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With More Than $300M in Hand, A&M’s Buyout Arm Pushes On

With More Than $300M in Hand, A&M’s Buyout Arm Pushes On

The private equity arm of restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal is showing signs of progress with its fundraising efforts as it tries to build momentum with investors, said people with knowledge of the matter.

Alvarez & Marsal Capital Partners held a second close in April on $300 million for A&M Capital Partners LP and plans to hold as many as two more closes before the fall as it seeks a target of $500 million, the people said.

Amid fundraising, A&M Capital’s investment team has also been working to close further deals to prove to investors that its strategy works and lessen any concerns surrounding the team’s ability to close on transactions, the people added.

The fund has a hard cap of $600 million, those people said.

A&M Capital has been marketing the fund for some time following its founding in 2009 under the restructuring firm by Michael Odrich, the former head of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc .’s private equity unit, Jack McCarthy Jr., previously a managing director of Alvarez & Marsal ’s private equity advisory group, and Kurtis Kaull, formerly a partner at Gryphon Investors.

The firm aims to make investments of $20 million to $75 million in the business services, consumer and retail, industrial and health-care sectors. Deals can range from corporate divestitures to carve-outs to special situations, according to A&M Capital’s website.

As with many first-time funds, A&M Capital has been faced with questions from investors about the team’s lack of work history with one another given that members of the six-person investment team all came from different firms. Besides Messrs. Odrich, McCarthy and Kaull, Principal David Perskie previously was with PCG Capital as well as Gryphon, Vice President Alex Nivelle had worked at Warburg Pincus and Hunter Greenhalgh previously worked with Vestar Capital Partners.

To ease concerns, A&M Capital has been trying to execute deals–and has one under its belt. Last year, the firm acquired Gabriel Brothers Inc ., a discount retailer in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S., and allowed early fund investors, such as Neuberger Berman, to co-invest.

A&M Capital has a pipeline of further deals it is looking to close on in the near term, people with knowledge of the matter said.

First-time funds generally are facing a more challenging environment this year than in the past. About $11.2 billion has been closed on by new managers across 53 funds globally as of June 18, according to data provider Preqin Ltd. That compares with the $14.1 billion raised by 79 funds for the first half of 2012. The fourth quarter of 2008 had 124 first-time funds close on $30.9 billion, according to Preqin.

Closing deals and offering sweetened terms has helped some private equity firms gain the necessary momentum to at least hit a first close.

A&M Capital, for example, had its initial close in November on $174 million. A month later, the Oregon Investment Council approved a commitment of up to $100 million for the fund as an anchor investor. The commitment is subject to certain restrictions, such as the commitment not exceeding 25% of the fund. That restriction meant that Oregon would only invest a minimum of $75 million upon A&M reaching $300 million in total commitments. Oregon will increase its investment of up to $100 million upon subsequent closes.

In exchange for that investment, A&M will charge Oregon a 1% management fee, 10% on carry and a 100% transaction fee offset.

In some cases, such as with the fundraising of a first fund by U.K. energy firm Blue Water Energy, new general partners won’t always go below 2% on a management fee because of the need for capital to support growth.

However, generous terms are sometimes crucial in getting a limited partner to commit to a first-time fund.

Oregon said in its meetings materials that besides the terms, A&M Capital’s “affiliation” with Alvarez & Marsal provided a “stream of differentiated and proprietary deal flow” and a “pool of resources” to help execute the strategy of investing in “distressed or undermanaged companies.”

“These positive factors appear to more than compensate for the marginally higher start-up and execution risks with this first-time funds,” Oregon said.

Another investor said A&M Capital’s strategy is sound, especially when paired with the nearly 30 years of turnaround and advisory experience of its parent.

  Source: https://pevc.dowjones.com/Article?an=DJFLBO0020130624e96obz86z&ReturnUrl=https%3a%2f%2fpevc.dowjones.com%2fArticle%3fan%3dDJFLBO0020130624e96obz86z

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‘Dancing’ Pro Tony Dovolani gives his formula on how to get your legs in shape for the summer

AOL Wellness & Fitness Expert and ‘Dancing’ Pro Tony Dovolani gives his formula on how to get your legs in shape for the summer. Getting sleek and elongated legs for summer is easy with dancing. Dancing works with your glutes, ankels, calves, feet. The mambo.

