News and Analysis

FRANKFURT/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Private equity firm Providence Equity Partners will list German cable television operator Kabel Deutschland on a stock exchange, abandoning its plan of a billion-euro sale to a buy-out firm, three people with knowledge of the matter said. The listing will lead to a higher valuation of the company than an outright […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Private equity giant Blackstone Group (BX.N) has come to an agreement to restructure its Hilton hotels chain debt, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday. The agreement with Hilton’s lenders would cut about $4 billion of debt at the hotel firm, the source said. The news was first reported […]
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital are working together on a bid for financial market data provider Interactive Data Corp (IDC.N), a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. Advent and Bain teamed up after Pearson-controlled Interactive Data, which said in January it is reviewing strategic options, encouraged […]
OTTAWA (Reuters) – A second bid for Canwest Global Communications (CGS.V) worth C$120 million ($114 million) was announced on Friday from a consortium led by private equity fund Catalyst Capital and backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N). The Catalyst consortium, which includes the Asper family and two former executives from Rogers Communications (RCIb.TO), seeks […]
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The sale of cable television operator Kabel Deutschland is hitting snags as the high-yield bond market dries up, jeopardising what would be Europe’s biggest leveraged buyout in two years, sources said. Junk bonds would play a crucial role in what would be a multi-billion-dollar deal, so the sharp increase in financing costs […]
Lineage Power Holdings Inc., a portfolio company of Gores Group, has agreed to acquire PECO II Inc. (Nasdaq: PIII), a Galion, Ohio-based provider of engineering and on-site installation services related to communications power systems and power distribution equipment. The deal is valued at around $16.7 million, with PECO stockholders to receive $5.86 per share (51% premium to yesterday's closing price).
TelePacific Communications, a Los Angeles-based CLEC for SMEs in California and Nevada, has secured a $395 million senior credit facility. TelePacific is a portfolio company of Clarity Partners and Investcorp.
Walgreen Co's respectable ‘A+’ corporate credit rating may be in danger thanks to private equity. Yesterday the drugstore chain agreed to buy Duane Reade from buyout firm Oak Hill Partners, earning the buyout firm a 1.5x return. As a result of the deal, Walgreen will take on $457 million of Duane Reade’s debt and operating leases. That caused Standard & Poor’s to place the Walgreens' corporate credit rating on CreditWatch with negative implications. The change reflects S&P’s belief that the deal will bring weaker-than-expected earnings and no improvement in the company’s credit metrics. S&P is also concerned with Walgreens' limited track record in integrated large acquisitions and aggressive financial policy. S&P said any ratings downgrade as a result of the deal won’t exceed one notch, meaning the worst rating Walgreens can really get as a result of Duane Reade is a medium-grade ‘A’ rating. That caused Standard & Poor’s to place the Walgreen's corporate credit rating on CreditWatch with negative implications. The change reflects S&P’s belief that the deal will bring weaker-than-expected earnings and no improvement in the company’s credit metrics. S&P is also concerned with Walgreen’s limited track record in integrated large acquisitions and aggressive financial policy. S&P said any ratings downgrade as a result of the deal won’t exceed one notch, meaning the worst rating Walgreen can really get as a result of Duane Reade is a medium-grade ‘A’ rating.
Anthony, a Sylmar, Calif.-based maker of commercial glass refrigerator and freezer doors, has acquired Trausch Industries, an Audubon, Iowa-based provider of onsite refurbishment of refrigerator and freezer cases. No financial terms were disclosed. Anthony is a portfolio company of Aurora Capital Group, while Trausch owner Edgewater Funds will roll over some of its proceeds into a minority stake for the combined business.
Linsalata Capital Partners has acquired Eatem Corp., a Vineland, N.J.-based company that makes bases and concentrates used in soups and other food products. No financial terms were disclosed, except that GE Antares Capital provided a $37 million senior secured credit facility. peHUB first reported on the deal last month.
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