Blog

In what can only be described as brutal, senseless, and disturbing, a british soldier was hacked to death in the middle of a street in London. He was hit with a car before the hacking, with the two men responsible not running from the scene but using it as a means to make a statement. The attack took place in a neighborhood called Woodwich, with the incident ending in a shootout and both suspects taken to separate hospitals.

The video below shows one of the attackers with bloody hands, trying to explain why they butchered the man on the street.

“We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone” the assailant continued, “The only reasons we killed this man this is because Muslims are dying daily”

There were numerous witness reports, with one claiming they were trying to remove the victim’s organs. The suspects were trying to get people to take pictures of them, as they wanted the event to be highly publicized.

The attack lead to heightened security around London, with the police anticipating counter attacks against the muslim community. Riot police were dispersed, as a top security measure. The Muslim Council of Britain immediately came down on the attack, ensuring that the attack didn’t represent the Islamic faith. They also urged London “to come together in solidarity to ensure the forces of hatred do not prevail.” There has only been one account of retaliation, as a man with two knives threw a smoke grenade into a mosque in east London. He demanded someone to come out and claim responsibility for the attack. The man was later arrested.

Along with heightened police security, London barracks were put on high alert in anticipation of another attack taking place. The victim was a member of the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, he was on his way back to his station when the attack took place.

David Cameron, prime minister of England, immediately responded to the attack.

We will never buckle to terror

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) May 22, 2013

[Source: CNN]

Trevor Bolder, a name famous among David Bowie fans the world over, died Tuesday at the age of 62 after a bout with pancreatic cancer.

Bolder was one of the founding members of David Bowie’s band – The Spiders From Mars. He also joined with the band Uriah Heep in the 70s and played with them throughout the rest of his career. In fact, he most recently appeared on the band’s latest album, Into The Wild, in 2011.

Things were looking up for Bolder earlier this year when he underwent surgery to have part of his pancreas removed. The cancer was not completely eliminated, however, and it eventually took his life.

Uriah Heep issued the following statement regarding the loss of their band mate and friend:

“It is with great sadness that Uriah Heep announce the passing of our friend the amazing Trevor Bolder, who has passed away after his long fight with cancer. Trevor was an all time great, one of the outstanding musicians of his generation, and one of the finest and most influential bass players that Britain ever produced. His long time membership of Uriah Heep brought the band’s music, and Trevor’s virtuosity and enthusiasm, to hundreds of thousands of fans across the world. He joined the band in 1976 and, barring one short break, was a fixture until his ill health forced him to take a step back early this year.”

It is doubly unfortunate that Bolder was actually meant to play with Uriah Heep in concert in June. The remaining members will undoubtedly pay a fantastic tribute to him, along with fans, at the concert.

[h/t: Yahoo Music]

Following a tsunami of bad news for electric car maker Fisker Automotive earlier this year, the company has been silent in recent months, as it’s been figuring out what will happen to it: will it be acquired, will it sell off its assets, will it declare bankruptcy? Well, according to Reuters, a group of investors that includes former General Motors exec Bob Lutz and Chinese auto tech company Wanxiang are offering to buy Fisker for $20 million in a prepackaged bankruptcy deal.

If Fisker is bought for $20 million that would mean the company would be bought for less than 1 percent of its reported $2.2 billion valuation when it launched the Karma in the late summer of 2011. Twenty million dollars is not quite two percent of the total funding ($1.2 billion) that Fisker raised. Fisker also owes the U.S. government another $171 million to pay back its loan. That’s got to be one of the biggest losses in venture capital history.

Row of Fisker Karmas

Earlier this year there were media reports that Fisker was being bids for between $200 million to $350 million from different Chinese auto companies. But either those reports put the bidding high (if so, I would speculate they were leaked by Fisker to help with bidding), something changed in the valuation of Fisker (it plummeted), or the bidders realized a lower valuation of Fisker after looking under the hood.

In a similar end game, solar thin film company Miasole was sold for $30 million to Chinese renewable power company Hanergy, after raising at least $500 million in venture capital funding. Both Miasole and Fisker were backed by Valley firm Kleiner Perkins.

