Dang,
I know/knew the Ampersand guys. First ran across them back in their startup days in Boston. Rick Charpie, the founder used his Dad's connections (former CEO of Cabot Corporation) and his banking training to start up the fund. Went to one of their first investor conferences. Will always remember the talk by Clayton Christiansen, who was apparently one of Rick's best friends. He's known for his economic work and being a professor at Harvard, but at the time, back in the late 80's, he was still young, smart and could deliver a tremendous talk - I was incredibly impressed. I'll always remember a guy at the event saying that when Rick and Clayton got together onstage, he thought they were going to "start levitating" because of all the positive waves. In the mid-90's, talked with them about an investment in an industrial chemicals project. But, at the time, they were transitioning towards healthcare investments more than the advanced materials/chemicals focus they'd started with.
Anyway, Stockaxe is right about finding out how the process has played out. Did they shop around, or did these guys walk in the door and negotiate an offer? What can be done to improve it? These things happen all the time. Great for management as they get to get rid of all their complaining shareholders (especially after they've screwed up or haven't performed as planned). They get to cash in their options, get a re-do with deeper pocketed, well-connected investors who have a different time-horizon than the current investors. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the new investors re-load management with new options to go along with their deep pocketed financial and contact support. Nick and team cut a fat hog. And, the new investors take away the risk of getting screwed with financing again. They bring this expertise. Take it private and then merge it or bring it out again. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Disclosure, the names and story are all from memory. So, take it with a grain of salt. Might not be accurate.
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