Electra Private Equity has put Capital Safety on the block for between $400 million and $500 million, according to The Financial Times. Close Brothers will help manage the sale. Capital Safety is manufacturer of safety harnesses and other related equipment for construction workers. www.capitalsafety.com
The Los Angeles Fire & Police Pension system has approved a $10 million commitment to Providence Equity Partners VI and a $10 million commitment to Sankaty Credit Opportunities III. The system is advised by Portfolio Advisors. www.lafpp.com
The Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System will soon issue an alternative equity consultant RFP, according to LBO Wire. The system's current contract with Cambridge Associates expires in April 2008. www.sers.state.pa.us
GormanThayer LLC has launched as an advisory firm for small and mid-market companies seeking to raise capital. Its principals are Mark Gorman and Brian Thayer, who both were most recently with Attalus Capital and, before that, with Hamilton Lane Advisors. www.gormanthayer.com
BlueRun Ventures has expanded its Israel team, by adding Meirav Har-Noy as a principal and Pinchas Ziv as a venture technologist. Har-Noy previously was with Apax Partners Israel and, before that, worked at Intel Capital. Ziv previously was in the corporate technology group of Flextronics. www.brv.com
Bruce Scherr, chairman and CEO of Informa Economics, has joined Metalmark Capital in an advisory role. He will help the firm extend its presence in the agriculture and natural resources sectors. www.metalmarkcapital.com
GTCR has completed its sale of Cellnet, an Alpharetta, Ga.-based provider of automated meter reading technologies for utility companies, to Bayard Group for approximately $705 million. GTCR partnered with Cellnet CEO Mike Zito to purchase the company in 2004. www.cellnet.com
Courtside Acquisition Corp. (AMEX: CRB) has agreed to acquire American Community Newspapers LLC from Spire Capital Partners, Wachovia Capital Partners and members of CAN's senior management. The deal is valued at $165 million, plus up to $25 million in possible earnouts. ACN is a group of 73 publications, comprised of 60 weekly suburban newspapers, three […]
Littlejohn & Co. has agreed to sell Diamond Innovations Inc. to Sandvik Tooling (LSE: SDF). No financial terms were disclosed. Diamond Innovations a Worthington, Ohio-based maker of synthetic diamond and cubic boron nitride products for industrial applications like machining, oil and gas drilling, grinding, rock drilling and wire drawing. It is the former superabrasives division […]
myYearbook.com, a New Hope, Pa.-based social networking site for teenagers, has raised $4.1 million in Series A funding from U.S. Venture Partners and First Round Capital. www.myyearbook.com