At age 40, Tony Dovolani is balancing fitness, dance and family while capturing the hearts of millions each season on “Dancing With the Stars.” Given the challenges of working with various injuries, insecurities and body types, Tony has bridged dance with fitness to become a health/wellness expert that demonstrates how dance leads to fitness, confidence and overcoming health issues. Born in Prishtina, Kosova, Tony was proficient in Albanian folk dancing by age 3 and was inspired by watching Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly films as a kid. After immigrating to the United States as a political refugee from his native Kosovo, Tony trained at a Connecticut Fred Astaire dance studio and eventually became one of the most dominant competitive dancers in the country.

A 2-time dance champion, Tony brought his expertise to Hollywood when he coached Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere for the 2004 film Shall We Dance, in which he also had a small role. He then joined Dancing with the Stars for its second season and captured our attention with partner, Stacy Keibler, when the two placed third in the finals. During the Dancing with the Stars: All-Star Season, season 15, Tony and dance partner Melissa Rycroft won the show and took home the Mirror Ball Trophy.Tony’s other celebrity partners on Dancing with the Stars have included Sara Evans, Leeza Gibbons, Jayne Seymour, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Susan Lucci, Nancy O’Dell, Kathy Ireland, Kate Gosselin, Audrina Patridge, Wendy Williams, Chynna Phillips, Martina Navratilova, Wynonna Judd and Leah Remini. He’s currently partnered with actress and reality star NeNe Leakes and the two have coined the hashtag #TeamTonNene.

Tony and his wife Lina are proud parents of their daughter Luana and twins, Adrian and Ariana Dovolani. As the father of an autistic son, the family is committed to increasing awareness of autism and support for other families and their children. They reside in Connecticut.

Source: http://features.aol.com/tony-dovolani

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Sarmiento Joins Pulse-Creative as Chief Marketing Officer

Pulse-Creative, a one-stop-shop creative think tank based in NYC, announced they’ve brought on veteran publisher Louis A. Sarmiento as the company’s CMO. Referred to as the Chief Marketing Maverick, Sarmiento’s fashion and lifestyle expertise melds seamlessly into the innovative design & digital mastery of the cutting edge Pulse-Creative team.

Sarmiento comes to Pulse from The Daily Front Row – Mercedes Benz Fashion Weeks’ staple, where he served as the iconic trade publication’s VP and Publisher.

In his role at Pulse-Creative, Sarmiento will fuse the agency’s capabilities in digital innovation and interactive ideation with his unique understanding of fashion and lifestyle in order to develop sustainable, long-term programs maximizing creative strategy in year-round campaigns for existing and new clients.

“Louis has always been a visionary in the media world. His success in diversifying the traditional print media offerings via digital media platforms speaks for itself. We’re very pleased to have him join and bring both his experience and a fresh perspective to Pulse-Creative. He will be an integral member of Pulse-Creative as we continue to build the service offerings and capabilities and create one-of-a-kind 360 degree programs for our client partners,” notes Monica Alvarez, CEO.

“Having been in print publishing my entire career, the overhaul of the traditional process has been more evident the last few years with brands relying heavily on digital integration, social media support, as well as physical activations leading to greater investments in engaging 360 degree programs. Having been limited to the seasonality of my prior work with the Spring & Fall fashion seasons, I saw an opportunity with Pulse-Creative’s in-house capabilities to expand past the printed page all-year-long,” says Sarmiento.

Source: http://www.bulldogreporter.com/dailydog/article/sarmiento-joins-pulse-creative-as-chief-marketing-officer

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Persistent Systems Modernizes Communications For Firefighters

PERSISTENT SYSTEMS, LLC (“Persistent”), a revolutionary technology company specializing in mission- critical wireless communications systems traveled to Prescott, Arizona, to demonstrate how their Wave Relay® technology could help firefighters combat the ever-present communications challenges associated with fighting wildfires. In June 2013, 19 firefighters lost their lives to what became known as the Yarnell Hill Blaze. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) responded to this tragic loss by initiating the Fire Line Advanced Situation Awareness for Handhelds (“FLASH”) Program to enable reliable communications and situational awareness in the field. The program aims to end the day when firefighters are left to wonder where the fire line is, where their teammates are, or what the latest wind and weather reports are. The Wave Relay® solution was delivered and deployed in less than 1 week on May 26, 2014. Prescott-area firefighters are now equipped with Persistent’s mobile ad-hoc wireless networking (MANET) solution that has already proven its worth through years of operational experience with U.S. Special Forces units.

