Author: asormani

Indigo Group, a business advisory and private equity firm, has completed the acquisition of six quick service restaurants based in East Texas. Indigo Group secured capital for the acquisition and served as advisor to the new management group.

PRESS RELEASE

Indigo Group, LLC, a business advisory and private equity firm, announced a completed acquisition of six quick service restaurants based in East Texas. Indigo Group secured capital for the acquisition and served as advisor to the new management group.
The restaurant acquisition marks continued development for Indigo Group’s hospitality arm, which includes portfolio companies ranging from a beverage line to a wine and spirits distribution company. Indigo Group also provides integral consulting and operational advisory services for these businesses.
“This recent transaction sharpens our focus in the hospitality space,” said Tom Foley, Managing Director of Indigo Group’s Dallas office. “This industry presents unique opportunities for Indigo Group, and we’re looking to expand nationally. We’re currently sourcing more projects as well as counseling companies in order to foster smart growth. We are excited to be a part of this developing sector.”
Jonathan Shechter, Managing Director of Indigo Group based in New York, added, “We have a few short term hospitality-related targets we are looking to close in the next few months as well as some longer term projects in development. On the venture side, we remain focused on advising promising, well-positioned companies and innovative entrepreneurs in different segments and industries.”
About Indigo Group
Indigo Group is a business advisory and private equity firm, delivering strategic business advice to its clients and portfolio companies. Indigo Group is comprised of three divisions each with a focus on its respective market segment — Indigo Hospitality, Indigo Ventures, and Indigo Capital. Indigo Group’s clients and portfolio companies include start-up ventures, new and established hospitality chains and mature companies. Indigo Group’s business advisory services incorporate a comprehensive legal understanding of key business decisions, allowing clients to properly balance strategic vision, execution and risk considerations. Indigo Group offers business advisory, investment banking services, corporate risk management and through its affiliated law firm, Foley Shechter LLP, provides legal services in business and commercial legal matters, venture capital, private equity and regulatory compliance.

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Saphir Capital Partners has backed UK-based Molinare TV & Film Limited. Saphir will invest through the Luxembourg regulated Saphir Capital Private Equity Fund and join existing shareholders Next Wave Partners, Steve Milne, Julie Parmenter and the British Film Company who acquired the company in June 2012.

PRESS RELEASE

Saphir Capital Partners invests in Molinare, the multi-award winning London-based post production house
Molinare TV & Film Limited is very pleased to announce that Saphir Capital Partners (“Saphir”) has completed an investment into the company. Saphir, an international growth capital investor, will invest through the Luxembourg regulated Saphir Capital Private Equity Fund andjoin existing shareholders Next Wave Partners, Steve Milne, Julie Parmenter and the British Film Company who acquired the company in June 2012. Saphir’s investment will provide Molinare with additional firepower at a time when the post production market is presenting a number of opportunities.
Molinare, the Carnaby Street-based post production house first established as Molinare Sound Services in 1973 celebrates its 40th anniversary later this year. Now focused on high end Factual and Drama for Broadcast as well as Feature Film, it has worked on a wide range of successful film and television projects including Tom Hoopers ‘Kings Speech’. More recently work includes smash hit series ‘The Bible’ for Lightworkers Media, ‘Call The Midwife’ for Neal Street Productions, ‘The Hour’ for Kudos and ‘MasterChef’ for Shine as well as Dustin Hoffman’s ‘Quartet’ and Working Title’s ‘I Give It a Year’. Upcoming projects include BBC Comedy’s ‘The Wrong Mans’ and Hossein Amini’s ‘The Two Faces of January’. Molinare was named Best Post Production House at the 2012 Broadcast Awards.
Steve Milne, Executive Chairman of Molinare, commented: “In its 40th year Molinare has matured gracefully and is now in great shape. It’s been quite a journey but we love what we do. Older, wiser and with great infrastructure and powerful backers in place, the Company is now working with some of the very best creatives in the UK today and that’s exciting!”.
Julie Parmenter, Managing Director of Molinare, commented: “We are delighted that Saphir has chosen to invest in Molinare. This is an exciting time in the company’s history with significant opportunities across the TV Drama and Film markets, especially with the support of the new TV Tax Credits, timing for this investment could not be better”.
John Penning, Managing Director of Saphir, commented: “We are delighted to be investing alongside Next Wave, British Film Company, Steve and Julie, in a business with a strong brand and substantial growth potential. We are particularly pleased to be working with co-investors and entrepreneurs who share our vision on how to build a successful business for the long term.”
George Pennock and Marc Smit, Partners at Saphir, commented: “We are looking forward to working in partnership with the team and Next Wave to take advantage of Molinare’s track record and strategic position in the post production market, and to enable it to realise its considerable potential over the years ahead.”
George Pennock will join the board of Molinare as a non-executive Director.
Jonathan Brod, Managing Partner and Dean MacKenzie, Investment Director of Next Wave Partners, commented:“We are very pleased to welcome Saphir on board. They have continued to show a strong interest in the company and look forward to further developing

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BPCE has completed the sale of Meilleurtaux.com to funds managed by Equistone Partners Europe Limited. Founded in 1999, Meilleurtaux.com is a provider of advice to consumers looking for mortgage solutions.

PRESS RELEASE

BPCE today announces the completion of the sale of its 100% holding in Meilleurtaux.com (“the Company”) to funds managed by Equistone Partners Europe Limited (“Equistone”). Founded in 1999, Meilleurtaux.com is a leading provider of advice to consumers looking for mortgage solutions.

BPCE entered into exclusive discussions with Equistone on 18 February 2013 regarding the sale of Meilleurtaux.com. The deal is in line with BCPE’s strategic plan to dispose of joint ventures and non-core subsidiaries.

The sale process, which has been favourably received by the various bodies representing Meilleurtaux.com’s employees, was completed on 16 April 2013.

Equistone is a mid-market investment firm which partners with management teams to support buyouts of high-performing businesses with growth potential and leading market positions. For Equistone, Meilleurtaux.com represents a dynamic, high-profile business with significant potential for further development.

Guillaume Jacqueau, Managing Partner of Equistone Partners Europe, commented: “Equistone has been active in the French market for over twenty years and has been involved with a significant number of businesses at all stages of their development.

“Whilst real estate accounts for a major portion of French people’s budgets, currently only 20% of the French population use brokers and this is set to increase. With its high-profile brand and a network of over 160 franchise offices, Meilleurtaux.com is ideally placed to benefit from this potential for growth.”
Meilleurtaux.com’s management team is pleased with the outcome of the deal and will continue to lead the business following the strategy in place since 2011. The business is well placed for growth and has maintained stable financial results with net growth in 2012.

Hervé Hatt, CEO of Meilleurtaux.com, added: “We are delighted that Equistone has chosen to support Meilleurtaux.com’s growth and current business strategy. Equistone’s partnership will enable the business to continue to provide its customers with the expert, independent support that they need in this uncertain economic climate.”

François Pérol, Chairman of the Management Board of BPCE, commented: “Meilleurtaux.com is well placed to continue its growth with an acquirer which is convinced of the Company’s development potential, and which will support the experienced management team that has successfully led the development of the company.”

Advisers:
Lawyers for the transaction: SJBerwin (Thomas Maitrejean, Augustin Fleytoux)
Strategic due diligence: Roland Berger (Philippe Removille, Ciril Faïa, Benjamin Entraygues)
Financial due diligence: 8-Advisory (Lionel Gérard, Christian Klingler, Hicham Ezzahiri)
Legal due diligence: Racine (Mélanie Coiraton-Mavré)
Adviser to management: Callisto (Eric Delorme, Paul Lorenzoni)
Legal Counsel: Jeantet (Nicolas Partouche, Guillaume Fornier)
Corporate banking: HSBC (Philippe Diers, Eric Emore)
Financial due diligence: KPMG (Raphaël Jacquemart)

About Groupe BPCE:
Groupe BPCE, France’s second-largest banking group, is built on two autonomous and complementary networks of commercial banks: the 19 Banques Populaires and the 17 Caisses d’Epargne. In the field of property loans, the Group also includes Crédit Foncier de France. Through its subsidiary Natixis, it is a major player in investment banking, asset management and financial services. Groupe BPCE has over 36 million customers and enjoys a widespread presence in France with 8,000 branches, 117,000 employees and over 8.6 million cooperative members.

