Category: News

J.F. Lehman & Company, a middle-market private equity firm focused on the defense, aerospace and maritime sectors, said on Wednesday that it has promoted four employees. The changes are as follows: Lisa M. Steffens will become managing director of fund finance and investor relations; David L. Rattner will become managing director, legal, administration and compliance; William J. Hanenberg will become vice president; and, David F. Thomas will become senior associate. J.F. Lehman & Company has offices in New York and Washington, D.C.

PRESS RELEASE

May 29, 2013
NEW YORK – J.F. Lehman & Company, a leading middle-market private equity firm focused on the defense, aerospace and maritime sectors, is pleased to announce the promotion of Lisa M. Steffens to Managing Director, Fund Finance and Investor Relations; David L. Rattner to Managing Director, Legal, Administration and Compliance; William J. Hanenberg to Vice President and David F. Thomas to Senior Associate.
Ms. Steffens joined the firm in 2006 and served for six years as J.F. Lehman’s Director of Investor Relations. Her prior experience includes risk analysis at the Shaw Group, investment banking at Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, and intelligence analysis and engineering for the C.I.A. Ms. Steffens graduated from M.I.T. with B.S. degrees in mechanical engineering and French and earned an M.B.A. from Yale University.
Mr. Rattner joined the firm in 2011 as General Counsel. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Rattner spent eight years as general counsel of OAO Technology Solutions (“OAOT”), a former J.F. Lehman portfolio company. Prior to joining OAOT, Mr. Rattner held various general counsel and in-house legal positions at companies ranging from start-ups to a Fortune 500 company. Mr. Rattner began his legal career as an associate at Skadden Arps, earned a B.A. degree from Georgetown University and received his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Mr. Hanenberg joined the firm in 2008. Prior to joining J.F. Lehman, he was an investment banking analyst in the Global Industrials Group at Banc of America Securities. His prior experience includes analyst positions at Redwood Capital Group (a technology-focused M&A boutique) and Dealogic. Mr. Hanenberg earned a B.S. in economics from Duke University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business.
Mr. Thomas joined J.F. Lehman in 2010. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Thomas was an investment banking analyst in Credit Suisse’s Mergers and Acquisitions Group where he supported a wide range of transactions. Mr. Thomas earned a B.A. in economics from Yale University.
J.F. Lehman & Company is a leading middle-market private equity firm focused exclusively on the defense, aerospace and maritime sectors. The firm has offices in New York and Washington, D.C.

For more information about J.F. Lehman & Company, please visit www.jflpartners.com.

The post J.F. Lehman & Company Announces Promotions for Four Staffers appeared first on peHUB.

John Butman, author of Breaking Out, believes you need to embody the ideas you believe in.

Cooley LLP said on Wednesday that Jeremy Naylor has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in its tax practice. In his new position, Naylor will work with the firm’s leading venture capital group. Prior to joining Cooley LLP, Naylor worked at White & Case.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwired – May 29, 2013) – Cooley LLP announced today that Jeremy Naylor has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the Tax practice. Naylor joins Cooley from White & Case where he specialized in the representation of private equity, real estate, venture capital and hedge fund sponsors in connection with the tax aspects of structuring investment funds. At Cooley, Naylor will work extremely closely with the firm’s leading Venture Capital group.
“Cooley has the top fund formation group in the country by all measures, and with fundraising activity running very high, our team is in equally high demand,” said Jim Fulton, partner-in-charge of Cooley’s New York Office. “Jeremy will play a key role in the critically important tax arena for these clients and strengthen our general tax practice more broadly, especially as our level of cross-border work continues to grow.”
“Recently, our Venture Capital group has been involved more frequently with structurally complex international funds that raise intricate tax issues,” said Craig Dauchy, head of the firm’s Venture Capital practice. “Jeremy has the international tax background to assist these clients in designing the most tax efficient structures for their funds. We are well acquainted with Jeremy’s work and reputation and are very excited to augment our fund formation team with his exceptional tax skills.”
In addition to his extensive work in the area of private equity and venture capital fund formation, Naylor also brings to Cooley experience with tax issues in domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, structuring US real estate and joint venture transactions and executive compensation arrangements.
“I am tremendously excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with and support the tax needs of the country’s preeminent venture fund formation group,” said Naylor. “I am thrilled to join an extremely talented group of tax practitioners who day in and day out are providing forward thinking tax solutions to some of the country’s most innovative companies. When combined with the firm’s collegial culture, this is a unique opportunity for me both professionally and personally.”
Earlier this year, Mike Faber also joined Cooley’s New York office as a partner in the firm wide Tax practice. Prior to Cooley, Faber had been a tax partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Naylor earned his J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 1999, and his B.A. from Boston University in 1994.
About Cooley LLP
Cooley’s 700 attorneys have an entrepreneurial spirit and deep, substantive experience, and are committed to solving clients’ most challenging legal matters. From small clients with big ideas to international clients with diverse legal needs, Cooley has the breadth of legal resources to enable clients of all shapes and sizes to seize opportunities in today’s global marketplace. We represent clients across a broad array of dynamic industry sectors, including the financial sector, law firms, media, technology, life sciences, health care, venture capital, clean energy, real estate and retail.
Cooley has full-service offices in eleven major business and technology centers: Boston, MA; Broomfield, CO; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Palo Alto, CA; Reston, VA; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Washington, DC; and Shanghai, China.