Fisker’s potential bidders include VL Automotive, which is a joint venture between Lutz and Gilbert Villarreal. VL Automotive wants to turn the Fisker Karma into an internal combustion engine car, stripping out the electric drivetrain and giving it an engine.

Read my long investigative story on Fisker: A look under the hood: why electric car startup Fisker crashed and burned.

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

• Tesla’s Model X could make the electric SUV a hit
• Green IT Q4: solar, subsidies and the outlook for EVs
• Green IT Q1: Cleantech Breaking Out — and Bracing for Hard Times

An injection-molding method that can reduce costs and increase the use of titanium and other durable, lightweight and corrosion-resistant metals has earned a 2013 TechConnect National Innovation Award.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed an organic binder to reduce the impurities in reactive metals, allowing them to be utilized in a powder injection molding process. Standard binders used to hold metal powders together in high volume molding processes can introduce oxygen, nitrogen or carbon into the metal as impurities, which can result in impacts to their mechanical properties (i.e. potentially making machine parts less structurally sound). But the PNNL-developed method uses a novel binder system that leaves very few impurities when it is completely burned up during a later stage of fabrication.

The innovation also reduces or eliminates the swelling, cracking or other distortions to the component that can result from traditional binders used in powder injection molding processes. The result is faster production time and lower costs.

The TechConnect Innovation awards are given annually to top early-stage innovations from around the world by TechConnect, a global outreach and development organization based in Austin, Texas. TechConnect honors technologies based on the potential impact they will have on specific industrial sectors.

“Titanium is strong and corrosion resistant, making it ideally suited to the automotive, aerospace, chemical production, and biomedical implant or equipment industries,” said PNNL commercialization manager Eric Lund. “However, until now, use of injection molding to produce titanium components has been severely limited by the introduction of impurities with the binders, which then degrade the component properties.”

Lund noted the PNNL-developed method overcomes this problem by using an organic binder that is cleanly removed during sintering and leaves few or no impurities that can cause degradation in material properties.

PNNL will be recognized at the TechConnect National Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C. later this month. The PNNL research team includes Eric Nyberg, Kevin Simmons and former staff member Scott Weil.

For information on commercializing the binder for use in injection molding processes, contact Eric Lund at (509) 375-3764.

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a $465 million loan to Tesla Motors, the California-based electric car manufacturer founded in 2003. The loan was a part of the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program, and was used as a political talking point last month by former conservative Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. Palin had used the loan as an example of “crony capitalism” by the Obama administration and called Tesla a “loser,” despite the fact that the loan program had been signed into law by former Republican President George W. Bush.

Now it appears that Sarah Palin will have to eat crow, as Tesla has repaid the entire government loan nine years early.

Tesla today announced that it has paid off the loan with one final, huge payment of $451.8 million. The funds were paid out of nearly $1 billion in funding that was raised in Tesla common stock and convertible senior note offerings this month. The company now employs more than 3,000 U.S. citizens.

“When you’re talking about cutting-edge clean energy technologies, not every investment will succeed – but today’s repayment is the latest indication that the Energy Department’s portfolio of more than 30 loans is delivering big results for the American economy while costing far less than anticipated,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

The loan repayment is yet more good news for Tesla investors. Earlier this month, the car company’s Tesla Model S car was given a 99 out of 100 score in Consumer Reports – the highest rating the publication has ever given a car.

“I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate,” said Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. “I hope we did you proud.”

(Image courtesy Tesla Motors)

Jodi Arias awaits her fate today as the jury goes back into deliberation on whether or not to give her the death penalty for the 2008 murder of her boyfriend, Travis Alexander. The jurors talked for just two hours today before declaring an impasse to the judge, who sent them back to work it out.

“I do not wish or intend to force a verdict,” Judge Sherry Stephens said.

A death penalty verdict for first degree murder usually calls for a victim to have been killed in an “exceptionally cruel” way; Alexander was found shot and stabbed to death and had his throat slit. Arias admitted to killing him, but said she did it in self defense after he attacked her.

