News and Analysis

Aircell, a provider of in-flight WiFi services, has raised $35 million in few financing. Existing investors Ripplewood Holdings, Blumenstein/Thorne Information Partners and Oakleigh Thorne all participated in the financing. Aircell is based in Itasca, Illinois.
British aerospace parts supplier Umeco Plc is in discussions to sell its supply chain unit, Pattonair, Reuters reported. Lloyds Development Capital, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, is in talks to acquire the business, Reuters said, citing a report in The Mail. A potential deal is estimated at 200 million pounds ($322.2 million), Reuters wrote.
They’re publicly owned staples of the Midwest, with old-school tradition and strength built on not embracing fads of the moment: Berkshire Hathaway and the Green Bay Packers. Berkshire stock has risen more than 70% from the recession’s trough; it was right around that time a 6-10 Packer team led by rookie Aaron Rodgers was licking […]
Gym operator Fitness First, which is owned by buyout shop BC Partners, has filed to raise as much as $549 million in an initial public offering in Singapore, Reuters reported, citing a report in IFR Asia. BC Partners paid 835 million pounds for the company in 2005, Reuters said.
You Paid WHAT?: AOL dishes out about $315M for The Huffington Post Growing: Dewey & LeBoeuf boosts their bankruptcy team Dealing: Beckman Coulter to be bought by Danaher Corp. in $6.8B deal Advertising: Groupon is rapped by critics for its Super Bowl ads
Yesterday, I attended the DeSilva + Phillips Media Dealmakers Summit. There was a lot of talk about tablets and Rupert Murdoch's launch of The Daily during the morning. Normally, I hound these conferences for PE and banking sources, but the conversation was so interesting that I will share with you.
GTCR looks to be nearing a close for its tenth fund. A source, confirming an earlier report from LBO Wire, says the Chicago PE firm is wrapping up marketing for GTCR Fund X LP with a $3.5 billion hard cap.
Two private equity consortia placed second-round bids for medical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter Inc., Reuters reported. Blackstone Group and TPG Capital submitted a bid, as did a second consortium made up of Apollo Management and The Carlyle Group, Reuters said. Beckman Coulter has a market valuation of more than $5 billion.
Buyout shop Blackstone Group will begin fundraising this year for its next real estate fund, which could reach as high as $10 billion, Reuters reported. The firm raised $10 billion for a similar fund in 2008. That fund, Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI, is about 70 percent invested, Reuters reported.
Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management will pay $94.4 million in cash to buy timeshare operator Silverleaf Resorts, Reuters reported. The firm will pay $2.50 per share for Silverleaf, representing a 75% premium over the company’s closing price Thursday. Cerberus, which has $23 billion under management, has agreed to provide equity financing for the full amount of the deal, Reuters said.
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