Author: Luisa Beltran

The value of investments held by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System rose to $261.7 billion as of Friday, putting it above its previous high in 2007 before the financial crises and recession sent it tumbling, Reuters reported.

(Reuters) – The value of investments held by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System rose to $261.7 billion as of Friday, putting it above its previous high in 2007 before the financial crises and recession sent it tumbling.

The assets sank to a recession low value of $164.9 billion in February 2009 from a record of $260.5 billion in October 2007, said Joe DeAnda, a spokesman for the fund, which is best known as Calpers.

DeAnda attributed the recovery primarily to Calpers’ stock portfolio. The fund has about half of its money in stocks. But “just about everything has improved,” DeAnda said.

Since 2009, officials at Calpers, the biggest U.S. public pension fund have been working to put its finances on stronger footing, including by adopting a more conservative annual return target of 7.5 percent last year, down from a previous and longstanding 7.75 percent.

Lowering the rate has the effect of requiring public agencies, including local governments, using Calpers to manage pension accounts to increase payments to it.

Additionally, the fund’s board earlier this month approved accounting changes that will require state agencies, cities and counties to pay rate increases to Calpers of up 50 percent.

The new policy will phase in increases. While they may strain government employer’s finances, they will fully fund Calpers’ obligations in 30 years.

Calpers is about 70 percent funded. The retirement system estimates its unfunded liability was about $100 billion at the end of June 2012.

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Andrew Guida has joined Macquarie Capital as a Managing Director focused on Bank & Thrift and Specialty Finance within the Financial Institutions Group. He will be based in New York. Guida joins from FBR & Co., where he was an MD in FIG.

PRESS RELEASE
Macquarie Group (“Macquarie”) (ASX: MQG; ADR: MQBKY) today announced that Andrew Guida has joined Macquarie Capital as a Managing Director focused on Bank & Thrift and Specialty Finance within the Financial Institutions Group (FIG), based in the firm’s New York office.

Mr. Guida has more than 20 years of experience in investment banking, having advised a broad range of financial institution clients. He joins from FBR & Co., where he was a Managing Director in their Financial Institutions Group focused on M&A, advisory and capital raising primarily for small and mid-cap Bank Thrift. Prior to FBR, he was based in London as an Executive Director with Morgan Stanley.

“We are delighted to welcome Andrew to Macquarie. His specialized experience with financial institution clients, in addition to a global perspective gained from his experience in Europe, are well suited to our FIG franchise. His focus on depository and specialty finance will help strengthen the capabilities we bring to clients, particularly in light of our active domestic and cross-border deal flow,” said John Roddy, Senior Managing Director and Macquarie’s US Head of FIG.

Mr. Guida holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BA from Washington & Lee University.

About Macquarie

Macquarie Group (Macquarie) is a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. Macquarie’s main business focus is making returns by providing a diversified range of services to clients. Founded in 1969, Macquarie operates in more than 70 office locations in 28 countries and employs more than 13,400 people. Assets under management total approximately $353 billion at September 30, 2012. For more information, visit www.macquarie.com.

Macquarie Capital provides advisory, capital raising and principal investing to corporate, financial sponsor and government clients involved in M&A, debt and equity fund raising, corporate restructuring, project finance and Public Private Partnerships. In the US, Macquarie Capital has continued to expand its client offerings, creating deep specialist sector expertise through targeted acquisitions and key hires, and building a comprehensive advisory and capital markets platform.

For more information, visit www.macquarie.com/us and www.macquarie.com/blueprint.

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Avista Capital Partners has agreed to buy Telular Corp. for $12.61 a share or about $253 million. The purchase price represents a 31% premium to Telular’s closing share price on April 26. Telular’s board has unanimously approved the proposed acquisition by Avista. Chicago-based Telular provides remote monitoring and asset tracking solutions for business and residential customers. Oppenheimer & Co. acted as financial advisors to Telular while SunTrust Robinson Humphrey advised Avista.

PRESS RELEASE

Telular Corporation (Nasdaq:WRLS) (“Telular”) and Avista Capital Partners (“Avista”) today jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement providing for the acquisition of Telular for $12.61 per share net in cash and approximately $18.5 million in assumed net debt, or approximately $253 million in total consideration. The purchase price represents a 31% premium to the closing share price on April 26, 2013, the last full trading day before today’s announcement, and a 27% premium to the 60-day average share price. The proposed acquisition has fully committed financing and is currently expected to close within 50-75 days.

“This announcement represents a very positive event for our shareholders,” said Joe Beatty, chief executive officer of Telular. “We are proud of our nineteen years as a public company, during which we believe we have served our shareholders well, and the partnership with Avista will allow the Company to expand and build on its success to date. For our customers, we will continue to deliver the best remote wireless monitoring and tracking solutions available in the markets we serve,” concluded Mr. Beatty.

Brendan Scollans, Partner at Avista, said, “Telular’s strong position in three rapidly growing machine-to-machine communications end markets and compelling recurring revenue business model make it a highly attractive platform for Avista.  We are looking forward to working with Telular’s talented management team to drive the next phase of the Company’s growth both organically and through acquisitions.”

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, an entity controlled by Avista will promptly commence a tender offer to purchase any or all of the outstanding shares of Telular common stock for $12.61 net in cash. The closing of the tender offer is subject to customary terms and conditions, including the tender of at least two-thirds of Telular’s outstanding shares of common stock, the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976, and the receipt of any applicable consents or approvals from the Federal Communications Commission.

The definitive agreement also provides for the parties to effect, subject to customary conditions, a “short-form” merger without a meeting of Telular’s shareholders immediately following the completion of the tender offer, which merger would result in all shares not tendered being converted into the right to receive $12.61 per share net in cash, without interest.

The Board of Directors of Telular has unanimously approved the proposed acquisition by Avista and recommends that Telular shareholders tender their shares in the forthcoming tender offer.  Mr. Beatty will remain as president and CEO until the closing of the proposed acquisition.

Under the definitive agreement, Telular may solicit superior proposals from third parties through May 29, 2013. It is not anticipated that any developments will be disclosed with regard to this process unless Telular’s Board of Directors makes a decision with respect to a potential superior proposal. There are no guarantees that this process will result in any superior proposal being made or accepted by Telular’s Board of Directors.

Telular plans to release its fiscal second quarter earnings after the market closes on Thursday, May 2, 2013 and will not hold a conference call to discuss earnings given the announced sale of the company. Furthermore, under the terms of the definitive agreement, the Telular Board of Directors is prohibited from declaring any dividends prior to the closing of the proposed acquisition.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Kelley Drye & Warren LLP and Covington & Burling LLP are acting as legal advisors to Telular.  Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to Avista. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. is acting as financial advisor to Avista and has provided the debt financing commitment for the acquisition.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about beliefs or expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on plans, estimates and projections at the time the parties make the statements and readers should not place undue reliance on them. In some cases, readers can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terms such as “may,” “will,” “should, “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terms. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any such forward-looking statement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in this press release include, among others: uncertainties as to the ability to successfully complete the acquisition in accordance with its terms and in accordance with expected schedule; the possibility that competing offers will be made; the possibility that various closing conditions for the acquisition may not be satisfied or waived, including the tender of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of Telular common stock or that a governmental entity may prohibit or refuse to grant any approval required for the consummation of the acquisition; general economic and business conditions; and other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements included in this press release, which speak only as of the date hereof. Neither Telular nor Avista undertakes to update any of these statements in light of new information or future events, except as required by law.

