UK private equity firm 3i Group plc (LON:III) on Tuesday announced a CAD975m (USD969.1m/EUR724m) deal to sell Canadian melt delivery and control systems specialist Mold-Masters Ltd to plastics processing solutions provider Milacron LLC.

Georgetown-based Mold-Masters designs and makes advanced hot runner systems, temperature controllers and auxiliary equipment for the plastic sector. 3i made its initial investment of CAD166m in the company in 2007 and has since helped its growth in Asia, Europe and South America through organic projects and acquisitions, it said.

The deal with Milacron was reached at the end of an auction process initiated by 3i late last year, the vendor said, adding it also serves its portfolio restructuring strategy announced last June.

3i will pocket proceeds of some GBP219m (USD343m/EUR256.2m) from its Mold-Masters exit, compared to an opening value of GBP115m at 31 March 2012 and a value of GBP158m as 31 December 2012.

The vendor expects completion of the sale by April 2013, pending regulatory clearances, it said.

UK-based Montagu Private Equity LLP has agreed to dispose of its hair styling products firm Jemella Group Ltd (dba ghd) to rival private equity firm Lion Capital LLP.

The private equity groups did not disclose the amount they had agreed on. However, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the professional hair styling products supplier would change hands for almost £300m ($474m/€355m).

Montagu became the owner of ghd in 2007, when it bought the business for £160m. With the support of its private equity partner, ghd expanded its operations through entry into new markets and invested substantial amounts into new product development.

The company also diversified its sales channels, stepped up international marketing efforts and launched brand development campaigns. As a result, ghd has increased its profits more than twofold to £32m, generating revenues in excess of £150m, according to the statement.

Ernst & Young LLP served as adviser to Montagu and ghd, while Rothschild provided counsel to Lion Capital. Financing for the acquisition comes from Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LON:LLOY).

US asset manager The TCW Group Inc has completed its journey to independence after its management and The Carlyle Group LP (NASDAQ:CG) finalised the purchase of the business from French banking major Societe Generale SA (EPA:GLE).

The parties did not volunteer any information related to financial terms. The newly independent firm will be 40% owned by its managers and employees.

When the deal was announced in August 2012, Carlyle said that two of its investment funds and TCW’s management would provide equity for the acquisition, while debt financing would come from JPMorgan Securities LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).

TCW was advised by Morgan Stanley and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Carlyle took counsel from BofA Merrill Lynch, Sandler O’Neill + Partners LP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Societe Generale employed the advisory services of JP Morgan Securities LLC.

TCW’s chairman Marc Stern described the completion of the deal as the start of a new journey for the company. With employees owning a significant stake in the business, the result will be better alignment of interests, while the asset management expertise and resources of Carlyle will help TCW sustain its growth, Stern said.

A group of private equity firms, including KKR & Co LP (NYSE:KKR) and Apax Partners LLP, intends to make a joint bid of as much as USD5bn (EUR3.7bn) for Brazilian telecommunications company Global Village Telecom (Holding) SA, or GVT, a unit of French Vivendi SA (EPA:VIV), Bloomberg said today citing knowledgeable sources.

Other participants in the group are Gavea Investimentos Ltda, owned by JP Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), and Cambuhy Investimentos Ltda. Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual Group is still mulling over the possibility of taking part in the bid, the sources said. Valor Economico had reported previously, without citing sources, that BTG Pactual had pulled out of the race.

Their rival in the competition is US satellite-television provider DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV), which is expected to propose a price closer to the asking price of USD8bn, due to the synergies that a possible deal could create. According to one of the sources, potential bidders are getting ready for the second round of the auction, which is seen to be completed by the end of next month.

Representatives for Vivendi, Apax, KKR, BTG Pactual and JP Morgan refused to comment. DirecTV did not immediately respond to Bloomberg’s message asking for a comment, whereas Cambuhy Investimentos did not answer the agency’s calls.

Vivendi put GVT up for sale in 2012 after buying it for EUR3bn (USD4.1bn) in 2009.

US wholesale baker Hostess Brands Inc could soon announce a deal worth around USD400m (EUR296.2m) to divest certain snack cake brands such as Twinkies and Donettes to buyout firms Apollo Global Management LLC and C Dean Metropoulos & Co, two sources told Reuters.

The targeted activities also include the Dolly Madison bread and Hostess cupcakes brands.

The bankrupt company is currently picking stalking horse bidders for its various brands and activities. Previously, it agreed to sell most of its bread business plus the Beefsteak bread brand to Flowers Foods Inc (NYSE:FLO) in two separate transactions for up to USD360m and USD30m.

Furthermore, Hostess entered into an agreement to shed its Drake’s snack cake operation to McKee Foods Corp for USD27.5m as well as its Sweetheart, Eddy’s, Standish Farms and Grandma Emilie’s bread brands and some assets to United States Bakery Inc, also called Franz Family Bakery, for USD28.9m.

