New York-based Greenbriar Equity Group has become an equity partner in STS Aviation Group. STS provides a range of solutions to the global aviation industry, including component sales and distribution, workforce management, engineering services, line maintenance, and aircraft repair and modifications. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Noah Roy, Managing Partner at Greenbriar, says: "We are proud to invest in STS to support its continued growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. STS's reputation, capabilities and superb management team provide a unique platform for value creation in the aviation services market."
PJ Anson, CEO of STS, says: "This is an exciting time for STS to partner with Greenbriar. The industry recognizes the value of our suite of capabilities and is driving our significant growth. Greenbriar's deep industry knowledge and track record investing in the aerospace and aviation sectors make them the ideal partner for this next chapter at STS."
J.P. Morgan Asset Management to invest in Riata-backed Acuity Eyecare.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management invested in Acuity Eyecare Group, a Riata Capital Group portfolio company. Financial terms weren't announced. The investment comes as Acuity has acquired two new regional eyecare groups. They include ABBA Eye Care, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, which operates 13 optometry locations, and EyeCare Specialties, of Lincoln, Nebraska, which operates five optometry locations. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The investment from J.P. Morgan positions Riata to achieve its stated plan of building Acuity to 200-300 locations over a three-to-five-year period through the acquisition of additional regional eyecare groups and independent optometry practices.
Jeff Fronterhouse, Managing Partner of Riata Capital Group, said: "We are excited to have J.P. Morgan Asset Management join us as an equity partner as we continue to build Acuity Eyecare Group into a market-leading eyecare platform. And the addition of ABBA Eye Care and EyeCare Specialties, two medically-oriented optometry groups, is a terrific way to finish out a strong 2018 for Acuity Eyecare Group. We look forward to continued growth and expansion in 2019."
HIG Capital acquired Lipari Foods from Sterling Investment Partners.
HIG Capital acquired Lipari Foods, a leading distributor of perimeter-of-the-store, specialty, and branded food products, from Sterling Investment Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Thom Lipari, President and CEO of Lipari, commented, "We are very excited about partnering with H.I.G. to support Lipari's strategic growth plan. The Company continues to have numerous opportunities to expand and H.I.G.'s experience and resources, particularly around M&A, will help us continue our successful growth trajectory. We remain committed to providing outstanding service to our longstanding, blue-chip customers."
Lipari Foods was advised by Citigroup.
Lovell Minnick Partners completed the acquisition of ATTOM Data Solutions, a leading provider of national real estate data and analytics. Lovell Minnick acquired ATTOM from Renovo Capital and Rosewood Private Investments. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Irvine, California, ATTOM manages a comprehensive data platform that draws upon a wide range of sources to provide property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation's population. ATTOM licenses its data to companies in the real estate, mortgage, insurance, marketing and adjacent industries.
"ATTOM's data provides mission-critical insights to enterprise clients who seek to make well-informed business decisions with the benefit of historic, rich and near real-time data," said Jason Barg, Partner, Lovell Minnick Partners.
Sycamore Partners completed its acquisition of Pure Fishing, a leading global provider of fishing tackle, lures, rods and reels with a portfolio of brands, from Newell Brands. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Peter Morrow, Managing Director at Sycamore Partners, said, "Pure Fishing and its portfolio of global brands represent an exciting opportunity to continue our strategy of investing in and supporting great retail and consumer brands with significant potential. We are excited to help Pure Fishing build on its market-leading position and accelerate its growth. We are also pleased to have been able to work constructively on this carve-out for Newell Brands to further its strategic transformation."
Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Newark, California, California Brazing is a leading manufacturer of complex, high tolerance components for space, aircraft connectivity, specialty electronic and various defense applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to partner with California Brazing management in support of the next phase of the Company's innovation and expansion," commented David Stinnett, Partner at Trive Capital. "We believe the California Brazing team has built a differentiated capability and reputation for supporting highly engineered components that will benefit from increased funding into satellite, aircraft connectivity and defense electronics sectors. Trive looks forward to providing capital and resources to help the business achieve continued growth and value to its customers."