Making things difficult for the jurors is the fact that Arias–who recently said she preferred death to life in prison–has changed her tune and begged them to spare her, saying she wanted to use her time in prison to do things that would have a positive impact on others.

“I didn’t know then that if I got life instead of death that I could become employed and self-reliant. I didn’t know that if I got life there are many things I can do to affect positive change and contribute in a meaningful way. In prison there are programs I can start and people I can help.” said Arias.

Among her goals are implementing a prison literacy program, teaching sign language and Spanish, and donating her hair to cancer survivors.

Dane Boedigheimer and Spencer Grove, the creators of the Cartoon Network show, Annoying Orange, have been named in a lawsuit claiming the duo copied their citrus from a previous ad campaign for the North Dakota Department of Transportation. Reports indicate the creative team is being sued by H2M, an ad agency based in Fargo, North Dakota. As upcoming videos indicate, the crux of the lawsuit is that Boedigheimer and Grove copied their Annoying Orange character from a similar character H2M created for aforementioned NDDOT ad push.

The lawsuit states:

“Defendants Dane Boedigheimer and Spencer Grove were raised, resided, educated, attended film school, were employed and first obtained access to ‘The Talking Orange’ in North Dakota and western Minnesota — the same area where Plaintiff H2M’s ‘The Talking Orange’ and its derivatives, were widely disseminated on cable television….”

Here are some examples of the H2M’s creations with the character in question:

The obvious difference comes from the eyes, of course, but is that enough to claim Annoying Orange is, if not an original creation, different enough to be considered fair use or, perhaps a satirical recreation? Or is this just a case of an ad agency seeing something similar to their creation take off in ways they didn’t imagine, and now they simply want a piece of that Cartoon Network pie that helps sustain Boedigheimer and Grove?

The fact that the two resided in the same area the Talking Orange campaign hits, however, does seem to imply some kind of inspiration for their popular Annoying Orange character? With that in mind, what are the chances Cartoon Network just settles with Fargo ad agency and moves on with minimal change to their popular fruit character?

As drones have become more advanced, the American public has become more aware of the devices. The unmanned flying machines could soon be used by private companies (to deliver pizza, for example) and are already heavily used by the military and some U.S. police forces. With the proliferation of this new technology has come a new public scrutiny.

Today, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed that at least four U.S. citizens have been killed in military drone strikes since 2009. According to an Associated Press report, the admission was made in a letter Holder sent to Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee.

The strikes occurred in Pakistan and Yemen. One of the drone strikes was targeted to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, an American and Yemeni imam who is alleged to have been a recruiter for al-Qaeda. The three other U.S. citizens killed in drone strikes were not specifically targeted. Al-Awlaki’s son, Abdulrahman, was also killed in the attack, which occurred in Yemen in 2011. An American named Samir Khan was also killed in the drone strike that killed al-Awlaki. Another American named Jude kenan Mohammed was reportedly killed in a drone strike in Pakistan.

Ronald Poppo, the homeless man who was the victim of the infamous “Miami Cannibal”, Rudy Eugene, is doing as well as can be expected. After being attacked by Eugene near a busy Florida road, Poppo lost both eyes and most of his nose. Eugene, who police suspected was high on “bath salts”–a synthetic drug–tore the flesh from Poppo’s face with his teeth and then turned on officers, who shot him to death. The grisly attack was the beginning of a string of weird incidents around the country last year, which set off much speculation about the dangers of synthetic marijuana.

But during the mediastorm, we barely heard a thing about the victim, who came away from the gruesome event disfigured but alive. A photo of him is floating around the web this week; be warned, it’s a pretty graphic image. This is what Poppo looks like today, one year later.

Janet Jackson has now officially become a billionaire.

The pop star has earned $260 million in album sales since she debuted in the early ’80s, $81 million from music and book publishing fees, $500 million on her sold-out world tours and related tour sponsorships, and over $300 million from movie roles. Now that she’s happily married (to businessman Wissam Al Mana), she’s ready to get back in the studio.