About Equistone:
Equistone Partners Europe Limited is an independent investment firm owned and managed by the former executives of Barclays Private Equity. In January 2013, Equistone successfully completed the final closing of Equistone Partners Europe Fund IV with total capital commitments of €1.5bn. The Company is one of Europe’s leading investors in mid-market buyouts with a successful track record spanning over 30 years, with more than 350 transactions completed in this period. Equistone has a strong focus on change of ownership deals and aims to invest between €25m and €125m of equity in businesses with enterprise values of between €50m and €300m. The Company has a team of 35 investment professionals operating across France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK, investing as a strategic partner alongside management teams. Equistone Partners Europe Limited is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For further information, please visit www.equistonepe.com

About Meilleurtaux:
Meilleurtaux has been providing advice to consumers looking for mortgages since its foundation in 1999. It puts them in touch with banks which are likely to provide the best financing solution for their needs, in terms of interest rates, payment protection insurance, etc. Meilleurtaux’s range of services has expanded to cover other types of loans as well as insurance.

Meilleurtaux press contact
Sandrine Allonier: 01 41 97 98 67
[email protected]
www.meilleurtaux.com

BPCE press contacts
Sabine Baudin: 01 58 40 47 62
Sonia Dilouya: 01 58 40 58 57
[email protected] – www.bpce.fr

@GroupeBPCE
Equistone press contacts
Kablé Communication Finance
Catherine Kablé: 01 44 50 54 75
[email protected]
Céline Pasqualini: 01 44 50 54 73
[email protected]

College Hill: +44 (0)207 457 2020
Antonia Coad: [email protected]
Zinka Bozovic: [email protected]

Antonia Coad | Associate Partner
D +44 (0)20 7457 2023
M +44 (0)7790 907771

The Registry | Royal Mint Court | London EC3N 4QN | UK
T +44 20 7457 2020 | F +44 20 7866 7900

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arc Asset Management, an independent management company specialized in creating and managing collective investment vehicles for SMEs and RVC InfraFund, an investment fund, established by Russian Venture Capital and SME Bank, have launched ISAM Fund SICAV-SIF. The goal of the fund is to foster transfer of technology and know-how between Italian and Russian SMEs.

PRESS RELEASE

arc Asset Management, an independent management company specialized in creating and managing Collective Investment Vehicles for SMEs, and RVC InfraFund, an investment fund, established by Russian Venture Capital and SME Bank, have launched ISAM Fund, SICAV-SIF aiming to invest into companies with a strong potential for international growth.

ISAM Fund’s goal is to foster transfer of technology and know-how between Russia and Italy, to open new markets for European, in particular to Italian, and Russian SMEs.

arc A.M. and InfraFund have joint their competencies to help SMEs, which play a crucial role in developing the economy and in creating employment, in need of additional capital to grow their international presence.

ISAM Fund will provide for a commitment of 100 million euro for equity investments into SMEs.

ISAM Fund’s portfolio companies will access new capital, expand internationally, undergo management improvement through professionalization and integration of family/managerial models and gain further product and market diversification.

Italy has a significant number of SMEs with a recognized and established know-how and made in Italy brand and competencies in need of new partnerships to strengthen their international presence and further expansion. Russia, bridge between Europe and Asia, has high growth potentials, natural resources and technical competences, needs to expand the SME segment improve the country’s industrial ranking globally by further fostering entrepreneurship (also within younger generations of entrepreneurs).

ISAM Fund aims to combine strategic skills and needs of both countries to create better opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Angelo Lazzari, CEO of arc A.M and founder of ISAM commented “The Joint Venture between arc Asset Management and InfraFund RVC is based on shared values and perspectives, the importance of which is not simply on the returns in financial terms. It’s important to stress that both Russian and European companies will benefit from this agreement, which will also strengthen the development of Russian- Italian economic cooperation.

Michael Ievenko, Investment manager of InfraFund says «Our company creates new opportunity for Russian technology companies to enter international markets and get access to European knowhow and best practices. Combined with growing demand of Russian economy for innovations and intention of European companies to expand their operations abroad it helps to build new integration points for technology markets.

ISAM Fund will invest in Russian and European, in particular Italian, SMEs with a unique approach which combines a typical private equity approach with an entrepreneurial setting, encouraging the creation of a NewCo in Russia or in Europe to satisfy domestic demand with local production and foster local entrepreneurship.

Strengthened by this mission, ISAM Fund offers investors two different investment vehicles, equity ISAM FUND SIF SMEs/PE) and bonds (ISAM FUND SIF SME/BOND). These two options offer different risk-return-ratio, to guarantee portfolio diversification and the creation of value.

UBI International, fourth Italian Bank Group, is the Depositary Bank in Luxembourg.

arc Asset Management is an independent management company, with headquarters in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, specialized in creating and managing Collective Investment Vehicles. The company is endowed with the European Passport to render its services in every country that has acknowledged the UCITS Directive.

arc Asset Management is a harmonized wealth management company offering its services to any country within the European Community. Its absolute independence from any banking, insurance or financial Group is a guarantee of high level services – free from any conflict of interest.

In 2011 arc AM has launched True Energy Fund through its Luxemburgish SICAV, IRIS SICAF-SIF.

RVC InfraFund–Infrastructural Investments of RVC (Russian Venture Capital) was launched on 24 January 2011 by RVC and SME Bank (Russian Bank for Small and Medium Enterprises Support) a subsidiary bank owned by VEB – VneshEconomBank , Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs.

RVC InfraFund plays a key role in the development of «soft» infrustracture and entrepreneurial learning for the technology focused SME segment domestically and abroad.

RVC, a government fund of funds and a development institute of the Russian Federation established on June 7, 2006, has the mission to stimulate the venture capital industry and to enhance development through the support of industrial and infrastructural services in the country, in order to increase international investors’ interest in the country. Through RVC, the Russian government intends to support its national innovation system.

SME Bank has been implementing the state SME Lend­ing Support Program since 2004, and acts as the conduit of government funding for SMEs throughout Russia.

Lucia Langella-Rahn
Head of UK Media and Investor Relations

[email protected]

ARC Asset Management
111, Avenue de la Faiencerie
L-1511 Luxembourg
Phone +352 26 360983
Fax +352 26 360984
Mob +44 (0) 7786 070 301

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Springfield Homecare Services, part of Springfield Healthcare Group, has completed the acquisition of Positive Life Choices, a domiciliary care business based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Springfield Homecare is a provider of domiciliary care in Yorkshire and Humberside and is backed by Business Growth Fund.

PRESS RELEASE

Business Growth Fund (BGF) backed Springfield Homecare Services Ltd, part of Springfield Healthcare Group, has completed the acquisition of Positive Life Choices (PLC), a domiciliary care business based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Springfield Homecare is one of the largest independent providers of domiciliary care in Yorkshire and Humberside.
PLC represents the first acquisition that Springfield has made using BGF capital.
Springfield financed the acquisition following two investments totaling £4.4 million, which were made by BGF in June 2012.
The deal will add approximately 2,000 hours of care to Springfield Homecare, which gives the business a new presence in the North East and strong relationships with a number of new local authorities. It also increases the number of employees in Springfield Homecare to over 800 and turnover of the overall Group to greater than £13 million per annum.
The acquisition will allow Springfield to submit a variety of local authority tenders to get approval onto new framework agreements and also offers the potential to expand PLC’s services into Durham, Sunderland, Stockton, Northumberland and other neighbouring areas.
Based in the outskirts of the city centre to the north east of Newcastle, PLC specialises in the provision of care services to individuals with learning disabilities (LD) and currently covers Newcastle, Gateshead and Darlington. PLC also provides care services to older people, those with physical disabilities, mental health problems and sensory impairments and works within the supported living, domiciliary and respite care sectors.
The company was founded in 2007 by husband and wife team Ian and Amanda Dickinson and has grown steadily, employing 90 staff with a turnover of approximately £1 million per annum.
Of BGF’s total £4.4 million investment, £1.47 million has already been used to fund the development of The Grange Care Village in Seacroft, Leeds, which is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2013.
Graeme Lee, founder and CEO of Springfield Healthcare commented:
“I am delighted to announce our acquisition of Positive Life Choices. This marks the start of an exciting period of growth into the North East for Springfield Home Care, alongside its existing progress within Yorkshire and Humberside.
“BGF’s funding is enabling us to source similar excellent opportunities across Yorkshire and the North East where we can invest quickly, professionally and in alignment with existing management teams.”
Richard Taylor of BGF commented:
“We’d like to congratulate Graeme Lee and Amanda Dickinson on the completion of this acquisition, which is a significant milestone for Springfield’s growth plan.
“For businesses determined to grow quickly, a strategic acquisition can be a transformative moment. However buying another company requires deep pockets and the experience to integrate two organisations in a way that realises their combined potential. Some growing companies have the ambition to expand this way, but lack the means to do it.
“Funding also remains a major challenge for businesses with an acquisition target in mind – even if bank debt is available, it may not be the best way to finance the deal. In practice, equity capital is far less restrictive than bank debt, where the borrower is subsequently required to perform to very tightly defined criteria.
“BGF growth capital is well suited to supporting growth through acquisition and it is a key area where we can offer support to business owners.”
-Ends-
Contacts:
Emily Weston, Equity Dynamics – 07825 326 442
[email protected]
Notes to editors:
About Springfield Healthcare Group:
Springfield Healthcare Group is a Care Home operator and one of the largest independent providers of domiciliary care in Yorkshire and Humberside. Led by Yorkshire based Group CEO, Graeme Lee, Springfield was established in 1967 as a single family-run care home and has since grown steadily ever since. Springfield now provides care to nearly 2,000 clients each day and will employ over 1,000 staff by the end of the year.
About Business Growth Fund:
Business Growth Fund has been established to help Britain’s growing smaller and medium sized businesses. Growth potential is the key criteria. BGF will invest between £2m and £10m per business in return for a minority equity stake and a seat on the board for a BGF director. BGF will provide long-term equity investment for those growing companies that today do not have access to this source of capital. As such BGF hopes to be a catalyst for growth among smaller UK companies.
BGF is an independent company with capital of up to £2.5 billion, backed by five of the UK’s main banking groups – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, and Standard Chartered. BGF is managed completely autonomously with an independent management team.
BGF is one of a range of initiatives designed to forge a new relationship between the banking sector and UK businesses, and BGF works in close collaboration with the British Bankers’ Association as well as other key business organisations across the UK.
Key facts and figures:
80 people at 7 offices across six UK regions
Approx. £130 million of growth capital invested in 25 companies from 17 sectors
3,364 currently people employed by BGF backed companies
Targeting investment of c £200 million in 2013
More than money for investee businesses, for example BGF has placed 17 highly experienced non-executive chairman and non-executives.