The post Cooley LLP Names New Partner appeared first on peHUB.

James Lipton is best known for hosting the TV show Inside the Actors Studio, in which he conducts serious interviews with big-name Hollywood actors and actresses. It turns out, however, that the 86-year-old Lipton has a much more interesting past that involves French bordellos.

In an interview this week with Parade, Lipton confirmed that he was a pimp in Paris during the 50s. He stated that he befriended a prostitute in the city, who arranged the job for him after he ran out of money. Lipton said that he represented an entire bordello of women, taking a cut of the revenue.

Lipton emphasized that he believes the women, who were desperate for money just after World War II, were not exploited. He stated that his efforts were “completely regulated” and that the girls received medical inspections on a weekly basis.

“The great bordellos were still flourishing in those days before the sheriff of Paris, a woman, closed them down,” said Lipton. “It was a different time.”

Lipton called the experience “a great year” of his life. He also stated that he doesn’t think people should buy sex, and that if someone can’t “earn it” on their own, they don’t deserve it.

Lipton also mentioned his role in the comedy series Arrested Development during the interview. He has reprised his role as Warden Gentles in the Netflix-produced fourth season of the show, which was released this weekend.

(Image courtesy David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons)

Google announced on Wednesday that it has added new New York imagery to Google Maps Street View, including imagery of neighborhoods struck by Hurricane Sandy, a tour of the 9/11 Memorial, and 360-degree imagery of Central Park.

“To create a space where the New York community can share memories from before, during, and after the storm, we partnered with Historypin on a community photo and video album called Hurricane Sandy: Record, Remember, Rebuild,” says Susan Molinari, VP of Public Policy at Google. In the album, you can discover and contribute old and new images of the places that mean the most to you.”

“For example, I found this photo of a house on Staten Island’s New Dorp Beach,” adds Molinari. “‘You can take our home but you can’t take our heart’ is scrawled across its boarded up windows. That’s Staten Island for you — we persevere and help each other up when we fall.”

The 9/11 Memorial imagery includes panoramic images of the North and South pools, which let you see victims’ names engraved along the edges:

For Central Park, Google partnered with Central Park Conservancy, and collected 360-degree imagery of trails, paths and plazas:

A guy walks into a store. No, it’s not the opening salvo for a bad joke. It’s a critical moment of truth for the in-store and brand marketer that, today, is complicated — even compromised — by the hyperconnected consumer. You know this person. He’s standing in the aisle striking the familiar pose: feet planted, arms extended to form the smartphone hunch. He’s lost in a parallel world. What’s he doing? Searching, browsing reviews, comparing prices, cultivating social input. Is he gaining conviction or changing his mind?