About Telular Corporation
Telular Corporation (NASDAQ: WRLS) provides remote monitoring and asset tracking solutions for business and residential customers, enabling security systems and industrial applications to exchange actionable information wirelessly, typically through cellular and satellite technology. With over 25 years of experience in the wireless industry, Telular Corporation has developed solutions to deliver remote access for voice and data without significant network investment. Headquartered in Chicago, Telular Corporation has additional offices in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Miami. For more information, please visit www.telular.com.

About Avista Capital Partners
Avista Capital Partners is a leading private equity firm with over $5 billion under management and offices in New York, Houston and London. Founded in 2005, Avista’s strategy is to make controlling or influential minority investments in growth-oriented energy, healthcare, communications & media, industrials, and consumer businesses. Through its team of seasoned investment professionals and industry experts, Avista seeks to partner with exceptional management teams to invest in and add value to well-positioned businesses.
About the Tender Offer

The tender offer for the outstanding common stock of Telular has not yet commenced. The foregoing is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell securities. At the time the tender offer is commenced, ACP Tower Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation, will file a tender offer statement on Schedule TO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Telular will file a solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the tender offer. The tender offer to purchase shares of Telular common stock will only be made pursuant to the offer to purchase, the letter of transmittal and related documents filed with such Schedule TO. The tender offer statement (including an offer to purchase, a related letter of transmittal and other offer documents) and the solicitation/recommendation statement, as each may be amended from time to time, will contain important information that should be read carefully by Telular’s shareholders before any decision is made with respect to the tender offer. These materials will be sent free of charge to all of Telular’s shareholders when available. A free copy of the tender offer statement and the solicitation/recommendation statement will also be made available to all shareholders of Telular at www.telular.com or by contacting Telular at 311 South Wacker Drive, Suite 4300, Chicago, IL 60606 or by phone at 800-835-8527. In addition, the tender offer statement and the solicitation/recommendation statement (and all other documents filed with the SEC) will be available at no charge on the SEC’s website:www.sec.gov.

TELULAR SHAREHOLDERS ARE ADVISED TO READ THE SCHEDULE TO AND THE SCHEDULE 14D-9, AS EACH MAY BE AMENDED OR SUPPLEMENTED FROM TIME TO TIME, AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BEFORE THEY MAKE ANY DECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE TENDER OFFER, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND THE PARTIES THERETO.

 

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GTCR has sold Actient Holdings to Auxilium Pharmaceuticals. Financial terms were not announced. Lake Forest, Ill.-based Actient is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of urological indications. Jefferies served as Actient’s financial advisor.

PRESS RELEASE

GTCR, a leading private equity firm, announced today it has sold its portfolio company, Actient Holdings LLC (“Actient”), to Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUXL, “Auxilium”), a specialty biopharmaceutical company.  Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, Actient is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, acquiring and marketing products that significantly improve patient outcomes.

Actient was formed in March 2009 in partnership with GTCR.  Through a series of five acquisitions, Actient built a diversified portfolio of commercial products and pipeline programs to create a unique specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of urological indications.

“Our partnership with Actient CEO Ed Fiorentino exemplifies GTCR’s Leaders Strategy™,” said GTCR Managing Director Dean Mihas.  “We created Actient with a strategy to build a leading specialty pharmaceutical company through the acquisition of companies and products.  Through a series of transactions, Ed and the team have built a growing urology specialty company.  The strategic acquisition of Actient is the culmination of this successful partnership and GTCR’s healthcare strategy.” Ben Daverman, GTCR Vice President, added, “Actient has been an excellent partnership for GTCR, and we are truly appreciative of the many fine efforts by Ed and his management team.”

“I’d like to thank GTCR for their efforts in helping Actient become a significant specialty company.” said Mr. Fiorentino. “We have had a great partnership with GTCR and we look forward to working with Auxilium to continue Actient’s efforts to develop products that significantly improve patient outcomes.”

Jefferies LLC served as Actient’s financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel.

About GTCR
Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm focused on investing in growth companies in the Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare and Information Services & Technology industries. The Chicago-based firm pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and organic growth. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $10 billion in over 200 companies. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com.

About Actient Pharmaceuticals LLC
Actient is a specialty products company focused on therapeutics to improve patient outcomes. The company was formed to acquire companies and products with a focus on select physician specialties. For more information, please visit www.actientpharma.com.

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The Abraaj Group has sold its stake in Unitrio Technology Ltd. The buyer was NTT Facilities, a member of the Japanese Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. Financial terms were not announced,. Unitrio, of Thailand, designs and builds data centers.

PRESS RELEASE
The Abraaj Group, a leading investor operating in growth markets, today announced the successful exit of its investment in Thailand-based Unitrio Technology Limited (Unitrio). The Group sold its stake in Unitrio to NTT Facilities (NTTF), a member of the Japanese Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), which provides comprehensive engineering services for data centers, telecommunications, commercial buildings and related facilities.

Abraaj, through its first South East Asia Fund, acquired its stake in Unitrio in 2010. The investment in Unitrio was predicated on the increasing demand within Thailand for high quality data centers due to rapidly growing internet penetration rates, the proliferation of mobile and other devices, increasing virtualization of IT infrastructure, and the adoption of cloud computing in the public and private sectors, factors that are leading to substantially greater requirements for data hosting and storage capacity across the country.

While the ICT sector has developed significantly over the past two years, substantial growth remains with internet penetration in Thailand currently at 30%, which is substantially below penetration rates of greater than 70% in more developed markets.  Recent floods in Thailand have also shown the need for additional back-up facilities across the country with domestic service providers seeking to expand and diversify their offerings.  Within an ASEAN context, the growth expected in Thailand is second only to Indonesia, with the amount of data center space expected to almost double and data center revenues expected to grow by over three times by 2015.

Founded in 1980, Unitrio started as a distributor of UPS systems and subsequently a distributor of data center and telecommunications equipment.  Foreseeing the growth trends in data hosting and storage, the company sought to move into the data center space.  Abraaj’s investment in Unitrio helped facilitate the transformation of the company into a turnkey designer and builder of data center facilities.  Today, the company has a broad base of institutional customers within the public and private sector, across the telecommunications, banking, industrial and education sectors.

Commenting on the exit, Srisant Chitvaranund, Managing Director, The Abraaj Group, said:  “Our investment in Unitro was well timed as we capitalized on rapid growth in the domestic ICT market.  In Unitrio, we were able to find the right partners who had a vision for their company and we helped them execute an extremely successful strategy and business plan.  We believe that NTTF, given their strategic interests in the sector, is the right partner for Unitrio going forward and will enable the company to achieve their next level of growth”.

Metee Anivat, Chief Executive Officer of Unitrio added, “Abraaj’s investment in Unitrio helped transform the company from what was a Thai family business into a leading designer and builder of data centers. Abraaj assisted us with enhancing our strategic planning, corporate governance and information systems, as well as improving our overall operational efficiency.  We are now well positioned to leverage the numerous opportunities in the domestic market and look forward to our new partnership with NTTF”.

ENDS

THE ABRAAJ GROUP

The Abraaj Group is a leading investor operating in the growth markets of Asia, MENA, Turkey and Central Asia, Sub Saharan Africa and Latin America. Employing over 300 people, the Group has 33 country offices spread across six regional hubs in Bogota, Dubai, Istanbul, Mumbai, Nairobi and Singapore.

The Abraaj Group currently manages US$ 7.5 billion across 25 sector and country-specific Funds encompassing private equity (majority and significant minority investments with ticket sizes of between US$ 10 million to US$ 100 million) and  real estate (primarily yield-generating) investments.