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HgCapital has announced a final close of its latest private equity fund, HgCapital 7. The 2 billion ($3.06 billion) pound fund will provide broad coverage of the Northern European mid-market through its four sector teams, dedicated portfolio management group, and investment offices in London and Munich.

PRESS RELEASE

HgCapital today announces the 15 April 2013 final closing of its latest private equity fund, HgCapital 7. The £2 billion fund will provide broad coverage of the Northern European mid-market through its four sector teams, dedicated portfolio management group, and investment offices in London and Munich.

Prior to the launch, HgCapital set the hard cap at £2 billion in accordance with its investment strategy, diversification targets and capacity to invest and manage its portfolio to achieve optimised returns for investors. HgCapital maintained this hard cap despite the fund being significantly over-subscribed.

HgCapital 7 is supported by a number of the industry’s most respected institutional and private investors. The fund’s commitments are well diversified by geography, investor type and commitment size, with the largest commitment coming from HgCapital Trust plc with a £200 million investment in the fund.

Craig Donaldson, Partner and Head of Business Strategy and Client Services said: “We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from investors and we are thankful that our clients have helped position us for success. Ultimately, HgCapital 7 will be measured not by its fundraising success, but rather the returns generated for our clients.”

Proskauer LLP provided legal advice and Credit Suisse Group advised on the fundraising.

– Ends –

For further details:

HgCapital
Craig Donaldson
+44 (0)20 7089 7926
Maitland
Peter Ogden
+44 (0)20 7379 5151

About HgCapital

HgCapital is a sector focused private equity investor in the European mid-market. We focus on investments with an enterprise value in the range of £20-£500 million. Our business model combines sector specialisation with dedicated, pro-active support to our portfolio companies as well as ample resource across all phases of the investment process.

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Prospect Partners has invested in Velocity Aerospace Group, a provider of aviation aftermarket services. Velocity Aerospace Group provides aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul services to a global customer base of commercial air transports, corporate business aircraft, regional airlines, and helicopters.

PRESS RELEASE

Prospect Partners, a leading private equity firm investing in smaller lower- middle-market companies, today announced that it has invested in Velocity Aerospace Group, Inc., a global provider of aviation aftermarket services.
Velocity Aerospace Group provides aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services to a global customer base of commercial air transports, corporate business aircraft, regional airlines, and helicopters. The company, which operates FAA-certified repair stations in California and Florida, is known for its strong management, highly-skilled avionics technicians, dedicated customer service, modern facilities, and broad range of test, repair, and overhaul capabilities.
“Velocity Aerospace Group is a niche market leader with exceptional potential for continued growth,” said Maneesh Chawla, a Principal at the Chicago, Ill.-based Prospect Partners. “We look forward to supporting management in building a larger aviation MRO services company that leverages Velocity Aerospace’s unique capabilities in avionics and in electronic instrumentation.”
Serving on the board of the holding company, Velocity Aerospace Holding Group, Inc., from Prospect Partners are Mr. Chawla, as Chairman, and Prospect Partners’ Vice President Brad O’Dell, as a Director.
About Prospect Partners, LLC Prospect Partners is a leading private equity firm investing in smaller lower-middle-market companies, managing $470 million across three funds. A highly experienced and active investor, Prospect Partners focuses exclusively on management-led leveraged recapitalizations and acquisitions of niche market leaders with revenues typically under $75 million. Since 1998, Prospect Partners has invested opportunistically nationwide in 100 companies in a broad range of niche manufacturing, distribution, and specialty service markets. Based in Chicago, Prospect Partners also has an office in Menlo Park, Calif.

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Haltermann Holding GmbH has acquired Petrochem Carless Holdings Ltd, a UK-based refiner and producer of hydrocarbon chemicals. Haltermann is a portfolio company of H.I.G. Europe, the European arm of global private equity firm H.I.G. Capital.

PRESS RELEASE

H.I.G. Europe, the European arm of global private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, today announced that its portfolio company Haltermann Holding GmbH (“Haltermann”) has acquired Petrochem Carless Holdings Ltd (“PCL”), a leading UK-based refiner and producer of hydrocarbon chemicals with 2012 revenues of over £350m.
PCL has developed a strong reputation in refining niche hydrocarbon streams which it takes in as the condensate by-product from North Sea oil and gas producers as well as from other global suppliers. Its products are used in industries as diverse as downstream chemicals, agrochemicals, oil and gas, consumer goods, printing, and automotive. It has established itself as a pivotal and trusted supplier into these industries and has grown substantially during the past years.
Haltermann is a German based producer of specialty hydrocarbons with a particular focus on pentanes, high purity hydrocarbons and test and reference fuels. Together, Haltermann and PCL will form a significant player in the European hydrocarbon speciality landscape.
Following the acquisition, Haltermann Holding will be renamed H·C·S Group (“HCS”) and will serve as the Holding company of PCL and Haltermann. For 2012, HCS had sales of approximately €650m and operates out of four state-of-the-art production sites in the UK and Germany. Customers will benefit from the highly synergistic transaction through increased supply chain security, wider product offerings and stronger support for global partnerships. As a larger pan European speciality oil and chemicals group, HCS will target organic growth in the wider global chemicals marketplace.
Paul Canning, Managing Director at H.I.G. Europe, commented: “With this milestone follow-on investment, H.I.G. Europe brings together two strong players in the European speciality hydrocarbon landscape. It is our goal to ensure that both companies continue their growth trajectory. This investment underlines H.I.G.’s investment strategy which focuses on supporting its portfolio companies to drive significant value creation through various growth and efficiency improvement initiatives.”
PCL and Haltermann are an almost perfect fit. With their common technology and raw material markets, and yet complementary sales patterns with regard to products and regions, they together will have a significantly enlarged product offering and regional coverage which we intend to leverage to
generate strong growth and better serve our customers.”
Dr. Uwe Nickel, CEO of H·C·S Group, said: “This is a strong sign of trust from H.I.G. Europe in our development and in the growth prospects of the combined group. HCS aims to be a global partner for its customers. In building a true European player, we will use the best practices from both companies. The management teams and I are excited about the opportunities that this transaction offers to our companies.”
The acquisition of PCL is a follow-on investment for Haltermann which H.I.G. Europe acquired from Dow Chemical in July 2011. The H.I.G. deal team for this acquisition consisted of Paul Canning, Wolfgang Biedermann, Johannes Natterer, Alastair Mills, and Amer Khatoun.
—Ends—
About Petrochem Carless Holdings Limited
The company was founded in 1859 as Carless and quickly won its place in history by developing a new volatile substance which it sold under the name “petrol”. Today, PCL is a speciality oil and chemicals company running a specialist refinery in Harwich (UK) and blending sites in Gunness (UK) and Ghent (Belgium). PCL supplies condensate products like naphtha, kerosene and white spirit, it produces aromatic solvents, drilling fluids, process oils, performance fuels as well as antifreeze and brakefluid products. Its products find use in industries as diverse as downstream chemicals, agrochemicals, oil and gas, consumer goods, printing, and automotive. PCL enjoys longstanding and trusted relationships with global blue chip customers. www.petrochemcarless.com
About Haltermann
The company was founded more than 100 years ago as Johann Haltermann Mineralöl AG in the harbour of Hamburg. Today, Haltermann is one of the leading providers of specialty refinery products for use in the automotive, pharmaceutical, cosmetic as well as in the printing, laboratory chemicals and electronics industry and in plastics processing. Haltermann is a long-established brand for test and specialty fuels for the automotive industry, specialty hydrocarbons for use in pharmaceuticals and electronics and high-purity pentanes that are used as blowing agents for the production of polyurethane foams. Haltermann enjoys long and mutually successful customer relationships with leaders in their respective industries. Haltermann operates from two state-of-the-art production sites with excellent logistics in Speyer and Hamburg, Germany. www.haltermann.com
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity investment firm with more than €8.5 billion of equity capital under management and a team of more than 225 investment professionals.
Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and San Francisco in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, H.I.G. specialises in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies with attractive growth potential. H.I.G. invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of profitable and well managed businesses. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. invested in and managed more than 200 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 80 companies with combined revenues in excess of €20 billion. www.higeurope.com
Media Contacts:
MHP Communications
Lucinda Kemeny T +44 (0) 203 128 8758 [email protected]
Rory King T +44 (0) 203 128 8564 [email protected]