That’s the question on the minds of retailers today. Gartner estimates that two-thirds of U.S. smartphone users reach for their devices to check prices, read reviews and compare product information — both inside and outside the store. This hyperconnected consumer is a game-changer for marketers. Why? Because the path to purchase, which was once relatively easy to model and influence, has become a muddled and meandering maze — more of a walkabout than a path that follows any deliberate course. Think of it as the flight of the bumblebee — not the seasonal migration of songbirds.

Brands need to tap into this new dynamic by ensuring that, as the path winds and wends, they’re part of the experience. It’s easier said than done. But here are some examples of how brands are meeting the challenge:

Develop customer intimacy. Every strategy begins with an understanding of your target customer. We already know that. But it’s worth restating because, here, it implies something vaguely different. It’s not only about like-kind segmentation based on customer needs and wants; it’s also about developing a deep understanding of customers’ connected behaviors, preferences, and usage patterns. Brands measure these patterns and, increasingly, look to advanced ethnographic techniques to observe what isn’t often reliably reported by customers.

Think mobile first. Ninety percent of consumers use multiple screens in sequence over the course of a day. And, within that sequence, Google suggests that 65% of purchases begin on a smartphone, from which 61% advance to a PC or laptop, and 4% terminate on a tablet. This points to the primacy of mobile. Many brands adopt a mobile-first strategy to direct multichannel experience design. By pegging your efforts to mobile you ensure that experiences are optimized to what is fast becoming the primary use case — and you ensure that the physical constraints of the mobile medium gets the first-order attention it requires.

Integrate experiences across channels. Today’s multichannel realities can easily create fragmented brand experiences. And, the presence of a mobile device can easily distract consumers from the buying journey. That’s why it’s so important to design experiences that make mobile an asset, not a liability — a magnet, not a wedge. Case in point: Beauty supply retailer Sephora integrates mobile across the in-store shopping experience, including the use of mobile payments, the ability to scan items to create shopping lists and access reviews in the store, and innovative tactics like “endless aisle,” which allows consumers to scan promoted QR codes for on-demand shipping of highly giftable items. One scan and Aunt Sally’s present is off of your mental checklist.

Deliver targeted experiences. Big data means that we know more about consumers than they care to contemplate. Creepiness aside, it also means we can deliver offers and experiences that are both relevant and welcomed. With mobile, targeting data encompasses elements of location and proximity. Of course, you can easily see how this story could end badly — after all, proximity doesn’t always mean permission. But, particularly for the most loyal customers, mobile can be a powerful way to engage with and influence consumers in close company to potential purchase moments.

Don’t forget the basics. It’s easy to get starry-eyed contemplating the universe of mobile possibilities, but sometimes the best tactics are close to the ground. For example, Gartner believes that mobile search yields higher conversion rates than traditional search. Why? Because mobile search is inherently local and exhibits high commercial intent. You search on your smartphone, not to chase shiny objects or to kill time, but to fulfill a near and present need. The upshot? Sometimes the mobile magic is the simple combination of a mobile search strategy tied to a mobile-optimized website. Or, it’s social reviews integrated into your mobile commerce site. It may not impress peers at the next industry cocktail party, but the ROI on the proven basics is bound to impress your boss.

So, next time you see the hyperconnected consumer, standing aisle-side and astride, performing the smartphone hunch, ask yourself: Is that the pose of a customer at risk — or is it a customer engaged? Smart mobile marketing is about finding ways to turn the former into the latter.

Innovations in Digital and Mobile Marketing
An HBR Insight Center

• The Rise of the Mobile-Only User
• A Futurist Looks at the Future of Marketing
• Welcome to the One-Screen World
• What Google Glass Reveals About Privacy Fears

Like other industries, call centers and their contact-center relatives have been looking more to cloud computing and relying less on on-premise gear. One of the beneficiaries of that trend is Five9, which makes software for call- and contact-center employees that runs on Five9 servers in colocation facilities.

Five9 was founded in 2001 “as a pure-play Software as a Service (SaaS) back in the ASP (application service provider) day,” said Mike Burkland, the president and CEO. Over the years, the San Ramon, Calif.-based company has moved from doing business mainly with small and medium-sized businesses to large companies, too. It claims more than 1,800 customers.

