints, adhesives and other products. American Securities is based in New York.