Altus Capital Partners acquired ChoiceSpine, a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of specialized spinal implants, instrumentation and biologics for the surgical treatment of complex spine disorders. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We recognize the need in the medical technology space for proven spinal products that can enhance the quality of life for spinal patients,” said Altus Co-Founder and Senior Partner Gregory L. Greenberg. “ChoiceSpine, a global medical device corporation specializing in innovative solutions for both spinal fusion hardware and biologics, demonstrates a track record of proven innovation, strong sales growth, increased distribution and the necessity of their products in the marketplace.”
Audax acquired PlayMonster, a multi-brand toy and game company, from Topspin Partners, a suburban NY-based private equity fund. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Geoffrey S. Rehnert, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Audax, said, “PlayMonster has earned an outstanding reputation in the toy and games market by delivering innovative brands to the mass, e-commerce, and specialty retailer segments. We look forward to working with Bob Wann and the PlayMonster team to continue building a leading platform through organic growth and add-on acquisitions.”
PlayMonster was advised by Baird on financial matters.
Arconic deal to end in mid-December.
Arconic, a US-based aluminum products maker, could announce a leveraged buyout this December. The company has been mulling over offers for the past couple of months and is close to making its decision. Among the bidders for Arconic are CPPIB, Onex, Carlyle Group, Blackstone and Apollo Global Management, which made an $11bn offer to Arconic in October.
If a deal does come to fruition, it could be the largest leveraged buyout since the big buyout boom that preceded the 2008 financial crisis.
Monroe Capital closed $455 CLO deal.
Monroe Capital closed a $455.75m term debt securitization known as Monroe Capital MML CLO VII, LTD. The term financing was Monroe’s third CLO completed in the last 13 months and is secured by a portfolio of middle market senior secured loans. The company sold securities rated from AAA through BB. Monroe and its affiliates retained a majority of the Subordinated Notes in the transaction.
“We continue to see very strong interest in Monroe’s CLO platform. Our investor base continues to expand in the US, Europe and Asia,” said Jeremy VanDerMeid, Managing Director of Monroe.
BNP Paribas served as the Lead Manager, Structuring Agent and Bookrunner.
Littlejohn & Co announced the closing of $2.84bn fund.
Littlejohn & Co held the final closing of Littlejohn Fund VI, with $2.84bn of committed capital, exceeding the fund’s target of $2.5bn. The firm’s previous fund, Littlejohn Fund V, with $2bn of committed capital, was raised in 2014.
Michael Klein, Chief Executive Officer and co-Founder of Littlejohn, says: “We are grateful to both our existing and new investors for the trust they place in Littlejohn to invest their capital. We plan to continue to execute on Littlejohn’s strategy of partnering with management to transform businesses via investments in equity and special situations in a broad range of middle market companies. Our operational focus and distressed investment skills are strong differentiators for us in the marketplace.”
GreenOak forms new $1.1bn real estate fund.
GreenOak Real Estate started talks with investors regarding the raising of a €1bn ($1.1bn) fund to invest in European properties such as warehouses, offices and homes. The firm plans to start raising money in the first quarter of 2019.
The latest fund will have a similar focus to its predecessor, which has invested in real estate in Western Europe. The speed of the follow-on fund reflects the firm’s preference for raising smaller pools of capital and investing them fairly quickly.
Apollo to raise $1bn for a new fund.
The firm is poised to formally begin raising at least $1bn for the fund in January of 2019. New York-based Apollo’s newest US real estate fund aims to deliver gross returns, or returns before fees, of 18% by investing in industrial, senior housing, hotels, manufactured housing and grocery-anchored retail properties and companies. Apollo’s real estate division currently has $15.4bn under management.
An Apollo spokesman declined to comment.
Bain Capital and KKR form $20m assistance fund for Toys R Us employees.
Each company will contribute $10m. The two owners of the international toy, clothing, video game, and baby product retailer, will be handing over the hardship fund to the thousands of workers who lost their jobs after Toys R Us was liquidated in June.
Workers are pushing to get an additional $55m they believe they're owed and are looking to other firms that had a stake in Toys R Us and that they believed played a role in the chain's demise.