Funds managed by the Group have holdings in over 150 partner companies that create sustainable value in sectors including manufacturing, education, retail, aviation, oil and gas, financial payments infrastructure, healthcare and agribusiness. The Group’s current partner companies include industry leaders such as Network International, the largest independent payment solutions provider in the Middle East and Africa, NEP Holding, with its Diamond brand and a market leader in the residential filtration market of Malaysia with a growing presence in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southern China, Brookside Dairy, the largest dairy in East Africa and, Iasacorp, a long established family run women’s retail business in Peru.

The Abraaj Group is committed to the highest environmental, stakeholder engagement and corporate governance standards and is a signatory of the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment and the United Nations Global Compact.

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Opsona Therapeutics raised €33 million (US $ 43 million) in an oversubscribed Series C financing led by BB Biotech Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund.  Other new investors included Sunstone Capital, Baxter Ventures, Amgen Ventures and EMBL Ventures. Participants included existing investors Fountain Healthcare Partners, Roche Venture Fund and Seroba Kernel Life Sciences. Opsona develops new treatments for inflammatory diseases.

PRESS RELEASE

Opsona Therapeutics Limited (‘Opsona’), the innate immune drug development company, today announced that it has raised €33 million (US $ 43 million) in an oversubscribed Series C financing. The participants in this Series C financing include existing investors, Novartis Venture Fund, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Roche Venture Fund and Seroba Kernel Life Sciences. The new investors joining the consortium are BB Biotech Ventures, Sunstone Capital, Baxter Ventures, Amgen Ventures, and EMBL Ventures. BB Biotech Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund led the Series C financing round. BB Biotech Ventures, Sunstone Capital and Baxter Ventures will be joining the board of directors.
Opsona is developing new treatments for inflammatory diseases and will use the proceeds to conduct a two-part multi-centered, double blinded and placebo controlled clinical study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of its lead product OPN-305 in renal transplant patients at high risk of Delayed Graft Function (DGF). This is the first clinical indication for OPN-305, a fully human monoclonal IgG4 antibody targeting Toll-like-receptor-2 (TLR2). Opsona recently completed a successful Phase I clinical trial in healthy human volunteers and has also demonstrated activity in preclinical animal models and ex-vivo studies. This first-in-class inhibitor of TLR2 has the advantage of inhibiting multiple cytokines leading to the pathogenesis of the complex inflammatory response in various diseases (ischemia/reperfusion injuries, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, lupus, nephritis and various cancers) and has therefore a potentially broad application potential.
Dr. Martin Welschof, CEO of Opsona, commented: “The innate immune system represents a new frontier in targeting inflammatory diseases, and the quality of venture and corporate investors in this funding round is a demonstration of Opsona’s expertise and capabilities in this highly promising field. With their repeat investment, our existing investors have clearly indicated their long-term commitment to Opsona, while the new investment from BB Biotech Ventures, Sunstone Capital, Baxter Ventures, Amgen Ventures and EMBL Ventures is a further endorsement of Opsona’s future potential.”
Dr. Martin Muenchbach, Managing Director at BB Biotech Ventures, added: “We are delighted to be working with Opsona Therapeutics and the other investors. We are excited to further advance Opsona’s lead product OPN-305 into a well-designed Phase II efficacy study to improve post-operative complications in renal transplantation, an indication with major unmet medical need and attractive commercial potential. This high-quality study with clinically meaningful endpoints will also be of relevance for a subsequent Phase III registration study.”
-ends-
About Opsona Therapeutics
Opsona is a leading immunology drug development company, focused on novel therapeutic approaches to key targets of the innate immune system associated with a wide range of major human diseases, including autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, transplant rejection, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and atherosclerosis. The company was founded in 2004 by three world-renowned immunologists at Trinity College in Dublin. Opsona’s lead product, a fully human monoclonal IgG4 antibody (OPN-305) targeting Toll-like-receptor-2 (TLR2) has demonstrated activity in a number of animal models and was recently tested in a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy volunteers. The company has initiated a two-part multi-centered, double blinded and placebo controlled clinical study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of OPN 305 in renal transplant patients at high risk of Delayed Graft Function (DGF) as the first clinical target indication for the development of OPN-305. The company was awarded a EUR 5.9 million non-dilutive grant by the European Union for clinical development of its anti-TLR2 antibody in solid organ transplantation including renal transplantation and the program has recently obtained EMA and FDA orphan drug status. Additional indications are currently being explored.
Further information is available at http://www.opsona.com/.
About Novartis Venture Fund
The Novartis Venture Funds manages over $850 million in committed capital. NVF invests in companies which have the potential to change a core therapeutic field or explore new business areas that will be critical to patient care. Our primary interest is in the development of novel therapeutics and platforms as well as medical devices, diagnostics, and delivery systems. The Funds invest for financial objectives at all stages, but prefers to invest in the early-stages of company development. With ten investment professionals located in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, MA the team has extensive experience in pharmaceutical R&D and venture capital.
About Fountain Healthcare Partners
Fountain Healthcare Partners (“Fountain”) is a life science focused venture capital fund headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with a second office in New York, US. Fountain specialises in making investments in biotechnology, medical device, specialty pharma and diagnostic companies. www.fh-partners.com
About Roche Venture Fund
The Roche Venture Fund invests in innovative biotech and diagnostics companies to develop commercially successful life science companies. Based in Basel with an office in South San Francisco, RVF is the corporate venture fund of the healthcare company Roche. RVF invests globally with a portfolio of over 30 companies in 10 countries. For more information, please visit www.venturefund.roche.com.
About Seroba Kernel Life Sciences
Investing in Life Sciences. Investing in Life. Seroba Kernel is a European life sciences venture capital firm, focused on investing in breakthrough healthcare technologies that promise to improve lives and make a difference worldwide. Based in Ireland and the UK, our team combines in-depth scientific and medical knowledge with broad regulatory and commercial expertise. We source investment opportunities globally and work with some of the world’s best entrepreneurs developing innovative medical devices, diagnostics and therapeutic drugs. We fund new healthcare opportunities through key value-adding stages, from inception through development and clinical evaluation, regulatory approvals, market launch, and partnering with leading medtech or pharma companies. www.seroba-kernel.com
About BB Biotech Ventures
BB BIOTECH VENTURES is a healthcare-dedicated venture capital fund, focused on companies that develop and market drugs and medical devices. The Guernsey based fund is advised by the Bellevue Group, a publicly listed investment bank headquartered in Kusnacht/Zurich, Switzerland. BB BIOTECH VENTURES has a dedicated team of investment advisors and an advisory board. In addition, it is supported by the Group’s healthcare investment experts, and an extensive network of specialists and advisors. With BB Biotech, BB Medtech, and BB Biotech Ventures, the Bellevue Group is amongst the largest financial investors in the health care segment worldwide. Over the last two decades, the Group has raised and invested more than USD 500 mn in venture capital. For more information, visit www.bbbiotechventures.com.
About Sunstone Capital
Sunstone Capital is an independent venture capital investor founded in 2007 by an international team with combined entrepreneurial, operational and financial experience. Sunstone Capital focuses on developing and expanding early-stage Life Science and Technology companies with strong potential to achieve global success in their markets. Managing total funds of EUR 693 million, Sunstone Capital is one of the largest and most active European venture capital investors.
About Baxter Ventures
Baxter Ventures identifies companies with promising, novel technologies, products and/or therapies, and provides them with the capital and expertise needed to drive successful innovation. Baxter Ventures was created in 2011 by Baxter International Inc., which has an 80-year legacy of healthcare innovation and saving and sustaining lives worldwide.
About Amgen Ventures
Amgen Ventures is a corporate venture capital fund focused on providing resources to biotechnology companies with early and clinical stage programs to develop pioneering discoveries in human therapeutics. The focus of the fund primarily is in early and later stage development in areas of therapeutic interest to Amgen, but also includes novel modalities with the potential to address targets in emerging therapeutic areas of interest.
About EMBL Ventures
EMBL Ventures is an independent venture capital investor that manages two Funds with a total of €68 million capital on behalf of major European institutional and private investors. Currently it invests with its second Fund, the EMBL Technology Fund II. EMBL Ventures’ close relationship with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and its technology transfer organization EMBL Enterprise Management Technology Transfer GmbH (EMBLEM) allows it to finance disruptive technologies in an entrepreneurial start-up environment, aiming ultimately for a transaction with a partner that is seeking to acquire external product innovation. EMBL Ventures is exclusively focused on life-science investments. EMBL Technology Fund II is supported by the European Communities Growth and Employment Initiative, MAP ETF Start-up Facility.