“I am working on a new project now. We are creating the concept and initial thoughts on the music,” she said.

Jackson, who has always been intensely private about her personal life, managed to marry Al Mana in a secret ceremony last year, months before any of the media got wind of it. Her fans now have something to look forward to as she puts together new songs; as one of the best-selling artists of all time, she has quite a rep to live up to.

Well damn… who knew Janet Jackson was BALLIN’ like this?!? fb.me/SaT3N0SS

— GOSSIPONTHIS.COM (@GossipOnThis) May 22, 2013

Janet Jackson is a BILLIONAIRE… in her own right

— GitEmGirl (@GitEmGirl) May 22, 2013

I really need to figure out how I’m related to Janet Jackson so I can hit her up for a million since she’s been declared a billionaire now.

— Martel Jackson (@Sh8dyTel) May 22, 2013

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Heinrich Rohrer has died at the age of 79.

According to a New York Times obituary, Rohrer died last Thursday night or Friday morning in Wollerau, Switzerland. His family has stated that he died of natural causes.

Rohrer studied physics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology during the 1950s, where he studied superconductors. In 1963 he joined IBM, where he began working out of the company’s research laboratory in Rüschlikon, Switzerland.

In 1981 Rohrer and his colleague Gerd Binning unveiled the first-ever scanning tunneling microscope at an IBM research facility in Zürich. The technology enabled physicists to image individual atoms and other structures at the atomic level. For their discovery, Rohrer and Binning were awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics, which they shared with German physicist Ernst Ruska, who designed the first electron microscope.

The scanning tunneling microscope has since been used for the study viruses, creating silicon chips, and many other applications. Its design has also been improved upon, allowing scientists to manipulate atoms and atomic structures. In addition to a large portion of modern atomic science, things such as IBM’s recently released “World’s Smallest Movie” would not have been possible without the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope.

Google Chrome for Android has been updated today and brings forth full screen browsing for your viewing pleasures. The version is 27 and here’s what else you can expect within the update per Google:

The Chrome team is excited to announce the promotion of Chrome 27 to the Stable channel. Chrome for Android 27.0.1453.90 contains a number of improvments including:

• Fullscreen on phones – Scroll down the page and the toolbar will disappear.
• Simpler searching – Searching from the omnibox will keep your search query visible in the omnibox, making it easier to edit, and show more on your search result page.
• Client-side certificate support – You can now access sites that require you to use a certificate and Chrome will allow you to select an installed certificate
• Tab history on tablets – Long press the browser back button to view your tab histor
• And a ton of stability and performance fixes

Download link after the break! Anyone excited about this new feature?

 
Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: Full screen browsing comes to mobile Chrome with new update

Florida wildlife officials are investigating a video posted to Facebook last year that shows a man jumping into a body of water…right on top of a manatee which was swimming with another of its kind. Investigators believe they are a mother and calf.

The man can be heard laughing with his friends–who apparently baited the manatees by running fresh water from a hose–right before he jumps onto the creatures. The men could face a $25,000 fine for violating the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act, a misdemeanor.

“It’s sad,” FWC Officer Lenny Salberg said. “Here you have a manatee just swimming down a canal not hurting anyone. To actually go out of your way to harm them, what would make you want to do that?”

