8 Feb, 2022
Willis & Smith Capital acquires R&B Grinding; Ironwood exits Facilities Group
* Willis & Smith Capital LLC and its affiliates acquired R&B Grinding Co. Inc., which manufactures machined components for original equipment manufacturers.
* Ironwood Capital exited The Facilities Group, a Florida-based facilities maintenance business, Private Equity Wire reported.
➤ Robust PE demand to bolster insurance M&A with other catalysts lacking
Consolidators' strong and growing interest in targets such as legacy blocks of annuity business and insurance agencies should partially offset market dynamics that might otherwise favor a steep decline in M&A activity in 2022.
➤ Worldwide insurance IPO proceeds climb above $6.6B in FY'21
The industry raised about $1.13 billion from eight IPOs in the fourth quarter of 2021, down from $1.87 billion from nine IPOs in the prior-year period.
DEALS
* KKR & Co. Inc. is leading a $180 million funding round for online home design firm Livspace, with participation from Ingka Group Investments and Jungle Ventures Pte. Ltd., among other investors, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
* Blackstone Inc. is in discussions regarding a potential merger of its European building materials retailer Building Materials Europe BV with CVC Capital Partners Ltd.'s Stark Group A/S, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
* Onex Corp.'s Onex Partners V LP agreed to make a significant investment in ecological restoration company Resource Environmental Solutions LLC together with funds affiliated with existing investor KKR.
* Swedish private equity firm EQT AB (publ) and Verdane agreed to sell Forsta to Press Ganey Holdings Inc., Dow Jones Newswires reported. Forsta provides market research technology.
FUNDRAISING
* Polaris Management A/S obtained 500 million Danish kroner at the first close of Polaris Flexible Capital. The fund, which has a total target of 1 billion kroner, will make investments in subordinated loan capital and minority shareholdings.
* The Equity Alliance LLC raised $28 million at the close of its Fund I, FinSMEs reported. The vehicle invests in emerging venture capital fund managers.
VENTURE CAPITAL
* Chinese open-source software developer Taichi Graphics Technology Inc. raised $50 million in a series A investment round co-led by Source Code Capital, GGV Capital LLC and Bai Capital Management Ltd., TechCrunch reported. Sequoia China Investment Management LLP also participated in the round, the report said.
* Biotechnology company 1859 Inc. raised $40 million in a series A funding round led by Northpond Ventures LLC and OMX Ventures. FusionX Ventures and Vertical Venture Partners also participated.
* New York-based healthcare technology company Koneksa Health Inc. collected $45 million in a series C fundraising round led by AyurMaya, an affiliated fund of Matrix Capital Management. Takeda Ventures Inc., among other investors, also participated.
* Healthcare technology company trialmatch.me Inc., or Trialjectory, secured $20 million in a series A financing round led by Insight Partners. JAL Ventures Ltd. and Rho Capital Partners Inc., among other investors, took part in the round.
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