Huron Capital made a significant equity investment in WD Lab Grown Diamonds. Based in the Washington D.C. area, the Company is a leading producer of large, ultra-high-quality laboratory grown diamonds for the jewellry, scientific and industrial markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The Huron Capital investment is expected to help us significantly expand our capacity in the fast-growing, high-quality segments of both the gem and industrial markets, and build our base of trade partnerships," Clive Hill, WD founder and CEO, said. "We believe we can provide the safest supply certainty for this technical product and the most consistent volume option for the biggest players in the gem market."
WD was advised by TM Capital.
Healthgrades, the leading online resource for information about physicians and hospitals, acquired Influence Health. The acquisition will enhance Healthgrades' ability to deliver the most comprehensive suite of digital services to its combined installed base of health system clients representing over 1,500 hospitals, expanding Healthgrades' offerings in web services, listings and reputation management. Besides, the acquisition will expand Healthgrades' position as the largest CRM provider in the healthcare market and extend the company's ability to create comprehensive web experiences that are fully integrated into Healthgrades' CRM platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"As healthcare consumerism has dramatically changed the way health systems engage and build long-term relationships with consumers, Healthgrades has worked to build a platform that allows our partners to employ data-driven, digital-first strategies so that they can connect with patients along their care journey. With the addition of Influence Health's core competencies and expertise, Healthgrades' platform will better deliver marketing strategies that empower health systems to more effectively connect with consumers." said Rob Draughon, CEO, Healthgrades.
Pfingsten-backed Sign-Zone to acquire Xarisma.
Pfingsten Partners' portfolio company, Sign-Zone acquired Xarisma, a manufacturer of custom-printed, large format graphic signage and display accessories. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, Xarisma specializes in high-mix custom fabric production, with products including flags, banners, tents, silicone edge graphics, retractable displays and table covers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are tremendously excited to add Xarisma to the Sign-Zone platform. This acquisition will strengthen our Showdown Displays division, adding new customers and an additional production location. The businesses are highly complementary, offering exceptional customer service to accompany industry-leading products and production capabilities." said John Bruellman, President and CEO of Sign-Zone.
SoftBank to invest an additional $2bn in WeWork.
SoftBank Group Corp. has decided against taking a controlling stake in real estate company WeWork and is instead planning to make a smaller $2bn investment. SoftBank, which has already invested more than $8bn in WeWork, had discussed taking a controlling position in the co-working startup, potentially spending $16bn to buy a larger position in the company. The new investment will value WeWork at $47bn.
TriArtisian to acquire P.F. Chang for $700m.
TriArtisan Capital Advisors is in exclusive talks to acquire Chinese food restaurant P.F. Chang's for as much as $700m from Centerbridge Partners.
Centerbridge is exploring a sale of P.F. Chang's, the firm announced in June, after separating the chain from Pei Wei Asian Diner. The private equity firm had acquired the restaurants in 2012 for $1.1bn. P.F. Chang's has about 220 restaurants in the U.S. and more in Mexico, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere.
Carlyle's Metropolitan Real Estate's Secondaries Program II raises $1.2bn.
The Carlyle Group closed Metropolitan Real Estate's Secondaries Program II, raising $1.2bn and exceeding its $750m target. The program invests in the real estate secondaries market globally, providing liquidity to investors in private equity funds and other partnership structures. Program II builds on Metropolitan Real Estate's secondaries investment strategy dating back to 2002 and its first dedicated secondaries program, which launched in 2014.
Sarah Schwarzschild, Head of Secondaries at Metropolitan, said, "Secondaries offer exposure to seasoned real estate investments with a shortened holding period. These defensive characteristics, among others, are resonating with our investors late in the economic cycle. As the secondary market continues to grow, we remain focused on acquiring high-quality assets with capable partners at attractive valuations for our investors."
Madryn collected $290m for new healthcare fund.
Madryn Asset Management raised $290m for its new healthcare fund. The target is $500m. Based in New York, Madryn Asset Management invests in healthcare companies.