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Supervalu has elected two new members to its board: John Standley, Rite Aid’s chairman president and CEO and Mark Neporent, Cerberus Capital’s COO and general counsel. They are directors. In January, Supervalu agreed to sell five of its retail grocery chains to an investor group led by Cerberus Capital Management LP.

PRESS RELEASE

SUPERVALU (NYSE: SVU) today announced the election of two new members to its Board of Directors: John Standley, chairman, president and CEO of Rite Aid Corporation and Mark A. Neporent, chief operating officer and general counsel, Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. (“Cerberus”), as directors.

“I am very pleased that John and Mark have accepted positions on our Board,” said Bob Miller, SUPERVALU’s non-executive chairman. “It is important that we have a strong Board of Directors with a mix of industry, financial and professional experience to draw upon. John and Mark provide tremendous knowledge and a strong understanding of the guidance and direction this Board should offer SUPERVALU during its rebuilding process.”

Mr. Standley has spent the past 20 years in executive leadership roles in the grocery and pharmacy retail business. He became Rite Aid Corporation’s president and chief operating officer in September 2008, was appointed to the Rite Aid Board of Directors in 2009 and was named CEO in June 2010. He was elected chairman of Rite Aid’s Board of Directors in June 2012. Mr. Standley had previously served as Rite Aid’s chief financial officer, chief administrative officer and senior executive vice president from 1999 to 2005. Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) is one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains with more than 4,600 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia and fiscal 2013 annual revenues of $25.4 billion. In addition to his tenure at Rite Aid, Mr. Standley served as CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Pathmark Stores, a northeast regional supermarket chain from 2005-2007. He also worked with The Yucaipa Companies from 1994 to 1999 in a variety of senior leadership positions at several grocery companies that were consolidated into Fred Meyer Inc. Mr. Standley is currently vice chairman of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and is a graduate of Pepperdine University.

Mr. Neporent is a designee of Symphony Investors, a Cerberus affiliate. He has served as COO and general counsel of Cerberus since 1998. Cerberus, one of the world’s leading private investment firms, has more than $20 billion under management invested in four primary strategies: distressed securities & assets; control and non-control private equity; commercial mid-market lending and real estate-related investments. Mr. Neporent is responsible for the day-to-day management of Cerberus and serves on many of the Firm’s committees, including the Investment Committee, Valuation Committee and Risk/Compliance Committee, among others. Prior to joining Cerberus, Mr. Neporent was a partner in the Business Reorganization and Finance Group at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, where he practiced from 1986 until he joined Cerberus. He also practiced from 1982 to 1986 at the firm of Otterbourg Steindler Houston & Rosen, P.C. Mr. Neporent is a graduate of Lehigh University and Syracuse University College of Law, where he was the lead articles editor for the Syracuse Law Review.

The nine-person board resulting from today’s appointments will have five members who are independent directors under the New York Stock Exchange listing standards. The board will continue the search process for one additional independent director. Upon the selection and appointment of this director, Mr. Sam Duncan, SUPERVALU’s president and chief executive officer will be added, increasing the final size of the Board to 11 directors.

About SUPERVALU INC.
SUPERVALU Inc. is one of the largest grocery wholesalers and retailers in the U.S. with annual sales of approximately $17 billion. SUPERVALU serves customers across the United States through a network of approximately 3,420 stores composed of 1,900 independent stores serviced primarily by the Company’s food distribution business, 1,331 Save-A-Lot stores, of which 950 are operated by licensee owners; and 191 traditional retail grocery stores. Headquartered in Minnesota, SUPERVALU has approximately 35,000 employees. For more information about SUPERVALU visit www.supervalu.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS RELEVANT TO FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF “SAFE HARBOR” PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995.

Except for the historical and factual information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release, particularly those pertaining to SUPERVALU’s expectations, guidance, or future operating results, and other statements identified by words such as “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “plans,” and similar expressions are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including competition, ability to execute initiatives, substantial indebtedness, impact of economic conditions, labor relations issues, escalating costs of providing employee benefits, regulatory matters, food and drug safety issues, self-insurance, legal and administrative proceedings, information technology, severe weather, natural disasters and adverse climate changes, the continuing review of goodwill and other intangible assets, accounting matters, the effect of the sale of the New Albertsons banners and other risk factors relating to our business or industry as detailed from time to time in SUPERVALU’s reports filed with the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Unless legally required, SUPERVALU undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Cinven, a European PE firm, said Friday it has sold its remaining stake in Ziggo and realized  €329 million (US$428.4 million) of gross proceeds. Ziggo, which listed on NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam in March 2012, will have generated total proceeds of €1.7 billion for Cinven and a total money multiple of 2.8x. Ziggo is the largest cable operator in Netherlands.

PRESS RELEASE

European private equity firm, Cinven, today announces that it has sold its remaining stake in Ziggo N.V (“Ziggo” or the “Company”), the largest cable operator in the Netherlands, realising €329 million of gross proceeds. Cinven has now fully realised its shareholding in Ziggo.
Following the successful listing of Ziggo on the NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam in March 2012, which represented the largest European IPO during the year, Ziggo will have generated total proceeds of €1.7 billion for the Fourth Cinven Fund and a total money multiple of 2.8x.
Cinven led the original investment in Ziggo in 2006 and retained a 27% shareholding in the Company post-IPO. Cinven has successfully sold down its remaining shareholding in the Company in four tranches.
Cinven was able to generate growth in Ziggo and achieve a successful IPO through:
    the creation of Ziggo through the merger of three separate cable businesses: Kabelcom, Casema and Multikabel (respectively the second, third and fourth largest cable providers in the Netherlands) to form the market leader in the Netherlands with close to three million customers;
    leveraging Ziggo’s superior network and product proposition to increase market share and grow revenues from existing customers by increasing penetration of triple play bundles and digital pay TV;
    focusing on growth in the business market by offering services to SMEs     more than €1 billion of investment to upgrade the network, enabling Ziggo to offer
improved digital TV, high speed broadband and telephony services;     strong cash generation which enabled Ziggo to significantly deleverage under Cinven’s
ownership;     Two highly successful bond offerings in 2010 totalling nearly €2 billion which had a
positive impact on Ziggo’s debt maturities and also raised the Company’s profile in the capital markets ahead of a possible exit.

David Barker, Partner at Cinven, commented:
“Cinven’s investment in Ziggo demonstrates the benefit of our considerable sector expertise, having already built a highly successful and substantial cable business, Numericable, in France through a series of acquisitions. It also shows the ability of our local European network to originate investment opportunities by identifying prospects before they come to market.
“Following the recent placing in March, the shares have performed strongly. The success of the placing underscores the strength of support in the Company from public market investors.
“The successful Ziggo IPO positioned the Company well for the next phase of its expansion. We wish its highly capable management team every success as Ziggo continues to maintain its market leading business and generate strong financial performance and provide first class products and services to customers.”
This press release does not contain or constitute an offer for sale or the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or pursuant to an available exemption from, or a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

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Bennett Tool and Die Co. Inc. was sold to Kansas Venture Capital, Capital for Business, Jefferson Capital Partners and InvestAmerica. Financial terms were not announced. Nashville-based Bennett is a contract tooling and metal stamping supplier serving the locomotive, electrical, appliance, watercraft, and ATV industries. The Lenox Group advised Bennett Tool in the sale.