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Brookfield Asset Management has completed the spin-off of Brookfield Property Partners, a newly-created company which owns all of Brookfield’s commercial property assets. Brookfield Asset Management is a global alternative asset manager with over $175 billion in assets under management. The company has over a 100-year history of owning and operating assets with a focus on property, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity.

PRESS RELEASE

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (“Brookfield”) (TSX:BAM.A)(NYSE:BAM)(EURONEXT:BAMA) today announced the completion of the spin-off of Brookfield Property Partners L.P. (“BPY”) (TSX:BPY.UN)(NYSE:BPY), a newly-created company which owns substantially all of Brookfield’s commercial property assets.
The spin-off was effected by way of a special dividend of units of BPY to holders of Brookfield’s Class A and B limited voting shares (the “Shares”) as of the record date, March 26, 2013. Each holder of Shares received one BPY unit for approximately every 17.42 Shares (that is, approximately 0.0574 BPY units for each Share). Shareholders of Brookfield now own 35,839,414 BPY units, or 7.56% of BPY, and Brookfield owns the remaining 92.44% of BPY (assuming the exchange of all of Brookfield’s redeemable partnership units, which it holds in an affiliate of BPY, for BPY units). The BPY units commenced regular-way trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange this morning under the symbols “BPY.UN” and “BPY” respectively.
“Brookfield Property Partners public listing opens an exciting new chapter in the growth of a leading global commercial property company, with the scale and expertise needed to deliver superior long term performance,” said Ric Clark, chief executive officer at Brookfield Property Partners and Senior Managing Partner and head of the global property group at Brookfield Asset Management.
“This final step in the launch of Brookfield Property Partners significantly furthers our asset management strategy, providing investors with access to our real asset platforms through three flagship listed entities which deliver income, growth and a portfolio of strongly performing private equity funds,” commented Bruce Flatt, Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield. “BPY joins our two other high dividend yield and growth entities, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners, which since their inceptions, have delivered annual compound returns in excess of 15%.”
Brookfield shareholders will receive a cash payment in lieu of any fractional interests in the BPY units. Brookfield will use the volume-weighted average of the regular-way trading price of the BPY units for the five trading days immediately following the spin-off to determine the value of the BPY units for the purpose of calculating the cash payable in lieu of any fractional interests. Payment of this cash amount will be made by check and mailed on or about April 24, 2013.
Prior to completion of the spin-off, BPY acquired from Brookfield substantially all of its commercial property operations, including its office, retail, multi-family and industrial assets, including approximately $157 million worth of ownership interests that Brookfield acquired on April 12, 2012 from fellow investors in the consortium that holds underlying common shares and warrants of General Growth Properties, Inc. and common shares of Rouse Properties, Inc. As consideration for these interests, the investors received approximately $110 million in cash and a note for approximately $47 million that was issued by one of BPY’s holding entities and matures on October 12, 2013. This transaction resulted in an increase in the value of the special dividend of BPY units to Brookfield shareholders from the $1.45 value per Share that was estimated upon declaration of the dividend to $1.47 per Share upon payment, or approximately $920 million dollars in the aggregate, based on International Financial Reporting Standards carrying values.
In order to satisfy Canadian withholding tax and U.S. “backup” withholding tax obligations on the special dividend, a portion of the BPY units otherwise distributable to non-Canadian investors will be withheld from registered shareholders. For non-Canadian beneficial owners of Brookfield shares registered in the name of a broker or other intermediary, these withholding tax obligations will be satisfied in the ordinary course through arrangements with the broker or intermediary. Beneficial owners should consult their brokers to determine how the withholding tax obligations will be satisfied for their units and on any questions they may have regarding fractional units.
As contemplated in BPY’s Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and its Canadian Prospectus and U.S. Information Statement filed with the Ontario Securities Commission, on April 14, 2013 the existing board of directors of BPY’s general partner was replaced in its entirety and expanded to seven members, a majority of whom are independent of BPY and Brookfield. The seven members of the board of directors are Gordon E. Arnell, Omar Carneiro da Cunha, Stephen DeNardo, J. Bruce Flatt, Louis Joseph Maroun, Lars Rodert and José Ramón Valente Vías. For biographical information about BPY’s directors please refer to the section entitled “Governance” beginning on page 121 of the Form 20-F and page 123 of the Canadian Prospectus and U.S. Information Statement.
Further details regarding the operations of Brookfield Property Partners are set forth in regulatory filings. A copy of the filings may be obtained through the website of the SEC at www.sec.gov and on BPY’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a global alternative asset manager with over $175 billion in assets under management. The company has over a 100-year history of owning and operating assets with a focus on property, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity. Brookfield has a range of public and private investment products and services, which leverage its expertise and experience and provide it with a competitive advantage in the markets where it operates.
Brookfield Property Partners is a commercial real estate owner, operator and investor operating globally. Its diversified portfolio includes interests in over 300 office and retail properties encompassing more than 250 million square feet. In addition, the company has interests in approximately 15,600 multi-family units, 29 million square feet of industrial space and an 18 million square foot office development pipeline. Brookfield Property Partners’ goal is to be the leading global investor in best in class commercial property assets.

Note: This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian provincial securities laws and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, “safe harbour” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities regulations. The words “continue,” “expect,” “intend,” “believe,” derivations thereof and other expressions, including conditional verbs such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” and “should,” are predictions of or indicate future events, trends or prospects or identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements with respect to: our expectations for Brookfield Property Partners L.P.; the anticipated benefits of the spin-off; and other statements with respect to our beliefs, outlooks, plans, expectations and intentions. Although Brookfield Asset Management and Brookfield Property Partners believe that BPY’s anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, the reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information as such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by forward-looking statements include: economic and financial conditions in the countries in which we do business; the behaviour of financial markets, including fluctuations in interest and exchange rates; availability of equity and debt financing; strategic actions including dispositions; the ability to complete and effectively integrate acquisitions into existing operations and the ability to attain expected benefits; regulatory and political factors within the countries in which the company operates; availability of new tenants to fill property vacancies; tenant bankruptcies; acts of God, such as earthquakes and hurricanes; the possible impact of international conflicts and other developments including terrorist acts; changes in accounting policies to be adopted under IFRS; and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in BPY’s Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as other documents filed by BPY with the securities regulators in Canada and the United States.
We caution that the foregoing factors that may affect future results are not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Brookfield Asset Management or Brookfield Property Partners, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Except as required by law, the companies undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether written or oral, as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact Information
Media: Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
Andrew Willis
SVP, Communications & Media
(416) 369-8236
(416) 363-2856 (FAX)
[email protected]

Investors: Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
Katherine Vyse
SVP, Investor Relations
(416) 369-8246
(416) 363-2856 (FAX)
[email protected]

Brookfield Property Partners
Melissa Coley
Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications
212-417-7215
[email protected]

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Biotechnology company Tauriga Sciences has appointed Stella M. Sung to the position of chief operating officer effectively immediately. Sung is currently business development officer of Avita Medical, a public regenerative medicine company, and managing director of Pearl Street Venture Fund, a life science venture fund.