BDCA Adviser has hired a team of lower middle market executives: Lloyd Sams, Scott Chappell, and Damien Dovi. The three execs previously worked at BIA Digital Partners. BDCA, which is backed by American Realty Capital, focuses on middle market investment opportunities in a variety of industries.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, May 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — BDCA Adviser LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser that manages Business Development Corporation of America, a non-traded business development company, has hired a team of veteran lower middle market investors to launch its lower middle market investing activities. Lloyd Sams , Scott Chappell , and Damien Dovi joined the firm in May to spearhead this initiative.
BDCA Adviser focuses on both sponsored and non-sponsored middle market investment opportunities in a variety of industries. This new team has significant experience providing both senior and junior capital to small and medium-sized businesses seeking funding for acquisitions, refinancings, or organic growth.
“Lloyd, Scott and Damien bring tremendous experience to BDCA’s platform as we continue to increase our participation in direct-to-company, lower middle market financings,” comments Bob Grunewald , Chief Investment Officer at BDCA Adviser. “In addition to attractive senior secured financing opportunities in the lower middle market, they also will expand our product offering into higher-yielding, junior capital solutions.”
Sams, Chappell and Dovi have worked together for the past 11 years at BIA Digital Partners, a set of private mezzanine funds focused on the business services, media and telecom sectors. Both funds are Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) and serve the lower middle market, generally defined as companies with between $3 million and $20 million of EBITDA and $30 million to $150 million of total enterprise value. They will pursue a similar strategy at BDCA and can deliver senior solutions as well as unitranche, subordinated debt and structured equity.
Managing Directors, Sams and Chappell, previously worked at First Union National Bank (now Wells Fargo). Sams managed the Communications and Media Finance Group, the largest specialized lending division at the bank, for seven years. Previously he was a team leader and banker at The First National Bank of Chicago (now JP Morgan). Sams was a co-founder of BIA Digital Partners in 1999. Chappell was a banker in the Private Placements and High Yield Groups within First Union Capital Markets for six years. He later joined Thomas Weisel Partners (now Stifel Nicholas) as an investment banker before joining BIA Digital Partners in 2001. Dovi, a Director at BDCA, was hired by BIA Digital Partners in 2002 after three years in the Sports and Entertainment Group at Bank of America. He moved from an underwriting role into an origination role at BIA Digital Partners in 2010.
“When combined with our recently-hired Middle Market team of Joe Taylor , Jim Fisher and Doug Lyons , this Lower Middle Market Team gives BDCA Adviser full coverage of U.S. businesses that have been starved for growth capital since the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. We believe BDCA can deliver flexible, cost-effective capital to the entire middle market through this expanded team,” states Pete Budko , Chief Executive Officer of BDCA Adviser.
BDCA Adviser is owned by American Realty Capital, a full-service investment advisory firm sponsoring a series of investment programs with an emphasis on publicly registered non-traded real estate offerings.

The post BDCA Adviser Hires Sams, Chappell and Dovi appeared first on peHUB.

Google Drive for mobile devices has been updated and brings forth a new UI as well as some useful tools. Here’s what you can expect with the update:

– New grid view makes it easier to find your files
– New quick preview lets you view photos and other files from within the app
– Scan documents, receipts and letters for safe keeping in Drive; then search by contents once uploaded
– Download a copy of files to your local device (Honeycomb+)
– Spreadsheet editor now supports changing fonts, colors and cell alignment
– View properties of files from within the editors
– Bug fixes and visual improvements

Out of curiosity, do you guys use Drive often? Or do you prefer a differ cloud based service? Links after the break!

Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: Google Drive mobile app updated; Brings forth card UI

After a number of high-profile account hijacks and criticism from both its users and the tech media, Twitter finally decides to take security seriously. Today, the popular social network introduces two-factor authentication which, when enabled, requires users to type in an additional six-digit passcode received via SMS in order to log in.

Sadly, as I learned, not every user can actually enable the new security feature. Twitter says that folks must have a “verified phone number and confirmed email address”, the former of which is still incompatible with my mobile operator: “Sorry, we don’t have a connection to your carrier yet!”. Other local mobile operators are supported, but not mine.

“Every day, a growing number of people log in to Twitter. Usually these login attempts come from the genuine account owners, but we occasionally hear from people whose accounts have been compromised by email phishing schemes or a breach of password data elsewhere on the web”, says Twitter. I can only hope that I will not join the list of unlucky folks.

For users that have both a verified phone number and confirmed email address the process of enabling two-factor authentication is pretty straightforward.

Folks must head over to account settings, tick “Require a verification code when I sign in.”, add a phone number and follow the prompts that show up afterwards. Users must type in the six-digit passcode each time they wish to log in from an untrusted browser.