PRESS RELEASE

The Lenox Group advised Bennett Tool and Die Co., Inc.
(“Bennett”) on its sale to a consortium of private equity funds including Kansas Venture
Capital, Capital for Business, Jefferson Capital Partners and InvestAmerica (“Investors”).
Bennett, headquartered in Nashville, TN, is a contract tooling and metal stamping
supplier serving the locomotive, electrical, appliance, watercraft, and ATV industries.
Since 1951 Bennett has been providing its customers with part design consultation,
prototyping, design and build of metal stamping dies, production stamping, welding,
assembly, testing, and machining.
Bennett, founded in 1951, was run for over 50 years by Eli Bennett who took over from
his Father at the age of 24. Recently, the third generation, lead by Yvonne Leggett has
been leading the Company and will continue in their current roles post closing to assist
the Investors in continuing to grow the Company.
The Lenox Group is an investment bank based in Atlanta that focuses on middle market
transactions primarily for private, family-owned businesses. Our services include raising
capital (debt and equity), M&A advisory and traditional corporate finance advisory, i.e.
valuations and fairness opinions. Lenox is proud to have completed engagements
representing over $1.5 Billion in transaction value.

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Greenbriar Equity Group said Thursday that an affiliate has extended its tender off for all outstanding shares of EDAC Technologies Co. to 5 p.m.on Monday, May 6. GB Aero Engine in March reportedly agreed to buy EDAC in a deal valued at $100 million. MidOcean Partners had pitched a rival $105 million bid for EDAC but pulled the offer, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

PRESS RELEASE

Greenbriar Equity Group LLC (“Greenbriar”) announced today that GB Aero Engine Merger Sub Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GB Aero Engine LLC and an affiliate of Greenbriar, has extended the tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of EDAC Technologies Corporation (“EDAC”) to 5:00 pm, New York City time, on Monday, May 6, 2013, unless further extended.
The tender offer has been extended to allow investors to consider revised disclosures in an amendment to EDAC’s Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9.
The tender offer was previously scheduled to expire at 5:00 pm, New York City time, on April 30, 2013. All other terms and conditions of the tender offer remain unchanged. The depositary for the tender offer has advised Greenbriar that, as of 4:30 pm, New York City Time, on April 23, 2013, stockholders of EDAC validly tendered approximately 2,988,376 shares of EDAC common stock (not counting as validly tendered, shares that were tendered through notice of guaranteed delivery and not actually delivered) representing approximately 56% of the EDAC shares outstanding.
The tender offer is being made in accordance with the previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated March 17, 2013, by and among GB Aero Engine LLC, GB Aero Engine Merger Sub Inc. and EDAC (the “Merger Agreement”). As previously announced, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the tender offer was commenced on March 26, 2013 to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of EDAC for $17.75 per share, net to the seller in cash without interest and less any required withholding taxes.
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Robinson & Cole LLP is serving as legal counsel to EDAC Technologies Corporation. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to Greenbriar Equity Group LLC.
This press release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell shares of EDAC.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995; including forward-looking statements regarding the anticipated acquisition of EDAC by an affiliate of Greenbriar. These forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “plans,” “seeks,” “projects,” “expects,” “believes,” “may,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “should,” and other similar expressions. Each of these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those, express or implied, in these forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that may cause differences between current expectations and actual results or developments, including risks and uncertainties associated with the anticipated

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Marcella Butler has joined Think Finance as Chief Human Resources Officer. Butler joins Think Finance from Google where she worked in a variety of directorate-level roles across corporate development, finance and people operations.

PRESS RELEASE

Think Finance, a company that develops online financial products that bridge the gap between payday loans and credit cards, today announced it has named Marcella Butler as its Chief Human Resources Officer.

Ms. Butler joins Think Finance from Google, where she spent five years in a variety of directorate-level roles across corporate development, finance and people operations. Prior to that, Ms. Butler was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer for Pershing Square Capital Management and Chief Administration Officer for Sanford Bernstein, LLC. She has also held positions with Egon Zehner International, McKinsey & Company and Morgan Stanley & Co, Inc.
“We’re delighted to welcome Marcella to Think Finance,” said Think Finance Global Chief Executive Officer Ken Rees. “Her impressive background and expertise will help us navigate the challenges of rapid growth and create a truly great place to work for all our employees.”
“I’m excited to work with the talented individuals at Think Finance,” said Ms. Butler. “The Think Finance team is vibrant and growing with the business, and together, we will continue to lever the unique aspects of Think Finance’s culture as we build a great place to work and grow.”
Ms. Butler graduated with highest distinction from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where she was a Morehead scholar and holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
About Think Finance
Think Finance develops online financial products that bridge the gap between payday loans and credit cards. Using our technology and analytics platform, Think Finance and the lenders we work with have provided over $3.5 billion in credit to 1.5 million consumers in the U.S. and abroad and have saved customers over $1 billion compared to payday loans. Think Finance is privately held and is backed by some of Silicon Valley’s most respected venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures. The company was recently named No. 2 on Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Companies list. Learn more at www.ThinkFinance.com.

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Horizon Technology Finance Corp. has closed a $2 million venture loan to New Haven Pharmaceuticals. Guilford, Conn.-based New Haven is a specialty pharmaceutical company.

PRESS RELEASE

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: HRZN) (“Horizon”), a leading specialty finance company that provides secured loans to venture capital and private equity backed development-stage companies in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and clean-tech industries, today announced it has closed a $2 million venture loan facility with New Haven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“NHP”), a developer of prescription pharmaceuticals that utilize currently marketed drugs or active pharmaceutical ingredients generally recognized as safe for use in therapeutic applications. The proceeds of the venture loan facility will be used for working capital purposes.
“We are pleased to provide NHP with a venture loan facility which will support its development of proprietary prescription pharmaceuticals,” stated Gerald A. Michaud , President of Horizon. “NHP continues to achieve important strides in developing products for patients with a higher risk for secondary strokes or acute cardiac events. Based on the company’s impressive product pipeline and experienced, well-respected management team, NHP represents a strong addition to Horizon’s high-quality investment portfolio.”
“Horizon’s $2 million venture loan facility provides NHP with the right capital structure and the timely liquidity to continue to execute our product development and FDA registration plans,” stated Patrick P. Fourteau, NHP’s President & CEO. Harry H. Penner, Jr. , NHP’s Executive Chairman, added, “The responsiveness and flexibility of the Horizon team resulted in a seamless process from initial contact to funding and a very positive business experience. It’s gratifying to have Horizon, a Connecticut-based company like our own, as a financial partner.”
About Horizon Technology Finance
Horizon Technology Finance Corporation is a business development company that provides secured loans to development-stage companies backed by established venture capital and private equity firms within the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and clean-tech industries. The investment objective of Horizon Technology Finance is to maximize total risk-adjusted returns by generating current income from a portfolio of directly originated secured loans as well as capital appreciation from warrants to purchase the equity of portfolio companies. Headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, with regional offices in Walnut Creek, California and Reston, Virginia, the Company is externally managed by its investment advisor, Horizon Technology Finance Management LLC. Horizon’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol, “HRZN.” In addition, the Company’s 7.375% Senior Notes due 2019 trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “HTF.” To learn more, please visit www.horizontechnologyfinancecorp.com.
About New Haven Pharmaceuticals
New Haven Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NHP) is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing proprietary prescription drug products based on proprietary controlled-release technologies, as well as intellectual property licensed from Yale University, which will enable optimal dosing, safety, efficacy and patient convenience. For more information on NHP, please visit www.newhavenpharma.com, or contact Harry H. Penner, Jr. , Executive Chairman at (203) 676-3676, or email at [email protected].
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included herein may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.