PRESS RELEASE

Tauriga Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB: TAUG) or (“The Company” or “Tauriga”) has today announced the appointment of Stella M. Sung, Ph.D. (“Dr. Sung”) to the position of Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) effectively immediately. In assuming this position, Dr. Sung will oversee the evaluation process and structuring of potential biotech transactions, including: due diligence, valuations, DCF modeling, and capital requirements.
Tauriga CEO Seth M. Shaw commented, “The addition of Dr. Stella Sung to the Company’s core management team as Chief Operating Officer is a major achievement for the Company. Her outstanding rolodex of institutional investors and access to intriguing opportunities in the life sciences space are of great importance to the Company moving forward.”
Newly appointed Tauriga Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Stella Sung stated, “I am enthusiastic about building Tauriga’s portfolio of diversified assets in the health care space. Serving as the Company’s COO enables me to source and structure transactions with the goal of maximizing shareholder value, and Tauriga is already creating a pipeline of potential deals.”
Please see below Bio for Dr. Stella M. Sung, Chief Operating Officer — Tauriga Sciences, Inc.:
Dr. Stella M. Sung brings almost 20 years of leadership experience in the healthcare sector as both a senior operating executive and an early stage life science venture capitalist. Dr. Sung is currently Business Development Officer of Avita Medical, a public regenerative medicine company, and Managing Director of Pearl Street Venture Fund, a life science venture fund. She previously held the position of Chief Business Officer of Cylene Pharmaceuticals, a venture-backed oncology company. Dr. Sung has served as a Managing Director or General Partner for several life science venture firms, including Coastview Capital (founded by former Amgen CEO Gordon Binder) and Oxford Bioscience Partners. She has led venture rounds of financing for seven transactions, co-founded two biotechnology companies, served on 7 Boards of Directors and served as Chairman of the Board for four biotechnology companies. Previously, she focused on life science and health care investments at Advent International, a global private equity firm that has raised over $6 billion in cumulative capital to date. Dr. Sung received her B.S. in chemistry from The Ohio State University and her Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University, where she was a National Science Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellow. She earned her Harvard Ph.D. under the guidance of Professor Dudley Herschbach, the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. (http://www.psvf.com/stella-m-sung.asp)
About Tauriga Sciences, Inc.:
Tauriga Sciences, Inc. (“the Company”) is a holding company that operates in the biotechnology space, which includes medical devices and development of proprietary drug compounds. The mission of the Company is to acquire a diversified portfolio of medical technologies with the aim of providing financial and human capital resources, to unlock significant value for the shareholders. The Company’s business model entails the acquisition of licenses, equity stakes, rights on both an exclusive and non-exclusive basis, and entire businesses. Management is firmly committed to building lasting shareholder value in the short, intermediate, and long terms. The Company’s new corporate website can be found at URL address (www.taurigasciences.com).
DISCLAIMER:
Forward-Looking Statements: Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain “forward-looking statements” as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation expectations, beliefs, plans and objectives regarding the development, use and marketability of products. Such forward-looking statements are based on present circumstances and on IMUN’s predictions with respect to events that have not occurred, that may not occur, or that may occur with different consequences and timing than those now assumed or anticipated. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include general economic and business conditions, the ability to successfully develop and market products, consumer and business consumption habits, the ability to fund operations and other factors over which IMUN has little or no control. Such forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release, and IMUN assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and other factors are discussed in documents filed from time to time by IMUN with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact Information
Contact:

For more information please contact:

Mr. Seth M. Shaw
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Tauriga Sciences, Inc.
New York: +1-917-796-9926
Montreal: +1-514-840-3697
Email: Email Contact

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Middle-market mergers and acquisitions firm Woodbridge International is opening its Pune, India office. The new office will serve Woodbridge clients throughout India and will be led by senior M&A advisors Darshan Rathod and Vaibhav Sundecha, along with Woodbridge vice president Jitender Chopra, who is based in New York.

PRESS RELEASE

Woodbridge International, a leading middle-market mergers and acquisitions firm, is pleased to announce the opening of its Pune, India office. The new office will serve Woodbridge clients throughout India and will be led by Senior M&A advisors Darshan Rathod and Vaibhav Sundecha, along with Woodbridge Vice President Jitender Chopra, who is based in New York.
Woodbridge International is an M&A firm focused on selling privately-held, middle-market companies with transactional values ranging from 25 Crore to over 500 Crore ($5 million-$100 million).
Woodbridge recently closed several cross-border deals in a variety of industries. In March of this year, Labor Import, a Brazilian distributor of medical supplies, was sold to Bunzl, a London-based distributor traded on the London stock exchange.
In 2012 Woodbridge completed four cross-border transactions: U.S.-based A&A Manufacturing Company, Inc. was acquired by Halltech Gmbh, a leading German specialty OEM; Panama-based Hidrotenencias S.A., a hydroelectric power company, entered into a capital transaction with ACON, a private equity investment fund based in the U.S. and Latin America; U.K.-based Private Equity Group Permira through their portfolio company, Genesis, located in the U.S. and Brazil, acquired Woodbridge’s Brazilian client, LM Sistemas; and Woodbridge’s Japanese client, Yamada, entered into a joint venture with LOM, a Scandinavian company with a division in Manaus, Brazil.
Woodbridge’s innovative process for marketing companies globally to strategic and financial buyers is unique — and includes the production of a dynamic 2-minute company video buyers can watch on their screens, wherever they are in the world.
Vaibhav specializes in transaction advisory for midsize companies and has worked for Ernst & Young and PwC. Darshan specializes in lead advisory and previously worked for RREEF (Deutsche Bank Real Estate Private Equity), Ernst & Young and PwC.
Vaibhav and Darshan will work closely with Jitender Chopra and the entire Woodbridge team in serving Woodbridge’s clients in India. Prior to joining Woodbridge, Jitender worked in the Credit Risk division of J.P. Morgan’s Investment Banking line of business. He also previously worked at Fidelity Investments and AXA Equitable.
Woodbridge welcomes Vaibhav and Darshan to its team and looks forward to bringing India-based sellers to buyers around the globe.
Woodbridge International, founded in 1993, is an innovative M&A firm headquartered in New Haven, CT. The firm serves clients from its 10 North American offices and locations in the Netherlands, Mexico, Brazil and Honduras.

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Pine Tree Equity has closed its third private investment fund on $100 million. The firm’s capital raise was executed in less than 90 days. This brings the firm’s total committed capital base to nearly $200 million.

PRESS RELEASE

Pine Tree Equity III, LP (“Pine Tree Equity”), a private equity firm based in Miami, FL, is pleased to announce that it has closed its third private investment fund of $100 million in April 2013. The firm’s capital raise was executed in less than 90 days, and it brings the firm’s total committed capital base to nearly $200 million. Due to its differentiated approach in the small capitalization space and strong returns despite the challenging market, Pine Tree Equity III was materially oversubscribed beyond its $100 million cap.

“We are extremely thankful to have received great support from existing investors and significant demand from new investors,” said Jeff Settembrino, Pine Tree’s Managing Partner. “Although we were oversubscribed, we wanted to keep our third fund at $100 million in order to remain dedicated to the small capitalization space where our committed capital and proven experience has helped transform entrepreneurial success stories into institutional platforms positioned for continued growth.”

Pine Tree Equity III will continue to execute its successful strategy of investing in and expanding small capitalization companies – with revenue of $10 million to $50 million or EBITDA of $2 million to $6 million – in partnership with founding management. Since its founding in January 2007, Pine Tree Equity has closed 21 acquisitions with founding entrepreneurs in a variety of industries, including business, consumer and financial services.

Pine Tree Equity

Pine Tree Equity, based in Miami, FL, is a private equity firm with committed equity capital focused on the investment in and expansion of small capitalization companies – with revenue of $10.0 million to $50.0 million – in partnership with management.

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The Small Business Investor Alliance has submitted public comments to the House Ways and Means Committee Working Groups on Tax Reform. The comments discuss the tax reform goals of the lower middle market; explain how lower middle market funds are structured to prevent unnecessary tax compliance costs and make several recommendations to the committee to retain flexibility in partnership tax structures.

