(Reuters) – Oilfield services provider C&J Energy Services Inc said it raised $333.5 million in its initial public offering of common stock. The company priced its offering of 11.5 million shares at $29 per share — higher than the $25-$28 per share range it had set earlier. The Houston-based company had told the U.S Securities [...]

Cohesive Capital Partners held a first close of approximately $100 million on its debut fund, earmarked for co-investments alongside private equity firms, a source familiar with the fundraising effort told Buyouts. The New York-based firm also recently closed its first deal, investing alongside TZP Group in its acquisition of The Dwyer Group, a Waco, Texas-based [...]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc (C.N) plans to sell or spin-off its $10 billion Citi Private Equity unit in order to cut its debt, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Citigroup made the decision to sell the unit last year, before U.S. President Barack Obama announced his plan to limit [...]

Private equity has been a like a drug dealer Advanstar Communications just can’t shake. For the past 20 years, the company’s entanglements with buyout firms have created a rollercoaster of near-disasters, yet the company keeps going back for more.

Advanstar been around the Park Avenue block, with private equity fingerprints going all the way back to when LBOs were still called LBOs. In 1987, the company underwent a Kidder Peabody-backed MBO after fending off several hostile takeover bids. The debt from that deal eventually sent the company into bankruptcy in 1989, at which point Goldman Sachs gained control of the company through a debt-for-equity swap.

Then in 1996, the company narrowly avoided another bankruptcy (according to reports at the time) when Hellman & Friedman purchased the company for $237 million. H&F led Advanstar through 28 acquisitions over its four-year stewardship, including a deal for its most profitable business, apparel industry expo MAGIC Marketplace. H&F exited Advanstar with a sale to DLJ Merchant Banking in 2000 for approximately $900 million. After at least one failed exit attempt, DLJ sold the business to Veronis Suhler Stevenson, Citigroup Private Equity and New York Life Capital Partners, for $1.14 billion.

So to recap: Kidder Peabody –> Goldman Sachs –> H&F –> DLJ –> VSS and friends.

As usual, we have a week’s worth of ratings actions on the debt of LBO-backed companies from ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s Investors Ratings Services and Moody’s Investor Service. This week we’ve got two bankruptcies and even more distressed debt exchanges.

Company: NCI Building Systems
Sponsor: Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
Action: S&P raised its corporate credit rating on Houston-based metal building components manufacturer NCI Building Systems Inc. to ‘B+’ from ‘SD’ (selective default) and affirmed its ‘B+’ issue-level rating on the company’s $150 million senior secured term loan.
Highlight: “The upgrade follows the conclusion of our review of the company’s new capital structure upon completion of its recapitalization,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Thomas Nadramia.

As usual, we have a week’s worth of downgraded LBO-backed companies from S&P and Moody’s. Only four — which is the same number of withdrawals due to Chapter 11 or default. That latter group includes Charter Communications, backed by Kelso & Co. and Oak Hill, BI-Lo, backed by Lone Star Funds, as well as Indalex, backed by Sun Capital Partners.

Company: Network Communications Inc.
Sponsor: Citigroup Private Equity
Downgrade: S&P lowered the company’s corporate credit rating from lowered to ‘B-’ from ‘B’.
Highlights: “Revenue and EBITDA were down 20% and 38%, respectively, for the third fiscal quarter ended Dec. 7, 2008, largely due to a decline in ad pages at the company’s largest publication, The Real Estate Book (TREB).”