The company’s software lets customers have automated call-answering with voice recognition. It routes calls to available representatives and lets employees handle both inbound and outbound calls. It’s possible for managers to keep an eye on employee efficiency, and the system hooks in easily with customer-relationship management (CRM) software. Now, Burkland said, it’s just a matter of selling the concept to more companies.

That’s where Five9′s new round of funding comes in. On Wednesday the company announced $34.5 million in funding, including $22 million of series D equity led by SAP Ventures and $12.5 million in bank revolver debt from City National Bank. Previous investors Adams Street Partners, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners and Partech International also participated in the equity round. The company has now raised $71.6 million in total venture funding.

In its campaign to phase out proprietary software running on these facilities’ on-premise gear, Five9 naturally faces competition from vendors offering those solutions, particularly Avaya, Genesys and Cisco, Burkland said. As for smaller cloud-based competitors, Burkland said, “They tend to come and go.”

Part of the appeal of horizontal SaaS products from Five9 and their ilk is that customers don’t need to worry about paying up front for hardware or on an ongoing basis for external support or internal management. The pay is more granular, as customers pay per seat per month. While there are fewer revenue streams to count on, the revenue comes in more frequently. “There’s very low risk profiles compared to their classic enterprise software brethren, which used to have to make every new quarter with customer sales,” Burkland said. The trick is to keep existing customers while adding new ones, and that’s what Five9 is aiming to do.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• A near-term outlook for big data
• Sector RoadMap: Social customer service in 2013
• Sector RoadMap: Content personalization in 2013

Although the Samsung Galaxy S 4 is one of the hottest selling Android phones currently, its size is just too much for some hands to take. So it makes perfect sense for Samsung to create a smaller version dubbed the “mini”. The company did the same with it’s Galaxy S 3 last year. It’s likely Samsung will introduce a Galaxy S 4 Mini at a planned June event in London, but we now have a good idea of what to expect.

Once again, mobile device benchmarking applications provide the details: All About Samsung, a German enthusiast blog, caught sight of the likely Galaxy S 4 Mini specifications on Wednesday. If you were expecting the same phone in a smaller version, plan to be surprised because Samsung has cut back in some areas as compared to its flagship Galaxy S 4.

Instead of using Samsung’s latest Exynos silicon, the tested Galaxy S 4 Mini uses a dual-core 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S400 chip and Adreno 305 graphics. In comparison, the Galaxy S 4 uses a higher-end 1.9 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S600 processor. And although the benchmarks don’t indicate it, I wouldn’t expect the Mini to offer all of the same gesture functions found in its big brother, based on that chipset: The required screen digitizer would also add to the cost.

The Mini also looks to sacrifice display resolution — in a big way. I would have expected a drop from 1920 x 1080 to 1280 x 720 resolution, but the tested Mini uses an older qHD res of 960 x 540. Still, on an expected 4.3-inch display, that works out to a relatively crisp 240 pixels per inch.

The benchmarks also indicate an 8 megapixel rear camera, 2.1 megapixel front camera, what looks to be 1.5 GB of memory and Android 4.2.2 installed. If the benchmarks are correct — and we should know in a few weeks — the slightly smaller Galaxy S 4 Mini is less of a petite powerhouse and more of a mid-range phone that would fit in the $149 with contract price band.

But it could be perfect for folks like my wife: She pulled the SIM out of her iPhone 4S last week — she’s due for an upgrade — and popped it in the Galaxy S 4. Overall, she liked the phone, but said she couldn’t use it because it felt too big in her hands. Perhaps a Galaxy S 4 Mini would be the perfect fit?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• The future of mobile: a segment analysis by GigaOM Pro
• Mobile 2012 and beyond
• Tablet market to hit over 377 million units by 2016

The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple is probably the best-connected Apple blogger on the planet at the moment, so when he posts an entry called “WWDC Expectations,” the entire community’s ears perk up. The annual Apple developer conference is only a couple of weeks away, and there’s been lots of speculation about what we might see. Dalrymple brings us back to earth, outlining pretty clearly what we will or won’t see.