Persistent is working closely with FLASH technology to combat the operational deficiencies first responders face when battling complicated situations, including wildfires.

Currently, firefighters often suffer from a major gap in communications and situational awareness in their inclement work environments. For example, they can easily lose communication with their commanders, other teams of firefighters operating in their vicinity, and even with their own teammates. Non-Wave Relay® systems, even if they successfully establish lines of communication, often experience life-threatening transmission delays and interruptions.

“We are privileged to help out our firefighters. Wave Relay® is a battle-proven system that can truly help them to communicate vital information when it matters most. Everyone will instantly be able to see where all team members and support elements are, and to communicate and collaborate in real-time. We are looking forward to training more firefighters,” said Wesley Mitchell of Persistent Systems.

Persistent’s Wave Relay® system provides seamless connectivity between all firefighting assets. No longer will firefighters have to worry about directly communicating with the command center or with other ridgelines and canyons. Wave Relay® seamlessly hops among system radios located on firefighters, aircraft, or mountain top repeaters. In addition, by leveraging Persistent’s Cloud Relay™ technology, all participants have beyond-line-of-sight communications that enable full,real-time situational awareness, collaboration, video, and push-to-talk communications.

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Gurfinkel will be available for appointments in San Francisco Wednesday, July 2, 2014 and in Bloomington, Minnesota Monday, July 28, 2014

Michael Gurfinkel has added new consultation dates to his schedule. He will be available for appointments in San Francisco Wednesday, July 2, 2014 and in Bloomington, Minnesota Monday, July 28, 2014.

Kapamilya in Las Vegas, NV recently had their questions answered by US Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel. Michael Gurfinkel answered questions such as what happens to a father’s petition for his child if there was no documentation of financial support, if someone who divorces a US Citizen still get a green card and if Humanitarian Revalidation could be considered if USCIS lost its file. These answers are on the latest episode of Citizen Pinoy: Your Tanong, My Sagot. 

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Lauren Kaminsky has distinguished several of her favorite jewelry designers and collections that caught her attention at last month’s Couture Show in Vegas in her latest blog posts on Pawn on the Cobb

Lauren Kaminsky has distinguished several of her favorite jewelry designers and collections that caught her attention at last month’s Couture Show in Vegas in her latest blog posts on Pawn on the Cobb.

One notable jewelry designer that caught Lauren Kaminsky’s eye is Allison Lou, a young designer that has a collection of emoticon jewelry, full of enamels and gemstones. Emoticons have become a part of our culture, especially in the youth. Allison Lou’s emoticon jewelry collection includes emoticon faces in gemstones and enamel emoticon rings.

Some highlights of Allison Lou’s emoticon collection are the14K gold Ok! Necklace, Love Struck Pendant, 14Kt Gold Queen Stud Crown, Smiley by the yard necklace, Joe Cool necklace, hear no evil necklace, see no evil necklace, 14K bashful necklace, happy or sad ring, all happy ring, 14kt party animal necklace and 14kt rolling on the floor laughing necklace. The emoticon rings comes in several different designs such as red enamel lips, pound signs and numbers.

Alison Lou’s collection could be found on Stone and Strand’s website: www.stoneandstrand.com

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Matt Hunter has done several covers of songs such as “Promise”, “Locked Out Of Heaven”, “Little Things” and most recently “All of Me”

Matt Hunter has done several covers of songs such as “Promise”, “Locked Out Of Heaven”, “Little Things” and most recently “All of Me”.

Matt Hunter’s Fuego Fridays covers behind the scene action. He has posted videos and clips from pre shows, photo shoots and his activities such as skydiving and longboarding. These videos are all available to view on Matt Hunter’s YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/user/huntermatt2020

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EZ Pawn Corp is the neighborhood go-to for great deals and low interest rates

EZ Pawn Corp is the neighborhood go-to for great deals and low interest rates. Many of EZ Pawn’s customers seize the opportunity to change their lives by visiting EZ Pawn. Many of EZ Pawn Corp’s customers were able to help pay bills, rent, get out of debt and a gift for family and friends. College students also use EZ Pawn Corp to help pay for books, art supplies, student loans and tuition.

