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• Israeli government to create $41m Israeli-Arab private equity fund 03 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Israel's government will set up an ILS160m ($41.3m) private equity fund aimed at developing businesses in the Israeli-Arab sector, according to reports.

• UK private equity firm Inflexion sees 2.7 times return on IASIST exit 03 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Inflexion Private Equity, the mid-market private equity investor based in the UK, has sold IASIST, the Iberian division of Healthcare Knowledge International (HKI), in a trade sale to UBM Limited.

• Oaktree Capital teams up with Dubai International Capital to keep hold of Almatis 03 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. US distressed debt specialist Oaktree Capital has stepped in to try and help Dubai International Capital secure control of its German aluminium producer, Almatis, through a debt restructuring, the Financial Times reports.

• FDIC proposes stricter rules for private equity investment in troubled banks 03 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has proposed sterner rules for private equity investment in failed banks that call for certain levels of capitalisation, holding periods and disclosure commitments.

• Chicago-based Glencoe Capital invests $10m in American Education Group 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Glencoe Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has invested $10m in Michigan-based American Education Group (AEG), through its Glencoe Capital Michigan Opportunities Fund.

• US mobile payments provider Bling Nation secures $8m in Series A funding 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Bling Nation, a California-based mobile payments provider has secured $8m in its first round of funding, with lead investor Lightspeed Venture Partners providing $6.3m. The remaining $1.7m was raised primarily by Meck.

• Fashion-lifestyle website StyleCaster gets $4m backing from Cleveland Cavaliers owner and entrepreneur Dan Gilbert 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. New York-based fashion-lifestyle website StyleCaster has raised $4m in its Series A round of financing led by Quicken Loans founder and media entrepreneur Dan Gilbert.

• Holland Venture Partners launches €70m fund with Natixis as sponsors 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Holland Venture Partners, a Dutch venture firm that focuses on the lower mid-market, has set up a €70m fund that will focus on expansion and buy-out investments in small- and medium-sized Dutch companies.

• Swiss biotech business Symetis raises €15m in venture funding 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Lausanne-based biotechnology company Symetis has raised CHF23m (€15.1m) in a financing round co-led by Wellington Partners and Vinci Capital–Renaissance.

• Greenpark Capital: First half of 2009 saw more secondaries go to market and fail to be bought than ever before 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. The first half of 2009 was the toughest time for secondhand private equity transactions being closed, according to Daniel Green, investment director at secondaries buyer Greenpark Capital.

• UK government puts Royal Mail stake sale plans on hold 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. The part-privatisation of Royal Mail has been postponed by the UK’s business secretary Peter Mandelson, the Financial Times reports.

• LA’s Saban Capital hires former 20th Century Fox exec as managing director 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Saban Capital Group, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm specialising in the media, entertainment and communications industries, has hired Elie Dekel as a managing director.

• JC Flowers-backed Shinsei Bank to buy Cerberus' Aozora 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Shinsei Bank and Aozora Bank, both backed by US private equity firms, have announced that Shinsei will acquire the smaller bank to create Japan’s sixth-largest lender, Reuters reports.

• Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors raises $820m for latest energy private equity fund 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, a US-domiciled private equity firm that targets energy companies, has closed its fifth energy private equity fund with total commitments of $820m.

• Malaysian government to set up $2.8bn private equity fund 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. The Malaysian government is establishing a new private equity fund to invest in sectors with high growth potential and encourage indigenous people to participate in the economy, according to reports.

• US growth capital firm General Atlantic appoints senior vice president and special advisor 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. General Atlantic, a US-based growth capital firm, has appointed Cory A Eaves as a senior vice president and David H Langstaff, the former CEO of US defence company Veridian, as a special advisor.

• Czech private equity firm Genesis Capital holds first closing of fund on €40m 02 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Genesis Capital, a private equity firm focusing on mid-market investments in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, has completed the first closing of Genesis Private Equity Fund II with €40m in commitments. The target size of the fund is €60m. GPEF II will provide equity financing, predominantly in the form of buy-out funding and growth capital, to small- and medium-sized companies.

• Apax Partners' stake in Incisive Media to be cut as banks close in 01 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Apax Partners, the global buy-out firm, could see their stake in UK business-to-business publisher Incisive Media all but wiped out as banks close in on a deal to take control of the company in a debt-for-equity swap, according to reports.

• Emerging markets investor Actis hires new head of West Africa 01 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Actis, an emerging markets-focused private equity firm, has appointed Ngozi Edozien as the new head of West Africa. Edozien joins Actis from her position as the founding CEO of the Equity Vehicle for Health in Africa, long-term risk capital to Africa’s under-served healthcare market, set up in association with the International Finance Corporation.

• UK clean energy investor Foresight puts £4m into rubber recycling business Crumb Rubber 01 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Foresight Group, a UK alternative asset manager, has completed a £4m (€4.7m) investment in tyre recycling company Crumb Rubber.

• UK-based Matrix Private Equity Partners sells Tottel to Harry Potter publisher 01 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Matrix Private Equity Partners (MPEP), a small buy-out specialist based in London, has sold Tottel Publishing to Bloomsbury Publishing, the publishers of the Harry Potter novels, for £10m (€11.7m).

• Venture-backed liquidity market at lowest in six years despite end of IPO drought 01 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. Even with the end of a nine-month drought in initial public offerings, the second quarter was one of the worst for venture capital-backed liquidity since the doldrums of early 2003, according to industry tracker Dow Jones VentureSource.   Overall venture-backed liquidity fell 57 per cent from $6.48bn in the second quarter of 2008 to $2.8bn in the most recent quarter.

• Indiana Public Employees’ Retirement Fund invests $10.8m in secondary fund stakes 01 Jul 2009. Source: AltAssets. The Indiana Public Employees’ Retirement Fund has invested $10.8m in EnCap Energy Capital Fund V, EnCap Energy Capital Fund VI and EnCap Energy Capital Fund VII on the secondary market, according to reports.