Brad Meikle

Nobody undergoing an operation chooses a surgeon with no experience, and no business owner sells to a buyer who’s clueless about their industry.

Cover Story: Lack of transparency frustrates state officials

U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group has joined forces with buyout fund Hellman & Friedman to bid for British payments processing company Worldpay, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters news service on Thursday, August 6.

Planet Fitness Inc’s shares fell as much as 14 percent in their market debut, valuing the fitness club operator at $1.36 billion.

The Private Equity Growth Capital Council confirmed Wednesday that Steve Judge, the council’s president and CEO, is stepping down. 

Motorola Solutions Inc said private equity firm Silver Lake would invest $1 billion in the maker of walkie-talkies and radio systems as it looks to boost growth in its services business, which includes video monitoring and data analytics, according to Reuters news service.

Safway Group Holding LLC has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc to explore a sale that could value the U.S. scaffolding equipment provider at as much as $1.5 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter told Reuters news service.

Plastic packaging products maker Berry Plastics Group Inc said it would buy Avintiv Inc, which makes materials used in products ranging from diapers to disinfectant wipes, for about $2.45 billion in cash from Blackstone Group LP.  

United Parcel Service Inc, the world’s largest courier company, said it would buy Coyote Logistics from private equity firm Warburg Pincus for $1.8 billion to expand its full-truckload services, according to Reuters news service.

Summit Partners said Thursday that Joseph Trustey, a managing director and chief operating officer of the Boston growth equity firm, and his daughter were killed in a plane crash.