PRESS RELEASE

The Small Business Investor Alliance (www.sbia.org) today submitted public comments to the House Ways and Means Committee Working Groups on Tax Reform. The comments discuss the tax reform goals of the Lower Middle Market; explain how Lower Middle Market funds are structured to prevent unnecessary tax compliance costs; and make several recommendations to the Committee to retain flexibility in partnership tax structures.

“Tax writers have an opportunity to draft a tax code that encourages investment in small businesses through targeted incentives and reduced compliance costs,” said Brett Palmer, President of the Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA), the premier organization of lower middle market private equity funds and investors. “Small business investors play an integral role in making capital available to our nation’s job creators and we are making sure tax writers hear their story before they end up on the proverbial chopping block. The best way to generate jobs in our country is to promote smart tax policy that supports investment in small businesses.”

SBIA comment letter #1 urges tax writers to keep the capital gains rate low and to make targeted tax relief to those that invest directly in “qualified small businesses.” SBIA offers recommendations that change the definition of “qualified small businesses” aiming to reduce compliance costs for investors and encourage direct debt and equity investments in small businesses. SBIA also makes it clear that smaller funds would be hit hardest if Congress changes the tax treatment of carried interest, and argues that Congress should preserve interest debt deductibility as a necessary business expense.

SBIA comment letter #2 was in response to the Committee’s recent tax reform discussion draft, which proposes major changes to partnership tax law. Because the partnership structure is the most common tax structure for private equity funds, any negative changes to partnership taxation will have a drastic effect on the ability of Lower Middle Market private equity funds to pool capital from investors and make it available to growing small businesses.

About the Small Business Investor Alliance:

The Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA) is the premier organization of lower middle market private equity funds and investors. SBIA members provide vital capital to small businesses nationwide, resulting in economic growth and job creation. SBIA has been playing a pivotal role in promoting the growth and vitality of the private equity industry for more than 50 years.

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OpenCoin has closed an angel round of funding from Andreessen Horowitz, FF Angel IV, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vast Ventures, and Bitcoin Opportunity Fund, an investment vehicle for Bitcoins and Bitcoin-related companies. OpenCoin is the company developing the Ripple protocol. Ripple is a distributed open source payments system and its native math-based virtual currency is called ripples.

PRESS RELEASE

OpenCoin announced that it has closed an angel round of funding from Andreessen Horowitz, FF Angel IV, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vast Ventures, and Bitcoin Opportunity Fund, an investment vehicle for Bitcoins and Bitcoin-related companies. The investment will be used to expand the Ripple protocol, a virtual currency and payments system that makes it fast, easy and essentially free for anyone in the world to trade any amount of money in any currency.
OpenCoin is the company developing the Ripple protocol. Ripple is a distributed open source payments system and its native math-based virtual currency is called ripples (XRP). Ripple enables free payments to merchants, consumers and developers; the ability to pay in any currency; no chargebacks; and instant global payments. Ripple can accommodate any currency, including dollars, yen, euros, and even Bitcoin, making it the world’s first distributed currency exchange. Ripple is currently in beta.
OpenCoin is led by financial technology pioneer Chris Larsen (E-LOAN, Prosper) and veteran developer Jed McCaleb (eDonkey, Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox) along with a team of well-known developers, advisors and investors behind some of the world’s leading technology companies.
“We believe that Ripple will change the way the world thinks about and uses currency through universal access to a trusted, transparent and easy to understand multi-currency financial tool,” said OpenCoin CEO Chris Larsen. “We are excited to welcome these visionary investors and will use the funds to grow our team and accelerate the launch of Ripple.”
“Our world has moved into a digital era, and it is time that we embrace a digital currency that can accommodate today’s global commerce needs while laying the groundwork for future evolution,” added OpenCoin CTO Jed McCaleb. “Now, wherever there is internet, there is Ripple. The future is here.”

About OpenCoin
OpenCoin, Inc. is a privately funded company based in San Francisco. The OpenCoin team includes fourteen employees and is led by veteran industry founders and developers. OpenCoin developed the Ripple protocol, a virtual currency and distributed open source payments system.
About Ripple
The Ripple network is a distributed open source global payment network. It enables free payments to merchants, consumers and developers; the ability to pay in any currency; no chargebacks; and instant global payments. Ripple can accommodate any currency, including dollars, yen, euros, and even Bitcoin, making it the world’s first distributed currency exchange. Ripple’s goal is to make it the best way for people to send money to anyone, anywhere. Ripple is currently in beta.

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American Internet Services has completed a $43,500,000 refinancing of its senior credit facilities with Fortress Credit Corp, an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group. AIS is a hosting, cloud, and colocation provider headquartered in San Diego, California. DH Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to AIS.

PRESS RELEASE

DH Capital, an investment banking firm serving companies in the Internet infrastructure, communications, and SaaS sectors, is pleased to announce it served as exclusive financial advisor to American Internet Services LLC (“AIS”) on the recently completed $43,500,000 refinancing of its senior credit facilities with Fortress Credit Corp., an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group. AIS is a premier hosting, cloud, and colocation provider headquartered in San Diego, California providing services from its facilities in that market as well as Phoenix, Arizona to companies throughout the Southwestern US.
“DH Capital was extremely helpful in this process,” said AIS CEO Tim Caulfield. “We are especially pleased with the result achieved and the effort put forth by the DH Capital team. Partnering with Fortress as our senior debt lender will provide the company with the capital necessary to continue to execute our growth plans.”
“It has been our pleasure to assist Tim and the AIS team with this refinancing. AIS’ state-of-the-art facilities and managed, cloud, and colocation services allow the company to seamlessly provide a robust package of IT services to its clients,” commented Townsend Devereux, Partner of DH Capital. “The senior credit facility from Fortress will permit AIS to continue to further build upon its existing, world-class capabilities.”
DH Capital has long served as a trusted advisor to Internet infrastructure and communications companies, providing M&A advisory and private capital placements. DH Capital maintains the largest dedicated team of professionals covering the managed hosting and data center sectors and has advised companies on 48 transactions with a combined value in excess of $4.9 billion.
About AIS
Founded in 1989, AIS provides tailored data center and cloud service solutions to companies that require the best in security, compliance, connectivity, and customer service. AIS manages all aspects of IT infrastructure so that customers can focus on their core business. The company’s exclusive AIS Customer Advocacy™ service professionals have designed, implemented, and supported tailored packages for cloud, colocation, network connectivity, disaster recovery, high availability, and IT security for more than 600 enterprises worldwide. Backed by private equity firms Seaport Capital, Viridian Investments, and DuPont Capital Management, AIS operates SSAE 16-compliant, SOC 1-, 2-, and 3-audited, redundant facilities in San Diego, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

About Fortress
Fortress Investment Group LLC is a leading, highly diversified global investment firm with over $53 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2012. Founded in 1998, Fortress manages assets on behalf of over 1,400 institutional clients and private investors worldwide across a range of investment strategies — private equity, credit, liquid hedge funds and traditional fixed income. Fortress is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

About DH Capital
DH Capital is a private investment banking partnership serving companies in the Internet infrastructure, communications, and SaaS sectors. Headquartered in New York City with offices in Boulder, Colorado, the firm’s principals have extensive experience and proven abilities in capital formation, finance, research, business development and operations. DH Capital provides a full range of advisory services to companies and financial institutions, including mergers and acquisitions, private capital placements, financial restructuring, and operational consulting. DH Capital has completed more than 100 M&A transactions and private capital placements totaling more than $6.4 billion in value.

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Bright Horizons Family Solutions®, a provider of employer-sponsored childcare and early education, has acquired kidsunlimited, a UK provider of nursery care, for 45 million pounds ($69 million). The acquisition provides an exit for kidsunlimited’s private equity investor, LDC, which backed a secondary buyout of the business in 2008.

PRESS RELEASE

Bright Horizons Family Solutions® (“Bright Horizons”), a global provider of employer-sponsored child care and early education, has acquired kidsunlimited, one of the UK’s largest providers of nursery care, for a cash consideration of £45 million.
The acquisition provides an exit for kidsunlimited’s private equity investor, LDC, which backed a secondary buyout of the business in 2008.

Bright Horizons®, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is a leading provider of high-quality child care, early education and other services designed to help employers and families better address the challenges of work and life. It delivers centre-based full service child care, back-up dependent care and educational advisory services to more than 850 clients across the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada and India, including more than 130 FORTUNE 500 companies.