Twitter follows companies like Google, Facebook, Dropbox, Apple and Microsoft in allowing its users to better protect the security of their accounts through two-factor authentication. It’s about time, don’t you think?

Photo Credit: Maksim Kabakou/Shutterstock

Seaport Capital said Wednesday it completed the sale of MCV Broadband to NTT DOCOMO for an enterprise value of about $130 million. MCV is a cable and internet provider on Guam.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwired – May 22, 2013) – Seaport Capital, a private equity firm focused on investments in the communications, information technology, and business services sectors, announced today that it has completed the sale of MCV Broadband, the leading triple-play cable television, internet, and telephone provider on Guam, to NTT DOCOMO, INC., a Japan-based global operator of wireless communications networks, for an enterprise value of approximately $130 million USD.
Since the company’s acquisition by Seaport Capital in 2005, MCV has upgraded its network and programming distribution capabilities, and expanded its product offering from analog video to a fully-digitized triple-play solution. Over the last two years, MCV has further expanded its telephone, Internet, and video services to the commercial market on Guam.
The combined company will have the capability to offer a fully-integrated quadruple-play video, internet, home telephone, and mobile telephone solution leveraging the combined network infrastructure of MCV and NTT DOCOMO’s wholly-owned Guam subsidiary, DOCOMO Pacific.
“We are very excited about the combination of MCV with DOCOMO,” said MCV’s Craig Thompson. “We are proud of all that we’ve accomplished over the last 8 years with Seaport Capital, and very much appreciate their support and investment.”
“We appreciate the efforts of Craig Thompson and his team at MCV over the past 8 years,” said Bill Luby, partner at Seaport Capital. “We are proud of MCV’s reputation as the premier communications provider on Guam and consider it a testament to the team’s commitment to customer service. The DOCOMO-MCV combination will create a dynamic company that will deliver even greater customer satisfaction in the years ahead, and we wish the company continued success.”
Waller Capital Partners served as exclusive advisor to Seaport Capital and MCV on the transaction. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP served as legal counsel to Seaport Capital and MCV.
About Seaport Capital
Founded in 1997, Seaport Capital provides capital to middle market companies in the communications, information and business services sectors. Seaport works with talented management teams to create valuable companies that are leaders in their market segments. Seaport’s extensive investing experience enables it to develop winning strategies; its relationship and resources help achieve them. The firm seeks to invest $5 to $25 million of equity capital in each portfolio company. For additional information, visit www.seaportcapital.com.
About MCV Broadband
MCV Broadband is the leading cable and internet provider on Guam, offering cable television, internet and home telephone to residential and commercial customers. MCV was the first to bring “real-time” digital cable to Guam along with being the first ISP registered in the Marianas. The company provides service to over 30,000 subscribers and employs over 200 island residents. For additional information, visit http://www.mcvguam.com/.

The post Seaport Closes Sale of MCB Broadband appeared first on peHUB.

American Capital Energy & Infrastructure said Wednesday that Lisa Pinsley and Pol Mijares have joined. Pinsley will be director of Africa investments while Mijares will be a senior associate. American Capital Energy & Infrastructure also said that Peter Bird and Venu Nambiar were named senior advisors. Most recently, Pinsley was a VP of AES Africa Power Company, while Mijares worked at The AES Corporation in business development. American Capital Energy & Infrastructure is part of American Capital.