EZ Pawn Corp has also added new items to their eBay store. Students gearing up for back to school could get a new 13” MacBook Pro, 15” MacBook Pro, Microsoft Surface and DVD player. Be sure to check out their eBay store today.

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This weekend, Lulu and Lala took a road trip to Miami, where they are visiting their family, sightseeing and spending some time at the beach

Besides watching the World Cup, Lulu and Lala celebrated their sister’s baby shower with their family. Their big sister, Lili, is expecting. Lulu and Lala are exciting to become aunts to their new niece. Since the Hispanic twins are already parents to their puppy, Duke, who just celebrated his first birthday, they should be well equipped to babysit their new baby niece.

This weekend, Lulu and Lala took a road trip to Miami, where they are visiting their family, sightseeing and spending some time at the beach.

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Pinoy Relief is focused on finding, funding, and creating programs that generate meaningful results for the Philippines

The lack of opportunity for growth for those living in Typhoon Haiyan’s devastation sites has separated many families. College students are moving to other areas of the Philippines to seek work. The implications of this involve the exodus of the younger generation who has found work in other parts of the country. These children might not come back to the devastation sites once damage has been repaired. This will also affect the growth of these areas in the future.

Many of these survivors of Typhoon Haiyan depend on farming for their income. Along with helping fisherman restore their livelihood, Pinoy Relief is focused on finding, funding, and creating programs that generate meaningful results for the Philippines. Support isneeded to help these victims of Typhoon Haiyan. Donate now to PinoyRelief.org

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Alvarez & Marsal Capital hits $600 mln hard cap on maiden fund

Alvarez & Marsal Capital hits $600 mln hard cap on maiden fund

NEW YORK, Feb 19 (Buyouts Magazine) – Alvarez & Marsal Capital Partners, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based buyout shop closely aligned with restructuring shop Alvarez & Marsal, has beaten the $500 million target on its debut fund with a $600 million fundraise.

A&M Capital Partners LP closed on Jan 31 after a fundraise dating back to late 2010, the year the firm was founded, according to Michael Odrich, global head of the firm and previously managing director and head of private equity at Lehman Brothers.

After holding a $174 million first close in November 2012, and after it began doing its first deals, the firm started to gain momentum with investors, to the point where in the end it had more demand for the fund than it could accommodate.

“The market has improved quite a bit as investors have gotten more liquidity back,” said Odrich of the last 12 months of fundraising.

Two of the anchor investors in the fund are GoldPoint Partners, a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company that committed $75 million, and Oregon Investment Council, which committed $100 million.

Buyouts earlier reported that both received discounted economic terms. Oregon Investment Council, for example, negotiated a 1 percent management fee, 10 percent carried interest and 100 percent offset of transaction fees.

Other investors in the fund, whose terms were otherwise the conventional ’2 and 20′ and 8 percent preferred return, include Neuberger Berman, Dominion Resources ($50 million commitment) and the Texas Permanent School Fund, Odrich told Buyouts.

Over $60 million for the fund came from members of the investment team and some 220 senior professionals at Alvarez & Marsal.

Materials presented at a Dec. 5, 2012 meeting of the Oregon Investment Council noted that senior professionals of Alvarez & Marsal would be entitled to 30 percent of the fund’s carried interest for deal sourcing and related services. Placement agents for the fund were Barclays Capital and Evercore Partners.

Alvarez & Marsal Capital plans to invest $20 million to $75 million at a time — it can go far higher if need be — to take control positions in mid-sized companies with enterprise values of $75 million to $750 million, according to its website.

Expect at least 80 percent of the capital to be deployed in North America, and up to 20 percent in European Union countries, Odrich said. Main sectors of interest include industrial, consumer products, retail, business services and healthcare, while the firm will also consider financial services and energy.

Although Alvarez & Marsal is known as a turnaround consultant, its associated buyout shop isn’t searching for highly distressed companies as a rule, said Odrich.

Instead, the firm is looking for underperformers that can benefit from an operational overhaul, that are going through management changes or are in need of capital to fund growth or acquisitions.

It plans to pursue corporate carve-outs as well as consolidation strategies. According to Odrich, the firm has access to the more than 2,000 professionals at Alvarez & Marsal, who can bring their expertise to bear in deal sourcing, due diligence and improving the performance of portfolio companies.