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TPH Partners has invested in Channel Energy. Financial terms weren’t announced. Denver-based Chanel is an upstream company focused on the acquisition and development of onshore oil and gas properties across several basins in the U.S.

PRESS RELEASE

TPH Partners, the middle-market energy private equity funds manager, has partnered with management to form Channel Energy, LLC, an independent upstream company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Channel is focused on the acquisition and development of onshore oil and gas properties across several basins in the U.S.

“We think that now is a great time to be putting capital to work in the oil and gas business, and we have an extensive list of potentially overlooked opportunities identified”
Channel is led by Kevin Corbett, President and CEO, and Doug Izmirian, EVP and CFO, who have almost sixty years combined experience in the oil and gas industry and a proven track record of success. Over his thirty-one year career, Mr. Corbett has led successful exploration and development projects onshore in the U.S., and in Europe, Asia and Africa, including previously founding and leading Wrangler Resources and Sequoia Production. Mr. Izmirian also has an impressive background, previously serving as co-founder and CFO of TransZap and as a co-founder of Citadel Oil and Gas Corporation.

Channel will utilize management’s experience and technical expertise to pursue primarily liquids-focused assets in historically prolific basins through a combination of acquisition and farm-in transactions.

“We are fortunate to have the opportunity to put capital to work with such an excellent management team. Kevin is a proven oil finder with a track record of value creation, and Doug’s history of successful entrepreneurship in the oil patch will add an important element to the team’s skill set,” said George McCormick, Managing Partner of TPH Partners.

“We think that now is a great time to be putting capital to work in the oil and gas business, and we have an extensive list of potentially overlooked opportunities identified,” said Kevin Corbett, President and CEO of Channel. “Doug and I feel that we and the TPH Partners team are very well aligned in our views and expectations, which makes for a great partnership, and we look forward to working together in the creation and growth of this new company.”

About TPH Partners

TPH Partners, based in Houston, Texas, is the private equity arm of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., LLC, an integrated energy investment and merchant bank. TPH Partners makes private investments in the upstream, oilfield service and midstream subsectors of the energy industry. For more information on TPH Partners, please visit www.tphpartners.com.

About Channel Energy, LLC

Channel Energy, LLC is an independent upstream company based in Denver, Colorado. For more information on Channel, please contact Channel Energy at [email protected].

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bookshout! said Thursday that it raised $6 million in Series B funding. Dallas-based booshout! said it will use the proceeds to expand its digital book distribution and engagement platform, as well as giving authors control of their audiences.

PRESS RELEASES

It’s one thing to sell a book. It’s another to build passionate communities around the content, providing lucrative channels for new sales and marketing opportunities.

Today bookshout! announced $6M in Series B funding to expand its digital book distribution and engagement platform, giving authors control of their audiences and publishers a new and powerful sales channel.

Ambassador Enterprises led the Series B round, increasing its investment in bookshout!. The firm sees significant opportunity for innovation where new tools for social sharing and engagement give authors and publishers better data to connect readers with books they want to read, and identify opportunities for additional merchandising and promotion.

“bookshout! is reinventing how digital books are sold, shared and consumed,” said Daryle Doden, CEO of Ambassador Enterprises. “Traditional publishing is like baseball before Moneyball. The industry is guessing what people want. By serving authors and publishers in a process-oriented, measurable way, bookshout! is eliminating the guesswork and building tools that let content creators take control of their audience.”

bookshout! recently released support for digital bulk sales, special sales and promotions that enable publishers and authors to sell digital books in bulk at events, conferences, book tours and other group activities. With a promo code or a gift card, readers simply visit a private-labeled landing page and redeem the coupon to get a book, automatically becoming part of its “reading circle.”

As a result, authors gain a powerful platform to engage fans, share ideas, answer questions and promote bonus content, while publishers gain a valuable channel to capture analytics and target sales and promotions. Early adopters include: CareerBuilder.com, which sponsored Nolan Bushnell’s book tour for “Finding the Next Steve Jobs,” and the Kauffman Foundation, among others.

“Publishers need to participate in new distribution channels, including direct-to-consumer,” said Joe Wikert, General Manager, Publisher, & Chair of Tools of Change (TOC) Conference at O’Reilly Media, Inc. “bookshout! offers publishers many of the data and analytics benefits of having a direct channel, but without all the upfront costs associated with creating one.”

“Publishing is on the verge of a major shift from creation to distribution and consumption, but the big players like Amazon and Barnes & Noble have shut out the authors and publishers, preventing them from engaging with their readers,” said Jason Illian, CEO of bookshout!. “This new investment enables us to expand our platform to create new opportunities for authors, publishers and readers to connect in more meaningful ways around the books they love.”

For more information on digital bulk sales, special sales and promotions, contact: [email protected].

About bookshout!

bookshout! empowers readers, authors and publishers to make the e-book experience more collaborative and enjoyable than ever. Based in Dallas, Texas, bookshout! features more than 250 publishers and 100,000 books accessible via iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire HD or the web. For more information, please visit www.bookshout.com.

About Ambassador Enterprises

Established in 2008, Ambassador Enterprises is a for-profit, philanthropic, equity firm investing in leaders and the organizations they lead. Believing that an investment in people and teams will pay returns in the form of healthy relationships and communities, Ambassador recently acquired a former university campus in Fort Wayne (IN), establishing The Summit, a cooperative learning community. To learn more, visit www.ambassador-enterprises.com.

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Datalogix has closed a a $25 million Series B round of equity financing led by Institutional Venture Partners. Existing investors include General Catalyst, Sequel Venture Partners and Costanoa Venture Capital.

PRESS RELEASE

Datalogix, the leading data platform for the digital era, announced today that it closed a $25 million Series B round of equity financing led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP).  IVP joins existing investors General Catalyst, Sequel Venture Partners and Costanoa Venture Capital.  The financing will enable Datalogix to continue its rapid growth and accelerate adoption of its audience and measurement solutions across display, mobile, video, social and search channels.  This will include investment in scaling its industry leading technology platform and geographic expansion.

The new funding round follows the closing of a record year for Datalogix, capped by a tripling of its digital business in March.  In the past year, Datalogix grew revenue by 50%, added over 100 employees and opened offices in Detroit, San Francisco and London.  In addition, the company was recently recognized as having the “Top Workplace” among Colorado technology companies by the Denver Post.

IVP General Partner Sandy Miller commented, “Datalogix is playing a critical role in helping ad dollars move online effectively at scale.  They have a fantastic team, great technology, wonderful data and enviable relationships with many of the industry’s most important brands and publishers.  Seldom have we seen a company at their stage be this well-positioned to capture a market opportunity of this magnitude.”

In conjunction with the financing, Datalogix announced that Sandy Miller and Paul Ostling would join its Board of Directors.  Ostling, former Global COO of Ernst & Young, joins as an independent director and will lead the Datalogix Audit Committee.

Paul Ostling added, “I am very excited to work with such a dynamic and innovative enterprise, and look forward to working with the board and management to implement best practices of corporate governance and transparency.”

“It’s great to have IVP on board to support our growth,” said Datalogix Chairman Rob Gierkink.  “It is an honor to join a portfolio that has included 93 IPOs and a lifetime IRR of 43% over 32 years.  We’re also thrilled to add Directors of the caliber of Sandy and Paul to the Board.”