Other interested parties could still participate in an auction for these businesses and make better offers. According to the lead banker on the sale, Joshua Scherer of Perella Weinberg Partners, many parties have shown interest in Hostess’ assets, Reuters said.

Guardian Media Group Plc (GMG) has postponed discussions with suitors concerning the divestment of its 50.1% stake in UK publisher Trader Media Group Limited (TMG), the owner of the Auto Trader brand, after failing to agree a price, the Financial Times reported citing two sources.

GMG’s joint venture partner in TMG, UK private equity firm Apax Partners Holdings Ltd, sought to buy out the stake via a deal that valued the group at some GBP1.2bn (USD1.9bn/EUR1.4bn), including net debt of GBP600m. The price was significantly lower than the expected one, the sources said. GMG has also ended talks with other private equity investors, including Hellman & Friedman LLC and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co LP (NYSE:KKR).

GMG, the publisher of UK’s Guardian and Observer newspapers, and Apax have the right under an agreement to buy each other out of TMG if any of them makes a decision to exit the publishing company. According to bankers’ estimates, TMG is worth up to GBP2bn.

It is believed that Apax, which bought a 49.9% stake in TMG in 2007, is not in a hurry to ink a deal as it wants to negotiate a better price.

GMG and Apax refused to make a comment.

US private equity majors The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE:BX) and KKR & Co LP (NYSE:KKR) are among the parties engaged in takeover talks with US life sciences company Life Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:LIFE), Bloomberg reported citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

Two more private equity groups and some healthcare companies, all of them unidentified, are also said to be considering bids for Life Technologies. According to the sources, the interested parties have been asked to table their offers late in January.

The target’s current market value stands at approximately USD10.5bn (EUR7.9bn) after a spike in Life Technologies’ share price following takeover rumours. One of the sources said that the sale could fetch around USD13bn, with up to USD5bn of that supplied in equity by a buyout firm.

Life Technologies announced on Friday that it was conducting the annual strategic review of its business and had brought in Deutsche Bank AG (ETR:DBK) and Moelis & Co LP as advisers. However, the company said that its board had yet to decide on a particular course of action.

Bloomberg could not get Deutsche Bank and Moelis to comment.

US computer manufacturer Dell Inc (NASDAQ:DELL) is holding talks with at least two private equity groups interested in taking the company private, Bloomberg reported citing a couple of knowledgeable sources.

The people said discussions were in their preliminary stage and might lead nowhere because the potential buyers could find it problematic to secure financing or settle on a future exit strategy. According to one of the sources, several big banks have been approached about providing funds for the transaction. Dell spokesman David Fink would not comment for Bloomberg.

Data compiled by the news agency puts Dell’s market value at USD18.9bn (EUR14.1bn) as of 11 January 2013. If the parties come to an agreement, this could become the biggest private equity deal in the tech sector since KKR & Co LP (NYSE:KKR) paid over USD25bn to take First Data Corporation private in 2007, Bloomberg said. It may also turn out to be the biggest deal in the computer sector since 202, when Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) parted with some USD19bn to acquire Compaq Computer Corp.

Founder Michael Dell, who returned as chief executive in 2007, holds a 15.7% stake in the company. According to remarks made in 2010, he had given thought to a going-private transaction, Bloomberg added.

French insurance and banking group Groupama SA said it had struck a final deal to sell its investment arm Groupama Private Equity to domestic private equity firm ACG Group for an undisclosed sum.

The transaction has yet to receive regulatory green light, which is seen to occur by the end of the first quarter of this year, Groupama said.

The deal is in line with Groupama’s strategy to shed non-core assets, it said. Groupama Private Equity and ACG will combine complementary competences, the vendor added.

Through the acquisition, ACG will take control of Groupama Private Equity’s funds of funds operation Quartilium and sponsored and sponsorless mezzanine business ActoMezz, which account for EUR1.4bn (USD1.8bn) and EUR200m of managed assets, respectively.

The combination will create a company with some EUR3.5bn of assets under management, ACG’s chairman, Wladimir Mollof, noted.

Advent International Corp and the Kreke family said today that they had so far accumulated a 95.33% stake in German retailer Douglas Holding AG (ETR:DOU).

Together with the 12.73% already owned by the Douglas founding family Kreke, Beauty Holding Three AG, a firm controlled by funds advised by the private equity firm, secured an ownership level of 93.09% in Douglas by 4 December. Another 2.24% stake was bought outside the EUR38.00 (USD50.34) tender bid, whose additional acceptance period is set to expire on 21 December.

Having secured over 95% of the German firm, Beauty Holding can now proceed with a squeeze-out for the rest of the Douglas stock, with the procedure to be carried out until 20 March 2013 at the same price per share, the pair added.

The EUR1.5bn transaction, which was launched in October, will see the Kreke family holding an indirect stake of 20% in Beauty Holding, while Advent funds will own the rest.