PRESS RELEASE

ANNAPOLIS, Md., May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — American Capital Energy & Infrastructure announced today that is has expanded its global investment team with two new members: Lisa Pinsley , Director of Africa Investments and Pol Mijares, Senior Associate. The company also appointed Peter Bird and Venu Nambiar as Senior Advisors. The team will focus on sourcing investments opportunities in global energy infrastructure assets as well as product and service companies in the power and energy sectors.
“We are delighted that Lisa, Pol, Peter and Venu, all experienced industry professionals, are joining the investment team,” said Paul Hanrahan , Chief Executive Officer of American Capital Energy & Infrastructure. “Their combined experience in investing, managing and advising in the energy and infrastructure sectors, as well as their established relationships worldwide, will enable us to navigate the global energy and infrastructure market and find the best investment opportunities.”
Investment Team
Lisa Pinsley is responsible for sourcing opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining American Capital Energy & Infrastructure, Ms. Pinsley served as a Vice President of AES Africa Power Company, where she focused on power and energy infrastructure opportunities on the African continent. Ms. Pinsley has 15 years of experience in emerging markets and finance. In addition, she served as Chief of Staff to the Afghan Minister of Finance focusing on the country’s economic reform programs with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Prior to joining American Capital Energy & Infrastructure, Pol Mijares worked at The AES Corporation (“AES”) in a number of roles in business development, commodities, and risk management supporting businesses located throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Prior to AES, Mr. Mijares was an investment banker at Bear Stearns & Co. and Banc of America Securities, LLC where he focused on executing buy-side and sell-side M&A engagements, as well as structuring high-yield and investment grade debt financings for public and closely held companies.
Senior Advisors
Peter Bird advises American Capital Energy & Infrastructure on sourcing opportunities in Asia. Until June 2012, Mr. Bird served as an Executive Vice-Chairman of Rothschild’s South East Asian global financial advisory business. In this role, Mr. Bird’s experience included advising leading corporations on acquisitions and divestitures in the infrastructure sector; advising numerous governments on privatizations in both developed and emerging economies; advising borrowers on project finance, acquisition financing, refinancing, insolvency and debt restructuring; advising utilities and public sector bodies on competitive solicitations and tender design; and advising governments on energy industry restructuring in the U.K., Europe, Australia, South America and Asia. Prior to joining Rothschild in 1990, Mr. Bird worked as an economic consultant and economic researcher focused on the energy sector and as an academic economist at the University of Stirling.
Mr. Bird serves on the board of InfraCo Asia Development Pte., Ltd., a donor-funded infrastructure development company focused on low-income emerging markets in Asia, and Vector, Ltd., a listed infrastructure group that owns and manages a portfolio of energy and fiber optic infrastructure networks in New Zealand.
Venu Nambiar advises American Capital Energy & Infrastructure on sourcing opportunities in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Nambiar served as a Vice President of AES with primary regional responsibilities for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. During his tenure at AES, Mr. Nambiar held various senior positions including serving as the CEO of AES Oasis Limited, Chairman and Managing Director of AES India, and Managing Director for Business Development and M&A in Asia and Middle East. Mr. Nambiar has over 21 years of experience in the energy industry with 15 years dedicated to investing and managing growth in emerging markets.
American Capital Energy & Infrastructure is part of American Capital, Ltd.’s (Nasdaq: ACAS) (“American Capital”) asset management affiliate, American Capital Asset Management, LLC. American Capital Asset Management is dedicated to creating, capitalizing and managing alternative investment funds across asset classes, including energy and infrastructure, real estate, private equity and private finance. American Capital has committed $200 million to support American Capital Energy & Infrastructure initiatives.
ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL ENERGY & INFRASTRUCTURE
American Capital Energy & Infrastructure invests in global energy infrastructure assets, including power generation facilities, power distribution and transmission networks, energy transportation assets, fuel production opportunities and product and service companies focused on the power and energy sectors. For further information, please refer to www.ACEI.com.
ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL
American Capital, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS) is a publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager. American Capital, both directly and through its asset management business, originates, underwrites and manages investments in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate and structured products. American Capital manages $21.2 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with $112 billion of total assets under management (including levered assets). Through an affiliate, American Capital manages publicly traded American Capital Agency Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC) with approximately a $13 billion market capitalization and American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: MTGE) with approximately a $1.5 billion market capitalization. From its eight offices in the U.S. and Europe, American Capital and its affiliate, European Capital, will consider investment opportunities from $10 million to $750 million. For further information, please refer to www.AmericanCapital.com.

The post Pinsley, Mijares Join American Capital Energy & Infrastructure appeared first on peHUB.