Founded in 1983, kidsunlimited operates 64 nurseries, including lease/consortium locations as well as workplace nurseries for blue-chip employers such as Cambridge University Hospitals, WH Smith, and The University of Oxford. The network of locations includes a strong concentration of nurseries in the North West, London/South East Region as well as Oxford and Cambridge.

This acquisition brings the total number of Bright Horizons-owned centres in the UK to 203, with the capacity to serve approximately 15,500 children.

Under LDC’s ownership, kidsunlimited opened a total of 15 new sites and grew revenues by 40 per cent to £41.4 million (FY ending April 2012) as well as continuing to invest heavily in training and resources.

The deal was led in house by Commercial Director Catherine Houghton, supported by in house legal counsel Claire Chadwick. Catherine joined the business last year from LDC and has left the business on completion.

Ros Marshall, CEO of kidsunlimited, said: “Joining forces with Bright Horizons creates an excellent opportunity for the business and our people, as well as our parents and their children.”

“I’d also like to thank Steve Harrison and the team at LDC for their strategic and financial support over the last five years, which has helped us deliver our ambitions for the business and secure an excellent outcome for all parties.”

Steve Harrison, a Director of LDC and Executive Chairman of kidsunlimited, said: “This is a strong strategic fit for both companies. Ros and the management team have done an outstanding job in driving organic growth and the nursery rollout strategy. The team has also continued to deliver on its commitment to quality standards across the group, carving out a reputation as a leading player in the promotion of childcare and early years education in the UK. We wish them every success for the future.”

David Lissy, CEO of Bright Horizons, said: “We have long admired the kidsunlimited team and are excited to welcome the children and families they serve as well as their nursery staff and clients into the Bright Horizons family. Both organisations share a deep commitment to quality early years education and workplace child care, giving us the seamless ability to join forces and making this a natural step for our growth in the region. The combination gives us a well-established foothold providing high-quality care and early education for children throughout England, and solidifies our position as the leader in providing high-quality employer sponsored child care throughout the UK.”

Jonathan Robinson of DWF provided legal advice to the vendors and due diligence support was given by Jodi Birkett of Deloitte.

Last year, LDC invested over £280 million of equity across 18 new businesses and £86 million of additional equity supporting portfolio company acquisitions. So far this year, it has made investments in ATG Access, the global leader in high security vehicle barrier systems, oil and gas services group Ramco, Validus-IVC, a provider of claims management and counter fraud software service, NRS Healthcare, the outsourced provider of specialist community healthcare equipment and services, and Fever-Tree, the UK’s leading premium tonic water and mixers brand.

The sale of kidsunlimited follows LDC’s exit from MB Aerospace, also led by Steve Harrison, through a secondary buyout to US based Arlington Capital Partners.

ENDS 11 April 2013

Issued on behalf of LDC by Citypress.

Press information:
Martin Currie
Citypress (on behalf of LDC)
T. 0161 235 0310 / 07976 291532
E. [email protected]

Alastair Henry
Citypress (on behalf of LDC)
T. 0161 235 0320 / 07738 206847
E: [email protected]

Notes to Editors:
About LDC

1. LDC is part of the Lloyds Banking Group and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

2. LDC backs ambitious management teams from UK-based companies seeking between £2m and £100m of equity for management buy-outs, institutional buy-outs or development capital transactions.

3. LDC has, since 1981, completed over 400 investments.

4. LDC has a portfolio of over 80 businesses across the UK which collectively generates £3bn of revenues and £450m of profit, and employs over 30,000 people.

5. LDC invests in a broad range of sectors and has particular experience in Construction & Property, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials, Retail & Consumer, TMT, Travel & Leisure and Support Services.

6. LDC has invested £1.5bn into ambitious businesses in the past five years to support their growth. It plans to invest £2bn over the next five years.

7. LDC invested over £280m of equity across 18 new businesses in 2012. It also continued to support the ‘buy and build’ strategies of our portfolio firms with £86m of additional equity funding for acquisitions during the same period, alongside £23m drawdown into fund investments.

8. LDC is the leading private equity company in the UK mid-market. Recent transactions include investments with Fever-Tree, ATG Access, Blue Rubicon, MAMA Group, Keoghs, Forest Holidays, Dale Power Solution, Metronet, Bifold Group, Airline Services Limited and TD Travel.

9. LDC has a UK regional network alongside an international operation based in Hong Kong.

10. For further information, call Martin Currie or Alastair Henry on 0161 235 0300 or visit www.ldc.co.uk

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc.
Bright Horizons Family Solutions® is a leading provider of high-quality child care, early education and other services designed to help employers and families better address the challenges of work and life. Bright Horizons provides centre-based full service child care, back-up dependent care and educational advisory services to more than 850 clients across the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada and India, including more than 130 FORTUNE 500 companies and more than 75 of Working Mother magazine’s 2012 “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers.” Bright Horizons is one of FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” and is one of the UK’s Best Workplaces as well as one of the Top 25 Best Large Workplaces in Europe as designated by the Great Place to Work Institute. Bright Horizons is headquartered in Watertown, MA.

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Gleacher & Company is to exit its MBS & Rates and Credit Products businesses effective immediately. The plan does not include the company’s other business operations, principally investment banking.

PRESS RELEASE

Gleacher & Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLCH) today announced that it will exit its MBS & Rates and Credit Products businesses effective immediately. Exiting these businesses, together with associated rightsizing of administrative and other support personnel, could impact up to approximately 160 employees. The plan does not include the Company’s other business operations, principally investment banking.

The Company also announced that it is engaged in preliminary discussions with a third party regarding a potential business combination. There can be no assurance that these discussions will result in a transaction.

Finally, after having reopened the period during which stockholders of the Company could submit proposals for nominations to the Company’s Board of Directors, the Company has received a submission from Clinton Relational Opportunity Master Fund, L.P., a stockholder of the Company, of a slate of individuals, including Thomas Hughes, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and a current director, that it intends to nominate for election to the Company’s Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled for May 23, 2013. If elected, these nominees would together constitute the entire Board of Directors.

About Gleacher & Company

Gleacher & Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLCH) is an independent investment bank that provides corporate and institutional clients with strategic and financial advisory services, including merger and acquisition, restructuring, recapitalization, and strategic alternative analysis, as well as capital raising.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements.” These statements are not historical facts but instead represent the Company’s belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company’s control. The Company’s forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including the conditions of the securities markets, generally, and demand for the Company’s services within those markets and other risks and factors identified from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is possible that the Company’s actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in its forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any of its forward-looking statements.

Contacts
Investors:
Gleacher & Company, Inc.
Thomas J. Hughes, 212-273-7100
Chief Executive Officer
or
Media:
Rubenstein Associates
Marcia Horowitz, 212-843-8014

Recent Stories

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Panviva Pty, a developer of business process guidance software solutions, has raised A$4 million in Series B equity financing from SBI Jefferies Asia Fund L.P. SBI Jefferies is a joint venture fund between SBI Group, a Tokyo, Osaka and Hong Kong listed financial services conglomerate and Jefferies Group, a NYSE-listed global investment bank and private equity firm.