WWDC, otherwise known as the Worldwide Developers Conference, is for developers, Dalrymple rightly reminds us, and that’s where we’ll see the bulk of the keynote focused. Those hoping for a new iPhone or iPad will have to wait a while longer, according to his report, but we won’t see a complete lack of new hardware.

The Loop says to look to the Mac family as a source of some fresh products at WWDC. That makes sense, given recent reports that MacBook Air stock at retail outlets in particular is dwindling, and given that we haven’t seen an update on that front since June last year. Apple also introduced the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro at WWDC last June, so that’s another area where we might see an update, though it did just receive some mid-cycle changes back in February.

Other sources have said that we will see new MacBook Pro and Retina MacBook Pro refreshes at WWDC, and that Mac notebook refreshes will be the key focus in terms of hardware developments at the event.

Dalrymple quickly changes gears to what he believes will be the highlight of the show, which is on the software side. iOS and OS X will definitely be a highlight, he suggests, though he does caution that the changes on the iOS 7 side, which are rumored to be guided by Apple design lead Jony Ive and are said to be quite considerable, might not be as extreme as they are being characterized by some early reports.

The report closes by flagging deeper service integration between iOS and OS X, as bridged by things like iCloud that tie the two platforms together. Apple has definitely been moving in that direction in recent iterations of both its mobile and desktop OS, so that would not come as a surprise.

Apple has already done its best to manage expectations for this event without giving anything away, with CEO Tim Cook setting sights squarely on the fall and 2014 for new product launches during a recent conference call. Short of an official press release detailing its agenda, it doesn’t get much better than a post from The Loop in terms of giving us an even more accurate picture of what’s on the docket for the WWDC keynote.

If a Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 with only WiFi isn’t good enough for you, the opportunity to buy an LTE version could be coming soon. The FCC just put their blessing on a version that is packing an 850 / 1900 GSM radio along with LTE Bands 2, 4, 5, and 17. These should work on AT&T’s network.

Now FCC certification doesn’t mean that it will definitely be released or that AT&T will announce a carrier version, but if you’re wishing for an LTE version, there is reason to hope.

source: FCC
via: Engadget

Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 passes through the FCC with AT&T LTE radio in tow

Apple CEO Tim Cook made an appearance at the All Things Digital conference to talk about everything from wearable computers and Google Glass to taxes and Apple’s market share. It’s an incredibly fascinating look into the mind of one of the most powerful men in tech today, and it’s worth a watch.

The full interview talk clocks in at 81 minutes in length, but Apple fans, and tech fans in general, will want to check it out.

Those looking for new product announcements will be disappointed by the above video, but Apple fans won’t have long to wait to hear of what the company has up its sleeve as WWDC is only a few weeks away. A rumored iOS 7 redesign, and other software and hardware products will presumably be shown during the opening keynote on Monday, June 10.

In a piece in Focus Taiwan, analyst Laura Chen of BNP Paribas Securities Taiwan Ltd talked about HTC’s successes in the first half of the year and praised their plans for the second half, revealing some details in the meantime. While this isn’t official information, Chen seems to know what she’s talking about as a lot of her information fits perfectly with earlier rumors, all but confirming a June release for the HTC M4 and a fall release for the new version of the HTC Butterfly (currently called the Butterfly S).

Chen also mentions another flagship device with a 5.9-inch screen and an “upgraded” CPU (maybe the Snapdragon 800?), which we will presume to be the HTC One with a bigger screen as we’ve reported before. She also reveals that the Butterfly S will be aimed at Asian, European, Middle Eastern and African markets, while the M4 will likely be released worldwide.

As we have gathered from other rumors, both new devices will feature BoomSound speakers, 2 GB of RAM an UltraPixel camera and Sense 5 (featuring BlinkFeed among other software). The Butterfly S will ship with a full HD display and a body presumably similar to the original Butterfly. The M4 will have a smaller, 4.3-inch 720p resolution display and a weaker dual-core processor with 16 GB of internal storage.

While none of these rumors have been verified by HTC just yet, an official confirmation is inevitable. Let us know in the comments if either of these devices interest you and stay tuned for more information as we get it.

