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After a near six-year hold, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Goldman Sachs are losing their equity in CTI Foods. CTI, a food supplier that’s been in business for 35 years, on March 11 filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The move will reduce the Wilder, Idaho, company’s debt by more […]

Fastsigns International Inc, which provides signs, banners and graphics to businesses and organizations, has found itself owned by a private equity firm for the fourth time in its 34-year history. LightBay Capital and Freeman Spogli said March 13 that they partnered to buy Fastsigns. Terms weren’t disclosed. Founded in 1985, Fastsigns is the Carrollton, Texas, franchisor operating […]

Second-round bids for Shift4 Payments LLC are due in May, but don’t expect much involvement from private equity, two sources said. Searchlight Capital Partners put Shift4 Payments up for sale earlier this year, they said, adding that FT Partners is advising on the process. Initial bids for Shift4 Payments were due last week, the first source […]

Blackstone Group and Thomson Reuters have opted to take Tradeweb Markets Inc public, in an offering expected to raise more than $5 billion. Tradeweb filed for a $100 million IPO, according to a March 7 SEC filing. The $100 million, considered a placeholder, will likely change in future filings. The company did not disclose how many shares it […]

Reverence Capital Partners has reportedly won the auction for Cashnet. Final bids for the payments company were due about two weeks ago, sources have told Buyouts. Private equity dominated the process with firms including GTCR, Marlin Equity and Clearlake Capital vying for the company, people said. Reverence, of New York, beat out the other parties, […]

Lovell Minnick Partners has more than quadrupled its money with the sale of Commercial Credit Inc. BDT Capital Partners’ buy of Commercial Credit closed Feb. 28. Terms weren’t disclosed. The transaction is expected to generate a gross return of 4.4x invested capital for Lovell Minnick investors, a tombstone obtained by Buyouts said. Founded in 2004, Commercial […]

After more than two years, Insight Venture Partners has put Ministry Brands up for sale, four sources said. FT Partners is advising on the process, the people said. Ministry Brands is the Lenoir City, Tennessee, provider of cloud-based technology for faith-based institutions, including churches, schools and camps. Insight is seeking as much as $4 billion […]

Warburg Pincus has won the auction for Stone Point Capital-backed Kestra Financial Inc, three sources said. The New York private equity firm beat out Reverence Capital Partners to win Kestra, the people said. The transaction values the company at $830 million to $850 million, one of the sources said. Established in 1997, Kestra is an independent […]

Apax Partners is hitting a triple with its sale of AssuredPartners. Apax said Feb. 21 that it agreed to sell its entire stake in AssuredPartners to a group led by GTCR. Terms weren’t disclosed, but the transaction valued AssuredPartners at $5.1 billion including debt, Bloomberg said. GTCR is partnering with Apax while other investors include […]

Vitech Systems Group has hired RBC Capital Markets to handle inbound interest from private equity and strategics, four sources said. The New York insuretech has received “dozens of approaches” from sponsors and potential buyers, one of the sources said. Vitech produces about $50 million Ebitda and could fetch as much as 14x to 15x, people […]