“There’s nothing like it in the market,” said Odrich of the fund and its resources. “That’s what got me excited about joining and getting behind this business.”

Alvarez & Marsal Capital lists nine professionals on its website, including Odrich; Jack McCarthy Jr, managing director, and Kurtis J. Kaull, managing director. Michael Bardorf is the chief financial officer.

Two portfolio companies listed on the site are Gabriel Brothers, a chain of deep discount stores, and Atlantic City Linen Supply, a provider of commercial laundry services.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/19/alvarez-marsal-fund-idUSL2N0LO18Y20140219

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Sway: A Dance Trilogy stars Maks, Val, Tony and Zendaya

Sway: A Dance Trilogy stars Maks, Val, Tony and Zendaya. Sway will take place July 26, 2014 at The Space in Westbury, NY. Sway presents the glamour and passion of ballroom and latin dancing with original choreography and incredible performances from the country’s top professional dancers.

Sway also showcases intimate performances that blurs the lines between conventional ballroom, live theatre, and other dance genres such as ballet, Argentine tango, hip hop and modern dance styles.

Sway whisks audiences through the timeless elegance of ballroom’s golden era, to the modern dance fusion of today’s urban youth, climaxing with the heart pounding rhythms of the Latin nightclub scene.

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Matt Hunter recently performed his new single and his World Cup Song, “Minha Mina Ta Loca”

Matt Hunter the voice behind Dora the Explorer’s friend Diego, is a bilingual American teen pop singer. Matt has performed in venues across Latin America and South America including Mexico,Dominican Republic, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina and Ecuador.

Matt Hunter recently performed his new single and his World Cup Song, “Minha Mina Ta Loca”, inBrazil. On June 13, 2014 Matt was at Radio Disney Brazil and talked about the World Cup and “Minha Mina Ta Loca”. The first ten Hunters were allowed to be Matt Hunter’s guests for the Radio Disney interview.

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Lulu and Lala represented their Latin roots by attending New York’s Puerto Rican Independence Day Parade

Lulu and Lala represented their Latin roots by attending New York’s Puerto Rican Independence Day Parade. They met up with model Erica Mena and AJ El Kallejero.

Lulu and Lala have also been closely watching the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. They’re rooting for Spain, Mexico, Columbia, Italy, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras and Argentina.

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With 13 locations, EZ Pawn Corp boasts the highest loan and least interest rates charged compared to their competitors

With 13 locations, EZ Pawn Corp boasts the highest loan and least interest rates charged compared to their competitors. There is always something new and different at each location. EZ Pawn is a great place to find last minute graduation gifts for your loved one!

A watch is a popular graduation gift, since it represents an acknowledgement of hard work and an encouraging nod to the graduate’s upcoming professional undertakings. A watch often symbolizes maturity and growth, and will better serve him or her in the working world. The perfect graduation gift watch will look especially good for future job interviews.

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Michael Gurfinkel’s website section, Immigration Corner lists informative updates to immigration from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Michael Gurfinkel has added new consultation dates to his schedule. He will be in New York Monday, June 23, 2014 and San Francisco Monday, June 30 and Tuesday, July 1, 2014.

The Law Offices of Michael J. Gurfinkel and his team of legal staff specialize in immigration law,non immigrant visas, family based petitions, employment-based petition, removal defense,denials and other legal services. Michael Gurfinkel’s website section, Immigration Corner lists informative updates to immigration from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

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Lauren Kaminsky from Pawn on the Cobb features some designers as they take “wearable fine jewelry” to another level

Ear cuffs are a runway staple during fashion week, many of them being hard to miss. Rodarte and Jason Wu’s spring fashion shows featured models sporting ear cuffs.

Lauren Kaminsky from Pawn on the Cobb features some designers as they take “wearable finejewelry” to another level. From Stephen Webster’s gold and opal diamond earrings to a more casual Kismet star ear cuff, an oversized ear cuff makes a stronger style statement than a traditional earring.

Segments from: http://www.teenvogue.com/fashion/spring-trends/2013-03/ear-cuffs-jewelry/?slide=1

See more: http://pawnonthecobb.com/2014/06/16/couture-trend-spotlight-inventive-pieces/