Source: Focus Taiwan

Come comment on this article: HTC M4 set for a June release date with the Butterfly 2 to follow in the third quarter of 2013

Last night, President Obama delivered remarks before over 200 members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community at a White House celebration of AAPI Heritage Month. The audience included national, state, and local community leaders; elected officials; leaders of philanthropic, youth, and arts organizations; and members of the President’s Administration, including Sri Srinivasan, who was recently confirmed unanimously by the Senate to become the first South Asian American federal appeals court judge.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration in the East Room of the White House, May 28, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

In his remarks, the President highlighted the contributions of generations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who, in his words, “helped build this country, and helped to defend this country, and to make America what it is today.”  He said:

We value these voices because from the very beginning, ours has been a nation of immigrants; a nation challenged and shaped and pushed ever forward by diverse perspectives and fresh thinking.  And in order to keep our edge and stay ahead in the global race, we need to figure out a way to fix our broken immigration system — to welcome that infusion of newness, while still maintaining the enduring strength of our laws.  And the service and the leadership of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have proved that point time and again. 

read more

Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine is feeling the heat of American scorn today after saying, “I hate this country” live on NBC’s The Voice. Levine is a judge and coach on the show, and was upset about two of his singers not advancing. However much grief he gets for his comment, however, it seems he is now dating a woman who could easily take his mind off of it.

According to a People magazine report, Levine is now dating Danish model Nina Agdal. The publications cites an unnamed “source close to Levine” as saying the couple are dating casually, and that they are “just getting to know each other.”

Agdal is not the first model Levine has dated. From 2010 to 2012, Levine dated Victoria’s Secret model Anne Vyalitsyna. More recently, Levine was linked to Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo, who he reportedly broke up with in March.

(Image courtesy gashleygoh/Wikimedia Commons)

Amazon announced a new Login with Amazon service for websites, apps and games, which lets users login using their Amazon accounts. The company says it reduces sign-in friction and can drive higher customer engagement and conversions.

Obviously the feature would compete directly with offerings from companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter.

“Login with Amazon enables app developers and website owners to leverage Amazon’s trusted sign-in solution, allowing them to focus on providing a great experience for their customers,” said Michael Carr, Amazon Vice President, eCommerce Services. “Amazon customers now have a hassle-free way to quickly and securely sign-in to apps, games and websites, without having to remember yet another password.”

Amazon subsidiaries Zappos and Woot have been using the Amazon login feature, and the company says it has seen “significant” customer adoption. Zappos in particular saw 40% of its new customers choose to sign-in with an Amazon account. On Woot, new customers picked Login with Amazon two times more often than any other social login on the site. Those customers, Amazon says, had the highest conversion rate.

Amazon appears to be looking to capture users while they’re on properties across the web more than ever before. They also recently launched a “Send to Kindle” button for content, enabling users to send articles for later reading on their Kindle devices/apps.

You can find all the necessary documentation for Login with Amazon for web, Android and iOS here.

Kelly Rowland recently broke down during a live performance of her song “Dirty Laundry”, which talks about an abusive relationship and her feelings about former stage-sister Beyonce’s success.

Rowland wrote the song after her ex-boyfriend tried to turn her against Beyonce, whose solo career went off the charts after Destiny’s Child split up.

“Doing this song for me was so therapeutic,” Rowland said. “Honesty, like my mama always says, is always the best policy.”

The lyrics touch upon Rowland’s jealousy and subsequent guilt after Beyonce went on to become the Queen Bey, leaving her Destiny’s Child mates behind in the dust.

“Bird in a cafe/ You’d never know what I was dealing with…Went our separate ways but I was happy she was killin’ it/ Bittersweet, she was up, I was down/ No lie, I feel good for her but what do I do now?”

After the group went their own ways, Rowland tried out an acting career and appeared in films like “Freddy Vs. Jason”. Michelle Williams went on to have a successful gospel career. Both joined Beyonce onstage for the Super Bowl halftime show this year.

Hollander Home Fashions, a portfolio company of HGGC, has acquired Louisville Bedding’s basic bedding retail business. No financial terms were disclosed. Louisville Bedding’s basic bedding retail business has been renamed Hollander Sleep Products. Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Hollander Sleep Products is a provider of bed pillows, mattress pads, down comforters and related products.

