FRANKFURT (Reuters) – VEM, the owner of German generic drugmaker Ratiopharm, said it was satisfied with the first-round offers received for the forced sale of the unit, indicating that bidding could turn competitive. A spokesman for the Merckle family investment vehicle VEM said on Thursday it was positively surprised by the number of bids, which […]
NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) – Leveraged buyouts struck by Cerberus Capital and Apollo Management performing worse than deals by other private equity firms such as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a report by Moody’s said on Thursday. Moreover, mega-deals have fared badly on average, said the report, which studied 186 deals structured during the […]
Here are some potential target ideas, rumored or official, to jumpstart your deal pipeline. Our sources are various news reports and the Buyouts “Seeking Buyers” list. For prior lists, see below. BioSyntech, Inc., a biotechnology company, retained PricewaterhouseCoopers to advise it with on a formal review of strategic alternatives including, but not limited to, a commercial partnership involving its cartilage repair device BST-CarGel® or a corporate sale of the Company. Pabst Blue Ribbon, the Milwaukee beer brewer, has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to shop itself to potential buyers, the New York Post reported. The company expects around $300 million in deal value. Opti Canada, a Calgary-based energy company which is a minority partner in the Long Lake project in northern Alberta, said it was considering selling itself. Smart Balance, the publicly traded maker of butter substitutes, raised new debt to pay off its old debt, saying the new capital structure "enables us to consider strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value in the years ahead." The company did not say whether those alternatives include a sale of the company.
BlackEagle Partners and Building Industry Partners have agreed to buy three regional operations from Stock Building Supply, a Raleigh, N.C.-based supplier of building products to professional builders and contractors. The seller was Gores Group, which acquired SBS out of bankruptcy earlier this year. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which includes operations in Central New York, Connecticut and Wisconsin.
Sarnova, a distributor of health care products in the emergency medical services (EMS) and respiratory markets, has acquired Metropolitan Medical Inc., a medical products supplier serving the mid-Atlantic region. No financial terms were disclosed. Sarnova is a portfolio company of Water Street Healthcare Partners.
LONDON (Reuters) – Subordinated bondholders of Wind Hellas will offer senior secured noteholders an incentive to accept their proposal to bid for the company, said Michael Hodges of Aladdin Capital Management. Aladdin Capital is co-ordinating the subordinated bondholders’ committee established to protect their interest in Wind Hellas. The incentive includes a fee of 400 basis […]
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs (GS.N) has agreed to sell half of its holding in Shineway Group, China’s top meat processor, to a Chinese fund for about $150 million, earning roughly five times its investment from the landmark 2006 deal, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The acquisition attracted wide […]
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bain Capital has won exclusive rights to negotiate with Citigroup Inc (C.N) to buy its Japanese telemarketer in a deal that could be worth more than $1 billion, three people with knowledge of the transaction said. It would be the largest private equity deal in Japan involving a foreign buyout firm since […]
Start your Engines: Private equity is ready (raring to go, even) for bank deals. (IDD) In Case You're Following: Bonds are bad, says Dr Doom. (FT Alphaville) PE Target? With KKR and KPS's beer deals lately, it wouldn't surprise me if a buyout firm went after Pabst Brewing Company, which is shopping itself via Bank of America Merrill Lynch. (NY Post) This is a Large Deal But Maybe Not a Big Deal: Warren Buffet enters the mega-buyout game, precisely when no one else is. (WSJ) Want to be an accountant? Here is some resume advice. (FINS)
On Friday we reported that Chicago buyout firm Willis Stein & Partners would take a second dividend on Roundy's, its Midwestern supermarket chain. Today we've learned more details. Willis Stein has used the dividend to take excess capital off Roundy's balance sheet while pushing back debt maturities from 2010 to 2012. Willis Stein will take a dividend on the company worth $75 million. That does not change the company's leverage rate of 3.1x debt-to-Ebitda. Roundy's has $728.5 million in debt and $235 million in Ebitda, a source familiar with the deal said. J.P. Morgan has served as lead arranger on the deal, with participation from Credit Suisse, Bank of America and Rabobank.