About Datalogix
Datalogix® is the leader at connecting digital media and offline purchasing data.  Datalogix helps leading consumer marketers increase the effectiveness and measurability of their advertising.  DLX Platform®, encompassing over $1 trillion in consumer spending, powers campaigns for more than 75% of online media companies.  DLX ROI™ is rapidly becoming the industry standard for measuring offline sales lift for digital media.  The Company’s expertise spans the major consumer segments, including Retail, CPG, Automotive, Telecom, Travel and Financial Services.  Datalogix is based in Colorado, with offices in NYC, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and London.

About Institutional Venture Partners (IVP)
With $4 billion of committed capital, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) is one of the premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firms in the United States.  The partnership is currently investing IVP XIV, a $1 billion later-stage fund focused on investments in rapidly growing technology and media companies.  Founded in 1980, IVP has invested in over 300 companies, 93 of which have gone public.  IVP is one of the top performing firms in the industry and has a 32-year IRR of 43.2%.  IVP specializes in venture growth investments, industry rollups, founder liquidity transactions and select public market investments.  Since its inception, IVP investments include such notable companies as ArcSight (HPQ), Buddy Media (CRM), ComScore (SCOR), Concur Technologies (CNQR), Dropbox, Fleetmatics (FLTX), HomeAway (AWAY), Juniper Networks (JNPR), Kayak (KYAK), LegalZoom, LifeLock (LOCK), Marketo, MobileIron, MySQL (ORCL), Netflix (NFLX), Omniture (ADBE), One Kings Lane, Polycom (PLCM), RetailMeNot, Seagate (STX), Shazam, Synchronoss (SNCR), Tivo (TIVO), Twitter and Zynga (ZNGA).  For more information, visit http://ivp.com or follow IVP on Twitter: @ivp

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Vapotherm has closed a $29 million financing round led by the 3×5 Special Opportunity Fund L.P. and included new investor Morgenthaler Venture Partners L.P. Existing investors GE Asset Management, Kaiser Permanente, Integral Capital Partners, QuestMark Partners and Cross Creek Capital also participated. Exeter, N.H.-based Vapotherm makes advanced respiratory care devices.

PRESS RELEASE

On April 12, 2013 Vapotherm closed a $29MM financing round which was led by the 3×5 Special Opportunity Fund L.P. and included new investor Morgenthaler Venture Partners L.P.  Existing investors GE Asset Management, Kaiser Permanente, Integral Capital Partners, QuestMark Partners and Cross Creek Capital also participated in the current round. The proceeds from this financing will be used to fund the Company’s growth plans.
Tony Arnerich , General Partner of the 3×5 Special Opportunity Fund, and Jason Lettmann , Principal of Morgenthaler Venture Partners, both join the Board of Directors.
“We are delighted to be a part of the Vapotherm story,” said Tony Arnerich , General Partner of the 3×5 Special Opportunity Fund.  “The unique technology and its clinical benefit for patients with a wide variety of breathing disorders is what appealed to our group. We look forward to supporting the Company and its management team.”
James “Jim” Liken, a board member since April 2010, has agreed to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Jim has extensive experience with respiratory technology companies, including Respironics Inc. where he served as President and CEO from August 1999 through December 2003 and as Vice Chairman until March 2008.
“I have been part of the team for almost three years and am pleased to serve in this new capacity.  This is a very exciting time for Vapotherm,” said Jim Liken.
Bill Niland , Founder of Vapotherm said, “We appreciate the support of new investors 3×5 and Morgenthaler and our existing investors, as well as Jim’s commitment to serve as Chairman of the Board.  He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our organization.”
In addition to closing the financing Vapotherm opened new corporate headquarters in Exeter, New Hampshire at the start of the year.  The facility, located at 22 Industrial Drive, incorporates 14,400 square feet of office space and 12,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
“One of the key reasons for moving corporate headquarters to Exeter was to have access to the New England medtech industry, including suppliers, partners, and the deep talent pool,” said Joe Army , President and CEO of Vapotherm.  “We look forward to expanding our operations in the New Hampshire seacoast region and having a positive impact in the community.”
Vapotherm, Inc. is a privately held manufacturer of advanced respiratory care devices based in Exeter, New Hampshire.  The company develops innovative, comfortable, noninvasive technologies for respiratory support of patients with chronic or acute breathing disorders.  Over 500,000 patients have been treated with Vapotherm high flow therapy.  For more information, visit www.vtherm.com.

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Noble Investment Group said that its most recent fund exceeded its cap and closed $220 million. About 75% of  Noble Hospitality Fund II was committed by repeat investors. Nobe Investment Group is a lodging and hospitality real estate investment firm.

PRESS RELEASE

Noble Investment Group (“Noble”), one of the most experienced lodging and hospitality real estate investment firms in the U.S., is pleased to announce the successful  final closing of its most recent dedicated hospitality investment fund.  Noble Hospitality Fund II was significantly oversubscribed and exceeded its cap with $220 million of equity commitments from prominent state and corporate pension plans, leading university endowments and foundations, fund of funds and the principals of Noble.  Approximately seventy-five percent of the capital for Noble Hospitality Fund II was committed by repeat investors and those with a long term relationship with the firm. Noble Hospitality Fund II has a two-year commitment period.

“We remain grateful for our investors’ continued trust and confidence in our Noble team and the differentiated value-creation strategy we have been successfully pursuing since 1993,” commented Mit Shah, Noble’s chief executive officer and senior managing principal. After making no new investments from May of 2008 through April of 2010, Noble has strategically increased its investment activity. In 2012, Noble fully invested their most recent hospitality real estate fund which had a three-year commitment period and $310 million in equity commitments. During the past twelve months, Noble has acquired or opened ten hotels representing approximately $300 million in investments.
“We have been actively investing our new fund since the third quarter of last year and we will continue to utilize our exceptionally strong relationships throughout the lodging industry to source opportunities as well as our internal core competencies to execute our investment strategy,” added Rodney Williams ,  Noble’s chief investment officer and managing principal.
About Noble Investment Group
Founded in 1993, the Noble organization specializes in making value-added, opportunistic investments in the lodging and hospitality real estate sector.  Through its private equity real estate funds, Noble has invested more than $2 billion in upper upscale and upscale hotels located throughout the United States which are affiliated with premium brands by Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton and Starwood. For additional information, please visit www.nobleinvestment.com

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Fusion-io has acquired NexGen Storage for about $119 million, including $114 million cash and approximately $5 million in stock. Louisville, Colo.-based NexGen develops hybrid storage appliances. NexGen’s investors include Grotech Ventures, Access Venture Partners and Next World Capital.

