Ares Management LLC has filed to raise $450 million for an IPO of a newly-formed business development company (BDC) named Ares Capital Corp. Ares is a Los Angeles-based investment management firm that specializes in private equity and leveraged finance transactions. It is the seventh private equity shop to file for a BDC this month, following Apollo Management, KKR, Blackstone, Evercore Partners, Kelso & Co. and Prospect Street. www.aresmanagement.com

Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) reportedly is in talks to acquire venerable film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. for approximately $5 billion in cash. Sony is being supported on the deal by buyout firms Texas Pacific Group and Providence Equity Partners. www.merunetworks.com

Meru Networks Inc., a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based provider of wireless communications services and solutions, has raised $17 million in Series B funding. BlueStream Ventures led the deal, and was joined by fellow new investor Sierra Ventures. Return backers included Clearstone Venture Partners, NeoCarta Ventures, Evercore Ventures, BrainHeart Capital, JumpStartUp Venture Fund, Monitor Ventures and Dot Edu Ventures. www.merunetworks.com

VC Deals

Scalix Corp., a San Mateo, Calif.-based provider of an enterprise messaging platform for Linux, has raised $6 million in new VC funding from Mohr Davidow Ventures. The company had previously raised $13.2 million from Mayfield and New Enterprise Associates. www.scalix.com

Solid Information Technology Corp., a Mountain View, Calif.-based provider of an autonomic data management platform, has raised $14 million in Series B funding. CapMan and Apax Partners co-led the deal. www.solidtech.com

Buyout News

The Guardian is reporting that Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) recently held talks to acquire publicly traded UK drug company Alliance Unichem PLC. The article also says that Unichem CEO Stefano Pessina has broken off talks on what could have been a $4.42 billion deal. Pessina is the company抯 largest shareholder with a 32% stake.

Accent Equity Partners has sold portfolio company Tribon Solutions AB to UK-based Aveva Group PLC (LSE: AVV). Tribon is a Sweden-based supplier of IT solutions for shipbuilding and marine supplies. The deal reportedly is worth over $33.6 million. www.tribon.com

M&A News

Sybase Inc. (NYSE: SY) has agreed to acquire the assets of Dejima Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of mobile access solutions using natural language interface technology. No deal terms were disclosed. Dejima had raised over $27 million in VC funding from investors like CMGI @Ventures, InfoSpace.com, MC Capital, Mitsubishi and Sonera Venture Partners. www.dejima.com

Boyd Holdings LLC and Technology Funding have partnered to acquire the paper check repair division ?CheckTech — of Wood Financial Products. No financial terms of the deal were disclosed.

IPO News

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Norristown, Pa.-based drug company focused on urologic and sexual health disorders, has filed to raise $86.25 million via an IPO of common stock on the Nasdaq under proposed ticker symbol AUXL. The company has raised over $95 million in venture capital funding since its 1999 inception, with significant shareholders including Perseus-Soros BioPharmaceutical Fund, SCP Private Equity, Lehman Brothers, Schroder Ventures International Life Sciences, OrbiMed Advisors, Biotech Growth NV and Sprout Group. www.auxilium.com

Kindercare Learning Centers Inc., a Portland, Ore.-based provider of early childhood care and educational services, has filed to raise $625 million via an IPO of income deposit securities (IDS). No exchange or ticker symbol information has yet been disclosed. The company is majority-owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., which acquired the company in 1997. The company also lists Oaktree Capital Management (an affiliate of TCW Group) as a significant shareholder. www.kindercare.com

Human Resources

Bill Ford and Michael McHugh have joined MCG Capital Corp. as managing directors. Ford previously served as a managing director with private equity firm Perseus, while McHugh spent the past eight years with GE Corporate Financial Services Media & Communications group. www.mcgcapital.com

Kevin Kelley and Robert Kidder both have been named partners with Stonehenge Partners LLC. Kelley most recently served as executive vice president of Borden Inc., while Kidder served as Borden抯 chairman and CEO. Kidder will maintain his non-executive chairman role with Borden Chemical Inc., and previously served as chairman and CEO of Duracell International Inc. www.StonehengeFinancial.com

Zero Stage Capital has promoted Matt Kelley to the position of managing director. He will continue to serve as the firm抯 chief operating officer, after having originally joined the firm as a principal. www.zerostage.com