PRESS RELEASE

Panviva Pty Ltd, a leading developer of
Business Process Guidance software solutions, announced today that it has raised A$4M in Series
B equity financing from SBI Jefferies Asia Fund L.P. SBI Jefferies is a joint venture fund between
SBI Group, a Tokyo, Osaka and Hong Kong listed financial services conglomerate and Jefferies
Group, a NYSE-listed global investment bank and private equity firm. The funding and support from
these powerhouse participants will be used to further enhance Panviva’s investments in cloud-based
product development, accelerate global growth in the telecommunications and banking sectors, and
expand the company’s lead in the US health insurance market.
Panviva’s flagship product, SupportPoint, is a Business Process Guidance solution that is highlyvalued
in organizations with complex online processes and systems—where speed, accuracy,
compliance and customer satisfaction are all critical. SupportPoint provides online employees in
those environments with step-by-step instructions and information within their workflow. It increases
the capacity and agility of staff and improves customer satisfaction while reducing training
requirements and overall operational costs. SupportPoint has a rapidly-growing blue chip customer
base that includes British Telecom, HP, BUPA, Foxtel, Health New England, AvMed, Medibank
Private, HBF, Health Alliance, National Australia Bank and Westpac.
Leveraging its early successes in Australia and the UK with telecommunications and banking
customers, Panviva grew sales by over 40% in 2012 and expanded its customer base in the US
healthcare market where government-mandated reforms are producing increased levels of
complexity, regulation and cost. SupportPoint has experienced viral growth in US healthcare
organizations where change, increasing complexity, and costs have affected every function from call
center operations to medical services delivery.
According to Ted Gannan, CEO and Co-founder of Panviva, “SupportPoint is one of the few
products that do exactly what customers need it to do and our customers love it. It delivers
measurable benefits, a strong ROI and exceptional value to our growing customer base. In this next
stage, we’re delighted to be working with SBI. This partnership will enable us to step up the pace of
development for leading-edge product enhancements and leverage SBI’s management expertise in
the IT/telecoms sector and its extensive network throughout Asia and beyond. The funding will also
help us enable new partners worldwide and extend our reach to the thousands of other
organizations in need of a Business Process Guidance solution. The journey has been exciting; it’s
going to get even better.”
SBI Ven Capital is the Singapore-based private equity arm of SBI Group. SBI Group is one of the
largest private equity firms in Japan, with investments across 13 countries in Asia including
Australia. Masaki Takayanagi, Managing Director and CEO of SBI Ven Capital, said “We are
excited to come on board to provide a catalyst for the acceleration of Panviva’s growth. Panviva is
already profitable, has market-leading products and technologies and a solid customer base in a
rapidly growing market. Panviva’s success in its first markets and the scalability in the new markets
make it a compelling partner for us, and we look forward to making a powerful contribution to its
success.”
About Panviva
Panviva is the originator of Business Process Guidance, and the developer of SupportPoint, the
world’s leading Business Process Guidance system. Over 200,000 users across 37 countries rely on
SupportPoint daily to guide them through complex processes and systems in real time. Panviva’s
customers reduce task handling times, error rates and compliance issues; increase staff capacity
and agility; cut training times and operational costs; and achieve the very highest levels of
satisfaction for customer service. Among Panviva’s customers are BUPA, Blue Cross, Medibank
Private, HBF, Health New England, AvMed, Gundersen Lutheran, St Mary’s Heath Plans, BT, Colt,
Foxtel, EXL Services, Stellar BPO, National Australia Bank, and Westpac. For further information,
please visit www.panviva.com.
About SBI Jefferies Asia Fund
SBI Jefferies Asia Fund is a joint venture fund between SBI Group, a Tokyo, Osaka and Hong Kong
listed financial services conglomerate and Jefferies Group, a NYSE-listed global investment bank
and private equity firm. The investment advisor to the Fund is SBI Ven Capital Pte Ltd, the overseas
private equity arm of SBI Group. SBI Group is one of the largest Japanese private equity/venture
capital firms, with more than USD 3 Billion of committed capital. SBI Ven Capital primarily focuses
on providing growth capital to promising companies in the mid-market sector in Asia. With its base
in Japan, SBI Group has an extensive network across Asia including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia,
India, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Korea. More information on SBI Ven Capital is
available at http://www.sbivencapital.com.sg
###
Media Contact:
Linda Wilson
617.266.7374
[email protected]

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Media technology company Sticky has closed a $3 million funding round. European tech investors Conor and Northzone paticipated in the financing.

PRESS RELEASE

Media technology company Sticky announced today that it has closed a $3M funding round with leading European tech investors Conor and Northzone.
Over 50% of online impressions are never seen. Thirty percent of those impressions that are considered “viewable” (in-screen) are never seen. So how do you make sure your ad is seen?
Meet Sticky – the next generation in ad accountability. Sticky is not another in-screen measurement tool; Sticky gets inside the eyes of a consumer showing you whether your ad is actually seen or not. Capable of tracking an entire ad campaign with a dashboard interface, Sticky is revolutionizing optimization for online brand advertising.
Sticky’s growing list of clients, includes P&G, L’Oreal, McDonalds, and GroupM, among others.
“With the Sticky Platform, brand advertisers will be able to optimize their campaigns and increase their ROI. Sticky technology will become a must-have in a world of ever increasing competition for attention, where online brand advertising has been left without quality measurement tools for much too long. Sticky has the potential to be the global leader in this category and we are thrilled to be backing them,” comments Jarkko Penttilä, Partner at Conor Venture Partners.
Representing Sticky, Mathias Plank, Founder and CEO, says, “We are looking forward to working with leading tech investors Conor and Northzone. Tapping into their wealth of experience will take us to the next step in becoming global leaders. Sticky has the potential to revolutionize this industry. Our mission is to help clean up the digital wasteland of advertising.”
###
About Sticky
Sticky is the only media technology company that provides a platform to ensure that display ads get seen. Sticky’s disruptive technology provides brand advertisers with objective data to improve their digital performance, and can be used in conjunction with all partners in the digital ecosystem to increase ROI. Sticky is a product of rebranding from EyeTrackShop, the world’s first online eye tracking company initially funded by Tobii technology in 2009. EyeTrackShop will now be powered by Sticky continuing its market research studies alongside Sticky’s revolutionary technology. Sticky has offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Stockholm and Shanghai. (www.sticky.ad)
About Conor
Conor Venture Partners is a leading early stage technology VC investing in Nordic and Baltic countries. Conor invests in disruptive technologies in ICT, embedded systems, electronics, new materials and optics. Conor’s main interest lies in companies that have the potential and drive to become global winners in their industry categories. The fund is privately owned and supported by local institutional investors and the European Investment Fund. About Northzone
Northzone was established in 1996 and has offices in London, Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm. Since its inception Northzone has raised over $500 million, invested in more than 75 companies. Notable investments include Spotify, Avito, Lastminute.com, Pricerunner, Nimsoft and EPiServer. Contact
Mathias Plank, Founder & CEO, Sticky, [email protected], + 46 733 281501
Jarkko Penttilä, Partner, Conor Venture Partners, [email protected]
Jeppe Zink, General Partner Northzone, [email protected]

Sticky is the only media technology company that provides a platform to ensure that your display ads get seen. Our disruptive technology provides brand advertisers with objective data to improve their digital performance, and can be used in conjunction with all partners in the digital eco system to increase ROI.

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Serent Capital has invested in Optimal Blue, a mortgage technology provider. The companys was founded by Larry Huff and Ivan Darius in 2002.

PRESS RELEASE

Serent Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in profitable, high growth businesses, has invested in Optimal Blue, a leading mortgage technology provider. Founded by Larry Huff and Ivan Darius in 2002, Optimal Blue is one of the leading providers of product eligibility and pricing engine (“PPE”), secondary marketing and compliance technology to the mortgage industry.
The investment culminates a multi-year search by Serent for an investment in the mortgage technology sector. “Optimal Blue has established itself as a leader in mortgage technology by building a best-in-class platform and by differentiating itself with superior data and advanced functionality. We have been impressed with the enormous value that Optimal Blue delivers to its mortgage lender customers and with its ability to continue to find innovative ways to serve its customers better,” said Kevin Frick, co-founder and General Partner of Serent Capital. “Larry and Ivan have built a very strong team and culture and we are looking forward to working with them as partners.”
“Working with a capital partner has always been in our plans” said Larry Huff, co-CEO of Optimal Blue. “We have a long-term view and, given our current growth trajectory and strong position in the market, this was the opportune time to partner with a firm that brings many additional resources to Optimal Blue. Serent has expertise in growing profitable businesses, experience in the technology sector and a hands-on approach to working with management. Serent brings a value proposition that perfectly complements our vision for Optimal Blue. We met the team at Serent several years ago and have had the luxury of getting to know each other well over the years. Our business philosophies are perfectly aligned. We couldn’t be happier about our partnership and the advantages this brings to our company.”

About Optimal Blue
Founded in 2002, Optimal Blue is a Web-based provider of managed-content, product eligibility and pricing engine technology. Based in Plano, Texas, Optimal Blue has developed a comprehensive suite of products designed to give lenders the ability to automate the management and distribution of their products, pricing and secondary marketing activities, enabling originators to then source, manage, price, lock and sell loans in a way that is efficient, accurate and easy to use. Without having to be technology experts, Optimal Blue’s solutions allow clients to leverage superior technology and content for a competitive advantage.

About Serent Capital
Serent Capital invests solely in growing, profitable businesses, delivering compelling solutions that address their customers’ needs. As those businesses grow and evolve, the opportunities and challenges that they face change continually. Serent understands those challenges, as the firm’s principals have seen them first-hand. The Serent team’s experience includes roles as CEOs, strategic advisors, and board members to successful, growing businesses. By bringing its experience and capital to bear, Serent helps growing businesses thrive. Serent is highly selective, choosing to invest in only a handful of businesses each year which ensures that all its portfolio companies receive the attention and expertise that they need.

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