PRESS RELEASE

Fusion-io, Inc. (NYSE: FIO) today announced that it acquired Colorado-based NexGen Storage. NexGen is a leading developer of hybrid storage appliances based on Fusion ioMemory for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). By using software in combination with ioMemory and standard disk drives, NexGen transforms industry-leading x86 server platforms into hybrid storage systems that provide the performance of an all-flash array at a fraction of the cost.
This acquisition is a strategic expansion of the software-defined Fusion-io product portfolio, accelerating Fusion-io’s opportunity in the SME market with a solution built to allow customers to provision both performance and capacity according to their needs. The sophisticated ioControl management software at the core of the NexGen hybrid storage system transparently shares all storage resources and maintains simultaneous performance targets for multiple applications. With the ioControl software, customers can provision, prioritize and maintain predictable performance efficiently and cost effectively. The ioControl software also ensures that customers have a clear upgrade path to all-flash solutions as their data demands continue to grow.
“Many SME businesses have lean IT teams and budgets, making it critical to offer an integrated and affordable entry point for flash powered application acceleration that delivers consistent performance, even under demanding workloads like VDI and analytics,” said David Flynn, Fusion-io CEO and Chairman.  “The hybrid NexGen solution combines memory attached flash and disk on leading server platforms to provide a system tuned to deliver performance, price and capacity. With this acquisition, we will maintain the current NexGen product model as we transition to supporting customers’ preferred server platforms with our OEM partners.“
“We architected our solution around Fusion ioMemory because it offered the highest reliability, the most predicable performance, and because it is built as a platform for easy developer integration,” said John Spiers, co-founder of NexGen and new Fusion-io Senior Vice President and General Manager, NexGen Products. “The NexGen ioControl software uniquely eliminates the need for another layer of latency in storage tiering and the bottlenecks introduced by SSD storage controllers, making it the ideal hybrid system to evolve into an open, software defined platform at Fusion-io.”
As data demands continue to expand for businesses of all sizes, the NexGen ioControl software enables IT teams to control and prioritize acceleration for mission critical, business critical, and even non-critical applications. Through the ioControl software, the NexGen system uniquely:
· Enables customers to independently provision performance and capacity with a software defined architecture that provides the performance of an all-flash array at the price of a hybrid system;
· Delivers dynamic real-time flash write caching, read caching and tiering with managed performance targets, providing sustained and predicable performance for multiple applications;
· Provides enterprise reliability with Fusion ioMemory, which is estimated to support over 250 times more data written over a system’s lifetime compared to systems based on SATA and SAS SSDs;
· Consistently accelerates application performance at least three times more than systems that integrate SSDs behind legacy storage controllers; and
· Transparently moves data between high performance and low cost storage media, eliminating the need for another software layer to manage storage tiering
Small to medium enterprises have strong relationships with their value added resellers (VARs). To continue supporting SMEs through their preferred IT providers and expand availability of the NexGen hybrid storage system to customers worldwide, NexGen’s network of VARs will be added to the global Fusion-io reseller channels.
Fusion-io today adds approximately 50 NexGen employees to its team. Fusion-io paid approximately $114 million in cash and approximately $5 million in stock for all of the outstanding stock, warrants and vested equity awards of NexGen, subject to the adjustments and escrow and other provisions set forth in the agreement among the parties. In addition, Fusion-io assumed all unvested NexGen employee equity awards.

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H.I.G. Capital said Wednesday that it has completed its buy of Pegasus Financial Services. The seller was Pegasus Solutions. Financial terms weren’t announced. Dallas-based Pegasus Financial is a processor of commissions paid by hotels to travel agencies.

PRESS RELEASE
H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a leading global private equity investment firm, is pleased to announce that its affiliate has completed the acquisition of Pegasus Financial Services (“PFS” or the “Company”), the world’s largest processor of commissions paid by hotels to travel agencies, from Pegasus Solutions, Inc.

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Dallas, TX, PFS’s global payment network and technology solutions serve a large and diverse customer base of leading hotels and travel agencies worldwide. The Company provides a range of services to its hotel and travel agency customers, including commissions receipt and disbursement, foreign currency exchange, and reconciliation and tracking services.

H.I.G. is joining Mark Dubrow, Chief Executive Officer, Monica French, Senior Vice President of Business Development, and Jennifer Sampson, Vice President of Product and Client Services in their efforts to transition PFS into a standalone company and strengthen its position as the leading provider of hotel commissions processing worldwide.

Todd Ofenloch, Principal of H.I.G. Capital, said, “We are very excited to be working with Mark, Monica, and Jennifer and look forward to successfully carving out PFS and pursuing the Company’s next phase of growth. PFS is the industry leader and has developed strong customer relationships with both hotels and travel agencies worldwide. H.I.G. looks forward to supporting PFS’s growth while continuing the Company’s focus on providing its customers with exceptional services and solutions.”

Mark Dubrow, who will lead the Company as CEO, commented: “We are excited about H.I.G. Capital’s investment and believe H.I.G.’s experience in corporate carve-outs will be valuable in establishing PFS as an independent company. With access to H.I.G.’s resources, we will be well positioned to continue to strengthen our service offering and leadership position in the industry.”

About Pegasus Financial Services

Headquartered in Dallas, TX, PFS is the world’s largest processor of commissions paid by hotels to travel agencies. PFS operates a global payment network and provides its hotel and travel agency customers with services including commission receipt and disbursement, foreign currency exchange, and reconciliation and tracking. The Company maintains offices in Dallas, London, and São Paulo.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $12 billion of equity capital under management. 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. specializes 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 manufacturing or service businesses. H.I.G. also has extensive experience with financial restructurings and operational turnarounds. 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 70 companies. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

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Packaging Dynamics Corp. announced earlier this week that it had agreed to sell its Thilmany Papers business unit to KPS Capital Partners. Financial terms were not announced. Included in the deal are the Thilmany Papers’ Nicolet and Kaukauna mills and Wausau Paper’s Mosinee and Rhinelander mills, all of which are located in Wisconsin, as well as the output of Verso Paper’s number five paper machine in Jay, Maine, a release dated April 22 said.

PRESS RELEASE

Packaging Dynamics Corporation (“Packaging Dynamics”), a leader in
flexible packaging and specialty papers, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell its
Thilmany Papers business unit to a new company to be formed and controlled by investment funds sponsored by
KPS Capital Partners L.P. (“KPS”).
Wausau Paper has previously announced that it had signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to sell its Specialty
Paper business to this new company being formed by KPS.
Following the closing of these transactions, the new company will include Thilmany Papers’ Nicolet and
Kaukauna mills and Wausau Paper’s Mosinee and Rhinelander mills, all of which are located in Wisconsin, as
well as the output of Verso Paper’s number five paper machine in Jay, Maine.
Roger Prevot, CEO of Packaging Dynamics, commented, “This is truly an extraordinary opportunity to contribute
our Thilmany Papers business to form a larger specialty papers company that will deliver lasting value to
customers, employees and to the communities in which it operates, and for us to focus exclusively on our
attractive downstream packaging and converting businesses.”
Seth Hollander, a partner at Kohlberg & Company, commented, “We are pleased that our efforts to transform
Thilmany’s mill operations and to build a world-class organization have positioned the paper business to make
this next step in its evolution.” Kohlberg & Company acquired Thilmany from International Paper and
subsequently combined it with Packaging Dynamics. Hollander added, “We look forward to operating Packaging
Dynamics as a focused leader in its food packaging and specialty laminations end markets and continuing to grow
those businesses organically and through additional acquisitions.”
Russ Wanke, Vice President and General Manager of Thilmany Papers, commented, “Our team here at Thilmany
is proud to be playing a critical role in the creation of a major new Wisconsin-based company. By combining
Thilmany and Wausau’s Specialty Paper Business, we and KPS are establishing one of the leading specialty paper
companies in North America. We believe the combination will result in a company with the product breadth and
customer reach to capitalize on the growing worldwide demand for specialty papers.”
Closing of the Thilmany Papers transaction is conditioned upon the completion of the Wausau transaction,
ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement between the new company and the United Steel Workers,
required regulatory clearances, and certain other customary closing conditions. While Packaging Dynamics
expects to finalize the transaction in mid-2013, there can be no certainty or assurance about the timing, specific
elements or completion of a transaction.
About Packaging Dynamics
Packaging Dynamics is a leading flexible packaging and specialty papers company providing innovative solutions
to customers in each of its four business units – BagcraftPapercon, International Converter, De Luxe and
Thilmany Papers. Packaging Dynamics is a portfolio company

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