Venrock, the venture capital firm originally established by the Rockefeller family, has closed a new fund on $600 million and hired David Siminoff as a general partner.
UK-listed private equity group 3i has sold Smart & Cook to Axa for £140 million, generating a return of over three times its investment.
Vector Capital has bought Tripos Discovery Informatics, a software company known for its “maniacal dedication” to science, for $26 million.
Nordic buyout firm Industri Kapital has achieved a 3.5 times return on its investment by selling veterinary laboratory Ceva Santé Animale to a private equity consortium.
The US private equity community has contributed substantial sums to the ever-expanding war chests of the US presidential hopefuls. Republican candidate Mitt Romney, the co-founder of Bain Capital, has predictably been the most generously supported.
SGAM Alternative Investments has had its second and final closing of a fund-of-funds for investment in Europe and the US.
Quadrant Private Equity has closed an A$500 million fund for investment in the Australasian mid-market, after recently completing its first deal from the fund.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has raised $20 billion for its sixth buyout fund, the first firm ever to reach this mark - although rival private equity groups are reportedly closing in on even larger totals.
Fortress Investment will pay $2.4bn to acquire Interpool, a provider of global shipping equipment and services.
Macquarie has hit back at claims that it misled workers over pension schemes at Airwave, a police radio business it has just bought for £2 billion. The Australian bank has blamed the confusion on the vendor, Telefonica subsidiary O2 Europe.
US mobile phone service provider MetroPCS has raised $1.15 billion in its initial public offering – the largest amount raised so far by a US IPO this year and an exit for which some of its investors waited more than a decade.
The European Central Bank’s latest report has argued increased regulation of the private equity industry is not necessary, because the impact of a private equity downturn on the wider financial markets would probably be minimal.
Ted Schlein, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner, has been elected chairman of the board of directors for the National Venture Capital Association.
Camcor Partners has closed a $200 million venture capital fund, which will invest in the oil sands business.
San Francisco-headquartered Hellman & Friedman has closed its sixth fund on $8.4 billion, days after announcing massive profits from the sale of DoubleClick.