PRESS RELEASE

PALO ALTO, Calif.—May 29, 2013—HGGC (formerly Huntsman Gay Global Capital), a leading middle market private equity firm, today announced that its portfolio company, Hollander Home Fashions, has completed the strategic addition of Louisville Bedding’s basic bedding retail business, and will now operate under the name Hollander Sleep Products. The combination creates, according to Home Textiles Today, the largest utility bedding pure play supplier in North America and the third largest supplier in the industry, with revenues in excess of $500 million. Louisville Bedding will retain its contract bedding business. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
Hollander Sleep Products has acquired all of the operations in North America related to Louisville’s retail business, and many of the associates at Louisville Bedding will be joining Hollander. The acquisition will provide Hollander with a larger presence in key product categories and access to new distribution channels, as well as add consequential partners to its brand portfolio, including Simmons, Beautyrest, and Nautica.
“This is a transformative transaction for not just Hollander Sleep Products, but for the overall bedding industry, as it solidifies our leadership position as the largest utility bedding manufacturer in North America” said Chris Baker, CEO of Hollander. “We are delighted to complete the purchase and look forward to combining the strengths of both companies to create a dynamic organization ideally positioned to maximize basic bedding sales for our customers. The acquisition provides additional manufacturing facilities in North America, expanding our capabilities and enhancing our distribution network.”
Hollander, based in Boca Raton, Florida, manufactures bed pillows, mattress pads, down comforters and other bedding products sold under designer brands including Ralph Lauren and Laura Ashley, as well as North American retailer private labels and its own Hollander brand. Hollander owns and operates six manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada, and has offices in China and India focused on sourcing, product development and quality control.
“Chris Baker and the Hollander management team have done a tremendous job guiding the company through a challenging economy and retail environment over the past few years, and we were very pleased to support them in this transaction,” said Jake Hodgman, Principal of HGGC. “The strategic addition of Louisville Bedding’s retail business is a tremendous accomplishment that immediately launches Hollander to a new level, and it highlights the HGGC investment approach of partnering with outstanding management teams to drive transformative change in companies and their industries.”
About HGGC
HGGC is a $1.1 billion private equity fund focusing on leveraged buyout, recapitalizations and growth equity transactions in the middle market. With years of collective deal and operational experience, HGGC brings best practices from bulge-bracket private equity and global corporations to the middle market. For more information, please visit www.hgggc.com.
About Hollander Sleep Products
Hollander Sleep Products is based in Boca Raton, Florida with significant market share in bed pillows, mattress pads, down comforters and related products. Hollander operates its main showroom in New York City, has nine manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada and offices in China and India focused on sourcing, product development and quality control. Hollander’s products appear under a number of well-known brand names including Ralph Lauren, Chaps, Charisma, Laura Ashley, Simmons, Beautyrest, Nautica, Court of Versailles, Waverly, Homedics, Croscill and Live Comfortably.

The post Hollander Home Fashions Acquires Louisville Bedding’s Retail Business appeared first on peHUB.

A few years ago, if you wanted to join a website you had to create a brand new account, enter your email address and come up with yet another password to try and remember. That’s all changed of course and now you can log into a vast amount of sites using existing credentials for services like Google, Facebook and Yahoo.

Today, Amazon adds itself to the list of services you can use to gain access to other sites with the introduction of Login with Amazon.

The official press release reads like the feature is something brand new and never been done anywhere before, which is quite amusing considering how late Amazon is to the single sign-on party. Still, another login option will always be welcome and provides a good alternative for anyone worried about how many sites they already access through Google and/or Facebook.

“Login with Amazon enables app developers and website owners to leverage Amazon’s trusted sign-in solution, allowing them to focus on providing a great experience for their customers,” Michael Carr, Amazon Vice President, eCommerce Services said. “Amazon customers now have a hassle-free way to quickly and securely sign-in to apps, games and websites, without having to remember yet another password”.

Amazon’s single sign-on feature can be used on websites and iOS and Android apps.