Mergers & Acquisitions has learned that the Federal Trade Commission recently granted early termination to the private equity firm Brentwood Associates to sell its merchandising system portfolio company Array Marketing Group to TorQuest Partners.

Array Marketing, which is headquartered in Toronto, produces merchandising systems and point-of-purchase displays for national brand marketers and consumer product retailers. The company also has operations in New York and Shenzhen, China.

According to the filing, Los Angeles-based Brentwood is selling Array Canada. TorQuest Partners will finance the deal, using capital from its second fund, a C$500 million ($498 million) vehicle which the Toronto firm raised in 2006.

In 2000, Brentwood invested an undisclosed amount to create Array Marketing. Using capital commitments from its Brentwood Associates Private Equity III Fund, the firm built the business through a series of acquisitions. KCS Industries, American Manufacturing and IDMD Manufacturing are among Array Marketing’s additions.

Brentwood Associates partner Eric Reiter who also serves as a director at Array Marketing (pictured), acknowledged that he is working on the deal but declined to comment on the recent news. A representative at TorQuest also declined to comment on the transaction, and Array Marketing did not return calls seeking comment. 

Brentwood tends to pursue equity investments within the range of $20 million to $100 million. The firm also has the ability to take the lead on equity investments that surpass the $150 million mark.

Brentwood’s most recent deal took place on April 2, when it completed the recapitalization of The Teaching Company Holdings, a publisher and direct marketer of The Great Courses. Under The Great Courses brand, The Teaching Company publishes a series of audio and video lectures led by notable professors and experts.

Brentwood financed the transaction through a $170 million credit facility which was jointly managed by Ares Capital and an affiliate of GE Capital.